[Onthebarricades] Peace protests, global South and East, Apr-Aug 2008, part 1 of 2
Andy
ldxar1 at tesco.net
Thu Aug 28 21:40:20 PDT 2008
ON THE BARRICADES: Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/
* PERU: Protest against US presence
* UKRAINE: NATO "war games" protested, blockaded
* RUSSIA/GEORGIA: Peace protest in St Petersburg; human rights protest in
Moscow
* GEORGIA: Locals protest Russian presence in port
* GEORGIA/GLOBAL: 300 protest at UN over Russian aggression
* Georgian solidarity protests in UK, Sweden, Belgium, Canada, several
American cities, Israel, Lithuania and China
* KYRGYZSTAN: Short protest against American base
* NIGERIA: Niger Delta children protest kidnappings; women protest
violence
* UGANDA: Students protest against ongoing war in the north
* CZECH REPUBLIC: Rice visit and US-backed radar base protested
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20080602&articleId=9160
Peruvians to Protest US Military Presence
Global Research, June 2, 2008
Prensa Latina
Social organizations called to a general strike to protest against the
presence of US troops in Ayacucho, in central Peru. The general strike
will take place on July 8, according to a decision taken by the Ayacucho
Defense Front after it was announced that 70 US American soldiers had been
deployed in the area. Another 350 military troops will arrive soon.
Front chairman Iver Maravi said protesters will demand the withdrawal of
the foreign troops, because its presence, which was approved by
congressional conservative forces, goes against national sovereignty and
dignity.
Army chief Gen. Edwin Donayre claimed the US troops will only perform
humanitarian tasks, without settling a permanent base in Peru.
However, former Army officer and opposition leader Ollanta Humala ruled out
Donayre's words.
Humala said the water wells and school classrooms to be built by the
American troops can be built by Peruvian workers and engineers.
Former Minister of Defense and Congressman David Waisman agreed with
military analyst Jose Robles on that the Ministry of Defense is lacking
transparency regarding the number of US military troops that has been
authorized to enter Peru.
http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/26316
June 18, 2008, 0:27
Ukrainian protesters say 'NATO go home!'
NATO's Secretary General has sparked protests during a visit to Ukraine
where he has pledged to do all he can to help the country's bid for
membership.
The comments from Jaap de Hoop Scheffer came at a news conference in Kiev as
Ukraine's government continues its push to join.
The government's stance differs from opinion polls which suggest the
majority of the population are against the plan.
Mr de Hoop Scheffer reiterated NATO's position on the matter. He once again
stressed that whatever political course Ukraine chooses the final decision
will remain with the Ukrainian public.
He said: "The NATO ambassadors are coming into areas where there is,
perhaps, a more critical attitude vis-à-vis NATO, to explain what the modern
NATO is and that nobody has anything to fear from the North Atlantic
alliance. The Ukrainian people will decide themselves what course they want
to follow, and that is the only right way."
According to the local laws there has to be a public referendum - people
have to vote on whether they want to see their country within the alliance
or not.
The NATO chief also reiterated that nobody should fear the alliance's
eastward expansion.
"Let's not forget that never in its history has NATO been directed against a
nation or against somebody," he said.
He also added that the decision to send Ukrainian servicemen to take part in
NATO operations will rest with Ukraine.
This is something President Viktor Yushchenko confirmed.
"I want to stress once again that Ukraine has no plans to locate any foreign
military bases on its territory. I would also like to dismantle the myth
that if Ukraine joins NATO membership action plan, it will make Ukrainian
military forces obliged to participate in all NATO operations. This is total
nonsense," said Mr Yushchenko.
However, many countries do not share this position, including Russia. It
sees the ambitions of Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO as a direct threat to
its national security.
Meanwhile, several hundred anti-NATO protesters took to the streets on
Monday and Tuesday, protesting against Mr. De Hoop Scheffer's arrival. The
campaigners are against Ukraine joining. They were carrying flags and
chanting anti-NATO slogans.
The NATO chief said during the press conference that he sees these protests
as a sign of democracy in Ukraine showing that people can freely speak their
mind.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=230058&version=1&template_id=39
Ukrainians protest Nato war games
Published: Tuesday, 15 July, 2008, 01:16 AM Doha Time
A British auxiliary navy ship passing a sculpture and lighthouse in the
Odessa port before the opening ceremony of Ukrainian-US Navy exercise Sea
Breeze 2008 in Odessa yesterday
KIEV: Several dozen Ukrainians yesterday protested the launch of Nato
military exercises in ex-Soviet Ukraine as US forces prepared for separate
war games in Georgia amid tensions between Moscow and Washington.
Dozens of protesters scuffled with police as they attempted to surround a
hall hosting the launch of the Sea Breeze-2008 Nato exercise in Ukraine's
Black Sea port of Odessa, television pictures showed.
A smaller group of demonstrators waved flags and chanted "Nato stop!" as a
Turkish vessel pulled into Odessa's harbour, Russia's NTV television
reported.
The Nato exercises "will increase political and military tensions in Europe
as a whole," Sergei Mironov, speaker of the upper house of the Russian
parliament, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency in Moscow.
Sea Breeze-2008, which lasts until July 26, will also include forces from
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Georgia,
Germany, Greece, Latvia, Macedonia and Turkey, officials said.
Separate military exercises dubbed Immediate Response-2008 are due to start
in Georgia today with Armenian, Azerbaijani, Ukrainian and US troops taking
part, a Georgian defence ministry spokeswoman said.
"The US-Georgia joint exercises will be held at the Vaziani military base"
less than 100km from the Russian border with a total of 1,650 servicemen
taking part, said the spokeswoman, Nana Intskirveli.
Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said yesterday in
Moscow that its military is ready to "neutralise" any threat to its nuclear
deterrent from US missile defence sites in Europe, Interfax news agency
reports.
"If we see the development of systems that could reduce our deterrent
potential, our military will have to take steps to neutralise the threat,"
Kislyak was quoted as saying at a briefing in Moscow.
He did not specify the steps that would be taken, saying "this will be
decided by military specialists."
"We would prefer not to have to do this," he added.
Kislyak said US proposals to ease Russian concerns about the missile shield,
which Washington claims is aimed at countering possible threats from states
such as Iran, remained in doubt.
"There are misunderstandings between what the US foreign and defence
ministers said here (in Moscow) and what their Czech and Polish partners
say. So this still remains in question," Kislyak said. - AFP
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/220265,communist-protestors-block-nato-warships-in-ukraine-harbour.html
Communist protestors block NATO warships in Ukraine harbour
Posted : Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:21:02 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Europe (World)
Kiev - Ten Communist rowboats blocked the exit of a squadron of NATO
warships from a Ukrainian harbour, Channel 5 television reported Monday.
Demonstrators manning the craft had set up a patrol line in Odessa bay
between the vessels and the open Black Sea, preventing NATO combat vessels
from departing to participate in the US-led Sea Breeze 2008 international
naval exercise.
Port officials had taken three boats into custody by mid-morning, but the
blockade was continuing as Ukrainian police attempted to convince the
protestors to move out of the way.
The anti-NATO activists were members of three extreme left-wing groups
opposed to Ukrainian cooperation with the Western alliance.
"The remaining seven boats are heroically continuing their blockade (of
Odessa port and the NATO warships)," a statement from the nationalist
Bratsvo group claimed.
The Sea Breeze maneuvers practicing peacekeeping operations had been
scheduled to begin on Monday.
The multi-national naval exercise, scheduled to take place from July 14 to
26, includes warships from the US, Belgium, Germany, Turkey, Latvia,
Denmark, Canada, and Greece; as well as non-NATO members Macedonia, Georgia,
and Ukraine.
More than 1,000 NATO ground troops, 30 warships, and dozens maritime
helicopters and aircraft will practice landings and ship-to-shore
operations.
Ukraine's contribution to the training is the largest in the 11-year history
of the exercises and includes 15 warships, four planes, ten helicopters, and
500 soldiers and sailors.
NATO has helped the Ukrainians participate in the annual naval exercises by
providing money to help Kiev pay for fuel and food for its cash-strapped
military.
Ukraine's pro-West government strongly favours membership in NATO, despite a
luke-warm to antagonistic attitude towards the alliance by most Ukrainians.
Some 200 anti-NATO demonstrators gathered near the House of Officers
building in Odessa carrying signs saying, among other comments, "NATO is
worse than Gestapo!," "Ukraine and Russia - Brothers!," and "Odessa will not
invite NATO into its house!"
Russian officials have spoken out against the Sea Breeze training, arguing
that intensified Ukrainian association with NATO is threatens Russian
national security.
Ukrainian officials have alleged that local left-wing groups routinely
protesting Ukraine-NATO training are funded by the Kremlin, a charge denied
by Moscow.
http://www.macroworldinvestor.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=314701521
Protesters block Ukraine NATO exercises
Released : Monday, July 21, 2008 2:03 PM
Ukrainian protesters said Monday they had blocked NATO warships from
participating in a military exercise in the Black Sea.
The Bratstvo, or Brotherhood Party, issued a press release Monday saying its
members had moved boats into positions blocking the exits from the port of
Odessa, preventing NATO ships from participating in the Sea Breeze 2008
exercise, RIA Novosti reported.
The left-wing group said three of its boats were detained, but the others
continued the blocking operation.
The NATO drill in Odessa is being accompanied by numerous protests by local
residents. This demonstrates the public mood in Ukraine over the
government's course toward early admission to the alliance, the news agency
reported the group as saying.
Ukrainian politicians opposed to the government's moves to join NATO said
during the run-up to Sea Breeze they would organize mass protests to disrupt
the drills, and last week protesters set up a camp in western Crimea to
picket the exercises, RIA Novosti said.
http://en.rian.ru/photolents/20080725/114888065.html
Ukrainians protest Sea Breeze 2008 in Crimea
The NATO-led military exercise Sea Breeze 2008 began July 14 in the Odessa
region and will continue through July 26. The drills will be held on
training grounds in the Odessa region, Crimea and the Black Sea.
http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/27618
July 17, 2008, 13:05
Protests dog NATO-Ukraine war games
Fresh protests in Ukraine have hit the NATO-led naval exercise underway in
the Black Sea off the coast of the Crimean peninsula. The two week exercise,
known as Sea Breeze, involves 17 countries that want to build co-operation
and develop greater maritime security.
But it's attracted controversy, and sporadic opposition, from Ukrainians who
are against the country's plans to join NATO.
But at the site of the exercise itself, in waters next to Russia's Black Sea
fleet, the protests have done little to trouble the crew of most of the
servicemen taking part.
A Ukrainian flag on a U.S. vessel is the unusual sight on board the USS
McFaul, one of the youngest destroyers in the American fleet, which has
docked at Odessa's harbour.
The battleship - equipped with multiple guns, torpedoes, two
rocket-launching systems and manned by several hundred men- is made for
combat operations at sea. But it has come to the Ukrainian port on a
peaceful mission.
Mark Postill, Command Systems Officer on USS McFaul, says: "The exercise is
based on an evacuation, basically to help people in different countries,
either evacuate or support them in case of natural disasters - floods or
hurricanes."
The experienced crew immediately got down to what they came for, putting on
the first practical display of the military exercise. Fortunately, they've
never had to deal with this situation for real: extinguishing a fire on a
damaged helicopter and rescuing an injured pilot.
Their colleagues from 15 countries who were also on board, including Turkey,
France and Greece, seemed impressed.
Something that would hardly have been possible three or four decades ago,
the fleet of the hosts stands just several hundred meters away from USS
McFaul. The Ukrainians have yet to start their practical exercises but are
now getting ready to begin.
Their ships might not be as big or well equipped as the NATO vessels, but
the crews insist they can hold their own.
Young sailor Dmitry Livak said: "We've got guided missiles and torpedo
launchers. These weapons look good and they are really powerful. In fact,
the whole ship is a weapon".
http://en.for-ua.com/news/2008/08/22/131048.html
News / 22 August 2008 | 13:10
Sevastopol holding protest actions against Ukraine's involvement into
military conflicts
Representatives of youth public organizations, the National Movement party,
the congress of Ukrainian nationalists and Ukrainian People's party are
holding a protest action in the center of Sevastopol against the Ukraine's
involvement into military conflicts and usage of Russian symbols on he
territory of Ukraine.
About one thousand representatives of organizations from of Kyiv, Odesa,
Mykolayev, Kharkiv and other cities are taking part in the protest action.
The participants are holding banners "Sevastopol is not Tskhinvali", "War
with Georgia is not a feat, but crime against humanity", "Medvedev, Ukraine
does not need your peacemakers."
The activists are also distributing papers and photos made in the region of
military operations in Georgia.
http://www.sptimesrussia.com/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=26842
Anti-War Protestors Gather in Central St. Petersburg
By Sergey Chernov
Staff Writer
Sergey Chernov / The St. Petersburg Times
Anti-war protestors gathering at Maly Konyushennaya Ulitsa on Tuesday.
An anti-war rally drew dozens of protesters to central St. Petersburg on
Tuesday despite government-controlled media presenting Russians as unanimous
in supporting the invasion of Georgia.
Russian media has been waging an anti-Georgian campaign since hostilities
between Georgia and Russia began last week.
Around 60 people gathered on Malaya Konyushennaya Ulitsa, next to a statue
of writer Nikolai Gogol, with about 40 holding banners, on Tuesday evening.
One of the posters criticized the Russian media's response to the conflict
with the slogan, "We Need Information, Not Propaganda."
Others read, "Stop the War" and "Human Life Is Priceless."
Organized by the youth wing of the democratic party Yabloko, the rally
called for the "cessation of military action and the establishment of peace
in the South Ossetian conflict zone."
"The organizers will refrain from apportioning blame about who started the
war," a news release about the rally stated.
"There will be neither words of support nor words of condemnation directed
to the conflict's participants. The action's participants intend to call
both sides to stop killing peaceful citizens and to sit down at the
negotiating table."
The organizers brought blank sheets of paper and markers to allow
participants who had no posters to create their own on the spot. People
squatted on the ground to write such slogans as "All People Are Brothers,
War Is a Crime," and "We Are With Those Who Are Being Killed, Not With Those
Who Are Killing."
Although the protesters had secured permission from the authorities, there
was a police van and an OMON special-task police force truck parked close to
the site on nearby Nevsky Prospekt. But the police did not interfere.
Nevertheless, one police officer recorded protesters on a video camera,
while another copied down what was written on the posters in a notebook.
Olga Kurnosova, the local leader of Garry Kasparov's United Civil Front,
part of pro-democracy coalition The Other Russia, took part in the rally and
held aloft a handwritten poster that said, "No to War!"
The United Civil Front issued a statement blaming President Dmitry Medvedev
and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for violating the Constitution by starting
military action without the necessary sanction from the Federation Council
and called for immediate negotiations, troop withdrawal and an end to the
war.
The war in Georgia will also be addressed by musicians and speakers at a
United Civil Front-promoted outdoor concert, "Rock for Freedom," due to take
place on Ploshchad Sakharova on Aug. 22, the movement's spokesman said on
Thursday.
Televizor, SP Babai and other bands have been scheduled to perform in the
concert, which marks the anniversary of the failed 1991 coup d'etat by
Soviet hardliners.
Meanwhile, Alexei Nikonov, the frontman of local punk band Posledniye Tanki
v Parizhe (Last Tanks in Paris), also known as PTVP, announced that his
band's next concert, at Mod on Aug. 27, would be against the war in Georgia.
"This is war," he said in a statement this week.
"The crisis was inevitable. They need a small victorious war... Oil pipes,
imperial hallucinations, but the main thing is the money, it's always the
same... Inflation? Poverty? The power of the oligarchy? The war for them is
a solution to every problem. This is how the state acts. Imperialism
hypnotizes through aggression. We are responding the only way we know how."
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/protest-action-against-systematic-violation-human-rights-north-caucasus
Protest action against systematic violation of human rights in the North
Caucasus
by Babel-Fish | August 22, 2008 at 01:24 am | 73 views | add comment
Russia has a deep history of violating human rights, these people however
are protesting and they now have the rights to do so and rightly so.
RUSSIA, Moscow. On July 10 in Moscow at Novopushkinsky Square, the Moscow
department of the United Civil Front conducted a protest meeting against the
systematic violation of human rights in the North Caucasus. Participants
included representatives from the Committee on Anti-War actions, the human
rights center "Memorial", and the "Defense" movement - a total of about 30
people.
The organizers' statement said: "Do not believe deceitful propaganda!
Violence in the North Caucasus continues as before. Instead of proposing
social projects to Russian citizens of this region, the Putin - Medvedev
regime prefers to solve problems by shootings and by repression.
Hostage-taking by intelligence agencies and unjustified aggression with
respect to people who are only suspected of connections with fighters in the
North Caucasus long ago became standard. In Moscow and throughout central
Russia, people do not understand to what extent the prevailing situation is
monstrous. What exactly is occurring in the North-Caucasian republics?
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKLN22026420080823
Georgians protest against Russian soldiers at port
Sat Aug 23, 2008 11:11am BST
POTI, Georgia, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Up to 1,000 Georgians protested angrily on
Saturday against the presence of about 20 Russian soldiers at a post just
outside the strategic Black Sea port of Poti, insisting they had no right to
stay there.
Earlier, a senior Russian general in Moscow said Russian forces would patrol
the town -- vital for Georgia's economy -- even though it lies outside the
buffer zone with breakaway Abkhazia and where Moscow says its peacekeepers
will operate.
The soldiers, who had been digging trenches at the post, told the crowd they
were peacekeepers. They wore peacekeeping badges. The protesters honked car
horns and waved Georgian flags.
(Reporting by Niko Mchedishvili; writing by Matt Robinson; editing by Gareth
Jones) (matt.robinson at thomsonreuters.com: +995 32 999 370))
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nygeor155802042aug15,0,3040066.story?track=rss
300 gather at UN to protest Russian forces in Georgia
BY MARIA ALVAREZ | Special to Newsday
August 15, 2008
More than 300 people chanting "Stop Russian aggression" protested Russian
forces in Georgia at the UN and the Russian consulate yesterday.
"The mission here is to inform the American people what is happening and
what Russia is doing," said Nick Chkheidze, 38, of Great Neck, who led the
march up Third Avenue.
The rush-hour demonstration yesterday demanded Russian forces retreat from
Georgia, where a Russian offensive forced back Georgian troops seeking
control over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russian forces have
since plunged deeper into Georgia.
"It's a tragedy for us. Russia is spreading its borders," Chkheidze said as
protesters chanted "Russia out of Georgia." He said his parents still live
in Tbilisi, the capital, where he was a doctor and an organizer of Georgia's
1990s nationalist movement.
"Russians are still killing civilians at this moment," said Chkheidze, who
moved to the U.S. eight years ago and works as a radiologist in Queens.
Duda Kvitsian, 32, of Huntington, said his father and brother-in-law are
stranded in the remote mountain village of Racha-Ambrolauri. He said they
went to rescue his 4-year-old nephew, who was vacationing with his
grandparents.
"They had to turn back when they reached Gori. There were too many
explosions and bombings," Kvitsian said. About 15 of Kvitsian's relatives
are holed up in the village waiting for the bombings to stop.
He said his family told him that the Russian army was still bombing Gori and
its outskirts. "They are scared because they don't know if they will have
enough food, and they are scared that Russians tanks will enter Tbilisi,"
Kvitsian said.
"I have not slept," he added. "My friends and family are psychologically
devastated. I feel their horror." He was shaking his head in disbelief.
"It's outrageous," said Naria Vassilidze, of Elizabeth, N.J. Her brother and
sister-in-law live in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Her sister-in-law is
from South Ossetia.
"We are all Georgians," Vassilidze said. "It's been that way for 2,000 years
until the Russians came in."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008107158_localgeorgia12m.html?syndication=rss
Local Georgians protest
The Seattle area's Georgian community - small in size at maybe a couple
dozen families - raised its voice forcefully Monday...
By Leslie Anne Jones and Stuart Eskenazi
Seattle Times staff reporter
PREV of NEXT
ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Marika Abuashvili, of Issaquah, protests with others in the local Georgian
community.
The Seattle area's Georgian community - small in size at maybe a couple
dozen families - raised its voice forcefully Monday to condemn the Russian
invasion that has displaced tens of thousands of Georgians and threatens to
eviscerate an emerging democracy.
As Pacific Northwest-based relief agencies World Vision and Mercy Corps
mobilized in and around the capital of Tbilisi to assist refugees, a group
of about 40 people demonstrated in front of the Russian Consulate in
downtown Seattle.
They held red-and-white Georgian flags and signs that read "Stop Russian
Invasion" and "Russia is Destroying Georgian Democracy," while waving to
honking motorists. Representatives of the Russian Consulate declined to
comment.
Some protesters were anxiously awaiting word from relatives. Marika
Abuashvili, 46, who attended the protest with her sons, said she couldn't
locate her three aunts and their families. With her boys, Abuashvili came to
the U.S. in 1992 as a refugee after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the
conflict that ensued.
"Being a political refugee, this is a horrendous déjà vu," she said.
Over the weekend, the University of Washington's Office of International
Programs & Exchanges canceled a four-week seminar visit to Georgia for a
small group of students. The trip was to begin Aug. 25.
"Few countries offer the opportunity to witness and study the trials and
tribulations of the transition to democracy and market economy that Georgia
does today," a description of the seminar said.
Archil Kublashvili, a programmer with Microsoft who has accounted for the
safety of his family in Georgia, said the Georgian community in the Seattle
area is disparate, with no church or community center at which to
congregate.
Kublashvili arrived in the U.S. as a student in 1994 and moved here for a
job in 1999. Others sought asylum during the war with Russia in the early
1990s; others are married to Americans.
"People here need to wake up - this is fascism in the 21st century,"
Kublashvili said. "If Georgia folds, and no one helps us, Ukraine is next
and then the Baltic States. There is simply no stopping of Russia."
Lia Shartava, who has lived in the U.S. for nine years, spent three hours
Monday morning phoning friends and relatives in Georgia to make sure her
13-year-old daughter was safe. The girl lives in Tbilisi but was vacationing
in the western part of the country and can't return home because the route
back to the capital is blocked, her mother said.
"I'm so terrified she's going to be on a train and it starts bombing," she
said.
Relief workers assigned to projects to help the developing country have
switched their focus to assisting refugees.
World Vision, based in Federal Way, has been in Georgia since 1994, said
Rachel Wolff, communications director for disaster response. Currently, 155
staffers - almost all Georgian nationals - manage several projects,
including loans to poor entrepreneurs, HIV/AIDS prevention and support for
disabled children and children living on the streets.
Wolff said the staffers have turned their attention to assisting refugees
with food and other essentials. Some have gone to Tbilisi, which has a high
concentration of refugees.
Wolff said that World Vision plans to recruit another 150 or so workers in
Georgia and surrounding countries to assist in relief efforts.
Mercy Corps, based in Portland, has been working in Georgia since 2000, with
15 staffers currently, all Georgian citizens. The organization was in the
process of hiring Georgians for a program to nurture peaceful and respectful
interaction among youth of different ethnicities in the separatist province
of South Ossetia, where the most intense fighting has occurred.
"It's sad to see any of our programs put on the back burner, but
particularly when that program was trying to head off exactly what
happened," said Joy Portella of Mercy Corps' Seattle office.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3583370,00.html
Israeli hurls bottles at Russian embassy in protest of Georgia war
(VIDEO) Jerusalem resident detained after throwing bottles at Russian
embassy in Tel Aviv; investigation into incident continues
Raanan Ben-Zur
Published: 08.16.08, 21:16 / Israel News
VIDEO - Police arrested Saturday a 47-year-old Israeli man who hurled empty
bottles in the direction of a security guard at the Russian embassy in Tel
Aviv in protest of the war in Georgia.
photos: Yaron Brener
Embassy employees notified the Lev Tel Aviv police station, and officers
dispatched to the scene located the suspect, a resident of Jerusalem, and
took him in for questioning.
The initial investigation into the incident revealed that the man, a new
immigrant from Russia, made the trip from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, collected
several empty bottles and hurled them at the embassy in protest of the
Russian invasion of Georgia.
The man has been released on bail, but police are continuing the
investigation against him.
Last week several dozen Israelis of Georgian descent staged a demonstration
outside the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv to protest the war.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/368855/1/.html
Georgians stage protests in European capitals
Posted: 17 August 2008 0523 hrs
Pro-Georgians in Kiev, Ukraine, protest against Russia's military actions in
Georgia.
LONDON: Georgians took to the streets in European capitals on Saturday to
protest the conflict with Russia, with demonstrations in London, Brussels
and Stockholm.
In the British capital, about 200 Georgians rallied opposite the Houses of
Parliament, with many waving the Georgian flags, while others held placards
and peace flags.
"We don't want it to be war. We just want our land back," said Paata
Kharauli, 20, a Georgian student studying English.
"We're waiting for the United States and Britain but they don't help us. We
would like them to bring their armies to put in the middle so the Russians
don't come any more," he told AFP.
Asked how he thought Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is handling the
crisis, he said: "I don't think Saakashvili is doing very good things
because he knew Russia has very big power and he knew we can't win with
Russia."
Demonstrators on Parliament Square, in the shadow of Big Ben, waved
placards - one reading "Give peace a chance" and another saying "Honk if you
support Georgia".
Another student, aged 29, who gave his name only as Nicholas, said: "We need
just peace and our territorial integrity."
He said Georgia wanted "moral support" from Western countries.
Asked what he thought of the French-brokered peace deal, he said: "We hope
that it will work because the whole progressive population of the world
supports Georgia and understands what is the real reason for this conflict."
"War and blood is not our purpose. We just want peace and our territories
back."
In Brussels, members of the Georgian community dressed the Manneken Pis, the
Belgian capital's landmark statuette of a boy urinating in a fountain, in
Georgian red-and-white national costume.
"For us, the national costume is very important," a Georgian told Belgium's
RTBF public television. "To wear it in the days of the Russian Empire was to
defy authority."
Another pro-Georgian protest took place nearby outside the Brussels stock
exchange.
In Stockholm, protesters gathered in front of the Russian embassy. Police
said 100 people were involved, while organisers claimed that up to 200
demonstrated.
The protest was staged by the the liberal Swedish political magazine Neo and
the youth wings of moderate political parties.
Neo editor Sofia Nerbrand urged the Kremlin to "respect the choice of
Russia's neighbours - former Soviet colonies which are trying to install
democracy in their countries". - AFP/de
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/12/BATM129441.DTL&feed=rss.news
Worried Georgians protest at Russian Consulate in S.F.
Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
More in sadness than in anger, about a hundred men, women and children from
the Bay Area's Georgian community staged a peaceful protest in bright
sunshine Monday at the Russian Consulate in San Francisco.
Their small nation, they say, is being crushed by the Russian army and their
families are in danger.
"We need help now," said David Kharadze, who delivered an impassioned speech
to the crowd. "We need help now," he said again, his voice rising, "Not
tomorrow, or the day afterward."
Kharadze, who is an importer of Georgian wine and has an office in San
Francisco, said the aim of the demonstration was to pressure the Russians to
accept international mediation to stop the Russian invasion, which began
late last week. Russian forces have rolled over the much weaker Georgian
military, and Russian planes have bombed Georgian cities.
Kharadze and others in the crowd see the invasion, which was sparked by a
long dispute over two small separatist regions, is a pretext to re-establish
Russian power over the small nation on the Black Sea.
"It happened to Czechoslovakia and Poland and Afghanistan in the last
century," Kharadze told the crowd, "and it's happening in Georgia right
now."
"We are fighting for democracy and for our freedom," he said.
The Russian Consulate in San Francisco did not return calls seeking comment,
but George Avisov, president of the San Francisco-based Congress of Russian
Americans, offered another view.
He believes the Georgians had oppressed ethnic Russians in their country.
"The situation is complex," he said, not easily explained in headlines and
on television.
He thinks the United States has been supporting the Georgians and their
government as a way to weaken Russia. "The Russians are America's
competitors," he said, and the media's coverage has been "biased and unfair"
to the Russian position.
Georgia, a country that has an elected government and has close relations
with the United States, was dominated by Russia for over 200 years; after
the czarist regime fell, Georgia declared its independence but was forced to
join the Soviet Union in 1921. The most famous Georgian was Josef Stalin.
When the Soviet Union broke up, Georgia became independent again.
Now, the Georgians say, the Russians have used the pretext of a dispute over
two breakaway regions - South Ossetia and Abkhazia - to launch an invasion.
"If we let them get away with this," Kharadze said, "next time it will be
Ukraine or the Baltic states. The Soviet Union is coming back."
The dispute is an old one, say Vakhtang Crikoveni and his wife, Shorena
Kurtsikiolze, who teach at UC Berkeley. They feel the dispute over the two
separatist regions has been stirred up by the Russians for their own
purposes.
"It is as if some foreign country came to San Francisco's Chinatown and
tried to get the Chinese to break away from the United States," Kurtsikiolze
said.
Meanwhile, at the consulate, the Georgians shouted slogans, waved signs and
asked Americans to sign a petition to California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and
Barbara Boxer. Several police officers stood by, but the protest remained
orderly.
"What else can we do?" said Lasha Tsatava, a San Francisco financial
adviser, who had wrapped himself in the red and white Georgian flag. "We are
trying to get the world aware of this issue."
http://www.breitbart.com/image.php?id=iafp080809200416.myrhof44p3&show_article=1
People protest against Russia in Vilnius
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People protest with Georgian flags against Russia and demand Russia stop its
incursion into Georgian territory, outside the Russian embassy in Vilnius.
US President George W. Bush led western calls Saturday for Russia to end its
military onslaught against Georgia and Poland demanded an emergency European
Union summit to discuss the conflict over South Ossetia.
http://www.nbc5.com/news/17173700/detail.html
Georgians In Chicago Protest Russian Military Action
Priests At Russian Orthodox Churches Counseling Both Sides
POSTED: 6:31 pm CDT August 12, 2008
UPDATED: 7:06 pm CDT August 12, 2008
CHICAGO -- Georgian-Americans on Tuesday took to the streets to protest
Russian military action in the former Soviet republic. NBC5's Dick Johnson
reported that the protest grew larger in size and visibility, moving to
Michigan Avenue.
Priests at the Chicago area's Russian Orthodox churches found themselves
counseling both sides of the conflict, Johnson reported. At Holy Trinity
Orthodox church on the West Side, parishioners include those who were born
in both Georgia and Russia.
"With the hostilities that were going on, we took special petitions and
special prayers to ask God to intercede for no more loss of life or a
peaceful resolution on all sides," said the Rev. John Adamcio of Holy
Trinity.
One of those parishioners, Alla Garklays, said she empathizes with the
Northwestern University researcher interviewed by Johnson on Monday, whose
Georgian wife and American-born daughter have spent the summer in Georgia
and now trapped in the unrest.
"It is hard, you feel tension," she said. "It's also sad at the same time,
because we teach our children to love each other, no matter which color you
are, which nationality you are."
On Tuesday, Russia agreed to a ceasefire proposed by the European Union, but
in the same breath, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev claimed, "the
aggressor is punished, its military forces demoralized."
Those words haunted the protestors, Johnson reported. Protestors said they
were worried that the cease-fire between the two sides would not last.
"We need long-term peace," said Anna Oniani, who was at the protest on
Tuesday. "They need to get the message that this is our territory."
Georgians said they feared this would not be the last time Russia tried to
compromise the country's democratically elected president and force a regime
change. President George W. Bush has said that would be "unacceptable."
The New York Times reported evidence of a first-ever cyber attack that
apparently preceded the Russian bombing, during which it appears there was
an effort to disable Georgian computers and the Web site of its
American-educated president.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/georgia/2535382/Anti-Russian-protest-by-pro-Georgians-outside-London-embassy.html
Anti-Russian protest by pro-Georgians outside London embassy
Dozens of pro-Georgian protesters gathered outside the Russian Embassy in
west London, some breaking down in tears.
By Andy Bloxham
Last Updated: 4:13PM BST 11 Aug 2008
The group, aged between about seven and 60, chanted in Georgian and waved
placards which denounced Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as a war
criminal.
One woman, who appeared to be in her 50s, cried as she shouted slogans
against Russia's bombing of the former Soviet state.
A handful of police officers kept an eye on the protest which was generally
peaceful. One man who attempted to climb over a barrier into the grounds of
the embassy but was pulled back by officers.
The banners included the demands 'Red Army get out from (sic) Georgia',
'Stop Russian Aggression' and 'Putin terrorist stop terrorising civilians'.
British expatriates in the battered region of South Ossetia reported that
the Georgian troops appeared to have withdrawn from the area and a ceasefire
appeared to be in effect.
Richard Delaney, 29, a property consultant originally from Hereford who
works in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, said: "The Georgians are just getting
on with things. It's business as usual, it's only some of the charity
workers who have evacuated.
"The people who seem to be most affected are the Georgian businessmen who
are worried that foreign investors will now stop coming here."
http://kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net/2008/04/22/small-protest-action-against-us-base
Short Protest Action Against US base
Posted by Elena Skochilo | in Click on Pic, Protests, Politics | on April
22nd, 2008
Tags: No Tags
Communist party and Foundation of Sergiy Radonezhskiy and Manas have held a
short protest action against the American airbase today.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805200298.html
Nigeria: Children Protest Kidnaps
Vanguard (Lagos)
20 May 2008
Posted to the web 20 May 2008
John Abayomi
CHILDREN in Port Harcourt protested weeks back about the series of kidnaps
in which they are victims.
Barely out of their diapers, unaware of the intrigues of the world, they
have become targets of criminals, who are exploiting the insensitivities of
the authorities have reduced issues of the Niger Delta to rhetoric.
Since May last year, the cases of children (some infants) being kidnapped,
have risen. Some are taken from their parents' homes, others have fallen
victims of domestic aides, who connive with other criminals to snatch them
on their way to school. Parents have invested heavily in the security of
their children. The measures are hardly successful, since persons detailed
to cater for the children, may be the ones to kidnap them.
Why are the children the current target of kidnappers? The main reason could
be parents' emotional attachment to them. They are soft targets yet promised
ransoms on them arrive quicker, as their parents cannot bear hearing their
children narrating their ordeals.
Security measures also seem to have been improved around foreigner, the
former targets, increasing the risks of taking them, and the chances of
being caught. The best security most children get are the drivers who take
them to school, and in rare cases a policeman, whose arms, on attack, might
harm the child.
Kidnappers have redirected their attention to Port Harcourt's prosperous
business class and politicians whose wealth is obvious. They reckon that
each of their children is worth millions of Naira and there is no parent who
would not value a child more than millions of Naira. With this assumption,
they pick their victims, snatch the children and start making the calls to
their parents.
Efforts of security agencies have paled beside the enormity of the problem.
Many families do not bother with reporting the incidents. They pay to have
their children back. Others make agreed payments to criminals for protection
from attacks by other groups. Either way, it is a flourishing business for
the criminals.
The protesting children in a letter they delivered to the Rivers State
Government alluded to the reasons for the thriving kidnapping business -
high unemployment among young people and the despoliation of the Niger
Delta, which governments have elected to treat with words.
Kidnaps began as tools to gain global attention for the environmental
degradation that oil exploration and government's insolence have poured on
the region. Then the victims were mostly foreign oil workers, whose
organisations were largely held responsible for the decay of the Niger
Delta.
Things have changed. Kidnapping has become business, with high possibilities
that the criminals are not all from the Niger Delta.
Now that children have joined the protests against kidnaps and the state of
the Niger Delta, governments may pay attention to this issue, which they
delight in ignoring. Kidnap cases are resolved under hazy conditions. Claims
of no ransom payments are unconvincing. Criminals do not engage in
unprofitable ventures.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805051299.html
Nigeria: Women Protest Against Militants
Leadership (Abuja)
5 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
Austine Unoarumi
Hundreds of women in Bayelsa State embarked on a protest rally weekend
against perceived engagement of youths and women in political violence in
the Niger Delta states, calling on politicians to desist from the act and
give peace a chance.
The women, under the aegis of the Bayelsa Women for Peace, were in their
hundreds and led by the state chairperson of the National Council for Women
Societies, Mrs. Abosede Apere.
Delivering their position before the wife of the acting governor, Mrs.
Iyorozeti Seibarogu, the women said though election violence could not be
totally ruled out in the region, the resultant effect is on women, who
become victims of the arms and ammunition provided for the youths used
during an election.
They said over the years, the youths hired by these politicians eventually
returned to the creeks with guns and become dangerous specie to the riverine
communities.
"I must say the rivers are no longer safe for the women due to the
activities of these sea pirates. We are tired of political crises and we
need peace in the state," Mrs. Apere stated.
Responding, Mrs Seibarugu appealed to politicians and youths to shun
violence and reject all forms of indiscipline so as to enable the government
achieve some progress.
She expressed dismay that women and children bear the brunt during violent
situations, such as elections; praying that the forthcoming re-run
governorship poll would be free and fair and devoid of violence.
"We the people of Bayelsa State deserve the best that the government can
offer, and we can only achieve this if we live in peace and harmony. I
implore all the women here to go back home and advise our children not to
allow themselves to be used to cause trouble. Let us Bayelsans show to the
rest of the nation that something good can come out of Bayelsa and Niger
Delta as a whole, that it is possible to achieve peaceful campaigns during
the forthcoming elections."
She argued that peace could be achieved if their husbands and children are
not fighting each other, stressing that the women should not be tired of
preaching peace from now on.
Meanwhile, the militants over the weekend launched an attack on an oil ship
off the coast of the country and took two people hostage.
A military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Sagir Musa, who confirmed the
attack yesterday, said that the two hostages were the captain of the ship, a
foreigner and a Nigerian, whose full identities were still not known at the
time of the report .
"The captain, a white man whose identity is still unknown and the Nigerian
engineer of the ship, were abducted by the gunmen," Musar told AFP.
"The attack took place 15 nautical miles northwest from the Bonny channel,"
he said, adding that the military have launched a manhunt for the attackers.
The incident, which occurred a day earlier, came after an attack on Shell
oil wells and a flow station in southern Bayelsa State, leading to a cut in
the company's output.
Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer exporting 2.14 million barrels of
crude per day, has seen an upsurge in violent attacks on the oil and related
industry in the past two years, a situation that has resulted into a hike in
oil price at the international market.
Meanwhile, the wife of a notable Niger Delta militant, Mr Henry Okah, has
accused the Federal Government of a fresh plot to exterminate the life of
her husband who is currently facing a secret trial at the Federal High Court
in Jos, Plateau State.
According to a three-page statement made available to LEADERSHIP in Port
Harcourt, Mrs. Azuka Okah, whose husband is being charged to court on ground
of cultism and treasonable felony, alleged that during her recent visit to
her husband, the suspect disclosed that he has narrowly escaped poison on
three occasions.
She said: "On my first visit to the venue of the trial at the Federal High
Court, Jos, I was allowed to see and meet my husband for only ten minutes
since he was illegally extradited to Nigeria from Angola. While speaking
with him I was pointedly sandwiched by three SSS men listening to all our
discussions.
"My husband informed me that the SSS men assured him that he would be kept
in the military underground cell in the Directorate of Military Intelligence
(DMI) for one year without anyone knowing he was brought into the country.
The SSS has refused/failed to obey the court order that my husband be kept
in the custody of the civilian SSS and be accessible to his lawyers and
family.
"That for that 10 minutes, my husband informed me that he is kept in a
military formation up northern Nigeria in an underground cell . The said
underground cell has searchlights on him 24 hours hence he does not know day
or night.
He informed me that he suspected he was poisoned thrice and was stolling
continuously with an excruciating abdominal pain. He said he went on eight
days of hunger strike and was eventually taken to an unknown hospital.
"Also, that twice, two venomous snakes mysteriously attacked him in his
underground cell. That at every given time, 10 spy hidden cameras plus a
microphone implanted in the small square cell watch over him 24/7.
"He said that in the last three months since he was brought to Nigeria on
the 14th February 2008, he has seen sunlight only three times; these were
only during court days.
"That he has been able to consult with his lawyers for only 30 minutes in
total: i .e 30 seconds for each of the 55 charges levelled against him.
Invariably, his lawyers have had no access to him.
"This is contrast to the DPP and his over 1000 team of ministry/SSS lawyers
and federal operative who have been preparing there prosecution without let
or hindrance.
"I observed that all the soldiers, police, prosecutors, the judge, the
Attorney General (both from Benue) are all from the North. Same for the
venue.
"I want the world to know that this is the most one sided trial the world
will witness. Not even Adolf Hitler's men were subjected to the
inquisitorial, oppressive and one-sided mode of trial. Our constitution
provides for accusitorial criminal trial system.
"I have personally read the 1999 Nigerian constitution: section 36 provides
that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty; that he shall be
availed all facilities for a fair trial. The opposite is the case in my
husband's matter.
"From the small cubicle at the gate were I was confined, I saw that the
prosecution team, the SSS legal team and officials plus all other Federal
agents with the yellow arm band drive into the premises with their vehicles
and take their phones into the court freely, while my husband's lawyers are
searched, restricted and their phones and materials all seized.
"This is manifestly a violation of their legal rights to conduct this
defence in a conducive atmosphere; this is the most hostile trial
environment to behold in the history of this country, not even in the worst,
fascist Abacha regime. Even Charles Taylor, who allegedly committed heinous
war crimes, was availed all his rights and facility by our government.
"My children's letters, Bible tracks I sent to my husband and bank
instructions he wrote, have all been confiscated. As it stands, none was
delivered to him nor returned to me...
"My husband informed me that they equally want to ensure that he becomes
insane like Edward Atatah, who, despite being discharged by Jos court, is
still being held; this is to keep him away from the press and the public so
as to hide his insanity and the consequent public outcry.
"Edward Atatah became insane after the 7th day in Nigeria because of the
level of torture; this contrasts to even the Banana Republic of Angola where
they had access to a library, TV and other facilities. His insanity attests
to the psychological and otherwise tortures emitted. There are documents to
testify on their soundness of mind while in Angola despite their unjustiful
detention there.
"This is the same Edward Atatah that has been dicharged by the court for the
same crimes the Government alleged they jointly committed in Angola.
"The vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in a presidential jet
with other top government officials and other Niger Delta stakeholders
visited my husband on the 7th of July, 2007. They had a four-hour long
meeting at Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria . There is a disparity between this
visit and my husband's arrest at 1400hrs on the 3rd of September in Luanda,
Angola, and the reason for his illegal extradition to Nigeria.
"Some time in August 2007, before he traveled, my husband informed me that
President Yar'Adua phoned him in finding a lasting solution to the Niger
Delta crisis. My husband will also avail at the main trail the taped
telephone conversation he had on him on that fateful day the 7th of July
2007 in Pretoria, South Africa, and every taped telephone conversation he
held with all politicians and stakeholders of the Niger Delta. He has
instructed me that this must be done to avail the political cloud that
befalls him unjustly.
"My husband had told me back then that the discussion having hinged on the
Niger Delta crisis, that he had bluntly refused any and all monetary
inducement, including oil blocks. He stated that the lasting solution for
him was fiscal federalism and the 50% derivation as obtained in the
1960/1963 Nigerian constitutions.
"In my presence, my husband received a phone call from Mr. Godsday Orubebe,
now minister of special duties, who profusely pleaded to be the chief
negotiator for my husband in the reconcilation process. Why arrest this same
man? At the appropriate time the defence lawyers shall be availed the above
taped phone call of the 6thh of July 2007 by Mr. Orubebe and the taped
conversation/ meeting with the Vice President on that fateful day of the 7th
of july 2007.
"Also on Thursday , June 14, 2007 same Mr. Godsday Orubebe visited the Vice
President at the Presidential Villa on behalf of Henry Okah regarding the
peace and reconciliation process.
"By World Bank official report, 400 billion US Dollars of the Niger Delta
oil wealth has been stolen by less than 1% of Nigerians in name of
governance. Another 400 billion US Dollars is also unofficially stolen. Of
this, $12.2 billion disappeared during Gulf wind fall.
"A retired General appropriated Niger Delta oil blocks and sold them in one
day for 2 billion US Dollars; yet the ruling cabal in Abuja, the Omnibus
Emperors, continue to kill our deprived sons of the oil-rich soil daily. The
North, with all its arable land mass, is yet to sell same and share to all
the 36 states and 774 local governments to keep this most expensive, yet
least productive, Nigerian presidential system/sydicate.
"Ordinarily, the oil wealth is enough for all Nigerians to live confortably
as obtains in Norway, UAE, Kuwait and other progressive oil nations. Justice
is a floater; the Nigerian government is treading the path of all African
governments who have plunged their countries in conflicts.
"Once again, I see the pattern of a divide and rule strategy. We must not
sell our birth rights and kinsmen for political advancement that we will
eventually get with unity and focus."
http://allafrica.com/stories/200808140305.html
Uganda: Mapeera Students Protest Against War
New Vision (Kampala)
13 August 2008
Posted to the web 14 August 2008
Joseph Kariuki
Kampala
They came in large numbers. The mood was somber. There was no fanfare. For
how can we celebrate when Uganda has lost many lives to the insecurity in
northern region?
This was how Kisubi Mapeera High school on Entebbe Road celebrated their
peace day with the focus on finding a solution to the insecurity in the
north.
Some favored a political settlement with Kony and others preferred the
involvement of religious leaders.
"Power belongs to the people and therefore the people should solve their own
problems," John Katongole roared amidst cheers from about 300 students.
Supporting Katongole was Irene Awujo who said that peace clubs like their
Jazz Peace Club should be used to solve the insecurity in northern Uganda.
But the two faced opposition from Caesar Olweny. He said that power-sharing
was the only solution to the 20-year old war.
"We need to sign a power agreement and disarm the rebels," said Olweny. He
had more ammunition added to his gun by Winnie Arinaitwe who said that there
is need for equal distribution of the national pie.
After the debate, the drama group acted a skit on war in northern Uganda.
There was also a Swahili peace song by Arnest Nyenze Amani na kupenda.
Nakupenda wewe which loosely translates "I love peace, I love you peace".
The five judges, from Shoreline an organisation that preaches peace in
schools had a hard time choosing the winner. And the winners were ..opposers
meaning that, Kisubi Mapeera favors people-driven peace talks in northern
Uganda.
http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=322047
Protest prepared against Rice's visit to Prague
Prague- Several thousand protesters are expected to come to the Tuesday
demonstration against a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to
Prague on Tuesday morning, activists Jan Tamas and Jan Majicek told CTK
today.
Rice will visit the Czech Republic to sign the Czech-U.S. treaty on the
stationing of a U.S. radar base on Czech soil.
Tamas and Majicek said the signing of the treaty by Rice and her Czech
counterpart Karel Schwarzenberg did not mean the end of protests and their
No to Bases group wanted to focus on the autumn regional and Senate
elections.
Tamas said No to Bases only planned a rally at Prague's Wenceslas Square at
18:00 on Tuesday and no other events were being prepared.
"I have sent a request for a meeting with Rice to U.S. ambassador Richard
Graber," Tamas said.
"We'd like to meet her and pass our position to her. We'd like to tell her
that roughly two-thirds of Czechs are against the stay of foreign troops on
Czech soil," he added.
He said the protesters would march from the Wenceslas Square across the
Mustek and Malostranska streets to the U.S. embassy.
Tamas said the protest would be peaceful and no conflict with police was
expected.
Polls say some 70 percent of Czechs are against the project.
The United States wants to build the radar base at the Brdy military
district, some 90km southwest of Prague, and a base for ten interceptor
missiles in Poland within its missile shield.
The Central European elements are to protect the United States and a large
part of the European continent against missiles that states like Iran might
launch.
On Wednesday morning, Rice will fly to Poland.
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/peace/czech-police-attack-peaceland-20080613
Czech police attack Peaceland protest camp
Posted by saunvedan on 13 June 2008.
Our peaceful efforts to keep the nuclear arms race at bay were crushed by
Czech military police this week. Peaceland, a newly formed state sits on a
site earmarked for a radar station for US anti-missile defence on Czech
soil. Dubbed as part of the 'Son of Star Wars' project, this American
anti-missile circuit is apparently intended to destroy enemy rockets headed
for the US, and Greenpeace activists responded to this ludicrous plan by
inhabiting the proposed site and declaring independence, thus forming the
new country.
But the peace didn't last for long as on Monday, Czech military police
stormed the region and arrested all citizens including those high up in the
trees. Greenpeace activists put up a passive resistance and didn't leave,
even though they had known of the imminent attack. The fact that Condoleezza
Rice, US Secretary of State, is visiting Prague in July to sign treaties on
the planned radar base may have prompted the Czech government to round up
our activists.
We believe in defending the natural world and promoting peace, both of which
the 'Son of Star Wars' project denies as it promotes aggression and US
military dominance. This will lead to the development of increasingly
advanced weapons to overcome the defence thus sparking an arms race. It will
also make the Czech Republic a potential target if an 'enemy' decides to
take out the proposed radar based in the Brdy region. Incredibly, there
isn't even an existing threat to justify building the radar station as no
missile has the range to reach the US from its supposed enemies.
Greenpeace activists created Peaceland in response to global safety concerns
and the Czech government buckling under US pressure. Greenpeace Czech boss
Jirí Tutter, who is also a citizen of Peaceland, said, "We are convinced
that the whole project of national missile defense, including locating one
of the components on Czech territory, brings with it serious risks like
global imbalance, rising international tension and the start of new nuclear
arms race. We don't consider this missile defense project the right tool to
solve the serious problem before us."
After the crackdown this week on Peaceland citizens, Jan Freidinger,
Greenpeace coordinator of the Radar project said: "We are strongly
protesting against the intervention of the Czech military police. They had
no authority to arrest within the borders of Peaceland. The Czech prime
minister, Mirek Topolánek, whom we officially informed of the new state's
establishment and invited to Peaceland, said he had known about the attack
in advance. He must be crazy if he thinks of this attack as a friendly
visit."
http://www.mathaba.net/rss/?x=593126
Prague activists stage hunger protest against planned U.S. base
Posted: 2008/05/24
After two years of anti-base activism that included numerous marches and an
online petition, Humanist movement members Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar are now
staging a hunger strike to urge the government to stop radar base
negotiations with the United States and to hold a public referendum on the
issue.
Humanist movement members Jan Tamás and Jan Bednár are taking their protest
of the planned U.S. radar base on Czech soil to a new level this week. After
two years of anti-base activism that included numerous marches and an online
petition, they are now staging a hunger strike to urge the government to
stop radar base negotiations with the United States and to hold a public
referendum on the issue.
The strike, which started May 13, is being held at a Prague 2 headquarters,
complete with anti-armament exhibits, free information pamphlets and a small
living space.
Tamás, a Prague IT consultant, and Bednár, a graphic designer, are both
members of the No Bases Initiative, and are staging the protest with the
help of Humanist movement volunteers. During the strike they'll be living
onsite, posting daily Web updates and welcoming the public to stop by and
discuss the issue.
At the same time, solidarity strikes and other protest activities are being
held by peace organizations in Turin, Milan, Rome, Berlin, Budapest and
Copenhagen.
Tamás hopes the strike will last into June, when Czech and U.S. officials
are expected to sign a treaty to build the radar base as an extension of the
European missile-defense shield 90 miles southwest of Prague.
http://www.praguepost.com/articles/2008/06/04/radar-protest-gains-ground.php
Radar protest gains ground
Hunger strike becomes a chain effort
By Markéta Hulpachová
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
June 4th, 2008 issue
Three weeks after launching an internationally followed hunger strike to
protest the planned installment of a U.S. radar base some 90 kilometers (56
miles) from Prague, activists Jan Tamás and Jan Bednár suspended their fast
June 3. The pair is now organizing a series of protesters to continue the
demonstration in the form of a chain hunger strike.
Despite their appeals to the government urging an end to the radar
negotiations with the United States, none of the conditions Tamás and Bednár
set for the end of the hunger strike had been met.
"Even if we carried on with the hunger strike, the government would continue
to ignore us and our compromised health or even death would not change their
arrogance," said Tamás.
His statement comes one day after President Václav Klaus dismissed Tamás and
Bednár's requests for a meeting.
Calling the hunger strike an "extortion," Klaus told journalists June 2 that
such practices have no place in modern democracy.
"We are living in a standard parliamentary democracy," he said. "Hunger
strikes are suitable for totalitarian regimes."
While Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanová
echoed Klaus' stance toward Tamás and Bednár, Foreign Affairs Minister Karel
Schwarzenberg met the pair for a discussion, but did not agree to their
proposals.
The chain strike will be undertaken by local luminaries including former
dissident Petr Uhl and actress Anna Geislerová, who will take turns holding
one-day fasts.
The radar's installment depends on the ratification of two Czech-U.S.
treaties in a parliamentary vote this fall.
In a May 29 interview with The Washington Times, Klaus admitted that pushing
these treaties through Parliament will be difficult.
"It will not be easy," Klaus told the paper after meeting with U.S. Vice
President Dick Cheney to discuss missile defense.
He said local support for the radar reciprocated the growing opposition of
the Russian government, adding that Czechs were "extremely sensitive to any
patronizing from that part of the world."
While unsuccessful in changing the government's position, Tamás said the
hunger strike launched "a wave of protests" that he hopes will influence
members of Parliament during the upcoming vote.
Markéta Hulpachová can be reached at mhulpachova at praguepost.com
http://www.workers.org/2008/world/czechs_0724/
Czechs protest Rice visit over radar base treaty
By John Catalinotto
Published Jul 18, 2008 12:05 AM
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's idea of the Czech Republic's
"moving to democracy" is for the rightist Czech regime to sign a treaty
allowing U.S. radar bases that 70 percent of the Czech population reject and
for Czech troops to follow the U.S. lead in occupying countries all over the
world.
The Czech people disagree. When Rice was in Prague July 8 to sign the
treaty, people were out in the street protesting her visit. The Czech
parliament has not yet approved the treaty, and Communist Party and most
Social Democratic members of the parliamentary opposition have pledged to
vote against it. Even some Green Party members, who are in the government
coalition, oppose the treaty.
The radar base is part of a U.S. weapons system that includes interceptor
missiles to be located in neighboring Poland, where the population also
opposes the bases and where the rightist government is demanding billions in
military aid before signing on. The U.S. claims the task of the missile
system is to intercept nuclear missiles from Iran aimed at Europe. The
Russian government has called the bases a threat to Russia.
The Communist Youth Union (KSM), which has been actively campaigning against
the bases, was one of the groups mobilizing July 8 against Rice's visit. The
rightist Czech government has been using repressive measures to try to ban
the KSM, but the young communists are fighting not only to stay in existence
but also in anti-imperialist action.
According to a July 15 KSM statement, signing the treaty contradicts "the
opinion of the majority of the people in Czech Republic and is a clear
expression of the fully pro-imperialist policy of the government of the
Czech Republic." The KSM sees the base as developing "the domination of the
U.S. imperialism not only in Middle Europe but ... far to the east."
"The petition against the placement of the U.S. military base in Czech
Republic launched by the KSM has been signed by more than 180,000 people so
far," the KSM statement continues.
"The Communist Youth Union together with other progressive and democratic
organizations expressed its clear 'No' to all these steps of the state
pro-imperialist policy including the presence of the Czech troops in
Afghanistan, Iraq, in the Balkans and possibly in African Chad."
Articles copyright 1995-2008 Workers World. Verbatim copying and
distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without
royalty provided this notice is preserved.
http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=311646
Greenpeace protesters open bridge of meetings at Czech radar site
Misov- Activists from the Greenpeace movement and the No to Bases group
today opened a 15-metre-long wooden "bridge of meetings" within their
protest against the planned U.S. radar in the Brdy military district,
southwest of Prague.
Several Greenpeace activists have stayed at the spot height 718, the site
where the radar, part of the U.S. missile shield, is to be built, since
April 28.
They say they have built the bridge as a symbol that unites people, unlike
the radar.
A total of 150 visitors turned up in the protesters' camp in Brdy today and
singer Monika Naceva, along with British guitar player Justin Lavash gave a
concert there, the Greenpeace campaign head Jan Friedinger said.
"We will stay at the spot height, we're preparing further events," he said.
He said that several mayors of towns situated near the Brdy district visited
the protesters today, but no politician, not even deputies for the junior
ruling Green Party (SZ) whom the protesters had especially invited to come.
In the past days, several MPs for the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD)
reportedly visited the protesters.
Vaclav Novotny from No to Bases group said that the group's petition against
the radar has already been signed by about 100,000 people from all over the
country.
Greenpeace invite the public to visit the spot height 718 though it is
situated in the military district closed to the public, which people are
banned to enter without a special permit.
Those entering the area do so illegally and could be fined up to 3,000
crowns.
All access paths to the "radar site" were sealed by military police patrols
today, and the visitors had to go through the forest to reach the protest
camp.
The Czech centre-right government has been negotiating with the USA about
the radar for more than a year now, though a majority of Czechs and the
left-wing opposition are against the plan.
The two bilateral treaties concerning the radar might be signed in July at
the latest, Czech officials said this week.
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