English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese
Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 06/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.july06.20.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves;
so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10/16-25/:”‘See, I am
sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and
innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and
flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings
because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are
to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the
Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to
death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have
them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one
who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee
to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns
of Israel before the Son of Man comes. ‘A disciple is not above the teacher, nor
a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher,
and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house
Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!”’”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 05-06/2020
Lebanon Records 18 COVID-19 Cases and One More Death
Lebanon’s top Christian clerics blast politicians as hunger, hardship bite
Al-Rahi Urges Aoun to Break Siege on 'Legitimacy, Free National Decision'
Wahhab Warns Jumblat against 'Use of Arms' in Mt. Lebanon
Alloush Confirms 'Unity Govt.' Raised with Hariri
Moucharafieh from Baalbek: I will spare no effort to protect the tourism sector
Tramballi welcomes Hitti's visit to Italy, says Lebanon's stability is essential
to the region
Ambassador Daher: Minister Hitti's visit to Italy is of great significance
Okais: We need an international committee to combat corruption, under the
supervision of the United Nations
Sami Gemayel: We are in a structural existential crisis, either we emerge
victorious or we lose the facet of Lebanon
Lebanon: Food Prices Soar, Increasing By 100% in 2 Weeks
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on July 05-06/2020
Israel Says ‘Not Necessarily' Behind All Iran Nuclear Site Incident
Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility fire can slow down production of centrifuges:
Official
WHO Halts Hydroxychloroquine, HIV Drugs in COVID-19 Trials
Pope Hails U.N. Global Ceasefire Move to Fight Pandemic
Columbus Statue Toppled by Race Protesters in Baltimore
Rockets Target U.S. Interests in Iraq despite Arrests
Kanye West Announces 2020 Presidential Run
Kadhimi Reshuffles Senior Security Posts
Rocket Fired Towards Baghdad Green Zone, Child Injured
Russia Deploys Surprise Military Reinforcements to Syria’s Deir Ezzor
Israel Concerned Over Palestinian Security Bodies Training in Russia
Tunisia Parliament Rejects Blacklisting Muslim Brotherhood
Canada reaffirms unwavering support to Venezuelan people on Venezuela’s
Independence Day
New agreements making Libya into Turkish military protectorate
Titles For
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on July 05-06/2020
Do we Need a New Pact for the Environment?/Najib Saab/Asharq Al Awsat/July
05/2020
Germany’s Accounting Scandal/Ferdinando Giugliano/Bloomberg/July 05/2020
Slavery Rampant in Africa, Middle East; The West Wrongly Accuses Itself/Giulio
Meotti/Gatestone Institute/July 5, 2020
Iran braces for next blow after mystery explosions hit nuclear and missile
production sites/DEBKAfile/July 05/2020
European powers key to extending Iran arms embargo/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab
News/July 05/2020
World must stand up to Iran’s terrorism/Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri/Arab News/July
05/2020
There is no betrayal in interfaith relations/Peter Welby/Arab News/July 05/2020
Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in danger of failing Iraqis and the
US/Michael Pregent/Arab News/July 05/2020
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published
on July 05-06/2020
Lebanon Records 18 COVID-19 Cases and One More Death
Naharnet/July 05/2020
Lebanon on Sunday recorded eighteen more COVID-19 cases and another death, the
Health Ministry said. The cases raise the country’s tally to 1,873 and the
fatality takes the death toll to 36. The number of recoveries has meanwhile
reached 1,311.Eleven of the new cases were recorded among residents of al-Mreijeh,
Bourj al-Barajneh, Ain el-Rummaneh, Ras al-Metn, Jdeidet al-Metn, Chehim,
Gharifeh, Samqaniyeh, al-Amrousiyeh, Ras Masqa and Baalbek. The seven expats
have meanwhile arrived from Sierra Leone, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Ivory Coast
and Kuwait.
Lebanon’s top Christian clerics blast politicians as hunger, hardship bite
Arab News/July 05/2020
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Christian authorities slammed politicians on Sunday for
failing to remedy an economic meltdown that has left many poor, piling pressure
on the country’s leaders as it spirals deeper into crisis. In a sermon, Maronite
Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, the top Christian cleric, accused politicians
of thinking only of their own vested interests and urged the president to take
action. “It appears politicians want to hide their responsibility in emptying
the treasury and not enact any reforms,” he said. Hopes of salvation through an
IMF deal have retreated, with the government unwilling or unable to enact
reforms, hamstrung by the conflicting agendas of sectarian leaders who don’t
want to yield power or privileges. The crisis, which has decimated the local
currency and raised fears of mass hunger, is seen as the biggest threat to
Lebanon’s stability since its 1975-1990 civil war.
“Political officials...do not have the courage nor the freedom to meet and find
ways out of the suffering,” Rai said. He warned this was depriving the country
of help it needs from foreign donors. Economic woes, rooted in state waste and
corruption, came to the fore last year after capital inflows slowed and protests
erupted against leaders in power since the war. Lebanon’s sectarian political
system parcels out state posts based on religious sect, with the presidency
reserved for a Maronite Christian.
The largest Christian bloc, President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, is
close to the Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah movement. Both backed the current
cabinet, which took office in January.
In another sermon in a central Beirut church, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias
Audi also lambasted the political elite on Sunday. “Oh respected leaders, I
address whatever conscience remains in you,” he said. “Do you sleep comfortably
at night while those under your care starve, and die of thirst and by
suicide?“Earlier this week, dozens of people mourned a man who killed himself in
a busy Beirut district, blaming the country’s leaders for the hardship which
they said caused his death.
Al-Rahi Urges Aoun to Break Siege on 'Legitimacy, Free
National Decision'
Naharnet/July 05/2020
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called on President Michel Aoun to
break what he called the siege that is imposed on Lebanese “legitimacy” and the
country’s “free national decision.”In his Sunday Mass sermon, al-Rahi also urged
friendly nations to “scramble to rescue Lebanon, the same as they used to do
whenever it faces a threat.”“We call on the United Nations to work on
reinforcing Lebanon’s independence and unity, implementing U.N. resolutions and
declaring its neutrality,” the patriarch added. He said Lebanon’s “neutrality”
would be “a guarantee for its unity and historic alignment in this period that
is rife with geographical and constitutional changes.”“Lebanon’s neutrality is a
strength and guarantee for its role in the region’s stability and in defending
the rights of Arab countries and the cause of peace, as well as in the sound
relation between Middle Eastern countries and Europe in light of its location on
the shores of the Mediterranean,” al-Rahi went on to say.
Wahhab Warns Jumblat against 'Use of Arms' in Mt. Lebanon
Naharnet/July 05/2020
Arab Tawhid Party leader Wiam Wahhab on Sunday hit out at Progressive Socialist
Party chief Walid Jumblat and warned him against the “use of arms” in the Chouf
and Aley regions. “The use of arms in Mount Lebanon is prohibited and do not end
your life in this manner. We love you and respect your intelligence and that of
the people, but do not use your brain to underestimate people’s intelligence. We
are defending Mount Lebanon and we’re keener on it more than you,” Wahhab said
during meetings with popular and partisan delegations. “Do not mention us
anywhere and what will sabotage Mt. Lebanon is your choices,” Wahhab cautioned.
“We possess arms to defend Mt. Lebanon, not to sabotage it… Mount Lebanon is for
everyone and we’re partners in it,” Wahhab added.“We hope that you won’t test
us. Don’t go to the parliament speaker (Nabih Berri) to ask him about me and
about what I’m doing and don’t mediate with Hizbullah. No one can influence my
decisions other than our spiritual leaders. We are not arming ourselves and we
don’t want to arm ourselves. If we have weapons, that is to defend Mt. Lebanon,
not to use them in it,” Wahhab went on to say.
Alloush Confirms 'Unity Govt.' Raised with Hariri
Naharnet/July 05/2020
Parties represented in the government have recently talked to ex-PM Saad Hariri
about the possibility of forming a “national unity government,” ex-MP Mustafa
Alloush confirmed on Sunday. “We are against the return of Hariri or any figure
representing al-Mustaqbal Movement (to the premier post) without securing
choices that at least begin with returning to the Baabda Declaration and
reforming the electricity sector,” Alloush, who is a member of Mustaqbal’s
politburo, said in an interview with al-Jadeed TV. He also described Hizbullah
as a “military legion.”“It cannot be viewed as a political party and no
settlement can be reached with it,” Alloush added.
Moucharafieh from Baalbek: I will spare no effort to
protect the tourism sector
NNA/July 05/2020
Minister of Tourism and Social Affairs, Ramzi Moucharafieh, affirmed Sunday that
"optimism and hope in Lebanon, in general, and in the tourism sector, in
particular, will never be lost in the presence of a solid determination and will
like that of the Lebanese people," vowing to spare no effort to preserve the
tourism sector through approving the necessary proposals, decrees and tax
exemptions submitted to the cabinet. The Minister's words came during his visit
to the city of Baalbek on the occasion of the Baalbek International Festivals
marking the Centenary of Greater Lebanon, where he met with Public Health
Minister Hamad Hassan, and the Governor of Baalbek-Hermel Bashir Khodr. "The
city of Baalbek has created for itself a leading position on the global tourism
map, and its annual festivals will always be a civilizational bridge between
East and West," he said.
"Today, it proves that art is not a luxury, but a necessity to cultivate hope
and joy in the hearts of the Lebanese, and boost their ability to withstand
through music, the first global language of communication that unites peoples of
different cultures and heritages," the Minister corroborated.
"Just as the Baalbek International Festivals managed to heal the past wounds of
the civil war and resume activities in the year 1998...Here it is today
launching this cultural event which is the first of its kind in the Middle East,
without an audience, in light of the 'Covid-19' pandemic and the economic crisis
that is unprecedented in the history of Lebanon...and through this event,
Baalbek is sending the Lebanese and the world a message of hope and
steadfastness, that it shall persist despite all odds, and that its cultural
flame will never be extinguished," Moucharafieh underscored.
He considered that "the beauty of this concert, to be performed by the Lebanese
Philharmonic Orchestra led by Maestro Harut Vaseline, with the participation of
the Antonine University Choir and the University of Our Lady of Louiazeh, and
artist Rafic Ali Ahmed, does not solely lie in the artistic creativity that will
be portrayed, but rather in the high human solidarity that is embodied in the
cooperation of all artists, musicians, and those who participated and
contributed to this remarkable initiative by creating an opportunity for hope
without any financial reward."
Tramballi welcomes Hitti's visit to Italy, says Lebanon's
stability is essential to the region
NNA/July 05/2020
Rome - In a special interview with the National News Agency, Italian writer and
expert on international affairs, Ugo Tramballi, welcomed the visit of Lebanon's
Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Minister, Nassif Hitti, to Italy to solicit
Italian officials' views towards Lebanon.
"Italy and our forces in southern Lebanon stand by the Lebanese people to
overcome their crisis and restore their stability...Lebanon's stability is
essential to the stability of the region. Hence, Italy welcomes the visit of the
Lebanese Foreign Minister, Nassif Hitti," he said. "Italy was the one to
initiate the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon," Tramballi went on. "Our soldiers
at UNIFIL have stood for many years alongside the citizens of Lebanon and helped
the state extend its influence and control," he added.
"Italy, France, and the European Union do not impose any conditions on Lebanon,
for these countries view Lebanon from a loving and appreciative perspective,"
assured the Italian writer. "Lebanon is still an open and pluralistic country
and enjoys freedom of opinion and peaceful coexistence between its sects," he
asserted. "However, Lebanon must make the necessary reforms and rid itself of
sectarian quotas, at which time everyone will be by its side," Tramballi
corroborated.
Ambassador Daher: Minister Hitti's visit to Italy is of great significance
NNA/July 05/2020
Rome - Lebanese Ambassador to Italy, Mira Daher, said in an interview with the
National News Agency on Sunday that "the visit of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants
Minister, Nassif Hitti, to Italy and the Vatican is extremely important, as it
aims to strengthen relations at various levels." "There will be meetings to
enhance bilateral economic relations, particularly investment in the productive
and agricultural sectors. Italy and the Vatican are both keen on achieving
stability in Lebanon," Daher said. Also in an interview with NNA to be published
later, Deputy Speaker of the European Parliament, Massimo Castaldi, said: "Italy
welcomes the visit of the Lebanese Foreign Minister and is interested in
Lebanon," adding, that "the two countries share mutual historical and solid ties
at all levels."
Okais: We need an international committee to combat corruption, under the
supervision of the United Nations
NNA/July 05/2020
Member of the "Strong Republic" Parliamentary Bloc, MP George Okais, tweeted
Sunday on the issue of combatting corruption, saying: "In wake of the decline in
the popular and legislative momentum on fighting corruption, and in light of the
disastrous experience in the fraudulent fuel dossier, I think we are in need of
an international committee to fight corruption under the supervision of the
United Nations, similar to the one established in 2015 in Guatemala which
contributed to the arrest of senior officials."
Sami Gemayel: We are in a structural existential crisis,
either we emerge victorious or we lose the facet of Lebanon
NNA/July 05/2020
Lebanese Kataeb Party Chief, MP Sami Gemayel, considered Sunday that the
Lebanese are facing a "structural, existential crisis," from which they will
"either emerge victorious or Lebanon will lose its facet."
Speaking in an interview to "Orient Radio Station" this morning, Gemayel said
that Lebanon has never witnessed a stage similar to the current phase, where the
purchasing power has significantly dropped; thus leading to an unprecedented
tragedy, one that the Lebanese never would have imagined to reach, especially
with the rise in cases of suicide, immigration and despair.
"We have no choice as Lebanese but to insist on strengthening our will to
overcome the crisis, for we have no alternative to this country, and we must
insist on changing our status the soonest possible," emphasized Gemayel.
He added that change must begin with the government, critizcizing herein the
current cabinet for failing to carry out any reform step until now, for which
reason it is bound to fall. Gemayel called "for pressure to establish a new
government, although we do not expect this parliament to form the government
that we aspire for...." He indicated that the main problem in the country,
besides the issue of arms, is the Parliament Council itself. "The government
situation can be improved, but the basic need is to shorten the parliament's
mandate and hold early parliamentary elections," Gemayel explained. "We will
remain in this swamp until the Lebanese people can hold officials accountable
through the ballot box, and we will continue to submit to this will even with
the formation of a new government," he added regretfully.
The MP considered that the current government is in a state of absence, and
strangely the President of the Republic did not address the Lebanese even in the
depths of crises, from the Corona crisis to the downfall of the Lebanese lira to
the total collapse in the country. "We feel that there is no authority in
Lebanon, no captain, and I ask the Lebanese people to form their authority,"
Gemayel underlined. "The Lebanese people, following their victory on October 17
and overthrowing the government, were separated and intimidated...This
atmosphere aimed at frustrating the will of the people, but we must not give in
because if we do not demand and fight, no one will give us our rights," the MP
asserted. He deemed that Lebanon today is a hostage in the hands of an axis
whose calculations have nothing to do with the Lebanese people, and is using the
country as a paper in its international negotiations; placing the international
community before a dilemma, for if it comes to Lebanon's rescue, it would be
helping to maintain the current status, and if it refrains from extending any
help, the people will be impoverished.
"The lives of the Lebanese today are held hostage to ransom. Lebanon was immune
to this conflict and states were distinguishing between legitimacy and
internationalism...However, following the disastrous presidential deal, the
legitimacy was handed over to Hezbollah and there was no more separation between
the party and the state, as Hezbollah owned the state's decision and the entire
state and people were plunged into this conflict and paid for it," Gemayel added
remorsefully.
"Hezbollah has dragged the entire Lebanese people into bearing the repercussions
of a conflict in which they have no fault, because the people did not decide to
enter into a conflict with the West, the Arab states, and the international
community," he maintained.
Gemayel, thus, renewed his call to "work to change the reality of the situation
and return the decision to the people." He also emphasized that "the Lebanese
army is the last institution that enjoys the confidence of the Lebanese and is
able to protect the country and its future, and the army must be immune from all
to ensure the nation's persistence." "There is no place in Lebanon for
half-solutions, for we are in need of radical solutions. In order to succeed, we
must give hope to the Lebanese, confidence and a structural change of the
political system, and all the components that create the stability of states and
the continuity of their people," Gemayel underlined.
Lebanon: Food Prices Soar, Increasing By 100% in 2 Weeks
Beirut- Ines Cherri/Asharq Al Awsat/July 05/2020
Food prices in Lebanon are rising on a daily basis as a result of the constant
change of the dollar exchange rate. Prices of foodstuffs have risen by 72
percent since May, said the head of the Consumer Protection Association, Zuhair
Berro, but added that the last two weeks have registered an increase by 100
percent. In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said: “The rise in prices was evident
despite the presence of a food basket subsidized by the Ministry of Economy,”
noting that low prices were observed only in Egyptian rice and sugar. A number
of owners of small grocery stores, who were interviewed by Asharq Al-Awsat,
confirmed that the subsidized products were not provided to merchants or were
available only in very small quantities. The reason for the rise in prices is
due to two main factors, said the head of the food importers union, Hani Bohsali.
“The first is the presence of goods on the market that were imported before the
subsidy decision, and therefore are sold on the basis of the daily exchange rate
and change continuously. The second is linked to the quantities of products
imported on the basis of subsidies that are not sufficient for the market’s
need,” he explained. Bohsali noted that many importers “did not submit import
orders because of the very difficult conditions, including the need to pay the
price of the goods to the supplier company, and then placing a guarantee in the
bank with the value of these goods in Lebanese pounds.”He said, however, that
basic foodstuffs would “remain available on the market”, ruling out the stopping
of imports “as long as the dollar is accessible.”“The quantity of imports,
especially for non-essential foodstuffs, has decreased significantly in the
recent period. This is due to two reasons: the dollar shortage and the decline
in purchasing power, as many traders stopped importing non-essential food items
because their prices has become very high with the rise of the dollar,” Bohsali
underlined.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on July 05-06/2020
Israel Says ‘Not Necessarily' Behind All Iran Nuclear Site
Incident
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 5 July, 2020
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Sunday that his country is not
"necessarily" behind every mysterious incident in Iran, after a fire at the
Natanz nuclear site prompted some Iranian officials to say it was the result of
cyber sabotage.
Israel has pledged never to allow Iran to obtain atomic weapons, saying Tehran
advocates its destruction. The underground Natanz site, where a one-story
building was partly burned on Thursday, is the centerpiece of Iran's uranium
enrichment program and monitored by inspectors of the International Atomic
Energy Agency. Asked whether Israel had anything to do with "mysterious
explosions" at Iranian nuclear sites, Gantz said: "Not every incident that
transpires in Iran necessarily has something to do with us.""All those systems
are complex, they have very high safety constraints and I'm not sure they always
know how to maintain them," Gantz told Israel Radio. Three Iranian officials who
spoke to Reuters said they thought cyber sabotage had been involved at Natanz,
but offered no evidence. Two said Israel could have been behind it. An article
by Iran's state news agency IRNA addressed what it called the possibility of
sabotage by enemies such as Israel and the United States, although it stopped
short of accusing either directly. In 2010, the Stuxnet computer virus, widely
believed to have been developed by the US and Israel, was discovered after it
was used to attack Natanz. Last month, Israeli security cabinet minister Zeev
Elkin said Iran had attempted to mount a cyberattack on Israel's water system in
April. Iran curbed its nuclear work in exchange for removal of most global
sanctions under a 2015 accord with six world powers. It has reduced compliance
since the United States withdrew in 2018.
Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility fire can slow down
production of centrifuges: Official
Reuters/Sunday 05 July 2020
A fire that broke out at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility on Thursday caused
significant damage, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran was
quoted as saying on Sunday by the official IRNA news agency. Spokesman Behrouz
Kamalvandi said the fire could slow down Tehran's development and production of
advanced centrifuges in the medium term, and that Iran would replace the damaged
building with a bigger one that had more advanced equipment.
WHO Halts Hydroxychloroquine, HIV Drugs in COVID-19 Trials
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 5 July, 2020
The World Health Organization has said it is ending a trial into whether
anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine helps patients hospitalized with the
COVID-19 disease. WHO said Saturday it has “accepted the recommendation” from
the committee overseeing the trial to discontinue testing of hydroxychloroquine
and lopinavir/ritonavir, a drug combination used to treat HIV/AIDS. The drugs
were being compared with standard care for hospitalized patients. WHO said a
review of the interim results showed hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir
“produce little or no reduction in the mortality of hospitalized COVID-19
patients when compared to standard of care.” The agency added that while there
was no “solid evidence” of increased mortality for hospitalized patients given
the drugs, there were “some associated safety signals in the clinical laboratory
findings” of an associated trial.
WHO said the decision won’t affect possible trials on patients who aren’t
hospitalized, or on those receiving the drugs before potential exposure to the
coronavirus or shortly afterward. Also Saturday, the Organization said member
states reported more than 212,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the highest
single-day increase since the start of the pandemic. The Geneva-based WHO said
the highest number of new infections was reported from the Americas region,
which includes the United States and Brazil, with almost 130,000 confirmed
cases. WHO’s count can differ from other global case tallies due to official
reporting delays.
Pope Hails U.N. Global Ceasefire Move to Fight Pandemic
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 05/2020
Pope Francis on Sunday threw his support behind a U.N. Security Council
resolution calling for a halt to conflicts to facilitate the fight against the
coronavirus pandemic. The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted
the resolution after more than three months of negotiations calling for "an
immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations" on the Security Council's
agenda. "The request for a global and immediate ceasefire, which would allow
that peace and security necessary to provide the needed humanitarian assistance
is commendable," the pope said after his weekly Angelus prayer at St Peter's in
Rome. "I hope that this decision will be implemented effectively and promptly
for the good of the many people who are suffering. "May this Security Council
resolution become a courageous first step towards a peaceful future." The
resolution was the Security Council's first statement on the pandemic and its
first real action since the outbreak started. Repeatedly blocked by China and
the United States, which opposed a reference in the text to the World Health
Organization (WHO), the resolution aims to support an appeal in March by UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a global ceasefire. It "calls upon all
parties to armed conflicts to engage immediately in a durable humanitarian pause
for at least 90 consecutive days, in order to enable the safe, unhindered and
sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance."
Columbus Statue Toppled by Race Protesters in Baltimore
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 05/2020
Protesters in the U.S. city of Baltimore pulled down a statue of Christopher
Columbus on Saturday, local media reported, the latest monument to be toppled in
anti-racism demonstrations. Statues of figures connected to colonialism and
slavery have been ripped from their plinths in the United States and around the
world since Black Lives Matter protests were sparked by the killing of George
Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis in May. Footage published by the
Baltimore Sun showed protesters using ropes to pull down the statue of Columbus
-- the Italian navigator who reached the Americas in 1492 -- near the city's
Little Italy district and rolling it into the Inner Harbor on the night of July
4. Long hailed as the so-called discoverer of "The New World," Columbus is
considered by many to have spurred years of genocide against indigenous groups
in the Americas. He is regularly denounced in a similar way to Civil War
generals of the pro-slavery South. President Donald Trump earlier mentioned the
sailor in his speech to mark the July 4 holiday, when Americans typically
celebrate their 1776 declaration of independence from Britain. "Together we will
fight for the American dream, and we will defend, protect, and preserve American
way of life which began in 1492 when Columbus discovered America," he said in an
address in which he railed against protesters demanding racial justice. "We are
now in the process of defeating the radical left, the anarchists, the agitators,
the looters, and the people who, in many instances, have absolutely no clue what
they are doing," he said. "We will never allow an angry mob to tear down our
statues, erase our history, indoctrinate our children." The president last month
signed an executive order pledging to enforce prosecution for protesters who
vandalize public memorials, promising "long prison terms" for "lawless acts
against our Great Country!" A statue of Columbus was taken down in San Francisco
last month because the explorer's actions "do not deserve to be venerated," city
officials said, and another was removed from California's state capital
Sacramento.
Elsewhere, a statue of Belgium's King Leopold II -- who ruled over a brutal
regime in Africa -- was removed in the port city of Antwerp and a monument to
slave trader Edward Colston was ripped down in Bristol in the United Kingdom.
Rockets Target U.S. Interests in Iraq despite Arrests
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 05/2020
Two rocket attacks targeted American diplomatic and military installations
overnight, Iraq's security forces said Sunday, a little over a week since
unprecedented arrests prevented a similar incident. Since October, U.S.
diplomats and troops across Iraq have been targeted by around three dozen
missile attacks which Washington has blamed on pro-Iranian armed factions. In
the first move of its kind, elite Iraqi troops in late June arrested more than a
dozen Tehran-backed fighters who were allegedly planning a new attack on
Baghdad's Green Zone, home to the U.S. and other foreign embassies. Iraqi
government officials said the raid would serve as a "message" to deter future
attacks, but early on Sunday, militants made another attempt. One rocket fired
at the Green Zone landed near a home, wounding a child, according to the Iraqi
military. "At the same time, our forces were able to thwart another attack and
seize a Katyusha rocket and launcher that were targeting the Taji base north of
Baghdad," where US-led coalition troops are based, it added. The attempts came
just hours after the US embassy tested a new rocket defense system known as a
C-RAM, according to a senior Iraqi security source. The C-RAM, set up earlier
this year at the embassy, scans for incoming projectiles and explodes them in
the air by targeting them with several thousand bullets per minute. A series of
muted blasts could be heard across Baghdad on Saturday as the system was
apparently tested, leaving passersby confused and Iraq's parliament outraged.
Deputy speaker Hassan al-Kaabi slammed the trial as "provocative" and
"unacceptable" as it could put residential areas in danger. There was no
immediate comment from the embassy on whether the system was used against the
rocket overnight.
- U.S. 'applauds' arrests -
Iraq has long been caught in a tug-of-war between its two main allies Iran and
the U.S. -- arch-enemies whose relations have further crumbled since Washington
pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018. Baghdad carefully
balances its ties to the two countries, but the repeated rocket fire risks
rocking its tightrope. The U.S. blames the attacks on Kataeb Hezbollah, a
Tehran-backed faction within Iraq's state-sponsored network of armed units known
as the Hashed al-Shaabi. Washington has demanded Iraqi authorities be tougher on
the group. Local forces had long hesitated, fearing that direct action against
such a powerful actor would risk broader confrontations. But last month, state
security forces carried out the first raid of its kind against a Kataeb
Hezbollah base on the edges of Baghdad, seizing rockets and arresting 14
fighters allegedly planning an attack on the Green Zone.
The move was hailed by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said rogue groups
are "the single biggest obstacle to additional assistance or economic
investment" for Iraq. "Baghdad's actions are a step in the right direction and
we applaud them," he said last week. But within days, all but one of the
fighters were released and some were seen burning U.S. and Israeli flags and
stepping on pictures of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi. Kadhemi has
repeatedly vowed to put an end to the missile fire, and the continued attacks
are seen as a challenge to his authority.
Kataeb Hezbollah in particular is deeply suspicious of Kadhemi, accusing him of
complicity in the U.S. killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and the
Hashed's deputy chief in a January drone strike in Baghdad. The group first
began fighting U.S. troops in 2003, following the American-led invasion to
topple Saddam Hussein. According to paramilitary expert Michael Knights, it is
the top armed Iraqi ally of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Washington
has designated a "terrorist" group.
Kanye West Announces 2020 Presidential Run
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 5 July, 2020
Kanye West, the entertainment mogul who urges listeners in one song to "reach
for the stars, so if you fall, you land on a cloud," announced Saturday he is
challenging Donald Trump for the US presidency in 2020. "We must now realize the
promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future.
I am running for president of the United States! #2020VISION," the born-again
billionaire rapper tweeted as Americans marked Independence Day. He offered no
further details on his campaign, four months before the November election. West
long ago broke ranks with most of the left-leaning entertainment industry to
loudly voice his support for Trump. In 2018, they met in the Oval Office -- a
surreal tete-a-tete that included a hug from the rapper as well as an on-camera
rant featuring an expletive not often repeated for the White House press corps.
That year, West also delivered a lengthy soliloquy to a president who many deem
racist, telling him he loved him -- to the dismay of many Democrats and fellow
artists. But in 2019, during an interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music's Beats
1 show, he said his support for Trump had been a way to razz Democrats -- and
announced his own presidential ambitions.
"There will be a time when I will be the president of the US, and I will
remember... any founder that didn't have the capacity to understand culturally
what we were doing." It was unclear to whom the artist was referring. The
announcement came days after West, who has taken a very public turn towards
Christianity in recent years, released a new song, "Wash Us In the Blood," along
with an accompanying video including imagery from recent anti-racism protests.
Since 2018, his wife, reality star Kim Kardashian, has formed her own contacts
with the White House as she champions criminal justice reform: she has
successfully lobbied Trump to pardon a sexagenarian woman for a non-violent drug
offense. For weeks now Trump, criticized for his response both to the
coronavirus pandemic and to anti-racism protests, has been lagging in the polls
behind his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
Kadhimi Reshuffles Senior Security Posts
Baghdad- Fadhel al-Nashmi/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 5 July, 2020
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has appointed Major General Abdul Ghani
al-Asadi as head of the National Security Agency, replacing Faleh al-Fayadh.
This comes in line with the series of appointments and amendments in senior
security posts. Asadi, 69, graduated from the Military Academy in 1972. He
served in Iraq’s Special Operations Forces until his retirement was ordered by
former Premier Adel Abdul Mahdi in 2018. Kadhimi also appointed Qasim al-Araji
as national security adviser, replacing Fayadh, who served in this post for
nearly 10 years. Araji served as Interior Minister in the second half of former
Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s government (2014-2018). He also served as an MP
between 2010 and 2014, representing Hadi al-Amiri’s pro-Iran Badr Organization.
Both orders actually deprive Fayadh of critical positions he has been serving
for many years now and keeps him only as head of the Popular Mobilization
Forces. Sources close to Kadhimi’s government suggest Fayadh will also be
stripped from this post once an alternative is available. They also indicated
other possible similar amendments to senior leaders in the army and police
forces. In early May, the Prime Minister ordered to reinstate a top general
dismissed by Abdul Mahdi in September. “We ordered the return of the hero
brother, First Lieutenant General Abdel-Wahab al-Saadi, and to promote him as
the head of the Anti-Terrorism Agency,” he said. Security observers noted that
the latest reshuffle has maintained the dominance of the Shiite component over
these positions. At the level of civil government institutions and bodies,
Kadhimi decided to end the mandate of Jasim al-Lamy as member of the
Communications and Media Commission’s (CMC) Board of Commissioners. Other
figures who have been serving for a long period in the commission are also
expected to be dismissed.
Rocket Fired Towards Baghdad Green Zone, Child Injured
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 5 July, 2020
A rocket fired towards Baghdad's Green Zone, which hosts the US and other
embassies, fell just short causing damage to a home and injuring a child early
on Sunday, the Iraqi military said. Security forces at the same time stopped
another Katyusha rocket from being launched at Taji military airbase north of
Baghdad which hosts US troops, a military statement added. The military gave no
further details. US officials blame Iran-backed militia for regular rocket
attacks on US facilities in Iraq, including near the embassy in Baghdad. No
known Iran-backed groups have claimed responsibility. A police and a medical
source confirmed a child was lightly injured and said it was caused by rocket
fragments that landed on a home. The police source said an anti-rocket system
set up to defend the US embassy, and which had been tested on Saturday, had shot
down a rocket which exploded in mid-air before it could hit the Green Zone.
Iraqi security forces raided a headquarters of the Kataib Hezbollah Iran-backed
militia in southern Baghdad last week arresting more than a dozen members of the
group on charges of involvement in rocket attacks. Most of whom were released
shortly afterwards. Paramilitary groups backed by Iran have come to dominate
parts of Iraq's security institutions, economy, and political life. Prime
Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's government is favored by the United States and has
indicated it will back up tough talk against the militias with action, but last
week's confusing episode over the arrest of militiamen showed it will come up
against tough resistance.
Russia Deploys Surprise Military Reinforcements to Syria’s
Deir Ezzor
London, Qamishli- Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 5 July, 2020
The Russian army on Saturday deployed a huge military convoy to Deir Ezzor in
eastern Syria amid talks by Syrian opposition members of a potential breakout of
clashes with Iran-backed militias near borders with Iraq. Meanwhile, Turkish
forces and artillery deployed in northwestern Syria reached 7,675 vehicles and
11,000 soldiers. “Deir Ezzor 24” local channel reported on two Russian military
convoys entering the city on Friday dawn. The convoys were transferred from the
rural areas of Raqqa province. According to the media report, around 60 military
vehicles, among which were large trucks, had entered the Talay camp in Deir
Ezzor. Another news network, Dorar al-Shamiyyah, reported on a third Russian
military convoy composed of around 30 military vehicles also entering the scene
in less than 24 hours. It is noteworthy that this is the first time a military
convoy of that size enters Deir Ezzor city. Dorar al-Shamiyyah channel pointed
out to escalating conflict between militias loyal to Russia and others loyal to
Iran in the region. As a result of this conflict, a security officer was killed
in clashes that took place last week. Clashes have so far killed four security
officers and injured many others—they also resulted in the destruction of a
military checkpoint and the burning down of militia camps. This came after news
that Iranian militias took control of Boukamal town in Deir Ezzor. Quds Force
commander and successor to Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in
Baghdad earlier this year, Esmail Qaani visited the premise set up by
Iran-backed militias in the Boukamal town. According to Deir Ezzor 24,
Iran-backed militias has forced Syrian regime troops to remove their roadblocks
in Boukamal. More so, they denied the Russian-backed Liwaa al-Quds forces from
setting up camp and checkpoints in the town.
According to the local channel, this comes within the frame of the
Russian-Iranian struggle for power in the region.
Israel Concerned Over Palestinian Security Bodies Training
in Russia
Ramallah- Kifah Zboun/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 5 July, 2020
Israel fears the quality training Palestinian forces have been receiving in
Russia, a report made by Channel 12 revealed.
Since 2007, which marks the severance of Fatah-Hamas ties, Palestinians have
been studying at remarkable military Russian academies. Recently, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed students who returned from a battle command and
fighting training in Moscow. Fatah movement Central Committee Secretary-General
Jibril Rajoub said in a joint online conference held with deputy head of the
movement's political bureau Saleh al-Arouri that the two Palestinian rival
groups agreed to unify their positions against Israeli annexation plan.
Furthermore, secretive talks occurred between both parties to reach a unified
strategy against annexation. This was approved by Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas and head of Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh. According to Times of
Israel, “The joint declaration by the two main Palestinian factions raised the
specter of a return to the Palestinian terror waves of the Second Intifada, when
attackers linked to both Fatah and Hamas carried out numerous deadly suicide
bombings and other attacks targeting Israeli civilians and soldiers.”“The
dangers for Fatah in collaborating with Hamas are clear, with the two movements
having cultivated growing animosity since 2007,” it added.
Bringing Hamas leader al-Arouri on stage, literally and figuratively, gave
Rajoub’s bitter criticisms of Israel’s annexation plans — and his vows to resist
them, which he has issued several times in the recent past — a sharper edge: Al-Arouri
has a USD5 million US State Department bounty on his head for orchestrating
multiple acts of terrorism, the website added. “Many Fatah members might
consider a detente with Hamas to be out of the question, a deal with the devil.
But Abbas and the leader of Fatah, may be grasping for the popular legitimacy he
has long lacked by closing ranks with the terror group,” it said.
Hamas likely hopes the declaration of unity — and the promised anti-occupation
coordination to come — will lead to fewer restrictions on its West Bank
operations, Neri Zilber, a Tel Aviv-based analyst and an adjunct fellow at the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said. He added that Hamas has been
banned from operating in the West Bank for years, with both Israeli and
Palestinian security forces regularly cracking down on its activities and
arresting its members. “Yet, Abbas has already suspended security cooperation
with Israel. If Fatah is indeed now willing to coordinate with Hamas, it may
turn a blind eye to the terror group’s violence, or even actively encourage it,”
Zilber stated. According to Rajoub, Fatah will try and mobilize West Bank Hamas
cadres to participate in mass demonstrations. But if the coordination announced
Thursday means giving Hamas cadres a freer hand to organize in the West Bank,
terror activities against Israelis could resume in and from the area.
Tunisia Parliament Rejects Blacklisting Muslim Brotherhood
Tunis - Mongi Saidani/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 5 July, 2020
Tunisia’s parliament bureau has rejected a draft-law submitted by the opposition
Free Destourian Party (PDL) to blacklist the Muslim Brotherhood. The bureau
consists of the parliament speaker, his deputies, and 10 lawmakers representing
all parties in the legislatures. Five votes were in favor of the motion and five
against it. The bureau said the draft-law contradicts the parliament’s statute.
PDL is a staunch critic of political Islam and Islamist organizations. Its head,
Abir Moussi, accuses Ennahda movement of having solid ties with the Muslim
Brotherhood despite its denial. Moussi said Saturday that turning down the
motion proves that the Tunisian parliament is ruled by the Brotherhood. She
described the bureau’s latest move as a “conspiracy against the state.”Also
Saturday, workers at oilfields in the Tataouine region, in southeastern Tunisia,
launched an open-ended general strike, demanding that the government implements
the El-Kamour Agreement. The Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) called for the
strike that involves all public facilities, and the oil and gas sectors. The
protesters are demanding to hire more than 1,500 people in the petroleum
companies operating in the region, the employment of 500 others in the
environmental and horticulture companies, and allocating an amount of TND80
million dinars annually to the development fund within the governorate.
Canada reaffirms unwavering support to Venezuelan people on
Venezuela’s Independence Day
July 5, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today
issued the following statement:
“On Venezuela's Independence Day, Canada reaffirms its unwavering support to the
Venezuelan people as they fight to restore their democratic and human rights.
“Canada continues to work within the family of democracies in the Americas and
with partners around the world to end the suffering in Venezuela and bring a
peaceful transition to democracy, which follows the Venezuelan constitution and
includes free and fair elections.
“Together, we must end the human tragedy in Venezuela and ensure that
Venezuelans can once again live in the democracy they deserve.”
New agreements making Libya into Turkish military
protectorate
The Arab Weekly/July 05/2020
TRIPOLI--Turkey seems to be in race against time to exploit international
hesitation towards its military moves in Libya so as to transform its current
presence in the North African country into a permanent protectorate based on
military, security and economic arrangements. Turkish intent was most recently
illustrated by a series of binding agreements reached with Libyans Turkish
Defence Minister Hulusi Akar during his visit to Tripoli. The deals reached by
Akar, who met with Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and Minister of the Interior
Fathi Bashagha, were described by Libyan observers as “humiliating military
agreements”.Sources said that the recent agreements provided for the creation of
a Turkish military base in Libya, in addition to the establishment on Libyan
soil of a Turkish armed force whose members enjoy immunity against any
prosecution and would be expected to intervene any time in order to save the the
Sarraj government from any threats. The GNA said in a statement that the talks,
which were attended by a high-level military delegation from both sides,
reviewed developments in Libya and discussed “military and security cooperation”
within the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed between the
Sarraj government and Ankara last November. GNA deputy defence minister Salah
Namrush said the talks² examined the issue of military training. According to
him, discussions “confirmed the continuation of Turkish support to the
legitimate government in Libya in the areas of military and security
cooperation, in addition to the opening of training centres to build a
professional army and preserve the state’s capabilities.”
According to observers, Ankara is picking up on Americans’ plans to train GNA
forces, as discussed between Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha and a delegation
from US AFRICOM, which he met a few days ago.
Akar’s meetings in Tripoli with Turkish officers and soldiers angered many
Libyans as the meetings conveyed the clear sense that the Libyan capital has
fallen under Turkish rule and that the GNA has become a mere front for bestowing
legitimacy on the Turkish presence in Libya.
The Anadolu press agency said that Akar visited the military hospital in Mitiga,
where he was briefed on the situation by officials and by the Turkish medical
staff working there. From the Mitiga hospital, a helicopter flew the Turkish
Minister of Defence and Chief of General Staff Yasar Guler to a warship in the
Mediterranean, where the Turkish military operations centre is located. The far
reaching movements of the delegation showed that that Turkey was already
operating in what seemed to be like a state within the Libyan state. In Misrata,
Akar repeated what he did in Tripoli as he arrived at the Air College in Misrata
and was greeted by Bashagha and a number of Turkish officers before he visited
the Turkish Operations Room overseeing military operations and conducting air
force sorties. The operations room was at the starting point of Turkish
intervention in Libya. Libyans fear that militias and armed groups, including
militants who have infiltrated security institutions, will be integrated and
given legitimacy in order to negotiate with them any future political solution
that would include their inclusion in the security and military forces of the
country. Such a scenario would, according to experts, represent a threat to the
security of the country as it would turn Libya into a haven and transit point
for terrorists. Libyan analysts described the new GNA agreements with Turkey as
a cover for a de facto occupation of the country by Ankara, especially that the
Sarraj government has already signed economic agreements that mortgage much of
Libya’s financial resources to Turkey. Khaled al-Mahjoub, director of moral
guidance at the Libyan National Army, said that the military agreements between
Ankara and the Sarraj government are aimed mainly at ensuring the control of oil
fields and at bypassing the Egyptian “red line” constituted by the city of Sirte
and the Jufra air base. Mahjoub warned in an interview with “MBC Egypt” that the
Turks are seeking to cross the “red line” set by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah
El-Sisi, in an attempt to plunder the wealth of the Libyan people, especially
through the control of oil fields in the east, hence threatening Egyptian and
Arab national security. He stressed that the Sarraj government is making moves
and concluding agreements outside the scope of legitimacy, warning that the
Libyan National Army will thwart all such attempts.
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on July 05-06/2020
Do we Need a New Pact for the Environment?
Najib Saab/Asharq Al Awsat/July 05/2020
Since the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment released its
Stockholm Declaration in 1972, more than a thousand international agreements
dealing with specific environmental issues have emerged. The question is: To
what extent have these agreements led to environmental action, and do we need
more of them?
Agreements among countries are the main tools that allow cooperation within the
framework of international law, to deal with common cross-border environmental
issues: from waste and chemicals, to biodiversity, desertification and the
protection of the seas and oceans, to protection of the ozone layer and climate
change.
While many of these agreements are considered soft laws and compliance depends
on the goodwill of the country in question, others are governed by binding laws.
But imposing the provisions of these agreements often faces problems in terms of
deciding which courts are fit to rule on the violations and solve disputes
between parties. This is due to the overlaps between the sovereignty of
countries over their resources and the extent to which activities within their
borders cause harm to neighboring countries and the global environment in
general.
At the same time, judges in international courts often argue that the provisions
of international environmental agreements are not clear enough to rule on some
of the cases brought before them. So will the solution lie in strengthening
existing agreements or in developing a new binding agreement based on general
principles? The fact is that ambiguity had been intentional when agreements were
negotiated, as the only way to reach the consensus required.
The foundation of global environmental governance was laid out at the United
Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm on June 5, 1972,
when a declaration of 27 principles was issued. These general principles, which
are not legally binding, defined natural environment as a common human heritage
that must be nurtured, harnessing resources in a sustainable manner which allows
regeneration. The "Stockholm Declaration" addresses issues of resource
management, urbanization, land use and pollution, among others. This was the
first international attempt to tackle the impact of human activity on the
environment.
The Stockholm Conference resulted in the establishment of the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP). The Egyptian scientist, Mustafa Kamal Tolba, who
played a pivotal role in establishing and leading this international
environmental organization until 1992, worked during his founding mandate to
launch international agreements governing environmental action.
He understood, with his vision and by virtue of his political experience, that
only agreements based on specific goals and a timetable for implementation could
positively impact the environment. Tolba did not want to head an international
civil society organization whose role is limited to protests and demands.
Rather, he sought to turn UNEP into an active force in the international arena,
by developing environmental treaties and protocols, even if compliance with them
in some cases was voluntary. With specific rules and controls in place, it was
possible, at least, to defame violators who fail to comply with what they had
agreed to, and subsequently to seek enforcement.
Tolba, himself coming from a third world country, realized from the outset that
the implementation of environmental agreements requires funding. The right of
developing countries to development cannot be impeded without proper
compensation, after decades of industrialized countries exploiting the world's
natural resources and polluting without restrictions. So he insisted that every
environmental agreement be accompanied with a fund to support its
implementation.
The Montreal Protocol, meant to finance action to protect the ozone layer by
shifting to safe alternatives to the ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, is the
most prominent example of this. The Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of
the Montreal Protocol was the decisive factor in achieving the interim goals of
the protocol ahead of schedule.
The reason for success here was not confined to setting legally-binding
conditions in the protocol; rather, it was the financial support to implement
its provisions. Other agreements did not have a similar implementation mechanism
attached to specific targets, including biodiversity, seas and desertification.
The climate fund has not yet been activated properly, which resulted in a
slowdown in achieving its goals.
The international conference on Environment and Development, known as the Earth
Summit, which was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, resulted in the "Rio
Declaration" and Agenda 21. They set specific principles for development that
are compatible with environmental requirements. The “polluter pays” principle is
perhaps the most practical outcome that emerged from this conference.
If the foundations of international environmental law were laid down in
Stockholm and Rio de Janeiro, they were enhanced in New York in 2015 with the
agreement on 17 sustainable development goals, encompassing the environment, to
be implemented by 2030. These include eliminating poverty and hunger, ensuring
clean water, energy and education for all, rationalizing natural resource
management by changing consumption and production patterns and tackling climate
change. Thus, the principles of environmental stewardship and resource
management were supplemented by detailed objectives, which countries unanimously
committed to implement. However, obligations remained voluntary.
France, in conjunction with the agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals,
led a campaign to establish a global pact for the environment, which would serve
as a basis for a binding international environmental law. The United Nations
General Assembly organized several international meetings to discuss the
viability of such a pact, but ended without an agreement. The essence of the
dispute remains that developing countries object to imposing binding
restrictions on development within their borders, unless accompanied by
financial aid. Rich industrialized countries believe that the time has come for
developing countries to establish good governance and fight corruption, in order
to obtain conditional aid that is mainly in the form of investments, not
donations. While both arguments are viable, what really continues to obstruct
compromise is the lack of will on all sides to enact binding rules which govern
international environmental law. The priority must be to activate existing
environmental agreements, because they already include enough principles that
can be invoked in international law. But success depends on putting in place a
financial implementation mechanism in which everyone participates, that rewards
those who comply with the law, and punishes offenders. As for the International
Pact for the Environment, the fact is that such a pact has already been laid out
half a century ago in the Stockholm Declaration. It is not new texts that are
required, but a serious political decision for implementation, accompanied by
proper finance mechanism.
*Najib Saab is secretary general of the Arab Forum for Environment and
Development (AFED) and editor-in-chief of Environment & Development magazine
Germany’s Accounting Scandal
Ferdinando Giugliano/Bloomberg/July 05/2020
The scandal at Wirecard AG hasn’t just exposed a multi-billion dollar hole in
the accounts of one of Germany’s most hyped fintech companies. It has also
revealed a void at the heart of the country’s regulatory regime.
Angela Merkel’s government needs to ask itself some tough questions about the
effectiveness of BaFin as a watchdog for its financial markets, including
whether it should continue in its present form. But this is a European problem
too.
The supervisory failures are so bad that the European Union is complaining about
the possible damage to its own reputation as a safe place to invest. Brussels
will rightly open an investigation into the Wirecard fiasco. One hopes that this
will accelerate the process toward a stronger pan-European regulatory body that
might overcome the tendency for national supervisors to go easy on their
domestic companies.
The European Securities Markets Authority, the EU’s market regulator, needs to
be given a central role in governing the continent’s companies, as has already
happened with the European Central Bank’s oversight of banking. The ECB hasn’t
been a perfect supervisor: It could have put more pressure on Deutsche Bank AG,
Germany’s struggling flagship lender. But it has done a better job than BaFin,
which failed to adequately monitor the German banking system before the
financial crisis.
Wirecard’s collapse is certainly a humiliation for Germany’s supervisors. A
number of short sellers, and a group of Financial Times journalists, have for
years been reporting disturbing facts about the company and, in particular, the
reliability of its accounts. BaFin failed to follow up speedily on their work,
despite receiving tips from a whistleblower and complaints from other regulatory
authorities. Instead, it pointed the finger the other way: banning the short
selling of Wirecard stock temporarily and opening an investigation into the FT’s
reporters.
Even after the company admitted that it couldn’t locate 1.9 billion euros ($2.1
billion) of cash, the German establishment was slow to acknowledge the gravity
of the situation. Felix Hufeld, the head of BaFin, issued an apology, but he
also said Wirecard was considered a technology company rather than a financial
institution — a bizarre attempt to deflect blame given that Wirecard owned its
own bank. Olaf Scholz, Germany’s finance minister, initially said that “the
supervisory institutions worked very hard and they did their job.” He has since
changed tack, demanding a rethink of Germany’s regulatory structure.
BaFin’s problems are structural and cultural. It is overseen by Germany’s
finance ministry, meaning it lacks independence from political meddling. It may
have also struggled to understand the world of fintech: Wirecard’s byzantine
payment-transfers business was difficult for outsiders to make sense of. But
shouldn’t that have raised its own concerns?
The EU is right to be putting the heat on Germany. Valdis Dombrovskis, the
vice-president in charge of financial services, said in an FT interview on
Friday that ESMA should lead a probe into BaFin’s behavior. The Commission could
follow up with its own formal investigation. Provided these inquiries have
teeth, they would show that even Germany is not beyond EU scrutiny. The
Commission should also accelerate plans to overhaul ESMA. At the moment, it is
little more than a collection of national regulators, with no real powers of its
own. Unsurprisingly, it failed to pick up what was happening in Germany. The
Wirecard probe will be a key test of its independence. BaFin executives sit on
the ESMA supervisory board. A stronger, centralized markets regulator might even
help deliver some EU states’ dream of a “capital markets union.” This aims to
create a true pan-European equity market, and it would be a crucial step to
strengthening the bloc’s financial stability. A single markets regulator would
doubtless have its failings. It would be subject to national lobbying,
especially if its executives weren’t independent enough. There would still be
problems in how to oversee companies that operate in multiple jurisdictions
beyond Europe. Still, a strong pan-European watchdog would have more muscle to
deal with international counterparts. Much like the financial crisis exposed the
cozy links between lenders and banking supervisors, the Wirecard scandal is a
reminder of what’s wrong with the balkanized regulation of the securities
markets. The EU should seize on this opportunity — and Germany should not get in
the way.
Slavery Rampant in Africa, Middle East; The West Wrongly
Accuses Itself
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/July 5, 2020
For the intersectional activists, the US is the world's biggest oppressor -- not
China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, or Iran.
"What the media do not tell you is that America is the best place on the planet
to be black, female, gay, trans or what have you. We have our problems and we
need to address those. But our society and our systems are far from racist". —
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Twitter, June 9, 2020.
"The new anti-racism is racism disguised as humanism (...) It implies that every
white person is bad... and that every black person is a victim". — Abnousse
Shalmani, born in Tehran, now living in Paris, to Le Figaro, June 12, 2020.
"America looks different if you grew up, as I did, in Africa and the Middle
East". — Ayaan Hirsi Ali, The Wall Street Journal, June 26, 2020.
It is high time for the United States to stop funding the United Nations.... The
United Nations is now being used to perpetuate injustice, not stop it.
Real slave traders and racists -- those who believe Western societies and values
should not exist at all -- most likely look at the current Western
self-flagellation and cheer their approval.
According to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who fled her homeland of Somalia and now live in
the US: "What the media do not tell you is that America is the best place on the
planet to be black, female, gay, trans or what have you. We have our problems
and we need to address those. But our society and our systems are far from
racist".
The United States abolished slavery 150 years ago, and has affirmative action
for minorities. It is the country that elected a Black president, Barack Obama
-- twice! Yet, a new movement is toppling one historic monument after another
one, as if the US is still enslaving African-Americans. Activists in Washington
DC even targeted an Emancipation Memorial, depicting President Abraham Lincoln,
who paid with his life for freeing slaves.
Today slavery still exists in many parts of Africa and Middle East, but the
self-flagellating Western public is obsessively focused only on the Western past
of African slavery rather than on real, ongoing slavery, which is alive and well
-- and ignored. For today's slaves, there are no demonstrations in the streets,
no international political pressure, and virtually no articles in the media.
"We must not forget that Arab-Muslims have been champions in this field," Kamel
Bencheikh, a Muslim poet, wrote in Le Matin d'Algerie.
"Emirs and sultans bought entire convoys of young black ephebes to make into
eunuchs to guard their harems. And this continued with Ottoman emperors.... Even
today, Mauritania and Saudi Arabia are still housing their own Ku Klux Klan.
Slavery is still the order of the day in Nouakchott [Mauritania]. As for Riad,
all you have to do is find out about young Asian girls that the potentates hire
as maidservants".
An investigation by BBC Arabic found that domestic workers in Saudi Arabia are
even being sold online in a slave market that is booming.
According to Bencheikh, George Floyd's death was an opportunity for many in
Europe to turn a respectable fight into an unimaginable depravity.
"So, on the Place de la République in Paris or the Avenue Louise in Brussels,
there are vengeful thugs, fed with hatred, taking advantage of the allotments
that these two countries offer them, and attacking the past of those who enabled
them to free themselves from their dictatorships...
"In France and Belgium, we do not execute apostates, crucify heterodox people,
throw stones at unfaithful women, spit at heretics...
"... this anti-racism is biting its tail to turn into racism. You only have to
see the angry crowd, the drool on their lips, to realize that we are dealing
with people who have come to insult the white man guilty of having had, more
than a hundred years ago, inappropriate gestures or shameful thoughts, and to
insist, like the wolf in La Fontaine who said to the lamb: 'If not you, then
your brother'... Totalitarianism is among us again".
He calls it a "Stalinism of communitarianism (sectarian politics) that makes
itself into an indigenous victimization". People who fled from Bouteflika and
Gaddafi, the oppressors and tyrants of Kinshasa and Niamey, "come and spit
incomprehensible hatred in Paris or Brussels".
Bencheikh's article shows just one brave group of dissidents in the Islamic
world who are defending the West better than the Westerners are doing. These
dissidents love freedom of expression and conscience; they know the difference
between democracy and dictatorship; they enjoy religious tolerance, pluralism in
the public sphere, and they outspokenly criticize the practice of Islam from
which they fled. They also know that arousing historic and racial resentment is
a dangerous game. For political Islam, their voices are revealing and
devastating. For Western multiculturalism, they are "heretical" and annoying. Le
Figaro pointed to this paradox: "Seen by their communities as 'traitors', they
are accused by the elites in the West of 'stigmatizing'".
In The Spectator, Nick Cohen, explained:
"In the liberal orientalist world view the only 'authentic' Muslim is a
barbarian. A battery of insults fires on any Muslim who says otherwise. They are
'neo-conservatives,' 'native informants,' and 'Zionists': they are as extreme as
jihadists they oppose, or, let's face it, worse...".
Like Bencheikh, Algerian author Mohammed Sifaoui reminds all of us that
"Mauritania, in North Africa, is the most slavery-supporting country in the
world today. Qatar in the Middle East is as well, just as much, [as is] Saudi
Arabia, under the banner of the Guardians of the Holy Places of Islam".
The author Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who fled her homeland of Somalia and now live in the
US, writes: "What the media do not tell you is that America is the best place on
the planet to be black, female, gay, trans or what have you. We have our
problems and we need to address those. But our society and our systems are far
from racist".
Black, female and gay, the apex of "intersectionality." According to Andrew
Sullivan:
"'Intersectionality' is the latest academic craze sweeping the American academy.
On the surface, it's a recent neo-Marxist theory that argues that social
oppression does not simply apply to single categories of identity — such as
race, gender, sexual orientation, class, etc. — but to all of them in an
interlocking system of hierarchy and power. "
For the intersectional activists, the US is the world's biggest oppressor. Not
Saudi Arabia or Iran. Hirsi Ali, who fled Somalia and experienced female genital
mutilation, knows about oppression better than anti-statues activists. According
to Hirsi Ali, writing in The Wall Street Journal: "When I hear it said that the
U.S. is defined above all by racism, when I see books such as Robin DiAngelo's
'White Fragility' top the bestseller list, when I read of educators and
journalists being fired for daring to question the orthodoxies of Black Lives
Matter—then I feel obliged to speak up... America looks different if you grew
up, as I did, in Africa and the Middle East".
Writing in Le Monde and Le Point, Algerian writer Kamel Daoud indicted this
hypocrisy. "There is an instinct for death in the air of the total revolution",
Daoud notes.
"According to some, the West is guilty by definition, we find ourselves not in a
demand for change but, little by little, in [a demand for] destruction, the
restoration of a barbarity of revenge".
Daoud calls these "anti-Western Soviet-style trials".
"It is forbidden to say that the West is also the place to which we flee when we
want to escape the injustice of our country of origin, dictatorship, war,
hunger, or simply boredom. It is fashionable to say that the West is guilty of
everything".
In Le Point, Daoud states that "with the great announcement of antiracism, the
Inquisition returns".
Daoud has been accused by twenty leftist academics, in an appeal in Le Monde, of
"orientalist clichés" and "colonialist paternalism". This new accusation of
racism serves publicly to shame, mark and disqualify a politician or an
intellectual who comments with too much frankness on the damage of
multiculturalism.
Zineb el Rhazoui, a Moroccan-born anti-Islamist French journalist facing death
threats, recently said: "The only racism I suffer from comes from North
Africans. For the Algerians, I am a Moroccan whore. For Moroccans, I am an
Algerian whore. For both, a 'whore of the Jews'".
Arabs threaten other Arabs for speaking the truth about real racism and
Islamization. They are the invisible victims of racism in France. Rhazoui
claimed that "France is one of the most tolerant and least racist country in the
world" and that real threat is not racism, but communitarism [importance placed
on groups rather than individuals], denounced as well by French President
Emmanuel Macron.
The Iranian writer Abnousse Shalmani, born in Tehran but now living in Paris,
said to Le Figaro: "The new anti-racism is racism disguised as humanism (...)
What resonates in this discourse is the prison of victimization....It implies
that every white person is bad -- as witnessed by the recent debunking of the
statues of Victor Schoelcher, father of the abolition of slavery, in Martinique
-- and that every black person is a victim".
While the economist Thomas Piketty, in Le Monde, invited the West to make amends
for its colonial past, the Franco-Senegalese author, Fatou Diome, called for the
abandonment of a discourse on decolonization:
"It is an emergency for those who do not yet know that they are free. I do not
consider myself colonized. The catchphrase on colonization and slavery has
become a business".
The "ideology" is simple: colonialism is supposedly still at work, people from
formerly colonized countries continue to be oppressed, in particular Muslims who
are said to be targets of a "racist" and "Islamophobic" hate. In this view,
"White Western males" are always the oppressors, and the minorities are always
victims. A prominent anti-racism campaigner, Rokhaya Diallo, has said that
France is "racist" in an opposition between "the dominator" and "the dominated".
It is a view that sees racism everywhere, especially where it does not exist. It
has also produced many of the disasters of multiculturalism throughout Europe by
making it impossible to criticize the consequences of mass immigration and
Islamist separatism. The French author Pascal Bruckner has called this stance
"imaginary racism". It is a penitential creation that leads the public in the
West -- even though presumably no one in the West either was a slave or had a
slave -- to believe that anti-Western hatred is deserved.
The border between this Marxist view, in which someone always has to be a
victim, has become porous with Islamism. In the movement named after Adama
Traoré, the "French George Floyd", you will find an alliance of organizations
such as SOS Racisme and Muslim Salafists. Human rights organizations also rally
with the "Union of Islamic Organization of France", considered fundamentalist.
Manuel Valls, the former French prime minister, in an interview with Valuers
Actuelles magazine said, "Human rights associations have been lost and have
opened the doors to Tariq Ramadan". This instead of taking the side of the many
great Muslim reformers. Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes:
"Reformers such as Asra Nomani, Irshad Manji, Tawfiq Hamid, Maajid Nawaz, Zuhdi
Jasser, Saleem Ahmed, Yunis Qandil, Seyran Ates, Bassam Tibi and Abd al-Hamid
al-Ansari must be supported and protected... These reformers should be as well
known in the West as Solzhenitsyn, Sakharov and Havel were generations earlier."
Instead, so-called human rights associations, politicians and the media have
chosen to back political Islam.
By contrast, a group of 12 writers put their names to a statement in the French
magazine Charlie Hebdo warning against Islamic "totalitarianism".
"After having overcome fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism, the world now faces a new
global totalitarian threat: Islamism. We, writers, journalists, intellectuals,
call for resistance to religious totalitarianism and for the promotion of
freedom, equal opportunity and secular values for all".
Among the 12 signatories, eight came from the Islamic world.
These anti-Islamist Muslim intellectuals were not born free; they fled
dictatorships for democracies, where they still suffer death threats and abuses,
but where they are far freer and prouder of the West than those Westerners who
know only freedom but now practice a dreadful feeing of guilt -- mostly for
things they did not do.
The West not only turns its back the new slave markets; the UN Human Rights
Council actually welcomes states such as Sudan, where tens of thousands of women
and children from mostly Christian villages were enslaved during Jihadi raids;
Kenya and Nigeria, where the police last fall rescued hundreds of men and boys
chained in an Islamic school; Pakistan, where Christians are condemned to
servitude, and Mauritania, where two in every 100 people are still held as
slaves. It is the same UN Human Rights Council that now, thanks to pressure by
African countries, wants to investigate "systemic racism in the US". US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted:
"If the Council were honest, it would recognize the strengths of American
democracy and urge authoritarian regimes around the world to model American
democracy and to hold their nations to the same high standards of accountability
and transparency that we Americans apply to ourselves".
It is high time for the United States to stop funding the United Nations. The
United Nations is being used to perpetuate injustice, not stop it.
Real slave traders and racists -- those who believe Western societies and values
should not exist at all -- most likely look at the current Western
self-flagellation and cheer their approval.
*Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and
author.
© 2020 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.
Iran braces for next blow after mystery explosions hit
nuclear and missile production sites
DEBKAfile/July 05/2020
موقع دبيكا/إيران تستعد للكارثة التالية بعد أن ضربت انفجارات غامضة مواقع إنتاج
نووية وصاروخية
ملخص التقرير
تقدر مصادر موقع دبيكا بأنه من أهداف الضربات المستمرة داخل إيران والتي تتم بشراكة
وتعاون كاملين بين كل من إسرائيل وأمريكيا والسعودية هي إعاقة البرنامجين النووي
والصاروخي لأن لا العقوبات الأمريكية القاسية ولا انخفاض قيمة الريال الكبيرة ولا
تفشي الفيروس التاجي القاتل كان لهم أي تأثير في كبح سعي الجمهورية الإسلامية لجهة
حملتها المكثفة لتطوير برامجها النووية والصاروخية. ويرى البعض أن سلسلة الضربات
العقابية التي وقعت في الأسابيع الأخيرة عطلت خطط إيران النووية والصاروخية لفترة
لا تتعدى الشهرين ولذلك من المتوقع قيام إيران بأفعال انتقامية.
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/87958/debkafile-iran-braces-for-next-blow-after-mystery-explosions-hit-nuclear-and-missile-production-sites-%d9%85%d9%88%d9%82%d8%b9-%d8%af%d8%a8%d9%8a%d9%83%d8%a7-%d8%a5%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%aa/
The fire at the Ahwaz power station on Saturday, July 4, was the
latest in a string of “accidents” which prompted an Iranian warning to Israel
and the US of retaliation if “proof” of their involvement was found.
Meanwhile Iranian officials have actively played down the damage to their
nuclear and missile production sites caused by the incidents piling up since
late June.
The fire, which damaged the large power plant in the southwestern Iranian city
of Ahvaz in Khuzestan, was blamed on “overheating” and “quickly isolated before
it spread further.”
Hours later, a chlorine gas leak at the Karoon petrochemical plant in the same
region sent 70 workers to hospital although most were released.
Khuzestan, whose inhabitants are mostly Sunni Muslim Arabs, has a history of
anti-regime violence. It also holds Iran’s biggest oilfields.
Retaliation against “hostile countries” was first mentioned on Thursday, July 2,
by Iran’s civil defense chief after an explosion at Natanz, the country’s
biggest uranium enrichment center, was attributed by an unnamed Iranian official
to an “Israel cyberattack.”
While Iranian spokesman initially downplayed the target as an unfinished
“industrial shed,” it was later identified as a facility for producing more
advanced centrifuges for speeding up uranium enrichment at Natanz for the next
stage of the nuclear program. Last November, Tehran announced it had doubled the
number of advanced centrifuges being operated at Natanz.
That facility yesterday took a substantial hit from the explosion.
The Natanz blast came two days after 19 people were killed in an explosion at a
medical clinic north of the capital Tehran, another accident officially
identified as caused by a gas leak.
June 26 saw two explosions – one at a power station in Shiraz, and the most
damaging and powerful one near the Parchin military base east of Tehran believed
to house a large underground tunnel system and missile production facilities.
This one, which rocked the capital, was also attributed to a leak in a nearby
gas storage facility.
Iran launched a cyberwar on Israel in May with an attack to disrupt its rural
water supply infrastructure. Israel retaliated on May 11 by hacking into
computer servers and creating havoc at Iran’s major Shaid Rajaee Port on the
Persian Gulf.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in any of this unprecedented
cyber attacks. Iran, too, has not officially named the culprits although
pledging retaliation once proof is obtained by its investigations of the
“hostile countries” involved.
DEBKAfile’s sources conjecture from the targets selected that a joint
Israel-US-Saudi operation is likely ongoing against Iran, since neither harsh US
sanctions nor a deadly coronavirus outbreak has been able to restrain the
Islamic Republic from its intense drive to weaponize its nuclear program,
although on Saturday, the Iranian rial slumped to a new low of 215,500 against
the dollar, compared with 208,200 on Friday..
The string of punishing blows inflicted in recent weeks is calculated by some to
have held up Iran’s plans by about two months. Iranian retribution is therefore
to be expected.
European powers key to extending Iran arms embargo
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 05/2020
د.مجيد رافيزادا: القوى الأوروبية هي مفتاح من أجل تمديد حظر
الأسلحة على إيران
The US appears to be finding little support in the UN Security Council (UNSC)
when it comes to extending the arms embargo on Iran, which stems from the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal. The embargo is set to expire
on Oct. 18.
So what policies could the US pursue to ensure an extension? The JCPOA was
designed in a manner that means any one of the deal’s parties (the US, China,
Russia, Germany, the UK, France or the EU) can initiate a snapback of sanctions
on Iran or extend the arms embargo at any time. UNSC resolution 2231 clarifies
any “participant state” in the nuclear agreement has the power to invoke a
snapback or extend the embargo if Iran is found to be in “significant
non-performance” of the deal.
Therefore, the first option is for the US to make the argument that it is still
legalistically part of the nuclear agreement. Although the Trump administration
insisted that it had pulled out of the deal in 2018, UNSC resolution 2231 has
not yet been amended to reflect this change and it still lists the US as a party
to the JCPOA. The State Department issued a legal opinion stating: “As the
United States is an original JCPOA participant identified in (the UN
resolution), there is a legally available argument we can assert that the United
States can initiate the snapback process under UNSCR 2231 by submitting a
notification to the Security Council of an issue that the United States believes
constitutes significant non-performance.”
Nevertheless, this approach will most likely face a rocky road and significant
resistance from other members. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell recently
insisted: “The United States has withdrawn from the JCPOA, and now they cannot
claim that they are still part of the JCPOA in order to deal with this issue
from the JCPOA agreement. They withdraw. It’s clear. They withdraw.”
Another more realistic approach would be for the US to pursue diplomacy with the
other signatories to the nuclear deal. However, Russia and China are strongly in
favor of allowing Iran’s arms embargo to expire. Zhang Jun, the UN ambassador
from China confirmed in a UNSC meeting last week that “China opposes the US push
for extending the arms embargo on Iran.”
The US must persuade at least one of its old transatlantic partners to extend
the embargo due to Iran’s breaches of the JCPOA.
This means that the US must persuade at least one of its old transatlantic
partners — Germany, the UK and France — to extend the arms embargo on Iran due
to its breaches of the JCPOA.
The Iranian regime is indeed in “significant non-performance” of the nuclear
deal. A report from UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
last month highlighted how Iran is violating all the restrictions of the JCPOA.
As of May 20, it had increased its total stockpile of low-enriched uranium from
1.1 tons to 1.73 tons, which is almost eight times more than allowed under the
misbegotten JCPOA. According to the terms of the deal, Iran was permitted to
keep a stockpile of up to 447 pounds and enrich uranium up to 3.67 percent
purity. It has now reached up to 4.5 percent and also possesses far more heavy
water than permitted under the nuclear agreement.
The US must make it clear to the European powers that Iran is also violating the
nuclear deal by not cooperating with the IAEA. IAEA Director General Rafael
Mariano Grossi in March raised serious concerns about possible clandestine
nuclear sites in Iran. “The agency identified a number of questions related to
possible undeclared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities at three
locations in Iran,” he said. The report clarified that the agency “sought access
to two of the locations. Iran has not provided access to these locations and has
not engaged in substantive discussions to clarify the agency’s questions.”
Washington ought to demonstrate the major negative implications that the lifting
of Iran’s arms embargo would have for regional security and stability. The US
could seek the assistance of regional powers to diplomatically pressure and
convince the European officials. Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the
UN, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, has made it clear that extending Iran’s arms embargo
would be “the right (and) cautious thing to do, and the minimum response that
can be expected from the world community (to Iran’s) actions and activities.”
The Iranian regime has been delivering arms to militias and terror groups across
the region. Al-Mouallimi rightly pointed to “the grave violations that Iran has
been committing (by supporting) the Houthi militias in Yemen in launching
numerous attacks against civilian targets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
contrary to the provisions of Security Council Resolutions 2231 and 2216.”
In short, to extend Iran’s arms embargo, the most effective policy option the US
can adopt is to pursue diplomacy with the European powers.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist.
Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh
World must stand up to Iran’s terrorism
Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri/Arab News/July 05/2020
د.حمدان الشهري: مطلوب العالم ضرورة الوقوف بوجه إرهاب إيران
Saudi Arabia is highlighting to the UN Security Council, and the rest of the
world, the importance of extending the arms embargo against Iran. It is making
clear to the five permanent members of the Security Council and international
organizations that lifting the embargo would threaten global peace and security.
The Kingdom was helped in its efforts by the US, whose officials took part in
several meetings and visits to the region. Washington’s Special Representative
for Iran Brian Hook highlighted the dangers of lifting the embargo on Tehran.
Iran’s criminal and aggressive history is well known. It has smuggled arms to
terrorist militias that have targeted Saudi Arabia, including last year’s
attacks against oil installations in Abqaiq and Khurais and the targeting of
Abha International Airport.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres assured, after the organization’s
investigations were concluded, that the cruise missiles used in both these
attacks were “of Iranian origin.” The report, published last month, marks the
first time that Guterres has openly acknowledged Iran’s role in the attacks.
Tehran threatens the region with its terrorist militias, as well as with its
ballistic missiles and, above all, its nuclear program
Likewise, the Kingdom, through its permanent representative to the UN,
Ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, used several virtual meetings to urge the
Security Council to consider “very carefully” the extension of the arms embargo,
which is due to expire in October under the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The Saudi envoy also condemned Iran’s actions and said that the Kingdom has
constantly drawn the attention of the Security Council to “the grave violations
committed by Iran (by supporting) the Houthi militias in Yemen in launching many
attacks against civilian targets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, contrary to the
provisions of Security Council Resolutions 2231 and 2216,” which prohibit the
supply of arms to the Houthis.
He added that “the pattern of Iranian behavior aims to create chaos in the
region by supporting and encouraging outlaw groups, whether in Yemen, Lebanon,
Syria or Iraq. We can only imagine how this behavior would evolve... if the arms
embargo were lifted in October.” Al-Mouallimi said that recent attacks in the
Arabian Gulf showed that Iran poses a “persistent threat,” adding: “We have
maintained a high degree of restraint in the face of all these provocations.”
There is no doubt that Tehran, which poses several dangers rather than offering
a single threat, threatens the region with its terrorist militias, as well as
with its ballistic missiles and, above all, its nuclear program, which
constitutes a threat to the whole world.
In fact, Tehran poses a threat that no other country in the world possesses:
Intercontinental terrorist militias, which represent a threat as great as its
ballistic missiles. As the October deadline approaches, the world is facing a
real test of its ability to stand up to terrorism and criminality. It must
deprive Tehran of every opportunity to increase its terrorism and avoid
colluding with it — anybody who does would be a supporter of its terrorism.
*Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri is a political analyst and international relations
scholar. Twitter: @DrHamsheri
There is no betrayal in interfaith relations
Peter Welby/Arab News/July 05/2020
In mid-June, the Al Jazeera host Ahmed Mansour tweeted an outraged response to
the news that Muslim World League Secretary-General Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul
Kareem Al-Issa had attended an online conference on anti-Semitism. He wrote:
“The Secretary General of the Jewish-Muslim World League calls for a new
religion?!” Perhaps feeling this did not go far enough, a week later he doubled
down, mockingly awarding Al-Issa “the Great Medal of the Zionist.” Other
Islamists in Qatar and elsewhere joined in the attack.
That an Al Jazeera host should show such casual anti-Semitism, as to think that
interaction with Jews would turn an organization Jewish, is not a great
surprise: It is very much true to form. But it is indicative of a growing divide
in this region between those who believe that peace and inclusivity between
religions is a good thing, and those who do not.
For clarity, as if it were needed, Al-Issa is not establishing a new religion.
He understands the differences between Islam and Judaism. In fact, he probably
has a greater understanding of the differences between the two religions than
Mansour, as he has multiple degrees in theology, while Mansour has a degree in
literature.
But this isn’t the only recent example. In Lebanon, a prosecution is being
brought against Sayyed Ali Al-Amin, a Shiite cleric and former Mufti of Tyre,
for attending an interfaith conference in Bahrain. His alleged crime: “Meeting
with Israeli officials.” The apparent evidence: A photograph of the conference,
which was also attended by rabbis from Israel.
The trumped-up nature of the charge against Al-Amin is made clear by the other
elements of the indictment: “Continuously attacking the resistance and its
martyrs (i.e., Hezbollah), inciting strife between sects, sowing discord and
sedition, and violating the Shariah laws of the Jafari sect.” In other words,
Al-Amin, who has long been known to be hostile to Hezbollah’s growing
stranglehold on many elements of the Lebanese state and the Iranian power that
backs it, is being prosecuted because he hasn’t stayed quiet.
What Hezbollah or the Muslim Brotherhood and their friends have not seen is that
peace does not require homogeneity.
Hezbollah and its political allies have been accused of subverting the rule of
law and politicizing the Lebanese judiciary, while the prosecutor’s office that
brought this charge against Al-Amin has been accused of being one of the group’s
instruments. The public prosecutor of Mount Lebanon, Ghada Aoun, has been
accused of bringing politically motivated cases in defense of her political
allies, whether on ideological grounds or simply for political expedience, such
as in the case of Teddy Rahmeh. She is being investigated by the Supreme
Judicial Council of Lebanon.
If Al-Amin’s true “crime” is opposition to Hezbollah, why make the primary
charge one of “meeting with Israeli officials?” This is what links his case to
the intemperate tweets of Mansour and to the Islamist groups that dominate both
Qatar and Lebanon — for them, there is nothing more heinous than meeting with
Jews. There are two major reasons for this; one is to do with Israel and the
other with ideology.
The reason linked to Israel follows a simple, if flawed, logic: That, because
Israel is a Jewish state, then all Jews are linked to the Israeli state and are
therefore responsible for its actions. Like other anti-Semitic tropes, this
doesn’t stand up too much scrutiny. Even if one were to accept the false premise
that all Jews are linked to the Israeli state, it is as absurd to say that all
Israelis are responsible for the actions of their government as to say that the
Lebanese are responsible for theirs. But, to an organization like Hezbollah,
whose very foundation depends on resistance to Israel, such considerations are
irrelevant.
The ideological reason is more fundamental. Islamist movements, like all
extremist movements, depend on enemies. They therefore actively promote the
division upon which they stake their purpose. Peace is anathema to them,
particularly if it involves cooperation with those of different faiths, who may
not see the world on their terms. What Al-Issa and Al-Amin have seen, and what
Hezbollah or the Muslim Brotherhood and their friends have not, is that peace
does not require homogeneity. It is possible to disagree with someone on
something as fundamental as their understanding of God and still live alongside
them in peace, and even in friendship.
To people like Mansour, his ideological influencers in the Muslim Brotherhood
and Hezbollah, such peace is intolerable and they will continue to attack those
who pursue it. There is no syncretism in interfaith relations. There is no
betrayal of the Palestinians in recognizing the evils of the Holocaust. There is
certainly no “betrayal of the resistance” in happening to be in the same photo
as an Israeli rabbi. But facts matter little to those who claim these things:
Their aim is simply a Leninist devotion to chaos and destruction, out of which
they can build their Islamist utopia.
It is imperative, for this reason, that people like Al-Issa and Al-Amin are
protected, encouraged and equipped to continue their work. These are not minor
local disputes, but are representative of a much wider fight — between those who
see a Muslim world that is closed to the outside and constantly seeking an enemy
and those who see a Muslim world at ease in its own skin and welcoming dialogue
with those who see the world differently.
*Peter Welby is a consultant on religion and global affairs, specializing in the
Arab world. Twitter: @pdcwelby
Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in danger of failing
Iraqis and the US
Michael Pregent/Arab News/July 05/2020
Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s Iraqi government is two months old and his Cabinet is still
incomplete, there is an Iran problem, a militia problem, a Daesh problem, a
financial crisis, an epidemic, and there is a revolution at Baghdad’s gates. Al-Kadhimi
has high expectations from the US and even higher ones from the Iraqi people —
so far, he is failing both.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed those concerns to the new prime
minister back in May and pledged to support him to “deliver on his bold agenda
for the sake of the Iraqi people.” Al-Kadhimi will visit the US this month to
continue the strategic dialogue between the two countries. He needs Washington
to continue to support Iraq financially and continue to provide training and
equipment to the compromised Iraqi security forces, in which militias tied to
Iran have primacy and control over Iraq.
Iraq’s protesters have great expectations and they are skeptical that Al-Kadhimi’s
interim government can change things. The real power lies with the Council of
Representatives, where parties tied to Tehran make up the majority and will
decide on whether to hold new elections. These are the very same parties whose
militias are killing protesters and attacking the US’ Baghdad mission to ensure
the enduring defeat of Daesh.
Qais Khazali, who heads an Iranian-backed terror militia group, warned the PM to
stay in his lane just days after counterterrorism forces last month conducted a
raid against a Kata’ib Hezbollah cell. Khazali reminded Al-Kadhimi that he is
only an interim prime minister and that he should focus on holding new elections
— elections that Khazali will not allow to happen.
If the parties tied to Tehran do decide to hold new elections, they will lose
power. They are not likely to do that; instead they are focused on killing the
protest movement, attacking Americans, and threatening Al-Kadhimi to push the US
out or else. While these militias flex their muscles, Daesh is taking advantage
of their distraction.
Attempts by Iran’s proxies to crush the peaceful, unarmed protest movement have
failed. After more than 600 were killed and tens of thousands injured, it became
clear the uprising was pressing forward, insisting on radical reforms and
chanting “Iran barra, Iraq hurra” (Iran out, Iraq free).
Al-Kadhimi is Iraq’s interim prime minister because the parties and militias
tied to Iran accepted him. He “succeeded” in forming a government with the
support of Qassem Soleimani’s replacement, Esmail Ghaani, the new commander of
the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, and Hassan Nasrallah of
Lebanon’s Hezbollah. That means something: Iran has its compromise candidate
that is constrained by a Council of Representatives dominated by parties that
favor the Islamic Republic over Iraq and Iraqis.
Al-Kadhimi was a face acceptable to the West. The PM must be accepted by the
West in order for Iraq to get financial relief and allow its current trade with
Iran to continue. The truth is that Iran needs Iraq to have a financial
relationship with the US that it can exploit. Iran’s proxies have primacy over
Iraq’s political, security and economic sectors. But the US can make this
painful for Baghdad and Iran. In order to save Iraq, the US needs to disfavor
Baghdad.
The new PM has an opportunity to break out of Iran’s control, but only if he is
given solid support by the US.
The June strategic dialogue was a mere effort to secure talks in July. This
month’s talks should be a warning to Baghdad that, if it continues choosing Iran
over its people, the US will end its relationship with a corrupt and
Iran-aligned Baghdad and look to support the people of Iraq. The new PM has an
opportunity to break out of Iran’s control, but only if he is given solid
support by the US.
Washington is losing patience with Iraq. The Trump administration is looking for
options ahead of the July strategic framework talks. The US should not continue
the previous status quo relationship with Baghdad, which continues to incubate
existential threats and leave US forces to deal with threats Baghdad chooses to
ignore or even grow.
Daesh is exploiting the current situation, where an unpopular government —
beholden to Tehran — is focused on putting down a Shiite youth movement. Its
security forces are unwilling to take on the militias that are killing
protesters and moving rockets and missiles on Iran’s behalf into Syria to
threaten the Levant and Israel. The US is wondering whether or not it has a
partner to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh and that is a bulwark against
Iran. At the moment, the White House does not have a partner and last month’s
raid against a Kata’ib Hezbollah cell in Baghdad’s Dora neighborhood was an
example of this. All terrorist detainees were released within 48 hours of their
arrest.
The US will need to assess the extent to which the new Iraqi government is
constrained and dominated by political parties, leaders and militias tied to
Iran. If there is a genuine move away from that domination, it should be
supported and encouraged. Otherwise, it should reassess continued US support to
a corrupt system that operates as a bypass for American funds and Iraqi
resources that get into the hands of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The protesters’ chants give the US and the wider international community an
opportunity to get this right. Voters’ remorse and a motivated electorate can
change Iraq forever. The majority of Iraqis are under the age of 30, and now a
majority of them are fed up with the lie they have been fed from political
parties tied to Tehran; and, yes, disgusted by continued US support to an
oppressive government that happens to be in violation of its own laws, namely
the Leahy Law and Global Magnitsky Act.
The US should support the people’s calls for early elections based on a new
election law that is not rigged in favor of the parties and militias tied to
Iran. Washington should make demands of Baghdad to disqualify leaders and
political parties complicit in the killing of Iraqi protesters and those who
have allowed Iran’s militias to kill Iraqis and attack US and Iraqi forces.
The turnout in the 2018 election was about 25 percent, maybe lower. If there
were new elections, there would be a greater than 65 percent turnout and the
corrupt parties tied to Tehran would come in way behind a party that represents
the youth movement across Iraq. These people represent all the Iraqis wanting a
better relationship with the US and the international community, and wanting
Iran’s grip on Iraq broken.
If the US continues to support the status quo in Baghdad, we will once again
have found a way to betray the Iraqi people.
*Michael Pregent, a former intelligence officer, is a senior fellow at the
Hudson Institute.