Docudharma Times Tuesday July 15

We Always Look

For

That Which

Isn’t There

Indonesia regrets E Timor wrongs

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has expressed “remorse” for wrongs committed during East Timor’s vote for independence in 1999.

The BBC

He made the statement as he received the final report of their two countries’ Truth and Friendship Commission in the resort of Bali.

The report details systematic crimes against humanity – and lays much of the blame at the door of Indonesia’s army.

But the leaders of both countries say they are interested in moving on.

About 1,000 people are believed to have been murdered, and many others tortured, raped and displaced during 1999.

Neither country has expressed interest in prosecuting individuals on the basis of the report – though correspondents say it could strengthen such demands from campaigners.

The commission was boycotted by the United Nations, which has already blamed Indonesia and demanded that those responsible face justice.

Scramble Led to Rescue Plan on Mortgages



By STEPHEN LABATON

Published: July 15, 2008

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration hastily arranged the dramatic Sunday evening rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after Wall Street executives and foreign central bankers told Washington that any further erosion of confidence could have a cascading effect around the world, officials said on Monday.

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and other top officials were warned, after Fannie and Freddie lost nearly half their stock market value on Friday morning, that any more turmoil threatened to reduce the value of trillions of dollars of the companies’ debt and other obligations, which are held by thousands of domestic and foreign banks, pension funds, mutual funds and other investors, government officials said.

USA

Judge allows testimony by Guantanamo detainees

Alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and others can testify in the military trial of Osama bin Laden’s driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan.

By Josh Meyer, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

July 15, 2008

WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden’s former driver can use testimony by alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and some other detained Al Qaeda operatives in his upcoming military trial at Guantanamo Bay because it might help exonerate him, a military judge said Monday.

Defense lawyers said at a hearing that they wanted to call Mohammed and seven other prospective witnesses in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the first detainee at the U.S. naval base in Cuba to be scheduled for trial. If the proceedings begin next week as planned, it will be the first time the U.S. has held a military tribunal since World War II.

Bush officials’ ‘lack of recall’ thwarted Tillman, Lynch probes



By Mark Seibel | McClatchy Newspapers

 WASHINGTON – “A near universal lack of recall” by Bush administration officials has thwarted a congressional investigation into whether the administration deliberately misrepresented the details of the friendly fire death of former NFL player Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan and the capture of Jessica Lynch in the first days of the Iraq invasion.

In a report released Monday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform expressed skepticism about the widespread lack of memory of the two events, which were the subject of widespread media coverage and can be counted among the best known incidents of the wars.

Africa

Mercenaries join Mugabe’s ruthless terror campaign



By Ian Evans and a Special Correspondent in Manicaland

Tuesday, 15 July 2008  

Foreign mercenaries have joined so-called “war veterans” and militiamen attacking opposition supporters in rural parts of Zimbabwe, human rights workers have confirmed.

Eyewitnesses say the men are more vicious than their Zimbabwean counterparts, with the marauding gangs attacking suspected members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), forcing them to renounce the party.

They dress in army fatigues, carry Russian-made guns and are accompanied by interpreters when out with the militias.

For Darfur, a step toward justice?

Critics say The International Criminal Court’s move Monday to indict Sudan’s president for war crimes may hamper peace.

By Robert Marquand  | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the July 15, 2008 edition

Paris – In a momentous legal move that could pit the immediate stability of Sudan against that regime’s long-term accountability for murder and mayhem in Darfur – Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been indicted on charges of genocide by International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.

“I don’t have the luxury of looking away,” said Mr. Moreno-Ocampo, who forswore intense diplomatic pressure and fears of retribution in Sudan, to charge Mr. Bashir with 10 counts of mass crimes, including three for genocide. “I have evidence.”

The prosecutor’s indictment argues that over a five-year period, Sudanese state military forces under Bashir’s “absolute control” used a rebel insurgency as an excuse to conduct ethnic cleansing of three Darfur tribes from their native land – using tools of mass rape, murder, and deportation. Nearly 2.5 million people were displaced, and some 300,000 people, mostly civilians, died. Bashir denies any wrongdoing.

Middle East

Grave mistake to attack Iran, warns Syria



Ian Black, Middle East editor

The Guardian,

Tuesday July 15, 2008

Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, warned yesterday that any attack on Iran’s nuclear programme would have grave consequences for the US, Israel and the whole world.

But Assad, Iran’s most important Arab ally, also promised to discuss the issue with Tehran, suggesting that Syria, itself shunned by the US, could mediate in a crisis which has escalated, with Iranian and Israeli sabre-rattling in the last fortnight.

“It will cost the US and the planet dear,” he told France Inter radio yesterday during his visit to Paris. “Israel will pay directly the price of this war. Iran has said so. The problem is that when one starts such action in the Middle East, one cannot manage … reactions that can spread out over years or even decades.”

Police: Iraq suicide bombers kill 28 army recruits  



By SEBASTIAN ABBOT, Associated Press Writer

BAQOUBA, Iraq – Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of army recruits Tuesday in a former al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 28 people, Iraqi police said.

The blast at the Saad military camp in Baqouba, 35 miles from Baghdad, also wounded at least 47 recruits, a police official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The U.S. military confirmed the attack, saying it occurred around 8 a.m.

Diyala province around Baqouba has been one of the few remaining violent areas in Iraq after offensives against extremists in the south, Baghdad’s Sadr City and Mosul in the north.

Europe

Georgia leader Mikhail Saakashvili: Russia is a menace to peace



From The Times

July 15, 2008

Tony Halpin in Yalta

The West must confront Russia to prevent another conflict from breaking out in the Caucasus, the President of Georgia has told The Times.

Mikhail Saakashvili said that elements in Russia were intent on provoking trouble in Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and compared Europe’s response to the failures of appeasement in the 1930s.

Georgia is threatening to shoot down Russian fighter jets after Moscow admitted that four aircraft flew over South Ossetia last week. Separatists control the region but it is recognised internationally as part of Georgia. “The situation is precarious and the things they [Russia] are doing are outrageous. Unfortunately, they are not opposed by the Europeans and other players,” Mr Saakashvili said.

‘Dangerously thin’ climbers face ban



By Jerome Taylor and Jack Geldard

Tuesday, 15 July 2008

The Swiss mountaineer John Salathe once described rock climbing as “the finest, most healthiest sport in the whole world”.

But there are concerns that a number of athletes are shedding unhealthy amounts of weight in order to gain a competitive edge.

In endurance climbing, where every spare gram of unwanted weight could sap valuable energy during a climb, there are fears that female athletes in particular may be prone to dangerous eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia.

Asia

Foreign Office urges caution as Kashmir tries to lure back tourists

· Area out of bounds after kidnappings by insurgents

· Rafters and climbers among first to return

Maseeh Rahman in Delhi

The Guardian,

Tuesday July 15, 2008

Almost two decades after gunfire first echoed across the mountains of Kashmir, concerted efforts are being made to reintroduce adventure sport and tourism in the Himalayan territory.

Tomorrow the inaugural Kashmir Cup international rafting championship will begin on the Sindhu river in Sonamarg, 52 miles north-east of the capital, Srinagar.

Men and women from 11 international teams, including Ukraine and the Czech Republic, will participate.

“This is just the beginning,” said Farooq Shah, director of Jammu & Kashmir Tourism, which is sponsoring the rafting event.

Japan fishermen go on national strike



By JAY ALABASTER, Associated Press Writer

TOKYO – Fishermen across Japan went on a massive one-day strike Tuesday to protest skyrocketing fuel prices, the latest blow to the country’s foundering fishing industry.

The strike was the largest ever for the industry, involving 200,000 boats and 400,000 workers, organizers said. More than 3,000 fishermen from across the country gathered in central Tokyo and marched around the fisheries ministry in protest.

“We ask that the government immediately implement emergency measures to ensure the survival of the fishing industry,” said Ikuhiro Hattori, chairman of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations. The federation is asking for tax breaks on fuel and other financial support.

Latin America

Brazil bucks global economic downturn

The high food and commodity prices hurting most countries are buoying Brazil, a top exporter of minerals, soy, beef, chicken, and grains.

By Andrew Downie  | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

from the July 15, 2008 edition

São Paulo, Brazil –  When Carl’s Jr. looked at expanding its international fast-food franchise operation earlier this year, several emerging markets were muted. But after a trip to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in June, company officials made sure Brazil was on the list.

Why? The country’s young, meat-eating population is growing, which is important to the American chain, says Mike Stout, director of international franchise sales.

But Carl’s Jr. also had other motives that speak to Brazil’s newfound economic robustness.

“Disposable incomes are increasing and more and more people are moving into the middle class,” Mr. Stout said in a telephone interview from St. Louis, shortly after a two-week visit here. “The economy is growing and inflation is stable. From a business perspective, we love the market.”