WORLD NEWS

US agents ‘kidnapped militant’ for torture in Egypt

By Stephen Grey

Milan, Italy, Feb. 6 -- Italian police are investigating allegations that American intelligence agents kidnapped an Islamic militant in Milan and transported him to Egypt, where he was tortured.

Osama Moustafa Nasr, an Egyptian dissident with alleged links to al-Qaida, disappeared in Milan on February 16, 2003, after eyewitnesses saw him being approached by three men as he walked to a mosque.

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In the name of stability, Thai president sweeps elections

By Sonny Inbaraj

Bangkok, Thailand, Feb. 7 (IPS) — There was no doubt in the minds of many that went to vote in Thailand’s election on Sunday that Thaskin Shinawatra and his party, Thai Rak Thai (TRT), would emerge the winners. What was unexpected, however, was TRT’s sweep of two-thirds of the 500 seats in Parliament.

In terms of Thai politics, this is a record on two fronts. This is the first time a prime minister completed his four-year term and received a second mandate to carry on in office. Secondly, never in Thai history has a political party been able to govern the country on a one-party basis.

TRT’s resounding mandate from a nationwide turnout as high as 80 percent will be officially announced next week. With more than half the votes counted, the Election Commission projected Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party had captured 374 seats, while the rival Democrat party managed 91.

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Nepal plunged into the Dark Ages, cry dissidents

By Surendra Phuyal

New Delhi, India, Feb. 5 (IPS) -- Overseas Nepalis, even supporters of the monarchy, have criticized King Gyanendra—as the political turmoil in the Himalayan nation enters its fifth day since the monarch imposed strong media censorship after dismissing the government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and declaring a state of emergency in the country.

On Friday, a senior minister in a new 10-man cabinet appointed by the king said in the Nepali capital Kathmandu that multi-party democracy could not be restored until the Maoist insurgency had been crushed.

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Iraq elections have not abated attacks

Feb. 2

• Two civilians are killed and six injured when militants fire mortar shells at a US base in Tal Afar.
• Gunmen overrun a police station in Samara, killing an Iraqi policeman and injuring two others.
• Two US marines are killed during clashes in Anbar province.
• Two Iraqi policemen and a soldier are ambushed and killed in two attacks in Baquba.

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US invokes secrets privilege in torture lawsuit

By William Fisher

New York, New York, Feb. 2 (IPS) -- The Justice Department has again asserted “state secrets privilege” in seeking to dismiss a lawsuit by Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen who was detained in the United States in 2002 and sent against his will to Syria, where he says he was tortured until his release a year later.

The privilege was invoked “in order to protect the intelligence, foreign policy and national security interests of the United States,” wrote Acting Attorney-General James B. Comey in legal papers filed in the Eastern District of New York.

“Litigating... plaintiff’s complaint would necessitate disclosure of classified information,” according to Comey, including disclosure of the basis for detaining him in the first place, the basis for refusing to deport him to Canada as he had requested, and the basis for sending him to Syria. He was never charged with any crime.

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Human rights record haunts US-backed OAS candidate

By Diego Cevallos

Mexico City, Mexico, Feb. 2 (IPS) -- The candidacy of former Salvadoran president Francisco Flores to head the Organization of American States (OAS) would appear to be the best positioned, thanks to the backing of the United States.

But it is also the one that has generated the greatest opposition from human rights activists and politicians throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Hanging over Flores is the long shadow cast by accusations regarding his 1999-2004 presidency, involving both human rights issues and his refusal to comply with the recommendations of multilateral organizations.

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Bush urged to drop anti-ICC campaign for Darfur’s sake

By Jim Lobe

Washington, DC, Feb. 1 -- To human rights activists, the question before US President George W. Bush this week is, which is the higher priority: undermining the new International Criminal Court (ICC) or bringing to justice the perpetrators of what Bush himself has called “genocide” in Darfur, Sudan?

To their dismay, the answer, so far at least, is he would rather discredit the ICC.

A long-awaited report by a special UN commission released Monday has concluded that “serious violations” of international humanitarian law have taken place in Darfur and that they should be referred by the UN Security Council to the ICC for investigation and prosecution.

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