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mardi 7 juillet 2015

War without mercy on Yemen


Towards the end of Saudi Arabia?


By Sayed 7asan (http://www.sayed7asan.blogspot.com)

Translated from French by Jenny Bright

Annexed: Message from Abd-al-Malikal-Houthi to the Resistance, July 2nd, 2015 (English Subtitles)


The Saudi-American war against Yemen, led by a coalition of the richest Gulf monarchies (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, etc. along with their servants like Egypt and Morocco) against the poorest Arab country, enters its fourth month. According to the United Nations, it has killed ​​more than 3,100 and wounded 15,000, displaced 1 million and created 245,000 refugees, and created an unprecedented humanitarian crisis which the United Nations has declared to be on the level of maximum humanitarian alert. Ruthless and indiscriminate strikes target all civilian infrastructure, up to residential areas, markets, granaries, water tanks, hospitals, schools, mosques, and even archaeological remainsand tombs – which recalls that the destructive ideology of the Islamic State takes its roots in Saudi Arabia – without sparing civilian convoys fleeing violence. A merciless siege has been imposed in Yemen, a country which imports 90% of its food, and Relief Organizations are prevented from delivering supplies to the country, and even see their workers targetedwhile providing humanitarian assistance. More than 21 million people (80% of Yemen's population) are without adequate access to staples and essential services such as food, clean water, medical care, electricity and fuel. Already, it appears that Saudi Arabia has used unconventional weapons (cluster munitions, and perhaps even chemical weapons) and has committed war crimes and perhaps even crimes against humanity.

صورة ارشيفية

However, this war remains largely ignored by the mainstreammedia, both in the West and in the Arab-Muslim world (with the exception of Iran and the media close to Hezbollah in Lebanon). The US sponsors this illegal and criminal military intervention that they provide full support for, putting all their resources at the service of the Gulf monarchies who have acquired the most modern weapons to the tune of $115 billion for the single year 2014: they can therefore destabilise the region without sending their armed forces, conforming to the Obama no-boots-on-the-ground doctrine that favours proxy wars. It is the same for the other NATO member countries – United Kingdom, France, etc., which is not surprising coming from the supporters and apologists of terrorism in Syria. Regarding Riyadh, Wikileaks has recently unveiled the procedure of Saudi censorship of the entire Arab world, between corruption and intimidation. All these actors provide direct support to Al Qaeda and to the Islamic state, which has appeared on the Yemeni scene and is now on the border of Saudi Arabia, their long-time goal. The Saudi blindness seems to know no bounds.

The Saudi assault was not to repel an alleged advance of Iran and/or Shiism, but to break the attempts towards independence of this country that historically has been a vassal of Riyadh. So far, this war has not realised any of its stated objectives. On the contrary, the Yemeni resistance has taken hold of most major Yemen cities, and it takes more and more initiative by carrying the war into the territory of Saudi Arabia, bombing its border towns and attacking its military bases and convoys, and causing dozens of casualties among the Saudi forces – of which the extent of the losses is inviolable military secret. Moreover, the attacks resulted in uniting the country – the regular armed forces of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Houthi rebels and other popular committees – behind the slogan “Death to the House of Saud”, an unprecedented development in the Middle East, and revealed both the barbarism of the Wahhabi regime and its vulnerability and powerlessness on the purely military field. Held in check despite the benefit of the steady stream of Western weaponry, Riyadh already sees its influence wane in the Middle East.

http://ansar-allah.net/sites/default/files/public/dhmr.jpg

In a message to the combatantsdated 1st July 2015 – that evokes those of Hassan Nasrallah to Hezbollah fighters during the 2006 war–, Abd-al-Malik al-Houthi, head of the Yemeni resistance, denounced the collusion of the Washington-Tel Aviv-Riyad Axis, denouncing the war and the siege imposed in Yemen as even more barbaric than the Israeli crimes in Gaza. He agrees with the analysis of the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, who recalled that even the Zionists did not have a systematic policy of targeting hospitals, tombs and archaeological remains. Abd-al-Malik al-Houthi brandished nothing less than the slogan of the holy war against the cradle of Islam, equated to the “devil's horn”, which is, according to a famous prophetic tradition, an evil heresy called to arise in the Najd region – where Wahhabism emerged. Again, this is an unprecedented development: Saudi Arabia, which, since March 2015, broke with its policy of underground action and now acts without cover, has never been so violently shaken.

Riyadh is now in an impasse: its air campaign is a bitter failure, as was predictable given the six previous offensives since 2004 by the forces of President Saleh (yesterday supported by Saudi Arabia and now allied with the Houthi rebels), which all ended up in a failure, as well as the Israeli experiences in Lebanon and Gaza, which constitutes the perfect model of the Saudi aggression. As for the option of a ground operation, all data indicates that it would be absolutely disastrous and would end with a rout of Saudi forces. But there is no question for the House of Saud, blinded beyond any possible return, of accepting a cease-fire that would be a victory for Yemen; rather it must continue this fanatic war of terror at all costs, by torpedoing all attempts of agreement or truce, at the risk of rushing towards the abyss. As for the forces of the Yemeni resistance, they are far from having exhausted all their possibilities, and multiply the incursions into enemy territory. They could even question its territorial integrity by claiming Yemeni provinces formerly annexed by Saudi Arabia. And as a last resort, they could close the strategic Strait of Bab al-Mandeb – which they are quite capable of –, one of the largest global maritime passages, especially for hydrocarbons, which would have severe global repercussions. If, like Syria, Iraq and Libya, Yemen is threatened with disintegration, Saudi Arabia itself is now on the way to becoming destabilised, and even dismantling.

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640x360/p02jfsbb.jpg

Will the Saudi crusade push into the Axis of Resistance a new country, Yemen – about which Hassan Nasrallah declared that the awakening and resistant spirit of its people were such that he could without hesitation send 100,000 or 200,000 men to fight Israel? Whatever the case may be, already the Ansarallah movement has reached the extent of a new Hezbollah, and the Saudi war is doomed to failure. It announces with certainty the inevitable fall of the House of Saud, whose Wahhabi ideology and foreign policy have been the cancer of Islam and of the Arab world for decades, and ultimately, the end of the US-Israeli hegemony in the Middle East. More than one of the region’s peoples will rejoice.

Sayed 7asan (contact: 7asan.saleh@gmail.com)


Message from Abd-al-Malik al-Houthi to the Resistance, July 2, 2015






Transcript:


Translation from Arabic and subtitles: Sayed 7asan
Translation from French:  Jenny Bright


In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. 

Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and the greetings of God be upon the Seal of His Prophets, Muhammad b. Abdillah, and on his pure and noble family, and may God be pleased with his chosen and faithful companions.

Oh, my very dear brothers, the heroes of Yemen and its honourable and worthy men, who you hold firmly in the forefront of the fighting, belonging to the army or the people's committees and to all of the sons of our dear Yemeni people! O Yemen of faith and wisdom, Yemen of perseverance and heroism, Yemen of patience and determination, Yemen of greatness and pride, peace of God be upon you and His mercy and blessings.

Please accept my congratulations on the coming of the holy and blessed month of Ramadan.

O dear honourable (fighters), persevering and steadfast in the way of God, in the way of God the Most High, and for the defence of your beloved people, of your beautiful country and precious homeland which is beset by the forces of evil and tyranny, who attacked with all their strength and all their abilities, with all the evils and crimes of which they are capable, headed by the US and Israel, and the devil’s horn [Saudi Arabia; a hadith of the Prophet foretold the birth of the horn of the devil in the Najd, where Wahhabism appeared], the very heart of hypocrisy, embodied in the criminal Saudi regime, and the movement of mercenaries and foreign agents between traitors and criminals, who have neither religion nor country, nor humanity. They rallied to the criminal abuser of their country and their people, the aggressor who perpetrated the vilest and the most heinous crimes against the people, and who kills hundreds of children, women, adults and young people, and destroys the whole country and everything in it necessary for life, with the imposition of a state of siege unprecedented throughout the Arab world, far more ruthless than the siege imposed by the Israeli criminals in Gaza and to the people of Palestine.

That's why you have to feel, oh my dear ones, very proud and honoured, and consider it sufficient a glory and dignity to face the worst criminals that be, as evidenced by their most heinous and most atrocious crimes that shame humanity, and defend a dear and oppressed Muslim people of whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) has certified, as evidenced by the reality, the faith, the noble manners, and that it counts among the most worthy and noble peoples.

This oppressed people against whom the evil forces have committed crimes of injustice and oppression, so indescribable and unspeakable as they are, with all their hatred and their arrogance leading them to despise all that is sacred and to trample all human values, and which exceeds with its barbarism, tyranny and crimes the wild beasts and monsters, under the banner of the accursed Satan and the standard of oppression and aggression, may God preserve us of them.

O my very dear and noble brothers, your proud and magnificent resistance in all arenas and battlefields, on the home front, in the struggle against the enemy agents and mercenaries who have sold their souls, their country and their people, their religion and their lowly world to the foreign criminal aggressor, and on the fronts at the border, in the direct struggle against the forces of the devil’s horn and all criminal offenders who support them, is truly a holy jihad towards God the Almighty and to the aid of the oppressed among His servants. And without your resistance, the forces of evil and crime of the United States, Israel and Al-Qaeda, as well as the mercenaries and agents of the enemy, would have managed to occupy the country and take total control, and then they would have perpetrated anything they wanted against the noble people of Yemen, in fact crimes, genocide and massacres, rape of sanctities and honour, seizure of the territory and looting of property.

They revealed, by their statements and the actions they have committed, that they are the vilest of God's creations, and the most evil of His servants, and they will hesitate at no crime, so great and terrible as it may be, unless we face them and prevent them from the perpetration. That is why nobody can imagine what they will do if they manage to achieve their evil aims, nor the extent of their hate, their arrogance, their barbarism and tyranny, nor the oppression, humiliation, domination, enslavement, dishonour and evil they wanted to inflict on Yemen and its people, and God is our protector.

O men and heroes of Yemen, O noble and free men of Yemen, O proud and faithful men, you are blessed by the honour and grace of closeness to God through jihad on His way, with all the blessings and grandiose rewards which follow. God the Almighty said: “Truly God loves those who fight in His Cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure.” (Qur'an 61: 4). And the Most High said: “But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward, / Ranks specially bestowed by Him, and Forgiveness and Mercy. For God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Quran, 4, 95-96). And the Most High said: “Let those fight in the cause of God Who sell the life of this world for the hereafter. To him who fighteth in the cause of God,- whether he is slain or gets victory - Soon shall We give him a reward of great (value).” (Quran, 4, 74).

And you are blessed by the honour of loyalty to your dearest oppressed people, and you are really in the situation of the faithful in the hour of trial where the faithful are distinguished from the traitors, the liars from the truthful, the enemy agents from the genuine patriots. And thanks to your loyalty to your people, the hopes of its enemies to inflict us defeat and submission were disappointed, and you are blessed by your noble defence of our honour and our sanctities. And were it not for your loyalty and perseverance, strength and pride with which God has endowed you, but for your patience, your honour and greatness, Yemen would be in the same situation as Mosul and Anbar, where women are captured and their honour violated.

And you are blessed by your protection of our territory and our possessions, your steadfastness and glory, and your active presence on all terrains. Thanks to your stance, Yemen has always been, is, and will never cease to be the cemetery of invaders, the death of enemy agents and traitors, and the stick that will break the backs of bloodthirsty criminals and arrogant tyrants.

And know well that you are on the front of good against evil, of legitimate defence against illegal aggression, the front of humanity faced with barbaric forces of evil, the front of nobility and loyalty faced with collaborationism and betrayal, and the front of faith in the face of hypocrisy.

You are the Yemen of faith, the Yemen of Aws and Khazraj [tribes who supported the Prophet against the Meccans], the Yemen of  'Ammar [b. Yasir, companion of the Prophet] and [Malik Al-] Ashtar [companion and military chief of Imam Ali], the Yemen of humanity, the Yemen of morality, the Yemen of civilization, the Yemen of dignity, the Yemen of glory, the Yemen of magnanimity, the Yemen of perseverance facing the devil’s horn and the heart of hypocrisy [Saudi Arabia], which is a puppet of Israel and a cheap slave to the US.

The front of the assault, headed by the US, the Great Satan, who have blackened the pages of humanity by their crimes around the world where they spread death, destruction and looting, going as far as the violation of honour and violation of human dignity, the symbol of evil and tyranny they embody with all they have perpetrated in every corner of the Earth, from Hiroshima to Vietnam, through Iraq and many other countries of the Earth, and its actions in [the Prison of] Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and in many other places which we could discuss at length.

And Israel, a criminal entity founded from the beginning on barbarism, tyranny and plunder, which played their role in this aggression, side by side with the devil’s horn, when they considered the attack as being in the direction of their interests, and encouraged it, bringing their help, support and blessing, then worked and participated as this was discovered and revealed, the role of Israel ceased to be secret and hidden.

Then the devil’s horn [Saudi Arabia], which serves the two greatest criminals in the world, America and Israel, a docile and malleable puppet in their hands that revealed its wrongdoing and expressed its cruelty and barbarism by its heinous crimes. They did not hesitate to violate all principles of morality and humanity by targeting children and women, and did not respect the rights of civilians, but were quick to destroy crops and livestock, and worked on inflicting suffering on all children of the country, in all cities and villages. Water tanks and deposits of food stocks, petrol stations, hospitals, mosques, schools, airports and ports, roads and bridges, residential areas and rural villages, economic structures, all that has been targeted by bombs and missiles, because they want to harm all Yemenis in the country, and force suffering on everybody. Similarly, they impose a ruthless and unjust siege that strives to leverage their suffering, and they revealed their unprecedented atrocity, their true nature as monstrous criminals, strangers to humanity.

O noble and dear ones (resistants), the fight you lead today is a struggle for independence and freedom, against those who want to occupy the country and enslave its people. This is a fight for dignity and for honour, facing those who want to vilify and humiliate a Muslim people. And this is a decisive battle for our future and our history: your victory lays the foundations for a real future for your country and for the freedom of your people, and protection of their dignity and independence, of its territory and its honour, and your defeat, God forbid, would lay the foundations of an enslavement to the vilest creatures of God, an unprecedented humiliation, and pave the way to evils that have no equal from these evil criminals who are a danger to all humanity.

This is why you must persevere in your resistance, your heroism and your great tenacity, by which you have submitted the most vivid image of the faith, manners, nobility and pride of the Yemenis and the resistance of believers. Continue to obstruct criminal forces, whether the forces of treason and collaboration in the interior, or the forces of the devil’s horn at the borders of the country. Ask for the help of God, who is The Best of Assistants, the Mighty and the Noble.

He said, Glory be to Him, “To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged; and verily, God is most powerful for their aid.” (Quran, 22, 39). Count on Him, for He is Enough an ally and Relief. And He said, “And if any one puts his trust in God, sufficient is (God) for him." (Qur'an 65: 3). Trust in His Help, for He said, “ If God helps you, none can overcome you” (Qur'an, 3, 160). Do not fear the forces of tyranny and crime, the horn of the devil, because “Feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan”" (Quran, 4, 76). You may hold your commitment to God through the use of endurance, as He said, Glory be to Him: “O ye who believe! When ye meet a force, be firm, and call God in remembrance much (and often); that ye may prosper.”" (Qur'an, 8, 45). And help one another, as directs God the Almighty: “Help ye one another in righteousness and piety” (Qur'an, 5: 2). And one of the main applications of this verse is union and resistance against the forces of aggression and crime. And beware of discord, according to the injunction of the Most High: “And fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart.” (Qur'an, 8, 46). And it is sufficient injunction against discord to know that this is an act of disobedience to God the Most High, and a source of weakness and defeat, so be very careful not yield to it. And be in your mutual assistance, your camaraderie and your brotherhood in arms like a compact edifice, “Truly God loves those who fight in His Cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure. (Qur'an 61: 4). And patiently endure all the burdens and difficulties, because the promise of God and His gospel are for the patient, as the Most High says: "Give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere." (Qur'an 2, 155). And the Most High said, “For God is with those who patiently persevere.” (Qur'an, 8, 46). And the Most High said: “And God Loves those who are firm and steadfast." (Qur'an, 3, 146). And by patience, endurance and placing his trust in God, through perseverance and sincerity, the victory will be for you, and “Be sure that Allah is your Protector - the best to protect and the best to help.”  (Qur'an, 8, 40)

I ask God to grant Mercy, Glory and Immortality to the martyrs, healing to the wounded and salvation to the prisoners and to grant you a great victory and a resounding success in all fronts and in all fields, and for evils to go to the aggressors, the arrogant tyrants and oppressors.

I send you all my love, all my affection and my esteem, and I constantly pray to God for you day and night.

May God's peace be upon you and His mercy and blessings.

Norman Finkelstein, one year after Gaza's destruction: Let us Rebuild Al-Awda hospital

Leading academic writing exclusively for Byline on Israel-Palestine, the new antisemitism, and more.

Note from Byline: Norman Finkelstein's essay on Amnesty International will be published from 8th of July in 14 approximately 1,200-word installments twice every week over a 50 day period.
Update from Dr Norman Finkelstein: The names of all contributors to this fundraising project who wish to be acknowledged will appear on the plaque.

For three decades Norman Finkelstein has been a leading researcher of the Israel-Palestine conflict. His highly documented analyses have sought to expose what he sees as apologetics for Israel’s ‘atrocities’ in the Palestinian territories, while pointing the way to a just and lasting peace.

If he raises $100,000 in the next two months, Finkelstein will continue his column for a full year. Every cent of his proceeds from the Byline column will be donated to fund desperately needed medical equipment in Gaza’s Al-Awda hospital.

“The staff at Al Awda hospital welcomes the initiative that Professor Norman Finkelstein will launch in collaboration with Byline, as it is vitally important for ensuring the continuation of health services for the poorest and most disadvantaged in the Gaza strip.”  Dr Tayseer Sultan, Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC) at Al Awda Hospital, Gaza

Al Awda Hospital, Photo Credit: OXFAM
Read more about Al Awda Hopsital at the Oxfam blog here. 

Here is the original letter to potential supporters of this Byline project from Dr Tayseer Sultan, Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC) at Al Awda Hospital, Gaza.

*****

Hi,

My name is Norm Finkelstein. I write and speak primarily on the Israel-Palestine conflict, but also on other related topics such as anti-Semitism and the Nazi holocaust. 

If I am able to raise $100,000 in the next two months, I will commit myself to writing a fortnightly Byline column for a full year. All the monies I raise will be used to purchase medical equipment for al-Awda hospital in Gaza, which was severely damaged during Israel’s brutal assault in 2014. I hope to place a plaque in the hospital in memory of my beloved parents:

Zacharias and Maryla Husyt Finkelstein --
Survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto,
Maijdanek and Auschwitz Death Camps

I am very excited by the prospect of writing regularly for Byline. I have never enjoyed access to mainstream or even “progressive” media. It will be my first opportunity to reach and influence a broad audience. I have already prepared three articles

• on the “new anti-Semitism” (I argue it’s concocted by Israel to stifle criticism of its criminal policies)

• on the betrayal of human rights organizations (I expose Amnesty International’s apologetics for Israel in its recent reports on Gaza)

• on the meaning of academic freedom (I reveal, for the first time, the sordid details of my tenure-denial case). 

I also hope to comment on breaking news. There’s a fair chance that the UN Security Council will soon table a resolution that fatally compromises Palestinian rights, and that Israel will attack Lebanon this coming summer. I want to use my column to alert and guide readers as these ominous developments unfold.

Ours is a mutual, and mutually exhilarating, challenge: if you help me provide hospital equipment for Gaza, I’ll do my best to keep you informed. 

Let's do it!

Best, 

Norm Finkelstein

lundi 6 juillet 2015

Statement of Alexis Tsipras after Vote on Referendum: 'Greece will return Europe to the Peoples'



Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ statement after voting in the July 5th referendum
 

Alexis Tsipras Αλέξης Τσίπρας Алексис Ципрас أليكسيس تسيبراس



Transcript :

Today is a day of celebration because democracy is a cause to celebrate, to be joyful. And when democracy conquers fear and blackmail, then it also leads to redemption, and a way forward.

Today, the Greek people send a very powerful message. A message of dignity, of determination.  A message that they are taking control of their choices. Many may try to ignore the will of a government. But no one can ignore the will of a people who are seeking to live with dignity, to live life on their own terms.

Today, democracy trumps fear. Our people’s determination trumps fear. I am confident that tomorrow we will set a new course for all the peoples of Europe. One that will return us to Europe’s founding values ​​of democracy and solidarity, and will send a strong message that we are determined to not only to remain in Europe but to also live with dignity in Europe. To prosper, to work as equals among equals.
Let us, then, take a decisive stand in support of democracy–for a better future for all of us, in Greece and Europe.

I am very hopeful.

Thank you.




Merci à Prime Minister of Greece
Source: http://www.primeminister.gov.gr/2015/07/05/13851
Date de parution de l'article original: 05/07/2015
URL de cette page: http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=15145

samedi 4 juillet 2015

Vladimir Putin: We don’t expect any change in hostile policies toward Russia


Security Council meeting

Vladimir Putin held an expanded meeting of the Security Council at the Kremlin. The meeting discussed a range of issues concerning protection of Russia’s security and national interests in the face of sanctions imposed by a number of countries. 

18:45 
The Kremlin, Moscow

Source : http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/49862


Security Council meeting.


President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues,

Our agenda today includes a range of issues concerning protection of our national interests in the face of the restrictive measures that some countries have imposed on Russia.

We know the reasons for the pressure being put on Russia. We follow an independent domestic and foreign policy and our sovereignty is not up for sale. This does not go down well in some quarters, but this is inevitable.

It is clear today that attempts to split and divide our society, play on our problems, and seek out our vulnerable spots and weak links have not produced the results hoped for by those who imposed these restrictive measures on our country and continue to support them.

Our people, our key political forces, and our business community understand what is happening and know what to do. The timely measures we took have stabilised the economic and financial situation and the labour market and ensured the stable functioning of all strategically important economic sectors. We continue implementing our most important state programmes, including in the social sector.

Furthermore, our companies, Russia’s producers, have proven that they are capable of developing in tough conditions, finding new partners, and entering new markets at home and abroad. This can be seen in the rapid growth of our agriculture sector.

Colleagues, recent events show that we cannot hope that some of our geopolitical opponents will change their hostile course anytime in the foreseeable future. The EU countries recently extended the sanctions they have imposed on us, and discussions continue in the United States on toughening sanctions against us.

Amidst all of this, no one is even trying to analyse the reasons for what is now happening in southeast Ukraine, which was what started all of this fuss in the first place. What I mean here is that those who are imposing these restrictive measures and so-called sanctions on Russia are in fact responsible for the events that we are now witnessing in southeast Ukraine.

We must respond accordingly to this situation, of course, and take additional systemic measures in all key areas.

Firstly, we must make a rapid analysis of all the potential challenges and risks we face – political, economic, information risks and others. Based on this analysis, we then need to make adjustments to our National Security Strategy.

Once the National Security Strategy is updated, we will also need to update strategic planning documents currently in force or in the process of drafting. Furthermore, if needed, we will need to make clarifications to the Foreign Policy Concept and the Foundations of Russia’s Comprehensive Policy in the CIS Area.

At the same time, our strategic course in the foreign policy area remains unchanged. We are open for equal cooperation and collective work on key issues on the international agenda. We will continue to build relations with our partners based on the principles of respect and mutual consideration of each other’s interests, so long as this does not harm our own sovereignty and national security of course.

As before, we support active development of economic integration in the CIS area. We support expanding political, business and humanitarian ties with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the BRICS group.

Economic security issues are a crucial matter. Our strategic planning documents must define the main threats in each area in clearer and more detailed fashion. These documents must define the criteria and set the threshold indicators for the economic situation at which national security risks would start to emerge. They must also put into concrete terms the measures and mechanisms that would enable us to reduce our economy’s dependence on negative external factors.

At the practical level, the Government and the Central Bank must pay particular attention to ensuring the financial system’s stable operation. They must also put in place measures to achieve more balanced budgets and reduce the debt burden on regional budgets.

Overall, we must ensure very close coordination between everyone taking part in this work.

We must develop and present new proposals for the conceptual basis of strategic planning and forecasting of our country’s sustainable socioeconomic development and for risk management. We need to analyse the socioeconomic situation in the regions and conduct on-going monitoring using the regional situation centres. This is especially important for the border regions.

As I said, the restrictive measures we will discuss today have created problems for our economy, but they have also opened new opportunities. Above all, our producers have been able to significantly bolster their positions on the domestic market.

We continue our support for import replacement projects, especially in the agriculture sector, defence sector, engineering, pharmaceuticals, and the chemicals industry. If need be, our companies will receive additional support in these areas.

But let me draw one very important matter to your attention. The Prosecutor General’s Office, Rospotrebnadzor (national consumer protection service), the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service and other agencies must protect our people and companies from fake and poor quality goods. No matter whether goods are produced in Russia or abroad, they must meet modern requirements and standards and their origin and price setting must be transparent and clear.

In conclusion, our direct responsibility is to ensure reliable protection of Russia’s security in all areas and preserve our country’s social, political and economic stability.

Much here will depend on consolidating the efforts of our state institutions and civil society and on concentrating our resources on the priority areas. I am sure that you all understand this well and will do everything possible to resolve the tasks before us effectively.

Thank you very much for your attention.

<…>

jeudi 2 juillet 2015

US-Saudi War on Yemen: Abdel-Malik al-Houthi's Message to the Yemeni Resistance

Message from Abd-al-Malik al-Houthi to the Resistance, July 2, 2015

Translation from Arabic and subtitles: Sayed 7asan
Translation from French:  Jenny Bright

Transcript:

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. 

Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and the greetings of God be upon the Seal of His Prophets, Muhammad b. Abdillah, and on his pure and noble family, and may God be pleased with his chosen and faithful companions.

Oh, my very dear brothers, the heroes of Yemen and its honourable and worthy men, who you hold firmly in the forefront of the fighting, belonging to the army or the people's committees and to all of the sons of our dear Yemeni people! O Yemen of faith and wisdom, Yemen of perseverance and heroism, Yemen of patience and determination, Yemen of greatness and pride, peace of God be upon you and His mercy and blessings.

Please accept my congratulations on the coming of the holy and blessed month of Ramadan.

O dear honourable (fighters), persevering and steadfast in the way of God, in the way of God the Most High, and for the defence of your beloved people, of your beautiful country and precious homeland which is beset by the forces of evil and tyranny, who attacked with all their strength and all their abilities, with all the evils and crimes of which they are capable, headed by the US and Israel, and the devil’s horn [Saudi Arabia; a hadith of the Prophet foretold the birth of the horn of the devil in the Najd, where Wahhabism appeared], the very heart of hypocrisy, embodied in the criminal Saudi regime, and the movement of mercenaries and foreign agents between traitors and criminals, who have neither religion nor country, nor humanity. They rallied to the criminal abuser of their country and their people, the aggressor who perpetrated the vilest and the most heinous crimes against the people, and who kills hundreds of children, women, adults and young people, and destroys the whole country and everything in it necessary for life, with the imposition of a state of siege unprecedented throughout the Arab world, far more ruthless than the siege imposed by the Israeli criminals in Gaza and to the people of Palestine.

That's why you have to feel, oh my dear ones, very proud and honoured, and consider it sufficient a glory and dignity to face the worst criminals that be, as evidenced by their most heinous and most atrocious crimes that shame humanity, and defend a dear and oppressed Muslim people of whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) has certified, as evidenced by the reality, the faith, the noble manners, and that it counts among the most worthy and noble peoples.

This oppressed people against whom the evil forces have committed crimes of injustice and oppression, so indescribable and unspeakable as they are, with all their hatred and their arrogance leading them to despise all that is sacred and to trample all human values, and which exceeds with its barbarism, tyranny and crimes the wild beasts and monsters, under the banner of the accursed Satan and the standard of oppression and aggression, may God preserve us of them.

O my very dear and noble brothers, your proud and magnificent resistance in all arenas and battlefields, on the home front, in the struggle against the enemy agents and mercenaries who have sold their souls, their country and their people, their religion and their lowly world to the foreign criminal aggressor, and on the fronts at the border, in the direct struggle against the forces of the devil’s horn and all criminal offenders who support them, is truly a holy jihad towards God the Almighty and to the aid of the oppressed among His servants. And without your resistance, the forces of evil and crime of the United States, Israel and Al-Qaeda, as well as the mercenaries and agents of the enemy, would have managed to occupy the country and take total control, and then they would have perpetrated anything they wanted against the noble people of Yemen, in fact crimes, genocide and massacres, rape of sanctities and honour, seizure of the territory and looting of property.

They revealed, by their statements and the actions they have committed, that they are the vilest of God's creations, and the most evil of His servants, and they will hesitate at no crime, so great and terrible as it may be, unless we face them and prevent them from the perpetration. That is why nobody can imagine what they will do if they manage to achieve their evil aims, nor the extent of their hate, their arrogance, their barbarism and tyranny, nor the oppression, humiliation, domination, enslavement, dishonour and evil they wanted to inflict on Yemen and its people, and God is our protector.

O men and heroes of Yemen, O noble and free men of Yemen, O proud and faithful men, you are blessed by the honour and grace of closeness to God through jihad on His way, with all the blessings and grandiose rewards which follow. God the Almighty said: “Truly God loves those who fight in His Cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure.” (Qur'an 61: 4). And the Most High said: “But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward, / Ranks specially bestowed by Him, and Forgiveness and Mercy. For God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Quran, 4, 95-96). And the Most High said: “Let those fight in the cause of God Who sell the life of this world for the hereafter. To him who fighteth in the cause of God,- whether he is slain or gets victory - Soon shall We give him a reward of great (value).” (Quran, 4, 74).

And you are blessed by the honour of loyalty to your dearest oppressed people, and you are really in the situation of the faithful in the hour of trial where the faithful are distinguished from the traitors, the liars from the truthful, the enemy agents from the genuine patriots. And thanks to your loyalty to your people, the hopes of its enemies to inflict us defeat and submission were disappointed, and you are blessed by your noble defence of our honour and our sanctities. And were it not for your loyalty and perseverance, strength and pride with which God has endowed you, but for your patience, your honour and greatness, Yemen would be in the same situation as Mosul and Anbar, where women are captured and their honour violated.

And you are blessed by your protection of our territory and our possessions, your steadfastness and glory, and your active presence on all terrains. Thanks to your stance, Yemen has always been, is, and will never cease to be the cemetery of invaders, the death of enemy agents and traitors, and the stick that will break the backs of bloodthirsty criminals and arrogant tyrants.

And know well that you are on the front of good against evil, of legitimate defence against illegal aggression, the front of humanity faced with barbaric forces of evil, the front of nobility and loyalty faced with collaborationism and betrayal, and the front of faith in the face of hypocrisy.

You are the Yemen of faith, the Yemen of Aws and Khazraj [tribes who supported the Prophet against the Meccans], the Yemen of  'Ammar [b. Yasir, companion of the Prophet] and [Malik Al-] Ashtar [companion and military chief of Imam Ali], the Yemen of humanity, the Yemen of morality, the Yemen of civilization, the Yemen of dignity, the Yemen of glory, the Yemen of magnanimity, the Yemen of perseverance facing the devil’s horn and the heart of hypocrisy [Saudi Arabia], which is a puppet of Israel and a cheap slave to the US.

The front of the assault, headed by the US, the Great Satan, who have blackened the pages of humanity by their crimes around the world where they spread death, destruction and looting, going as far as the violation of honour and violation of human dignity, the symbol of evil and tyranny they embody with all they have perpetrated in every corner of the Earth, from Hiroshima to Vietnam, through Iraq and many other countries of the Earth, and its actions in [the Prison of] Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and in many other places which we could discuss at length.

And Israel, a criminal entity founded from the beginning on barbarism, tyranny and plunder, which played their role in this aggression, side by side with the devil’s horn, when they considered the attack as being in the direction of their interests, and encouraged it, bringing their help, support and blessing, then worked and participated as this was discovered and revealed, the role of Israel ceased to be secret and hidden.

Then the devil’s horn [Saudi Arabia], which serves the two greatest criminals in the world, America and Israel, a docile and malleable puppet in their hands that revealed its wrongdoing and expressed its cruelty and barbarism by its heinous crimes. They did not hesitate to violate all principles of morality and humanity by targeting children and women, and did not respect the rights of civilians, but were quick to destroy crops and livestock, and worked on inflicting suffering on all children of the country, in all cities and villages. Water tanks and deposits of food stocks, petrol stations, hospitals, mosques, schools, airports and ports, roads and bridges, residential areas and rural villages, economic structures, all that has been targeted by bombs and missiles, because they want to harm all Yemenis in the country, and force suffering on everybody. Similarly, they impose a ruthless and unjust siege that strives to leverage their suffering, and they revealed their unprecedented atrocity, their true nature as monstrous criminals, strangers to humanity.

O noble and dear ones (resistants), the fight you lead today is a struggle for independence and freedom, against those who want to occupy the country and enslave its people. This is a fight for dignity and for honour, facing those who want to vilify and humiliate a Muslim people. And this is a decisive battle for our future and our history: your victory lays the foundations for a real future for your country and for the freedom of your people, and protection of their dignity and independence, of its territory and its honour, and your defeat, God forbid, would lay the foundations of an enslavement to the vilest creatures of God, an unprecedented humiliation, and pave the way to evils that have no equal from these evil criminals who are a danger to all humanity.

This is why you must persevere in your resistance, your heroism and your great tenacity, by which you have submitted the most vivid image of the faith, manners, nobility and pride of the Yemenis and the resistance of believers. Continue to obstruct criminal forces, whether the forces of treason and collaboration in the interior, or the forces of the devil’s horn at the borders of the country. Ask for the help of God, who is The Best of Assistants, the Mighty and the Noble.

He said, Glory be to Him, “To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged; and verily, God is most powerful for their aid.” (Quran, 22, 39). Count on Him, for He is Enough an ally and Relief. And He said, “And if any one puts his trust in God, sufficient is (God) for him." (Qur'an 65: 3). Trust in His Help, for He said, “ If God helps you, none can overcome you” (Qur'an, 3, 160). Do not fear the forces of tyranny and crime, the horn of the devil, because “Feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan”" (Quran, 4, 76). You may hold your commitment to God through the use of endurance, as He said, Glory be to Him: “O ye who believe! When ye meet a force, be firm, and call God in remembrance much (and often); that ye may prosper.”" (Qur'an, 8, 45). And help one another, as directs God the Almighty: “Help ye one another in righteousness and piety” (Qur'an, 5: 2). And one of the main applications of this verse is union and resistance against the forces of aggression and crime. And beware of discord, according to the injunction of the Most High: “And fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart.” (Qur'an, 8, 46). And it is sufficient injunction against discord to know that this is an act of disobedience to God the Most High, and a source of weakness and defeat, so be very careful not yield to it. And be in your mutual assistance, your camaraderie and your brotherhood in arms like a compact edifice, “Truly God loves those who fight in His Cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure. (Qur'an 61: 4). And patiently endure all the burdens and difficulties, because the promise of God and His gospel are for the patient, as the Most High says: "Give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere." (Qur'an 2, 155). And the Most High said, “For God is with those who patiently persevere.” (Qur'an, 8, 46). And the Most High said: “And God Loves those who are firm and steadfast." (Qur'an, 3, 146). And by patience, endurance and placing his trust in God, through perseverance and sincerity, the victory will be for you, and “Be sure that Allah is your Protector - the best to protect and the best to help.”  (Qur'an, 8, 40)

I ask God to grant Mercy, Glory and Immortality to the martyrs, healing to the wounded and salvation to the prisoners and to grant you a great victory and a resounding success in all fronts and in all fields, and for evils to go to the aggressors, the arrogant tyrants and oppressors.

I send you all my love, all my affection and my esteem, and I constantly pray to God for you day and night.

May God's peace be upon you and His mercy and blessings.