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November 25, 2002 News http://www.aljazeerah.info |
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Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
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War against Iraq 'will not be the last one' Khaleej Times, 25-11-2002
"If Iraq falls, then all Arab countries will fall. What is surprising is that Russia, France and even Germany, who at first opposed the war, now seem to be lending their support to the U.S. "The Russian foreign minister said that a strike against Iraq will not signal the end of the 'war on terrorism'. This means the West will not stop there and it will expand its war against Muslim countries," said Dr Ahmed Al Qubaisi during a lecture at Zayed University yesterday. Al Qubaisi, an Iraqi, answers questions on Islam on a weekly television show broadcast from the UAE. He said that current tribulations were the result of Muslims not adhering to their religion. But he did stress that hope still remained. "Western governments pushed for elections in Muslim countries and when they took place, Islamic parties won the most votes, which was not to the West's liking. This was demonstrated in Algeria, Turkey, Bahrain and Pakistan. A Washington Post article stated that Islamic parties will always win convincingly in these elections." The Muslim scholar pointed out that Western governments preach worldwide democracy but only practice it in their own countries, while at the same time maintaining leaders in other parts of the world who persecute their people. Al Qubaisi emphasised that the planned attack on Iraq is part of an elaborate strategy which surfaced long before the 'war on terrorism'. "The 1980s U.S. Presidential candidate, Lyndon H. LaRouche, who was framed and jailed, wrote a book which puts these events into context. LaRouche said that Jews pulled the strings and brought about the Soviet Union, and they plotted its demise in 1991. "Following that, LaRouche went on, America would become the world's superpower. To continue being the world's superpower, America needs to control the Middle East, especially Iraq. All this came in the book by LaRouche," said Al Qubaisi. He concluded that Iraq's plentiful resources of gold, oil and uranium ensured that the U.S. would not leave it in peace.
Austria's Haider offers to resign after surprise defeat in stronghold Khaleej Times, 25-11-2002 VIENNA - Austrian far-right strongman Joerg Haider said on Monday he planned to resign as governor of his southern stronghold Carinthia after his far-right Freedom Party's humiliating election defeat. Even in Haider's bastion, thousands of voters abandoned their controversial governor in favour of the conservative People's Party led by Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel in Sunday's election. "I don't need politics anymore when such a result comes after so many years in politics," Haider said on state radio. The controversial nationalist, whose party's entry into government in 2002 sent shockwaves across Europe, said he could not continue working when the "people of Carinthia have shown so much confidence in the other parties". Haider's anti-immigration, anti-Europe party scored a paltry 10.2 percent of the national vote on Sunday, losing almost two-thirds of the nearly 27 percent it won in the general election in 1999. In Carinthia, the Freedom Party (FPOe) lost 15 percent support, plummeting from first to third place with just 24 percent of the vote behind the People's Party (OeVP) with 30 percent and the Social Democratic Party with 39 percent. "It is a vote of no confidence in me and in my policies," said Haider, who quit as Freedom Party leader in May 2000 but remains its driving force. He said he would propose to step down as Carinthian governor to the Freedom Party's provincial leadership, which could refuse to accept his resignation. "I will suggest this to my party colleagues and will try to reach a compromise with them," he said. But the party leader in Carinthia, Martin Strutz, said he wanted Haider to stay. "The Carinthian party is united behind Haider. We will ask him to remain governor," he told the APA news agency. Haider has repeatedly announced his withdrawal from national politics only to reappear, if not in an official capacity, pulling the strings in the far-right, and there were suggestions his latest move was also a ploy. Carinthia's result mirrored the national trend of voters abandoning the FPOe for the OeVP, but local observers were stunned that it stretched to Haider's stronghold. "Haider's star is sinking even in his own province," said political analyst Emmerich Talos. "His behaviour this summer was the starting point for the FPOe's total defeat. Voters have turned away for them because nobody can see what this party stands for anymore," he added. The populist Haider transformed the FPOe from a lacklustre minority faction when he became its leader in 1986 to a member of the government coalition. But his popularity plummeted dramatically after he played a key role in demolishing the national government coalition, forcing popular far-right Vice-Chancellor Susanne Riess-Passer to step down in September. Her resignation prompted Schuessel to end his 30-month alliance with the far-right and call new elections, a move which earned him many popularity points. It seems voters in Carinthia noted the irony that their governor had toppled a national administration, which, with three far-right ministers from the province, had done more for their region than any previous government. "I would not have believed it was possible," Antonia Goessinger, political columnist for the Carinthian regional daily Kleine Zeitung, said of the Freedom Party's loss in the province. She said Schuessel's winning move was to poach Karl-Heinz Grasser, far-right Finance Minister and one-time deputy governor of Carinthia who remains popular in the province. She said angry readers' letters had flooded into Kleine Zeitung after Haider's repeated trips to Baghdad to meet Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "All the FPOe's success depends on Haider as a person -- and the same is true of negative results," said Goessinger. - AFP
Iraq lists objections to Resolution 1441 letter to Annan rips ‘bad contents’ The Daily Star, 11/25/02
BAGHDAD: World leaders continued to press
Iraq to comply with weapons inspections over the weekend as UN officials
in the Iraqi capital said they were ready for the first 18 experts to
start a search for any banned arms on Wednesday.
Hariri secures $4.3 billion at ‘Paris II’ Soft loans will allow country to reduce crippling debt repayments Osama
Habib
After weeks of intense lobbying and
discussions with world leaders, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri managed
Saturday to secure pledges of $4.3 billion in soft loans with low interest
rates from donor states and international organizations convened in Paris. Breakdown of contributions Saudi Arabia
$700 million
Israeli troops keep Bethlehem residents from Sunday services Jordan Times, 11/25/02 TROOPS PREVENTED Christians from praying at the church marking the traditional birthplace of Jesus on the first Sunday since Israel's reoccupation of Bethlehem, and in another part of the West Bank, soldiers searched four mosques for suspected resistance activists. Meanwhile, the United Nations voiced anger on Sunday over Israel's killing of a UN official in the West Bank as Israel accused the Palestinian National Authority of planning to produce explosives in a secret Gaza factory for attacks against Israeli targets. There were no signs that the Israelis were close to ending their “operation” in Bethlehem, despite a request from the US State Department to wind up activities and leave the biblical town as soon as possible, with Christmas just a month away. Israeli forces rolled into Bethlehem, in the West Bank just south of Jerusalem, early Friday, after a Palestinian suicide bomber from Bethlehem blew himself up on a Jerusalem bus Thursday, killing 11 passengers and injuring more than 40 other people. The occupation army has been conducting house-to-house searches for activists there, and more than 30 Palestinians, three believed to be connected to suicide bombing operations, have been arrested, army officers said. Church bells rang Sunday, but Manger Square, like the streets of Bethlehem, was empty Sunday as soldiers enforced a strict curfew, confining the town's residents to their homes. At the fortress-like 4th century Church of the Nativity, built over the grottos where, tradition holds, Jesus was born, a few monks and nuns sang hymns and prayed. Occupation forces allowed about 15 Franciscan monks to enter the ancient structure. Greek Orthodox priests celebrated a liturgy. The more modern St. Catherine's Church next door, where the Christmas Eve Mass is conducted, was empty. The scene reminded the Rev. Ibrahim Faltas of an even more tense situation six months ago, when dozens of Palestinian activists fled into the church ahead of invading Israeli forces, setting off a 39-day stalemate. Israeli forces encircled the church and demanded that the activists surrender. The standoff ended when Israel and the Palestinians agreed that 26 of the activists would be sent to Gaza and 13 others exiled to Europe. Faltas, who is in charge of the church, said the scene was similar to the siege, when residents could not pray. “The church is sad without worshippers, who are the lives of the church,” he said. “On this Sunday we are praying for peace in Bethlehem and call on God to decrease the suffering of the people.” Israeli troops blocked off the entrance to the church and declared a curfew in the first stages of their incursion Friday to prevent activists from seeking refuge there again. The suicide bombing and the Israeli incursion put an end to a trial agreed on by Israel and the Palestinians, aimed at reducing tensions that have grown steadily through more than two years of violence. Israeli forces pulled out of Bethlehem in mid-August, turning the town over to Palestinian security. The Israelis said the Palestinians had to control resistance activists and stop attacks against Israeli targets. There was a tentative agreement to extend the arrangement to Hebron, south of Bethlehem, but Israeli forces retook Palestinian-ruled areas in Hebron earlier this month after freedom fighters ambushed and killed 12 members of the Israeli occupation forces in the town. Now Israeli forces are in control of all the main Palestinian towns and cities in the West Bank, except for the isolated desert oasis of Jericho. In Tubas, a village near the city of Nablus, Israeli forces surrounded four mosques and searched them, residents said. They were looking for muezzin, or prayer caller, Mohammed Alkilani, suspected of involvement in attacks against Israeli targets. In one of the mosques, where troops were apparently convinced Alkilani was hiding, they called over loudspeakers for him to surrender, and then searched the interior, but did not find him, said Jamal Attiya, the imam of the “Old Mosque.” The army would say only that soldiers were conducting searches and making arrests in the town of Tubas. Also Sunday, Israel said it had a document that showed that the Palestinian Authority was planning to set up a factory to produce nitric acid, a key ingredient of explosives. Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, accused Rashid Abu Shabak, head of the Palestinian Preventive Security force in Gaza, of organising the effort to make high-quality explosives. Last week Israeli helicopters and tanks leveled buildings in the Preventive Security compound in Gaza City in Israel's first attack on the main Palestinian security force headquarters. Gissin said the Palestinians found it difficult to acquire explosives and were trying to make their own. Abu Shabak hotly denied the charge, calling it “baseless” and “Israeli propaganda.” UN 'angry' at Israel Meanwhile, the United Nations voiced anger on Sunday over Israel's killing of a UN official in the West Bank. The Israeli army admitted its forces killed Iain Hook, a British UNRWA official killed on Friday during a raid on the Jenin refugee camp, saying troops mistook an object he was holding in his hand for a weapon. But a UN official challenged Israel's contention that Palestinians had fired at occupation soldiers from the compound. “I am very sad and angry that the man was shot dead while working in a clearly marked UN compound,” said Paul McCann, a spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). McCann said a UN investigator would arrive from UN headquarters in New York later in the day to launch a full probe into the death of Hook, the 54-year-old Briton who had been overseeing the reconstruction of Jenin camp, heavily damaged during a previous Israeli military incursion. UNRWA was set up after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war to care for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the founding of the state of Israel on the refugees' lands. Scores of Palestinians showed up with flowers when Hook's body was put into a UN ambulance in Jenin for transfer to Jerusalem on Sunday before being shipped home. Commenting on its own preliminary investigation of the Jenin shooting, the army alleged Palestinian freedom fighters were firing at troops from inside the UNRWA compound and through a nearby alley during an operation to arrest a wanted Islamic militant. “It appears that two soldiers saw in the UNRWA compound — from where Palestinian gunmen were shooting at Israeli forces — a man with an object that looked like a gun and they fired at him,” the army said. The army claimed the freedom fighters also hid behind civilians in two instances during the clash. In one case, it alleged, a Palestinian fighter took cover behind a woman holding an UNWRA flag. Three army jeeps and a soldier wearing a bullet-proof vest were hit by Palestinian fire from the vicinity of the UNRWA compound during the firefight, the army said. UNRWA said the army account was wrong. “Preliminary findings from our inquiry indicate that this is not true. This claim is incredibly incorrect,” McCann said. “We will continue our work but we will investigate the circumstances of the killing.” The United Nations has accused Israeli forces of delaying an ambulance summoned to evacuate Hook. The army said a military ambulance was sent to the Briton's aid but that when it arrived he was already dead. Elderly dies fleeing tank NABLUS (AFP) — A 70-year-old Palestinian man died Sunday after he tripped and fell while fleeing Israeli tank fire at the entrance of the reoccupied northern West Bank city of Nablus, medics and witnesses said. Ahmed Shteyeh, 70, was trying to travel via Nablus from his village of Salem in the north to Tel, south of the city, to visit his daughter when an Israeli tank opened fire on a Palestinian crowd trying to enter the city, which is under strict curfew. Shteyeh fell while fleeing the fire, hitting his head and dying shortly afterwards of his injuries, the same sources said.
Israel carries out 'anti-terrorist' census in reoccupied Bethlehem Jean-Luc Renaudie Jordan Times, 11/25/02 AIDA REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — “Who lives here?” asks the Israeli occupation army officer, backed up by half a dozen soldiers carrying out house-to-house searches in Bethlehem's Aida refugee camp Sunday, building up what they call an “anti-terrorist” census. Equipped with a map of the neighbourhood, the soldiers establish a list of the sector's residents who are called on to present their identity cards to the army, which reoccupied the self-rule town early Friday after a suicide bomber from Bethlehem killed 11 in Jerusalem. The curfew imposed since then on the town, which had just enjoyed three months free of occupation, makes the soldiers' task simpler. The information thus gathered is scrupulously noted down on lists marked in Hebrew with the words “Chain Reaction,” the name of the military aggression that was launched to avenge Thursday's suicide blast on a packed rush hour bus in Jerusalem. The army quit Bethlehem on Aug. 19 under a deal whereby Palestinian security forces would prevent further anti-Israeli attacks, but that understanding collapsed after last week's suicide bombing. Israel said that in the intervening three months Bethlehem became a “terrorist sanctuary” and Israeli forces were blamed for the death of a Palestinian activist in October who was killed when the phone booth he was using exploded. “It's the first time in years that the soldiers have used this kind of inquiry to keep better tabs on us,” says one fatalistic inhabitant of the camp, asking not to be named. The aim of the operation is officially to arrest dozens of wanted resistance activists and to “destroy their infrastructures.” Carrying out this census, the occupation army hopes, will allow it to spot those who are hiding out in this shanty town refugee camp. The soldiers look into every nook and cranny. “Who owns this shed?” asks one of the troops after checking the identities of the adults and teenagers in a three-storey house at the end of muddy ally strewn with household trash. Nearby, soldiers in an armoured troop transporter mounted with a machinegun are ready to intervene if their colleagues stumble on to any of the elusive activists. However, the search goes on in calm, under the placid gaze of children peering from windows and rooftops. Some of the more daring youngsters come out of their houses despite the curfew while peering around to make sure no Israeli soldiers are near. The adults quickly pull them back indoors. Several hundred metres away, Israeli troops block the roads leading towards Manger Square in the city centre, home to the Church of the Nativity, which Christians revere as the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
Egypt asks US to halt Israeli aggression Jordan Times, 11/25/02 CAIRO (AFP) — Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher urged the United States Sunday to intervene to halt Israel's aggression against the Palestinian people and push for a peaceful resolution to the Middle East conflict. Maher, who emerged from a meeting with US Ambassador David Welch, told reporters Washington should “quickly intervene with Israel so that it respects legal accords and halts its aggression against the Palestinian people.” He also called on the United States to “continue its efforts with members of the quartet and other concerned members, for an action plan to arrive at a peaceful solution” in the Middle East “on the basis of the Arab peace initiative principles.” The so-called Middle East quartet is made up of top US, UN, EU and Russian officials who agreed in mid-September a “road map” to Middle East peace. The plan, still being elaborated, sets out to create a Palestinian state by 2005. The Saudi-inspired Arab peace initiative, adopted by the Arab summit in March, offers Israel normal ties with the Arab world in return for its withdrawal from all the territories captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Welch for his part said he “regretted the setbacks due to terrorist acts and the escalation of violence,” between Israelis and Palestinians.
US seeking pretext for war,
says Iraqi official BAGHDAD, 25 November 2002 — World powers France, Russia and China
urged Iraq to comply with UN weapons inspections ahead of the start on
Wednesday of an 18-strong team’s make-or-break search for weapons of
mass destruction as Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said the United
States was seeking pretext for war. Washington is seeking to use the declaration that Baghdad is due to
present concerning its alleged weapons of mass destruction as a pretext
for military action, Naji Sabri said yesterday. In a 19-page letter to Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, released
yesterday, Sabri declared that the resolution contains traps for his
country. Paragraph 4 of the new resolution, sponsored by the US, states that “
false statements or omissions” in Iraq’s stipulated declaration of its
alleged chemical, biological and nuclear program, due Dec. 8, may lead to
the finding that Baghdad is responsible for a “material breach” of the
conditions. Sabri said the clauses related to the arms declaration that Baghdad is
asked to hand over by Dec. 8 aims at “distorting the position of Iraq
and using the (declaration) to launch an aggression against Iraq.” “Considering any omission by Iraq as a material breach means that
there is premeditation in targeting Iraq, under any futile
justification,” he said. “This is based on the imaginary presumption that there are weapons of
mass destruction in Iraq,” he charged, adding that “Iraq has
forcefully rejected such allegation and the United States and Britain did
not present a single proof to back it up.” Under the resolution, Baghdad
is to supply full details of its biological, chemical and nuclear weapons
programs to the UN by Dec. 8. It has consistently denied developing such
weapons, prompting US President George W. Bush to say that “lying”
would lay it open to military action. Meanwhile, a US news magazine reported that a consensus was forming
within the Bush administration on how to govern Iraq in the event of a
successful US military campaign against Baghdad.
UN rejects Israeli stand on
relief official’s death OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 25 November 2002 — The United Nations voiced
anger yesterday over Israel’s killing of a UN official in the West Bank,
as Israel pressed ahead with military operations against Palestinians it
says are behind bombings. The Israeli Army admitted its forces killed Iain Hook, a British UNRWA
official killed on Friday during a skirmish with Palestinians in the Jenin
refugee camp, saying troops mistook an object he was holding in his hand
for a weapon. “I am very sad and angry that the man was shot dead while working in
a clearly marked UN compound,” said Paul McCann, a spokesman for the UN
Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Commenting on its own preliminary investigation of the Jenin shooting,
the army said Palestinian gunmen were firing at troops from inside the
UNRWA compound and through a nearby alley during an operation to arrest a
wanted man. “It appears that two soldiers saw in the UNRWA compound — from
where Palestinian gunmen were shooting at Israeli forces — a man with an
object that looked like a gun and they fired at him,” the army said. The
UN disputes the Israeli contention. Meanwhile, in Bethlehem, Israeli forces maintained a tight grip on the
city they reoccupied after a Palestinian bombing killed 11 people on a
Jerusalem bus on Thursday.
Arab American Perspective on American politics Arab American Institute, 11/25/02
Looking Ahead... In politics, it's never too early to start looking ahead to the next election. With the 2002 elections completed, attention has now shifted to 2004. Given its nearly even breakdown, it is more than likely that the United States Senate will again be up for grabs. The House is more complicated. But as it stands now, it looks like a Democratic takeover of the House will be unlikely, though two years is an eternity in politics, and there is no telling what issues may arise in that time that could shift the balance of power. Regardless, the primary focus of the 2004 elections will be the presidential races. On the Republican side, barring a highly unlikely maverick candidacy by Arizona Senator John McCain or another disgruntled Republican, President George W. Bush will run unopposed. On the Democratic side, a slew of possible contenders have cropped up, led by former Vice President Al Gore, who narrowly lost the presidency to Bush in 2000. Gore, who would be the obvious frontrunner, has not publicly announced his intentions. Gore said this week on NBC's the Today Show that he hasn't "ruled out running again..." and is "going to wait until after the holidays to make a decision and then announce it sometime after the holidays." Gore's reluctance to commit has caused trouble for other Democrats with burgeoning presidential aspirations, particularly his former running mate, Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), who has pledged not to run against Gore. But Lieberman is not the only Democrat waiting for Gore to decide. As the former Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee, Gore is the de facto leader of the Democratic Party, and other Democratic presidential hopefuls are wary of challenging him. If Gore doesn't run, look for these other Democrats to seek the nomination: Sen. Joseph Biden, DE: Biden, current Chairman of the Foreign Relations committee, has gained national notoriety in the wake of the 9/11 attacks from frequent TV appearances. Sen. Bill Bradley, NJ: Bradley, a former U.S. senator and professional basketball player, ran a well-funded but lackluster campaign against Al Gore in the 2000 primary. Gen. Wesley Clark, AR: Clark, a highly decorated retired four-star Army general, has made repeated visits to New Hampshire and other key primary states. Though not formally a Democrat, his travel and meeting schedule suggest he may be seeking the Democratic nomination. Sen. Hillary Clinton, NY: Former First Lady Hillary Clinton has repeatedly denied that she has any interest in running for the presidency. Still, she is considered a possibility and should not be ruled out. Sen. Thomas Daschle, SD: Soon to be Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle has been a prominent leader in the Democratic Party for a long time, and as such has significant national repute. The Democratic failure in the 2002 elections may affect his thoughts for the future. Gov. Howard Dean, VT: Dean, a seven-term governor who won national renown for supporting Vermont's same-sex couple recognition bill, is expected to run. The fiscally conservative and socially liberal governor has visited many important primary states, including neighboring New Hampshire. Sen. Chris Dodd, CT: Dodd, who could be qualified as a typical Northeast liberal, is well liked and respected by his colleagues in the Senate, but does not have the national notoriety that many of the others do. Sen. John Edwards, NC: Edwards had not held elected office before coming to the Senate in 1998. Just two years later he was on Gore's possible VP shortlist. Look for him to get in early. Rep. Dick Gephardt, MO: Gephardt recently stepped down as Minority Leader in the House and ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 1988. Due to his eight years as minority leader, Gephardt already has a national network from which to organize and draw support. Sen. Gary Hart, CO: Former Senator Hart was a rising star in Democratic politics until he was caught in an embarrassing sex scandal in the late 1980's. He's hinted that he might run in 2004. Sen. John Kerry, MA: John Kerry comes to the table with strong credentials. A decorated combat veteran who vocally opposed the war in Vietnam, a former Lieutenant Governor, and a two-term Senator, look for Kerry to be one of the early frontrunners. Sen. Joe Lieberman, CT: Lieberman, who is a well-known national figure, is still waiting to hear what Gore will do. If he does get into the race, look for him to be an early frontrunner. -------------------------------------------------- Islamic Institute National ID Card Omitted from Homeland Security Last Tuesday the Senate ended its debate over the Homeland Security Bill when the bill passed with a vote of 90-9. H.R. 5710 is a legislation that will create the Department of Homeland Security. The National ID System was a serious issue that the new bill has terminated. According to SEC. 1514. of the passed bill, “nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the development of a national identification system or card.” The national ID Card system was an unparalleled system of personal information sharing. If passed, this would have taken us even further toward a surveillance society that would significantly diminish the freedom and privacy of law-abiding people in the United States.
107th Congress departs: A look at major bills passed and defeated As the 107th Congress leaves this week a number of bills will have to be dealt with when the 108th Congress starts next January. The 107th Congress managed to pass bills on tax relief, election reforms, campaign finance, corporate reform, trade, education, aviation security, farm, homeland security and the defense-spending bill. However, the Congress failed to pass most of the appropriations bills, prescription-drug coverage under Medicare, the faith-based initiative, energy, the patient's bill of rights, cloning, bankruptcy, and disaster aid. The republicans will gain control of the Senate when a new Senate is sworn in on January 7, 2003.
Treasury Secretary O'Neill Attends Ramadan Iftar During his current visit to Pakistan, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill marked the holy month of Ramadan by attending an iftar in Islamabad hosted by Pakistan's Minister of Finance Shaukat Aziz. Secretary O'Neill was in Pakistan as part of his trip to Southeast Asia this week. The Secretary is traveling the region to view our foreign assistance programs for the people of Afghanistan as well as learn more about other countries' efforts to pursue economic growth. Prior to his tour, Secretary O'Neill said, “I will be visiting during the holy month of Ramadan. Over one billion Muslims throughout the world, observe this month by renewing their dedication to caring for those in need, doing good deeds, and strengthening family and community ties. “While I am in Pakistan, I will share that honor, as I participate in an Iftar dinner with my counterpart, Finance Minister Aziz.”
Gujarat govt planned massacre
of Muslims: Independent panel's finding
Dawn
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