The height of Israeli intransigence
Jerusalem’s mayor threatened last week to demolish 200 homes in Palestinian neighbourhoods of the city in an act even he conceded would probably bring long-simmering tensions over housing in East Jerusalem to a boil…
To read more, click on the link below: http://www.jkcook.net/Latest.htm
News Article Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The following news article has been posted or forwarded in full, no material or data has altered or changed, please leave intact as is.
This news article can be located at the following web site link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/emergency-help-desperatel_b_439444.html
Emergency Help Desperately Needed to Heat Homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation Posted: January 27, 2010 06:56 PM
I found out about this critical emergency situation through a filmmaker friend named Preston Randolph, who became involved in helping the Indians on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota while working on a documentary there.
People on this reservation, particularly the elderly, are literally in danger of freezing to death this winter because they can’t pay their heating bills. Some of these people not only have no heat, but can’t even cook because they also rely on propane for cooking. (See below for an article written by Preston describing, firsthand, the conditions on the reservation.)
Ways you can help: Call the Lakota Plains Propane Company at 605-867-5199 or 605-455-1188 and directly pay for someone’s propane delivery. There is a $120 minimum for a propane delivery. My friend, Kean University professor Dr. Norma Bowe, who introduced me to Preston a few months ago, has paid for the propane deliveries for three people, and tells me that this was very easy to do. The people at the propane company know which customers are in need and whose bills to apply the money to, and gave Norma the names of the individuals whose bills she was paying. (I realize that a lot of us, including myself, might not be able to come up with the entire $120 minimum to get a delivery to someone, so do what I’m doing and go halfsies with someone else, or get a few people to chip in.)
An emergency assistance fund has also been set up by the tribe that will be used exclusively for heating costs — electric, propane, fuel oil, and firewood. Donations in any amount can be sent to:
Dean Patton, Treasurer Oglala Sioux Tribe P.O. Box 2070 Pine Ridge, South Dakota 57770
Unfortunately, according to a press release issued by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, there have been scammers soliciting donations on the internet, claiming to be raising money for the Pine Ridge Reservation, so, if you want to help, please be sure to do it via one of the two ways above.
Posted/Forward by: Larry Kibby – l.kibby@frontier.com Reznews Radio Video’s – updated on a regular basis http://ubroadcast.com/channel/reznews
Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monitory gain to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the material for research and educational purposes. This is in accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. section 107. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
From Landspokesperson
Mr Kateregga:
You said you are busy but according to Mr Dennis Obbo, Ugandans have one week to make their views known or miss out completely. Can you ask him whether the deadline has been extended?
It is now clear that the National Land Policy will not yield much. Why? YKM and Mr. Byaruhanga have already made their views known on sections of the National Land Policy, which is why the lands Ministry should clarify what Ugandans will be comenting on. What should we make of YKM’s comments? Can anyone defy him and recommend otherwise? The Ministry is yet to respond.
Is this the same land occupied by a coffee estate allegedly owned by Germans but has funny name-is it Kaweri?
This is another example of NRMO regime and its uncoordinated policy making. Why the selective nature of policy implementation?
WBK
Benjamin it weas precautionary and provisional. A comprehensive national land policy is in the offing.
[mailto:ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Benjamin Zaake Buganga Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 2010 6:44 PM ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com eviction of 1,500 Mubende homes
Ahmed, Mengo has once again been vindicated. That funny land act was never meant to fight for the so-called peasants but rather was tactfully targeting the Kabaka’s 350 Square miles of land, the 9,000 square miles of Buganda’s forests/swamps, etcetera as well as the other square miles on which Buganda’s former Amasaza and Gombola Headquarters are located but of which the NRM-0 bigwigs have allocated themselves square miles of lands as so-called bonafide tenants. So if you have such a law with “ eyes” and you expect it to work, you are just deluding yourself my dear brother!
On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 6:00 PM, Ahmed Kateregga wrote:
Michael Ssennyonjo, l am yet to cross check. But a similar thing happened at Kaweeri some time back, and the new land law has not affaressed those injustices in Mubende and Kiboga.
From: ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com [mailto:ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Michael Senyonjo Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 11:28 PM
{UAH}: Museveni okays eviction of 1,500 Mubende homes
eee, Katerega,
Can father of the Nation do this, or are we dealing with ‘bafuruki’ situation?
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:02:44 -0800 Re: {UAH}: Can you access the Observer?
Senynjo;
The Observer is accessible from here in US. Here’s the lead story…
Pojim
Museveni okays eviction of 1,500 Mubende homes Top Stories
Written by Michael Mubangizi Monday, 11 January 2010 05:14
As he pushed Parliament to pass the Land (Amendment) Bill, 2007, reportedly to protect tenants from evictions, it has emerged that President Museveni was at the same time sanctioning the eviction of 1,500 families from six villages in the central district of Mubende.
Parliament passed the controversial bill on November 15, 2009 and Museveni assented to it at a public ceremony at his country home in Rwakitura on January 6, despite loud protests from mainly Buganda Kingdom, which opposes the new law.
The Observer has learnt that around the same time as the bill was re-tabled after the September riots, the President also ordered the eviction of 1,489 bibanja holders in Kitambi Sub-county, Mubende District.
The Observer has seen a September 14, 2009 letter written by the President to the Minister of Water and Environment, Maria Mutagamba, asking her to relocate some of the villagers to “an alternative area.”
So serious is the matter that ministers Maria Mutagamba, Kirunda Kivejinja (Internal Affairs) and Asuman Kiyingi (State for Lands), all acting on Museveni’s directives, visited the area to order the people off the land.
The Observer has since established that the land in question comprises Kyamukasa, Kisiita, Kicucula, Mpologoma, Bukoba and Buseregenyu villages.
The area is occupied by bibanja holders with permanent residences and plantations. Most of these people settled in the area after 1992, according to Mubende RDC, Nsubuga Bewayo. The President says the land is a forest reserve, but The Observer has seen documents indicating that it also has confirmed gold deposits.
FOREST RESERVE OR GOLD MINE?
In his letter, the President said that only people who settled in the area by 1992, would be resettled in line with his “Executive Order on halting the eviction of encroachers” on forests. He ordered the arrest of local leaders and individuals who are involved in the fraudulent selling and allocation of land within this “Central Forest Reserve.”
But the President’s argument that the area is a forest reserve is being contested by some people, including his aides.
For example, Godfrey Kazibwe, the Presidential Advisor on Luwero Triangle, wrote to the National Forestry Authority in April 2009 telling them not to evict people. He dismissed as “doubtful” claims that the area is a forest reserve.
“I have received complaints from the residents of the above villages that your officers have gone ahead to destroy people’s crops alleging that they are in a forest gazetted area. This is a position that has been and is still being contested. You may possibly be aware of the position of the President about evictions,” Kazibwe wrote.
Commenting about the same land, on July 25, 2005, Justus Karuhanga, President Museveni’s former legal aide, wrote to the RDC Mubende, saying: “… There is suspicion that the land in question is not part of the forest reserve and the people involved are private individuals disguising themselves as NFA personnel whereas not, or are using some elements in NFA.”
In the memo, Karuhanga was calling for an end to “unlawful” evictions, destruction of people’s properties and investigations into the status of the land. Karuhanga and Kazibwe’s efforts energised residents in the area who then sued Namwasa New Forest Company Uganda Limited, the company that had been allocated the land, for harassing, and trying to evict them.
Namwasa New Forest Company Uganda Limited has been operating in Mubende, Kiboga and Bugiri districts since 2005, planting and harvesting trees. On August 24, 2009, High Court at Nakawa issued an order restraining it from evicting people. The directive was effective until October 8, 2009 when their application was to be heard. The injunction was later extended to March 18, 2010 by Justice Faith Mwondha.
However, even before the expiry of the injunction, the locals are accusing government officials of disobeying court orders. At a rally on December 11, 2009, ministers Kivejinja, Mutagamba, Kiyingi and RDC Bewayo visited the area and told the people to vacate the land by February 28, 2010.
Later on January 3, 2010, some residents, including LC leaders, were arrested in Kyamukasa as they held a meeting to plan the way forward. Bewayo told The Observer that the meetings are forbidden in the area. He added that the arrests also target people who continue to cultivate on the land.
Banning their meetings, the locals say, affects their capacity to mobilise. Two schools, according to Zawedde Lukwago & Co. Advocates, counsel for the complainants, have also been closed by the forestry company. Ssefra Parents School had 350 pupils while Mpologoma Parents School had 400.
GUARDED
The place is now reportedly guarded by Police and Askar security guards who arrest whoever attempts to cultivate in the area.
“We only allow them to harvest their produce,” Bewayo said. Locals say that the restrictions have brought about a food shortage in the area. According to the complainants’ lawyers, their clients lived peacefully on the land until 2005 when Namwasa New Forest Company Uganda Ltd “and other persons who claimed to have come to do gold mining” began grabbing people’s lands forcefully, destroying houses and plantations.
In their petition, the residents also accuse RDC Bewayo of threatening them and siding with people violating their rights. Locals also accuse him of frustrating their efforts to apply for leases on the land and instead opting to evict them.
But Bewayo said the residents don’t like him because he has not allowed them to “do something illegal.” He says only 18 people had been in the area by 1992.
“These haven’t been touched and we will only relocate them after finding alternative land, but the rest must go where they came from,” said Bewayo. He added that the rest of the claimants are migrants from Rwanda and Congo. Bewayo denied violating court orders.
He said the land is owned by the NFA. There are also conflicting reports about the reason for eviction – is it a forest reserve, a mining area, or perhaps bother? For instance, President Museveni’s letter to Mutagamba says the area is littered with gold. He said Kisita Mining Company was commissioned in 2001 to prospect for gold in the area, having been licensed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development in 1994.
Under the new law, a person can only be evicted on account of failure to pay ground rent. It also requires tenants to be given a six months’ notice before being evicted. Richard Mulema Mukasa, a lawyer, says since people are still on the land and the eviction was not executed until the passing of the law, their eviction will have to take into account provisions of the new law. “Those can’t be evicted now, since the law seeks to protect them,” he said.
Set as favorite Bookmark
Email This Hits: 919 Comments (0)
From: Michael Senyonjo Sent: Mon, January 11, 2010 8:52:24 AM you access the Observer?
I think Taata is had enough and ordered them offline
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:51:20 +0000 the Observer?
i cannot either
On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 4:50 PM, Michael Senyonjo wrote:
Dear Readers,
I cannot access the Observer.ug from the UK. Can you? It had an interesting story of How Nyarwiino is evicting 15,000 villagers in Mubende. Is the observer switched off?
Michael Senyonjo
Do you have a story that started on Hotmail? Tell us now
But Ahmed, how long are we gonna keep passing precautionary or provisional laws? It turns the ‘Uganda law’ look like a joke and parliament like a thing that can be played about or switched on and off by the executive arm of the govt, any time they wish. If the president himself has got no faith in the recently passed 2007 land bill then why did he sign it into law. Your party is taking us for a ride and this should stop.
By the way, have you got any information about Buganda Land Board registration exercise currently going on? What do they need for registration? How can Ugandans abroad be involved in this process if they own properties on Kabaka’s land?
On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 3:51 PM, Ahmed Kateregga wrote:
> Benjamin it weas precautionary and provisional. A comprehensive national > land policy is in the offing. > > —————————— > *From:* ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com [mailto: > ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *Benjamin Zaake Buganga > *Sent:* Tuesday, January 12, 2010 6:44 PM > > *To:* ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com > *Subject:* Re: {UAH}: Museveni okays eviction of 1,500 Mubende homes > > Ahmed, > Mengo has once again been vindicated. That funny land act was never meant > to fight for the so-called peasants but rather was tactfully targeting the > Kabaka’s 350 Square miles of land, the 9,000 square miles of Buganda’s > forests/swamps, etcetera as well as the other square miles on which > Buganda’s former Amasaza and Gombola Headquarters are located but of which > the NRM-0 bigwigs have allocated themselves square miles of lands as > so-called *bonafide* tenants. So if you have such a law with “ eyes” and > you expect it to work, you are just deluding yourself my dear brother! > > > On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 6:00 PM, Ahmed Kateregga akateregga@newvision.co.ug> wrote: > >> Michael Ssennyonjo, l am yet to cross check. But a similar thing >> happened at Kaweeri some time back, and the new land law has not affaressed >> those injustices in Mubende and Kiboga. >> >> —————————— >> *From:* ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com [mailto: >> ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *Michael Senyonjo >> *Sent:* Monday, January 11, 2010 11:28 PM >> >> *To:* ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com >> *Subject:* {UAH}: Museveni okays eviction of 1,500 Mubende homes >> >> >> eee, Katerega, >> >> Can father of the Nation do this, or are we dealing with ‘bafuruki’ >> situation? >> —————————— >> Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:02:44 -0800 >> From: epojim@yahoo.com >> Subject: Re: {UAH}: Can you access the Observer? >> To: ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com >> >> >> >> Senynjo; >> >> The Observer is accessible from here in US. Here’s the lead story… >> >> Pojim >> >> Museveni okays eviction of 1,500 Mubende homes >> Top Stories >> Written by Michael Mubangizi >> Monday, 11 January 2010 05:14 >> >> As he pushed Parliament to pass the Land (Amendment) Bill, 2007, >> reportedly to protect tenants from evictions, it has emerged that President >> Museveni was at the same time sanctioning the eviction of 1,500 families >> from six villages in the central district of Mubende. >> >> >> >> >> Parliament passed the controversial bill on November 15, 2009 and Museveni >> assented to it at a public ceremony at his country home in Rwakitura on >> January 6, despite loud protests from mainly Buganda Kingdom, which opposes >> the new law. >> >> The Observer has learnt that around the same time as the bill was >> re-tabled after the September riots, the President also ordered the eviction >> of 1,489 bibanja holders in Kitambi Sub-county, Mubende District. >> >> The Observer has seen a September 14, 2009 letter written by the President >> to the Minister of Water and Environment, Maria Mutagamba, asking her to >> relocate some of the villagers to “an alternative area.” >> >> So serious is the matter that ministers Maria Mutagamba, Kirunda Kivejinja >> (Internal Affairs) and Asuman Kiyingi (State for Lands), all acting on >> Museveni’s directives, visited the area to order the people off the land. >> >> The Observer has since established that the land in question comprises >> Kyamukasa, Kisiita, Kicucula, Mpologoma, Bukoba and Buseregenyu villages. >> >> The area is occupied by bibanja holders with permanent residences and >> plantations. Most of these people settled in the area after 1992, according >> to Mubende RDC, Nsubuga Bewayo. >> The President says the land is a forest reserve, but The Observer has seen >> documents indicating that it also has confirmed gold deposits. >> >> FOREST RESERVE OR GOLD MINE? >> >> In his letter, the President said that only people who settled in the area >> by 1992, would be resettled in line with his “Executive Order on halting the >> eviction of encroachers” on forests. >> He ordered the arrest of local leaders and individuals who are involved in >> the fraudulent selling and allocation of land within this “Central Forest >> Reserve.” >> >> But the President’s argument that the area is a forest reserve is being >> contested by some people, including his aides. >> >> For example, Godfrey Kazibwe, the Presidential Advisor on Luwero Triangle, >> wrote to the National Forestry Authority in April 2009 telling them not to >> evict people. He dismissed as “doubtful” claims that the area is a forest >> reserve. >> >> “I have received complaints from the residents of the above villages that >> your officers have gone ahead to destroy people’s crops alleging that they >> are in a forest gazetted area. This is a position that has been and is still >> being contested. You may possibly be aware of the position of the President >> about evictions,” Kazibwe wrote. >> >> Commenting about the same land, on July 25, 2005, Justus Karuhanga, >> President Museveni’s former legal aide, wrote to the RDC Mubende, saying: “… >> There is suspicion that the land in question is not part of the forest >> reserve and the people involved are private individuals disguising >> themselves as NFA personnel whereas not, or are using some elements in NFA.” >> >> >> In the memo, Karuhanga was calling for an end to “unlawful” evictions, >> destruction of people’s properties and investigations into the status of the >> land. Karuhanga and Kazibwe’s efforts energised residents in the area who >> then sued Namwasa New Forest Company Uganda Limited, the company that had >> been allocated the land, for harassing, and trying to evict them. >> >> Namwasa New Forest Company Uganda Limited has been operating in Mubende, >> Kiboga and Bugiri districts since 2005, planting and harvesting trees. On >> August 24, 2009, High Court at Nakawa issued an order restraining it from >> evicting people. The directive was effective until October 8, 2009 when >> their application was to be heard. The injunction was later extended to >> March 18, 2010 by Justice Faith Mwondha. >> >> However, even before the expiry of the injunction, the locals are accusing >> government officials of disobeying court orders. At a rally on December 11, >> 2009, ministers Kivejinja, Mutagamba, Kiyingi and RDC Bewayo visited the >> area and told the people to vacate the land by February 28, 2010. >> >> Later on January 3, 2010, some residents, including LC leaders, were >> arrested in Kyamukasa as they held a meeting to plan the way forward. Bewayo >> told The Observer that the meetings are forbidden in the area. He added that >> the arrests also target people who continue to cultivate on the land. >> >> Banning their meetings, the locals say, affects their capacity to >> mobilise. >> Two schools, according to Zawedde Lukwago & Co. Advocates, counsel for the >> complainants, have also been closed by the forestry company. Ssefra Parents >> School had 350 pupils while Mpologoma Parents School had 400. >> >> GUARDED >> >> The place is now reportedly guarded by Police and Askar security guards >> who arrest whoever attempts to cultivate in the area. >> >> “We only allow them to harvest their produce,” Bewayo said. Locals say >> that the restrictions have brought about a food shortage in the area. >> According to the complainants’ lawyers, their clients lived peacefully on >> the land until 2005 when Namwasa New Forest Company Uganda Ltd “and other >> persons who claimed to have come to do gold mining” began grabbing people’s >> lands forcefully, destroying houses and plantations. >> >> In their petition, the residents also accuse RDC Bewayo of threatening >> them and siding with people violating their rights. Locals also accuse him >> of frustrating their efforts to apply for leases on the land and instead >> opting to evict them. >> >> But Bewayo said the residents don’t like him because he has not allowed >> them to “do something illegal.” He says only 18 people had been in the area >> by 1992. >> >> “These haven’t been touched and we will only relocate them after finding >> alternative land, but the rest must go where they came from,” said Bewayo. >> He added that the rest of the claimants are migrants from Rwanda and Congo. >> Bewayo denied violating court orders. >> >> He said the land is owned by the NFA. There are also conflicting reports >> about the reason for eviction – is it a forest reserve, a mining area, or >> perhaps bother? For instance, President Museveni’s letter to Mutagamba says >> the area is littered with gold. He said Kisita Mining Company was >> commissioned in 2001 to prospect for gold in the area, having been licensed >> by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development in 1994. >> >> Under the new law, a person can only be evicted on account of failure to >> pay ground rent. It also requires tenants to be given a six months’ notice >> before being evicted. Richard Mulema Mukasa, a lawyer, says since people are >> still on the land and the eviction was not executed until the passing of the >> law, their eviction will have to take into account provisions of the new >> law. “Those can’t be evicted now, since the law seeks to protect them,” he >> said. >> >> mcmubs@observer.ug >> >> >> Set as favorite >> Bookmark >> Email This >> Hits: 919 >> Comments (0) >> >> —————————— >> *From:* Michael Senyonjo >> *To:* ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com >> *Sent:* Mon, January 11, 2010 8:52:24 AM >> *Subject:* RE: {UAH}: Can you access the Observer? >> >> >> >> I think Taata is had enough and ordered them offline >> >> —————————— >> Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:51:20 +0000 >> Subject: Re: {UAH}: Can you access the Observer? >> From: abbeysemuwemba@googlemail.com >> To: ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com >> >> i cannot either >> >> On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 4:50 PM, Michael Senyonjo wrote: >> >> >> >> Dear Readers, >> >> I cannot access the Observer.ug from the UK. Can >> you? It had an interesting story of How Nyarwiino is evicting 15,000 >> villagers in Mubende. Is the observer switched off? >> >> Michael Senyonjo >> >> —————————— >> Do you have a story that started on Hotmail? Tell us now >> >> — >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the forum >> “Ugandans at Heart”(UAH) with the motto:’Justice is when U get exactly what >> you deserve”. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> Ugandans-at-Heart-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or >> abbeysemuwemba@googlemail.com.For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/Ugandans-at-Heart?hl=en >> Abusive language not accepted on this forum. Also visit the ‘UAH’ Blog at: >> http://ugandansatheart.wordpress.com/ >> >> >> >> >> — >> Blogs: >> http://ugandansatheart.wordpress.com/ >> http://semuwemba.wordpress.com/ >> http://ekitibwakyabuganda.wordpress.com/ >> >> —————————— >> We want to hear all your funny, exciting and crazy Hotmail stories. Tell >> us now — >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the forum >> “Ugandans at Heart”(UAH) with the motto:’Justice is when U get exactly what >> you deserve”. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> Ugandans-at-Heart-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or >> abbeysemuwemba@googlemail.com.For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/Ugandans-at-Heart?hl=en >> Abusive language not accepted on this forum. Also visit the ‘UAH’ Blog at: >> http://ugandansatheart.wordpress.com/ >> >> >> —————————— >> Not got a Hotmail account? Sign-up now – Free >> >> —————————— >> THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS EMAIL AND/OR ATTACHMENTS IS >> CONFIDENTIAL AND MAY BE PRIVILEGED. UNLESS EXPRESSLY STATED, >> OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE SENDER AND NEW VISION >> PRINTING & PUBLISHING COMPANY LTD MAKES NO WARRANTIES ON INFORMATION >> CONTAINED AND THEREFORE ACCEPTS NO LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE >> ARISING THEREFROM. UNINTENDED RECIPIENTS SHOULD RETURN TO SENDER, >> DESTROY AND DESIST FROM USE, DISTRIBUTION OR STORAGE. RECIPIENTS ARE >> ON NOTICE THAT THIS EMAIL MAY BE INTERCEPTED OR DIVERTED AND COULD >> THEREFORE BE CORRUPTED, LOST, DELAYED, ALTERED OR INCOMPLETE AND >> THAT OUTGOING AND INCOMING E-MAILS MAY BE INSPECTED. >> >> — >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the forum >> “Ugandans at Heart”(UAH) with the motto:’Justice is when U get exactly what >> you deserve”. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> Ugandans-at-Heart-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or >> abbeysemuwemba@googlemail.com.For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/Ugandans-at-Heart?hl=en >> Abusive language not accepted on this forum. Also visit the ‘UAH’ Blog at: >> http://ugandansatheart.wordpress.com/ >> > > > > —————————— > THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS EMAIL AND/OR ATTACHMENTS IS > CONFIDENTIAL AND MAY BE PRIVILEGED. UNLESS EXPRESSLY STATED, > OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE SENDER AND NEW VISION > PRINTING & PUBLISHING COMPANY LTD MAKES NO WARRANTIES ON INFORMATION > CONTAINED AND THEREFORE ACCEPTS NO LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE > ARISING THEREFROM. UNINTENDED RECIPIENTS SHOULD RETURN TO SENDER, > DESTROY AND DESIST FROM USE, DISTRIBUTION OR STORAGE. RECIPIENTS ARE > ON NOTICE THAT THIS EMAIL MAY BE INTERCEPTED OR DIVERTED AND COULD > THEREFORE BE CORRUPTED, LOST, DELAYED, ALTERED OR INCOMPLETE AND > THAT OUTGOING AND INCOMING E-MAILS MAY BE INSPECTED. > > — > You received this message because you are subscribed to the forum “Ugandans > at Heart”(UAH) with the motto:’Justice is when U get exactly what you > deserve”. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > Ugandans-at-Heart-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or > abbeysemuwemba@googlemail.com.For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/Ugandans-at-Heart?hl=en > Abusive language not accepted on this forum. Also visit the ‘UAH’ Blog at: > http://ugandansatheart.wordpress.com/ >
eee, Katerega,
Can father of the Nation do this, or are we dealing with ‘bafuruki’ situation?
Senynjo;
The Observer is accessible from here in US. Here’s the lead story… Pojim Museveni okays eviction of 1,500 Mubende homes Top Stories Written by Michael Mubangizi Monday, 11 January 2010 05:14
As he pushed Parliament to pass the Land (Amendment) Bill, 2007, reportedly to protect tenants from evictions, it has emerged that President Museveni was at the same time sanctioning the eviction of 1,500 families from six villages in the central district of Mubende.
Parliament passed the controversial bill on November 15, 2009 and Museveni assented to it at a public ceremony at his country home in Rwakitura on January 6, despite loud protests from mainly Buganda Kingdom, which opposes the new law.
The Observer has learnt that around the same time as the bill was re-tabled after the September riots, the President also ordered the eviction of 1,489 bibanja holders in Kitambi Sub-county, Mubende District.
The Observer has seen a September 14, 2009 letter written by the President to the Minister of Water and Environment, Maria Mutagamba, asking her to relocate some of the villagers to “an alternative area.”
So serious is the matter that ministers Maria Mutagamba, Kirunda Kivejinja (Internal Affairs) and Asuman Kiyingi (State for Lands), all acting on Museveni’s directives, visited the area to order the people off the land.
The Observer has since established that the land in question comprises Kyamukasa, Kisiita, Kicucula, Mpologoma, Bukoba and Buseregenyu villages.
The area is occupied by bibanja holders with permanent residences and plantations. Most of these people settled in the area after 1992, according to Mubende RDC, Nsubuga Bewayo. The President says the land is a forest reserve, but The Observer has seen documents indicating that it also has confirmed gold deposits.
FOREST RESERVE OR GOLD MINE?
In his letter, the President said that only people who settled in the area by 1992, would be resettled in line with his “Executive Order on halting the eviction of encroachers” on forests. He ordered the arrest of local leaders and individuals who are involved in the fraudulent selling and allocation of land within this “Central Forest Reserve.”
But the President’s argument that the area is a forest reserve is being contested by some people, including his aides.
For example, Godfrey Kazibwe, the Presidential Advisor on Luwero Triangle, wrote to the National Forestry Authority in April 2009 telling them not to evict people. He dismissed as “doubtful” claims that the area is a forest reserve.
“I have received complaints from the residents of the above villages that your officers have gone ahead to destroy people’s crops alleging that they are in a forest gazetted area. This is a position that has been and is still being contested. You may possibly be aware of the position of the President about evictions,” Kazibwe wrote.
Commenting about the same land, on July 25, 2005, Justus Karuhanga, President Museveni’s former legal aide, wrote to the RDC Mubende, saying: “… There is suspicion that the land in question is not part of the forest reserve and the people involved are private individuals disguising themselves as NFA personnel whereas not, or are using some elements in NFA.”
In the memo, Karuhanga was calling for an end to “unlawful” evictions, destruction of people’s properties and investigations into the status of the land. Karuhanga and Kazibwe’s efforts energised residents in the area who then sued Namwasa New Forest Company Uganda Limited, the company that had been allocated the land, for harassing, and trying to evict them.
Namwasa New Forest Company Uganda Limited has been operating in Mubende, Kiboga and Bugiri districts since 2005, planting and harvesting trees. On August 24, 2009, High Court at Nakawa issued an order restraining it from evicting people. The directive was effective until October 8, 2009 when their application was to be heard. The injunction was later extended to March 18, 2010 by Justice Faith Mwondha.
However, even before the expiry of the injunction, the locals are accusing government officials of disobeying court orders. At a rally on December 11, 2009, ministers Kivejinja, Mutagamba, Kiyingi and RDC Bewayo visited the area and told the people to vacate the land by February 28, 2010.
Later on January 3, 2010, some residents, including LC leaders, were arrested in Kyamukasa as they held a meeting to plan the way forward. Bewayo told The Observer that the meetings are forbidden in the area. He added that the arrests also target people who continue to cultivate on the land.
Banning their meetings, the locals say, affects their capacity to mobilise. Two schools, according to Zawedde Lukwago & Co. Advocates, counsel for the complainants, have also been closed by the forestry company. Ssefra Parents School had 350 pupils while Mpologoma Parents School had 400.
GUARDED
The place is now reportedly guarded by Police and Askar security guards who arrest whoever attempts to cultivate in the area.
“We only allow them to harvest their produce,” Bewayo said. Locals say that the restrictions have brought about a food shortage in the area. According to the complainants’ lawyers, their clients lived peacefully on the land until 2005 when Namwasa New Forest Company Uganda Ltd “and other persons who claimed to have come to do gold mining” began grabbing people’s lands forcefully, destroying houses and plantations.
In their petition, the residents also accuse RDC Bewayo of threatening them and siding with people violating their rights. Locals also accuse him of frustrating their efforts to apply for leases on the land and instead opting to evict them.
But Bewayo said the residents don’t like him because he has not allowed them to “do something illegal.” He says only 18 people had been in the area by 1992.
“These haven’t been touched and we will only relocate them after finding alternative land, but the rest must go where they came from,” said Bewayo. He added that the rest of the claimants are migrants from Rwanda and Congo. Bewayo denied violating court orders.
He said the land is owned by the NFA. There are also conflicting reports about the reason for eviction – is it a forest reserve, a mining area, or perhaps bother? For instance, President Museveni’s letter to Mutagamba says the area is littered with gold. He said Kisita Mining Company was commissioned in 2001 to prospect for gold in the area, having been licensed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development in 1994.
Under the new law, a person can only be evicted on account of failure to pay ground rent. It also requires tenants to be given a six months’ notice before being evicted. Richard Mulema Mukasa, a lawyer, says since people are still on the land and the eviction was not executed until the passing of the law, their eviction will have to take into account provisions of the new law. “Those can’t be evicted now, since the law seeks to protect them,” he said.
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Sent: Mon, January 11, 2010 8:52:24 AM
I think Taata is had enough and ordered them offline
i cannot either
On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 4:50 PM, Michael Senyonjo wrote:
Dear Readers,
I cannot access the Observer.ug from the UK. Can you? It had an interesting story of How Nyarwiino is evicting 15,000 villagers in Mubende. Is the observer switched off?
Michael Senyonjo
Do you have a story that started on Hotmail? Tell us now
Poverty is generating more problems for Ugandans every other day. At least given the available technology in the world and the resources Uganda has, majority of the people would not be using candles which more often that not are left alight when parents go for other cores. It is terrible to see 5 children buried like below simply because of the stinking poverty we find ourselves in.
Abaggyiiridde mu nju babaziise wamu
t |
Bya SAMUEL KANYIKE
Sunday, 20 December 2009 11:31
Ebisigala by’abaayidde nga bigenda okuziikibwa.EMIRANGA n’ebiwoobe byasaanikidde ekyalo Katikamu mu Luweero abakungubazi omwabadde bannaddiini bwe baabadde baziika abaana abataano abaggyiridde mu nju ku kyalo Mifuwe mu ggombolola y’e Kamira mu Luweero.
Okusabira abagezi kwakulembeddwa omusumba w’e Katikamu, Rev. Abbey Kigozi eyayambiddwako Bwanamukulu wa Katikamu, Fr. Charles Kiggundu.Baagambye nti bukya bayingira buweereza tebaziikanga ku bantu bangi bwe bati omulundi gumu.Fr. Kiggundu yagambye, nti kino kibeere kya kuyiga nti obulamu buli eri Mukama. Rev. Kigozi yasabye abazadde ekibatuseeko kireme kubeerabiza Katonda.
Banning smoking in peoples homes of multi dwelling units / the only way this will work
Is if this group of people pushing this into the Ontario legislation first comes up with the money to make sure housing is available for people who smoke for the same price and the same size living space or larger in the same areas smokers already live and cover moving expenses for people who smoke to move into residence where they will not be bothered for smoking in their own homes. Hey if they are really genuine about this then they will have no problem raising the money to make this happen because like it or not smokers are human beings not door mats or dogs!
If come April people are faced with some bias lease, don’t sign it plain and simple because you didn’t agree to not smoke in your home before you moved in there and you have every right to smoke! If you moved into a multi unit dwelling only ignorance could have lead you to think that there would be no smokers sharing the living space and it was not verified on the lease that it was a smoke free living space, so knowing this, if it bothered you that much you could have very well looked elsewhere for a place to live!
Smokers are human beings not dogs and do not deserve to be treated as dogs which also brings me to bringing back legislation to allow smoking in designated clubs / bars / restaurants! If I recall correctly a couple of years ago where there were establishments allowing smoking near establishments who didn’t allow smoking the anti smokers were claiming that this was an unfair playing field and why is that do you wonder … it is because the majority of people preferred to go to the establishment that did allow smoking. What does this tell you … that obviously the majority of people would rather be in the smoking establishment while the non smoking establishments wouldn’t be nearly as profitable. Ignoring what is obvious to suit the agenda of a group bent on blaming everything on smoking the legislation was passed so now we have many establishments that are not as profitable as they once were (thus adds suffering to our diminished economy in this time of recession especially) and we have people who are being treated like dogs just because they smoke being made to smoke out in the rain / snow without even an outdoor roof over their head! Hey wait a minute, just because you smoke you are not even being treated as good as a dog because dogs at least have little houses which puts a roof over their head! So here we are smokers, being made to stand out in the cold whether it be raining, snowing, hailing and yet even though rain hail or snow has been known to make people sick any health problems that smokers occur due to being treated as second class citizens are all blamed on smoking while these ignorant brainless morons push aside the fact that there ignorance towards smokers is allot to do with the problem in the first place by making them stand outside in the cold etc.. Yeah go stand out in the miserable weather and if you get sick it is not because you have to smoke outside, it is because you smoke is the ginorance society is fed!
You know smokers are human beings, not second class citizens, not dogs and tobacco plants have been smoldering in burning fields long before humans even came about. We have multi influences throughout industries ejecting pollution into our atmosphere, hydro and power lines all throughout our cities etc. and yet we have a group of disgruntled people blaming everything on smokers when yet people who have never been exposed to smoke still get cancer yet it is blamed on the smoker. We have people who have smoked their whole lives and never suffered such things as cancer their whole life and still according to this disgruntled group it is all the fault of smoking.
This is a classic example of ignorance being used as a tool to perpetuate nonsense through a group who chooses to blame all of society’s health problems on smoking.
What is this, smoking has been legal for generations and now that many people smoke there is a group bent on making smokers suffer for it. What a bunch of twisted sick freaks we have influencing our government!
My grandfather died from cancer and he was a smoker. That doesn’t mean he got cancer because he smoked and knowing how he died doesn’t in any way shape or form have me bent on blaming it on smoking or wanting to make other smokers suffer for it!
I see fit that this group be disbanned and replaced by a group with a sense of understanding instead of a wall of ignorance without the bias this particular group obviously carries bent towards making smokers suffer for being addicted or merely enjoying the benefits of smoking!
It may not be for everyone but for those who choose to smoke, why is this group being allowed to persue making human beings suffer for doing something that is perfectly legal and beneficial!
David Jeffrey Spetch Ps. Be good, be strong!
Inane, or insane, Barak Obama is the most deadly man the muslims put in office as president in America. He is a muslim, so we can know that he does not have the courage to stand out in public and say anything. Like his predecessor, George Bush, who made sure Homosexual marriage legal in America, he’s too afraid to ‘come out of the closet’ with his destruction of America. Of course, he’s also a liberal. That also explains his cowardice.
The evil the American people are ‘forced’ to participate in, bizarre sexuality, violently putting on show wars, and raising their fists against the G-d no American seems to believe exists today, is getting much, much worse
Gabriel
========
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Tishrei 19, 5770 / Wednesday, Oct. 07 ‘09
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Headlines
1. Jews Flout Obama, Lay Cornerstone for E. Jerusalem Homes
2. US Poll: Support for Military Option against Iran ‘If Necessary’
3. Ministers: ‘Outlaw Islamic Movement!’
4. One Hundred Arabs Stone Police in Jerusalem
5. Israeli, 2 Americans Awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry
6. Court Orders Government to Dismantle, Rebuild Fence
7. Anarchists Incite Arab-Jewish Clashes, Says Security Chief
8. Shalit Video Was Well-Staged; Will Netanyahu Fall for it?
1. Jews Flout Obama, Lay Cornerstone for E. Jerusalem Homes
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Developers of a new Jewish neighborhood on privately-owned land in eastern Jerusalem plan to lay the cornerstone for the project Wednesday afternoon, ignoring U.S. President Barack Obama’s opposition to Jewish “settlers” in the area. Former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau and National Union Knesset Member Uri Ariel plan to be on hand for the ceremony which marks the development of 105 luxury units in Nof Tzion. A new Torah scroll also will be dedicated.
The project is located in the Jabel Mukabar neighborhood, home to several terrorists with Israeli identity cards who have carried out murderous attacks on Israelis, including the murder of eight students at the Merkaz HaRav yeshiva last year. Police are deployed to prevent violence that has spread throughout eastern Jerusalem this week.
The new development project is the second stage of the Nof Tzion neighborhood and “is the best answer to incitement and violence from extremist elements,” according to the Im Tirtzu (If You Will It) organization. Ninety-one residential units already have been built, and most of them have been sold.
The new development of Nof Tzion, which literally means View of Zion, will extend to Armon HaNatziv in eastern Talpiot. The master plan calls for nearly 500 apartment units, two synagogues, community and educational facilities and a mall.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has rejected President Obama’s demand for a total freeze on building in eastern Jerusalem, saying the entire city is under the sovereignty of Israel. The United States and most Western nations regard all of Judea and Samaria, including many parts of Jerusalem, as Arab land that Israel “occupied” since the Six-Day War in 1967. Previously, Jordan occupied the same areas following the War of Independence in 1948, when the Arab world rejected the United Nations partition of the country, which at the time was ruled by the British Mandate.
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2. US Poll: Support for Military Option against Iran ‘If Necessary’
by Gil Ronen
Most Americans back the military option against Iran, if necessary, according to a new poll released on Tuesday, the same day that Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey said that the United States is ready to impose tougher sanctions against Iran if international negotiations over its nuclear weapons program fail.
“This administration has demonstrated that it is committed to a diplomatic resolution of the international community’s issues with Iran,” Levey told the Senate Banking Committee.
“The world is now united in looking to Iran for a response. If Iran does not live up to its obligations in this process, it alone will bear the responsibility for that outcome,” the senior official explained. “Under these circumstances, the United States would be obliged to turn to strengthened sanctions.”
Levey, who is the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said: “We are intensifying work with our allies and other partners to ensure that, if we must go down this path, we will do so with as much international support as possible. We will now wait to see whether Iran follows its constructive words with concrete action. If it does not, and if the president determines that additional measures are necessary, we will be ready to take action, ideally with our international partners.”
“We will need to impose measures simultaneously in many different forms in order to be effective,” he said.
Preparing legislation The Banking Committee’s chairman, Senator Christopher Dodd (D), said he was strongly in favor of increasing pressure on Tehran, and said he was preparing “comprehensive sanctions legislation.”
“I am committed to ensuring that this Congress equips President Obama with all the tools he needs to confront the threats posed by Iran,” he said. The draft of the Senate bill would place new sanctions on companies exporting refined petroleum products to Iran.
However, a top energy official in Iran said Tuesday that his country can defeat any gasoline sanctions the U.S. imposes. “If for any reason we are short of gasoline, we will move from one region to another, from one refinery to another,” said Hojatollah Ghanimifard, vice president at the National Iranian Oil Company.
Most Americans support military strike A majority of Americans doubt that diplomacy with Iran will succeed in preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. They think the U.S. should strike Iran militarily if that is the only way to prevent its acquisition of nuclear weapons.
A Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey released Tuesday determined that 61 percent of Americans would support a military strike in order to prevent Iran’s from arming itself with nuclear weapons. Twenty-four percent said it was more important to avoid conflict even if that means Iran would end up building nuclear arms.
While 63 percent supported direct U.S. negotiations with Iran, 64 percent said such efforts would not succeed.
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3. Ministers: ‘Outlaw Islamic Movement!’
by Hillel Fendel
Following the brief arrest on Tuesday of Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement Northern Branch, for incitement, at least two government ministers say that Salah’s entire movement should be outlawed.
Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom of the Likud sent a letter to Cabinet Secretary Tzvi Hauser, asking that the next Cabinet meeting include this issue on its agenda.
The Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel was founded in 1996 as a result of a split with the original, more moderate, Islamic Movement. Its motto is: “Allah is our goal, the prophet [Muhammed] is our leader, the Koran is our law, Jihad [religious war] is our way – and death in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”
Though the organization is located in Israel, it does not recognize Israel’s right to exist. It does use Israeli services for local purposes, however.
Shalom: We’re Sovereign in Jerusalem “It’s time we remind everyone that we are the sovereign in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount,” according to Minister Shalom. “The Prosecution and the police must stop the Palestinian take-over of Jerusalem, and must act with full force against the Islamic Movement’s wild incitement. There are times when the gloves must be taken off. The Islamic Movement must be outlawed – immediately. The movement’s leaders must be arrested and placed behind bars for many years.”
Minister Uzi Landau (Israel Our Home), a former Public Security Minister, says that this week’s Arab riots in Jerusalem “demand that we implement a simple and clear policy against the Islamic Movement. In Ariel Sharon’s first government, Raed Salah was tried and sat in prison. If we show weakness towards him and towards other Arab imams who incite to violence, this will bring upon us even worse riots in the future.”
Salah’s Deputy: “Ethiopian Negro Won’t Stop Moslem from Praying on Temple Mount” Salah’s deputy, Camel Hatib, who has been termed a “dangerous man” by former Northern District Police Chief Alik Ron, is also in Israel sights.
MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) wrote to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, asking that an investigation be opened against Hatib for incitement to racism and violence. Hatib, interviewed on Army Radio, said, “The Al-Aksa Mosque and the Temple Mount are not holy to Jews and they are forbidden from praying there… It cannot be that an Ethiopian policeman, a Negro, will stop a Moslem from praying at the Al-Aksa Mosque.”
Salah Kept Out of Jerusalem Sheikh Salah, head of the Northern Branch, was arrested in the Wadi Joz neighborhood of Jerusalem on Tuesday on charges of incitement and sedition against the State. The police asked that Salah, a resident of Umm el-Fahm in the southern Galilee, be detained for five days or kept under house arrest in his hometown. However, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court ordered him released almost immediately, with the caveat that he not enter Jerusalem for the next month.
Police sources put on a brave front, saying the goal was to keep him out of Jerusalem and “show the inciters that Israel is a country of law.”
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4. One Hundred Arabs Stone Police in Jerusalem
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Approximately 100 Arabs rioted in a Jewish neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem early Tuesday evening, injuring one officer and trying to blockade the main artery in the area. The police officers dispersed rioters in the Maaleh Har HaZeitim (Ras al-Amud) neighborhood.
The latest violence occurred several hours after Palestinian Authority senior negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Israel of “sparking a fire, deliberately escalating tensions.instead of taking steps to placate the situation.”
In a separate incident, Arab terrorists attempted to cause fatal traffic crashes by throwing rocks and damaged a bus on the highway near Kalkilya, adjacent to Kfar Saba. No one was injured. Several hours earlier, approximately 70,000 Jewish marchers, protected by thousands of police officers, concluded the annual Sukkot parade in Jerusalem without incident.
Tension in Jerusalem has escalated during the Jewish holiday season, when tens of thousands of Jews from Israel and abroad visit the Western Wall (Kotel), the outer wall of the Temple Mount compound and the capital itself, which is the holiest Jewish city in the world. Muslim leaders have repeated allegations that Jews are planning to “take over” the Al-Aksa mosque on the Temple Mount, which they allege includes the area of the Western Wall.
Along with Erakat’s blaming Israel for the tension, Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Raad Salah continued to call on Arabs “to defend” the Temple Mount. Several leading political leaders, including Yisrael Beiteinu Minister Uzi Landau, demanded that the police arrest Salah for incitement. He has been charged several times and has been convicted for inciting violence.
Most analysts have tried to calm fears that a “Third Intifada” is imminent, but there has been no relaxation in Arab rhetoric. PA leaders said they would “confront Israel” diplomatically and would use “legal means to protect our people and to confront Israel and its plan to thwart any efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied in 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Mohammed Dahlan, former Fatah strongman in Gaza, now ruled by Hamas, accused Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of trying “to blow up the situation in Jerusalem to evade negotiations.” He charged that “Israel tries to impose a de facto situation in Jerusalem by these aggressions in a continued plan to isolate the city from” Judea and Samaria, which the PA and international media refer to as the West Bank.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat commented Tuesday that the Arab riots “are specific events, stemming from centers of violence,” which have to be isolated.
Arab tempers flared Monday night after Jerusalem Police Chief Aharon Franco accused Arabs of being “ungrateful” by rioting after law enforcement officers preserved the peace during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in August.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) said Tuesday, “The State of Israel is the sovereign in Jerusalem and there is no force that can limit it in the eternal, united capital of the Jewish people. Anti-Jewish preaching from within the country or from abroad cannot undermine nor loosen the connection between the People of Israel and their capital, and the need to strengthen and develop the city.”
Related articles: PA Fears Jewish Jerusalem Heavy Security for Jerusalem March
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5. Israeli, 2 Americans Awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry
by Zalman Nelson
Ada Yonath of Israel and Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz were awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry on Wednesday for “studies of the structure of the ribosome” which translates the DNA code into life.
According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the group’s work has been fundamental to the scientific understanding of life, and has helped researchers develop antibiotic cures for various diseases. The laureates successfully generated three-dimensional models that show how different antibiotics bind to ribosomes.
Yonath is only the fourth woman to win the chemistry Nobel Prize, and the first since 1964. The winners will split a $1.4 million purse, receive diplomas, and are invited to the prize ceremonies in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of award founder Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896.
“We are extremely proud of you,” President Shimon Peres said in a phone conversation with Yonath on Wednesday. |It’s the first time that a researcher from the Weizman Institute has been awarded the Nobel Prize and I’m happy that in your merit the door has been opened to this award.”
The chemistry award is the third Nobel Prize to be announced this year. On Monday, three American scientists shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells which inspired new research into cancer and aging. The physics prize went to three other Americans who created the technology behind digital photography and fiber-optic networks; Israeli Prof. Yakir Aharonov was nominated for the prize for his work in quantum mechanics, but did not win it.
The prize in literature and the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced later this week. Israeli author Amos Oz is believed to be a strong favorite to be honored in the literature division. Oz has written numerous novels on the peace process, which he strongly backs, and on life in Israel.
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6. Court Orders Government to Dismantle, Rebuild Fence
by David Lev
The High Court issued a sharp condemnation of the State and ordered it to pay NIS 20,000 ($5,400) in court costs, for failing to fulfill a court order from three years ago demanding that portions of the security fence near the yishuv of Tzufim in Samaria be dismantled. The total cost of moving the sections of the fence in question will exceed $10 million, experts said.
The original court decision three years ago was made in response to a petition by residents of the Arab villages of Azzun and Nabi Elias located in the area, demanding that the eastern section of the fence, which in some places was built on land belonging to the villages, be dismantled.
The petition, first brought over four years ago, said that the sections of the fence were not built for security concerns, but in order to expand the Jewish town of Tzufim, which is east of Kalkilya. In addition, the villages complained that farmers were unable to get to land inside the fence, as the state had committed to enable them to do when the fence was first built.
The state, which had defended the need for the location of fence, did a sudden about-face, agreeing to dismantle portions of the fence around Tzufim and promising to do it within six months. Following the State’s change of heart, the court issued an order demanding that the fence be dismantled when the case was concluded three years ago.
However, the Arab villages complained to the court that the State has dragged its feet on fulfilling the original court order. Attorneys for the Arab villages accused the State of “shaming the court by refusing to fulfill its orders.” Only then was any action taken to begin dismantling the fence, a project that is still ongoing.
The court agreed with the Arab villages and on Tuesday reiterated its demand that the fence be dismantled immediately and rebuilt closer to the existing “building line” (the last row of houses currently in existence) in Tzufim.
At issue are some 650 (160 acres) dunams of land owned by local Arabs. The portion of the fence in question is about five kilometers long. According to experts, the cost for construction of the security fences is approximately $2 million per kilometer.
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7. Anarchists Incite Arab-Jewish Clashes, Says Security Chief
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
The current olive harvest season in Judea and Samaria has raised the possibility of clashes between Arabs and Jews in groves adjacent to Jewish communities. However, the head of civilian security for the region says that confrontations are strictly a function of whether or not pro-Arab and anarchist activists are in the area.
Shlomo Vaknin, head of security for the Judea, Samaria and Gaza Council, told Arutz Sheva radio on Tuesday that the olive harvest by Arab farmers takes place with no disruption as long as extremist activists do not interfere. “The integration of left-wing activists and anarchists in the olive harvest causes charged impulses and needless confrontations,” Vaknin said. In recognition of their efforts to disrupt the peaceful harvest and cause provocations, he added, left-wing activists are being kept away from certain harvest areas by IDF forces.
As proof of his point, Vaknin cites last year’s harvest period, which went almost completely smoothly after the IDF prevented activists from sparking confrontations near Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria. The residents of the Jewish communities, Vaknin claimed, behaved with great restraint in the face of provocations that occurred. “As far as I am concerned,” Vaknin said, “the harvest concluded without any clashes between the two sides.”
The IDF makes its security arrangements for the olive harvest period in complete coordination with the Judea and Samaria Jewish communities, with whom the ground rules for a peaceful harvest are determined, Vaknin explained. The IDF, the Civil Administration and the various security services assure Arab farmers access to their olive groves. For the most part, despite past instances of harvest time being used as an opportunity for pre-attack surveillance by terrorists, the IDF allows Arab farmers to collect their produce even in areas adjacent to many Jewish community perimeter fences. The objective of the defense establishment in such cases is to maintain, as much as possible, the daily life and routine of Arab farmers in Judea and Samaria.
According to Vaknin, the civilian security personnel in the Jewish communities are invited every year by IDF officials for discussions detailing clear rules of behavior during the olive harvest season. The issues raised are the exact borders of the Arab olive groves and what behavior is to be considered normal, and when there is a true security risk posed by the olive harvest.
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8. Shalit Video Was Well-Staged; Will Netanyahu Fall for it?
by Hillel Fendel
Prof. Gabi Weiman, a researcher of terrorism, violence and media in Haifa University, gives Hamas high marks for psychological warfare in its video of Gilad Shalit – but notes that the test of Israel’s leadership is whether it can wage cool-headed negotiations despite the emotions aroused by the video.
Writing in the Yisrael HaYom (Israel Today) daily free newspaper, which has become Israel’s second most widely-read daily, Prof. Weiman says that the video of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit released a few days ago was “meticulously planned, from the script read aloud by Gilad, to his uniform and haircut, and including every word and gesture.”
“This is not the first time that Hamas has made use of emotions and psychological manipulations in order to set off events and processes to serve its interests. Hamas is doing this in order to accelerate the negotiations with Israel for Shalit’s release, improve its negotiating positions, and broadcast a message of tolerance and moderation to the entire world.”
Hamas-affiliated terrorists captured Shalit, then nearly 20 years old, in June 2006. They have long demanded the release of approximately 1,000 Arab terrorists – including many murderers – imprisoned in Israeli jails.
“The great excitement that overtook us [the Israeli public] at the prospect of seeing a video of Gilad,” Weiman wrote, “well serves the cynical interests of Hamas. They did not release the video in order to gladden our hearts, but simply like a PR man trying to rack up public pressure on Israel’s decision makers.”
After praising Gilad’s parents for the dignified and persistent manner in which they are waging the struggle for their son’s release, Weiman concludes, “The true test is not that of the parents. It is rather, as in every conflict on the psychological warfare front, a test of our political leadership: Will it know not to cave in to emotional tricks, and to wage the negotiations and make compromises rationally and responsibly?”
Gilad’s father Noam departed Wednesday for France, where he will meet with advisors to French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The Shalit family has French citizenship. Noam Shalit has acknowledged that he does not envision a quick release for his son.
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