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Corporal Pablo Emilio Moncayo, after 12 years of captivity, along with Soldier Josué Daniel Calvo were released by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as part of the second unilateral release of hostages announced by the insurgent group.

FARC announced its intention to unilaterally release after Pablo Emilio Moncayo. Subsequently also indicated that another soldier Josué Daniel Calvo would be released and and that they would hand over the remains of Julián Guevara, who died in captivity in January 2006.

On Friday 26 March the armed group in a new communique announced that delivery of the remains of Guevara would not take place during the weekend as scheduled due to the activities of the Colombian army in the area. However, this Tuesday, when Moncayo was received in the forest for the humanitarian mission, it also obtained the coordinates for the FARC to search for the body’s largest.

In a statement, the FARC reported that the delivery will be made personally to the representative of Colombians for Peace, Senator Córdoba and Professor Moncayo, father of former retained Pablo Emilio Moncayo, in addition to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Church and also called on all countries interested in participating in resolving the armed conflict that has continued over 50 years in the Latin American nation of Colombia. Read the rest of this entry »

There have been recent shocking revelations about what happened to Aafia Siddiqui while she was in secret US custody show that she was subject to brutal and inhuman treatment.

Aafia has become a ’cause celebre’ in Pakistan since the travesty of justice during a political show trial in the US where she was charged and convicted of attempting to kill FBI Officers and Us military personnel during a bizarre incident in Ghazni in Afghanistan where Aafia was the only one who got shot.

There have been several mass demonstrations in Pakistans main cities, her case is supported by many public figures and political parties who charge the US with kidnapping Aafia and her three children from Pakistan in 2003 and torturing her in Bagram Prison until 2008 when she mysteriously appeared in Ghazni carrying incriminating evidence along with her son Ahmed.

An interview by Kamran Shahid on Pakistan’s Front Line TV show which was recently shown on 26th March, included a studio interview with Aafia’s sister Fowzia, her mothert Ismat and British Journalist Yvonne Ridley who was the first person to publicise the secret and illegal detention of Aafia by the United States Government agencies. Read the rest of this entry »

by John Jiggens

It was common during the opening of the Iraq war to see slogans proclaiming “No blood for oil!” The cover story for the war — Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s links with Al Qaeda and his weapons of mass destruction — were obvious mass deceptions, hiding a far less palatable imperial agenda.

The truth was that Iraq was a major producer of oil and, in our age, oil is the most strategic resource of all.

The war’s real agenda was confirmed by moves to privatise Iraq’s state-owned oil company to Western interests in the aftermath of the invasion.

Why then, are there no slogans saying “No blood for opium”?

Afghanistan’s major product is opium and opium production has increased remarkably during the present war. The current NATO military offensive around Marjah in Hemand province, reported to be Afghanistan’s main opium-producing area, is clearly motivated by opium. Read the rest of this entry »