“I don’t understand why mass media are trying to make a sensation out of the fact. We do not conceal it that we supply weapons to Syria according to signed contracts, violating neither any international agreements, nor our own weapon export control legislation, one of the strictest in the world,” Lavrov said at a press conference on Friday. He stressed all of the weapons supplied are in fact air defense systems, and thus cannot impact the existing power balance between the Assad forces and the rebels. Lavrov’s remark comes in response to the recent uproar in the media, concerning Russia’s allegedly sending Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria and earlier reports on supplies of S-300 anti-missile systems, which are capable of intercepting ballistic targets. Russia has underlined on numerous occasions any supplies to Syria are according to old contracts, many of which are Soviet-era, the supplied weapons are missile-defense ones and after completing these contracts no new deals are planned.Lavrov and Ban talk Syrian deadlock as more evidence of rebels atrocities emergeThe Russian FM commented on Russia’s weapons supplies at a press-conference following his talks with the UN chief. The Syrian crisis dominated the agenda of the meeting, which is part of a recent flurry of diplomatic efforts to end the violence in the country, preceded by Vladimir Putin holding similar talks with worlds’ top officials, including the US secretary of state and the British and Israeli leaders. Eventually, a joint initiative was authored by Moscow and Washington to hold peace conference on Syria, planned for June. Before the conference happens though, both the US and Russia have several stumbling blocks to overcome, such as divisions inside the Syrian opposition, making it unclear who exactly can represent it at the conference, and harsh preconditions set by the rebels. “In contrast to the Syrian government, which has responded quite positively to the Russian-American initiative, the opposition’s answer was quite vague. They said that they welcome any initiatives that will help to stop the violence, but before that Assad must go – reiterating their stance, which has been the cause of the deadlock for many months,” said Lavrov on Thursday in an interview to Al Mayadeen. As for the US it is expected to object to Iran’s participation, on which Moscow insists.Another thing is that when Western leaders are talking to Russia they seem to be on the same page with Moscow’s position, agreeing on the need for negotiating peace, but as soon as they leave, they are once again calling for Assad to step down and promise increasing support to the rebels.The UK and France have become increasingly vocal in their calls to supply the insurgent groups with arms. British and French efforts at lifting the EU embargo on Syria are however strongly opposed by Austria, showing a divide on the issue in Europe.What could be a mind changer for them though is a recent series of reports on atrocities performed by the rebels. The freshest example is a shocking video of three men from government troops being publicly executed by rebels in a square in the northern city of Raqqa. The killings have been confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.Earlier, another YouTube video was posted showing fighters of the Al Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front in Syria executing 11 government soldiers. Still earlier this week another shocking video was released featuring a Syrian rebel eating a lung of a slain government soldier in what the insurgent described as an act of revenge.Growing evidence of atrocities committed by rebel groups, however did not prevent the UN from voting for a resolution condemning Assad and praising the opposition. Russia voted against the document, describing it as one-sided.Russia still urges all of the sides to resolve the crisis by negotiations, something Lavrov reiterated on Friday, saying a peace conference should be held “the sooner the better.”He was echoed by Ban Ki-moon’s call to “not lose the momentum.” … Read More
Tool Britannia: UK consulates reveal weirdest requests
The British Foreign Office published an annual report detailing the various requests they received in 2012, including some of the more unorthodox queries. One man in Stockholm approached the Diplomatic Mission to ask whether it could carry out an identity check on a woman he had met on an online dating site. Then there was the Rome embassy, which got a request from an individual asking for a translation of a tattoo he wanted. Meanwhile, a desperate housewife in Tel Aviv solicited the UK’s diplomatic services to coerce her corpulent husband into slimming down so the couple could have children. Enquiries as to the best place to watch the football ranked the highest in the list of bizarre requests filed to UK consular services around the world. Additionally, tight-fisted sports fans pestered British Embassies the world over, looking to scrounge free tickets to the London Olympics in 2012. One of the most farfetched communications received by a British Embassy last year was a request to silence a particularly loud rooster. Sticking with the theme of animal-related woes, a man in Cambodia who required medical attention when a monkey dislodged a stone that fell on him called on the diplomatic mission to help him get monetary compensation. Upon releasing the report the UK Foreign Office did stress that it helped over 50,000 British nationals in difficulties abroad in 2012. Most of these problems included arrests, hospitalizations and deaths. Consular Affairs Minister Mark Simmonds emphasized the “Foreign Office staff help many thousands of British nationals facing serious difficulties around the world every year.””We are not in a position to help people make travel arrangements or social plans, but we do help those who face real problems,” he warned. Simmonds told press that the Foreign Office receives over a million inquiries every year and it is logistically impossible to answer everyone. He added that in the coming year the institution will seek to help those most in need, this evidently will not include requests for Phil Collins’ telephone number and Prince Charles’ shoe size, which came up in a previous year’s report. The UK’s diplomatic mission in Spain received so many inquiries that it was forced to open a special contact center in the southern city of Malaga. The center reports that over 39 per cent of the requests that were lodged concerned lifestyle queries. … Read More
WikiLeaks: Monsanto lobbied on taxpayers’ dime
Nonprofit consumer protection group Food & Water Watch published a report on Tuesday that demonstrates a partnership between the federal government and a number of controversial biotech companies that have slowly but surely pushed their GMO products on a number of new countries in recent years.At center stage in the report is Monsanto, the St. Louis, Missouri-based makers of genetically-modified crops and genetically-engineered seeds that has continuously generated criticism as of late over its practices both on the growing field and in a court of law. Monsanto is among the most valuable corporations in the US, yet has relentlessly sued small-time farmers across the world over alleged patent violations, often forcing independent agriculturists to go out of business. Legislation signed into law last month provided litigation immunity to GMO companies including Monsanto, and on Monday the Supreme Court sided with the corporation when ruling on a landmark patent infringement case.“The US Department of State is selling seeds instead of democracy,” Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter told reporters. “This report provides a chilling snapshot of how a handful of giant biotechnology companies are unduly influencing US foreign policy and undermining our diplomatic efforts to promote security, international development and transparency worldwide. This report is a call to action for Americans because public policy should not be for sale to the highest bidder.”Food & Water Watch published their findings this week after combing through the roughly 260,000 State Department cables that the whistleblower website first began publishing in 2010, but notes that their statistics specifically come from memos not classified as “secret” or higher.For the most part, wrote the nonprofit, “The State Department strategy sought to foist pro-biotechpolicies on foreign governments” using a four-prong approach: promote biotech business interests; lobby foreign governments to weaken biotech rules; protect US biotech exports and press developing world to adopt biotech crops.As the cables are analyzed, though, the efforts the State Department undertook to advocate for Monsanto demonstrate a willingness to put a US-based company’s profits about the interests and health of those residing in foreign nations.In a cable sent from the Slovakian consulate in 2005, the State Department is told that the local post “will continue its efforts to dispel myths about GMOs and advocate on behalf of Monsanto.” In 2009, a cable out of Madrid, Spain announced that Monsanto had made “urgent requests” to fight off an anti-GMO opposition campaign that posed problems to the biotech industry. Other revelations show pro-GMO efforts waged by the US on behalf of the biotech industry in Hong Kong, the European Union, Egypt and elsewhere.“The State Department’s efforts impose the policy objectives of the largest biotech seed companies on often skeptical or resistant governments and public, and exemplifies thinly veiled corporate diplomacy,” alleged Food & Water Watch.When Food & Water Watch scoured those cables, they concluded that the State Department was conducting off-the-radar negotiations that didn’t seem to advance democracy or American ideals — instead, rather, it found evidence of lobbying used to advance the agenda of thriving US companies that have already purchased the approval of much of Washington.“It’s not surprising that Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta, Bayer and Dow want to maintain and expand their control of the $15 billion global biotech seed market, but it’s appalling that the State Department is complicit in supporting their goals despite public and government opposition in several countries,” Ronnie Cummins, executive director of Organic Consumers Association, said in the press release accompanying the report. “American taxpayer’s money should not be spent advancing the goals of a few giant biotech companies.” Of the 926 State Department cables analyzed by Food & Water Watch, the group found Monsanto appeared in more than 6 percent of the memos, shining light on how a federal agency “worked especially hard to promote the interests” of an outside company.When reached for comment by Reuters, Monsanto spokesman Tom Helscher said, “We remain committed to sharing information so that individuals can better understand our business and our commitments to support farmers throughout the world as they work to meet the agriculture demands of our world’s growing population.” The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.As RT reported previously, that so-called “Monsanto Protection Act” signed into law last month was co-authored by a senator that has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the company — a revelation that didn’t surprise many given that another important figure in Washington, Justice Clarence Thomas, served as an attorney for the corporation before he was nominated to the high court only to eventually preside over a case involving his former employer. But according to Food & Water Watch, the relationship between Monsanto and the government extends beyond Congress and the Supreme Court. In a statement published on Tuesday to accompany their report, Food & Water Watch wrote that the cables detail “how the US State Department lobbies foreign governments to adopt pro-agricultural biotechnology policies and laws, operates a rigorous public relations campaign to improve the image of biotechnology and challenges commonsense biotechnology safeguards and rules — including opposing genetically engineered (GE) food labeling laws.”This week’s report comes just one day after Justice Thomas and the Supreme Court sided with Monsanto in reaching a decision in a landmark patent suit. In the case, the high court said that an Indiana farmer infringed on Monsanto’s patent rights by using specially-made seeds he obtained second-hand without signing a contract with the company. That ruling, however, came just days after the company was hit with comparably bad news: on Friday, the US Department of Agriculture ordered an extra round of tests for new GMO breeds being developed by Monsanto and Dow, putting on hold plans to release to the public laboratory-made crops that can withstand heavy dousing of dangerous pesticides. Both companies want to make available crops that are resistant to the chemicals 2,4-D and dicamba, a move that environmentalists fear will prompt farmers to use more of these toxins.”The danger that 2,4-D and dicamba pose is a real threat to crops…nearly every food crop,” Steve Smith, director of agriculture at Red Gold, told Reuters last year. … Read More
Bangladesh FM on independent inquiry into May 6 violence
http://www.youtube.com/v/ZcLy_ZSH9Jg?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Visit site: Bangladesh FM on independent inquiry into May 6 violence
Israeli PM meets with President Putin for Syria-dominated talks
Israel is expected to address the issue of possible Russian plans to sell advanced air defense systems to Damascus. Moscow stated on Friday that there were no such plans, however, S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems could still be shipped to Syria under an existing contract. For its part, the Kremlin has voiced concerns over plans to extend a no-fly zone into Syrian airspace following airstrikes allegedly carried out by Israeli war planes inside Syria last week.“Unfortunately, such destructive ideas resurface periodically, but no one thinks about the consequences,” said Genardy Gatilov, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister. He also stressed decisions regarding Syria could only be taken by the UN Security Council and that any other actions were a breach of international law. The Israeli PM’s visit comes off the back of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent visit to Moscow, during which he emphasized the US commitment to the Geneva communiqué which calls all sides of the conflict to the negotiating table. The UK Prime Minister also held talks in Russia agreeing to work in tandem with Russia to bring the two-year conflict raging in Syria to an end. Last year’s Geneva accord saw the international community come to an agreement on a plan for power transition in Syria. Following the meeting, however, differing interpretations of the plan led to yet more disagreements among the international community. In the latest attempt to encourage a diplomatic solution to the conflict Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and John Kerry agreed last week to organize talks that would bring together the Syrian opposition and government. The Syrian government said on Tuesday that it needed more information on the proposed conference before it could decide on its participation. The French government also voiced its reservations over the new plan, doubting that the meeting will be held anytime soon. They said at the very earliest the conference would happen at the end of May. Previous attempts to coerce the opposition into talks with the government have been fruitless. Rebels have called for the immediate step-down of President Assad, while the government condemns opposition forces as terrorists.‘Israel shooting itself in the foot?’ Israel’s strikes on Syrian territory allegedly targeting weapons convoys headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon drew sharp condemnation from Damascus, which branded them as an act of war. Furthermore, President Assad invited Palestinian fighters over the border into Syria to fight against Israel.“Israel gives itself permission to attack other countries but does not accept any other country doing the same to it. This strike cannot be legitimate and Israel should be judged in international courts,” said Jaber Bassal from Israeli political party Hadash to RT correspondent Paula Slier. Despite international condemnation there is widespread support in Israel for the strikes inside Syria. Hamad Awidat, a local journalist in Israel told RT that the violence would not stop at Syria and will lead to a spillover of the violence.“After they are finished killing the Syrian people they go ahead to Haifa, to Nazareth, to Tel Aviv and to Jerusalem,” Awidat said. Israeli officials have not yet confirmed or denied to have been behind the airstrikes in spite of widespread international condemnation that the attacks where a breach of international law. … Read More
Israel sets up ‘secret’ diplomatic mission in Persian Gulf
The Finance Ministry’s budget for the next year, to be submitted for Cabinet approval this week, has revealed that Israel has created almost a dozen new missions around the world since 2010.The Financial Ministry’s website mentioned Embassies in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), Wellington (New Zealand), Accra (Ghana), Tirana (Albania) and the Caribbean, as well as consulates in Guangzhou (China), Sao Paolo (Brazil), Munich (Germany) and St. Petersburg (Russia), and a “diplomatic delegate to the Pacific.”The ministry, however, refused to divulge information on a diplomatic mission reportedly set up in the Persian Gulf. “We cannot comment on this matter,” the Foreign Ministry said, as quoted by Haaretz.To date, Israel has no formal diplomatic relations with the Arab Gulf States, comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Mark A. Heller, a Principal Research Associate at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, explained there is nothing unprecedented about Israel reaching out to the Arab Gulf States: “Diplomacy outreach is something that existed in the past between Israel and some of the Arab countries,” Heller told RT.When asked the reason behind the renewal of diplomatic relations, Heller said the answer boiled down to one word: “Iran.” Better relations with the Arab Gulf States will facilitate “better coordination and analysis” when it comes to gauging the perceived Iranian threat, he said.News of Israel’s push for new diplomatic missions comes on the heels of an earlier report that suggested Israel is attempting to mend security fences with some of its neighbors. Earlier this month, it was reported that Israel is considering allying itself with several moderate Arab states in a US-brokered defense alliance that would be aimed at containing Iran, which is accused of developing nuclear weapons.Tehran rejects allegations that it is attempting to acquire nuclear weapons, maintaining that its nuclear research is for its civilian sector.The alleged alliance would see Israel partnering with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to forge a Middle East ‘moderate crescent’ to contain, rather than confront, Iran, the Sunday Times reported, citing an anonymous Israeli official.Such an alliance would give Israel access to radar stations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in exchange for its own early warning radar information and anti-ballistic missile defense systems, the source said.Turkey has dismissed reports of a security alliance with Israel. “These are manipulative reports which have nothing to do with the reality,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry official told Hürriyet Daily News. … Read More
US diplomat ‘stunned and embarrassed’ by hushed reaction to Benghazi attack
During a six-hour hearing with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Gregory Hicks told lawmakers he spoke with J. Christopher Stevens at the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Hicks said Stevens sounded frantic and communicated a quick “Greg, we’re under attack” before the call was lost.Hicks, who was in Tripoli at the time, added that he had requested air support from a US Air Force base in Aviano, Italy and later for ground troops to fend off Libyan insurgents but was denied by the State Department in both instances. Fearing their consulate would be the next to be overrun, Hicks and his aides began destroying communications equipment with an ax, according to The New York Times. “None of us should ever experience what we went through in Tripoli and Benghazi,” he said. The diplomat claimed that his later pleas for answers about what happened and what could be improved were swept under the rug and out of the news cycle, perhaps for fear of a political backlash in the heat of the presidential election. One example he cited was that several of the people who were directly involved in the attack were never interviewed about what happened.“I’ve been effectively demoted from deputy chief of mission to desk officer,” Hicks said.“They stopped short of interviewing people who I personally know were involved in key decisions,” said Eric Nordstrom, who works in the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security.The Benghazi attack has become a point of bitter contention between the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans, who assert that the nation’s Democratic leadership was slow to respond to the attack and has since attempted to cover up what truly happened on the eleventh anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Hicks testified that he got a sense that he “needed to stop the line of questioning” after he asked superiors why then-UN ambassador Susan Rice initially blamed the anger that led to the attack on a YouTube video, not terrorists. “I was stunned,” he said of her explanation. “My jaw dropped and I was embarrassed.” After his relations with bosses turned frosty, Hicks said, he was told not to speak with a congressman investigating the attack. Upon defying that order Hicks claimed to receive an angry phone call from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills.Republicans have claimed that the issues they’ll uncover during the hearings this week will be enough to undercut Obama’s ability to lead the US. “This is a subject that has, from its beginning, been subject to attempts to politicize it by Republicans,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Wednesday. If White House officials are anxious for the story to disappear they should prepare to be disappointed. A cursory glance at a recent Google trends report, highlighted by Foreign Policy Magazine, reveals that based on their Internet searches, Americans care more about the Benghazi attack now than when it actually happened. On the week September 9-15, 2012 “Benghazi” as a search query scored 24 out of 100 peak interest points. The term then peaked at 100 points during the week preceding the presidential election, then dipped before rising again to 64 points this week. … Read More
