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Military Resistance 12E7

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Soldiers In Nigeria Open Fire On Their Commander:

“The Soldiers Blamed Him For The Killing Of Their Colleagues In An

Ambush By Suspected Boko Haram Militants”

Army Spokesman Says “No Need For Public Concern”

14 May 2014 BBC

Soldiers in Nigeria have opened fire on their commander in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, witnesses say. Maj-Gen Ahmed Mohammed escaped unhurt after soldiers shot at his car at the Maimalari barracks, the sources said. The soldiers blamed him for the killing of their colleagues in an ambush by suspected Boko Haram militants. Army spokesman Maj-Gen Chris Olukolade described the incident in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, as an internal matter and said there was no need for public concern. But the shooting shows that morale within the army is low as it battles Boko Haram, says BBC Nigeria analyst Naziru Mikailu. MORE: UPDATE:

Nigerian Government Removes General After Soldiers Revolt: “Many Soldiers In Maiduguri Say

They Sympathize With The Mutineers”

“‘As A Soldier, We Would Not Say We Are Planning To Fight Our Superiors,’

Said One Soldier” “But He Added: ‘No One Can Predict

When A Frustrated Soldier Bursts Up’” Nigeria’s troops stationed at roadblocks are without basic accessories like sandbags or helmets. Several say they have been kept beyond their tour of duty, or that their salaries have arrived weeks or months late. Some say they don’t eat on a regular basis. May 15, 2014 By Abdulkareem Haruna in Maiduguri, Nigeria, and Drew Hinshaw in Abuja, Nigeria; Wall Street Journal [Excerpts]

Nigeria removed a general involved in the search for kidnapped schoolgirls, after troops fired shots into his vehicle and accused him of embezzling money meant for their weapons and food. The army on Thursday tried to calm rebellious soldiers in the country’s northeast a day after soldiers in Maiduguri, the military headquarters in the region, revolted and accused their commander. Top officers flew to Maiduguri to defuse tensions as soldiers complained of inadequate cars, guns and armor to fight Boko Haram, the Islamist insurgency, soldiers and witnesses said. Earlier in the week, several soldiers said Boko Haram insurgents jumped at them from the forests, killing 12, in an ambush in an ambush along a road the soldiers had asked to avoid. Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, a military spokesman, said the army would discipline soldiers who took part in the hourslong revolt on Wednesday. No one was hurt in the attack. “Let me assure that the military will sustain the current tempo in the fight against insurgents,” he said. Yet the soldiers’ revolt shows how the call for action is colliding with harsh realities on the ground. The troops he is likely to meet are up against an insurgency that has moved in a few years from bows and arrows to rocket launchers and machine guns mounted on pickup trucks. Nigeria’s troops stationed at roadblocks are without basic accessories like sandbags or helmets. Several say they have been kept beyond their tour of duty, or that their salaries have arrived weeks or months late. Some say they don’t eat on a regular basis. One soldier said he has to drive at night in a truck with broken headlights: “I am given a dead patrol vehicle here,” he said. “I spend most of the time trying to fix it.” On Thursday, Gen. Olukolade promised an investigation into the troops’ conditions. “It is not in the character of the Nigerian soldier to be unruly,” he said. Many soldiers in Maiduguri say they sympathize with the mutineers, even if they were distancing themselves from their actions. “As a soldier, we would not say we are planning to fight our superiors,” said one soldier. But he added: “No one can predict when a frustrated soldier bursts up.”

It is unclear how willing Nigeria’s disaffected soldiers will be to challenge Boko Haram, even if the girls are located. The insurgents have in the past distributed videos of captured Nigerian troops beheaded. MORE:

Libyan Soldiers In Charge Of Securing The Prime Minister’s Office Blocked Cars

From Leaving The Building On Wednesday In Protest At Not Having

Been Paid May 13, 2014 Reuters Libyan soldiers in charge of securing the prime minister’s office blocked cars from leaving the building on Wednesday in protest at not having been paid, officials said. A government spokesman declined to give more details or say whether Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni was in the building located in central Tripoli during the protest. He said the protesters were members of Battalion No 127, which is tasked with securing the prime minister’s office. A member of staff at the prime minister’s office said protesters were demanding their salaries as they had not been paid

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AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

Taliban Launch Spring Offensive:

“300 Militants Attack A Number Of Checkpoints In The Capital Of The

Eastern Province Of Ghazni”

Taliban fighters stormed a government building in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, May 12, 2014 after killing police guards on Monday, the most serious in a wave of attacks marking the start of the insurgents’ annual spring offensive. In the Taliban heartland in the south, an attack on a police checkpoint in Helmand province killed many policemen. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) 5.11.14 ABC News & May 12, 2014 PanARMENIAN.Net & CNN & Reuters Taliban fighters opened fire and stormed a government building in eastern Afghanistan in the most serious of a string of attacks across the country early on Monday, May 12. In Kabul, two rockets struck inside the grounds of the city’s international airport but caused no damage, the Associated Press reported. A roadside bomb barely missed a deputy minister, officials said. Following the attack, police surrounded the provincial justice ministry building in the city of Jalabad and were engaging in sporadic exchanges of gunfire with the militants inside, said General Fazel Ahmad Sherzad, the provincial police chief of Nangarhar province. The attackers struck around 9:00 am as employees were arriving for work, Sherzad said, but it was unclear how many people may have been inside the building when the militants took it over. Five civilian employees of the Justice Department were dead.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack but provided no further details. Last week, the Taliban said they would launch their annual spring offensive on May 12. About 300 militants attacked a number of checkpoints in the capital of the eastern province of Ghazni, officials said. About a dozen people were killed. Also on Monday in eastern in Afghanistan, groups of militants, including some on motorbikes, attacked police checkpoints. The attacks happened on the outskirts of the city of Ghazni in the province by the same name, said deputy provincial governor, Mohammad Ali Ahmadi. A policeman was killed, while two policemen and six civilians were wounded, added Ahmadi. Elsewhere in Jalalabad, attackers targeted a police vehicle and detonated a roadside bomb, wounding six people, including two policemen. In the capital, Kabul, two rockets fired from unknown location landed inside the perimeter of the city’s international airport without causing any damage, Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said. In addition, two rockets were fired toward the Bagram military airbase, 48 kilometers (30 miles) north of Kabul but also caused no damage, provincial police chief Masoom Farzahee said. The U.S.-led coalition said four rockets hit the U.S.-run Bagram Airbase near the capital. In southern Helmand province, the Taliban killed nine policemen in an attack on a checkpoint in the Sangin district, district governor Sulaiman Shah Sarwani said. MORE:

Taliban Statement On Spring Offensive:

“We Once Again Announce Our Annual Spring Operations Under The Name Of

‘Khaibar’”

05/08/2014 Gregorian, Leadership Council of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Shahamat-english.com/ March forth, whether light or heavy and strive hard with your wealth and your lives

in the Cause of Allah. This is better for you, if you but knew. (Taubah: 41) O the Mujahid and Islam loving nation of Afghanistan! The days of the abscondence of the barbaric invaders from the pure soil of our country have come close Allah Willing due to your 13 year Jihad and sacrifices and it is not far that Allah shall bestow upon us the blessings of complete freedom and independence of our Islamic land. ؤمن وله وللم زة ولرس ِه َينُصُر .... نیو الع هللا اکبر هللا اکبر هللا اکبر و الحمد َوَيْوَمِئٍذ َيْفَرُح اْلُمْؤِمُنوَن ِبَنْصِر اللَـّ ....َمن َيَشاءُ O Muslim Mujahid nation! In order to fully complete our religious obligation in attaining the gratitude of Allah (SWT) and in defense of our Islamic homeland, we once again announce our annual spring operations under the name of ‘Khaibar’ with the onset of the new military year against the invaders and their spineless backers! The Battle of Khaibar was launched by our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in the seventh year of migration (7th Hijri Lunar) against the enemies of Islam which resulted in the conquest of heavily fortified enemy castles and bases, the infidels completely fled the area while huge spoils fell into the hands of the Muslims. By taking this name as a good omen for the current year, we ask Allah (SWT) to completely cleanse our country from the filth of the infidels and let their large bases be liberated, Allah willing. The upcoming ‘Khaibar’ operation shall begin with the cries of Allah u Akbar throughout the country at 5am local time on Monday 13th of Rajjab ul Murrajjab of the year 1435 (Hijri Lunar) corresponding with 22nd Thuwar of 1393 (Hijri Solar) and 12th May of 2014 (Gregorian). Allah is Great, Allah is Great, Allah is Great and all praise is due to Allah Like previous years, the main target of the current year’s blessed Jihadi operation shall be the foreign invaders and their backers under various names like spies, military and civilian contractors and everyone working for them like translators, administrators and logistics personnel. Similarly the blessed ‘Khaibar’ Jihadi spring operations shall target all high ranking government officials, cabinet ministers, members of Parliament, security officials, occupation backing officers in the Interior and Foreign Ministries, attorneys and judges that prosecute Mujahideen as well as agents in the National Directorate that pursue and torture Mujahideen.

Various modern military techniques shall again be utilized in the current annual ‘Khaibar’ operations. Back-breaking martyrdom strikes, infiltrator operations (insider attacks), targeting large and well fortified enemy bases with heavy weapons and missiles as well as carrying out head-on offensive operations against enemy gatherings shall be some of the main techniques used in these spring operations. The main targets of the annual spring ‘Khaibar’ operations shall be the military gatherings of foreign invading forces, their diplomatic centers and convoys as well as the military bases of their internal mercenary stooges, their convoys and the facilities of foreign, interior, intelligence and Arbaki militia. As this year holds critical importance in the 13 year Jihad of the Mujahideen because of the significance of this juncture in this current era therefore the Mujahideen will exert extra efforts and utilize complex military techniques in planning their current year spring operations as compared to the past. Such war techniques which shall inflict maximum losses on the invaders while preventing corporeal and financial losses on the ordinary civilians. The plans for upcoming spring operations entitled ‘Khaibar’ have been drawn up by the specialists and courageous military commanders of the Islamic Emirate while also paying heed to the environmental and seasonal conditions of each region of the country and so will be launched in each area according to the laid out plans. The Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate that are only sacrificing their lives to attain the gratification of Allah (SWT), in defense of the sanctum of their homeland and for the protection of their people respectfully calls on all its Muslim countrymen to aid them in crushing the enemy, to avoid working with the enemy, to keep away from their military and intelligence gatherings and bases and to fulfill their religious responsibility towards their Mujahideen brothers, in defense of their country and for attaining the pleasure of Allah (SWT)! We also once again declare to all the workers of the crumbling Kabul regime to stand next to their Mujahideen by desisting from backing the foreign infidel invaders and to come out of the enemy ranks. The Islamic Emirate assures them of a honorable, safe and a peaceful life if they forgo the enemy ranks and considers your protection our moral duty. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan firmly believes in the complete defeat of the foreign invading forces due to the divine help of Allah (SWT) and full backing of its Mujahid nation, insists on the unconditional withdrawal of all invading forces from our Islamic country and sees the continuation of its armed Jihad imperative to achieving these goals. We must again make it absolutely clear that in presence of infidel invaders inside our country our religious and Fiqhi (Jurisprudence) sources order us to wage armed Jihad against the invaders and labels this as an individual obligation. Hence if the invaders or their internal stooges believe that reducing the number of foreign forces will dampen our Jihadi fervor then they are sadly mistaken and should understand that due to our Islamic principles, just like how thousands of invaders are forbidden to live in Dar ul Islam

(Home of Islam), limited and small number of invaders has the exact same ruling and it is obligatory upon every Muslim to expel them. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has ambitions of continuing the sacred obligation of Jihad with the backing of its Muslim nation until the expulsion of every last infidel invader and establishment of an Islamic government. Allah is Great, Allah is Great, Allah is Great and all praise is due to Allah Wasalam

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Resistance Action

May 11 Xinhua & May 13 2014 By Ghanizada According to local authorities in northern Jawzjan province of Afghanistan, at least three policemen were killed following an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion. Provincial police spokesman, Abdul Manan Raufi confirming the report said the incident took place on Monday evening. Mr. Raufi further added that two policemen were also injured following the explosion.

************************************************************** Five Afghan army soldiers had been killed in separate roadside bomb attacks since early Saturday, said the country’s Defense Ministry Sunday. “Five Afghan National Army personnel had been martyred in improvised explosive device (IED) attacks across the country over the past 24 hours,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Taliban insurgent group has largely been using home-made IEDs to launch suicide attacks and roadside bombings against security forces.

More Resistance Action 14 May 2014 TOLOnews & AP At least five policemen were injured in a bomb blast in southern Zabul province on Tuesday night, local officials said on Wednesday. The incident took place in Qalat, the capital of Zabul, when a motorcycle packed with explosive devices detonated near an Afghan police vehicle, said Ghulaam Sakhi Rogh Lewanai, the provincial police chief said. The police have started investigations about the incident, he said. The victims have been taken to the hospital for treatment.

******************************************************* Five militants wearing explosive vests raided a border police outpost in southern Afghanistan. Dawa Khan Minapal, spokesman for the Kandahar provincial government, said three police officers died in the attack, as well as all five attackers. The assault wounded five other officers, he said. In Kabul, a magnetic bomb attached to the army vehicle exploded, killing a soldier and wounding a woman and a child, city police chief Gen. Mohammad Zahir Zahir said. The blast took place in the eastern part of the Afghan capital in the early morning hours. The Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks.

SOMALIA WAR REPORTS

In Fiendish Tactic, Militants With “Targeted Rocket Propelled Grenades With Army Bases”

“Troops Tightened Security Around Their Military Bases, Firing Mortars

Into The Air In Response” “They Are Battling Al Qaeda-Lined Al

Shabaab Fighters” May 13, 2014 Garowe Online BELEDHAWO, Somalia May 13, 2013 (Garowe Online)-Heavy clashes for the second day broke out in Gedo regional district of Beled Hawo of southwestern Somalia, leaving six persons including civilians and fighters dead according to witnesses, Garowe Online reports. The deadly battle on Tuesday morning follows Monday fighting and erupted in the outskirts of Beled Hawo after local forces loyal to former Doolow Mayor and Jubaland’s Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Security Abdirashid Hassan Abdinur (Janan) commenced a clean-up operation near Beled Hawo. The Governor of Gedo region Mohamed Abdi Kilil and a spokesman for the paramilitary group of Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamea Mohamed Hussein Al Qaadi said on Mogadishu-based radio station that Jubaland forces launched an attack on Beled Hawo. “This fighting was planned from Doolow and it has been aimed at the takeover of Beled Hawo Town,” claimed Kilil. “I heard that many people, mainly civilians were affected, also built up areas in Beled Hawo suffered blaze,” Alhu Sunnah spokesman noted. Independent sources in Gedo tell GO that Ethiopian-AMISOM troops tightened security around their military bases, firing mortars into the air in response to the nearby clashes. Meanwhile in Gedo region town of Buur Dhuubo, Somali government forces along with Ethiopian peacekeepers yesterday clashed with Al Shabaab militants who targeted rocket propelled grenades with army bases. On May 5, speaking on VOA Somali Service Abdirashid Janan declared that they are battling Al Qaeda-lined Al Shabaab fighters and anti-Jubaland elements.

MILITARY NEWS

Iraqi Resistance: Weekly Report From Iraq

May 9, 2014 IRAQ COMMITTEE INFO USA via Uruknet This last week witnessed the largest offensive launched on AlAnbar province in a desperate attempt by the criminal AlMaliki forces to bring down the revolting province especially in AlKarmah, AlFallujah, and Ramadi cities. All their attempts were defeated with the Iraqi Resistance victorious and the advancing criminal troops killed, injured, fell prisoner, or fled the battlefield in fear and defeat. May 4th 2014, ambush of criminal army petrol in Ibrahim Bin Ali street of Alanbar province results in all 15 members of petrol killed. May 5th, resistance fighters in south Baghdad take over large amounts of weapons and equipment in fierce fighting after government criminals flee AlQasr AlAwsat battle leaving behind their dead on the battlefield grounds. On May 6, AlMaliki launches large offensive in AlFallujah. However, the Iraqi Resistance is able to overcome it, as it advances on criminal government troops in Amiryah and leaves behind tens of criminal dead soldiers that litter the battlefield. May 7th, in large offensive lead on AlAnbar province saw criminal government troops attempt to advance on AlKarma where the resistance fighters inflict a heavy defeat upon them and many dead soldier bodies fill the battleground. The resistance went on to shower troops near Mazrah camp area with 30 rockets forcing their retreat. In Nineveh province fighting this week has escalated. In one ambush near Amlah-Rabeyah village the resistance detonated an explosive targetting criminal government soldiers. When enemy reinforcements came to assist a second explosive was detonated. The fighting continued in AlKarma on Thursday, May 9th where sectarian militias called Asab AlHaq attacked the area with the largest offensive yet with 100 Hummers from three junctures; however the resistance were able to drive them back in defeat resulting in 50 of them killed and 55 injured and 20 armed vehicles obliterated. Now news from AlFallujah is reporting the arrest of criminal commander of Asab AlHaq Abu Kamil AlLami and 18 others and parading him and those captured with him in AlFallujah mosque. Calls are now oscillating in between executing him for his crimes or exchanging him with Iraqi prisoners especially Iraqi women prisoners who are being raped and tortured in AlMaliki prisons. On the humanitarian front, AlFallujah is undergoing heavy bombardment with all types of weapons and has resulted in tens of injuries among civilians. According to Dr. Jassim of AlFallujah Medical School Hospital the total number of injured received up until now is 1242 injured and 284 martyred.

In AlKarmah the criminal government bombards civilian homes with explosive barrels. In Baghdad 7 bodies are found of a single family that includes a child south of the capital who were executed. Also, 20 bodies of arrested civilians belonging to one sect 8 of which are of the Jabbouri tribe are found after their execution. Meanwhile, Abu Ghreib residents nearby continue being flooded with water damaging their homes in order to force them out. Jarf AlSakher in Babel province is bombarded with explosive barrels by the traitor government and large arrest campaigns in Mosul city and Diyali province result in tens of civilians driven to unknown destinations by the criminal government.

FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

“At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nation’s ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. “For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. “We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.”

Frederick Douglass, 1852 A revolution is always distinguished by impoliteness, probably because the ruling classes did not take the trouble in good season to teach the people fine manners. -- Leon Trotsky, History Of The Russian Revolution

‘You’re Going The Wrong Way Asshole,’ Land Nav Course Says

Photo Credit: US Army

May 5, 2014 By John “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” Mittle, The Duffle Blog FORT LEE, Va. — A land navigation course became considerably irate and began berating and leading students astray after multiple soldiers attending the Logistics Basic Officer Leadership Course at Fort Lee failed to find their assigned points, Duffel Blog has learned. “I first became a little peeved after one of the stupid lieutenants failed to heed of the portion within FM 3-25.26 (Map Reading and Land Navigation), Chapter 11 that states, ‘A map is oriented when it is in a horizontal position with its north and south corresponding to the north and south on the ground,’” the course told reporters. “I knew he was doomed from the get-go when he abandoned his compass and declared confidently, ‘The sun rises in the north!’” The course went on to describe other occasions in which students would utilize the compass to cheek method backwards, plot azimuths that include walking 400 meters down the middle of a road not even on the course, and “some of the ‘high speeds’”

would incorrectly use Ranger Beads as a means to “make a Hansel and Gretel-esque bread trail,” the course said. For the course, the straw that broke the camels back was when Lt. Pertinax Puer insisted he had to climb up and over a 50-foot cedar tree to avoid losing his pace count. Puer, who at the time felt accomplished by the feat, noted that the course started to adversely affect his pace count. “It wouldn’t shut up, as I was counting it started shouting out ‘3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6, 5, 3, 5, 9 … ‘ I couldn’t take it anymore and just had to give in and sit down.” Others were less fortunate. “I’ll admit, I was lost. Hell on a good day I can barely tell my left from right let alone North, South, East, and West,” said Lt. Alex Meechum. “I was sitting there trying to figure out this projector thing the Army gave me, when the course started belittling me. ‘What in the hell are you doing? Those are mils dumbass, here in these parts we use degrees.’ The course then reassured me it would guide me to my point but as I was looking at my map and walking, I fell down a ten foot drop-off. The damn course started laughing at me saying ‘Guess you didn’t figure out that contour lines that are close together spell C-L-I-F-F.’” Cadre eventually had to end the exercise after the course threatened the rest of the students with non-existent bears, ninjas, and physical training.

ANNIVERSARIES

Mothers Day Proposed: May 15, 1870

“We, The Women Of One Country, Will Be Too Tender Of Those Of Another Country To Allow Our Sons To Be

Trained To Injure Theirs” Carl Bunin Peace History May 11-17, 2009 May 15, 1870: Julia Ward Howe, suffragist, abolitionist and author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” proposed Mother’s Day as a peace holiday.

****************************************

Julia Ward Howe, 1870 Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, Whether our baptism be of water or of tears! Say firmly: “We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies, Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.” From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.” Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war, Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means Whereby the great human family can live in peace, Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, But of God. In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask That a general congress of women without limit of nationality May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient And at the earliest period consistent with its objects, To promote the alliance of the different nationalities, The amicable settlement of international questions, The great and general interests of peace.

CLASS WAR REPORTS

Vietnamese Workers Use Tension With China As Opening

To Rise Up And Attack Foreign Sweatshops;

“Taiwanese, South Korean, Japanese And Malaysian Plants

Were Swept Up In A Wave Of Arson And Vandalism That Left

Factories In Ruins” “The Core Anger And Fear Is Against

Foreign Exploitation” “Foreign Companies Have Widened The Wealth Gap” “Prices Have Gone Up, But

Wages Haven’t” May 16, 2014 By Eva Dou and Jenny W. Hsu in Taipei and Vu Trong Khanh in Hanoi; Wall Street Journal [Excerpts] The outburst of violence — rare for Vietnam — began earlier this week outside Ho Chi Minh City in response to a tense standoff over an oil rig China placed in a disputed part of the South China Sea. Rioting quickly spread to hundreds of businesses with no ties to the dispute: Taiwanese, South Korean, Japanese and Malaysian plants were swept up in a wave of arson and vandalism that left factories in ruins and scores of people injured. Unrest also erupted elsewhere in Vietnam. A local official said a Chinese contractor and a Vietnamese worker were killed Wednesday night in rioting at a Taiwanese factory in Ha Tinh province, in the central part of the country. The Chinese government said it held Vietnamese officials responsible for the “trashing, burning and looting” as rioting continued on Thursday. Vietnam sent in police and military to quell the unrest in the factory areas in south and central Vietnam, and by late Thursday the disturbances appeared to have calmed.

But many foreign businesspeople took steps to get out. Some sat for hours waiting to get tickets. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Thursday called on all provinces, ministries and governmental agencies to prevent further riots and punish lawbreakers. He also urged help for affected businesses to get back to normal. Yen Chen-shen, a research fellow at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations, labeled the oil rig a catalyst for expressing deeper anger. “The influx of foreign companies in Vietnam in recent years has widened the wealth gap there,” Mr. Yen said. “For the locals, prices have gone up, but wages haven’t caught up. Although the protest is about China’s oil rig, the core anger and fear is against foreign exploitation of their country.” “In the past there were also massive protests against China. But now they are smashing factories and threatening Chinese safety,” said Ren Xiao of Fudan University in Shanghai. There were conflicting reports of how many people have died in the uproar. The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry denied reports of as many as 21 dead in some media outlets. Businesses described frightening moments, prompting some factories to shut down temporarily. “Glass windows got broken by stones, gates were broken, security cameras got broken, protesters trespassed and circled around on motorbikes in the plants,” Isao Obayashi, the secretary-general of the Japanese Business Association of Ho Chi Minh City, said of what some of his member companies reported. At the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park, about an hour’s drive outside Ho Chi Minh City, many Taiwanese factories remain closed after protesters rampaged through on Tuesday. The park said four companies were damaged by fire and 99 were affected by the riots. One is a factory owned by Far Eastern New Century Corp. that makes clothes for major athletic brands such as Nike. Humphrey Cheng, Far Eastern’s president of corporate management, said officials at the factory on Tuesday were able to deflect the first group of rioters by explaining that the company was Taiwanese, not Chinese. But the second wave wasn’t so easily appeased, causing damage to production lines and the office. Mr. Cheng said that with rumors further protests are being organized, he and other Taiwanese businesspeople were cautiously watching the Vietnam government’s reaction.

“This time, it seemed like the government had no control over the riots,” he said. “As investors, we really need some sort of assurance that this isn’t going to happen again.” Far Eastern has recalled most of its Vietnam-based managers back to Taiwan, although a few of the company’s officials were still working in Vietnam in a “safe place,” Mr. Cheng said. MORE:

Workers Uprising Threatens Foreign Investment In Cheap

Labor: Companies From Malaysia,

Taiwan, South Korea And Japan Attacked;

“Mr. Lin Said He Feels ‘Lucky Because We Were Only Looted, Not

Burned’” “There Hasn’t Been A Labor Riot Like

This In Vietnam In Two Decades” May 15, 2014 by Kathy Chu, Eva Dou and Min-Jeong Lee; Wall Street Journal [Excerpts] Violent protests targeting Chinese factories in Vietnam have spilled over into the facilities of other global manufacturers, casting a pall over a country many companies had turned to for its cheap labor and skilled workforce. Taiwanese manufacturers in Vietnam are particularly hard hit, with at least 200 factories looted or burned down, the Taiwanese government said Thursday. Vietnamese police have arrested nearly 500 people accused of looting and arson.

Meanwhile, 55 South Korean companies have reported damage to their factories, according to the South Korean consul in Vietnam. Lin Wen-Hao, chairman of Taiwanese textile maker DerHao Textile VN, which sells fabric to customers in the U.S. and Europe, said this is the first time he has seen such violent protests in his 13 years in Vietnam. A group of protesters ransacked DerHao’s offices on Tuesday night, smashing computers and glass windows, but Mr. Lin said he feels “lucky because we were only looted, not burned.” Mr. Lin, 43, said he brought his business to Vietnam initially because of the low wages, but has been discouraged by recent political developments. “I built my factory in Vietnam, not China, because when we had discussions with Vietnam’s government, they assured us they knew Taiwan was different from China,” he said. “But now it’s clear people in Vietnam see them as the same thing.” The violence threatens to put a chill on foreign investment just as more manufacturers have been looking to Vietnam as an alternative to China, which has grappled with years of rising costs for land, labor and other inputs. The protests come during one of the busiest production times of the year for factories. A local Vietnamese official in Binh Duong province, the epicenter of the protests, has said the violence could erode investor confidence in Vietnam. South Korea was the top investor in Vietnam last year in terms of amounts pledged, with $3.75 billion. But Chinese investors are increasingly important: Last year, China pledged $2.28 billion in foreign direct investment Vietnam, just behind South Korea, and much higher than promises of $302.2 million in 2012 and $599.8 million in 2011. Many foreign companies are now waiting to see how long the violence will last, and whether the government can gain control of it. “Vietnam has really grown as a manufacturing destination and their workers are very good,” said Willy Lin, deputy chairman at the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, a trade group for 3,000 manufacturers with operations in Hong Kong and the mainland. “But some of our members say they will not put another dime into Vietnam until they see what happens” with the protests. Michael Liu, secretary-general of the Council of Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, fears that the riots will hurt Taiwanese investment in Vietnam. “It certainly is a consideration for future investment,” Mr. Liu said. “There hasn’t been a labor riot like this in Vietnam in two decades.” Many companies say they have no immediate plans to resume production, and are just starting to assess the damage from the protests.

Esquel, a Hong Kong-based apparel manufacturer for companies from Ralph Lauren, to Tommy Hilfiger, said some of the machinery at its factory in Binh Duong province was damaged. Production has stopped at the factory and it is unclear when it will start again, according to the company. Protesters stormed Malaysian furniture maker Latitude Tree Holdings’s factory Tuesday, looting and attempting to burn it but the fire was put out by employees, according to the company. The company, in a statement on its website, said that while production facilities weren’t affected, “all factory workers were forced to go on strike by the rioters.” The company said important data, permits, licenses and documents were destroyed or burned. Michael Huy, who works for a Japanese seller of children’s beds, said his Taiwanese suppliers in Vietnam told him they hope to start working again next week. “I just push them to hurry, but our shipments will still be delayed,” said Mr. Huy, who found four security guards, broken windows and chairs when he went to the Taiwanese supplier’s factory for a meeting Tuesday. “There’s nothing we can do about that.” His Japanese employer, he said, is nervous about whether the protests will start again, but he tells them that “everything will be settled, because the Vietnamese government won’t let this go from bad to worse.” [Maybe not yet, but getting closer to famous last words. T]

Appeal Of The Kryviy Rih Basin Miners To The Workers Of

Europe: “The Main Cause Of The

Destabilised Situation In The Country Is The Greed Of Ukrainian

And Russian Oligarchs”

“We Are Demanding That The Authorities Officially Recognise

The Miners’ Self Defense And The Arming Of Miners’ Brigades”

“We Turn To You With A Call To Support Our Struggle Against The Oligarchs, Who Have Brought Ukraine Into The Current Crisis And Who Continue To

Destabilise It Further”

11 May 2014 Posted by Marko Bojcun, Observer Ukraine

*******************************************************************

From: Oleksandr Bondar, Head of the branch of the Independent Union of Miners

of Ukraine at the EVRAZ Sukha Balka plc

Yuri Samoilov, Co-ordinator of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine in Kryviy Rih, Head of the Independent Union of Miners of Ukraine

in Kryviy Rih. The attention of the world community is currently focussed on the confrontation between pro-government and anti-government forces in Ukraine. This confrontation is becoming all the more tenacious and bloody. All the more it is being turned into an interethnic confrontation that is stoking up a hysterical mutual hatred between workers of different nationalities. What remains beyond people’s attention at this moment is the sharpening social and economic situation, and not only in the regions where the fighting is taking place. The rapid devaluation of the hryvnia (Ukrainian currency), the steep rise in prices of consumer goods, transport and basic services, as well as the cutbacks in production in many enterprises – all this has led to a sharp fall in workers’ real wages. By our estimates there has been a 30-50% fall in real wages.

The announcement by the governor of Dnipropetrovsk oblast (province) of an increase in pay for April of 20% was actually turned into an insulting handout to workers of 300-700 hryvnia (£25-58). Miners received only 15% of the actual rate, which often makes up less than half their actual income. As well, the money was paid out as “material support”, which means it will not be included in the calculation of their average monthly wage and therefore in the calculation of their annual leave. As a result we have no option but to demand an immediate doubling of the real wage in the interests of preserving social peace in this country. We are deeply convinced that the main cause of the destabilised situation in the country is the greed of Ukrainian and Russian oligarchs, who pay a beggar’s wage to workers, send all their profits off-shore and don’t pay taxes in Ukraine. In fact the oligarchs are almost completely exempt from taxes on their profits. We turn to you with a call to support our struggle against the oligarchs, who have brought Ukraine into the current crisis and who continue to destabilise it further, threatening to provoke a fratricidal war in Ukraine which without any doubt will have catastrophic consequences for all of Europe. It is necessary to put pressure on the corporations of the Ukrainian and Russian oligarchs, many of whom have their shares placed on the London Stock Exchange. There is a mounting labour dispute in the enterprises of EVRAZ plc, whose headquarters are in London. Today (11 May 2014) the miners marched through the streets of Kryvyy Rih to the administration of the EVRAZ Sukha Balka plc and showered its office with loose change as a sign of protest against the fictitious “wage increase” for April. The Independent Union of Miners of Ukraine calls upon the British public to picket the offices of EVRAZ plc and the offices of other Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs’ corporations in London and other cities in Europe. If we don’t force them to come round the chances of preserving peace in Ukraine will be elusive. At the same time we are demanding that the authorities officially recognise the miners’ self defense and the arming of miners’ brigades. Organised workers and workers’ self defense are precisely that stabilising factor which can effectively prevent the escalation of violence in Ukraine. In those places where organised workers are controlling the situation mass actions never turn into mass killings. The workers defended the Maidan in Kryviy Rih. The workers did not allow any violence when they took under their control the situation in the city of Krasnodon during the recent general strike there. We call upon the workers of Britain for solidarity.

In particular we will be grateful for any information and humanitarian support, but the biggest need we feel right now is for personal protective clothing for members of the self defense brigades (body armour and the like) and mobile radio communications equipment. Long live international workers’ solidarity! By preserving the peace in Ukraine we will preserve the peace of Europe!

Donetsk Peoples’ Republic Appeal 25th Apr 2014 Posted by Jorge Martin, TwitLonger translation of Donetsk Peoples’ Republic appeal, given out in Sloviansk on April 25 pic.twitter.com/7eBATVwXwA according to @GonzaloWancha (https://twitter.com/GonzaloWancha/status/459658995348025344) “Donetsk People’s Republic (established in 1917, re-established in 2014) Independence (autonomy) is: 1. All the taxes and revenues to be left in the Republic 2. Two official languages – for all official papers, instructions and documents. All the films should be dubbed in Russian language too. One should also be given an opportunity to chose the language of teaching (in schools, universities). 3. The possibility to broadcast Russian TV channels (banned and blocked now in Ukraine) 4. The complete ban to glorification of Bandera, Shuhevich and other nationalists as criminals responsible for genocide of civil population (i.e. in WWII times). 5. An end to political persecution. 6. Banning the imposition of sectarian ideology, banning of nationalist parties and movements 7. The opportunity of people’s control over the distribution of funds that were created by people of Donbas [Donets basin] 8. The restoration of trade communication with Russia that is necessary for restoration of industry and especially machine-building. 9. The opportunity to elect the governors (since regional governors are appointed by Kiev). Stop waiting! Let’s act! Only we can improve our lives!

Crossing This Picket Line A Really Bad Idea

Miners on strike chant slogans as they march in Nkaneng township outside the Lonmin mine in Rustenburg May 14, 2014. About 1,000 stick-wielding strikers gathered outside Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine in South Africa on Wednesday, preventing workers from breaking the longest and costliest bout of industrial action the sector’s history. Some of the protesting strikers, clad in the green shirts of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), told Reuters they were there to block anyone from reaching the shafts. (REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko)

Egypt: “Seething Anger Often Boils Over”

“An Unprecedented Escalation In Protests And Strikes Across Different

Economic Sectors” May 12, 2014 by CARL FINAMORE, CounterPunch [Excerpts] The May 1, 2014 Cairo Post reported the labor movement witnessed an unprecedented escalation in protests and strikes across different economic sectors during the first

quarter of 2013 with workers in January 2014 carrying out “55 protests in 21 different governorates [states]. February witnessed an unprecedented 1,044 protests in 27 governorates and 321 strikes occurred in March in 23 governorates.” The economic situation remains desperate for most Egyptians and is probably the weakest link confounding the military’s strategy of stabilizing the country through mass repression. For example, a paltry minimum wage recently enacted raised monthly salaries to $172 from $102. But it only applies to some government employees and not to any private sector workers at all. This wholly inadequate gesture has infuriated millions and actually became the focus of some demonstrations. While repression makes it difficult for protests to occur in public spaces, we can discern from the number of worker protests that it is very difficult for the police to surveil the thousands of worksites where seething anger often boils over.

DANGER: CAPITALISTS AT WORK

OCCUPATION PALESTINE

Zionist Settlers Literally Steal Palestinian Land;

“Trucks Moved The Soil From The Land And Placed It Inside The Hafat Gal

Settlement”

05 May 2014 Palestine News Network Hebron, Occupied Palestine Settlers on Sunday razed agricultural lands east of West Bank city of Hebron. Local sources said that dozens of settlers from “Hafat Gal” settlement that was built on Palestinian lands east of Hebron, accompanied by Israeli bulldozers and the so-called Civil Administration, and under the protection of Israeli forces and Police arrived to the area and started razing a land belonging to Al-Zaru al-Tamimi. The sources added that Israeli trucks moved the soil from the land and placed it inside the Hafat Gal settlement.

10,000 Palestinians March To Demand The Right Of Return For

Refugees Expelled After The Creation Of The Israeli State In 1948:

“Demonstrators Waved Palestinian Flags And Read Out The Names Of 530

Palestinian Villages That Were Forcibly Displaced 66 Years Ago”

Palestinian residents of Israel hold up their national flag as they march for the right of return for refugees expelled during the 1948 war that followed the creation of the state of Israel, near Tiberias on May 6, 2014 (AFP Ahmad Gharabli) 08/05/2014 AFP LUBYA (AFP) -- Some 10,000 Palestinians rallied in northern Israel on Tuesday to demand the right of return for refugees expelled after the creation of the Israeli state in 1948. The demonstration took place in the Israeli village of Lavi, which was built on the ruins of the Palestinian village of Lubya. Lubya was home to 2,726 Palestinians until 1948, when Jewish mobs captured the village during the conflict that led to Israel’s creation. Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and read out the names of 530 Palestinian villages that were forcibly displaced 66 years ago, before observing a minute’s silence in their memory. “A demonstration organized by Israeli Arab associations gathered about 10,000 people and two youths were arrested for violence against the police,” Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said. Groups demanding the right of return for Palestinians expelled from their homes in 1948 organized the event under the slogan: “Your ‘independence’ day is our ‘Nakba’,” Arabic for catastrophe.

“There will be no peace, no stability and no reconciliation without the refugees’ right of return,” lawmaker Mohammad Barakei told AFP. More than 760,000 Palestinians -- estimated today to number 4.8 million with their descendants -- fled or were driven from their homes in 1948. Palestinians mark Nakba day on May 15, but Palestinian citizens of Israel hold demonstrations on Israeli independence day, which fell on Tuesday this year. The Palestinian population of Israel is made up of around 1.3 million people, some 20 percent of Israel’s population. Most of Lubya’s original inhabitants settled in the Yarmouk refugee camp in the suburbs of Damascus. In Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, police dispersed a demonstration by Jewish extremists, who marched through the streets of the Old City chanting anti-Arab slogans, the police spokeswoman said. Police arrested two of the demonstrators who tried to force their way past a checkpoint, she added.

Palestinian Worker Wounded By Zionist Occupation Soldiers Inside

Free Palestinian Territory, As Usual: He Is Shot For “Tampering With The

Ground” Unarmed Man Was Salvaging Building

Materials May 13, 2014, Text and photos by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org; +972 Magazine On Monday morning, Israeli forces shot and injured Palestinian Nizar Abdallah Al-Wan as he and six companions began salvaging building materials near Gaza’s northern border. Al-Wan was shot in the foot, and had to be taken by donkey cart to an area accessible by ambulance. He was treated in a Beit Lahiya hospital, and because the bullet passed through his foot without causing serious damage, he was released the same day to recover at home.

Two of Nizar Al-Wan’s sons look on as he recovers from would in foot in his home in the Gaza village of Jabalya the day after being shot by Israeli forces near the northern border, May 12, 2014. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org) Al-Wan had worked in a garment factory until the Israeli siege forced its closure in 2006. Since then he was worked as a manual laborer to support his family of a wife and four children. Al-Wan’s shooting is only the most recent incident in the Israeli military’s continuing pattern of shooting Palestinians who approach ill-defined “no-go zones” along Gaza’s borders with Israel. Ma’an News cited statements by a military spokesperson that “a few suspects in the area” near Erez crossing who were “tampering with the ground.” After using “riot dispersal means,” Israeli soldiers fired at the Palestinians’ lower extremities, “identifying a hit.” As is often the case, the military version is almost completely at odds with the victims’ testimony. In this case, Al-Wan says that he was shot without warning after working for only 10 minutes in an area 500-600 meters from the wall. B’Tselem reports that it and other organizations have documented “dozens of cases of army gunfire at persons who posed no threat and were much more than 300 meters from the fence (up to 1,500 meters). In many cases, no attempt was made to arrest the persons, and no warning was given before soldiers opened fire.” After the fatal shooting of a Palestinian worker, B’Tselem reported earlier this year: “After Operation Pillar of Defense (November 2012), the media reported the restrictions on access would be somewhat eased. Yet, three months later, the Military Spokesperson informed Israeli human rights organization Gisha – Legal Center for

Freedom of Movement that Palestinians may not come nearer than 300 meters from the fence – the same as the previously authorized distance…. “Moreover, if there must be an off-limits buffer zone between Israel and Gaza, the military must establish it in Israeli territory. Until it does so, the military must make it absolutely clear to residents of Gaza which areas are off-limits, and must not use live ammunition to keep civilians out of these areas. It is Israel’s right and duty to protect its borders and to prevent hostile activity. Yet it must do so within the parameters of the law, and at all times avoid injury to people who do not pose a security risk and not harm these individuals’ livelihood.” To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation commanded

by foreign terrorists, go to: http://www.maannews.net/eng/Default.aspx and

http://www.palestinemonitor.org/list.php?id=ej898ra7yff0ukmf16 The occupied nation is Palestine. The foreign terrorists call themselves “Israeli.”

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

YOUR INVITATION: Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or email

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