Tag Archives: georgia
World powers to provide ‘urgent aid’ to Syria rebels
World powers to provide ‘urgent aid’ to Syria rebels (AFP) / 23 June 2013 World powers supporting Syria’s rebels decided on Saturday to take “secret steps” to change the balance on the battlefield, after the United States and others called for increasing military aid to insurgents. Yet even as they prepared to step up their own involvement in a war that has killed nearly 100,000 people, they demanded that Iran and Lebanese movement Hezbollah stop supporting President Bashar Al Assad’s regime. In their final communique, the ministers agreed to “provide urgently all the necessary material and equipment to the opposition on the ground, each country in its own way in order to enable them to counter brutal attacks by the regime and its allies and protect the Syrian people”. Speaking in Doha, top Qatari diplomat Shaikh Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani said the meeting of foreign ministers of the ‘Friends of Syria’ had taken “secret decisions about practical measures to change the situation on the ground in Syria”. Ministers from Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States attended the talks. Washington and Doha called for increasing military aid to end what US Secretary of State John Kerry called an “imbalance” in Assad’s favour. Kerry said the United States remained committed to a peace plan that includes a conference in Geneva and a transitional government picked both by Assad and the opposition. But he said the rebels need more support “for the purpose of being able to get to Geneva and to be able to address the imbalance on the ground”. To that end, he said, “the United States and other countries here — in their various ways, each choosing its own approach — will increase the scope and scale of assistance to the political and military opposition”. Shaikh Hamad echoed Kerry’s remarks, calling for arms deliveries to the rebels to create a military balance that could help forge peace. A peaceful end “cannot be reached unless a balance on the ground is achieved, in order to force the regime to sit down to talks,” he told the ministers. “Getting arms and using them could be the only way to achieve peace.” On Thursday, the rebel Free Syrian Army said it was already receiving unspecified new types of arms that could change the course of the battle, but also said it needed anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons. In their communique, the ministers agreed that all military aid provided would be chanelled through the FSA’s Supreme Military Council. Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the ministers demanded that Iran and Hezbollah stop meddling in the war by supporting Assad. “We have demanded that Iran and Hezbollah end their intervention in the conflict,” said Fabius. “Hezbollah has played a terribly negative role, mainly in the attack on Qusayr,” a strategic town recaptured from rebels earlier this month with the group’s help. “We are fully against the internationalisation of the conflict,” he told reporters. Kerry also accused Assad of an “internationalisation” of the conflict, which has claimed nearly 100,000 lives, by bringing in Iran and Hezbollah. And the final communique said the crossing into Syria of militia and fighters that support the regime, a clear reference to Hezbollah, “must be prevented”. The ministers also warned of the “increasing presence and growing radicalism” and “terrorist elements in Syria”. It is “a matter that deepens the concerns for the future of Syria, threatens the security of neighbouring countries and risks destabilising the wider region and the world”, they said. Shaikh Hamad also voiced support for a peace conference but insisted there could be no role in the future government for “Assad and aides with bloodstained hands”. He accused Assad’s regime of wanting to block the Geneva conference in order to stay in power, “even if that costs one million dead, millions of displaced and refugees, and the destruction of Syria and its partition”. The final communique stated that Assad “has no role in the transitional governing body or thereafter”. On the ground, loyalist forces pressed a fierce four-day assault on rebel-held parts of Damascus, while insurgents launched a new attack on regime-controlled neighbourhoods of second city Aleppo. Saturday’s developments come as the military pushed on with its bid to end the insurgency in and around Homs in central Syria, said the Observatory. They also come a day after at least 100 people were killed nationwide, it added. — AFP Continue reading
Mistaken identity issue haunts Indian expat
Mistaken identity issue haunts Indian expat Allan Jacob and Amira Agarib / 21 June 2013 His voice is unsteady as he narrates his arrest and the ordeal that followed in a mistaken identity case. George Thomas’s only “crime” was that he had the same name of a suspect on the run in a bounced cheque case. Today, he’s a shattered man, struggling to rebuild his life, reputation and business after the traumatic experience. The incident has left him scarred and he’s undergoing psychiatric treatment at a hospital in Dubai. But, after getting a clear chit in the case early this month, he’s still asking why the charge was foisted on him when the facts were as clear as day on the day of his arrest at Sharjah airport in 2011. Answers are not forthcoming from the police or the legal affairs department, who appear to have closed the file stating that an “amicable solution” has not been reached. Frustrated with their lack of response, Thomas is considering going to court again seeking compensation. ‘’I don’t know where to start now, it’s all a whirl, my mind is spinning. Friends deserted me for something I didn’t do. In their eyes, I had become a criminal,’’ says Thomas, an Indian expat, who runs a business in Sharjah. He places neat red files on the table and points to a section which has his passport copy and that of the alleged perpetrator. The victim and violator on the same page. “Do I look like him?” he asks. “It was clear from the start that I was not the man they were looking for. Yet, I was imprisoned and mocked in front of the world and later cast aside like my life didn’t matter, he says, his anger rising. “I’ve lived in the UAE for 15 years and I don’t deserve this.” Thomas’s troubles began on December 18, 2011, after he was arrested at Sharjah airport on his way to India. The case dates to 2006, when a bank filed a petition with the Bur Dubai police station against their customer George Thomas Thomas, aged 54, after a cheque issued by him had bounced. The file moved to the Dubal Public Prosecution and the department issued an order against George Thomas P. V. Thomas, aged 46 (the wrong man) on September 26, 2010, according to records. He was tried in absentia and sentenced to five months in prison by the Dubai Court of First Instance. Summons were issued on February 2, 2011, and an arrest warrant was issued on February 7, 2011. Thomas was picked up from the airport and separated from his wife and kids. He was lodged in Dubai’s Al Aweer jail, where he was interrogated. He says he had nothing to confess, and three days later, he was released after he handed over his passport. “I could not go anywhere and my business was hit as losses mounted. My family suffered in silence, my mental balance was affected and I checked into a hospital for psychiatric treatment,” he says. Through all this trauma, he also had to attend hearings at the Court Of Appeal. “I was confident I would win the case, and I did after a long trial spanning 10 sessions.’’ The appeals court overturned the verdict and ruled in his favour on May 7, 2012. George Thomas P. V. Thomas was not a criminal after all. He was free to go. “It was right in front of their eyes when they first arrested me; only they didn’t see it.” Since then, he’s been seeking answers from the Dubai Police. “Why me?” he often asks during our conversation, staring into the distance. “They never took notice when I protested and pleaded my innocence two years ago. Now, they don’t bother,’’ he says. He sought an explanation from the Dubai Police Headquarters, but they referred the matter to the Legal Affairs Department who, on June 6 this year, issued a certificate stating that the disputed parties had “failed to reach an amicable settlement”. It’s a statement that is as befuddling as his arrest and incarceration on trumped up charges. Thomas, meanwhile, has sent a letter through the Indian consulate to the office of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai. “Shaikh Mohammed’s quest for excellence is something I admire. I only hope the criminal justice system seeks excellence and not send more innocents like me to jail. They’ll only ruin lives of honest people.’’ Legal view According to Dr Jamal Al Sumaithi, Director-General of the Dubai Judicial Institute, any person who has been unfairly subjected to harm and his/her rights have been violated, can lodge a complaint against the government department concerned. “They should approach the legal department of the Dubai Government which will help the two parties reach a solution. If they fail to do so, the affected party may approach the Dubai Civil Court.” — allan@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
A fish restaurant’s recipe for success
A fish restaurant’s recipe for success Lily B. Libo-on (ABOUT SHARJAH) / 21 June 2013 Against the backdrop of Sharjah’s state-of-the-art hotels and eateries, a 40-year-old fish restaurant situated in Al Nabba is still making it big. Frying 400 kilograms of fish a day to meet the demands of 200 visitors on week days — who swell to more than 500 on weekends — this antique-styled but cozy fish restaurant continues to attract its old clients and hundreds more new ones. The huge sign reading ‘Samra Restaurant’ is visible from a distance, yet this decades-old eating rendezvous is popularly known to its regular customers as Mama Mache Restaurant. Mama, an Indian national known for his prowess and secret recipe for deep-frying fish, started this restaurant as a small eatery at the back of Rotana Hotel and had continued like that until ten years ago when he went back to India for good. Now owned by an Emirati, Ahmad Khayal, Mama Mache has continued to draw hundreds of satisfied guests, including Japanese and Westerners who make the restaurant a must on their visits to Sharjah, especially during winter. Hassan Abdul Khader, Indian manager of Mama Mache, says that he has worked with the original owner for ten years and, after mastering the craft and the specially prepared herb seasoning, has steered the restaurant to more successes, including a fast-growing clientele of tourists and residents from all emirates and abroad. He says that tourists also ask them to pack fried hamour, sherry, king fish and pomfret and send the packages to their countries for their friends. “Sixty per cent of our daily fried-fish orders are taken out to their homes, as these customers cannot eat in the restaurant for lack of tables and chairs. These ‘take away orders” also include the ones hand-carried to (people) back home,” he adds. A numbering system has been used to ensure the queue is smooth, and customers have to wait 45 minutes after receiving the number on weekdays and even longer on weekends. Mama Mache opens at 3pm for its all seven Indian workers to clean and prepare the fish, putting their specially prepared powder of herbs and spices to marinate the fish. Frying will start only at 6pm when customers start coming. But, the number grows bigger and bigger from 8pm until 12 midnight when the Mama Mache Restaurant closes. Mohammed, a chef at the restaurant, says that customers choose from the different kinds of fish available in the season and the chef will start deep frying them in Hayat cooking oil. “When it is finished, we put our special secret spices and herbs on the fried fish and fry them again for a few minutes. Then, we deliver the fried fish to the customer. It takes 15 to 20 minutes to cook the fish.” Emirati Ali Hassan, one of the regular customers at the restaurant, says that he comes from Dubai to take a Dh30 dinner comprising a big fried pomfret, roti with a dhal (pulse) curry or a green sauce specialty made of fresh coriander leaves. “I have been a regular customer for the past ten years. Like many Emiratis, I come to this restaurant twice or thrice weekly. While I am taking dinner, I also order packed meals for my family.” Jordanian national Issam says the restaurant is an extension of his home. “I come here daily for my dinner as I like its deep fried fish very much. Since I came to UAE seven years ago, I have been driving from Ajman to the outlet at night.” Mama Mache caters to various nationalities working and residing in the UAE, from the lowest paid labourers to the prominent Emiratis and expatriates. Regular expatriates who visit the restaurant are Sudanese, Indians, Bangladeshis, Jordanians and other Arabs. But, the biggest chunk of customers are Pakistanis. The Mama Mache Restaurant is a by-word in Sharjah, particularly to labourers, who cannot afford to go to expensive restaurants. Its fried fish is sold between Dh5 and Dh30 depending on the size of the fish. Khairullah, a Pakistani school bus driver who has been here for 26 years, says that he cannot afford to eat in big modern restaurants. He spends Dh20 for fried fish and roti meal with dhal curry. “I like the fried fish here. They deep fry it to cook the inside, and re-fry it from the outside to make it crispy. It is so delicious.” Samra Restaurant has a second floor for families, who come to sit for a dinner together. It is putting into its coffers between Dh5,000 and Dh7,000 per day during winter when Sharjah tourists like to dine outside. In summer, it makes Dh4,000 to Dh6,000 of which Dh4,000 worth of deep fried fish are parceled for families, who want to stay indoors and enjoy their dinner at home. lily@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
