English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese
Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 19/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.may19.20.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even
though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never
die.
John 11/17-27: “When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had
already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two
miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them
about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met
him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been
here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you
whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise
again.’Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection
on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those
who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and
believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord,
I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the
world.’”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 18-19/2020
Hariri Hospital: 11 new positive cases out of 342 laboratory tests
Ministry of Health announces 20 new COVID-19 cases
18 Bangladeshis among 20 New Virus Cases in Lebanon
Reports: Building Isolated after 17 Foreign Workers Get Virus
Berri calls Parliament Bureau to convene upcoming Friday
Hitti meets Ambassadors of France, Egypt
Diab meets Archbishop Matar, Association of Former Deputies’ delegation
Prime Minister’s address during ambassadors’ meeting for CEDRE
Diab Says Lebanon Committed to CEDRE Reforms, Duquesne Says Plan Still Valid
Protesters rally outside Beirut's Justice Palace, Ministries of Social Affairs,
Economy
Abra detainees' families stage sit in at Sidon's Elia Square
Hariri wishes Karma Ekmekji success after her resignation
AUF, Berytech launch 9th edition of “Femme Francophone Entrepreneure”
competition
Salameh to Attend 2nd Round of IMF Talks amid Lebanese Rift
Central Bank Official Hamdan Charged in Currency Probe
Geagea Takes Swipe at Bassil, Addresses Govt. on Illegal Border Crossings
UK police hunt killers after British-Lebanese Muslim woman is murdered in
drive-by shooting
Why the American University of Beirut?/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/May 18/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
May 18-19/2020
Jihadists Kill 20 In Northeast Nigeria
Attack: Local Sources
Statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs on anniversary of deportation of
Crimean Tatars
US Congress members call for release of political prisoners in Turkey
Iran Supreme Leader says Americans will be expelled from Iraq and Syria
New Israeli government: How far will unity counterbalance dissonance?
Israel FM Says Trump Plan 'Historic', Peace Deals Crucial
China to Send Team to Israel to Collect Envoy's Remains
U.N. Says Coronavirus is 'Wake-Up Call' for the World
WHO Pledges Pandemic Response Probe at 'Earliest Appropriate Moment'
Putin Sounds Alarm over Virus Crisis in Dagestan
Afghan President Ghani and Rival Abdullah Sign Power-Sharing Deal
Xi Says China Supports Inquiry 'after Pandemic Brought under Control'
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on May 18-19/2020
Withdrawing US troops from the Sinai could break a fragile peace/Dr. Eric R.
Mandel/The Hill/May 18/2020
How Iran Uses Cultural Centers To Expand Its Influence In Latin America/Tereza
Dvorakova/Radio Farda/May 18/2020
Don’t Bail Out Tehran’s Precision Guided Munitions Project/Jonathan Schanzer and
Bradley Bowman/FDD/May 18/2020
Are Iran’s Afghan ‘cannon fodder’ in Syrian corridor to confront US?/Seth J.
Frantman/Jerusalem Post/May 18/2020
ISIS tried to destroy this church, now Muslims and Christians join hands to
rebuild/Emily Judd, Al Arabiya English/Sunday 17 May 2020
The dangers of Iran’s military mistakes/Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/May
18/2020
Trump, Xi, and The Pandemic Symptoms/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/May 18/2020
A NATO Flotilla Sails Back Into the Cold War/James Stavridis/Bloomberg/May
18/2020
The Covid-19 Vaccine Fight Is Getting Ugly/Lionel Laurent/Bloomberg/May 18/2020
Why Open Offices Will Survive/Sarah Green Carmichael/Bloomberg/May 18/2020
A Beacon of Light Threatened by Politics of Darkness, Corruption and COVID-19/Eyad
Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/May 18/2020
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published on May 18-19/2020
Hariri Hospital: 11 new positive cases out of 342 laboratory tests
NNA/May 18/2020
In its daily report on the latest developments of the novel Coronavirus, Rafic
Hariri University Hospital announced on Monday that out of 342 laboratory tests
conducted today, 11 new Covid-19 cases have been detected.
It also indicated that the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases infected
with the virus that are currently present in the Hospital's isolation area has
reached 37 cases, noting that it has admitted 15 cases suspected to be infected
with the virus who were transferred from other hospitals. Meanwhile, the
hospital report stated that none of the infected cases have recovered today thus
keeping the total number of full recoveries to 177 cases.“All those infected
with the virus are receiving the necessary care in the isolation unit, and their
condition is stable," the hospital report added. It also indicated that more
information on the number of infected cases on all Lebanese territories can be
found in the daily report issued by the Ministry of Public Health. In
conclusion, the Hospital reminded that "the Corona Virus Contact Center for
emergency response and knowledge of test results, operates 24 hours a day, 7
days a week including public holidays, and can be reached through the number
01-820830 or through the WhatsApp contact service 76-979610."
Ministry of Health announces 20 new COVID-19 cases
NNA/May 18/2020
The Ministry of Public Health announced this Monday 20 new coronavirus
infections, 2 of them locally detected and 18 others of the Bangladeshi
community in Lebanon, thus taking the toll to 931 cases.
18 Bangladeshis among 20 New Virus Cases in
Lebanon
Naharnet/May 18/2020
Lebanon on Monday confirmed twenty more COVID-19 coronavirus cases, among them
18 Bangladeshis, the Health Ministry said. The cases raise the country's tally
to 931 including 26 deaths and 251 recoveries. Media reports said the
Bangladeshis are workers who live in the same building in Beirut's Ras al-Nabaa
area. The building has been isolated by security forces since Sunday. The
National News Agency said the two cases among Lebanese citizens were recorded in
the Akkar town of Jdeidet al-Qaytaa. Lebanon on Monday ended a four-day general
lockdown despite a recent uptick in coronavirus cases, with Prime Minister
Hassan Diab citing economic and financial hardships and urging stricter respect
for social distancing and health instructions. Only educational institutions,
nightclubs, beaches, cinemas, theaters, concert venues, gyms and sport clubs
remain fully closed. Commercial swimming pools have meanwhile been allowed to
operate with 50% capacity.
Reports: Building Isolated after 17 Foreign Workers Get
Virus
Naharnet/May 18/2020
Seventeen foreign laborers living in the same building have tested positive for
the COVID-19 coronavirus, media reports said. LBCI television said security
forces have taken measures to isolate the building, located on the Mohammed al-Hout
Street in Beirut's Ras al-Nabaa area. Media reports said the workers are of
Bangladeshi and Syrian nationalities. Lebanon on Monday ended a four-day general
lockdown despite a recent uptick in coronavirus cases, with Prime Minister
Hassan Diab citing economic and financial hardships and urging stricter respect
for social distancing and health instructions.The country has so far officially
confirmed 911 coronavirus cases among them 26 deaths.
Berri calls Parliament Bureau to convene upcoming Friday
NNA/May 18/2020
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, has called the Parliament Bureau to convene in a
meeting upcoming Friday, May 22, 2020.
Hitti meets Ambassadors of France, Egypt
NNA/May 18/2020
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Nassif Hitti, held talks Monday with
French Ambassador to Lebanon, Bruno Foucher, over the latest developments
regarding CEDRE conference, in addition to the renewal of the UNIFIL's mandate.
Hitti later met with Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon, Yasser Alawi, with whom he
discussed the bilateral relations.
Diab meets Archbishop Matar, Association of Former Deputies’ delegation
NNA/May 18/2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab met this morning at the Grand Serail with Archbishop
Boulos Matar, with whom he discussed the general situation. Afterwards, PM Diab
received a delegation from the Association of Former Deputies, headed by Talal
Merehbi, with Nasser Nasrallah, and Jacques Joe Khadarian, in the presence of
Diab’s Advisor Khodr Taleb.After the meeting, Merehbi said: “Discussions with
the Prime Minister featured high on the difficult living conditions, and we
hoped that he would continue to bear his responsibility at this stage to save
Lebanon, and take all necessary measures to reduce high prices and ease the
sufferings of citizens.” ----Grand Serail Press Office
Prime Minister’s address during ambassadors’ meeting for
CEDRE
NNA/May 18/2020
The following is Prime Minister Dr. Hassan Diab’s full address during today’s
Ambassadors meeting for CEDRE:
“Thank you for joining us today. This is not our first meeting, and it will
certainly not be our last. Together, we have so far discussed the Government’s
Reform Plan, the International Monetary Fund’s assistance, and the Cabinet’s
three-year Development Priorities. Today, we gather again, after establishing
the follow-up mechanism and reaching an agreement between our government and the
donors, thus reflecting our government’s commitment towards CEDRE.
In our Ministerial Statement, and on every occasion, we have stressed on the
importance of fighting corruption, and on our determination to implement
necessary reforms to restore both local and international trust in our country.
We have put together a plan for financial rescue, which integrates CEDRE
financing streams and reform in its fiscal projections and macro-economic
assumptions. We have accordingly set up our vision for a healed economy, and our
strategy for sustainable development.
In every step of the way, we remain aware of the significance of the reforms in
pushing forward the CEDRE portfolio, and of the continuous and generous support
of the international community, notably during our fight against COVID-19.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In his opening address at the CEDRE Conference, Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister
for Europe and Foreign Affairs, said: “First, Lebanon needs significant
investments to update its basic infrastructures, which are no longer able to
provide all its citizens basic public services in the proper conditions. Second,
Lebanon’s economy urgently needs far-reaching structural and sectorial reforms.
Lebanon’s stability from an economic point of view is therefore based on the
combined action of Lebanese reform and international support.”
More than two years later, Lebanon is more than ever keen on redefining its
economy and reinforcing its commitment towards the international community.
Your Excellencies, CEDRE is also Cedar in French, Cedrus libani, the emblem in
our flag and the symbol of our unity. It represents our strength over the years,
and our ability to stay rooted in our country, come what may.
Just like the Cedar, we have faced strong winds and times of distress. And just
like the Cedar, with your support being a key pillar in our economic recovery,
we are determined to overcome all challenges in order to prevail and prosper.
Thank you.”— PM Press Office
Diab Says Lebanon Committed to CEDRE Reforms, Duquesne Says
Plan Still Valid
Naharnet/May 18/2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Monday stressed that Lebanon is still committed to
the reforms pledged at the 2018 CEDRE conference in Paris.
"We underscore commitment to the implementation of all reforms and to combating
corruption, and the government is determined to restore international and local
confidence in Lebanon," said Diab at a Grand Serail meeting with foreign
ambassadors on the CEDRE recommendations. "We have a vision to reach a correct
economy, we want to put CEDRE's recommendations into action and we will manage
to do so," Diab added. "Two years after CEDRE, Lebanon is trying to enhance its
situation towards the international community, and we will exert our utmost
effort to implement this commitment and revive the economy," he went on to say.
The French envoy in charge of following up on the CEDRE reforms, Pierre
Duquesne, meanwhile noted that the CEDRE plan is "still valid." "It is a
contract based on projects, reforms and funding," he said.
"We must implement CEDRE and we will do this together. Coordination is key
inside Lebanon, especially with non-governmental organizations, representatives
of the civil society, the private sector and parliament," he added. Duquesne
also said that "Lebanon needs investments, especially in infrastructure, and
this will allow a sustainable revival of the Lebanese economy." "Investments
require electricity and it should provided in an uniterrupted manner, and
reforming electricity is an essential reform that requires governance and
transparency," he went on to say.
Protesters rally outside Beirut's Justice Palace,
Ministries of Social Affairs, Economy
NNA/May 18/2020
A number of protesters and activists on Monday rallied outside the Palace of
Justice in Beirut to protest against the stifling economic situation and to call
on the judiciary to hold the Corrupt accountable. Protesters also rallied
outside the Social Affairs Ministry in Badaro against the simmering daily living
conditions and pressing for their livelihood rights. Demonstrators also staged a
sit in outside the Economy Ministry against the hike in the prices of
commodities and food products as well as the rising living costs. They
reiterated their rejection of the policy adopted by the government and the
Ministry of Economy and Trade to address the stifling economic and daily living
situation which afflicts the low-income people.
Abra detainees' families stage sit in at Sidon's Elia
Square
NNA/May 18/2020
Abra detainees' families staged a sit-in at the Elia Square in the city of
Sidon, demanding a general amnesty law for all their sons, NNA reporter said on
Monday. Detainees’ families raised banners calling for general amnesty, and
rejecting any draft law that would exclude any of their sons.
Hariri wishes Karma Ekmekji success after her resignation
NNA/May 18/2020
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri wished all the success to his diplomatic
advisor Karma Ekmekji, who has resigned, stressing that she has been during 11
years “a valuable asset with her deep knowledge of international affairs &
public policy”. Hariri said in a series of tweets today:
“I wish all the success to Karma Ekmekji who has decided to pursue other
projects after 11 years as Head of my International Affairs Unit and diplomatic
advisor to me. During that time, she has proved to be a valuable asset with her
deep knowledge of international affairs & public policy, & recently she played a
crucial role in advocating for more women in peace & security. Karma has
always been a free mind & she will remain a dear friend. I ask everyone to
continue following her updates, and I am sure she will continue to inspire us
with her achievements”.--Hariri Press Office
AUF, Berytech launch 9th edition of “Femme Francophone Entrepreneure”
competition
NNA/May 18/2020
Despite the current difficult situation and the measures taken in order to fight
the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the «Femme Francophone Entrepreneure
» (FFE) competition was launched today and efforts were made in order to adapt
to the new health context. This competition is organized by AUF Middle East and
Berytech, in partnership with L'Orient-Le Jour and le Commerce du Levant, and it
has been promoting women’s entrepreneurship in Lebanon for the past 9 years.
Partners continue to believe in the potential of startups which are conducting
their investments despite the difficulties inherent to the Lebanese ecosystem
which is plagued by two simultaneous crises: an economic and a health one.
“Femme Francophone Entrepreneure” is there to help them and contribute to their
resilience. This edition inaugurates a new competition concept which includes 3
categories this year, i.e. research, technological innovation and social
entrepreneurship, and will, therefore, reward three projects on enterprise
creation. The call for applications is now available on the partners’
institutional websites and social media pages. A €20,000 grant will be given by
AUF and split among the winning projects. This year’s three winners will thus
benefit from the necessary accompaniment to create an enterprise, as well as
from the needed support to a start-up in Berytech incubator. The research part
is a novelty. It was added in order to enable women to give value to their
research project and turn it into a flourishing enterprise. Indeed, one of the
main challenges that research laboratories are currently facing consists in
moving from discovery to implementation or marketing. It is worth recalling that
sixty applications were received last year. This shows the attractiveness of the
competition which pays tribute to francophone women’s commitment to the
innovation and enterprise creation challenge. Rosabelle Chedid and Rayanne
Beayno were crowned « Femmes francophones entrepreneures 2020 » during the final
of the competition in September last year.
Timetable
The competition will take place as follows:
• Deadline for the submission of applications: June 10, 2020
• Announcement of the chosen applicant for the 3 categories: June 17, 2020
• Online training: June 22 -29
• Submission of the Business Plan/Pitch: July 15, 2020
• Selection of the 9 finalists (3 per category): July 22
• Training and preparation for the pitch: last week of July
• Final in August
The application file should be written in French. Project presentations to the
jury shall be made in French as well.
To submit your application, kindly go to: https://competitions.berytech.org/ffe/
For any additional information, kindly contact : support@berytech.org
Salameh to Attend 2nd Round of IMF Talks amid Lebanese Rift
Naharnet/May 18/2020
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh will personally participate in the second
round of remote negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on Monday,
after he opted not to take part in the first round and to delegate
representatives instead.“Salameh's participation will not signal the end of the
divergence in the viewpoints of the government and the central bank, but rather
the opposite,” al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Monday. According to
information obtained by the daily, Salameh will be keen to declare his
viewpoint, which contradicts with the content of the government's financial
rescue plan as to the estimation of the central bank's losses. “He will propose
the solutions that he believes are more appropriate for addressing what the plan
calls a 'financial gap,'” al-Joumhouria said. “He will tell the IMF negotiators
what he considers to be a more befitting rescue approach as to the issue of
restructuring the central bank,” it added. The newspaper also reported that a
meeting will be held between Finance Ministry and central bank officials prior
to the talks with the IMF. “That does not mean that there will be attempts to
reconcile points of view and the meeting will rather be dedicated to exchanging
ideas and clarifying some issues,” it added. The first round of negotiations
between Lebanon and the IMF was held on Wednesday. Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni
expressed his relief over the talks and expected the next rounds to be “equally
constructive.”he global body for its part said the negotiations aim to reach "a
comprehensive framework that can help Lebanon address the current challenging
economic and social conditions and restore sustainability and growth."Under the
rescue plan, the government will seek more than $10 billion in financial support
on top of $11 billion in grants and loans already pledged by international
donors in 2018. The rescue plan aims to reduce the deficit, restructure a
colossal debt, and reorganize an oversized banking sector. Lebanon is one of the
most indebted countries worldwide with a debt equivalent to 170 percent of its
gross domestic product. It defaulted on a repayment for the first time ever in
March.The country is also in the grips of a severe liquidity crunch, with
depositors unable to make transfers abroad or withdraw dollars.
Central Bank Official Hamdan Charged in Currency Probe
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 18/2020
Financial Prosecutor Ali Ibrahim on Monday charged a top central bank official
with manipulating the exchange rate, a judicial source said, as the country
struggles with a major currency crisis. The director of monetary operations at
the central bank, Mazen Hamdan, was arrested on Thursday, as part of a currency
crisis probe that has seen dozens of money changers detained in recent weeks.
The Lebanese pound had been pegged to the dollar at 1,507 since 1997 but the
country's worst economic crisis in decades has seen its value plunge by more
than half on the black market.
The central bank has sought to stem the fall by ordering exchange offices to cap
the rate at 3,200 to the dollar, but the pound has continued to tumble.
Financial Prosecutor Ibrahim "charged Hamdan with manipulating the national
currency and breaching the pound's stability through directly buying dollars
from money changers," a judicial source told AFP. The prosecutor has referred
his case to an investigative judge, the source said. These are "the first
charges against a central bank official," it said. On Friday, the central bank
issued a statement denying it was behind "any manipulation in the money changing
market." Lebanon is in the midst of its worst economic crunch since the
1975-1990 civil war. As part of a severe liquidity crisis, banks have since last
fall imposed crippling capital controls, limiting then stopping dollar
withdrawals and halting transfers abroad. Security forces have detained around
50 money changers accused of selling dollars at too high a rate in recent days,
though some have been released. The head of the money changer syndicate has also
been arrested. In late April, the government approved a rescue plan aimed at
redressing the country's crumbling economy. The deeply indebted country last
week started negotiations with the International Monetary Fund towards obtaining
billions of dollars in financial aid.
Geagea Takes Swipe at Bassil, Addresses Govt. on Illegal Border Crossings
Naharnet/May 18/2020
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday hurled a jab at the Free Patriotic
Movement and its chief Jebran Bassil in connection with the latter's remarks on
the controversial issues of power plants.“As to the issue of electricity: since
the books of terms for the construction of production plants have been ready
since 2019, why has the government tasked the energy minister (the real energy
minister is Jebran Bassil) to directly negotiate with the firms instead of
organizing an immediate call for tenders through the Public Procurement
Management Administration?” Geagea tweeted. Bassil had on Sunday stressed that
the FPM ministers are not to blame for the chronic electricity crisis, accusing
rivals of impeding their plans for political reasons. Separately, Geagea
lamented that “every day that passes carries a loss of tens of millions of
dollars to the Lebanese treasury and people in connection with the issue of
illegal border crossings.”“What is the government waiting for to take a clear,
final, decisive and firm decision to task the army and the competent security
forces to shutter these crossings once and for all?” the LF leader asked.
UK police hunt killers after British-Lebanese Muslim woman
is murdered in drive-by shooting
The New Arab/May 18/2020
A murder investigation was launched by British police on Monday after a
19-year-old British-Lebanese Muslim woman was shot dead by an unknown assailant,
reports confirmed. The shocking murder, which was believed to be a drive-by
shooting, took place at 3pm in the UK’s Blackburn city, when the hijab-wearing
Aya Hachem was reportedly en route a local store for her mother. She was found
"unresponsive" when armed police arrived on the scene and later died in
hospital. Police have confirmed the location of a light coloured or metallic
green Toyota Avensis that was seen leaving the area. It was later found, empty
of its occupants. "An investigation has been launched and we are determined to
find those responsible - and we are asking for the public's help identifying the
offender or offenders," Lancashire Police said. "We believe a light-colored
Toyota Avensis - possibly metallic green - may have been involved in the
incident. A car matching the same description has since been recovered from
nearby Wellington Road and we are now asking anybody who saw a car matching this
description in either location to get in touch as soon as possible.”Detective
Superintendent Jonathan Holmes of the Force Major Investigation Team, said:
"This is a truly shocking and senseless killing which has robbed a young woman
of her life."The shooting took place during the holy month of Ramadan with
friends saying Aya was involved in charity and volunteer work. Within 24 hours
of her death, mourners raised £27,000 to build a mosque in her memory in Niger.
Police have not revealed a motive for her murder but are not yet treating it as
terrorist related. Incidents of Islamophobia in the UK have risen sharply since
the 2017 terror attacks in London and Manchester, according to the Muslim News.
Last December, a 40-year-old woman was let off with a caution after strangling a
Muslim schoolgirl with her headscarf while on a bus in Sheffield.
Why the American University of Beirut?
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/May 18/2020
When news broke that the American University of Beirut is struggling
financially, the consciousness of many Lebanese took a shocking blow after their
hopes had been dealt one. This is because that university, for many reasons,
some grounded in reality and others imagined, seemed immune to crises.
Last Wednesday, AUB President Fadlo Khuri held a meeting to which several
Lebanese journalists were invited. The purpose was to explain the financial
situation the university is currently struggling with and reassure public
opinion, through the journalists, that it will go on for "another 153 years."
For rumors had been circulating here and there, some innocent and others
tendentious, that the university would shut its doors.
Khuri did indeed succeed in his mission to reassure. However, this does not
negate the persistence of some of the most extreme apprehensions regarding AUB's
future. Four of these apprehensions stand out strongly:
First, it is an American university at a time when, for a multitude of reasons,
the tide of anti-Americanism is rising. True, a replication of the 1980s is not
likely, but remembering them may be useful for understanding the nature of this
phase. At the time, the emergence of the armed and triumphalist faction that
boasted about its expulsion of the multinational forces from Lebanon was
accompanied by the attacks on the American university and the killing or
kidnapping of some of its professors (who recalls the assassination of Malcolm
Kerr in early 1984?). Last Wednesday, as Khuri and the journalists were gathered
together, the Hezbollah Secretary General was giving a speech from a place
likely no more than two kilometers away.
Second, it is a private university that generally draws well-off students, while
we are experiencing a period of economic collapse and the impoverishment of a
growing number of victims, and the effects of which the university itself is not
insulated from. Thus, the populism that is thriving and is likely to thrive
further is eying it. And thirdly, it is a source for the spread of values (free
thinking, individualism...) that, unfortunately, are no longer welcome in the
region. All kinds of fanaticism are taking over today. To remind ourselves of
the size of the gap let us read an excerpt from the speech of the former
President of the University Daniel Bliss, at the inauguration of College Hall in
1871: “This College is for all conditions and classes of men without regard to
color, nationality, race or religion. A man white, black, or yellow; Christian,
Jew, Mohammedan or heathen, may enter and enjoy all the advantages of this
institution for three, four, or eight years; and go out believing in one God, in
many gods, or no God.”
Finally, AUB was the second bridge, alongside the Suez Canal, linking the region
to the world early on: The Canal whose construction began in 1859 and was
inaugurated in 1869, while the university opened its doors (when its name had
been the Syrian Protestant College) in 1866. On the other hand, the region is
making a strong turn inward and away from the outside world today (to say
nothing of the possible reinforcement of these isolationist trends by the
coronavirus epidemic)
It could be said the university had never separated from its surroundings nor
were its surroundings separated from it, as it is today. We could perhaps go
further and say that the current financial crisis facing the university is in a
sense an acute manifestation of the problem referred to above. How long will
this green island persevere amid the potentially worsening turbulence in Lebanon
and the Arab world?
My colleague Youssef Bazzi framed the challenge as follows: “The concession
demanded of the university is to almost abandon its identity, for example to
stop being a melting-pot of multinational students, and to lose its appeal as a
space that promotes individual and public freedoms, becoming isolated from the
city, an exclusive club. This contrasts with the university's apparent
inclination to interact with the conditions of Lebanon and the region,
especially with the reinvigoration of its student body and the revival of public
discussion in its halls and even outside its walls. This inclination was
emphasized with the October 2019 uprising, which confirmed the efficacy of the
renowned American and Jesuit universities in shaping a general mood and an
alternative political rhetoric and in arousing this legitimate ambition for a
better Lebanon or a better Arab Levant.”
Inquisitors could ask: Why is the future of AUB important? The answer is simple:
Because it transferred a series of new values to the region and produced an
array of capable cadres spread across the globe, especially the Arab world.
However, beyond that, and first and foremost, because it contributed, more than
anything else, to transforming Beirut into a cosmopolitan city, and to making
the neighborhood of Ras Beirut the first in the Middle East not to be formed by
ties of kinship: The buildings of this neighborhood, where the university is
located, is where Indians, British, Bahrainis, Palestinians, Sudanese, Americans
and Iraqis took up residence alongside one another, Beirutis and those who had
come down to Beirut from the countryside as individuals, rather than clans and
tribes. Indeed, Lebanon’s recovery and that of the university are one and the
same. So, being apprehensive is legitimate, if not a duty. Treating it is
treating the ills of Lebanon, if not the region as a whole.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
May 18-19/2020
Jihadists Kill 20 In Northeast
Nigeria Attack: Local Sources
AFP/NNAMay 18, 2020
Boko Haram jihadists killed 20 civilians in an attack on a village in restive
northeastern Nigeria as inhabitants prepared to break their Ramadan fast,
residents and local security personnel said Monday. Insurgents in several pickup
trucks fired barrages of rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) in the attack Sunday
on homes in Gajiganna village as people gathered inside for the evening meal,
the sources told AFP. “Boko Haram hit Gajiganna yesterday with RPGs and killed
20 people,” Babakura Kolo, a member of a government-backed anti-jihadist
militia, told AFP. “Fourteen people were seriously injured and several buildings
were destroyed in the attack.”Injured resident Bukar Gaji said from hospital
that his wife was killed and three children were seriously wounded when a
grenade hit their house. He said the fighters stationed themselves outside the
village around 1715 GMT and launched RPGs at homes while residents were mostly
indoors preparing to break their fast. Another resident, Adam Bura, said he had
taken part in the burial of 20 people killed in the attack.Boko Haram fighters
have waged a decade-long insurgency in the northeast of Nigeria that has killed
more than 36,000 and displaced around 1.8 million. Gajiganna, which lies 50
kilometres (30 miles) outside the regional capital Maiduguri, has been
repeatedly targeted by the jihadists.But the village had seen a lull in attacks
since February when the militants killed a soldier and seized a gun truck in a
raid on a military post.
Statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs on anniversary of
deportation of Crimean Tatars
May 18, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today
issued the following statement:
“This year marks the 76th anniversary of the forced deportation of Crimean
Tatars by Soviet authorities in 1944.
“Canada does not forget this tragedy and the suffering endured by the hundreds
of thousands of children, women and men forcibly deported from their ancestral
homeland.
“Canada stands with the Crimean Tatar people in honouring the memory of those
killed and all who suffered.
“Canada continues to be concerned by the ongoing human rights violations
committed against Crimean Tatars in the Crimean Peninsula under Russian
occupation, including the banning of the Mejlis – the self-governing body of the
Crimean Tatars. We call on Russia to reverse this decision.
“Canada will always stand up for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity.”
US Congress members call for release of political prisoners
in Turkey
Agencies/Arab News/May 18/2020
ISTANBUL: Several members of the US Congress have sent a letter to Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo urging the Turkish government to release political prisoners.
In the letter, the members of Congress, including Ilhan Omar, also requested
that Washington put conditions on US financial and material assistance to Turkey
to ensure that the release of prisoners was carried out fairly. “We urge you to
engage directly with the Turkish government on its COVID-19 prison policy to
insist that release policies are offered equitably and consistently, and that
certain groups in detention — particularly journalists, activists and other
political prisoners — are not excluded for political purposes,” the Congress
members said.The letter referred to Turkey’s recently passed amnesty law that
released tens of thousands of prisoners as a measure against overcrowding in
jails. However, the law was criticized for excluding those jailed on broadly
applied terror charges that criminalized all dissidents, including journalists,
politicians and right activists. “As we know from news media reports and human
rights groups, many of those arrested on such charges include journalists,
students, civil society leaders, human rights advocates and political opposition
leaders who do not appear to either have demonstrable links to acts of terror or
treason, or close and continuing associations with those engaged in such acts,”
the Congress members said.
The latest 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices from the US State
Department has criticized broad anti-terror legislation for restricting
fundamental freedoms and the rule of law in Turkey, and documented several
arbitrary arrest and detentions. However, Simon Waldman, an associate fellow at
the Henry Jackson Society and a visiting research fellow at King’s College
London, thinks that the letter to the US Secretary of State is unlikely to have
any tangible effect. “It is late. Ankara’s decision to exclude political
prisoners was already made one month ago and the members of Congress who signed
the letter have little chance of influencing Mike Pompeo let alone the Oval
Office,” he told Arab News. According to Waldman, Washington currently has
little sway over Turkey’s policies toward political prisoners, and has no
appetite for taking up the matter unless they are US nationals.
Andrew Brunson, a 50-year-old US pastor who was detained in Turkey for almost
two years on terrorism charges and released in 2018, strained ties with the two
NATO allies and drew the anger of US President Donald Trump who turned the case
into a foreign policy priority of Washington toward Ankara.
The release of Brunson was considered to be linked to pressure from Trump as
well as members of Congress, and their behind-door deals with Turkish officials
to lift the crippling US sanctions that pushed the Turkish lira into freefall
against the dollar. “Washington will view its relations with Ankara based on
strategic calculations rather than human rights. The debate in Washington is not
the extent to which fundamental freedoms have deteriorated in Turkey but rather
the extent to which Turkey fits into US strategic interests,” Waldman said.Of
the 300,000 prisoners in the country, around 50,000 are charged with terrorism —
a charge that has been used to oppress the opposition. Among those imprisoned on
terrorism charges are the former leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish political party
Selahattin Demirtas, Osman Kavala, a prominent philanthropist and
businessperson, and four journalists who were arrested for covering a Turkish
intelligence officer’s death in Libya. A recent study by the Turkish
Journalists’ Union revealed that about 79 percent of journalists working in
Turkey are self-censoring over fear of being arrested under broadly defined
terrorism charges.
Iran Supreme Leader says Americans will be expelled from
Iraq and Syria
Reuters/May 18/2020
Americans will be expelled from Iraq and Syria, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei said on Sunday, renewing Iran’s demand for U.S. troops to be
withdrawn from the Middle East. Iran almost got into a full-blown conflict with
the United States when a U.S. drone strike killed top Iranian military commander
Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on Jan. 3, prompting Tehran to retaliate with a
missile barrage against a U.S. base in Iraq days later. Khamenei said Americans’
actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria had led to them being hated, according to
a transcript of a speech to students published on his website. “The Americans
won’t stay in Iraq and Syria and will be expelled,” Khamenei said. Last month,
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had instructed the U.S. Navy to fire on any
Iranian ships that harass it at sea, but said later he was not changing the
military’s rules of engagement.
After Trump’s statement, the head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, Major
General Hossein Salami, said that the Islamic Republic would destroy U.S.
warships if its security is threatened in the Gulf. Reporting By Babak
Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Gareth Jones and Andrew Heavens
New Israeli government: How far will unity counterbalance
dissonance?
DebkaFile/May 18/2020
The coronavirus crisis has wedded two fundamentally dissonant political blocs,
crowding them into an oversized “unity government.”The traditional long table
around which the ministers held cabinet meetings in the past is not long enough
to seat 36 ministers and, anyway, crowding is barred by coronavirus guidelines.
In the first cabinet meeting on Sunday night, May 17, after their swearing in by
a Knesset vote of 73 to 46, the ministers sat in rows on well-spaced chairs
facing the two leaders, PM Binyamin Netanyahu and alternate PM Benny Gantz.
Looking around them, most of the new ministers encountered unfamiliar faces
belonging to the opposite camp. They also found it hard to grasp the strange
structures of the new departments. The Higher Education Minister, Zeev Elkin,
was, for instance, also awarded Water Resources, Finance Minister Yisrael Katz
was stripped of Government Corporations, and Community Advancement Minister Orly
Levi Abakasis ended up with units that once belonged to the Community
Development and Welfare Ministries. New Housing Minister, the UJA’s Yacov
Litzman, had gained control of the Israel Land Authority.
The two prime ministers may decide that getting this odd ministerial choir to
sing from the same page can’t be done overnight. Under their unity accord, each
has veto power over the other’s legislation. Since both these features have the
potential to deep-freeze the government’s ability to perform, Netanyahu and
Gantz may well resort to a kitchen cabinet to get things done for the time
being.The second priority listed by Netanyahu at Sunday’s first cabinet meeting
was passing the state budget and reviving the economy, which would need time for
restoring to its pre-pandemic level. The new government has a meager 90 days for
presenting the budget to the Knesset.
Netanyahu’s first priority was the health crisis, which he warned could return
at any moment. The third was continuing to combat Iran – its presence in Syria
and acquisition of a nuclear bomb; the fourth was the “strategic threat” posed
by the International Criminal Court’s probe of alleged Israel war crimes; and
the fifth was the “diplomatic issue” of extending sovereignty to the Jewish
areas of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley. He announced he intended to bring
this step before the entire cabinet quickly.
On this item, the prime minister faces equivocation from his largely centrist
and partially left-of-center partner who will find support from most of the the
Knesset support – particularly if the international and regional fallout is
severe. Jordan’s King Abdullah has already threatened a “massive confrontation”
if this plan goes ahead. Europe is lining up for a major battle and Israel is
bracing for a new surge of Palestinian terror. To keep a firm grip on his 18
months as prime minister, Netanyahu took care to consolidate a firm grip on the
national purse strings: Katz as finance minister and Moshe Gafni (UJA), who
stays put as chairman of the powerful Knesset Finance Committee. Through them,
the prime minister can control the allocation of operating budgets to the
assorted ministers and their departments.
With an unprecedented 26pc unemployment, more than 76,000 ruined businesses,
including the entire tourist industry. all clamoring for aid, and a deepening
deficit, broad budget cuts are unavoidable. Operating funds for the new
ministers will be slashed to the minimum.The battle for allocations promises to
be even more cutthroat than the fight for ministerial seats in the Likud party.
Gantz, alternate prime minister who takes the wheel on Nov. 17, 2021, is
meanwhile acting to shore up his ranks. He is pushing forward fast legislation
requiring five of his Kahol Lavan party’s 18 ministers to relinquish their
Knesset seats to make room for five new party lawmakers further down the list.
Netanyahu’s most pressing priority is bound to be the opening next Sunday of his
long-awaited trial before the Jerusalem District Court on charges of bribery,
fraud and breach of faith. Questioned after he was sworn in on Sunday night, he
said he would present himself for trial. “I don’t think that there will be a
single stone left of the fake charges against me. This is a joke, but I will be
there and do what is demanded by the law.”
Israel FM Says Trump Plan 'Historic', Peace Deals Crucial
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 18/2020
Israel's new foreign minister said Monday that U.S, President Donald Trump's
Middle East peace proposal offered an "historic opportunity" but that regional
peace deals must be maintained during its implementation.
Gabi Ashkenazi, who became Israel's top diplomat when a new unity government was
sworn in on Sunday, made the comments at a transition ceremony in Jerusalem.
"The plan will be promoted responsibly and in coordination with the United
States, while maintaining peace agreements and the strategic interests of
Israel," Ashkenazi said according to a copy of his remarks seen by AFP.
Right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in comments shortly before
his new government was sworn in, that it was time for Israel to annex Jewish
settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Such settlements, home to some 400,000 Jews in the West Bank, are considered
illegal under international law. Annexing those communities is a key provision
of the Trump plan, which has been rejected by the Palestinians and criticized by
much of the international community. Ashkenazi is a political ally of former
Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz, the alternate prime minister and defense minister
in the new unity government. The foreign minister did not specifically
mention annexation in praising Trump's plan, which also calls for the creation
of a Palestinian state with a capital outside of Jerusalem.The Trump plan also
gives a green light from Washington for Israel to annex the strategically
crucial Jordan Valley, an area on the border with Jordan that accounts for
roughly 30 percent of the West Bank. Jordan's King Abdullah II, speaking
to German magazine Der Spiegel days ago, said: "If Israel really annexes the
West Bank in July, it would lead to a massive conflict with the Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan."Jordan and Egypt are the two countries in the Arab world that
have signed peace treaties with Israel. Referencing those deals, Ashkenazi said
"peace with our neighbors is also a strategic asset and we must safeguard it."
Under the terms of the coalition deal agreed by Netanyahu and the centrist Gantz,
the unity government can begin action to implement Trump's plan from July 1. The
European Union has said it was considering various diplomatic actions to stop
unilateral Israeli annexations in the West Bank.
China to Send Team to Israel to Collect Envoy's Remains
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 18/2020
China is sending a team to Israel to repatriate the body of its ambassador who
died at his home in Tel Aviv, reportedly from natural causes, an Israeli
diplomatic source said Monday. The Chinese officials were due in Israel "in the
coming days" said the source, requesting anonymity. It was not clear whether
they would have to enter mandatory 14-day coronavirus quarantine before being
cleared for movement within Israel. Late ambassador Du Wei was 57 when he was
found dead at his home in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, on Sunday.
Israel sent forensic experts and police to the scene as part of normal
diplomatic procedure, police said. China's foreign ministry said Sunday that
"health reasons" were the presumed cause of Du's death but that a definitive
finding had not yet been reached. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian
told reporters Monday that Beijing was "doing its best regarding the funeral
arrangements."
U.N. Says Coronavirus is 'Wake-Up Call' for the World
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 18/2020
The coronavirus pandemic should serve as a "wake-up call" to the world which
must be more united in responding to the crisis, UN chief Antonio Guterres said
Monday. The secretary-general said COVID-19 was the "greatest challenge of our
age" and had demonstrated the world's fragility, as nations went their own way
in tackling the pandemic. Guterres said the crisis was an opportunity to rebuild
a better world -- but he questioned whether countries were up to it. Despite
great scientific and technological advances in recent decades, a virus had
"brought us to our knees", the United Nations chief said at the start of a
virtual meeting of the World Health Organization's (WHO) World Health Assembly.
He said the pandemic had exposed the frailties not just in health systems but in
international institutions, tackling the climate crisis, cyber-security and
nuclear disarmament. "COVID-19 must be a wake-up call. It is time for an end to
the hubris," Guterres said, slamming countries for their disjointed approach.
"We have seen some solidarity, but very little unity in our response to
COVID-19. "Different countries have followed different, sometimes contradictory
strategies and we are all paying a heavy price. "Many countries have ignored the
recommendations of the World Health Organization."As a result, the virus has
spread across the world." He said COVID-19 was now spreading in the southern
hemisphere, where its impact might be "even more devastating."
'Rebuild differently and better'
Guterres reiterated his call for a WHO-led international response, expanded
mental health services and policies to address the social and economic problems
caused by the crisis. "Unless we control the spread of the virus, the economy
will never recover," the secretary-general said. The former Portuguese prime
minister and former head of the U.N. refugee agency said the recovery from the
crisis must lead to more equal and sustainable economies. It is "an opportunity
to rebuild differently and better," he said, referring to the climate crisis and
flawed social protection systems."Instead of going back to systems that were
unsustainable, we need to make a leap into a future of clean energy, inclusivity
and equality, and stronger safety nets, including universal health coverage."
But he asked: "We can do it, but will we? m"Either we get through this pandemic
together, or we fail."
WHO Pledges Pandemic Response Probe at 'Earliest Appropriate Moment'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 18/2020
World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pledged
Monday to launch an independent probe to review the coronavirus pandemic
response as soon as possible.
"I will initiate an independent evaluation at the earliest appropriate moment to
review experience gained and lessons learned and to make recommendations to
improve national and global pandemic preparedness and response," he said at the
start of the WHO's annual World Health Assembly.
Putin Sounds Alarm over Virus Crisis in Dagestan
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 18/2020
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday the coronavirus situation in
Dagestan required urgent attention after a top official said hundreds of people
in the region might have died from the virus. "The situation in the Republic of
Dagestan is complicated and of course calls for additional -- and urgent
measures," Putin told a meeting in Moscow. He said the poor North Caucasus
region -- which has the fifth-highest number of coronavirus cases in Russia --
should receive additional equipment, medicines and tests. "I want you to know
and be assured -- all of Russia will be with Dagestan now," he said, addressing
residents of the region. According to the most recent official tally released on
Monday, Dagestan has reported 3,460 coronavirus cases and just 29 deaths.
However, the local health minister said Saturday that more than 12,600 people
were suffering from the coronavirus and pneumonia. Speaking in an interview with
a local blogger, Dzhamaludin Gadzhiibragimov added that 657 people had died of
pneumonia in the region.Over 40 medics have died from coronavirus or pneumonia
in Dagestan, Gadzhiibragimov added. Critics accuse the Russian authorities of
under-reporting the number of deaths to downplay the scale of the crisis. In
particular, opponents have accused the government of manipulating the figures by
passing coronavirus deaths off as community-acquired pneumonia and other
conditions. Patients with more severe cases of COVID-19 may develop pneumonia,
according to the World Health Organization.
The regional health ministry was not available for comment on Monday.The Russian
authorities have denied falsifying the numbers, saying they are only counting
deaths caused directly by the coronavirus. Many medical workers in Dagestan and
elsewhere have complained of shortages of protective gear and say medics are
dying at a higher rate in Russia than elsewhere.
Afghan President Ghani and Rival Abdullah Sign
Power-Sharing Deal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 18/2020
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a
power-sharing deal on Sunday, ending a bitter months-long feud that plunged the
country into political crisis. The breakthrough, which sees Abdullah heading
peace talks with the Taliban, comes as Afghanistan battles a rapid spread of the
deadly coronavirus and surging militant violence that saw dozens killed in
brutal attacks last week. The United States and NATO welcomed the agreement,
with both calling for a renewed peace push in the war-wracked country.
"Doctor Abdullah will lead the National Reconciliation High Commission and
members of his team will be included in the cabinet," Ghani spokesman Sediq
Sediqqi said on Twitter. Abdullah's spokesman, Fraidoon Khawzoon, told AFP the
agreement ensures that Abdullah's group will get 50 percent of cabinet positions
and other provincial governors' posts.Ghani hailed a "historic day" for
Afghanistan, noting that the agreement was reached without any international
mediation. "We will share the burden and our shoulders, God willing, will be
lighter," he said, addressing Abdullah at the signing ceremony broadcast on a
state-run television channel. "In the days ahead, we hope that with unity and
cooperation, we would be able to first pave the ground for a ceasefire and then
lasting peace." Abdullah said the deal commits to forming a "more inclusive,
accountable and competent administration". "It's meant to ensure a path to
peace, improve governance, protect rights, respect laws and values," he said on
Twitter after signing the deal. The agreement says that Ghani will make Abdul
Rashid Dostum, his former vice president turned ally of Abdullah, a marshal of
the armed forces.
Dostum, a notorious former warlord, is accused of ordering the torture and rape
of a political rival in 2016.
Political settlement a U.S. 'priority' -
The United States, which wants to salvage the peace process and end its
involvement in what has become its longest war, expressed hope that talks could
now move forward. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Ghani and Abdullah "that
the priority for the United States remains a political settlement to end the
conflict," his spokeswoman said in a statement. NATO, which maintains a training
mission in Afghanistan, issued a similar message. "We call on the Taliban to
live up to their commitments, reduce violence now, take part in intra-Afghan
negotiations, and make real compromise for lasting peace," NATO chief Jens
Stoltenberg said in a statement.
U.S. pressure on rivals
Pictures released by the presidential palace showed Abdullah and Ghani sitting
side-by-side for the signing ceremony, while leading Afghan figures including
former president Hamid Karzai looked on. Abdullah had previously served as
Afghanistan's "chief executive" under an earlier power-sharing arrangement, but
lost that post after he was defeated in a presidential election that incumbent
Ghani -- a former World Bank economist -- won in September amid claims of fraud.
Abdullah, an ophthalmologist, declared himself president and held his own
swearing-in ceremony on March 9, the day Ghani was re-installed as president.
Experts feel Sunday's deal could help pull Afghanistan out of political crisis.
In February, the Taliban signed a landmark accord with Washington to clear the
way for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, but intra-Afghan
talks have stalled. "It is now expected that these leaders resolve the problems
that Afghanistan faces such as the coronavirus and peace talks with the
Taliban," Kabul-based political analyst Sayed Nasir Musawi told AFP. He said
"immense pressure" from the United States pushed the rivals to agree to the
deal. Abdullah and Ghani also contested the 2014 presidential election, with
both claiming victory. To avert a full-blown conflict, then-U.S. secretary of
state John Kerry brokered a deal between the two that left Abdullah as the
country's chief executive. But after a similar impasse in March, an exasperated
Pompeo lashed out at their failure to reach an agreement, and announced a $1
billion cut in aid to Afghanistan. With the impoverished country's GDP just $20
billion, the cut was a devastating blow to its donor-dependent economy.
- 'Genuine peace' -
Several residents in the capital Kabul expressed skepticism at the deal.
"If they really want to work for the country ... they have to bring genuine
peace to the country -- that is the only thing the majority of Afghans want,"
said Rashed Hashemi, an employee at a private company. U.S. President Donald
Trump has made leaving Afghanistan a priority. The February deal stipulates that
the U.S. and its foreign allies will withdraw all forces by early 2021. In
return, the Taliban agreed not to attack foreign troops. But fighting between
the Taliban and Afghan forces rages on, with both sides threatening to go on the
offensive after two attacks last week that left dozens dead, including mothers
and infants slain at a hospital in Kabul. The Taliban have denied responsibility
for the maternity ward attack, which the U.S. blamed on the Islamic State group.
Xi Says China Supports Inquiry 'after Pandemic Brought
under Control'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 18/2020
China supports a "comprehensive evaluation" of the global response to the
coronavirus pandemic after it "has been brought under control," President Xi
Jinping told the World Health Assembly on Monday. Xi told the virtual meeting
via video that China has "always had an open, transparent and responsible
attitude," and had shared information on the virus in a timely manner.
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 18-19/2020
Withdrawing US troops from the Sinai could break a fragile
peace
Dr. Eric R. Mandel/The Hill/May 18/2020
د. اريك منديال: سحب القوات الأميركية من سيناء سيقوض سلام هش في المنطقة
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/86339/dr-eric-r-mandel-withdrawing-us-troops-from-the-sinai-could-break-a-fragile-peace-%d8%af-%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%83-%d9%85%d9%86%d8%af%d9%8a%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%b3%d8%ad%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%82%d9%88/
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper reportedly is considering ending
America’s 40-year peacekeeping presence in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. His impulse
isn’t new; the Obama administration also contemplated removing U.S. troops from
harm’s way in the Sinai because of escalating threats posed by ISIS and other
Salafist militias. The idea was to replace soldiers with drone surveillance and
other high-technology warning systems.
American troops have been stationed in the Sinai since the U.S.-mediated 1979
peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, which returned the peninsula to Egypt
in exchange for diplomatic relations with Israel. A cold peace has endured
since, benefiting both countries.
The treaty called for a multinational force that has monitored the area since
1982, with the largest contingent from the United States. For many years this
was an easy assignment, but after the Arab Winter of 2011 things began to
change. First, the Egyptian people elected Mohamed Morsi as president, elevating
the Muslim Brotherhood to power and destabilizing the relationship with Israel.
The Brotherhood is an Islamist organization and the parent of Hamas, and the
Israeli fear was that an open border between the Sinai and Gaza under Morsi’s
government would allow weapons and money to freely flow to terrorists.
Fortunately, the Egyptian people rose up against the Morsi government and
returned the presidency to another authoritarian military leader who viewed the
Brotherhood as a threat and saw Hamas as an enemy. Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah el-Sisi values his nation’s relationship with Israel and the United
States, despite American criticism of his reported human rights abuses and U.S.
financial punishment for his instigating the 2013 coup that ousted Morsi. Israel
lobbied the Obama administration not to decrease aid to Egypt, because that
would undermine the peace treaty.
In the wake of the failed Arab Winter, neighboring Arab regimes became
vulnerable and into the vacuum stepped ISIS with its goal of worldwide jihad and
hegemony. ISIS’s brutal killings, misogyny and kidnappings stunned the world
into action. As its caliphate grew, it propagated branches throughout the Muslim
world, including the Sinai, where jihadists killed scores of Egyptian civilians
and soldiers, making the territory a no-man’s land. This destabilized Egypt and
threatened Israel from its south.
In response, the United States withdrew into its two main bases, one in the
northern Sinai and one in the south near Sharm el-Sheikh. This is similar to
what the U.S. did last year in Iraq when it withdrew troops from more vulnerable
outlying outposts to reposition them into more defensive positions at large
bases. However, unlike in Iraq, American soldiers in the Sinai are not often
targeted, especially in the south. And the U.S. presence plays an important
intelligence and monitoring role for both Israeli and Egyptian security.
With the coronavirus pandemic, all branches of the U.S. government are under
pressure to decrease spending, which may be why the Department of Defense would
consider ending the U.S. presence in Sinai, despite a commitment to remain there
indefinitely.
Does it still benefit the U.S. to keep peacekeeping forces in the Sinai? Unlike
in Iraq, where the parliament voted for a complete American troop withdrawal
after the U.S. assassinated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards leader Qassem
Soleimani in January, both Israel and Egypt want the U.S. to remain in the Sinai
as a force for stability. In the U.S., there has been bipartisan support for
continuing the multinational force.
From an Israeli security perspective, withdrawal is disconcerting. This month,
Israel Defense Forces chief Aviv Kochavi communicated this position to his
American counterpart, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Israel counts on America’s presence and is concerned about Egypt’s military,
despite the peace treaty. Egyptian military strategists still consider Israel
the leading military threat, although Israel has allowed Egypt to move more
military assets into the Sinai to fight ISIS and the continued Salafist
insurgency. There is no assurance that a future Egyptian military leader will
respect the treaty, or would ever consider demilitarizing the Sinai.
Middle East security can change in an instant. Egypt attacked Israel in three
wars, and today’s Egyptian people are still fed anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic
rhetoric. This can create fertile ground for future conflicts, as can the
poverty in which many of Egypt’s 90 million people live.
Trump rips WSJ editorial warning him not to be 'impulsive' on...
Fed chairman: 'It's going to take a while for us to get back'
If the U.S. leaves the Sinai, it could empower Islamists to step up attacks not
only there but in the Egyptian heartland. A collapsing Egypt would threaten not
only Israel but also its neighbors and the world at large, because it could
become a staging ground for terrorist operations, threaten international
shipping through the Suez Canal, and make possible the Brotherhood’s return to
power. It was a mistake for President Obama to withdraw troops from Iraq in 2011
and for President Trump to try to leave Syria’s Kurds in 2019. It would
similarly be a mistake to remove American forces from the Sinai because it would
show the world that the U.S. is an unreliable ally.
*Dr. Eric R. Mandel is the director of MEPIN, the Middle East Political
Information Network. He briefs members of Congress and their foreign policy
aides on the geo-politics of the Middle East. Follow him on Twitter @MepinOrg.
How Iran Uses Cultural Centers To Expand Its Influence In Latin America
Tereza Dvorakova/Radio Farda/May 18/2020
راديو فردا: ايران تستغل وتستعمل المركز الثقافية لبسط وتوسيع نفوذها في أميركا
اللاتينية
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/86336/radio-farda-how-iran-uses-cultural-centers-to-expand-its-influence-in-latin-america-%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%88-%d9%81%d8%b1%d8%af%d8%a7-%d8%a7%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%aa%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%ba/
Buenaventura is one of the most violent and poorest cities in Colombia. In one
of the most dangerous neighborhoods, a music sang by children voices is wafting
from a house with a big sign saying Mezquita in front of it. It is a mosque and
a headquarters of the local Shia Muslim community led by Sheikh Munir Valencia,
a Colombian cleric who got educated in Iran.
Munir Valencia was born in Buenaventura. His mother raised him to be a proper
Christian. When he was preparing to go to service of God and work in a church,
he met a girl from a Muslim family which made him question his religion and
eventually he converted. As a new ardent Muslim, he was offered a scholarship to
study in a famous mosque in Buenos Aires under a prominent Iranian cleric Mohsen
Rabbani.
As he later proved his talent and devotion to Islam, he and his wife were given
an opportunity to study in Qom. As he describes, he got everything for free,
starting from education and accommodation to transportation and other benefits.
Once he came back, he started to run an educational and cultural center as well
as a local mosque to practice his religion and share it with the community.
Munir Valencia is not the only one in Latin America who converted to Shia Islam
and traveled to Qom to get an Islamic education to spread in local communities.
In fact, Iranians have built a well-structured and systematic network of
cultural centers and local mosques usually led by converts trained in Iran with
an aim to recruit local people and increase Tehran’s influence in the region.
As Emanuele Ottolenghi, an expert on activities of Iran in Latin America from
Foundation for Defense of Democracies, explains “When people convert, they
travel to Iran and the trip is fully funded by the regime. It is usually a
two-month trip during which they take classes, see the Iranian [religious]
culture, holy sites, or battlefields of the Iraq- Iran war. Part of this process
is designed to identify the most talented students because most of them come
back or stay in Qom even for years to train to become clerics.”
When they come back, their role is clear –promote their religion and the Iranian
regime. The cultural centers seem to be the most convenient way to do so as it
allows them to organize events, publish texts in Spanish or spread their message
on social media.
The cultural centers are integrated in a systematic network spearheaded by an
organization called Islam Oriente. “They have a whole range of publications for
the Hispanic community, they overwhelmingly produce in Spanish but they also
started to publish in Portuguese and the range of publications is impressive –
they have a quarterly journal that is history, philosophy, theology or they also
have publications for children called Los Angelitos,” summarizes Ottolenghi.
The organization is based in Qom and is led by Mohsen Rabbani, one of the
leading persons in Iranian operations in Latin America who came to Argentina at
the beginning of 1980’s to spread the message of the Islamic revolution.
According to Argentinian judicial authorities, Mohsen Rabbani was implicated in
the bombing of a Jewish Community Center (AMIA) in Buenos Aires in 1994. Based
on the information of an investigation report by Alberto Niesman, Argentinian
government issued a still-standing international arrest warrant and an INTERPOL
red notice which forced him to leave Argentina and move back to Iran.
Prior to his departure, Rabbani proved to be very successful in his missionary
work guiding numerous converts and helping them to strengthen their faith. He
has developed especially strong relationship with the Argentinian-born Lebanese
descendant Suhail Assad who has become one of the most prominent figures in
Iranian propaganda campaign in Latin America.
“Suhail Assad was born in Buenos Aires; he went to university where he studied
theater and acting. However, he found out he had some sort of spiritual
epiphany, so he decided to journey back to Lebanon to the village of his
ancestors. He was probably recruited because he started to study there to become
a cleric and eventually moved over to Iran where he was ordained as a cleric in
Qom in a seminary for foreign students. From there he eventually became in
charge of spreading the word in Latin America,” says Ottolenghi.
Assad is also the face of Iranian propaganda as he has hosted several religious
programs broadcast on HispanTV, he has been a subject of a documentary movie
about his life and hosted a documentary series about Muslim converts in several
countries on the continent.
Although he is generally located in Qom, he often travels across Latin America
to carry out missionary work, giving lectures at universities and helping locals
to establish their cultural centers. According to open sources, he has laid the
foundations of more than 20 Islamic centers in Latin America and has visited
more than 80 universities, lecturing about the Islamic Revolution in Iran or
about Shia Islam.
This way, Assad has become an important link between local cultural centers and
the Qom-based sponsoring organization, Islam Oriente. This connection is further
enhanced by an Islam Oriente operation called Center for Iranian-Latin American
Cultural Exchange which is based in Caracas and where Suhail Assad is usually
operating from while travelling in Latin America.
Having extensive ties in Latin American Shia Islamic community and close
relationship with Mohsen Rabbani, he has been associated with several
international watch terrorism lists or connected to the 1994 AMIA attack due to
which he was banned from entering to Mexico.
Assad is also a brother-in-law of Argentinian cleric, who succeeded Rabbani at
the Buenos Aires at-Tauhid mosque and Rabbani’s first convert and right-hand
man, Abdul Karim Paz. Due to the close relation with Suhail Assad, Abdul Karim
Paz very often appears in his shows on Hispan TV explaining Shia principles of
Islam. According to Emanuele Ottolenghi “he is reportedly in charge of
accompanying coverts from Latin America to Iran.” He has also helped to
establish several cultural centers in Chile and Bolivia. In a book called Iran’s
Strategic Penetration of Latin America he is described as an influential person
“managing Mohsen Rabbani missionary operations targeting Argentinians and also
in developing the younger generation of Islamists in Argentina such as Suhail
Assad.”
Iranian operation in Latin America, however, extends beyond the Spanish speaking
world. In Brazilian capital Sao Paulo, it is possible to find several Iranian
cultural centers. Two of them, Islamic Benevolent Religious Organization and
center Arresala, are operated by Sheikh Taleb Hussein al-Khazraji, an Iraqi born
cleric who was sent to Brazil not long after Mohsen Rabbani. “Al-Khazraji has
been involved in Iran’s network since the early 80’s. Before he came to Sao
Paolo in 1989, he was in Tanzania,” explains Ottolenghi.
His name is also mentioned in the investigation documents of 1994 attack in
Buenos Aires as an “employee of Iranian government who recruits believers to get
them closer to Tehran.”
Bilal Mohsen Wehbe is another character who has been operating alongside
Khazraji and who was sanctioned ten years ago by the United States as a “chief
representative of Hezbollah in Latin America” as he, according to the U.S.
Department of Treasury “had relayed information and directives between Hizballah
leaders in Lebanon and Hizballah elements in South America.” He has been active
in the mosque until recently.
Iran has a very detailed and structured strategy to expand its influence. The
cultural system is based on three pillars which are linked in a certain
hierarchy. Islam Oriente from Qom spearheads the network in Latin America by its
operational Center for Iranian-Latin American Cultural Exchange based in
Caracas. The local cultural centers are connected by these two organizations and
are usually led by locals who were recruited by one of the missionaries or
clerics such as Mohsen Rabbani, Suhail Assad or Taleb Khazraji.
ccording to Emanuele Ottolenghi, they are successful in their operations. “They
don’t take everybody – the recruitment process is very slow, they vet people
very carefully before they bring them onboard. So, they do not recruit tens of
thousands of people, but they are more likely in hundreds. However, the people
they bring onboard tend to be true believers through and through - the part of
that is that they indoctrinate them for years because they need them for a
lifetime to slowly win over civil society.”
Don’t Bail Out Tehran’s Precision Guided Munitions Project
Jonathan Schanzer and Bradley Bowman/FDD/May 18/2020
Iran, amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, is demanding sanctions relief. Lebanon,
too, is looking for a financial bailout after defaulting on a Eurobond. Neither
should get the financial aid they are requesting.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its terrorist proxy
Hezbollah in Lebanon are undertaking a dangerous and determined campaign to
field a precision-guided munitions (PGMs) arsenal across the Middle East. These
weapons are as deadly as they are accurate. They can strike within a few meters
of an intended target. They represent a grave threat to U.S. and allied forces
stationed across the Middle East. They also pose a threat to Israel and Gulf
Arab allies in the region.
It’s a safe bet that Tehran’s PGM project was a topic of conversation during
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Israel this week.
The Middle East is already grappling with the threat of precision attack from
Tehran. Iran launched cruise missiles and drones at the Abqaiq oil facility in
September of last year. This is the Saudi Aramco facility that also happens to
be the largest crude oil stabilization plant in the world. The aim of the
Iranian regime was to blow the price of oil sky high. Thankfully, the facility
was only taken offline for a few weeks.
In early January of this year, after the U.S. targeted IRGC leader Qassem
Soleimani, the Iranian regime used ballistic missiles to precisely strike two
bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops. That missile attack was a harbinger of a
conflict that could be on the horizon.
Tehran, along with its violent proxies in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, are now
working assiduously, even during the Coronavirus pandemic, to convert an arsenal
of unguided rockets and missiles into smart ones. Unguided rockets often miss
their targets. Missile defense systems can easily knock them out of the sky. But
Iran’s new PGMs can potentially maneuver in flight, evading air defenses. If
enough are fired, they can also overwhelm current defenses.
The Israelis, in particular, are getting nervous. And rightfully so. Official
sources suggest that Hezbollah may be producing a PGM or more each day, accruing
an arsenal measured in the dozens or hundreds. That may not seem like many to
readers, not in the line of fire. But to Israel and its citizens, it could be a
matter of life and death.
Combining a barrage of thousands of unguided missiles and rockets with hundreds
of PGMs could enable Hezbollah to penetrate Israeli defenses. The result could
be a catastrophic attack on Israel’s chemical plant in Haifa or Ben Gurion
International Airport with the relative impact of a tactical nuclear or chemical
weapons strike.
While accepting assistance from the U.S. and other and Western countries, the
Lebanese Armed Forces have sat on their hands as Hezbollah has pursued this
deadly project. This inaction has put the country on the precipice of yet
another war in which the Lebanese people will be the primary victims.
Similarly, the internationally funded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
has done little to nothing to stop Hezbollah from acquiring its arsenal of PGMs.
Remarkably, international donors are now debating a bailout for Lebanon, even as
the PGM crisis mounts.
Similarly, there is a debate about sanctions relief for Tehran. Advocates for
assistance cite the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the global pandemic.
But this ignores the fact that U.S. sanctions, which are singularly designed to
inhibit the regime’s malign activities, do not target or prevent the supply of
medical devices, food, or medicine to Iran. Sanctions relief would simply
provide the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism more money to fund its PGM
project.
It’s also important to note that the PGM project costs money — tens or even
hundreds of millions of dollars. Tehran’s efforts to train engineers, purchase
parts, and funnel PGM parts by way of Syria and Iraq into Lebanon all cost
money. This is money the regime could have spent on its own people. This was
money that the regime now cynically says it doesn’t have in order to fight the
virus.
Neither the regime in Tehran nor in Beirut deserves financial assistance. Tehran
is guilty of bringing the Middle East closer to war, even amidst a public health
crisis. Beirut is guilty of standing by idly as the danger grows.
It is not too late for concerted multilateral action to stop the PGM project,
but time is running short. And unconditional financial bailouts are not the
answer.
*Jonathan Schanzer is senior vice president for research at the Foundation for
Defense of Democracies (FDD), where Bradley Bowman serves as senior director of
FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power. Follow Jon on Twitter @JSchanzer
and follow Brad @Brad_L_Bowman.
Are Iran’s Afghan ‘cannon fodder’ in Syrian corridor to
confront US?
Seth J. Frantman/Jerusalem Post/May 18/2020
Iran’s role in Syria was mentioned by the US State Department as part of
discussions between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to Israel.
A parade of fighters from the Zaynabiyoun brigade of Pakistani Shi’ites was seen
in Albukamal Syria, near the Iraqi border recently. Other members of an Afghan
unit, called Fatemiyoun, were also present. Hundreds of the men took part in a
parade. They may be increasing activities to help protect a key road that helps
transport Iranian weapons to Hezbollah via Syria. They may also be present as
part of Iran’s plan to create a network of units along the road.
Albukamal and Deir Ezzor in Syria, along the Euphrates river across from where
US-led Coalition forces and their Syrian Democratic Forces partners are located.
Hezbollah members have been photographed in the same area. Ostensibly some of
the public activity of these groups is linked to religious events for Ramadan.
Iran’s role in Syria was mentioned by the US State Department as part of
discussions between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to Israel.
Reports in Israeli media in early May indicated that Iran might be withdrawing
some of the 1,000 personnel it has in Syria in response to airstrikes that had
hit Iranian sites in recent months. However other reports, by US Syria Envoy
James Jeffrey, said Iran still sought a strategic corridor in Syria to use Syria
as a base of attacks against Israel and to arm Hezbollah with precision guided
munitions. Iranian backed militias have not left their posts near Albukamal.
There appears to be concerted social media campaign to expose the role of the
Zaynabiyioun units between Albukamal and Deir Ezzor. ‘Sada Al-Sharqieh’ has been
posting about their role.
Meanwhile a separate set of rumors indicate Russia may be taking efforts against
Iran’s role in Deir Ezzor. Omar Abu Layla, who covers and tweets about issues in
the region with Deir Ezzor 24, wrote on May 14 that Russia “continues to take
bolder steps against Iran in Deir Ezzor.” It may be recruiting its own units in
the area to compensate for Iran’s attempt to recruit militias and station them
along the corridor.
A third piece of the puzzle includes new images published by ImageSat
International that show a new tunnel at Iran’s Imam Ali base near Albukamal.
Initial reports of another tunnel had also been published by ImageSat on
December 10. In December the Fatemiyun had threatened Israel in new videos. This
area was struck by the US in December and again by an unknown air force in
March. The Imam Ali base appears to have been constructed in the wake of the
June 2018 airstrikes that eviscerated an Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah base near
Albukamal. It was first revealed in September 2019.
A US State Department official, commenting on the Iranian threat in Syria on May
13, said that “you see things oftentimes blowing up in Syria,” a cryptic comment
meant to indicate that Iran’s shipments across Syria are in danger. Is it a
coincidence that the next day the images of the parade of IRGC-recruited Afghans
and Pakistanis appeared? It could be a message. A new camp was reportedly opened
for these units in the Imam Ali base area.
Asharq al-Awsat, the London-based publication, put out a report on May 14
asserting that “the US, Russia and Israel are pushing to block a strategic road
corridor between Tehran and Beirut.” According to this narrative the attempt to
interdict the Iranians and their militias also involves the US-backed SDF who
are located in eastern Syria and also the Maghawir al-Thawra, or MaT unit of
US-backed Syrian rebels located in Tanf base near Jordan. The Iranian corridor
runs between these two US-backed jaws, with Tanf on one side and the SDF in
Baghouz on the other. But the Russians, who back the Assad regime, want the US
to leave. Iran also wants the US removed from Iraq and Syria. Stories of Russia
confronting Iran in Syria are in contrast to stories arguing Iran is now flying
into Russia’s Khmeimim airbase in Syria. Another report last night reported a
Russian air force plane flying via Iran to Syria. There appears to be more
activity at Khmeimim as Cham Wings flights keep flying from there to Libya where
Russia backs one side in the civil war. Any idea that the US and Russia might
cooperate would also seem to be in contrast to Jeffrey’s comments about making
Syria a “quagmire” for Russia. Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah also recently
rejected theories that Iran and Russia are competing in Syria. He blamed Israel
for strikes on missile production facilities in Syria.
The overall picture in Syria is one of confusion. On the one hand it is clear
that Iran’s Afghan and Pakistan mercenaries are increasingly visible in the
Albukamal-Deir Ezzor corridor. Previously Iranian-backed Iraqi militias had been
using this area as well. They continue to control the Iraqi side of the border
under the banner of the Hashd al-Sha’abi or Popular Mobilization Units.
Satellite photos show construction at the Imam Ali base and it seems the Afghan
and Pakistani units play a role there.
The idea that the US and Russia would somehow confront Iran’s presence seems
unlikely. Iran and Russia continue to work together in Syria. The fact that the
US wants to make Syria a “quagmire” for Russia and the fact the US is
confronting Russia and Iran in Venezuela runs counter to a strategy to talk with
Russia about Iran’s role in Syria. The idea that the SDF and units in Tanf could
be activated against Iran’s role also seems unlikely. They may serve as a way to
conceal intelligence collection, but active attacks on Iranian mercenaries seems
impossible, considering the SDF must also deal with the regime and Russia in
northern Syria and must deal with ISIS sleeper cells and apparently is helping
the US guard oil wells. They are more a blocking force to Iran’s goal, than a
way to remove Iran. What is clear, is that many people have an interest in
revealing Iran’s role in the corridor to put a spotlight on the role of
Iranian-backed groups.
ISIS tried to destroy this church, now Muslims and
Christians join hands to rebuild
Emily Judd, Al Arabiya English/Sunday 17 May 2020
As many churches around the world face dire financial straits and struggle to
survive due to the coronavirus pandemic, one church is rising from the ashes in
the most unlikely of places: former ISIS territory.
ISIS, which ruled the Iraqi city of Mosul from 2014 to 2016, damaged or
destroyed every church in the city including the “Our Lady of the Hour” Church,
also known as Al Saa’a Church.
Established in the 19th century, the Our Lady of the Hour church was the base
for the Roman Catholic parish in Northern Iraq and Kurdistan - until ISIS
damaged its structure, looted and ransacked its convent, and drove its
worshippers out of the area.
Now the historical monument is being rebuilt through a partnership between
UNESCO, the United Arab Emirates, and the Roman Catholic Dominican order.
Christians and Muslims have joined forces for the initiative, part of UNESCO’s
“Revive the Spirit of Mosul” project.
The remnants of the church are evidence of the solid Christian presence the city
once had, before ISIS drove out religious minorities under the threat of death.
About 50 Christian families remain in Mosul, according to Father Olivier
Poquillon, a Dominican Catholic priest who is overseeing the reconstruction of
the church.
Christians have hesitated to return to the city because of the post-war
environment.
Many Christians in Iraq are now internally displaced peoples (IDPs) and are
“carefully watching what is developing in Mosul and whether it will be possible
for them to return home,” said Father Poquillon in an interview with Al Arabiya
English, adding that the renovation of a Christian place of worship will be a
welcoming sign.
Reviving Mosul
Several key landmarks in Mosul that capture the historic diversity of the city
are under reconstruction after being targeted by ISIS. The restoration is
bringing citizens from different communities together again, said Poquillon.
The UAE has committed over $50 million to rebuilding the cultural heritage of
Mosul, including the Our Lady of the Hour church and the Al Tahera Church of
Syriac Catholics. The UAE is the first country in the world to spearhead the
reconstruction of Christian churches in Iraq.
Poquillon said reconstruction of the churches would not have been possible
without the generous contribution of the UAE, which serves as “a model of
engagement for the mutual benefit and full commitment of all in building peace.”
UAE Minister for Culture and Knowledge Development Noura Al Kaabi has expressed
hope Christians will return to Mosul and that the city’s repaired sites will be
a symbol for the future of the country.
“By rebuilding a fraction of the past, Iraq can shape its future as an
inclusive, tolerant and open society, which has always found a tangible
manifestation in Mosul’s rich historical sites,” said Al Kaabi during remarks at
a UNESCO meeting on October 10.
The UAE is also rebuilding Mosul’s 12th century Al Nuri mosque, which ISIS blew
up in 2017.
In rebuilding two churches and one mosque, the project is an example of being
united in diversity for mutual benefit in the community, said Poquillon.
Christian homecoming
ISIS didn’t just damage Mosul’s ancient buildings, but also the city’s social
fabric and unity.
The return of Mosul’s Christian population depends on many factors other than
having a building of worship, including safety, basic facilities, quality
education, and economic opportunities.
“Some Christians are already working in Mosul, but the main challenge will be to
rebuild trust among peoples and communities. ‘Reviving the Spirit of Mosul’ may
play a positive role in that direction,” said Poquillon.
The UNESCO project has so far contracted four Iraqi companies and employed 27
locals to carry out the restoration of the holy sites. It also aims to create
training and job opportunities for over 1,000 young people in the city of Mosul
and contribute to the local economy by building up cultural tourism.
Especially following COVID-19’s impact on the Iraqi economy, the project will
now play a role “in supporting the population in rebuilding the landscape of the
city,” according to Poquillon.
This is not the first time Mosul is overcoming destruction, as the city’s
position at an ancient crossroads made it subject to violence from many
directions, said Poquillon.
“But since antiquity it has always been able to rebuild itself. Let’s hope that
this spirit of resilience will prevail and allow peoples of good will to rebuild
Mosul together,” he said.
The dangers of Iran’s military mistakes
Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/May 18/2020
The Iranian navy last week announced that 19 sailors had been killed and 15
wounded in a “friendly fire” incident, when its support vessel Konarak was hit
by a new anti-ship missile being tested by the Jamaran frigate during drills in
the Gulf of Oman. Iranian state TV said the incident took place off Bandar-e-Jask
in southern Iran after the Konarak had towed a practice target to its
destination but failed to move far enough away.
It is noteworthy that the Iranian leadership has remained silent about the
number of fatalities and the reasons for the incident. It has not released video
footage to indicate how the fatal mistake happened, even though Iran usually
documents its naval drills exhaustively, raising further suspicions about the
reality of the incident.
A few months before this, in January of this year, Iranian forces shot down a
Ukrainian jetliner shortly after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 people
on board. In the three days following this incident, regime officials repeatedly
denied any involvement, claiming that human error by the pilots or aviation
personnel might have caused the plane to crash. As evidence of the regime’s
culpability mounted, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that
a missile had been fired mistakenly and hit the plane.
Video footage of the incident recorded by Iranian citizens and subsequently
uploaded to social media demonstrated, however, that the plane had been hit by
two missiles, rather than one, prompting the regime to admit that it had shot
down the airliner. Regime officials refused to hand over the black boxes from
the destroyed plane.After the Ukrainian jetliner was downed, the media in Iran
blamed a lack of coordination between Iran’s air defense forces and the
airport’s command center. However, the media was not brave enough to put the
regime in the dock and hold it accountable for the incident.
It is also clear from last week’s naval incident that, while the IRGC is the
primary subject of attention in analyzing the regime’s military capabilities,
the army, which supersedes the IRGC in importance when it comes to the navy’s
management, suffers from the same shortcomings.
While it was believed that the army, whose long record extends back to the
Pahlavi era, would have the expertise and proficiency to avoid disastrous and
lethal mistakes of this nature, the latest incident shows that such faith in its
capabilities was over-optimistic. It is possible that this is because the
“revolutionary” regime does not trust the regular army, fearing that it may
harbor covert loyalties to the former Pahlavi leadership, so it withholds
funding and training. This has led to a situation where the IRGC’s budget is
three times that of the army, even though the army is three times larger than
the IRGC, meaning the latter is effectively receiving money that should be going
to the army. There are also rumors within the Iranian regime that Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei, in his capacity as supreme commander of the Iranian armed forces,
has transferred commanders from the IRGC to the regular army to ensure it
remains loyal to the theocratic regime.
But where does the danger lie?
These Iranian military fiascos indicate several important matters, the main one
being that they could be repeated in the future. This poses a grave danger to
international navigation and the civilian areas close to where military
exercises are conducted. Also, the weaknesses in the technical aspects of Iran’s
military hardware cannot be used to allow the regime to shirk its responsibility
for its hostile acts at home and overseas.
The danger does not only lie in the regime’s shoddy, low-standard technology and
its dependence on numbers over quality hardware when it comes to warfare, but
also in the mindset that controls the handling of these weapons. This mindset is
dominated by ideological and sectarian tendencies.
The fact that the regime delivers missiles and drones to affiliated militias in
Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon also helps us understand the aims of the regime when it
comes to military development and drills, most of which are offensive. This
contradicts the regime’s claim that its missile program is defensive.
It is possible that the ‘revolutionary’ regime does not trust the regular army,
so it withholds funding and training.
In light of the troubling current realities in the region and considering the
nature of the ruling government in Tehran, how is it possible that the
international community can allow Iran’s regime to continue to develop its
nuclear and ballistic missile programs? What are the guarantees ensuring there
will be no more disastrous “mistakes” committed by Iran?
These concerns should be addressed by the international community and, in
particular, the P5+1 group ,which legitimized Iran’s nuclear program by granting
it the right to enrich uranium. This has increased to 20 percent enrichment and,
even with the nuclear deal’s restrictions, Tehran will still be able to develop
ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads within 10 to 15 years.
*Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami is Head of the International Institute for Iranian
Studies (Rasanah). Twitter: @mohalsulami
Trump, Xi, and The Pandemic Symptoms
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/May 18/2020
This is a season of great fear across maps and continents. We have never seen
the world awash with terror in this way.
There were moments of worry, but soon the world regained confidence in itself,
in science, and in the future.
The world has not had a comprehensive and global panic. Neither in the Cuban
missile crisis nor in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Neither in the Vietnam
War, nor in the regional explosions, nor in the September 11 attacks and their
aftermath. In all previous crises, one could bet on forces from a side or
another. In the current horror season, you do not have a support center to call.
If you’re overly anxious, and you call an official, doctor, or scientist in a
laboratory, he’ll just answer your question with a question that deepens your
confusion and augment your worries.
A person has the right to be concerned when he sees a superpower with massive
arsenals, unable to prevent the pandemic from attacking its capitals and cities.
It is not easy to see the coronavirus killing tens of thousands of Americans,
while the president and the scientists are unable to predict when the attack
would end… An attack that was considered more dangerous than the Pearl Harbor
offensive.
The same can be said about the Russian president. Neither the Red Army, nor the
pirates who attacked the German chancellor, nor the units that are stationed in
Hmeimim, could stop the outbreak.
There is no doubt that the Chinese president managed to avert a colossal
catastrophe that would beset his country, had he not used the regime’s strict
measures to contain the epidemic, but that was not enough to answer all
questions. All excitement and risk factors happened to be present in the
outbreak of this epidemic. The coronavirus emerged from the most populous
country that advanced so well to occupy the second-largest economy in the world.
Also perhaps by coincidence, the epidemic committed its greatest slaughter on
American soil, that is, on the land of the most powerful country in the world
with the first economy.
We never want to underestimate the massive human and economic losses that have
engulfed European countries. But the outbreak of the epidemic from China and its
assault on New York and other US goals, have awakened all kinds of fears.
The new development revealed the degree of tension in relations between
Washington and Beijing, despite Donald Trump and Xi-Jinping trying to cover
hatred with smiles.
In fact, those who observe the path of relations between the US and China notice
that Trump was dealing with this file like someone who was playing with a bomb
and trying to postpone the date of its explosion.
Trump believes that his predecessors exaggerated in calming the land of the Red
Dragon and surrounding it with gifts out of their fear of a Soviet Union
scenario.He also believes that China had deceived the United States in the past
decades, and suggested that it was heading towards international responsibility
and transparency, while it was pursuing a major hegemony project under the name
of “the Road and the Belt”, reminiscent of the “Silk Road”.
Trump, surprised by the coronavirus’s misfortune while he was confidently
heading to the presidential elections, did not hesitate to remove the make-up
off the US-China relationship. That’s why he deliberately talked about the
“Chinese virus”, the gaps in the Wuhan laboratory, and the Chinese
responsibility towards thousands of casualties in America and other parts of the
world. At first glance, the issue seemed logical or expected. Trump was
reminding his citizens of the economic achievements under his term, and asking
them to renew his residence in the White House.
He had something to say and numbers in some files served his cause. Suddenly,
the epidemic emerged so as talks about unprecedented losses, deflation,
recession, and a record increase in unemployment.
But it’s not about Trump alone, but rather about calculations within the US
institution, especially since the talk about “the Chinese rise” and “the Asian
roar” are not new.
Trump hinted at severing ties with China after he asked the country several
times to uncover the truth, going even further to call for the establishment of
an investigation committee.
On the other hand, China has been distributing aid around the world, as if it
was looking for a certificate of good behavior, because it “suppressed” the
epidemic and prevented it from staying long on its lands.
This file is difficult, thorny, and dangerous. It involves secret and misleading
information that an ordinary citizen is unable to verify.
The Daily Mail and Le Figaro quoted names and photos of European athletes, who
said they believe they caught the coronavirus during the October Olympic games
in Wuhan in October. Those testified that the local authorities there were
asking them to wash their hands frequently and were carrying out strict cleaning
operations of the streets.
If these reports proved to be true, then China would have long waited before
announcing the virus to the world.
The pandemic revealed the extent of mutual fear that is hidden under the cloak
of economic competition or trade war between America and China.
Remarks by Trump and his Secretary of State on the CPC and its gravity confirm
that we are witnessing the beginning of a new Cold War.
The emerging file of China’s intimidation of the riparian states of the South
China Sea also reveals the scale of fears in this region of the Chinese growth.
America is clearly worried about the rise of the Red Dragon, while China fears
the US ability to present it as the “great danger” to the world.
It is a wrist fight between the old general of the cosmic village, and the new
policeman. It is a terrifying duel as it will have exorbitant costs on the
global economy, especially as it begins while the fearful world is dreaming of a
vaccine against the coronavirus.
America and China have undoubtedly caught the symptoms of the Cold War epidemic,
and countries must prepare for the new winds.
Many questions arise about Europe’s stance and the response of other powers.
What about Russia, which is busy with the Syrian file? Is this an opportunity
for India to engage in a project to contain the attack by Mao’s heirs?
A NATO Flotilla Sails Back Into the Cold War
James Stavridis/Bloomberg/May 18/2020
Some of the roughest waters in the world are in what sailors call the High
North, especially the Barents Sea on the northwest Arctic coast of Russia. In a
tightly confined bay, the base of Severomorsk is home to Russia’s most capable
naval force, the Northern Fleet. This week a flotilla including three American
destroyers, a massive supply ship and a British frigate entered the Barents, the
first such venture for US surface ships since the end of the Cold War. Seeking
to avoid any surprises, the US Navy informed the Russians of the deployment,
although there isn’t any requirement to do so under international law. The area
where the flotilla will operate is clearly high seas, through which any nation
is free to transit. The Navy reports it will be conducting a variety of training
events, including for anti-submarine warfare.
This is a difficult place to operate, even in relatively mild late spring. It is
also famous to naval personnel from the days of the Murmansk convoys in World
War II, when allied ships were bringing war materials to Russian partners in the
fight against Hitler. I sailed those northern waters (not quite to the Barents,
but inside the Arctic Circle) years ago in both an aircraft carrier (relatively
smooth sailing) and in a destroyer about a tenth the size of the carrier. The
destroyer struggled in heavy seas, and over a third of my crew lay flat on their
backs with seasickness. Both deployments were post-Cold War and in relatively
benign times in terms of interacting with the Russian fleet. That is not the
case today.
Indeed, relations between Russia and the US are deteriorating badly. Over the
past few weeks, Russian bombers and submarines have conducted close-in patrols
around the coasts of both the US and its NATO allies. The US has protested
Russian testing of anti-satellite weapons, and the two nations are in a
diplomatic disagreement over a possible extension of the New Start
nonproliferation treaty, which expires early next year. There have also been new
outbreaks of combat in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists are clashing
with the government forces. Why is the US picking this moment to send a powerful
group of ships north?
There are three key reasons. First is simply responding to Russia’s
provocations. In particular, Russian surface ships have been undertaking
forceful and dangerous maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean on the fringes of
the Syrian conflict. Russian bombers have been probing the northern borders of
the alliance from Alaska to the Baltics. And, above all, we have seen increased
Russian submarine activity throughout the north Atlantic. The allied surface
flotilla, which unlike submarine deployments is highly visible, sends a clear
signal to Moscow.
Second, deployments like this are a rare but important training opportunity. US
ships typically operate in the far more benign waters of the western Pacific,
Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and central Atlantic. As I learned over the
course of that rough week at sea up north, our crews need to practice operating
in very demanding seamanship environments. Operating the weapons and sensors,
and particularly the difficult replenishment at sea (taking on fuel, ammunition,
and stores while “hooked up” to the supply ship and crashing through difficult
waters), is not something in which you can have full confidence until you
execute it repeatedly.
Finally, this type of alliance operation is crucial — and in that sense, this
flotilla is a disappointment. The US wanted a large group participating, yet
only the British chose to come along. The Norwegians, who normally have been
very willing to cooperate in their backyard, are missing in action. This is
especially surprising considering that Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a former Norwegian prime minister
who has been particularly forthright in pushing back on Russian bad behavior. It
would have been reasonable to expect the Germans, Italians, and French — all of
whom operate surface ships capable of handling the northern waters — to come
along. And Canada, with the largest NATO border on the Arctic, was conspicuously
absent as well.
An interesting tie-in to the deployment is the selection days ago of an
Italian-designed frigate, the Fremm class, as the newest US Navy warship. While
the ships will be built by American workers in a Wisconsin shipyard (owned by
the Italian shipmaker Fincantieri SpA), the selection is a powerful signal of
engagement and cooperation between US and European defense firms. It should also
improve future interoperability between the US Navy and the NATO allies who
already operate the Fremm class. Over time, one hopes, such cooperation will
encourage broader participation in group deployments like this one to the
Arctic.Still, even this modest flotilla is a sensible and clear demonstration to
Russia that the US and the UK are willing to operate in challenging waters in a
corner of the world’s oceans that the Russians wrongly see as their own
property.
The Covid-19 Vaccine Fight Is Getting Ugly
Lionel Laurent/Bloomberg/May 18/2020
An effective Covid-19 vaccine, if it ever arrives, should be treated as a public
good for the whole of society. Every continent has been struck by the virus bar
Antarctica.
But the combination of national self-interest and pressure for the
pharmaceutical industry to turn a profit is already triggering a geopolitical
bust up over who actually gets access to the vaccine first. It’s a reminder that
the spoils of drug research aren’t equally divided. The system is ripe for a
rethink.
Already, the French government is hauling its national drug-making champion
Sanofi over hot coals after the company suggested that the US — and not Europe —
would be first in line to get access to its proposed vaccine if it works out.
The reason, according to Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson, is that the US was
first to contribute funding to the project. “Unacceptable,” came the reply from
French Junior Economy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher. The head of Sanofi’s
French business quickly sought to defuse the tension by promising that an
effective vaccine would be “available to all.” But this debate isn’t going away.
French President Emmanuel Macron plans to meet with Sanofi officials next week
to discuss the issue. Elsewhere, AstraZeneca Plc is prioritizing the UK in its
own vaccine project.
On the surface, Sanofi’s stance seems logical enough. The cost of researching a
vaccine is between $500 million and $1 billion, according to a 2015 paper by
physician and consultant Stanley Plotkin. If the US taxpayer is willing to foot
the bill, shouldn’t they reap some of the reward? Drugmakers know this is a
vaccine that will have to be sold in bulk, and not at an eye-wateringly
expensive price — Johnson & Johnson, for example, says its own plan is to
produce the one it’s working on at cost, or about 10 euros ($10.81). Given some
kind of prioritization is going to be necessary as production ramps up to
millions of doses, it may as well start with those that funded the project,
according to Sam Fazeli, senior pharmaceutical analyst at Bloomberg
Intelligence.
But Paris has a point, too. Sanofi’s vaccine is not produced in a vacuum. The
company benefits from European shareholders, employees, factories — and tax
credits. It’s worth noting that research and development funding in France is
the second-most generous as a share of GDP among countries tracked by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, at 0.4%. (The US comes in
tenth.) That’s largely thanks to tax-incentive schemes awarded to companies like
Sanofi to the tune of 150 million euros every year. French taxpayers might
wonder why that shouldn’t be taken into account.
Simply rapping Sanofi on the knuckles isn’t going to be a durable solution,
though. The risk is that, if countries take turns in shoving their way to the
front of the line, the result will be a kind of vaccine trade war along national
lines. That would make a mockery of the World Health Organization’s plea to view
vaccines as a common public good, and would also echo the damaging scramble for
masks and medical equipment that set European countries against each other. If
France were to get hold of a vaccine first, would Italy or Greece get the same
access?
It would be more productive if European countries backed up their indignation by
working together more to take on the financial risk of vaccines. Then they could
divide the spoils more equally. There is no reason why the European Union’s 27
countries couldn’t come up with their own version of the US’s Biomedical
Advanced Research and Development Authority and match the Trump administration’s
deep pockets. The EU’s recent $8 billion vaccine fundraising is one good
example, and its joint procurement vehicle for medical equipment and vaccines is
another.
The broader the cooperation, the more chance countries have to level the playing
field with big pharmaceutical companies. Drugmakers have for decades focused on
lucrative new treatments protected by patents, often putting them out of reach
of people in developing countries. New organizations are fighting this: The
United Nations-backed Medicine Patent Pool, for example, has licensed patented
HIV drugs for manufacture by generics companies at lower cost. The Coalition for
Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has also brought together countries to fund
vaccine research.
The pandemic has revealed a lot of problems in the pharmaceutical supply chain,
from a dependence on emerging markets for vital drug supplies to a lack of
interest in potentially unprofitable vaccine research. If the opportunity here
is to ensure life-saving drugs get the funding they need, taxpayers around the
world — not just in France or the US — should also get better access to them.
Why Open Offices Will Survive
Sarah Green Carmichael/Bloomberg/May 18/2020
When I think back to pre-coronavirus office life, it almost seems designed to
spread germs. There’s the hour-long commute on the crowded train; the steady
flow of fingers poking at elevator buttons and coffee machines; and our open
rows of desks with nary a cube wall to prevent a surprise sneeze from traveling
across the room. It’s perhaps not surprising that a 2013 study found that germs
can spread from one person’s hand to half of office surfaces in just four hours.
We clearly need to do better in the post-lockdown future. But how?
The essential organizations that remained open during the coronavirus shutdowns
offer some clues. They reduced crowding by staggering shifts, asking some
employees to work from home and designating corridors for one-way travel. They
installed clear plastic barriers at cash registers and reception desks. Some
implemented temperature checks, though those aren’t foolproof, since
asymptomatic people can spread the virus and even many hospitalized Covid-19
patients never develop a fever.
You might be wondering if we’ll see major architectural changes too — some have
even predicted the end of open offices. But this isn’t likely. Such redesigns
are expensive and intrusive, says Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler, an assistant
professor at Purdue University and author of the forthcoming “Open Plan: A
Design History of the American Office.” In the midst of a severe recession, most
firms can’t afford to splash out for new spaces. Even if we’ll be social
distancing for two more years, a big office remodel probably doesn’t make much
financial sense.
Human behavior is easier to change than architecture. And open offices, with
their flexible spaces, allow for very different behaviors. This adaptability is
why the open office has resisted all attempts to kill it, and also why it is
surprisingly well-suited to this moment of change.
Germophobes worried about open offices long before the coronavirus pandemic.
Studies conducted in Europe linked open-plan offices with reduced well-being and
higher use of sick days, though it’s not clear whether this is because germs
spread more easily, or because being always on display reduces productivity and
increases stress.
Critics also like to point out that open offices are even bad at the one thing
they’re supposed to do well: foster collaboration. Harvard’s Ethan Bernstein and
Ben Waber of Humanyze studied companies that switched to open floor plans and
found that face-to-face conversations fell by 70% after the change.
Nevertheless, these wide open spaces have persisted.
“[The open office] has really been with us since the 1960s, and some would say
even earlier than that,” says Kaufmann-Buhler. The earliest iterations go back
to the late 19th century and look much like they do today: rows of desks in
large, open spaces.
Open plans “are never going away,” says Kaufmann-Buhler, though they’ve been
“declared dead so many times.” Every time she sees a headline announcing as
much, she thinks to herself, “Ah, the open plan is dead, long live the open
plan.”
That’s because it’s a design that’s extremely cost effective. It’s not just the
lack of walls, or the number of people you can pack in. It’s that private
offices require more of everything — doors, ventilation ducts, energy
consumption. Plus, open workspaces let in more light, and allow you to easily
make eye contact with colleagues — something I find I miss about the Bloomberg
offices these days.
And open plans are adaptable, whether it’s a Mad Men-era secretarial pool or a
modern-day coworking space. You can easily add (or subtract) workers, and
rearrange desks and other equipment as needed. In fact, that flexibility is what
companies are going to be relying on now, as they push desks further apart, add
panels or partitions and commandeer large communal spaces, like conference
rooms, for other purposes.
That’s not to say there are no physical upgrades that are worthwhile. Those
lucky companies with deep pockets could invest in touchless technology, like
motion-sensor doors, light switches and bathroom faucets, to limit the common
surfaces employees interact with.
If your HVAC system is getting a bit long in the tooth, this would be a great
time to invest in a newer system that offers air filtration. “Older [systems]
are woefully out of date and inadequate in terms of protective elements,” says
Kaufmann-Buhler. Some of them recirculate air too much and run the risk of
spreading germs.
Because major upgrades are likely to be out of reach for most companies, many
firms will rely on behavior change — which can be quite powerful. In that 2013
study that showed germs spreading to half the office by lunchtime, simple
interventions like washing hands, using hand sanitizer and providing employees
with free cleaning wipes slashed people’s risk of getting sick from 40-90% to
less than 10%. And companies will certainly be beefing up their cleaning
schedules, particularly in common areas like bathrooms, break rooms and
elevators. This alone would be a major change. As it is, “Offices are kind of
gross places,” says Kaufmann-Buhler. They don’t seem that dirty in the first
place, so they tend to get only lightly cleaned by the overworked and underpaid
contractors most firms hire.
Firms in skyscrapers will also have to figure out ways to minimize contact
around doors and elevators. The easiest solution may be to employ doormen and
elevator attendants, and stagger working hours to avoid long queues.
Organizations that have served food, free or otherwise, will likely reconsider
how they do so — if they keep serving it at all. For one thing, in the middle of
a recession (or even a depression) with perhaps 20% unemployment, companies may
no longer feel they need to offer costly perks like free meals. (Note to my
employer: This is not a recommendation! I dearly miss the Bloomberg food.) At
the very least, company cafeterias will likely ask employees to stagger their
lunch breaks to avoid crowding. Instead of eating off an open deli tray with
friends, you’ll probably be taking a boxed lunch back to your desk to eat six
feet away from anyone else.
And yet it is inescapable that prolonged, indoor proximity is the primary way
this virus is spreading — and such contact is inescapable if people return to
work, regardless of the precautions organizations take. That’s why many firms
will rightly encourage employees to keep working from home and visit the office
only when absolutely necessary.
Even then, instead of dropping in whenever you like, your visits will be
scheduled. Some organizations are dividing their staffs into two teams, which
take turns coming into the office on alternate weeks or fortnights. (Given how
long the virus can survive on surfaces, it’s probably not a good idea to ask
employees to come in on alternate days. Give the germs at least a weekend to
degrade.) Swabs of everyday items routinely find that it’s the things we’re
always touching with our hands that are the dirtiest — that means keyboards,
phones, mice and trackpads. This may portend the end of hotdesking (in which
employees have no permanent workstation, but simply sit wherever they like) and
a major revamp of hoteling (in which employees share a specific workstation on a
rotating, scheduled basis).
And forget holding large face-to-face meetings. Those will still have to take
place via videoconference.
“All of this is going to have a huge impact on the ways people interact with
each other and the way people think about work,” Kaufmann-Buhler says.
In other words, if you’ve been missing your office these past eight weeks, that
feeling of dislocation may not dissipate even if you return to HQ. No matter
what your office looks like, it will feel very different.
A Beacon of Light Threatened by Politics of Darkness,
Corruption and COVID-19
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/May 18/2020
We are familiar with the famous maxim “it is better to light a candle than curse
darkness”; but what about a beacon of science, thought and culture that is
currently being threatened by dark politics, corruption and a pandemic that has
infected millions, claimed the jobs tens of millions and forced hundreds of
millions to stay at home throughout the world.
What about a 154-year-old minaret of enlightenment that has led an unprecedented
cultural revival in the Arab East, and withstood wars, famines and changing
maps? However, it is now being besieged in a lost Middle East, where culture has
become barren, minds calcified, hearts emotionless, bellies empty, diversity
problematic and accepting political partition a desired option compared to
endless disintegration.
What about a western window to the East, and an eastern window to the West,
where the great eastern and western cultures merge in its libraries, classrooms
and scientific labs, and Islam and Christianity meet, and where openness and
tolerance have brought together minorities of all kinds from all over the world?
What about a university, founded by Daniel Bliss, before many of the world’s top
universities; and graduated brilliant talents that have occupied top positions
all over the world?
The American University of Beirut, which is currently encountering real
difficulties, most of which are beyond its control, is not like any other
university. Indeed, it is neither just another university, nor an ordinary
institute of higher education that follows the American educational system. With
AUB, we are talking about is a heritage that is far greater than the identities
associated with it; a unique case, unprecedented and unrepeated, whether in the
Arab world or in the West.
Since it was founded as the Syrian Protestant College in 1866, AUB has been an
ambitious renaissance project. From the beginning, its founders were aware of
the importance of applied science and research, which explains why its medical
school is one of the most pioneering faculties.
After WWI, the name was changed in the early 1920s to the American University of
Beirut. With this, it shed off its early church-related identity and adapted to
the changing geopolitical post-war and Sykes-Picot realities. By choosing this
practical and realistic name, the university avoided being sucked into the
“nationalist” discourse and rhetoric which would dominate the Levant in the
following decades.
Indeed, during the following decades, AUB’s beautiful green campus overlooking
the Mediterranean, in a Ras Beirut neighborhood, became a confluence of thought
and an arena for debate and intellectual exchange. Throughout campus clamored
the “Syrian nationalists” and “Lebanonists”, and under its shady trees, “Arab
nationalists” preached and Islamists, secularists, Marxists, liberals, clerical
conservatives made their voices heard, when logical argument did the talking not
submachine guns.
In that “oasis”, as described by the British journalist Michael Adams, great
intellectuals lectured and gifted talents learned. There was Constantine Zurayk
facing off with Charles Malek. There was Saeed Hamadeh, as well as Hanna Batatu,
Walid al-Khalidi and Youssef Ibish. Among its graduates were celebrated poets
Omar Abu Risheh and Hafez Jameel and social historian/anthropologist Ali Al-Wardi;
there were also the inventor Hassan Kamel al-Sabbah and future world-famous
architect Zaha Hadid.
In politics, among AUB’s greats were Fares al-Khoury, Nazim al-Qudsi, Omar al-Saqqaf
and Fadhil al-Jamali, as well as Ahmed al-Khatib, Wasfi al-Tall, Haidar Abdul-Shafi,
Salim al-Hoss and Saadun Hammadi.
At AUB, women pioneers, like Farida al-Suleiman, Leila Sharaf, Diana Taqieddin,
Hanan Ashrawi, Thuraya Arrayed and Sahar al-Sallab studied and graduated.
From outside the Arab world, Afghanistan’s current President Ashraf Ghani
Ahmadzai, Iran’s ex-foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi and US diplomat Zalmay
Khalilzad, studied and interacted with our society, loving us with temptation or
disliking us without pressures.
Such an environment, which is unique in its spiritual and intellectual heritage,
is the living opposite of what we are going through right now, whether in
Lebanon or in the wider Middle East.
However, this rich heritage is now being threatened by political earthquakes,
economic tremors and the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter has compounded concerns
and preoccupied those who otherwise could have compensated the losses caused by
the Lebanese collapse and the regional failures.
During past difficulties, there were available alternatives and AUB’s large
“family” of alumni in the diaspora managed to generously help their alma mater.
They did so even during the long Lebanese civil war (1975-1990). The situation
is now different because the pandemic and its repercussions have left no place
in the world unaffected by health worries, economic downturn, unemployment and
bankruptcies.
This is why, last week, AUB took the unusual step of talking openly about its
difficulties, to its alumni, the Lebanese, the Middle East and - indeed –
everyone who values the university and appreciates keeping it alive as a unique
bastion of culture, coexistence and tolerance. In his call, AUB’s president
underlined the need to have enough support that would minimize the sacrifice and
losses, in terms of staff, students, academic services and standard or medical
role, until the world overcomes the current crisis.
Of course, Lebanon is in such a bad situation that it can no longer support an
AUB that the country that is indebted to it. The Arab world also has enough
problems of its own, more so countries like Syria and Iraq. Even the US, where
around 15 percent of the workforce have lost their jobs because of COVID-19 and
its economic repercussions, local and national priorities come first, especially
since within a few months American will go to polls to vote in presidential and
legislative elections.
Thus, the challenge is serious, although I believe that the only way forward is
thinking positively, and succeeding in saving AUB and insuring its future…at any
price. I say this because any alternative of saving AUB will be frightening. It
will also be catastrophic to the intellectual and cultural climate in the Arab
East already threatened by the mullah’s aggression, ISIS phantoms of death and
“Likudist” expansionism. Finally, it will be more than tragic for the future of
enlightenment, tolerance and diversity, as the region turns into a battleground
for competing international powers.