Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

 
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IRAQI NEWS, 5 APRIL 05
·         Two Iraqi soldiers killed in mortar attack north of Baghdad
·         Imam gunned down in southern Baghdad
·         Five Iraqis wounded by car bomb in Mosul
·         Kurdish leader in talks with Iraqi defence minister
·         Palestinians to be exempt from new residency laws
·         Syria to release Kurdish political prisoners
·         Iraqi policeman killed, two wounded in Basra
·         Sunnis struggle to decide vice-president candidate
·         Prominent Iraqi Kurdish MP gives round-up of government talks
·         Iraqi newspaper profiles new Speaker Al-Hasani
IRAQI PRESS HEADLINES - 5 APRIL 05
·         Al-Sharq al-Awsat
·         Baghdad
·         Al-Zaman
IRAQI PRESS COMMENTS AND QUOTES -5 APRIL 05
·         ``Disbanding former army; a mistake Iraq has paid dearly''- Baghdad
·         ``Certain entities laid their hands on security and classified records''- Al-Zaman
·         ``How much we need to have such great men as the deceased Pope''- Al-Dustur
IRAQI BROADCAST MEDIA, 5 APRIL 2005
·         Al-Sharqiyah TV news 5 Apr 05
·         Al-Iraqiyah TV news 5 Apr 05
UPDATES FROM THE KURDISH PRESS, 5 APRIL 2005
·         www.kurdistannet.net
·         www.peyamner.com
·         Khabat daily issued in Erbil by the KDP
·         KurdistanObserver.com

IRAQI NEWS, 5 April 05
Two Iraqi soldiers killed in mortar attack north of Baghdad
Two Iraqi soldiers were killed when a mortar shell fell on a checkpoint north of Baghdad on the night of 4-5 April, Iraqi TV channel Al-Sharqiyah reported on 5 April. Iraqi security sources said the two soldiers were killed instantly when the shell exploded at the checkpoint, situated between Samarra and Al-Dawr. (Al-Sharqiyah TV 5 Apr 05)
Imam gunned down in southern Baghdad
An Iraqi Defence Ministry source has said that the imam of Uthman Bin-Affan mosque in southern Baghdad was killed on 5 April by unidentified gunmen, Iraqi TV channel Al-Sharqiyah reported. Requesting anonymity, the source said that the gunmen had opened fire on Shaykh Hilal Karim while he was standing outside the mosque in the Al-Nu'ayriyah area in Baghdad al-Jadidah, in southern Baghdad. (Al-Sharqiyah TV 5 Apr 05)
Five Iraqis wounded by car bomb in Mosul
Five Iraqi civilians were wounded in a booby-trapped car explosion in Mosul on 5 April, Iraqi TV channel Al-Sharqiyah reported on 5 April. Eyewitnesses at the scene said that US soldiers evacuated a demolished armoured vehicle from the scene of the explosion in the Al-Yarmuk neighbourhood in the west of the city, but they were unable to determine the number of US casualties. Dr Izz-al-Din Muhammad said that the emergency ward at a local hospital had received four wounded, among them a child who was seriously wounded with a bullet in the head. Eyewitnesses said an Iraqi working as a cameraman for CBS received a bullet in the back, and was probably evacuated to a US hospital. (Al-Sharqiyah TV 5 Apr 05)
Kurdish leader in talks with Iraqi defence minister
The leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Mas'ud Barzani, has held talks with Iraqi Defence Minister Hazim Sha'lan and a delegation including Iraqi Army Chief of Staff
Babakir Zebari and Iraqi Defence Ministry adviser Mash'al al-Sarraf, Kurdistan Satellite TV reported on 5 April. The two sides stressed the need for cooperation and coordination on security issues, and also discussed the latest developments in efforts to establish a new government in Iraq. (Kurdistan Satellite TV 5 Apr 05)
Palestinians to be exempt from new residency laws
The Iraqi government has said that Palestinians residing in Iraq are not subject to the requirements of the new residency law, and that they are excluded from the residency regulations currently being implemented, Iraqi TV channel Al-Sharqiyah reported on 5 April. The Palestinian embassy in Baghdad said it had received a memo from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry confirming that Palestinians will be dealt with in accordance with previous decisions, which ensure that they enjoy all rights, except obtaining Iraqi nationality. It pointed out that the Iraqi Foreign Ministry memo came in response to a letter from the embassy asking the ministry to exclude Palestinians residing in Iraq since 1948 from the new residency law, which grants expatriates a residency permit for a period not exceeding three months. (Al-Sharqiyah TV 5 Apr 05)
Syria to release Kurdish political prisoners
Syrian President Bashar al-Asad has issued instructions for the release of 312 Syrian Kurdish political prisoners, the Iraqi Kurdistan National Democratic Union's Medea newspaper reported on 5 April. The paper quoted a 30 March report from the Syrian state news agency SANA, which said that Al-Asad had issued a general amnesty for Kurdish detainees arrested in the wake of rioting in the city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria in March 2004. The detainees were reported to have been paraded through the streets of Qamishli after their release, with some still apparently showing signs of torture. (Medea, Iraqi Kurdistan National Democratic Union's newspaper 5 Apr 05)
Iraqi policeman killed, two wounded in Basra
An Iraqi policeman was killed and two others wounded by an bomb that targeted their patrol in Basra, Iraq's port north of the Arabian Gulf, Iraqi Al-Sharqiyah TV reported on 5 April. Col Karim al-Zaydi said the device exploded as the patrol was passing in the area of Sa'd Square, near Basra University. Al-Zaydi did not indicate whether there were casualties among the citizens that crowded the square, which police forces cordoned off and began searching for the perpetrators. (Al-Sharqiyah 5 Apr 05)
Sunnis struggle to decide vice-president candidate
Iraqi Al-Sharqiyah TV on 5 April reported that Sunni parties and organizations began their meeting at the Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters to select a Sunni Arab candidate for the post of vice-president. According to the Al-Sharqiyah report, there were five candidates for the post: Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar; Adnan al-Pachachi, leader of the Independent Democrats Movement; Al-Sharif Ali Bin-al-Husayn, sponsor of the Constitutional Monarchy Movement; Adnan al-Janabi, from the Iraqi list; and Husayn al-Juburi, an independent. (Al-Sharqiyah 05 Apr 05)
According to an AFP report, a spokesman for the Constitutional Monarchy Movement headed by Sherif Ali bin Husayn, Banyan al-Jarba, said that the talks were going badly. "People are pushing in different directions," he said. The spokesman added that only three candidates remained: Sherif Ali, Adnan al-Pachachi and Ghazi al-Yawar. "We will either ask for a delay in the vote or put up all three names for an open vote in parliament tomorrow. We have not decided yet," was quoted as saying. (AFP)
Prominent Iraqi Kurdish MP gives round-up of government talks
Iraqi Kurdish MP Fu'ad Ma'sum on 4 April voiced his frustration at the ongoing negotiations to choose the remaining top political posts in the country. Speaking to London-based Arabic newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat he said "Whenever we think we are close to the end and ready to announce the name of the presidential and government bodies we encounter some obstacles that delay us." In a summary of at what stage the negotiations were at, Ma'sum said: "We can say we have now finished naming the president, Jalal Talabani, as no one objected to his nomination and there was no other contender. The president must have two deputies, a Shi'i and an Arab Sunni. The (Shi'i) United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) chose their candidate as vice-president, Adil Abd-al-Hadi. The Arab Sunnis who have until 5 April to name their vice-president. He said that the three Arab Sunni candidates for the post were Shaykh Ghazi al-Yawar, Adnan Pachachi, and Al-Sharif Ali Bin-al-Husayn. The Sunnis "should finish everything by Wednesday," Ma'sum said. According to the paper, the executive committee negotiating on behalf of the Arab Sunnis adopted the nomination of Pachachi for the vice president's post and said in a statement that the nomination was presented to the general assembly of the Iraqi National Forces Front that includes the majority of the Sunni people's religious, political, and tribal tendencies, among them the Islamic Party and the National Dialogue Council. The newspaper reported that various Sunni, Shi'i, Kurdish, and Turkomen groups had held several meetings during the past weeks and asked unanimously for the nomination of Pachachi for vice-president. However, a source close to Al-Yawar asserted that "tomorrow's meetings will resolve the issue. Al-Yawar will not give up his nomination in favour of anyone."
According to Ma'sum, an additional problem is the appointing deputies to the likely Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Ja'fari who is supposed to have two deputies, a Kurd and an Arab Sunni. But the UIA insisting on nominating Ahmad Chalabi as a third deputy prime minister despite the objection of the Arab Sunnis who argue that the prime minister is a Shi'i and does not therefore need a Shi'i deputy. (Al-Sharq al-Awsat, Baghdad edition of London-based Arabic newspaper 05 Apr 05)
Iraqi newspaper profiles new Speaker Al-Hasani
Iraqi independent newspaper Al-Zaman on 4 April published a profile of new National Assembly Speaker Hachim al-Hasani. According to the report, Al-Hasani is married and has four children. He was born in Kirkuk in 1954. He graduated from Mosul University and then moved to the United States in 1979 with the aim of studying at the international business college of the University of Nebraska. He obtained a doctorate in industrial management from the University of Connecticut and worked as a director of the investment company American Investment and Trading Company in Los Angeles. He has lectured at a number of American universities and headed an internet company, as well as being on the administrative boards of a number of non-governmental organizations. Al-Hasani worked in the Iraqi resistance under the regime of Saddam Husayn for many years and became a member of the political office, then the official spokesman of the Iraqi Islamic Party, and was elected a member of the committee which sprang from the Iraqi opposition conference in London in 2003. Al-Hasani participated with his party in the Governing Council which was formed the same year, serving in the post of deputy member in the council and deputy chairman of its financial committee, after which he was appointed minister of industry in the government of Iyad Allawi formed in June 2004. He remained in the government in November 2004, refusing to resign after the withdrawal of his party from the political process following the American attack on Al-Fallujah, as a result of which the party announced the suspension of his membership. But Al-Hasani participated in the delegation for the negotiations which the government conducted last year with insurgents in the western region of Iraq, and Prime Minister Iyad Allawi assigned him to be the head of the Al-Fallujah reconstruction council and the compensation committee for the people of that city. (Al-Zaman [daily, independent, Baghdad edition of London-based Al-Zaman] 04 Apr 05)


IRAQI PRESS HEADLINES - 5 April 05
Al-Sharq al-Awsat
Al-Sharq al-Awsat [Baghdad edition of London-based independent daily newspaper, Saudi-owned]:
·         Hachim al-Hasani: Tomorrow is decision day
·         Unidentified assailants launch arson attack on Communist Party office in Baghdad
·         Al-Sha'lan: Zarqawi will be trapped soon, Syrians cooperating in border control (Agencies quoted)
·         Prompted by revelations on Iraqiyah TV serial, official inquiry into Iraqi security involvement in abuse of detainees (Agencies quoted)
·         Saudi Arabia: Seven terrorists killed in clashes with security forces following two-day siege
·         Bush renewing call for Lebanese elections to be held on schedule as reservations on projected international investigative commission delay
·         Security Council endorsement of French-worded draft resolution.
Baghdad
Baghdad [Baghdad, political daily newspaper published by the Iraqi National Accord Movement]:
·         Al-Hasani emphasizes importance of constructive participation of all Iraqi entities (Agencies quoted)
·         New civil society union set up (Iraqiyun News Agency quoted)
·         Iraqi citizen seriously wounded, shot by foreign security elements (AFP quoted)
·         Jordan vows not to turn in Saddam's daughters, Raghad, Rana
·         Biggest paediatric hospital to be built in Basrah Seven power stations being installed in Karkh (Iraqiyun quoted)
·         Half a billion dollars in Islamic Bank donation for Iraq reconstruction (Agencies quoted)
·         Attempt at Iraqi MP's life (Iraqiyun quoted)
·         Iraqi government condoles the Vatican (AFP quoted)
·         Eight terror operatives apprehended Special counters installed to prevent illegal pumping of Iraqi oil marked for export (Al-Rafidayn quoted).
Al-Zaman
Al-Zaman [Baghdad edition of London-based independent daily newspaper]:
·         Alliance supportive of Al-Yawar, Sharif Ali as candidates for VP post Differences over number, powers of deputy PMs Kurds, Iraqi List near agreement on nominations for Presidency Council,
·         Cabinet Al-Dulaimi calls for release of eighty detained clerics, mosque preachers (AFP quoted)
·         Police intensify patrols in Mosul, having finally resumed control
·         Top British commander in Iraq in favour of having immunity of Multinational Forces scaled down
·         Five injured as explosive-rigged tractor detonates outside Abu-Ghurayb prison
·         Three wounded, including one police officer, in road-side bomb blast in Ba'qubah
·         Iraqi oil exports disrupted by bad weather.
·        
IRAQI PRESS COMMENTS and QUOTES -5 April 05
``Disbanding former army; a mistake Iraq has paid dearly''- Baghdad

Baghdad [From commentary by Sabah Salman]:
"The two-pronged policy of disbanding the army and eradicating Ba'thism, which was wrong at the outset, has turned out to be a mistake for which Iraq has paid dearly. The only fruit this policy has yielded is the state of consternation Iraqis find themselves in today as they move from an insecure present to an unknown future. In order to survive, Iraq has no choice but to opt for forgiveness and reconciliation. Anything short of this would mean that what is lost to us is not only the present, but the future as well."
``Certain entities laid their hands on security and classified records''- Al-Zaman

Al-Zaman [From commentary by Muthanna al-Tabaqchali]:
"We have always warned against the repercussions of what happened in the immediate aftermath of Saddam's fall, when certain entities, overstepping all authority, rushed to lay their hands on roomfuls of security dossiers and classified records through which the demised Big Brother used to keep watch on the activities of Iraqi individuals. It is thanks to this prize find that so many Iraqis have been liquidated and others have been marked for liquidation ever since."
``How much we need to have such great men as the deceased Pope''- Al-Dustur

Al-Dustur [From editorial by Bassim al-Shaykh]:
"Oh, how much we need to have amongst us such great men as the deceased Pope and the revered Al-Sistani! For it is only men as wise, patient and compassionate as these that can rein in our rashness, our impetuousness and our blindness to hard facts. May God have peace and mercy upon the soul of the Pope and may we always be blessed with men like him."



IRAQI BROADCAST MEDIA, 5 April 2005

Al-Sharqiyah TV news 5 Apr 05
·         Five civilians wounded, US armoured vehicle destroyed by booby-trapped car in Mosul
·         US army says two of its soldiers and an Iraqi soldier killed in armed confrontations with dozens of militants yesterday in eastern Baghdad
·         Booby-trapped vehicle explodes, rocks western side of Baghdad
·         Two Iraqi soldiers killed yesterday by mortar shell falling on checkpoint in northern Baghdad
·         Booby-trapped vehicle destroys US army vehicle, wounds four Iraqis in Baghdad's Al-Dura
·         US army says it has arrested 11 Iraqis suspected of carrying out attacks in northern Baghdad
·         Iraqi soldier killed, two others wounded in bomb blast near Iraqi military patrol in Basra
·         Iraqi government says Palestinians currently living in Iraq exempted from new residence law
·         Participants in meeting of Iraqi National Front, Iraqi Dialogue Council [as heard] choose three candidates for position of Iraqi vice-president
·         Iraqi National Assembly to hold meeting tomorrow to choose new Iraqi president, two vice-presidents
·         Saudi security officials say two Al-Qa'idah leaders killed in current fighting in Al-Qasim
·         King Abdallah II of Jordan asks Adnan Badran to form new cabinet after resignation of government headed by Faysal al-Fayiz
·         News reports from New York say members of UN Security Council trying to introduce amendments to US draft resolution on international investigation into assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafiq al-Hariri
Al-Iraqiyah TV news 5 Apr 05
·         Iraqi National Assembly speaker Hachim al-Hasani says first task is writing constitution
·         Interim Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari meets Turkish ambassador, says Iraq to attend neighbouring countries' summit in Istanbul
·         Ayatollah Isma'il al-Sadr sends condolence message to Iraq's Christians on death of Pope
·         Death toll from terror attacks in Iraq reaches 6,000, says human rights minister
·         Two killed, 13 injured in mortar attack in Mosul Bomb blast injures four in Baghdad
·         Plan to tighten up security in Baghdad sparks mixed feelings
·         Terror suspects held in Mosul
·         Baghdad University marks anniversary of establishment
·         Studio interview with National Assembly member Abbas al-Bayati
·         Body parts in Baghdad streets cause problems
·         Baghdad Islamic sites neglected Arab Human Development report calls for reform
·         Saudi gun battle leaves nine terrorists dead
·         King of Jordan names new premier
·         Human Rights Watch accuses Sudan of Darfur violations
·         UN envoy to inspect previous Syrian positions in Lebanon
·         Italy prepares for funeral of Pope John Paul II
·         Cuban leader pays tribute to Pope
·         US President George W Bush says US committed to democracy in Iraq
UPDATES FROM THE KURDISH PRESS, 5 APRIL 2005

All the dailies and websites reported the Iraqi government's establishment of a federal court In accordance with Paragraph 5 of Article 44 of the Iraqi Transitional Administrative Law (TAL). The court will settle disputes between the country's regions, as well as between the Baghdad-based federal government and those of the regions. It will also make sure that the laws adopted in the regions do not contradict with the federal constitution. The Baghdad-based court will have a president and eight judges.
The papers and websites also reported that the outgoing Kurdistan National Assembly would have its last session on Thursday and leave the ground for the new parliamentarians to take office.

www.kurdistannet.net <http://www.kurdistannet.net>

Will the Kurds and Arabs be able to live together in a federal Iraq in peace? In an on-line poll, 22% answered yes and the remaining 78% said no.

www.peyamner.com <http://www.peyamner.com>      
¾        

Kurdistan Communist Party (KCP-Iraq) refutes involvement in the foiled assassination attempt that targeted the PUK leader and Kurdistan nominee for Iraqi Presidency Jalal Talabani weeks ago. Quoting an unnamed ``PUK security official,'' a Bahraini newspaper reported that four KCP members were arrested in Sulaymanya for their involvements in the assassination attempt. The source further commented that the assassination attempt came in line with the weakening KCP-PUK alliance adding that the KCP has been expressing its hostility to the PUK through several channels. KCP leadership committee member Zerak Kamal told www.peyamner.com <http://www.peyamner.com> that involvement of KCP members in the murder attempt was far from truth. ``We have never attempted, nor will we do attempt, to assassination neither Talabani nor any other person,'' Kamal argued accreting that his party had ``excellent ties'' with the PUK and all other parties in Kurdistan. No PUK official source has denied or confirmed that assassination attempt.

¾        

The Sulaymanya University students ended their 5-week strike after their main demand for the shut down of Ayinda Private University was met Monday. The students of Ayinda University have been staging, since Monday evening, an open-end sit-in in front of the Council of Ministers in Sulaymanya to protest the closure of their university.

Khabat daily issued in Erbil by the KDP
¾        

The KDP Central Media Bureau (CMB) issued a clarification on the information contained in a news report by a number of Kurdish and Arabic media outlets, including some affiliated to the KDP, on nomination of certain KDP officials for Kurdistan Region Presidency and premiership. Without conforming or denying the content of those reports, the he (CMB) explanation urges Kurdistan journalists to double-check the content of their reports and identify their sources ``to prevent misinformation of people.''

KurdistanObserver.com <http://www.kurdistanobserver.com>
 
Kurdish National Congress Holds 17th Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee
The Kurdish National Congress of North America (KNC) held its 17th Annual Conference March 25-26, 2005 in Nashville, Tennessee, home to the largest Kurdish population in North America. Speakers and participants gathered from all parts of North America, Europe and Kurdistan to focus on the Conference theme: Kurdish Independence, Democracy and Regional Stability.
The conference program included presentations by scholars, speeches by active politicians, and representatives from various parties and local and international organizations. The conference was kicked off by raising the Kurdish flag in front of the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel, the conference site. The conference included several panel discussions that provided a forum to exchange dialog among panels and conference participants Speakers addressed the situation in Southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan where the Kurdish government is firmly involved in the formation of a new Iraqi government. Panelists and attendees offered a wide range of opinion on which future the Southern Kurdish leadership should be promoting, with many supporting a pragmatic position calling for full participation within a federal framework, while others offered the 1.7 million signatures on the Kurdish Referendum as evidence of the true aspiration of those in Southern Kurdistan for independence. The Halabja massacre was brought up, many ideas revolving around retribution and compensations were discussed. Some suggested KNC should take the Halabja file to an international tribunal, so that it is kept at a global level. Furthermore, the conference called for the following actions:
1. Strengthen the unity among the Kurds in all parts of Kurdistan
2. The Referendum represents the aspiration and the goal of the Kurdish people in Southern Kurdistan.
3. Unification of the two Kurdish Regional Governments in Southern Kurdistan.
4. Kirkuk and all the Arabaized areas of Kurdistan of Iraq must remain part of Kurdistan.
5. Kurdish Peshmerga must remain as a core army to protect the Kurds rights.
6. Condemning all kinds of terrorism every where and the Kurds are joining the international efforts to fight the terrorism.
7. Calling on the International community and the UN to support the right of self-determinations for the all Kurdish people.
Events in all Kurdish regions were analyzed and discussed. Speakers noted the heightened attention paid by the West to the Syrian government's brutal policies towards its population, including a large Kurdish minority, as well as its role in the violence in Iraq. Similarly, the role of the Iranian regime in suppressing the rights of the 8 million Eastern (Iranian) Kurds and in fomenting Shiite violence in Iraq was analyzed. Events in Northern (Turkish) Kurdistan were discussed, including the steps and mis-steps made by the Turkish government in its move to satisfy EU requirements for improvement of the human rights accorded the largest Kurdish population in the region.
The conference concluded with a Newroz banquet and award presentation. The KNC recognized several individuals for their contribution to the Kurdish cause. Dr. Saman Shali, current KNC president made a presentation honoring the contribution of Dr. Asad Khailany, KNC founder and former president. Live Kurdish music followed, many of the attendees danced the evening traditional Kurdish dances.