Peace Like A River » Cables, dispatches and memoranda

Cables, dispatches and memoranda

September 3, 2008 (12:55 am) | Daily Roundup | By: Jeff Kouba

Cables, Dispatches and Memoranda
A brief world news roundup for 3 September 2008.

United States & the Americas

AFPS – A civil assistance plan signed six months ago between U.S. Northern Command and Canada Command was used for the first time over the weekend to expedite and coordinate Canadian military support to the U.S. Gulf Coast region in response to Hurricane Gustav.
SOUTHCOM – USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) along with various embarked units began humanitarian/civic assistance (HCA) operations here Aug. 27, the ship’s second stop in the Caribbean Phase of Continuing Promise (CP) 2008. CP’s HCA mission to Colombia builds on and encourages the establishment of new partnerships between and among the host nation, participating partner nations, non-government organizations (NGO) and international organizations.
Reuters – Venezuela’s socialist President Hugo Chavez has won over some of the United States’ closest allies in the Caribbean and Central America with oil credits and aid that match similar efforts by Washington.
CRN – President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez declared that his country completely supported Russia’s decision to recognize Abkhazia’s and South Ossetia’s independence. He also named President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili “a US puppet.
NY Times – Landowners campaign to change a provincial law that allows anyone who pays the equivalent of $23.50 to dig for pretty much any mineral on private property in much of rural Ontario.
State Dept – The United States welcomes President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s announcement that the Argentine government intends to pay its debt to the Paris Club. This decision represents an important first step in consolidating Argentina’s position in international markets. We hope that this important step will create opportunities for U.S. financial institutions and international investors to resume operations in Argentina.
IPS – Junín is the scenario of yet another conflict between indigenous people and extractive industry companies in Peru’s Amazon jungle region. Covering just over 12,400 square km, Lot 108 encompasses a large part of the Ene river basin in the provinces of Junín, Cusco, Ayacucho and Pasco. The area was granted in concession to Pluspetrol Peru by the government of then president Alejandro Toledo in December 2005. But the authorities did not start offering informational workshops in the Ene river basin until Aug. 29, even though it is an obligatory step in the process of obtaining the informed consent of local indigenous communities.

Russia, Caucasus & Central Asia

AFP – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday he no longer considers his counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili to be Georgia’s leader, charging in an interview that Saakashvili is a “political corpse.”
Kommersant – Ukraine is a new target of Russia’s war with the WTO. First Vice Premier Igor Shuvalov committed the ministries yesterday to protect Russia’s economy against the goods supplied by Ukraine, the member of WTO. The sources say the conditions for free trading with Ukraine will be either abolished or toughened, and the sugar market of Russia won’t open for it January 1, 2009.
Russia Today – The Foreign Ministry has received an official declaration from the Georgian government confirming that it is cutting all diplomatic ties with Russia. The communiqué calls on Russia to close its embassy in Tbilisi by September 3.
Javno – Prime Minister Vladimir Putin clinched an outline deal with Uzbekistan on Tuesday to build a new pipeline to boost Central Asian gas exports to Russia, part of a strategy to strengthen Moscow’s regional energy dominance. Russia wants former Soviet republics to channel more of their oil and gas via its territory, while Europe would like them to bypass Russia in order to reduce its own energy dependence on an increasingly assertive Moscow.
OGJ – US VP Dick Cheney will arrive in Baku Sept. 4, before heading on to Georgia, Ukraine, and an economic forum in Italy. Analysts said Cheney’s visit is intended to secure US and European energy interests in the Caspian-Central Asian region following Russia’s military incursion which last month shut down oil and gas export routes across Georgia.
RFERL – Interview with Steve LeVine; Cheney’s Aims In The Caucasus
APA – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will send a delegation to Azerbaijan on September 2, the IAEA coordinator for Azerbaijan Andrei Chupov told APA. He said the delegation will have discussions about the recent projects in the oncological center and plans for the future. The visit will focus on the review of the prospects of constructing nuclear reactor outside of Baku for research purposes.
Intellibriefs – In the breakaway Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh inside Azerbaijan there is a feeling of short-term security and long-term dread.
Silk Road Intelligencer – Legal status of the Caspian Sea will be discussed at the summit in Baku on September 5-6. The Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan, Serik Primbetov, informed, the agency reports referring to Trend information agency.

Iraqi boys wait poolside to receive medals for their participation in the opening ceremony for the Al-Mithaq Pool in the Muhalla 515A neighborhood of the Sadr City District of Baghdad, on Aug. 30, 2008. (photo by Tech Sgt. Cohen Young)

Middle East

AFP – At least eight people including a policeman were killed and 21 others injured on Tuesday in three separate attacks targeting Iraqi security forces in Baghdad and Mosul, police said.
Stars and Stripes – American troops have foiled an apparent plot to tunnel under the Mosul provincial hall and destroy the building with explosives, officials said Tuesday.
UNS – Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured three suspected criminals in separate operations in Baghdad Aug. 29-30. On Aug. 30, ISOF captured a suspected criminal said to be the leader of a cell operating out of Haydariyah. One of the suspects is said to be a mid-level criminal leader and finance officer who has ties to Iran’s al-Quds Criminal Elements. He is said to fund his cell’s IED attacks against Coalition and Iraqi Forces as well as local civilians.
Jerusalem Center – Hizbullah’s Role in Attacks Against U.S. and British Forces in Iraq
Asia Times – Another reason for the Kurdish-Shi’ite dispute is a recent military crackdown, under orders from Maliki, on Khanaqin, a town in northern Diyali province that is filled with Kurds loyal to Iraqi Kurdistan. Government troops want to evacuate the Kurdish militia, the Peshmerga, from Khanaqin and evacuate buildings currently occupied by two Kurdish parties, claiming they are the property of the central government in Baghdad. Many believe the crackdown is a message from Iran to the Kurdish parties in parliament, with Kurdish lawmaker Mahmud Othman saying, “With no doubt, the Iranians have a role in the Khanaqin crisis.”
Haaretz – Israeli intelligence experts increasingly think Hezbollah is determined to attack an Israeli target – most likely institutions or officials abroad, especially in third-world countries – to avenge the assassination of one of Hezbollah’s top leaders.
Daily Star – Hizbullah politburo member Mahmoud Qomati confirmed on Monday that it was a 20-year old Hizbullah fighter who opened fire on the Lebanese Armed Forces helicopter last week, killing First Lieutenant Samer Hanna.

Iran

IRNA – Fuel supply accord for Bushehr power plant will be finalized until the end of the current Iranian year, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Tuesday. The 1000-MW power plant is being built in cooperation with Russia based on a contract signed in 1995.
Kommersant – Development of Iran’s North Azagedan field will be probably the first overseas project of Gazprom Neft. In essence, the company will have only the contract of service. But under certain conditions, it will be able to add reserves to the balance and get a share in the annual production of 5.5 million tons to 6.5 million tons. Gazprom Neft is ready to operate in three more fields of Iran under similar terms.
MEMRI – Iranian security forces destroyed, on August 27, the Sunni mosque at the Center for Holy Studies in Zaboul, in Sistan-Balochistan province in southeast Iran.
Washington Times – Iran on Tuesday banned the Tehran bureau chief for the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel and told him to leave the country as soon as possible, the network said.
Payvand – Photos: Harvesting Dates in Minab, Iran

Southeast Asia

UK MoD – Around 2,000 British troops in Afghanistan have taken part in a huge convoy to deliver a hydro-electric turbine 180 kilometres by road from Kandahar airfield to Kajaki dam. The operation, codenamed ‘Eagle’s Summit’, involved a further 2,000 Afghan National Security Forces and ISAF troops from the US, Canada, Denmark and Australia.
Telegraph – British commanders estimate that more than 200 Taliban were killed as they tried to prevent the convoy of 100 vehicles from getting the machinery to Kajaki hydroelectric dam where it will provide a significant increase in energy for up to two million Afghans. The operation has been described as the biggest of its kind since the Second World War.
AKI – Six tribes in Pakistan’s troubled border region declared a ceasefire on Monday after nine people were killed and 26 others were injured in ongoing clashes. The conflict between the Turi and Bangash tribes took place in the Kurram Agency bordering Afghanistan.
Daily Times – Militant groups in Balochistan have suspended their ‘activities’ indefinitely, Aaj TV reported on Monday. The channel quoted BLA spokesman Sarbaz Baloch as saying that the group had suspended its ‘activities’ for the Baloch people. He denied the suspension was a result of any deal with the government. He, however, warned of retaliation if security forces did not stop the use of force against the group.
UPI – Pakistani Taliban militants say they are holding two Chinese telecommunications engineers as hostages.
The News – Fifteen militants, including a leading commander, and 10 civilians were killed and 25 others injured in heavy bombardment carried out by jet fighters on the Taliban strongholds in Peuchar area of the troubled Swat Valley on Tuesday.
UN – More than 3 million people have been uprooted and 60 people killed by the worst flooding to hit north-east India in five decades, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported today.
Morung Express – Tight security measures have been taken up in and around Imphal area and more so in the adjoining locality where the official bungalow of Manipur chief minister is located as the heavily guarded Manipur chief minister’s official bungalow at Imphal’s Babupara came under a powerful bomb attack on Monday night. The incident occurred at around 8:18 pm and no one was hurt in the blast however.
Gulf News – Communal fires continue to rage in Orissa’s Kandhamal district with reports of homes and prayer houses being burnt by those protesting last week’s murder of a Hindu leader, an official said on Tuesday. “As per the latest government assessment, at least 2,400 buildings, including prayer houses and schools, have been either damaged or burnt,” Kandhamal district collector Krishan Kumar told IANS.
Kashmir Watch – India’s Maoists have decided to actively support the separatists’ “azadi” campaign in Jammu and Kashmir. The banned CPI (Maoist) organisation, in a document released on Monday, exhorted its fighters of the “People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army” (PLGA) to move towards the Valley to join the “movement.”
Sri Lanka MoD – Remaining LTTE terrorists were driven off and Mallavi town was liberated by the advancing troops today (Sep 2), according to latest military reports received. The troops of the 57 Division led by Major General Jagath Dias triumphed overrunning the LTTE’s most important strategic bastion at Mallavi, located along the Vellankulama- Mankulama main road following weeks long heavy confrontation, security sources said.

Far East & Pacific

Newsweek – They’ve occupied the prime minister’s office, stormed airports near popular beach resorts and crippled national railway service across Thailand. Next up, the coalition of antigovernment agitators calling itself the People’s Alliance for Democracy vows to cut power, water and telephone service in the capital, Bangkok, then incite labor unions to declare a general strike.
Jakarta Post – Singapore and South Korea advised their citizens Tuesday against traveling to Thailand, raising concerns that the ongoing political crisis could damage the country’s crucial tourist economy.
BBC – As Vietnam marks its National Day, the holiday spirit in Hanoi’s Dong Da district is being marred by an ongoing land dispute between a local Catholic church and the authorities. The case shows signs of escalation, attracting the participation of believers from other parts of the country.
Radio Australia – Papua New Guinea intelligence officials have arrested twelve Sri Lankan men, alleged to be planning to go to Australia using falsified documents. The NIO claims the men are members of the separatist Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger movement, and that they were on the run from a major offensive against the Tigers by the Sri Lankan government.
Khaleej Times – Philippine police said on Tuesday that an extortion gang that has been blamed for two recent bombings in a southern city uses women as bomb carriers for the deadly attacks.
Telegraph – Work on a high-speed rail link between China’s two main cities has been halted after causing “severe damage” to relics in Nanjing dating back to 1600BC.

Europe

Die Zeit – Three men were charged Tuesday in connection with a foiled 2007 terrorist plot to attack U.S. and German targets in central Germany, the federal prosecutor’s office said. The suspects are accused of being members of the radical Islamic Jihad Union, an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a jihadist group with origins in Central Asia.
FT – Ireland’s public finance deficit tripled in the first eight months to the end of August as the housing and construction slowdown hit tax receipts, posing an increasing threat to Ireland’s European Union commitments on fiscal discipline.
TIME – Now, in an unprecedented act of contrition by a former European colonial power, Italy has formally apologized for its past injustices during its 30-year reign in Libya early last century, and agreed to pay $5 billion in reparations to Tripoli. Gaddafi promptly declared Aug 30 — the day the deal was inked in — Libyan-Italian Friendship Day.
Tiraspol Times – On 2 September 2008, the unrecognized republic of Pridnestrovie (also known under names such as Transnistria, Transdnestr or Transdniestria) celebrated the 18th anniversary of its declaration of independence.

Africa

Bua News – Bilateral agreements signed between South Africa and Venezuela proves the relationship is “real, actual and practical,” says President Thabo Mbeki, after meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday.
IRIN – Tension is high in the strategic town of Jowhar, 90km north of Mogadishu, two days after factions of opposition militia clashed in the area, locals told IRIN. The weekend clashes pitted militias of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which support the Djibouti agreement with the Transitional Federal Government, against a faction of the opposition Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia.
CNN – Less than a week after lifting a ban on aid agencies, Zimbabwe’s government has imposed harsh restrictions on humanitarian groups operating in the country, according to reports Tuesday in the government-controlled media.
Magharebia – In a statement posted on Islamist websites on Monday (September 1st), Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb released details about recent terror attacks in Algeria for which it had already claimed responsibility, local and international press reported. For the first time, al-Qaeda hinted at striking the Presidency Headquarters in the El-Mouradia suburb of Algiers as part of an offensive against State institutions.
AP – Mauritanian legislators selected eight colleagues Tuesday to serve as a High Court that will try the recently ousted president, standing by the new ruling military junta even as the U.S. strengthened its condemnation of last month’s coup.
Gregory Garland – I’m happy to call attention to the fact that the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs is 50 years old this year. As a Foreign Service Officer who has devoted a large part of my career to U.S.-African relations, I’ve used the opportunity to do what birthdays tend to make us do, reflect on the past with an eye to the future. I’ve found that the story of the U.S. official relationship with Africa is complicated, often contradictory, and goes to the heart of the great issues of the mid-twentieth century that defined not only Africa, but America itself: the Cold War, decolonization, and the civil rights movement.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Travis Nelson, assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 21, looks out over the water of Micronesia while flying in a MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter during a Pacific Partnership 2008 mission. Pacific Partnership is a four-month humanitarian mission to Southeast Asia intended to build collaborative partnerships by providing engineering, civic, medical and dental assistance to the region (photo by Seaman Michael Barton)