The G8 meeting

Vladimir Putin may allow Assad to go if power vacuum in Syria is avoided

British hopeful that peace talks to end civil war can go ahead, but divided Syrian opposition remains a big stumbling block

the Guardian,

18 January, 2013

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is willing to see the removal of the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, but only if it leads to a balanced government and not a dangerous power vacuum of the kind that followed Saddam Hussein's removal in Iraq, British officials believe after two days of intensive talks at the G8 summit.

Putin blocked any reference in the subsequent communique to the removal of Assad, but British officials believe the talks have opened the way for a peace settlement if more can be done to organise the Syrian opposition forces politically and militarily.

Talks over the terms of the communique lasted until 3am. The Russians accepted the need for UN weapons inspectors to visit Syria to check on western claims that Assad has used chemical weapons.

But Putin flatly refused to have any reference in the communiqué to the nature of delegations that should be sent to the planned Geneva peace conference, insisting that this was a matter for both sides.

British officials insisted that in private Putin had declared no personal allegiance to Assad, but needed assurances that Syria would not turn into an ungoverned space on Russia's borders if he were removed. David Cameron in his press conference at the end of the summit made repeated calls for Assad's allies to realise that a strong army and security state would be preserved during a transition, words designed to reassure them that they would have a future after Assad.

British officials admitted that the Syrian opposition was still a work in progress. They had been unable to agree a negotiating mandate for a new peace conference.

The G8 communique made no reference to Assad, but called for peace talks to be resumed as soon as possible. Cameron said the main breakthrough was an agreement that a transitional government with executive powers was needed, together with a deal to call for an investigation into chemical weapons use. "We remain committed to achieving a political solution to the crisis based on a vision for a united, inclusive and democratic Syria," the final communique read. "We strongly endorse the decision to hold as soon as possible the Geneva conference on Syria."

Putin struck a defiant tone in public, telling the west that sending weapons to rebels could backfire one day, while he defended his own military contacts with the Syrian government.

"There are different types of supplies. We supply weapons based on legal contracts to a legal government … And if we sign these contracts [in the future], we will supply [more arms]."

In the final document, G8 leaders also called on the Syrian authorities and the opposition to commit to destroying all organisations affiliated with al-Qaida, a reflection of growing concern in the west that Islamist militants are playing a more dominant role in the rebel ranks.

Cameron, who chaired the summit, said separately after the talks that the west believed strongly that there was no place for Assad in a future Syria. "It is unthinkable that President Assad can play any part in the future of his country. He has blood on his hands. You can't imagine a Syria where this man continues to rule having done such awful things to his people."

He appealed to Assad's acolytes to abandon the president, insisting the need for the retention of a strong security force showed they would have a future role in Syria. He said the aim was "to learn the lessons of Iraq by ensuring the key institutions of the state are maintained through the transition and there is no vacuum. To those who have been loyal to Assad but who know he has to go and who want stability in their country, they should take note of this point."

In the house of Commons, John Bercow, the speaker, said it would be "undemocratic and inappropriate" if the government declined to hold a full parliamentary vote if ministers decide to arm the Syrian opposition. The speaker issued his warning after William Hague told MPs that the government would consult parliament but declined to explain the nature of the vote.

Bercow told the former Labour minister Peter Hain, who raised the matter on a point of order: "I have the sense that the government are hinting that they would not dream of executing a policy decision of the kind that is being considered without first seeking a debate in the house and a vote on a substantive motion. That would obviously be the democratic course. I think it is the democratic course on a substantive motion that the government have in mind. I am not sure that there was any other idea ever in their mind, but I feel sure that if it was in their mind, it was speedily expunged as undemocratic and inappropriate."

Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, speaking on the sidelines, said earlier that any debate about Assad's role in the resolution of the conflict was unthinkable, adding he would not tolerate an outcome that led to Assad's capitulation. "This would be not just unacceptable for the Russian side, but we are convinced that it would be utterly wrong, harmful and would completely upset the political balance," Ryabkov said.

In a further development, the French president, François Hollande, opened the door to Iran attending a Syria peace conference, but reiterated that there was no future for Assad.

Paris had previously ruled out Iran taking part in the proposed conference, saying Tehran had no desire for peace, but a new Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, was elected on Friday.

"There will no future for Syria with Assad. The Russians are not yet ready to say or write it, but when we speak of transition ... it's difficult to see how he (Assad) could be responsible for it," Hollande said.British officials said they did not rule out Iran attending talks, but needed to know more about the new president and what he would do about the Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces in Syria.

Putin: Didn’t feel isolated, not all G8 leaders agree Assad used chemical weapons

There is no proof that the Syrian government used chemical weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the G8 summit. Some of the G8 countries share this view, he added.

RT,

18 June, 2013

“We do not have any facts of the use of such weapons by the Syrian government. I assure you, that by no means all the G8 members believe that they were used,” Putin said.

The Russian President stressed he “never felt isolated” at the summit despite the difference in views, and said the G8 leaders have been seeking a common solution to the Syrian conflict.

Supplying arms to the rebels based on unconfirmed reports that chemical weapons were used by the Assad government would further destabilize Syria, Putin warned.

Putin urged Western nations not to be hasty in arming the Syrian opposition, saying that such weapons could fall into the wrong hands, or be uncontrollable.

“I call on all our partners to think twice before making such steps. It is a very dangerous stuff,” the Russian president said, pointing to the “horrible” and “tragic” Woolwich murder.

There are “loads of such criminals fighting for the [Syrian] opposition, who could commit a brutal murder like this,” he stressed.

However, Putin did not rule out Russia signing new arms contracts with the Syrian government. The Russian president stressed that all such contracts comport with international law: “We are supplying arms under legal contracts to the legitimate government. It is the government of the President Assad. And if we are going to make such contracts, then we will deliver.”

Russia and the United States will spearhead the development of a peace plan for Syria, Putin said.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama along with other G8 leaders take part in the second Plenary Session of the G8 summit at the Lough Erne resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland on June 18, 2013. (AFP Photo / Stefan Rousseau)

The G8 countries have agreed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the US Secretary of State John Kerry will take on “main role and the main burden of responsibility” for working out the principles of the solution to the crisis, he added.

Tuesday’s communique by the G8 nations calling for an end to the fighting in Syria represents a “much better outcome” than was expected, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.

Harper also apparently changed his view on Russia’s role in Syrian conflict talks, saying there has been “a very significant move on the part of Mr. Putin and the Russians.”

The G8 meeting: Vladimir doesn't roll over

During a press conference at the eve of the G8 Summit and standing next to UK PM David Cameron, Russian President Vladimir Putin offers a scathing put-down in response to David Cameron's vain attempt to portray the Syrian "rebels" that the West is now officially arming as fighting for secularism and democracy.

Vladimir Putin on Syria at G8: Do You Want to Supply Arms to People who Eat their Enemies' Organs?

During a press conference at the eve of the G8 Summit and standing next to UK PM David Cameron, Russian President Vladimir Putin offers a scathing put-down in response to David Cameron's vain attempt to portray the Syrian "rebels" that the West is now officially arming as fighting for secularism and democracy.

and Murdoch's (Sky News) view

Russia slams US talks of imposing no-fly zone on Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned against any effort by the United States and its allies to impose a no-fly zone over Syria, saying the move would be a ‘violation of international law.’

Press TV,

16 June, 2013

“You don’t have to be a great expert to understand that this will still violate international law, and we really hope that our American colleagues will align their actions in accordance with the approach of the Russian-American initiative in preparation for the conference (on Syria),” Lavrov said on Saturday.

The Russian foreign minister was referring to Western media reports that US F-16 warplanes and Patriot anti-aircraft missiles in Jordan might be used in creating a no-fly zone over Syria.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement on Saturday that the F-16 aircraft and the Patriot missile batteries would stay in Jordan after the end of the joint drill between the United States and Jordan this month.

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel “has approved a request from the Kingdom of Jordan for a detachment of F-16s and Patriot Missiles to remain in Jordan following the conclusion of the Eager Lion Exercise next week,” Little stated.

“All other US personnel assigned to Jordan for Eager Lion will depart at the conclusion of the exercise. The United States enjoys a longstanding partnership with Jordan and is committed to its defense,” the Pentagon spokesman added.

Lavrov also dismissed as ‘unreliable’ Washington’s claims that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons.

He said the materials collected by the Obama administration regarding the use of chemical weapons would not meet the requirements of the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

The Russian foreign minister added, “Blood samples, urine, soil, and clothing are considered serious evidence only in the case where these samples are taken by experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and if these experts controlled these samples during the entire duration of the investigation in appropriate laboratories.”

On June 13, hawkish US Senator John McCain, who is a staunch supporter of arming the militants in Syria, said that Washington should even think of plans other than sending weapons to the militants “to change the equation on the battleground.”

The turmoil in Syria erupted in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of Syrian soldiers and security personnel, have been killed so far.

In May, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said militants from as many as 29 different countries were fighting against the government in different parts of the country

Protests in London

Anti-G8 protest headquarters in London raided by riot police

Hundreds of officers deployed and 57 arrests made as Carnival against Capitalism is staged in London

The Guardian,

11 June, 2013

Riot police raided the central London HQ of anti-G8 protesters on Tuesday and hundreds of officers were deployed in the capital as protests took place against next week's G8 summit.

Squatters inside the building, a former police station in Beak Street, off Regent Street, accused police of heavy-handed tactics after they were led out by officers who forced their way in after a tense standoff lasting more than three hours.

TV footage showed officers in climbing gear trying to secure the roof, then grabbing a protester who appeared to be trying to jump off the rooftop.

The raid came on the day of the Stop G8 group's Carnival against Capitalism, targeting banks, hedge funds, mining and oil firms in central London as well as Claridge's hotel and Boodle's private club in the runup to the summit in County Fermanagh. The protests were concentrated on Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus. Police said 57 arrests were made in relation to the G8 protests.

A Metropolitan police spokesman said the force obtained a search warrant for the Beak Street property "relating to intelligence that individuals at the address were in possession of weapons and were intent on causing criminal damage and engaging in violent disorder".

A handful of squatters are believed to have arrived on Friday, with many more subsequently joining them.

The Metropolitan police operation to evict squatters from a disused building in Beak Street, Soho, the headquarters of London protests against the G8 summit in Co Fermanagh. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian

People ejected from the building said about 200 people had been inside. A banner hung from the building said: "What if we smash the G8?"

More than 100 officers were stationed outside the property from 10am. During the standoff, some protesters, many wearing masks, dangled their legs over a ledge of the building while others popped their heads out of the window, occasionally chanting anti-capitalist slogans and "Fuck the police."

At 1.40pm, police began using chainsaws and crowbars to enter.

Protesters started emerging, most showing little sign of resistance, and were still being brought out 45 minutes later, suggesting officers had faced multiple barriers inside the property.

Police said those who had been in the building were free to leave once they had been searched.

Police did not provide a breakdown of how many of the 32 G8 protest arrests related to the Beak Street raid.

Dozens of the squatters hung around after they were led out, discussing where to go next.

One man, who did not wish to be named, said: "I think it's police brutality, to enter a completely legal squat. They're just trying to stop any protests. It's pretty scary."

He claimed that he saw blood on a police riot shield. One person, who had apparently been removed from the building, was taken away in an ambulance. Witnesses said he was bleeding and was being given oxygen.

A London Ambulance spokesman said: "We treated two patients at the scene of the protests in central London. Both have been taken to hospital with minor injuries."

The leaders of the world's eight wealthiest countries, including Russian president Vladimir Putin and German chancellor Angela Merkel, are due to meet at the luxury Lough Erne resort in Co Fermanagh for the conference on 17-18 June.

The illusion of a functioning economy

Is anyone familiar with Potemkin villages?

Recession out of the picture as Fermanagh puts on a brave face for G8 leaders

County’s makeover plan branded ‘a big lie’ as reality of recession is hidden

Stickers applied to the windows of a former butcher’s shop in Belcoo, Co Fermanagh, give the premises the superficial appearance of a thriving business. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien

the Irish Times,

29 May, 2013

Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent on a Fermanagh facelift as the county prepares for the G8 summit in just under three weeks’ time, but locals complain the work paid for by the local council and the Stormont Executive is little more than skin deep.

More than 100 properties within range of the sumptuous Lough Erne resort which hosts the world’s wealthiest leaders, have been tidied up, painted or power-hosed.

However, locals say the makeover only serves to hide a deeper malaise which US president Barack Obama, German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president François Hollande and others will not get to see.

Two shops in Belcoo, right on the border with Blacklion, Co Cavan, have been painted over to appear as thriving businesses. The reality, as in other parts of the county, is rather more stark.

Just a few weeks ago, Flanagan’s – a former butcher’s and vegetable shop in the neat village – was cleaned and repainted with bespoke images of a thriving business placed in the windows. Any G8 delegate passing on the way to discuss global capitalism would easily be fooled into thinking that all is well with the free-market system in Fermanagh. But, the facts are different.

Jim Sheridan, director of Belcoo Enterprises Limited, welcomes any attempt to tidy the area but laments the wrecking effects recession and the demise of the Celtic Tiger have had locally.

“That work happened just a few weeks ago,” he said. “The council got that place painted but it went under sometime last year. A lot of people round here worked in construction and that work has gone now.”
Picture business

The butcher’s business has been replaced by a picture of a butcher’s business. Across the road is a similar tale. A small business premises has been made to look like an office supplies store. It used to be a pharmacy, now relocated on the village main street.

Elsewhere in Fermanagh, billboard-sized pictures of the gorgeous scenery have been located to mask the occasional stark and abandoned building site or other eyesore.

All is paid for by so-called dereliction funding. About £300,000 was made available by the Department of the Environment and the Department for Social Development. A second round of funding is expected. Late last year the council wrote to the owners of properties in need of a facelift seeking permission for the work. The scheme was put together with the greatest haste to make sure the properties, mostly in Enniskillen itself, were authorised for improvements.

Council chief executive Brendan Hegarty said at the time the initiative was “a phenomenal opportunity”.

“We want to present the county as best as we can and promote it in terms of industry and tourism,” he said.
Spruce-up

The short-term beneficiaries were local builders and painters who were called in for the spruce-up. Even Enniskillen’s Clinton Centre, opened by the former US president on the site of the IRA Poppy Day bombing, has been given a cream makeover.

For one local Assembly member, the cash injection is welcome but is no substitute for the investment the area needs.

Phil Flanagan, a relative of the former owner of Belcoo’s butcher shop, says: “I’ve never seen painters as busy”.

“I’ve no problem with that, but some people are putting out the idea that there’s no such a thing as a closed-down business in Fermanagh . . . It’s a huge lie and a false economy.”

G8 Protests urge action on poverty and hunger

Occupy G8: Protest Confronts World Leaders at Camp David, Urging Action on Poverty, Hunger

World leaders are convening at the heavily guarded Camp David in Maryland today for the G8 Summit. Leading nonprofits such as Save the Children and Oxfam are urging G8 leaders to live up to a 2009 pledge of $22 billion towards food security in developing nations of which only a quarter has been met. Activists are also urging G8 leaders to build on their previous commitments and partner with developing countries to urgently tackle hunger.

We're joined by Raymond Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, and Dr. Margaret Flowers, a physician and organizer with the Occupy G8 Peoples' Summit.