Concentration camps,slavery and torture cells of past and present.

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Myanmar Rohingya Muslims: The Hidden Genocide

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London-based Burma Campaign UK has slammed pro-democracy activists in Myanmar for failing the Rohingya, "the world's most persecuted minority" according to the UN, by not speaking out on their behalf.

The activists are keeping quiet for fear of losing support ahead of 2015* elections, says the campaign, despite mounting reports of mass killings, mass graves, torture and concentration camps.

"Pro-democracy activists in Burma have been largely silent about the recent crisis - but some have actively jumped on the popular tide of racism and even suggested Rohingya be deported," Burma Campaign UK's director Mark Farmaner told*IBTimes UK.

According to Maung Zarni, visiting fellow at LSE's Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit, the pro-democracy opposition is actually "a big part of the obstacle to resolving the Rohingya crisis peacefully and amicably".

The National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi, who spent nearly two decades in jail and under house arrest, earned worldwide praise for their refusal to kneel before the military junta and for their steady criticism of human rights abuses inside the country.

But Aung San Suu Kyi has dodged questions about the Rohingya situation during her visit to Europe and has not spoken out on it yet. *

Diplomats and human rights groups have grown increasingly concerned by her silence.

"She is no longer a political dissident trying to stick to her principles. She's a politician and her eyes are fixed on the prize, which is the 2015 majority Buddhist vote," Zarni told The Independent.

Racist pro-democracy leaders

As far as the NLD's senior leaders and co-founders are concerned, they are "racist to their cores" according to Zarni. Journalist U Win Tin, among those of "Generation 88" (named after the year the pro-democracy activists banded together) who founded the party, even advocated the idea of interring the Rohingya, as the US did with Japanese people resident in the States during World War II.

"What is shocking to me as a Burmese is that these dissidents have failed to internalise humanism and human rights ideas, despite the fact that they have been barking human rights for the past 25 years," said Zarni.

Aung San Suu Kyi called for a "revolution of the spirit" a quarter of a century ago, but "nothing spiritually progressive has taken root in the popular Burmese psyche", Zarni continued.

Prejudice against Rohingya is so endemic "that anyone speaking out for Rohingya rights faces abuse and condemnation", Burma Campaign UK said.

"With critical elections due in 2015, activists may fear losing support if they speak out," Farmaner agreed.* He added that this prejudice needs to be challenged but that will not happen until "pro-democracy leaders start taking a moral stance and showing principled leadership".

Racism is so widespread in Myanmar that it is considered socially acceptable.

"Racism exists not just against Rohingya but against and between various ethnicities in Burma as well as against foreigners. There is also widespread anti-Muslim prejudice."

The current resurgence of racism is a direct result of a half-century of despotic military rule, according to Zardi.

Crimes against humanity

Representatives from the military members of parliament attend the opening of a joint parliament session in Naypyitaw

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UK-based human rights organisations and scholars have called on the international community to delay lifting sanctions against Myanmar until a solution to the persecution of Rohingya is found.

The allegations of ethnic cleansing raised by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are serious enough to charge the Burmese leadership on grounds of "crimes against humanity" before the UN, according to Zarni.

"The West should second the OIC's attempt to put the Rohingya ethnic cleansing - or partial attempts by the Burmese government - on the UN's agenda in the General Assembly," he said. "There is strong enough evidence to charge the Burmese leadership."

The Rohingya have never been granted citizenship in Myanmar and a 1982 law excluded them from the list of officially recognised minorities.

Sectarian tension between Rakhine state's 800,000 Rohingya and their Arakanese Buddhist neighbours exploded in June after allegations that a gang of Rohingya men had raped an Arakanese woman. The Muslims were lynched in response, sparking days of rioting.

However, many challenge this version of the facts, claiming the government's media "were whipping up the stories of the Rohingya as a threat to national security and Buddhism society".

People shout slogans against the massacre of the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar (Reuters)

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According to Zarni, the military regime "had a hand" in the outbreak of ethno-religious violence in western Burma.

"One rationale is that the regime has decided to resort to this ethno-religious mobilisation of the Buddhist masses as a way of shoring up its dwindling popularity vis-a-vis the growing and active popular support for Aung San Suu Kyi, at least domestically," Zarni said.

One estimate reports that 90 people have been killed and more than 100,000 displaced during the conflict but HRW said this figure was grossly underestimated.

"There is a major humanitarian and human rights crisis taking place in Rakhine state and it isn't getting the international attention it should," Farmaner said.

It is widely believed within the Islamic community that the Myanmar government has acquiesced in or even actively supported the recent violence against the Rohingya.

"The Rohingya have faced severe human rights abuses at the hands of security forces for many decades and these have escalated in the current crisis," confirmed Farmaner. "Burma Campaign UK has received reports of rape, executions, torture and looting by security forces against Rohingya."

Since the 1970s, the military regime has attempted to drive out or otherwise severely restrict the Rohingya in western Burma, Zarni claimed.

"This is the first time the Rohingya persecution has caught the world's attention," he said.

"The resultant pressure and policy priority by the Organisation of Islamic Countries has - for the moment - forced the generals in Naypyidaw [the capital] to play nice with the Rohingyas in Burma."

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http://www.hart-uk.org/blog/rohingya-women-invisible-gender-stateless-people/

Rohingya women: the invisible gender of a stateless people

Described by the UN as one of “the most persecuted minorities in the world”, the Rohingya people in Burma are victims of state sponsored persecution and extreme racial discrimination. Through denial of citizenship, the Burmese government dehumanises the Rohingya people, and this rejection of their humanity leads to immense breaches of their human rights. This, compounded by the inequalities that women face in their patriarchal society, makes Rohingya women some the most vulnerable and internationally invisible people in the world.

Sex trafficking

The Rohingya population is particularly vulnerable to trafficking because the Government denies them citizenship, meaning that they do not have legal status or identification documents. Rohingya women are repeatedly forced into the sex industry, either lured by promises of a brighter future or violently coerced.

In 2013, there were reports of a Rohingya woman who was kidnapped in Rakhine State and made a sex slave on a military installation.

In*this report, the Burma Times details the story of six Rohingya girls who were sold to Indian pimps in Delhi. The girls were used as sex slaves, a typical day for them being to be forced to have sex with around 30 men a day or face horrific beatings. 2 of the girls died as consequence of gang rape.

For more information on human trafficking in Burma please be directed to the Burma Country Narrative of the*Trafficking in Persons Report 2014.

Rape and abuse

Rape of Rohingya women is commonplace, and their position renders them powerless to protect themselves or seek justice. In*this account*a Rohingya woman was gang raped by militants because her husband went into hiding:

“Around 1PM on 6th April 2014, military staying temporarily at Buddhist monastery in the village of Paya-Pyin-Aung-Pa, Buthidaung township, arrested a Rohingya woman (Age 40) hailing from the said village. She was forcibly taken to the monastery. There, they tied her hands and legs. Then, they raped her one after another until midnight.”

Domestic “abuse within families was prevalent and considered socially acceptable…domestic violence was difficult to measure because the government did not maintain statistics” (link to report*here).

Rape is a potential problem for all women in Burma, as spousal rape is not legally considered a crime, and many instances of rape outside of matrimony go unpunished, particularly when committed by the military.* Women may even receive further abuse from authorities for “impugning the dignity of the perpetrator” (US Department of State, report linked above). Victims of rape may also be ostracised from their own communities from fear of further violence from security forces should they seek legal aid. The military in Burma has more power than the government, allowing their violence to go unchecked. High military presence in Rakhine state places Rohingya women in the path of their power thirsty, abusive brutality.

Education

A lack of female education and ties to household duties mean that many Rohingya women do not have an understanding of the conflict and persecution policies that dictate their lives. Low female literacy rates are partly due to state policy and partly the fault of tradition: Rohingya students are denied the right to education and female education is not valued.

Family planning

A lack of family planning and sexual subservience to men means that Rohingya women often have large families and are frequently pregnant without adequate funds and healthcare to support this.* The Rohingya Women’s Network said that*“In Arakan, 99 percent of the Rohingya women delivered their children at home in unsanitary conditions”.*Buddhist nationalists have used the large family sizes to justify religious violence against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya, claiming it to be an effort in a supposed Muslim drive to take over the country – despite the Muslim population only making up 4% (more information*here). Their religion is not tolerated, meaning that Rohingya women are not permitted to wear hijab.

In two townships of Northern Rakhine State, a two-child policy against the Rohingya population has been enforced. Subsequent children cannot be registered. This policy has lead to women attempting to perform abortions themselves in unsanitary conditions.

Shockingly, the government of Burma have placed heavy restrictions on international aid provision to Rohingya people. For example, earlier this year,*Médecins Sans Frontières was ordered to pull out of Rakhine state*and cease its provision of essential healthcare in the area. Ironically, this order also means that Rohingya women are left with no family planning support to be able to adhere to the two child policy.

As Rohingya women do not have citizenship, they are unable to work. International humanitarian agencies are banned from training Rohingya people as health workers, even auxiliary midwives.

Travel restrictions

The Rohingya people are restricted to stay within their own village and must apply for a travel permit if they wish to visit other villages within a restricted area. This has implications for women seeking healthcare, further education possibilities are denied, and women who are forced to move villages when they marry lose family support networks.

How you can help

The current Burmese government is sensitive to the country’s International image (although so far this is evidenced only by the signing of commitments that have yet to be acted upon). Help break the silence on the plight of the Rohingya people by spreading the word and building international pressure.

You can tweet using #Rohingya or #SaveTheRohingya to be part of the movement to demand an end these human rights violations.

Let’s make these people a priority.

*

Background on the Rohingya people

The term “Rohingya” comes from*Rohang, the Rohingya word for the state of*Arakan (now called Rakhine), from where the Rohingya originate.Some Rohingya have been in Burma for centuries while others arrived more recently. During British colonialism, migrants from Bangladesh were invited to inhabit the sparsely populated Arakan state to meet the need for cheap labour in paddy fields. Rohingya populations grew rapidly, sparking fear and hatred in native Burmese nationalists.In World War 2, Burma was invaded by the Japanese causing the British to retreat. This triggered extreme violence between Buddhist Rakhine and the Muslim Rohingya. The Japanese committed countless acts of rape, murder and torture against thousands of Rohingyas.The area has a history of ethnic cleansing campaigns lead by the military junta. The first of these campaigns in 178, “Operation King Dragon”, resulted in their large scale displacement and destruction.1982 Citizenship Act excluded Rohingya from Burmese citizenship. Rohingya people are considered illegal immigrants.In 2012, violence in Rakhine state resulted in 250 Rohingya deaths and over 100,000 displaced people. On 10 June 2012, a*state of emergency*was declared in Rakhine, allowing the military to participate in the administration of the region. The Burmese army and police have been accused of targeting Rohingya Muslims through mass arrests and arbitrary violence.The position of the Rohingya people is so difficult that even pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi *fails to speak out about their plight for fear of losing popular support.

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Bosnian Muslims Genocide:


Like the Nazis’ “cleansing” Europe of its Jews, the Serbs’ aim was the “ethnic cleansing” of any Bosniak or Croat presence in Serbian territory.[14]This term meant that various human rights violations occurred that ranged from curfews and forced relocations to rape, castration, imprisonment in concentration camps, and death.Journalist Mark Danner describes the Serbs’ plan of attack in city after city was as follows:

Urge Serb residents of the city to leave, while surrounding the town and bombarding it with artillery fire.

Decapitation_execute the leaders and intelligentsia of the town.

Separation- separate the women, children, and old men from the men of “fighting age.”

Remove women, children, and old men to concentration camps or national borders.

Liquidation- execute the men of “fighting age.”[15]

The most famous example of this plan of attack was the massacre at Srebrenica, a Bosniak-dominated town under weak UN protection. In July of 1995, Serb General Ratko Mladic marched into Srebrenica, separated the women and children from the men, and murdered approximately 7,000 Bosniak men and boys, the single largest massacre in Europe since World War II. For those who were not killed in the initial massacre, many were sent to one of 381 concentration or detention camps in Bosnia. *Inhumane living conditions, beatings, torture, and mass executions were daily occurrences at these camps and eventually claimed the lives of around 10,000 people over the course of the war. Women were often taken to rape camps, where they were raped and tortured for weeks and months until they became pregnant. It is estimated that 20,000 rapes occurred between 1992 and1995 in Bosnia.


Reports of mass killings and rape had slowly seeped out of Bosnia, but once photos and videos of concentration camps like Omarska and Trnopolje were published by Western journalists, the reports captured the world’s attention.According to author Samantha Power, “No other atrocity campaign in the twentieth century was better monitored and understood by the U.S. government than the Bosnian genocide.”However, despite the wealth of information and irrefutable evidence of genocide, the U.S. government under both Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton initially chose isolationist policies, citing the lack of U.S. interests at stake in the conflict.

In July of 1992, the first international press reports, photos, and videos of the conflict in Bosnia were published, eerily evoking memories and images of the horror of the Holocaust fifty years earlier.*Despite the public outrage created by these reports, the international community still refused to intervene. A year later, after Serbian forces had taken over several Bosniak-dominated cities, the UN established six safe areas that were to be protected by international peacekeepers.However with very few weapons and orders not to fire unless in self-defense, these peacekeepers were completely ineffective.

After the fall of Srebrenica, one of the UN safe areas, the Croatians and Bosniaks combined their forces to launch Operation Storm, an offensive campaign to push Serbian forces out of the Krajina region in the northwest corner of Bosnia. For two years prior to this campaign, Bosniak and Croat forces had turned on each other and had begun a conflict parallel to the one against the Serbs.Yet by combining their forces, the Croatian-Bosniak offensive was able to push Serb forces, as well as 200,000 civilians, out of Krajina and into other Serb- dominated areas.Although Operation Storm succeeded in pushing back Serbian forces, it also created one of the largest refugee populations in Europe.

The defeat of the Bosnian Serb forces led to the realization that a settlement in Bosnia and Herzegovina must be negotiated as soon as possible,leading to the Dayton Accords.The Dayton Accords, the name for the peace agreement, were signed in Dayton, Ohio on December 14, 1995, ending the conflict in Bosnia and stationing 60,000 NATO troops to keep the peace.The initial purpose of the Dayton Accords was to act as a transitory document and to freeze military confrontation but there were various shortcomings.A major criticism of the agreement was that it enabled international actors to shape the agenda of post-war transition without leaving those matters to the Bosnian people and its government.[22]* It also left the region political unstable and fractious since its implementation in 1995.

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Guantanamo Bay

Guantanamo Bay is located on the southeast coast of the island of Cuba, but it has been controlled by the United States since the 1898 Spanish American War. *The controversy around the Guantanamo Bay facility started in 2002 when it became an imprisonment facility for suspected terrorists captured in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, in the name of the war on terror.



There is nothing about Guantanamo Bay that is not controversial. Guantanamo Bay is a clear breach of international law, its inhumane treatment of prisoners contradicts the core values of the United States of America, and its methods have not even been proven to stop the terror. ***

Map of Cuba where Guantanamo Bay is located.

"I am unequivocally innocent. In the last ten years, I have yet to see any evidence against me. Ten years, [I have been] in an animal cage without being charged and without standing any trial."*


*This quote, from an Al-Jazeera interview of a former detainee highlights the horrors of Guantanamo Bay.*

“The operation of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a flagrant violation of international law. The torture practiced in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and the indefinite detention there are violations of international law.”[1]

[1]*“Al-Jazeera Programme Discussion Challenges Facing Plans to Close Guantanamo,”*Al-Jazeera,* February 20, 2013,*http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/

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Horrors of Guantanamo Bay.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CSQQ-wlh3IQ

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http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jan/30/september11.politics

Freed Briton reveals horrors of life inside Guantanamo Bay

In this exclusive statement, Moazzam Begg talks of adjusting to life 'without cages or constraints'

Martin Bright*and*Paul Harris




THE Guantánamo detainee at the centre of allegations of torture at the hands of American officers broke his silence last night, to tell The Observer of the 'continuing evils faced by captives illegally held' and that he had endured 'conditions far below those of the worst convicted criminals in the developed world'.

In an exclusive statement issued to The Observer last night, 36-year-old father of fourMoazzam Begg*said he was still struggling to come to terms with 'the sheer magnitude of this whole episode and its profound effect on my life' and that it was the 'utmost pleasure and relief' to be reunited with his family after his three-year ordeal.

He paid tribute to his father Azmat Begg's campaign for justice for the detainees, and thanked his supporters in campaign groups and the media. He also joined the condemnation by lawyers and the detainees' family members of America's decision to release legal documents, diaries and confessions from secret military tribunals, which they dismissed as a crude attempt to smear the men.

He described the allegations against him as 'spurious' and said he would address them in his own time. 'For now, however, it is imperative that I remain in seclusion with my family and begin to readjust to my new reality: one without cages or constraints.'

'I am acutely aware of the spurious allegations [made] against me by the US authorities - and its surrogate agencies - through "leaked sources" and intend to address all that is relevant.'

Begg is known to be finding the adjustment to life outside captivity extremely difficult and said: 'I envisage that the ongoing struggle to achieve some semblance [of] normality shall be a difficult one. Yet I have much to be grateful for, particularly the multitude of people to whom I can offer only my deepest gratitude.' As the Home Office backed the release of the US papers, saying this was consistent with the 'principles of freedom of information', Gareth Peirce, the solicitor representing Begg, said the documents lacked all credibility.

'It is simply too late for anyone to be expected to take this material seriously,' she said. 'Too much is known of the torture inflicted on the detainees, and about these bogus tribunals at which they had no legal representation. And too much is known about how damaged the detainees were by their experiences at the point these allegations were made. No credibility can be attached to anything that comes out of Guantánamo via the Pentagon.'

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The papers claim Begg learnt to use weapons in terrorist camps and was 'engaged in hostilities against the United States and its coalition partners'.

But the US authorities are still refusing to release classified interviews in which he detailed the torture he claims he underwent at the hands of interrogators.

Azmat Begg said: 'The Americans held hundreds of interviews and never used the information in court.' He was not surprised the US had tried to smear his son. 'The Americans are a global superpower. They can do exactly what they like.'

Claims that one detainee, Richard Belmar, 25, also trained at terror camps in Afghanistan were passed last week to the Sun, which asked readers to help identify the safe houses where the men are being protected.

Belmar's sister, Janette, told The Observer she felt as if he was being pursued by bounty hunters. 'It's disgusting. They shouldn't be allowed to do this. My brother can't talk about anything now. These are false confessions after they were beaten up,' she said.

The files on Belmar appear to show that he did indeed travel to Afghanistan and stay in a jihadi training camp. But they also reveal that he was pressured by US officials at Bagram to say he had sworn an oath to Osama bin Laden and met him when he had done neither.

Belmar told a military tribunal hearing his case that, far from being a jihadi fighter, he had refused a chance to fight in Afghanistan against the North Alliance.

Despite this the tribunal - whose rules did not allow him to call any defence witnesses or see the evidence against him - found him guilty of being an 'enemy combatant' and a member of al-Qaeda. Tribunal rules also do not allow Belmar to see any evidence used against him.

A Home Office spokesman said that they backed the US actions. 'It is up to the Americans to release whatever documents they see fit.'

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http://www.antiwar.com/ips/fisher.php?articleid=4324

Fresh Horrors at Guantanamo

By William Fisher

NEW YORK - A leading civil rights group says that government records pertaining to an investigation of prisoner abuses at the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba are still being withheld, and those it has received under a court order are so heavily censored that they "raise more questions than they answer."

Still, correspondence handed over to the American Civil Liberties Union*(ACLU) recounts what one observer calls "treatment that was not only aggressive, but personally very upsetting," including leaving prisoners shackled in the fetal position and covered in urine and feces.

Under pressure from Congress, the Defense Department announced late last week that it would open its own probe into all reports of abuse contained in documents newly released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Army Brigadier General John T. Furlow will lead the investigation, which could begin this week.

Guantanamo's commanding general, Jay Hood, said a military team independent of the Guantanamo mission was needed to find and interview people who had left the post and were no longer under his command.

Meanwhile, the ACLU says it "will return to court both to challenge the adequacy of the agencies' searches and to challenge particular redactions."

"Why did the FBI narrow its investigation? Did the FBI ever conduct follow-up interviews? Did the FBI provide a formal summary of its findings to the Defense Department?" asked ACLU attorney Jameel Jaffer. "If so, why hasn't the FBI released a copy of this report?"

The release of the documents followed a federal court order that directed the Defense Department and other government agencies to comply with a year-old request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) filed by advocacy groups including the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Physicians for Human Rights, Veterans for Common Sense, and Veterans for Peace.

Among the FBI documents turned over to the ACLU is an e-mail dated Dec. 9, 2002 referring to the "military's interview plan" along with the comment, "You won't believe it!"

Other papers obtained by the ACLU include a heavily edited document referring to an investigation captioned "Corruption Federal Public Official – Executive Branch," which appears to have been referred to the FBI because of a "conflict of interest."

Accompanying this document is an FBI summary of "potentially relevant criminal statutes." The statutes pertain to war crimes, torture, aggravated sexual abuse, and sexual abuse of a minor or ward.

The new documents also reveal that many of the FBI's earlier descriptions of abuses came in response to an e-mail from Steve McCraw, the assistant director of the FBI's Office for Intelligence, to more than 500 agents who had been stationed at Guantanamo, asking them to report whether they had observed "aggressive treatment, interrogations or interview techniques" that violated FBI guidelines.

According to subsequent e-mails noting the status of the "special inquiry," 478 responded and 26 reported observations of detainee mistreatment by personnel of other agencies. The 26 summaries were reviewed by FBI General Counsel Valerie Caproni, who determined 17 to pertain to "approved DOD techniques." As a result, says Jaffer, "some 17 reports of abuse were not investigated."

For unknown reasons, the ACLU says, Caproni declined further investigation of the abuses she considered to follow approved DOD interrogation techniques. The ACLU says "she focused only on those abuses that were not approved by even the DOD's permissive rules. As a result, only nine reported incidents were tagged for follow-up investigation."

The ACLU's review of the documents also shows that other critical records have not been released. For instance, the FBI has withheld a copy of a May 30, 2003 "electronic communication" in which the FBI formally complained to the Defense Department about the treatment of detainees.

These most recent FBI documents were released on the eve of the confirmation hearings of Attorney General-nominee Alberto Gonzales, who is widely thought to be responsible for a memorandum to President George W. Bush providing legal justifications for the use of torture.

Thousands of pages of other FBI documents were received by the ACLU as the result of an earlier request, and a federal court recently ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to turn over all documents relating to its internal investigation of prisoner abuse.

The new documents obtained by the ACLU indicate that prisoner abuse at Guantanamo went beyond anything the government acknowledged.

For example, in one e-mail, dated July 16, 2004, an FBI agent, whose name is deleted, reports seeing a detainee at Guantanamo "sitting on the floor of the interview room with an Israeli flag draped around him, loud music being played and a strobe light flashing."

In another, dated Aug. 2, 2004, an unidentified FBI agent reports "on a couple of occasions" entering interview rooms at Guantanamo and finding one of the detainees "chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food, or water. Most times they had urinated or defecated on themselves and had been left there for 18, 24 hours or more. On one occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold. When I asked the MPs [military police] what was going on, I was told that interrogators from the day prior had ordered this treatment."

Another document reports that a female U.S. military interrogator stroked and applied lotion to a shackled male prisoner, yanked his thumbs back, causing him to grimace in pain, and then "grabbed his genitals."

A broad review of U.S. military interrogation practices conducted by Navy Inspector-General Vice Adm. Albert Church is now in its final stages, and the FBI has prepared a 300-page response to follow-up questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee about Mueller's earlier testimony.

But that response has been "under review" at the Justice Department since last October. Neither it, nor the Church report, is likely to be released publicly soon.

Meanwhile, a British soldier accused of mistreating Iraqi civilian detainees near Basra faces a court martial in Germany today. Three other soldiers from the same regiment who allegedly mistreated prisoners are also expected to face trial later this week.

According to Britain's attorney general, some of the abuse "apparently involves making the victims engage in sexual activity between themselves." Charges against the four soldiers include assault and indecent assault.

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http://m.ibtimes.com/cia-black-sites-are-europes-dirty-secret-211267

CIA Black Sites are Europe's Dirty Secret:



Controversy preceded General David Petraeus' first day behind the director's desk at the Central Intelligence Agency.

Speaking on Monday, the Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg urged continental governments to reveal the locations of CIA black sites.

These U.S.-operated facilities are used for enhanced interrogation -- often considered to be torture -- of terror suspects.

According to Hammarberg, the CIA has interrogation sites in Poland, Romania and Lithuania, among other places, where governments have allowed the U.S. to break humanitarian laws.

Darkness still enshrouds those who authorized and ran the black sites on European territories, he said,*CNN*reports. The full truth must now be established and guarantees given that such forms of co-operation will never be repeated.

Gen. Petraeus assumes the role of CIA director on Tuesday, taking over from acting head Michael Morell, who succeeded Leon Panetta in July. Under Panetta, the office admitted to having the off-shore interrogation centers, but denied any illegal activity.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, often called the mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, was purportedly kept in a Polish black site between 2002 and 2003.

On Thursday, court documents revealed that the U.S. government contracted a luxury jet company to fly high-level suspects to international interrogation centers. According to the filings, jets brought alleged terrorists to black sites in Kabul, Afghanistan; Bangkok, Thailand and Bucharest, Romania, and also handed over suspects to local interrogators in Cairo, Egypt; Damascus, Syria; Amman, Jordan; and Rabat, Morocco.

Through rendition, the CIA captured individual suspects on foreign territories, often with the assistance of the local security services, and flew them to some specific third countries to be interrogated, Hammarberg said on Thursday.

This technique kept the suspects outside the reach of any justice system and rendered them vulnerable to ill-treatment.

Panetta said in 2009 that all black sites had been closed, but the secrecy and opacity surrounding the program is still troublesome. For Hammarberg, the U.S., as well as the foreign governments involved, can only clear their consciences once a full record is disclosed.

Even a small level of accountability will take steps to assure that no government is allowed to operate a secret prison, either domestically or abroad.

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India’s secret torture chambers

By Anupam Dasgupta,*The Week

Little Terrorist, as the intelligence sleuths came to call him, turned out to be a hard nut to crack. No amount of torture would work on 20-year-old Mohammed Issa, who was picked up from Delhi on February 5, 2006. The Delhi Police believed that he had a hotline to Lashkar-e-Toiba deputy chief Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhwi, who later masterminded the 26/11 attack on Mumbai. At a secret detention centre in Delhi, the police and intelligence officers tried every single torture method in their arsenal-from electric shock to sleep deprivation-to make Issa sing. He stuck to his original line: that he had come from Nepal to visit a relative in Delhi. Only, they refused believe him.

According to the police, the youth from Uttar Pradesh, who had moved to Nepal in 2000 along with his family after his father, Irfan Ahmed, was accused in a terrorism case, returned to India to set up Lashkar modules in the national capital. More than six months after he was picked up, the police announced his arrest on August 14. He has since been shifted to the Tihar jail. His lawyer N.D. Pancholi said Issa was kept in illegal custody for months. If not, let the police say where he was between February 5 and August 15, he challenged.

Issa could have been detained in any of Delhi’s joint interrogation centres, used by the police and intelligence agencies to extract precious information from the detainees using methods frowned upon by the law. As one top police officer told THE WEEK in the course of our investigation, these torture chambers spread across the country are our “precious assets”. They are our own little Guantanamo Bays or Gitmos (where the US tortures terror suspects from Afghanistan and elsewhere for information).

Not many admit their existence, because doing so could result in human rights activists knocking at their doors and bad press for the smartly dressed intelligence men. It is a murky and dangerous world, according to K.S. Subramanian, Tripura’s former director-general of police, who has also served in the Intelligence Bureau. “Such sites exist and are being used to detain and interrogate suspected terrorists and it has been going on for a long time,” he told THE WEEK. “Even senior police officers are reluctant to talk about the system.” So are people who have been to these virtual hells that officially do not exist.

THE WEEK has identified 15 such secret interrogation centres-three each in Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, two in Kolkata and one in Assam. (One detention centre that is shared by all security and law enforcement agencies is in Palanpur, Gujarat.) Their locations have been arrived at after speaking to serving and retired top officers who had helped set up some of these facilities. Those who have spent time in these places had no idea where they are. They were taken blindfolded and were allowed no visitors. The only faces they got to see were those of the interrogators, day in and day out.

The biggest of the three detention centres in Mumbai, the Aarey Colony facility in Goregaon, has four rooms. The Anti-Terrorism Squad questioned Saeed Khan (name changed), one of the accused in the Malegaon blasts of September 2006, here. He was served food at irregular intervals (led to temporary disorientation) and was denied sleep. Another secret detention centre maintained in the city by the ATS at Kalachowky has a sound-proof room. Sohail Shaikh, accused in the July 2006 train bombings, was held here for close to two months. “He was kept in isolation for days together,” said an officer. “He crumbled after being subjected to hostile sessions. Intentional infliction of suffering does not always yield immediate results. Sometimes you have to wait for many days for the detainee to break. It is a tedious process.” The smallest of the three facilities at Chembur has just two rooms.

Parvez Ahmed Radoo, 30, of Baramulla district in Kashmir, was illegally detained in Delhi for over a month for allegedly trying to plot mass murder in the national capital on behalf of the Jaish-e-Mohammed. The Delhi Police’s chargesheet says he was arrested from the Azadpur fruit market in Delhi on October 14, 2006. But according to Parvez’s flight itinerary, he travelled from Srinagar to Delhi on September 12 on SpiceJet flight 850. The flight landed at Delhi airport at 12.10 p.m. He had to catch another flight at 1.30 p.m. (SpiceJet flight 217) to Pune, where, according to his parents, he was going to pursue his Ph.D. But he never boarded the Pune flight as he disappeared from the Delhi airport.

Parvez wrote an open letter from the Tihar jail, where he is currently held, in which he said he was arrested from the airport on September 12 and kept in custody for a month. Apparently, he was first taken to the Lodhi Colony police station and then to an apartment in Dwarka, where electrodes were attached to his genitals and power was switched on. (Delhi’s secret detention centres are located at Dwarka in south-west Delhi, the Inter-state Cell of the Crime Branch in Chanakyapuri in central Delhi, and the Lodhi Colony police station in south Delhi.)

“After my arrest on September 12, I was taken to Pune, where I was shown pictures of many Kashmiri boys,” Parvez said in the letter. “They wanted me to identify them. As I didn’t know any one of them, they brought me to Delhi again and threw me into the torture chamber of Lodhi Road [sic] police station. They took off my clothes and started beating me like an animal, so ruthlessly that my feet and fingers started bleeding. I was later forced to clean the blood-stained floor with my underwear. They gave me electric shocks and stretched my legs to extreme limits, resulting in internal haemorrhage. I started passing blood with my urine and stool. Later I was shifted to one flat near Delhi airport [he later identified the place as Dwarka]. From the adjacent flats, voices of crying and screaming had been coming, indicating presence of other persons being tortured.”

Throughout his detention, wrote Parvez, he was asked to lie to his parents that everything was fine. In the letter he also gave the mobile number from which the calls were made-9960565152. His family is trying to collect the call site details of the number to prove his illegal detention.
Delhi-based journalist Iftikhar Geelani, who spent nine days in the Lodhi Colony police station after his arrest in 2002 on spying charges, is yet to get over the traumatic experience. “There are lock-ups with such low ceilings that a person will not be able to stand,” he said. “There is an interrogation centre within the police station where people are brutally tortured with cables, and some are completely undressed and abused. They also have a facility to raise the temperature of the cell to a point where it is unbearable and then suddenly bring it down to freezing cold.”

Assistant Commissioner Rajan Bhagat, spokesman for the Delhi Police, denied the existence of such facilities. “Nobody ever asked me the question [about secret detention centres],” he said. “We don’t operate any such facility in our police stations.”
But Maloy Krishna Dhar, former joint director of the IB, confirmed the existence of secret detention centres in Delhi and other parts of the country. He was convinced that detention outside the police station and torture are an inevitable part of the war on terrorism. “Now I would never dream of doing the things I did when I was in charge,” said Dhar. “But security agencies need such facilities.” Interrogating suspected terrorists at secret detention centres, he said, is the most effective way to gather intelligence. “If you produce a suspect before court, he will never give you anything after that,” he said. In other words, once you record the arrest you are within the realm of the law and you have to acknowledge the rights of the accused-arrested and contend with his lawyer.

An officer who worked in one of the detention centres admitted that extreme physical and psychological torture, based loosely on the regime in Guantanamo Bay, is used to extract information from the detainees. It includes assault on the senses (pounding the ear with loud and disturbing music) and sleep deprivation, keeping prisoners naked to degrade and humiliate them, and forcibly administering drugs through the rectum to further break down their dignity. “The interrogators isolate key operatives so that the interrogator is the only person they see each day,” he said. “In extreme cases we use pethidine injections. It will make a person crazy.”

Molvi Iqbal from Uttar Pradesh, a suspected member of the Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami who is currently lodged in Tihar, was held at a secret detention centre for two months according to his relatives. They alleged that during interrogation a chip was implanted under his skin so that his movements could be tracked if he tried to escape. “He fears that the chip is still inside his skin,” said one of his relatives. “That has shattered him.”

Kolkata has its own Gitmos in Bhabani Bhawan, now the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department, and the Alipore Retreat in Tollygunj, a bungalow that is said to have 20 rooms. They were bursting at the seams at the height of the Naxalite movement, but are more or less quiet now. “A large number of innocent people, as well as suspected terrorists, have disappeared after being taken to such secret detention centres,” said Kirity Roy, a Kolkata-based human rights lawyer. “Their bodies would later be found, if at all, in the fields.”

That was how militancy was tackled, first in Punjab and then in Kashmir. Today no secret prison exists in Kashmir officially after the notorious Papa-2 interrogation centre was closed down. But secret torture cells thrive across the state. The most notorious ones are the Cargo Special Operation Group (SOG) camp in Haftchinar area in Srinagar and Humhama in Budgam district. Then there are the joint interrogation centres in Khanabal area of Anantnag district and Talab Tillo and Poonch areas in Jammu region. Detentions at JICs could last months. Lawyers in Kashmir have filed 15,000 petitions since 1990 seeking the whereabouts of the detainees and the charges against them without avail.

The most recent victim of the torture regime was Manzoor Ahmed Beigh, 40, who was picked by the SOG from Alucha Bagh area in Srinagar on May 18. His family alleged that he was chained up, hung upside down from the ceiling and ruthlessly beaten up. He died the same night. Following public outrage, the officer in charge of the camp was dismissed from the service in June.

Maqbool Sahil, a Srinagar-based photojournalist who was held at Hariniwas interrogation centre for 15 days, says it is a miracle that he is alive today. “If you tell them [interrogators] you are innocent, they will torture you so ruthlessly that you will break down and confess to anything,” he says.
Human rights organisations are understandably concerned. Navaz Kotwal, coordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, said that there should be an open debate on the illegal detention centres. “The US had a debate on the Gitmos. Our government should come forward and respond to these allegations,” she said.

No one wants to compromise the nation’s safety, but the torture becomes unbearable, and questionable, when innocent people like the 14-year-old boy Irfan suffer (see box on page 30). The security of the country and its people is important and terrorism should be crushed at all cost. But the largest democracy in the world should also ensure that human rights are not violated.

Dhar defended the secret prison system, arguing that the successful defence of the country required that the security establishment be empowered to hold and interrogate suspected terrorists for as long as necessary and without restrictions imposed by the legal system. “The primary mission of the agencies is to save the nation both by overt and covert means from any terrorist threat,” he said. “But to keep the programme secret is a horrible burden.”

- See more at: http://sanhati.com/articles/1660/#sthash.AqUqrqed.dpuf

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Images that shamed America : Abu Gharib Jail of Iraq.

http://www.theguardian.com/gall/0,8542,1211872,00.html

2004:*It started with a few disturbing pictures of naked prisoners piled on top of each other, others hooded and wired with electrodes. Worldwide revulsion at the scandal has forced the US president into a public apology and threatened the position of the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5RHvEKjf3zc

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http://www.antiwar.com/news/?articleid=2444

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http://thetruthnews.info/depleted_uranium.html

Depleted Uranium: THE Nightmare.

THE REAL REASON FOR THE NEW DRAFT

By Ralph C. Whitley Sr.

backflow.prevention@verizon.net (A Decorated Veteran of One)

Mr. Garvey: Unfortunately, you and some others fail to see the reason why it is necessary to bring the DRAFT back into service in America. Let me give you and others the real reason.

link

Think about some 450,000 military and civilians who have been rotated from America to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and other areas where Depleted Uranium Weapons were utilized. Imagine that the U.S. Government KNEW of the RADTriage dosimeter and cost of $20.00 even when the older models were brought out. Some SEALS and special ops units were provided no doubt with smaller and cheaper models which sold for perhaps $10.00 and registered similarly from 1-50 RADS.

NOW let me tell you a story: Once upon a time in America, the military males decided to use Depleted Uranium Weapons in battle on several fronts. The reason for using the DU Weapons was no force on earth had such a devistating weapons which would penetrate a tank or armored vehicle and make all occupants crispy critters in an instant killing everyone in the opposing group's armored vehicles.

A NEW WEAPON DEVELOPED WITH DEPLETED URANIUM which would leave particles with a half life of perhaps 4.5 Billion Years. America and the Allies took great pleasure in the FIRST GULF WAR and SECOND GULF WAR which is still ongoing so very pleased at the fact that the so called terrorists and enemy did not have such a weapon of mass destruction which would not only destroy military personnel and weapons but be guaranteed to contaminate the entire country where the weapons were dispersed with little or no casualties to American or Allied Forces.

Military and Civilians rotated into the area without RADTriage dosimeters or any type of dosimeter took their posts as good American Combat and Support men and women thinking IF the DU was dangerous UNCLE would protect the U.S. Forces and others volunteering from Allied Forces or Civilian units in the United States. Little did all humans realize that the Military Powerful stayed many thousands of miles away commanding operations which contaminated many Nations and could spread this contamination to the rest of the World. Some civilians called for the United Nations to intervene and use the Security Council to STOP America and Allied forces to the United States from using DU weapons. Many prayed for the UN to step in and hear from two senior citizens who tried to ask for 10 minutes to appear at the UN at their own costs without payment from the United States Government or anyone!

Those brave military and civilians serving one full year IN COUNTRY with DU Weapons and DU Particles contaminating the Air, Earth, Animals, Birds, Fowl, Pets, Humans, plus Water would find by dedicated specialists from France and the United States such as Doctor Moret and Doctor Rokke that the entire areas are HOT with radiation and exposure was unknown levels for the first 450,000 brave American's serving their President.

Annual ROTATION began with fresh personnel being brought over to contaminated areas for one YEAR duty and sent back home. Some units were called back for another YEAR without any way of measuring Depleted Uranium Radiation Exposure levels. Many of those who were in for one tour DIED or were DISABLED from Radiation related illnesses. Another 450,000 who would rotate for several tours without RADTriage dosimeters costing $20.00 from <mailto:sales@sirad-usa.com>sales@sirad-usa.com would be again contaminated and have no knowledge of the level of contamination.

SOLUTION: START THE DRAFT as we may very well loose not only 450,000 brave men and women with Radiation Contamination but the particles may spread across the GLOBE causing massive orders for BODY BAGS as the body of one contaminated cannot, IMHO, be cremated or allowed to ROT as water will take the extremely fine particles down through the soil to infect the underground streams and thus pass on to more humans, animals, insects, pets and birds who drink the contaminated water for which the less than 1 micron particles cannot be filtered.

Men, Women, Children will develop ILD which is like asbestosis a smothering disease from inhaling particles and the lungs, as GOD intended, will encapsulate the particles and make scar tissue until the human smothers to death. Mesotheleoma is a smothering disease with fine asbestos particles and these DU particles at 500 times as dangerous carried on the clothing, body and WINDS to all corners of the globe.

The ONLY solution is to let the UN Security Council HEAR OF THE DANGER AND TAKE ACTION.

The UN Security Council and all Permanent Representatives have to hear the problem even if from two senior citizens of the HOST NATION who have asked multiple times for 10 minutes to talk on the dangers. Since America and American Allies are using these DU Weapons and spreading this radioactive contamination across the Planet the UN must BAN the use of a specific Nuclear Weapon of Mass Destruction - DEPLETED URANIUM WEAPONS.

There is a hitch which many do not realize. The UN was formed with specific Nations including the United States and Allies to the United States with VETO POWER as they have no doubt VETOED MANY UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS and could stop any effort to sanction them EXCEPT FOR ONE POSSIBLE BLOCK TO SUCH ACTION. America and the Allied Nations who have used DU MUST BE REMOVED FROM THE VOTING PROCESS IN THE SECURITY COUNCIL! If correct BANNING THE ACCUSED FROM VOTING BANS THE ACCUSED FROM VETO OF ANY SANCTIONS BY THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL! The UN must hear the Depleted Uranium BAN request and vote within the Security Council MINUS AMERICA AND ALLIES WHO USE DU.

If the UN Security Council passes a resolution to BAN DU and sanctions America and Allied Nations calling for immediate identification of all areas UNDER UN PROTECTION AND SECURITY then special teams could go into all areas with GEIGER COUNTERS and identify HOT areas and Tanks which are HOT plus Soil and Buildings which are HOT.

The next step would be to demand the US and Allies CLEAN UP THE RADIATION AND PROVIDE RADTriage dosimeters to every living human in the hot areas to confirm radiation. Such RADTriage dosimeters can be attached to existing TANKS with DU weapons onboard to confirm the time it takes being around DU armor and weapons before the CASUALTY LEVEL IS REACHED. Remember: The DRAFT must be in place and bringing an additional 450,000 NEW PERSONNEL into the Military and Civilian services to be able to send 225,000 NEW people to any area for one year with RADTriage dosimeters which will tell when the 50 RAD level is reached then replacements from the remaining 225,000 must take their place and the cycle goes on KILLING OUR MEN AND WOMEN plus perhaps dooming America to action taken by the people who loose loved ones to Radiation Exposure from the DU particles WORLDWIDE!

THAT IS THE REAL REASON FOR THE DRAFT

.Imagine a tank gunnery specialist riding around 8 hours per day 365 days per year in a TANK with DU Weapons behind his head radiating like the armor plating on that spiffy TANK or Armored Personnel Carrier. Unless these people are issued dosimeters which are READ AND RESULTS DOCUMENTED IN SERVICE JACKETS those people may come back to civilian life, wait two or three years, develop radiation sickness diseases and be UNINSURABLE because of an Existing Condition.

Imagine a tank gunnery specialist coming home, fathering a baby who is born deformed... that same person must stay in the military to have full coverage for that deformed child if it lives.

NOW IS THE TIME TO SEND THOSE E-MAILS TO

mailto:inquiries@un.org>inquiries@un.org

to the President of the United States at mailto:President@whitehouse.gov>President@whitehou se.gov

and mailto:comments@whitehouse.gov>comments@whitehouse .gov PLUS to all Congressional Representatives WHO CAN OVERRIDE A VETO calling for stopping the DU weapons use and allowing teams to verify contamination and clean it up everywhere.

There are specific HOT ZONES in America where training and use of DU contaminate many hundreds of square miles... they are known yet everyone working at the manufacturing sites for the Weapons or Armored protection with DU still have no dosimeters which only cost $20.00. They make EXCELLENT XMAS GIFTS AND ARE RELIABLE FOR ONE FULL YEAR GIVING INSTANT READINGS ! Imagine knowing how much radiation your loved one is exposed to before the UN stops such weapons from being used.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO CARED AND COULD STAY ON POINT WITH ONE QUEST...STOPPING DU WORLDWIDE! REAL REASON FOR NEW DRAFT 112106 TIME IS RUNNING OUT! WILL YOU CALL FOR BANNING DU BY THE UN? WORLD PEACE FROM AUTOMATIC CEASE FIRE OF ALL DU WEAPONS?

Ralph Charles Whitley, Sr., age 65 a decorated American Veteran of One 4532 W. Kennedy Blvd. PMB-276 Tampa, Florida 33609-2042

Phone: 813-241-7940 cellular

and Ruth DeLaMater Bundy, Age 76 4503 W. North A Street Tampa, Florida 33609-2028 Phone: 813-286-2333 112106

Is Depleted Uranium the suspect behind Military Suicides?

by Greg Mitchell Global Research

Editorial Note Post-traumatic stress*disorder (PTSD) has become an epidemic amongst soldiers/sailors serving and veterans who have returned from the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. The reasons are being depicted as purely psychological, but this seems to be very misleading.The general public in the United States Britain, and the rest of the world, including much of the Arab World, are unaware of one of the greatest war crimes and criminal acts*against humanity that has been unfolding since the Gulf War from the Balkans to the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Depleted uranium has been used for military use from Bosnia-HerzegovinaMontenegro Serbia to the Gaza Strip, Lebanon Kuwait Iraq, and Afghanistan.

The use of depleted uranium (D.U.)—more properly nuclear waste—and other substances in Iraq and Afghanistan cannot be ruled out as a cause of post-traumatic stress*disorder (PTSD) reported by U.S., Coalition, and NATO veterans. Veterans who have served in Anglo-American occupied Iraq and NATO-garrisoned Afghanistan are coming back in sizeable numbers with medical, stress, and psychological problems, but there are undoubtedly more factors involved than just the theatre of military service or the war zone.

It is now known that Gulf War Syndrome was caused by the large-scale use of depleted uranium against Iraq in 1991. Additionally, about 70% (even possibly more) of Gulf War Veterans have had children born after the Gulf War with mutations, deformities, genetic disorders, and severe medical illnesses.

Causal analysis of the increasing rates of mutation, medical problems, and cancer in both foreign troops and local populations alike in Iraq and Afghanistan indicates that it is the military application of nuclear waste (D.U.) being used against civilian populations and resistance movements that is the cause.

There have been omissions to this such as the use of dosimeters by troops in Afghanistan. Dosimeters are measuring devices worn around soldiers’ necks that record exposure to radioactivity. Although it replicates the U.S. and NATO claims that depleted uranium (D.U.) is safe and posses no health hazards to human beings, the*Toronto Star, the newspaper with the largest number of circulations in Canada, published a revealing piece by*Bruce Campion-Smith*that gives an indirect omission of the horrors that foreign troops and local populations alike have been exposed to in the war zone.

Although the rudimentary causes of Jeanne Michel’s PTSD are not know, there is no doubt these causes at a minimum can be attributed to the war in Iraq, warfare, and the occupation of Iraq by American troops.The article writes that “Iraq killed her just as certainly,” meaning it was because of the occupation of Iraq that Jeanne Michel died.

This statement should proceed deeper—the regressive foreign policy of the United States dictated by interest groups concerned with their own profiteering and luxury is what killed Jeanne Michel and thousands of others. In both and Afghanistan, the citizens of the United States, Britain Iraq, and Afghanistan paradoxically suffer together because of war criminals in WashingtonD.C. and London.

Global Research, 19 November 2006 Depleted Uranium - Far Worse Than 9/11Depleted Uranium Dust -*Public Health Disaster For The People Of Iraq and AfghanistanMay, 3, 2006 by Doug WestermanIn 1979, depleted uranium (DU) particles escaped from the National Lead Industries factory near Albany, N.Y.,which was manufacturing DU weapons for the U.S military.

The particles traveled 26 miles and were discovered in a laboratory filter by Dr. Leonard Dietz, a nuclear physicist. This discovery led to a shut down of the factory in 1980, for releasing morethan 0.85 pounds of DU dust into the atmosphere every month, and involved a cleanup of contaminated properties costing over 100 million dollars.

Imagine a far worse scenario. Terrorists acquire a million pounds of the deadly dust and scatter it in populated areas throughout the U.S. Hundreds of children report symptoms. Many acquire cancer and leukemia, suffering an early and painful death. Huge increases in severe birth defects are reported. Oncologists are overwhelmed. Soccer fields, sand lots and parks, traditional play areas for kids, are no longer safe. People lose their most basic freedom, the ability to go outside and safely breathe. Sounds worse than 9/11? Welcome to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dr. Jawad Al-Ali (55), director of the Oncology Center at the largest hospital in Basra, Iraq stated, at a recent ( 2003) conference in Japan: "Two strange phenomena have come about in Basra which I have never seen before. The first is double and triple cancers in one patient.

For example, leukemia and cancer of the stomach. We had one patient with 2 cancers - one in his stomach and kidney. Months later, primary cancer was developing in his other kidney--he had three different cancer types. The second is the clustering of cancer in families. We have 58 families here with more than one person affected by cancer. Dr Yasin, a general Surgeon here has two uncles, a sister and cousin affected with cancer. Dr Mazen, another specialist, has six family members suffering from cancer. My wife has nine members of her family with cancer"."Children in particular are susceptible to DU poisoning.

They have a much higher absorption rate as their blood is being used to build and nourish their bones and they have a lot of soft tissues. Bone cancer and leukemia used to be diseases affecting them the most, however, cancer of the lymph system which can develop anywhere on the body, and has rarely been seen before the age of 12 is now also common.", "We were accused of spreading propaganda for Saddam before the war. When I have gone to do talks I have had people accuse me of being pro-Saddam. Sometimes I feel afraid to even talk. Regime people have been stealing my data and calling it their own, and using it for their own agendas. The Kuwaitis banned me from entering Kuwait - we were accused of being Saddam supporters."

John Hanchette, a journalism professor at St. Bonaventure University, and one of the founding editors of USA TODAY related the following to DU researcher Leuren Moret.* He stated* that he had prepared news breaking stories about the effects of DU on Gulf War soldiers and Iraqi citizens, but that each time he was ready to publish, he received a phone call from the Pentagon asking him not to print the story.* He has since been replaced as editor of USA TODAY.Dr. Keith Baverstock, The World Health Organization's chief expert on radiation and health for 11 years and author of an unpublished study has charged that his report " on the cancer risk to civilians in Iraq from breathing uranium contaminated dust " was* also deliberately suppressed.

The information released by the U.S. Dept. of Defense is not reliable, according to some sources even within the military.In 1997, while citing experiments, by others, in which 84 percent of dogs exposed to inhaled uranium died of cancer of the lungs, Dr. Asaf Durakovic, then Professor of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington was quoted as saying,*"The [US government's] Veterans Administration asked me to lie about the risks of incorporating depleted uranium in the human body."

At that time Dr. Durakovic was a colonel in the U.S. Army.* He has since left the military, to found the Uranium Medical Research Center, a privately funded organization with headquarters in Canada. PFC Stuart Grainger of 23 Army Division, 34th Platoon. (Names and numbers have been changed) was diagnosed with cancer several after returning from Iraq.

* Seven other men in the Platoon also have malignancies.Doug Rokke, U.S. Army contractor who headed a clean-up of depleted uranium after the first Gulf War states:, "Depleted uranium is a crime against God and humanity."Rokke's own crew, a hundred employees, was devastated by exposure to the fine dust. He stated:"When we went to the Gulf, we were all really healthy," After performing clean-up operations in the desert (mistakenly without protective gear), 30 members of his staff died, and most others"including Rokke himself"developed serious health problems.

Rokke now has reactive airway disease, neurological damage, cataracts, and kidney problems."We warned the Department of Defense in 1991 after the Gulf War. Their arrogance is beyond comprehension.*Yet the D.O.D still insists such ingestion is "not sufficient to make troops seriously ill in most cases."Then why did it make the clean up crew seriously or terminally ill in nearly all cases?

Marion Falk, a retired chemical physicist who built nuclear bombs for more than 20 years at Lawrence Livermore Lab, was asked if he thought that DU weapons operate in a similar manner as a dirty bomb. "That's exactly what they are. They fit the description of a dirty bomb in every way."According to Falk, more than 30 percent of the DU fired from the cannons of U.S. tanks is reduced to particles one-tenth of a micron (one millionth of a meter) in size or smaller on impact.

* "The larger the bang" the greater the amount of DU that is dispersed into the atmosphere, Falk said. With the larger missiles and bombs, nearly 100 percent of the DU is reduced to radioactive dust particles of the "micron size" or smaller, he said.When asked if the main purpose for using it was for destroying things and killing people, Falk was more specific: "I would say that it is the perfect weapon for killing lots of people." When a DU round or bomb strikes a hard target, most of its kinetic energy is converted to heat " sufficient heat to ignite the DU.* From 40% to 70% of the DU is converted to extremely fine dust particles of ceramic uranium oxide (primarily dioxide, though other formulations also occur). Over 60% of these particles are smaller than 5 microns in diameter, about the same size as the cigarette ash particles in cigarette smoke and therefore respirable.Because conditions are so chaotic in Iraq, the medical infrastructure has been greatly compromised.

* In terms of both cancer and birth defects due to DU, only a small fraction of the cases are being reported. Doctors in southern Iraq are making comparisons to the birth defects that followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII. They have numerous photos of infants born without brains, with their internal organs outside their bodies, without sexual organs, without spines, and the list of deformities goes on an on.* Such birth defects were extremely rare in Iraq prior to the large scale use of DU. Weapons. Now they are commonplace.* In hospitals across Iraq, the mothers are no longer asking, "Doctor, is it a boy or girl?" but rather, "Doctor, is it normal?"*

The photos are horrendous.Ross B. Mirkarimi, a spokesman at The Arms Control Research Centre stated:"Unborn children of the region are being asked to pay the highest price, the integrity of their DNA."Prior to her death from leukemia in Sept. 2004, Nuha Al Radi , an accomplished Iraqi artist and author* of the "Baghdad Diaries" wrote:"Everyone seems to be dying of cancer.

Every day one hears about another acquaintance or friend of a friend dying. How many more die in hospitals that one does not know? Apparently, over thirty percent of Iraqis have cancer, and there are lots of kids with leukemia.""The depleted uranium left by the U.S. bombing campaign has turned Iraq into a cancer-infested country. For hundreds of years to come, the effects of the uranium will continue to wreak havoc on Iraq and its surrounding areas.

"This excerpt in her diary was written in 1993, after Gulf War I (Approximately 300 tons of DU ordinance, mostly in desert areas)* but before Operation Iraqi Freedom, (Est. 1,700 tons with much more near major population centers).* So, it's 5-6 times worse now than it was when she wrote than diary entry!!** Estimates of the percentage of D.U. which was 'aerosolized' into fine uranium oxide dust are approximately 30-40%.

That works out to over one million pounds of dust scattered throughout Iraq. As a special advisor to the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and the Iraqi Ministry of Health, Dr. Ahmad Hardan has documented the effects of DU in Iraq between 1991 and 2002.

American forces admit to using over 300 tons of DU weapons in 1991.* The actual figure is closer to 800.* This has caused a health crisis that has affected almost a third of a million people.* As if that was not enough, America went on and used 200 tons more in Bagdad alone during the recent invasion.I don"t know about other parts of Iraq, it will take me years to document that. In Basra, it took us two years to obtain conclusive proof of what DU does, but we now know what to look for and the results are terrifying.By far the most devastating effect is on unborn children.* Nothing can prepare anyone for the sight of hundreds of preserved fetuses " scarcely human in appearance. Iraq is now seeing babies with terribly foreshortened limbs, with their intestines outside their bodies, with huge bulging tumors where their eyes should be, or with a single eye-like Cyclops, or without eyes, or without limbs, and even without heads.

Significantly, some of the defects are almost unknown outside textbooks showing the babies born near A-bomb test sites in the Pacific.Dr. Hardan also states:I arranged for a delegation from Japan's Hiroshima Hospital to come and share their expertise in the radiological diseases weAre likely to face over time. The delegation told me the Americans had objected and they decided not to come. Similarly, a world famous German cancer specialist agreed to come, only to be told later that he would not be given permission to enter Iraq."Not only are we poisoning the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, but we are making a concerted effort to keep out specialists from other countries who can help.

* The U.S. Military doesn"t want the rest of the world to find out what we have done. Such relatively swift development of cancers has been reported by doctors in hospitals treating civilians following NATO bombing with DU in Yugoslavia in 1998-1999 and the US military invasion of Iraq using DU for the first time in 1991. Medical experts report that this phenomenon of multiple malignancies from unrelated causes has been unknown until now and is a new syndrome associated with internal DU exposure. Just 467 US personnel were wounded in the three-week Persian Gulf War in 1990-1991. Out of 580,400 soldiers who served in Gulf War I, 11,000 are dead, and by 2000 there were 325,000 on permanent medical disability.

This astounding number of disabled vets means that a decade later, 56 percent of those soldiers who served in the first Gulf War now have medical problems. Although not reported in the mainstream American press, a recent Tokyo tribunal, guided by the principles ofInternational Criminal Law*and*International Humanitarian Law, found President George W. Bush guilty of war crimes. On March 14, 2004, Nao Shimoyachi, reported in*The Japan Timesthat President Bush was found guilty "for attacking civilians with indiscriminate weapons and other arms,"and the "tribunal also issued recommendations for banning Depleted Uranium shells and other weapons that indiscriminately harm people."*

Although this was a "Citizen's Court" having no legal authority, the participants were sincere in their determination that international laws have been violated and a war crimes conviction is warranted.Troops involved in actual combat are not the only servicemen reporting symptoms.

Four soldiers from a New York Army National Guard company serving in Iraq are among several members of the same company, the 442nd Military Police, who say they have been battling persistent physical ailments that began last summer in the Iraqi town of Samawah."I got sick instantly in June," said Staff Sgt. Ray Ramos, a Brooklyn housing cop. "My health kept going downhill with daily headaches, constant numbness in my hands and rashes on my stomach."Dr. Asaf Durakovic, UMRC founder, and nuclear medicine expert examined and tested nine soldiers from the company says that four "almost certainly" inhaled radioactive dust from exploded American shells manufactured with depleted uranium. Laboratory tests revealed traces of two manmade forms of uranium in urine samples from four of the soldiers.If so, the men - Sgt. Hector Vega, Sgt. Ray Ramos, Sgt. Agustin Matos and Cpl. Anthony Yonnone - are the first confirmed cases of inhaled depleted uranium exposure from the current Iraq conflict.The 442nd, made up for the most part of New York cops, firefighters and correction officers, is based in Orangeburg, Rockland County. Dispatched to Iraq in Easter of 2003, the unit's members had been providing guard duty for convoys, running jails and training Iraqi police. The entire company is due to return home later this month."These are amazing results, especially since these soldiers were military police not exposed to the heat of battle," said Dr. Asaf Duracovic, who examined the G.I.s and performed the testing.In a group of eight U.S. led Coalition servicemen whose babies were born without eyes, seven are known to have been directly exposed to DU dust. In a much group (250 soldiers) exposed during the first Gulf war, 67% of the children conceived after the war had birth defects.* Dr. Durakovic's* UMRC research team also conducted a three-week field trip to Iraq in October of 2003. It collected about 100 samples of substances such as soil, civilian urine and the tissue from the corpses of Iraqi soldiers in 10 cities, including Baghdad, Basra and Najaf. Durakovic said preliminary tests show that the air, soil and water samples contained "hundreds to thousands of times" the normal levels of radiation.

"This high level of contamination is because much more depleted uranium was used this year than in (the Gulf War of) 1991," Durakovic told The Japan Times. "They are hampering efforts to prove the connection between Depleted Uranium and the illness," Durakovic said"They do not want to admit that they committed war crimes" by using weapons that kill indiscriminately, which are banned under international law."(NOTE ABOUT DR. DURAKOVIC;* First, he was warned to stop his work, then he was fired from his position, then his house was ransacked, and he has also reported receiving death threats.* Evidently the U.S. D.O.D is very keen on censoring DU whistle-blowers!)Dr. Durakovic, UMRC* research associates Patricia Horan and Leonard Dietz, published a unique study in the August 2002 issue of Military Medicine Medical Journal. The study is believed to be the first to look at inhaled DU among Gulf War veterans, using the ultrasensitive technique of thermal ionization mass spectrometry, which enabled them to easily distinguish between natural uranium and DU.* The study, which examined British, Canadian and U.S. veterans, all suffering typical Gulf War Syndrome ailments, found that, nine years after the war, 14 of 27 veterans studied had DU in their urine. DU also was found in the lung and bone of a deceased Gulf War veteran. That no governmental study has been done on inhaled DU "amounts to a massive malpractice," Dietz said in an interview.

The Japanese began studying DU effects in the southern Iraq in the summer of 2003. They had a Geiger counter which they watched go off the scale on many occasions. During their visit,a local hospital was treating upwards of 600 children per day, many of which suffered symptoms of internal poisoning by radiation.* 600 children per day?* How many of these children will get cancer and suffer and early and painful death?"Ingested DU particles can cause up to 1,000 times the damage of an X-ray", said Mary Olson, a nuclear waste specialist and biologist at the Nuclear Information and Resource Service in Washington D.C. It is this difference in particle size as well as the dust's crystalline structure that make the presence of DU dust in the environment such an extreme hazard, and which differentiates its properties from that of the natural uranium dust that is ubiquitous and to which we all are exposed every day, which seldom reaches such a small size.* This point is being stressed, as comparing DU particles to much larger natural ones is misleading.The U.S. Military and its supporters regularly quote a Rand Corp. Study which uses the natural uranium inhaled by miners. Particles smaller than 10 microns can access the innermost recesses of lung tissue where they become permanently lodged. Furthermore, if the substance is relatively insoluble, such as the ceramic DU-oxide dust produced from burning DU, it will remain in place for decades, dissolving very slowly into the bloodstream and lymphatic fluids through the course of time. Studies have identified DU in the urine of Gulf War veterans nine years after that conflict, testifying to the permanence of ceramic DU-oxide in the lungs.* Thus the effects are far different from natural uranium dust, whose coarse particles are almost entirely excreted by the body within 24 hours.*

The military is aware of DU's harmful effects on the human genetic code. A 2001 study of DU's effect on DNA done by Dr. Alexandra C. Miller for the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in Bethesda, Md., indicates that DU's chemical instability causes 1 million times more genetic damage than would be expected from its radiation effect alone.Studies have shown that inhaled nano-particles are far more toxic than micro-sized particles of the same basic chemical composition. British toxicopathologist Vyvyan Howard has reported that the increased toxicity of the nano-particle is due to its size.For example, when mice were exposed to virus-size particles of Teflon (0.13 microns) in a University of Rochester study, there were no ill effects. But when mice were exposed to nano-particles of Teflon for 15 minutes, nearly all the mice died within 4 hours."Exposure pathways for depleted uranium can be through the skin, by inhalation, and ingestion,"* writes Lauren Moret, another DU researcher. "Nano-particles have high mobility and can easily enter the body. Inhalation of nano-particles of depleted uranium is the most hazardous exposure, because the particles pass through the lung-blood barrier directly into the blood."When inhaled through the nose, nano-particles can cross the olfactory bulb directly into the brain through the blood brain barrier, where they migrate all through the brain," she wrote. "

Many Gulf era soldiers exposed to depleted uranium have been diagnosed with brain tumors, brain damage and impaired thought processes. Uranium can interfere with the mitochondria, which provide energy for the nerve processes, and transmittal of the nerve signal across synapses in the brain. Based on dissolution and excretion rate data, it is possible to approximate the amount of DU initially inhaled by these veterans. For the handful of veterans studied, this amount averaged 0.34 milligrams. Knowing the specific activity (radiation rate) for DU allows one to determine that the total radiation (alpha, beta and gamma) occurring from DU and its radioactive decay products within their bodies comes to about 26 radiation events every second, or 800 million events each year.* At .34 milligrams per dose, there are over 10 trillion doses floating around Iraq and Afghanistan.How many additional deaths are we talking about? In the aftermath of the first Gulf War, the UK Atomic Energy Authority came up with estimates for the potential effects of the DU contamination left by the conflict.

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http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RNi_1pbSqGY

What America and Nato had left behind.

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http://thetruthnews.info/NoExit.jpg

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http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f1spmAlYxeY&feature=youtu.be

The trailor.


And the reality.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=dYYyYglZQlo