Wednesday, December 8, 2010 • Muharram 2, 1432 A.H. • 2 Riyals • Vol. XXXV I• No. 7 • 28 Pages • www.arabnews.com

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Forum seeks to findanswers to women'semployment hurdles

FATIMA SIDIYA & DIANA AL-JASSEM | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: Only 15 percent of the Kingdom’s employed manpower is female and there are several ques-tions about women’s employment that need answers, said Princess Lolowah Al-Faisal at the first day of the Women in Leadership Forum at the Park Hyatt Jeddah hotel on Tuesday.

Answers to questions such as why so few Saudi women are employed, what women can do to get employ-ment and what sort of plans are required to effect change need to be found at the forum, said Princess Lolowah while delivering her open-ing speech at the two-day event. Speaking about the SR70 billion in women-owned disposable wealth lying untapped in banks, Princess Lolowah, who is vice chair and general supervisor of Effat University’s board of trustees, said “this question needs to be directed at businesswomen.”

“Empowerment of women can only be achieved with the coopera-tion of the private and government sectors, and the Kingdom’s cham-bers of commerce,” she said.

Speaking about employing women in the Kingdom’s industries,

Nadia Al-Dossary, chief executive officer of Al-Sale Eastern Co. Ltd., said many difficulties exist. “I employ women in segregated offices but I cannot employ women to work on the factory floor, because setting up separate sections for men and women on the factory floor is not possible,” she said.

Al-Dossary added that her com-pany is not a charity; it is profit-oriented and not required to employ women. “We want to train women and employ them in the industrial sector. But we want the government sector to cooperate with us because there will be gender mixing. We have to understand that gender mixing in the workplace is not khulwa,” she said.

Speaking about Minister of Labor Adel Fakieh’s eight-week plan to organize women employment, as announced last week at a two-day event organized by the Khadijah bint Khuwailid Businesswomen’s Center, Al-Dossary criticized the minister saying that despite repeat-ed requests for a meeting during his last visit to the Eastern Province, he failed to show up.

(Continued on Page 3)

GCC backs Iran nuke talksSummit calls on Tehran to respond positively to big power peace efforts

ARAB NEWS

ABU DHABI: GCC leaders said Tuesday they were monitoring with “utmost concern” developments in Iran’s disputed nuclear program and asked Tehran not to meddle in their internal affairs.

A final communiqué issued by the six leaders at the end of a two-day summit said they wanted the dispute over Iran’s nuclear pro-gram to be resolved through “peaceful means” and make the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.

The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates also urged Iran to “respond positively” to talks with world powers on its conten-tious nuclear program.

The summit approved a 15-year comprehensive development strate-gy, a cultural development strategy and a project to link the six member countries with a railway system. It also allowed GCC companies to open their branches in member countries.

“The council followed develop-ments in the Iranian nuclear file with the utmost concern and stress-es again the importance of commit-ment to the principles of interna-

tional legitimacy and the resolution of conflicts through peaceful means,” said the communiqué.

The annual summit coincided with a new round of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers in Geneva. The West suspects Iran’s nuclear program is designed to pro-duce nuclear weapons, a charge

Tehran denies, insisting its objective is to generate electricity.

“It is important that Iran is com-mitted to the basis of good neigh-borly relations, mutual respect and noninterference in internal affairs, resolving disputes peacefully and not resorting to force or making threats to use it,” said the communiqué.

The communiqué expressed the six leaders’ regret about what they said was Tehran’s lack of response to efforts to resolve a territorial dis-pute between Iran and the UAE over three strategically located Gulf islands. The GCC considers the islands “an integral part of the UAE.”

GCC states “welcome interna-tional efforts, including those made by the P5+1, to peacefully resolve Iran’s nuclear crisis and hope it will respond positively to these efforts,” said outgoing Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah. Bahrain’s security chief Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani is the new GCC secretary-general.

The summit stressed the “right of all countries in the region to devel-op civilian nuclear energy within the standards and under the super-vision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).” These stan-dards had to be applied to all coun-tries in the Middle East, including Israel, the region’s sole nuclear weapons-possessing state.

The summit threw its support behind the Palestinians’ refusal to negotiate with Israel without a set-tlement moratorium, stressing any freeze on construction should include East Jerusalem as well as the West Bank.

(Continued on Page 5)

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan listens to outgoing GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah at the closing session of the GCC summit in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. (EPA)

9 771319 833061

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KINGDOMWednesday, December 8, 20102

On the question of banning Indonesian

female workers from working

in the Kingdom, the minister denied there

was any political momentum to

do so.

Riyadh, Jakarta vow to protect domestic helpersGhazanfaR ali Khan | ArAb neWs

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Indonesia pledged at an event here on Tuesday to ensure more protection to domestic workers and have agreed to explore pos-sibility of formulating an agree-ment on migrant-worker protec-tion.

The announcement came fol-lowing wide-ranging talks between Labor Minister Adel Fakieh and Muaimin Askandar, Indonesian minister of manpower and transmigration, who is currently visit-ing the Kingdom.

Hendrar Pramutyo, a senior Indonesian diplomat entrusted with the task of citi-zens' protection, said: “The two sides have also agreed to provide insurance to cover Indonesian workers deployed in the Kingdom.”

Pramutyo said that Muhaimin also met with Ahmed Ibn Mohammed Al-Salem, undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior, and sought his support, especially for pro-tecting Indonesian domestic helpers and prosecuting erring Saudi employers.

The trip of Muhaimin to the Kingdom, immediately following the visit of Linda Agum Gumelar, Indonesia's women affairs minis-ter, comes amid pressures mount-ing on the government in Jakarta

to work out a comprehensive plan and formulate an agreement to protect workers.

The visit comes after the reports to torture of two Indonesian migrant workers — Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa, 23, who is recuperating from torture in hos-pital, and Kikim Komalasari, 34, who was murdered — were wide-ly publicized in local and Indonesian media. Saudi officials have said the incidences of maid abuse are no more common in

the Kingdom than in any other country. Some have blamed the media for exaggerating the problem.

Muhaimin, who will wrap up his visit to Riyadh on Wednesday, said he hoped his meetings and bilateral talks with his counter-parts in Saudi Arabia will produce long-term improved securi-ty and working envi-ronment.

“We are here to ask the Saudi side to recognize our domestic workers so that they could earn some respect,” said Muhaimin, in a press release issued here on Tuesday.

On the question of banning Indonesian female workers from working in the KIngdom, the min-ister denied there was any political momentum to do so. Pakistan and Egypt both do not allow women to come to the Kingdom to work as maids.

King thanks Shoura for wishesMD RaSOOlDEEn | ArAb neWs

RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah expressed his thanks Tuesday to Shoura Council Chairman Abdullah Al-Asheikh and its members for the goodwill shown toward him during his period of indisposition.

Acknowledging the appreciation sent to him on successful comple-tion of the Haj season this year, King Abdullah said: "We thank you for your noble feelings. We pray to Allah Almighty for bestowing con-stant good health upon all people, and also for crowning our efforts with grand success in the service of pilgrims to perform their Haj ritu-als easily and comfortably."

Responding to the monarch's message, Al-Asheikh described the monarch as "the king of humani-

ty" who looks after the rich and poor equally.

“The noble gesture of the king had shown in arranging the sepa-ration surgery of Siamese twins in the Kingdom speaks for his mag-nanimity and the willingness to help the distressed people in the world,” he said.

The speaker also registered the council's thanks for the wonder-ful arrangements made at the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah for the smooth flow of Haj pilgrims.

Meanwhile, the council appoint-ed on Tuesday a five-member com-mittee to manage its international parliamentary affairs.

Al-Asheikh explained that such a committee is important for the council to maintain healthy rela-tionship with brotherly and friend-ly countries.

Let’s make Kingdom’s universities the best, says rector of KSU

aMJaD PaRKaR | ArAb neWs

DOHA: The rector of King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh vowed on Tuesday to help make the Kingdom’s universities among the best in the world.

Professor Abdullah bin Abdul-Rahman Al-Othman said educa-tion has changed so drastically that it is virtually unrecognizable from how it was taught in Saudi Arabia before the turn of the cen-tury. Al-Othman made the com-ments on the first day of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha, Qatar.

“There’s absolutely nothing that links the 20th and 21st cen-turies in terms of education,” he said. “This is why we must focus on reviving the education sys-tem.”

He said the Kingdom had to transform itself from an economy based on a depleting source of wealth, oil, to one based on the infinite resource of knowledge.

“We are aware of the need for transition,” he added. “And we will guarantee that transition under Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.”

There were only a handful of universities in the Kingdom as little as two decades ago. Now there are at least 33 universities teaching an estimated 1 million students, said Al-Othman. Between 10 to 20 percent of that figure study abroad under the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, he added.

“Today, knowledge is what sep-arates us from poverty,” he said. “Universities have to be autono-mous on a financial level in order

to be competitive.” Al-Othman said the Kingdom’s ultimate aim was to foster an entrepreneurial culture among its youth. “Ultimately, we want to produce a student that is creating jobs for their fellow graduates, not a stu-dent that is simply knocking on the door for a job,” he said. “We should be recognized as an advanced country as we are, after all, in the G20. Similarly, King Saud University (KSU) should also be aiming for international recognition.”

He said KSU was already shar-ing its teaching methods and phi-losophy of emphasizing on research and innovation with other Saudi universities. When asked whether he would also liaise with higher education insti-tutions in the Middle East, he replied it was something he would consider for the future.

Al-Othman’s speech was received well by the audience in a packed hall at the Sheraton Hotel in the Qatari capital. However, one Spanish delegate involved in the promotion of further educa-tion abroad remarked to Arab News that she was still waiting for the Kingdom to send some of its students to her country, despite Saudi officials promising they would.

The theme of the session, which also featured Dr. Patrick Awuah, founder of Ashesi University in Ghana, and Toby Salt, deputy chief executive of the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services in the UK, was centered on different leader-ship models and how important they are in developing education.

HRC workshop on human rights at PSU

Walaa haWaRi | ArAb neWs

RIYADH: The women's section of the governmental Human Rights Commission hosted on Tuesday a workshop with Prince Sultan University's School of Law aimed at promoting the concept of human rights in society and to outline the related international agreements Saudi Arabia has signed.

One of the presentations explained how a woman can use the legal system to file complaints, addressing the problem that many incidences of domestic abuse go unreported due to fears pertaining to social and family pressure and losing child custody.

Slack security at Madinah hospital allowed infant to be kidnapped: NSHR

naDEEn iBRahiM | ArAb neWs

MADINAH: Lax security at the Madinah Maternity and Child Hospital allowed a woman to kid-nap a newborn baby boy from the hospital, said Muhammad Al-Oufi, chairman of the Madinah branch of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR).

Speaking to media following a visit to the hospital on Tuesday, the NSHR chief said the hospital’s cor-ridors and exits are not monitored by surveillance cameras, and that there is no practice of recording the details of visitors.

Al-Oufi visited the hospital after a one-day-old baby boy, named Anas, went missing on Sunday. The child’s grandmother alleges a large dark woman with honey eyes

— who frequently visited the room where the child and mother were — is behind the kidnapping.

“I came to know from her that she was divorced and loved chil-dren. Though she had no ID, I did not doubt her. She asked me to go to sleep and said she would take care of Anas, but I refused. However, after a little while I dozed off because I hadn’t slept for three nights. When I woke up around six, Anas wasn’t there,” she said.

Madinah Gov. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Majed has ordered a search for the child. He has also ordered an investigation into the disappear-ance and for everyone connected to the hospital to be questioned.

Meanwhile, police said an attempt to kidnap two Southeast Asian nurses in the city on Monday

was foiled. “The two nurses had just left a health-training institute when a man in a car posing as a taxi offered to take them to a mall,” said Brig. Mohsen Al-Raddadi, spokesman for Madinah police.

“The women, however, became suspicious when the man took a different route. The two nurses were able to jump out of the car when he stopped,” he said, adding that one of the women sustained head injuries and that a member of the public, who saw the two women jumping out of the car, called the police who took them to a nearby hospital.

Police officers are still searching for the driver who fled the scene.— With input from Yousuf Muhammad

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 3KINGDOM

I am suspicious of anything the maid does — I am hesitant to even accept a cup of tea and

have warned my children to stay away as much as

possible from her.

LOCAL PRESS

Is suffering exclusive to maids?AbdullAh Al-JAmili | Al-MAdInAh

All religions and the common sense of humanity reject all sorts of violence,

regardless of the reason or cause. Saudi society, on account of its culture and tradition, condemns what happened to the Indonesian maid in Madinah. We are hurt by what happened to her and urge the authorities to punish those who have harmed her.

This incident has grabbed the attention of both the local and international media, and inves-tigations have been carried out. The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and the Human Right Commission (HRC) have rushed to react to what hap-pened and have even hired law-yers to defend the maid, not to mention the many times they have visited her in hospital.

Everyone views these devel-

opments favorably, but where is the NSHR, the HRC and the Ministry of Labor when it comes to the pain and suffering that Saudis are subjected to by the government and private sectors. Where is that sense of humanity when it comes to Saudis who live in poor homes and tents? Where are these organizations when it comes to sick Saudis who fall victim to medical mis-takes and negligence? We don’t hear from them, nor do we see them visiting people in hospi-tals or hiring lawyers to defend them.

What is the stance of these bodies when it comes to the slave-like conditions that Saudi security guards work in? These men are forced to work in the heat during the day and in the cold during the night for over eight hours a day, and are only paid SR1,500 a month without

any incentives, salary increases or medical insurance. One man once told me he wished he were a maid so he could get more attention.

Where are these organiza-tions when it comes to these people? Why don’t we hear them trying to better their plight? We never see them defending the rights of over 300,000 unemployed Saudis or fighting government depart-ments to remedy their prob-lems. There are many issues facing Saudis. Why is it that the NSHR and the HRC are neglect-ing them? Maybe they do not see their plight as a humanitar-ian issue? Perhaps there are varying levels of humans in their opinion? Perhaps they’re looking for cases that would have high media ratings just so they could be in the spotlight?

(aaljamili@yahoo.com)

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), received at his office in Riyadh on Sunday Ghana Vice President John Mahama. The two discussed a number of economic issues related to their respective countries. The vice president extended an invitation to the prince to re-visit Ghana and explore further investment opportunities there. Prince Alwaleed’s investments in Ghana through KHC are in the hotel sector via the Movenpick Ambassador hotel in Accra that is currently under construction and in the financial sector through Citigroup. (AN photo)

86% of GCC charities are based in Saudi Arabia

md. Al-SulAmi | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: An estimated 86 percent of charitable societies and foun-dations inside the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are based in Saudi Arabia, accord-ing to a report titled “Gulf Charity Work: A First Information Report,” prepared by the International Center for Research and Studies (Madad).

According to the report, 26.1 percent of the activities of vari-ous charities in the GCC (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman) concentrate on the poor. The care of orphans comes second with 17.9 percent. The care of the disabled consti-tutes 16.4 percent of the organi-zations. An estimated 52.8 per-cent of the activities of these charities are in the development field. About 13.7 percent of activities are concentrated in rural areas. The activities in the agricultural development repre-sent 13 percent. The report

showed that meetings and dis-cussions top with 43.5 percent of activities of the GCC charities, followed by charity programs (17.2 percent) and seminars (8.6 percent).

The report also sheds light on the scientific and cultural activi-ties, such as conferences, semi-nars, discussions, and workshops on charity works, in addition to organizing of competitions and distribution of prizes by the char-ities. It also highlights the cover-age given by various means of media for charity work of various firms.

Madad Director-General Khaled Al-Soraihi said the report is aimed at playing a positive role in improving charity work.

“It also aims to highlight wide variety of activities and services being rendered by these firms, and their positive impact on soci-ety," he said. "This also helps decision-makers work out their strategies vis-à-vis charity work,” he added.

JCCi: Foreign missions should do more to control recruiters

md humAidAN | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( JCCI) Recruiting Committee Chairman Yahya Hassan Al-Maqboul called on the Labor Ministry to complete the study of establishing a company to handle all recruitment of foreign manpower.

"This proposal has been under consideration for about five years and it is time that a decision on it is reached now," he added.

The chairman's comments come during a rash of media reports of maid abuse.

Al-Maqboul said that the relation-ship between the recruitment offices and the maids should be direct and stronger. He called on the consulates of the countries from which most housemaids and drivers are recruit-ed to deal only with accredited recruitment offices, adding that

these offices play an instrumental role in protecting and safeguarding the rights of these workers.

"Instead of falling prey to brokers who trade in foreign manpower, a maid who escapes from her employ-ee can come to the recruitment office so as not to be considered an escapee from her employer," he said.

Al-Maqboul asked families not to be influenced by the recent false reports published regarding crimes committed by maids.

Many residents of Jeddah who were questioned by Arab News said the stories about the crimes of the maids published by the media have begun to take their toll.

"I am suspicious of anything the maid does — I am hesitant to even accept a cup of tea and have warned my children to stay away as much as possible from her," said Jeddah resident Hassan Al-Harithy.

Resident Abu Muhammad said he would not keep his maid in the house had it not been for the insis-tence of his wife. He said he was influenced by the horrible stories about crimes committed by maids to the extent that he does not take the food or tea prepared by his maid.

"We only ask her to do the clean-ing and laundry," he said.

JCCI launches e-attestation service

GAlAl FAKKAR | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( JCCI) on Tuesday launched an elec-tronic document-attestation sys-tem for its members. Adnan Mandoura, secretary-general of JCCI, launched the system in the presence of the representatives of government and corporate repre-sentatives.

"JCCI is the first chamber to offer this advanced service to its members," said Mandoura, add-ing that it would reduce the dif-ficulties being faced by members to get their documents attested.

Muhiyuddin Hekami, director of technology and information, gave a presentation on the new system. He said the website for attestation (www.jcea.org.sa) would be used by five companies in the first stage.

“In the second stage, all compa-nies will use the facility,” he said.

Hekami said his department was providing financial and accounting programs to small and medium enterprises at reduced rates.

“We were also providing them with electronic trade solutions free of charge,” he pointed out.

Bassam bin Jameel Akhdar, a member of JCCI board, said the electronic attestation system is one of the advanced services being provided by the chamber to its members. “It concerns about 90 percent of our members,” he added.

(Continued from Page One)

Lyla Ashadawi, president of Asharqia Young Businesswomen Executive Counsel, said that around 54,000 job-seekers arrive in the Eastern Province in search of jobs.

Huda Al-Jeraisy, chairperson of the Women Committee and the Council of Saudi Chambers, said the role of her organization is to link business people with officials. Responding to a comment criticizing the chambers’ lack of support for people with disabilities, she said: “We do not want to expand our task to include social services, training and employment. We cannot master everything.”

Nabila Al-Anjari, founder and general manager of the Leaders Group for Consulting and Training Co. in Kuwait, said women should be open to accept any job that they are offered. “Women should remove the word ‘no’ from the

dictionary to achieve success. I was the first woman to establish an amusement park on the beach especially for women in Kuwait. All staff are women and they work from the early morning till midnight,” she said.

“Members of the public criticized us but we were patient. I also worked as a general manager of an equestrian club even though I was ignorant of the skills needed to operate such a place. I took the challenge and have been successful,” she said.

Office politics, said Al-Anjari, is one of the main reasons why many Saudi women avoid working. “Office politics is a very dangerous phenomenon and widespread among women. Joining one group of colleagues and ignoring others will affect employees negatively,” she said.

Sexual harassment in the workplace, she said, also deters women from working. “Women should not allow men to

compliment them with nice words. They should put up red lines that no one can cross,” she added.

Amal Asaad Sheera, director of human resources at Schindler and deputy chairperson of the Human Resources Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Saudi youth, of both genders, are unable to develop the required skills for the Kingdom’s job market. “Most youths refuse to go on training courses for a few months. They don’t have patience. Saudi families should teach their sons and daughters how to build themselves by accepting challenges … Our role as human resources consultants is to be close to young employees, support them and manage their expectations,” she said.

She also said Arab families want their women to be beautiful wives, supermoms, successful businesswomen and excellent at socializing. “Women can’t do all

these things together. They need to manage their time and prioritize,” she added.

Both Al-Anjari and Sheera said women should not wait for opportunities, but create them.

During a workshop on how to achieve success by empowering women in companies, Noura Al-Shabaan, president of Ebda’a Exchange Co. and the first female Saudi human resource trainer, said Saudi women are slow to develop and lack cultural awareness. “Women should believe that multiple attempts that fail can eventually lead to success … there are four elements that need to be in each woman to be successful employees. These elements are: t h i n k i n g , p l a n n i n g , implementation, evaluation and development,” she said.

She added that Saudi students who return to the Kingdom having studied abroad should be utilized to an optimum level.

Forum seeks answers to employment hurdles

KINGDOMWednesday, December 8, 20104

There also plans to produce more Middle East reports focusing on environment, tourism and heritage, said

Al-Hamadi, adding that the magazine has been in talks

with government bodies for two months to pave the way

for access to information.

FATIMA SIDIYA | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: The editor in chief of the Arabic version of National Geographic, which recently launched in October, said he is optimistic the specialist magazine will do well and not be neg-atively affected, like other sections of the print media, by the growing wide-spread use of the Internet in the Middle East.

The Abu Dhabi Media Company launched the well-known magazine’s Arabic version, National Geographic Al-Arabiya, in October. Although the magazine’s publishers are optimistic about its success, skeptics say the bur-geoning growth in digital media in the Arab world and shift of media to online may be detrimental to the magazine’s success.

Mohamed Al-Hamadi, the maga-zine’s editor in chief, said the decision to publish the magazine in Arabic was made after a study of the region, add-ing that they received positive indica-

tions from 70 percent of people ques-tioned.

Commenting on Middle East maga-zines that have stopped publishing in print and moved online, he said, “We are a specialized magazine that is actually used by many as a refer-ence magazine and so kept in per-sonal libraries. Other magazines face challenges because they can-not provide news and analysis as quickly as televi-sion channels and Internet sites.”

Asked if Arab readers are interested in such a specialized magazine and have the time to read in-depth articles, Al-Hamadi said, “We have already been receiving encouraging comments from our readers. On the whole, we are

not serving well-educated individuals, but families as a whole, starting from children all the way up.”

National Geographic is already pub-lished in 33 languages across 166

countries. The Arabic version is aimed at 16 Arab countries with three headquar-ters in the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The first issue, which came out in October, had 35,000 print runs of which 85 percent was sold in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt,

Syria, Iraq and Morocco.Although the Arabic version contains

material that is translated from the English version, there are plans to pro-duce original copy in Arabic. “We want local reporters to get to know the stan-

dard of our magazine before approach-ing. We need exclusive investigative reports with perfect shots. Therefore, we’re also hoping to create a database of Arab photographers,” he said.

There also plans to produce more Middle East reports focusing on envi-ronment, tourism and heritage, said Al-Hamadi, adding that the magazine has been in talks with government bodies for two months to pave the way for access to information.

National Geographic Al-Arabiya has a board of advisers consisting of experts and specialists from the Arab region including Egypt, the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordon. Khawla Al-Kuraya is the magazine’s adviser on medicine, Majid Al-Mansouri is adviser on the environ-ment, Zahi Hawass is adviser on archaeology, Majdi Yacoub is adviser on medicine, Essam Heggy is adviser on astronomy, Ali Al-Shamlan is advis-er on geology, and Rasem Badran is adviser on architecture.

Women complain of biased courts

ARAB NEWS

DAMMAM: Women are complaining about the huge delays they have to endure in the Kingdom’s courts before they can appear in front of a judge.

Some of them say they have to wait for hours in the lounges before they get their turn.

While sitting in the lounge of Alkhobar Shariah court, 29-year old Muneera told Al-Watan daily that she was a broken woman due to her harrowing experiences both at home and at court.

“I approached the court after I was driven out of the house by my husband. I approached the court after spending about six months at my father’s house. When I filed a petition, I was shocked to learn that my husband had already approached the court with a complaint that I was disobedient to him,” she said, adding that the court ruled against her.

“The court directed me to go and continue living with my husband,” she said, expressing her anger because the court did not listen to her grievances. She is now appealing against the verdict.

Ummu Zahir, a divorcee, says that the ordeal of sitting for hours in the lounge of a Dammam court started one year ago. She has been waging a legal battle for custody of her chil-dren and was waiting with her father and brother.

She later appeared in front of the judge and returned after 10 minutes, visibly upset. “It was surprising to see such judges behaving toward people in this way,” she told Al-Watan.

“When my brother appealed to him to allow me to take custody of the children, the judge was rude. He ordered the court security staff to drive us out of the courtroom with-out any justification.”

Ummu Zahir claimed that she used to arrive in court 10 minutes before court proceedings were sched-uled to start.

“Even when I arrived for my appointment time of 8.30 a.m., I still had to wait until 11 a.m.,” she said.

She added that once she arrived at the court, she was told to come after three weeks because the judge was on vacation.

“When I came to the court again, the judge refused to take up the case. This prompted me to approach another judge,” she said.

Fatima, another divorcee, had another traumatic story to tell.

“When I approached the court seeking permission to bring my sick mother home from an Arab country, the judge gave me a date to return after two months. When I returned, I was asked to produce the document to prove that I was still not married in addition to an inheritance deed, as well as two witnesses,” she said.

Another Saudi woman was noticed by Al-Watan shivering with fury when she came out of the court-room. When she eventually calmed down, she began to tell her story.

“I have been in and out of court for one year seeking a divorce from my husband, who announced his intention to leave me six years ago,” she said.

“Whenever I go to court, the judge fixes another date, usually after three months, for the hearing. There is no justification for this. When my husband approached the court seek-ing custody of my children five years ago, a verdict was reached within one and a half months.”

Dr. Saad Al-Wohaibi, a lawyer and legal consultant, claimed that there was a major reason for the unneces-sary delay of cases involving women.

He said some judges fail to realize the nature of women and often find fault with the way they present their cases.

“Some women lack proper under-standing and awareness about court proceedings, cases, judges and the like. And these result in an unneces-sary delay of court proceedings,” he added.

'Arabic National Geographic not threatened by Net'

Mohamed Al-Hamadi

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 5MIDDLE EAST

Iyad Allawi threatens to quit govt

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

LONDON: Iyad Allawi, who won the most votes in Iraq’s elections, threat-ened to quit a power-sharing govern-ment in an interview with Britain’s Times newspaper on Tuesday.

“Power-sharing is not happen-ing,” Allawi said. “It is not set to work in a meaningful way... If it does not change, I will not participate.”

Despite being lauded by interna-tional leaders including US President Barack Obama, Iraq’s power-sharing pact has looked fragile ever since it was agreed last month after an eight-month impasse.

Despite his Iraqiya block narrowly winning elections in March, Allawi has seen religious parties coalesce to form the biggest grouping in the new Parliament led by Prime Minister-designate Nuri Al-Maliki.

He laid the blame at the feet of Iraq’s neighbor, Iran, and said Iranian leaders had a “red line” against him. “There is a question mark on democracy now,” he said. “People realize that Iran has the upper hand and they feel Iraq is controlled by foreign forces.”

He added: “Iran has obstructed the way to power-sharing. They have a red line against me personally and they do not want Iraqiya to partici-pate in the new government.” Allawi said Iraqis were likely to quickly become disillusioned with any gov-ernment that is formed.

“There is a lot of disillusionment among Iraqis, whether they voted for us or not,” Allawi said.

“They associated democracy with the fact that whoever got the highest numbers should spearhead the for-mation of the government.”

Asked how Iraq’s political land-scape would look in a year’s time, Allawi told the paper: “Really, I don’t know.”

Tehran not to discuss enrichment at talksGeneva meeting ends; new session planned in January

DAVID BRUNNSTROM | REUTERS

GENEVA: Iran and major powers agreed on Tuesday to meet again next month in their dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program, but the chief Iranian negotiator said there could be no discussion of any halt to uranium enrichment.

The agreement to reconvene in Turkey in late January, after two days of talks in Geneva this week, was as much as either side had expected from their first meeting in over a year on the intractable nuclear issue.

Iran has insisted all along that it has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful electricity generation and will never give into pressure and abandon that right.

Iran had also said it would not discuss enrichment in Geneva, but Western diplomats said a range of issues including the nuclear dispute were tackled at this week’s talks.

“I am announcing openly and clearly that Iran will not discuss a uranium enrichment halt in the next meeting in Istanbul with major powers,” chief Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili told a news conference.

Iran rejects Western suspicions that its nuclear program is a cover for acquiring an atomic bomb.

The enrichment issue remains the major obstacle to resolving a dispute which has the potential to ignite a major conflict in the Middle East. Enriched uranium can be used both in power stations and, when refined to a much higher degree, in nuclear bombs.

Repeated UN Security Council resolutions demand Iran suspend

enrichment and allow tougher UN inspections of its atomic work as a way of convincing the world it is not secretly trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability.

That demand remains the posi-tion of the six powers, a senior US administration official said in Geneva after the talks, which he described as “difficult and candid.”

The US official said the United States did not have a formal bilateral meeting with Iran, but had had opportunities to communicate its

main points. “We had several infor-mal interactions which were useful to reinforce our main concerns,” the official told reporters.

A revised version of a nuclear fuel swap, agreed and then later rejected by Iran last year, could be a way to build confidence between the two sides, the official said.

But analysts say Iran’s hard-line leaders, who use the nuclear pro-gram to rally nationalist support and distract from domestic problems, are unlikely ever to agree to back down on the main issue of enrichment.

“This government has obviously linked the development of the nucle-ar program so closely to its own

legitimacy that it would be difficult for them to backtrack on it,” said Gala Riani of the IHS Global Insight consultancy. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, representing the six powers — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — told a news conference: “We and Iran agreed to a continua-tion of these talks in late January in Istanbul where we plan to discuss practical ideas and ways of cooperat-ing toward resolution of our core concerns about the nuclear issue.”

Jalili said that was the only thing agreed in Geneva.

“I hope the other party remains committed to our agreement at the meeting ... as long as they remain committed then the talks can go ahead,” Jalili said. Tehran would not negotiate under pressure, he said.

“I wouldn’t describe the talks we’ve had today as fruitful, but it’s a start,” said an EU official. “A prob-lem like this is not going to be solved in two days; it’s not an easy prob-lem.”

“Given the history you can’t be optimistic, but there’s no point in doing these things with the objective of failure,” the official said. “The problem is that the level of trust is about as low as it could get anywhere outside of North Korea.”

In a speech in Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the powers to publicly declare Iran’s national “rights,” saying they would have “nothing but remorse” if they failed to do so.

The enrichment issue remains the major

obstacle to resolving a dispute which has

the potential to ignite a major conflict in the

Middle East.

GCC backs Iran nuclear talks(Continued from Page One)

The leaders also voiced their sup-port for “the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state” and “opposition to a partial settlement or in stages” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

They “denounced the Israeli proj-ect for making occupied Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish people” and urged the international community to compel Israel to end its practices aimed at Judaizing Jerusalem. The

summit leaders “stressed the impor-tance of working toward drying up sources of funding for terrorist groups and foiling their criminal aims” and urged the prevention of “media from publishing anything that would encourage these crimi-nal acts.”

Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif, who led the Kingdom’s delegation to the summit on behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, addressed the final ses-

sion and invited GCC leaders to attend the next summit in Riyadh.

Prince Naif congratulated UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, current president of GCC and other leaders for the sum-mit’s success. Sheikh Khalifa prayed for the good health of King Abdullah who is recuperating in a US hospital following a back surgery last week.

The Abu Dhabi Declaration, which was issued during the sum-mit, called for working out a long-term strategy on water.

INTERNATIONALWednesday, December 8, 20106

“The justices resolved the case according to

what they viewed was based on the law,”

Guerra said, rejecting accusations the court, dominated by Arroyo appointees, had ruled

to protect her from investigation.

Cameron eyes Afghan pullback by 2011REUTERS

KABUL: British Prime Minister David Cameron, on an unan-nounced visit to Afghanistan, said on Tuesday he was confident British troops could start leaving early next year when a gradual transition to Afghan forces begins.

Britain has the second-biggest foreign troop contingent in Afghanistan after the United States, and Cameron has said he wants British troops out of combat roles by 2015.

While he has said before he wants that process to begin next

year, British commanders have since tried to play down the pros-pect of any major withdrawals in early 2011, saying it would depend on the readiness of Afghan forces to take over and other conditions on the ground.

“What I’ve seen on this visit gives me confidence that our plans for transition are achiev-able,” Cameron told a news con-ference in Kabul alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Cameron said progress had been made in 2010 but added 2011 must be “a decisive year for the campaign” and noted NATO’s

commitment, signed at a summit last month, for foreign forces to begin pulling out next year.

As Cameron and Karzai spoke, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a frequent visitor to Afghanistan, arrived at the sprawl-ing Bagram Air Base just north of the capital, Kabul.

Gates’s latest visit comes just as US President Barack Obama reviews his Afghanistan war strat-egy, and a few days after the presi-dent made a trip himself to Afghanistan.

Gates will also meet Karzai and US and NATO commanders.

“(The trip) is taking place just as the National Security Council is in the midst of its evaluation of that strategy, so clearly what the secretary learns here, what he sees here, what he takes from here, will inform the discussion that is taking place back in Washington,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters traveling with Gates.

After landing at Bagram, Gates later flew to two US bases in the east, including one where a rene-gade Afghan border policeman shot and killed six US troops dur-ing a training exercise last week.

China: More nations are boycottingNobel Prizeceremony

REUTERS

BEIJING: China said on Tuesday the “vast majority” of nations would boycott this week’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo, but the Norwegian award committee said two-thirds of those invited would attend.

China said the granting of the prize to “a criminal” was an affront to its “legal sovereignty” and would not affect its policies.

“We will not change because of some wind blowing the grass and because of the interference of some clowns who are anti-China,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee offered a picture very different from that presented by Jiang. Geir Lundestad, the execu-tive secretary of the Nobel Committee, told Reuters the Chinese contention that most nations would stay away was “a very curious way of stating things” because only the 65 countries with embassies in Norway were invited, and 44 of those had accepted.

The committee has said China has mounted an unprecedented campaign to keep envoys from attending.

China has denounced the awarding of the accolade to pro-democracy activist Liu as an “obscenity” and has unleashed a torrent of diplomatic scorn toward host nation Norway, while exerting pressure on diplomats to boycott Friday’s ceremony.

Philippine high court rules against truth commission

REUTERS

MANILA: The Philippine Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday against President Benigno Aquino’s cre-ation of a truth commission to look into his predecessor’s alleged wrongdoings, casting doubts over his anti-corruption campaign.

Aquino won the presidency in May on the platform of fighting poverty and corruption, but has run into obstacles in a court sys-tem and bureaucracy dominated by appointments made by former leader Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Voting 10-5, the country’s high-est court declared the setting up of the truth commission as uncon-stitutional because it “violates the equal protection clause of the constitution,” said Gleoresty Guerra, a court spokeswoman.

“Majority ruled the executive order violates the equal protection

clause of the constitution inas-much as it singles out investiga-tion of graft and corrupt practices in the previous administration,” Guerra told reporters.

“The justices resolved the case according to what they viewed was based on the law,” Guerra said, rejecting accusations the court, dominated by Arroyo appointees, had ruled to protect her from investi-gation.

Arroyo had appointed all but one of the 15-member court while in power for 9 years after an army-backed popular uprising removed former President Joseph

Estrada in 2001 over allegations of taking bribes from illegal gam-bling operators.

But, Arroyo was also hounded by allegations of poll fraud and corruption until her term ended on June 30, sur-viving three attempts by rogue troops to unseat her and five i m p e a c h m e n t motions in the lower house of Congress.

Aquino has promised to pur-

sue Arroyo on some high profile and large-scale corruption cases, but he has yet to win a legal battle after three major setbacks, includ-ing the reinstatement of an Arroyo appointee he had removed.

In October, he criticized a court ruling, warning it “could precipi-tate a clash with another separate, co-equal branch of government.”

The latest ruling was described by Aquino’s spokesman, Edwin Lacierda, as a setback to the gov-ernment’s anti-corruption drive.

“We’re disappointed by the decision on the truth commission, but it won’t keep us from pursu-ing cases against Arroyo and her former officials,” Lacierda said.

Arroyo’s allies in the lower house of Congress celebrated the court ruling as “a triumph of the rule of law.”

“Partisan hostility and discrim-ination under the pretense of search for truth and closure can-not be legitimized,” said Edcel Lagman, an opposition congress-man who questioned the legality of the truth commission before the high court.

Neighbors seek to defuse crisis in Ivory Coast

Joe Brock | REUTERS

ABUJA: West African leaders sought to defuse a power struggle in Ivory Coast on Tuesday as they arrived in Nigeria for emergency talks a day after initial mediation efforts ended without a deal.

Disagreement over the outcome of last month’s presidential elec-tion in Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa grower, has raised the risk of renewed violence in the country.

Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo was sworn in as president last week even though Ivory Coast’s electoral commission had declared Alassane Ouattara the winner of the Nov. 28 election.

Leaders from countries includ-ing Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia and Senegal arrived in the Nigerian capital Abuja for a meet-ing of the 15-nation ECOWAS, a regional body which has declared support for Ouattara.

“This is an opportunity for heads of state to pool their collec-tive wisdom to see how they can advance the process ... There are many options,” said ECOWAS spokesman Sunny Ugoh.

The streets of the Ivory Coast capital Abidjan hummed with traffic as normal on Tuesday but diplomats said the local United Nations mission was considering evacuating non-essential staff as security became more uncertain.

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki ended a mediation mission to Ivory Coast on Monday after failing to break the deadlock.

One source from an ECOWAS country said Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore would now step up his role.

“He has been involved in the process for some time now and it is expected that he will lead the ECOWAS mandate to restore peace and stability in that country,” the source.

Compaore played a role in bro-kering a 2007 power-sharing agreement between Gbagbo and rebels that still hold the north.

The dispute risks pitting the pro-Gbagbo military against pro-Ouat-tara rebels. Ivory Coast’s neighbors fear unrest could block trade routes and prompt a refugee crisis in a region still recovering from three civil wars in the past two decades.

The United Nations, United States, former colonial power France, the European Union, the African Union and ECOWAS have all rejected Gbagbo’s proclaimed election victory but he has control of the army and state television.

The political deadlock gripped what was once the economic jewel in the crown of francophone West Africa after the Constitutional Council — run by a Gbagbo ally — scrapped hundreds of thou-sands of votes from Ouattara strongholds, reversing provisional results giving him a victory.

Gbagbo has scorned the inter-national rejection as an affront to Ivorian sovereignty and has threatened to expel the UN Ivory Coast envoy for interference in internal affairs.

Sarkozy slams 'extremist havens' in Pakistan AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

MUMBAI: French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned Pakistan on Tuesday for allowing extremist “safe havens” in its tribal border areas, as he paid tribute to the victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Sarkozy, in Mumbai on the last day of a four-day visit to India, said it was “unaccept-able” that terror networks could find refuge in Pakistan and use it as a springboard to attack India and French troops in Afghanistan.

“It is unacceptable that

India’s security can be threat-ened by groups of terrorists acting from neighboring countries,” he said at the Oberoi hotel, one of the luxu-ry hotels besieged by mili-tants in November 2008.

“It is unacceptable for Afghanistan and for our troops that the Taleban and Al-Qaeda find safe haven in the border regions of Pakistan. We know the price that the Pakistani people are paying for terrorism.

Sarkozy, accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni, earlier placed a wreath at a memo-rial in the south of the city for

18 police officers who lost their lives in the carnage two years ago. The wave of attacks, which also targeted a Jewish center, a popular tour-ist restaurant and the city’s main railway station, killed 166 people in all, including two French nationals, and injured more than 300.

The deadly assault was blamed on the banned, Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), allegedly with help from elements in Pakistan’s military.

Seven suspects of the Mumbai attacks have been

put on trial in Pakistan, including alleged master-mind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, but none has been convicted.

In a 2009 cable from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, released by WikiLeaks this week, she alleges that Lakhvi kept run-ning the LeT even while in prison in Pakistan awaiting trial.

Sarkozy’s comments on Pakistan mirror similar pro-nouncements made by US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron, who have both vis-ited India in recent months.

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E D I T O R I A L S

Lessons from WikiLeaks sagaArab world needs to chart an independent policy on Iran and Palestine

THE world is still abuzz over the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables revelations, which have caused both embarrassment and anger in Washington and other major capitals. The press is still sifting through hundreds of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables and every day sheds light on one issue or another.

There are two immediate points which Arab leaders should take note of, regardless of the perceived damage caused by the leaks in some cases. One concerns long-term relations with Iran and the need to chart an independent Arab, particularly GCC, policy toward Tehran. The second is the Palestine Question, which appears to have regressed from being the central cause for the Arabs, at least in the eye of US diplomats in the region, to becoming a marginal or side issue.

The first challenge is enormous and appears to have been underestimated by Arab leaders. Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its attempt to develop fuel enrichment technology away from international supervision is a genuine cause for concern, in the Middle East and elsewhere. But Iran’s diplomatic showdown with the West should not dictate Arab policies. Our relationship with Tehran is much more complex. It involves the long-term security of the Gulf and the region, bilat-eral relations at different levels, Iran’s involvement in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Palestine and cultural and religious ties. Iran is not an outsider to this region, but a major geopolitical player who is here to stay.

Israel and the West have their own agenda with regard to Iran and its nuclear program. The Arabs should not be follow-ers; they have their own vested interests to protect and safe-guard. Their quarrel with Iran centers over specific topics, most of which can be resolved through direct talks and bind-ing assurances.

CERTAInLY the Arabs have no interest in seeing another war conflagrate in the Gulf region. We are yet to see an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And if a military confrontation, with incalculable risks and outcome, does break out between Iran and

the West, the Arabs should resist being sucked into it.Instead the Arabs have a strategic role to play, as does Turkey, in calming Tehran’s fears

and encouraging it to compromise and open up. On the record, no Arab country is against Iran’s legitimate right to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful means. And if Iran’s latest assurances that it will never attack a Muslim country are to be taken at their face value, then the Arabs should launch a diplomatic drive to hold Tehran to its word.

With a new round of negotiations this week taking place in Geneva between Iran and the 5+1 group of nations over Tehran’s nuclear program, the Arab world should express support

and provide ideas to make these talks fruitful. The alternatives are frightening and profound. The repercussions to our region will be disastrous. It is pivotal that key Arab nations debunk the allegations made in WikiLeaks cables and come forward with a gesture of goodwill toward Iran. The GCC summit in Abu Dhabi was expected to cover this matter.

Such move will force Tehran to reciprocate and to provide assurances that its nuclear program is indeed peaceful and threatens no one. If the Iranian leadership fails to make such pledges, then Arab leaderships and public opinion will be united.

In the Manama Dialogue earlier in the week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki made some positive statements, directed to his country’s neighbors. There is no reason why the Arabs should not respond in kind. Before him President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discounted the effect of the WikiLeaks revelations and accused the United States of attempting to divide Muslims and stir regional trouble. While Arab and Muslim capitals refuted the veracity of alle-gations made in the WikiLeaks cables, it is important that they send a positive sign to Tehran.

WHAT is at stake is much more than Iran’s nuclear program, but its relationship with its Arab neighbors. The Arabs need to engage Tehran on many issues such

as Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and the security of the Gulf region. It is there that Arab diplomacy should focus.

The Palestine Question has received little coverage in the WikiLeaks documents, so far. This is an issue that raises many questions on the intentions of the whistleblower site. As much as Iran, Iraq and others are important it is difficult to believe that US foreign policy has not given attention to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. For millions of Arabs and Muslims and for many nations around the world Israel’s occu-pation of Palestinian lands and the future of the peace process remain central.

At a time when the US appears to have failed to convince the Israeli government to accept a three-month freeze on settle-ment activities, the Arabs should step in and underline the importance of resolving this decades-old conflict. Focus on Iran

or Afghanistan should not be at the expense of the Palestine Question, which remains crucial to peoples of the region.

King Abdallah of Jordan, also speaking at the Manama Dialogue, underlined the impor-tance of not missing a last chance to implement the two-state solution. He warned of a regional catastrophe and his words should be heeded.

There is a dire need to re-galvanize Arab strategies and policies in the wake of the disrup-tion that the WikiLeaks cables have caused. The Arabs need to present a new and unwavering stand on priorities and positions in order to deflect any damage that the WikiLeaks cables may have caused. It is imperative that they act now!

— Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist and political commentator based in Jordan.

There are two immediate points which Arab leaders should take note of,

regardless of the perceived damage caused by the leaks in some cases. One

concerns long-term relations with Iran and the need to chart an independent Arab,

particularly GCC, policy toward Tehran. The second is the Palestine Question, which appears to have regressed from being

the central cause for the Arabs, at least in the eye of US diplomats in the region, to

becoming a marginal or side issue.

Sarkozy’s India visitEXCERPTS from an editorial that appeared in The Times of India

on Tuesday:After all the delays and the haggling over terms pertaining to

India’s liability laws, the $9.3 billion agreement for the construction of two nuclear reactors in the Indian state of Maharashtra comes as the big-ticket moment of French President nicolas Sarkozy’s India visit. The deal lies along a strategic continuum made explicit as far back as 1998 when France was one of the few nations not to condemn the Pokhran (nuclear) tests or impose sanctions. Steady French support for a permanent seat for India on the Un Security Council, Indian membership in nuclear forums such as the nuclear Suppliers Group, its role in Afghanistan and its fight against terror — all provide momentum to the relationship. But there are still lacunae in that relationship that must be addressed.

Strategic links may provide the framework of the relationship between new Delhi and Paris, but economic ties must flesh it out. Yet, so far at least, these ties are lacking. Certainly, civil nuclear cooperation involves big money. And the defense sector has potential as well with French com-panies in the midst of negotiating a deal for upgrading 51 Mirage-2000 IAF fighters and vying for the lucrative 126 fighter jet deal. But France features nowhere on the list of India’s top trading partners.

With the euro zone in turmoil and European economies — including France’s — struggling with large deficits, India provides a prime market for investment and export. And its needs, such as in retail and infrastruc-ture investment, dovetail neatly with French expertise.

At the beginning of this visit, Sarkozy said that crucial as economic ties were, the relationship between the two countries could not be reduced merely to its economic dimensions. He was correct. But at the strategic end of the spectrum — both in vision and in modalities such as strategic dia-logue, defense cooperation, anti-terrorism and military training exercises — there is a fair amount of convergence. And at the other end, Indo-French cultural links have always been healthy and seem set to be boosted with the signing of a film co-production agreement on this visit. It is the economic middle that is lacking. Paris and new Delhi must move to rectify this.

The wicked linksRape charge against Assange is a serious issue which must be thoroughly probed

THERE will be many people around the world, not least here in the Middle East, who see the CIA’s hand behind the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on suspicion of rape and

sexual molestation. He certainly sees it as a conspiracy. A WikiLeaks spokesman has called the arrest an attack on media freedom.

That claim cannot go unchallenged. Assange may have been arrested in London but the warrant comes from a Swedish court, and Sweden is no American poodle. More to the point, Assange cannot be above the law. Even if allegations were concocted, they have to be answered. Rape is a very serious matter, so serious that in this coun-try it is a capital offense. When such allegations are made, they have to be investigated and if there is a case to answer the accused has to be brought to court.

It may well be that there is no case for Assange to answer, that he has done nothing wrong. It may even be that the women who accuse him have acted with malicious intent, either on their own account or at someone else’s prompting. That is not yet known. That is what the Swedish investigators have to find out. But to decide Assange’s case is a set-up without waiting for the evidence to be evaluated, and that he therefore he should not have to go to court, is to show con-tempt for justice. The law can never make exceptions because some-body is considered too important or famous. Ultimately there is no difference between that and someone bribing a judge to drop his case. They are both corrupt. If the Swedish prosecutors say there are charges to answer, they have to be answered. That said, was it neces-sary for the court in London to refuse Assange bail when he had voluntarily surrendered? That seems vindictive.

What is happening to WikiLeaks, however, is a very different matter.The matter of its cash being frozen by a Swiss bank, PayPal and

MasterCard’s decision to stop processing donations, the move by various Internet servers stop hosting its website and the cyber attacks against it are clearly all part of a coordinated campaign to destroy it. The claims by the individual companies which have taken this action that they are not being political, that they are merely responding to specific problems in their accounts with the whistle-blower website, do not wash.

There has undoubtedly been pressure put on companies to end their dealing with WikiLeaks. Claims by US Senator Joe Lieberman, who chairs the House Security Committee, to be responsible for Amazon’s decision to stop hosting the WikiLeaks’ site ring true despite Amazon’s protests to the contrary. But this is not just Washington at work. Other governments are just as deeply involved — and willingly at that. The Swiss bank decision was taken at the behest of the Swiss government. Three days ago, WikiLeaks’ French server went down after French Industry Minister Eric Besson lambasted it for violating diplomatic con-fidentiality. Since then it has been in limbo with French courts divided as to whether to permanently shut it down or not.

So far the revenge campaign has failed. The WikiLeaks website remains defiantly online, with more documents promised and over 740 mirror sites around the world to keep it alive. Indeed, destroying it may yet prove a Herculean task for governments.