NOVANEWS
June 2: together in Syria
Here is a list of the participants in the observer team. We know that there are other teams from the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), but we haven’t met them yet. Half of the team (the first ten listed) arrived in Syria yesterday and the rest will arrive before the end of today.
1.Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, Canada
Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya is the author of The Globalization of NATO (Clarity Press) and a forthcoming book The War on Libya and the Re-Colonization of Africa. He has also contributed to several other books ranging from cultural critique to international relations. He is a Sociologist and Research Associate at the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), a contributor at the Strategic Culture Foundation (SCF), Moscow, and a member of the Scientific Committee of Geopolitica, Italy. He has also addressed the Middle East and international relations issues on several TV news networks including Al Jazeera, teleSUR, and Russia Today. His writings have been translated into more than twenty languages. In 2011 he was awarded the First National Prize of the Mexican Press Club for his work in international investigative journalism.
2. Elias Hazineh, Canada
Elias Hazineh is a Canadian entrepreneur and activist who has dedicated his life to public service and acted as an advocate for new Canadians over many years. Elias has had a lifelong interest in Middle Eastern issues, and is heavily involved in furthering awareness of political and humanitarian issues in the region through advocacy, fundraising, and volunteerism. He is passionate about Canadian politics at all levels of government, and has worked tirelessly for over three decades to support candidates as well as to run in elections himself. Elias uses his vast political and legal knowledge to assist immigrants and refugees in Canada as an immigration consultant, translator, and formerly, as an advisor to federal Members of Parliament on immigration and refugee issues.
3. Jackson Anthony (TONY) SEED, Canada
Specializing in international relations; Canadian foreign and military policy; media & disinformation; sport commentary
Writes for: Crescent International; Canadian Charger; TML Daily; Dominion / Halifax Media Co-op
Nominated for National Newspaper Award for exposés of anti-worker, anti-immigrant policies of the Unemployment Insurance Commission that were debated in Parliament and led to reforms. Fired nine days later and subsequently blacklisted in the profession through the use of a confidential letter system.
BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS
Editor & Publisher, Dossier on Palestine, October 2002
Acclaimed, award-winning book-length special edition, 20,000 copies. 96 pages. 8.25 in x 10.755 in / 20.96 cm x 27.32 cm. 40 full colour pages. 23 maps.
The book: http://tonyseed.
wordpress.com/2003/01/26/
dossier-on-palestine-a-land-a-
people/
Book launch: http://tonyseed.
wordpress.com/2002/10/29/a-
media-of-progress-
enlightenment-and-freedom-is-
possible/
http://tonyseed.wordpress.com/
2002/12/06/speech-on-eid-
mubarak-introducing-the-
dossier-on-palestine/
4. Judith Ann Bello, USA
Nationality: American, born in the United States
Address: 785 Winifred Drive, Webster, New York 14580
Phone: (585) 733-4058
Short CV:
1. Member of the Administrative Committee of United National Antiwar Coalition
2. Founding member of the Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars
3. Traveled twice to Iran in 2007 and 2011 with Fellowship of Reconciliation Peace Delegations.
4. Spent a month working with small children in Sulemaniya, Iraq in 2009.
5. Visited Pakistan in the Fall of 2012 with CodePink group to support Drone strike victims.
6. Blogger: Have my own blog, administer the Upstate Coalition blog, write for FOR and occasionally publish in Counterpunch, Countercurrents blogs.
5. Jim W. Dean - USA
Managing Editor, VeteransToday.com
Producer/Host Heritage TV, Atlanta
I have been a featured Geo-political commentator and interview guest on Press TV along with Kevin Barrett and Gordon Duff
I am also partnering with the new Russian Geo-political journal New Eastern Outlook in Moscow, helping them build up international readership like we were able to do with PressTV’s Viewpoints. We have covered Syria, Iran for years, and now Ukraine extensively.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/
author/dean/
http://www.presstv.ir/
Contributors/260132.html
http://journal-neo.org/author/
jim-dean/
6. Dr. Paul Larudee, USA
a former Ford foundation project supervisor, and Fulbright-Hays lecturer in Lebanon, and a U.S. government advisor to Saudi Arabia. He has been a faculty
member at several universities in the San Francisco Bay Area, an organizer with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine and co-founder of the movement to break the Israeli siege of Gaza by sea, and was aboard the boats that succeeded in doing so in 2008 as well as the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which
was attacked by Israeli forces on May 31, 2010. He is a co-founder of the Global March to Jerusalem.
7. Joseph Gerard Iosbaker, USA
I am an activist with the Anti-War Committee – Chicago. Nationally, I’m on the administrative committee of the United National Antiwar Coalition. I was one of the national coordinators of the march of 15,000 people for jobs, housing, healthcare, education, and against war when the NATO summit was held in Chicago, May 2012. Starting in the summer of 2012, I helped to organize numerous protests against the U.S. war of intervention in Syria. These culminated in nationally coordinated actions in August and September 2013, which helped to prevent the Obama administration from launching missile strikes.
8. Jane Pamela Stillwater, USA
I have been a freelance journalist, travel writer and blogger since 2000. In this capacity, I have traveled many places — including Antarctica, China, southeast Asia, Tibet, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Iraq and Iran (loved Iran!) I also work part-time as a paralegal and as an actor in various student films. I am 71 years old, have a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley and am the mother of four children.
9. Declan Hayes, Ireland
Author, lecturer, commentator, journalist. Lectures in Finance to post-graduates at Southampton University. Led International Peace Pilgrimage to Syria in April 2014. Hosted the visit of Mother Agnes mariam, Fadia Laham, to London and Dublin in November 2013. Has appeared on Arab TV speaking on Syria and has written in Brtish Catohlic papers and done radio programes on Catholic radio about Syria.
10. Scott Michael Williams, USA
I am a National Coordinator with the anti-imperialist youth organization based in the US called FIST - Fight Imperialism, Stand Together (fightimperialism.org). I am an organizer with International Action Center, including mobilizing for demonstrations against US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and beyond. For several years I was a union organizer of low-wage workers in the USA and I have been active in the student movements as well as the Occupy Wall St movement.
11. Feroze Mithiborwala, India
Founder General secretary of the India Palestine Solidarity Forum
Founder, Asia to Gaza Convoy
General coordinator, Asian Peoples’ Solidarity for Palestine
Central Committee Member, Global March to Jerusalem
National President, Bharat Bachao Andolan
National Advisor, Vidyarthi Bharti
Convenor, Muslim Intellectual Forum
12. Jatinbabu Desai, India
Profession: Journalist, Columnist
Former President of Bombay Union of Journalists
Secretary, Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace & Democracy
Bureau Member, South Asians for Human Rights
Actively involved with various movements in India.
13. Dilip Kumar -Banerjee- Indian
Eminent Photo Journalist with more than 30 years of field experience. Has provided photo stories for Times of India, India Today amongst other leading news organizations. Has covered conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Jaffna-Sri Lanka, Gaza-Palestine.
14. Anahita Shireen Mukherji, India
I am an Assistant Editor at The Times of India. I have an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. (2012-13). I won the 2010 Sanskriti Award for journalism for my stories on education. I won the Australia India Council Young Media Fellowship in 2010. I have worked as a journalist with The Times of India in Mumbai and Delhi for over seven years.
15. Mr. Mansor bin Puteh, Malaysia
I am a filmmaker who have produced a documentary called, ‘Writing in the Sand…on how the Jasmine Revolution of the Arab Spring of 2011 could have been avoided!’ which was shot mostly in Yemen, and which had a premiere in the Fajr Film Festival in Tehran, Iran in February, 2012. I studied filmmaking at a university in New York City and am based in Malaysia. I also used to be a reporter with a Malaysian national newspaper.
16. Muhammad Abbas Komeili, Pakistan
Chief of Jafaria Alliance Pakistan
17. Safdar Abbas, Pakistan
Senior News Reporter in Daily Express News Paper ( second Biggest News Paper in pakistan)
18. Nasir Shirazi, Pakistan
Political Secretary of Majlis Wehdat Muslameen Pakistan
19. Khurram Nawaz Khan, Pakistan
Central President of Pakistan Awami Tehreek
20. Salim Ghafouri. Iran
Head of International union of unified ummah, Documentary
film maker and producer, Peace activist
21. Roohullah Rezvi
Kashmiri activist
Today the group met with the National Presidential Election Commission, which is responsible for overseeing the election procedures. We learned a lot, although we expect to learn more during the election itself, as well as the counting and tabulation of votes, as well as the certification of results.
Some of the things we learned are:
any citizen may vote anywhere in Syria by showing proof of citizenship, with the exception of convicted criminals
after voting, the voter’s thumb is dipped in indelible ink
the name of the voter is registered separately from the ballots at the polling station, such that the name cannot be linked to a particular ballot
after the polls close and the votes are counted, if the number of ballots exceeds the number of names by more than 2%, ballots are randomly selected and discarded in order to make the number the same
if the reverse is the case or if the irregularity is very great, the ballots and lists may be sealed and sequestered for investigation.
if the number of irregular or questionable votes is enough to affect the outcome of the election, the result cannot be certified.
all candidates in an election are entitled to place their representatives as monitors of all voting procedures at all voting stations until the votes are tabulated and certified
We will undoubtedly learn much more when we go into the field tomorrow.
On a note of encouragement, we were pleased to receive the following message from Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire:
Many thanks to you and the peace friends from Iran and the Observation Teams.You are doing great work.
Sorry could not join you as going to Sarajevo Peace events so we are all with you in spirit. It is great to see the Syrian people exercise their democratic rights like all countries and choose their own President, and under free and fair elections with Observation Teams, and people like yourselves in witness. Whoever they choose must be accepted by the international community.
Thank you all for making this most important contribution to peace making in Syria and in admiration of the great people of Syria and their peace and reconciliation efforts, rejecting outside intervention, militarism, and showing how nonviolence and reconciliation do work.
Peace and love to you all,
Mairead Maguire