 |
| Osei Tutu II |
By Christian Kpesese
Barima
Tweneboa Kodua V, the new Omanhene of the Kumawu Traditional Area has announced
the withdrawal of Kumawuman from the Asante confederacy and severed
relationship with the Manhyia Palace.
The
decision he said though painful but was necessitated by the betrayal of the
very people entrusted to uphold the core values of integrity, neutrality and
respect long cherished traditions and customs.
He
made the announcement when he addressed hundreds of citizens of Kumawu and its
surrounding towns and villages last Sunday to celebrate his first Akwasidae.
The
Anenegya gate family house in Kumawu where the incident took place was filled
to capacity despite an intimidating presence of security forces in the town.
The
people used the occasion to pay homage and allegiance to Barima Tweneboa Kodua
V, as their new paramount chief.
Three
out of the five remaining majority kingmakers including the Krontihene,
Akwamuhene and the Akyempimhene were present at the akwasidae celebration with
their chief.
The
majority kingmakers symbolically presented Barima Tweneboa Kodua V to the crowd
as their new Omanhene.
Barima Tweneboa Kodua V urged the people to
remain resolute, do away with cowardice and stand together in unity to protect
and preserve the dignity of Kumawuman.
He
expressed total disappointment in the Asantehene and Manhyia Palace for the
attempt to impose a chief on the people of Kumawu.
The
new Omanhene pledged his readiness to lead Kumawuman to protect its stool lands
and properties.
“we
will go to every length and fight to protect every inch of Kumawu Stool lands
and property” he stated.
The
celebration went on peacefully until a pandemonium arose at the last minutes
when the Police clashed with followers of t Barima Tweneboa Kodua in an attempt
to prevent them from going on a procession with the chief through the township.
The
Police fired tear gas at the crowds to prevent what it described as a possible
clash with a rival chief installed by the Asantehene.
The
people got angered and retaliated by throwing stones at the police whiles the
police intensified the firing of tear gas.
Several
residents including taxi drivers, market women, the young and old who spoke to
The Insight claimed that the installation of Dr Yaw Sarfo by the Asantehene as
Kumawuhene was against the customs, tradition and will of the Kumawu people and
it will be resisted.
According
to them it has never happened in the history of Kumawu that the Asantehene
selected and impose a chief on the people.
They
cautioned the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to reverse the imposition and
give way for the chosen chief in the person of Barima Tweneboa Kodua V to rule
Kumawuman for peace to reign in the land.
Editorial
KUMAWU
Over
the last couple of weeks, trouble has been brewing in kumawu over the
enstoolment of a chief.
Now
the situation appears to be getting out of hand with the announcement that
kumawu has broken away from Asante .
There
are obviously national security implications in the ongoing rampus in kumawu
and we would like to urge calm.
The
insight believes that whatever the problem may be, it is still possible to
resolve it through dialogue.
Perhaps,
the time has come to call on all those involved in the conflict to apply true
Asante customary principles in finding a solution.
Bigotry
is certainly not a way out of this conflict.
We
urge peace and calm in kumawu.
What Barima Tweneboa
Kodua Said
 |
| Dr Seidu Daanaa, Chieftaincy Minister |
Kumawu
is at the crossroads - a defining moment in our history where we need to stand
together to protect and preserve the dignity of Kumawuman.
We
have never been known to be cowards. We would not be humiliated, despised or
threatened. We have reached a point of no return.
It
must be obvious to everybody that there cannot be unity without the pursuit of
the truth and what is just.
With
honesty, regardless of our station or circumstance, we must all ask, what is
the motivation for the desperate attempt by the Manhyia Palace to force a chief
on Kumawuman?
The
complete lack of transparency and double standard we are seeing, are
disappointing as these are amazing.
Come
to think of it, if once upon a time, a candidate was disqualified from vying
for the Kumawu Stool on the basis that his father was an Akyem, isn't it
curious to turn a blind eye and allow another person born to a Dagomba father
to run for that very same Stool?
It
might also be recalled on the death of the Essumejahene, Manhyia insisted that
inventory should be taken of the stool property. Strangely, the goalpost
shifted when Kumawu found itself in a similar situation.
Not even a ruling by a High Court could sway the Asantehene to apply the same measure.
Piecing
the sequence of events together, we are inclined to believe that somebody might
be up to something evil and toxic.
Kumawu
no doubt holds high attraction because of its tremendous resources. Accruals on
its share of compensation, paid by the government, over the acquisition of
lands for· the Digya National Park is huge and mouth-watering. Added to this,
is the vast stretch of arable lands. We are aware that the Manhyia Palace has
caused the kumawu portion of the Afram Plains to be surveyed in clear breach of
the spirit and letter of the Confederacy agreement signed by the Asantehene and
the various chiefs. Under the agreement the chiefs have exclusive control over
their stool lands holding these lands in trust for their people.
 |
| Osei Tutu II |
The
historic victories by the Kaasehene and the Adontenhene over the Manhyia Palace
should provide useful lessons to all and inform anybody scheming to grab and
loot Kumawu lands to rethink and have a change Of heart.
That
is never going to happen. We will go to
every length and fight to protect every inch of Kumawu Stool lands and
property.
By
this, we are serving notice that we have pulled out of the Asante Confederacy,
which our proud ancestor - the brave warrior, Tweneboa Kodua, sacrificed his
life to build, and have severed all relationship with Manhyia,
This
painful decision has been forced on us by the act of betrayal on the part of
people whose sacred duty is to uphold the core values of integrity,
even-handedness and respect for cherished traditions and customs.
Again,
the Kumawuhemaa will be made to face appropriate customary sanctions, for her
claim of paying bribe to some kingmakers to influence their decision. Such
reprehensible conduct is unexpected of a Queen.
KWESI BOTCHWEY SPEAKS ON
GAS PROJECT
 |
| Dr Kwesi Botchwey |
We
are pleased to confirm that commissioning activities have progressed
satisfactorily at the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant (GPP). Since raw gas was
introduced into the GPP,
operational
activities on the offshore pipeline component, the onshore pipeline component
including the regulating and metering stations at Esiama and Aboadze have been
smooth.
At
the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant (GPP), a few challenges have been experienced
with some minor pieces of equipment or components. These items, generally
referred to as PunchList items, are the components that experience less than
optimal performance and werespecifically identified during the commissioning
process. Progress is advanced to complete the remedial work and corrective
fine-tuning of key punch list items prior to formal handover of the project by
the Contractors, Messrs Sinopec, to GhanaGas.
The
GPP is operating satisfactorily to supply the Volta River Authority (VRA) with
lean gas for power production, and to produce Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as
well as other condensates for the downstream market. Aboadze is still relying
solely on gas from Atuabo to power the various plants in the enclave.
We
are currently awaiting VRA to complete the requisite works at its Aboadze
Thermal Plant Complex to enable it increase its available generating capacity.
Once ready, it will be possible for us to increase our offtake of raw gas from
the Jubilee Field’s FPSO Kwame Nkrumah to supply VRA lean gas at the optimal
120 million standard cubic feet per day (120MMSCFD).
We
have also taken note of the recent commentary on challenges with Tullow’s FPSO
gas export compressor. We are pleased to note that after a series of
intermittent interruptions from the FPSO (spanning from a few minutes to as
long as 15 hours) we have since Monday, January 5, 2015, not experienced any
compressor trips from the FPSO. Our engineers have met with Tullow’s engineers
to explore ways of averting unwarranted occurrences and we are pleased with the
outcome of discussions and resultant actions.
All
things being equal, we now expect that the commissioning process will be
significantly concluded by the end of January 2015.
The
Board is thankful to all stakeholders and our staff who have so far worked
diligently to ensure an overall smooth commissioning process.
We
look forward to the commencement of full and normal operations, which will pave
the way for the commencement of phase two of the project including additional
equipment to increase by-product production, the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL)
export infrastructure as well as the onshore pipeline extension from Esiama to
the Prestea-Tarkwa mining enclave.
DR.
KWESI BOTCHWEY
BOARD
CHAIRMAN
Accra: January 16, 2015
President Mahama invited
to Iran
 |
| Iranian President Hassan Rohani |
President
John Dramani Mahama has been invited by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to
visit that country this year.
The
visit by President John Mahama to Iran is expected to deepen the long standing
relations between the two countries.
Mr
Valiollah Mohammadi, Special Envoy from Iranian President Rouhani, said this
when he paid a courtesy call on Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur at the
Flagstaff House in Accra.
He
subsequently presented the formal invitation from President Rouhani to Vice
President Amissah-Arthur to be delivered to President Mahama.
President
Mahama is currently on an official assignment in Germany and expected to be
back by the end of the week.
Mr
Mohammadi said when former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Ghana
last year, the two countries setup a Permanent Joint Commission to look into
various areas of co-operation in the agriculture, petroleum and health sectors
among others.
He
said during the visit of President Ahmadinejad the two countries discuss how to
implement those agreements by 2015.
He
said currently there were officials from Iran in Accra who were meeting with
officials from the Ministry of Agriculture as a follow up to the Permanent
Joint Commission.
Mr
Mohammadi further noted that Iran had 100 years experience in the field of
energy and petroleum and was ready to share this with Ghana.
He
said they were ready to co-operate with Ghana in terms of petroleum and
transfer of technology.
Vice
President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur said Ghana cherished her relationship with the
Islamic Republic of Iran and hoped to deepen those ties.
He
said the Permanent Joint Commission had met already in Tehran and planned for
further investments between the two countries.
He
expressed the hope that President Mahama would accept the invitation and use
the opportunity to develop the Ghana/Iran relations.
GNA
Former Pro-GMO Scientist
Speaks Out
 |
| Thierry Vrain |
Global
Research,
I retired 10 years ago after a long career as a research
scientist for Agriculture Canada. When I was on the payroll, I was the
designated scientist of my institute to address public groups and reassure them
that genetically engineered crops and foods were safe. There is, however, a
growing body of scientific research – done mostly in Europe, Russia, and other
countries – showing that diets containing engineered corn or soya cause serious
health problems in laboratory mice and rats.
I
don’t know if I was passionate about it but I was knowledgeable. I defended the
side of technological advance, of science and progress.
In the last 10 years I have changed my position. I started paying attention to the flow of published studies coming from Europe, some from prestigious labs and published in prestigious scientific journals, that questioned the impact and safety of engineered food.
I
refute the claims of the biotechnology companies that their engineered crops
yield more, that they require less pesticide applications, that they have no
impact on the environment and of course that they are safe to eat.
There
are a number of scientific studies that have been done for Monsanto by
universities in the U.S., Canada, and abroad. Most of these studies are
concerned with the field performance of the engineered crops, and of course
they find GMOs safe for the environment and therefore safe to eat.
Individuals
should be encouraged to make their decisions on food safety based on scientific
evidence and personal choice, not on emotion or the personal opinions of
others.
We
should all take these studies seriously and demand that government agencies
replicate them rather than rely on studies paid for by the biotech companies.
The
Bt corn and soya plants that are now everywhere in our environment are
registered as insecticides. But are these insecticidal plants regulated and
have their proteins been tested for safety? Not by the federal departments in
charge of food safety, not in Canada and not in the U.S.
There
are no long-term feeding studies performed in these countries to demonstrate
the claims that engineered corn and soya are safe. All we have are scientific
studies out of Europe and Russia, showing that rats fed engineered food die
prematurely.
These
studies show that proteins produced by engineered plants are different than
what they should be. Inserting a gene in a genome using this technology can and
does result in damaged proteins. The scientific literature is full of studies
showing that engineered corn and soya contain toxic or allergenic proteins.
Genetic
engineering is 40 years old. It is based on the naive understanding of the
genome based on the One Gene – one protein hypothesis of 70 years ago, that
each gene codes for a single protein. The Human Genome project completed in
2002 showed that this hypothesis is wrong.
The
whole paradigm of the genetic engineering technology is based on a
misunderstanding. Every scientist now learns that any gene can give more than
one protein and that inserting a gene anywhere in a plant eventually creates
rogue proteins. Some of these proteins are obviously allergenic or toxic.
I
have drafted a reply to Paul Horgen’s letter to the Comox Valley Environmental
Council. It is my wish that it goes viral as to educate as many people as
possible rapidly. Any and all social media is fine by me. This can also be used
as a briefing note for the councilors of AVICC or anywhere else. Thank you for
your help.
I
am turning you towards a recent compilation (June 2012) of over 500 government
reports and scientific articles published in peer reviewed Journals, some of
them with the highest recognition in the world. Like The Lancet in the medical
field, or Advances in Food and Nutrition Research, or Biotechnology, or
Scandinavian Journal of Immunology, European Journal of Histochemistry, Journal
of Proteome Research, etc. This compilation was made by a genetic engineer in
London, and an investigative journalist who summarized the gist of the
publications for the lay public.
GMO
Myths and Truths – an evidence based examination of the claims made for the safety
and efficacy of genetically modified crops. A report of 120 pages, it can be
downloaded for free from Earth Open Source. “GMO Myths and Truths” disputes the
claims of the Biotech industry that GM crops yield better and more nutritious
food, that they save on the use of pesticides, have no environmental impact
whatsoever and are perfectly safe to eat. Genetic pollution is so prevalent in
North and South America where GM crops are grown that the fields of
conventional and organic grower are regularly contaminated with engineered
pollen and losing certification. The canola and flax export market from Canada
to Europe (a few hundreds of millions of dollars) were recently lost because of
genetic pollution. Did I mention superweeds, when RoundUp crops pass their
genes on to RoundUp Resistant weeds. Apparently over 50% of fields in the USA
are now infested and the growers have to go back to use other toxic herbicides
such as 2-4 D. Many areas of Ontario and Alberta are also infested. The
transgenes are also transferred to soil bacteria.
A
Chinese study published last year shows that an ampicillin resistance transgene
was transferred from local engineered crops to soil bacteria, that eventually
found their way into the rivers. The transgenes are also transferred to humans.
Volunteers who ate engineered soybeans had undigested DNA in their intestine
and their bacterial flora was expressing the soybean transgenes in the form of
antibiotic resistance. This is genetic pollution to the extreme, particularly
when antibiotic resistance is fast becoming a serious global health risk. I can
only assume the American Medical Association will soon recognize its poorly
informed judgement.
In
2009 the American Academy of Environmental Medicine called for a moratorium of
GM foods, safety testing and labeling. Their review of the available literature
at the time noted that animals show serious health risks associated with GM
food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated
aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin
regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver,
kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system. Monsanto writes “There is no need
to test the safety of GM foods”. So long as the engineered protein is safe,
foods from GM crops are substantially equivalent and they cannot pose any
health risks.” The US Food and Drug Administration waived all levels of safety
testing in 1996 before approving the commercialization of these crops. Nothing
more than voluntary research is necessary, and the FDA does not even want to
see the results. And there is certainly no need to publish any of it. If you
remember 1996, the year that the first crops were commercialized, the research
scientists of the US FDA all predicted that transgenic crops would have
unpredictable hard to detect side effects, allergens, toxins, nutritional
effects, new diseases. That was published in 2004 in Biotechnology if you
recall seeing it.
I
know well that Canada does not perform long term feeding studies as they do in
Europe. The only study I am aware of from Canada is from the Sherbrooke
Hospital in 2011, when doctors found that 93% of pregnant women and 82% of the
fetuses tested had the protein pesticide in their blood. This is a protein
recognized in its many forms as mildly to severely allergenic. There is no
information on the role played by rogue proteins created by the process of
inserting transgenes in the middle of a genome. But there is a lot of long term
feeding studies reporting serious health problems in mice and rats. The results
of the first long term feeding studies of lab rats reported last year in Food
and Chemical Toxicology show that they developed breast cancer in mid life and
showed kidney and liver damage. The current statistic I read is that North
Americans are eating 193 lbs of GMO food on average annually. That includes the
children I assume, not that I would use that as a scare tactic. But obviously I
wrote at length because I think there is cause for alarm and it is my duty to
educate the public.
One
argument I hear repeatedly is that nobody has been sick or died after a meal
(or a trillion meals since 1996) of GM food. Nobody gets ill from smoking a
pack of cigarette either. But it sure adds up, and we did not know that in the
1950s before we started our wave of epidemics of cancer. Except this time it is
not about a bit of smoke, it’s the whole food system that is of concern. The
corporate interest must be subordinated to the public interest, and the policy
of substantial equivalence must be scrapped as it is clearly untrue.
Thierry Vrain is a former research
scientist for Agriculture Canada. He now promotes awareness of the dangers of
genetically modified foods.
Originally published in: Prevent Disease.
Originally published in: Prevent Disease.
Local Government
Ministry envisions sustainable growth
 |
| Minister of Local Government |
Mr
Julius Debrah, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, says the
ministry’s vision is to achieve a sustainable and equitable economic growth
through citizens participation in the decision making process.
This
he said would ensure accelerated service delivery at the local level within a
decentralised environment.
Mr Debrah was speaking at the graduation
ceremony of the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS
He
said the ministry vision ties in perfectly with that of the Institute, which is
to be a centre of excellence for building, strengthening and consolidating
local governance, for the delivery of sustainable decentralised development and
to strengthen the capacity of regional coordinating councils, metropolitan,
municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) and other interested parties.
Mr
Debrah noted that the ministry successfully relies on the ILGS to structure its
courses appropriately to help in building the capacities of the staff of the
MMDAs and their core staff to enable them deliver.
He
said the ILGS stands tall in dealing with the challenges of bridging the
capacity gaps between the MMDAs and the allied agencies involved in the
decentralisation process over the years.
The
Minister acknowledged the role played by the founding fathers of the ILGS,
namely; Former President Jerry John Rawlings, Professor, Kwamena Ahwoi, Former
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and Mr SY Zanu, Former Chief
Director of the Ministry.
Prof
William Otoo Ellis, Vice Chancellor of KNUST said research and development have
a pivotal role to play in the development of the nation.
He
said high level expertise in the provision of appropriate and sustainable
research initiative and leadership in industry, local governance, commerce and
other sectors of the national economy have become a critical factor in the
country’s democratic development.
Dr
Esther Oduraa Ofei-Aboagye, ILGS Director said the objectives of the institute
as indicated Act 647 are to organised the training of members of staff and
personnel in local government and related entities, and any other interested
person or body, local or foreign, in order to enhance the managerial,
administrative, financial and operational efficiency of organs and units of
local government.
She
said tertiary institutions of repute are strengthening their research
capacities and investing considerable resources in analysis and providing
evidence-based knowledge to support national policy making, implementation and
monitoring.
Dr
Ofei-Aboagye noted that this is the environment in which the institute finds
itself and aspires to excel in and its mandate demands that the content of its
programmes remains relevant to the raison d’etre of decentralisation in Ghana
that is, promoting effective participation of all stakeholders in national and
local governance.
Nana
Dr Okatakyie Amenfi VIII, Paramount Chief of Asebu Amenfi said local government
system in Ghana has a long history that could be traced to the colonial period
in 1878.
He
said Ghana from 1957 onwards, moved towards what became known as
“centralization of power”.
Nana
Amenfi who was the Chairman of the Ceremony said in the 1970s, several attempts
were made to strength decentralisation which was thought of as the best option
for local level administration.
He
said in 1974, the Acheampong regime attempted a decentralised system of
governance with the view of reinforcing central government control at the local
level.
He
said the PNDC Government in 1983 initiated a policy of administrative
decentralisation of ministries and introduced the People’s Defense Committees
concept at the local level.
GNA
Traditional healers
sensitized on deadly Ebola fever
Dr.
Badu Sarkodie, Director, Public Health Division of the Ghana Health Service,
has urged traditional healers to promptly refer any suspected case of the
deadly hemorrhagic viral Ebola disease to the health facilities.
They
should avoid the mistake of attempting treatment with herbal preparations or
making spurious claims of cure.
He
was speaking at a day’s sensitization meeting on the disease held with members
of the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Associations
(GHAFTRAM) in Kumasi.
It
formed part of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the World Health
Organization’s collaborative effort on Ebola response and preparedness in
Ghana.
This
comes amid the worst outbreak of the fever in some West African countries with
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea as the epicenter of the disease outbreak.
Dr.
Sarkodie said it was important for all to continue to remain on the alert and
accept to do the right things to keep themselves save.
He
noted that the members of the Federation have vital roles to play in the
management of any unexpected outbreak since they serve as the “first port of
call” in their communities.
He
told the meeting that adequate measures had been put in place by the government
to deal with any emergency and cited the setting up of isolation and treatment
centres.
He
said none of the 131 suspected Ebola cases reported in the country proved
positive, adding that, there should not be any reason to create fear and panic.
Dr.
Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira, Director General of Health Service, said all should
be concerned about the protection of the nation from the disease.
He
said they were doing everything to aid the people to know all that they should
know about the disease.
The
Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Samuel Sarpong, applauded the WHO for the
enormous support in the fight against the spread of the dreadful viral fever.
Mr.
Kojo Odum Eduful, President of the Federation, appealed for their
representation on the national Ebola management monitoring team.
GNA
JAILED FOR BEING ATHEIST
An
Egyptian court has sentenced a 21-year-old student to three years in jail for
insulting Islam after police discovered he declared his atheism on Facebook.
The young man had been harassed for his atheist views and had his own father
testify against him.
Karim
Ashraf Mohammed Al-Banna was tried in Idku city in northern Egypt. The student
was arrested last November when he came to police to file a harassment
complaint. It was revealed that Al-Banna was harassed in public for announcing
he was an atheist online.
The student was kept in custody till the trial, which determined he made Facebook posts “insulting” to Islam.
“He was handed down a three-year prison sentence, and if he pays a bail of 1,000 Egyptian pounds ($140) the sentence can be suspended until a verdict is issued by an appeals court,” the student’s lawyer, Ahmed Abdel Nabi, said, adding that they plan to file an appeal in the beginning of March.
According to the lawyer, Al-Banna’s own father testified against him saying he “was embracing extremist ideas against Islam,” the Daily Mail reports.
The student was kept in custody till the trial, which determined he made Facebook posts “insulting” to Islam.
“He was handed down a three-year prison sentence, and if he pays a bail of 1,000 Egyptian pounds ($140) the sentence can be suspended until a verdict is issued by an appeals court,” the student’s lawyer, Ahmed Abdel Nabi, said, adding that they plan to file an appeal in the beginning of March.
According to the lawyer, Al-Banna’s own father testified against him saying he “was embracing extremist ideas against Islam,” the Daily Mail reports.
This
case is not the first trial concerning atheism in Egypt. In 2013 student Sherif
Gaber Abdel Azim was handed 15-day detention being charged for contempt of
religion as he created a group on Facebook called “atheists.”
In 2012, blogger Alber Saber was taken into custody after he was accused of posting the incendiary film Innocence of the Muslims on his Facebook account. He was charged with defamation of Islam and Christianity, insulting the divine and satirizing religious rituals and sanctities and sentenced to three years in prison but he managed to leave the country in 2013 when he was released pending an appeal.
Last August, the Ministries of Religious Endowment and Culture signed a joint protocol, according to which they are to confront both religious extremism and atheism and to spread Islam. The actual Egyptian constitution states that Islam is the religion of the State and the principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source of legislation.
The special department of the Egyptian government for religious affairs, Dar Al-Ifta, reported last December there are 866 atheists in the country which is about 0.001 percent of the 87-million population.
In 2012, blogger Alber Saber was taken into custody after he was accused of posting the incendiary film Innocence of the Muslims on his Facebook account. He was charged with defamation of Islam and Christianity, insulting the divine and satirizing religious rituals and sanctities and sentenced to three years in prison but he managed to leave the country in 2013 when he was released pending an appeal.
Last August, the Ministries of Religious Endowment and Culture signed a joint protocol, according to which they are to confront both religious extremism and atheism and to spread Islam. The actual Egyptian constitution states that Islam is the religion of the State and the principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source of legislation.
The special department of the Egyptian government for religious affairs, Dar Al-Ifta, reported last December there are 866 atheists in the country which is about 0.001 percent of the 87-million population.
The ISIL versus the US
 |
| An American Fighter Jet |
By
Harry J. Bentham
Coercing
other populations to adopt a model of state is pure extremism, so why do we
“democratic” countries do it?
While
most of the corporate-owned media tell us of the so-called ISIL’s extremism and
coercive acts, it is easy to forget how extremism begat extremism. It is we,
the so-called West, who set in motion this contest of extremisms. It is we who
arrogantly claimed our liberal democratic state to be the ultimate and perfect
regime at the end of humanity’s journey, and we began to destroy other
countries in the name of this flawed vision. Few extremists, no matter what
their cause, can compete with the barbarism we today unleash in the name of
democracy.
But,
in the media’s understanding of the term, what is extremism? Throughout the
decade and beyond of the so-called war on terror, we have been told that
extremism manifests in the works of terrorist groups who seek tyrannical and
intolerant rule over us all. The so-called ISIL, today, is depicted as the
biggest proponent of such rule. Indeed, while its violence is mostly confined
to the Middle East region, it still has designs on the whole world, as we see
in the maps it prematurely publishes to show the desired extent of its
self-declared caliphate in Asia and Africa.
The
recent terrorist assassinations in France, which targeted the satirical
magazine Charlie Hebdo, have already been propagandized to support the old
“they hate our freedoms” argument at the heart of the so-called war on terror
ever since Bush and Blair first used it. Unfortunately, the canard isn’t simply
used against specific terrorist groups. It is apparent that Muslims are
systematically vilified by the mainstream media and the state in France, Britain
and America, using the same logic. It occurs every time words are libelously
paired in bad publications to say “Muslim terrorist” or “Islamic terrorist.”
“Terrorist”
is a word that never appears to be paired with any other faith identity in the
press, despite tremendous evidence of terrorism committed by people of the
Christian, Jewish and Buddhist faiths even in the present day. With such ugly
defamation being perpetrated by both government and press against Muslims, I
find it truly astonishing that anyone might think the Islamic faith is too
insulated from criticism in countries such as France, Britain and America. It
isn’t Islam that people are afraid to criticize, but Islamophobia, which
pervades the language of our media, military, security and political elites in
our countries. Those of us who criticize Islamophobia are always caricatured as
a fifth column in our countries, which makes us yet more civilian casualties of
this global atrocity in indiscriminate assassination and surveillance known as
the war on terror.
We
all talk about the ISIL, its extremism and its oversensitivity to criticism.
But what of the US, a hate-filled regime also obsessed with brutalizing and
killing everyone in its way, using terror to supplant loyalty and military
domination to supplant peace? In a previous article on Press TV, I drew
comparisons between the ISIL and the US, and I stand by those comparisons.
These two disgraced regimes make perfect enemies, precisely because they are
exactly the same.
Both
the ISIL and the US are illegitimate, violent and militant, driven by the will
to conquer each other and the whole world. How can we be expected to take
sides? Neither side will bother to ask permission before sacrificing the rest
of us to their respective extremist causes, and nor can either be bothered to
explain their goals to the public. Both need only to turn inward to their
extremist ideologies, to convince themselves that their violence and terror is
exceptional, blessed and justified. It means they would rather destroy us all
than yield to criticism and surrender their misguided ambitions.
The
US and the ISIL are both extremist groups because they are equally convinced
that their state ideology represents a perfect, end-stage of human history. It
is that same “end of history” declared by neoconservative theorist Francis
Fukuyama in the 1990s as the end-state of humanity socio-cultural evolution,
which took the form of the incumbent liberal democratic state model in America.
It is not a coincidence that both neoconservatism and modern Takfiri extremism
were born in the later years of the Cold War, and that both declared themselves
to have defeated the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
Because
the events of 1989 to 1991 overcame the binary system of international
relations, dominated yet stabilized by two superpowers, it should not surprise
us that the self-declared victors took it upon themselves to arrogantly reshape
the entire world in their own image. This is what the ISIL and the US both
believe to be their mandate in the world, and it is why we should be so afraid
of both of them.
In
reality, neither the ISIL nor the US has what it takes to govern the world or
build the perfect state, and that is what the peoples in the Middle East are
coming to realize. Americans may laugh at what they perceive to be the
backwardness of the ISIL, but is their own country so much more advanced? From
one point of view, their own regime is a product of similar outlaws, bandits,
extremists and terrorists who rebelled against the British empire the 18th
century. The British empire in turn was created by pirates, marauders and
descendants of Viking invaders. Are we in any position to preach civilization?
The
only real difference that can be spotted between the US and the ISIL might be
that the US is clearly the stronger of the two on a global level. But, within
the Middle East region, both sides are beheading people, whether with primitive
or advanced technology, and both dismissively seek to overthrow any other form
of state than their own. As such, both sides’ extremist actions make them
arguably responsible for humanitarian disasters in Syria and Iraq. All of the
lost lives in the region can be attributed to the extremism of these two
warring parties.
Humanity
must overcome extremism and depravity, and the atrocities of the ISIL cannot be
overcome if we do not also overcome the atrocities of the US. For those of us
in liberal democracies, under these arrogant regimes who think they are the
masters of the world, our best path to our security is to encourage the defeat
of our criminal masters. In the end, the outcome of the conflict between the
ISIL and the US is immaterial to the priority of ridding the world of
extremism. The defeat of both will be victory for us all.
Terrorist Recruitment Scheme
Revealed
 |
| Said Kuachi and Cherif Kouachi |
The
recent Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in France represents a deeper problem
rising across Europe, coping with the growing number of hidden jihadist cells
that see this attack as only the dawn of a new wave of international terrorism.
The two brothers, Cherif and Said Kouachi, who
killed 12 in an attack on Charlie Hedbo
magazine on Wednesday, were finally shot dead by police as they
fled from a warehouse in the north of Paris on January 10.
The
recent terrorist attack in France represents a deeper problem rising
across both Western Europe and Russia, coping with the growing number
of hidden jihadist cells who see this attack as only the dawn
of a new wave of international terrorism.
Although
it has not been confirmed in mainstream media, both Said and Cherif
Kouachi each have their own relationships to various jihadist groups.
The
eldest brother, Said Kouachi trained with al-Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen. Information from the French Intelligence
agency shows that Said Kouachi had travelled to Yemen as late
as 2011 to train with the al-Qaeda affiliate there.
The
younger brother Cherif Kouachi, was a member of a enlistment ring
in Paris known as “Nineteenth Arrondissement Iraqi Networks” that helped
to funnel Muslims from France to wage jihad in Iraq.
The
Kouachi Brothers are just two of thousands of European fighters which
have begun to join the ranks of radical Sunni Jihadist groups
in Syria, and as terrorist cells begin to grow all
over Europe; fears are starting to run high that elite jihadists
trained in warfare abroad will begin to stage attacks at home.
Although
we have yet to determine how Kouachi funded his airfare to Syria, and
how the brothers paid for the AK-47’s used in the attack (which cost
$1,200 to $1,800 on France’s black market), we have access to insider
information which can serve as a preview to the typical recruiting
processes within al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda’s Recruitment
Process
A
jihadist coming from Europe will need an average of $3,000 to $4,000
to reach Syria. His coordinator at his local Mosque can assist him
through “Tajheez al-Ghazi System” to gather the necessary funds
on his behalf.
He
will then be instructed to book a ticket either to Istanbul or
Antalya, Turkey. These points of arrival are chosen because they are
typical Turkish tourist destinations and hence easily covered up by
secondary agendas.
In
cases where a new Jihadist recruit has no-preexisting contact at his local
Mosque which can facilitate his way to Syria, he can do online research
about Jihadist groups and establish rapport online through Facebook
pages, twitter accounts or Jihadist blogs.
Upon
his arrival in Turkey, he will be told to go to a confidential
mosque in the Zeytin Burno in Istanbul where he is supposed
to ask for certain individuals. Once he meets these people, whom he
will only know under their alias name, he will inform them that the
webmasters of al-Qaeda recruitment pages instructed him to establish
contact.
Before
sending the new recruit closer to the Turkish-Syrian border, that contact
will question his seriousness of joining Jihad. In both cases, no matter
if sent by a Webmaster online or through a contact within his
community at home, their way from Turkey into Syria will be the
same. They will then get in touch with the local coordinator there,
who will then drive them closer to the Turkish-Syrian border
before they cross into Syria by foot.
Once
inside Syria, Idlib is the border town where most new recruits arrive.
Idlib hosts several safe houses that belong to the various radical
Jihadist groups. Once they have chosen a Jihadist group they will be questioned
for an hour about their motivation to join.
Al-Qaeda’s Interview
Process
The
person in charge of the interview is called “the first line
of defense.” It is within the interviewer’s discretion to determine
the suitability of the new recruit and hence to ensure that no
infiltrators are taken abroad.
Among
the questions every new recruit will be asked the following:
•
Nationality and Origin
• Reasons to join Jihad in Syria
• Information about his Coordinator / Facilitator
• Whether he already knows members of the group
• Questions determining the level of knowledge of Islam
• In case of joining Islamic State (IS) he will be asked to pledge allegiance to its leader al-Baghdadi
• Reasons to join Jihad in Syria
• Information about his Coordinator / Facilitator
• Whether he already knows members of the group
• Questions determining the level of knowledge of Islam
• In case of joining Islamic State (IS) he will be asked to pledge allegiance to its leader al-Baghdadi
If
a candidate raises suspicions about his decision to join Jihad
at first, he will be questioned on his willingness to make
himself available for a suicide mission. Likewise, anyone who is able
to memorize and recite the Quran will pass the interview immediately.
There
are only three al-Qaeda
approved answers concerning a new recruit’s motivation to join the Jihad
in Syria: due to a motivation to protect fellow Muslims
in Syria; because they seek martyrdom; or the desire to make God’s
laws supreme by establishing an Islamic state in Syria.
According
to one of my contacts, a common answer among new recruits is
that Syria is considered the “heaven market” to which they would
like to “sell their lives.”
Following
a successful interview, recruits will be asked to submit three items
to their Jihad group’s safe house: their passport, their last will, and
any remaining cash or belongings not suitable on the battlefield.
All
of the belongings of the recruit are kept in an envelope that
has a specific number assigned to it. The same number corresponds
to a picture ID that includes a picture taken from the recruit
upon his arrival as well as his chosen alias name.
The
recruits are then sent to a 45 day military training camp. There, they
will be trained in various types of weapons, ranging from small
firearms, anti-tank weapons, sniper rifles, or mortars. Night time and early
morning hours are always reserved for religious indoctrination and
radicalization.
The
final steps include sending the new Jihadists to various locations
in Syria such as Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, Der Sur and others.
Jihadists are free to change various groups alongside which they
fight due to a considerable freedom of movement. Someone,
for example, who has trained with Ahrar al-Sham are able
to change sides and join IS or Jabhat al-Nusra.
The
fact that these radicalized individuals carry Western passports should be a
grave concern for European governments. Upon their return, these
individuals can spread radicalized views in their home countries, or
as in France, carry out terrorist attacks.
There
are currently 15,000 fighters from more than 81 countries travelling
to Syria. About 3,000 foreign fighters are from Western countries and
over 800 Russian citizens alone have travelled to Syria
to fight.
And
due to the relentless recruitment efforts of Jihadist groups online
targeting European citizens specifically, this number will keep rising. Charlie
Hedbo’s editor-in-chief Stephane “Charb” Charbonnier was already listed
as a future assassination target in al-Qaeda’s 2013 magazine Inspire.
The
recent
attacks in France are only the beginning of a new era
in terrorism that will sweep across the world.
The
Charlie Hebdo attack: Geo-politics, eurocentrism, Islamophobia, and blowback
The
recent violent outrage in Paris that saw cartoonists and other innocents killed
is but the latest example of the way in which Muslim extremists nowadays manage
to occupy the airwaves and dominate the news broadcasts.
But
rather than proving that Islam is just a religion that cannot coexist with
modern life and values, a closer look at the origins of Islamic extremism and
terrorism betrays its indebtedness to geo-political machinations and the legacy
of the Cold War's end in the last decade of the previous century. In
particular, the names Zbigniew Brzezinski and Willy Claes appear pivotal in
this context.
The
spectacular attack on the office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo
and the double hostage crisis that followed on Friday have the whole world
now suddenly galvanized. The brutal attacks are yet another proof that Islam
and the contemporary world are apparently incompatible.
Particularly,
but Extremist Islam, that has been the West's enemy of choice ever since
then-NATO chief Willy Claes made the official announcement in April 1995:
"Islamic militancy has emerged as perhaps the single gravest threat to the
NATO alliance and to Western security", since the fall of Communism a few
years earlier. In reality, the West and NATO had already been at loggerheads
with Islam (and its extremist versions) for more than a decade by that time.
Members
of French Gendarmerie are pictured in Corcy, near Villers-Cotterets, north-east
of Paris, on January 8, 2015, where the two armed suspects from the attack on
French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo were spotted in a gray Clio.
(AFP Photo/Francois Nascimbeni)
The
Islamic Revolution in Iran ensured that the West would never again be carefree
friends with any old Muslim, lacking either oil or geo-strategic assets. In
fact, even before Grand Ayatollah Khomeini's return home and while being in the
throes of the Cold War, Jimmy Carter's foreign policy adviser National Security
Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski attempted to transform an "arc of crisis"
into an "arc of Islam" engulfing and throttling the Communist world.
Erstwhile chief of the Iran Desk at the US State Department Henry Precht put it
like this, Zbig's big idea was that “Islamic forces could be used against the
Soviet Union. The theory was, there was an arc of crisis, and so an arc of
Islam could be mobilized to contain the Soviets". But the demise of the
Soviet Union in December 1991 and the concomitant fall of Communism and
socialist movements all around permitted God to stage a comeback in a big way.
The end of the Cold War also ended the certainty of ideological convictions and
political doctrines of most stripes, but religion instead remained standing as
a sole beacon of hope in a world of despair and disarray.
God
is back!
Suddenly,
bereft of Communist conviction, Russians returned to the ample bosom of the
Orthodox Church and nominally atheist or agnostic Western Europe rediscovered
either Protestant or Catholic Christianity or alternatively engaged in all
manner of New Age spirituality or other new-fangled religious fads and
conversions. At the same time, Zbig's groundwork had paid off tremendously, and
Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan had all embraced Islam with a particular
fervour, a passion that was to lead to the emergence of the beard-wielding and
wife-beating Taliban and to the prominence of a certain Saudi scion of wealth,
arguably responsible for the tumbling of certain Twin Towers and a worldwide
SPECTRE-like terror franchise known as Al-Qaeda.
And
here we are today, in 2015, when the Middle East is in turmoil on account of
yet another beard-loving terror group referred to by the acronym ISIS or simply
called the Islamic State, while supposed branches of the original bogeyman
franchise continue plying their deadly trade. The Islamic State caught the
West's attention by means of internet-spread video clips of beheadings of a few
journalists and other hapless Westerners, leaving the countless Syrian and
Iraqi citizens left headless confined to the dustbin of forgetfulness. While,
just a few days prior to the Charlie Hebdo massacre, the AP reported that
"Al Qaeda militants bombed an office of Shiite Houthi rebels south of
Yemen's capital Sunday [January 4], killing six Houthis and wounding 31".
And lest we think that only the West produces journalists and/or men and women
working in the media, the AP report also records that "one of the dead was
a journalist who worked for a Houthi-affiliated television station". Also
in an attempt to show that ISIS is not the only player in the field craftily
utilizing the interwebz and social media, "Al Qaeda's local affiliate in
Yemen claimed responsibility in a statement posted on its Twitter
account". For good measure and possibly jumping on the bandwagon, the
masked Charlie Hebdo gunmen told a man in the street: “Tell the media that this
is Al-Qaeda in Yemen", linking the heart of Paris with the outskirts of
Sana'a.
Islamophobes &
Islamofascists
Zbig's
groundwork and Willy's pronouncements all but led to the rise of Islamophobia
in the West and across the wider world via the good offices of the corporate
media spreading the message and fine-tuning the image of the bogeyman. But, one
could argue that Islamophobia is but a new term to describe an age-old reflex,
as I wrote back in 2010: "nowadays . . .
commentators
and politicians alike tend to forget national or ethnic identifiers, instead
opting for religious markers, and thus speaking about the Muslim other present
in [the West], the Muslim other whose presence and actions are incompatible
with Western civilization and alien to the Judeo-Christian tradition which
provides the framework for much, if not all, of Europe’s culture and identity.
The professor of sociology, scholar and expert in Islamic matters, Stefano
Allievi rightly remarks that the “immigrant … has progressively become
‘Muslim,’ both in his/her perception by the host societies and in his/her
self-perception.” Today, Europeans express their dislike of the “other” in
religious and/or cultural terms. This has led to the creation of a new term
that is oftentimes not even associated with racist sentiments and/or reflexes:
Islamophobia. But we should be clear about this: Islamophobia is nothing but a
new name given to the age-old reflex of racism".
As
indicated by Allievi, Muslims, either living at home in the Middle East or
elsewhere or as immigrants in the West, now also feel strengthened in their own
identity as adherents of the Prophet Muhammad and his creed. And, as I wrote
last September, "children of Muslim parentage living in Western Europe are
thus faced with Islamophobia or xenophobic racism on a daily basis; a
circumstance which arguably leads to less than successful educational careers
(oftentimes steered towards vocational or technical training), in turn followed
by bleak job prospects and a culture of dependency (on either family or
state-provided assistance). Coupled to this less than rosy outlook is the fact
that these young men more often than not succumb to sheer and utter boredom, arguably
relieving their tedium with bouts of playing violent video games offering a
temporary escape while boosting crumbled egos. Societal pressure thus pushes
these youngsters in the direction of Islam and, given parental and family
background, these young men frequently embark on a journey of self-discovery
leading them to recognizing Jihad as their true cause making their empty lives
full and meaningful". In this way, the so-called home-grown terrorist is
born these days either travelling to the Jihadi frontline in the Middle East
or, as occasionally encountered, homing in on easy targets locally -
underground trains as in the case of 7/7 or offices used by fierce
pen-wielders.
The chickens have come
home to roost
As
expressed by the Independent's John Lichfield, the "Charlie Hebdo assault
was a bizarre mixture of the chillingly professional and chaotic. The gunmen
were calm, ruthless and heavily armed. On the other hand, they were
extraordinarily feckless".
French
President François Hollande spoke to the world and his nation subsequently
declaring that the assault was "undoubtedly a terrorist attack", as
if anybody had any doubts, adding that "several [other] terrorist attacks
were thwarted in recent weeks".
Witnesses
said that during their assault on the satirical newspaper offices, the suspects
– the brothers Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi - shouted things like “We have
killed Charlie Hebdo” and “We have avenged the Prophet”, apparently disclosing
their motivation for carrying out their heinous acts. It remains to be seen
whether they acted on their own or were told to target the Charlie Hebdo
offices. However, given the fact that they knew who to shoot and kill, it seems
that somebody must have briefed them beforehand and then released them out in the
open to kill in the name of the Prophet. Whether this someone is actually an
operative of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, or to use the American parlance Al-Qaeda in the
Arab Peninsula (AQAP), or merely some migrant of Muslim descent with a keen
sense for tactics and awe-inspiring organizational skills employing the
franchise name to maximize the attack's media impact, 2015 will probably go
down in history as the year that Zbig and Willy's chickens have finally come
home to roost in the cradle of civilization.
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