LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 05/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For today
They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to
licentiousness, greedy to practise every kind of impurity
Letter to the Ephesians 04/17-24:”Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord:
you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds.
They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because
of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and
have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practise every kind of
impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard
about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put
away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts,
and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the
new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and
holiness.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese
& Lebanese Related News published on July 04-05/2019
Lebanese Officials Doubt Success of Satterfield’s Mediation
Jumblatt Urges Aoun to Put Limits to Bassil’s Behavior
Report: Bassil’s Visit to Tripoli Still as Planned
Report: Hariri Seeks FPM-PSP Meeting in Baabda
Ibrahim Says Things on Right Track as Gharib Meets Berri
Arslan Warns of Attempts to Cover Up for Ones Involved in Qabrshmoun Incident
Activists end protest in front of Beirut municipality
Geagea to Aoun: Don’t Let Anyone Spoil Your Presidential Term
Report: Bkirki Urges Appeasement, Says Christian-Druze Reconciliation Must Be
Stabilized
Several Injured, Missing as Station's Fuel Tanks Explode in Bakhoun
Lebanese 'Game Cooks' Wins the VR and Beyond Challenge for Burj Khalifa Dubai
Nostalgia bridges past and future at Beirut Design Week 2019
The forgotten Lebanese
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports
And News published on July 04-05/2019
Iran says it can talk to US if sanctions lifted, Khamenei permits
Trump warns Iran to be ‘careful with threats’
Syria, Iran Coordinate After Israeli Raids
Erdogan Offers to Mediate Between Washington, Tehran
Erdogan Says US Refusal to Deliver F-35 Jets Would Be 'Robbery'
Ships Vanish to Evade Sanctions on Iran
Palestinians Demand UNESCO Permanent Representative in Jerusalem
Oman Denies Establishing Ties with Israel
Pederson Visits Moscow to Complete Formation of Syria Constitutional Committee
Three French women arrested in Turkey for ISIS links
Canada condemns attack on migrant and refugee centre in Libya
Kuwaiti Finance Minister Survives No-Confidence Vote
Iraq: ISIS Sleeper Cells Revived on Demand
Australia Seeks to Ban Extremists' Return for 2 Years
Japan Voices Readiness to Act as Impartial Peace Broker in Palestinian-Israeli
Conflict
Alarm Raised on Need for Vigilance for Saudi Tourists in Turkey
Prominent Algeria Businessman Jailed for Corruption Amid News on Arrest of
Sellal’s Son
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on July 04-05/2019
Nostalgia bridges past and future at Beirut
Design Week 2019/Maysaa Ajjan and Mohamad Shour/Annahar/July 04/2019
The forgotten Lebanese/Joseph Hchaime/Annahar/July 04/2019
Ships Vanish to Evade Sanctions on Iran/New York - Michael Forsythe and Ronen
Bergman/The New York Times/Thursday, 4 July, 2019
Opinion/Jared Kushner’s Plan for Palestine Is Even Crazier Than You Thought/Teresita
Cruz-Del Rosario and Victor Kattan/Haaretz/July 04/2019
Trump on Iran – more bark than bite? - analysis/Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem
Post/July 04/2019
Germany: A Shocking Degree of Self-Censorship/Judith Bergman/Gatestone
Institute/July 04/2019
Who is Actually Controlling Iran Policy in the Trump Administration?/Michael
Young/Carnegie Middle East Centre/July 04/2019
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News published on July 04-05/2019
Lebanese Officials Doubt Success of Satterfield’s Mediation
Beirut - Khalil Fleihan/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 04/2019
Recent meetings between US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
David Satterfield and Lebanese officials raised doubts over the success of his
mediation on the demarcation of the borders with Israel. The Lebanese are now
suspecting that Israel was dealing with the issue with “bad faith”, after
Satterfield had conveyed more than once positive hints on Israel’s approval of
the proposed Lebanese mechanism. Official sources who attended the US envoy’s
meetings in Lebanon said that the latter informed the Lebanese side of the
Israeli response to the proposal, namely its refusal to hold demarcation
negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations and its rejection to
commit to a simultaneous demarcation of the maritime and land borders. According
to the sources, “the Israeli side considers that the UNIFIL forces do not have
an international mandate to take care of the negotiations on the demarcation of
the maritime border, as long as there is no Security Council resolution in this
regard." Moreover, according to the sources, Satterfield told Lebanese officials
that Israel insisted that the duration of the negotiations would stretch over a
period of 6 months and that the agreement be implemented after the expiry of
this period. Lebanon attaches great importance to the demarcation of the
borders, especially the maritime ones, to accelerate the exploration of oil and
gas in the economic zone of its southern territorial waters.
Jumblatt Urges Aoun to Put Limits to Bassil’s Behavior
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 4 July, 2019
Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblatt has called on Lebanese
President Michel Aoun to put limits to the “childish behavior” of his
son-in-law, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. The Druze leader’s comments came at
a time when Lebanese leaders were still struggling to contain the repercussions
of Sunday’s clashes in the Aley region of the Shouf mountains, where two
bodyguards of Minister of State for Displaced Affairs Saleh al-Gharib, a Druze
minister who is close to Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, were killed after his
convoy came under fire. Following an extraordinary session of the Druze
Community Council held Wednesday in Beirut, under the chairmanship of Druze
Sheikh Naiim Hassan, Jumblatt lashed out at the raids launched to arrest
suspects involved in the clashes. He also replied to Defense Minister Elias Bou
Saad, who said that what happened in the mountains was an ambush.
“Bassil’s provocative rhetoric has led to the escalation,” Jumblatt said. For
his part, Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday that the Mountain has its
own particularity. “What is happening cannot be dealt with by means of politics
alone, or security alone or the judiciary alone. It should be addressed
interdependently,” Berri was quoted as saying at his weekly meeting with
deputies. Meanwhile, several meetings were held to contain the repercussions of
the clashes. Bou Saab met with head of the Lebanese Democratic Party MP Talal
Arslan and Gharib to discuss the latest security developments in the village of
Qabrshmoun. For his part, Jumblatt received at his Beirut residence General
Security Chief Abbas Ibrahim before meeting Prime Minister Saad Hariri, upon the
invitation of Berri. The Jumblatt-Hariri meeting aimed to mend shaky relations
between the Mustaqbal Movement and the PSP.
Report: Bassil’s Visit to Tripoli Still as Planned
Naharnet/July 04/2019
A planned visit to the northern city of Tripoli by Free Patriotic Movement chief
Foreign Minister Jebran is “still on time,” the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper
reported on Thursday. “Bassil’s visit to Tripoli is still on time,” an FPM
source told the daily, refuting reports that it was cancelled after the
Qabrshmoun deadly incident on Sunday. The source rejected claims that Bassil’s
“visits to various regions in Lebanon are meant for political goals.”“Head of
the FPM is touring several regions in order to meet with his supporters,
partisans and people, and to lend a listening ear to their demands. The FPM has
offices in all Lebanese areas,” he stressed. The source added that the “visits
come in the context of openness and communication with all groups and sects,
especially that the FPM not only includes Christians but also has cadres from
different (religious) sects.”
Report: Hariri Seeks FPM-PSP Meeting in Baabda
Naharnet/July 04/2019
A meeting was held Thursday between Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Industry
Minister Wael Abu Faour, who was dispatched by Progressive Socialist Party chief
Walid Jumblat following a PSP meeting, LBCI TV said. “The meeting is a follow-up
to yesterday's meeting in Ain el-Tineh and to Jumblat's announcement from the
headquarters of the Druze religious authority that he is willing to show
openness towards all parties,” the TV network said. “This coincides with the
role that Hariri is playing in reconciling viewpoints between the Free Patriotic
Movement and the PSP, amid reports that these parties could meet at the Baabda
Palace,” LBCI added. The efforts are aimed at containing the repercussions of
the deadly Qabrshmoun incident, which resulted in the death of two bodyguards of
State Minister for Refugee Affairs Saleh al-Gharib, who belongs to the Lebanese
Democratic Party which is opposed to the PSP. Several other people were wounded
in the incident which has sent tensions soaring in the Aley district. The LDP
and the PSP have traded blame, with the former describing the incident as an
ambush and the latter accusing Gharib's bodyguards of firing at protesters. The
protesters were blocking the road to prevent FPM chief Jebran Bassil from
touring the region.
Ibrahim Says Things on Right Track as Gharib Meets Berri
Naharnet/July 04/2019
General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim on Thursday announced that
“things are on the right track” in the efforts to contain the repercussions of
the deadly Qabrshmoun incident. “I will not discuss the issue of the numbers” of
those arrested, said Ibrahim after meeting Lebanese Democratic Party chief MP
Talal Arslan in Khalde. “The issue of the Judicial Council is not within my
jurisdiction seeing as it is related to politics,” he added. “Ex-MP Walid
Jumblat said something essential yesterday by announcing that he is under the
law,” Ibrahim went on to say. State Minister for Refugee Affairs Saleh al-Gharib
of the LDP meanwhile visited Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh. Berri had met
with Jumblat and Prime Minister Saad Hariri overnight. “I sensed Speaker Berri's
keenness on stability in Mount Lebanon and the truth remains the same even if it
does not find public support. He knows the truth and he is thanked for his
efforts,” Gharib said after the meeting. Two of Gharib's bodyguards were killed
and a third was wounded while three Jumblat supporters were injured in a clash
involving the minister's convoy in Qabrshmoun. The two parties have traded blame
over the incident, with Gharib and Arslan describing it as an ambush and
Jumblat's Progressive Socialist Party accusing the minister's bodyguards of
forcing their way and opening fire on protesters.
Arslan Warns of Attempts to Cover Up for Ones Involved in Qabrshmoun Incident
Naharnet/July 04/2019
Head of the Lebanese Democratic Party MP Talal Arslan on Thursday echoed a stern
warning from attempts to hand over innocent people to cover up for the actual
perpetrators of Qabrshmoun incident, which strongly shook civil peace and state
security alike, the National News Agency reported. Arslan reiterated President
Michel Aoun’s words with concern to the fact that there were two different paths
to deal with Qabrshmoun incident. "First, there's the judicial track to punish
the agitators and the perpetrators; second, there's the political track which is
based on national basis for the establishment of the Republic," Arslan
added."This is our clear and honest position; there is no room for approving any
other futile proposals," Arslan added, thanking the security forces and Major
General Abbas Ibrahim for their efforts.
Activists end protest in front of Beirut municipality
NNA -Thu 04 Jul 2019
Activists from the civil society and "Sabaa" and "National Dialogue" parties
have ended their protest in front of Beirut municipality, National News Agency
correspondent reported on Thursday.
Geagea to Aoun: Don’t Let Anyone Spoil Your Presidential Term
Naharnet/July 04/2019
Leader of the Lebanese Forces Party Samir Geagea on Thursday addressed a message
to President Michel Aoun, urging him to intervene to save his presidential term,
the National News Agency reported. “This is your presidential term, do not allow
anyone to spoil it,” Geagea said, in reference to Aoun’s son-in-law, Foreign
Minister and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jeban Bassil without naming him.
Geagea explained that the first message he addressed from Verdun was that "there
is no problem between the Druze and the Christians in the Mountain,” stressing
adherence to a historic 2001 so-called Mountain Reconciliation between the Druze
and Christians. "We have proved to be a large Christian party that is strongly
present in the Mountain. We are committed to the Reconciliation of the Mountain
until the end. All parties must exert efforts to preserve and protect it and
avoid any behavior or speech that could negatively affect it," he said in an
interview with French-language Beirut newspaper L'Orient Le Jour. Geagea said
the "Maarab agreement is firm and stable,” in reference to the 2016 agreement
between the onetime foes, himself and FPM founder Aoun. Geagea had withdrawn
from the presidential race in favor of Aoun endorsing him for the head of State
post.“Despite all the differences with Bassil we are keen on it. Those
differences should in no way hinder reconciliation with the FPM,” he said. "We
are also keen to maintain good relations with Prime Minister Saad Hariri," said
Geagea. "As for the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblat,
our good relations with him stem from the Mountain Reconciliation,” he said.
Report: Bkirki Urges Appeasement, Says Christian-Druze Reconciliation Must Be
Stabilized
Naharnet/July 04/2019
Following the Qabrshmoun shooting incident, Bkirki emphasized that it will spare
no effort to stabilize the Christian-Druze reconciliation, al-Joumhouria daily
reported on Thursday. “Bkirki refuses any imbalance between the same members of
the Druze community or between the Christians and the Druze. Bkirki will spare
no effort to stabilize the reconciliation and stop any attempts to destabilize
it,” unnamed Bkirki sources told the daily. “Bkirki believes that any defect in
any region of Lebanon also affects it in the core. National unity and
understanding between all the Lebanese, within a single sect or between
different sects and religions, is required today more than ever before,” added
the sources. Sunday’s deadly shooting in the Aley town of Qabrshmoun, triggered
tension between the Progressive Socialist Party of Druze leader Walid Jumblat,
and the Christian Free Patriotic Movement of Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil.
Concerns arose that the tension would “shake” a historic 2001 recociliation
between the Christians and Druze. On Sunday, PSP supporters closed roads in
Qabrshmoun to prevent Bassil from touring the region. Moreover, an armed clash
erupted between the convoy of Saleh al-Gharib, the minister of state handling
refugee issues, and the people who were closing the road to prevent Bassil from
passing. Two guards were killed and one person was critically injured. Sunday’s
move reportedly came as a reaction to Bassil’s “provocative” political rhetoric.
Reconciliation between the Druze and Christian communities came to fruition on
August 8, 2001, when the Maronite Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir made a
historic visit to the Chouf and met with the Druze and Chouf leader, Walid
Jumblat.
Several Injured, Missing as Station's Fuel Tanks Explode in Bakhoun
Naharnet/July 04/2019
Several people were injured Wednesday as fuel tanks exploded at the al-Shahrouq
station in the Dinniyeh district town of Bakhoun. The blast fully destroyed the
two-story station amid ambiguity over the fate of its five workers, the National
News Agency said. Nearby shops and houses were also damaged by the explosion
according to TV networks.
Lebanese 'Game Cooks' Wins the VR and Beyond Challenge for Burj Khalifa Dubai
Naharnet/July 04/2019
Game Cooks, a leading gaming studio of mobile and Virtual Reality (VR) content
based in San Francisco and Beirut, has won the “VR and Beyond” challenge
organized by Dubai Future Accelerators in partnership with Burj Khalifa and HTC
Vive Middle East.
Game Cooks competed with around 115 VR companies from around the world and was
shortlisted among 6 finalists before earning the first rank. The event
organizers had invited VR developers and companies to build VR content for Burj
Khalifa to enhance visitors’ experience. The competition rewards the most
captivating and memorable user experience in virtual reality. Game Cooks’ award
winning VR experience entitled “Dubai – A Rising Falcon” was developed in a
record time for the event. It earned them the first prize of AED 500,000 and the
publishing of their VR experience on HTC VIVE’s Viveport. The company will also
get to install its VR experience at the top of Burj Khalifa, the tallest
building in the world and a global icon, making it accessible to millions of
visitors. On this occasion, Games Cooks founder and CEO Lebnan Nader said: “This
award goes not only to our team of dedicated and creative developers, but also
to Lebanon because it is a reminder that our country holds an impressive pool of
talents whose creativity, knowledge and competence drive their success anywhere
in the world no matter the conditions or the competition.”He continued: “The VR
gaming industry is expected to grow significantly over the coming five years and
to bring new dynamics for both consumers and businesses. Our aim is to pursue
our efforts in creating immersive experiences, new levels of interaction and new
gaming content. As VR technology evolves, we will keep contributing to an
elevated VR gaming experience in our home country Lebanon, the region and
throughout the world.”On his final note, Nader hoped to inspire young Lebanese
developers and entrepreneurs to pursue their endeavors and to know that
perseverance is key to success.
Nostalgia bridges past and future at Beirut Design Week
2019
Maysaa Ajjan and Mohamad Shour/Annahar/July 04/2019
An interesting lineup of local and international creatives will uncover the
theme of nostalgia through a series of workshops, exhibitions, and talks.
BEIRUT: Nostalgia has always been integral in post-war Lebanese culture; looking
back sentimentally at what existed before this upheaval.
With the recent revival of specific trends in architecture, crafts, fashion,
advertising, and other sectors, many artists have come forward to “reclaim” this
lost culture, a movement that is perfectly captured by the Beirut Design Week,
2019.
This year, artists, tech innovators, designers, and thinkers collectively
explore the concept of nostalgia through the lens of present and future designs
in a signature event which takes place from July 1 to July 7. An interesting
lineup of local and international creatives will uncover the theme through a
series of workshops, exhibitions, and talks.
“We came up with the theme of nostalgia because it’s a very relevant theme to us
today, especially with all the technological advancements around us,” Rola
Ghotmeh, founder of The Creative 9 agency, and this year’s managing director for
Beirut Design Week, told Annahar.
She added: “We see that people today have a lot of questions on whether to move
on to the future and forget the past, or to draw inspiration from the past and
move to a better future."The event’s first talk was about pursuing creativity
through time and space by Danish designer Johannes Torpe, who, since the age of
five, has been influenced by the sci-fi culture through his mother. “Everything
comes from nostalgia, even when you’re talking about futurism,” Torpe told
Annahar, adding: “You have to have the memory storage to draw upon in order to
create something new.”
After that came a panel led by NAHNOO organization, a youth-led NGO that works
on good governance, preserving public spaces, and preserving cultural heritage.
Their talk, titled “Crafting Future Heritage,” revolved around the history and
modernization of crafts and their link to the Armenian culture in Beirut,
specifically Bourj Hammoud.
The participants, which included household names like Joanne Bajjaly from
Biladiorganization and Arpi Magassarian from Badgeur center, also spoke of
empowering rural women through teaching them how to do “mouneh” (traditional
storage of homemade goods) and market themselves.
On Wednesday morning, type designer Pascal Zoghby, who is also a calligrapher,
gave a talk on how Arabic typography continues to define itself in the age of
technology and design. “We aspire to give designers a wide variety of styles to
allow them to have different voices, as with various approaches, the Arabic
letter becomes geometric in its structure,” Zoghby said during his talk. Zoghby
had the chance to delve deeper into the geometric structures of the Arabic
letter, with a workshop that followed his talk. Participants were given the
chance for a hands-on experience, where they were asked to create their own
“kufic” lettering based on their choice of dialect. They then created posters
using their own "kufic" designs.
Taking place in parallel with the curated talks and workshops, were the
exhibitions and installations of some Beirut’s most prominent artists. From
Hamra to Mar Mikhael to Bourj Hammoud, these installations merged the concepts
of old and new to create a modern take on art with a nostalgic effect.
“My work is all about nostalgia; it’s about looking back in order to look
forward,” conceptual designer Nada Debs, who was displaying part of her
marquetry mania collection at Starco, told Annahar. “People see my products and
they always think it reminds them of their parents or grandparents. It’s a
modern memory; this is how we define ourselves,” she continued. Plasticine
artist and designer, Sibylle Abillama, was also one of the participating artists
to display her work at her boutique in Gemmayze. “The first thing that popped in
my head was old objects like cassettes, old phones, coasters, shishas and
handbags,” said Abillama. “I remembered the golden days of Beirut and I always
think to myself ‘where are you, Beirut?’” she added. The event carries on into
the weekend, where many more exhibitions, talks, and workshops await the
attendees.
The forgotten Lebanese
Advocacy groups have come a long way in voicing the concerns of disabled
individuals but we still have a long way to go.
Joseph Hchaime/Annahar/July 04/2019
I graduated from college in finance and economics a few years back. I took
courses in finance, economics, management, and accounting. I sent out my resume
to various companies. Like many Lebanese in this difficult economy, with youth
unemployment at 37%, I struggled to obtain a job. After numerous rejections,
which I absorbed with patience, I shook off the disappointment, and armed with
our renowned Lebanese optimism, kept trying. Finally, perseverance paid off, and
after many more interviews, I landed my dream job, with a prestigious
multi-national organization — one of the Big 4 accounting firms.
The job was challenging and fulfilling, but a few weeks later, I was admitted to
the hospital because I had suppressed my physiological need to go to the
bathroom for the whole day, which caused a severe kidney infection. You may ask
yourself why I did that, but, you see, I’m physically challenged, and due to the
workspace not being accessible, it would require me to go through the
embarrassment of asking my coworkers to help me up and down the stairs to the
bathroom, and assist me inside, while I interrupted their work several times a
day.
It didn’t start with this company. I was born this way. The statistics were
stacked against me, but for whatever reason, here I am, and I love life, and I
have a tiny spot in this vast universe. Life was a struggle from day one, as I
was in and out of operating rooms since I was literally one day old, undergoing
over twenty surgeries as of this writing, not including minor procedures. When
friends of mine stand at the top of the Saint Nicholas stairs in Achrafieh, they
gaze down and see quaint, old, romantic stairs, that they descend and admire the
cute cafes on each side. I also see that beauty, but also a nightmare that I
cannot surpass, that I cannot easily enjoy, without significant assistance and
inconvenience for my friends or relatives.
In college, I thought it would get easier, but I was wrong. I had to be shuttled
from one building to the next, with no attempt by the administration to
accommodate people like me, with suitable alternatives. But I graduated,
nonetheless. Since then, I have not been able to find work in any company with
an accessible workplace. I have been invited to many job interviews, and even
though my qualifications were more than sufficient for the job, the workplaces
were not properly prepared to host people like me, with ramps, accessible
toilets, and other basics that fellow citizens take for granted.
Banks and multinational corporations, which pride themselves on their Corporate
Social Responsibility policy, have continuously disregarded the needs of the
physically challenged, be it employees or clients. Even government buildings,
such as the Sérail, do not have accessibility ramps at the entrance.
When I went for my driving license, I had to climb a flight of stairs in an old
building to take my exam, but I could not do the practical test because they did
not have a car with hand controls.
When I give my car to the valet, invariably, I have to ask them for assistance
to get to my destination. In the few parking garages, with spots reserved for
us, they are usually occupied with cars driven by people who think we don’t
exist or maybe don’t care.
Advocacy groups have come a long way in voicing the concerns of disabled
individuals but we still have a long way to go.
Recently, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
organized a seminar in Beirut focused on the inclusion of the disabled in the
workplace. The speakers admitted that not enough was being done to improve the
conditions needed to accommodate challenged individuals and promised to do more,
but, unfortunately, nothing practical has materialized since.
Back in 2000, the Lebanese Parliament adopted Law 220, which safeguards the
rights of disabled persons in the workplace, including a 3% mandatory hiring
quota; however, it went largely unenforced. Minister Gibran Basil hired a
consultant with special needs, which gave us a lot of hope, and we’re looking
forward to some positive change in the future. Many agencies provided us with
assistance, and we’re highly appreciative, but what we’re really looking for is
not handouts. We want to be productive members of society and contribute in our
own right, through our work, our ideas, our brains, and our creativity. All we
need is a small push, by employers voluntarily complying with existing laws, to
help us unleash our huge potential and become full citizens of this beautiful
country. Given the economic conditions in the country, I can understand how this
is not an urgent matter for the government. Tens of thousands of people were
physically handicapped during the war, and others, like me, know nothing else.
They call the war survivors living martyrs — but we’re not martyrs, and damn it
— we’re very much alive.
*Joseph Hchaime is a financial consultant, author, and motivational blogger. He
is also an activist for social inclusion and equality.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
July 04-05/2019
Iran says it can talk to US if sanctions
lifted, Khamenei permits
Reuters/Dubai Thursday, 4 July 2019
Iran’s intelligence minister said Tehran and Washington could hold talks only if
the United States ended its sanctions and Iran’s top authority allowed the talks
between the arch foes, state news agency IRNA reported on Thursday. “Holding
talks with America can be reviewed by Iran only if (US President Donald) Trump
lifts the sanctions and our supreme leaders gives permission to hold such
talks,” said Mahmoud Alavi on late Wednesday. “Americans were scared of Iran’s
military power that is the reason behind their decision to abort the decision to
attack Iran.”Trump said last month that he aborted a military strike to
retaliate for Iran’s downing of an unmanned US drone on June 20 because it could
have killed 150 people, and signaled he was open to talks with Tehran. On
Wednesday, President Trump warned Iran that its threats could “come back to
bite” after Tehran vowed to exceed the maximum uranium enrichment level allowed
by the 2015 nuclear deal. Rouhani said Wednesday’s decision to exceed the
enrichment limit was in response to failure by other parties to the deal to keep
up their promises and provide Iran relief from the US sanctions.
Trump warns Iran to be ‘careful with threats’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya/English Thursday, 4 July 2019
US President Donald Trump warned Iran Wednesday its threats could “come back to
bite” after Tehran vowed to exceed the maximum uranium enrichment level allowed
by the 2015 nuclear deal. “Iran has just issued a New Warning. Rouhani says that
they will Enrich Uranium to ‘any amount we want’ if there is no new Nuclear
Deal,” Trump tweeted, referring to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani. “Be careful
with the threats, Iran. They can come back to bite you like nobody has been
bitten before!” Iran is acting on its May 8 threat to suspend parts of the
agreement in response to Trump’s reimposition of crippling sanctions after
withdrawing from it in May last year. Rouhani said Wednesday’s decision to
exceed the enrichment limit was in response to failure by other parties to the
deal to keep up their promises and provide Iran relief from the US sanctions.
The enrichment maximum set in the agreement is sufficient for power generation
but far below the more than 90 percent level required for a nuclear weapon.
Syria, Iran Coordinate After Israeli Raids
Damascus, London- Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 4 July, 2019
Syria is ready to retaliate against Israel’s recent deadly airstrikes “twice as
harsh”, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad announced Tuesday. “Syria
is always ready to reciprocate twice as harsh” against Israeli attacks,
according to Mekdad who was speaking at a press conference after a meeting
between Foreign Minister Walid Moallem with senior aide of the Iranian foreign
minister Ali-Asghar Khaji. He called on the United States and the UN Security
Council to be aware of the danger of such developments because Syria would not
be silent about its rights to retaliate against the strikes.
“The world, the UN Security Council and the United Nations itself need to
understand the danger of such a development since Syria will not keep silent
about its right.”Mekdad indicated that Syria "is at war with Israel everywhere",
fighting terrorist groups that Tel Aviv uses as “tools”.
Regarding relations with Iran, Mekdad stressed that they are “strategic,
pointing out that the explosive situation in the region requires more
coordination and mutual visits. On the cooperation between Damascus and Tehran
in dealing with the impact of the sanctions on the two countries, Mekdad Syria
signed hundreds of economic and political agreements with Iran, and discussed
activating them, and strengthening cooperation in light of the harsh sanctions
against both countries. For his part, the Iranian official described the talks
in Damascus as “very constructive”, adding that there were extensive talks on
the need to activate and develop bilateral relations between the two countries
in various fields. Khaji pointed out that he discussed in Damascus positive and
constructive developments in Syria, and that there was a common emphasis on the
need to consolidate and strengthen the strategic and distinguished relations
between the two brotherly countries. Meanwhile, Russia announced Tuesday that
Israeli raids in Syria blatantly violated Syria's sovereignty. Russia has
maintained close ties with Syria and Israel despite tensions between the two
neighbors during the Syrian civil war. Moscow said Tuesday Israel was behind a
series of airstrikes on targets in Syria on Monday morning, adding that six
Israeli fighter jets operating inside Lebanese airspace conducted the pre-dawn
raid. Sixteen people were reportedly killed during Monday’s strikes, including
six civilians.
“We are concerned about this alarming development of the situation,” Russian
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a press briefing. Force
actions that grossly violate the sovereignty of Syria, not only do not
contribute to the normalization of the situation in this country, but also carry
a threat of regional destabilization, Zakharova noted.
Erdogan Offers to Mediate Between Washington, Tehran
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 4 July, 2019
Ankara expressed its willingness to mediate between Tehran and Washington to
ease tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.
In comments published Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he
had discussed the issue of a possible mediation with Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of a G-20 meeting. Abe asked Erdogan whether Turkey
and Japan could act together, to which Erdogan responded that he would be
willing to meet with Iran’s leaders, the Associated Press reported. Erdogan
spoke to Turkish journalists during a visit to China and his statements were
published in the pro-government Sabah newspaper. Earlier, Iran warned that it
will increase its enrichment of uranium as tensions rise a year after President
Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with
world powers. Meanwhile, Turkey-US ties are under strain over Ankara's purchase
of the Russian S-400 air defence system, which is due for delivery in the coming
days. Erdogan said it would be "robbery" for the United States to deny Turkey
the F-35 fighter jets it has bought, according to comments published on
Thursday. Washington has threatened to cancel Turkey's order of 116 F-35 fighter
jets and kick it off the training and production programme, as well as wider
economic sanctions, Reuters reported. "If you seek a customer, and a customer
comes forward and makes payments like clockwork, how can you not give that
customer their goods? This would be robbery," Erdogan was quoted as saying by
Hurriyet daily. However, after meeting Trump on the sidelines of the G20,
Erdogan said he had been assured there would be no sanctions, while Trump blamed
the previous adminstration of Barack Obama for failing to finalize a deal for
Turkey to buy the American Patriot system instead of the S-400. According to
Reuters, Turkey has previously said Russia offered a better deal including joint
production.
In his latest comments, Erdogan said Trump's attitude was "praiseworthy."
Erdogan Says US Refusal to Deliver F-35 Jets Would Be
'Robbery'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 04/2019
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it would be "robbery" for the United States
to deny Turkey the F-35 fighter jets it has bought, according to comments
published on Thursday. Turkey-US ties are under serious strain over Ankara's
purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system, which is due for delivery in
the coming days. In response, Washington has threatened to cancel Turkey's order
of 116 F-35 fighter jets and kick it off the training and production programme,
as well as wider economic sanctions. "If you seek a customer, and a customer
comes forward and makes payments like clockwork, how can you not give that
customer their goods? This would be robbery," Erdogan was quoted as saying by
Hurriyet daily. He said Turkey had already paid $1.4 billion, while its defence
industry has ploughed significant sums into the warplanes' production. The
acting US defence secretary, Patrick Shanahan, wrote a letter to Ankara last
month, warning that Turkish pilots would be expelled from the US if the S-400
deal was not cancelled by July 31. But after meeting his US counterpart Donald
Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan on Saturday, Erdogan said he
had been assured there would be no sanctions.
Trump blamed the previous adminstration of Barack Obama for failing to finalise
a deal for Turkey to buy the American Patriot system instead of the S-400.
Turkey has previously said Russia offered a better deal including joint
production. In his latest comments, Erdogan said Trump's attitude was
"praiseworthy".
Ships Vanish to Evade Sanctions on Iran
New York - Michael Forsythe and Ronen Bergman/The New York Times/Thursday, 4
July, 2019
A week ago, a small tanker ship approached the Arabian Gulf after a 19-day
voyage from China. The captain, as required by international rules, reported the
ship’s position, course, speed and another key detail: It was riding high in the
water, meaning it was probably empty.
Then the Chinese-owned ship, the Sino Energy 1, went silent and essentially
vanished from the grid. It reported in again on Sunday, near the spot where it
had vanished six days earlier, only now it was heading east, away from the
Strait of Hormuz near Iran. If past patterns hold, the captain will soon report
that it is riding low in the water, meaning its tanks are most likely full. As
the Trump administration’s sanctions on Iranian oil and petrochemical products
have taken hold, some of the world’s shipping fleets have defied the
restrictions by “going dark” when they pick up cargo in Iranian ports, according
to commercial analysts who track shipping data and intelligence from authorities
in Israel.
“They are hiding their activity,” said Samir Madani, co-founder of
TankerTrackers.com, a company that uses satellite imagery to identify tankers
calling on Iranian ports. “They don’t want to broadcast the fact that they have
been in Iran, evading sanctions. It’s that simple.”
A maritime treaty overseen by a United Nations agency requires ships of 300 tons
or more that travel international routes to have an automatic identification
system. The gear helps avoid collisions and aids in search-and-rescue
operations. It also allows countries to monitor shipping traffic. Foreign
companies doing business with American companies or banks risk being punished by
the United States under the sanctions, which went into effect last November.
“We have sanctioned dozens of Chinese state-owned enterprises for nuclear,
missile, arms and other forms of proliferation ... but it is not entered into
lightly,” said Richard Nephew, a research scholar at Columbia University who
oversaw Iran policy on the National Security Council during the Obama
administration. Brian Hook, the United States special representative for Iran,
told reporters in London on Friday that the United States would punish any
country importing Iranian oil. Hook was responding to a question about reports
of Iranian oil going to Asia.
American and Israeli intelligence agencies say the country’s Revolutionary Guard
Corps is deeply entwined with its petrochemical industry, using oil revenues to
swell its coffers. Trump has labeled the military group a terrorist
organization. Iran has been trying to work around the American sanctions by
offering “significant reductions” in price for its oil and petrochemical
products, said Gary Samore, a professor at Brandeis University who worked on
weapons issues in the Obama administration. Last month, the Salina, an
Iranian-flagged oil tanker under American sanctions, docked in Jinzhou Bay, a
port in northeastern China, according to data from VesselsValue, a website that
analyzes global shipping information. The Salina regularly reported its
position, course and speed via the automatic identification system.
Oil tankers like the Salina, which can transport as much as a million barrels of
crude, or about 5 percent of the daily consumption of the United States, are so
big that they can call on only a limited number of ports. They are also more
easily spotted by satellites than smaller ships like the Sino Energy 1.
That vessel, and its more than 40 sister ships, are far more difficult to track
when they go off the grid. They were owned until April by a subsidiary of
Sinochem, a state-owned company in China that is one of the world’s biggest
chemical manufacturers.
Sinochem has extensive business ties in the United States. It has an office in
Houston and works with big American companies including Boeing and Exxon Mobil.
In March, it signed an agreement with Citibank to “deepen the partnership”
between the two companies, Sinochem said. In 2013, a United States subsidiary of
Sinochem bought a 40 percent stake in a Texas shale deposit for $1.7 billion.
Frank Ning, the chairman of Sinochem, speaking in a brief interview in Dalian,
China, said that shipping had not been central to the company’s business. In a
statement, the company said it had “adopted strict compliance policies and
governance on export control and sanctions,” though a former employee who had
helped manage the shipping business, speaking on the condition of anonymity,
said the company had shipped petrochemicals from Iran for years. The tracking
data also show that some of the Sinochem ships made trips to Iran before the
fleet was sold, and both before and after the American sanctions went into
effect. In April 2018, for example, one of the ships, the SC Brilliant, was
moored at Asalouyeh, a major Iranian petrochemical depot on the Arabian Gulf.
After Trump’s announcement last August that he would reimpose sanctions on
Iran’s petroleum industry, the SC Brilliant’s voyages became less transparent.
In late September and early October, shortly before the sanctions took effect,
the ship went off the grid for 10 days in the same stretch of the Strait of
Hormuz where the Sino Energy 1 disappeared last week. When the SC Brilliant went
off the grid, it appeared empty; when it re-emerged, it appeared full. The
pattern was repeated in February, with the ship disappearing for four days,
according to the tracking data. That month, another Sinochem ship, the SC
Neptune, stopped transmitting its position when it approached the Strait of
Hormuz, the tracking data show. Four days later, for a brief period, it appeared
back on the grid, transmitting its location from an export terminal on Iran’s
Kharg Island. It then went quiet for another 24 hours, reappearing on its way
out of the strait. In some parts of the world, including the South China Sea, it
is not uncommon for ships to go silent because the automatic identification
system may be overloaded by the volume of vessels, said Court Smith, a former
officer in the United States Coast Guard who is now an analyst at VesselsValue.
Sometimes they do so for competitive reasons, he added. But in the Arabian Gulf,
where traffic is lighter, Smith said, vessels generally do not turn off the
system, known in the industry as A.I.S. “If the A.I.S. signal is lost, it is
almost certainly because the A.I.S. transponder has been disabled or turned
off,” Smith said of ships in the Arabian Gulf. “The captain has decided to turn
off the A.I.S.” Another possible clue that Iran-bound ships are disabling their
reporting systems is that ships making trips to countries on the western part of
the gulf are not going off the grid.
Palestinians Demand UNESCO Permanent Representative in
Jerusalem
Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 4 July, 2019
A group of Israeli settlers led by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Uri Ariel stormed on Wednesday Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, causing
tension amid a call for The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization to have an observer in the occupied city. Head of media and public
relations in the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem Journalist Firas
Dibs said Ariel and a group of settlers forced their way into the holy site and
toured it under heavy security measures, carrying out Talmudic rituals in its
squares. The move came in light of restrictions imposed by Israel on
Palestinians wanting to enter the mosque. The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious
Affairs denounced these break-ins, demanding an end to what it called an
arrogance that will have undesirable consequences. It also condemned the
occupation policy aimed at displacing Palestinians by destroying their homes and
carrying out execution-style killings. Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
almost on a daily basis, creating a tense situation. Last June, 2,857 Jewish
extremists stormed the holy site, according to Palestinian data. Palestinians
accuse Israel of seeking to change the status quo at the site.Palestinian
Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki has called on UNESCO to send a permanent
observer to Jerusalem. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Maliki stressed
that this step aims at observing Israel’s violations and judaistic and
destructive measures to obliterate historical, cultural and religious landmarks
or change the status quo. “The Palestinian diplomacy will foil all their
attempts to destroy our heritage, our culture, our history and to change facts
on ground,” he added. Maliki highlighted the importance of international legal
institutions, including UNESCO, to expose the Israeli occupational plans based
on annihilating others and creating a new reality of illusions. The occupation
fears history and cultural heritage, Maliki said, calling on UN organizations,
especially UNESCO, to protect the heritage, culture and history of Jerusalem,
"the capital of the State of Palestine.” Maliki's statement was made one day
after the UN World Heritage Committee adopted a draft resolution on the Old City
of Jerusalem and its walls during its session in Baku.
Oman Denies Establishing Ties with Israel
Ramallah - Kifah Ziboun Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 4 July, 2019
Oman denied on Tuesday it was establishing ties with Israel. A reliable source
at Oman’s Foreign Ministry rejected the statements of Director of the Mossad
Yossi Cohen on renewing ties with the sultanate. Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in
a tweet that such claims were “baseless.”“The Sultanate is keen to make efforts
to prepare diplomatic conditions favorable to restoring contacts between all
international and regional parties in order to work to achieve peace between the
Palestinian Authority and the State of Israel’s government, leading to the
establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” it added. Yossi Cohen said
at the Herzliya Conference, hosted by the Interdisciplinary Center this week,
that: “Just recently, renewal of formal relations with Oman was declared and the
establishment of a representative office of the Foreign Ministry in that
country.” “That is only the visible tip of a much broader secret effort,” he
added. “We do not yet have with them official peace treaties, but there is
already a commonality of interests, broad cooperation and open channels of
communication.” Israel and Oman opened trade representative offices in the
1990s, but in 2000 the Gulf sultanate closed them. On the 26th of June, Oman
said it would open an embassy in the Palestinian territories, however, the step
was greeted warily by Palestinians. Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)
executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi welcomed countries' recognition of the
state of Palestine and opening embassies but warned Oman against using the new
embassy as a step toward establishing formal relations with Israel. “If this has
a political price attached then certainly there will be ramifications,” she
said. The authority’s announcement coincided with the convention of the second
and last day of "Peace to Prosperity" workshop in Manama that presented the
economic aspect of the US peace-plan in the Middle East – known as the Deal of
the Century -- Palestinians boycotted this conference.
Oman played a key role in narrowing the divergencies in views between
Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the Palestinian cause.
Pederson Visits Moscow to Complete Formation of Syria Constitutional Committee
Moscow - Raed Jabr/ Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 4 July, 2019
UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen is expected to visit Moscow on Thursday
for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other officials on
stepping up efforts to form Syria’s constitutional committee. Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin told journalists that the UN envoy will be in
Moscow for two days, saying the meeting between Lavrov and Pedersen is scheduled
for Friday. Diplomatic sources revealed that Moscow wants to discuss with the
envoy his vision on ways to resume Syria’s political process. They said Russian
officials will put a special focus on the establishment of the constitutional
committee to launch its work the soonest. The decision to set up the committee
was agreed during the Syrian National Dialogue Congress held in the Russian
Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 30, 2018. The committee, tasked with
drafting the country’s main laws, would include representatives of the Syrian
government and opposition, as well as civil society members. In the battlefield,
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday that the “fiercest
military operation” launched by Russia and the Syrian regime in northwest Syria
entered its 65th day. The Observatory said that this operation has failed at all
levels, because despite the unlimited Russian support to Syrian regime forces
and their allied militias, and despite launching around 46,000 airstrikes and
ground assaults, the Syrian forces advanced in only 20 areas in the countryside
of Hama and Idlib.
Three French women arrested in Turkey for ISIS links
AFP/Ankara Thursday, 4 July 2019
Three French citizens suspected of belonging to ISIS extremist group were
detained along with nine children as they tried to enter Turkey from Syria,
Turkish media reported on Thursday. Turkish authorities stopped the three women,
sought by Interpol and identified by their initials JC, CA and MD, in the border
province of Kilis, according to state news agency Anadolu. A security source
told AFP that JC referred to Jennifer Clain, niece of the brothers Fabien and
Jean-Michel Clain, who claimed responsibility on behalf of ISIS for the attacks
that hit the Bataclan nightclub and other Paris locations in November 2015. She
is also married to Kevin Gonot, a French citizen sentenced to death in Iraq last
May for his role in ISIS. Anadolu said 12 people had been arrested and were
being transferred to immigration authorities awaiting their expulsion from
Turkey. In the first years after the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Turkey was
the main point of entry for foreign fighters seeking to join extremist groups.
Accused of turning a blind eye to the problem, Ankara later tightened border
controls and began widespread arrests and extraditions, especially after a spate
of devastating extremist attacks in Turkey.
Canada condemns attack on migrant and refugee centre in
Libya
July 3, 2019 – Ottawa, Ontario, Global Affairs Canada
Global Affairs Canada today issued the following statement:
“Canada strongly condemns the airstrike on the migrant and refugee detention
centre in Tajoura, Libya, that occurred today. Our thoughts are with the wounded
and the families of those killed in this attack.
“Canada calls on all parties to the armed conflict in Libya to abide by their
obligations under international humanitarian law, including ensuring the
protection of civilians and allowing safe, rapid, and unhindered access to
humanitarian assistance for those in need.
“Canada reiterates the call for all parties to implement a ceasefire and work
towards political reconciliation in Libya, under UN-led efforts.”
Kuwaiti Finance Minister Survives No-Confidence Vote
Kuwait - Merza al-Khuwaldi/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 4 July, 2019
Kuwaiti Finance Minister Nayef al-Hajraf survived Wednesday a parliamentary
no-confidence vote called in response to a grilling motion tabled by 10
lawmakers on June 25. Hajraf won 32 votes against 16 in the no-confidence
session attended by 48 lawmakers. It was the second time for the finance
minister to survive a no-confidence vote in less than a month, the first time
being on June 11. Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Crown
Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah congratulated the minister on the
parliament’s renewed confidence. “You have placed confidence in me for the
second time,” Hajraf told lawmakers after the vote. “This trust implies a major
victory not for me personally, but for our democratic course of action,” he
added. The minister expressed frustration at the misleading campaigns through
various media platforms and social media websites against laws and legislation.
National Assembly Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim opened Wednesday’s session with four
items on its agenda including the no-confidence motion in addition to reviewing
the financial situation of the country and seven reports on investigation
requests in a number of topics. The MPs who submitted the motion are Riyadh al-Adsani,
Abdulkarim al-Kandari, Thamer al-Suwait, Khaled al-Otaibi, Bader al-Mulla, Adel
al-Damkhi, Abdulwahab al-Babtain, Farraj al-Arbeed, Majed al-Mutairi, and
Mohammad al-Mutair. Adel al-Damkhi stated that the interpellation concerns a
significant category of the society (the retired) and results from his pledge to
resolve the case of exorbitant interests on retirement loans. However, MP Nayef
Al-Mardas defended the minister, saying he was cooperative in resolving this
case and has shown tangible steps by attending four meetings of the financial
and economic affairs committee.
Iraq: ISIS Sleeper Cells Revived on Demand
Baghdad- Hamza Mustafa/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 4 July, 2019
The ISIS terrorist organization doesn’t pose a serious threat to Iraq, however,
its sleeper cells are dangerous, according to Iraqi officials and security
experts. Iraqi leaders and officials still believe the military institution is
capable of inflicting defeats on ISIS cells, despite warnings against the
emergence of new ranks of the terrorist organization, according to a US report
released this week. The only thing ISIS is capable of doing now is to occupy the
security forces and services, claims security expert Fadel Abu Raghef. Speaking
to Asharq Al-Awsat, the expert indicated that ISIS’ activity will not affect
official bodies’ pursuit of the terrorist organization, questioning the
organization’s ability to affect the security given that Iraqi intelligence and
military performance have developed a lot during the past years, and local
community’s rejection of these terrorists. Firefighters have successfully put
out a fire at a strategic oil pipeline in northern Iraq that links oil-rich
Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, a security source told Reuters on
Wednesday, adding that the pipeline is currently not operational. The source
explained that the fire started after six improvised explosive devices went off
in succession in the Ain al-Jahsh village of Nineveh province’s Shura
sub-district, 70 km south of Mosul. Sinjar mayor Mahma Khalil Agha warned of
ISIS sleeper cells in the disputed Sinjar district between Erbil and Baghdad.
Agha said in a statement that every now and then, these cells attack farmers and
Yazidi farm workers in Gohbal village, near Jari. He added that four cars
carrying armed fighters attacked farmers and Yazidi workers in the village, and
the farmers thwarted the attack without any help from army units, which did not
lift a finger. The mayor called for the replacement of the army forces in the
region because of their inability to control security. He pointed out that the
activities of these sleeper terrorist cells can bring back migration among
Yazidis, and lead to disruption of all plans devised by the Iraqi government for
the return of displaced persons to their areas. In other news, directorate of
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) announced the death of two ISIS elements and
the destruction of four vehicles, south of Tal Afar to the west of Mosul. PMF’s
“Security Media Unit” announced the death of four terrorists in a tunnel in
Nineveh. The unit announced that during a pre-emptive operation, a joint force
killed four terrorists who were inside a tunnel in the Sheikh Ibrahim mountain
range.
Australia Seeks to Ban Extremists' Return for 2 Years
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 4 July, 2019
Australia's government on Thursday proposed new laws that would prevent
extremist Australians from returning home for up to two years, as the country
prepares for the repatriation of ISIS supporters from the Middle East. Home
Affairs Minister Peter Dutton introduced the legislation based on British law as
part of a raft of counterterrorism and asylum seeker bills in the first
parliamentary session since elections in May, the Associated Press reported. The
law would give Dutton the power to prevent suspected Australian extremists from
returning home for up to two years while law enforcement authorities made plans
to manage the risk posed. The orders could also apply to Australians who
intelligence agencies assess to be a "risk to security for reasons related to
politically motivated violence." According to the AP, Dutton said 230
Australians had flown to Syria and Iraq to fight with extremist groups since
2012. "Around 80 are still active in conflict zones. The advice of Australia's
national security agencies is that many Australians of counterterrorism concern
who have traveled to Iraq and Syria to engage in that conflict are likely to
seek to return to Australia in the very near future," Dutton told Parliament.
"This bill will ensure that law enforcement agencies can effectively manage
these returns in a way that will reduce the threat to the Australian community,"
he added. The order could not be applied to an Australian under 14 years old.
When considering making an order against children aged 15 to 17, Dutton must
make the child's interests his primary consideration. The orders can be appealed
to review boards, but the reasons might not be revealed if the disclosure of
that information was not in the public interest, Dutton said. Dutton said the
need for such orders was highlighted on Tuesday when 20-year-old Sydney man
Isaak el Matari was arrested and charged with plotting a terrorist attack in
Sydney and attempting to fly to Afghanistan to fight with ISIS. Matari had
returned to Australia in June last year from Lebanon, where he had spent time in
prison for allegedly attempting to travel to Syria to fight. He underwent a
deradicalization program on his return to Sydney and was under continuous police
surveillance.
Japan Voices Readiness to Act as Impartial Peace Broker in
Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
London/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 04/2019
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, in an interview with sister news outlet
Arab News, voiced his belief in Tokyo needing to undertake a key pro-peace
political role in the Middle East generally, and the Arab world in particular.
“We can play an honest broker in the Middle East, as we have no colonial history
or negative footprint in the region,” Kono told Arab News’ Editor-in-Chief
Faisal J.Abbas in Tokyo. The senior diplomat also underscored that it was in his
country’s best interest to establish and consolidate regional stability. “Our
energy depends on imports, mostly from the Gulf region. Forty percent of crude
oil we import comes from Saudi Arabia and 80 percent of crude oil we import goes
through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as 20 percent of our natural gas. So
stability and peace in the Middle East are directly connected to our economy,”
he said. Reflecting Tokyo's awareness of dangers of the situation in the region,
Kono’s remarks followed an attack last month which targeted a Japanese oil
tanker in the Gulf of Oman during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Tehran.
While the United States was quick to blame Iran, Tokyo's official position was
calm and reserved. Addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict, Kono said: “Japan has
been investing quite heavily in the West Bank. We have worked with Palestinians,
Israelis and Jordanians to set up an industrial park near Jericho and it’s been
going very well. Also, Japan set up a framework called the CEAPAD (Conference in
Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development) to bring
Southeast Asia to this peace process. We wanted to share how we develop the
Asian economy and we want to share our experience with Palestinians and people
in the region.” When asked about the exceptional meeting that joined Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman with Prime Minister Abe on the sidelines of the G20
summit and the bilateral relations between Japan and Saudi Arabia, Kono
reiterated his country’s support for the Kingdom Vision 2030 and highlighted
anticipation for growing shared relations. “Mainly we confirmed the progress of
Japan and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. The Japanese government and the Japanese
private sector are determined to support His Royal Highness’s reform agenda in
the Kingdom, and when His Majesty King Salman visited Japan in 2017 we agreed on
this Japan-Saudi Arabia Vision 2030,” Kono said. “Our relationship started out
with Japan’s import of crude oil and export of automobiles, but we wanted to
develop the relationship further, so it’s not limited to energy and industry,
but this vision includes cultural exchange, entertainment and many other
(aspects). “
Labelling the Saudi-Japanese relation as “diversified,” Kono noted that Abe and
the Crown Prince had confirmed that much progress has been made. “So we agreed
on the next stage, Japan-Saudi Arabia vision 2030 version 2. I think we can go
even deeper in our bilateral relationship,” he reaffirmed.
Alarm Raised on Need for Vigilance for Saudi Tourists in
Turkey
Riyadh – Saleh Al Zayd//Asharq Al-Awsat/July 04/2019
The Saudi Embassy in Turkey stressed to visiting Saudi nationals the need to
maintain vigilance towards mobsters looking to steal passports and other
valuable belongings, especially when moving around crowded public places.
According to well-informed reports, provided by sources that requested anonymity
and obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, at least 165 Saudi tourists had their passports
stolen in a number of Turkish cities considered as a top tourist destination.
Travel agencies, however, did point out that not as much Saudis are visiting
Turkey nowadays when compared to previous records. Unrestrained crime is
believed to have triggered the huge drop in numbers of Saudi tourists in 2019
compared to 2018. In a press release issued on Tuesday, the embassy called on
Saudi citizens not to hesitate to call the embassy in Ankara or the consulate in
Istanbul in case of any emergency. The 165 Saudi passports, according to unnamed
sources, were stolen in three Turkish tourist spots in the past four months.
Sources revealed that the tourists were targeted in the Istanbul neighborhoods
of Taksim, Ortakoy and Besiktas. The tourists said the thefts took place while
they were shopping or at restaurants. Charge d’Affaires at the Saudi Consulate
in Istanbul Meshary Al-Thyaby told Asharq Al-Awsat that the embassy and
consulate were available around the clock to receive complaints from Saudi
nationals. Embassy officials, as pledged by the official press release, would be
dispatched to the scene of any reported theft.
“The thefts and pick-pocketing are not limited to Saudi tourists, but we have
heard similar cases among Arab tourists,” Al-Thyaby stated.
Prominent Algeria Businessman Jailed for Corruption Amid
News on Arrest of Sellal’s Son
Algiers - Boualem Goumrassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 04/2019
A court in Algiers sentenced Wednesday a prominent businessman to jail on
corruption charges. Ahmed Mazouz, owner of a food company, is close to former
premiers Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal, who are in prison on similar
charges. The sentence was issued following an investigation carried out by the
gendarmerie’s judicial police involving the financing of a factory on the
assembly of Japanese-made cars. Investigations proved that Mazouz obtained
concessions and loans from government banks to finance the project with Sellal’s
intervention first between 2012 and 2017, and then Ouyahia from 2017 till 2019.
The probe included projects run by members of Sellal and top Algerian
businessman Ali Haddad’s families, judicial sources informed of the
investigation told Asharq Al-Awsat. Activists in the opposition movement
confirmed Wednesday that the gendarmerie has also arrested Sellal’s son for his
relationship with Mazouz. Six of the country’s top businessmen and members of
their families have been jailed. All of whom are close to former President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, his imprisoned brother Said Bouteflika and Ouyahia and
Sellal. Most of them had made major financial contributions to Bouteflika’s
election campaigns in return for lucrative deals that allowed them to amass huge
wealth. The judiciary has been clamping down on suspects in corruption cases
after clear instructions from Army Commander General Gaed Salah. Salah has
recently stressed in a statement that the future president will not tolerate
corruption, sparking controversy that the army chief would exert control over
the country’s next head of state. Meanwhile, the authorities were pressed on
Wednesday to release war of liberation icon Lakhdar Bouregaa, who was imprisoned
on charges of “contributing to weakening the army’s morale” and “insulting
authorities.”Colonel Youcef al-Khatib, one of the most prominent war of
liberation figures, called for releasing Bouregaa, who led battles under his
supervision. In response to a campaign launched by state television against
Bouregaa, Khatib said he joined the revolution in 1956 after leaving compulsory
conscription. Bouregaa was part of the first regiments to spread the revolution
and had several responsibilities as the officer of the famous Zubair battalion,
which carried out several heroic operations against the French army, Khatib
added.
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on July 04-05/2019
Opinion/Jared Kushner’s Plan for Palestine Is Even Crazier
Than You Thought
تحليل سياسي من صحيفة الهىارتس: خطة جيريد كوشنر للفلسطينيين هي حتى أكثر جنوناً
مما تتوقع
Teresita Cruz-Del Rosario and Victor Kattan/Haaretz/July 04/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/76360/%d8%aa%d8%ad%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%84-%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3%d9%8a-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%b5%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%81%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%87%d9%89%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%aa%d8%b3-%d8%ae%d8%b7%d8%a9-%d8%ac%d9%8a%d8%b1%d9%8a/
Kushner’s ‘economic peace’ plan repeatedly claims that occupied Palestine can
model itself after Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. That’s certainly
ambitious – but also ignorant, absurd and even dangerous.
Jared Kushner’s glossy “economic peace” plan has been widely, although not
universally, panned.
Critics have attacked the plan from innumerable angles: from the photographs
used to promote it, culled from USAID programs whose funding had been ended by
the Trump administration, to the recycling of old, largely discredited ideas,
associated with previous Israeli and U.S. plans that promoted economic
development before a political plan.
None of these peace plans, including those that prioritized economic development
ahead of a political program, have worked.
One key claim of the plan, largely overlooked by critics, are Kushner’s case
studies, which are repeatedly referenced throughout the document: Singapore,
South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.
These case studies are central to Kushner’s economic plan. If the models as
analogies to Palestine do not work, then it could be argued, neither can his
peace plan.
As we shall argue, Kushner’s attempt to apply Asian economic success stories to
Palestine is like comparing apples to oranges.
Leaving Taiwan to the side for the moment, which is a special case, Kushner’s
Asian economic models have all had a history of being independent states at some
point; even if some of them like Japan and South Korea, were occupied by U.S.
and Allied forces during wartime, the U.S. had a clear plan to restore their
sovereignty after the war.
But Palestine is neither a sovereign state, nor is it clear that Israel or the
U.S. want it to become one. Kushner has said nothing about the occupation, or
ending it. He even told Axios that he was not certain the Palestinians could
govern themselves.
Kushner’s plan is opaque on the key question of Palestinian territorial
integrity, a foundational issue for economic policy and development. Will Israel
be required to give up the settlement blocks in any future peace deal, or reform
laws that give settlers the right to confiscate Palestinian lands?
David Friedman, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, told The New York Timesthat
Israel had the “right to retain some, but unlikely all, of the West Bank.” This
was widely interpreted as a signal that the U.S. may be planning to allow Israel
to retain – in other words, annex – the settlement blocks. Area C, which amounts
to 61 per cent of the West Bank, where most of the settlements are located, is
largely off-limits for Palestinian economic development.
And the entire Gaza Strip has been subject to an air, land, and maritime
blockade since 2007, where Egypt’s policies also cut off trade and free movement
from that direction.
In contrast, Japan, South Korea and Singapore achieved spectacular economic
growth rates in a relatively short period after independence, and were able to
sustain this growth path over the long term because they were independent.
Singapore, for example, achieved First World status in less than half a century
after independence in 1965, transforming itself from an entrepôt to a
high-performing economy built on technological innovation and human resource
development, despite its lack of natural resources, its small size, and its
troubled political history.
Today, this tiny city-state boasts a per capita income of almost U.S. $60,000,
making it one of the most prosperous in the world.
Singapore is not merely a “financial hub” or a “regional trading center” that
Palestine could emulate if it were integrated into the economies of its
neighbours as suggested on page 18 of the “Peace to Prosperity” economic plan.
Singapore has been an independent state since 1965.
One of the keys to its success, after its separation from Malaysia, was the
ability of its government to make its own decisions that were in the interests
of its own people. It was not subject to the laws of another country.
Of great relevance to Palestine and Israel is Singapore’s public housing policy,
enshrined in the overarching principle of universal ownership for all
Singaporeans. Various financial schemes, such as subsidies and a range of
grants, are available to the more vulnerable populations who cannot afford
outright housing purchases.
Today, four-fifths of the population live in public housing, a far cry from the
dispossession of many Palestinians, many of whom continue to live in makeshift
housing in refugee camps where they are dependent on aid from UNRWA that the
Trump administration has also cut.
Most important of all, Singapore’s policymakers pushed social cohesion by
avoiding the emergence of ethnic enclaves, through the strict implementation of
ethnic quotas in public housing estates. These quotas ensure that the different
ethnic groups – Chinese, Malay and South Asian – are proportionately represented
at the neighborhood and even block levels.
Unlike Israel or the West Bank, there are no mono-ethnic or settler enclaves in
Singapore. This policy on social housing lies at the heart of inter-ethnic
solidarity in Singapore, and has effectively ended the racial tensions that once
gripped the city-state in the 1960s.
South Korea and Taiwan are particularly intriguing examples for Kushner to have
brought to Bahrain.
Although Taiwan is not widely recognized by the international community as an
independent state, its government, in contrast to the Palestinian Authority, has
full control over its economy, including its airspace, land, and maritime
borders.
Taiwan also enjoys autonomous trading relationships with a variety of countries
including China, India, Australia, Japan, Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands,
among others.
While South Korea and Taiwan are relatively small countries without a rich
natural resource base like Palestine, both countries underwent major land reform
programs: Taiwan between 1949 and 1953, and South Korea in 1949, under the
tutelage of the U.S. The extensive land redistribution programs in both
countries broke the stronghold of potentially obstructive landlords, settlers
and other disruptive social groups. In doing so, a base for entrepreneurial
activity was created.
Kushner’s economic plan does not address the settler economy in the West Bank.
Nor does it mention whether confiscated Palestinian lands would be returned to
their owners. Nor does it address the fragility of Palestinian land ownership in
Area C, where 18 per cent of the West Bank has been designated a closed military
zone for IDF training, and where there are over thirty Israeli settlements
established in contravention of international law.
Having successfully redistributed land to small farmers in South Korea and
Taiwan, a class of rural entrepreneurs emerged whose livelihoods were derived
from a mix of farm and off-farm sources. Rural incomes increased through a
critical mass of small- and medium-size rural-based enterprises. In turn, these
multiple enterprises spurred growth, productivity, employment, and equity.
By 1980, non-agricultural production rose in both countries, reflecting a
fundamental change in the Taiwanese and Korean economies. For the first time,
Taiwanese and Korean labor entered the industrial sector. Significantly,
increased participation of the labor force in the wider economy led to increased
incomes and to a relatively equitable distribution of wealth in these countries.
Today, South Korea is home to the some of the world’s biggest industrial
conglomerates, known as chaebols, and Singapore is ranked as the most
competitive economy in the world. Taiwan’s economy today is a dynamic capitalist
economy driven by industrial output directed towards the global market demand
for electronics, machinery and petrochemicals.
It ranks 13th in the world in terms of economic freedom and boasts a per capita
income of US$53,023 in terms of purchasing power parity.
The lessons of these Asian economic success stories is fairly straightforward:
sovereignty was key to transforming these states into Asian economic power
houses embedded in strong states that could drive development policies.
Without this fundamental ingredient, even the best laid economic plans are bound
to fail. At worst, these plans will perpetuate economic deprivation, unrest and
violence.
*Victor Kattan is Senior Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute of the
National University of Singapore and an Associate Fellow at the Faculty of Law.
Twitter: @VictorKattan
*Teresita Cruz-del Rosario is a Senior Research Associate at the Asian Research
Institute at the National University Singapore and international development
consultant for the Asian Development Bank. Twitter: @delrosatess
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-jared-kushner-s-plan-for-palestine-is-even-crazier-than-you-thought-1.7435303
Trump on Iran – more bark than bite? - analysis
تحليل من الجيرازلم بوست ليونا جيرمي يتناول ترامب والعقوبات على إيران: صراخ من
الأفعال
Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/July 04/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/76369/%d8%aa%d8%ad%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%84-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%b2%d9%84%d9%85-%d8%a8%d9%88%d8%b3%d8%aa-%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86%d8%a7-%d8%ac%d9%8a%d8%b1%d9%85%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d9%88/
America blinked once in mid-June about responding to Iranian force with force,
after the Islamic republic shot down an expensive US drone.
US President Donald Trump has threatened Iran with being bitten worse than ever
before in response to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s comment on Wednesday
that he will order uranium enrichment to high amounts in the coming days.
In early May, Rouhani had given the world until July 7 to relieve the Islamic
republic’s economy from US sanctions in the nuclear standoff or face Tehran
reducing its compliance with nuclear restrictions.
Until now, such threats from Trump seemed to put even the most powerful
countries on edge and convince them to at least entertain a new path that he was
pressing for.
But has Iran now exposed Trump as more bark than bite?
Certainly, Trump’s maximum pressure campaign has, to date, been even more
successful than expected in bringing Tehran’s economy to a grinding halt.
But the purpose of the pressure campaign was always to get Rouhani back to the
negotiating table for a better nuclear deal than the 2015 one.
America blinked once in mid-June about responding to Iranian force with force,
after the Islamic republic shot down an expensive US drone.
In response, Trump ordered a very limited military strike on three Iranian
targets – which he then called off, settling on mere additional sanctions.
In baseball, that is called a whiff - a swinging strike.
But that is not the largest aspect of the US “blink.”
The larger one went almost completely unreported until just a few days ago, when
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and a few media organizations started to report
that China had received a million barrels of Iranian oil about two weeks ago.
Numerous reports from TankerTrackers have also surfaced about Chinese and
Iranian tactics for quietly continuing oil shipments.
All of this is following a June 28 statement to Reuters and other media by Fu
Cong, director general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Arms
Control, that: “We reject the unilateral imposition of sanctions and for us,
energy security is important.”
So China is not saying out loud when it is importing oil from Iran; it appears
to be trying to do so in a way that avoids directly embarrassing the US, but it
is also being clear that it views the sanctions as improper.
What is fascinating about this development is that China did drop its imports of
oil from Iran to zero in May and for half of June.
This initial drop in oil imports from China seemed to surprise Iranian
officials.
But it seems – based on China-US trade negotiations and Iran's June 17
announcement that it would breach the nuclear deal's 300-kilogram limit by June
27 – that China reversed course and started to again accept Iranian oil.
Or it could be that China was very creative and never really stopped.
There were reports of a spike in shipping oil from Iran to China in April,
leading up to the early May imposition of Washington's zero-oil sanctions.
It's possible that China imported extra oil from Iran in April to cover the
following six-week period. Or maybe by combining the April spike with a possible
current spike, Beijing may have made Tehran whole from any missed imports.
Such a tightrope strategy would have given the Trump administration a chance to
look tough, while China could return to its long-term importing relationship
with the Islamic republic once the issue had quieted down a bit. And even during
the six weeks when it was not importing Iranian oil, China always made it clear
that it viewed US sanctions as invalid.
On Wednesday, Politico reported that the US State Department is officially
considering giving China a special kind of waver based on the idea that it is
not “importing oil for purchase,” but merely using oil imports from Iran to
allow Tehran to pay off debts that it owes Beijing for various investments.
Call the oil purchases whatever you want. But even before the Politico report,
the fact is that China was importing Iranian oil, the US administration has
known about it, and for nearly two weeks it has done nothing.
If China can find a loophole to US oil sanctions on Iran, then why not India –
and maybe South Korea, Turkey and even the EU?
And what new pressure can the US put on China, when it is already in a broader
trade war that it is looking to end?
None of this means, however, that American sanctions on the Islamic republic
will end.
But all Rouhani needs is enough oil exports to keep the economy afloat as Iran
continues to escalate its nuclear deal violations and draws closer to November
2020, when it may be greeted by a new – and friendlier – US president. Nearly
all US democratic presidential contenders have said that they would return the
US to the nuclear deal. Whether that is realistic or not, it seems clear that
any US president besides Trump will take a lighter tone with Iran.
Trump is always unpredictable, and tomorrow he might toss away his new progress
in trade talks with China, or finally order a US military response to Iranian
military actions.
Absent a major change, however, it is not clear why Trump believes his current
threat to “bite” Iran will be taken seriously. This will mean that the decisive
point could not come until the November 2020 US elections.
Germany: A Shocking Degree of Self-Censorship
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/July 04/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14362/germany-self-censorship
There appears to be a significant gap between what Germans say in public and
what they think.... Fifty-seven percent of Germans say that it is getting on
their nerves that they are "increasingly being told what to say and how to
behave".
"It makes a big difference... whether citizens feel that they are increasingly
being watched and evaluated... Many citizens miss being respected in the sense
that they want their concerns and positions to be taken seriously, [and] that
important developments are openly discussed..." — From a survey on
self-censorship in Germany, conducted by Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach.
This retreat [from respect for free speech], so far, culminated in 2018 with
Germany's censorship law, which requires social media platforms to delete or
block any alleged online "criminal offenses", such as defamation or incitement,
within 24 hours of receipt of a user complaint. If the platforms fail to do so,
the German government can fine them up to 50 million euros. People in Germany
have been prosecuted for criticizing the government's migration policies....
Dániel Tóth-Nagy, a candidate for the Liberal Democrats in the UK, was suspended
from the party for comments he made, such as: "There is no such thing as
Islamophobia," and, in response to a tweet, "What about FGM? Honor Killings?
Forced marriage? What do you think about the protest of women in Iran,
Saudi-Arabia and other Islamic countries against the compulsory hijab? What
about Sharia in Britain? LGBT rights and education denied by Muslims in
Birmingham?"
A new survey on self-censorship in Germany has shown that Germans censor their
own speech to an astounding degree. Asked whether it is "possible to express
oneself freely in public" a mere 18% answered yes. By contrast, 59% of Germans
said that in their circle of friends and acquaintances they express themselves
freely.
"Nearly two-thirds of citizens are convinced that 'today one has to be very
careful on which topics one expresses oneself', because there are many unwritten
laws about what opinions are acceptable and admissible" according to the survey,
conducted by Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach for the newspaper Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
"The refugee issue is one of the most sensitive topics for the vast majority of
respondents, followed by statements of opinion on Muslims and Islam," it stated.
By contrast, "The situation is different when it comes to topics such as climate
protection, equal rights, unemployment or child rearing, about which one can
express oneself frankly, according to the overwhelming majority". As an example,
71% of Germans say, according to the survey, that one can only comment on the
refugee issue "with caution".
Among the topics considered taboo, a significant development has occurred over
roughly the past two decades. In 1996, only 16% of Germans felt that patriotism
was a sensitive issue. Today that figure has risen to 41%.
"Patriotism, cosmopolitanism and support for Europe", (meaning support for the
EU) did not use to be mutually exclusive, according to the survey. Today,
however, "The population is no longer so sure that the elites, with their strong
support for European integration and in a globalized global economy, are still
holding the nation in high regard... citizens increasingly fear being considered
right-wing when they emerge as patriots. Meanwhile, a third of the population
says that politicians should be wary of proclaiming national pride if they do
not want to expose themselves to harsh attacks".
There is a very large discrepancy between what Germans consider taboo in the
public sphere, as opposed to in private conversations with friends and
acquaintances. For example, 62% of Germans are convinced that a politician
stating that Islam has too much influence in Germany will expose himself to
harsh criticism, but only 22% believe that expressing such a sentiment in
private conversations would cause offense. Similarly, the sentiment that 'too
much is being done for refugees in Germany' is viewed as a risky statement to
air in public, but only 31% would consider it a problem to say that in private.
There appears, in other words, to be a significant gap between what Germans say
in public and what they think.
"Remarkably many [Germans] have the impression that social control has been
reinforced when it comes to statements of opinion in the public sphere and that
individual statements and behavior are increasingly under observation," the
survey notes. "Every second citizen is convinced that today much more attention
is paid to how one behaves in public and what one says. 41 percent say that
political correctness is exaggerated, and 35 percent even conclude that free
expression is only possible in private circles".
That the German public believes political correctness to have become exaggerated
is exemplified by the survey's finding that two-thirds of Germans disagree that
special, politically correct terms for migrants, such as "people with a
migration background" should be used in public discourse rather than more
everyday terms, such as "foreigner". Fifty-seven percent of Germans say that it
is getting on their nerves that they are "increasingly being told what to say
and how to behave". Germans from the formerly Communist GDR complain more about
this than the average German, as they have "fresh historical memories of
regulation and constriction" according to the survey, which ends on the
following note:
"It makes a big difference whether a society generally accepts and submits to
meaningful norms, or whether citizens feel that they are increasingly being
watched and evaluated... Many citizens miss being respected in the sense that
they want their concerns and positions to be taken seriously, [and] that
important developments are openly discussed..."
The results that the survey conveys are hardly a huge surprise to observers of
the retreat of respect for freedom of speech in Germany in recent years. This
retreat, so far, culminated in 2018 with Germany's censorship law, which
requires social media platforms to delete or block any alleged online "criminal
offenses", such as defamation or incitement, within 24 hours of receipt of a
user complaint. If the platforms fail to do so, the German government can fine
them up to 50 million euros.
People in Germany have been prosecuted for criticizing the government's
migration policies: In 2016, a married couple, Peter and Melanie M., were
prosecuted in a criminal trial for creating a Facebook group that criticized the
government's migration policy. According to news reports, the page stated that,
"The war and economic refugees are flooding our country. They bring terror,
fear, sorrow. They rape our women and put our children at risk. Make this end!"
At the trial, Peter M. defended his remarks online and said, "One cannot even
express a critical opinion of refugees without getting labelled as a Nazi. I
wanted to create a discussion forum where you can speak your mind about
refugees..." In his verdict, the judge said, "The description of the group is a
series of generalizations with a clear right-wing background." Peter M. was
sentenced to a nine-month suspended prison sentence and his wife to a fine of
€1,200. The judge added, "I hope you understand the seriousness of the
situation. If you sit in front of me again, you will end up in jail."
In September 2015, Die Welt reported that people who air "xenophobic" views on
social media, risk losing the right to see their own children. There need not
even be a criminal offense for a court to consider the child's welfare to be
endangered and to restrict the parents' right to see his or her child or to
order "an educator" present during a meeting between parent and child, who can
"intervene as required." It is also possible to forbid certain actions,
expressions or meetings in the presence of the child. As a last resort, the
court can take the child out of the parent's care entirely.
In August 2017, the Munich district court gave Michael Stürzenberger, a
journalist, a six-month suspended jail sentence for posting on his Facebook page
a historical photo of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini,
shaking the hand of a senior Nazi official in Berlin in 1941. The prosecution
accused Stürzenberger of "inciting hatred towards Islam" and "denigrating Islam"
by publishing the photograph. The court found Stürzenberger guilty of
"disseminating the propaganda of anti-constitutional organizations". After he
appealed the sentence, an appeals court in Munich, in December 2017, acquitted
Stürzenberger of all charges. The appeals court ruled that his comments were
protected by the freedom of expression. Nevertheless, the impression left on
German society is that even historical facts have now become a taboo.
So, while Germans' fears of speaking their minds in public are not motivated by
any legitimate fears of being put in Soviet or Chinese types of gulags, there
are extremely real fears and extremely real concerns, such as those exemplified
by the prosecutions above.
While the survey was limited to Germany, it is probably reasonable to assume
that if such a survey were to be conducted in like-minded Western European
countries, such as the UK for instance, the results would not be much different.
The space for free speech has been shrinking there, too, as exemplified here and
here. In a recent case, a candidate for the Liberal Democrats, Dániel Tóth-Nagy,
was suspended from the party for comments he made, such as: "There is no such
thing as Islamophobia" and responding to a tweet about Islamophobia with, "What
about FGM? Honor Killings? Forced marriage? What do you think about the protest
of women in Iran, Saudi-Arabia and other Islamic countries against the
compulsory hijab? What about Sharia in Britain? LGBT rights and education denied
by Muslims in Birmingham?"
Those questions are all legitimate questions for a politician to ask, yet this
is what the party's local spokesman had to say:
"These posts are completely outside of our party's values and beliefs, and will
not be tolerated. Had we been aware of this before, there's no way he would have
been selected as a candidate. We have immediately suspended him and we apologise
to anyone that has been upset or offended by these comments".
More recently, posters advertising British singer Morrissey's new album,
California Son, were removed from trains and stations in Liverpool and the
surrounding areas after a traveler contacted the rail company to ask if it
agreed with Morrissey's opinions, and questioned whether the posters were
"appropriate". The question came after Morrissey appeared on the Tonight Show in
the US, while wearing a badge supporting For Britain, the right-wing party led
by Anne Marie Waters.
"It's very Third Reich, isn't it? And it proves how only the feelings of the
most narrow-minded can be considered within the British Arts," Morrissey said
about the removal of the posters. "We are not free to debate, and this in itself
is the ultimate rejection of diversity... I am afraid we are living through the
Age of Stupid, and we must pray that it passes soon."
Given how advanced the rout of free speech in Europe has become, there is little
chance of it passing any time soon. If the German survey is anything to go by,
Europeans will not even need to be further censored by governments: they have
become expertly conditioned to do the job themselves.
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished
Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Who is Actually Controlling Iran Policy in the Trump
Administration?
Michael Young/Carnegie Middle East Centre/July 04/2019
Ellen Laipson | Distinguished fellow and president emeritus of the Stimson
Center, former vice chair of the National Intelligence Council (1997–2002),
member of former president Barack Obama's Intelligence Advisory Board
(2009–2013), and member of the U.S. secretary of state’s Foreign Affairs Policy
Board (2011–2014)
President Donald Trump “controls” Iran policy, but that should not be understood
as the president leading a coherent, coordinated policy process. Trump sees
virtue in surprise and unpredictability, and seems to have a casual response to
the threat assessments and options papers presented by the bureaucracy. He
trusts his instincts about managing relationships with adversaries, and enjoys
the chaos created as he alternately threatens and tries to engage foreign
leaders, including the supreme leader of Iran.
Much has been said about the hardline influences of National Security Advisor
John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. They clearly favor a steady,
tough message to Iran, and barely disguise a preference for regime change over
the behavior modification goals of most American administrations. The Defense
Department mostly shares the dark view of Iran’s intentions, but does not seek
conflict. Pity poor Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, on the
road to explain to allies the logic of U.S. Iran policy.
Gary Sick | Executive director of Gulf 2000 at Columbia University, former
member of the U.S. National Security Council under president Jimmy Carter
By withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear
deal with Iran, the Trump administration generated a crisis that could lead to
military conflict. But the United States lacks a clear objective. Does it intend
to overturn the government of Iran or merely to punish it? Does it want a
revised JCPOA or something entirely new? Does it wish to separate Iran from its
regional allies, or does it merely want to use the Iranian threat to leverage a
new alliance with Israel and the Sunni monarchies? Washington’s purpose changes
from day to day. President Donald Trump’s authority to make foreign policy is
not in question, but his capacity to articulate a coherent strategy is. In 2003,
the U.S. invaded and changed the government in Iraq without a plan for the day
after. Some of the architects of that catastrophe are at the president’s side
today. Who is going to warn him against repeating those same mistakes on Iran?
Danielle Pletka | Senior vice president, foreign and defense policy studies, at
the American Enterprise Institute, former senior professional staff member for
the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, where she specialized in the Near
East and South Asia
The question of who is controlling Iran policy in the Trump administration
should feel a little disingenuous. After all, by definition constitutionally it
is the president who controls foreign policy. However, observers can be excused
a little confusion. After all, while the president has said repeatedly that his
aim in imposing a “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions on Iran is to get
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his team back to the
negotiating table for a new and better deal with Iran, his national security
advisor, John Bolton, is on record as saying that the regime in Iran must go.
And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, though more reticent than Bolton, has laid
out twelve conditions for Iran to meet that together add up to someone else
being in power.
So who calls the shots? At the end of the day it will be President Donald Trump.
Neither he nor his base wishes that the United States be involved in another
Middle Eastern conflict. That said, the Iranians should not be too complacent.
There are many things short of war that can damage the regime in Tehran.
Khamenei should not count on Trump to be his savior in the event of a serious
Iranian miscalculation.
Gary Samore | Director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis
University, former member of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (2015–2017)
and former White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass
destruction under president Barack Obama, former special assistant and senior
director for nonproliferation and export controls under president Bill Clinton.
For better or worse, President Donald Trump controls Iran policy in his
administration. Under the U.S. system, the president is the dominant
decisionmaker in foreign policy and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Trump has no reservations about ignoring and overruling his senior foreign
policy advisors—whether his original decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear
deal or, more recently, his decision not to order military strikes against Iran.
In both cases, Trump acted against the advice of his foreign policy team. The
Iran policy reflects Trump’s genuine belief that he can force Iran to accept a
“better” deal through maximum economic pressure. Unfortunately, Tehran continues
to resist Trump’s offer to negotiate, despite severe economic damage. The Iran
policy also reflects Trump’s genuine desire to avoid military entanglement in
the Middle East. However, Tehran may read Trump’s reluctance to use military
force as a green light to break away from the nuclear constraints of the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal agreed with Tehran, and carry out
more provocative attacks in the region.