http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23078/1/
Troops level two Palestinian homes in Jerusalem
Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies - Wednesday, 06 December 2006, 01:00

Palestinian sources in Jerusalem reported on Tuesday that Israeli policemen and border-guard units leveled two Palestinian homes in Al Tour and Ras Al Amoud, in East Jerusalem. Israel claims that the houses were constructed without obtaining construction permits from the Jerusalem municipality.

In Al Tour area, soldiers leveled the house of Ghadeer Abu Ghalia, and rendered him, his wife and four children homeless.

Abu Ghalia said that soldiers and policemen attacked their house on Tuesday morning, forces them out within 15 minutes and leveled it.

“My children were sleeping, soldiers said they will demolish the house over our heads if we don't leave immediately”, Abu Ghalia said, “I called my lawyer and informed him on what was going on”.

The lawyer, Hasan Ghanyim, headed to the municipality to void the demolishing order, but the army did not want to wait until legal documents are presented, and started demolishing the house.

Ghanyim manged to obtain an order from Jerusalem Municipality to spare the house, but it had already been leveled by the soldiers who refused to wait for any legal procedures.

The family received a bill to pay from the municipality requiring them to pay “the expenses of leveling their home”.

The house was a 150 square-meter, it included three bedrooms, and one living room; the Ghalia family moved to their house three months ago.

In a separate attack, soldiers leveled another house, which is still under construction, in Ras Al Amoud area in East Jerusalem.

The 180 square-meter building was officially licensed by the Jerusalem municipality, but again soldiers did not wait to see the licence and legal documents.

The demolished house costed the family 180.000 NIS in construction expenses.

The Al Quds Center in Jerusalem said that 42 Palestinian houses were leveled in Jerusalem since the beginning of 2006.

Palestinian living in Jerusalem are facing what became known as silent deportation from the city since the municipality is not allowing them to construct new houses or modify the houses they are living in, while settlements, constructed on Palestinian annexed properties, are expanding and wrapping the city from all sides.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-12-06-iraq-report_x.htm?csp=24
Bush says Iraq panel's report gives 'very tough assessment'
Updated 12/6/2006 11:22 AM ET
By Barbara Slavin and David Jackson, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — All United States combat troops not needed to protect Americans should leave Iraq by the first quarter of 2008, the Iraq Study Group recommends today in a long-awaited report.
"By the first quarter of 2008, subject to unexpected developments in the security situation on the ground, all (U.S.) combat brigades not necessary for force protection could be out of Iraq," the long-awaited report states.

The report paints a dire picture of the situation in Iraq, calling the situation there "grave and deteriorating." It says there is no "magic formula to solve the problems of Iraq" but "there are actions that can be taken to improve the situation and protect American interests."

"The United States must not make an open-ended commitment to keeping large numbers of troops in Iraq," Lee Hamilton, a former Indiana congressman who co-chaired the panel, said this morning at a news conference.

The panel's other co-chair, former secretary of State James Baker, said there was "no magic formula that will solve the problems of Iraq." He said the report made 79 specific recommendations.

"If you implement the recommendations we make, the chances for success in Iraq will be improved," Baker said.

Hamilton said the three most important recommendations in the report, Hamilton :

•A call for a change of the role of U.S. forces in Iraq, with an elimination of almost all combat troops and an increase of troops that support the Iraqi military.

•"Prompt action" by the Iraqi government on several milestones, particularly political reconciliation.

•A "new and enhanced" diplomatic effort in Iraq and the region.

The report calls for creation of a "support group," including all of Iraq's neighbors, to improve the security situation in Iraq and promote national reconciliation. It also calls for the United States to begin redeploying troops even if the Iraqi government is unable to improve its performance in these areas.

"The United States must not make an open-ended commitment to keep large numbers of American troops deployed in Iraq," it states.

President Bush was briefed by the bipartisan panel this morning and called the report "a very tough assessment of the situation in Iraq." He called for Congress to study its recommendations "very seriously."

The study group — five Republicans and five Democrats — is the first major bipartisan assessment of U.S. options in Iraq, and has captured the attention of lawmakers and voters who saw last month's Democratic congressional election sweep as a rejection of Bush's steadfast commitment to the conflict.

"We think it offers a basis for a common ground forward," Baker said this morning.

Robert Gates, Bush's nominee for secretary of Defense, told senators Tuesday at his confirmation hearing that any withdrawal of troops will depend on "conditions on the ground."

Gates, who was a member of the group, acknowledged Tuesday that the United States is not winning the war. He said he would be open to new options.

The report comes at a critical time in the war and Bush's presidency. Violence in Iraq has escalated as U.S. public support for the war has fallen.

The Iraq war has surpassed the length of American involvement in World War II, and U.S. deaths have passed 2,900. A relentless insurgency and the added complication of increased fighting between religious and ethnic factions have raised questions about whether Iraq is embroiled in a civil war and whether the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will ever be able to calm the country.

Polls shows that only about one in three Americans approve of Bush's handling of Iraq.

"We will take every proposal seriously and we will act in a timely fashion," Bush said this morning. He said the White House "probably won't agree with every proposal," but said the report gives the administration and Congress a chance to seek "common ground for the good of the country."

Bush and White House aides say they are soliciting a variety of views on Iraq, including an internal administration review that involves the Pentagon, State Department, and National Security Council.

The president scheduled a 2:15 p.m. ET meeting today with members of Congress to discuss the report as well as Bush's recent meeting with al-Maliki. On Thursday, Bush meets with another prominent consultant, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and panel members testify on Capitol Hill.

Contributing: Matt Kelley; Tom Vanden Brook; Randy Lilleston in McLean, Va.; the Associated Press.

http://www.aljazeerah.info/5%20n/400%20Iraqis%20Killed%20Daily%20in%20Baghdad%20Alone,%20Dividing%20it%20into%20Shi'i%20East%20and%20Sunni%20West,%20Most%20of%20the%20Exiled%20Opportunists%20Returned%20to%20London%20After%20Completing%20their%20Mission.htm

(http://www.aljazeerah.info/)

400 Iraqis Killed Daily in Baghdad Alone, Dividing it into Shi'i East and Sunni West, Most of the Exiled Opportunists Returned to London After Completing their Mission

Al-Jazeerah, December 5, 2006

By Hassan El-Najjar

The following is a summary translation of three articles published today by the London-based Arabic newspaper, Al-Quds Al-Arabi.

Al-Jazeerah Editor has felt compelled to publish this summary to attract attention of officials, editors, journalists, and readers everywhere, particularly in the United States, to the fact that that they have not been informed by corporate media about what is really going on in Iraq.

The first article is about a study conducted by the Iraqi Southern Research Center for Strategic Planning. It mentions that about 400 Iraqis are killed daily in Baghdad alone. The killing is sectarian aiming at cleansing East Baghdad from Sunnis and West Baghdad from Shi'is.

Perpetrators commit their crimes using car bombs, mortars, motorbikes, bicycles, and guns. They kill in day times with protection from security forces.

In another article, there are stories about Shi'i families forced to quit their homes in Sunni areas, and Sunni families forced to quit their homes in Shi'i areas by militiamen. Despite their plight, they are better off than the ones who are killed daily to complete this ethnic cleansing campaign.

About fifty families are forced daily to leave their homes from one area to another. About fifty more families are forced to leave Baghdad as a result of this campaign of ethnic cleansing.

In addition, extended families and neighbors exert pressure on men to divorce their wives from another sect. Thus, many Sunni women have been divorced by their Shi'i husbands, who usually take the children in their custody. Many Shi'i women are also being divorced by their Sunni husbands, who keep children in their custody, too.

The article tells some of these stories, with names of people and their locations.

A third article is about the opportunist Iraqi exiles, who were used by the Bush-Blair administrations to convince the public in the US-UK to accept the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

After completing their role, they and their families are now back in the wealthy London neighborhoods. The article mentions names and locations of residence of these Iraqis who helped destroy their country. These include Iyad Allawi, Ibrahim Al-Ja'afari, Ahmed Chalabi, Adnan Pajahji, Laith Kubba, and Ali Bin Al-Hussain.

What's going on in Iraq is horrible. The truth has been shielded from the American people. The corporate media has been collaborating with Rumsfeld about how good the war was going. They portrayed the war in Iraq as if it is caused by Alqaeda non-Iraqi fighters. They disinformed the American and European people.

What's happening in Iraq now is neither a civil war, nor sectarian violence. Rather, it is ethnic cleansing blunt and ugly. It is part of a plan to partition Iraq into Shi'i, Sunni, and Kurdish mini states.

***

American patriots in government and outside must find a solution to this dangerous problem of disinformation by the Bush administration. The anti-war movement, and even so-called Think Tanks, which have access to funding, must start getting information independently. They must not depend on the corporate media anymore.

In the past, Al-Jazeerah called for volunteer translation of Arabic media. There were few responses, which would not lead to consistent output. There is no alternative to genuine translation by professional interpreters, which require stable sources of funding.

I call on Democrats in Congress to do the job. A Congressional media offices is needed as soon as possible to solve this problem.

I extend the same call to anti-war groups and members of parliaments in Europe to do the same. There has been a campaign of disinformation about the war in Iraq. It's high time to know the truth.

***

دراسة: نحو اربعمائة قتيل يوميا في بغداد وضواحيها
عنان يعتبر ان الوضع اسوأ من حرب اهلية وان عهد صدام كان افضل


05/12/2006

لندن ـ بغداد ـ القدس العربي :
اكد مركز الجنوب للدراسات والتخطيط الاستراتيجي في العراق ان اربعمائة شخص يقتلون يوميا في بغداد والضواحي المحيطة بها.
واوضح المركز في تقرير له ان اغلب الضحايا لقوا حتفهم علي خلفية الطائفية وعلي ايدي جماعات مجهولة في اغلب الاحيان.
واشار التقرير الي ان معظم الضحايا هم من المدنيين العزل فيما تجري العمليات الارهابية في معظمها بشكل علني وضمن حصانة امنية.
وحول الادوات والوسائل المستخدمة في اعمال العنف ذكر مركز الجنوب انها متعددة من بينها الهاونات والسيارات والدراجات النارية والهوائية والحيوانات المفخخة واصحاب الاحزمة الناسفة اضافة الي اسلوب الخطف والقتل منوها ان هذا الاسلوب يستخدم لعدة اغراض منها الابتزاز السياسي من خلال خطف بعض اقارب السياسيين او بعض السياسيين او من يمثلون رقما صعبا في العملية السياسية العراقية.



قادة العراق الجديد عادوا الي بيوتهم في لندن بسبب انتشار العنف في بغداد

05/12/2006

لندن ـ القدس العربي :
مع انتشار العنف الطائفي وفرق الموت، بدأت النخبة الجديدة في العراق التي عادت اليه بعد الاحتلال بالعودة لمنافيها السابقة ولكن بهدوء. وقال تقرير صحافي ان قرار الذين اما عملوا علي دعم الغزو والتحريض عليه او الذين ساهموا في مؤسسات الاحتلال جاء بسبب خطورة الاوضاع من ناحية العيش والعمل. وقالت صحيفة التايمز البريطانية ان عددا غير قليل من الوزراء ورؤساء وزراء سابقين، وحتي احد اعضاء العائلة الملكية التي حكمت العراق سابقا عادت الي السكن في الاحياء اللندنية الراقية في حي الدبلوماسيين في مي فير و هولند بارك ، و تشيلسي . وفي الوقت الذي عاد فيه عدد من المسؤولين للندن، فان عددا اخر لا زال في بغداد، يملك بيوتا جاهزة في لندن. ونقل التقرير عن عدنان الباجه جي، عضو مجلس الحكم السابق والنائب في البرلمان قوله ان العيش والعمل في بغداد اصبحا مستحيلين ولهذا قرر العودة لبيته في مي فير ، ويقسم وقته بين لندن وابو ظبي التي يملك فيها شقة.
ومن بين الذين عادوا الشريف علي بن الحسين، زعيم الحركة الملكية الدستورية، وقال انه حول مكان اقامته لانه وجد صعوبة في العمل في بغداد، وقال ان نصف الحكومة العراقية كانت في الخارج في اي وقت . اما اياد علاوي الذي عاد الي بيته في كينغستون ابون تيمز للعلاج، فقد قال ان العراق يعيش وضعا خطيرا وحتي اكون صريحا لم اكن اتخيل هذا الوضع عندما قاتلنا صدام .
ويزور ابراهيم الجعفري لندن بشكل دوري لزيارة عائلته ويملك بيتا في ويمبلي، شمال لندن، وكان رئيس الوزراء الانتقالي ويقود حزب الدعوة.
اما ليث كبة، الذي يعيش الان في منطقة كينسال رايس فيوزع وقته بين لندن وواشنطن حيث يعمل في مركز ابحاث. وقال اشارك الاخرين الرأي، المناخ خطير ويجب ان تكون مجرما آبقا حتي تنجو في السياسة العراقية اليوم . وكان احمد الجلبي، احد الذين دعموا بشكل كبير الغزو ودفعوا باتجاهه قد قضي الصيف كله في بيته في مي فير وعاد قبل فترة لبغداد.



بغداد تحولت إلي شرق شيعي وغرب سني والطلاق الطائفي ظاهرة جديدة تدق ناقوس الخطر
تشهد فرزا طائفيا واسعا بسبب التهجير القسري


05/12/2006

بغداد ـ القدس العربي ـ من ضياء السامرائي:
علي الرغم من ان نحو الف عائلة عراقية تهاجر إلي خارج العراق وفق إحصاءات دوليه إلا إن الهجرة الداخلية التي تشهدها بغداد بدت تشكل منحدرا خطيرا خاصة وان هذا التبادل القسري بدا هو السمة الدارجة بين مناطق بغداد التي أصبحت تعرف باسم طائفة سكانها. فعائلة هاشم العزاوي المتكونة من 11 فردا والتي تقف امام احد مكاتب الهلال الأحمر العراقي لتجد حلا بعد ان تم طردها من منزلها الكائن في منطقة الحسينية ذات الاغلبية الشيعية التي تقع إلي الشرق من بغداد حيث تم إسكان عائلة شيعيه كما يقول رب العائلة الذي أضاف لم اعد املك من حطام الدنيا شيئا فلا بيت اسكن فيه يحميني من برد الشتاء ولا حاجيات أتمكن من جلبها، بعد ان طردتني وعائلتي مليشيا جيش المهدي التي تقوم بطرد عدد آخر من العوائل وسط صمت من قبل سكان المنطقة .
ويضيف هاشم وهو في العقد الخامس من عمره، الي فترة بسيطة كنت ارفض ان أقول إن هناك حربا أهلية او تهجيرا طائفيا في بغداد وان من يتم طرده من كلا الطرفين لديه سلبيات أدت الي التعامل معه بهذه الوحشية التي تعبر عن الوجه الحقيقي الذي ينتظر العراقيين في هذا المستقبل المظلم .
اما عبد الكاظم مجول (شيعي) وأب لسبعة أطفال فيقول لقد كنت اسكن في منطقة التاجي ذات الاغلبية السنية وطردت من منزلي واسكنت في مكاني عائلة سنية هي الأخري هجرت من منطقة الجوادر الشيعية والتي تتبع الي منطقة الصدر. أنا ألان اسكن في بيت من العوائل السنية التي هجرها مسلحون تابعون لاحدي الميليشيات .
ويقول احمد الحسن من جمعية الهلال الأحمر العراقية لـ القدس العربي إن نحو خمسين عائلة يومية تقوم بالهجرة الداخلية في العاصمة بغداد وان نحو خمسين عائلة أخري تهجر الي خارج حدود العاصمة بغداد .
وأضاف ان أهم المشاكل تكمن في توفير السكن لهم والطعام وأضاف إن اغلب المهجرين يتم توفير الطعام لهم فقط بسبب عثورهم علي مسكن لهم يظهر انه يعود لعائلة طردت منه علي يد مسلحين.
أم حيدر وهي والدة لاربعة أطفال تروي قصة بدأت تنتشر في بغداد وتنذر بتفكك اسري يهدد النسيج الاجتماعي في بغداد وهي الطلاق الطائفي حيث تقول انا من عائلة سنية نسكن منطقة أبو غريب التي تقع غربي العاصمة العراقية ذات الاغلبية السنية تزوجت من صديق لأخي كانا يعملان في دائرة التصنيع العسكري وأنجبت منه أربعة أطفال من 15 عشر عاما وانتقلت معه الي منطقه حي أور ذات الاغلبية الشيعية حيث يسكن أهله وبعدها تزوج أخي من شقيقة زوجي وأنجبوا ثلاثة أطفال الا ان وضعي الان في أسوأ حالته لقد طلقني زوجي بعد ان قام أهله بالضغط عليه واخذوا مني أولادي الاربعه منذ اكثر من شهرين ولم تنفع أي محاولات لإنهاء هذه الازمة وتضيف أم حيدر لقد دفعت هذه المشكلة اخي الي تطليق زوجته كرد اعتبار واخذ أولاده منها مما سبب الما مضاعفا لي لان بيتي انهار وكذلك بيت أخي الذي لا ذنب له . حالة مشابهه جرت لام احمد وهي من عائلة شيعية كانت تسكن منطقه القادسية التي تقع غرب بغداد ذات الاغلبية السنية مع زوجها الذي طلقها بعد ان قامت مليشيات شيعية تعمل في وزارة الداخلية بقتل شقيقيه ووالده ووجدت جثثهم في منطقة الشعب التي تقع شرقي بغداد والتي تسيطر عليها تلك المليشيات.
وأضافت أم عمر في قلبي حسرة خاصة وان من قتل هم أهلي وكذلك فقدت عائلتي المكونة من ستة أولاد منذ سبعة شهور لا اعلم شيئا عنهم وأضافت لتفخر حكومات الاحتلال وأولئك المجرمون من يتاجرون بالدم العراقي من اجل المناصب والسيطرة بأنهم مع الأسف استطاعوا زرع الفتنة بين أبناء الشعب الواحد .
يقول الباحث الاجتماعي دريد الشاهري انه من المتوقع ان تصل الامور الي هذا المنحي الخطر خاصة وان هناك عجزا امنيا واضحا وسط ازدياد اعمال القتل والخطف التي تضرب العاصمة العراقية والتي تقع اغلبها بمساعدة أجهزة الأمن الحكوميه مما سبب احتقانا طائفيا خاصة وان سيطرة طائفة علي مقاليد الحكم واهمال الطائفة الأخري أديا الي زيادة الصراع الطائفي القائم . وحذر الشاهري والذي يعمل مع مؤسسة دولية تعني بحقوق الإنسان إن الهجرة الداخليه وفق العرق او الطائفه يقسم العاصمة العراقية الي شرق شيعي وغرب سني وكذلك ظاهرة الطلاق الطائفي والتي تنتشر خاصة في العاصمة بغداد يمكن ان تمزق النسيج الاجتماعي خلال فترة بسيطة اذا لم يتم ايجاد حل يوقف الحرب الاهلية القائمة حاليا.



---------------------------------------------------------------------

***

Al-Jazeerah Editor's note:

UN reports, US military commanders, and Iraqi officials reported that more than one hundreds Iraqis were killed every day in the past recent months. However, the Empire corporate media units (AP, Reuters, CNN, Fox News, BBC, etc.) barely report on less than fifty people killed everyday.

Apparently, corporate media have been participant in a concerted effort to cover up the horrors of the US War in Iraq, and make it sound less intense than what it is in reality.

Sometimes, the corporate media do not report any war news at all from Iraq or Afghanistan. They even systematically call daily fighting "violence" to make it sound like "domestic violence," not war.

See Al-Jazeerah Editor's note below with regard to the purported Iraqi Shi'i-Sunni civil war.

Al-Jazeerah comments are in parentheses.

Regarding the purported Iraqi Shi'i-Sunni civil war:

It is inaccurate to describe the war in Iraq as if it is fought between Muslim Shi'is and Muslim Sunnis, as the US corporate media have been trying hard to do.

It is more accurate to describe it as fought between US-led forces and Iraqi resistance fighters. Even killing civilians is part of the war, as the evidence earlier demonstrated that Interior Ministry death squads and British soldiers were caught either targeting or attempting to target civilians to make the war appear as if it is between Shi'is and Sunnis.

This purported Shi'i-Sunni civil war in Iraq aims at distracting Iraqis and dividing their country into three regions, in preparation for a final partition and dismemberment of Iraq. Previous statements of Iraqi elected officials pointed fingers to death squads of the Interior Ministry.

(41 Iraqi Sunni Pedestrians Massacred in a Baghdad Street, 17 Shi'is Killed in Car Bombs, Interior Ministry Death Squads are Blamed).

Moreover, on September 19, 2005, two British soldiers were arrested by Iraqi police for driving a car bomb in a Basra street. They were freed by British forces before being interrogated by Iraqi police. This incident sheds some light on who might be behind car bomb explosions in Iraq.

(British Terrorist Operation in Basra, Tanks on Fire, Four Iraqis Killed, Two Captured British Undercover Soldiers Freed After Demolishing Prison Hollywood Style).

(British Occupation Forces Suspected Behind Sectarian Terrorism in Southern Iraq: The Two British Soldiers Drove a Car Bomb in Basra)

More about death squads:

El Salvador-style 'death squads' to be deployed by US against Iraq militants

Go to the original article links for live HTML links to the above mention information. Also see photo on site...

http://www.organicconsumers.org/patent/iraq111704.cfm
New Iraq Patent Law Will Make Traditional Farmers Seed Saving Illegal

From: THE AGRIBUSINESS EXAMINER
November 15, 2004, Issue #380
Monitoring Corporate Agribusiness

EDITOR\PUBLISHER; A.V. Krebs
E-MAIL: avkrebs@earthlink.net
WEB SITE: http://www.ea1.com/CARP/

IRAQI FARMERS FARM-SAVED SEED AND FREE INNOVATION TRADITION
NOW RULED ILLEGAL UNDER NEW CORPORATE FRIENDLY PATENTING LAW

FOCUS ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH AND GRAIN, COALITION AGAINST BAYER, CBG NETWORK:For generations, small farmers in Iraq operated in an essentially unregulated, informal seed supply system. Farm-saved seed and the free innovation with and exchange of planting materials among farming communities has long been the basis of agricultural practice. This has been made illegal under the new law.

The seeds farmers are now allowed to plant --- "protected" crop varieties brought into Iraq by transnational corporations in the name of agricultural reconstruction --- will be the property of the corporations. While historically the Iraqi constitution prohibited private ownership of biological resources, the new U.S.-imposed patent law introduces a system of monopoly rights over seeds.

Inserted into Iraq's previous patent law is a whole new chapter on Plant Variety Protection (PVP) that provides for the "protection of new varieties of plants." PVP is an intellectual property right (IPR) or a kind of patent for plant varieties which gives an exclusive monopoly right on planting material to a plant breeder who claims to have discovered or developed a new variety.

So the "protection" in PVP has nothing to do with conservation, but refers to safeguarding of the commercial interests of private breeders (usually large corporations) claiming to have created the new plants.

To qualify for PVP, plant varieties must comply with the standards of the UPOV Convention, which requires them be new, distinct, uniform and stable. Farmers' seeds cannot meet these criteria, making PVP-protected seeds the exclusive domain of corporations. The rights granted to plant breeders in this scheme include the exclusive right to produce, reproduce, sell, export, import and store the protected varieties.

These rights extend to harvested material, including whole plants and parts of plants obtained from the use of a protected variety. This kind of PVP system is often the first step towards allowing the full-fledged patenting of life forms. Indeed, in this case the rest of the law does not rule out the patenting of plants or animals.

The term of the monopoly is 20 years for crop varieties and 25 for trees and vines. During this time the protected variety de facto becomes the property of the breeder, and nobody can plant or otherwise use this variety without compensating the breeder.

This new law means that Iraqi farmers can neither freely legally plant nor save for re-planting seeds of any plant variety registered under the plant variety provisions of the new patent law. This deprives farmers what they and many others worldwide claim as their inherent right to save and replant seeds.

The new law is presented as being necessary to ensure the supply of good quality seeds in Iraq and to facilitate Iraq's accession to the WTO. What it will actually do is facilitate the penetration of Iraqi agriculture by the likes of Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer and Dow Chemical --- the corporate giants that control seed trade across the globe.

Eliminating competition from farmers is a prerequisite for these companies to open up operations in Iraq, which the new law has achieved. Taking over the first step in the food chain is their next move.

The new patent law also explicitly promotes the commercialisation of
genetically modified (GM) seeds in Iraq. Despite serious resistance from farmers and consumers around the world, these same companies are pushing GM crops on farmers around the world for their own profit. Contrary to what the industry is asserting, GM seeds do not reduce the use of pesticides, but they pose a threat to the environment and to people's health while they increase farmers dependency on agribusiness.

In some countries like India, the 'accidental' release of GM crops is
deliberately manipulated, since physical segregation of GM and GM-free crops is not feasible. Once introduced into the agro-ecological cycle there is no possible recall or cleanup from genetic pollution.

As to the WTO argument, Iraq legally has a number of options for complying with the organisation's rules on intellectual property but the US simply decided that Iraq should not enjoy or explore them.

Iraq is one more arena in a global drive for the adoption of seed patent laws protecting the monopoly rights of multinational corporations at the expense of local farmers. Over the past decade, many countries of the South have been compelled to adopt seed patent laws through bilateral treaties. The U.S. has pushed for UPOV-styled plant protection laws beyond the IPR standards of the WTO in bilateral trade through agreements for example with Sri Lanka and Cambodia.

Likewise, post-conflict countries have been especially targeted. For
instance, as part of its reconstruction package the U.S. has recently signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with Afghanistan, which would also include IPR-related issues.

Iraq is a special case in that the adoption of the patent law was not part of negotiations between sovereign countries. Nor did a sovereign law-making body enact it as reflecting the will of the Iraqi people. In Iraq, the patent law is just one more component in the comprehensive and radical transformation of the occupied country's economy along neo-liberal lines by the occupying powers. This transformation would entail not just the adoption of favoured laws but also the establishment of institutions that are most
conducive to a free market regime.

Order 81 is just one of 100 Orders left behind by Bremer and among the more notable of these laws is the controversial Order 39 which effectively lays down the over-all legal framework for Iraq's economy by giving foreign investors rights equal to Iraqis in exploiting Iraq's domestic market.

Taken together, all these laws, which cover virtually all aspects of the economy --- including Iraq's trade regime, the mandate of the Central Bank, regulations on trade union activities, etc. --- lay the bases for the U.S.' bigger objective of building a neo-liberal regime in Iraq. Order 81 explicitly states that its provisions are consistent with Iraq's "transition from a non-transparent centrally planned economy to a free market economy characterised by sustainable economic growth through the establishment of a dynamic private sector, and the need to enact institutional and legal reforms to give it effect."

Pushing for these "reforms" in Iraq has been the US Agency for International Development, which has been implementing an Agricultural Reconstruction and Development Program for Iraq (ARDI) since October 2003. To carry it out, a one-year U.S.$5 million contract was granted to the U.S. consulting firm Development Alternatives, Inc. with the Texas A&M University as an implementing partner.

Part of the work has been sub-contracted to Sagric International of
Australia. The goal of ARDI in the name of rebuilding the farming sector is to develop the agribusiness opportunities and thus provide markets for agricultural products and services from overseas.

Reconstruction work, thus, is not necessarily about rebuilding domestic economies and capacities, but about helping corporations approved by the occupying forces to capitalise on market opportunities in Iraq. The legal framework laid down by Bremer ensures that although U.S. troops may leave Iraq in the conceivable future, US domination of Iraq's economy is here to stay.

Food sovereignty is the right of people to define their own food and
agriculture policies, to protect and regulate domestic agricultural
production and trade, to decide the way food should be produced, what should be grown locally and what should be imported.

The demand for food sovereignty and the opposition to the patenting of seeds has been central to the small farmers' struggle all over the world over the past decade. By fundamentally altering the IPR regime, the U.S. has ensured that Iraq's agricultural system will remain under "occupation" in Iraq.

Iraq has the potential to feed itself. But instead of developing this
capacity, the U.S. has shaped the future of Iraq's food and farming to serve the interests of US corporations. The new IPR regime pays scant respect to Iraqi farmers' contributions to the development of important crops like wheat, barley, date and pulses.

While political sovereignty remains an illusion, food sovereignty for the Iraqi people has already been made near impossible by these new regulations. Iraq's freedom and sovereignty will remain questionable for as long as Iraqis do not have control over what they sow, grow, reap and eat. [November, 2004 ]

Organic Consumers Association
6771 South Silver Hill Drive
Finland MN 55603
E-mail:Staff
Activist or Media Inquiries: 218-226-4164
Fax: 218-353-7652

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=17809
UN: West Bank wall leaves 50,000 Palestinians trapped between the Green Line and Israel's illegal barrier
Date: 04 / 12 / 2006 Time: 18:50

AZZUN ATMA, 4 December (IRIN) - Israel began building an eight-metre high, 703 km-long concrete barrier through the West Bank in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2002. To date, 670 km of it has been completed.

Israel says the wall is a security measure to protect Israeli citizens from terrorist attacks by Palestinian militants, but when the barrier is completed, about 10 percent of the West Bank will be inside Israel.

In July 2004, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that the barrier's route, which weaves around the western border of the majority occupied territory, was illegal under international humanitarian and human-rights law, because it "gravely" infringes on a number of rights of Palestinians living in the West Bank.

In five articles, IRIN examines the human consequences of the wall for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Only 20 men attended the funeral of Ma'azouz Youssef's grandfather as the rest were not allowed to pass through Israel's West Bank barrier to the village, Youssef said. Azzun Atma is one of the few Palestinian villages on the barrier's eastern or Israeli side.

"Only those with IDs from the village can get in. My sister could not come today because she married a man from the town of Saniri, which is on her ID as her place of residence. She cannot even visit the place where she was born," said Youssef, 33.

About 50,000 Palestinians find themselves in the unusual position of living between the Green Line (the Armistice Line of 1949) and Israel's barrier, which Israel says is necessary to keep terrorists out of Israel.

In Azzun Atma, Israeli soldiers lock the gates at 10pm, confining the residents until the gates are unlocked at 6am. It means the 2,000 residents cannot get proper medical treatment in the event of a nighttime emergency. No doctor lives in the village and the health centre is only manned by a visiting doctor six hours a week, Abdelkarim Ayoub, the village council secretary, said.

So far, two women have been forced to give birth in their own homes because they could not get to hospital at night, he said. "These days, about a week before the women are expecting to give birth, they leave the village before 10pm each day and stay with relatives on the other side so an ambulance will be able to take them to hospital," Ayoub said.

The curfew has forced villagers arriving at the gate even a few minutes after 10pm to sleep at relatives' homes, in their cars, or even under trees because the soldiers will not let them in, Youssef said.

And it meant Youssef was not able to be at his grandfather's bedside in hospital in Qalqilya when he died. "He was alone. He died without his family around him."

Palestinians caught on the 'wrong side' of the barrier say their villages have been turned into prisons. "I am going to change the village's welcome sign to 'Welcome to the Prison', because that's what it has been for the past three years," Ayoub said.

On a tour to the occupied Palestinian territories in November, Louise Arbour, the UN's human rights chief, said the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had to decide whether the barrier's massive humanitarian impact on villages such as Azzun Atmeh was justified.

"For those stuck between the Green Line and the barrier there is a clear infringement to their right of movement. Is it justifiable? The ICJ has told Israel that if it stays on the Green Line, it can build what it wants," she told IRIN.

"Here you have one people balancing their right to security against another people's right to freedom."

Now the Israeli government is building a new barrier between the Israeli settlements of Oranit to the east and Sha'are Tiqwe to the west that will leave Azzun Atma completely enclosed.

"We are now surrounded on all four sides," said Ayoub, whose family is among 10 that will live outside the second fence, to the south of the village.

He told IRIN that he had no idea what the fate of these families would be. "No one from Azzun Atmeh is leaving. We all own land and we don't want to lose it. The future is very dark."

Poverty and unemployment now run at about 60 per cent in the village, Ayoub said, and businesses are failing because they cannot bring in labour from outside.

In a statement to IRIN, the Israeli Defense Force said the barrier was an urgent security imperative. It said anyone wanting to visit Azzun Atma could apply to the District Co-ordination Office] for a permit.

In practice, these are very hard to get, Ayoub said, adding that most villagers had not been visited by their relatives since the barrier had gone up.