The *FREE ARAB VOICE*
July 25, 1997

In this issue of the Free Arab Voice, we tackle four issues:
1 - Curbs on U.S. Computer Exports to "Israel" Relaxed.

2 - Libya Dares to Say 'NO' to the Governments of the U.S. & U.K,
    by Ali Bagdadi of Arab Journal.

3 - A Call to Release Imad El-Sabe3, and Other Palestinians
    Imprisoned without Charge by Israelis: A Letter from a Friend.

4 - Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Bars the INS from Deporting
    Palestinians Accused of Supporting the PFLP: A victory for
    Arab-Americans and their legitimate right to act politically.

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1 - U.S. relaxes computer export curbs to "Israel":

Computer power, measured as MTOPS (Millions of Theoretical
Operations per Second), is subject to national security oversight.
In 1995, a 13-MTOP computer fell within the Department of State's
classification of "munitions".

Thus, exports by U.S. firms are restricted to a speed of 12.5
MTOPs, and so firms that exceed that processing power must secure
an export license from the Department of State, of the Zionist witch
Mad Albright. License application is not free however.

The United States of course is not the sole supplier of powerful
processing computers.  India, Taiwan, China, and South Korea
manufacture machines capable of up to 67 MTOPs.  Subsequently, U.S.
firms contend that the export-licensing requirement handicaps their
ability to compete in overseas markets, since their rivals are not
subject to comparable export restrictions.

Hence the standoff between computer firms and the State Department
remains an ongoing issue, especially as tremendous annual improvements
in computer technology bump into inflexible government regulations.

But what is happening now is a selective relaxation of these same
regulations for certain countries deemed too powerful in Washington.
So while U.S. computer firms are forced to compete internationally with
one hand tied behind their backs, "Israel" gets computer technology with
possible nuclear applications.

The United States has relaxed curbs on the export of advanced
computers to "Israel", the State Department said on 6/25/97. Under
the new rules, export licenses are no longer required for computers
performing up to 20 MTOPs, said a department spokesman.

Under a policy updated in 1995, the sale of advanced U.S.-built
computers with possible military applications was restricted for
countries that have not signed the treaty aimed at curbing the spread
of nuclear weapons, including Israel.

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2 - Libya dares to say NO to Washington and London
By Ali Baghdadi (Arab Journal - Chicago)

Libya has made it clear - it will ignore so-called U.N. Security
Council resolutions that are not consistent with wishes of the world
community. Libya will not capitulate to a New World order imposed by
the United States which has no interest in peace and justice among
nations.

In no specific terms, Tripoli, which showed a great deal of tolerance,
and flexibility in its readiness to resolve disputes and conflicts in
accordance with the U.N. Charter and international law, loudly and
clearly told Washington and London to go to hell. Libya can no longer
adhere to an international organization, which since the collapse of
the Soviet Union, has been controlled and manipulated by the United
States and does not represent the will and aspirations of the world
community.

Despite African envoys' demands for lifting of the sanctions imposed
against Libya and a compromise on the location of a possible trial of
suspects in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, the U.N. Security Council,
under U.S. pressure, retained the unjust sanctions. The council's
decision reflects the dictatorial power of the U.S. government and
not the collective will of the great majority of nations.

Libya's U.N. Ambassador Abuzid Omar Dordah told reporters, "We can,
from now on, behave as if these sanctions were not there."  Libya
"would study this carefully with our brothers" in Africa.

The council appears at an impasse in forcing Libya to extradite to
Britain or the United States two alleged intelligence agents indicted
in both countries on charges of planting a bomb aboard Pan Am Flight
103. The plane exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988,
killing 270 people, including 11 on the ground.

African, Muslim and Arab nations have said the two suspects should be
tried at a neutral site. The Arab League, the Muslim Conference, the
non-Aligned Nations, and the Organization of African Unity, which
represent the great majority of the world community, have proposed the
two Libyan suspects be tried by Scottish judges under Scottish law at
the World Court in The Hague or by a special criminal tribunal to be
established there or in a neutral country determined by the council.

The unreasonable demands by Washington and London threaten the
sovereignty of Libya as a free and independent state. There is no
extradition treaty that obliges Libya to hand the suspects over to
Britain or the United States. Moreover, the suspects do not expect to
receive a fair trial in countries that insist to be the judge, jury
and executioner.

Both countries have failed to provide any proof and evidence that could
implicate the two Libyan suspects.
Efforts to strengthen the sanctions, such as instituting an oil
embargo like the one the council imposed on Iraq, could not draw the
requisite votes. U.N. members resent U.S. pressure, blackmail and
intimidation. The U.S., which forbids its companies from dealing with
Libya, is the only loser.

The sanctions currently imposed on Libya include an air and arms
embargo, the downgrading of diplomatic relations, a freeze on some
Libyan assets abroad, and a ban on some equipment used in oil terminals
and refineries. But they did not affect oil exports or drilling
equipment.

Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Elaraby said many council members supported
Egypt, Kenya and Guinea-Bissau's effort to find alternative venues for
the trial and to have the United Nations study the impact of the
sanctions on Libya and its neighbors.

"Today was not a routine review," he said. "Without a trial, no one
can say who committed this heinous crime. The innocent people of Libya,
the innocent people of neighboring countries are suffering, and the
Security Council, in my view, has not discharged its responsibility in
this affair."

Neutral observers believe that Libya is being used as a scapegoat.
Humiliation of Libya, a country that has used its resources to aid
liberation movements all over the world, particularly in Africa, has
always been on the top of the White House's priority objectives.

The crash of the Pan Am flight, as documented in the Trail of the
Octopus, resulted from a U.S. covert operation. A deal between U.S.
intelligence and drug lords in the Lebanese Beqaa valley went sour.
The book unusually and suspiciously disappeared from bookstores in
the United States and the United Kingdom.

This theory was recently confirmed by a new revelation  that the
former white president of South Africa, who was tipped about the plan,
canceled his scheduled flight on Pan Am 103 at the last minute.
Originally, the United States accused Syria and The Palestinian
General Command of responsibility in the downing of the American plane.

Three years later, Washington found it more convenient to point the
finger at Libya.

The Zionist architects of U.S. policy in Washington have no intention
to come forward and tell the truth to the American people. The White
House, which is under siege by the Israelis, is not willing to confront
these architects and admit to the entire world that the Libyan suspects
are actually innocent. President Clinton must have more than Paula
Jones in his closet. In the meanwhile, the pain of the families and
loved ones of the victims who lost their lives in the air over
Scotland, as well as the suffering of the Libyan people, will continue.

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3 - A Call to Release Palestinians Imprisoned Without  Charge by
Israelis:

In the last issue of the Free Arab Voice, we published a letter
from Imad El-Sabe3, a Palestinian held without charge by Israelis,
in Mejiddo Military Jail.

El-Sabe3 is one of nearly 300 Palestinians imprisoned indefinitely
without trial by the Shin Bet under "administrative detention."  Left
as residue from the British occupation of Palestine, used as a tool
to suffocate and silence the nucleus of Palestine's intelligentsia,
and justified by the Israeli government as a means by which to tame
so-called "security threats," the evils of administrative detention
deserve our attention, especially since "President Arafat" gives it none.

Voice your concern by writing to Deputy Major General Daniel
Reisner - Judge Advocate General's Office,
Ministry of Defense -

Haqirya Tel Aviv, fax:972-3-569-3320.
Letters to Imad and his comrades can be sent through his advocate,
attorney Tamar Pelleg, 12 Hatanaim St., Tel Aviv 69209.

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4  - NINTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS BARS INS FROM DEPORTING
     PALESTINIANS ACCUSED OF SUPPORTING TERRORIST GROUP

About one week ago, the Ninth District Court of Appeals reaffirmed a
previous decision barring the Immigration and Naturalization Service
from deporting seven Palestinian and a Kenyan accused of supporting
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in a case
that became otherwise known as the case of the LA8.

Moreover, the court found the government has selectively targeted those
eight for perfectly legal political activities that are guaranteed by
the constitution under the First Amendment and the spirit of the law.

And inspite of the fact that the government has been pursuing this
case for a decade, it hasn't given up yet. Not out of sheer tenacity,
but to create an environment of fear and risk around LEGAL
Arab-American, Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic political action.

The idea then is to associate legitimate and legal organizing and
mobilizing with punishment and deportation. And in the minds of our
oppressors, this is supposed to paralyze us into submission, which
turns this legal battle into a political frontline.

So the case of the LA8 doesn't only concern those threatened with
deportation, but every Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim in North America.
Because the LA8 are being used as an example to bring about our silence
before injustice, discrimination, and a pro-Zionist Middleeastern
foreign policy.

Therefore, it is extremely important to continue to support the LA8,
and not to relax, because this case is far from over. And even if
it were, others like it will probably emerge in order to establish
legal precedents, to complement illegal practices, in the ongoing
campaign to usurp our rights to be politically active and to make a
difference.

Congratulations to the LA8 and all Arab-Americans for their
victory. Lets get involved and be politically active to protect our
hard-earned achievements, and move on to new ones.

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