Mosaic News - 03/06/12

Milita and tribal leaders declare autonomy in east Libya [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Male #1
In Libya, elders and leaders of the eastern region gathered in the city of Benghazi to announce the formation of what they called the interim council of Cyrenaica, headed by Ahmed al-Zubair al-Senussi.

Presenter, Female #1
According to the declaration, participants in the conference are calling for Libya's eastern region to be a federal region. They confirm that al-Senussi will be the legitimate representative of the region on the international arena.

Presenter, Male #1
The declaration is based on the constitution enacted after Libya's independence in 1951. The participants renewed their rejection of the National Transitional Council's constitution, the allocation of national assembly seats, the election law, and all laws and decisions that clash with the region's authority.

Joining us now from Benghazi is Ben Qassem el-Nimr, a founder of the federal union bloc. Mr. Ben Qassem, why did you issue this declaration at such a time?

Guest, Male #2 (Ben Qassem el-Nimr, Federal Union Bloc Founder)
In the name of God, first, this conference was held under the slogan, "No to dividing Libya, yes to federalism." This political mobilization has been active for nearly four or five months. The essential motivator for rushing this process is the constitution. National Congress elections will be held in June, and a committee will be formed to draft a new constitution. So at that point we will have very little time to tackle the issue, and it must be dealt with before the constitution is drafted and a referendum is held. For this reason, all leaders and components of the society in Cyrenaica are involved in this mobilization that has been ongoing for a long time. They met today and issued the declaration, and a charter of coexistence.

Army death toll rises as Yemeni leaders accused of collaborating with al-Qaeda [Dubai TV, UAE]

Violence is again targeting the Yemeni city of al-Bayda. The Defense Ministry said on its website that an armed attack was launched on a military checkpoint run by government forces in the area of al-Daher near the entrance to the southern province of al-Bayda, killing a soldier and injuring two others. Al-Qaeda issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, which they say killed three soldiers and damaged at least two military vehicles.

Meanwhile, the newly inaugurated Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi vowed to fight terrorism and pursue armed al-Qaeda fighters. The latest death toll of the al-Qaeda attack on a Yemeni military base in the southern province of Abyan rose to 185. Some of the surviving soldiers accused guards at the base of collaborating with the attackers. This was also confirmed by several security and media sources, which attributed the expansion of al-Qaeda's influence in the region to plots hatched by military officers loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh attempting to abort the revolution. Abed al-Rahman al-Shimiri reports from Sana'a.

Reporter, Male #1
As soon as Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi received power, backed by regional and international support, confrontations ensued between security forces and suspected al-Qaeda fighters in southern Yemen. Dozens of soldiers were killed or injured in a fierce confrontation with the so-called Ansar al-Sharia in the area of al-Koud in Abyan Province. In addition, armed fighters seized control of military posts near Zinjibar and stole military vehicles and ammunition.

Guest, Male #3 (Abdullah Dubali, Political Activist)
In Abyan, particularly in the area of Zinjibar, there has been a major shift in al-Qaeda's strategy and ideology on the use of terror and violence. In addition, certain groups within the ranks of the former regime are being accused of plotting these types of operations in a bid to impede the restructuring of the army.

Reporter, Male #1
Some are attributing the escalation in al-Qaeda's activities to the weakness of the central authority in Sana'a, which was caused by the more than one year of protests and demonstrations that exhausted security forces, and divided their leaders and officers based on their respective positions and affiliations.

Guest, Male #4 (Akram al-Fahd, Yemeni Journalist)
The troubling issue is al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda's activity is strong in the country's southern regions because the south, unfortunately, provided a safe haven for the group, especially amid the absence of security forces formerly led by Saleh's sons, and by the Yemeni authority in general.

Reporter, Male #1
Security sources said that the army's defeat was caused by blatant collaboration from inside the army base, which was until last week led by the ousted commander of the Southern Region, Mahdi Maqwala, who was loyal to the former president. It's true that former president Saleh has relinquished power, but he didn't leave the country. And this, according to many Yemenis, may further fuel tension, stir chaos, and disrupt the new government. Abed al-Rahman al-Shimiri, Dubai TV, Sana'a.

A look at Yemeni Southern Movement's struggle for independence [New TV, Lebanon]

In today's report on Yemen, my colleague Ghadi Francis interviews leaders of Yemen's Southern Movement, who are demanding disengagement from the north, to learn about the movement's motivations and regional affiliations. The report tries to answer, "Why secession?"

Guest, Female #2 (Daya'a Ibrahim, Southern Women's Union)
When we fought, we fought for unity that everyone welcomed. But why must we endure this injustice, marginalization, and this exclusion. I mean, we are deprived from even our most basic legitimate rights in this country.

Reporter, Female #3
Why secession? First, they refer to it as disengagement or independence, because the unification they willingly opted for in 1990 foiled their socialist state. So after the unification that was achieved through a compromise between the head of the South, Ali Salim al-Beidh, and President of the North, Ali Abdullah Saleh, northerners launched a bloody war with the help of al-Qaeda to control the South. All official duties were granted to the northerners, and all the wealth was distributed in their favor. The residents of the South turned into a people who live near the sea, but cannot eat fish; a people living above oil wells, but cannot share the riches. They became hostages on their own land, ravaged by poverty, illiteracy and disease, after the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen had once been a cradle of science, culture and leftist ideology. The northern tribe controlled the resources of the South and eliminated the state.

Guest, Male #1 (Qasim Askar, Head of Southern Movement's Supreme Council)
After the north's occupation in 1994, the Hentel company moved to the region, as well as a company called Kaldi, the Korean company C.C., and the French Total group. There are now seven companies. There's Hyundai and a number of other companies. All of them split these oil fields, and built pipelines to Balhaf.

Reporter, Female #3
Who is the leader, or symbol of this revolutionary pulse in the south?

Guest, Male #1
As far as the internal front, the true symbol inside the movement is Hassan Ahmed Baoum. As for the political symbol of our authority, or for the southern state, it is Ali Salim al-Beidh.

Reporter, Female #3
In response to the Southern Movement's call, southerners boycotted the elections that made Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi president of the new Yemen. We will now meet one of the most important and prominent leaders of the movement to learn more about the ideology of the southerners, and why they seek liberation from Yemen's north.

Guest, Male #2
Sanaa's stability depends on the south. We are moving forward on this path. This is our state; this is our land. We had to agree to peaceful unity, which was seized through war. The international community decided to take one side of the conflict to solve the issue.

Reporter, Female #3
Some also accuse you of receiving funds and aid from Iran.

Guest, Male #2
First of all, we do not have a special relationship with Iran. Our relationship is normal, standard, and friendly. Our relationships with other parties are also friendly; we have never received any support from anyone. I'm not only talking about Iran, but there are other options that have not yet been used, great options from regional and international powers.

Reporter, Female #2
Today, the Southern Movement is accused of being supported by Iran, especially since the territories of the South include the most strategic regions of the world. Everyone is aware that Iran is keeping an eye on these regions, and in particular Bab el-Mandeb strait.

Militants blow up gas pipeline serving Israel for 13th time [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
Unknown assailants bombed the Egyptian pipeline that supplies gas to the Israeli entity and Jordan, in Sinai, west of the city of al-Arish. This is the 13th explosion since the eruption of the revolution. It comes as part of a series of attacks targeting the pipeline with the goal of preventing gas exports to the Israeli entity.

Reporter, Female #1
For the 13th time since last year's January 25th revolution, the Egyptian pipeline leading to the Israeli occupation entity was bombed. Security sources confirmed that six armed men placed explosive devices on the pipeline, leading to a series of explosions. Witnesses say the blasts were followed by fire and rising flames. Firemen rushed to the scene at the Massaeed area near the city of al-Arish, north of the Sinai Peninsula. Civil Defense Forces were only able to contain the fire hours later when the Gasco Company, that controls the pipeline, shut the valves in two of the gas terminals located near the fire and explosion site. Jordanian officials say the explosion led to a complete stop to the flow of gas to the kingdom for an unspecified period of time. The damage to the pipeline has not yet been assessed, and it is still unknown how long it will take to resume gas exports.

Reporter, Female #1
The pipeline that crosses the Sinai to deliver gas to the Israeli occupation entity and Jordan, has been bombed 12 times in one year, despite the new procedures that are announced by the authorities after every attack. A line started functioning again last week after an interruption caused by a similar attack on February 5th, but its extinguished flames were not able to put out the Egyptian people's anger and rage.

Reporter, Female #1
The anger stems from supplying the Israeli enemy gas as its army shells Gaza's neighborhoods and houses, and has been imposing a suffocating siege on the strip for years. After the revolution in Egypt, the issue of supplying gas to Israel has intensified popular and political criticism, especially since Israeli-Egyptian agreements signed during Mubarak's era led to supplying the occupation entity with Egyptian gas below market prices.

Reporter, Female #1
The Israeli entity imports 43 percent of its natural gas from Egypt. And despite investigations into the circumstances around the explosions, and the groups responsible for the attacks, Egyptian authorities have not yet been able to solve the mystery, with the exception of some accusations directed against the Bedouins of al-Sinai. They, in turn, accuse the Egyptian government of ignoring and marginalizing them, even after the revolution.

Syrian forces shell Baba Amr, surround al-Rastan [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
Syrian dissidents said the Syrian army and security forces carried out a raid campaign in various areas of the countryside of Damascus, adding that heavy gunfire from armored vehicles struck houses in the city of Busra al-Hariri in Dara'a province. This comes as government forces in Syria intensified their siege on al-Rastan and al-Qasir in Homs province amid continuous artillery shelling of the two cites, in which members of the Free Syrian Army are entrenched.

Reporter, Male #2
The cycle of violence and counter-violence in Syria is still at its worst level. This video shows what opposition sources say is shelling with heavy weapons by units of the regime's army. Their target is the town of Jub al-Jandali near Homs city in central Syria. The images show what seems to be clashes on the streets of the town between government forces and armed opposition members. Amateurs uploaded these videos online showing what they said is the aftermath of the shelling of some neighborhoods in al-Hirak city of Dara'a province by the regime forces. The escalating violence coincided with the continued defections of dozens of soldiers and officers from the regime's army.

Guest, Male #3
We, a group of officers and soldiers, have defected from this criminal army and formed the brigade of "al-Nassir Salah ad-Din" in Jabal al-Zawiya to protect and defend our unarmed people.

Reporter, Male #2
Syria's state-run TV displayed these weapons and ammunition, as well as corridors and tunnels, saying they were discovered in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, accusing what it referred to as terrorists of using them to terrorize the neighborhood's residents. The official Syrian TV also aired images of what it said are operations to clean the rubble from the alleys of the neighborhood, in anticipation of restoring normalcy to life in the city. It added that a number of residents have started returning to their homes. However, Syrian forces shelled a main bridge used by the injured and refugees to cross into Lebanon, as well as other minor passageways, which are also difficult and dangerous to cross.

Guest, Male #4
The shelling of fleeing residents was indiscriminate; they were deployed near the border, and people started losing each other. The Lebanese army also started to randomly arrest people on the border.

Reporter, Male #2
The suffering of Syrian refugees fleeing to Lebanon, and other neighboring countries continues to exacerbate the situation, prompting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan to demand the Syrian regime immediately open humanitarian corridors for the victims of the violence.

Guest, Male #5 (Recep Tayyib Erdogan, Turkish PM)
The blood and tears of innocent Syrian children are poured on the foreheads of the people watching the massacre as if they are watching a movie.

Reporter, Male #2
Despite what opposition sources describe as the systematic repression of the protest movement, it does not seem the Syrian scene will be devoid of these demonstrations and marches anytime soon. Anwar al-Ansi, BBC.

Presenter, Male #1
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said US President Barack Obama remains committed to exerting diplomatic efforts to end the violence in Syria. He added that Obama repeatedly called for an immediate halt to the violence in Syria, indicating the US administration is currently focused on diplomatic and political approaches, rather than a military intervention. He confirmed that Washington considers isolating the regime, and cutting off its key sources of income, to be the best chance to usher in a political transition in Syria. He indicated that Washington supports efforts to unite the Syrian opposition within the framework of a clear transition plan that makes space for Syrians of all creeds and ethnicities.

Syrian president determined to crush terrorists and pursue reforms [Press TV, Iran]

Now, President Bashar al-Assad says Syria is determined to press on with reforms and fight foreign-backed terrorism. Assad was meeting with the head of the Syrian-Ukrainian Friendship Parliamentary Committee in the capital Damascus. He said what Syria has been exposed to has been a repetition of previous bids to weakens and destabilize it. The Syrian leader also said the power of any state lies in its popular support. During the meeting, the Ukrainian delegation voiced its solidarity with Damascus in the face of the foreign-sponsored anti-Syria campaign. The Ukrainian lawmakers also asserted that any bid to destabilize the situation in Syria will affect regional and global stability.

Another Bahraini killed by tear gas fired by regime forces [Press TV, Iran]

Now, Bahrain's opposition says a 78-year-old woman has died of inhaling tear gas fired by Saudi-backed forces in the Abu Saiba village. A day earlier, an infant died of poisonous tear gas fired troops in a Manama residential neighborhood. Scores have been killed in the regime crackdown since opposition protests began last February. Many of them have died by US-made poisonous tear gas. A number of others have been killed under torture in prison. The al-Khalifa regime has intensified its crackdown on opposition protests as the rallies escalate. The protestors want freedom and the downfall of the ruling monarchy.

A member of a Bahraini opposition group has criticized an American official who said there's no need to investigate tortures conducted by the Bahraini regime. This, while the al-Khalifa regime has been escalating the crackdown on opposition protests.

Guest, Male #1 (Saeed Shehabi, Bahrain Freedom Movement in London)
It is clear now that the regime, the al-Khalifa family, backed by the Saudis, are exercising maximum onslaught on the people, maximum attacks, maximum repression against the people, and this is why we can see that there are people who are falling victim to the use of chemical gases every day. More than 70 people have died, twice as many as Mr. Bassiouni has confirmed in his report when he published it last November. So the killing cycle is continuing, the repression is also there, and the Saudis are still occupying the country. Unfortunately, the American envoy to the Human Rights Council session has said that there's no point, there's no need to look into investigating the torture of the al-Khalifa regime, while the world now is aware that the regime has not agreed to allow the special reporter on torture to travel to Bahrain, and has imposed restrictions on human rights organizations. Yesterday, four such organizations signed a petition and a statement condemning the al-Khalifa for refusing to allow them to have free access to victims of torture.

EU foreign policy chief invites Iran for fresh nuclear talks [Press TV, Iran]

The EU foreign policy chief has called for the resumption of talks between the P5+1 and Iran over Tehran's nuclear energy program. Catherine Ashton said the two sides should only set a date and a venue for the talks. Iran has agreed to hold comprehensive talks with the P5+1. Tehran says it will allow the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit a military site southeast of Tehran, only based on modality. The IAEA says it wants to make sure Iran has not used the site for what it calls highly explosive tests. Tehran allowed the agency in 2005 to visit the site twice. Following those visits, the IAEA confirmed Iran's non-diversion and said the case was closed.

Netanyahu: 'It's time the world started calling a duck a duck' [IBA, Israel]

We open in Washington, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vigorously asserted Israel's right to defend itself against the nuclear threat coming from Iran. Speaking at the AIPAC conference, the Israel leader gave no hint that he is planning to heed US President Barack Obama's plea for patience. More on this report from IBA's Elli Wohlgerlenter.

Reporter, Male #1
Just hours after meeting US President Barack Obama for some three hours, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warmly received at the annual AIPAC conference. In his speech, Netanyahu adopted a tough tone toward Iran, drawing on the history of the Holocaust to argue that the Jewish people cannot accept a world in which the Ayatollahs have atomic bombs. Netanyahu said that while he has warned against a nuclear Iran for fifteen years, the international community has only tried to stop it via diplomacy for the last decade, and only imposed sanctions over the last six years. But none of it has worked, said Netanyahu, as he called out the pretense and duplicity of the Persian regime.

Guest, Male #2 (Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli PM)
A country that builds underground nuclear facilities, that develops into continental ballistic missiles, that manufactures thousands of centrifuges, and that absorbs crippling sanctions, is doing all that in order to advance medical science. So you see, when that Iranian ICBM is flying through the air to a location near you, you've got nothing to worry about! It's only carrying medical isotopes. Ladies and gentlemen, if it looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, then what is it? What is it? That's right, it's a duck. But this duck is a nuclear duck, and it's time that the world started calling a duck a duck!

Reporter, Male #1
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu met with President Barack Obama at the White House, where the two men discussed their different approaches to the situation with Iran. While Obama never made a direct public appeal to Netanyahu, the message was clear. Obama wants Israel to refrain from attacking Iran at this time.

Guest, Male #3 (Barack Obama, US President)
We do believe that there is still a window that allows for a diplomatic resolution to this issue. But ultimately the Iranians' regime has to make a decision to move in that direction, a decision that they have not made thus far. And as I emphasized, even as we will continue on the diplomatic front, we will continue to tighten pressure when it comes to sanctions. I reserve all options, and my policy here is not going to be one of containment, my policy is prevention of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. And as I indicated yesterday in my speech, when I said all options are on the table, I mean it.

Reporter, Male #1
Netanyahu indicated Israel's impatience with the slow progress of sanctions and diplomacy, that while it might be nice to hope that Iran would abandon its disputed nuclear program on its own, Israel cannot afford to hope, and that in any case, the final decision to defend itself must remain in Israel's hands.

Guest, Male #2
Israel must have the ability, always, to defend itself by itself against any threat. And that when it comes to Israel's security, Israel has the right, the sovereign right, to make its own decisions. I believe that's why you'll appreciate, Mr. President, that Israel must reserve the right to defend itself. And after all, that's the very purpose of the Jewish state, to restore to the Jewish people control over our destiny. And that's why my supreme responsibility, as Prime Minister of Israel, is to ensure that Israel remains the master of its fate.

Reporter, Male #1
Netanyahu is meeting today with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and later with US lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich, are all scheduled to address the AIPAC conference. Elli Wohlgerlenter, IBA News.

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