APS Diplomat Recorder articles from March 2005

APS Diplomat Recorder archives from March 2005

ARAB AFFAIRS - Feb 28 - GCC Calls On Global Community To End Israeli Oppression.(Gulf Cooperation Council)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2005... At the opening of a two-day meeting of the GCC's Consultative Commission, GCC Sec Gen Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah says the six member states are making progress in the fight against terrorism and calls upon the international community to stop...

ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Feb 27 - Iran And Russia Sign Nuclear Fuel Deal.
March 5, 2005... Russia and Iran sign a nuclear fuel supply deal long opposed by US, paving the way for Iran to start up its first atomic reactor next year. The agreement, inked by the two countries' nuclear energy chiefs at the Bushehr atomic plant in southern...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Feb 27 - Abbas Told Of PA's Duty To Curb Militants.
March 5, 2005... Israeli PM Sharon, reacts to the first attack inside Israel for almost four months by warning the PA to expect no progress in the peace process unless it eliminates terrorism in its midst. He told a weekly cabinet meeting that Islamic Jihad...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Mar 1 - US Orders Syrians To Get Out Of Lebanon.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2005... The US delivers its strongest message to Syria, ordering Damascus to remove its troops and secret services from Lebanon. The stern message was echoed by the Lebanese opposition, which also demanded the resignation of top security officials...

EGYPT - Feb 26 - Mubarak Plan To Open Up Elections Stuns Egypt.(Hosni Mubarak)
March 5, 2005... Pres Hosni Mubarak, surprises his own party as much as his opponents when he orders a constitutional amendment allowing multiple candidates to compete for the presidency in elections later this year. The change once approved by parliament in...

IRAN - Feb 27 - Teharn Stands Firm On 'Right' To Enrich Uranium.
March 5, 2005... The country's top security official Hassan Rowhani, reiterates Tehran will not give up its "right" under the nuclear NPT to enrich uranium. Arriving back in Tehran after talks in Germany and France, Rowhani said "European negotiators had the...

IRAQ - Feb 27 - Saddam's Half-Brother Captured In Iraq.(Saddam Hussein)
March 5, 2005... Saddam Hussein's half-brother is captured, the first senior Baath Party member to be detained in a year. Sabawi Ibrahim Al Hasan Al Tikriti, an intelligence chief and one-time adviser to the former leader, was number 36 on the US military's...

IRAQ - Feb 28 - Suicide Bomber Kills 125 People In Iraq.
March 5, 2005... A bomb in a mainly Shiite city south of Baghdad kills about 125 people and left another 130 injured, ranking as one of the deadliest single attacks since the toppling of former Pres Saddam in April 2003. Witnesses to the bombing in the city of...

IRAQ - Mar 3 - Two Car Bombs In Baghdad Kill Policemen.
March 5, 2005... Two car bombs have explode near Interior Ministry in Baghdad, killing at least five policemen and wounding several in relentless violence that is overshadowing efforts to form a new government. A police source said the car bombs exploded just...

LEBANON - Feb 28 - Pro-Syrian Government Quits.
March 5, 2005... The country's pro-Syrian government abruptly resigns, bowing to the demands of thousands of demonstrators who held it and its Syrian patrons responsible for the assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri. The unexpected move followed a dramatic...

PALESTINE - Mar 4 - Fatah Gunmen Attack Palestinian Police Station.(Mahmoud Abbas)
March 5, 2005... Palestinian militants fire on a police station in an incident underscoring difficulties new Pres Mahmoud Abbas faces in trying to impose law and order in the West Bank and Gaza. The incident begins when a member of the militant Al Awda...

RUSSIA - Mar 2 - Kasyanov Hints At Run For Russian Presidency.(Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Kasyanov)
March 5, 2005... Even as Vladimir Putin is being ticked off by Pres Bush in Bratislava last week for his authoritarian tendencies, cracks are spreading in Putin's previous aura of invincibility at home. Putin's former PM Mikhail Kasyanov, chose the same day -...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Mar 6 - Yemen Denies Running for Arab League Post.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2005... FM Abu Bakr Al Qarubi denies reports the country is considering naming a candidate for the post of the Arab League's Sec Gen. He said: The Yemeni government have not decided yet on the candidacy for the post. No date has been set so far for...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Mar 7 -Yemen Wants to Join GCC.(Gulf Cooperation Council)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2005... Yemen reiterates its wish to join the GCC saying it's qualified for the GCC membership. "A full membership for Yemen in the GCC will reflect the historical ties that links it with Arab Gulf countries", FM Abu Bakr Al Qerbi said during talks...

ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Mar 11 - Damascus Should Withdraw Intelligence Agents.
March 12, 2005... Russia's FM Sergey Lavrov says Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon shall also include the pullout of intelligence agents. Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was closely watching the Syrian troop movements into Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley. After talks...

ARABS - Mar 10 - Israel And Egypt Reach Deal On Border Corridor Pullout.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2005... Israeli's defence minister Shaul Mofaz says Israel and Egypt reach a basic agreement on an Israeli pullout from a buffer zone along the Gaza Strip border, where Egypt is to provide security. Mubarak demanded in the meeting with Mofaz that...

IRAN - Mar 10 - Tehran Offers To Curb Nuclear Plans.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2005... Tehran responds to combined pressure from the US and Europe by offering to halt development of most of its nuclear fuel cycle facilities while retaining the ability to enrich small amounts of uranium. Iran's offer, communicated to the Bush...

IRAQ - Mar 7 - Suicide Car Bomb Kills 15 Near Baghdad.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2005... A suicide bomber blows up his car outside the house of Iraqi army officer in Balad, north of Baghdad, killing at least 15 people. Police said several nearby houses had been damaged by the blast. Balad is on the road between Baghdad and the...

IRAQ - Mar 9 - 20 Bodies Found In Valley Near Syria.
March 12, 2005... A shepherd discovers 20 corpses, including those of civilians and women in a remote valley near the Syrian border, a day after 15 headless bodies are discovered south of Baghdad. Some had been shot in the head, but it was not immediately clear...

IRAQ - Mar 10 - Bomber Kills 40 At Mosque In Mosul.
March 12, 2005... A suicide bomber walks into a Shiite mosque in Mosul and detonates explosives strapped to his body, killing about 40 people and wounding at least 60. The suicide attack took place in midafternoon as the Sadaan mosque in Mosul's Al Tamin...

IRAQ - Mar 11 - Shiite-Kurd Pact Clears Way To Form Government.
March 12, 2005... Shiite and Kurdish parliamentary blocs agree on a set of principles by which Iraq's next government will be run, clearing the way for a government to be formed by the two big winners in the Jan 30 elections. In particular, the Shiite have...

LEBANON - Mar 11 - Hezbollah Declares It 'Is Not A Syrian Tool'.
March 12, 2005... Hezbollah's deputy leader Shaikh Naim Qasim, announces the organistation plans to play a bigger role in Lebanese politics, a two-pronged message that it seeks domestic prominence and international acceptance. But the group, which is considered...

SYRIA - Mar 6 - Assad's Speech Criticised For Lack Of Domestic Reforms.
March 12, 2005... Syrians in Damascus reacts with relief after Pres Assad moves to meet international concerns by promising to withdraw his army from Lebanon. But some local analysts and opposition figures criticised Assad for what they said was a glaring lack...

TURKEY - Mar 6 - Gul Promises Probe Into Police Break-Up Of Rally.
March 12, 2005... With a EU delegation watching closely, FM Abdullah Gul, promises a "sensitive" investigation into alleged police brutality against women demonstrators on Mar 6. The violence overshadowed a visit by Olli Rehn, the EU enlargement commissioner who...

ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Mar 15 - Italy To Start Pulling Troops From Iraq.
March 19, 2005... Italy PM Berlusconi says the country will begin a partial withdrawal of its 3,000-strong military contingent from Iraq as early as September. He told Italian state TV the decision had been made in consultation with other countries, notably the...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Mar 14 - Israel Plans To Strike Iran N-Plants.
March 19, 2005... A report in the Sunday Times says Israel has drawn up plans for a combined air and ground attack on Iranian nuclear installations should diplomatic efforts fail to halt Tehran's nuclear program. Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's inner Cabinet gave...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Mar 15 - Abbas Under Pressure To Reach Ceasefire Deal.(Mahmoud Abbas)
March 19, 2005... PA Pres Mahmoud Abbas, and a dozen Palestinian factions begin talks in Cairo aimed at declaring a formal one-year ceasefire with Israel. The latest effort to achieve a political consensus in the Palestinian camp comes as Abbas faces increasing...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Mar 16 - Jericho Pull-out Under Way Despite Final Hitch.
March 19, 2005... The Israeli army begins pulling back from the West Bank town of Jericho, the first area to be returned to PA control since Israel reoccupied the territory in 2002. The much-delayed handover was again held up at the last minute when it emerged...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Mar 18 - Europe Leaders Call For Syria Withdrawal.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2005... The leaders of France, Russia, Germany and Spain issue a joint declaration calling for a "complete withdrawal" of all Syrian troops and intelligence officers from Lebanon. The "mini-summit" of European leaders in Paris also declared that a...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Mar 16 - Coalition In Iraq Not Fraying, Bush Says.
March 19, 2005... Pres Bush says he did not believe the coalition of nations put together by the US to fight in Iraq is fraying, even though the Italian PM said that he plan to begin withdrawing his nation's troops as early as September. At a news conference at...

ARABS-US RELATIONS - Mar 16 - CIA Chief Accuses Iran And Syria Of Meddling In Iraq.(Porter Goss )(Brief Article)
March 19, 2005... The director of the CIA Porter Goss accuses Iran of meddling in Iraq and said Syria is not working hard enough to stop militants entering the country to undermine Baghdad's efforts at stability. "I think it's fair to say that just about...

IRAQ - Mar 16 - Rifts Close As New Parliament Meets.
March 19, 2005... The first postwar elected parliament meets, more than six weeks after the Jan 30 vote, but no decision was taken on a government as Shiite and Kurdish blocs continue to try to resolve differences. Mar 15 round of Shiite-Kurd talks failed to...

PALESTINE - Mar 17 - Cease-fire extended in Mideast.
March 19, 2005... Palestinian factions agree to extend an informal truce until year's end, and though they set conditions on Israel, the move bolsters recent efforts to end 41/2 years of fighting. The 13 Palestinian factions meeting near Cairo stopped short of...

RUSSIA - Mar 16 - Economic Reformer Survives Bomb Attack.(Anatoly Chubais)
March 19, 2005... Anatoly Chubais, one of the architects of Russia's 1990 economic reforms, survives an assassination attempt sending shivers through Moscow's political and business elite. A bomb, reported to have been packed with screws and bolts, exploded...

SYRIA - Mar 17 - First Part Of Withdrawal Ends.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2005... Syrian troops and intelligence agents complete the first phase of their pullback to eastern Lebanon and to Syria, while a top Lebanese security chief says he and other officials are willing to stand trial to clear allegations of negligence...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Mar 24 - Sharaa Talks With Saudi King And FM Focus On Lebanon.
March 25, 2005... Saudi King Abdullah meets with Syrian Vice Pres Farouk Al Sharaa, who delivered a message from Pres Bashar Assad on the latest developments in the region, particularly in Lebanon. The two also discussed preparations for the upcoming Arab...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Mar 20 - Israel Briefly Reopens Gaza Crossing.
March 25, 2005... Israel reopens the main goods crossing with the Gaza Strip to allow the delivery of flour and sugar to the Palestinian coastal territory. But Israel abruptly closed the crossing after just a half-hour, citing security threats. Israel has kept...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Mar 20 - Bush Acknowledges 'Horrific Images' In Iraq.(George W. Bush)
March 25, 2005... Pres George Bush acknowledges the "horrific images" coming out of Iraq as the third anniversary of US invasion passed, but vows that the US will "not abandon Iraq". "We will not leave that country to the terrorists who attacked America and...

IRAN - Mar 22 - Do Not Try To Bully Us, Warns Khamenei.(Ayat Ali Khamenei)(Brief article)
March 25, 2005... Supreme leader Ayat Ali Khamenei says he approves of proposed talks between US and Iranian officials on Iraq, but warns that the US must not try to "bully" Iran. It was the first confirmation that Khamenei, who holds final say on all state...

IRAQ - Mar 19 - Leaders Look At Ways To Get Iraqis To Co-operate.
March 25, 2005... Iraqi political leaders meet to try to hammer out how a national unity government would work, temporarily putting aside the contentious question of who will lead it. Representatives of the main ethnic and sectarian blocs held talks at the...

IRAQ - Mar 21 - Insurgents Storm Jail In Sunni Heartland.
March 25, 2005... Insurgents return to old tactics and storm a jail in the Sunni heartland at daybreak, killing 18 police officers and freeing all the prisoners inside. More than 100 masked fighters surrounded the jail in Muqdadiya, 100kms, north-east of...

JORDAN - Mar 20 - Jordan Shuts Iraq Border To Fleeing Palestinians.
March 25, 2005... More than 100 Palestinians fleeing violence in Baghdad and seeking refuge in Jordan have been denied entry by Jordanian border officials for failure to have proper entry permits. The Palestinians have remained at the border crossing in the hope...

PALESTINE - Mar 19 - Hamas Gives Abbas List Of Cabinet.(Mahmoud Abbas)
March 25, 2005... Hamas presents the list of a 24-member Palestinian Cabinet to Pres Mahmoud Abbas, including a woman and one Christian. Officials from Abbas' Fatah faction said he would not try to block parliamentary approval of the government but would issue a...

SYRIA - Mar 23 - First Female Vice Pres Hailed as Progress for Women.
March 25, 2005... The country names a veteran former culture minister, Najah Al-Attar, as its first woman vice President. "Mrs. Najah Al-Attar was sworn in as second vice-Pres in charge of cultural policy by Pres Bashar Assad", SANA said. In Saudi Arabia, women...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Mar 22 - Arab League Urges Solidarity Amid Regional Flux.
March 26, 2005... Arab leaders call for solidarity in the face of meddlesome foreign powers and spreading turmoil in their region, at the opening session of an Arab League summit. But the main initiative likely to emerge from the two-day meeting in Algiers was a...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Mar 22 - Beirut Calls On Arabs To Back Its Syrian Tilt.
March 26, 2005... Pres Emile Lahoud of Lebanon exhorts Arab leaders meeting in Algiers to support Beirut's pro-Syrian policies, while the anti-Syrian Lebanese opposition condemned the domination of their country by Damascus. "Lebanon asks its Arab brethren to...

ARABS-UN - Mar 23 - Annan Cites Syrian Vow To Pull Troops Out Of Lebanon.(Kofi Annan)
March 26, 2005... UN Sec Gen Kofi Annan, told an Arab League summit yesterday that he was encouraged by a Syrian pledge to "comply fully" with UN Security Council resolutions demanding its military withdrawal from Lebanon. Annan, who met Bashar Al Assad at the...

AFGHANISTAN - Mar 21 - Minister Seeks Aid In War On Heroin.
March 26, 2005... During a visit to UK, the country's deputy interior minister Lt Gen Mohammad Daud Daud, says the international community must continue to fund alternative development programmes in Afghanistan if the war on heroin and terrorism there is to...

IRAQ - Mar 22 - Shiite Leaders Close To Deal On Government.
March 26, 2005... Leading Shiite politicians say they have finally brokered a deal with Kurdish parties to end a debilitating impasse over the formation of the first freely elected government in decades. They said new parliament, which held its largely...

JORDAN - Mar 21 - Moves To Resolve Dispute With Iraq.
March 26, 2005... King Abdullah attempts to patch up a dispute with Iraq that prompted the two countries to withdraw their envoys. According to the official Jordanian news agency, the king ordered the country's charge d'affaires to return to the embassy "to keep...

LEBANON - Mar 23 - Bomb Kills Two.
March 26, 2005... A powerful bomb tears through a shopping centre in the anti-Syrian Christian heartland north of Beirut, killing two people and bringing the country closer to chaos weeks before general elections. The explosion, the second in a commercial...

QATAR - Mar 20 - Police Look For Al Qaeda Link After Blast.
March 26, 2005... Police investigators are searching for possible Al Qaeda links to a bomb attack in Qatar that killed one Briton and sent shockwaves across the tiny gas-rich Gulf state until now untouched by terrorists. The explosion on Mar 19 night at a...