Donors Press Karzai on Corruption By HELENE COOPER and ALAN COWELL Published: June 13, 2008
PARIS — International donors opened a major conference here Thursday to debate help for Afghanistan despite broad skepticism about the Kabul government’s ability to rein in corruption, curb the drug trade and combat instability.
President Hamid Karzai is seeking $50 billion over five years to help Afghanistan rebuild after decades of conflict. But potential donors want his government to intensify efforts to fight corruption.
The United States renewed a commitment to provide $10.2 billion, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said as she flew to Paris for the meeting. President Nicolas Sarkozy promised to increase French aid, but did not offer specific figures when he addressed the conference opening.
“France shall retain its commitment to Afghanistan so long as it is necessary to win,” Mr. Sarkozy said. “We cannot give in to torturers.”
Mr. Sarkozy defended the international effort in Afghanistan, saying, “The trend now is to criticize what the international community has achieved in Afghanistan. But what matters is progress achieved.”
For his part, Mr. Karzai appealed for more aid and tried to address some of the complaints from members of the international community that he has not done enough to crack down on corruption and narcotics.
“Afghanistan security is deeply tied to narcotics,” he acknowledged, calling Afghan’s opium poppy trade a “major contributor to corruption.”
But he said the international community shouldn’t forget “that for our destitute farmers, opium is about survival.”
He also took aim at the international community, blaming foreigners for drug trafficking. “While opium is produced by Afghan farmers, its trafficking is an international phenomenon,” he said.
“Afghanistan needs large amounts of aid, but precisely how aid is spent is just as important,” Mr. Karzai told the opening session.
The gathering is being attended by 67 countries and 15 international organizations. Most contributions are far more modest than the American pledge. The British foreign secretary, David Miliband, said his country would provide roughly $1.2 billion between now and 2013. The World Bank will offer $1.1 billion and Japan will increase its aid by $550 million, Reuters reported. The conference is expected to secure pledges of around $15 billion — far less than the amount Mr. Karzai has sought.
Afghanistan relies on foreign aid for some 90 percent of its budget and some 60,000 NATO troops — 34,000 of them American — are deployed against the Taliban, now resurgent after being ousted as the country’s government more than six years ago.
President Bush, on a tour of Europe, has been urging European leaders to commit combat forces in greater numbers in Afghanistan in order, he said, to safeguard the changes that came with the defeat of the rigidly Islamic Taliban regime, such as access to education for girls.
Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations, told the conference donors should both increase aid to Afghanistan and demand better standards of its leaders. “Every act of corruption is a deliberate act by someone in a position of authority,” he said.
Laura Bush, the American first lady, who has just visited Afghanistan, told the conference that the country had “reached a decisive moment for its future. We must not turn our back on this opportunity.”
Obama Nominee Admiral Dennis Blair, torture, Indonesia, East Timor and Australia .. lol .. i found it hard to believe that, John Howard ex PM, got his Blair House spot to the exclusion of, Obama, president elect .. that's politics and ummm, friends. .. rotfl!
the ""United States has appropriated 127 billion dollars for military efforts in Afghanistan since 2001 .. currently spending nearly 100 million dollars a day .. close to 36 billion dollars a year .. Yet the volume of all non-military international aid amounts to only 7 million dollars a day, ACBAR says. .. "in the two years following international intervention, Afghanistan received 57 dollars per capita, whilst Bosnia and East Timor received 679 dollars and 233 dollars per capita respectively."" http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=28226390
Obama Nominee Admiral Dennis Blair Aided Perpetrators of 1999 Church Killings in East Timor (Part II) Blairweb
Part II of our conversation with investigative journalist Allan Nairn, who reveals Admiral Dennis Blair played a critical role in backing the Indonesian occupation of East Timor during the 1990s. At the height of a wave of ruthless attacks on Timorese that killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands, Blair personally informed top Indonesian general, Wiranto, of unwavering US support. He continued to support the Indonesian military until international outcry forced the Clinton administration to withdraw its military and diplomatic backing. [includes rush transcript] http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/7/obama_nominee_admiral_dennis_blair_aided
November 30, 2005 Australia 'must pay E Timor' The Sunday Times (Australia) Sian Powell and Richard Lloyd Parry
(Carried by The Australian, the Brisbane Courier Mail, News.com.au, and The Mercury.)
THE Australian, British and US Governments and international arms makers should pay compensation for their part in Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation of East Timor, a commission of inquiry has demanded.
The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR), an independent organisation established by the East Timorese Government, is calling for reparations for victims of torture, rape and violence perpetrated by Indonesia from its invasion in 1975 to its bloody withdrawal in 1999.
The 2500-page report, which President Xanana Gusmao presented to East Timor's Parliament on Monday, contentiously recommends East Timor's victims be paid compensation by the colonisers Indonesia and Portugal, as well as by those nations that sold weapons to Indonesia and supported its annexation - including Australia.
Mr Gusmao spelled out the detail of the recommendation, and told Parliament he was "truly concerned" by it.
The commission also recommended a continuation of the UN-backed investigation and prosecution of war crimes in East Timor during the Indonesian occupation.
"This recommendation does not take into account the situation of political anarchy and social chaos that could easily erupt if we decided to bring to court every crime committed since 1974 or 1975," Mr Gusmao said.
East Timorese and international activists condemned the President's stance, and demanded the immediate release of the full report, which has been put on hold indefinitely.
A hero of East Timor's guerilla war against Indonesia, Mr Gusmao has long signalled his determination to stay on good terms with Indonesia. A pragmatic leader, he has repeatedly said East Timor's future matters more than its past.
Part of the CAVR report says: "The Permanent Members of the Security Council, particularly the US but also Britain and France, who gave military backing to the Indonesian Government between 1974 and 1999 and who are duty-bound to uphold the highest principles of world order and peace and to protect the weak and vulnerable, (should) assist the Government of Timor-Leste in the provision of reparations to victims of human rights violations suffered during the Indonesian occupation. Business corporations that profited from the sale of weapons to Indonesia during the occupation of Timor-Leste (should) contribute to the reparations program."
The commission, established in 2002 by the East Timorese Government, investigated the killings during the occupation, interviewing hundreds of people and compiling the first accurate estimates of the deaths.
In the report, the commission appealed to the international community to hand over those suspected of human rights abuses, freeze their assets and stop them from travelling as a prelude to a series of trials.
In a long and discursive statement to Parliament, Mr Gusmao took pains to distance the Government from the commission's recommendations.
"The grandiose idealism that (the commissioners) possess is well manifested to the point that it goes beyond conventional political boundaries," he said.
The US-based International Centre for Transitional Justice has demanded the immediate release of the report in the pursuit of justice.
"After decades marked by suppression of the truth and impunity for human rights abuse, the immediate dissemination of the final report's findings and recommendations is essential," the organisation said.
"The commission's legal mandate to research and report the facts, contribute to victims' dignity and recommend measures to prevent future abuses cannot be discharged without publicising the final report."
Mr Gusmao is required to submit the final report to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, so its eventual release is inevitable. It is likely the President simply wants to forestall the criticism of Indonesia coming directly from East Timor.
Indonesia has prosecuted 18 soldiers, police officers, civil servants and civilians in connection with East Timor atrocities. In a judicial process widely condemned as a white- wash, they were all were found innocent, or their convictions were overturned on appeal.
Additional reporting: The Times http://www.ictj.org/en/news/coverage/article/456.html ///////////////////// Further .. excerpts: Australia and Indonesia were the only nations in the world to recognize East Timor as a province of Indonesia, and soon afterwards began negotiations to divide resources found in the Timor Gap. ........................ Those suspected of opposing integration were often arrested and tortured. In 1983 Amnesty International published an Indonesian manual it had received from East Timor instructing military personnel on how to inflict physical and mental anguish, and cautioning troops to "Avoid taking photographs showing torture (of someone being given electric shocks, stripped naked and so on)". In his 1997 memoir East Timor's Unfinished Struggle: Inside the Timorese Resistance, Constâncio Pinto describes being tortured by Indonesian soldiers: "With each question, I would get two or three punches in the face. When someone punches you so much and so hard, it feels as if your face is broken. People hit me on my back and on my sides with their hands and then kicked me.... [In another location] they psychologically tortured me; they didn't hit me, but they made strong threats to kill me. They even put a gun on the table. .......................... During the Balibó raid, members of an Australian television news crew – later dubbed the "Balibo Five" – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balibo_Five were killed by Indonesian soldiers. Indonesian military officials say the deaths were accidental, and East Timorese witnesses say the journalists were deliberately killed. The deaths, and subsequent campaigns and investigations, attracted international attention and rallied support for East Timorese independence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_occupation_of_East_Timor
Aside: One of the Balibo Five was a friend of mine ///////////////////// Further .. excerpt: February 18, 2006 The report alleged that the military used starvation and sexual violence as weapons to control the territory. It also accused soldiers of using napalm and chemical weapons to poison food and drinking water.
The CAVR report mentioned the massacre of 102,000 East Timorese when East Timor was still part of Indonesia between 1974 to 1999.
Jakarta has rejected the findings, and legislators have said Indonesia should sever ties with East Timor.
In the speech, Xanana clearly stated that he would continue with the settlement of past problems between the two countries through the KKP.
"What is important for me is we will stick to the commitment and agreement that we have made. Problems end with justice, truth and reconciliation but we will not sacrifice the two countries' hopes and interests to build better relations in the future," he said.
The two leaders also discussed the need for cooperation in the border regions of the two countries.
ABSTRACT The notion of justice is broad and complex. When we pursue justice too harshly after a conflict, we create new injustice and more victims; when we do not, the offenders usually keep hurting others and the violence is prolonged. As a matter of fact, only a few perpetrators can be punished. On the other hand, does punishment of the offender alone heal the victim or restore peace and harmony in society? Moreover, when the victim forgives, should the society still punish the offender? What role do truth recovery, state tribute (paid to the victims) and monetary compensation play in finding the balance between punitive justice and restorative justice? This paper takes up these issues of justice and, while discussing certain aspects of the relationship between punitive justice and restorative justice in some processes of social (national) reconciliation, tries to present some answers. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119390934/abstract
i would even be a bit more optimistic if Obama had used 'will not torture' rather than 'does not torture' in this quote,
"I was clear throughout this campaign and was clear throughout this transition that under my administration the United States does not torture.."
It's a tiny tense thing only, yet he is stretching things a little there, isn't he. Forget that, it's obvious and he does tend to have his mind on the 'I' .. 'me' .. 'my' a lot. Don't get me all wrong, i do wish him luck and hope he is the very best for all of us
Note: Mr. Gusmao is known as a pragmatic man. /////////////////////////////
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