[Transcript]  Mosaic News - 04/28/08: World News From The Middle East

[Summary]

An Israeli Strike on a Gaza home in Beit Hanoun left six people dead. Four children were killed; the oldest of the children was five years old, along with their mother and a teenager who was passing by. Also in Beit Hanoun, a member of the Islamic Jihad was killed in clashes with Israeli forces. Israel claims that it does not target civilians, but instead blames Palestinian fighters for using civilians as human shields.

PRESENTER, MALE #1
It seems that the much talked about cooling off period between Hamas and Israel has lost its way toward implementation; or better yet it was killed at its infanthood after Israel rejected it entirely. Nothing is ever good for Israel, which only yesterday criticized Jimmy Carter and turned its back on him. Meanwhile, Turkey is leading the mediation efforts between Syria and Israel. This news comes after the Turkish Prime Minister arrived in Syria in an attempt to feel Damascus’ pulse for a peace agreement with Israel. While Israel is giving the impression that it wants peace, its actions suggest otherwise.

REPORTER, FEMALE #1
A few days ago, the Turkish Prime Minister talked with the Syrian President on the phone advising him that Israel is willing to return the Golan Heights in exchange for peace with Damascus. Erdogan arrived in Damascus to explain to the details of the deal to the Syrian President. The Turkish mediation between Israel and Syria is not breaking news; it’s actually a year old. However, it was not until recently that the negotiations were announced publicly by both sides. The Syrian President announced that his country is willing to resume indirect peace talks with Israel through the Turkish mediators. During an earlier announcement, the Israeli Prime Minister said that he is working to launch an important maneuver for peace with Syria. Some observers expressed hope that this latest effort led by turkey will achieve what previous mediations have failed to do. It seems that Turkey is on the right track, especially considering that bringing the Syrians and the Israelis to the bargaining table is not an easy task to achieve. In 2000, the Syrians and the Israelis suspended peace talks after failing to reach a consensus over the Golan Heights. Then, Damascus demanded Israel return the Golan Heights, including the area of Tiberius Lake. However, Israel said it will maintain control, over the lake, which is considered to be its largest fresh water reservoir. Now and after 8 years, it seems that Turkey has succeeded in convincing both sides, or perhaps one side, of making concessions on the path to peace. Some observers believe that Turkey, which enjoys a good relationship with Israel and recently with Syria, has made progress in this regard. Turkey is trying to throw its diplomatic weight in the region, as it is playing the role of the mediator on more than one front.

GUEST, MALE #2 (Erdogan)
The trust Turkey is enjoying mandates it to play the role of a mediator. I believe that the peace diplomacy we are leading will have a positive outcome in Iraq, for the relationship between Syrian and Israel, or between Israel and Palestine.

REPORTER, FEMALE #1
Observers believe that the biggest obstacle to a peace deal between Israel and Syria is public reactions on both sides. In Israel, the Israeli public is divided over the issue; this comes after Knesset members from the right wing strongly criticized Olmert and demanded that he hold a public referendum on any agreement between Israel and Syria. Meanwhile, some Syrians believe that Israel’s efforts to reach a peace deal with Syria at this time comes as an attempt isolate Damascus from Tehran and to also keep it away from any future dispute between Hezbollah and Israel.

Presenter, FEMALE #1:
In an ongoing case, the Japanese Radio and Television broadcaster announced that according to intelligence officials in South Korea, that 10 North Korean experts may have been killed during the Israeli raid, which targeted a Syrian military site, which Washington claimed to be a nuclear facility for non-civilian use.

Reporter, FEMALE #2:
This time, more information regarding the suspected nuclear facility in eastern Syria came from South Korea. After the United States published photos of the site last week, intelligence information from Seoul indicates that 10 North Koreans, who were assisting in the construction of the Syrian facility, may have been killed during an Israeli raid on the site last September. The information indicates that among those killed was an official from the ruling Communist Party in North Korea, who was responsible for exporting weapons and military technology. In addition to members of the North Korean military unit, which builds nuclear facilities in the country, it indicates that two or three North Koreans escaped the raid. However, it does not say what happened to them afterwards. In their report, the Americans said that the Syrian facility, which was destroyed, closely resembled the Yongbyon Facility in North Korea. It released photographs of some of the North Korean nuclear experts, while they were visiting Syria. Among these shots is a picture of a key Syrian nuclear official standing side by side with a North Korean nuclear expert in Syria. It shows that the Korean official was a prominent representative of his country during the 6

[Summary]

Israel’s most advanced communications satellite was put into orbit this morning, despite being four days behind schedule.

Food prices are rising in Israel. Rice prices have gone up 33-65%. The price of bread has already gone up, and is expected to get even higher. The rise in prices will take a toll on Israel’s poor.

Presenter, MALE #1:
Our Al Jazeera correspondent in Islamabad reports that Mawlawi Omer, the spokesman for the leadership of the Taliban movement in Pakistan, has said that the movement has stopped all talks with the government and suspended the ceasefire agreement, which was recently announced by the leader of the Taliban, Baitullah Mahsub.

Presenter, FEMALE #1:
Mawlawi Omer accused the Pakistani government of not being serious about reaching an agreement.

Reporter, MALE #2:
Happiness did not last. The Pakistani people, which were expecting a peace agreement to be signed between the government and the Taliban of Pakistan, were shocked by the news that the Taliban has suspended talks with the government, claiming that the government is not serious and under the influence of regional and foreign security forces. Some people do not rule out that foreign actors view peace in the tribal areas as going against their interests. A Taliban spokesman, Mawlawi Mohammed Omer, held the government responsible for the collapse of the talks and the consequences of anything that happens in the tribal regions.

Guest, MALE #3:
The Taliban movement is halting talks with the government, which is responsible for this. The Taliban is not responsible for what happened. We hold the government responsible for any collapse of the truce and ceasefire. It is the only one responsible.

Reporter, MALE #2:
The news of explosions and suicide operations, which struck Pakistan in the period before the elections, may be heard once again. The explosion, which targeted the Mardan police station, which the Taliban claimed responsibility for, is one example of this. The changing security situation will add new burdens on the newly elected government, which many Pakistanis had hoped would end the cycle of violence and bring stability.

Guest, MALE #4:
The Americans and the NATO countries are deeply interested in their own security. They view any agreement that will provide the Taliban with a safe haven will pose a danger to them. Because of this, there is pressure on Pakistan not to give the Taliban a chance.

Reporter, MALE #2:
Does the Pakistani public believe government claims that it is trying to safeguard the peace talks or claims by the Taliban, which appears prepared for dialogue? Ambiguity about the positions on both sides may delay a response to this question. As the Taliban prepares to carry out wide scale attacks in Afghanistan and as the American military continues to amass in the Pakistani tribal areas as well as the Taliban’s stopping of the peace process: Some expect that for the Pakistani tribes summer this year will be very hot. Ahmad Barakat. Al Jazeera. Islamabad.

PRESENTER, FEMALE #1
In Iraq, the security file is full of sporadic incidents and intensive clashes. In addition, the political process has hit an endless tunnel obstructed by conditions and counter conditions. Meanwhile, Operation Charge of the Knights continues in Sadr City; where the government is planning to build a concrete wall in an attempt to isolate Al-Mahdi armed fighters and hamper their activities. Asmahan Khori reporting.

REPORTER, FEMALE #2
This is how the security situation appears in the Land of the Two Rivers. All those familiar with the suffering of the Iraqi people are no longer able to distinguish between one morning and the next or between one day and the next, as all the days have begun to look the same. The cycle of violence is intensifying in Iraq, and the Iraqi people are caught in the crossfire, with no way to run from the blood, the destruction and the rubble. Sadr City has been center stage for security developments, and the situation on the ground is likely to continue unchanged. Everything here, including weather conditions, can be manipulated. This sand storm that battered the capital of Rasheed was used as a security cover to launch a series of offensives. Amidst the dim visibility, all air force activities were suspended; instead, the ground troops launched a string of military operations in Sadr City. More than 10 missiles were launched into the Green Zone, where the residents woke up to the sound of blaring sirens. In addition, sporadic attacks were carried out against various Iraqi-US security checkpoints outside the Iraqi capital. Moreover, more than 38 fighters from the Al-Mahdi army were killed in bloody clashes. Also, 44 Al-Mahdi armed fighters have been captured by the joint US-Iraqi forces. Overnight confrontations took place in several parts of Sadr City, including in the areas of Jameela and Square 55, and Habibiya, leaving behind massive property damage. Meanwhile, the main medical center in the city was packed with wounded individuals. Amidst this, the dead are looking from above at the families they left behind, and who are joining them with their fear and their tears.

Presenter, Man # 1
Millions of Iraqi children are orphans. According to official Iraqi reports, more than 4 million Iraqi children are orphans and the number is increasing due to a lack of security and tough living conditions.

Reporter, Man # 1
The Al Waziriyah Orphanage in northern Baghdad is one of twenty-three institutions that are prepared to provide care for homeless and orphaned Iraqi children. The numbers of orphans is increasing day after day due to the tragic living conditions since Iraq was invaded in 2003. Another reason that forces children to seek help in these orphanages is poverty. Other children are living in orphanages due to a family breakdown.

Guest, child # 2
My father is sick; he can’t take care of me. My step mother does not want to take care of me. My father told me that the best thing for me is to live in one of the orphanages and he brought me here.

Reporter, Woman # 1
Where is your mom?

Guest, child # 2
My mom is dead.

Reporter, Man # 1
According to Humanitarian Organizations, 43% of Iraqis live in extreme poverty and 4 million need food assistance. Only one of 5 Iraqi children under the age of five has access to drinking water. Many of these children live in the streets as beggars and some are addicted to drugs. Iraqi officials believe that some children were forced to join armed groups while others were forced to participate in thefts by criminal groups. The main reason behind the high number of orphans in Iraq is the war, which is not the case in many other countries in the world.

Guest, Man # 3
After the fall of Baghdad, more children became orphans especially those who lost their fathers. There is an unusual number of children who lost their fathers.

Reporter, Man # 1
According to official reports, the invasion of Iraq led to the killing of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, 19% of which are men who left a large number of widows and orphans behind them without any support. The Iraqi orphanages, which are few, can only absorb 500 orphans each. About 500 thousand orphans are living in the streets. The numbers are alarming. The Iraqi authorities give each of the current orphanages about $2000 a month. Those who care for the orphans hope that the money can be multiplied so there is enough money to cover the needs of every Iraqi child that has been victimized. Sameh Radi, Russia Today Television.

Presenter, Woman # 1
The Syrian government handed over 700 stolen artifacts to Iraq which have been confiscated in Syria since the US invaded Iraq in 2003. The Syrian authorities confiscated the Iraqi artifacts within Syrian territories between 2003 and 2008 and gave them to the national Syrian Museum to verify their ethnicities and to document them. During the handing over ceremony in Damascus, the Syrian Minster of Education, Riad Nazsan Agha handed over to the Iraqi Minister of Tourism, Muhammad Al Abase Al Ereidi, the artifacts most of which were from the Third Century BC and which were the property of the Baghdad National Museum that was robbed after the fall of the city.

Guest, Man # 1 (Syrian Minister)
We are returning to Iraq, at this very moment, approximately 700 artifacts. I think that these artifacts which were confiscated in Syria are enough to fill a museum in Iraq.

Guest, Man # 2 (Iraqi Minister)
My thanks and appreciation to my dear brother, the Minster of Education, and other officials from the ministry, for all the efforts they have exerted to protect the confiscated Iraqi artifacts and to take care of them for the past several years. We hope that we continue to cooperate on tourism and cultural projects and develop Syrian and Iraqi capabilities.

Presenter, FEMALE, #1
Iraqi symposiums in the Diaspora were established before, during and after the occupation. They discuss concerns that correspond to the developments in Iraq and search for solutions. One of these symposiums was established in the British Capital, London, in 1987; it has become a beacon for the Iraqi elite of various political views. The most recent problem imposed on the London symposium is the complicated situation of Iraqi refugees in Britain, now that Britain’s new immigration and refugee laws are being implemented upon them.

Reporter, MALE, #1
Only three years ago, Britain’s Iraqis were counting votes with the hope that the elections would be the beginning of a new Democratic Nation. They worked enthusiastically and abided by all the European Standards to make the first test of Democracy in the post Saddam era transparent and ideal. But today, they have many questions. The Iraqi elite in Britain call on the civil society for help, with the message that Iraq is discontented, and the Iraqi refugees are the biggest concern.

Guest, MALE, #2
In general, British opinion is not empathetic to the issue of refugees, whether Iraqis or otherwise, but they reject the inhumane treatment of Iraqis. Britain is one of the countries that are occupying Iraq; it is responsible for the tragic situation that has led these people to escape from Iraq and seek refuge in Britain.

Reporter, MALE, #1
There are 400,000 Iraqis living in Britain; though according to some estimates, there are asmanyas 700 thousand. A considerable percentage of those Iraqis are of the elite created during the regime of Saddam Hussein. They prefer to assimilate in unions of academics, doctors, architects, and so on. However, a large percentage of those Iraqis continued their work in politics, and even helped the British government to find the justification to invade Iraq. Today, the time has come to clarify positions.

Guest, FEMALE, #2
We do not want to include some groups at the expense of others. There are parties who supported the United States and gave them information; but there are others who opposed the US. They stood against the war and the occupation, because they knew the suffering caused by war. Even if a person does not know about politics, one can know from people’s statements who stood with the US, and who brought it in. There are powers and political blocs in Iraq that stood against the US until the very end.

Reporter, MALE, #1
This particular meeting of the Iraqi Symposium commemorates the 5 years of ‘change-over.’ The speaker’s underlying principle is that of reforming the policies of the Iraqi Government. The rationale of this civil society is not only concerned with discussing distressful situations. They also utilize their knowledge, which is abundant, to clarify positions and signal the bells of alarm.

Guest, MALE, #3
They are the enemies of the Iraqi people, they will not do well.

Guest, MALE, #4
I think it is important to convince the people that the militias are not dominant. Until recently, and even until today, many people are afraid of getting raided not by a specific militia, but a variety.

Reporter, MALE, #1
Five years after the change, the Iraqi elite which have not left Britain, are still calmly trying to understand the tragic conditions created by the choice of foreign interference. And in spite of the fragmentation in Iraq, the Iraqi elite still trust in the alternative that is presented by the democracy of international organizations. For Al Madar, this is Kamal Ulwani, Abu Dhabi channel, London.