English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 12/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.october12.20.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006

Bible Quotations For today
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’
Luke 10/25-28: “Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 11-12/2020
Health Ministry: 1010 new Corona cases, 4 deaths
Lebanon to Lock Down 170 Towns, Shut Bars and Nightclubs
Al-Rahi Urges Formation of 'Non-Political and Technocrat' Salvation Govt.
Hariri makes premiership unlikely by enunciating impossible conditions
FPM Official Tells Hariri His Return as PM Not Guaranteed
Hariri to Meet Aoun and Berri on Monday
Hariri Inspects Explosion Site in Tariq al-Jedideh
LF Bloc to Take Stance on Eve of PM Consultations
Fires Brought Under Control in Syria, Lebanon
Tenenti: Peacekeepers who tested positive for COVID19 did not have any contact with local communities
'Security situation in Baalbek-Hermel to worsen if not addressed,' cautions Hajj Hassan
Memorial ceremony in Paris commemorating Beirut Port blast martyrs
Lebanon hit by chicken shortage as butchers blame cartels amid economic crisis
What Resistance Fighters in Lebanon: Anger That Has Become Wailing/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/October,11/2020

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 11-12/2020

Pope prays for wildfires in the Americas, peace in NagornoKarabakh
Trump: 'I am Immune' from Covid-19
Heavy Shelling and Civilian Casualties Dash Hopes for Karabakh Ceasefire
Armenia, Azerbaijan ceasefire puts Turkish ambitions on hold
Armenia: Turkey arming Azerbaijan shows ‘expansionist ambitions’ in our region
A strange “no war, no peace” silence has fallen on the Iran-US contest
Gas Explosion Hits Market, Kills at Least 5 in Southwest Iran
Four Iranians Face Trial Before Belgian Judiciary
IAEA: Iran Enriches Uranium at Much Higher Degree than its Commitment
Iraq Parliament Partially Resolves Multiple Districts Obstacle
EU Rejects GNA’s Agreement with Turkey
Abbas Meets World Jewish Congress Head
UN announces first Libyan direct talks in Tunisia next month
Forest Fires Rage in Three Governorates in Syria

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 11-12/2020

Italy: Defend National Borders, End Up on Trial/Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/October 11, 2020
Kidnapped, Raped, and Forced into Islam: The Plight of Christian Girls in Pakistan/Raymond Ibrahim/ Gatestone Institute/October 11, 2020
EU continues to slam Turkey over Mediterranean conflict/Yasar Yakis/Arab News/October 11/2020
EU must condemn Iran regime, not appease it/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/October 11/2020
Arrests, torture and executions: Iran’s autumn of discontent/Christopher Hamil-Stewart/Arab News/October 11/2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 11-12/2020

Health Ministry: 1010 new Corona cases, 4 deaths
NNA /October 11/2020
The Ministry of Public Health announced, on Sunday, the registration of 1010 new COVID-19 infections, which raises the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 536,558. It added that 4 death cases were also reported during the past 24 hours.

Lebanon to Lock Down 170 Towns, Shut Bars and Nightclubs
Naharnet/October 11/2020
Almost 170 Lebanese villages and towns will go into lockdown for the next week, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday, as Lebanon grapples with record numbers of novel coronavirus cases. The Ministry also ordered bars, pubs and nightclubs nationwide closed "until further notice." An interior ministry statement said 169 villages and towns across the country would be locked down for one week from 6:00 am on Monday. Around half of those localities had already been placed in lockdown under measures announced this month, including the closure of all public and private institutions excluding bakeries and pharmacies.
The towns include 26 in Northern Metn, among them Antelias, Naccache, Bourj Hammoud, Dbaye, Dekwaneh, Fanar, Jal el-Dib, Zalka and Sin el-Fil. They also include seven Tripoli neighborhoods and 14 towns in Chouf, 12 in Jbeil, 20 in Keserwan, 14 in Baabda, 13 in Aley and 13 in Zahle.
Lebanon, a small country reeling from its worst economic crisis in decades, has recorded 52,558 novel coronavirus cases, including 455 deaths. Infections have spiked in the aftermath of a catastrophic explosion at Beirut's port on August 4 that killed more than 200 people, injured thousands, damaged several hospitals and overwhelmed the capital's health services. Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan warned on Monday that increasing virus cases in the country could reach levels seen in Europe and called localized lockdowns a "last chance." Authorities fear the continuous rise of cases could further overwhelm the country's fragile healthcare sector. On August 21, authorities imposed an almost nationwide lockdown as well as a night-time curfew, but they eased the restrictions a week later after protest from

Al-Rahi Urges Formation of 'Non-Political and Technocrat' Salvation Govt.
Naharnet/October 11/2020
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called for the formation of a “non-political and technocrat” salvation government. “Our concern will grow should there be failure to name a new premier, especially should there be failure to form a non-political and technocrat salvation government that would launch reforms according to the recommendation of the April 2018 CEDRE Conference,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon. He added that the guarantee for success in forming a government would be “determination by everyone to avoid procrastination, the placement of conditions and the fabrication of unconstitutional obstacles that are against the National Pact.” “Any agreement on the formation of the new government must remain within the boundaries of the Constitution and the National Pact, seeing as no group has the right to bypass the Constitution while another has no right to give it up and a third has no right to distort the democratic system,” the patriarch went on to say. President Michel Aoun has scheduled the binding parliamentary consultations to pick a new premier for Thursday but no political agreement has yet been reached among the parties, although ex-PM Saad Hariri has announced that he is certainly a premiership candidate, reversing a previous stance. Ex-PM Najiq Miqati has meanwhile floated an initiative calling for the formation of a Hariri-led government comprised of 14 technocrats and six political ministers.

Hariri makes premiership unlikely by enunciating impossible conditions
The Arab Weekly/October 11/2020
The former PM warned that, “after what happened to the French initiative, the country has become exposed to all possibilities of insecurity, instability and economic collapse.”

BEIRUT – Lebanese political sources revealed that former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri followed an indirect strategy to exclude himself from the race for a new prime minister in Lebanon. They thought that Hariri’s candid speech to the Lebanese served his personal image on the one hand and restored some hope that the economic situation could improve on the other hand. These sources, however, emphasized that the hope created by Saad Hariri cannot be translated on the ground in light of a political class controlled by Hezbollah, which totally rejects the French initiative and any aid from the International Monetary Fund. It was interesting to note that Hariri asserted, several times in his speech that the French initiative was the “only opportunity” available to Lebanon.
They also indicated that Hariri, who was speaking to interviewer Marcel Ghanem on MTV channel on Thursday evening, set several conditions for his acceptance of the premiership. Hariri’s conditions could be said to be impossible to meet in the current circumstances, because he linked his acceptance of the position to returning to the French initiative, meaning forming a non-partisan government. He justified the possibility of his heading such a government, even though he is a politician representing a specific party, by noting that the president is a Maronite politician and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shia politician, both representing specific political parties. He wondere then the Sunni prime minister cannot be allowed to be a politician, too.
Hariri also indicated that Macron had asked the political factions “to put on hold their political differences for a period of six months” in order to be able to put a stop to the economic collapse in Lebanon. “Every political group can come up with a problem in order to delay forming the government, but if the political parties really want to stop the collapse and rebuild Beirut, they must follow the French initiative,” he said. Political observers in Beirut focused on Hariri’s suggestion that Macron’s initiative was the only and fastest way to stop the collapse and rebuild the capital Beirut, and on his fears regarding what is happening today in terms of acquiring arms and engaging in displays of military force.
“What’s the meaning of what is happening today in Baalbek-Hermel? This is the collapse of the state,” Hariri said. “The problem is not a problem with the system, but a problem with the minds. We’re ready to go to extremes in our positions, like what happened when the country was paralyzed for three years to elect President Michel Aoun,” he explained. Hariri also pointed out that some Sunnis were trying to outbid him in order to find a political spot for themselves, but he asked, “Where is the policy? Tell me what project are these people involved in? What is the alternative?”
Lebanese President Michel Aounis supposed to hold, next Thursday, parliamentary consultations to appoint a new prime minister.
In another context, Hariri pointed out that his relationship with Saudi Arabia could not be shaken, and considered that Gebran Bassil posed a threat to this presidential term because he followed a policy of canceling the other Christian side. Hariri described the attempts to remove the governor of the Central Bank Riad Salameh as malicious and politically motivated, stressing that he was in favour of keeping Salameh in his position. In response to a question about whether he holds Salameh responsible for the economic collapse, Hariri said, “I bear responsibility for the 16 years of my rule and for all that disruption that occurred. We have reached a GDP of sixty billion dollars, and I tell you frankly, if there were not all this disruption, our GDP would have easily reached 130 or 150 billion dollars.”The International Monetary Fund had warned the Lebanese authorities against delaying the implementation of the necessary reforms, and then talks with the Fund stopped after a dispute erupted between Lebanese government officials, bankers and political parties over the huge financial losses incurred by the country.
Hariri was asked: “Do you have any new regional data that would allow you today to determine the direction of the government? And what new developments made you choose this timing of tonight?” “I do not have any (new) data, and if I’m speaking to you tonight, it is because you have persisted in requesting an interview. I do not have any data, and I don’t think that anyone today has any data,” Hariri replied. “I say that all the political parties said what they have to say, except for Saad Hariri. Also, what we see today in the country in terms of state of collapse requires us to resort to common sense over any speech that pushes you to positions that it will be difficult to retreat from,” he added. He pointed out that “Hezbollah and Amal Movement have erected certain barricades and it will be difficult for them to retreat from them.I reject this position because, in the end, we erect these barricades against each other and the Lebanese people. Perhaps I wanted to speak today because after what happened to the French initiative, the country has become exposed to all possibilities of insecurity, instability and economic collapse.”

FPM Official Tells Hariri His Return as PM Not Guaranteed
Naharnet/October 11/2020
A senior Free Patriotic Movement official on Sunday lashed out at ex-PM Saad Hariri in remarks to LBCI television. The official, who was not named, criticized Hariri’s “insistence on clinging to the same approach on the government, which has created a crisis after another since his resignation a year ago.”
“Christians have always respected the choice of the Sunni community, which has granted Hariri a significant parliamentary bloc… but in return he responded with arrogance and with claiming that he possesses the ability to solve problems on his own,” the official added. “He wants to head a government in which he would be the only politician and he wants to put others outside it, in disregard for the results of the 2018 parliamentary elections. He also wants MPs to grant him an ultimate authorization to form a government of employees through which he would assume power under the label of experts,” the official charged.
He accordingly called on Hariri to “come to his senses before the date of consultations on Thursday, instead of acting as if his return is guaranteed while it is not.” He also urged him to “prioritize cooperation with the political forces for the sake of achieving reforms, exiting the crisis and avoiding collapse, instead of insisting on ideas which the events have proven to be futile.”

Hariri to Meet Aoun and Berri on Monday
Naharnet/October 11/2020
Former premier Saad Hariri on Sunday held phone talks with President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and agreed with them on holding separate meetings on Monday. Al-Jadeed TV said Hariri will meet Aoun at 11:00 am. The two meetings kick off Hariri’s series of consultations with the various political blocs ahead of Thursday’s binding parliamentary consultations to pick a new PM. Hariri’s new drive comes after he announced in a TV interview on Thursday that he is willing to head the new government, reversing a previous stance.
 

Hariri Inspects Explosion Site in Tariq al-Jedideh
Naharnet/October 11/2020
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri visited Sunday morning the site of the fuel tank explosion that occurred Friday in Tariq al-Jedideh, which resulted in three deaths and many injuries among residents. Hariri inspected the severe damage the blast caused to apartments and properties. The Beirut Association for Development, based on Hariri's directives, has begun to restore the buildings that were damaged by the explosion, a statement from Hariri’s press office said. “It will evaluate the damage and provide immediate and direct assistance to the people affected by the explosion,” it added.
 

LF Bloc to Take Stance on Eve of PM Consultations
Naharnet/October 11/2020
The Lebanese Forces-led Strong Republic parliamentary bloc will convene Wednesday to take the “appropriate stance” as to the binding parliamentary consultations that will be held Thursday to name a new PM, media reports said. “The period from now until Wednesday will be open for consultations and monitoring the stances of the political blocs,” LBCI TV reported. “The bloc’s stance has not changed on the need to form a government of specialists that would be totally independent from the political forces,” the TV network added.

Fires Brought Under Control in Syria, Lebanon
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 October, 2020
Fires that ravaged parts of Syria and Lebanon in recent days have been brought under control, authorities in the two countries said on Sunday. In Syria, blazes fuelled by high temperatures broke out Friday in the provinces of Homs, Tartus, and Latakia, where at least three people died, according to the health ministry. Several families had to flee residential areas near the fires, according to media reports. "Civil defense teams, supported by army units and the population, are now in control of all the fires in the province" of Latakia, governor Ibrahim Khader al-Salem said, quoted by state news agency SANA.
Firefighters were still on the scene trying "to cool the burned sites," he added. SANA said all fires in Tartus had also been brought under control, and crews had managed to completely extinguish a fire in the Korb Ali forest in the western suburbs of Homs. Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous said efforts were underway to recover from the blazes and support those who had been forced to flee their homes. In neighboring Lebanon, more than 100 forest fires that raged since Thursday were also completely under control, a civil defense source told AFP. Authorities have yet to reveal the full extent of the damage from the fires in Syria and Lebanon.

Tenenti: Peacekeepers who tested positive for COVID19 did not have any contact with local communities
NNA/October 11/2020
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti stated today that "the UNIFIL peacekeepers who have tested positive for COVID-19 (39 people all in good condition and the majority asyntomatics) are all in isolation in Naqoura and we have conducted all the necessary contact tracing."
"All the contacts (who have tested negative) are now in quarantine," he added. "There has been no contact with the local communities and the strict precautionary measures already in place have been fully implemented inside the base," Tenenti reassured. "As a matter of policy, we do not give the nationality of the peacekeepers," he concluded. -- [UNIFIL Press Release]

'Security situation in Baalbek-Hermel to worsen if not addressed,' cautions Hajj Hassan
NNA/October 11/2020
Baalbek-Hermel Deputies Bloc Head, MP Hussein Hajj Hassan, and Baalbek Mayor Fouad Blouq held a joint press conference in the Baalbek Municipality Union Hall today, during which they tackled a number of affairs pertaining to the region, especially the security situation, municipal funds and building permits, in the presence of the region's prominent dignitaries. "The security situation in the Bekaa and Baalbek-Hermel governorates is the responsibility of the security forces, which must continuously activate their role, since their security measures in relation to the magnitude of the security problem occurring in Baalbek-Hermel are relatively small...We have warned for years that this situation will worsen in case an effective treatment remains lacking," Hajj Hassan warned. He highlighted the urgent need for suitable solutions the soonest, emphasizing that "the security situation has nothing to do with politics. Rather, it has a social and security background," adding that "the active political forces in the region place all their capabilities at the disposal of the state and its apparatuses to play their role.""The contribution of political parties, political forces, deputies, municipalities, clerics and activists, is to educate, guide, bring points of view closer, reform and reconcile to cool the problem in order not to aggravate matters any further...As for the security apparatuses, their role is not reconciliatory but rather of a security nature, which ought to be intensified and activated...for the security situation will worsen if not addressed," Hajj Hassan corroborated. In turn, Mayor Blouq also called on the Lebanese army to "be continuously deployed on the ground to prevent strife and to provide security and safety to citizens."
 

Memorial ceremony in Paris commemorating Beirut Port blast martyrs
NNA/Sunday 11 October 2020
A memorial ceremony was held in Paris yesterday to commemorate the martyrs of the Beirut Port explosion, at the invitation of the National and International Support Association for Rescuers, SENIS.
Lebanese Ambassador to France, Rami Adwan, laid a floral wreath on the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" under the "Arc de Triomphe" as a tribute to the Lebanese fallen martyrs and a gesture of appreciation for the courage of those who sacrifice themselves to help and save others."In honor of all the martyrs, and as a salute to the efforts of the paramedics, to those who spend their lives in the service of their fellow human beings," Adwan wrote on the shrine.

Lebanon hit by chicken shortage as butchers blame cartels amid economic crisis
Bassam Zaazaa, Al Arabiya English/Sunday 11 October 2020
Lebanon is suffering from a chicken shortage as businesses complain government policy has made the meat unaffordable. In the past weeks, butchers and supermarkets in Lebanon have run short of staple chicken products such as chicken breasts, shish tawouq, chicken wings and others.
Butchers and business owners blame the Ministry of Economy for the shortage. For almost two months, the ministry has required shops to sell chicken at a fixed rate of 1kg for 19,000 Lebanese lira – $12.5 according to the official rate of 1,515 to the dollar, yet only around $2 as per the black market exchange rate of 8,850 – to ensure it remains affordable. But according to one business owner, the government stopped providing a subsidy to shops three weeks ago while keeping the mandatory selling price in place. Business owners have since complained that cartels running the chicken industry are selling their products to shops at a much higher price – making stocking chicken unprofitable and leading to shortages in small shops.
“The ministry is supporting major cartels of chicken producers and traders by subsidizing the price of chicken breasts at 19,000 lira and forcing small business owners and butcheries to sell accordingly. We cannot do so and consumers cannot afford purchasing it,” said Omar, who runs a small chicken place in a heavily congested residential area in Beirut. Omar said he buys his chicken from a farm in Bekaa Valley for 14,000 lira per kg, sells it for 16,000, only making the marginal profit of 2,000 because he doesn’t want to lose more customers as the Lebanese economy continues to tank. A customer entered Omar’s shop while Al Arabiya English was present and asked for a chicken. Hearing the price, she remarked “that’s too expensive,” and left.
“There you go. We’re losing clients. Earlier we used to sell the kilogram of chicken for 5,000 lira … this issue has tripled the prices,” said Omar. Lebanon is beset by inflation following the devaluation of the Lebanese lira and a broader economic crisis made worse by the August 4 Beirut explosion, which devastated much of the capital and destroyed the country’s main site for imports. One butcher who also asked to remain anonymous tied the issue to wider political corruption.
“It has become obvious. The problem is political like everything in Lebanon. The chicken cartels [four or five major chicken producers and traders] are lobbying against butchers and small business owners wanting to dominate the market. Those lobbyists are covered and supported by political parties,” they said. Another butcher concurred, blaming the Ministry of Economy for the issue. “We all know who is controlling the market … it is the giant chicken producers and dealers. I have lost all my clients who consume chicken. Today [Tuesday] a housewife called and placed an order of four pieces of chicken breast and when I arranged from another place, I told her that the price is 37,000 lira … she canceled the order. We cannot survive like that,” said Khodor F.
The issue has also hit customers who rely on chicken as a staple source of protein. Living in a Beirut outskirt, Mona Bassem, a working mother said she visited five supermarkets in her area but couldn’t find any chicken breasts.
“I prepare for my family’s meals over the weekend. Chicken is a major component of our dishes as my children love it. Since I heard that the authorities will stop subsidizing some poultry products, due to the country’s dire economic situation, I rushed to the supermarket to get extra chicken stocks and freeze them in my refrigerator. Last Friday, I couldn’t find any chicken breast. Saturday, I purchased extra amounts of chicken breasts and put them in the freezer,” Mona told Al Arabiya English. On Tuesday, the Economy Minister, Raoul Nehme, and the Minister of Agriculture, Abbas Mourtada, in Lebanon’s caretaker cabinet issued a joint decision fixing the prices of meat and poultry and their derivatives – confirming the 19,000 price for chicken breasts and providing a long pricing list for other products. The joint decision followed negotiations with the relevant unions, who promised to commit to the newly fixed prices and to provide the necessary quantities of goods to avoid any price manipulation. The decision also came to secure stability in the prices of goods linked, directly or indirectly, to the subsidy granted by the Lebanese Central Bank and based on the increase in the dollar exchange rate in the parallel market.
A media statement said the decision is valid for the next three months from its date of issuance and is subject to amendments whenever the circumstances require so and failure to adhere to the price ceilings by any party will be subject to legal action.

What Resistance Fighters in Lebanon: Anger That Has Become Wailing
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/October,11/2020
The Lebanese religious sects withdrew successively, each in its own way, from conflict with Israel. So what about those on the sects’ margins?
There have always been those who advocate war for various reasons: some are ideological, rooted in a nationalist – Islamic view of the Levant’s modern history, accompanied by a condemnation of Israeli atrocities committed against the Palestinians. Another segment of these calls is linked to those individuals' marginalization in the sectarian regime and their desire to penetrate it from outside. A third reason is linked to seeking youthfulness, its love for experimentation, and desire to break with the familiar and seeking danger.
Being outside of sects does not mean those on the margins are far from sectarianism, directly or indirectly. Most are Muslims for whom the nationalist cause, especially its Palestinian clause, modernizes familiar loyalties and provides a slogan under which to pursue their struggle against “Maronite hegemony”. As for their Christian minority, it seeks to break its minority status and integrate into what it perceives to be the “masses” where demarcation disappears.
In general, most of them found their way to public life through ideological or semi-ideological parties. Nonetheless, both, they and their parties, rallied behind sectarian leaders during major turning points: in 1958, behind Saeb Salam, who led the opposition against Camille Chamoun, except the Syrian Nationalist Party, who joined Chamoun’s camp in a similar fashion; during the Two Years War of 1975-76, they rallied behind Kamal Jumblatt who expanded the small Druze sect and multiplied its influence by incorporating the ideological and partisan milieu, and then in the nineties behind Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian patrons.
In playing the role of backing armed conflicts, the ‘’Arab Nationalist Movement’’ was the most pivotal of these parties. Due to its Palestinian origins and doctrinal emphasis on “avenging” the crimes committed by Israel, it seemed to most embrace and express this urge. The ‘’Arab Socialist Baath Party’’ and ‘’Syrian Social Nationalist Party’’ left room for the call to fighting Israel. The “new Left”, especially its Maoist wings, mostly ended up joining Fatah’s ranks, as the passion for conflict and resistance ravaged it. The small Nassrite factions in Sunni cities, especially Beirut, also declared fighting Israel to be at the top of their objectives list. During the civil war, Fatah supported most of these movements with funds and arms.
The Lebanese Communist Party, on the other hand, was not obsessed with this issue. Only in the late 1960s, with the flow of armed Palestinian organizations, and with the “openness to the national question,” did the Communists of the Arab Levant establish the ‘’Ansar Forces’’ for Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, and Iraqi communist parties. Its birth was announced in 1970, and since then, nothing about the new-born was been announced. The Palestine Liberation Organization was much more interested in securing Soviet arms and support than the fighting of the Arab communists in its ranks.
After the 1982 Israeli invasion, the communists, as member of the party and the “Action Organization”, fought the invasion. They established the ‘’Lebanese National Resistance Front,’’ which was liquidated by Hezbollah after conducting modest operations. The latter has since sealed the resistance with thick red wax.
After all these tides, what next?
These parties have either vanished or are on the path to extinction. The ‘’Arab Nationalist Movement’’ is history; its legacy was inherited by parties and fronts that have either evaporated or are evaporating. To fight Israel, the Syrians of the Baath Party established the ‘’As-Saiqa’’ and its Iraqis the ‘’Arab Liberation Front.’’ But, until the two fronts disappeared, their “calculated” intermittent fighting was tied to the two Baathist rulers’ interests,. With the power of the Syrian regime and its apparatus, the surviving “Syrian Nationalists’’ split into several organizations that are consumed by organizational concerns and their leaders’ aspirations. The “New Left” has become a remnant, and Fatah’s Maoists have either converted to Khomeinist Islam or gone home. The Amal Movement obliterated some of the urban Nasserists, Rafic Hariri co-opted some, and the other third were dried up by the termination of armament and financial provisions.
All of them have aged. Fighting, any fighting is not on the cards for the children of those among them who became fathers. Many of their children were in the October 17 Revolution’s squares chanting against armament, and if it weren’t for their fear of Hezbollah, their chants would have been louder and clearer.
The “resistance fighters” who have ended up fathers without an inheritance are a mere few hundred angry individuals who want others to realize their desire for war. On top of that, it is a war without the Soviet Union or Gamal Abdel Nasser, without Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Libya, a Palestinian revolution, without a supportive local sect, and Gulf, Iraqi or Libyan financial support...Also, with recent developments, these “resistance fighters” may have no longer the privilege of being subordinates of Hezbollah and Iran, who are preoccupied with other concerns.
The angry Lebanese are wailing. Wailing, alongside cursing the times, can now be heard on social media and in some newspapers’ articles. But what anger could not achieve will not be attained by wailing.
 

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 11-12/2020

Pope prays for wildfires in the Americas, peace in NagornoKarabakh
NNA/October 11/2020
Wildfires have raged in vast tracts of the Americas this year, with several US states and parts of South America suffering acutely. Pope Francis took a moment at the Angelus prayer on Sunday to recall these fires and to link them to a harsh drought and people's actions. “I want to express my closeness to the people affected by wildfires which are devastating many areas of the planet, as well as to the volunteers and firefighters who are risking their lives to put out the fires.”
The Pope mentioned the western coast of the United States, especially California, and the central regions of South America: “the Pantanal area, Paraguay, the banks of the Paranل River, and Argentina.”
“May the Lord strengthen those who are suffering the effects of these catastrophes, and may He make us aware of the need to safeguard Creation,” said Pope Francis.
Fires in the Americas
In the western United States, California, Oregon, and Washington have seen vast wildfires burn more than 6.6 million acres and kill at least 37 people. South America’s Pantanal region is the world’s largest tropical wetland. Vast tracts have burned in 2020, with researchers saying some 22 percent of the floodplain has been scorched, or 7.9 million acres. Paraguay and Argentina too have seen record amounts of land succumb to record-breaking blazes.
Armenia-Azerbaijan ceasefire
Pope Francis also turned his thoughts to a tenuous humanitarian ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. He welcomed a Russian-brokered ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which took effect on Saturday at noon.
The Pope admitted that the cessation in hostilities is tenuous but prayed that it might hold for the sake of civilians suffering in the area. “Even though the truce appears very fragile, I encourage its continuation and express my sympathy for the loss of lives, for the suffering, and for the destruction of homes and places of worship.” Pope Francis then invited everyone to pray for the victims and those whose lives are in danger. --- Vatican News
 

Trump: 'I am Immune' from Covid-19
Agence France Presse/October 11/2020
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday declared himself immune from Covid-19 as he prepares to return to the election campaign trail and fight to regain ground against rival Joe Biden. "It looks like I'm immune for, I don't know, maybe a long time and maybe a short time, it could be a lifetime, nobody really knows, but I'm immune," Trump said in a Fox News interview, a day after his doctor affirmed he was no longer a transmission risk for the disease.

Heavy Shelling and Civilian Casualties Dash Hopes for Karabakh Ceasefire
Agence France Presse/October 11/2020
Hopes that a Russian-brokered ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan might hold were further dashed Sunday, with both sides accusing the other of intense shelling on civilian areas and escalating two weeks of fierce clashes.
Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said that overnight shelling by Armenian forces on the country's second largest city, Ganja, had left seven people dead and 33 wounded including children, less than 24 hours after the halt to fighting was supposed to take effect. Rescuers in red helmets dug through piles of debris with their bare hands in search of signs of survivors, an AFP journalist in the city reported. They retrieved one nearly naked body and gingerly put it in a white bag to be taken away in an ambulance while several horrified residents watched on and wept. One witness said they were woken by a huge blast that levelled an entire square block of one- and two-floor houses in the early hours of the morning, leaving nine apartments destroyed. "Everything I've worked for my entire life has been destroyed," said resident Zagit Aliyev, 68.The agreement to pause hostilities in order to exchange prisoners and the bodies of people killed after two weeks of fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region was approved by Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in marathon Russia-brokered talks in Moscow.
- 'An absolute lie' -
The truce officially entered into force at noon on Saturday but both sides almost immediately accused each other of violations. On Sunday, the defense ministry in the breakaway region insisted Armenian forces were respecting the humanitarian ceasefire and in turn accused Azerbaijan of shelling civilian-populated areas. Claims that Armenian forces were responsible for shelling Ganja were "an absolute lie," it added. The leader of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Arayik Harutyunyan, described the situation as "calmer" on Sunday, but warned that the truce was precarious. An AFP journalist in the administrative capital of Stepanakert, which has been subjected to heavy bombings since the fighting erupted and is pockmarked with deep craters and unexploded ordnance, reported hearing loud explosions throughout the night. Vahram Poghosyan, a spokesman for Karabakh's leader, said the overnight shelling on Stepanakert was "a disrespect of the agreements reached in Moscow," and called on the international community to recognize the province's independence as a way to end the fighting. New fighting broke out late last month, stemming from a long-simmering disagreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh. The disputed territory is an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, home to about 150,000 people, which broke from Azerbaijan's control in a war in the 1990s that killed some 30,000 people.  Its separatist government is strongly backed by Armenia, which like Azerbaijan gained independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
- A 'temporary' ceasefire -
The most recent bout of fighting has been the heaviest since the 1990s war, with more than 450 people reported dead, thousands forced to flee their homes and fears the fighting could escalate into a devastating all-out conflict.The return of fighting has stoked fears of a full-blown war embroiling Turkey, which strongly backs Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a military treaty with Armenia. Armenia and world leaders including Russian leader Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron have denounced the deployment of pro-Turkish fighters from Syria and Libya to bolster Azerbaijan's army. France, Russia and the U.S. -- known as the "Minsk Group" -- have for decades sought a lasting solution to the Karabakh conflict, but have failed to stop sporadic outbreaks of fighting, and Baku with Turkey's backing appears set on continuing with its military intervention. A senior Azerbaijani official said Saturday the truce was only meant to be "temporary," and said Baku had "no intention to backtrack" on its effort to retake control of Karabakh.

Armenia, Azerbaijan ceasefire puts Turkish ambitions on hold
The Arab Weekly/October 11/2020
Turkey provided Azerbaijan with state-of-the-art weapons, including drones and rocket systems as well as Syrian mercenaries.
LONDON - A ceasefire agreed by Armenia and Azerbaijan came into effect Saturday at noon local time (0800 GMT) to end nearly two weeks of heavy fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Officials in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani forces accused each other of firing missiles and rockets on civilian areas on Saturday morning shortly before the ceasefire was due to start. With Russian mediation, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting Saturday following two weeks of heavy fighting that marked the worst outbreak of hostilities in the separatist region in more than a quarter-century. The countries’ foreign ministers said in a statement that the truce is intended to exchange prisoners and recover the dead, adding that specific details will be agreed on later. The announcement followed 10 hours of talks in Moscow sponsored by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who read the statement. It stipulated that the cease-fire should pave the way for talks on settling the conflict. If the truce holds, it would mark a major diplomatic coup for Russia, which has a security pact with Armenia but also cultivated warm ties with Azerbaijan.
The latest outburst of fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces began Sept. 27 and left hundreds of people dead in the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The region lies in Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia.
The talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were held on invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who brokered the cease-fire in a series of calls with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. Since the start of the latest fighting, Armenia said it was open to a cease-fire, while Azerbaijan previously had made a potential truce conditional on the Armenian forces’ withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh, arguing that the failure of international efforts to negotiate a political settlement left it no other choice but to resort to force.
Russia has co-sponsored peace talks on Nagorno-Karabakh together with the United States and France as co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group, which is working under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They haven’t produced any deal, leaving Azerbaijan increasingly exasperated. Speaking in an address to the nation Friday hours before the cease-fire deal was reached, the Azerbaijani president insisted on his country’s right to reclaim its territory by force after nearly three decades of international talks that “haven’t yielded an inch of progress.” “Mediators and leaders of some international organizations have stated that there is no military solution to the conflict,” Aliyev said. “I have disagreed with the thesis, and I have been right. The conflict is now being settled by military means and political means will come next.”
Fighting with heavy artillery, warplanes and drones has engulfed Nagorno-Karabakh, with both sides accusing each other of targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure.
According to the Nagorno-Karabakh military, 404 of its servicemen have been killed since Sept. 27. Azerbaijan hasn’t provided details on its military losses. Scores of civilians on both sides also have been killed.
The current escalation marked the first time that Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey took a high profile in the conflict, offering strong political support. Over the past few years, Turkey provided Azerbaijan with state-of-the-art weapons, including drones and rocket systems that helped the Azerbaijani military outgun the Nagorno-Karabakh separatist forces in the latest fighting.
Armenian officials say Turkey is involved in the conflict and is sending Syrian mercenaries to fight on Azerbaijan’s side. Turkey has denied deploying combatants to the region, but a Syrian war monitor and three Syria-based opposition activists have confirmed that Turkey has sent hundreds of Syrian opposition fighters to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh. In an interview with CNN Arabic aired Thursday, Azerbaijan’s president admitted that Turkish F-16 fighter jets have stayed on in Azerbaijan weeks after a joint military exercise, but insisted that they have remained grounded. Armenian officials had earlier claimed that a Turkish F-16 shot down an Armenian warplane, a claim that both Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied.
Turkey’s involvement in the conflict raised painful memories in Armenia, where an estimated 1.5 million died in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 as Ottoman officials worried that the Christian Armenians would side with Russia, its enemy in World War I.
The event is widely viewed by historians as genocide. Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest. Turkey’s highly visible role in the conflict worried Russia, which has a military base in Armenia. The two countries are linked by a security treaty obliging Moscow to offer support to its ally if it comes under aggression. But at the same time, Russia has sought to maintain strong economic and political ties with oil-rich Azerbaijan and ward off Turkey’s attempt to increase its influence in the South Caucasus without ruining its delicate relations with Ankara. Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have negotiated a series of deals to coordinate their conflicting interests in Syria and Libya and expanded their economic ties. Last year, NATO member Turkey took the delivery of the Russian S-400 air defense missiles, a move that angered Washington. A lasting cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh would allow the Kremlin to stem Turkey’s bid to expand its clout in Russia’s backyard without ruining its strategic relationship with Ankara. While Turkey has aspired to join the Minsk Group talks as a co-chair, the statement issued by Armenia and Azerbaijan contained their pledge to maintain the current format of the peace talks. Speaking in televised remarks after the talks, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan emphasized that “no other country, in particular Turkey, can play any role.”

Armenia: Turkey arming Azerbaijan shows ‘expansionist ambitions’ in our region
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/Monday 12 October 2020
Turkey’s actions of arming Azerbaijan and supplying foreign fighters shows Ankara’s “expansionist ambitions” in the Caucasus region, Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.
“It’s obvious that Turkey, with participation of which the military aggression of Azerbaijan against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) was preplanned and still continues, does not give up its stance of further destabilizing the situation and undermining the agreements reached,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Along with supplying Azerbaijan with foreign terrorist fighters from the Middle East, military equipment and experts, Turkey has also been sponsoring Azerbaijan’s information and political campaign aimed at undermining the provisions of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities reached at the level of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on October 10, 2020, at the initiative of the Russian President Vladimir Putin,” it added. Armenia’s ministry added that Ankara’s support to Azerbaijan indicated “Turkey’s aspirations to turn our region along with other neighboring regions to a platform for its expansionist ambitions.” The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had said on September 28 Ankara had dispatched at least 300 proxies from northern Syria. French President Emmanuel Macron had also said that intelligence reports had established that 300 Syrian fighters from the Syrian city of Aleppo had passed through the Turkish city of Gaziantep en route for Azerbaijan. "These fighters are known, tracked and identified," he alleged, adding that he would call Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "in the coming days." Turkey has said it will "do what is necessary" to support Azerbaijan, but has denied sending mercenaries. Armenia’s ambassador to Moscow said on September 28 that Turkey had sent around 4,000 fighters from northern Syria to Azerbaijan and that they were fighting there, an assertion denied by an aide to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. Neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in an armed conflict since September 27 over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, killing hundreds of people. The disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, home to about 150,000 people, which broke from Baku's control in a war in the 1990s that killed some 30,000 people. Its separatist government is strongly backed – but not officially recognized as independent – by Armenia. Turkey strongly backs Azerbaijan and Russia has a military treaty with Armenia.- With Reuters and AFP

A strange “no war, no peace” silence has fallen on the Iran-US contest
DEBKAfile/October 11/2020
US President Donald Trump and Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appear to have declared a truce in their mutual demonization campaigns as the US presidential election approaches. The blood and thunder rhetoric and aggression marking recent years have descended into sullen silence. Tehran is waiting on tenterhooks for the victor. Trump is fully preoccupied with proving he can beat a more personal enemy, coronavirus, without a mask; Khamenei is weighing the pros and cons of a re-elected Trump against the Democratic Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s vice president, reaching the White House. Both presidential contenders have said they would re-open negotiations with the Islamic Republic. Trump has promised Iran would come out of these talks “a rich country:” Biden is an unknown quantity.
DEBKAfile’s diplomatic sources report that under-the-table talks are quietly in progress between Washington and Tehran with the help of various brokers. Both administrations must therefore have some inkling about the other’s intentions.
The Trump administration has made no secret of its goals: Renegotiation of the 2015 nuclear accord with the world powers, which Trump abandoned; making sure that Iran never gains a nuclear weapon, scraps its advanced ballistic missile program and gives up its “malign operations” in the Middle East.
Khamenei, one of the world’s few absolute rulers, has to decide whether to insist on settling unfinished business with the Trump administration or look to the future. Iran’s leaders have vowed to avenge the assassination of their iconic strategist, Al Qods Chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani, last year by a US drone, a string of sabotage attacks on its nuclear facilities, peaking last July with the destruction of an advanced centrifuge plant in Natanz, and the crippling US sanctions that have reduced the country to penury.
That revenge has not been forthcoming. Iran has been curiously quiescent on those scores. This may be because, at 81 and long ailing, Khamenei’s eye is fixed on his legacy as the guardian of the Shiite Islamic revolution against the existential menace posed by the “Great Satan” on the ideological rather than the military battlefield. He sees Western democratic values, the modern culture of human rights, civil liberties and gender equality as the most devastating weapons the West holds against the Muslim world and Iran’s Islamic revolutionary ideals – hence, a direct menace to its regime. Preserving the Islamic regime and its fundamental orientation is Khamenei’s foremost concern. In his view. US sanctions over violations of human rights are part of the American scheme for regime change, in which the Jewish state plays a leading role. Hollywood and Telegram are being harnessed to what the Iranians call a “soft overthrow” or a “velvet revolution,” which is of greater concern even than military action. So much so, that in future negotiations with the US, Khamenei would prefer to limit the agenda to the issues of nuclear and missile programs, while firmly excluding human rights and democratic issues – as Washington does in its relations with Arab and Muslim countries. Regional aggression, in keeping with the command to “export the revolution,” will nonetheless be a sticking point if and when negotiations are launched. Meanwhile, as they wait to see who comes up on top on Nov. 3, Iran’s leaders have adopted a strategy of “no war, no peace.”

Gas Explosion Hits Market, Kills at Least 5 in Southwest Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 October, 2020
A suspected gas explosion flattened a building and shops in a marketplace in southwest Iran on Sunday, killing at least five people, a fire official said, in the latest in a series of fires and blasts, some of which have hit sensitive sites.
State television showed rescue teams looking for survivors in the rubble of the two-story residential building located near a historic marketplace in the old district of the city of Ahvaz, capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province.
"The gas explosion led to the complete destruction of a two-story residential building... and four nearby residential buildings and six shops," Ebrahim Qanbari, head of the fire department in Ahvaz, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency. Four men and one woman were killed and nine people were injured, Qanbari said. Some of the explosions in the past few months appeared to be linked to Iran's deteriorating infrastructure, while others may have been security-related such as blasts at sensitive military and nuclear sites.

Four Iranians Face Trial Before Belgian Judiciary
Paris- Michel Abu Najm/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 October, 2020
This November will witness the trial of an Iranian group charged with planning an attack on a rally of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) at the end of June in Villepinte. The meeting was attended by some 25,000 individuals including international prominent figures.
The rally was also attended by leading US figures, including President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and other close allies of Trump. Assadolah Assadi is the central figure in this case. This 49-year-old man was a diplomat in Iraq from 2003 to 2008, before being appointed third secretary at the Iranian embassy in Vienna, in 2014. According to State Security, he mainly acted on behalf of the “Department 312”, a service of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) which appears on the list of organizations classified as terrorist by the European Union.
During his military training, Assadi was notably introduced to the manufacture of explosives and his main mission was to collect information on Iranian opponents, in liaison with the foreign ministry. In case the charges were confirmed, the four will be handed over a life-imprisonment sentence.
Assadi was arrested while on holiday in Germany and handed over to Belgium, where two of his suspected accomplices had been arrested with 500 grams (one lb) of TATP, an explosive, as well as a detonation device. Le Mond reported that Assadi showed no cooperation with the Belgium investigation. Not only that, but he also warned authorities of possible retaliation by unidentified groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen if he is found guilty. Assadollah’s lawyer, Dimitri de Beco, denied his client was making threats. “It is absolutely not a threat of retaliation and if it’s understood that way it’s a misinterpretation,” he told Reuters. “He will explain the sense of his remarks to the court.” Jaak Raes, head of the Belgian State Security Service, revealed on Feb. 20 that the terrorist attack wasn’t a personal initiative by Assadi but was pushed by Iran.

IAEA: Iran Enriches Uranium at Much Higher Degree than its Commitment
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 October, 2020
Iran does not at this stage have enough enriched uranium to make one nuclear bomb under the UN atomic watchdog's official definition, the agency's head told an Austrian paper. "The Iranians continue to enrich uranium, and to a much higher degree than they have committed themselves to. And this amount is growing by the month," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi told Die Presse in an interview published on its website on Saturday. Asked about how long Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon -- the so-called "breakout time", he said: "In the IAEA we do not talk about breakout time. We look at the significant quantity, the minimum amount of enriched uranium or plutonium needed to make an atomic bomb. Iran does not have this significant quantity at the moment." Iran denies ever having had a nuclear weapons program, saying its nuclear program is purely for energy purposes. The IAEA defines "significant quantity" as the approximate amount of nuclear material for which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded. The most recent quarterly IAEA report on Iran last month said it had 2,105.4 kg of enriched uranium, far above the 202.8 kg limit in a 2015 deal with big powers but a fraction of the enriched uranium it had before the accord. It is also enriching to up to 4.5% purity, far below the 20% it achieved before the deal and the 90% that is considered weapons-grade.

Iraq Parliament Partially Resolves Multiple Districts Obstacle
Baghdad - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 October, 2020
The Iraqi parliament has partially resolved the dispute on multiple districts in the electoral law that was approved late last year after the eruption of mass protests. Saturday’s move was objected by some political blocs, mainly Hadi al-Ameri’s Fatah bloc, Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition, Kurdistan Islamic Union’s MPs, the New Generation movement and some Nineveh lawmakers. Despite their objections, the parliament voted on the legal committee’s proposal, which stipulates distributing the number of districts in each governorate in line with the number of seats assigned to the women's quota in the governorate. Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi announced that the legislature would remain in session until MPs vote on a electoral law that meets the aspirations of the masses. The government also stressed willingness to hold parliamentary elections as announced by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on June 6, 2021. Abdelhussein Hindawi, Kadhimi’s advisor on elections, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Premier has repeatedly announced that he was willing to hold snap polls. “Accordingly, several major decisions have been taken,” he added. They include directing all ministries to respond immediately and within 48 hours to all requests from the Electoral Commission, as well as instructing the Ministry of Finance to transfer election-related funds. Hindawi pointed out that among the measures are the formations of higher ministerial committees, one of which aims to accelerate the completion of the biometric data for voters, another to prepare the electoral warehouses and polling stations and a third to ensure a secure environment for voters. “The government is putting relentless efforts along with the parliament to finalize the electoral law,” he stressed, adding that it is also coordinating with the Electoral Commission, the United Nations mission and other international organizations.

EU Rejects GNA’s Agreement with Turkey
Cairo - Khalid Mahmoud /Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 October, 2020
European ambassadors to Libya have rejected a controversial deal struck by the Libyan Government of National Accord, led by Fayez al-Sarraj, with Turkey last year. The diplomats on Saturday held meetings with senior Libyan officials and stressed the importance of a political solution to the current crisis.
The ambassadors of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the charges d'affaires of Hungary, the Netherlands, and Poland, together with the ambassador of Norway, held joint meetings in Tripoli with Sarraj, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Siala, and Chairman of the National Oil Corporation Mustafa Sanallah, according to a statement issued by the EU Delegation to Libya.The statement said that the Turkey-Libya maritime deal signed in November 2019 "does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal consequences for third states."The envoys underlined the importance of engaging fully in all tracks of the UN-led process to reach a permanent and sustainable ceasefire agreement, the lifting of oil blockade, and the resumption of political dialogue, it said. “In our meetings today in Tripoli, we reaffirmed that the EU is united behind the Berlin process as the only option to put an end to the Libyan crisis and the suffering of Libya's civilian population, and to avoid further destabilization in Libya and in the region.”"There can only be a political solution to the current crisis, which would take the country towards parliamentary and presidential elections," the statement said.
“The EU, as it did recently with five new sanction listings, is ready to take restrictive measures against those who undermine and obstruct work on different tracks of the Berlin process including on the implementation of the UN arms embargo on Libya, as well as those who work against ongoing attempts to reform the security authorities, continue to plunder state funds or commit human rights abuses and violations all over the country,” it added.

Abbas Meets World Jewish Congress Head
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 October, 2020
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder in the West Bank on Saturday, a Palestinian minister said. Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh revealed the meeting in a Twitter posting but gave no details. The meeting took place following a call by Lauder for Palestinians to revive peace talks with Israel, Reuters reported. Lauder, a US businessman who also met Abbas a year ago in New York, attended the Sept. 15 White House signing ceremony of an agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to forge formal ties.
The World Jewish Congress said in a statement that Lauder met the Palestinian leader on Saturday "for a private visit at Abbas’ invitation, to discuss a range of issues regarding Palestine and the Middle East." In Washington, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Lauder's visit was not coordinated with or on behalf of the Trump administration but was in a strictly private capacity. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UN announces first Libyan direct talks in Tunisia next month
The Arab Weekly/October 11/2020
Libya’s national oil company announced Sunday it is resuming production at the country’s largest oil field. TUNIS - The first face-to-face meetings of the the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum will take place in Tunisia in November, announced the United Nations. Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Stephanie Williams said in statement issued Saturday that in-person political talks will resume in early November in Tunisia. She noted that the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum will be held according to “a hybrid formula,” which include a series of virtual sessions to start on October 26 as well as the direct talks to be held in Tunisia. The inclusive dialogue will aim “to generate consensus on a unified governance framework and arrangements that will lead to the holding of national elections in the shortest possible time-frame in order to restore Libya’s sovereignty and the democratic legitimacy of Libyan institutions,” said the UNSMIL statement. It will follow up on the Berlin conference understandings and recent consultations among Libyans, held in Montreux, Switzerland, and in Bouznika, Morocco, and Cairo, Egypt.
Participants in the dialogue will be drawn from “key Libyan constituencies, based on the principles of inclusivity, fair geographic, ethnic, political, tribal, and social representation”, and “meaningful participation of Libyan women and youth,” it added. UNSMIL said it will strive to ensure “broad consultations, transparency, and a rights-based approach during this Libyan-led and Libyan-owned process in which multiple voices will be heard.” The United Nations will also hold direct, face-to-face talks between delegations of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) in Geneva beginning on October 19. Meanwhile, representatives of the Benghazi-based House of Representatives and Tripoli-based High Council of State started on Sunday three-day-long UN facilitated talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, UNSMIL said. The UN mission said the delegations are expected to discuss “legal and constitutional options which may be put forward to the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.”Egypt’s intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, kicked off Sunday’s talks, saying the time had come for its neighbour Libya to establish peace and agree on “a constitution that defines powers and responsibilities, and leads to presidential and parliamentary elections,” according to Egypt’s state-run MENA news agency. Libya’s national oil company also announced Sunday it is resuming production at the country’s largest oil field. The National Oil Corporation said it has lifted the force majeure that was imposed at the southwestern Sharara oil field after it reached “an honour agreement” with forces loyal to Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Hifter to end “all obstructions” at the field.

Forest Fires Rage in Three Governorates in Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 October, 2020
In the past two days, fires broke out in the governates of Homs, Tartus, and Latakia, burning swathes of land amid failure to contain them. Raed Ibrahim, the mayor of Haffah in northeastern Latakia, warned on Friday of a “major disaster” if the fires reached the Agricultural Bank. In statements to Al-Watan newspaper, Ibrahim appealed to authorities to send more firefighters and helicopters to extinguish the fire before the whole town burns down. Syrian state television on Saturday morning broadcast scenes from the affected areas, where firefighters were working to extinguish the blazes. Syria's Agriculture Minister Mohammed Hassan Qatana said dozens of fires were burning, including “45 in Latakia and 33 in Tartus.”The Latakia fire brigade said they were “facing the largest series of fires seen in Latakia province in years.” The Health Ministry said two people had died in Latakia province since Friday as a result of the fires, and that 70 people were taken to hospital suffering breathing difficulties. Fires heavily damaged a building in Qardahah used as a storage for the state-owned tobacco company, part of which collapsed. The town’s local hospital was also surrounded by flames, according to local media reports. While the fires reached large swathes of lands in Homs, Tartus, and Latakia countryside, the Russian forces stood idle. Pro-regime residents expressed frustration towards the government performance and accused it of negligence. They also denounced the failure of Russia to rescue them, amid accusations that the fires were planned. In response to these accusations, the authorities ordered investigating the reason behind the fires and handing over any possible committers to the competent authority. Some Facebook pages, that are backed by the regime security forces, posed charges to terrorist groups affiliated with the opposition of standing behind the retaliation fires in pro-regime regions.
 

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 11-12/2020

Italy: Defend National Borders, End Up on Trial
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/October 11, 2020
This is the first time that a court of justice in Europe has been called upon to try a governmental minister -- who is actually supposed to responsible for the security of a country -- for holding migrants at a port pending a redistribution of newcomers across Europe.... Until then, Europe had never offered Italy the slightest help.
Italy's political ruling class, which for years has adopted as its migration policy the total surrender to illegal floods of immigrants -- often organized by criminal traffickers -- has now decided to turn Salvini over to the judges for doing what they did not have the courage to do: defend Europe's borders.
There seems to exist an assumption that tens of thousands of people can take boats from Libya to Italy without controls, without deterrence, and without a country being able to exercise its right to self-defense from an epochal migratory tsunami.
Italy is now sending a disturbing message to Europe and the rest of the free world: anyone who, by governing the country, defends national borders and tries to stop mass illegal immigration can end up on trial and in prison.
The real horror in this charade is that Italy is still turning away ships carrying migrants, so why is Salvini being set up to take the fall?
In 2019, Italy's then Interior Minister Matteo Salvini prevented illegal migrants from disembarking from a coast guard ship that had recovered the migrants at sea five days earlier. For this decision, Salvini now faces a criminal trial on charges of "kidnapping." Italy is sending a disturbing message to the world: anyone who, by governing the country, defends national borders and tries to stop mass illegal immigration can end up on trial and in prison.
"My only regret from this situation is that I will have to explain to my two kids that their father is going on trial not because he is a criminal, but because he defended his country", Matteo Salvini said as Italy's Parliament stripped him of immunity to open the way for his trial.
For years, Italy's political ruling class has had a migration policy of surrendering to floods of illegal immigrants -- who have usually been organized by criminal traffickers. Europe has never offered Italy a jot of help. Now these "elites" -- politicians, opinion makers, journalists -- have decided to turn Salvini over to the judges for doing what they did not have the courage to do: defend the Italy's borders.
Salvini now faces up to 15 years in prison for "kidnapping." The charge against Salvini dates from 2019 when, as Italy's interior minister, he prevented illegal migrants from disembarking from a coast guard ship that had recovered the migrants at sea five days earlier. Salvini declared that he was defending his country and would do the same again. "I go with a clean conscience, with the pride of knowing that I defended the honor of Italy," he wrote on Facebook.
As interior minister, Salvini took a hard line on migrants. He closed Italy's ports to rescue ships and passed a law that allowed vessels carrying migrants to be seized and fined.
On July 26, 2019, Salvini called for stopping the disembarkation of migrants aboard the Gregoretti as it was reaching Sicily's east coast. "I have given instructions that no port will be assigned before there is a redistribution across Europe of all 140 migrants on board on paper," he said. Immediately after it landed -- a few European countries had agreed to take the migrants -- a public prosecutor opened a file against Salvini for kidnapping.
"The wait for the landing was necessary to agree on the redistribution in other European countries, with the full involvement of the Italian government", Salvini later justified his decision. Italy at the time was desperately in need of a migrant redistribution agreement in Europe. Europe had, until then, not offered Italy the slightest help. Salvini saw, as Albanian Premier Edi Rama said, that "Italy has been left alone by Europe on migrants".
Although it might sound melodramatic, what is at stake, as Salvini understood, is, bluntly, the survival of Italy as we know it. According to a report by the Machiavelli Center, if current trends continue, by 2065 first- and second-generation immigrants will exceed 22 million, or more than 40% of the total population of Italy, whose birth rate is "collapsing".
This is the first time that a court of justice in Europe has been called upon to try a governmental minister -- whose job it is to be responsible for the security of a country -- for holding migrants at a port pending a redistribution of newcomers across Europe.
There seems to exist an assumption that tens of thousands of people can take boats from Libya to Italy without controls, without deterrence, and without a country being able to exercise its right to self-defense from an epochal migratory tsunami.
By closing the borders, fining the NGOs and making it more difficult to reach the Italian shores, Salvini was able to reduce the number of arrivals in Italy, but sometimes tragically at the cost of deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean. When, however, did it become the obligation of countries to help the illegal people-smuggling industry?
When Italy adopted Salvini's immigration policies in 2018, the number of migrant arrivals to Italy did dramatically decrease. The number of arrivals went from 119,369 in 2017 to 23,370 in 2018 -- a drop of 80%, according to the United Nations.
Last year, however, after Salvini's departure, the number of migrants tripled. According to the Ministry of Interior, in 2019, when Salvini was interior minister, 7,894 migrants arrived in Italy. Now, in just the first nine months of 2020, 24,332 migrants have landed and are freely flowing throughout Italy and on to the rest of Europe.
Italy recently had to send troops to stop migrants from breaking a coronavirus quarantine. From Salvini's "closed ports" to anarchy, the step has been short.
The day after the beginning of Salvini's trial, the government softened the former Ministry of Interior's rules penalizing NGOs that bring illegal migrants ashore.
Most importantly, Italy is sending a disturbing message to Europe and the rest of the free world: anyone who, by governing the country, defends national borders and tries to stop mass illegal immigration can end up on trial and in prison. We are witnessing the suicide of a country and a continent.
The real horror in this charade is that Italy is still turning away ships carrying migrants, so why is Salvini being set up to take the fall?
*Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author.
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Kidnapped, Raped, and Forced into Islam: The Plight of Christian Girls in Pakistan
Raymond Ibrahim/ Gatestone Institute/October 11, 2020

http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/91204/raymond-ibrahim-gatestone-institute-kidnapped-raped-and-forced-into-islam-the-plight-of-christian-girls-in-pakistan-%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%85%d9%88%d9%86%d8%af-%d8%a5%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%87%d9%8a%d9%85/
"A Christian 6 year old girl was beaten and raped after being forcibly taken to the home of a Muslim rapist in broad daylight.... the local Muslim community are threatening the Christian parents with violence, the rape of their other daughters and financial ruin if they proceed with a legal case against paedophile Muhammad Waqas (18 yrs)...." — Report; British Pakistani Christian Association, September 16, 2020.
"Another Christian girl aged 14 was recently abducted and gang-raped by some Muslim youths... The victim is a student of grade nine and was abducted by four or five boys on her way to a local tuition center on Jan. 16, 2020. The abductors not only raped her but also obtained her signatures and thumb impressions on some papers." — Morningstar News, February 12, 2020.
"Christian girls are only meant for the pleasure of Muslim men" — to quote a group of Muslim men, seconds before they rammed their car into three young Christian girls, who had ignored their sexual advances while walking home from work; one died. — British Pakistani Christian Association, January 20, 2016.
Christian girls are being abducted, sexually abused, and forced into Islam with increasing frequency all throughout Pakistan. (Image source: iStock)
Christian girls are being abducted, sexually abused, and forced into Islam with increasing frequency all throughout Pakistan. Moreover, everyone — including local police, court officials, and Islamic clerics — seem bent on facilitating this human rights tragedy.
Most recently, according to a September 16 report:
"A Christian 6 year old girl was beaten and raped after being forcibly taken to the home of a Muslim rapist in broad daylight. In a sickening twist the local Muslim community are threatening the Christian parents with violence, the rape of their other daughters and financial ruin if they proceed with a legal case against paedophile Muhammad Waqas (18 yrs)... Tabitha [the raped child] had been verbally abused, shouted at, slapped and beaten and forced to do a number of sex acts with Waqas. She had been stripped of her clothes and had described her terror that she would be killed by Waqas..."
Although various societal elements pressured her family to drop the case against the Muslim rapist and accept a financial settlement, her parents refused, demanding justice. As a result, two imams from local mosques warned Munir Masih, the girl's father, that "we shall burn your house and take away your other daughters too, if you fail to comply." He responded by gathering his family and fleeing to an undisclosed location in the middle of the night.
Although evidence for the case "was strong with eye witnesses" and included "a medical examiner who found evidence of rape and brutality and a positive match on DNA tracing with that of Waqas" — and despite the family's perseverance for justice — the court granted the rapist bail.
"Tears rolled from the eyes of Munir while I hugged him in the yard of Lahore High Courts," a legal representative of the family explained.
"The paedophile rapist who had sexually assaulted his daughter on many counts was granted bail and it caused him intense pain. It was excruciating for him to see the rapist of his tender-aged daughter released—I felt broken myself."
This is just one of many examples of the sexual abuse of Christian girls and often their forced conversion to Islam. Below are a few more assaults in just the first nine months of 2020.
On April 26, Maira Shahbaz, a 14-year-old Christian girl, was abducted by a group of armed Muslim men, under the leadership of one Muhammad Naqash (subsequently, her "husband"). According to an initial report:
"Eye witnesses claim that Myra was attacked while she was traveling to her workplace as a domestic worker on Sunday afternoon.... Myra's abductors forced her into a car and Myra tried to resist.... [The] abductors were armed and fired several shots into the air.... [T]he Christian girl's family has filed a police report and is begging police to recover their relative.... [The girl's mother] fears her daughter will be raped, forcefully converted to Islam, or even killed...."
In the ensuing weeks and months, the girl's parents petitioned police and court officials to rescue their daughter. The authorities responded by concluding that Muhammad had produced a certificate proving that their 14-year-old daughter had willingly converted to Islam and married him. The parents pointed to discrepancies regarding her age and other indicators of forgery in the documentation, but even the Lahore High Court ruled in favor of the kidnapper-rapist.
Then, in late August, Maira managed to escape and flee to a police station, where she gave testimony, including how she was being "forced into prostitution" and "filmed while by being raped," with threats that the video would be published unless she complied with the demands of her rapist "husband" and his friends. "They threatened to murder my whole family," the 14-year-old girl said. "My life was at stake in the hands of the accused and Naqash repeatedly raped me forcefully."
In an interview, a friend of Maira's family described how the family is now in hiding and constantly on the run. They added:
"Maira is traumatized. She cannot speak. We want to take her to the doctor, but we are afraid we might be spotted. We are all very frightened, but we place our trust in God."
Days before Maira escaped in August, a married Muslim father of four kidnapped Saneha Kinza, the 15-year-old daughter of a pastor, while she was walking to church for early morning prayers. According to the report:
"Saneha's family fears that their daughter will be added to the growing number of Christian girls who, after a kidnapping and forced conversion to Islam, are married to Muslims... On July 28, Pastor Morris Masih's family received a call from the kidnapper, who threatened them if they dared to take any action to bring Saneha home."
In another instance, a group of 12 Muslim men, led by one Muhammad Irfan, broke into a Christian man's household, "and tried to kidnap his [13-year-old] daughter, Noor, who they planned to rape and forcefully convert to Islam," to quote from a July 26 report. "He often teased and disturbed my daughter in the streets, but we always ignored," the girl's mother later said, adding:
"Finally, Irfan forcibly entered into my house and intended to kidnap my daughter. However, we resisted. In response, he attacked and beat my entire family who got multiple injuries. My husband and others got injuries in the attack. However, police have not registered the case against Irfan and medical staff have not provided medical aid to the injured."
The report adds:
"Local supporters of Irfan have issued threats against the family... [They] have threatened to burn down their house if they pursue legal action against Irfan and the other attackers."
On April 11, a Muslim man kidnapped and sexually assaulted another Christian girl, aged 7. When Nadia's father discovered she was missing on arriving home from work, he and others began a frantic search, and eventually found her in a field, "beaten and sexually assaulted."
Two days earlier, on April 9, another group of Muslims attempted to kidnap Ishrat, aged 9. According to the report,
"[The] assault took place while Ishrat was walking in the street in Qutiba. There, a group of Muslim men approached her and asked her to convert to Islam and marry Asim, one of the men in the group. When Ishrat refused, the men beat Ishrat, made derogatory remarks against Ishrat and Christianity, and attempted to kidnap Ishrat. The kidnapping, however, was averted as local villagers intervened. According to Ishrat, another man in the group named Ijaz had been harassing her before the assault. Ishrat claims that Ijaz followed her for a long time in an attempt to develop a physical relationship. Ishrat and her family reported the assault to local police. However, after reporting the incident, a group of armed Muslims attacked Ishrat's family home. According to Ishrat's family, the group threatened the family with severe consequences for 'creating hurdles to their mission.'"
In order to justify marriage to a 14-year-old Christian girl who was previously abducted, forced to convert to Islam, and wed to a Muslim man, on February 3, during a hearing on the case of Huma Younus, the Sindh high court in Karachi ruled that men may marry underage girls once they have their period, in direct compliance with sharia, or Islamic law. "Our daughters are insecure and abused in this country," Huma's mother remarked. "They are not safe anywhere. We leave them at schools or home but they are kidnapped, raped, humiliated, and forced to convert to Islam." Marriage to girls under the age of 18 is illegal according to the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, which the high court ignored to side with Muslims against Christians.
Discussing this particular incident, Napoleon Qayyum, executive director of the Pakistan Center of Law of Justice, said:
"Another Christian girl aged 14 was recently abducted and gang-raped by some Muslim youths... The victim is a student of grade nine and was abducted by four or five boys on her way to a local tuition center on Jan. 16, 2020. The abductors not only raped her but also obtained her signatures and thumb impressions on some papers."
Although police recovered her, the rights activist expressed his "fears the suspects will use her signed documents to produce a fake marriage certificate and religion conversion letter in a bid to escape abduction and rape charges," which, he said, "is common modus operandi of Muslims to confuse the court and avoid justice":
"Moreover, the girls are also forced to give false statements in court that they have changed their religion of free will and had married of their own choice.... Girls belonging to minority communities often succumb to pressure and consideration for their family's security, which has further emboldened the men belonging to the majority faith."
In a somewhat similar case, on March 1, two Muslim men abducted Saima Javid, a 13-year-old Christian girl, while she fetched water outside the family home, forcibly converted her to Islam, and married her off to a Muslim. "I was deeply depressed and thought of committing suicide when I lost my daughter," her mother shared. "Young Christian girls are not safe in this country. Muslims consider them as their property or slaves and therefore humiliate them as they wish."
After confirming that "our daughters are often sexually harassed by influential Muslims," the girl's father added that "The police did not listen to us for five days," and did so only after "the abduction went viral on social media." As a result, on March 26, the 13-year-old Christian girl appeared in court where she "testified that she had been abducted and was forced to convert to Islam and forced to marry [a Muslim man]." Due to the negative publicity revolving around this particular case, a judge ordered her returned to her family. As the report explains, however, "This order marks a rare victory for Pakistani Christians affected by the issue of abduction, forced conversion, and forced marriage."
The reason few authorities do anything and some even side with the abductors/rapists was explained by the Asian Human Rights Commission in a 2011 report:
"The situation is worse with the police who always side with the Islamic groups and treat minority groups as lowly life forms. The dark side of the forced conversion to Islam ... involves the criminal elements who are engaged in rape and abduction and then justify their heinous crimes by forcing the victims to convert to Islam. The Muslim fundamentalists are happy to offer these criminals shelter and use the excuse that they are providing a great service to their sacred cause of increasing the population of Muslims."
In short, "Christian girls are only meant for the pleasure of Muslim men" — to quote a group of Muslim men, seconds before they rammed their car into three young Christian girls, who had ignored their sexual advances while walking home from work; one died. Talking about this incident, one human rights activist said that police were "doing little to apprehend the young men and are allegedly delaying the investigative process":
"In any other nation [than Pakistan] the perpetrators would be arrested, convicted for murder and sentenced for a long term.... Violence against Christians is rarely investigated and highly unlikely to be met with justice.... Women have a low status in Pakistan, but none more so than Christian women who find themselves under the grip or terror, especially after this attack. Muslim NGO Movement of Solidarity and Peace state[s] that around 700 Christian women in Pakistan are abducted, raped and forced into Islamic marriage every year – that figure is almost two a day and the world does nothing."
More recent statistics from 2019 indicate that "around 1000 girls from [Christian and other] religious minorities are forcibly converted to Islam every year. The numbers might [even] be higher as many cases are not even reported."
Back in 2010, a Pakistani pedophile told his 9-year-old victim "not to worry because he had done the same service to other young Christian girls" — some of whom were then murdered — before mauling her. While discussing that particular incident, another human rights activist summarized the situation in Pakistan:
"It is shameful. Such incidents occur frequently. Christian girls are considered goods to be damaged at leisure. Abusing them is a right. According to the community's mentality it is not even a crime. Muslims regard them as spoils of war."
*Raymond Ibrahim, author of Crucified Again and Sword and Scimitar, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

EU continues to slam Turkey over Mediterranean conflict
Yasar Yakis/Arab News/October 11/2020
The European Council this month held a special summit to discuss a number of issues. Among them was the EU’s approach to Turkey-Greece relations.
Greece and Cyprus actively lobbied before the summit to impose sanctions on Turkey. The only favor done to Ankara was to begin the “conclusions” of the summit with a less negative narrative before moving on to the more troublesome issues. The chapter on Turkey starts by affirming that the EU “has a strategic interest in a stable and secure environment in the eastern Mediterranean and the development of a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey.”
If the communique is less harsh to Turkey than expected, it is thanks to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s intervention to come up with a more balanced text. The summit’s conclusions fall short of imposing sanctions, but the sword of Damocles is still hanging over Turkey’s head.
After the text registers the relatively positive aspects of Turkey’s relations with the EU, it then moves back to its established practice of giving priority to the national interests of its member states, irrespective of whether they are justified. By doing so, the EU ignores that Turkey is also an eastern Mediterranean country and has sovereign and legitimate rights in the region, as registered with the UN secretary-general.
Turkey has also signed an agreement on the eastern Mediterranean with the UN-recognized Government of National Accord of Libya and registered it with the UN secretary-general. Greece has signed a similar accord with Egypt, but the two agreements delineate overlapping maritime jurisdiction areas. International law provides that, in such circumstances, the two sides to the conflict should sit down and negotiate.
During the signing of the Greece-Egypt agreement on the demarcation of their maritime jurisdiction areas, Cairo acted more responsibly by not giving its consent for the demarcation of Greek maritime territory around Kastellorizo — a tiny Greek island close to the Turkish coast.
There are obstacles to peacefully solving the conflicts between Turkey and Greece on the question of their respective maritime jurisdiction areas. Greece, at the stage of ratification of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, submitted a written statement to the UN saying it does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on: The demilitarized status of several Greek islands in the Aegean Sea and the breadth of the Greek territorial waters.
The summit fell short of imposing sanctions, but the sword of Damocles is still hanging over Turkey’s head.
Greece made this statement in line with the provisions of Article 36, Paragraph 2 of the statute of the ICJ, so there is nothing illegal, but this is an “a la carte” application of international law. However, Turkey would not mind because the demarcation of its and Greece’s maritime jurisdiction areas is an extremely specific case. Therefore, an equitable solution to Turkish-Greek relations can only be found through an even-handed approach and good neighborly relations. Otherwise, tensions will dominate the relations between them and Athens will feel unnecessarily threatened.
Greece has complained on several occasions that Turkey’s drilling activities in the Aegean are threatening to cause irreparable damage to its rights. The ICJ, in its decision of Sept. 11, 1976, denied Greece’s request and said there was no sufficient risk of “irreparable prejudice” to Greece’s rights. After a similar complaint by Greece, the ICJ on Dec. 19, 1978, found that “it did not possess the jurisdiction to entertain Greece’s application” on Turkey’s activities in the Aegean.
Having failed in these previous initiatives to blame Turkey with international judicial bodies, Greece this time brought the case to a body where Ankara is not represented. The EU backed Greece’s unilateral claims and disregarded Turkey’s legitimate rights.
Coming back to this month’s European summit, the conclusions shifted to a threatening tone, warning of sanctions by saying: “The European Council will continue to closely monitor developments and will revert accordingly and take decisions as appropriate at the latest in its December meeting.”
Whether Turkey was impressed or alarmed by the EU’s warnings is another issue. It certainly did not wait to sharply criticize the bloc’s unilateral approach to the conflict.
Turkey and Greece have at least decided to resume their famous “exploratory talks.” They were suspended in 2016 after their 60th round, despite the fact that almost 90 percent of the pending questions were agreed upon. Regardless of the reasons for their suspension, it is good news that they have now been resumed.
Could this be the beginning of a new era in Turkish-Greek relations? Only time will tell.
*Yasar Yakis is a former foreign minister of Turkey and founding member of the ruling AK Party. Twitter: @yakis_yasar

EU must condemn Iran regime, not appease it
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/October 11/2020
د.مجيد رافيزادا: مطلوب من الإتحاد الأوروبي ادانة النظام الإيراني وليس التملق له واسترضاءه
The EU appears to be determined to continue its appeasement policies with the Iranian regime in spite of the latest egregious human rights violations committed by Tehran.
Not only did the EU last week reconfirm its commitment to trading with Iran, but it also called for new paths to increase trade with the country. The bloc’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said: “Together with European Union member states, we also keep looking at ways to encourage more legitimate trade between the EU and Iran. But we need to do more.”
The EU has been attempting to encourage business with Iran through a payment mechanism known as the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), which was designed to permit European firms to continue trading with the country in spite of US economic sanctions against Tehran.
The Europeans further sided with Iran when Britain, France and Germany last month told the UN Security Council they were strongly committed to ensuring that UN sanctions against the Iranian government, which were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, are not reimposed, as the US desired.
In addition, the UN Security Council in August voted to allow the 13-year arms embargo on the Iranian regime to expire this month. This ruling means that the Iranian regime will be permitted to buy, sell and export as many conventional weapons as it wishes from Oct. 18.
And, in his speech last week, Borrell also reasserted the EU’s strong desire to maintain the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal. He said: “I want to be clear: As coordinator — because the high representative acts as coordinator of the JCPOA — I will continue to do everything possible to ensure the preservation and full implementation of the nuclear deal by all parties.”
One of the most horrendous cases was the treatment of champion wrestler Navid Afkari, who was executed last month.
The EU is helping to keep all UN sanctions against the Iranian regime lifted in spite of the repeated violations of the nuclear deal committed by the regime. Last month, for example, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile had reached 2,105 kg — almost 10 times the amount it is permitted to have under the JCPOA. The ruling clergy now have enough enriched uranium to refine and build a nuclear bomb, should they wish to do so. Approximately 1,000 kg of uranium enriched to just 5 percent can be further refined to create one nuclear bomb. Nevertheless, the UN Security Council rejected a US bid to trigger the “snapback” of all UN sanctions on Iran.
Instead of providing economic relief to the regime, the EU ought to hold the Iranian leaders accountable for the country’s latest shocking human rights violations. According to a report released by Amnesty International last month, various branches of Iran’s government, including the judiciary, law enforcement and the Ministry of Intelligence, are involved in abuses and crimes. The report stated: “Iran’s police, intelligence and security forces, and prison officials have committed, with the complicity of judges and prosecutors, a catalogue of shocking human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and other ill treatment.”
One of the most horrendous cases was the treatment of champion wrestler Navid Afkari, who was executed last month. The EU must be cognizant of the fact that Afkari — like many other political prisoners and those who participated in peaceful protests — was brutally tortured. The Iranian regime denies that it tortures prisoners, but eyewitness Shahin Naseri recounted some of the treatment the wrestler endured while in detention: “One day, I heard screams, shouting, and pleas for help in the police department. The sergeant accompanying me asked me to wait in the corridor. He went and opened up a door. I followed him to see what was happening out of curiosity. I witnessed two officers who were dressed in unofficial uniforms cursing and hitting Navid with batons and metal pipes without mercy. They would tell him: ‘The truth is whatever we say. Will you write what we are saying or not?’ Navid was also begging: ‘Please, stop, please don’t hit me, I didn’t do anything.’ He was covering his head with his arms. And one of the officers… hit Navid with such strength that Navid let out a gut-wrenching scream and fell unconscious.”
Amnesty International also documented some of the shocking torture techniques the Iranian regime is employing, including punching, kicking and flogging detainees, beating them with sticks, rubber hosepipes, knives, batons and cables, and suspending or forcing prisoners into holding painful stress positions for prolonged periods.
It is incumbent on the EU, which prides itself on promoting human rights, to practice what it preaches and hold the Iranian regime accountable for its shocking human rights violations.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Arrests, torture and executions: Iran’s autumn of discontent
Christopher Hamil-Stewart/Arab News/October 11/2020
Analysts believe the hanging of wrestling champion Navid Afkari last month was meant to deter future protests
Spiraling economic crisis could spur more repression and violence as regime confronts widespread discontent
LONDON: In the face of the Middle East’s worst COVID-19 outbreak and economic ruin, Iran’s violent crackdown and persecution of anti-government activists is an attempt to deter future protests, analysts have said. But in their view, the regime’s disregard for human rights could very well be a sign of weakness rather than strength.
The world was appalled in September at the cruel hanging of Navid Afkari, an Iranian wrestling champion. He sought a fair trial until the end, but was deprived of legal representation and detained alongside his two brothers. The brutal mistreatment meted out to Afkari and his sudden execution were intended to send a clear message to normal Iranians, said Mansoureh Mills, Iran researcher at Amnesty International.
“The Iranian authorities are flexing their muscles,” he told Arab News. “At a time when the general mood among Iranians is shifting away from the death penalty and the world is looking in horror at Iran’s increasing use of it against protesters, dissidents and members of minority groups, the Iranian authorities are using executions, like that of Navid Afkari, as a tool of political control and oppression to instill fear among the public.”
Protesters wave the Lion and Sun flag of the National Council of Resistance of Iran and the white flag of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, two Iranian opposition groups, as they demonstrate outside the Iranian embassy in London on Sept. 12, 2020 against the execution of Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari in Iran. (Photo by Justin Tallis / AFP)
More than 7,000 people were arrested during the 2019 demonstrations alone and at least 30 other protesters have already received death sentences, wrote Iranian democracy activists Shirin Ebadi, Abbas Milani and Hamid Moghadam in a recent opinion piece, titled “Iran deserves a red card for its human rights abuses,” for US news website The Hill.
A report released by the rights group Amnesty International in September detailed the catalog of horrors that detained protesters face in Iranian prisons. Prisoners spared the death penalty were regularly subjected to torture, including “beatings, floggings, electric shocks, stress positions and sexual violence,” the report said.
Tehran’s treatment of women’s rights campaigners has been particularly harsh. For example, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced 57-year-old Nasrin Sotoudeh, a leading Iranian human rights lawyer, to 38 years in jail and 148 lashes on charges of “disrupting public order and colluding against the system” for her work defending the rights of women. Amnesty has called the sentence an “outrageous injustice.”​​​
Since 2009, the regime has imprisoned or attempted to prosecute at least 60 lawyers for defending political prisoners, according to Human Rights Watch. The regime is also accused of trumping up spy charges against foreign visitors to effectively hold them hostage, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian dual national jailed in 2016, and British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who has been detained since 2018.
As COVID-19 swept through Iran’s overcrowded jails earlier this year, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was temporarily released from the notorious Evin prison and placed under effective house arrest with her parents in Tehran, where she awaits fresh charges. Moore-Gilbert was recently moved from Evin to Qarchak, which is widely regarded as the worst women’s prison in Iran, known for its extrajudicial killings, torture and other rights violations.
Even the families of dissidents outside Iran are unsafe. Masih Alinejad, an outspoken US-based critic of the Islamic Republic, has said her family inside Iran has been regularly targeted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Her brother was imprisoned and tortured, while her mother has faced a pattern of harassment. At one point, her mother “threatened to pour gasoline on herself and set herself on fire” during a confrontation with IRGC officers, Alinejad said.
This mistreatment of protesters, Mills said, can be directly linked to the declining economic and political control that Tehran exerts over the population.
Since the beginning of 2020, the value of the Iranian rial has plummeted to new lows each passing month. In October, it dropped to its lowest-ever value. Worse yet for the regime, the US is moving forward with the re-imposition of “snapback” sanctions lifted as part of the nuclear deal. Meanwhile, with pressure mounting on European countries to take a harder line against Iran, one of the regime’s few remaining economic lifelines could soon vanish.
“Whenever the political and economic situation in the country declines, the Iranian authorities clamp down even further on the public and erode human rights even more — Tehran has shown it will do everything in its power to crush protests and silence dissent,” Mills said.
Iran’s spiraling economic crisis could herald yet more repression and violence by Tehran in an attempt to control the volatile domestic situation, Mills added. But far from dampening the appetite of ordinary Iranians for regime change, he believes widespread repression and the flippant use of execution have, and will continue to, enrage the population.
“The anger at Navid Afkari’s execution among Iranians is palpable,” he told Arab News. “Since his death, graffiti has appeared in Iran’s streets criticizing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and calling for revenge for his killing, and people are urging protests against his execution.”
Mills’s prediction of unrest and anti-regime anger is echoed by Ali Safavi, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee for the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an Iranian dissident group that views itself as Iran’s government-in-waiting.
Safavi says much like the protests of 2018 and November 2019, which were both triggered by economic grievances among the Iranian populace and morphed into anti-regime movements, the deteriorating economic and social foundations in Iran will catalyze further uprising.
In trying to prevent this, Safavi said, the regime is “caught between a rock and a hard place. While it needs to repress and execute to survive, it is fully cognizant of its fragile and vulnerable state, and is very worried about the massive social backlash of executions.”
The case of dissident campaigner Shahla Jahanbin epitomizes the regime’s problem. She penned a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei earlier this year imploring him to resign. In response, Jahanbin was sentenced to nearly four years in jail and forced to return to prison just months after receiving back surgery. But her cruel treatment at the hands of the Islamic Revolutionary Court has failed to suppress the anger of Iran’s youth against the regime — it only fuels it, Safavi said.
“The regime is terrified of the eruption of another uprising,” he added. But Tehran’s nightmare scenario may already be playing out. Footage obtained by Arab News shows unidentified individuals setting fire to the entrance of the Shiraz court where Afkari was handed his death sentence. A later video also shows an explosive device detonating in the heavily fortified entrance to Lorestan province’s central prison administration office.
Both attacks took place at night and caused only material damage, but were met with an immediate deployment of security forces. Safavi said this demonstrates the fear of the regime and its vulnerability in the face of the Iranian public.
The only way out of the cycle of repression, public backlash and more repression, according to Bob Blackman, a UK Conservative Party MP, is for the international community to send a clear message to Iran that “we are not going to put up with their human rights abuses.”
He told Arab News that European countries must abandon their attempts to appease Iran by rescuing the nuclear deal, and instead follow in the US administration’s footsteps with new sanctions against the regime. “We have to be strong and firm about this,” he said.
Blackman also noted the uncertainty and potential unrest caused by Iran’s sky-high coronavirus death toll — over 20,000 by official accounts, though many suspect the true figure may be far higher. He said concerns over personal safety amid the pandemic may be discouraging Iranians from taking to the streets against the government, but this reluctance to gather in protest will not last forever.
The issue in Iran, Blackman said, is increasingly a question of how much abuse normal Iranians are willing to put up with in their daily lives, and what they will resort to when it becomes too much to bear.
“What we do know is that the Shah (Iran’s pre-revolutionary ruler) was deposed after a long campaign of civil disobedience — it took a long time,” Blackman added.
“The anti-regime protests in Iran that continue to take place reflect the genuine sentiments of the Iranian people. These protests are a continuation of those beginning in November and proceeding through December, reforming again and again in the face of harsh repression.”
The consensus among rights groups, politicians and Iranians abroad is that Tehran’s executions and violent repression create a vicious cycle of more unrest, more human rights abuses, and therefore, more unrest.
Blackman said this cycle will continue until the international community abandons its strategy of appeasement and accepts the reality of the situation: The Islamic Republic cannot be trusted and will not change.
The general consensus among Iran analysts is that human rights abuses, executions and instability will continue until Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and the IRGC’s grip on Iran is replaced by a representative and democratically elected government.