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April 2, 2004 |
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***** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed on his country's National Day. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished good health to the President and progress and prosperity for the people of Bangladesh. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques lauded also the good relations between the two countries and peoples. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received a telephone call from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. They reviewed bilateral relations and developments of the situation in the Arab region. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received a telephone call from the King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad Ibn Isa Al-Khalifah. During the telephonic conversation, they reviewed bilateral relations and latest regional and international developments. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received a telephone call from President Ali Abdullah Salih of Yemen. During the conversation, they reviewed bilateral relations and latest regional developments. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received a message from the Palestinian President Yassir Arafat. The message was delivered to the Crown Prince by the Palestinian Ambassador to the Kingdom Mustafa Hashim Alsheikh Deeb. Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Interior, denied news linking the release of persons recently detained for investigation with any foreign pressure whatsoever. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, Prince Naif absolutely denied news reports raised by some media and internet on the release of those detained because of their provocative statements and some contacts with foreign parties as a result of foreign pressures. He stressed that the release decision is completely internal and has nothing to do with any foreign influence, adding that the decision has been taken following the recognition of some detainees that they are wrong and they have recanted in accordance with regulations. Prince Naif pointed out that the Kingdom has been tackling its internal and foreign affairs since its foundation in complete independence and under no influence of any party, adding that the Kingdom is dictated by Islamic fundamentals and national interests. Prince Naif affirmed that the Kingdom will under no circumstances accept interference in its internal affairs and it will not accept interference in others' affairs. "There is no link between the release of some individuals detained recently for investigation and foreign pressure," the Saudi Press Agency quoted the minister as saying. Prince Naif was referring to the release of some of the 13 people arrested. Prince Naif said the activists were arrested for making provocative statements and making contacts with foreign parties. "They were released on the basis of an internal decision," the prince said. Reports carried by a number of news agencies and websites on the issue were "false", he added. Prince Naif said some of the detainees were released after they acknowledged their mistake. "Ever since its establishment, Saudi Arabia has been dealing with its domestic and external affairs with complete independence. It is not subject to any foreign power," he said. "The Kingdom depends first on God and then on what is dictated by Islamic principles and its national interest. We will never accept any interference in our affairs because we do not like to meddle in the affairs of others," the prince said. Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Interior Minister, received the Palestinian Ambassador to the kingdom Mostafa Deeb. During the meeting, they exchanged cordial talks and discussed a number of issues of common interest. On behalf of Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation, and Inspector General; Prince Mishaal Ibn Saud Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Najran Region, handed charitable houses donated by Prince Sultan to the needy families. The donation came through Prince Sultan Charitable Foundation and is worth 23 millions. In a press statement to Saudi Press Agency, Prince Mishaal hailed the generous donations of Prince Sultan all over the Kingdom particularly in Najran region. Prince Mishaal announced that he donated a clinic to serve the families at the housing area. The Secretary of the City of Riyadh and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Prince Sultan University Dr Abdul Aziz Ibn Ayaf Al Meqrin will patronize the seventh meeting of the Saudi Society for Mathematics which will be held under the title "Information Technology and Mathematics" organized by Prince Sultan University. The Director of the University Dr Ahmed Ibn Mohammed Al Seif said 43 research papers will be presented from the Kingdom and abroad, adding that the university is holding this meeting in accordance with the importance of information technology in the development of modern sciences. The General Director for projects at the Girls College Agency Engineer Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Musnad said 11 university towns are being built with a total of SR One Billion. The expenses of the girls college in Riyadh has reached in its first phase SR 400 million. Al Musnad added that the Girls College Agency has implemented its projects it each city in compounds that include all the facilities. According to the plan contracts for 11 towns were signed in different areas of the Kingdom and some of them have been finalized while the others are being implemented in Riyadh, Dammam, Al Madinal Al Munawarah, Makkah Al Mukkaramah, Abha, Hayel, Al Qussaim, Tabouk, Al Ihsa Jazan and Al Baha. Al Musnad said that all the plans have been designed so that other buildings could be added in the future. The General meeting of Gulf Girls society in Al Khobar has held in annual meeting under the chairmanship of the Princess Jawaher Bint Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, wife of the Governor of the Eastern region and President of the society. The meeting started with a speech by the Chairman of the Board of Director Badreya Al Dulayjan in which she welcomed Princess Jawaher Bint Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, and said that the meeting was held each year to review the achievements of the society and its budget for the year 1424/1425H. Then five members of the board were honoured and presented with memorial armours while Badriya Al Dulayjan, Lolowa Al Zamel, Sanaa Al-Gosaibi, Soad Al-Gosaibi, Haya Al-Thakir, Dalal Al Mazroue, Mariam Al Ahmad and Lolowa Al Meqrin were nominated as members of the board. Iraq's interim Public Works Minister Nisreen Mustafa al-Burwari has escaped an assassination attempt in northern Iraq, officials say. Ms Burwari, a Kurd, was unhurt after gunmen opened fire on her convoy in Mosul, but at least two of her bodyguards were killed, police said. She is the only woman in the cabinet, which was chosen by the US-appointed Governing Council. Her ministry is one of four due to revert to Iraqi control by 1 April. A spokeswoman for US-led forces in Baghdad, Kristi Clemens, told the Associated Press news agency that Ms Burwari was returning to Mosul from a meeting in the city of Dohuk when her convoy was attacked. Iraqi police said the attack happened at around 1100 local time (0800 GMT) in al-Karama neighbourhood of Mosul. The Lebanese presidency was officially informed of the wish of President Zein Al Abbidine bin Ali to postpone his visit to Lebanon which was due to take place on April 5, 2004. In a message delivered by the Minister of Tourism Abdul Rahim Al Zowari to President Lahoud the Tunisian President expressed his wish to postpone the visit because of the situation in the region. The Head of the Protocol department in the Lebanese presidency said the department has taken the required steps to postpone the visit. He stressed that the Tunisian President expressed in his message the good relations between the two brotherly countries. During the meeting attended by the Tunisian Ambassador to Lebanon Naziha Zarouk, President Lahoud stressed Lebanon endeavour to enhance its brotherly relations with the Tunisian republic. President Lahoud asked the Minister of Tourism to convey his greetings to President bin Ali stressing that Lebanon welcomes the Tunisian President at any time. Arabsat has concluded an agreement with the Omani Ministry of Information represented by the Minister of Information in the Sultanate of Oman Hamad Ibn Mohammed Al Rashedi to include the Omani TV channel in Arabsat. This agreement will enable viewers all over the world to watch the Omani channel through small dishes. Engineer Khaled Ahmad Balkhiour, Director General of Arabsat said viewers all over the world will be able to watch this bouquet of channels transmitted through Arabsat. Arabsat had announced the launch of its first group of digital channels starting from the first of April. Arabsat has also signed a deal to launch its fourth satellite. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has officially appointed his son as commander of the Republican Guard, which is responsible for guarding the country's borders, a government official said. Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh has been the de facto commander of the Republican Guard since 2000. The government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the president issued the decree last Wednesday. The president's son leads the government's campaign on terrorism and is also the commander of Yemen's anti-terrorism special forces, which are trained and financed by American and Jordanian military experts The Bush administration has informed a congress committee that Saudi Arabia is a major ally in the war against terrorism and praised the effort of the Kingdom to cut the financing of the terrorist groups. Officials at the State Department, the FBI and the Treasury have informed the Foreign relations committee at the House of Representatives that Saudi Arabia is cooperating in the efforts to combat terrorism. Moroccan security services have made several arrests in their probe of local links to the Madrid train bombings, a government minister said. But Communication Minister Nabil Benabdallah gave no details on the recent arrests or the number of people detained in Morocco in connection with the March 11 blasts. "Moroccan authorities are making several arrests...in their large-scale investigation," he said, adding "the investigation continues into the network of entangled cells."Several Moroccans have been arrested in Spain for links to the bombings which killed 190 people, with 18 the number of bomb plot suspects detained there so far. The fingerprints of two of the leading suspects, both Moroccan, matched some of those collected at a rural house where traces of suspicious explosives and detonators like those used in the attacks were discovered, Spanish media said. The Moroccan government has made no official comment on the Madrid arrests and on the links to Islamic militants apart from providing the identities of some of those detained so far. "Morocco is leading a large-scale war on terrorism, both at local level and in co-operation with other countries," Benabdallah said. Local newspaper Assabah said the chief plotter of the Madrid blasts, Europe's deadliest bomb attack in 15 years, was a Moroccan named Abdelkarim El Mejjati. "Mejjati is believed to have returned to Morocco immediately after the March 11 blasts. There are strong indications that he was in Madrid three days before the attacks," it said, citing leaks from investigators. The Shoura Council approved a draft regulation on alternatives of mothers' milk. The 27-article draft regulation addresses issues relating to natural baby feeding and aims at protecting babies from the shortfalls of marketing products designed to be an alternative to natural baby feeding. The session also discussed other issues which were decided to be further discussed in future sessions. The Shoura Council held its 74th ordinary session under the chairmanship of its Chairman Dr. Salih Ibn Abdullah Ibn Homaid. During the session, the council discussed the topic of high expenses of marriage inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Homoud Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Badr, Shoura Council's Secretary General, said in a press statement to Saudi Press Agency that a number of decisions were taken to address this issue. The Yemeni side in the Yemeni-Saudi Technical Committee to demarcate borders left last Saturday to Germany. The delegation, headed by chairman of the Area Authority Abdullah al-Fadhly, will meet this week with the German company "Hanza" that is carrying out border demarcation process between the two states, al-Fadhly told Saba. Deputy chairman of the technical bureau of the border committee Mohsen Ramadan told Saba that the committee would discuss the level of carrying out field demarcation and reviewing technical maps prepared by Hanza. Ramadan said that the company would stat carrying out the project by the end of April and it may complete putting border markers in summer of 2004. The Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has received in Ramallah the delegation of the International Labour Organization under the Chairmanship of Frederick Butler Assistant Director General and the resident ILO representative Khalid Dodeen. The Palestinian news agency WAFA said the delegation was briefed on the latest developments in the occupied territories. Some of the 120 Saudis held in Guantanamo by the US will be released at the conclusion of the present Saudi-US talks, American Ambassador James C. Oberwetter has said. "After interrogation of the detainees, the US has obtained the information it wants and has begun releasing large numbers of them. The Saudis will be released shortly after the end of negotiations," the ambassador told a group of Saudi journalists. Oberwetter did not specify when the Saudis would be freed. "We cannot give an approximate date," he said. The US ambassador promised to meet the families of some of the Saudi detainees. The families recently met with David Ottaway, an investigative reporter from The Washington Post, and called on the US administration to release their relatives after a civilian trial and hand them over to the Kingdom. The meeting with Ottaway was arranged by a team of Saudi lawyers trying to win the release of the prisoners.Ahmad Mazhar, head of the team, urged the US authorities to allow the Saudi prisoners to talk to their families in the Kingdom, if only for a short time, in order to reassure them. Oberwetter denied a press report concerning the release of four Saudi prisoners from Guantanamo. Dr. Saud Ibn Saleh Al-Musaibeeh, public relations officer at the Interior Ministry, had earlier denied the report. Al-Musaibeeh said the government was exerting strenuous efforts to win the release of the prisoners and ensure their return to the Kingdom. Oberwetter praised Saudi Arabia for its efforts to fight terrorism and track down terror suspects. "My mission is to bring Saudi-American relations back to normal." Referring to the anti-Saudi smear campaign in the US media, the ambassador said many writers were ignorant of the changes and reforms taking place in the Kingdom. "I will cooperate with all American agencies to present the facts and provide correct information," he said and emphasized the strong cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terror. Sheikh Saleh Al Luhaidan Chief Judge and member of the Ulamas Higher Organization has denied that Saudi Ulamas and Caller were against the reforms, on condition that they are based on the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Peace Be Upon Him. Sheikh Al Luhaidan said reforms are needed at all times but have to be based on the rules of Islamic Sharia and according the Holy Book and the Sunnah (teachings of the Prophet PBUH. He added that reforms called for in the media and some meetings should be based on the rules of Islam. Sheikh Al Luhaidan opposed the use of the word terrorism and said bombings have occurred in Saudi Arabia 40 years ago and no one said it was accepted. Sheikh Al Luhaidan also refused sayings that fatwas are being imposed on the Fatwa Institution in the Kingdom adding that this is wrong as fatwas are issued with the consent of all ulamas and committees. He said that since the fatwa organization has been established 23 years ago all decisions are being taken after thorough studies and with the consent of all members. Sheikh Al Luhaidan added that Muslim need to review their religion and review their mistakes. The Prince Sultan complex for outstanding students in Buraidah has established a hall for the memorization of the Holy Quran equipped with the latest acoustics with a total amount of SR 50 thousand. The hall, a donation from the businessman Mohammed Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Said accommodates twenty five students in one session, with a total of 125 students a day. The secretary general of the complex Ahmed Ibn Abdullah Al Tuwaijri has addressed his thanks to Mohammed Al Said for his support to the complex. Omani Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Sheikh Salim Ibn Hilal al-Khalili and his accompanying delegation arrived in Sana'a in an official visit. Upon arrival, al-Khalili told Saba that his visit comes within framework of developing cooperation between the two nations. The delegation accompanying the Omani minister comprises Sheikh Abdullah Ibn Salim al-Rowas, president of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, several ministry officials and Omani businessmen who will hold talks with Yemeni officials aspects of the economic and investmental cooperation between Yemeni-Omani companies. The Omani minister expected that the talks would come out with positive results and signing agreements that would contribute in strengthening economic cooperation between corporations of public and private sectors in both countries. The delegation was greeted at Sana'a Airport by Fisheries Minister Ali Mohammed Majwar and ministry officials as well as the Omani ambassador to Sana'a. Yemeni- Omani talks on mutual co-operation between the two countries had begun Sanaa. Talks, co-headed by fish ministers of both countries, discussed means of improving cooperation in agricultural and fisheries fields. The two sides agreed on exchanging field visits and sending Yemeni specialists to Oman to participate in combating agricultural diseases in the framework of mutual co-operation. They also discussed measures of fishery control as to improve the quality of fishery production. The visiting Omani delegation comprised Sheikh Abdullah Ibn Salim Al-Rowas, president of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, several ministry officials and Omani businessmen. Omani businessmen also held talks with Yemeni officials about aspects of economic and investment cooperation between Yemeni and Omani companies The Omani Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Salim Ibn Hilal al-Khalili left Sanaa last Monday after a three-day official visit. In remarks to Saba al-Khalili said that the visit was prosperous and that he held talks with the Yemeni officials in agriculture and fisheries fields to enhance the Yemeni-Omani economic and investment relations. The Omani minister and his accompanying delegation had arrived in Sanaa in the framework of developing the Yemeni-Omani economic cooperation. Hamood Ibn Sangour Al Zedjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman, received the ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and the Russian Federation, members of the G8 industrial countries. The meeting aimed at detailing to the ambassadors the efforts exerted by the Sultanate in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The CBO executive president explained the steps taken by the CBO in this regard during the past years and its constant monitoring and periodic follow-up with the banking and financial institutions in the country in order to ensure compliance with the pertinent circulars and recommendations issued by the international committees and local authorities as well as those issued by the CBO. Among the major elements of the CBO focus have been ascertaining the sources of deposited funds, customer identification, exercising care and caution of suspicious transactions and reporting them to the authorities concerned. The CBO executive president also assured the G8 ambassadors of CBO's commercial banks and other financial institutions accord with the 40 recommendations issued by the Finance Action Task Force (FATF), as well as the concern of several other authorities in the world. The CBO executive president detailed to the G8 ambassadors the different laws and legislation enacted by the Sultanate to regulate banking and financial transactions and to combat all types of financial crimes. A specific money laundering law was issued as a single point of reference to provide the legal framework for combating this phenomenon including the penalties imposed on its perpetrators. The executive president of the CBO stressed that these law adequately protected the Omani banking system from all illegal practices. The CBO executive president further explained the steps taken by the authorities concerned in publishing and distributing these laws and circulars to the relevant institutions especially to the investment and brokerage companies as well as to the insurance and finance companies and other sectors of the economy in order to take the necessary care and caution and report any suspicious transactions. The CBO, in collaboration with these institutions, conducted a series of seminars and workshops, while the CBO and other institutions participated in international forums for increased exposure and awareness. Concluding the meeting with the G8 ambassadors, the CBO executive president called for increasing cooperation between the CBO and other institutions concerned, and similar international organisations in the major industrialised countries in combating money laundering. He proposed holding of more training and awareness programmes, courses and seminars for the staff of the CBO as well as those of the commercial banks and other financial institutions for more knowledge of the problem and the means to confront it. At the end of the meeting, the G8 ambassadors were invited to visit the currency museum of the CBO where they were introduced to the different Omani currencies, historical illustrations and pictures of the Omani currencies and their origins. Congressional sources said that the US administration would delay sanctions against Syria. According to senior official sources, two main elements were behind US President George W. Bush's decision to temporarily put on hold the economic sanctions against Syria until possibly the middle of April: Contradictory data and different readings of the situation within the US administration, and the sudden and alarming acceleration of regional events. The American administration was expected to implement at least two economic sanctions against Syria within a week, pursuant to the Syrian accountability law approved a few months ago. The sanctions called for halting future investments by US oil companies in Syria and forbidding Syrian planes from traveling to the US. The official sources noted that Washington's change of heart and its hesitation to move ahead with the sanctions was a reflection of a divided US administration. The administration is torn between hard-liners and relatively moderate US officials, the sources explained. The latter group believes that implementing sanctions will produce nothing but undesired results. This group also believes that there has been an "overdose" of aggression directed toward the Arab world, the sources added. Moreover, the sources said, the US is not insensitive to the fact that Europeans are not always supportive of US policies towards the region. Even European countries like Spain and Britain - considered Washington's partners - have proved to be more moderate on the issue, the sources said. In any case, the sources added, one can never predict what the US final decision will be. About two weeks ago, Washington surprised the Arab world by announcing it would start implementing sanctions against Syria. A symposium on the image of women in Omani media was held at the Oman Establishment for Press, News, Publication and Advertising, with the presence of a large number of officials and people from the media. The aim of the symposium organized by the section on women and children in Oman newspaper was to discuss the situation of women as an employee. The symposium which lasted for two and half hours discussed the refusal of women from joining the Media department at Sultan Qaboos University as well as the obstacles facing women in the media, as well as the low number of magazines dealing with women issues. The symposium in which officials from the Sultan Qaboos university, the Ministry of Information, the State Council and editors in chiefs of women magazines participate recommended that more studies should be taken in the field of women employment in the media. Juma bin Ali bin Juma, minister of manpower, received a delegation from the universities of Ireland, headed by a professor from Trinity University, who are currently visiting the Sultanate. The purpose of the team's visit is to get familiarised with the Sultanate's experience in the field of technical education at Higher Technical College and other technical colleges. During the meeting, discussions were held on cooperation and coordination between the Sultanate and Ireland universities related to technical education and developing its qualities and training lecturers and staff in the Ireland universities as well as holding joint seminars. The meeting was attended by Dr Muneer bin Mohammed Al Maskari, undersecretary for training and officials at the Ministry of Manpower. The delegation later made a visit to Higher Technical College, Muscat. European Union leaders have repeated their condemnation of Israel for killing Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, hours after the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution denouncing the assassination. In a statement issued at the end of a summit in Brussels, the leaders of the EU's 25 current and future states said the bloc had "consistently opposed extra-judicial killings". Washington, alone among major powers in not condemning this week's assassination as an extrajudicial killing, rejected the resolution by Arab nations because it did not also denounce Sheikh Yassin's group Hamas for suicide bombings in Israel. The US's "no" vote killed the resolution because it is one of the five permanent members of the council with veto power. Britain, Germany and Romania abstained after Algeria, negotiating for Arab nations, rejected an amendment they wanted that would have condemned "atrocities" against Israelis. The EU leaders said they had "repeatedly condemned terrorist atrocities against Israelis and recognised Israel's right to protect its citizens against terrorist attacks", but Sheikh Yassin's killing had deepened the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "The present cycle of retaliatory violence has... inflamed the situation and is taking the parties even further from a negotiated settlement," they said. Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, whose country currently holds the presidency of the EU, said one of the problems with UN resolutions on the Middle East was that - to be passed - they had to include a condemnation of suicide bombings. "Not having that in the resolution brought the problem," he told a news conference. The EU leaders also said in their statement that they would not recognise any unilateral change in the borders Israel had before the 1967 Middle East war. Israel is building a barrier in the West Bank it says is vital to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers. The Palestinians call it a land-grab that deprives them of territory they want for a state. European Union leaders pushed for a new U.N. Security Council resolution to expand the United Nations' role in Iraq ahead of the U.S. handover of sovereignty, but they left the details vague. The "Big Three" leaders of Germany, Britain and France, meanwhile, revealed they would hold their own summit on homeland security in Britain after the adoption of new EU anti-terrorism measures. The date for that meeting has not been determined. The Iraq declaration adopted at the end of a two-day EU summit did not directly link a new U.N. resolution to a willingness to supply peacekeepers for the Iraq mission. It stated that EU leaders "look forward to the U.N. playing a vital and growing role endorsed by the U.N. Security Council in the run-up to transition and beyond." Diplomats said discussions had only begun on details and there were still differences on how much bigger the U.N. role should be. But they noted that the "balance had shifted a bit" in the EU since the defeat of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's conservative government, one of Washington's staunchest European allies, in elections earlier this month. Spain's socialist prime minister-elect, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has said he will pull his country's 1,300 soldiers out of Iraq by June 30 unless the United Nations takes control of the postwar occupation. Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, whose country has 2,400 soldiers in Iraq, said his government also supports a deeper U.N. involvement in Iraq. "If there is any chance of getting a new resolution offering a mandate to foreign military personnel . . . in Iraq, that would be great, of course," he said. Across town at NATO headquarters, U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns said he did not want to speculate on what the new Spanish government might do once it takes office in mid-April. But he said Poland and "a number of our NATO allies" had given assurances since the Spanish election "that they will be keeping their forces in Iraq." Indonesia urged Asian and Pacific governments to work together to prevent militant groups from obtaining nuclear weapons technology on the black market. "The possibility of acquisition of nuclear weapons...by non-state actors has added a new layer of threat. Imagine, terror groups buying nuclear weapons' technology," Indonesia's foreign minister, Hassan Wirayuda, told a seminar on nuclear proliferation. He said Indonesia preferred countries to work together under multilateral agreements to prevent such an incident, "instead of each country taking their own initiative." Wirayuda's comments come as Washington has urged Southeast Asian nations to crack down on possible nuclear trafficking. French investigator Jean-Charles Brisard said he has found a direct tie between Madrid bombings prime suspect Jamal Zougam and Mohamed Fizazi, a spirtual leader of Salafia Jihadia, which allegedly was behind the 2003 Casablanca attack, killing 33 people and 12 suicide bombers. The French private investigator who is in contact with Spanish authorities said they believe the mastermind behind the Madrid bombings is Abu Musab Zarqawi, a militant suspected of links to Al Qaeda and of heading a terrorist network in Iraq. Investigator Jean-Charles Brisard, who is probing the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States, said Spanish officials told him some of the suspects in custody for the Madrid attacks were in contact with Zarqawi as recently as a month or two before the bombings, which killed 190 people and wounded more than 1,800. US officials blame Zarqawi for March 2 bombings in Iraq that killed more than 180 Shiite Muslims. Ansar Islam, the group to which Zarqawi is linked, has often attacked Iraqi targets Shiite pilgrims or Iraqi police with the aim of sowing discord and perhaps civil war. Zarqawi is also believed to have been behind the 2002 killing of Laurence Foley, a US diplomat in Jordan. Spanish investigators believe six or seven of the 18 people in custody in Spain helped plan the Madrid terror attacks and that Zarqawi was behind the plot, Brisard said. "They believe today he was the mastermind," Brisard said in a telephone interview from Geneva, Switzerland. The Spanish interior ministry declined to comment on his assertions. "The investigation is at a critical stage," a ministry official said. Brisard is working for lawyers for relatives of Sept. 11 victims and has a copy of a massive dossier prepared by Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, who is investigating an alleged Al Qaeda cell in Spain. Garzon says the cell's alleged leader and other members helped prepare Sept. 11. In just two weeks, Spanish police say they have put together most of the pieces of the puzzle behind the Madrid bombings, Brisard said. "The picture is almost complete now," Brisard said. "They are basically telling me that several of these people are talking a lot," Brisard said, referring to suspects he did not name. He also said the Garzon dossier showed that from 1996-2001, the Spanish Al Qaeda cell's alleged financier, Muhammed Galeb Kalaje Zouaydi, wired a total of $100,000 to an operative in Denmark named Abu Khalet who produced some 30 fake passports for Zarqawi and people close to him. The passports were completed in late 2002 but it is not clear if Zarqawi received them, Brisard said. Suspicion in the Madrid bombing has fallen on an extremist group from Morocco. The lead suspect in the case, cell phone salesman Jamal Zougam, is Moroccan, as are eight other suspects who have been charged with mass murder or collaborating with a terrorist organisation. The United States used its veto power to quash a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel for killing Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin in a missile strike. The resolution also condemned the practice of killing suspected militants without trial. Russia, which voted for the resolution, expressed regret over the U.S. decision. "We regret the failure to reach consensus at the U.N. Security Council in connection with a dangerous outbreak of violence in the Middle East," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said, according to the Interfax news agency. "There was a chance to reach consensus if the consultations continued." U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said the United States disapproved of Yassin's killing, but called the language of the resolution "unbalanced" and said it threatened to complicate peace efforts. "This Security Council does nothing to contribute to a peaceful settlement when it condemns one party's actions and turns a blind eye to everything else occurring in the region," Negroponte said. Meanwhile Nasser al-Kidwa, the Palestinian representative "Israeli policies are not part of the battle against international terrorism; it's part of the problem of creating terrorism,". In the Mideast, Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said: "I'm afraid that the American veto will be interpreted by the Israeli government as an encouragement to continue the path of violence, escalation, assassination and reoccupation." Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet with President George Bush in the U.S. on April 14. Their discussion will center on Sharon's "separation plan" and support to be given to it via a declaration to be issued by Bush. The Sharon-Bush meeting will be held at the Presidential retreat at Camp David, or at some other site outside of Washington, so as to emphasize its importance. The official announcement of the April 14th meeting was released at the end of meetings last week in Washington between Israeli delegates Dov Weisglass and Giora Eiland and U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice. The meeting has been set as part of an intense period of personal Bush consultations with Middle East leaders, the White House announced last Friday. Bush and Sharon are set to discuss "the war on terror and the search for Israeli-Palestinian peace" when they meet, said Bush spokesman Scott McClellan. The meeting between Bush and Sharon, in the works for weeks, is scheduled two days after Bush is to welcome Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to his Texas ranch. A week later, on April 21, Bush will meet with Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House, McClellan said. On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel is not demanding United States guarantees or public statements in exchange for implementation of Sharon's disengagement plan, Army Radio reported. Israeli diplomatic sources said that the U.S. rejected an Israeli proposal that Washington recognize the West Bank settlement blocs of Ariel and Ma'aleh Adumim as regions that will stay under Israeli rule as part of any permanent status agreement with the Palestinians. "Israel did not get the full diplomatic support" it requested from the U.S., in exchange for the execution of the disengagement plan, the sources said. The U.S. said the fate of the two settlement blocs was a matter for permanent status negotiations between the two sides. Israel informed the U.S. that it is prepared to withdraw from the entire Gaza Strip and six settlements in the West Bank. Weisglass presented the prime minister's preferred plan: withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip and six settlements in the West Bank, namely Ganim, Kadim, Homesh, Sa-Nur, Mevo Dotan, and Hermesh. A source in Jerusalem explained these were small settlements whose evacuation would provide territorial continuity and roads to the Palestinians in a relatively large area of the northern West Bank. A broader withdrawal is also expected to lead to greater concessions from the U.S. The U.S. has asked Israel that disengagement not interfere with the "Bush vision" for the establishment of a Palestinian state, and not be perceived as a "prize to terror." The Americans have conditioned their support of the disengagement plan on Israel's withdrawing from areas of the West Bank as well as Gaza. The U.S. has reportedly accepted Israel's demand that if disengagement fails, the parties will return to the starting point of the road map, and that the U.S. will oppose other political plans such as the Geneva Initiative. An Israeli Cabinet minister has led calls for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to step down amid reports that he may be charged in a corruption case. "Under such circumstances, the prime minister should resign," Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky said. Members of the opposition Labour and Yahad parties have made similar calls. Israeli media said State Attorney Edna Arbel had concluded there were sufficient grounds to charge Mr Sharon, who denies any wrongdoing. The prime minister is being investigated for possible bribery. The allegations centre on large sums a developer is said to have paid Mr Sharon's son Gilad in connection with a property deal. |