February 17, 2006

THE JORDANIAN KING REVIEWS WITH PRESIDENT BUSH THE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND WARNS FROM THE DANGERS OF ISOLATING HAMAS AND SYRIA. THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: "IT WOULD BE A BIG MISTAKE TO SUSPEND AID TO THE PALESTINIANS." THE ISLAMIC JIHAD REFUSES THE TRUCE AND HAMAS CONTINUES ITS CONSULTATIONS WITH ARAB LEADERS. DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CRISIS OVER THE PUBLICATIONS OF CARICATURES OF PROPHET MOHAMMED PEACE BE UPON HIM. During his talks with U.S. President George Bush, Jordanian King Abdullah II appreciated Bush's vision and his desire to see peace and stability realized in the Middle East. In their joint press statement, following talks, the two leaders condemned the cartoons insulting Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) that were published in a Danish newspaper. " Insulting religious feelings or trying to justify this by taking freedom of expression as a cover is something unacceptable," the King told reporters. President Bush said that "this issue figured high in the talks with the King". He also said that his country believed in the freedom of the press but "with this freedom comes the responsibilities and responsibility means to think about others." He called on governments around the world to stop violence and protect lives and properties of diplomats working in their countries. The two leaders also opposed violent actions that accompanied demonstrations in protest of the cartoons. "One who wants to protest should be careful... do this peacefully," King Abdullah said. " When we see protests accompanied by destruction and violence, especially with killing of innocent people, then this is definitely unacceptable," said His Majesty, who is currently on a visit to the U.S. " We should progress one step further in the issue of tolerance so as to accept our common humanity and our shared values," the King added. Stressing the need to pursue peace efforts in the region, King Abdullah said cutting talks with "the Palestinians at this stage can never serve stability in the Middle East" and the international community and the U.S. should continue supporting the Palestinian Authority led by President Abbas. Any new changes, such as Hamas winning in the Palestinian elections, should not be allowed to block or impede the peace process, King Abdullah said. On the situation in Iraq, King Abdullah reiterated Jordan's support to all efforts geared to the formation of an Iraqi government inclusive of all political powers. "The Iraqi success in building a secure, united and prosperous Iraq is an absolute guarantee for stability to prevail in the Middle East," the King said. Referring to bilateral relations with the U.S., King Abdullah noted the economic challenges facing Jordan in particular, as the country witnessed marked increases in fuel prices which impacted on development. Meanwhile, the King appreciated U.S. assistance to help Jordan overcome its economic hardships. King Abdullah held talks with the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. They focused on the overall situation in the region and discussed ways to develop bilateral relations. They also reviewed the two countries' efforts to promote the opportunity for peace in the region. Rice paid tribute to Jordan's efforts to implement programs of economic growth and modernization in its drive to achieve sustainable development. On the other hand the United States has made clear it will not deal with a Hamas-led government and has warned it will halt direct aid to the Palestinian Authority if Hamas does not change. The State Department has begun a review of all U.S. aid to the Palestinians and is trying to work out how humanitarian help can continue without giving any assistance to Hamas. Condoleeza Rice reiterated after her meeting with Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni that the U.S. support for the caretaker government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but stressed that international aid could not flow to Hamas unless it recognizes Israel's right to exist. "It cannot be that you have a government that does not accept even its right to exist that then says it wants the international community's support for its programs," she said. Israel's new foreign minister urged the world to isolate a Hamas-led government in the Palestinian territories, saying the group would turn them into a "terror state." In her first visit to the United States as foreign minister, Tzipi Livni said it was essential that the international community send a clear message to Hamas. "We depend on the international community's unified message to the Palestinians," she said at a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She reiterated Israel's insistence that Hamas renounce violence, disarm militants and recognize Israel's right to exist -- all conditions that United States, the European Union and others have demanded too. "When an entity, a state is being led by terrorists, the meaning is that this entity, this authority, this state is going to transfer into a terror state," said Livni. A "terror state" would have to face sanctions and other measures from the international community, she added. Hamas, which is responsible for dozens of suicide attacks against Israelis, has rejected demands that it recognize Israel, which it says is the aggressor. Israel has decided to release to the Palestinians tax revenues it froze after Hamas's election victory. But Livni said her government had the legal right to withhold transfer of these funds to Hamas when it forms a new government. "It is totally forbidden under the Israeli law to transfer money that can be used for terrorism," she said. "So I believe that, not only legally but even morally, this is something that Israel will have to rethink in the future." On another scale Islamic Jihad has ruled out joining a new Palestinian government following Hamas's election victory or forging any long-term truce with Israel. Voicing a position that had been widely expected, Khalid al-Batsh, a leader of the group, said: "Islamic Jihad will not join the coming cabinet. "If the government will have an agenda of resistance, we will support it," he said. Batsh said any long-term ceasefire with Israel would be useless and Islamic Jihad "rejects it completely". Meanwhile Chairman of Hamas' politburo Khaled Mishaal said on Sunday that the Islamic Resistance Movement would form a Palestinian national coalition government soon. Speaking to reporters shortly after arriving in Sudan on a three-day visit, Mishaal said at the Khartoum International Airport: "The new Palestinian government will be a national coalition government with the participation of persons from different backgrounds." Hamas said it would end its armed struggle if Israel withdraws from all occupied Palestinian territories. "If Israel recognizes our rights and pledges to withdraw from all occupied lands, Hamas, and the Palestinian people together with it, will decide to halt armed resistance," Khaled Mishaal said in an interview with the Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta. Khaled Mishaal, who has been directing discussions about power- sharing with the PNA, told reporters in Cairo last week that Hamas sees no possibility of negotiating a peace treaty with Israel. He suggested that a cease-fire of 10 to 15 years is a substitute worth considering now that Hamas will be in control of the PLC. "The ball is in the Israeli court," Mishaal said at a news conference after meeting Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. "Once Israel recognizes the legitimate rights of Palestinians and withdraws from our lands, there would probably be a willingness from both Palestinians and the Arabs to cooperate." "Hamas does not recognize Israel and we won't accept anybody in the world forcing us into a corner," Mishaal told journalists in Cairo. Separately, In a BBC interview, he reiterated that Hamas would be willing to agree a long-term truce with Israel if it pulled back to its borders from before its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967. "When Israel says that it will recognize Palestinian rights, and will withdraw from the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and grant the right of return, stop settlements and recognize the rights of the Palestinians to self-determination, then Hamas will be ready to take a serious step," Mishaal told the BBC. "Hamas will rule and continue resistance and the people will see how we can reconcile resistance and the exercise of power," he said. In the occupied territories amid continued political moves on the Palestinian arena, on the formation of the new government which will be led by the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, the Israeli occupation forces continued bombardment and assassination operations in the West Bank and Gaza so as the number of Palestinians killed during the three past days increased to 11. In one of the most recent developments concerning the Israeli escalation, two Palestinians were killed in an air strike targeting a car which was carrying them in Gaza. Witnesses said that the car was for al-Aqsa martyrs groups of the Palestine national liberation Movement (Fatah) and that the two men are Suheil Baker and Muhammad Abu Sharia, while the Israeli army admitted targeting activists from al-Aqsa group in the attack. The Islamic Jihad movement deplored the operations launched by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian activists. The occupation forces had assassinated Ahmad Raddad, the leading figure in al-Quds Saraya (Jerusalem groups), the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, during an incursion in Nablus in the West Bank. The leading figure in the movement Khaled al-Batsh said that the occupation continues what it described killing the Palestinian resistance especially the leaders of al-Quds (Jerusalem) groups, denying simultaneously that his movement had changed its political or resistance position. However, one Israeli air raid against Jabalia, north of Gaza, on Monday evening resulted also in killing two activists from al-Aqsa group of the Fatah movement. This Israeli raid came hours after thousands of Palestinians eulogized in Gaza two killed Palestinians from Saraya al-Quds, assassinated by Israel in an air raid against al-Zeitoun quarters in Gaza. Israel had assassinated three activists from al-Aqsa martyrs groups in a similar air raid two days before. Palestinians killed in this raid were four as one Al-Aqsa group activist died later because of his wounds. Meantime the leadership of the Israeli occupation army announced the end of a military operation during which ten Palestinians were killed in air raids in Gaza. The Israeli army gen. Yuaf Galant, the commander of South Israel area, said that the army is ready to direct stronger strikes if new Palestinian attacks are made, in remarks to launching al-Qassam missiles from Gaza against Israel. The acting Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, said that he plans to annex the Jordan Valley and major Jewish settlement blocks to Israel in drawing new borders, according to a television station that recorded an interview with him. In Mr Olmert's first policy statement since he succeeded Ariel Sharon last month, Channel 2 television said that he made clear he intends to carry through his predecessor's vision of creating an emasculated Palestinian state on Israel's terms. Nissim Mishal, told Army radio that Mr Olmert, who is favourite to win next month's general election, also plans further unilateral withdrawals similar to the settler pullout from Gaza last summer. "He talked about Israel having to maintain a Jewish majority in the state of Israel, meaning that we have to create a new border, what is called final borders. He knows that we can't negotiate with Hamas. So the only conclusion that can be derived from this is that, in order to reach final borders, Israel will have to carry out additional [unilateral] withdrawals," said Mishal. Mr Olmert said he intends to annex the three main settlement blocks of Ariel, Gush Etzion and Maale Adumim as well as the Jordan Valley, the TV station said. The pressure group Peace Now estimates 185,000 of the 244,000 Israelis in the West Bank outside Jerusalem are resident in the settlements Mr Olmert wants to keep within Israel's border. That would mean removing about 60,000 settlers, many more than were forced out of Gaza. The defence minister, Shaul Mofaz, said the government was considering unilaterally imposing the borders of a Palestinian state. "If we won't be able to reach agreed-upon borders, we will operate in a different way, which it is not appropriate to detail now ... we don't need to wait for someone else to impose our fate," he said. "In the coming years, and I'm talking about a few years, the final borders of the state of Israel will be set down, and the future of most of the settlements in [the West Bank] and the Jordan Valley will be decided in these two years." On the other hand Vladimir Putin said in an interview which Spanish media published that suspending aid to the Palestinians following Hamas's electoral success would be a major error, Russian President. "It would be a big mistake to suspend aid to the Palestinians," said Putin, before his two-day state visit to Spain. "When we talk about the causes and roots of terrorism we refer to social injustice, misery, unemployment. "And if we stop helping simple Palestinian citizens, are we going to eradicate terrorism and criminality? Of course not," said Putin. Both the United States and the European Union have warned that aid to the Palestinians may be cut unless Hamas dissolves its armed wing and recognises Israel. Putin noted that Hamas, "an organisation considered as terrorist by the whole European community, has assumed power in legitimate fashion." Moscow itself does not regard Hamas as a terrorist organisation but believes Russia can wield leverage in persuading the group to renounce violence and recognise Israel, conditions which the organisation has to date rejected. Putin said he was "convinced there is a way out" of the current crisis in the Middle East peace process. "We are ready to do all in our power to exit this impasse in which we have all landed ourselves," Putin said, but he offered no indication of Russian plans to help advance the peace agenda. At a press conference with the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and answering a question on whether the United States has taken most of the initiative in the Middle East peace process, while Russia has become somewhat distanced from participation in decisions on this conflict and the steps Moscow intends taking now, President Putin said: I do not think that Russia has moved away of late from its responsibility and its cooperation in settling the conflict in the Middle East. On the contrary, our Foreign Ministry has been working quite actively within the 'quartet', on a bilateral basis, and with all the parties involved, with our Israeli partners and with the Palestinians. As you know, I visited the Middle East not so long ago and I met with the Israeli and Palestinian leadership. At the same time, what I want to say is that it is my deep conviction that burning the bridges, especially in politics, is the easiest road but also the most dead-end option. This is why, after analysing the behaviour of each side engaged in this conflict, we decided that rather than rushing to declare this or that organisation a terrorist organisation, we would try to work with all the organisations taking part in the process of trying to bring peaceful life to this volatile part of the world. It is for this reason that we did not recognise Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Today we need to recognise that Hamas has come to power in the Palestinian Autonomy through democratic and legitimate elections, and we need to respect the Palestinian people's choice. At the same time, we also need to look for steps and solutions that would be acceptable for the political forces now at the head of the Palestinian Autonomy, for the entire international community and for Israel. We are maintaining our contacts with Hamas and we plan soon to invite the leadership of this organisation to Moscow to search precisely for the kind of solutions I referred to. In France President Jacques Chirac accused newspapers printing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed of "provocation," after yet another French publication put the contentious caricatures on its pages. "Anything that can hurt the convictions of another, particularly religious convictions, must be avoided. Freedom of expression must be exercised in a spirit of responsibility," Chirac told his cabinet, according to a government spokesman. "I condemn all manifest provocation that might dangerously fan passions," he said. The statements were made after the satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo printed all 12 of the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed Peace Be Upon Him first published by a Danish newspaper in September, as well as a new front-page caricature of its own. Its issue hit newsstands the day after a French court refused to grant an injunction to Islamic organisations that tried to have it banned for inciting racial and religious hatred. The French president stressed that his criticism was not an abdication of his country's adherence to freedom of expression but rather a call for the principle not to be abused. "On the issue of the caricatures and the reactions they have provoked in the Muslim world, I want to say that, if freedom of expression is one of the foundations of the (French) republic, the latter relies also on the values of tolerance and the respect of all beliefs," he said. Chirac said he "condemned" the violent attacks directed against French, Danish and other European nationals and diplomatic missions in Muslim countries in recent days and noted that "under international law, governments are responsible for the safety of foreign people and property established on their territory." He also directed his government to be "especially vigilant" as to the safety of French citizens abroad. On the other hand France's top Muslim organisation has decided to take legal action against French newspapers that printed cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad. French citizens abroad. The French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM) said it was acting after receiving lawyers' advice. The CFCM decided to launch legal action against the newspapers that published the caricatures, the council said in a statement after a closed-door meeting between its member groups and lawyers. The council - representing some five million Muslims in France - has existed for only three years and therefore cannot bring the charges itself. It is expected that its member groups that have been in existence for more than five years will do so on behalf of the CFCM. It is remains unclear how many papers will be involved in the case, with satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo being the only confirmed target of the action. Dailies France Soir, Liberation, Le Figaro and Le Parisien have also published the cartoons. On the other hand Denmark has temporarily withdrawn its ambassadors from Syria, Iran and Indonesia because their safety was at risk in the wake of a Danish newspaper's publication of drawings of the Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him, the Foreign Ministry said. Denmark's embassy buildings in all three countries had been targeted by angry mobs protesting the publication of the caricatures in September. European and American newspapers subsequently reprinted the drawings. The Foreign Ministry said it withdrew all Danish staff from its embassy in Tehran, Iran, because of "serious and concrete threats" against the ambassador. The ministry announced it had temporarily pulled back its ambassador and other Danish staff from Syria because they were not getting enough protection from authorities. In Sanaa the government gave instructions to cancel the license of the Yemen Observer after it allegedly republished Danish illustrations depicting the Prophet Mohammed Peace Be Upon Him. This came just days after similar government action against Al-Hourriah (The Freedom) newspaper. Yemen detained three journalists after closing three publications that printed the cartoons. Al-Hurriya, Yemen Observer and al-Rai al-Aam were shut and their case sent to prosecutors. The officials said those detained are Mohammad al-Asaadi, the editor-in-chief of the English-language Yemen Observer, Akram Sabra, the managing editor of al-Hurriya weekly newspaper and reporter Yehiya al-Abed of Hurriya. Meanwhile permanent representatives of member states of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) said they reserve the right to call for an urgent OIC foreign ministers meeting if Denmark kept on its "negative" position regarding publishing anti-Islam cartoons in the Danish press. The member states' representatives to the Riyadh-based organization said in a statement issued after an extraordinary meeting in Jeddah that the Danish authorities' "negative" response to the abusive cartoons was disappointing when compared to the responses of other European countries who denounced publishing such caricatures as a provoking act that calls for hatred. The representatives called on non-governmental organizations and the OIC members to play a major role in spreading the original teachings of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), especially in the west. They also highlighted the OIC monitoring body's role in facing anti-Islam acts, calling for backing the monitor with whatever might improve its performance. In the meantime, they approved a five-point suggestion presented recently by the OIC secretary general to the High Representative for Secretary-General of the Council of the EU Javier Solana, intended to prevent a similar crisis from happening again. These five points include issuing legislations by the EU Parliament against the anti-Islam phenomena in the west and exerting joint efforts by both the EU the OIC to issue a UN resolution forbidding offenses against religions and prophets. The suggestion also contained approving a charter of ethics for the European media and an international media system to be set by the UN that identifies the freedom of expression concept in dealing with religious symbols. The suggestion also includes listing an article in the upcoming human rights council's resolution banning the defamation of religions and calls for hatred. A great wave of anger had lately been engulfing Muslim capitals all around the globe in the aftermath of publishing a cartoon in a Danish newspaper last September, intended to smear the sacred image of the Prophet of Islam. The incident casued a crisis in most of the Muslim Wolrd where people boycotted Danish products as a demonstration against the abusive cartoons. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke out against those publishers who "pour oil on the fire" by reprinting controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him while repeating his condemnation of the violent protests they have sparked. "Honestly, I do not understand why any newspaper will publish the cartoons today," Mr. Annan told reporters at UN Headquarters in his most extensive spontaneous comments on the controversy. "It is insensitive, it is offensive, it is provocative, and they should see what has happened around the world." He was quick to add that he was not against freedom of speech or freedom of the press. "I am for that, but as I have indicated in the past, freedom of speech is not a license. It does entail exercising responsibility and judgment, and quite honestly I cannot understand why any editor will publish cartoons at this time which inflames, and pours oil on the fire." Asked about the role of governments, he replied, "We all need to take steps to calm the situation and whatever the anger of those concerned, violence is not the answer." He also stressed that innocent civilians should not be targeted. "They should not attack people who are not responsible for the publication of the cartoons. Whether it is a general condemnation of Denmark, or Europeans, it is wrong. They should really avoid doing that, and violence must be condemned as unacceptable." The Secretary-General, along with the head of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the European Union's (EU) senior representative for foreign and security policy, issued a joint statement calling for calm and dialogue among communities of different faiths. Following is the text of a joint statement issued today by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu; and the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, Javier Solana: We are deeply alarmed at the repercussions of the publication in Denmark several months ago of insulting caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed and their subsequent republication by some other European newspapers and at the violent acts that have occurred in reaction to them. The anguish in the Muslim world at the publication of these offensive caricatures is shared by all individuals and communities who recognize the sensitivity of deeply held religious belief. In all societies there is a need to show sensitivity and responsibility in treating issues of special significance for the adherents of any particular faith, even by those who do not share the belief in question. We fully uphold the right of free speech. But we understand the deep hurt and widespread indignation felt in the Muslim world. We believe freedom of the press entails responsibility and discretion, and should respect the beliefs and tenets of all religions. But we also believe the recent violent acts surpass the limits of peaceful protest. In particular, we strongly condemn the deplorable attacks on diplomatic missions that have occurred in Damascus, Beirut and elsewhere. Aggression against life and property can only damage the image of a peaceful Islam. We call on the authorities of all countries to protect all diplomatic premises and foreign citizens against unlawful attack. These events make the need for renewed dialogue, among and between communities of different faiths and authorities of different countries, all the more urgent. We call on them to appeal for restraint and calm, in the spirit of friendship and mutual respect. In Beirut investigations have started with people arrested during the violent demonstrations that took place against the Danish and Norwegian embassies. In the meantime Prime Minister Fouad Siniora hosted a meeting of Christian and Muslim religious leaders at the Grand Serail in central Beirut, an effort to prevent a sectarian backlash of the street riots. "We should work together to deter sectarian dangers for the sake of the young and the future," Siniora said after the meeting . The Christian religious leaders who attended the meeting included Bishops Boulos Matar and Roland Abou Jaoudeh of the Maronite Church, Patriarch Gregoire Laham of the Greek Catholic Church and Aram Kechichian of the Armenian Orthodox Church. The Muslim community was represented by Sunni Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Kabbani, who heads Dar el Fatwa and Sheikh Abdel-Amir Kabalan, President of the Higher Shiite Council. The meeting came four days after a demonstration to vent out Muslim anger against cartoons defaming the Prophet Mohammed turned sectarian, when some of the rioters damaged a Maronite and a Greek Orthodox Church and wrecked cars and other public property in the Christian neighborhood of Ashrafiyeh. "You have the ability more than others to establish inter-communal peace by spreading the values of tolerance in these extraordinary circumstances," Siniora said addressing the religious leaders. The premier said the government was determined to continue working to achieve Lebanon's independence. "We have missed many chances and maybe we had excuses. But we want to continue our path towards independence and building a nation," Siniora said. "Our security is not in our hands and the country has been subjected to political and security pressures from inside and outside for several months," the premier said. However, he said that by staying united, the Lebanese can overcome this difficult period. "If we want a country, we must all live up to our responsibilities," Siniora said.