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UN shenanigans on Syria

UN shenanigans on Syria

"Viscous nasty business" ... "aggressive pressure ... by US diplomats", "ferocious pressure on weaker non-permanent members", the "type of pressure [that] is very, very difficult for weaker countries ... to resist.'' That's how a former British diplomat at the United Nations, Carne Ross, described last September's UN showdown over the Palestinian Authority's bid for reco...

IRAN: THE PRICE OF RESISTANCE

IRAN: THE PRICE OF RESISTANCE

European Union foreign ministers have agreed to a full-fledged embargo on all imports of Iranian crude oil. Towards this end, various measures will be adopted gradually from 23rd January to 1st July 2012. In December 2011, the US Congress (with a 100 to 0 vote in the Senate) presented a mandatory sanctions package to President Obama which starting June 2012 will proh...

Stop the War Campaign Against Iran

Stop the War Campaign Against Iran

I which paves the way for a full scale Western military assault against the country headed by the US and UK and prodded by Israel. The aim of the western war campaign is to once again re-colonise Iran after the 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution, as the west did by the CIA-MI6 engineered coup of 1953 against the democratically elected government of Dr Mohammad Mossadegh who le...

A Mistaken Case For Syrian Regime Change

A Mistaken Case For Syrian Regime Change

"War with Iran is already here," wrote a leading Israeli commentator recently, describing "the combination of covert warfare and international pressure" being applied to Iran. Although not mentioned, the "strategic prize" of the first stage of this war on Iran is Syria; the first campaign in a much wider sectarian power-bid. "Other than the collapse of the Islamic Republic ...

WAR IN WANA : A THREAT TO HUMANITY

WAR IN WANA : A THREAT TO HUMANITY

Any conflict in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) is a threat to world peace. For WANA is of tremendous strategic, economic, political and religious significance to the whole of humanity. This is why it is the responsibility of the entire human family to ensure that war does not break out in that region. Why is WANA of such great importance? One, i...

JUST CAMPAIGN: NO TO MILITARY INTERVENTIOIN IN SYRIA; NO TO MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRAN

JUST CAMPAIGN: NO TO MILITARY INTERVENTIOIN IN SYRIA; NO TO MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRAN

The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) invites citizens of the world to join a global campaign aimed at averting a colossal catastrophe in West Asia. The campaign themed, NO TO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SYRIA; NO TO MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRAN will mobilise signatures from people in every continent to demonstrate to the centres of power in the West and ...

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The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) is a society which seeks to develop global awareness of the injustices within the existing system with the aim of evolving an alternative international order which will enhance human dignity and social justice. More specifically, our primary goal is to establish a spiritual and intellectual foundation for a just world.
 
JUST CAMPAIGN: NO TO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SYRIA; NO TO MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRAN
Written by Administrator   
Posted: 27 January 2012 00:00

The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) invites citizens of the world to join a global campaign aimed at averting a colossal catastrophe in West Asia.

The campaign themed, NO TO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SYRIA; NO TO MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRAN will mobilise signatures from people in every continent to demonstrate to the centres of power in the West and their allies and proxies in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) that any military action by them against Syria and Iran in whatever form or guise is totally unacceptable.

Foreign military intervention in Syria could de-stabilise the entire region. Given Basar al-Assad’s opposition to the Israeli occupation of both the Golan Heights in his own country and Palestine, and to US helmed hegemony over WANA, any attempt to topple his government through external military force will provoke a strong reaction from groups and governments in a number of neighbouring countries, apart from Syria itself.  It is quite conceivable that their response will elicit a counter response from Israel and pro-US regimes in WANA. The resulting conflict may accentuate the Sunni-Shia fault-line which runs through a number of countries in WANA and exacerbate the unfolding tussle for regional supremacy among certain states in the region.

The push for regime change in Syria is closely linked to a larger US-Israel agenda that seeks to cripple the Iranian government and its nuclear energy programme. The manipulation of the IAEA’s report on Iran’s nuclear programme which offers no evidence at all of any clandestine attempt to manufacture nuclear weapons and the expansion and intensification of wide-ranging financial and economic sanctions  by the US and the European Union (EU)  against Iran, are directed at this goal. Analysts are convinced that the momentum is being built for a military attack against Iran. The consequences of such an attack for the region and the world will be simply horrendous.

Our opposition to foreign military intervention in Syria goes hand in hand with our commitment to change through peaceful means. We renew our call to President Assad made on a number of occasions to expedite the implementation of democratic reforms in Syria. The President should dialogue with all advocates of change who eschew violence.  The killing of peaceful protesters is abhorrent and should be strongly condemned.

In the case of Iran, it should be totally transparent about its nuclear programme and remove any suspicion that it is developing nuclear weapons. The whole of WANA should be a nuclear weapons free zone. This means that Israel should immediately eliminate its huge nuclear arsenal.  It would be a positive step towards peace in the region.

It is because we choose peace that we reject military intervention in Syria and military strikes against Iran. They will only increase the violence and the carnage that has blighted and blood stained the region for decades.  Thousands and thousands of innocent children, women and men are going to die.

In the name of PEACE we urge you to join this campaign. Click here to sign to show your solidarity with the lovers of peace. Persuade your friends and relatives to endorse this call ----- NO TO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SYRIA; NO TO MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRAN.

INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT FOR A JUST WORLD.
 
Letter to the Editor.
Written by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar   
Posted: 17 January 2012 17:16

DECLARING ASSETS, ACCOUNTABILITY AND 1MALAYSIA.

It is commendable that members of the Penang State Executive Council have declared their assets to the people. The public declaration of assets of elected leaders embodies a fundamental principle in governance: the principle of accountability and transparency. At a time when the honesty and integrity of officials elected by the people is being vigorously questioned in many parts of the world, this is a principle that should be put into practice.

However, the declaration of assets should also be accompanied by disclosure of liabilities. The assets and liabilities of spouse and children above 21 years of age should also be made known to the public. There are standard rules pertaining to this practice observed in countries such as Sweden and New Zealand for decades that can serve as guidelines.
Read more...
 
WAR IN WANA : A THREAT TO HUMANITY
Written by Chandra Muzaffar   
Posted: 27 January 2012 00:00
Any conflict in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) is a threat to world peace. For WANA is of tremendous strategic, economic, political and religious significance to the whole of humanity. This is why it is the responsibility of the entire human family to ensure that war does not break out in that region.

Why is WANA of such great importance?

One, it is the only region in the world where three continents--- Asia, Africa and Europe--- meet. WANA is home to some of the world’s most critical sea routes and most strategic waterways, including the Mediterranean, the Suez, the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz.

Two, WANA is the world’s major oil exporting region. And oil is the life-blood of contemporary civilisation. The majority of OPEC (the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) members are in WANA.

Three, most of the wars that have shaken the world since World War II have occurred in WANA.  The Israel-Arab conflicts,  Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, Israel’s invasions of Lebanon, the Suez War, the Iraq- Iran War, the Kuwait War, the Anglo-American  invasion and occupation of Iraq, and the NATO-led assault upon Libya would be the outstanding examples. Needless to say, millions of lives have been lost in these wars.

Four, at the epicentre of many of these wars, it is so obvious, is Israel--- a state created by a Western dominated United Nations in 1948, in violation of the UN’s own Charter. The manner in which Israel has perpetuated its presence and its power through occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands, and the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, has been a huge source of instability and perpetual conflict in WANA. The current escalation of tensions over Syria and Iran, engineered to a considerable degree by the US and certain other Western states, aided and abetted by their regional allies and proxies,  is also directly linked to Israel’s geopolitical agenda.

Five, there have been other conflicts in the region from Suez in 1956 to Libya in 2011, in which Western imperial powers have sought to impose their will upon WANA through massive military operations. The conquest of Iraq in 2003, motivated by oil and Israel, was the most blatant and brazen of these. Imperial hubris aside, the tussle among states within WANA aspiring for regional supremacy sometimes in cahoots with Western powers, has also been a cause of conflict.  The Iraq-Iran War from 1980 to 1988 would be a classic case in point. The Islamic Revolution in Iran of 1979 was perceived by a number of other states in WANA as a challenge to their power and led to an unprecedented galvanisation of both absolute monarchies and autocratic republics under the leadership of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein aimed at thwarting the nascent revolution. There are shades of that episode in the unfolding mobilisation of various Arab states and Turkey against Iran and Syria today. Saudi Arabia is once again playing a crucial role just as tiny but fabulously rich Qatar is flexing its muscles. Turkey, vying for dominance, is clearly targeting Iran.

Six, intertwined in these conflicts are religious dichotomies which have occasionally intensified the antagonism between the political actors.  The Sunni-Shia dichotomy is one such fault-line which has been exploited by various forces in a number of countries in WANA from Lebanon and Iraq to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. In the targeting of the Syrian leadership and Iran, this issue is also being manipulated. In fact, the whole spectrum of theological-cum-ideological positions in Islam, ranging from ultra- conservative Wahabi thinking to universal, inclusive approaches associated with progressive elements in the religion have come to the fore through various conflicts in the region. Today, through the electoral process, political parties that have evolved from the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood ( Ikhwan-ul- Muslimin) have emerged as front-runners in  Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, setting the stage perhaps for a re-definition of the role of Islam in public life and its relationship with the centres of power in the West which may have repercussions for politics in  WANA.
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