English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese
Related, Global News & Editorials For
April 11/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
Holy Saturday: The Guard at the Tomb
Mathews 27/62-66/The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the
chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember
that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise
again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day.
Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he
has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the
first.”“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know
how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and
posting the guard.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News & Editorials published on April 10-11/2020
Thursday of the Holy Mysteries & the Last Supper: Rituals, Traditions, Values &
Principles/Elias Bejjani/From The Archives
Hariri Hospital: Number of recoveries increases to 76, one death case occurs
Lebanon Records 27 New Virus Cases, Another Death
1 Coronavirus Case on Doha Plane, None on Accra's
Bsharri to be Isolated as of Saturday, 800 PCR Tests Expected
Corona takes the life of a Lebanese doctor in Italy
UNIFIL HoM: No Covid-19 cases in UNIFIL, maximum cooperation essential to defeat
epidemic
Rahi presides over Good Friday Mass: We remember the sufferings of Christ,
joined today with the sufferings of those infected with Corona
Coronavirus lockdown in Lebanon extended for additional two weeks
Abdel Samad after Cabinet session: Government extends general mobilization until
April 26
Diab contacts Lebanese medical doctors in France, praises their relentless
efforts & valuable contributions
MP Geagea Lauds Health Minister despite 'Political Differences'
Samir Geagea Urges Reform instead of 'Touching People's Deposits'
Lebanon Makes Largest Ever Cannabis Drug Bust
Lebanon busts largest drug-trafficking operation in country’s history
Interior Minister issues decision allowing public vehicles to operate on Sunday
Jumblatt: This is how the one-color government confiscates people's money
Turkish Embassy distributes food rations to 400 families in Akkar
Ferzli: To stop the travesty of appointments
Man threatens to burn himself in Sidon amid ailing livelihood conditions
Lebanon's central bank head denies transferring money abroad from official
accounts
Many Americans staying on in Lebanon
The domestication of Hezbollah in the time of coronavirus/Basem Shabb/Al Arabiya/April
10/2020
Domestic violence hotline won't save all women from abuse during coronavirus
lockdown, warns Lebanon NGO/Gasia Ohanes/The New Arab/April 10/2020
Hezbollah spy hunter’s murder mystery/Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/April 10/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April
10-11/2020
Statement by The Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs on release of report by
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on chemical attacks in
Syria
Canadian Statement in support of global ceasefire
Amnesty: Prisoners killed by Iran’s security forces during coronavirus protests/Zaynab
Khojji/Arab News/April 10/2020
Trump says Saudis, Russians 'close' to oil production deal
Canada moves to reinstate Saudi arms sales agreement following Khashoggi disput
Washington sees 'significant' threat in Iraq from Iranian proxies/Reuters/The
Arab Weekly/April 10/2020
Threat from Iran to US forces in Iraq remain ‘significant’: Senior US official
Iraq’s designated prime minister vows to control arms, fight corruption
Pope Guides Locked-Down World through Virtual Easter
WHO Denies Ignoring Taiwan Early Virus Warning
EU Leaders to Discuss Economic Recovery from Pandemic
Spain Sees Lowest Virus Daily Toll in 17 Days
Boris Johnson Back on Hospital Ward with UK in Easter Lockdown
'Coronavirus Ceasefire' in Yemen's Long Conflict Dismissed by Rebels
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on April 10-11/2020
What is Easter Sunday?/GotQuestions.org Home/April 09/2020
Twin pressures adding friction to Iran-Turkey ties/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab
News/April 09/2020
Covid-19 and the Conspiracy Theorists/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/April
09/2020
Sanctions relief isn’t necessary to assist Iran’s coronavirus response/Katherine
Bauer & Dana Stroul/The Hill/April 09/2020
Coronavirus has gone global, but In Iran, it's the Khamenei virus/Reza Behrouz/Al
Arabiya/April 10/2020
Economic meltdown pushes Tehran to take risks with pandemic/Thomas Seibert/The
Arab Weekly/April 10/2020
Iran needs to be on board if Middle East is to change/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab
News/April 10/2020
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published on April 10-11/2020
Thursday of the Holy Mysteries & the Last
Supper: Rituals, Traditions, Values & Principles
Elias Bejjani/From The Archives
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73938/elias-bejjani-thursday-of-the-holy-mysteries-the-last-supper-rituals-traditions-values-principles/
On the Thursday that comes before the “Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified,
Christian Catholics all over the world, including our Maronite Eastern Church
celebrates with prayers and intercessions the “Thursday of the Holy Mysteries”,
which is also known as the “Washing Thursday “, the “Covenant Thursday”, and the
“Great & Holy Thursday”. It is the holy day feast that falls on the Thursday
before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with His 12
Apostles as described in the four New Testament gospels. It is the fifth day of
the last Lenten Holy Week, that is followed by the, “Good Friday”, “Saturday Of
The Light and “Easter Sunday”.
Christianity in its essence and core is Love, Sacrifice, honesty, transparency,
devotion, hard work and Humility. Jesus during the last supper with His 12
Apostles reiterated and stressed all these Godly values and principles. In this
holy and message proclaiming context He executed the following acts :
He, ordained His Apostles as priests, and asked them to proclaim God’s message.
“You have stayed with me all through my trials; 29 and just as my Father has
given me the right to rule, so I will give you the same right. 30 You will eat
and drink at my table in my Kingdom, and you will sit on thrones to rule over
the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22/28 and 29)
He, taught His Apostles and every body else, that evil temptation and betrayal
can hit all those who detach and dissociate themselves from God, do not fear
Him, lack faith, lose hope and worship earthly treasures. He showed them by
example that even a disciple that He personally had picked and choose (Judas,
the Iscariot) has fell a prey to Satan’s temptation. “But, look! The one who
betrays me is here at the table with me! The Son of Man will die as God has
decided, but how terrible for that man who betrays him!” Luke 22/21)
He, washed His Apostles’ feet to teach them by example modesty, devotion and
humility. “So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and
reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for
you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I,
therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one
another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for
you, you should also do. Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his
master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him” (John 13/12-16).
Modesty was stressed and explained by Jesus after His Apostles were arguing
among themselves who is the greatest: ”
“An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them should be
thought of as the greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the pagans have
power over their people, and the rulers claim the title ‘Friends of the People.’
But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must
be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant. Who is greater,
the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves? The one who sits down, of
course. But I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke 22/24 till 27)
Thursday of the “Holy Mysteries”, is called so because in His Last Supper with
the 12 disciples, Jesus Christ established the Eucharist and Priesthood
Sacraments when “He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, “Take
this, and share it among yourselves, for I tell you, I will not drink at all
again from the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God comes.” “He took
bread, broke it and gave it to the disciples saying: This is my body which is
given for you. Do this in memory of me. And when He Likewise, took the cup after
supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out
for you”.
Thursday of the Holy Mysteries (Secrets-Sacraments) is the heart of the last
Lenten holy week, in which the Maronite Catholic Church lives with reverence and
devotion the Lord’s Last Supper spirit and contemplation through prayers and
deeply rooted religious rituals and traditions:
The Patriarch prays over and blesses the chrism (Al-Myroun), as well as the oil
of baptism and anointing that are to are distributed on all parishes and
churches.
During the mass that is held on this Holy Day, the priest washes the feet of
twelve worshipers, mainly children (symbolizing the apostles numbers). Jesus
washed His disciples feet and commanded them to love each other and follow his
example in serving each other.
Worshipers visit and pray in seven Churches. This ritual denotes to the
completion of the Church’s Seven sacraments (Secrets) : Priesthood, Eucharist,
Holy Oil, Baptism, Confirmations, anointing and Service.
This tradition also denotes to the seven locations that Virgin Mary’s went to
look for Her Son, Jesus, after she learned about His arrest. The detention
place, The Council of the Priests, twice the Pilate’s headquarters, twice the
Herod Headquarters, till She got to the Calvary.
Some Christian scholars believe that this tradition was originated in Rome where
early pilgrims visited the seven pilgrim churches as an act of penance. They are
Saint John Lateran, Saint Peter, Saint Mary Major, Saint Paul-outside-the-Walls,
Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls, Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem, and traditionally
Saint Sebastian Outside the Walls. Pope John Paul II replaced St. Sebastian with
the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Divine Love for the jubilee year of 2000.
The Mass of the Lord’s Supper is accompanied by the ringing of bells, which are
then silent until the Easter Vigil. Worshipers used to kneel and pray the rosary
in front of the Eucharist (Blessed Sacrament) all Thursday night. The Blessed
Sacrament remains exposed all night, while worshipers are encouraged to stay in
the church as much as they can praying, meditating upon the Mystery of
Salvation, and participating in the “agony of Gethsemane” (Garden at the foot of
the Mount of Olives) in Jerusalem where Jesus spent his night in prayer before
His crucifixion on Good Friday.
After the homily washing of feet the service concludes with a procession taking
the Blessed Eucharist (Sacrament) to the place of reposition. The altar is later
stripped bare, as are all other altars in the church except the Altar of Repose.
Thursday of the “Holy Mysteries”, is called so because in His Last Supper with
the 12 disciples, Jesus Christ established the Eucharist and Priesthood
Sacraments when “He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, “Take
this, and share it among yourselves, for I tell you, I will not drink at all
again from the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God comes.” “He took
bread, broke it and gave it to the disciples saying: This is my body which is
given for you. Do this in memory of me. And when He Likewise, took the cup after
supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out
for you”.Jesus ordained His disciples as priests of the New Testament when he
said to them during the Last Supper: “But you are those who have continued with
me in my trials. I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me,
that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Before Celebrating the Resurrection Day (Easter) worshipers live the “Paschal
Mystery” through the Thursday Of the Sacraments, Good Friday and Saturday Of The
Light.
Because He loves us and wants us to dwell in His Eternal Heaven, Jesus Christ
for our sake willingly suffered all kinds of torture, pain, humiliation and died
on the Cross to pave our way for repentance and salvation.
Let us pray on this Holy Day that we always remember Jesus’ love and sacrifices
and live our life in this context of genuine, faith, love, meekness and
forgiveness.
Hariri Hospital: Number of recoveries increases to 76, one
death case occurs
NNA/Friday-April 10/2020
Rafic Hariri University Hospital announced on Friday, in its daily report on the
latest developments about the Corona Covid-19 virus, that the total number of
laboratory-confirmed cases of infected patients currently present in the
hospital's isolation area has reached 22 cases, adding that 16 suspected Corona
cases were transferred from other hospitals. The Hospital statement also
announced the recovery of 9 patients from the Coronavirus, after the result of
their PCR examination was negative in both times, thus the number of total
recoveries to-date has reached 76 cases.
“According to the directives of the World Health Organization and the Ministry
of Public Health, four Coronavirus infected cases were released from the
hospital to be home quarantined, after their attending physician confirmed the
clinical recovery of the patients, and informed them of all measures and
instructions related to their home quarantine,” the statement added. The
Hospital also reported the death of an eighty-year-old who was suffering from
chronic diseases, while affirming that all those infected with the virus "are
receiving the necessary care in the isolation unit and their conditions are
stable except for two patients who are in critical condition."
Lebanon Records 27 New Virus Cases, Another Death
Naharnet/April 10/2020
Lebanon on Friday confirmed 27 more COVID-19 coronavirus cases, raising the
total to 609, the Health Ministry said. It noted that 14 of them were among
Lebanese expats evacuated from abroad. One more fatality was also recorded,
which takes the country's death toll to 20.
As for recoveries, 67 have occurred to date, the Ministry added in its daily
statement. Breaking down the 14 expat cases, LBCI television reported that 13 of
the infected returnees arrived on the London plane as one came from Qatar.
1 Coronavirus Case on Doha Plane, None on Accra's
Naharnet/April 10/2020
A coronavirus case has been confirmed among the Lebanese expats who were
evacuated from Doha yesterday, the Health Ministry said on Friday. “The infected
person will be transferred to hospital while strict quarantine measures will be
taken as to those who tested negative,” the Ministry said in a statement. “They
will be followed up daily by the Ministry and anyone who shows any symptoms will
be sent to hospital for re-testing,” it added.As for the plane that arrived from
Ghana's Accra, the results of tests conducted for all passengers came out
negative, the Ministry noted.
Bsharri to be Isolated as of Saturday, 800 PCR Tests
Expected
Naharnet/April 10/2020
The northern town of Bsharri will be isolated as of Saturday morning in order to
contain a coronavirus outbreak there, its mayor said on Friday. “Bsharri will be
placed on lockdown as of 6:00 am tomorrow and exit and entry will be
prohibited,” Bsharri municipal chief Freddy Kayrouz said.
“500 (coronavirus) tests will be carried out tomorrow and 300 others on Monday,
and in light of the results we will take a decision on whether or not to keep
the lockdown in place,” Kayrouz added. Health Minister Hamad Hasan had visited
the town and several northern regions on Thursday.
Corona takes the life of a Lebanese doctor in Italy
NNA/Friday-April 10/2020
National News Agency correspondent in the Metn region reported Friday the death
of the Lebanese doctor, Nabil Sharabia, 61, from the area of Bikfaya, after he
was infected with the Corona virus in the Italian city of Alessandria. According
to Italian media, Sharabia suffered from symptoms for several days before being
transferred to the hospital where he passed away.
UNIFIL HoM: No Covid-19 cases in UNIFIL, maximum
cooperation essential to defeat epidemic
NNA/Friday-April 10/2020
In an interview with the correspondent of the National News Agency (NNA) in
Tyre, UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col
said "the peacekeeper who tested COVID-19 positive three weeks ago has already
been tested twice and the results are negative. He has always been in good
health." "As of now, we have no COVID-19 cases in UNIFIL. The peacekeeper was
already in quarantine when the test was conducted, and was subsequently put in
isolation as per UNIFIL and WHO standard procedures and guidelines. Our strict
protocol has worked well and we will continue to abide by it and adjust it as
needed," he said.
"UNIFIL has followed all the protocols regarding contact-tracing and ensured
that all personnel in contact with the said peacekeeper were quarantined and
tested for the virus. They were all found negative," he noted.
"As per our protocols, all the peacekeepers returning from abroad, from leave or
arriving as part of new rotations are required to be in quarantine and the
approximate number at the moment stands at around 110 peacekeepers in various
UNIFIL locations across the area of operations. As of today, there are no cases
of COVID-19 in the Mission. The precautionary measures that we have been taking
from the very beginning have preceded some of the measures that have been issued
by the UN," Maj. Gen. Del Col added.
"Even before the start of virus outbreak and long before the first case was
confirmed in Lebanon, UNIFIL instituted a number of measures and protocols, at
times even exceeding the expected requirements, to curtail the infection amongst
UNIFIL personnel and the host communities. This included quarantine measures,
temperature-checks, sanitization of facilities and alternate work modalities. We
have had to tailor our operational activities in accordance with the situation,
including our activities conducted in cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces
(LAF)," he continued.
"In relation to our staff, we have reviewed the roles of all UNIFIL civilian
staff and are implementing alternative measures, including “working from home.”
This is a temporary measure that will be reviewed periodically and in
coordination with UN HQ and WHO," he went on to say.
"We continue to abide by directives from the Government of Lebanon and WHO
guidelines. Moreover, we regularly revisit mission preparedness and contingency
plans, and keep staff informed of all measures undertaken, as this crisis
continues to evolve," Del Col underscored.
"During the last weeks, I visited all the contingents in our area of operations
and addressed the national and international staff in Naqoura. I wanted to show
my appreciation for the work they are carrying out during this challenging
period as well as making sure that we are all taking all the precautionary
measures to prevent the spread of the virus," he said.
"This is not business-as-usual: the maximum cooperation and understanding from
everyone are essential to defeat COVID-19. Our medical team is at the forefront
of COVID-19 response putting their health at risk to protect our troops," the
UNIFIL Head of Mission said.
In response to a question on whether UNIFIL is still operating as usual along
the Blue Line in light of the pandemic outbreak, Maj. Gen. Del Col said "our
mandated tasks on land along the Blue Line and at sea continue as before.
Despite adverse and changed situations, the Mission’s more than 11,000 military
and civilian peacekeepers continue their work round the clock in the
implementation of UN Security resolution 1701 and subsequent relevant
resolutions."
"As the Head of Mission and Force Commander, I am in direct contact with our
Lebanese counterparts, notably in the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), our strategic
partners as well as with other Lebanese authorities. We continue to coordinate
our activities with the LAF," he added.
"In line with our efforts to keep the Lebanese leadership informed on UNIFIL’s
developments, I met today (Wednesday) with Prime Minister Hassan Diab in Beirut.
I commended the PM for his leadership in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic
and assured him that since the beginning of the outbreak, prevention of a spread
of the virus within UNIFIL and to local communities has been my absolute
priority," he said.
"I emphasized that maintaining calm along the Blue Line is of utmost importance
in order to provide a stable environment for the authorities to address the
pressing challenges related coronavirus pandemic," he added.
"I briefed him on the situation in south Lebanon and on the strict and
comprehensive precautionary measures we have taken since the beginning of the
outbreak to prevent the spread of the virus among our troops," De Col continued.
"I also informed the PM that all rotations, repatriations and deployments of
uniformed personnel have been suspended by the UN Secretary-General until 30
June 2020 to mitigate transmission of COVID-19. In rare cases, UN Headquarters
may determine that units or uniformed personnel must be deployed or rotated to
continue to deliver the mandate," he noted.
"I would like to stress again that UNIFIL, even before this directive, had
already taken all the precautionary measures, followed and at times exceeded all
the protocols to prevent the spread of the virus. Such measures include
quarantine inside our bases and strict precautionary measures in the case of all
personnel returning from leave," he stressed.
"During the meeting I also took the opportunity to highlight a very important
and timely appeal launched by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling
for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world and urging warring
parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the bigger
battle against COVID-19 that is now threatening all of humankind. It was
encouraging to hear PM Diab and his Government’s support for the SG’s global
appeal," Maj. Ge. Del Col continued.
"It is a very important message that we need to emphasise here in this region
where we still have two countries still in a state of war. A lot has been done
and the almost 14 years of stability in south of Lebanon is a testimony of the
commitment of the parties, but this is the time to move from the current
cessation of hostilities to a permanent ceasefire," he underscored.
"The level of support we have been receiving from the Lebanese military and
political leaderships, in the implementation of resolution 1701, is
commendable," the UNIFIL Head of Mission noted.
Asked about the issue of the Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace, Maj. Ge.
Del Col said "this issue has been raised during the meeting [with PM Diab]. It
is very important during these difficult times to maintain a calm situation and
the Israeli overflights into Lebanese air space remain grave violations of
resolution 1701 as well as of Lebanese sovereignty."
"Such violations escalate tensions among the population while undermining
UNIFIL’s efforts to build public confidence towards a stable security
environment in south Lebanon. I have strongly protested these violations in a
letter to the IDF and asked that such overflights cease immediately in full
respect of resolution 1701 and of Lebanese sovereignty," he added.
In response to UNIFIL's regular assistance to the local community and whether
there will be other assistance to the local residents in light of the current
crisis, Maj. Gen. Del Col said "the existence of normal life in our area of
operations is the measure of our collective success with almost 14 years of
overall peace and stability in the area. We do not want to see any factor,
including COVID-19, unsettle the calm."
"Hence, we as UNIFIL – with strong support of our troop-contributing countries (TCCs)
– would like to support local communities in order to address their immediate
needs, which at the moment is preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus," he
added.
"We are all going through a very challenging period and to care for one another
is an imperative duty for all of us. It is an unprecedented situation that
requires exceptional measures, understanding and coordination from everyone," he
underscored.
"In the past week, UNIFIL and its Troop Contributing Countries have ramped up
support to our host communities across our area of operations in south Lebanon
in order to enable them to fight the COVID-19 spread," he said.
"Last week, we gifted essential equipment and other accessories to the Naqoura
Municipality, which hosts the UNIFIL Headquarters. This donation is part of
UNIFIL’s broader effort to assist the local population and communities in the
common fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," he continued.
"In the framework of our ongoing support to assist the host population in our
common fight against COVID-19, the UNIFIL Italian contingent in Sector West has
donated a container to the hospital of Bint Jbeil to be used as a triage area
outside the medical facility to host potential COVID-19 patients. The donation
included medical equipment, for the cardiology and hematology departments," he
added.
"In Marjayoun, we donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other supplies
necessary for the containment of the virus, in support to the Lebanese Ministry
of Public Health in Marjayoun to the benefit of 13 villages and 10 state
institutions. During this week UNIFIL Force Commander Reserve (FCR) is also
donating medical equipment to other communities in the area of operations," Del
Col noted.
"I strongly believe that during this challenging period, our priority is to
unify efforts and resources in the common fight against COVID-19 pandemic," the
UNIFIL head of Mission stressed.
"In accordance with UNIFIL’s mandate to protect civilians, we are in the process
of implementing more projects and donations aimed at providing the communities
with equipment and medical tools aimed at facilitating our common fight against
COVID-19," he said.
Asked if UNIFIL is still conducting patrols as usual or reduced them, Maj. Gen.
Del Col said "although this cannot be business as usual, our operational
activities continue 24/7. These include some 450 activities daily – on land, air
and at sea. We have significantly reduced our community engagements to be in
line with enhanced precautionary measures aimed at preventing the spread of the
virus. Our peacekeepers continue patrolling the Blue Line and other areas within
the area of operations. Our naval peacekeepers from the Mission’s Maritime Task
Force continue to patrol the Lebanese territorial waters in coordination with
the Lebanese Navy."
"In addition, we are also exploring some innovating approaches to engage with
communities, including through video links," UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force
Commander concluded.
Rahi presides over Good Friday Mass: We remember the sufferings of Christ,
joined today with the sufferings of those infected with Corona
NNA/Friday-April 10/2020
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, headed today the
“Prostration of the Cross” Mass service held in Bkirki this morning. In his
homily, the Patriarch said that on this day, we remember the pains and death of
Christ by reading the four Gospels as narrated by the Evangelists. “We remember
them because the Lord redeemed our sins and the sins of all mankind, so that we
can all reconcile with God and return to Him by repentance,” he said. “We
remember them in order to join the pains of Christ, and the sufferings of those
who are afflicted physically, psychologically and morally, and now the
sufferings of those infected with the Coronavirus, so that the Lord Jesus may
give them their salvation value and render them a contribution to the redemption
of the world,” al-Rahi went on. The Patriarch prayed to the Lord Almighty for
salvation for mankind, adding, “We worship and bless you, O Christ, for by your
Holy Cross you saved the world."
Coronavirus lockdown in Lebanon extended for additional two
weeks
Reuters, Beirut/April 10/2020
Lebanon’s government has extended its almost month-long coronavirus shutdown by
another two weeks until April 26 to combat the spread of the disease, the
information minister said on Thursday. Since Lebanon declared a state of medical
emergency last month, people are allowed to leave their homes only to buy food
or medicine, and most businesses have closed. The only airport is also shut,
except for a few flights returning expatriates stranded abroad. An overnight
curfew largely bans people from going outside between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m., with
security forces enforcing curbs. As of Thursday, the country had 582 cases of
the illness, with 19 deaths, according to the government’s website on the virus.
For Lebanon, the outbreak came at a time when the country was already deep in
financial crisis. “Prime Minister Hassan Diab asserted that we are near the end
of the fourth week of the (shutdown) and we must commit to the measures more,”
Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad said after a cabinet session. Lebanon’s
higher defence council, which includes the president and top security officials,
called earlier on Thursday for an extension of the lockdown and a tougher
crackdown on violations.
Abdel Samad after Cabinet session: Government extends general mobilization until
April 26
NNA/Friday-April 10/2020
Speaking in the wake of today’s Cabinet session at Baabda Presidential Palace,
Information Minister Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, announced that the Cabinet has
agreed to extend the “general mobilization” until April 26, i.e. for an
additional two weeks. The Council of Ministers on Thursday convened in session
at Baabda Presidential Palace under the chairmanship of President of the
Republic, Michel Aoun, and in the resence of Prime Minister Dr. Hassan Diab, and
ministers. Minister Abdel Samad said after the Cabinet meeting: “Prime Minister
Dr. Hassan Diab stressed that the government has so far succeeded in curbing the
spread of the coronavirus epidemic and all ministers have carried out their
duties.... However, since we are concerned that the epidemic might return to a
wider spread as is the case in many countries which have eased measures, we have
extended the general mobilization for an additional two weeks, that is from
April 12 till 26.” Abdel Samad added: “The Cabinet has also decided to further
activate measures and procedures.”On the other hand, the Cabinet approved the
appointment of three first-rank employees within the Civil Service Council and
the Central Inspection, and listened to a presentation by Central Bank Governor
Riad Salameh, in which he dwelt on the current financial and monetary conditions
in the country and the measures taken by the Central Bank of Lebanon.
Diab contacts Lebanese medical doctors in France, praises their relentless
efforts & valuable contributions
NNANNA/Friday-April 10/2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab made a video call with Lebanese doctors working with
Professor Didier Raoult's team in France.
The Prime Minister was briefed by the doctors about their research in the fight
against the Coronavirus, and sought reassurance that their situation was fine
under the difficult conditions in which they work. Prime Minister Diab also
assured the team that "the younger generation constitutes the real wealth of
Lebanon and secures future sustainability; I hope that the youth will return to
Lebanon to build our country again."He concluded by saying: "You've made all of
our hearts swell with pride!" ~ {Grand Serail Press Office}
MP Geagea Lauds Health Minister despite 'Political Differences'
Naharnet/April 10/2020
MP Sethrida Geagea of the Lebanese Forces has saluted Health Minister Hamad
Hasan, who is close to Hizbullah, over his visit to Bsharri and other northern
regions.“His political affiliation did not prevent him from playing his role in
the best way possible and to work for all Lebanese equally,” Geagea said in an
interview with al-Joumhouria newspaper. “Despite our political differences, we
cannot but be honest and praise the minister's efforts in the fight against
coronavirus, because we don't have a complex as to applauding any positive
behavior, even if it comes from a political rival,” she added. Commenting on
reports about a surge of coronavirus cases in Bsharri, a stronghold of her
party, Geagea said the region has been “transparent and honest in revealing the
numbers of coronavirus cases without any shame,” noting that “what's shameful is
concealing the infection and not the infection itself.”
She also noted that following the minister's visit, it turned out that “there is
no need to fully isolate Bsharri from its neighbors.”“The near-complete home
quarantine that the residents are voluntarily implementing is enough at the
current time,” Geagea went on to say, reassuring that “the situation is under
control” and denying claims that “Bsharri has become infested with coronavirus.”
Samir Geagea Urges Reform instead of 'Touching People's Deposits'
Naharnet/April 10/2020
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea commented Friday on the government's leaked
financial plan. ''Before addressing the financial aspect, which is important and
essential, the state is asked to quickly send the minimum number of signals
through which it can regain the lost confidence factor,'' Geagea said in a
statement distributed by his press office. ''It should take a host of reformist
steps that it can put immediately into action,'' Geagea added. ''How can the
state extend its hand to people's pockets and savings before putting an end to
the existent waste of public funds at its public administrations?'' Geagea went
on to say. He accordingly called on the state to address ''illegal'' and
''political” employment at state administrations, the illegitimate border
crossings which cause hundreds of millions of dollars in losses every year,
customs evasion and the waste of public funds in the electricity and telecom
sectors. “It is totally unacceptable to touch people's bank deposits, especially
that there is no confidence that such a step would lead to the desired goal as
long as the state does not begin reforming itself and its administration and
putting an end to all forms of waste and corruption,” Geagea added. “Any rescue
plan that does not begin with reform would be meaningless,” he stressed.
Lebanon Makes Largest Ever Cannabis Drug Bust
Agence France Presse/April 10/2020
The Internal Security Forces said Friday they had made their largest cannabis
seizure in history last month, unearthing 25 tons of the drug intended for
Africa. The Mediterranean country on March 15 announced a lockdown to stop the
spread of COVID-19, which has now officially infected 609 and killed 20
nationwide. On March 16, the ISF stopped "eight trucks headed to the Beirut port
carrying thousands of plastic bags of soil," the security branch said. After
inspection, "huge quantities of hashish reaching around 25 tons were seized...
that had been professionally hidden inside bags of soil," it said in a
statement. "This quantity is the largest seized in the history of Lebanon," it
added, and had been intended for "an African country." The marijuana came in a
variety of kinds including "Beirut mood", "Spring flower", or even "Kiki do you
love me", the ISF said. Consuming, growing and selling marijuana is illegal in
Lebanon, but in the marginalized east of the country its production blossomed
during the 1975-1990 civil war. Authorities have since struggled to clamp down
on the trade and its production has turned into a multi-million-dollar business.
In 2016, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ranked Lebanon as the
third main source of cannabis resin after Morocco and Afghanistan, which are
both much larger. Security forces regularly bust attempted drug exports at
Beirut airport and have destroyed marijuana fields. But growers have fought
back, protesting over a lack of alternatives for their livelihoods. In 2012,
they fired rockets at army bulldozers trying to raze their crop. Since 2018,
lawmakers have however been considering legalizing the drug for medical purposes
to give a boost to Lebanon's ailing economy.
Lebanon busts largest drug-trafficking operation in
country’s history
Lauren Holtmeier & Leen Alfaisal, Al Arabiya English//Al Arabiya/April 10/2020
Lebanese police intercepted around 25 tons of drugs, that were set to be
smuggled to an African country, in an eight-truck convoy, Lebanese security
forces said on Friday. Security forces closely monitored the situation for
around a month, and on March 16, they halted the drug trade.
The convoy carried thousands of nylon bags containing agricultural soil. The
operation was thwarted when the convoy was searched near the port. Around 25
tons of hash were retrieved from the smugglers. Distributed in the bags, each
contained 100-150 kilograms. Types of hash were cheekily named, including “Ah ya
Hanan” – named after a hit song that went viral in the Arab world – and “Kiki do
you love me.”The Lebanese security forces say that the amounts captured are the
biggest in the history of Lebanon, and that the drugs had been prepared for
trade, advertising, and smuggling out of Lebanon.
“The investigation is ongoing under the supervision of the relevant
jurisdiction, and we are continuously working on capturing whoever was
involved.”Authorities do not yet know who is responsible for the attempted
smuggling. Hezbollah, however has a history of illicitly moving drugs and
weapons around the Arab world and to other regions, including the US, Europe,
and Latin America. In 2008, the US Drug Enforcement Administration believed that
Hezbollah was collecting $1 billion annually from drug and weapons trafficking,
money laundering, and other criminal activities.
Interior Minister issues decision allowing public vehicles to operate on Sunday
NNA/Friday-April 10/2020
Interior and Municipalities Minister, Brigadier General Mohamad Fahmy, issued a
decree on Friday as an amendment to the Decision No. 479 dated 5/4/2020, which
indicates that:
Article 1: Vehicles with public license plates are exceptionally allowed to
operate on Sunday, April 12 and 19, 2020, while the rest remain without
modification.
Article II: This decision is to be applied upon its issuance, and is to be
relayed where necessary.
Jumblatt: This is how the one-color government confiscates
people's money
NNA/Friday-April 10/2020
Progressive Socialist Party Chief, Walid Jumblatt, tweeted Friday on the issue
of bank deposits, saying: “This is how the one-color government confiscates
people’s funds, classifies them and prosecutes them according to illegal and
unconstitutional criteria, based on a political line that aims at eliminating
any objection, far-reaching a sectarian and confessional subjugation attempt to
overthrow the Taef Accord and gain absolute control over the capabilities of the
country…striking what remains of its illusionary sovereignty."
Turkish Embassy distributes food rations to 400 families in Akkar
NNA/Friday-April 10/2020
The Turkish Embassy in Beirut, represented by Ambassador Hakan Çakıl,
distributed food rations to 200 families in the town of Aydamon-Sheikhlar in
Akkar, and 200 families in the town of al-Kawashra, to help them cope with the
current economic and social conditions, which have been worsened by the Corona
virus outbreak, NNA correspondent in Akkar reported on Friday.
Ferzli: To stop the travesty of appointments
NNA/Friday-April 10/2020
Deputy House Speaker, MP Elie el-Ferzli, criticized Friday, in an issued
statement, the appointments that were made yesterday during the cabinet session.
“While we are immersed in national meditations and humanitarian affairs,
suddenly the cabinet plunges ahead with its meetings that encompass a spirit of
absurdity and malice, with the intention of taking revenge on the Orthodox
community, caring less about its significant role and history,” Ferzli said. He
appealed to the President of the Republic and the Maronite Patriarch to
"immediately take the initiative to stop this farce and put an end to this
absurdity that has no ceiling, and which will only serve to deepen the sectarian
feeling that we are better without during this time of Corona."
Man threatens to burn himself in Sidon amid ailing livelihood conditions
NNA/Friday-April 10/2020
A man has threatened to set himself ablaze outside the municipal palace of
Sidon, in protest against the ailing livelihood conditions, our correspondent
reported on Thursday. In details, the man climbed on the top of his car and
poured gasoline on himself, menacing to kill himself while holding a lighter.
Law enforcement rushed to the scene and managed to grab and calm down the
battered citizen.
Lebanon's central bank head denies transferring money
abroad from official accounts
Lauren Holtmeier, Al Arabiya English/April 10/2020
Lebanon’s central bank governor has denied that he transferred money from
official accounts to personal accounts in Lichtenstein, claiming the allegations
were part of a campaign against him and the central bank. Governor Riad Salameh
said Cristal Credit Groupe International, the company which produced the reports
of transfers dating back to 2016, is "known to everyone" to produce forged
reports. The company is based in Lyon, France and is managed by Kevin Rivaton,
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported yesterday.Pictures of the
reports of the transfers were posted on social media by an account named "@alebanonymous."
The report's validity is yet to be verified. “Compiling such a report came at
the request of certain Lebanese authorities whose names and identities are known
by the Central Bank of Lebanon. The bank has informed the competent authorities
outside Lebanon of the details of what was contained in this forged report, in
order to take appropriate legal measures thereon," Salameh said. Last week,
Lebanon announced it would audit its central bank in a bid to show transparency
after debt restructuring talks were launched. The Arabic outlet Al Arab reported
that Salameh “has been under attack for months by a campaign by Hezbollah and
its allies” for the governor’s stance toward US sanctions against the
Iran-backed political and military group. The recent allegations come just
months after investigations were launched into money funneled into foreign bank
accounts as nationwide protests began in mid-October 2019.
Many Americans staying on in Lebanon
TK Maloy/Annaha/April 10/2020
In the recent US embassy organized evacuation from Beirut using a chartered
Qatar flight, less than 100 Americans availed themselves of the opportunity.
BEIRUT: Amid all the ongoing challenges in Lebanon, government debt economic,
banking, rapid inflation, and the pandemic, it seems for many American
expatriates in the Levant, it’s still a wonderful life compared with returning
to the United States, CNN reported this week. In the recent US embassy organized
evacuation from Beirut using a chartered Qatar flight, less than 100 Americans
availed themselves of the opportunity. Those interview cited the runaway
Coronavirus contagion in the US compared to Lebanon, their lack of American
health insurance, that they were employed and working in Lebanon. And perhaps in
the greatest compliment of all some said simply liked living in Lebanon.
Beirut-based freelance journalist Abby Sewell told CNN she never considered
taking the US embassy's offer. "From everything I'm reading, the situation is
worse in the US, in terms of the number of cases, prevention measures or lack
thereof, and how overburdened the health system is," she says. "Also, since I've
been living overseas for years, I don't have health insurance in the US now, so
if I did go back and then got sick, I would be looking at paying thousands of
dollars out of pocket."
Currently the US reports 469,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 17,000 deaths. In
another interview with CNN, American humanitarian consultant, Carly Fuglei opted
to stay in Lebanon, noting "I made that decision for a combination of personal
reasons and calculations about the virus that we're all making," "I think that I
am probably safer here," the 28-year-old Fuglei added. In a widespread email
from the Embassy to US citizens in Lebanon, the US government posted the
availability of a $2,500 charter flight back to the US. On April 5 the flight
left with 95 passengers.
Another American cited by CNN was Daryn Howard who is busy with her work as a
consultant and told CNN, "My plan is to stay here for the indefinite future.”
The domestication of Hezbollah in the time of coronavirus
Basem Shabb/Al Arabiya/April 10/2020
Almost four years ago, Hezbollah’s candidate General Michel Aoun was elected
president. Two years ago, Hezbollah’s coalition achieved a majority in
Parliament. Six months ago, they achieved the same in the council of ministers.
Hezbollah had finally achieved full domestic political integration, as well as
dominance of the Lebanese political scene, despite US pressure. Nevertheless,
governance has proved elusive, despite having allies in all the high places.
Paradoxically, it is the allies that make governance difficult.
The popular revolt of last October, the accelerated economic free fall, and now
the COVID-19 crisis, have forced Hezbollah to shift its attention to domestic
matters. Contrary to what Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has claimed
repeatedly, economic collapse affected all Lebanese, including his Shia base.
With Hezbollah and its allies exclusively in government, denying responsibility
was no longer credible or possible. For too long Hezbollah blamed pro-western
March 14 parties in the previous unity government for hampering reform. With
Hezbollah and its allies in charge, several voices, including the editor of the
pro-Iranian Al-Akhbar newspaper, have pleaded openly with Nasrallah to distance
himself from some of his corrupt allies. For once, Hezbollah has gone on the
defensive.
There is little doubt that the image of Hezbollah has been tarnished by the
inability of the current government to implement reform and for its failure to
effectively confront the financial crisis. Gone are the lofty themes of
confronting the Zionist entity or battling takfiris. The civil war in Yemen and
the Bahraini crackdown are no longer the primary concern of the Shia community
in Lebanon.
In an attempt to placate his base, Nasrallah shifted his attention to economic
and financial issues, presenting a long and naive salvage plan that depended
heavily on Chinese sponsorship and local remedies after earlier assurances that
the Iran-backed group’s cadres would be spared economic hardship quickly
dissipated. Hezbollah’s earlier intransigence in accepting International
Monetary Fund help gave way to backtracking after it became apparent that there
is no other credible bailout and that Lebanon needs a rapid infusion of cash
that only the IMF could provide.
The coronavirus pandemic has further compromised Hezbollah and the current
government after flights continued from Iran to Beirut unabated. Indeed with the
collapse of the price of oil, even Iranian financial support is now in question.
Put simply, Hezbollah’s resources as well as those of its sponsors fall short of
coping with the economic meltdown that was made worse by the coronavirus
pandemic. Hezbollah now needs the full resources of the state to survive. And
the state needs the full resources of the IMF.
Recent riots in a Shia neighborhood were a clear indication that ideology alone
can no longer carry the day, especially given that Sunni militancy is no longer
a primary threat. Currency devaluation as well as rampant inflation are weighing
heavily on Hezbollah’s standing. While some followers might endure such
hardship, many of its allies will not.
The fate of Hezbollah is now tied to the economy. Whereas the previous
government had some sway with Western powers and some Arab states, this one has
none. The current government faces unprecedented Arab isolation. And lack of
effective reform has alienated Western donors.
To complicate matters, Hezbollah finds itself in the midst of crippling
factional and sectarian tensions. The strategic alliance of the “axis of
resistance” parties seems to have lost any relevance in local politics. Just
recently, Gebran Bassil, the key Christian ally of Hezbollah, was critical of
ferrying Lebanese back to Lebanon. He also voiced support for a capital controls
bill to regulate the financial sector and spoke positively of seeking the help
of the IMF, in flagrant opposition to Hezbollah and its main Shia ally, Speaker
of Parliament Nabih Berri.
Hassan Diab’s Hezbollah-backed government is imploding with internal dissent.
Whereas Hezbollah’s missiles may deter Israel, they give the group little
leverage in dealing with the petty bickering of its allies. Its lofty themes
have lost their luster in the gutter of local politics and a deep recession.
Gaining legitimacy came at the cost of domestication. Hezbollah to a large
extent is now a state actor.
The irony is that Hezbollah controlled the state when it was a non-state actor,
but lost that control when it became one. In a reversal of fortune, Hezbollah
now needs the state more than the state needs Hezbollah. Moreover, Hezbollah’s
ability to keep its allies in line seems more tenuous. Nevertheless, Hezbollah
and its Shia Amal partner remain the most powerful and organized political force
in Lebanon. The Sunnis have yet to recover from Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s
resignation, while the Christians remain divided as they have been for decades.
It is unlikely that any alliance can stand up to Hezbollah in the near future.
It is also doubtful whether the October 17 protests can make a dent in
Hezbollah’s Shia dominance, let alone other affiliated parties.
The Lebanese Armed Forces remains a stabilizing force but is unlikely to change
the status quo in a Hezbollah-dominated landscape. It remains on the sidelines
and is unlikely to rock the boat. The coronavirus pandemic will change much in
the world, but not in Lebanon. The current unipolar government seems short-lived
and will likely fade away with the pandemic. Long after the disease is gone,
Lebanon will return to its winter of discontent with the usual suspects in place
and a new “unity” government. Hezbollah survived decades of war, but it faces
its most daunting challenge yet – its domestication in Lebanese politics. The
party’s unipolar experiment in power has failed, and it is unlikely to repeat
it.
*Basem Shabb is a former member of the Lebanese parliament.
Domestic violence hotline won't save all women from abuse
during coronavirus lockdown, warns Lebanon NGO
Gasia Ohanes/The New Arab/April 10/2020
Lebanon's women are at high risk of physical abuse under lockdown, even with a
police hotline for domestic violence, a feminist NGO combatting abuse told The
New Arab.
The comments came after reports this week said two girls, 17 and 20, had
resorted to jumping from the second floor of their Beirut apartment to escape an
alleged abusive father. One fell on a car and escaped, while the other was
hospitalised.
Another woman who had separated from her husband eight months ago was reportedly
stabbed six times in her Bekaa home, where she was staying with her children.
On Tuesday, the Internal Security Forces detained the father of a young Syrian
girl, who died with traces of physical abuse on her body, a police report said.
Lebanon's national police recently resurfaced its domestic violence hotline,
after the number of calls reporting abuse doubled due to a nation-wide
coronavirus lock-down, coupled with a collective build-up of stress induced by
the country's economic woes.
The ISF 'family violence' hotline – launched in 2018 – was brought back to the
fore by the security agency at the end of March, a month that saw a two-fold
increase in reported family violence cases.
Comparing figures recorded in March this year to figures from March 2019, a
security source told The New Arab that police records showed the number of calls
received within the month had since then doubled.
Last year, ISF's hotline received 44 calls in March. This year, it was 88, the
source said.
After responding to the call, the course of action taken by the police depends
on individual cases, the security source explained. But for first-time offences,
abusers often sign a written pledge to refrain from violent acts and behavior.
In the case of more severe violent incidents, or repeated-offences, the source
said, the police detain the suspect after an initial investigation, and the case
is referred to the judiciary for prosecution. The reported suspect can be jailed
if found guilty, he explained.
This, according to a report released by KAFA (Enough) – a Lebanese NGO combating
gender-based violence – showed a problematic pattern of alleged abusers
re-engaging in abusive behavior after signing the paper.
The report recounted the experiences of women who had reported their partners.
"Days ago, Amal [a pseudonym] was subjected to physical violence by her husband.
She left her home and went to stay with her parents, but she couldn't take her
two kids," KAFA wrote.
"The next day, the husband pledged not to hit her again at the police station,
and she went home. Only it wasn't his first such pledge," the report said.
Due to the current coronavirus spread, the Internal Security Forces are
currently refraining from detaining or arresting people, including repeat cases,
Layla Awada, head of the Family Violence Unit at KAFA told The New Arab.
As a first step, the NGO directs women reaching out to them to the hotline. Once
the case is investigated by the police and referred to the court. KAFA then
directs the women to a judge, who will further investigate and issue a
restraining order if neccessary to eliminate immediate threat to the victim.
Before the pandemic, the person alleging abuse needed to see a doctor and get a
report. But as medical facilities are overstretched and can become a breeding
ground for the virus, KAFA is coordinating with judges to help women bypass this
step.
"Today we posted that for the first time, a judge heard the victim through a
video call and issued a court decision, because [the victim] can't leave her
house and go to a doctor," Awada said.
The judge, Hala Naja, issued two restraining orders – more specifically
exclusion orders – which force the husband to leave the house for a period
designated by the court, following a protection appeal filed by the victim.
While the unprecedented move provides a glimmer of hope for some victims, not
all victims of abuse may have access to phone calls.
Many women, especially refugees trapped in camps, do not have access to a
working phone.
Others lack the privacy from their abusers to call, Awada said.
"This is what we know, based on cases that we had before. They used to find a
way to reach us while their husbands were away, often at work. Of course now
these women won't be able to come to us," she added.
An initial intervention might be necessary for women undergoing abuse.
Otherwise, many cases will slip under the police radar. "Unfortunately this is
our prediction. In a lot of cases, women don't have the freedom to call," she
added.
*Gasia Ohanes is a journalist with The New Arab.
Hezbollah spy hunter’s murder mystery
Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/April 10/2020
Senior Hezbollah member Mohammad Ali Younes’s killing last Saturday remains
shrouded in mystery, leaving the public to speculate over the circumstances and
real motives of this crime. According to Hezbollah’s obituary, Younes was killed
while carrying out his “jihad duties,” which normally means he was killed in
action fighting Israel, or whoever Iran deems as enemy, but the group failed to
provide any details to confirm their claim.
The matter is further complicated by the fact it was leaked by Iran’s Fars new
agency, which confirmed that Younes was the head of Hezbollah’s counter
espionage unit, primarily tasked with tracking down Israeli agents.
Hezbollah insisted that Younes was killed in action against its conventional
enemy, but the lack of details surrounding the murder indicate the story that
Hezbollah wishes people to adopt is full of holes and discrepancies.
While Hezbollah has always been discreet in all matters pertaining to security,
it has never held back in producing clear evidence that implicates Israel in any
hits against its operative, something they have not done in the current case. It
is odd that Fars News Agency was the source of the announcement, rather than the
official Hezbollah mouthpiece, especially that it divulged Younes’s position and
operational duties, especially since this information would expose his entire
network and thus render it ineffective.
By declaring that Younes was a spy hunter, Hezbollah has already affirmed that
the culprit can only be an Israeli agent, thus excluding any chance that his
killing can indeed be part of illicit dealings or simply internal purging.
The first unofficial story to circulate was that Younes’s killing was part of a
money dispute and that the assailant was someone that the victim knew
intimately.
This story is somewhat substantiated by the fact that the culprit had stabbed
Younes before he killed him and he shot Younes at a close range. Someone with
Younes’s security and military training would certainly not allow an Israeli
agent he was pursuing to approach him, and if he did, he would not allow such an
agent to get the drop on him. Initially, it was rumored that a suspect had been
apprehended, but then it was announced that Younes had an escort who was driving
the van, and was rushed to hospital.
Shockingly, the investigation was not conducted by the Lebanese state, but by
Hezbollah, and thus all evidence to counter its narrative had been conveniently
commandeered and most certainly disposed. Second, Younes was expediently and
swiftly buried two days later in his hometown of Jebchit without allowing the
authorities to conduct a thorough forensic autopsy that usually accompanies such
crimes.
The region where Younes was allegedly killed is an area that Hezbollah protects
using a wide array of human and electronic surveillance means. Thus, if Younes
was indeed tracking an Israeli spy, he could have used his human intelligence
network that is spread out across southern Lebanon. Furthermore, someone with
Younes’s profession is often accompanied by a security detail, or at least by an
escort vehicle especially when on the job, and if indeed he was trying to entrap
a spy, he would have certainly brought backup.
There were rumors that Younes had a hand in the killing of Antoine Hayek, the
second in command to the infamous Amer Fakhoury, the former warden of the
Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army Khiam prison. Fakhoury was released and flown
out of Beirut to the US last month. Hayek was found dead in his shop in the
southern village of Mieh w Mieh shortly after Fakhoury was released, forewarning
of a possible drive by Hezbollah to liquidate these former Israeli
collaborators.
If Younes was indeed killed in action as Hezbollah claims, it would have been a
better to allow the details of his death to be known to the Lebanese public.
Hezbollah, which is under tremendous local and regional pressures for its over
indulgence in Iran’s regional expansionist project, would benefit greatly from
the death of Younes and should jump at the chance to allow the state to take the
lead in the investigation and ultimately repair their shattered resistance
image, or what remained of it.
Hezbollah co-opted the state agency and took advantage of the fact that the
coronavirus lockdown allowed the group to manipulate the fallout of Younes’s
death. But the killing of its top spy hunter is one more murder mystery that
Hezbollah has yet again failed to properly write.
*Makram Rabah is a lecturer at the American University of Beirut, Department of
History. His forthcoming book Conflict on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the
Maronites and Collective Memory (Edinburgh University Press) covers collective
identities and the Lebanese Civil War.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on April 10-11/2020
Statement by The Canadian Minister of Foreign
Affairs on release of report by Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons on chemical attacks in Syria
April 10, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today
issued the following statement:
“On April 8, the Investigation and Identification Team of the Organisation for
the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons [OPCW] released its first report. In the
report, the team identifies the Syrian Arab Air Force as the perpetrator of
several chemical weapon attacks carried out in Syria in March 2017. The
overwhelming majority of victims of these attacks were civilians.
“We condemn the Assad regime’s repeated and morally reprehensible attacks on the
people of Syria, in particular, its use of chemical weapons. Any use of chemical
weapons is an abhorrent breach of international law. Canada wholly supports
efforts to ensure that perpetrators of such crimes are held to account.
“As a state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention [CWC], Syria has an
obligation to fully eliminate its chemical weapons program. It has repeatedly
failed to do so. We demand that the Assad regime declare its entire chemical
weapons stockpile without delay so that it may be verifiably destroyed, as
required under the CWC.
“Canada is committed to upholding the international rules-based order, including
the prohibition on chemical weapons, and stands firmly against those who seek to
undermine that order. The use of chemical weapons is unequivocally a war crime,
and those who commit such crimes must be brought to justice without delay.
“Canada fully supports the Investigation and Identification Team and stands by
the legitimacy and credibility of its work. This report alone cannot possibly
provide adequate closure to the victims of these abhorrent crimes. However, it
is our hope that through continued support of the work of the OPCW and other
such accountability efforts, Canada and its partners in the international
community can work toward the realization of a world free of chemical weapons.”
Quick facts
The OPCW is an independent, treaty-based body established in 1997 to implement
the CWC. With over 190 states parties, the CWC is one of the world’s most widely
subscribed treaties. It bans all chemical weapons and oversees their destruction
in a verifiable manner.
The OPCW is the only multilateral institution charged with eradicating an entire
class of weapons of mass destruction. To date, it has verified the elimination
of 97% of the world’s declared chemical weapons.
The Joint Investigative Mechanism, created by the United Nations and the OPCW,
had previously concluded that the Government of Syria used chemical weapons
against its own people. The mechanism was dissolved when Russia used its veto
power in the United Nations Security Council to block its renewal.
On June 27, 2018, the Fourth Special Session of the Conference of the States
Parties (to the CWC) decided to establish the Investigation and Identification
Team to identify those responsible for chemical weapons
Canadian Statement in support of global ceasefire
April 10, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the
Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, today issued the
following statement:
“Canada fully supports the UN Secretary-General’s appeal for an immediate global
ceasefire in all corners of the world, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now is
the time to put armed conflict on lockdown, to protect the most vulnerable and
to focus our efforts together in the fight against this virus. We are proud to
have led 58 countries in supporting the Secretary-General’s appeal, and we
encourage all countries to do the same.
“As COVID-19 continues to spread, Canada is particularly concerned about the
plight of women, children and vulnerable civilians caught in armed conflict and
humanitarian crises. We know that these populations are already
disproportionately affected by armed conflict, that they are more vulnerable to
economic and food insecurity and that they are at even greater risk now because
of this pandemic. This is why a global ceasefire is so important.
“Canada is working hard to prioritize the protection of the most vulnerable in
the response to the pandemic, including through our most recent funding of the
UN system and international partners. We offer Canada’s full support to, and
stand in solidarity with, those on the front lines of the response and the
civilians and vulnerable populations in conflict, who require protection now
more than ever. During this unprecedented global crisis, we also wish to
reiterate Canada’s full commitment to multilateralism and the rules-based
international order.”
Amnesty: Prisoners killed by Iran’s security forces during coronavirus protests
Zaynab Khojji/Arab News/April 10/2020
LONDON: Dozens of Iranian prisoners are feared to have been killed by security
forces after brutal force was used to put down protests over fears related to
coronavirus spreading in the country’s jails.
Thousands of inmates in at least eight Iranian prisons have recently taken part
in protests as they fear being infected with COVID-19 in jails that are
overcrowded, lack hygiene and have poor ventilation, Amnesty International
reported on Thursday.
The protests were lethally repressed by prison officers and security officers,
leading to the deaths.
Amnesty said in a press release that authorities responded with live ammunition
and tear gas, killing some 35 inmates and wounding hundreds of others.
It added that security forces beat protesters in at least one prison, “possibly
leading to the death of an inmate.”
Amnesty told Arab News: “Many of Iran’s prisons have unacceptable detention
conditions, including overcrowding, poor ventilation, limited hot water,
inadequate food, insufficient beds and insect infestations.
“They can therefore be highly susceptible to viral outbreaks. There is also
often a lack access for prisoners to prompt medical assistance, medicines,
adequate medical facilities, and hygiene and sanitary products.”
Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North
Africa, called the Iranian authorities’ response to the prison demonstrations
“abhorrent,” and said “an independent investigation into the torture and deaths
in custody is urgently needed.”
She added: “It is abhorrent that instead of responding to prisoners’ legitimate
demands to be protected from COVID-19, Iranian authorities have yet again
resorted to killing people to silence their concerns.
“Security forces must be instructed to immediately cease the use of unlawful
lethal force, and to refrain from punishing prisoners calling for their right to
health.”
Amnesty told Arab News: “We have seen reports that prisoners who have displayed
COVID-19 symptoms are not being tested and are often being treated in the
medical care facilities of prisons, which do not have specialist facilities to
deal with the virus.”
It said although the authorities have announced inmates being released,
prisoners of conscience remain jailed and are treated with contempt.
“Hundreds of prisoners of conscience, including human rights lawyers, workers’
rights activists, anti-death penalty campaigners and those jailed simply for
their religious beliefs … are languishing in prison solely for peacefully
exercising their rights,” Amnesty added.
“Some have health issues which they have either developed in prison or which
have exacerbated in detention. Many of them have been denied adequate health
care because the Iranian authorities routinely deny access to adequate medical
care as a secondary punishment to these individuals.”
Amnesty urged the authorities to release prisoners of conscience, along with
people in pre-trial detention and those most at risk from the virus.
Iran, one of the countries worst-hit by the pandemic, on Thursday reported 117
new COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 4,110. It also
declared 1,634 new cases of the virus, taking the total number of cases to
66,220.
The country’s real figures are believed to be much higher. There have also been
reports of several prison riots and jail breaks in Iran in recent weeks.
Rights group accuses Iran of shooting inmates in COVID-19 jail protests/At least
35 inmates were killed and hundreds wounded, according to Amnesty./Agencies/The
Arab Weekly/April 09/2020
BEIRUT – Amnesty International on Thursday said that more than 30 prisoners are
feared to have been killed by Iranian security forces during protests over
coronavirus safety concerns.
The UK-based organisation said in a statement that thousands of inmates in at
least eight prisons in the Islamic Republic had held demonstrations in recent
days.
Citing “credible sources,” Amnesty said authorities at several facilities
responded with live ammunition and tear gas, killing some 35 inmates and
wounding hundreds of others.
It also alleged security forces beat protesters in at least one prison.
Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle
East and North Africa, called the Iranian authorities’ response to the prison
demonstrations “abhorrent.”
“Instead of responding to prisoners’ legitimate demands to be protected from
COVID-19, Iranian authorities have yet again resorted to killing people to
silence their concerns,” she said.
tahawy called for “an independent investigation into the torture and deaths in
custody” and urged security forces in Iran to “refrain from punishing prisoners
calling for their right to health.”
Iran, one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic, on Thursday reported 117
new COVID-19 deaths, bringing its overall toll to 4,110 fatalities. It also
declared 1,634 new infections, for a total of 66,220 cases.
There has been speculation abroad that the country’s real numbers could be much
higher.
Reports have also surfaced of several prison riots and jail breaks in Iran in
recent weeks.
Last month, a judicial spokesman said authorities had temporarily released
100,000 detainees in an attempt to contain the spread of the disease. But
thousands of so-called security prisoners, including bi-nationals and political
detainees, have remained in jail.
Amnesty cited reports of inmates testing positive for COVID-19, and said
prisoners had been staging hunger strikes over a lack of measures, including
testing and quarantine.
The rights group urged Iran to release prisoners of conscience, along with
people in pre-trial detention and those most at-risk from the virus.
Last week the United Nations voiced outrage over the death of a juvenile
offender after reported beatings by guards at an Iranian prison following a
riot.
The UN rights office said inmates at the Mahabad prison in West Azerbaijan
province were protesting against “prison conditions and the failure of the
authorities to temporarily release them amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”(With news
agencies)
Trump says Saudis, Russians 'close' to oil production deal
The New Arab & agencies/April 10/2020
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Russia and Saudi Arabia are
"close" to agreeing on production cuts to prop up oil prices. "I would say they
are getting close to a deal. We will soon find out," Trump told a press briefing
at the White House immediately after a conference call with both Russian
President Vladimir Putin and Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
"They're getting close to a deal. That's OPEC and many countries outside of
OPEC," he said in further comments. They will "probably announce something
either today or tomorrow," he said. Trump said he would be having further
discussions on the oil market crisis later Thursday. Prices have plummeted after
being hit simultaneously by a Russian-Saudi price war, in which both countries
ramped up production, and the global economic paralysis triggered by the
coronavirus pandemic. "There's not enough room to even store it," Trump said of
the surplus oil around the world.The situation was "catastrophic," Trump said,
but added the market was "hitting bottom.
Canada moves to reinstate Saudi arms sales agreement
following Khashoggi disput
The New Arab & agencies/April 10/2020
The Canadian government said on Thursday that it had renegotiated the terms of a
$14 billion light armoured vehicles contract with Saudi Arabia, paving the way
for exports to recommence following a spat between the two countries. Vehicle
sales had been on hold since 2018 due to tensions between Ottawa and Riyadh over
the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Saudi Arabia's involvement in the
war in Yemen. The move marks a U-turn for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had
indicated in December 2018 that he was looking to end the controversial
agreement. Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois-Philippe Champagne, however,
said in a statement that Canada had "been able to secure significant
improvements to the contract". Cancelling the deal "could have resulted in
billions of dollars in damages to the government of Canada, with potential
damages amounting to the full value of the contract", he said.
The move would have put thousands of Canadian jobs at risk, not only in "southwestern
Ontario but also across the entire defense industry supply chain, which includes
hundreds of small and medium enterprises", he added. The vehicles are made in
Canada by a subsidiary of American contractor General Dynamics. Among the
"improvements" Champagne noted were financial protections for Canada if it
chooses to delay or deny export permits in the event the vehicles are not used
for their stated purposes. "Under our law, Canadian goods cannot be exported
where there is a substantial risk that they would be used to commit or to
facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law, international
human rights law or serious acts of gender-based violence," he said. "We have
now begun reviewing permit applications on a case-by-case basis," Champagne said
in the statement.
"As always, we will ensure that they comply with the aforementioned legal
requirements under Canadian law" and the UN Arms Trade Treaty, he added.
Washington sees 'significant' threat in Iraq from Iranian
proxies
Reuters/The Arab Weekly/April 10/2020
Iraqi PM-designate Kadhimi says only government should have weapons.
WASHINGTON - Iranian-backed militias in Iraq pose a "significant" threat to US
forces in the Middle East country, said David Schenker, US assistant secretary
of Near Eastern Affairs, while Iraq's prime minister-designate insisted that
only the government should wield weapons.
About a week after US President Donald Trump warned of an attack by Iran or its
proxies, Schenker told reporters in a teleconference the threat "continues to be
significant." Iran-backed paramilitary groups have regularly been shelling bases
in Iraq that host US forces and the area around the US embassy in Baghdad. Iraqi
Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi said on Thursday that arms should
only be in government hands. The designated PM, who was named by President
Barham Salih earlier on Thursday also said in a televised speech the key
objectives for his government will be to fight corruption and return displaced
people back home.On Monday, three Katyusha rockets landed near a district in
southern Iraq that houses workers for foreign oil companies, including US oil
service company Halliburton. No casualties or damage were reported.
Last week, Trump said Iran or its proxies planned a sneak attack on US targets
in Iraq and warned they would pay a "very heavy price" but gave no details.
Washington has opposed Tehran's use of proxies in the region to promote an
expansionist agenda at the expense of its Arab neighbours.
Iran is seen as lending support to proxy forces in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and
Yemen. Adding to tensions, a January 3 US drone strike in Iraq killed Qassem
Soleimani, the head of Iran's Quds Force, the regime's foreign intervention arm.
It also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who founded Iraq's Shia Kataib Hezbollah
militia after the 2003 US-led invasion. Earlier this week, US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo said the United States proposed a "Strategic Dialogue" with Iraq to
be held in June, a bid to restore strained bilateral ties.Schenker, who in March
said Washington was "enormously disappointed" by Iraq's performance in
protecting US-led coalition forces, repeated Washington's concerns. "It is on
the Iraqis -- if they value that relationship -- to take certain steps and that
includes providing protection to the coalition forces who are in Iraq, if they
want those forces to remain," Schenker said.
On Thursday, Iraq's president named intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi as
prime minister-designate, the third person tapped to lead Iraq in just 10 weeks
as it struggles to replace a government that fell last year after months of
deadly protests. Schenker said of Kadhimi: "If Kadhimi is an Iraqi nationalist,
dedicated to pursuing a sovereign Iraq, if he is committed to fighting
corruption, this would be great for Iraq, and we think it would be great for our
bilateral relationship."
Threat from Iran to US forces in Iraq remain ‘significant’:
Senior US official
Reuters/Friday 10 April 2020
The threat from Iranian-backed militia to US forces continues to be
“significant,” the US State Department’s senior diplomat for the Middle East
said on Thursday, adding that Washington was taking “with a pinch of salt” a
ceasefire declaration by Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah.
Speaking to reporters in a teleconference, David Schenker, Assistant Secretary
of Near Eastern Affairs at the US State Department also praised the previous
work of Mustafa al-Kadhemi, Iraq’s intelligence chief who was named as
prime-minister designate on Thursday.
Iranian-backed militias pose a continuing and “significant” threat to US forces
in Iraq, the State Department’s top diplomat for the Middle East said on
Thursday, about a week after US President Donald Trump warned of an attack by
Iran or its proxies.
Iran-backed paramilitary groups have regularly been shelling bases in Iraq that
host US forces, as well as the area around the US embassy in Baghdad. On Monday,
three Katyushka rockets landed near a district in southern Iraq that houses
workers for foreign oil companies, including US oil service company Halliburton.
No casualties or damage were reported. Last week, Trump said Iran or its proxies
planned a sneak attack on US targets in Iraq, and warned they would pay a “very
heavy price” but gave no details. US-Iranian relations have been bitter since
the Islamic Revolution toppled the US-backed shah of Iran in 1979 and ushered in
an era of theocratic rule. While there was a detente with the 2015 Iran nuclear
deal, relations have deteriorated with Trump’s decision nearly two years ago to
abandon that multilateral agreement and reimpose US sanctions that have crippled
the Iranian economy.
Worsening tensions, a Jan. 3 US drone strike in Iraq killed Qassem Soleimani,
the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, as well as Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, who
founded Iraq’s Shia Kataib Hezbollah militia after the 2003 US-led invasion of
Iraq.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States
proposed a ‘Strategic Dialogue’ with Iraq to be held in June, a bid to restore
strained bilateral ties. Schenker, who in March said Washington was “enormously
disappointed” by Iraq’s performance in protecting US-led coalition forces in the
country, reiterated that Baghdad needed to take steps if it valued Washington’s
partnership. “It is on the Iraqis - if they value that relationship - to take
certain steps and that includes providing protection to the coalition forces who
are in Iraq, if they want those forces to remain,” he said.
Iraq’s designated prime minister vows to control arms,
fight corruption
Reuters/Friday 10 April 2020
Iraq’s designated prime minister Mustafa Al- Kadhemi said on Thursday that arms
should only be in government’s hands. The designated PM, who was named by
President Barham Salih earlier on Thursday also said in a televised speech the
key objectives for his government will be to fight corruption and return
displaced people back home. Iraqi President Saleh nominated spy chief Kadhemi on
Thursday as the country’s third prime minister-designate this year, moments
after predecessor Adnan Zurfi ended his bid to form a government. The nomination
ceremony was attended by the country’s top political figures, indicating
widespread support for Kadhemi, 53, that neither of the previous PM-designates
had enjoyed. That backing was the result of a flurry of political meetings over
the past week aimed at reaching consensus over Kadhemi, the head of Iraq’s
National Intelligence Service. Among them were gatherings attended by Iranian
General Ismail Qaani, who has headed Iran’s powerful Quds Force foreign
operations unit since a US drone strike in Baghdad killed his predecessor Qasem
Soleimani in January. Tehran holds vast political and military influence in
Iraq, and its approval is seen as necessary for any prime ministerial candidate.
Pope Guides Locked-Down World through Virtual Easter
Agence France Presse/April 10/2020
Church doors will be shut and the Vatican sealed off when Pope Francis leads 1.3
billion Catholics in Easter Sunday celebrations held under a worldwide
coronavirus lockdown. Fear and confusion in the face of a disease whose toll has
unrelentingly climbed towards 100,000 are reshaping society and transforming the
way religion is observed. Even such hallowed traditions as the pope's messages
to the faithful on Saint Peter's Square are being replaced by livestreamed
prayers that Francis reluctantly records from the seclusion of his private
library. The Vatican has been closed to visitors for a month and the 83-year-old
pontiff -- beloved for breaking stuffy customs and mingling with the people --
has complained of feeling "caged". "We have to respond to our confinement with
all our creativity," Francis said in an interview published by several Catholic
newspapers this week. "We can either get depressed and alienated... or we can
get creative."
Religious improvisation
The pope's virtual prayers are just the starkest example of religious
improvisation in the age of social distancing and confinement. Others abound
worldwide -- from the Archbishop of Panama blessing his tiny Central American
nation from the air in a helicopter to the faithful in Spain blasting religious
music from their balconies during Holy Week. The scale of the unfolding tragedy
has seen a New York City cathedral replace rows of wooden seats with hospital
beds in case of overcrowding in surrounding emergency wards. The powerful
Catholic Church in the Philippines is urging the faithful not to kiss the cross
and its Orthodox counterpart in Greece is planning to hold mass behind closed
doors for its Easter on April 19. "Seven out of 10 Greeks enjoy roasting lamb
for Easter," Greek meat trader Angelos Asteriou told AFP in Paris. "That's not
happening this year."Jews across the world did their best by using Zoom or other
video conferencing apps to "seder-in-place" when the eight-day Passover holiday
kicked off on Wednesday evening. Westminster Abbey in London is following the
technological trend by releasing Easter podcasts for the faithful of the
Anglican Church. Prince Charles -- the heir to the British throne who was
briefly quarantined last month after testing positive for the virus -- recorded
a reading of the Gospel for Easter Sunday. And priests at France's Roman
Catholic shrine in the southwestern town of Lourdes began relaying nine
consecutive days of prayers on Sunday by Facebook Live and YouTube. "Since the
pilgrims can no longer come to us, we invite ourselves into their homes,"
Sanctuary of Lourdes rector Olivier Ribadeau Dumas said.
'Saints next door' -
The pope himself previously observed Holy Thursday service marking Christ's last
supper -- most famously depicted by Leonardo da Vinci in a mural housed in Milan
-- by washing the feet of 12 inmates on the outskirts of Rome. The virus has now
made this impossible. Francis instead said a prayer for the dozens of priests
and health workers who have died across Italy while attending to the sick since
the outbreak began in the Mediterranean country's north in February. "They are
the saints next door, the priests who gave their lives by serving," Francis
said. The Argentine-born pontiff has reportedly been tested twice for COVID-19
since coming down with a cold at the end of February.He has enjoyed a life of
good health despite losing part of a lung as a young man and suffering from
sciatica -- a nerve condition that causes pain in his hip. Francis told the
Catholic newspapers that people across the world can try to spiritually escape
their confinement through introspection. "So: to be in lockdown, but yearning,
with that memory that yearns and begets hope," the pope said. "This is what will
help us escape our confinement."
WHO Denies Ignoring Taiwan Early Virus Warning
Agence France Presse/April 10/2020
The World Health Organization on Friday denied having brushed off a Taiwanese
warning on human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus soon after its
outbreak in China late last year. The U.S. has accused the body of "putting
politics first" by ignoring Taiwan's warning in late December, and thus helping
Beijing conceal the pandemic's gravity. President Donald Trump has
threatened to withhold funding for the WHO, which is at the forefront of
fighting the pandemic that has infected more than 1.5 million people worldwide
since emerging in Wuhan, China.
The United States said Thursday it was "deeply disturbed that Taiwan's
information was withheld from the global health community, as reflected in the
WHO's January 14, 2020 statement that there was no indication of human-to-human
transmission."But on Friday the Geneva-based UN body sent AFP an email in which
it denied the charges. The WHO said it received an email on December 31 from
Taiwanese authorities which mentioned "press reports of cases of atypical
pneumonia in Wuhan and that Wuhan authorities believed "it was not SARS", or
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome which killed 774 people in 2002 and 2003.
"There was no mention in this mail of human-to-human transmission," the WHO
maintained. The U.N. body said it had asked Taiwanese authorities to show how it
"communicated to us" their suspicions about transmission, insisting "we are only
aware of this single email which makes no mention of transmission between
humans." "But we have not received a response," the WHO said. Its boss Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has urged world leaders "not to politicize the virus"
has received the backing of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who said it
was not the time to criticize an "essential organization". Relations between the
WHO and Taiwan had been strained even before the pandemic but have deteriorated
even further over the past three months. Critics of Tedros have accused the WHO
under his leadership of being too close to Beijing and complimentary of China's
response to the coronavirus. Some public health experts say that the WHO had
little choice but to cooperate with China to preserve access in Wuhan.
China considers Taiwan -- a self-ruling democracy where the mainland's defeated
nationalists fled in 1949 -- to be a province awaiting reunification and has
sought to exclude it from all international organizations.
EU Leaders to Discuss Economic Recovery from Pandemic
Agence France Presse/April 10/2020
European Council President Charles Michel on Friday called an EU leaders'
videoconference for April 23 to discuss how Europe can pick itself up from the
economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. "It is time to lay the
ground for a robust economic recovery," he said in a statement a day after EU
finance ministers agreed a 500-billion-euro ($550-billion) emergency package for
the bloc. The leaders of the 27 member states will mainly be tasked with
approving the hard-won rescue deal which opens EU credit lines for virus-hit
countries in urgent need of bolstering their health systems. "The agreement of
the Eurogroup (the EU finance ministers) is a significant breakthrough. With
this unparalleled package we shoulder the burden of the crisis together," Michel
said.The deal ended weeks of arguing, but tensions remain great over a proposal
by Italy, France and other countries for EU nations to jointly raise money to
help stimulate a recovery after the pandemic. Sometimes called coronabonds,
ministers left this controversial idea -- categorically refused by powerhouse
Germany -- for the leaders to debate, with expectations very low that Berlin and
its allies will budge. The money raised would go to a recovery fund, which
Germany believes can be financed by the long-term EU budget which is currently
under negotiation.
Spain Sees Lowest Virus Daily Toll in 17 Days
Agence France Presse/April 10/2020
Spain has recorded its lowest daily death toll from the new coronavirus in 17
days, with 605 people dying, the government said on Friday. The update raised
the overall number of fatalities to 15,843 in Spain, which has suffered one of
the worst outbreaks of COVID-19 in the world, and where the total number of
confirmed cases now stands at 157,022. The figures showed the death rate slowing
to four percent, down from just under four percent on Thursday in line with a
trend which began on March 25 when it stood at over 27 percent. The rate of
infection also slowed, with 4,576 new cases over the past 24 hours, while the
number of people who recovered from the virus rose to 55,688. Although health
chiefs say the pandemic has peaked, they have urged the population to pay strict
attention to the ongoing national lockdown which was put in place on March 14 in
order to slow the spread of the virus. The restrictions will remain in place
until April 25 although the government has made clear it expects to announce
another two-week extension.
Boris Johnson Back on Hospital Ward with UK in Easter
Lockdown
Agence France Presse/April 10/2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was recovering in a hospital ward Friday after
ending three days in intensive care for COVID-19, as his government urged
Britons to stay at home over Easter. The 55-year-old leader left intensive care
at London's St Thomas' Hospital on Thursday evening and will now be monitored
closely during what Downing Street called "the early phase of his recovery." "He
is in extremely good spirits," a No. 10 spokesman said.Johnson's improving
condition came as the government continues to impose an unprecedented nationwide
lockdown to try to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus. It announced
another 881 deaths on Thursday, taking the UK total to 7,978, with more than
65,000 cases so far confirmed. That is thought to reflect only a fraction of the
actual number of people infected. Despite the grim tolls, there were indications
the stringent social distancing regime introduced on March 23 could be starting
to have a positive impact."We are beginning to see the benefits of this social
distancing," said Stephen Powis, medical director of England's state-run
National Health Service (NHS)."We do believe the virus is spreading less," he
told the BBC.
But Powis stressed it was "critical" that people keep obeying the social
distancing measures over the long Easter weekend, when fine weather in forecast.
"It's still too early to really be confident that we are turning the corner," he
added. "We need to completely and utterly make sure that we all comply with the
instructions we have been given."
'Period of readjustment'
Johnson is the most high-profile world leader to suffer from the coronavirus. He
was hospitalized Sunday over concerns he still had a cough and high temperature
after spending 10 days in self-isolation in a flat above his Downing Street
office. While in intensive care the Conservative leader received "standard
oxygen treatment" and did not require a ventilator. But his transfer there
Monday, unprecedented for a prime minister during a national emergency in modern
times, rattled Britain and sent shockwaves around the world. U.S. President
Donald Trump called Johnson's release from intensive care "a very positive
development."His father Stanley Johnson said on Saturday he must now "rest up",
after last week trying to keep working during his self-isolation. "He has
to take time," the elder Johnson told BBC radio. "I cannot believe you can walk
away from this and get straight back to Downing Street and pick up the reins
without a period of readjustment."Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been
deputizing for Johnson in his absence. He led an emergency meeting of senior
ministers on Friday, which discussed a formal review of the lockdown measures
set for next week.
Implemented for an initial three weeks, the measures are widely expected to
remain for at least the rest of the month. Imperial College professor Neil
Ferguson, one of the scientists advising the government on coronavirus, said
they appeared to be working better than expected. But he cautioned more evidence
the spread of the disease was being reduced would be needed before they could be
relaxed. "There is some preliminary evidence... that we have seen even larger
reductions in normal behavior, contact, than we would have dared hope," he told
BBC radio. "That is good news but we have still got to see that reflected in
case numbers coming down."
'Coronavirus Ceasefire' in Yemen's Long Conflict Dismissed
by Rebels
Agence France Presse/April 10/2020
The Saudi-led coalition said it began observing a unilateral ceasefire in
war-wracked Yemen on Thursday to prevent the spread of coronavirus, but Huthi
rebels dismissed the initiative as political maneuvering. The coalition said a
two-week pause in the five year-conflict took effect from 0900 GMT, but a
spokesman for the Huthis alleged air strikes continued to pound targets in Yemen
after that. "The aggression didn't stop... and until this moment there are tens
of continuous air strikes," Huthi spokesman Mohamed Abdelsalam told Al Jazeera
news network some five hours after the truce began.
"We consider the ceasefire a political and media maneuver" to bolster the image
of the coalition "in this critical moment when the world is facing" the
coronavirus pandemic, he added. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen's
conflict in support of an internationally recognized government in 2015, pitting
it against the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels. If the ceasefire were to take root, it
would be the first breakthrough since the warring parties agreed to a
U.N.-brokered truce in the port city of Hodeida during talks in Sweden in late
2018. The truce offer was welcomed by the United States, key Saudi-led coalition
partner the United Arab Emirates, UN chief Antonio Guterres and the Arab League.
"The announcement is a constructive response to the U.N. Secretary General's
call for the parties to focus on countering the COVID-19 pandemic," U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said."We urge the Huthis to respond in kind to
the coalition's initiative," he added. The UAE, which drew down its troops in
Yemen last year as the conflict became increasingly intractable, said the Saudi
move was "wise and responsible". "Hope the Huthis rise to the occasion. The
COVID-19 crisis eclipses everything -- the international community must step up
efforts & work together to protect the Yemeni people," UAE Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted.
Wider solution
Yasser Al-Houri, secretary of the Huthis' political council, poured cold water
on the coalition's declaration, saying that the Saudis "are dishonest and
violate every truce they announce/" "The announcement of this truce is to evade
the true national vision that offers real solutions," he said, referring to a
roadmap for peace unveiled by the rebels on Wednesday. The declaration of the
ceasefire follows an escalation in fighting between the warring parties. Saudi
Arabia said Wednesday that the truce, which may be extended, could pave the way
for a wider political solution.
Officials indicated they are keen for a U.N.-sponsored face-to-face meeting with
the rebels to achieve a permanent ceasefire. Hours before the announcement, the
Huthis released a document that called for a withdrawal of foreign troops and
the end of the coalition's blockade on Yemen's land, sea and air ports. The
rebels also demanded that the coalition pay government salaries for the next
decade and hand over compensation for rebuilding, including homes destroyed in
air strikes. Guterres, who has called for an "immediate global ceasefire" to
help avert disaster for vulnerable people in conflict zones, welcomed the truce
offer, urging the government and Huthis to enter negotiations."Only through
dialogue will the parties be able to agree on a mechanism for sustaining a
nationwide ceasefire, humanitarian and economic confidence-building measures to
alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, and the resumption of the
political process to reach a comprehensive settlement to end the conflict," he
said.
'Rare opportunity'
The declared ceasefire comes as Saudi Arabia, reeling from plunging oil prices,
seeks to extricate itself from the costly conflict that has killed tens of
thousands of Yemeni people and triggered what the U.N. calls the world's worst
humanitarian crisis. Yemen's broken healthcare system has so far recorded no
cases of the COVID-19 illness, but aid groups have warned that when it does hit,
the impact will be catastrophic. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul
Gheit hailed the ceasefire offer as a "rare opportunity to stop the bloodshed in
Yemen."
Fighting had recently re-escalated between the Huthis and Riyadh-backed Yemeni
government troops around the strategic northern provinces of Al-Jouf and Marib,
after a months-long lull. Fatima Abo Alasrar, a scholar at the Middle East
Institute, noted that "the Huthis have currently opened multiple battlefronts
they cannot afford to close." Saudi air defenses intercepted Yemeni rebel
missiles over Riyadh and the border city of Jizan in March, leaving two
civilians wounded in the curfew-locked capital, state media reported. It was the
first major assault on Saudi Arabia since the Huthis offered last September to
halt attacks on the kingdom after devastating missile and drone strikes on Saudi
oil installations. Last week, the coalition carried out multiple air strikes on
Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa in retaliation for the missile strikes.
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on April 10-11/2020
What is Easter Sunday?
GotQuestions.org Home
Answer: There is a lot of confusion regarding what Easter Sunday is all about.
For some, Easter Sunday is about the Easter Bunny, colorfully decorated Easter
eggs, and Easter egg hunts. Most people understand that Easter Sunday has
something to do with the resurrection of Jesus, but are confused as to how the
resurrection is related to the Easter eggs and the Easter bunny.
Biblically speaking, there is absolutely no connection between the resurrection
of Jesus Christ and the common modern traditions related to Easter Sunday. As a
background, please read our article on the origins of Easter. Essentially, what
occurred is that in order to make Christianity more attractive to
non-Christians, the ancient Roman Catholic Church mixed the celebration of
Jesus’ resurrection with celebrations that involved spring fertility rituals.
These spring fertility rituals are the source of the egg and bunny traditions.
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the
week, Sunday (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2,9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1,19). Jesus’
resurrection is most worthy of being celebrated (see 1 Corinthians 15). While it
is appropriate for Jesus’ resurrection to be celebrated on a Sunday, the day on
which Jesus’ resurrection is celebrated should not be referred to as Easter.
Easter has nothing to do with Jesus’ resurrection on a Sunday.
As a result, many Christians feel strongly that the day on which we celebrate
Jesus’ resurrection should not be referred to as "Easter Sunday." Rather,
something like "Resurrection Sunday" would be far more appropriate and biblical.
For the Christian, it is unthinkable that we would allow the silliness of Easter
eggs and the Easter bunny to be the focus of the day instead of Jesus’
resurrection.
By all means, celebrate Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. Christ’s
resurrection is something that should be celebrated every day, not just once a
year. At the same time, if we choose to celebrate Easter Sunday, we should not
allow the fun and games to distract our attention from what the day should truly
be all about—the fact that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and that His
resurrection demonstrates that we can indeed be promised an eternal home in
Heaven by receiving Jesus as our Savior.
Twin pressures adding friction to
Iran-Turkey ties
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/April 09/2020
د.ماجد زافيزادا: ضغوط مزدزجة تضيف على اسباب الإحتكاك في العلاقات
التركية-الإيرانسة
Until recently, Turkey and Iran maintained a cordial relationship due to the
convergence of their interests in the region, specifically in the geopolitical
and economic arenas.
Both countries oppose the US forces’ involvement in Syria, while the American
Department of Defense has made it clear it is against Iran’s interventions in
Syria and was last year opposed to “the Turkish military move into Syria and
especially objects to Turkish operations outside the security mechanism zone and
in areas where the Turks know US forces are present.”
Economically speaking, Turkey hopes that the US will lift sanctions against
Iran, allowing Turkish companies to invest in Tehran’s gas infrastructure and
speed up production. Turkey is a key buyer of Iranian oil and gas and it has
long been aiming to position itself as the major energy hub between Europe and
Iran.
Despite the draconian US-imposed sanctions on Iran, trade between Iran and
Turkey is still significant, being worth $5.28 billion between January and
November 2019 — with Iran exporting $3.18 billion-worth of goods and Turkey
exporting $2.1 billion.
In addition, many Iranian officials have reportedly been investing in Turkey’s
housing market. They are most likely buying properties in order to have
somewhere to go in case the regime collapses. Ahmad Amirabadi, an Iranian
parliament member from Qom, announced in December that: “$18 billion was paid to
some people with the state currency rate of 4,200 tomans (for each US dollar) to
bring medicine for the people from abroad. They took it to Turkey and Canada and
bought houses and brought no medicine.”
Nevertheless, relations between Iran and Turkey have been deteriorating in
recent months. Tensions are escalating due to two major factors. The first is
that Iran’s increasing involvement in assassinations of dissidents in Turkey is
undermining Ankara’s national security.
Turkish officials last month revealed that Iranian officials instigated the
killing of dissident Masoud Molavi Vardanjani, who was shot dead in an Istanbul
street last November. A senior US official confirmed: “Given Iran’s history of
targeted assassinations of Iranian dissidents and the methods used in Turkey,
the United States government believes that Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and
Security was directly involved in Vardanjani’s killing.” Iran responded by
lashing out at both Turkey and the US. Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi
tweeted: “Undisputed fact: US ‘diplomats’ have long been in the business of
coups, arming terrorists, fueling sectarian violence.”
Vardanjani posed a threat to the Iranian regime because he reportedly worked at
the Ministry of Defense before fleeing to Turkey. Prior to his killing, he
launched a campaign to expose the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and
the judiciary. He wrote out on social media: “I will root out the corrupt mafia
commanders… Pray that they don’t kill me before I do this.”
This is not the first time that the Iranian regime has been implicated in the
assassination of dissidents in Turkey. In 2017, Saeed Karimian, a British
television executive and founder of GEM TV, which runs 17 Persian-language TV
channels, was shot dead in Istanbul. Before his killing, he was convicted in
absentia in Iran’s revolutionary court for spreading propaganda against the
Islamic Republic. His killers, traveling on fake passports, were arrested in
Serbia en route to Iran. Iranian opposition group the National Council of
Resistance of Iran stated that Karimian was assassinated by the IRGC on the
direct orders of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Turkey has been scuttling Iran’s agenda with its military offensives in Idlib.
The lax visa requirements between the two countries have most likely made Iran’s
assassination attempts in Turkey more frequent. Iranian citizens are exempt from
obtaining a visa for visits to Turkey of up to 90 days. This allows Iranian
agents to more easily commute between Ankara and Tehran.
The second factor contributing to the current rising tensions between Turkey and
Iran is the conflict in Syria’s Idlib province. From the perspective of the
Iranian leaders, Tehran must be the only foreign state wielding power in Syria
because of the billions of dollars it has spent keeping President Bashar Assad
in office. Turkey has been scuttling Iran’s agenda with its military offensives
in Idlib. This is why Iran’s Military Advisory Center in Syria last week warned
in a rare statement: “Once again, we reiterate that the children of the Turkish
nation serving in the Turkish army in Idlib are within range of our military
forces, and we could have easily taken revenge on them for the bombardment of
our bases, but we have refused to do so upon orders by our commanders.”
Although tensions between Iran and Turkey appear to be rising, the two old
allies will most likely strike a balance because of the core convergence of
their geopolitical and economic interests.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is an Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading
expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the
International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh
**Picture enclosed shows Masoud Molavi Vardanjani who was shot dead in an
Istanbul street last November.
Covid-19 and the Conspiracy Theorists
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/April 09/2020
Even conspiracy theories need to be partly built on facts in order to be
plausible enough to market.
It is impossible to convince any sane person with blatant nonsense, or
pathological illusions that ignore solid developments, and actions and quotes by
authorities with well-known experience in their fields. Indeed, this is exactly
what we are witnessing in these exceptional times as Covid-19 sweeps the world,
bringing down all barriers.
A few days ago, a friend of mine sent me a recorded interview with a
controversial British personality self-regarded as a visionary crusader against
forces of global hegemony. This interview almost appeared with two valuable
contributions by Jacques Attali, the Algerian-born French economist, thinker and
political adviser, and Yuval Noah Harari, the Israeli (of Lebanese origin)
historian and professor.
I had followed the career of the British personality since his early days as
footballer, and then as a prominent sports journalist. His next step, however,
took him to a totally different career; as he became an anti-establishment
activist, first becoming an environmentalist with ‘The Greens’, and later a
campaigner against political and economic elites, which he doubts and ruthlessly
demonizes, and feels that it is his mission to uncover and warn against its evil
‘conspiracies’!
In his interview, the British conspiracy theorist dismisses the Covid-19 virus,
and sees it as a new chapter in the ‘global 1% elite’s conspiracy’ designed to
strengthen its world domination. This is done – as he claims – by destroying the
current world economy’s institutions and rebuild them in a way that further
serves their interests.
In his argument, in addition to the global companies, and Davos’ World Economic
Forum, he includes the World Health Organization (WHO), among the leading
co-conspirators!
Some of the data mentioned by the controversial gentleman is true; more so for
any political and economic researcher or expert, who understands the dynamics of
the market economy and the role of accumulation, concentration, monopoly and
speculation in capitalism.
Furthermore, anybody who has been following the progress of technology through
the centuries would know the impact of technologies, from the discovery of the
gunpowder and paper, the invention of printing, and recently, the development of
the computer, genetic engineering and artificial intelligence (AI).
What I mean to say is that with or without Covid-19 we have been marching
towards a new world. The only thing this pandemic has done is merely
accelerating this march, and negating all reservations against it.
This is where Harari hits his target. He acknowledges the historical importance
of the world crisis we are all facing.
“Humankind is now facing a global crisis”, he says, adding, “perhaps the biggest
crisis of our generation. The decisions people and governments take in the next
few weeks will probably shape the world for years to come. They will shape not
just our healthcare systems but also our economy, politics and culture. We must
act quickly and decisively. We should also take into account the long-term
consequences of our actions. When choosing between alternatives, we should ask
ourselves not only how to overcome the immediate threat, but also what kind of
world we will inhabit once the storm passes. Yes, the storm will pass, humankind
will survive, most of us will still be alive — but we will live in a different
world.”
Harari goes on “many short-term emergency measures will become a fixture of
life. That is the nature of emergencies. They fast-forward historical processes.
Decisions that in normal times could take years of deliberation are passed in a
matter of hours. Immature and even dangerous technologies are pressed into
service, because the risks of doing nothing are bigger. Entire countries serve
as guinea-pigs in large-scale social experiments. What happens when everybody
works from home and communicates only at a distance? What happens when entire
schools and universities go online? In normal times, governments, businesses and
educational boards would never agree to conduct such experiments. But these
aren’t normal times. In this time of crisis, we face two particularly important
choices. The first is between totalitarian surveillance and citizen empowerment.
The second is between nationalist isolation and global solidarity.”
The first choice therefore is between a Chinese model of totalitarian
surveillance and the respect of human rights, including personal privacy; and
the second is between isolationism and globalization.
Jacques Attali, who was the first head of the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development in 1991-1993, and a former adviser to ex-French President
Francois Mitterrand, seems somehow to agree with Harari on more than one issue.
He also believes that great historical disasters caused by various plagues led
to profound changes in the political structures of nations, as well as the
cultures embodied in those structures.
Talking of the bubonic plague (The Black Death) of the 14th century, which
killed almost one third of Europe’s population, Attali says that among its most
significant repercussions was ‘the change in the position of the clergy’. The
clergy lost out influence to the benefit of the police, which became the only
protector of the people after the church’s failure to protect them.
However, as Attali explains, this situation did not last long either; after the
real power shifted from the authority of religion as represented by the Church
to the authority of enforcement as represented by the police, it shifted again
from the authority of enforcement to the authority of the state and the laws.
This point, in particular, will bring us back to ongoing argument about who
would be the main beneficiary from the repercussions of Covid-19 in the Arab
World. Is it the political and security, which has decisively taken the
initiative in confronting the pandemic? Or is it some religious groups which are
waiting until the worst passes, and then emerge to say ‘Well, where were your
science and scientists when God attempted to test our beliefs?’
Indeed, contradicting theories and arguments about our lives and futures
mushroom here and there, as the world, as a whole finds itself fighting against
time.
From one side there are voices insisting that the top priority now must be
saving lives, as saving the economies can wait, especially, that they are built
on lending and debts, and can be rebuilt after recessions. From the opposite
direction, many voices argue that life and death are existential facts, and the
world must never sacrifice its economic well-being for the many to save the
lives of the few.
Personally, I am - without hesitation - with the first opinion.
Sanctions relief isn’t necessary to assist Iran’s
coronavirus response
Katherine Bauer & Dana Stroul/The Hill/April 09/2020
The rapid spread of the coronavirus in Iran is deeply alarming, as are the
severe difficulties facing the Iranian government — which continues to mishandle
its response — in dealing with the outbreak, treating the ill, and taking
necessary preventive measures. Iran ranks sixth worldwide for confirmed cases of
COVID-19, and fourth for deaths from the virus. The reality is likely far worse,
considering the lack of testing capacity and the government’s inclination to
lie. Given what public health experts anticipate about the lethal trajectory of
this virus, the instinct to assist other countries — such as Iran — in their
efforts to flatten the curve is perfectly understandable.
In the case of Iran and its struggle to contain the virus and treat the sick,
however, sanctions relief is not a cure-all. Moreover, systematic corruption of
Iran’s leaders and the weak capacity of its government mean it is doubtful that
lifting sanctions would translate into the robust response the Iranian people
need and deserve.
However, there are actions that the United States could take — short of lifting
sanctions — to aid the humanitarian response in Iran. Without fundamentally
altering the sanctions infrastructure, the administration could provide greater
clarity on allowable humanitarian trade and authorizations for nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) to expand their work in Iran.
Iran does have access to funds to pay for medical and humanitarian supplies. It
does not need emergency loans or sanctions waivers to finance humanitarian
purchases from abroad. Even though the Trump administration sanctioned the
Central Bank of Iran (CBI) in September 2019 for supporting terrorism, the
Treasury Department recently took action to allow humanitarian trade
transactions involving the CBI. The Treasury could clearly inform banks that
Iran is authorized to use the foreign exchange held in CBI accounts abroad,
including Iranian oil revenues stuck in escrow accounts in China, Japan, India
and South Korea, to finance the importation of goods that will help the
government respond to its coronavirus outbreak.
And despite U.S. sanctions, mechanisms exist for Iran to import medical and
humanitarian goods, and additional ones could come online soon. On March 23,
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced that it was considering ways to provide
humanitarian relief to Iran. This could include establishing a mechanism such as
the Swiss channel, inaugurated last month by agreement between the U.S. and
Switzerland to facilitate humanitarian-related trade with Iran by Swiss firms.
The Swiss channel was designed, in part, as a work-around for the sanctioned
CBI. So the kicker is that South Korea does not even need to establish its
version of the Swiss channel to assist Iran.
But Iran is still struggling to obtain supplies despite technical changes that
should make it easier for Iran to access its offshore accounts, and despite the
existence of mechanisms designed specifically to ensure that humanitarian
supplies can reach the Iranian people.
The most significant obstacle is foreign banks, who are wary of U.S. sanctions
and inclined to avoid the risk of facilitating these transactions out of an
abundance of caution. Iran’s return to the Financial Action Task Force’s
blacklist in February is an additional obstacle. U.S. sanctions have broad
humanitarian exemptions built in, and personal protective equipment and
ventilators are specifically allowable. Even though the Treasury Department
allows for the sale to Iran of relevant medical devices and will provide
reassurances to banks facilitating these transactions, the fear of U.S.
sanctions is a deterrent. There is widespread confusion and concern about not
running afoul of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
The Trump administration could, therefore, do much more on the public diplomacy
front to signal that it has no intention of blocking firms and companies for
working with Iran to address its coronavirus outbreak. Treasury could issue
additional guidance clarifying which humanitarian goods are allowable. In these
days of telework, a virtual town hall with senior officials is a no-brainer in
order to clarify that the administration will not block the provision, or
financing, of medical devices to Iran necessary for treating coronavirus
patients. Social media outreach, and even a short statement from the White House
podium during the daily Coronavirus Task Force briefings, are easy steps to
take.
The White House also could demonstrate goodwill toward the Iranian people, as
distinct from its policy of regime behavior change, by publicly supporting the
delivery of humanitarian supplies and work of NGOs. And there is precedent for
this. In 2003, the Bush administration issued a 90-day General License that
facilitated NGO work in Iran to assist in recovery efforts after the Bam
earthquake killed more than 26,000 people. In 2012, the Obama administration
issued a 45-day General License to allow NGOs up to $300,000 to Iran for
humanitarian and reconstruction activities after earthquakes killed more than
260 people.
Iran already has rejected U.S. offers of aid, but the administration should
continue to find ways to signal to Iran’s leaders that the offer is genuine and
a standing one, if not through direct aid then by signaling its willingness to
facilitate the work of NGOs. Many elements of these temporary authorizations for
disaster response and NGO activities have been made permanent in recent years.
However, it would not be unprecedented for Treasury to issue a new license
consolidating existing authorizations to clarify that they apply to current
circumstances, or to expand some authorizations, even if time-limited. Members
of Congress can assist here, as can the international organizations and NGOs
already assisting Iran.
The U.S.-led sanctions architecture has changed significantly since the Bush and
Obama administrations implemented their policies of humanitarian goodwill
crisis-response, not only because of the Trump administration’s maximum-pressure
campaign but also through legislative action. In 2017, Congress passed the
Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions law (CAATSA) which directed
the administration to sanction Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
under counterterrorism authorities. This represented a serious expansion of
terrorism-related Iran sanctions. Reports that the IRGC is involved alongside
Iran’s Ministry of Health in setting up mobile clinics and producing medical
equipment is an added layer of complexity for the U.S. and those around the
world wanting to help Iran.
l community is rightly focused on taking all necessary steps to respond to
COVID-19, while also taking steps to prepare to respond to the next wave. In the
case of Iran, there are a range of actions that the United States can and should
take — it is both a security issue and a moral imperative to do so. But
sanctions relief should not be at the top of the list of these remedial actions.
*Katherine Bauer is the Blumenstein-Katz Family fellow at The Washington
Institute for Near East Policy and a former Treasury official who served as the
department’s financial attaché in Jerusalem and the Gulf. She is also an adjunct
associate professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s
Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service. Follow her on Twitter @katecbauer.
*Dana Stroul is a senior fellow in The Washington Institute’s Geduld Program on
Arab Politics, served as a senior staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, covering the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, and previously
served in the Middle East policy office of the secretary of Defense. Follow her
on Twitter @dstroul.
Coronavirus has gone global, but In Iran, it's the Khamenei
virus
Reza Behrouz/Al Arabiya/April 10/2020
In a televised address, the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei claimed last
week that the coronavirus pandemic has caused more than one million fatalities
worldwide. This statement was given in spite of international organizations
estimating the global number of virus-related deaths at just under 90,000.
Khamenei also claimed that the ultimate remedy for the pandemic cannot be
attained via science and technology, but through the manifestation of the 12th
Imam and Shia Messiah, al-Mahdi. A descendent of Prophet Mohammed, al-Mahdi has
been in absentia or “strategic hiding” for more than 1,000 years, since he was
five years old.
This is not the first time Khamenei has made an outlandish statement with
respect to the coronavirus situation in Iran and the global pandemic. In late
March 2020, Khamenei claimed that the virus was a biological weapon manufactured
by the US to target and destroy Iran. He also described a legion composed of
human and Djinn – an imaginary, often malevolent being in Islamic mythology –
that has been formed to fulfill the US’s mission.
These bizarre claims may very well be for domestic consumption, aiming to
deceive pious and superstitious Iranians. Yet, Khamenei’s contrived campaign has
reached beyond Iran’s borders and the mendacities of this sort are being
disseminated around the world in some other form or fashion. The US is the
specific target for this campaign. Crafted by the Iranian regime’s Foreign
Minister Javad Zarif, this campaign is being promulgated by pro-regime
mouthpieces in the US, particularly members and affiliates of the National
Iranian American Council. NIAC is a Washington-based organization notorious for
spreading propaganda that favors the Iranian regime.
US sanctions against the regime are at the center of this propaganda and lobby
operation. Pro-regime journalists, analysts, and policy experts in the US have
been parroting Zarif’s talking points verbatim, suggesting that US sanctions not
only contributed to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran, but are now impeding the
appropriate management of this epidemic. This rhetoric has been pervasive and
characterized by relentless, obstinate efforts to persuade the Trump
Administration to ease sanctions on the mullah regime. The regime itself has
admitted that this campaign was a scam that had nothing to do with managing the
COVID-19 crisis in Iran. In a cabinet meeting in late March, the regime’s
President Hassan Rouhani explicitly stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(aka Javad Zarif) initiated a “concerted effort” to influence public opinion
with the intention of “bringing back our money seized in other countries.”
While Zarif himself has been primarily active on social media directing the
campaign, pro-regime talking heads have been sending emails and doggedly
lobbying the US Congress. As an American legislator who is pathologically
supportive of the mullahs in Iran, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has taken the lead on
this campaign on the Capitol Hill and has effectively become the regime’s
representative in Congress. Ignoring the fact the American people and her
constituents in Minneapolis are equally grappling with the pandemic, she has
been incessantly raising the issue on social media and to anyone who would
listen. The climax of Omar’s efforts was a letter she put together with members
of “The Squad” and signed by over two dozen other predominantly progressive
congresspersons including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren
(D-MA), and Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA).
Men wear protective face masks and gloves, amid fear of coronavirus, play chess
on the sidewalk of Mellat Park, in Tehran, Iran April 2, 2020. (WANA (West Asia
News Agency)/Ali Khara via Reuters)
Men wear protective face masks and gloves, amid fear of coronavirus, play chess
on the sidewalk of Mellat Park, in Tehran, Iran April 2, 2020. (WANA (West Asia
News Agency)/Ali Khara via Reuters)
The letter is addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of
Treasury Steven Mnuchin, calling on them to ease sanctions on the Iranian regime
vis-à-vis Iran’s COVID-19 outbreak. Both Pompeo and Mnuchin have repeatedly
urged that humanitarian assistance to Iran is not subject to US sanctions. In
fact, Pompeo recently reiterated the fact that the State Department became aware
of the impending health crisis in Iran very early and offered assistance.
Mnuchin took questions in early March from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), one of the
progressive signatories to the letter, on the topic and gave the same reply –
that the maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian regime precluded
humanitarian trade. The Iranian regime refused and called any US aid that was
not coupled with sanctions relief, “ridiculous.” On February 27, the Treasury
Department granted broad authority to allow humanitarian transactions with the
Central Bank of Iran.
Meanwhile, the regime continued purchasing medical supplies through various
unconstrained channels, including the one set up by Switzerland, which completed
an initial successful financial transaction in January 2020. A parallel effort
was undertaken by Zarif in mid-March where he requested a $5 billion loan from
the International Monetary Fund. Similar to the call for sanctions relief, so
far this request has not been granted by the IMF, and there is reason to believe
that it was outright rejected.
Nevertheless, regime mouthpieces in the US have not relented. NIAC’s president
Jamal Abdi wrote a letter to the IMF asking for the financial institution to
approve the requested loan, dismissing the notion that cash issued to the regime
will be spent on support of terrorism and the regime’s own economic ambitions.
Abdi wrote, “the systems your institutions have put in place, will ensure the
support reaches the intended beneficiaries.” This claim is, of course, absurd
since the IMF does not have an established system to specifically monitor how
the money is spent. NIAC’s president further contended, “We urge you to help the
Iranian people, as you have in the past.”
He insinuates that the IMF has dispensed loans to Iran in the past. This is also
false. Iran has never received a loan from the IMF. Iran’s late monarch, Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi applied for a line of credit that was active from 1960 to
1962. This was not a loan in any way, shape, or form. Lastly in his letter, Abdi
claimed NIAC has over 65,000 supporters in the US, which has been repeatedly
proven to be a myth.
Abdi wrote this request on behalf of his proclaimed 65,000 Iranian-American
supporters in retaliation to a previous letter written by 53 Iranian activists,
journalists, scholars, and academicians asking the IMF not to issue cash to the
regime and instead, help the Iranian people via provision of medical equipment
and supplies. A video compilation was also published on social media wherein
several Iranians from around the world asked the Trump Administration not the
ease sanctions on the regime.
The Islamist regime is ravenously in search of cash and could care less about
medical equipment or personnel to address the COVID-19 epidemic in Iran. The
evidence for this includes the regime’s persistent refusal to cooperate with
Financial Action Task Force, the world's top anti-terrorism and money laundering
monitoring group, refusing humanitarian aid from the US, and untimely expulsion
of physician volunteers from Doctors Without Border (Médecins Sans Frontières)
who were planning on assembling a 50-bed inflatable treatment unit with an
emergency team of nine people in Isfahan. There are also reports of hoarding
medical supplies furnished by international organizations for profit. Many
Iranians speculate that the hoarding is perpetuated by the regime itself, and in
particular by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Unconfirmed reports also indicate that a 20-million-euro humanitarian aid
package sent by the European Union to Iran was then forwarded to Syria and Iraq
immediately and without a penny less.
The Khamenei virus has afflicted other US politicians as well. Sen. Bob Menendez
(D-NJ), Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) recently issued a statement making a similar
plea for lifting sanctions on the Iranian regime. Even the Democratic Party’s
presumptive nominee for presidency, Joe Biden, called for sanctions relief,
though he faced criticism that his plea lacked vigor. Perhaps the most curious
case of all is that of Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who had a secret rendezvous
with Zarif in Munich in February 2020, the details of which he never revealed.
Murphy has become a fixture on the front page of the regime’s newspapers in Iran
as the heroic US senator who has embarked on a crusade against the evil empire
of Donald Trump in favor of the mullahs.
It seems Democrats with a political agenda who have an axe to grind with
President Trump are more susceptible to contracting the Khamenei virus. They
release statements calling on sanctions relief without reviewing or knowing the
details, and deliberately ignore statements by the State and Treasury
Departments that humanitarian aid is not subject to sanctions. They also tend to
be oblivious to the reality that as they buy into Zarif’s ruse to procure cash,
the regime continues its support of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and
Hezbollah in Lebanon. Furthermore, as the Iranian people continue to fight for
their lives in the ongoing outbreak, the IRGC continues to launch missiles at
its leisure on targets in Iraq, threatening the lives of American servicemen. By
far, however, the most daunting fact that is almost always overlooked is
Khamenei’s wealth of nearly $200 billion, which he refuses to touch even during
humanitarian crises and natural disasters in Iran.
The Iranian people are, nevertheless, not duped so easily. Following the
Islamist dictator’s outlandish statements, angry Iranians from around the globe
took to Twitter to criticize and ridicule him using the hashtag #KhameneiVirus.
This hashtag became a trend in several countries including the US, the UK, and
the Netherlands. It is being used to this day. Iranians are warning the world –
particularly US politicians of the Democratic Party – of the virulence and
toxicity of the Khamenei virus, which is becoming a pandemic in its own right,
conceivably far deadlier than COVID-19.
*Dr. Reza Behrouz is an Iranian-American physician and dissident based in San
Antonio, Texas. He is a member of the Constitutionalist Party of Iran. He can be
followed on Twitter @RBehrouzDO.
Economic meltdown pushes Tehran to take risks with pandemic
Thomas Seibert/The Arab Weekly/April 10/2020
Government claims toll is decreasing as it ventures into 'jump-starting
economy'.
Even though Iran is the hardest-hit country in the Middle East with more than
67,000 infections and over 4,100 deaths caused by COVID-19, the respiratory
disease triggered by the virus, President Hassan Rohani is allowing some
businesses outside Tehran to re-open on April 11 and has said it is possible
that companies in the capital could re-open a week later.
As Rohani’s government pushes to get at least some Iranians back to work, it is
trying to sound upbeat about the trajectory of the virus spread, claiming the
number of new infections is dropping.
“People’s health is the country’s first priority, but employment, production and
businesses in a year that is named ‘Surge in Production’ must be considered as
well,” Rohani told a cabinet meeting on April 5, according to the presidency’s
website.
“Therefore, all necessary measures must be taken for jump-starting the country’s
economy by observing health protocols with people’s health prioritised.”
Even as Rohani’s government acted to get the economy back on track Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a warning to Iranians that the virus
remained a lethal danger that would affect the holy month of Ramadan that starts
on April 23.
Khamenei appealed for Iranians to pray at home and to avoid mass gatherings and
communal prayers during the Muslim fasting month.
“In the absence of public gatherings during Ramadan, such as prayers, speeches…
which we are deprived of this year, we should not neglect worship, invocation
and humility in our loneliness,” Khamenei said in a televised speech on April 9.
Despite the warning, Rohani’s plan to re-boot the economy is going ahead.
The president unveiled a loan programme of about $17.4 billion for companies and
promised support payments of $230 each for 23 million poor households.
In an unprecedented step for the Islamic Republic, Rohani has also requested a
loan of $5 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It is Tehran’s
first demand for IMF aid since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“These moves by the Iranian regime demonstrate its intent to move beyond the
crisis, but the danger of coronavirus has yet to have passed,” Kaleigh Thomas of
the Centre for a New American Security (CNAS), a Washington think-tank, said by
e-mail.
Iran’s economy contracted by around 10% last year under the pressure of US
sanctions that have crippled the country’s oil sector. Experts say mismanagement
and corruption also played a role. The coronavirus pandemic, which has prompted
the shutdown of businesses and domestic travel, has worsened the economic
situation further.
The economy ministry listed “the escalation of US sanctions and depletion of
Iran’s foreign exchange reserves, combined with economic losses resulting from
coronavirus outbreak and disruptions caused to businesses that would lead to
leaner tax revenues” as the “most biting” challenges facing Iran, according to
the Financial Tribune, an Iranian English-language business newspaper.
Rohani gave no details about which businesses would be allowed to re-open on
April 11. He said that “high-risk businesses will remain closed until further
notice." It remained unclear which companies are considered low-risk. Iran's
Financial Tribune said “swimming pools, sports centres or any place of
gathering” would not be allowed to open. A quick return to normal economic
activity could trigger a second wave of infections.
Rohani also received permission from Khamenei to take $1.1 billion out of the
National Development Fund, the country’s sovereign wealth fund. The money will
be used to fight the coronavirus and to help the unemployed.
Farhang Jahanpour, a British academic of Iranian descent and a commentator on
Iranian affairs, said by e-mail the decrease in oil revenue due to US sanctions
was forcing Rohani’s government to turn to the sovereign wealth fund to confront
the challenges posed by an economic crisis in times of a pandemic.
“In view of the negative effect of COVID-19 on society and economy, it would be
quite logical for the government to dip into [the] National Development Fund in
order to support the economy and help the most vulnerable members of the
society.”
Rohani’s government feels encouraged in its effort to revive the economy by what
it claims is a gradual decline in coronavirus cases. It says social distancing
measures are showing an effect.
The number of 117 deaths in the 24 hours to April 9 reported by Tehran was the
lowest daily death toll in more than three weeks, according to the Turkish news
agency Anadolu. Figures compiled by the Johns Hopkins University in the US
showed that Iran’s number of new infections per day has fallen since March 30,
when it stood at 3,200. The figure given by Iran’s health ministry for April 9
was 1,634.
But there has been speculation inside and outside of Iran that the real number
of deaths and infections in the country could be much higher than officially
announced. Iran initially downplayed the outbreak in February amid the 41st
anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution and a crucial parliamentary vote.
About eight in ten COVID-19 cases in the Middle East are said to have originated
in Iran.
*Thomas Seibert is an Arab Weekly contributor in Istanbul.
Iran needs to be on board if Middle East is to change
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/April 10/2020
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is one of the biggest challenges the world
has faced in decades, with some comparing its impact to that of the Second World
War. As the number of confirmed cases exceeds 1.5 million and the news of UK
Prime Minister Boris Johnson being treated in intensive care baffles the world,
this pandemic will nevertheless not be the end of globalization. It might act as
a catalyst to some previous trends, such as the competition and decoupling
between the US and China, but it has actually put forward the need for more
transparency, global communication and collaboration between governments, not
less.
Indeed, opacity and a lack of communication have had catastrophic consequences.
A quick overview of various government interactions shows that, the more data
was shared, the better actions were taken against the virus. When it comes to
the Middle East, most countries, especially those in the Gulf, were transparent
in their measures and their reporting, while Iran took a defiant stance toward
the virus, as if it was a political enemy or a conspiracy. This came at the cost
of many lives and greater instability in the region.
Nevertheless, there have been some positive developments in the region,
including the fact that the UAE helped Iran face the pandemic. Another positive
is the Arab coalition’s unilateral cease-fire in Yemen, as well as Saudi
Arabia’s allocation of $500 million to the UN humanitarian response plan for
Yemen, which will help protect all Yemenis — including the Iran-backed Houthis —
from COVID-19.
Unfortunately, this has not changed the Iranian government’s policies and
opacity in the face of the pandemic, as its sole focus seems to be on its
regional political agenda and using the pandemic to break its isolation, which
translated into pushing for an easing of US sanctions with the support of the EU
and asking the International Monetary Fund for an emergency loan. This is
unfortunate, as transparency and collaboration with the Gulf states could have
helped them all act faster and save lives. In difficult times, it is well known
that Saudi Arabia and the UAE propose initiatives that come without strings
attached and in good faith between neighbors. In this case, with more
transparency from the Iranian regime, they could have formulated a regional
response and extended the same care shown for their own citizens and residents
to the Iranian people.
This shows that there is an opportunity for the Iranian regime to bring about a
change in regional relations. It may be wishful thinking to believe Iran will
step up when one knows the agenda and history of the Tehran regime. However, it
is not impossible. This crisis has proven that Arab countries do not wish ill
and do not look for confrontation with Iran; quite the opposite in fact. As we
all face the same invisible enemy, today is a good time for Iran to disengage
from regional files that do not threaten its national security — such as Yemen
and Lebanon — to focus on its own domestic development. The best way for Iran to
break its isolation is by backtracking from its hegemonic agenda and nuclear
program and pursuing a more transparent and good-willed foreign policy.
Unfortunately, Iran seems to be stuck in a 1980s paradigm, where COVID-19
replaces Saddam Hussein.
As lockdowns have a heavy economic cost globally, uncertainty has become a
constant negative factor and the catalyst for a downturn. This translates into
difficult and unanswered questions for every country: What comes after the
confinement policies end if new cases keep appearing? What if it takes longer
than expected? What if, after all these measures, numbers spike again in
September? How do economies reopen while making sure people stay safe? It is now
clear that continued lockdowns will have a catastrophic impact on countries’
economies, which will take years to rebuild. As unemployment skyrockets and
businesses are shattered, this can quickly lead to social instability, if not
total chaos or war.
Therefore, the main objective of governmental action should be to deal with this
uncertainty. This is by far the most dangerous virus. It was the virus of
uncertainty that had people in developed countries fighting for toilet paper and
rushing to stock up as if the world was ending. The world will not end; humanity
will get through this. But there is an immediate need for more transparency and
concerted efforts between governments and the private sector in order to deal
with the potential scenario of the partial failure of containment policies
and/or the appearance of a second spike of cases later this year. The world will
need to reopen for business by the end of April and stay open while keeping
people as safe as possible. Sweden and South Korea might serve as examples, as
they went the opposite way and did not impose stringent confinement policies.
In the Middle East, the coming months will be crucial and a new page can be
turned. It could be the start of the building of a new region. A regional
post-pandemic Marshall Plan approach could propel the Middle East into
prosperity for all. For this to succeed, Iran needs to renounce the opacity it
cultivates.
Unfortunately, Iran seems to be stuck in a 1980s paradigm, where COVID-19
replaces Saddam Hussein.
The opportunity is real, as we stand between east and west, between China and
the US. The region should be a land of partnerships, business opportunities,
reconciliations and prosperity, not one of endless proxy wars. Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman has shown Saudi Arabia’s resolve for defending regional
interests and its ability to face major challenges without shifting from the
transformation goals set for the Kingdom. This is particularly clear with the
G20 preparations, as well as the focus on OPEC+ negotiations and taking timely
decisions to fight COVID-19.
More broadly, Gulf countries have been very transparent and forthcoming about
the coming challenges and have allocated billions of dollars in support of the
private sector. This transparency, with a focused leadership, is a good and
trustworthy framework for Iran to join. The ball is now in Iran’s court.
*Khaled Abou Zahr is CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the
editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.