as you may know by now, the israeli deputy foreign minister, danny ayalon, was heckled pretty comprehensively at his speech at the oxford union on monday night. the high (or low) point came when, rather like the accusations of murder levelled at the israeli ambassador to the us, michael oren, at the university of california, irvine (which actually resulted in a few arrests) a man rose to his feet and launched into a diatribe which included one key arabic phrase, which has been widely reported as “itbah al-yahud”, or “kill the jews” – this phrase is, of course, familiar to me as the rallying cry for many middle-eastern atrocities, not least the baghdad pogrom of 1941 (that’s pre-state of israel, folks) known as the farhud.
Despite having served for years as a distinguished Pakistani diplomat, Akbar Zeb reportedly cannot receive accreditation as Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The reason, apparently, has nothing to do with his credentials, and everything to do with his name — which, in Arabic, translates to “biggest dick”
According to this Arabic-language article in the Arab Times, Pakistan had previously floated Zeb’s name as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, only to have him rejected for the same reason. One can only assume that submitting Zeb’s name to a number of Arabic-speaking countries is some unique form of punishment designed by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry — or the result of a particularly egregious cockup.
The Arabs never offered the Pakistani Foreign Office an explanation for their decision. So the Pakistani FO assumed the US was behind it. Obviously.
This is a guest post by human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell. It was first published on CiF.
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A series of massacres of peaceful protesters by Pakistani security forces look set to sink hopes of a settlement deal between the government in Islamabad and Baloch nationalists who are campaigning for self-rule. There are fears that the sinister, shadowy Pakistani military and intelligence agencies are behind these killings, in a deliberate attempt to sabotage the reconciliation package put forward by the government of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
On 15 January, at least two Baloch political activists were shot dead and four others seriously wounded after Pakistani security forces opened fire on a peaceful, lawful protest organised by the Baloch Students Organization (BSO) in the Khuzdar district of Balochistan.
Well, this is just pathetic. Few things have angered me as much as watching this outrageous clip from Press TV.
It is the worst and most blatant propaganda I’ve seen for years. Exactly the kind of rubbish I’d expect from a station that is little more than a mouthpiece for Ahmadinijad’s murderous regime.
Ofcom has rules on due impartiality and that film is clearly anything but balanced. Arash Hejazi is, for example, given no opportunity to defend the various charges levelled against him. You can make a complaint to Ofcom here (apparently even if you’re not a UK resident).
Not much more I can say really, I’m just so angry at the way we’re allowing a hostile regime to broadcast its propaganda so freely in Britain.
I’ve recently obtained a statement from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claiming responsibility for the abortive terrorist attack on Delta airlines last week. I’m replicating the statement below for readers of this blog, interspersed with my own commentary.
Urgent Statement, by Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula
Operation by the Mujahid brother Omar Al-Farooq the Nigerian
Praise be to Allah who says:
And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshiping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone.
And peace and blessing be upon the seal of the Prophets….. To proceed:
The man was nearly blind, brilliant and a maverick cleric who always stood against Islamic extremism in Indonesia. His death is a loss to his country and to the cause against political Islamism and radical extremism.
A brilliant and cultured man who read widely and loved the music of Beethoven, he spoke out to preserve an inclusive form of Islam that is under pressure today by a tide of radicalism.
As leader of the Muslim group Nahdlatul Ulama, with up to 40 million members, and later as president, he promoted rights of minorities, of non-Muslims and of the often-abused community of ethnic Chinese.
To his critics he responded: “Those who say that I am not Islamic enough should reread their Koran. Islam is about inclusion, tolerance, community.”
His liberal views were sometimes a step ahead of those of his countrymen in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, now numbering 235 million.
A useful obituary of Grand Ayatollah Houssein Ali Montazeri, written by Muhammad Sahimi, has appeared on the Tehran Bureau website.
Montazeri was a leading light in the 1979 Revolution. Initially named as Khomeini’s successor, Montazeri soon turned against the regime, becoming one of its bravest and most consistent critics from within the Shi’a clerical elite. He remained under house arrest for much of the latter part of his life.
Montazeri will remain a controversial figure for everyone committed to secular democracy and the separation of religion and state. However, Montazeri’s personal bravery, integrity and commitment to human rights are surely without question. His early and consistent opposition to the tyranny of Khomeini’s regime and that of his successors marked the Grand Ayatollah out as an important opponent of the Islamist regime in Iran and, more broadly, the political realities and ambitions of clerical fascism.
By Allah, we carried a lot of cash here. You thought we were all fat. We are not fat. This is money that we have around our waists.
They gave sweets and cigarettes to the inspectors, and when the inspectors’ backs were turned, they put back on the vehicles that which the inspectors had taken off the vehicles. And some of the inspectors were happy to turn their backs.
We are giving you now 100 vehicles and all of the contents, and we make no apology for what I am about to say: we are giving them to the elected government of Palestine. To the prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh. Here is the money. This is not charity. This is not charity. This is not charity, this is politics.
Sudanese opposition groups, both Northern and Southern, vowed over the weekend to stage a mass demonstration at the Parliament on Monday, despite a last minute ban issued by the Sudanese regime.
Eyewitnesses reported thousands of heavily armed policemen took up positions in the capital from early Monday morning hours in an apparent bid to curb the protests.
The bulk of the parties which signed up to take part in the rally include those signatories to the Juba declaration last September in a conference hosted by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
The parties are protesting the delay in passing crucial laws including the national security and referendum bill. A memorandum is set to be delivered to the national assembly.
Below are some photographs of the aftermath of that demonstration in which many peaceful demonstrators were beaten down by police using iron reinforcement rods. Amongst many arrested were the Secretary General of the SPLM, Pagun Amum, and his deputy in the North, Yasir Armun.
This is a cross-post from interfaith.org, where I moderate on the Judaism board. I know we don’t normally talk about israel/palestine here at The Spittoon, but maybe this is one case where we might make an exception?
Ray Hanania, the Palestinian-American journalist, is proposing to run for president of the Palestinian Authority on a very interesting platform indeed, as detailed here at the Huffington Post:
It’s been picked up in the Israeli press by Bradley Burston of Haaretz – you’ll forgive the large c&p, but I think it’s important in this case:
1. I support two-states, one Israel and one Palestine. As far as I am concerned, I can recognize Israel’s “Jewish” character and Israelis should recognize Palestine’s “non-Jewish” character.