General Fonseka to be blamed for War Crime Charges - Plan by Anti Democratic Regime Surfaces !

A special operation has commenced under the Anti Democaratic Leader's Secretary to blame former Army Commander, General Sarath Fonseka for the war crimes that have allegedly taken place according to the international community during the final stages of the war (yet to be prooved though)

The Leader's advisors are planning on giving publicity to open statements made by General Fonseka. The Leader's Secretary has asked the Media Minister to collect all comments made by General Fonseka while in the Army and after retiring from active service.

It has been decided to use the statement made by General Fonseka after retiring from the Chief of Defence (COD) Staff post where he has said that the leader did not have any clear plan on winning the war and that the only contribution by leader was to provide the necessary bullets.

He has also said the guns, tanks and multi barrel rocket launchers were all purchased during former President Hon. Chandrika Kumaratunge's tenure and that Mahinda Rajapaksa had only provided the bullets.

The Defence Secretary has advised that the operation be carried out in a manner that would not place all credit of winning the war on General Fonseka who was one of the 3 persons involved in impriosoning General Fonseka (Other too are current leader and Ranil).

In order to minimize the allegations of war crimes leveled against the Leaders, his secretary Lalith Weeratunge in an interview with a weekly newspaper said that Rajapaksa did not have any intension of engaging in a war until the LTTE closed down the Mavilaru aniket and commenced the Eelam IV war.

Weeratunge has said that he was shocked when he heard the President tell the special peace envoy Erik Solheim that he was ready for a war.

But many political analysts believe that most probably their will be no issue for General Fonseka (if war crimes are true) as he is being harrased by Mahinda and his regime and he was in China during the final stage ( where UN says war crimes did take place, yet to proove though !) and Gotabaya was the one who was invovled in it with Mahinda.


Also their is a risk for Gotabaya as USA can take legal action against him at any time as he hold the US Citizenship. Mahinda will find it difficult, if he doesn't get support from India to counter attack the charges. Any way it was the regimes foolish decisions (e.g White Flag Case put on SF ) after the war that had lead to all these problems as they were trying to gain political advantage to win elections.

3 key figures in Anti Democaratic Gaddafi's regime will have to face WAR Crimes for crimes against humanity in Libya

The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) has told the UN Security Council that he will seek three arrest warrants for crimes against humanity in Libya.

Charges against the three members of the Libyan government may include murder and unlawful detention, use of cluster bombs and rape as a weapon, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on Wednesday.

The UN Security Council referred the Libyan violence to the ICC in February.

Moreno-Ocampo is investigating Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, some of his sons and aides over a "pre-determined plan" to attack protesters.

He did not, however, name the targets of the arrest warrants, which he said he will request in several weeks for crimes against humanity committed in Libya since February 15.

"Crimes against humanity have been and continue to be committed in Libya, attacking unarmed civilians including killings and persecutions in many cities across Libya," the prosecutor said in a statement.

The prosecutor added that he was also investigating the deaths of dozens of sub-Saharan Africans in the rebel capital of Benghazi by an "angry mob" who believed they were mercenaries for Gaddafi.

Khalid Kaim, the Libyan deputy foreign minister, dismissed the ICC allegations saying Moreno-Ocampo's report painted a partial picture.

"Any decision or any conclusion can Mr. Ocampo draw out of his visit to Benghazi and to Egypt will be just one party review or one party position," Kaim said.

"Of course, since we are not party of the ICC, we cannot invite Mr. Ocampo but instead of that we can invite another fact-finding mission from the [UN] Security Council."

Rape as a weapon

Moreno-Ocampo said there were allegations that Africans from other nations had been attacked in rebel territory because they were thought to be mercenaries.

Alleged criminal incidents include security forces opening live fire at unarmed peaceful protesters, using rape as well as "systemic arrests, torture, killings, deportations, enforced disappearances and destruction of mosques" as a weapon, according to the prosecutor's report.

While a precise number is hard to provide, up to 700 people were killed in February alone, the report said. Gaddafi estimates that "only 150 or 200" have been killed.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has said almost 40,000 people fled fighting in western Libya last month.

3 key figures in Anti Democaratic Gaddafi's regime will have to face WAR Crimes for crimes against humanity in Libya

The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) has told the UN Security Council that he will seek three arrest warrants for crimes against humanity in Libya.

Charges against the three members of the Libyan government may include murder and unlawful detention, use of cluster bombs and rape as a weapon, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on Wednesday.

The UN Security Council referred the Libyan violence to the ICC in February.

Moreno-Ocampo is investigating Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, some of his sons and aides over a "pre-determined plan" to attack protesters.

He did not, however, name the targets of the arrest warrants, which he said he will request in several weeks for crimes against humanity committed in Libya since February 15.

"Crimes against humanity have been and continue to be committed in Libya, attacking unarmed civilians including killings and persecutions in many cities across Libya," the prosecutor said in a statement.

The prosecutor added that he was also investigating the deaths of dozens of sub-Saharan Africans in the rebel capital of Benghazi by an "angry mob" who believed they were mercenaries for Gaddafi.

Khalid Kaim, the Libyan deputy foreign minister, dismissed the ICC allegations saying Moreno-Ocampo's report painted a partial picture.

"Any decision or any conclusion can Mr. Ocampo draw out of his visit to Benghazi and to Egypt will be just one party review or one party position," Kaim said.

"Of course, since we are not party of the ICC, we cannot invite Mr. Ocampo but instead of that we can invite another fact-finding mission from the [UN] Security Council."

Rape as a weapon

Moreno-Ocampo said there were allegations that Africans from other nations had been attacked in rebel territory because they were thought to be mercenaries.

Alleged criminal incidents include security forces opening live fire at unarmed peaceful protesters, using rape as well as "systemic arrests, torture, killings, deportations, enforced disappearances and destruction of mosques" as a weapon, according to the prosecutor's report.

While a precise number is hard to provide, up to 700 people were killed in February alone, the report said. Gaddafi estimates that "only 150 or 200" have been killed.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has said almost 40,000 people fled fighting in western Libya last month.

WHAT AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL (AI) FOUND IN GAZA

I am on the AI e-mailing list and receive many e-mails from them. I really feel that it's necessary to share this one with you.

Dear Harinder,

Hours before Israel announced a ceasefire, an Amnesty International fact finding mission gained access to Gaza. Their initial reports are disturbing: the team found first hand evidence of war crimes, serious violations of international law and possible crimes against humanity by all parties to the conflict.

AI researchers continue investigating attacks against southern Israel and are currently documenting the true scale of devastation wrought on civilians in Gaza. The stories they report are harrowing.

In the early afternoon of January 4th, three young paramedics walked through a field on a rescue mission to save a group of wounded men in a nearby orchard. A 12-year-old boy, standing by his house, assisted the operation by pointing to where the men could be found. An Israeli air strike on the area killed all four.

The bodies of the four victims could not be retrieved for two days. Ambulance crews who tried to approach the site came under fire from Israeli forces.

Our researchers later traveled to the scene of the strike with the two ambulance drivers who witnessed the attack. They met with the boy’s distraught mother and found the remains of the missile. The label of the missile read, “guided missile, surface attack” and cited the United States as the country of origin.

US Weapons Used in Attacks





Label on the remains of a US-made missile that killed three paramedics and a child. The U.S. has to support investigations about misuse of US weapons in attacks against civilians. Tell Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Susan Rice to support an independent investigation. © AI

This is just one of many similar stories.

Under the Geneva Conventions, medical personnel searching, collecting, transporting or treating the wounded must be protected and respected in all circumstances. Clearly, this was not the case on Jan. 4th.

Since we last emailed you, more than 87,000 of you have written Congress and former administration officials. These emails, along with the massive outpouring of letters from around the world from other Amnesty sections, are making an impact. Just this week:

• the United Nations pledged $613 million in aid for Gaza


• 60 members of Congress signed a letter to Secretary of State Hillary of Clinton calling for humanitarian support for Gaza


• And hours ago, the US pledged $20 million in aid (1-2)
  

We have a small window of opportunity to build on this momentum: urge Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Susan Rice to push for a full-fledged independent investigation.

This investigation is critical for many reasons, not the least of which is the clear evidence of the use of white phosphorous, as well as the mounting evidence of the misuse of US arms3. As you read this, Amnesty researchers continue documenting the use of arms, and we expect an action specifically calling on Congress to investigate the misuse of US weapons in this conflict in the coming weeks.

Everyone is responsible for the protection of international law. The US government must not turn a blind eye to possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. It should support an independent international inquiry by the United Nations into allegations of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law - by all groups participating in the conflict.

The story of the paramedics and the young boy is not an anomaly. Write Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Rice today and urge accountability for abuses in Gaza and southern Israel now.

Thank you for your continuing support,

Zahir Janmohamed
Advocacy Director
Middle East and North Africa

P.S. For comprehensive information on the conflict, go to www.amnestyusa.org/gaza. For late breaking updates, visit our blog, Human Rights Now. For organizing resources on the conflict, visit the Gaza Resources page

THE PALESTINIAN CHRONICLE - and more pictures

These pictures were taken before the current ground invasion of Gaza, so they might seem a bit out dated now. I believe they are still relevent and need to be seen.