Venezuela leader snubs 'reckless accusations' at UN

Yahoo – AFP, Ben Simon, 12 Nov 2015

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gestures as he addresses the UN human

 rights council in Geneva on November 12, 2015 (AFP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini)

Geneva (AFP) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday lashed out at those making "reckless accusations" against his country in an address at the UN Human Rights Council, a speech the US called "an affront" to the body.

Maduro's comments came a day after a group of Venezuelan opposition figures asked the International Criminal Court to probe him and others over crimes against humanity, but the president made no mention of any specific allegations in his remarks.

His appearance at the council -- an irregular event requested by Caracas despite the chamber being out of session -- was fiercely criticised by rights groups who claimed he was trying to clean up his battered image less than a month before legislative elections.

With falling oil prices, Venezuela's crude-rich economy is in tatters and Maduro's plummeting popularity could lead to an opposition win in the December 6 polls.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro 

addresses the UN human rights council in

 Geneva on November 12, 2015 (AFP 

Photo/Fabrice Coffrini)

But the president fiercely defended his record, saying that "in the midst of a difficult 2015, a complicated 2015, Venezuela is victorious."

He railed against those making "reckless accusations taken from the global imperial media agenda" and claimed that Venezuela faced "constant harassment".

'Blatantly political' 

The United States branded Maduro's address a "transparent attempt to use the UN Human Rights Council to shift attention away from his government's own actions to restrict fundamental freedoms."

"We thus regret that a head of state would use this council for blatant domestic political purposes," Paul Patin, spokesman for the UN mission in Geneva, said in a statement delivered after Maduro's speech.

A coalition of 50 civil society groups had earlier urged member states to boycott the speech, lamenting that no other parties were allowed to address the council after Maduro spoke.

A council spokesman told AFP that there was no indication any nation had decided to boycott.

Before Maduro took the podium in front of a full chamber, UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein raised particular concern over the country's judiciary, highlighting the case of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez.

Lopez, leader of the Popular Will Party, was sentenced in September to 14 years in jail following what many observers have called a show trial.

Zeid recalled "concerns about the independence of the judiciary in Venezuela, the impartiality of judges and prosecutors and the pressures they face in handling politically sensitive cases."

The Lopez case, he added, was a "stark illustration of these problems."

The exiled coordinator of Popular Will, Carlos Vecchio, petitioned The Hague-based ICC, saying the move was necessary because Venezuela's judicial system had become a "government tool."

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, with his wife Cilia Flores, leaves the 

United Nations offices in Geneva after addressing the UN human rights council

on November 12, 2015 (AFP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini)

Vecchio's petition lists eight officials including Maduro as potential defendants involved with more than 30 alleged murders, 3,700 detentions that the opposition considers illegal and nearly 400 suspected cases of torture.

Elections looming

Not surprisingly, Maduro also made no reference to the arrest of two of his wife's nephews who are due to appear in US court on Thursday on charges of conspiring to smuggle cocaine.

The case is likely to further strain already tense US-Venezuelan relations at a time of heightened scrutiny with the polls three weeks away.

Patin, of the US mission, expressed hope that Caracas would allow credible polls but said events in the run-up to the vote did not inspire confidence.

He noted court decisions barring opposition candidates from running as well as crackdowns on free speech and assembly.

More than 150 US and Latin American lawmakers sent a letter to Maduro on Wednesday, urging him to let international observers monitor the December polls.

Related Article:

Organization of American States (OAS) chief slams Venezuela for refusing election monitors

Nobel peace laureates call for Israel military boycott over Gaza assault

Letter with 52 signatories including artists and activists also denounces US and EU 'complicity' through weapons sales

guardian.co.uk, Chris McGreal in Jerusalem, Wednesday 28 November 2012

A man looks at the ruins of a Hamas police station destroyed by an Israeli
air strike in Gaza City. Photograph: Oliver Weiken/EPA

A group of Nobel peace prize-winners, prominent artists and activists have issued a call for an international military boycott of Israel following its assault on the Gaza Strip this month.

The letter also denounces the US, EU and several developing countries for what it describes as their "complicity" through weapons sales and other military support in the attack that killed 160 Palestinians, many of them civilians, including about 35 children.

The 52 signatories include the Nobel peace laureates Mairead Maguire and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel; the film directors Mike Leigh and Ken Loach; the author Alice Walker; the US academic Noam Chomsky; Roger Waters of Pink Floyd; and Stéphane Hessel, a former French diplomat and Holocaust survivor who was co-author of the universal declaration of human rights.

"Horrified at the latest round of Israeli aggression against the 1.5 million Palestinians in the besieged and occupied Gaza Strip and conscious of the impunity that has enabled this new chapter in Israel's decades-old violations of international law and Palestinian rights, we believe there is an urgent need for international action towards a mandatory, comprehensive military embargo against Israel," the letter says.

"Such a measure has been subject to several UN resolutions and is similar to the arms embargo imposed against apartheid South Africa in the past."

The letter accuses several countries of providing important military support that facilitated the assault on Gaza. "While the United States has been the largest sponsor of Israel, supplying billions of dollars of advanced military hardware every year, the role of the European Union must not go unnoticed, in particular its hefty subsidies to Israel's military complex through its research programmes.

"Similarly, the growing military ties between Israel and the emerging economies of Brazil, India and South Korea are unconscionable given their nominal support for Palestinian freedom," it says.

The letter opens with a quote from Nelson Mandela: "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."

The other signatories include John Dugard, a South African jurist and former UN special rapporteur in the occupied territories; Luisa Morgantini, former president of the European parliament; Cynthia McKinney, a former member of the US Congress; Ronnie Kasrils, a South African former cabinet minister; and the dramatist Caryl Churchill.

Related Articles:



The Jewish-Palestinian Declaration (1997)

UN recognizes Palestine as non-member observer state

NO voters:

US

Israel

Canada

Czech Republic

Panama

Marshall Islands

Micronesia

Naura
Palau

Israel said to ease restictions on Gaza fishing and farming

Israel Army, Mossad 'halted Iran attack alert' from Netanyahu, Barak

"THE BRIDGE OF SWORDS"– Sep  29, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Text version)

“… Let us talk about the swords: When you hear the word sword, the first thing that occurs to you is battle. The Bridge of Swords is a battle and we told you that as well. Swords are metaphoric and they mean many things, so let us describe the things we mean them to say to you.

Number one: They are indeed a weapon in a battle. There is a battle coming. "Kryon, does that mean there's going to be a war?" Potentially, yes. Right now we will tell you that the Middle East cooks itself. You've noticed, haven't you? What do you know about the Middle East, dear one? Let's start examining things for a moment. What energy did you grow up in? What was the energy of the Middle East? In the '40s, what was the energy? With the establishment of the state of Israel, you built a wall of hate, both sides. The wall was so thick that the children of both sides were taught to hate one another as soon as they were able to understand the language. They were told who their enemies were. Now, where were you then?

Some of you weren't here yet. By the time you arrived, in your youth, were you aware of the Middle East? Not particularly. "What's the hatred about?" you might ask. What if I told you it's about a family feud? Two sons of a Jewish master are involved. One founded the Arabs and one remained a Jew. They don't want to hear this, but they are all Jews. (Don't tell them this.)

If you look at the lineage, it's pretty obvious and yet it's a complete and total set-up for either solution or war. The set-up would have this world ending in a conflagration that would have been brought about by this hatred. That's in the prophecy of Nostradamus and your scripture, but it is no longer the prophecy of the planet. Yet the hatred still exists. The hatred is as great today as it was then, but where was all the terrorism 40 years ago? It was isolated.

Those in Israel and Palestine and surrounding areas took the brunt of it, but now it's seemingly everywhere - and you're worried. Why would this be? The answer is that the old energy was happy to have this hatred contained, for it would keep it going and never involve outsiders. Outsiders tend to bring unwanted light to the party. Suddenly, the whole earth is involved and can see the entire scenario before them. The old guard wants war, just like all the eons before them. The ones on the bridge are holding the light and showing the earth how to cross. Even many younger ones in Israel and Palestine and Iran are holding light! It's all around the old guard and they are furious, for they are losing the "battle of hatred." …”

(Religions – Zionism - March 1, 2012 - Matthew Channelled by Suzanne Ward)

9. It can be no other way—simply, this is the physics that governs life in this universe. As Earth continues apace into successively higher planes, nothing with low vibrations in any form—physical bodies, subversive plans, theft, dishonesty, unjust laws and imprisonment, bigotry, cruel customs and deeds—can survive.

10. Moving on, no, it will not be quite like religions being “totally discarded and replaced by universal laws in the Golden Age.” When the truths come forth that science and spirit are one and the same and that religious dogmas were originated by early leaders of church and state to control the masses, people whose consciousness has risen beyond the constraints of third density will adhere to the spiritual aspects of their respective religions and the devised, controlling aspects will fall by the wayside.

11. One of the truths to come forth is that Zionism, which by dark intent has been made synonymous with Judaism, actually is a bellicose political movement within the Illuminati, and its aim for more than six decades has been to create conflict and instability in the entire Middle East. Zionists, who have wielded powerful influence within and behind major governments and their military forces, do NOT represent the Jewish peoples in Israel or anywhere else. And, like all other Illuminati factions, they have been committed to that cabal’s goal of global domination.

12. Although Semites are of diverse national origins and religions, the Zionists have been successful in convincing many that “anti-Semitic” is exclusively prejudice against the Jewish peoples and opposition to Israel’s right to defend itself from its “enemies.” By means of that blatant distortion, they obtained not only world sympathy, but also massive defense funding from Israel’s allies, most especially the United States, all of which served to increase the Illuminati’s vast profits from their industrial-military machine.

13. In addition to controlling the masses through dogmatic teachings, religions have served the dark purpose of divisiveness to such an extent that it resulted in centuries of trauma and bloodshed. Witness the Crusades, wars between Catholics and Protestants, pogroms against Jews, executions of “blasphemous” individuals who refused to “recant.”  (Read More …)

Colombia pulls out of International Court over Nicaragua

BBC News, 28 November 2012

Related Stories

• UN gives Colombia disputed isles
• Nicaragua profile
• Colombia country profile

Juan Manuel Santos said the court's
 decision was riddled with mistakes
and inconsistencies

Colombia has announced it no longer recognises the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, in The Hague.

The decision comes nine days after the ICJ redrew Colombia's maritime border in the Caribbean in favour of Nicaragua.

The court's ruling ended a decades-long dispute over the San Andres islands.

President Juan Manuel Santos said individual countries, and not courts of law, should fix their borders.

The ICJ ruled that the islands and a group of islets near the Nicaraguan coast in the western Caribbean belonged to Colombia.

But it set up new maritime borders in the potentially oil-rich area, extending Nicaragua's territory by some 70,000 square km (19,000 square miles).

The judgment, which is binding, was welcomed by Nicaragua but greeted with anger by President Santos.

'Peaceful means'

Mr Santos has now announced that Colombia is pulling out of the Bogota Treaty, signed in 1948, that recognises the court's rulings.

The region is rich in fishing resources,
and potentially gas and oil

"The borders between nations cannot be in the hands of a court of law," he said. "They must be drawn by agreement between the countries involved."

Mr Santos reaffirmed he would only be using "peaceful means" to solve dispute.

The competing claims date from the early 19th Century, when the nations of Latin America were gaining their independence from Spain.

Nicaragua and Colombia signed a treaty in 1928 to settle the border and sovereignty of islands in the Caribbean.

But in 1980, Nicaragua's Sandinista government unilaterally annulled the agreement, arguing that it had been signed under US pressure.

In 2007, the ICJ ruled that the treaty was valid and that the sovereignty of three islands, San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina, remained with Colombia.

The archipelago lies some 775km (480 miles) from the Colombian coast and 230km from Nicaragua.

Vatican 'probes Legion of Christ priests over child abuse'

BBC News, 11 May 2012

Related Stories 

• Vatican summit tackles sex abuse
• Pope orders action on sex abuse
• Vatican to probe Catholic order

The order's founder, Marcial Maciel (L),
was for a long time admired by
 Pope John Paul II (R)

The Vatican is reported to be investigating seven priests of the Legion of Christ order in connection with allegations of child abuse.

In a statement to the AP news agency, the Mexican order said seven cases had been referred to the Vatican's department that deals with sex crimes.

The Legion of Christ's founder, Marcial Maciel, sexually abused many boys and young men over a period of 30 years.

He was disciplined by the Vatican in 2006 over the abuse.

One of the cases being investigated in relation to the seven priests is recent, while others date back several decades, the order said in the statement given to AP.

The investigation will be handled by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that investigates allegations of sexual abuse.

While it is under way, the suspects will be kept away from children.

'Immoral acts'

"Over the past few years, in several countries, the major superiors of the Legion of Christ have received some allegations of gravely immoral acts and more serious offences... committed by some legionaries," AP quoted the statement as saying.

The order has previously insisted that Fr Maciel was an isolated case.

The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says that if these new allegations are proven it will show that the rot in the order had spread beyond its disgraced leader.

In 2009, the Church launched an investigation into the order after Fr Maciel, who died in 2008, was also revealed to have fathered a daughter by a mistress.

A year later, Pope Benedict XVI appointed an envoy to implement a complete overhaul of the Legion of Christ, saying it had to be "purified".

The previous pope, John Paul II, long held up Fr Maciel as a model to the faithful, despite persistent allegations of sexual abuse, which were later proven.

In recent years, the Church has been rocked by cases of paedophilia by priests, and accusations that it did not do enough to investigate the allegations.

Related Articles:

Order knew for months about priest scandal: Vatican official - New !

Prominent Legion priest admits he fathered child - New !

Association of Catholic Priests discuss Church's future

Brooklyn DA defends handling of ultra-Orthodox child abuse cases


"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Based in Greece, Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to built Africa to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) 

Mexico activists seek ICC investigation of drugs war

BBC News, 25 November 2011

MEXICO'S DRUGS WAR 

• Mexico seizes 'senior drug boss'
• Damned lies and statistics
• Cartoon campaign
• Monterrey attack: Game-changer?

Mexico's armed forces have been accused of widespread
abuses in the fight against drugs gangs

Mexican activists have asked the International Criminal Court to investigate President Felipe Calderon over the torture and killing of civilians in the war on drugs.

A petition signed by more than 18,000 people also asks the ICC to investigate Mexico's most-wanted drugs lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

The Mexican government has denied the accusations of crimes against humanity.

It says its security policy cannot constitute an international crime.

Human rights lawyer Netzai Sandoval filed a complaint with the ICC in the Hague, asking it to investigate the deaths of hundreds of civilians at the hands of the security forces and drugs gangs, as well as alleged torture and rape.

"The violence in Mexico is bigger than the violence in Afghanistan, and bigger than the violence in Colombia," Mr Sandoval told Reuters news agency.

"We want the prosecutor to tell us if war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Mexico, and if the president and other top officials are responsible".

The office of the prosecutor said it had received the request and would study it and make a decision in due course.

Rule of law

The Mexican government responded to the complaint when the petition was launched in October.

"The federal government categorically rejects that security policy could be considered an international crime," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"In our country society is not victim of an authoritarian government or of systematic abuses by the armed forces," it added.

"Mexico has a rule of law under which crime and impunity are fought without exceptions".

The government also stressed its commitment to human rights and responsibility to protect its citizens from criminal violence.

Mexico is a signatory to the 2002 Statute of Rome that established the ICC as the world's first permanent international war crimes court.

The ICC investigates and tries cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity in countries that are unwilling or unable to prosecute them on their own.

Most of its cases are initiated after referral by the country involved or the UN Security Council, but the prosecutor's office can also start investigations on its own initiative on the basis of information received from individuals or organisations.

So far, all its cases have been in Africa, but the prosecutor's office has begun preliminary examinations in other countries including Afghanistan, Colombia, Honduras and Korea.

Correspondents say any decision to begin an investigation into alleged crimes in Mexico could take months or even years to reach.

More than 40,000 Mexicans have died in drug-related violence since December 2006, when President Calderon began using the military to combat the drug cartels.

Many of the dead are thought to be members of the gangs, killed by the security forces or in clashes with rival groups, but there have also been a growing number of civilian casualties.

Last month a report by Human Rights Watch found evidence that the Mexican police and military were involved in 24 killings and 39 disappearances in five states, as well as systematic torture.

It said few of the cases it documented were properly investigated, in part because Mexican soldiers are subject only to military courts.

Related Articles:

Rights workers to ICC: Investigate officials for 1000s Mexicans tortured, killed

Widely praised Mexico marines commit abuses, rights group says

Calderon urges Mexicans not to abandon drugs battle

Interpol issues alert against Libyan leader, associates

English.news.cn 2011-03-05

BRUSSELS, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The international police organization Interpol on Friday issued an Orange Notice against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and 15 others, including his family members and close associates, according to a statement posted on the Interpol website.

The notice urged the Interpol's 188 members to enforce United Nations sanctions against Libya, and to support investigations into alleged crimes against humanity in the oil-rich North African country by the Hague-based International Crime Court (ICC).

The ICC announced on Thursday that it would investigate Gaddafi as well as several commanders and officials with formal or de facto authority over forces that allegedly attacked peaceful demonstrators.

The Interpol Orange Notices are often issued to warn police, public entities and other international organizations about potential threats from disguised weapons, parcel bombs and other dangerous materials.

Related Articles:

Interpol Security Alert (PDF File)

INTERPOL issues global alert following threat identified in UN sanctions resolution targeting Libya's Colonel Al-Qadhafi and others

ICC chief prosecutor: "No impunity in Libya"

Libya can still count on a few allies

Old friends: Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez (left)

meets Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in a tent in Tripoli, 2004