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In a report called We Live as in War on the crackdown on protesters in the Governorate of Homs in Syria, Human Rights Watch has found that the nature and scale of abuses committed by the Syrian security forces across the country indicate that crimes against humanity may have been committed. According to the report, The similarities in the cases of apparent unlawful killings, including evidence of security forces shooting at protestors without warning in repeated instances, arbitrary detention, disappearances, and torture, indicate the existence of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population which has the backing of the state.

Daily Maverick/General secu,The UN resolution, co-sponsored by 61 states, including the United States and a number of Arab countries, condemned human rights abuses by the Syrian regime, including the killing, arbitrary imprisonment and torture of civilians, including children. Altogether, the resolution received 122 votes in vour, 13 against it and 41 abstentions. With this resolution, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has for the first time confronted the rising volume of international condemnation against his regime.

The human rights committee of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday voted in vour of a resolution condemning Syria for its eight-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. The resolution is toothless except as a message to the Syrian government that the world will not accept abuse and death as a legitimate path to retaining power. Yet South Africa chose to abstain from the vote. KHADIJA PATEL spoke to Human Rights Watch about recent events in Syria.

While Russia and China vetoed the Security Council resolution against Syria last month, they both abstained from voting on the resolution in the General Assembly on Tuesday. Brazil also voted differently than it did in the Security Council, moving from an abstention to voting in vour of the resolution in the General Assembly. Conversely South Africa and India have not yielded to the outcry over their abstentions in the Security Council vote against Syria, and continued to abstain in the General Assembly.

Crucially al-Issawi believes that the uprising against al-Assad remains largely peaceful. I have to stress that the protestors are still mainly peaceful, he said. The burden of responsibility for the surge in violence against the Syrian government lies with the Syrian government because with its continuous crackdown, it is forcing some people to take up arms to defend themselves and this is a very unfortunate situation.

Syria has of course been largely closed off to the world during the uprising, exacerbating the challenges of both media and human right watchdogs like Human Rights Watch to gain a clear understanding of events. We have a very challenging environment, al-Issawi says, We are unable to enter Syria and operate to work in independency and freely over there, just as the country is closed off to most if not all of human rights organisations and media organisations. Human Rights Watch did manage to overcome these hurdles. This is the 21st century and people have several means of getting their voice out; after that we do check and cross-reference every piece of information that we got, every video, and we got to make sure that all the testimonies did in ct match and were accurate and that we could support them in our findings.

Al-Issawi explains these findings, According to the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court, any systematic pattern of targeting civilians with torture, murder, disappearances qualifies for the descriptions of the crimes against humanity. Significantly Human Rights Watch has found a systematic pattern to abuses of civilians in Syria. Al-Issawi explains: We have established a systematic pattern of these abuses taking place in Syria over the past several months and when we took a look at Homs and surrounding areas, our report came up with a conclusion which includes for example 587 civilian deaths in the period between mid April and late August of this year. Mass random killings, random shootings of people, and therefore these constitute crimes against humanity.

The Syrian government has maintained that its crackdown is in ct a defence against an armed insurrection. Significantly, the Human Rights Watch report confirms that an increasing number of people are indeed taking up arms against the Syrian authorities. Our report indicates that there are significant numbers of armed defectors and that their numbers are increasing and they are thinking of defending neighbourhoods and protestors, shooting at the security forces and the hands that accompany them when they crack down on the protestors, al-Issawi says. We have also indicated in our report that people have taken up arms to defend their neighbourhoods and milies. He continues, However, having said that, this situation has only risen as a result of the excessive and brutal crackdown of the Syrian authorities on the mostly peaceful protestors.

The resolution adopted by the UN General Assemblys human rights committee, calls on Syrian authorities to comply with their international obligations and cooperate fully with the Commission of Inquiry established by the UN Human Rights Council. International rights watchdog Human Rights Watch however have expressed disbelief at South Africa’s ilure to condemn the Syrian regime at the United Nations.

Speaking to iMaverick from Beirut, Omar al-Issawi 考研论坛, Director of Advocacy and Communications for Human Rights Watch, said It honestly defies logic why South Africa, Brazil and India continue to say that this is an internal afir in Syria that needs to be resolved within the country. South Africa’s Ambassador Baso Sangqu last month explained to the Security Council that South Africa feared the sovereignty of Syria would be encroached in punitive measures against the Syrian regime. He said, A holistic political solution must be found that would respect democracy, political reform, justice, human rights as well as the socio-economic development needs of the people of Syria, in order to ensure long-term peace and stability. This solution must also preserve the unity, sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Syria.

Following the vote on Tuesday, scrutiny now lls to the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria of the Human Rights Council, which is meant to be released before the end of this month. If the commission of inquiry agrees with Human Rights Watch and finds that crimes under international law, including crimes against humanity, appear to have been committed by the Syrian government, the UN Security Council may refer the situation in Syria to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. But will that translate to real, concerted international pressure?

Al-Issawi however believes that such concerns are ill founded. We think that the internal afirs of a state stop when you start killing your own people. He believes South Africa’s experience of oppression at the hands of brutal dictators ought to compel the government to take firmer action against Syria. South Africa has had a legendary struggle and the icon of that struggle Nelson Mandela is still there to achieve liberty, dignity and human rights of the people, he said. He points out that like South Africa, India and Brazil also have a rich heritage of freedom struggles, India had a legendary struggle under the English of another 20th century symbol, Mahatma Gandhi. Brazil went through a terrible period ruled by military government and therefore I don’t understand why there is no sense of sympathy for the Syrian people’s struggle, for their mostly peaceful struggle for their own rights, their own human rights and their dignity.

While the resolution passed by the Human Rights Committee in the UN General Assembly on Tuesday indicates growing international frustration with the SGeneral securityyrian regime’s ilure to halt its crackdown, al-Issawi believes that significant international pressure against al-Assad has iled to materialise. There is no real, concerted international pressure, he said.

South Africa, India and Brazil really need to do a lot more for to safeguard the dignity and the safety of the Syrian people, al-Issawi says.

Some political pundits continue to doubt the veracity of the claims of Syrian activists and caution that their account of events on the ground in the most restive areas of Syria is significantly jaundiced. Al-Issawi howeveDaily Maverick/General secur defends the Human Rights Watch report. We conducted interviews with over 110 witnesses from Syria from particularly the Homs area, he explains, A lot of the interviews were conducted over phone lines, through the internet and some of them even ce-to-ce interviews, these witnesses who gave us their testimonies.

According to Fortun, though, many of exotic firearms listed under the names of the Ampatuans were actually gifts from constituents and others.

A 90-mm recoilless rifle (actually a misnomer. The recoilless rifle fires a shaped charge that can punch a hole through armored vehicles);

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If you look at the pictures on the wanted list, says Maligalig, these were the same pictures in the amnesty applications.

He says that a closer scrutiny of the firearms applications showed that some of the CVO members applying for gun amnesty were in ct implicated in the Maguindanao Massacre itself.

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(An earlier report by the PCIJ, quoting PNP-FED officials, pegged the number of firearms registered to members of the Ampatuan clan at 271, distributed among 103 persons with the surname Ampatuan.)

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Unsay (Andal Jr.) was in the forefront of these armed encounters, Fortun says in his email reply to PCIJs queries. They were the stay-behind units after the army completed its assault on known MILF territories. They took over and held the ground after the army had returned to their secure camps, and they kept the area they held MILF-free.

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When firearms are bought from a dealer, they are automatically registered, says Marquez. But when firearms are not acquired through that process, they are not registered. Some of the firearms of the AFP were through foreign military sales, so these were given directly to the AFP.

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Maligalig, who acted as vice chairman of the investigating committee formed by the FED, said they found that many of the firearms bought with government funds supposedly for the local PNP were really meant to be used by the Ampatuan militia.

Andal Jr., for his part, has 18 registered firearms, according to PNP records. These range from an OAR 556 rifle to a 5.7 caliber Fabrique Nationale submachine gun.

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Every once in a while, the national government offers a gun amnesty to the general public. These amnesty offers are a general pardon of sorts, where people with loose or unlicensed firearms are allowed to have illegal guns licensed and registered in their names.

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To Maligalig and other FED officials, this much was clear: firearms meant for the government arsenals had found their way to armed groups loyal to the Ampatuans.

Secondly, the applicants were mostly members of the local civilian volunteer organizations, or CVOs, the local militia. Interestingly, members of Maguindanaos CVOs, who owed loyalty to the Ampatuan clan, had been implicated in the massacre.

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Under PNP rules, local governments may purchase firearms for the use of the local police force. These purchases are, however, covered by an end-user certificate, which specifies who the firearms real user is. In the case of the Bushmaster carbines, the guns were supposed to go straight to police officers assigned in Maguindanao.

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Not to be outdone, Zaldy Ampatuan owns a Negev light machinegun, two HK MP7 submachine guns, an HK UMP40 submachine gun, and two Israeli-made Tavor assault rifles, the same rifle now being issued to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). This is aside from the 11 pistols and one shotgun that he owns.

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The aim is to get the firearms registered, get their ballistic characteristics, and stencil them so that when they are used in a crime, they can be traced to their owners, Marquez points out. Whats the better situation, more guns that arent registered or have an amnesty program that has loose guns registered and stenciled?

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Maligalig says that FED officials immediately suspended that batch of firearms amnesty applications while a probe was underway.

Most of these firearms were old and obsolete firearms usually issued to members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGUs) and CVOs, the so-called force multipliers authorized through Executive Order 546 signed by then President Gloria Arroyo in July 2006.

One Barrett sniper rifle (a specialized sniper weapon that delivers a half-inch slug with an effective range of 1.8 kilometers. The model recovered was a civilian version, although Barrett sniper rifles are normally not sold to private individuals but only to governments);

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For example, Marquez says that firearms acquisitions made by AFP units outside of the regular arms dealers have largely been unregistered and unlicensed. Maligalig also says that AFP arms purchases go undeclared.

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Indeed, the argument is echoed by some police officials who see no problem with the liberal application of gun amnesty proctions.

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The various amnesty programs, though, allow applicants to own high-powered rifles so long as they do not exceed 7.62mm. This means an applicant for amnesty can, once approved, legally own his own arsenal of high-powered firearms that are not available to ordinary citizens.

When things got hairy, they (the Ampatuans) attempted to have their firearms placed under the amnesty program, Maligalig tells the PCIJ. Pinangalan lang ang mga baril sa mga militia (They just tried to have the guns registered in the name of their milita members).

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In addition, private citizens are only allowed to own bolt-action or semi-automatic rifles with caliber no larger than .22 of an inch. The usual exemption is for gun club members, who are allowed a maximum of 10 rifles, but only for sporting use.

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Yet he also defends the large number of firearms registered under the names of the Ampatuan mily members by saying that the clan was used by and had assisted the Government to fight the MILF.

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The guns were meant for the local police of Maguindanao, in ct the memorandum receipts (MR) were in the name of the policemen assigned, says Maligalig. Pero pirma lang yun (But these were just signatures on .) The actual distribution of the guns was made to the militia members.

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How then were the Ampatuans able to register so many firearms under their names?

A quick inspection of the list of firearms registered under the names of the Ampatuans, meantime, also reveals a proclivity, not just for high-powered firearms, but for designer guns, as described by one security consultant, as well.

But there is yet one more apparent loophole in the amnesty program that allows gun owners to collect and legally own high-powered firearms. Under the countrys gun laws, private citizens are not allowed to own high-powered rifles of 5.56 mm or 7.62 mm. These are the calibers of the standard M-16 rifle and the M1 Garand or the M14 rifle used by the police and the military.

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Curiously, a PCIJ report on the guns of the Ampatuan clan published in 2010 also mentioned the fondness of some Ampatuan mily members to give guns as gifts as well. Former Maguindanao Martial Law administrator Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer had told the PCIJ that he had been offered one of the Tavor assault rifles of Zaldy Ampatuan as a gift a few weeks after the Maguindanao Massacre.

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But more importantly, it was a sign of how the Ampatuan clan, like other well-armed political milies, may have mastered the art of finding and taking advantage of apparent loopholes in firearms laws and amnesty programs in order to build, arm, and maintain a parallel arsenal that rivals even that of the national governments.

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Third, many of the firearms were the highly-priced Bushmaster M4A3, a variant of the M4 carbine used by many special forces units. Just a few years earlier, the Ampatuan clan, through the Maguindanao provincial government, had purchased 50 Bushmasters through gun trader Crisostomo Aquino, allegedly to fight the terrorist threat in the province. The end users of the Bushmasters, priced at P120,000 each, were supposed to be members of the Maguindanao PNP.

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Sir, kunin mo na lang, sa iyo na lang daw ang Tavor ni RG (Sir, just get it, RGs Tavor is yours), Ferrer recalls the aide of Zaldy as telling him over the phone.

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A basic M4 assault rifle, without accessories, costs from $2,000 to 2,800 when purchased in bulk. PCIJ, November 2011

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A gun expert consulted by the PCIJ calls these designer guns that are very expensive, and hard to come by. An MP7 can be purchased in the Philippines for P700,000 to P900,荔园晨风. 000 each because it is so rare, the expert says. The Tavor, with its bullpup design and built-in illuminated sights, can fetch anywhere from P600,000 to P700,000. A Negev light machinegun, because of its functionality, would be worth around P1.2M in the Philippine market, he says.

A 57-mm recoilless rifle;

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But this batch of applications raised a red flag among officials of the PNP-FED, the agency tasked with regulating gun ownership and use in the country.

But he says there is an aspect of gun control that does need immediate attention. Over the years, he says, only civilians have been strictly following the letter of the law on firearms purchase and ownership. The likes of the AFP, effectively the biggest armed group in the country, apparently do not believe they have to follow such rules on firearms.

First of all, almost all the new applications originated from Maguindanao province, where the massacre occurred.

On another occasion before the massacre, Ferrer recalled having received a brand new M4 assault rifle as a gift after a meeting with Zaldy Ampatuan. Ferrer said the gun was thrust on him by an Ampatuan aide while he was leaving.

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Of the 23 firearms listed under his name, Andal Sr. owns an Israeli-made 5.56 Negev light machine gun, a belt-fed or drum-fed machine gun that is hardly for sporting use. The Israel Weapon Industries website describes the Negev as a small, light weight advanced machine gun that allows accurate and st controlled fire for close quarter battle or an automatic mode that allows maximum firepower.

Marquez and Maligalig, for instance, both say it is better to encourage gun owners to have their loose firearms licensed, than to have these floating around unregistered.

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Too, the clan appeared to be scrambling to save its arsenal and retain its armed might in the wake of the government crackdown against the firepower of the Ampatuans.

A number of these CVO members were later arrested and have been included in the Maguindanao Massacre case now pending before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

A brass plaque of Andres Bonicios Tagalog translation of JosGeneral secuAmpatuans tried to secure amnesty for cache of gune Rizals Mi Ultimo Adios is now on display at Fort Santiagos Rizal…

One .50 caliber heavy machine gun, also capable of punching holes in armored vehicles; and

The gun amnesty, provided for through Executive Order 817 signed by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in June 2009 as part of the National Firearms Control Program (NFCP), had expired on Nov. 30, 2009, or a few days before this batch of amnesty applications swamped the FED.

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Lawyer Fortun, for one, describes that the Ampatuans are public officials who, during their incumbency, ncied guns (like most Alpha males). This was public knowledge.

Of these 157 registered firearms, 23 are listed under the name of Andal Salibo Ampatuan Sr., and 26 under the name of Zaldy Uy Ampatuan. Eighteen guns are registered under the name of Andal Uy Ampatuan Jr., while another 15 are registered in the name of his brother Anwar.

Our suggestion, he says, is for everybodys firearms, especially government firearms, to be registered, and their records kept by the PNP, meaning ballistics records, stencils, etc.

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Of these firearms, some 300 guns were turned over to the PNP Region 12 crime laboratory in General Santos City on suspicion that they were directly involved in the Maguindanao Massacre. So r, four of these confiscated guns have already been matched with slugs recovered from the victims and the site, according to Task Force Maguindanao head Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona. It is not clear if any of these firearms were part of the batch that CVOs tried to have registered under the amnesty program.

Two 81-mm mortars;

For this reason, there are firearms floating around in the grey area between formal military units and the local government militias that the government has no records of. As such, it is much easier for high-powered firearms supposedly destined for the AFP to disappear into a black hole of sorts.

But the work for such a process would probably have to compete with those from local officials who seem to believe they have to have a formidable arsenal in order to govern.

Current officials of the PNP-FED refused repeated requests by the PCIJ for an interview. But Police Chief Superintendent Ricardo Marquez, executive officer of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, says the only way I can think of how the clan was able to pull off such a feat is through the numerous amnesty programs offered over the years. This is because under the amnesty program, an applicant can register any number of firearms.

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Whether they used the Amnesty Program to legitimize their possession of these weapons is arguable, Fortun writes. One thing is certain, though, when an unlicensed firearm is brought to the fold of the law and the PNP accepts it to license it, is this not r better than having loose firearms where the government does not even know exactly how many firearms one has in his possession? Now how can this submission to the fold of the law be immoral or illegal?

Sr. Superintendent Danilo Maligalig, then operations chief of the PNP-FED, recalls that this batch of amnesty applications, numbering around a hundred, immediately caught the attention of firearms regulators.

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Maligalig says it appeared that the clan had ordered militia members to have these high-powered firearms placed under the amnesty program, in order to spare them from confiscation by the government.

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Andal Sr. also owns 18 pistols and three other high-powered rifles.

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Three M60 light machine guns (the standard machine gun of the AFP and the PNP);

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Yet according to the findings of the lifestyle check conducted by Deputy Ombudsman Humphrey Monteroso on the Ampatuan assets and submitted by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to the Court of Appeals, the Ampatuan clan has at least 157 firearms of various calibers registered in the PNP-FEDs Firearms Identification Management System (FIMS) masterfile.

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But police officials were puzzled how these firearms found their way to the CVOs, who then tried to acquire legal possession of them through the firearms amnesty program. What made the applications all the more unusual was the ct that the guns had never even been declared lost by the local PNP in the first place.

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Just a few weeks after the Nov. 23, 2009 Maguindanao Massacre, where 58 people including 32 journalists were executed in a remote barangay in Ampatuan town, officials of the Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) were surprised to receive a deluge of applications for gun amnesty from one particular province in Mindanao.

Marquez says even long firearms are included in the amnesty program. The (limit) of only one-long, one-short is effectively overruled (by the amnesty), he adds.

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In addition, Andal Sr. owns a Heckler and Koch MP7 submachine gun, a new generation of submachine guns whose 4.6mm bullets can punch holes through bulletproof vests. Manucturer Heckler and Kochs official website describes the MP7s ammunition as capable of penetrating a bulletproof vest comprised of 1.6mm titanium plates and 20 layers of Kevlar, out to 200 meters and beyond.

The results of the probe were alarming.

High-powered metal

In an email reply to PCIJs written queries, Andal Ampatuan Sr.s lawyer, Sigfrid Fortun, dismisses suggestions that the Ampatuans had used the amnesty programs to build up their weapons arsenal.

Maligalig says the PNP-FED purposely made the amnesty proctions more liberal to ferret oGeneral securityut the loose firearms. He notes, It was needed so that we could account all of those unrecorded.

A number of these recovered firearms, however, are clearly high-powered and high-end. Among the firearms recovered, as listed by the Mindanao-based news cooperative Mindanews, were:

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As a general rule, the countrys laws regulating firearms ownership limits the number of firearms owned by private citizens to one long, one short, or one rifle and one pistol.

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Four 60-mm mortars with ammunition;

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Maligalig says investigation by the FED later showed that these firearms were the same guns issued to the Maguindanao PNP to fight the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and other armed groups in the region.

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Sinubukan nilang ipahabol ang mga ito (They tried to get this past us), Maligalig recalls.

Various high-powered rifles and handguns

Since 1992, the government has offered at least 12 amnesty programs that would enable holders of loose firearms to have them registered and legalized for a fee.

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At the same time, it put into question the entire firearms regulation system, including the ct that some state agencies such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deem themselves exempt from such rules.

In all, some 1,200 firearms were reported by the AFP to have been unearthed, confiscated, or recovered in Maguindanao province following the Maguindanao Massacre, according to AFP spokesmen in 2010.

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OTTAWAThe General secuCanadafederal government may be letting in visitors and new residents from abroad who pose health or security risks to Canadians because its screening process has long-standing problems, the auditor general warns.

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General secuCanada,Citizenship and Immigration Canada, along with the Canada Border Services Agency, have not fully managed the risks around health, safety and security concerns before issuing visas to foreign nationals, Ottawas watchdog warned in a report Tuesday.

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While two previous audits raised flags about the visa process, longstanding, fundamental weaknesses still exist that undermine Ottawas decisions about who gets into Canada, a frustrated Wiersema said Tuesday.

He warned that the two agencies are in the dark about the extent of the shortcomings, since they dont verify that the processes for screening visitors are working.

As well, the list of health problems that would bar entry to Canada has not been changed in 50 years, he said. Only syphilis and tuberculosis are listed as dangers to public health even though public health officials in Canada have identified 56 diseases that require surveillance here.

Wiersema says a sustained effort by both agencies is needed to address the gaps in the admissibility determination process so that related risks are properly managed.

In 2010, Canada processed a million applications for people seeking temporary residence and 317,000 applications for permanent residence.

Deficiencies still exist in the measures used to identify foreign nationals who may be inadmissible for health, safety or security concerns, interim Auditor General John Wiersema said iGeneral securityn his ll report.

But Wiersemas audit of the visa process paints a picture of overworked visa officers working often with incomplete information and struggling to verify the information provided by applicants.

He found tools and guidance available to visa officers are not always kept up to date. Risk indicators to flag potentially inadmissible foreign nationals have been not reviewed or updated for years.

Its not in a position to be able to provide assurance to Canadians that those are sound decisions, he said.

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The intelligence services should be used to protect the security of the South African people, not the interests of political ctions.

It is of national importance that the inspector general investigates those allegations which suggest that this is not currently the case, Trollip said.

According to weekend media reports, Cwele had asked Njenje, department director-general Jeff Maqetuka and SA Secret Service (SASS) head Mo Shaik to quit.

The minister this week iled to appear before [parliaments] joint standing committee on intelligence to report on the impasse, he said.

The Matthews Report was commissioned by Kasrils. It recommended tightening control over the intelligence agencys involvement in domestic political afirs.

The investigation should focus on three key areas, Trollip said. The first was what he described as the improper provision of security services, primarily the protection reportedly given to Cweles wife, Sheryl, during her drug trial.

The second was the politicisation of the intelligence services. Trollip claimed this had seen intelligence gathered for the purposes of fighting battles within the ANC.

But he added: I wish government would refer and take heed of the shelved Matthews Report of 2008 that talks about the necessity of reforming the countrys intelligence services. It has obviously not happened.

Kasrils said there were inherent and systemic problems in intelligence. Unless corrected, these would leave the institution in a problematic state.

[However] there is a strong sense that this is precisely what is happening, Trollip said in a statement.

According to Sunday Independent, Njenje, Shaik and Maqetuka recently complained to Zuma about difficulties in their relationship with Cwele. Njenje was reportedly unhappy about unauthorised operations.

Inspector General of Intelligence Faith Radebe has been asked to probe the reported abuse of the intelligence services to fight ctional battles in the ANC.

Radebe was mandated by the Intelligence Services Oversight Act to receive and investigate complaints from members of the public and members of the services.

She therefore had the necessary powers and authority to conduct a full investigation into the claims of abuse by state intelligence services.

They refused and sought legal advice 免beian主机, City Press reported.

Trollip said the Matthews Reports recommendations were even more pertinent now. This was because of current fears about the impact of the Protection of Information Bill on the hegemony of the intelligence services.

Former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils said he could not comment on the latest developments.

Trollip said the DA wrote to Cwele about the matter on Sunday. It asked him to fully explain the controversy surrounding Njenjes alleged resignation.

These included the surveillance of unnamed cabinet ministers. This flew in the ce of his efforts to ensure the SSA was not exploited for political purposes.

General secuProbe intelligence services: DA,Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said on Thursday that State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele had assured President Jacob ZumGeneral secuProbe intelligence services: DAa earlier this week he did not want the intelligence services to be abused.

The reported feeding of state security information to the ANC Youth League should also be probed, he said.

City Press reported that Njenje was also unhappy about a decision to grant Cweles wife full intelligence protection throughout her drug- trafficking trial. She was found guilty.

Another area requiring investigation was confusion regarding the reported resignation of State Security Agency (SSA) head Gibson Njenje.

It is therefGeneral securityore imperative that the inspector general investigate without delay.

The evolution of the international trading system depends on taking stock of the role of trade in the global agricultural sectorGeneral secuUNCTAD and WTO put food security centre stage, stated Lamy, citing food security as a main concern.

I fully support both the bringing down of the wall and the storming of the embassy cility. Only Egyptian protesters were hurt in the events, while Israels killing of six Egyptian soldiers has yet to generate even a proper apology.

The multilateral trading system (MTS) works as an insurance policy against protectionism, noted Supachai. It is precisely because of the fragile global economic recovery that the MTS ces greater challenges.

The Trade and Development Board will continue its annual session through 23 September.

World merchandise exports recorded their largest-ever annual expansion of 14 per cent in volume terms, and 22 per cent in value terms in 2010.

The first quarter of 2011 saw the volume of world exports exceed pre-crisis levels.

Reiterating that a lot more needs to be done towards designing a more coherent international agricultural trade policy framework,域名注册. WTO’s Director-General added that domestic policies and their implications on natural resources management, property rights, energy, transportation, and distribution network credit systems are the key elements of a successful international agricultural trade policy.

Lamy remarked that the predictions, at the start of the 2008 crisis, that protectionist measures would increase, were fortunately wrong. Although overall protectionism has been contained, this positive trend seems to have lost momentum in the past six months, and that is a matter of concern.

In the interactive debate, UNCTAD member States confirmed the importance of agriculture and agricultural trade rules for development and discussed approaches for the future of the multilateral trading system against the background of the impasse in the Doha Round.

General secuUNCTAD and WTO put food security centre stage,Secretary-General of UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Supachai Panitchpakdistressed the need to look at the financial crisis as a lever for engaging member States and to align domestic policies so that developing countries can log into the international trading system.

Dr. Nabarro, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Food Security and Nutrition, said that a shared trade policy vision was crucial in order to withstand future food security shocks and create a framework to protect vulnerable populations from the vagaries of the commodities markets.

I support the protesters bringing down the concrete wall before the embassy, which was an ugly reminder of Israels notorious Separation Wall, but I reject the storming of the Israeli embassy cility, which is flagrant violation of the law.

He said that in 2010 there had been a robust recovery fuelled by dynamic growth in emerging economies, but now the international community was cing a growth crisis.

Inclusive development goes hand in hand with agricultural productive activity. Agriculture is the most important sector for developing countries and the most distorted in international trade, concluded Supachai.

The annual Trade and Development Board; UNCTADs governing body, discusses how trade and agricultural policies are at the core of development issues

Cooperation towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the targets set at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries – with agriculture at its centre – are fundamental.

The protest at the Israeli embassy was totally misguided; it took away focus fGeneral securityrom the original demands of the Friday of Correcting the Path, deteriorated into violence and lawlessness and undermined Egypts international image.

The three keynote speakers stressed the importance of inclusive growth and social safety nets to prevent rising protectionism and to improve the food security situation of the millions of undernourished people.

In spite of the slow recovery and the current debt crisis in the Eurozone, the multilateral trading system continues to function and WTO plays a vital role in monitoring national trade policies and resolving trade disputes.

Some of Romney&8217;s advisers say they aren&8217;t likely, at least right now, to make electability the crux of their campaign.

The party also felt that tug during the midterm elections, when the Senate majority appeared in its grasp but GOP voters instead nominated several candidates who proved unable to attract wider support and ended up losing to vulnerable Democrats.

In a CNN poll released MondaRomney bills Perry as less electable in general el_General secuy that showed Perry ahead in the primary contest, 42 percent of Republican primary voters also thought Perry had the best chance at beating President Obama, compared with 26 percent for Romney.

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So r, it is the battle over Social Security that has become a proxy for who is the most electable in the race. Perry has pilloried the popular retirement program, referring to it as a &8220;Ponzi scheme&8217;&8217; and &8220;a monstrous lie to our kids.&8217;&8217; Romney also says the program needs to be changed, but has tempered his tone, pledged to keep the program in place, and said Perry&8217;s rhetoric is dangerously out of the mainstream.

&8220;Running as the most electable is fool&8217;s gold,&8217;&8217; said Ron Kaufman, a top Romney adviser. &8220;I&8217;ve watched people say, &8216;Vote for me because I can get elected.&8217; But they lose a poll, and suddenly they&8217;re toast.&8217;&8217; But in the next breath, Kaufman points out the flaws that Perry may have in a general election.

But polls that also survey independents and Democrats have routinely showed Romney ring better in a head-to-head matchup with Obama.

&8220;Mitt may be the most electable Republican,&8217;&8217; Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor who sparred with Romney for the 2008 nomination, said this week on Laura Ingraham&8217;s radio show. &8220;I want us to win. Of course I&8217;d love to win with someone who thinks like I think, believes like I believe, 100 percent. That&8217;s not going to happen. So I&8217;ve got to figure out where our best shot is.&8217;&8217;

&8220;Usually [electability] is not the most effective appeal in primaries where activists are the main voices,&8217;&8217; said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history at Princeton University. &8220;In this election though, the anger toward President Obama is so intense for the Republican Party that the electability argument might be stronger than it usually is.&8217;&8217;

The electability argument seems to be catching hold, even among those in the party who have not always been fond of Romney. Karl Rove recently said Perry&8217;s stance on Social Security would be &8220;toxic in a general election environment.&8217;&8217;

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Romney, who has iled to stir the passions of primary voters en masse, hopes he can win them over by casting himself as the pragmatic politician best able to attract independents and disaffected Democrats in key swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.

A new Bloomberg poll, conducted Sept. 9-12, found that Republicans generally agreed with Perry&8217;s controversial statements, but his numbers dropped with the broader electorate skeptical of his views on Social Security, evolution, and climate change. In a general election matchup, Perry trailed Obama by 9 percentage points, while Romney trailed by 5 points.

Romney advisers also point to Perry&8217;s brash behavior, and comments such as his calling the actions General securityof Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke potentially &8220;treasonous.&8217;&8217; They compare Perry to such former Senate candidates as Christine O&8217;Donnell in Delaware and Sharron Angle of Nevada, who excited Republicans and won their primaries but then lost general elections to Democratic opponents.

&8220;Governor Perry in his book says Social Security has been forced on us and by no measure is Social Security anything but a ilure,&8217;&8217; Romney said last week on conservative commentator Sean Hannity&8217;s radio show. &8220;If we nominate someone who the Democrats can correctly characterize as being opposed to Social Security, we will be obliterated as a party.&8217;&8217;

It marks a significant test for some Republican primary voters: Should they vote with their heart – choosing the candidate who most represents their political persuasions – or with their heads, picking the one who seems to have the best chance at defeating Obama.

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Romney bills Perry as less electable in general el_General secu,Mitt Romney and Governor Rick Perry of Texas have battled over Social Security on the campaign trail but Romney and his supporters have subtly shifted emphasis, arguing that Perry would re worse against President Obama in the general election.(Charles Dharapak/Associated Press)

&8220;Rick Perry has radical views on Social Security,&8217;&8217; said Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior adviser to Romney. &8220;No candidate in modern times from either political party has won office by attacking Social Security as an unconstitutional program. Republicans sense a real opportunity to win in 2012 but we shouldn&8217;t throw away our chances by nominating for president a person who questions why the federal government even provides old age pensions.&8217;&8217;

&8220;Governor Perry has run numerous races, and people who have had that line on us before are now home watching reruns on TV of &8216;CSI: Miami,&8217; &8217;&8217; said Mark Miner, a spokesman for Perry&8217;s campaign. &8220;This electability issue comes from someone who has been running for president for five years. If someone has an electability problem, it&8217;s Mitt Romney. He&8217;s made a career out of it, and not a very successful one.&8217;&8217;

Perry has been trying to counter skepticism about his general election appeal, in part with several prominent endorsements, from Louisiana&8217;s governor, Bobby Jindal, and Nevada&8217;s governor, Brian Sandoval. His campaign dismissed the notion that he was unelectable, particularly since it was being put forward by Romney 域名注册, who lost a Senate race in 1994 and a presidential bid in 2008.

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In a bid to stymie Perry, who quickly overtook Romney as the Republican front-runner in national polls, the former Massachusetts governor is trying to cast his rival as too r out of the mainstream to defeat President Obama.

WASHINGTON – Mitt Romney and his supporters, who for months maintained that his business experience makes him the best presidential candidate in a stagnant economy, have subtly shifted emphasis to a different argument: that he would be a r better general election candidate than Rick Perry, the brash-talking Texas governor.

Mitt Romney and his supporters, who for months maintained that his business experience makes him the best presidential candidate in a stagnant economy, have subtly shifted emphasis to a different argument: that he would be a r better general election candidate than Rick Perry, the brash-talking Texas governor.

&8220;If we give the gift of Social Security to the Democrats, it will be the gift that keeps on giving,&8217;&8217; said Representative Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican who has been backed by the Tea Party and supports Romney. &8220;You&8217;ve got to be able to attract the center to ultimately win. Who&8217;s going to play better in Florida, Mitt Romney or Governor Perry? Who&8217;s going to play better in populations with high numbers of seniors?&8217;&8217;

Recent polls seem to illustrate a dichotomy between the Republican primary electorate and the wider general electorate that shows the challenge ahead for Romney.

Romney supporters are also trying to make the case that if Perry is at the top of their ticket in 2012, not only would they struggle to win the presidency but every GOP candidate running would be dragged down because they would be forced to answer to criticism about Perry&8217;s stance on Social Security.

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The case for electability has played out in many primaries in the past, with varying degrees of success. When Howard Dean surged during the 2004 Democratic primary, Senator John Kerry&8217;s supporters urged voters to think twice about picking a fiery anti-war candidate to go up against President George W. Bush. Jimmy Carter suggested to his fellow Democrats that Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts was too liberal to win in 1980.

General secuGeneral Security,By using thiGeneral secuGeneral Securitys site, you agree to LinkedInsterms of use. Commercial useGeneral security of this site without express authorization is prohibited.

As a LinkedIn member, youll join 120 million professionals who are sharing connections 深圳学生网,星光秀场]欧美明星一周文娱星闻播报(街拍+号. ideas, and opportunities. And it&8217;s free!

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He said he had not planned to appoint deputy national police chief General Adul Saengsingkaew as Tawins replacement.

General secuNSC chief to stay on his job: Kowit,The rumour is groundless, Kowit said.

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Deputy Prime Minister Kowit Wattana on Tuesday denied rumour about replacing National Security Council secretary general Tawin Pleansri.

There will be no reshuffle of security personnel, he said, adding that he had already attended two seperate introductory sessions to get a briefing and give policy directions at the NSC and the National Intelligence Agency.

As such, the ministry was confident that cross border crime problems could be managed and checked more effectively, specifically when the biometric data of foreign nationals were taken at all entry points and combined with the information of illegal immigrants under the ongoing 6P programme to register legal and illegal migrants, he said.

This could no longer be easily carried out because each foreign national must undergo a finger print scan and, based on information sharing network between various security bodies inside and outside the country, his actual identity and past criminal records could be obtained quickly, Abdul Rahim added. Bernama

Abdul Rahim said lsification of identity, which prior to the introduction of the biometric system was a major problem involving international travel documents, was now a thing of the past because the finger print biometric data was a main source of information that could not be lsified.

He said the biometGeneral securityric data could check the effort of certain syndicates which in the past had been very cunning in finding ways to bring in large groups of people into the country.

He said the syndicate was responsible for smuggling 540,608 foreign nationals through five entry points into the country at Ulu Eight held under ISA for human smuggling since JunGeneral secuTiram, Bukit Kayu Hitam, Lahad Datu, Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

He said the ministry was confident there would be more arrests carried out because the biometric data of every foreign national taken at all entry points enabled their whereabouts to be more efficiently monitored.

Eight held under ISA for human smuggling since JunGeneral secu,The Home Ministrys deputy secretary-general (Security) Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohd Radzi said the eight, four foreign nationals and four Malaysians, had been detained under the Internal Security Act.

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 22,名牌皮包优惠夸姣的市場操盤者：. 2011): Eight individuals were detained for human smuggling activities following the implementation of the biometric system at all entry points into the country on June 1.

Abdul Rahim also said through the implementation of the biometric system, several individuals had been detained for cross border crimes 校园微博, involving one case of international violence and 21 cases of militant activities.

Officials were together to discuss possible ramifications when 200 executives and IOC members gathered in London this week to hold meetings on logistical matters like transportation, housing and health services. They will also attend several test events, including 54 matches of beach volleyball at the Horse Guards Parade, badminton at Wembley Arena, a marathon swimming event at Hyde Park on Saturday, Aug. 13, and a cycling road race through the streets of London on Sunday, Aug. 14.

The unrest comes at a time when budget cuts across London have forced police to scale back. There are plans to cut 9,000 of 35,000 police jobs, and emergency responders like firefighters and paramedics ce staff cuts as well. These cuts have made it difficult to quell the widespread violence that seems to be spreading further over London, but police and security officials were confident that no expense would be spared to insure the safety of the athletes and spectators at the Olympics.

A few of the worst disturbances took place in the borough of Hackney 深圳学生网,3000平方米海口金意陶瓷砖思惟馆昌大开业！？特别关注爱你. only miles from the $15 billionOlympic Park and Athletes Village in east London. If any game buildings are damaged, it could be disastrous for next summer.

The BOA has added anonline journey plannerand travel pages to the 2012 Games website to give spectators almost a year to plan their trips to the venues. Visitors can scout routes by train, bus, boat and metro. As organizers try to cut back on private vehicle traffic during the games, guests can also access cycling and walking paths.

A lot of detailed work has taken place regarding security plans for the Games and we will continue to review them together with the Met Police and the Home Office over the coming year, a London 2012 spokeswoman said in a statement.

As thousands of police officers attempted to get a handle on the unrest, game officials tried to reassure prospective Olympic guests of their guaranteed safety.

It makes an Olympic Games and a Paralympic GamGeneral secuWill UK Riots Threaten 2012 Olympics?es all the more important. We need a reason to come together. What better city to do it in than London, saidBritish Olympic Association (BOA) director of communications Darryl Seibel.

The recent riots call into question Olympic safety concerns and whether or not s police force will be equipped to handle the event.With less than a year left untill the2012 Summer Olympics in , the recent riots could not have come at a worse time.

The test events will take place from Aug. 9-14 as part of theLondon Prepares Series. While organizers have imGeneral securityposed an earlier curfew on the volleyball matches, there are no plans to move or cancel any of the current or upcoming events.

General secuWill UK Riots Threaten 2012 Olympics?,More than three days of continuous organized, violent rioting has resulted in burned buildings and cars, looted stores, and a general unease as to whether or not Londons police and security forces will be able to contain a similar outburst at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

The recent riots call into question Olympic safety concerns and whether or not Londons police force will be equipped to handle the event.

Mark Adams, a spokesman for the I.O.C., said the committee was not worried about the security of next summers Olympics because it had confidence in the Games organizers. Officials from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) were equally confident that this weeks riots would have no effect on the games.

The general lawlessness of the past week has sparked controversy amongInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) officials as to the citys ability to secure high-profile events next summer while simultaneously dealing with protests, terrorist threats and the general security threat that comes with hosting eight million people.

READ ALSO:One Year Countdown to London 2012 Summer Olympic Games