790 Hostages Freed

Thank God. And it’s the top news in Ghana.

787 Sudanese Forces Clash with Kidnappers

Sudanese government officials are telling reporters that the Sudanese forces killed six men accused of complicity in the abduction of 11 tourists and eight Egyptian guides after a high-speed chase through the desert. The Sudanese say they captured two people involved, who said that the hostages had been moved to Chad. If all the reports coming out have been true, then the hostages have been moved from Egypt, across the border to Sudan, across the border into Libya, then back into Sudan, and again across the border into Chad.

643 Obama on the Nile (and just West of it)

Recently I visited Cairo and ate a sumptuous dinner by the Nile with some American-educated guys the government sent my way because they can “talk the talk,” and everyone knows the Americans eat that shit up. There was also a rich businessman with good political connections, likely a member of the American Chamber of Commerce. Knowing that I’m a columnist at a Democrat newspaper, they seemed excited at the prospect of an Obama presidency.

I met with an Embassy guy who privately liked Obama. He told me about many similar dinners with similar people, but I also met with our local bureau chief, who told me about an encounter he’d had with an ordinary person once. I talked to a few people who complained about Obama’s stance on Israel, on his casually asserting that Jerusalem is the “eternal, undivided” capital of Israel. They complained about America’s policy on Israel in general, but we won’t get in to that. What I really want to talk about is how we can all give ourselves a pat on the back for letting a black man get this far.

Come to think of it, this is boring. Let’s talk about Col. Muammar al-Qadhafi instead. He’s predictably zany and insulting. I’m just predictable.

If we’re going to talk about North African views on Obama, let’s hear from a (albeit eccentric) North African. According to Brother Leader, “our Kenyan brother’s” comments on Jerusalem were either a lie to help him get elected or stemmed from insecurity about the color of his skin.

“We tell him to be proud of himself as a black and to feel that all of Africa is behind him,” Brother Leader said.

I’m still chuckling. For the sake of harmony between nations, I hope Obama is too.

636 Quick Reads

A few quick items while I catch up on work missed while on the road:

575 From the Department of Forgotten Small Wars

Rebels attacked a military patrol in Mali, near the Algerian border, on Saturday morning. Europeans might care because renewed fighting might endanger the release of two Austrian tourists taken hostage last month in Tunisia and spirited across the border into Mali. Americans might care because the group calls itself Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb. Seif al-Islam al-Qadhafi, possible heir to Libya’s Brother Leader, is mediating between Austria and Al-Qaeda.

Le Monde:

Reprise des affrontements dans le nord du Mali, où se trouvent deux otages autrichiens d’Al-Qaida
LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | 22.03.08 | 18h09

es affrontements entre l’armée et les rebelles touareg ont repris, samedi 22 mars dans l’extrême nord du Mali, alors que les violences ont déjà fait huit morts – dont cinq civils – depuis la capture, jeudi, de 33 militaires par des rebelles. Cette brusque dégradation de la situation sécuritaire intervient juste avant l’expiration, dimanche soir, d’un ultimatum pour la libération des deux otages autrichiens enlevés le 22 février en Tunisie par la branche d’Al-Qaida au Maghreb et qui se trouveraient, avec leurs ravisseurs, dans le nord du Mali.

Samedi matin, les rebelles ont attaqué à la mitrailleuse une patrouille de l’armée, à 30 km au nord de la localité d’Abeïbara, non loin de la frontière avec l’Algérie. Aucune source n’était en mesure d’indiquer le nombre de tués ou de blessés.

LE FILS DE MOUAMMAR KADHAFI IMPLIQUÉ DANS LES NÉGOCIATIONS

Ces violences pourraient perturber les négociations pour la libération des Autrichiens Wolfgang Ebner, 51 ans, et Andrea Kloiber, 44 ans, enlevés alors qu’ils circulaient dans le sud de la Tunisie. Ils auraient été conduits par leur ravisseurs dans le nord malien.

Le fils du dirigeant libyen Mouammar Kadhafi, Seif Al-Islam, est en contact avec les ravisseurs et se dit optimiste sur leur prochaine libération, a affirmé samedi le dirigeant autrichien d’extrême droite Jörg Haider, qui maintient des contacts étroits avec le responsable libyen. Selon plusieurs sources, l’ultimatum de dimanche soir pourrait être une nouvelle fois repoussé.

Credit: the headline is inspired by the discovery, in a friend’s bathroom, of Index on Censorship‘s 2006 issue on “small wars you may have forgotten.” I wouldn’t mention it, but assassinated Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s 2002 brief to Index on Censorship on “the corrosive evil of [the] forgotten war” in Chechnya, which I believe appeared in that issue, makes it well worth the digression. Here’s a taste:

The city was sealed off after a series of strange events. Controls were so tight you couldn’t even move between different districts within the city, let alone make your way out of Grozny on foot.

On that day, 17 September, a helicopter carrying a commission headed by Major-General Anatoly Pozdnyakov from the general staff in Moscow was shot down directly over the city. He was engaged in work quite unprecedented for a soldier in Chechnya.

Only an hour before the helicopter was shot down, he told me the task of his commission was to gather data on crimes committed by the military, analyse their findings, put them in some order and submit the information for the president’s consideration. Nothing of the kind had been done before.

Their helicopter was shot down almost exactly over the city centre. All the members of the commission perished and, since they were already on their way to Khankala airbase to take a plane back to Moscow, so did all the material they had collected. That part of the story was published by Novaya Gazeta.

Before the 19 September issue was sent to the printers, our chief editor Dmitry Muratov was summoned to the ministry of defence (or so I understand) and asked to explain how on earth such allegations could be made. He gave them an answer, after which the pressure really began. There should be no publication, he was told. [More…]

507 Guantanamo Prisoners Returned to Libya Disappear

From Human Rights Watch:

Over the past year, the U.S. government has returned two Libyan citizens from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to Libya, and both are currently in detention without charge and apparently with no access to a lawyer. According to the U.S. government, the Libyan authorities gave assurances of humane treatment prior to the returns.

On or around December 17, 2006, the U.S. returned Muhammad Abdallah Mansur al-Rimi (aka Muhammad Abdullah Mansour al-Futury or Abdesalam Safrani), age 39, after four years in detention at Guantanamo Bay. The U.S. alleged that al-Rimi was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, an armed group dedicated to overthrowing Mu`ammar al-Qadhafi. Al-Rimi denied the charges but told his Guantanamo review tribunal: “I have a problem with the Libyan government and it is a long story.”

According to the Qadhafi Development Foundation, a quasi-governmental organization run by Mu`ammar al-Qadhafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, al-Rimi was treated for tuberculosis upon return. Shortly after his return, a foundation official said the Libyan authorities did not want al-Rimi, and he would “go back to his family soon.” More than one year later, al-Rimi remains in detention.

Despite repeated requests, as of January 2, 2008, the Libyan government has failed to provide Human Rights Watch any information about the location of al-Rimi. The U.S. State Department, however, told Human Rights Watch that U.S. officials visited al-Rimi on two occasions: in August 2007 and on December 25, 2007. Al-Rimi said Libyan security forces were detaining him but were treating him well, the State Department said, including medical treatment for an arm injury he sustained during a scuffle with guards at Guantanamo. Human Rights Watch could not confirm the claim.

The December meeting was convened in an office of the state security services, and not in the place of al-Rimi’s detention. The meeting took place in the presence of Libyan officials and an official from the Qadhafi Development Foundation. Al-Rimi did not know the charges against him, and he apparently had not seen a lawyer since his return. He had received no family visits, he allegedly said, but his wife is in Afghanistan, and they have no children.

A January 2 statement from the Qadhafi Development Foundation said the organization had visited al-Rimi on December 25, and that he was receiving medical treatment for his injured arm.

The second returnee was Sofian Ibrahim Hamad Hamoodah, 48, whom the U.S. sent back on or around September 30, 2007, after 5 years in Guantanamo Bay. As with al-Rimi, the Libyan authorities have failed to provide Human Rights Watch with information about his location or case.

According to the State Department, U.S. officials first visited Hamoodah on December 25, 2007. As with al-Rimi, security forces were holding him on unknown charges and apparently without access to a lawyer, but he did not complain of maltreatment. He was scheduled to receive a family visit on December 27, he told the U.S.

The Qadhafi Development Foundation statement said it also visited Hamoodah on December 25, and that he was subsequently granted a family visit. The Foundation was providing a Tripoli apartment for Hamoodah’s family, the statement said.

In April 2007, the U.S. wanted to return a third Libyan from Guantanamo, Abdul Ra’ouf al-Qassim, but they took him off the transfer list after protests from members of congress and human rights groups.

On or around December 19, 2007, the U.S. released a fourth Libyan from Guantanamo Bay, Omar Deghayes, 38, but sent him to the U.K., where he has refugee status. The U.K. authorities initially detained him but then released him on bail. Deghayes faces an extradition request from Spain, where he could face terrorism charges.

According to the State Department’s 2006 human rights report on Libya, reports of “torture, arbitrary arrest, and incommunicado detention remained problems.” Methods of torture included:

chaining prisoners to a wall for hours, clubbing, applying electric shock, applying corkscrews to the back, pouring lemon juice in open wounds, breaking fingers and allowing the joints to heal without medical care, suffocating with plastic bags, prolonged deprivations of sleep, food, and water, hanging by the wrists, suspension from a pole inserted between the knees and elbows, cigarette burns, threats of dog attacks, and beatings on the soles of the feet.

506 Briefly Noted

Briefly noted:

  • Libya assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council yesterday. The Libyan foreign minister will meet the US secretary of state tomorrow.
    • Mohamed Eljahmi, brother of imprisoned Libyan activist Fathi Eljahmi, has an impassioned op-ed in the Washington Post pegged to the occasion. Here he is describing his attempts to get Washington to intercede on behalf of his brother:

      The [U.S.] diplomat suggested that rather than seek the State Department’s help, I should strike a deal with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan leader’s son and designated point man for engagement with the United States. How far U.S. moral clarity has fallen. Does the State Department believe that families of Cuban dissidents should beg for Fidel Castro’s grace? Would the Reagan administration have suggested that Jews apologize to Moscow for seeking religious freedom? Perhaps East Berliners should have taken their complaints about the Berlin Wall to the East German zoning commission?

  • The Lebanese opposition, led by Hizballah, wants 11 ministerial seats. The government is willing to grant them only 10.
  • Steel magnate and ruling-party MP extraordinaire Ahmed `Ezz raised the price of steel by LE250/ton.
  • Gazan pilgrims are still stuck in Sinai.
  • The Beeb has a nice feature on “Africans from south of the Sahara… risking their lives through dry and hot deserts to live and work in Algeria.”
  • A brief history of the khawal.

503 Libya, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Egypt

Back from a few weeks’ vacation in SE Asia, catching up on a few items of interest from my e-mail inbox:

  • Tom Hanks and Angelina Jolie will reportedly star in a film production of the saga of Bulgarian and Palestinian medics imprisoned in Libya on charges of infecting patients with HIV.
  • In a related item, Libyan Foreign Minister Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Shalgam is expected to visit Washington in the next few days. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said again she might travel to Libya soon. She first said she might after the medics were released in July. From the Dec. 21 press conference:

    QUESTION: Madame Secretary, on Libya, the Libyans have expressed a lot of frustration with the fact that you’ve said that you would go there, that they’re expecting some kind of benefit to their giving up their WMD and some of the other things that they’ve done with the Pan Am 103 families and that you haven’t been to Libya. What does this say to other countries that you’re hoping to improve their behavior, like Iran and North Korea, if they see that the U.S. isn’t delivering on their promises?

    SECRETARY RICE: Well, our promise had been to significantly improve U.S.-Libyan relations and to open — help open the door for Libya to receive investment and engagement with the international community. And I think that the decision by Colonel Qadhafi to give up their weapons of mass destruction has benefited Libya. It’s why there are new investment opportunities in Libya, it’s why so many companies are talking to the Libyans, it’s why a number of leaders have been to Libya and the leader has been to other countries.

    And I’m going to meet with Foreign Minister Shalgam shortly after the first of the year. And I actually look forward to the opportunity to go to Libya. I think it will be an important step. So I would simply not agree with the notion that this decision has not benefited Libya. I think it’s benefited Libya greatly. If you look at where Libya is now in terms of its interaction with the international community, in terms of its ability to receive foreign visitors, in terms of its ability to get investment, it’s day and night from where it was before it made these strategic decisions. But, of course, I’m looking for an opportunity to extend our relationship further.

  • Hussein Fadlallah, the primary Shia cleric in Lebanon, has issued a progressive opinion on suicide attacks targeting civilians:

    ??? ????: ???????? ????????? ??? ???????? ?????? ???????

    ??? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????????? ??????????? ?????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ??? ?? ??????? «????????» ??? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???????? ??? ???????.
    ????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ????????? ??????????? ???????? ??? ??? ?????? ????????? ???????????? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???????. ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ?????? ????????? ????????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????????. ???? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ??? ???????? ?? ?????? ????????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?????????? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ?? ??????????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ???????? ??????????? ?????????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ???????? ???? ??????.

    ????? ??? ?? ??? ????????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ???????? ???????? ?????????? ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????????? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???. ??? ??? ??? ??????? ???????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????????? ???? ????? ????? ???????? ?????????.
    ????: ????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ????????? ?????????? ????????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ????????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ??????.
    (thanks, Nadim)

  • Egypt accused Israel of meddling in its relations with the United States after Congress agreed to suspend $100 million in aid to Egypt until the congressmen had verified Egypt is doing all it can to stop weapons smuggling into Gaza. Note that provisions from the same amendment requiring Egypt to take steps to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and curb police abuse have disappeared from the discussion.
  • Noted: Kamal Abbas’ appeal has been adjourned until Feb. 6, 2008. A misdemeanors court in 15th of May City sentenced Abbas, the leader of the shuttered Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services, and Muhammad Helmi to one year in prison on criminal libel charges in September. They are free, pending appeal.

495 Qadhafi in Paris

Sarkozy and Qadhafi
Nicolas Sarkozy in Tripoli last July. You can just barely see the Libyan fist crushing a U.S. fighterplane in the background.

So Muammar al-Qadhafi is going to be staying in a heated tent next to the Elysée Palace during his week-long airplane- and nuclear-reactor shopping trip to Paris. Rights groups, Bulgarians, and the press, noting that his visit coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are denouncing the colonel as a dictator. Al-Qadhafi comes to Paris fresh from Lisbon, where, for his part, he explained terrorism as a natural response to the “dictatorship in the United Nations.”

Le Monde on Qadhafi in France: Miss France = Miss Terrorism
Le Monde‘s cartoon, Dec. 10

Don’t bet on Sarko to bring up many tough questions, the rousing rhetoric on human rights in his election victory speech notwithstanding (fast-forward in the video to 7:30).

He’s apparently leaving those to Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Human Rights Minister Rama Yade. See Kouchner’s remarks in La Croix (“Pas question d’oublier le nom des victimes qui lui furent imputées. Pas question d’oublier quoi que ce soit de leurs souffrances“) and Yade’s more pointed remarks to Le Parisien (“La France n’est pas qu’une balance commerciale“). She’s already backtracking, though she’ll apparently skip dinner with the Colonel to attend FIDH’s dinner in honor of the Universal Declaration.

471 ‘Brother Leader’ Speaks

A few quick items:

  • I am thrilled to find Col. Muammar al-Qaddhafi’s Web site. I will be a frequent visitor in future. I’m still browsing, but this seemed too important not to pass along immediately:

First, beware the deadly diseases caused by The World Cup. Medical research has proven, and will prove further in the future, that those who have football (soccer) mania, and those addicted to the game are most at risk of psychological and nervous disorders. Those disorders in turn are the leading causes of heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, hyper-tension and premature ageing. Human physical activity has diminished due to the over-use of technology. People have become more lethargic, lazy and obese. At the same time, sport which should be an individual activity that cannot be delegated to others just like prayers, or a collective one exercised by the all the masses ( Mass Sports* ), has been transformed into an exploitative activity monopolized by the rich dominant elite like the World Cup. The masses are reduced to playing the role of the idiotic spectator.

  • A Coptic Christian woman has been jailed for listing her religion as “Christian” on her government ID card here in Egypt. She was unaware her father briefly converted to Islam 45 years ago, which, according to the bureaucrats, makes her a Muslim. Last week Human Rights Watch and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights released a very good report on exactly this sort of problem.
  • “Between Fear and Loathing.” Andrew Sullivan’s response to Rudy (fear him) and Hillary (loathe her) hits the nail on the head. He winds up holding his nose and endorsing Hillary because Rudy’s so dangerous, leaving me wondering why he has not endorsed Obama?

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