Por la presente, tenemos a bien invitaros a nuestro próximo acto público. En esta ocasión contaremos con una invitada excepcional: la presidenta del parlamento de Israel y presidenta funciones de dicho país: Dalia Itzik. Nuestra invitada nos hablará sobre "Israel ante los desafíos internos y externos: una apuesta por la paz y la democracia". Al final de la ponencia, habrá un breve coloquio.
El acto se celebrará el próximo 26 de abril, a las 19,30 horas, en la Sala de Columnas del Congreso de los Diputados, calle Cedaceros S/N.
Nos gustaría mucho contar con vuestra presencia y, para ello, te ruego nos las confirmes antes del día 24 de abril en los correos electrónicos que te doy a continuaciòn: asistente.pcpeticiones@sgral.congreso.es y rangoso@dialogoeuropeo.com No olvides que, como es habitual, necesitamos tu nombre y dos apellidos junto con el DNI.
Para cualquier consulta, llamar al 91 390 61 84. Dicho acto está organizado por Diálogo Europeo y la Asociación Solidaridad España Israel en colaboración con la Embajada de Israel. Será presentado y moderado por el Presidente de Diálogo Europeo y Presidente de la Comisión de Peticiones del Congreso de los Diputados, Jordi Marsal, y el Presidente de la Asociación Solidaridad España Israel, Fernando Alvarez-Barón. Esperamos vuestra asistencia. Un fraternal saludo.
RICARDO ANGOSO GARCIA Coordinador General de Diálogo Europeo Fuencarral, 74, 2, J 28004 Madrid España Tel. 677 55 09 36 rangoso@dialogoeuropeo.com asistente.pcpeticiones@sgral.congreso.es www.dialogoeuropeo.com
18 Abril 2007
Early Al-Qaeda rumblings in the Maghreb?
By James Badcock
Commentary by
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Same place, but different game? This was the question in the heads of leaders in Morocco and Algeria last week. First, there was the suicide or killing of several Islamists in Casablanca on April 10. This was followed a day later by simultaneous car bombings in Algiers that killed 33 people and posed a direct challenge to the Algerian government. Both countries have seen their share of fundamentalist terrorism in the past - but the question was whether a new phase had dawned, following claims made last autumn that an "Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb" had been formed. Were last week's events a wake-up call for these historically unfriendly neighbors who must now find a way to cooperate?
The twin blasts in the Algerian capital - which could have claimed more lives had a third vehicle containing 500 kilograms of dynamite exploded as planned - were claimed by a new branch of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. In Morocco, meanwhile, the picture was less clear. The terrorists were apparently interrupted before they could execute an attack. Three of the men detonated the explosives wrapped around their bodies when encircled by the police, while a fourth was shot dead by the security forces, who lost an agent during the operation. Two more Islamists blew themselves up four days later on April 14.
The Moroccan authorities insisted this was a purely local terrorist ring - in contrast to four years ago when they insisted that foreign militants were behind bombings directed against Western and Jewish landmarks in Casablanca, in which 33 people were killed alongside 12 bombers. The nature of the events in Casablanca last week prevents reaching firm conclusions on the role of Al-Qaeda behind terrorism in Morocco. However, several analysts, including the widely-respected Mohammad Darif of Mohammadia University, have concluded that the confrontation between the government and the international terrorist network is under way.
While such activity is a relatively recent development in Morocco, Algeria has lived in the shadow of Islamist terrorism, and the army's brutal counter-insurgency offensives, since the abortive parliamentary elections of 1992. In the last few years of a waning conflict that has claimed some 150,000 lives, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (SGPC) had become the sole surviving rebel organization following the surrender or destruction of other groups. In September 2006, the SGPC announced it had joined Al-Qaeda. Ayman al-Zawahri, Al-Qaeda's number-two leader, described the SGPC as a thorn in the side of the "crusader" West's attempts to bring gas-rich Algeria into its sphere of influence.
Already this year there have been several attacks in Algeria (following a continued downturn in violence in 2006) whose sophistication suggests a departure in the confrontation between the state and rebels. In retrospect, recent simultaneous attacks against police stations were, it seems, merely a dress rehearsal for last week's bombings, targeting the security forces in the capital and the government headquarters itself. Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem was clear on the meaning behind the attacks. Accusing the terrorists of wishing to destabilize Algeria in the run-up to legislative elections on May 17, Belkhadem said the country would "continue to advance toward progress and economic development."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb
18 Abril 2007
