Parliamentary inquiry on intelligence agency

Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte (MFK) addresses the elected representatives.

 ~ Immediate operational shutdown and restructuring for VDC ~

WILLEMSTAD--A motion to conduct a parliamentary inquiry on the functioning of the Security Service of the former Netherlands Antilles VNA and its successor of country Curaçao VDC was adopted by the legislature early Saturday morning. It came at the end of an all-night meeting, in which Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte (MFK) announced his government’s decision to shut down the operations of the intelligence agency and implement a complete reorganisation under the guidance of a special, independent committee.

He said this was necessary, because the integrity of VDC had been tarnished locally and abroad, while several employees were guilty of dereliction of duty and even unlawful acts. The latter has already led to the filing of several complaints with the Prosecutor’s Office.

Schotte presented the results of a “top secret” investigation and went into the measures his cabinet had taken to restore confidence in VDC. Staff members are suspected of destroying politically sensitive information, making plans to overthrow the government, taking confidential data from the office that later appeared in the media, systematically obstructing efforts to look into excesses at the agency and attempting to discredit management with untruths.

He also revealed that they had broken into the vault and destroyed documents on the screening of Schotte-cabinet members, but also regarding politically-sensitive matters such as the illegal transport of diesel fuel by what was believed to be a family member of former prime minister and current opposition leader Emily de Jongh-Elhage (PAR).

Schotte also illustrated other questionable practices by the then-VNA agency, such as having a special unit monitor a former Lt. Governor (he did not mention any name) for drunkenness. In the last days of the Netherlands Antilles, officials also travelled to St. Maarten to burn the agency’s whole data file on the island, of which no report was made.

The prime minister spoke of unauthorised contact between VDC employees and PAR and said he could not exclude that a lot more confidential information might still come out. This uncertainty and questions being raised both locally and abroad about the agency’s integrity call for drastic action, he explained.

To enable a rigorous reorganisation during the next few months, all personnel have been placed on non-active duty, but remain on call. Schotte signed the corresponding ministerial decree on Friday.

The restructuring will be guided by a special committee consisting of former Prime Minister Maria Liberia Peters, ex-VNA Head Wim Statius Muller and former Antillean Parliament Secretary Carl Gruning. During this period, the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service AIVD will provide technical assistance.

From now on, only those who have undergone a confidence-and-integrity assessment will be allowed to work at VDC.

During the debate that followed Schotte’s introduction, the PAR fraction said the entire problem at VDC had been due to the lack of integrity among his cabinet members and government’s interference as a result. They also blasted the young prime minister for making accusations without presenting proof.

The opposition party said the screening of current ministers was what had gone wrong and challenged government to remove the prohibition to speak from the sidelined VDC Head Edsel Gumbs, just as had been done for the former crisis manager Franklin Calmero.

Schotte had also announced that he would provide more information on the report in a confidential meeting with fraction leaders on Monday. Several coalition members accused PAR of being behind the excesses at VDC, in an attempt to get back in power.

A motion by one-seat opposition party PNP for a parliamentary inquiry into VDC was backed by all fractions but that of PAR. The latter insisted that it was the Schotte cabinet which must be investigated and VDC matters could be part of that.

Employees of the national security outfit LBD went to the home of Gumbs, on Friday. They had instructions to take all documents, but were turned away by Gumbs, who referred to three court rulings that he is still VDC Head, and said the government should contact his lawyer.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/27636-parliamentary-inquiry-on-intelligence-agency.html

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Burning of King Momo

The curtains came down on all the frolicking and fun that characterised Carnival 2012 at the stroke of midnight last night with the traditional burning of King Momo, the symbol of Carnival, at the Festival Village. Less than an hour before Momo was set alight, hundreds of revellers had participated in this year's last jump-up that started at Madame Estate and proceeded along A.Th. Illidge Road and the Pondfill before ending at the Village. The closing ceremony was witnessed by a large crowd.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/27519-burning-of-king-momo.html

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Nakba Day 2012: Revolution On Hold

Palestine, (Pal Telegraph) - The week leading up to the 64th commemoration of Nakba Day, the city of Ramallah witnessed a blitz of protests which were echoed in other Palestinian cities such as Gaza, Nablus, and Jerusalem. The deal to end the hunger strike on the eve of Nakba led to a more subdued commemoration then was expected.

Source: http://www.paltelegraph.com/world/middle-east/77-middle-east/10569-nakba-day-2012-revolution-on-hold.html

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Spain calls on US and IMF for political support in helping the banking system

The United States and Spain discussed the possibility that direct loans from Europe's emergency fund could be a solution for ailing European banks, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said Thursday.

Source: http://en.mercopress.com/2012/06/01/spain-calls-on-us-and-imf-for-political-support-in-helping-the-banking-system?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=main&utm_campaign=rss

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Le Grande Marché joins IGA global supermarket alliance

PHILIPSBURG--IGA announced today that Le Grande Marché is becoming Le Grande Marché IGA. According to Managing Director Anil Sabnani, the store will remain open without interruption during the conversion.

IGA is a chain of grocery stores active in more than 30 countries. Unlike the chain store business model, IGA operates as a franchise through stores that are owned separately from the brand. Many of these stores operate in small town markets and belong to families that manage them. Since its founding in the United States as the Independent Grocers Alliance, IGA has expanded into the world's largest voluntary supermarket chain with more than 5,000 member stores. The headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Sabnani said joining IGA's alliance would enable him to serve St. Maarten better. He said this alliance would give him the opportunity to provide customers with a broader selection that includes IGA's extensive line of private label products and better service from the store's IGA training-certified employees.

"We can give St. Maarten the best of both worlds: the kind of friendly, responsive service you get from a store locally owned by people you know and trust, and the assurance of quality programmes and services from a globally-recognised brand," Sabnani says.

The first phase of the conversion will include the addition of a variety of IGA exclusive brand products. Many of these products will be sampled in the store. "While we will continue to offer the extensive variety of products from around the world, the IGA will help us better serve the diverse base of customers in St. Maarten," said Sabnani.

Employees will undergo training through the IGA Coca-Cola Institute's online and classroom training and employee certification programmes, ensuring that they are prepared for advancement in their careers and shoppers receive the best shopping experience available.

Finally, as a locally owned and operated store, Le Grande Marché will offer events and in-store programming designed to give back to the community of St. Maarten.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/28078-le-grande-marche-joins-iga-global-supermarket-alliance-.html

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Starving and Broke: Yemen's Renewed 'War on Terror'

By Ramzy Baroud

Yemeni forces continue to push against fighters affiliated with al-Qaeda. Their major victories come on the heels of the inauguration of Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi, who is now entrusted with the task of leading the country through a peaceful transition. A new constitution and presidential elections are expected by 2014.

Faced with the most strenuous of circumstances – the unyielding ruling family, the US-lead war on al-Qaeda, sectarian tension, unsettled political divides between south and north, and unforgiving poverty - the youth of Yemen successfully managed to introduce a hopeful chapter to an otherwise gloomy modern history. While they should be proud of this, they must also remain wary of the challenges awaiting them in the next two years.

The next phase will be decisive one for Yemen. It will either take the country a step forward towards real reforms - which should resolve some of the country’s most protracted regional strife and confront the rampant inequality – or leave it to suffer a worse fate than that under Saleh’s family. The early signs are worrisome, compelling regional experts to warn that Yemen may be heading the same route as Somalia.

“With two conflicts carrying on simultaneously, that of the Houthi Shia in the north and the secessionist movement in the south, the militarization of Yemen and the primary US focus on it as another battlefield in which to engage al-Qaeda, is only set to continue,” wrote David Hearst in the Guardian on May 25.

The US has much unfinished business in Yemen. Like other US military adventures, the focus often stays solely on military targets, without taking much notice of the larger social and political challenges in the country. Needless to say, from a Yemeni viewpoint the US must be the least attractive foreign power engaging their government. During the popular revolt against Abdullah Saleh last year, Yemenis were irritated by US support of their discredited president. They were also unhappy with the US’ constant meddling in Yemeni affairs, and its unrelenting war on various militant groups. The current open coordination between the Yemeni president and the US is sure to prove costly to both parties in the long run. A recent Al Jazeera report claimed that, “Washington has stepped up drone attacks in Yemen since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February, and the Pentagon said it had recently resumed sending military trainers to the Arab state” (May 24). This kind of reporting is hardly helpful to the image of the new president who many hope will lead the country to independence.

The fighting is intensifying against militants affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as many have reportedly been killed in the city of Zinjibar, the town of Jaar, and also in other areas in the south. The foolishness of engaging in traditional warfare against a decentralized network of fighters - whether directly affiliated with or inspired by al-Qaeda - without paying much attention to the underpinnings of violence in a devastatingly poor country like Yemen, cannot be overstated. The strength of such militant groups is often driven by two main factors: their successful appeal to disfranchised, angry youth in marginalized and impoverished communities, and their physical maneuverability. Such groups can strike anywhere, anytime, with minimal means.

Even if one could accept that the central government of Yemen, with US support, might successfully route out militants from their southern strongholds, this will certainly lead to the spreading out of terror acts to far beyond Yemeni borders. The May 21 suicide bombing during a military parade, which was readily claimed by al-Qaeda, leaves no doubt that reclaiming a few towns in the south will not rid Yemen of its chronic violence. In fact, US-assisted war against mostly poor communities can only lead to more recruits for militant groups, and turn a traditional warfare, demarcated by tribal lines, into a violent mayhem that will complicate an already chaotic battleground.

The Yemeni government should know well that violence compounds, rather than resolves problems. This has been the norm since Yemen’s independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1918, and from British colonial rule in the south in 1967. Violence throughout the tumultuous years since either widened conflicts, or created new ones. Yet, the new ‘transitional’ government is playing into US hands by embarking on yet another unwinnable ‘war on terror.’ The issue is not that terror should not be fought, but how successful can such a fight be while recreating and augmenting the very circumstances that led to its inception?

Yemen is poor. Entire communities teeter between mere survival and complete and utter despair. The United Nations' Human Development Index –which is measured based on life expectancy, level of education, and standard of living - ranked Yemen in one of the most dismal spots, 154 out of 177 countries. Now, due to the revolution, the regime’s insistence on holding onto power, the US war on al-Qaeda, and the latter’s unprecedented – and expected – growth, the situation is getting much worse. "More than 10 million people -- almost one in two men, women and children -- in Yemen -- are facing a looming catastrophe. Families are surviving, but only just. Food and fuel price spikes, coupled with political instability, have left Yemen's economy in tatters," wrote Kelly Gilbride of Oxfam, in a heart-wrenching piece on CNN.com (May 24). She further asserted that “[a]lmost half of Yemenis do not have enough to eat today and Yemen is entering its hunger season. The world can bring Yemen back from the brink of catastrophe -- but only if it acts now”.

But acting ‘now’ should not just translate into a few donation pledges here and there. The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is largely rooted in the fact that the country is an open field of competing interests, making it susceptible to corruption, exploitation and terror. To be spared hunger, Yemen must regain its independence - not through a new flag and national anthem, but through an inclusive national program that reaches out to all sectors of Yemeni society: the disfranchised, neglected south, the war-scarred north, and the rest of the country with its chronic inequality. Schools, hospitals and factories must replace military encampments. Large chunks of the budget – especially of the newly pledged 4 billion dollars from neighboring Arab countries – should help feed people, rebuild destroyed homes, and create job opportunities. Effectively all the changes should contribute to more stable social horizons.

- Ramzy Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net) is an internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story (Pluto Press, London).

Source: http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=19322

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Software AG Introduces iKnow an Order Visibility Solution which improves supply chain performance

Software AG has unveiled iKnow its order visibility solution for order-to-cash process management. iKnow provides stakeholders with the knowledge and context needed to effectively manage critical supply chain anomalies. The solution consists of both software and deployment services, and can be up and running in as little as eight weeks. The solution was introduced at the Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference, that was held in Palm Desert, California, May 21-23, 2012.

Orient Planet PR & Marketing Communications

© 2012 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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Source: http://www.albawaba.com/business/pr/software-ag-iknow-427669

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