English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese,
Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 13/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews21/english.june13.21.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I
tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not
see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.
Saint Luke 10/21-24:”At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit
and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have
hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to
infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been
handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the
Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses
to reveal him.’ Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately,
‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets
and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you
hear, but did not hear it.”’
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News & Editorials published on June 12-13/2021
A new victim in Lebanon, A Replicate to the Arbitrary crime of arresting
the Lebanese-American martyr Amer Fakhoury and and poisoning Him/Elias Bejjani/June
12/2021
Health Ministry: 148 new Corona cases, 4 deaths
Health Ministry: Number of vaccinated people in today's Pfizer Marathon reached
19,089
Hariri Meets Daryan at Dar el-Fatwa
Hariri from Dar Al-Fatwa: Country is witnessing political, economic
deterioration every day
Hariri, former Prime Ministers convene at Center House
Lebanon thanks Iraq for doubling oil supplies
UNIFIL, Lebanese Army Carry Out Live-fire Drill
Report: Berri’s Govt Proposal Faces Hurdles
Pharmacies Close Doors over Shortages in Crises-hit Lebano
Lebanon pharmacists’ strike causes panic as hospitals hit by medical supply
shortage/Najia Houssarti/Arab News/June 12/2021
Amid deadlock, Hariri edging closer to stepping down: Future/Hussein Dakroub,
The Daily Star/June 12/2021
Lebanon’s Sunni leaders renew support for Hariri/Najia Houssarti/Arab News/June
13/2021
Lebanon is bleeding, its children left to die/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/June
12/2021
First woman weightlifter to represent Lebanon at the Olympics: ‘My dream has
become a reality’/Bassam Zaazaa/Arab News/June 12/2021
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published on June 12-13/2021
‘Intense’ Iran nuclear talks resume as Germany calls for rapid progress
Israel’s new government seals coalition deals as Netanyahu era nears end
US expresses concern over Iranian ship that may be headed for Venezuela
G7 reaches consensus on China dumping, human rights abuses: US official
Shelling kills 16 in northern Syria’s Afrin: Monitor
Hundreds take part in funeral of Canadian Muslim family killed in ‘terrorist
attack’
Egypt and Sudan will confront any unilateral Ethiopian action on the Renaissance
Dam — FM
Brazil, UAE, Albania, Ghana and Gabon Win UN Council Seats
Putin Denies Russia Preparing to Give Iran Advanced Satellite System
G7 Leaders Outline Pandemic Pact, Eye Foreign Policy Threats
Polls Open in First Algeria Parliamentary Poll since 2019 Uprising
Canada condemns arrest of political candidates and civil society leaders in
Nicaragua
Bashir’s supporters ride the wave of protests to destabilise Sudanese government
Suspected cases of police abuse spark outrage, protests in Tunisia
Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on June 12-13/2021
To Biden Administration: Record of Iran's Top "Moderate" Mullah/Majid
Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/June 12/2021
The G7 global minimum tax rate plan is fair and may work/Cornelia Meyer/Arab
News/June 12/2021
Why Biden will not return from Russia summit with love/Andrew Hammond/Arab
News/June 12/2021
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News
& Editorials published on June 12-13/2021
A new victim in Lebanon, A Replicate to the
Arbitrary crime of arresting the Lebanese-American martyr Amer Fakhoury and and
poisoning Him
Elias Bejjani/June 12/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/99683/elias-bejjani-a-new-victim-in-lebanon-a-replicate-to-the-arbitrary-crime-of-arresting-the-lebanese-american-martyr-amer-fakhoury-and-and-poisoning-him/
Several websites in Iranian occupied Lebanon reported today that
“General Security” Forces had arrested at the Beirut International Airport on
June 06, 2021 the Lebanese-American citizen “Jaafar Ahmad Ghadboni” (born in
1968).
This potential new victim was on his way to his mother country Lebanon coming
from the United States of America via Dubai.
The reports stated that the arrest took place because Ghadboni’s name was listed
on the security “telegram 303” list which includes the names of dangerous wanted
persons who had served in the “South Lebanese Army” on alleged charges of
terrorism and Israeli treason.
Mr. Ghadhoni, who previously had served in the South Lebanon Army (according to
the media reports), holds the American citizenship.
Like thousands of Southern Lebanese Citizens and because of fear for his life
from the terrorist Hezbollah, Mr. Ghadhoni fled to the State of Israel in the
year 2000, after Israel withdrew from South Lebanon and then he left Israel to
the United States where he lived and settled.
The reports indicated that after his arrest at the Beirut airport, Ghadboni was
transferred to the military court, where great pressure is being exerted on the
government’s commissioner to the military court, Judge Fadi Akiki, for his
release.
There are serious and dire fear concerns that Mr. Ghadhoni will meet the same
tragic fate that the late martyr Amer Fakhoury encountered.
It worth mentioning that Martyr Fakhoury was arbitrarily arrested in Lebanon in
the same illegal and terrorist manner after which he was poisoned inside the
prison, as his family asserts. Martyr Fakhoury was not released until after
American pressure was exerted while he was dying.
Health Ministry: 148 new Corona cases, 4 deaths
NNA/June 12/2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced, in its daily report on Saturday, the
registration of 148 new Coronavirus infections, thus raising the cumulative
number of confirmed cases to-date to 542,523.
The report added that 4 deaths were recorded during the past 24 hours.
Health Ministry: Number of vaccinated people in today's
Pfizer Marathon reached 19,089
NNA/June 12/2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced this evening that the number of people
vaccinated in the "Pfizer Marathon" that took place throughout the day has
reached 19,089.The marathon is to be continued tomorrow in various Lebanese
governorates, from 8:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m.
Hariri Meets Daryan at Dar el-Fatwa
Naharnet/June 12/2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri visited Grand Mufti of the Republic Abdul
Latif Daryan at Dar el-Fatwa on Saturday, amid reports that he plans to announce
his resignation after the meeting. But MTV television station said it is
unlikely for Hariri to say he was stepping back from his post from Dar el-Fatwa.
It said that Speaker Nabih Berri has requested the PM-designate to “wait a
little longer” before taking such a step, amid stalled efforts to form a
much-needed government in Lebanon. The state-run National News Agency, said the
two men held a closed-door meeting that lasted for half an hour. Afterwards,
Hariri joined a meeting of the Higher Islamic Council. Hariri's visit is
presumably aimed at briefing the Mufti on the latest developments at the
government level, reports said. Media reports voiced concerns that the
PM-designate could resign after a failure to reach an agreement with President
Michel Aoun and his son-in-law MP Jebran Bassil on a cabinet line-up. Several
efforts to ease the obstacles have so far failed, including Berri's proposal for
a 24-minister line-up based on the 8+8+8 formula.
Hariri from Dar el-Fatwa: Keeping an Eye on the Country
Naharnet/June 12/2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said after meeting Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul
Latif Daryan on Saturday, and after attending the meeting of the Higher Islamic
Council, that he is keeping an eye on the country as it grapples with economic
and social crises.
The PM-designate did not say anything about a plan to resign as media reports
said. Hariri had met with Daryan at Dar el-Fatwa, and also attended the meeting
of the Higher Islamic Council. “We held constructive and important talks at the
Council. The country is deteriorating economically and socially each day. The
Mufti and I are keeping an eye on the country, which is all we care about,” said
Hariri. Hariri did not reply to reporters’ questions on whether he plans to
resign.
Hariri, former Prime Ministers convene at Center House
NNA/June 12/2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri met this afternoon at "Center House" with
former Prime Ministers Najib Mikati, Fouad Siniora, and Tammam Salam, during
which they touched on the latest political developments and the general
situation prevailing in the country. The course of forming the new government
topped their discussions.
Lebanon thanks Iraq for doubling oil supplies
MEM/June 12/2021
Lebanese President Michel Aoun thanked Iraq for doubling the amount of oil
approved for Beirut from 500,000 tonnes to one million tonnes annually as the
country suffers from a precarious economic situation.
In a tweet posted on the official Twitter account of the Lebanese presidency,
Aoun said that he contacted his Iraqi counterpart, Barhan Salih, and Prime
Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhemi to thank them for doubling their country's oil
supplies for Lebanon. Lebanon is currently witnessing a fuel shortage crisis
compounded by the lack of foreign currency. This has compounded anger which has
grown as a result of the economic crisis and financial situation in the country.
Government officials have been accused of corruption and inefficiency.
Lebanon has recently purchased oil from Iraq under flexible payment terms.
UNIFIL, Lebanese Army Carry Out Live-fire Drill
Naharnet/June 12/2021
A five-day live fire exercise between UNIFIL peacekeepers and Lebanese Armed
Forces (LAF) personnel concluded in an open field south of UNIFIL Headquarters
in Naqoura, a press release said on Friday. The “Steel Storm” drill, led by
UNIFIL’s Force Commander’s Reserve (FCR) and conducted between the two forces
twice a year, involved armoured assets, machine gun and small arms live fire.
Throughout this week’s exercise, LAF troops were joined by UNIFIL peacekeepers
from FCR (Finland and France), Sector West (Ghana, the Republic of Korea,
Malaysia, Poland, Ireland and Italy) and Sector East (India, Indonesia, Nepal
and Spain). LAF’s 5th Brigade elements, 7th brigade elements and 5th
intervention regiment participated in the exercise throughout the week. Under
Security Council Resolution 1701, which forms the core of UNIFIL’s current
mandate, the UN mission supports the LAF, which is the main provider of security
and stability in south Lebanon. One of the ways it does this is through
coordinated activities, like this week’s drill. Coordinated activities help
build capacity and help the LAF and UNIFIL better work together to maintain
security in the south. These activities improve skills and expertise, maintain
efficiency and mutual knowledge, train on fire support procedures, establish
appropriate coordination mechanisms, and ensure effective liaising at all
levels. While welcoming the expansion of coordinated activities between the two
forces, the UN Security Council last year called for “further enhancement of
this cooperation.” In 2020 alone, a total of 1,070 coordinated activities –
including exercises, training programmes and workshops – were carried out both
on land and at sea. During this week’s “Steel Storm” exercise, limiting any
potential disturbance to the local population was a priority. Lebanese Navy
ships supported by the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force ensured safety at sea.
Report: Berri’s Govt Proposal Faces Hurdles
Naharnet/June 12/2021
After high hopes that the initiative of Speaker Nabih Berri could make a
breakthrough in a deadlocked government formation, Nidaa al-Watan newspaper said
on Saturday that the difficult counter conditions set by political parties are
Likely to thwart any hope in that direction. Quoting sources close to Berri, the
daily said his initiative reached a “deadlock” and needs a “miracle to make any
positive breach."They blamed it on the "intensifying" political battles and
counter conditions between the team of the President and the Free Patriotic
Movement on one hand, and the team of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri on
the other. According to information obtained by Nidaa al-Watan, Hariri plans ot
meet on Saturday with Grand Sunni Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdul Latif
Deryan to brief him on “the negative atmospheres” surrounding the formation
process. Hariri has several options in mind, mainly a suggestion to step back
from his position to form a government, mit added. Berri’s initiative suggests a
24-minister line-up based on the 8+8+8 formula.
Pharmacies Close Doors over Shortages in Crises-hit Lebanon
Associated Press/June 12/2021
Pharmacies across Lebanon shuttered their doors on Friday to protest severe
shortages of medicines as motorists lined up for hours outside gas stations
since the crack of dawn.
The two-day strike called by pharmacists over lack of supplies, including infant
milk, as well as gasoline shortages were the latest signs of Lebanon's economic
and financial meltdown, which appears to be spinning out of control while the
country's leaders seem unable, or unwilling, to rein in the crises.
Entire blocks came to a standstill around the country, causing massive traffic
jams in small streets and on highways, because of queueing motorists outside of
gas stations. The fuel shortages are also threatening to turn off power
generators, which are the main source of electricity for most Lebanese.
Fights broke out among customers in some stations, as some insisted on filling
plastic gallons. A fistfight erupted in one location, with an angry customer
reportedly firing gunshots in the air. Many stations closed, saying they had no
gasoline to offer.
"The situation is unbearable," said Rabie Alkajk, a Beirut resident who was
among a group of young men who closed a main street with garbage containers and
other roadblocks Friday. "Pharmacies are closed. There is no medicine, no baby
milk. They are hiding it until they remove the subsidies. The gas stations are
closed. There is nothing," he shouted. Lebanon is grappling with an
unprecedented economic and financial crisis that has seen the local currency
lose around 85% of its value since October 2019. Banks have clamped down on
withdrawals and money transfers, locking people out of their savings amid
soaring inflation. With its foreign reserves drying up, the Central Bank has
been saying for months that the government won't be able to keep up subsidies,
including on drugs and fuel, leading to panic-buying and hoarding at home and in
warehouses. That has exacerbated the shortages. Lebanon's crisis is rooted in
decades of corruption and mismanagement by a political class that has thrived on
a sectarian-based system of patronage networks. Political leaders have been
quarreling for eight months over the formation of a new government, while the
Lebanese pound continues its dramatic slide against the dollar. It traded Friday
at almost 15,000 to the dollar for the first time in the black market since
March. The country's health care system has been among the hardest hit, with
some hospitals halting elective surgeries, laboratories running out of test kits
and doctors warning in recent days that they may even run out of anesthesia for
operations. On Thursday, hospitals said they may be forced to stop kidney
dialysis treatment as of next week. Pharmacists say the shortages affecting
everything from medication for chronic illnesses to pain killers and baby
formula are increasingly putting them at odds with customers and patients. They
accuse distributors of hoarding products for sale later at higher prices, or on
the black market. "What should I do at home, when my son needs milk or diapers.
Tell him I don't have money to buy them for you? Even if I did have, they are
all closed!" Alkajk said.
Lebanon pharmacists’ strike causes panic as hospitals
hit by medical supply shortage
Najia Houssarti/Arab News/June 12/2021
BEIRUT: Pharmacies in Lebanon shut their doors on Friday to protest severe
supply shortages amid the country’s worst economic and financial crisis for
decades. The two-day strike, called over a lack of medicine, gasoline and even
infant formula, is the latest sign of Lebanon’s meltdown.
Pharmacists, doctors, dentists, nurses and lab scientists took to the streets on
Friday to voice their suffering, with people storming the Health Ministry’s
interior courtyard and calling for rationalizing subsidies on medicine and a
solution to the crisis in the healthcare sector. They urged the World Health
Organization not to deal with authorities but instead deal with the Lebanese
army and the Lebanese Red Cross. The strike has caused panic in hospitals, which
are suffering from medical supply shortages. Fights have been reported between
patients and medical staff, with some incidents filmed and posted on social
media.
People have even been seen destroying the exterior of emergency departments,
while doctors have clashed with patients who refused to postpone their surgeries
due to the shortages. Dr. Hadi Mrad blasted the “ongoing corruption of the
ruling class” that had violated people’s rights and remained “unpunished,
supported and protected” by a corrupt system. “We have never seen something
similar,” he told Arab News.
“We cannot help our patients. We prescribe them medicine, but the pharmacies are
empty. We ask them to run a blood test, but laboratories are not receiving
patients due to the shortages in subsidized supplies. We want to admit them, but
hospitals have run out of IVs. We get that there is no fuel or flour. But what
did patients do to deserve this? What is currently happening is intentional and
the authority is determined to kill its citizens.”He also dismissed the raids by
Health Minister Hamad Hassan to inspect the stocks of medical supply warehouses
as nothing but a “media charade.”
“He only designates warehouses owned by simple people, who are not supported by
the authority or the politicians, to be inspected. This does not even fall
within his responsibilities. Where are the health inspections and legal
proceedings? The minister’s work is in vain.”
When asked whether that was an introduction to lift subsidies on drugs, Mrad
replied: “We are in the middle of it. Import companies are refusing to deliver
drugs as the central bank has still not paid off invoices that are nine months
old. Therefore, drugs will be sold according to the dollar exchange rate on the
black market. We are only living on the ruins of subsidized drugs.”There are
scenes of unrest across the country.
Protests over the economic situation and the lengthy waits at gas stations have
returned to Beirut and the roads leading to the Bekaa Valley and Tripoli. At a
gas station in Tarik Jdideh, there was a fight over who had priority on filling
their car. Shots were fired in the air. In Corniche Al-Mazraa, riot police had
to intervene to reopen a road that people had closed. George Brax, a
spokesperson for the gas station owners’ syndicate, tried to reassure the public
that gasoline and diesel were not about to run out “for now.”He urged people
“not to humiliate themselves” at gas stations as products were available in
importers’ tanks and would meet Lebanon’s needs for the next two weeks. “In the
coming days, several ships will arrive in Lebanon,” he added. On Thursday night,
the central bank said a 10 percent increase was recorded in the quantities of
gasoline, diesel and household gas imported in 2021, compared with the same
period in 2019. “There are currently 66 million liters of gasoline in importers’
tanks and 109 million liters of diesel in addition to the quantities available
at distribution stations, which is enough to meet Lebanon’s needs for the next
10 or 14 days. Authorizations will be issued for banks to open lines of credit
to import fuel, provided they do not mess with mandatory recruitments.” It urged
officials to take the “necessary measures as this is not the bank’s
responsibility” and criticized “a fuel-importing company that received the
approval more than two months ago to import two shipments worth $28 million of
fuel and oil, that have still not been unloaded.”
Amid deadlock, Hariri edging closer to stepping down: Future
Hussein Dakroub, The Daily Star/June 12/2021
BEIRUT: The continued obstruction by President Michel Aoun and MP Gebran Bassil
of the formation of a new government is increasing the chances of Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri stepping down, Future Movement officials said
Thursday, in the latest setback to ongoing efforts to break the monthslong
Cabinet deadlock.
This comes as meetings between Bassil, Aoun’s son-in-law and head of the Free
Patriotic Movement, and key aides from Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, have so far failed to eliminate the
last remaining hurdles that are hindering the formation of a proposed Cabinet of
24 nonpartisan specialists to deliver reforms and rescue the crises-ridden
country from all-out economic collapse.
Future Movement officials Thursday dismissed reports, circulated mainly by the
FPM sources, that Tuesday’s meeting between Bassil and former Finance Minister
Ali Hasan Khalil, a key political aide to Berri, Hussein Khalil, a political
adviser to Nasrallah, and Wafic Safa, a senior Hezbollah security official, had
made progress in the Cabinet formation process that has been stalled for months
over a rift between Aoun and Hariri regarding who should name two Christian
ministers who are not part of the president’s Cabinet share. “I don’t see any
signs of a breakthrough in the Cabinet crisis in the ongoing meetings with
Bassil. This is because President Aoun and Bassil will not agree to any
government, whether headed by Prime Minister Hariri or someone else, unless they
secure a blocking one-third plus one [veto power],” former Future MP Mustapha
Alloush told The Daily Star.
Alloush, a member of the Future Movement’s politburo, said Aoun and Bassil
insisted on gaining a blocking one-third plus one in order to be able to topple
the government if the need arose. “Therefore, Speaker Berri’s initiative is in
jeopardy as a result of the obstruction of the Cabinet formation,” Alloush said,
“and the continued obstruction of the Cabinet formation is increasing the
chances of Prime Minister Hariri stepping down.”
A political source told The Daily Star Wednesday that Hariri, who cannot accept
serving indefinitely as a prime minister-designate and unable to form a
government, had told Berri that he was giving his initiative one more week to
resolve the Cabinet crisis after which he would step down.lloush said Tuesday’s meeting between Bassil and Berri’s and Nasrallah’s aides
did not resolve the two remaining obstacles, namely who should name the two
Christian ministers and Bassil’s rejection of Hariri’s request that the FPM
grant a confidence vote to the new Cabinet even though Bassil has declared that
his party would not join the government.
NEW NORMS
Aoun and Bassil strongly reject Hariri’s insistence on naming the two Christian
ministers which the premier-designate argues that this is part of his
constitutional powers. An official source said that Berri has promised to find a
compromise to solve this problem.
Tuesday’s three-hour meeting held at Bassil’s house centered on a
re-distribution of key ministerial portfolios and a mechanism to name the two
Christian ministers.
Ali Hassan Khalil Wednesday briefed Hariri on the outcome of the talks with
Bassil.
Although he has maintained silence on the ongoing contacts to facilitate the
Cabinet formation, media reports said Hariri after his meeting with Khalil did
not appear to be satisfied with the results of the talks with Bassil because
they indicated that the president and the FPM leader still rejected the premier-designate’s
right to name the two Christian ministers.
Future Movement MP Mohammad Hajjar also sounded pessimistic about the ongoing
contacts to break the Cabinet deadlock, now in its tenth month.
“I don’t see positive results so far from the ongoing efforts because President
Michel Aoun and FPM leader Gebran Bassil are insisting on not agreeing to a
government that does not include a blocking one-third [plus one],” Hajjar said
in remarks published by the Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat Thursday.
Hajjar said Aoun’s and Bassil’s objection to Hariri naming the two Christian
ministers is “a violation of the Constitution because the premier-designate,
according to the Constitution, is the one who names ministers, while the
president has the right to either object or approve.”
“The Free Patriotic Movement is trying to impose new norms on the pretext that
the Sunni prime minister does not name Christian ministers even though the
opposite will be a breach of constitutional powers,” he said.
“Bassil is acting as if he is the shadow president and wants to monopolize for
himself taking decisions. He is looking for his political future through this
government even if the price of this is the country’s destruction,” Hajjar
added.
Describing Berri’s initiative as a “last chance,” Hajjar said: “If a government
is not formed, the country is heading toward collapse.” He urged Hezbollah, a
key ally of Aoun and the FPM, to “exert further pressure on its ally [FPM] to
arrive at the government formation.”
After Berri had declared that this week should be decisive for the formation of
a new government, political activity has been intensified in a bid to untangle
the last remaining knots holding up the creation of a proposed Cabinet of 24
nonpartisan specialists to implement a reform program contained in the French
initiative designed to steer Lebanon out of its worst economic and financial
crunch since the 1975-90 Civil War.
Berri, backed by Hezbollah, is forging ahead with a proposal calling for the
formation of a 24-member government of nonpartisan specialists with no blocking
one-third plus one (veto power) to any side. Such a government is in line with
Berri’s latest initiative aimed at ending the political stalemate that for 10
months has left Lebanon without a fully functioning government to tackle
multiple crises, including an unprecedented financial downturn that is
threatening the Lebanese with poverty and hunger.
Since his designation on Oct. 22 to form a new government, Hariri has accused
Aoun and Bassil of blocking the government formation with their insistence on
gaining a blocking one-third plus one (veto power), something that the
premier-designate has vowed not to grant to any side. Berri’s proposal divides
the suggested 24 ministers into three groups with no veto power for any side:
Eight ministers for Aoun, eight ministers for Hariri and his allies, and eight
ministers for Berri’s Amal Movement, Hezbollah and their allies.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea Thursday called on Nasrallah to
intercede with Aoun to facilitate the government formation.
Addressing Nasrallah, Geagea told a news conference at his residence in Maarab,
north of Beirut, “You have the [parliamentary] majority which is responsible for
the country while the people are dying. Ask the president to form a government
and if he doesn’t accept, take a clear political position and this is
sufficient.”
Geagea reiterated that holding early parliamentary elections was the key to
resolving the deepening political and economic crises. The LF leader has
repeatedly called for early parliamentary elections in hopes of getting rid of
the current parliamentary majority controlled by the FPM, Hezbollah and their
allies. Parliament’s four-year term expires in May next year.
Responding to Nasrallah, who said this week that holding early parliamentary
elections would be a waste of time, Geagea said: “The main door to salvation is
early parliamentary elections, which Nasrallah considered a waste of time. Is
there a more important reason than it after months of inability to form the
government? Sayyed Nasrallah: You don’t want elections at all and you want to
keep the Lebanese people where they are. We will continue the struggle to take
them to a bright place.”
Copyright © 2021, The Daily Star. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate
Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
Lebanon’s Sunni leaders renew support for Hariri
Najia Houssarti/Arab News/June 13/2021
Supreme council meeting warns of ‘suffocating crisis’ facing the country
BEIRUT: The Supreme Islamic Sharia Council, which represents the Sunni community
and its leaders in Lebanon, has renewed its support for Saad Hariri, the prime
minister-designate, amid an escalating dispute over the failure to form a
government in the country. After a lengthy meeting on Saturday, in which Hariri
participated, the council warned that “any quest for new definitions regarding
the constitution or the Taif Agreement is not acceptable under any of the
arguments.”It was earlier reported that Hariri might announce during the meeting
that he was stepping down from the task of establishing a new government
entrusted to him by parliament last October. The French initiative and the
mediation of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri so far have failed to help form a
government because of an escalating dispute between Hariri and President Michel
Aoun, together with his political team represented by his son-in-law Gebran
Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement.
The meeting, which was held in Dar Al-Fatwa and attended by former prime
ministers, said that the blame for delaying the formation of the government lies
with those “who are trying to invent ways and methods that nullify the content
of the National Accord Document, which enjoys the consensus of Lebanese leaders
who are keen on Lebanon’s independence, unity, sovereignty and pan-Arabism.”
During the session, chaired by the grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian,
Hariri discussed the obstacles to forming the government and steps he has taken
to overcome them. Those present at the meeting expressed their fear that “the
suffocating crisis facing Lebanon will deteriorate into an endless abyss amid
the indifference and random confusion that characterizes the behavior and
actions of leaders who control citizens.”
BACKGROUND
The French initiative and the mediation of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri so far
have failed to help form a government because of an escalating dispute between
Hariri and President Michel Aoun. The dispute over the formation of the
government is a “futile debate,” they added. Hariri later described the
discussion as constructive. “The country is witnessing a political and economic
deterioration every day,” he said. ” What matters to us is the country at the
end of the day.” One of the participants in the meeting, who declined to be
named, told Arab News that “Hariri presented the options before him, including
resignation, but the attendees rejected the matter and pressured him to adhere
to his constitutional powers and wait to see what Berri’s mediation might result
in.” The source said that “the importance of the statement issued by the meeting
should not be underestimated because it is a statement issued by Dar Al-Fatwa
and condemns the president and his son-in-law.” Fouad Siniora, a former prime
minister, said that the problem of forming the government is internal, and Aoun
must respect the constitution. “Aoun violates the constitution every day and
does not act as the one who unites the Lebanese,” he said.
Siniora said that “Hezbollah is hiding behind the president and MP Gibran Bassil.
It wants the government-formation paper to remain in its hands to use as a
negotiating card. Hezbollah is a major problem and a source of pain.” Mustafa
Alloush, vice president of the Future Movement, said that “there is pressure
from the Sunni community on Hariri not to quit his assignment and not to hand
over the government formation to people working as proxies.”He added: “Dar
Al-Fatwa’s statement gave a clear sign of support to Hariri, and dialogue is
continuing between Hariri and former prime ministers.”
Lebanon is bleeding, its children left to die
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/June 12/2021
Four-year-old Mila Moussa had been receiving chemotherapy for leukaemia and
already had a dangerously weakened immune system when she fell ill. The
desperate family and doctors phoned dozens of hospitals, but received the same
answer: No beds were available. When they eventually found an available bed, it
was too late. Mila died in the back of a car on the journey there. Her
devastated mother had a stark message to the politicians who wrecked Lebanon’s
once-world-beating health system: “Your consciences are dead, God damn you!”
Hospitals warn that chronic medical shortages will force them to halt elementary
lifesaving procedures such as kidney dialysis: “We have to call a million
pharmacies just to find one or two needles,” said one dialysis physician.
Hospitals are canceling operations. Laboratories are running out of testing
kits.Pharmacies last week closed in protest at the shortage of many medications.
With anaesthetic running out, will patients requiring removal of an appendix or
damaged limb be offered the operation without pain relief?
One specialist described such unnecessary shortages as “a crime against
humanity.” In their determination to cling to power, and protect privileges and
sources of wealth, politicians have abandoned Lebanon’s children — already
weakened by hunger and poverty — leaving them to die in crumbling hospitals that
are empty of equipment and medicines. The direct cause of shortages is the
central bank’s foreign currency reserves drying up. Long queues have been
forming outside petrol stations, with fights breaking out over a couple of
liters of gasoline. As Druze leader and MP Walid Jumblatt wryly observed: Failed
states such as Sudan and Somalia are in a better situation than Lebanon today.
What is Hassan Nasrallah’s solution to these problems? Lebanon can buy fuel, and
everything else it needs, from Iran. The Hezbollah leader dared the authorities
to try to stop him. Ignore the fact that Iranian oil is under international
sanctions. Ignore the fact that Iranian products are often dangerously
substandard. Ignore the fact that bankrupt Lebanon is no more able to pay Tehran
than anybody else. As Lebanon’s medical system, critical infrastructure and
political institutions continue to disintegrate, we will witness hundreds more
Milas — innocent victims of a rotten system.
Why is Nasrallah so desperate to sell out Lebanon’s heart and soul to Tehran?
With all respect to the glories of Persian culture, Arab Lebanon’s traditions,
society and language have nothing to do with Iran. Yet cast an eye over
Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar TV, where all participants fall over themselves trying
to dress, act and speak like Iranians. Nasrallah is exploiting the crisis to
divest the Lebanese of their sovereignty and identity, rendering Lebanon a
subservient Iranian satellite state.
Hezbollah already oversees lucrative operations for smuggling Lebanese fuel into
Syria.
Twenty liters of subsidized Lebanese petrol, instead of being sold for around
$3, can be bought for $7-$13 across the border. Hence, when Nasrallah talks
about importing petrol from Iran, this is not only a problem that he helped
create but also a ruse for scamming Lebanon twice over: Taking a cut on the
profits from importing discounted Iranian oil, then reaping the profits from
smuggling fuel into Syria, while scamming funds from the state purse in the form
of unaffordable subsidies. By setting up Iran-supplied parallel pharmacies,
grocery stores, gas stations and banks, Hezbollah is shamelessly profiteering
from Lebanon’s demise. Lebanon is grinding to a halt. It was warned last week
that Beirut’s port was at risk of “paralysis” because much of its essential
equipment, including loading cranes, has become inoperable. This would leave
Lebanon unable to import crucial supplies, even if it could afford to pay for
them — a disaster for export businesses and traders, though many such companies
have long ceased functioning.
How are Lebanon’s disgusting political classes competing to win votes ahead of
elections? By morbidly bribing grassroots supporters with coronavirus
vaccinations. MP Elias Bou Saab, from President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic
Movement, rented out a private hospital and offered to distribute 20,000 vaccine
doses, and numerous other deputies are touting similar tactics. Politicians once
corruptly bought support by bestowing all manner of gifts and career
opportunities on supporters. Now, through such ghoulish “vaccines for votes”
schemes, voters are expected to be grateful simply because they haven’t yet
died.
When Nasrallah rejects early elections “whatever the circumstances,” what is he
scared of? Does he fear that no matter how much he bribes Hezbollah’s core
communities, voters will shun him in ever-greater numbers? Does he fear that his
ally Aoun will be wiped out following the spectacular collapse in Christian and
national support?
I spoke last week to my friend Dalia Salaam Rishani, the publisher who is
joining other national figures in spearheading a “Towards One Nation”
initiative, putting together a nationwide list of independent representatives to
take part in elections, “change the face of Parliament” and transform Lebanon
from within. This refreshing initiative will allow Lebanon to start afresh,
putting the country’s people and identity first, while boasting the technocratic
capabilities to reconnect Lebanon into the global system. When Lebanese friends
express frustration that the investigation into last year’s port explosion
hasn’t been allowed to run its course, I chuckle. How could such a commission
fulfil its mandate with anything short of rounding up Lebanon’s entire political
class from the past 40 years and locking them all up? All are complicit in a
system that has always serviced itself and abandoned its citizens. Lebanon’s
only hope is in elections where the nation with one voice rejects all these
criminals. Justice matters. The whole system of justice implodes when political,
business and paramilitary elites are too powerful — and too feared — to be held
to account. Hence it is a scandal that the Rafik Al-Hariri tribunal could be
closed down, after all the resources poured into the inquiry. If Hezbollah can
routinely get away with murder, no citizen can sleep safely.
As Lebanon’s medical system, critical infrastructure and political institutions
continue to disintegrate, we will witness hundreds more Milas — innocent victims
of a rotten system. Sometimes a damaged limb is so diseased that the only option
to save the life of the patient is amputation.
Lebanon today is in critical need of such drastic lifesaving surgery — with or
without anaesthetic.
• Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle
East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has
interviewed numerous heads of state.
First woman weightlifter to represent Lebanon at the
Olympics: ‘My dream has become a reality’
Bassam Zaazaa/Arab News/June 12/2021
BEIRUT: The first female weightlifter to represent Lebanon at the Olympics says
she is “grateful, relieved and overwhelmed” at being selected for the 2021 Games
starting in Japan in late July.
“The feeling is indescribable,” Mahassen Hala Fattouh told Arab News.
“Qualifying for the Olympics is something that only happens once.”
The 31-year-old is gearing up to represent Lebanon in the 64kg-76kg category at
the Games. Women athletes have represented Lebanon in other sports in regional,
pan-Arab and continental competitions, and at the Olympics — but Fattouh is the
country’s first female weightlifter to compete at the Games. The weightlifter
has a long list of regional and international competitions to her name, but was
still surprised by the response to her Olympic selection, describing the
numerous messages of congratulation on her social media accounts as “more than I
could have ever anticipated.”
Fattouh represented Lebanon at the 2018 Mediterranean Games, and also competed
in the 2018 and 2019 IWF world championships in the women’s 64 kg clean and jerk
category. She described her qualification for the Olympics as “historic,” and
“something that happens only once in a lifetime.” “I will always be the first
woman to represent Lebanon in weightlifting — that is something I am so proud
of. I hope to share this feeling with every Lebanese woman, girl and young
person looking to make their dream a reality,” she said. The Lebanese star said
that her sporting journey “has been a long one, but having the right people at
my side meant it wasn’t nearly as difficult as it could have been. That’s the
most important thing for aspiring athletes.” Lebanon’s caretaker sports
minister, Vartine Ohanian, congratulated Fattouh on her selection “to represent
her country well and raise its flag in a time of great joy.” Fattouh is based in
the US, where she lives with her husband, a US national. She is ranked first in
Asia and 12th in the world — rankings that promise a special performance at the
Tokyo Olympics. On her Facebook page, Fattouh posted that it is now official
that in 43 days she will be the first female weightlifter in Lebanon’s history
to compete at the Olympic Games. “I am at a loss for words, but am filled with
gratitude for so many people who have supported me and played a role in getting
to this moment,” she said, thanking all her supporters. She posted a photo and a
similar message to her 2,000-plus Instagram followers. Fattouh told Arab News
that she is “simply aiming to have a good competition and break my personal
records.” She advised other aspiring female athletes to “surround yourself with
people who believe in you as much as you do, and never stop working toward your
goals. My biggest hope is that we have a full team of women for future
competition.”
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published on June 12-13/2021
‘Intense’ Iran nuclear talks resume
as Germany calls for rapid progress
Reuters/June 12/2021
VIENNA: Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington on reviving the 2015 Iran
nuclear deal resumed in Vienna on Saturday as the European Union said
negotiations were “intense” and Germany called for rapid progress.
The sixth round of talks kicked off as usual with a meeting of remaining parties
to the deal — Iran, Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and the European
Union — in the basement of a luxury hotel. The US delegation to the talks, known
as the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is
based in a hotel across the street as Iran refuses face-to-face meetings. The
talks’ chief coordinator, EU foreign policy official Enrique Mora, who is
leading the shuttle diplomacy between Iran and the United States, has said he
expects a deal in this round of talks. Other envoys, however, are more cautious,
saying many difficult issues are yet to be resolved. “We are making progress but
the negotiations are intense and a number of issues (remain), including on how
steps are to be implemented,” an EU spokesman said in a statement to reporters,
adding that the aim was “to find ways to get very close to a final agreement in
the coming days.” The deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action, imposed strict limits on Iran’s nuclear activities designed to extend
the time Tehran would need to obtain enough fissile material for a nuclear
weapon, if it chose to, to at least a year from two to three months. Iran denies
ever pursuing nuclear weapons, saying its aims are solely peaceful. President
Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018 and reimposed
economic sanctions lifted by the deal. Iran responded by breaching many of those
limits, producing more enriched uranium than allowed and enriching to higher
purity levels, recently to near weapons grade. “Playing for time is in no-one’s
interest,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who is not at the talks, told
Reuters, urging all sides to show flexibility and pragmatism. China’s top envoy
said the main sticking point was US sanctions. “Our message to them (the United
States) is that they should stop shilly-shallying by moving decisively to
sanction-lifting,” China’s ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog, Wang Qun, told
reporters. On the steps Iran must take to return to compliance with the deal,
Wang said: “To a great extent, the major issues have been worked out as a matter
of principle, though I think there are some fixes (left).”
Israel’s new government seals coalition deals as
Netanyahu era nears end
Reuters/June 12/2021
JERUSALEM: The new Israeli government set to end Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year
tenure as prime minister signed its final coalition agreements on Friday,
pointedly including term limits. The coalition of parties from far-right to left
is expected to focus mostly on economic and social issues rather than risk
exposing internal rifts by trying to address major diplomatic issues such as the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, will
be succeeded on Sunday by a coalition that includes for the first time a party
from Israel’s Arab minority. Under a power-sharing agreement, Naftali Bennett,
of the ultra-nationalist Yamina (Rightwards) party, will serve as prime minister
for two years.
Bennett on Friday said the coalition “brings to an end two and a half years of
political crisis,” although it was unclear how long the coalition’s disparate
elements would hold together. He will then hand over to Yair Lapid of the
centrist Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party.Among the agreements outlined by
parties in what Lapid described as a “unity government” are:
•Limiting the prime minister’s term of office to two terms, or eight years.
•An infrastructure push to include new hospitals, a new university and a new
airport.
•Passing a two-year budget to help stabilize the country’s finances — the
prolonged political stalemate has left Israel still using a pro-rated version of
a base 2019 budget that was ratified in mid-2018.
•Maintaining the “status-quo” on issues of religion and state, with Bennett’s
Yamina party to have a veto. Possible reforms include breaking up an
ultra-Orthodox monopoly on overseeing which foods are kosher, and decentralizing
authority over Jewish conversions.
•An “overall plan for transportation” in the Israeli- occupied West Bank.
•A general goal to “ensure Israel’s interests” in areas of the West Bank under
full Israeli control.
•Allocating more than 53 billion shekels ($16 billion) to improve infrastructure
and welfare in Arab towns, and curbing violent crime there.
•Decriminalizing marijuana and moving to regulate the market.
After a quarter-century at the highest levels of Israeli politics, no one
expects the 71-year-old Netanyahu, dubbed the “King of Israel” by his
supporters, to quietly retire to his private home in the seaside town of
Caesarea.
As opposition leader and the head of the largest party in parliament, Netanyahu
is expected to continue doing everything in his power to bring down the
government.
His best hope for avoiding conviction on serious corruption charges is to battle
them from the prime minister’s office, with a governing coalition that could
potentially grant him immunity. But his domineering presence could continue to
bind his opponents together.
US expresses concern over Iranian ship that may be
headed for Venezuela
Bloomberg/June 12/2021
The US is closely tracking an Iranian navy transport ship headed for the
Caribbean -- possibly Venezuela -- and is prepared to take action against the
delivery of any weapons which may be on board, administration officials said on
Friday.
The Biden administration reserves the right to take measures, in coordination
with allies in the region, to deter the transit or delivery of weapons, one of
the officials said. A State Department official added that the US is prepared to
use sanctions against any actor that enables Iran’s provision of weapons to
violent partners and proxies. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a Senate
committee on Thursday that he is “absolutely concerned about the proliferation
of weapons in the Western Hemisphere. Austin was responding to Democratic
Senator Richard Blumenthal’s comments that the Iranian ship is carrying missiles
and fast-attack boats to Venezuela. “Allowing this ship to dock seems
significant to me on many different levels,” the Connecticut lawmaker said. “It
would be the first time that Iranian vessels have made such a transit and the
precedent of allowing Iran to provide weapons to the region causes me grave
concern.” When pressed by Blumenthal, Austin said he’d prefer to discuss
questions about the ship’s cargo in a closed session. Venezuelan officials
didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The tensions come at a delicate moment in global geopolitics as world powers and
Iran are trying to revive their landmark nuclear accord ahead of elections in
Iran. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that Iran is rapidly
developing its nuclear program, arguing that returning to the 2015 deal that
former President Donald Trump quit is a necessary first step to prevent Tehran
from acquiring a bomb. “Iranian weapons have been going to Venezuela for a very
long time and so have Russian weapons -- but there is a difference in the kinds
of weapons that are going there and the missiles are a key concern,” said
Elliott Abrams, Trump’s former special envoy to Venezuela who is now a senior
fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “The timing is quite striking. The
Iranians knew it would be arriving around the Vienna talks and I think it’s a
gesture of contempt for the US to be doing this right now.”
Biden officials say that a sale of Iranian weapons happened a year ago, during
the Trump presidency, and reflect Iran’s efforts to defy the former
administration’s “maximum pressure posture”. Abrams called that a “petty
comment”, noting that the military relationship between Caracas and Tehran
pre-dates the maximum pressure campaign.Warship Going to Venezuela Is Iran’s New
Threat: James Stavridis
Politico reported earlier that the Biden administration is privately urging the
Venezuelan and Cuban governments to turn away two Iranian naval ships.
Venezuela’s government is trying to leverage the situation to gain relief from
US sanctions, Politico said, citing people it didn’t identify.
In a Bloomberg Opinion column on Friday, retired US Navy Admiral James Stavridis
said the ship -- the Markan -- appears to be transporting speedboats of the
Iranian Peykaap class, which are typically operated by the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps in the Persian Gulf. Nearly 60 feet (18.3 meters) in length, they
can carry two lethal anti-ship missiles that have a range of close to 20 miles
in surface-to-surface mode, as well as a pair of torpedoes. “If the US was
willing to seize Iranian oil shipments for violating sanctions last year,” he
said, “it should be prepared to take direct action to stop these small but
lethal machines of war from being delivered to a corrupt and dangerous regime in
Caracas.”
G7 reaches consensus on China dumping, human rights
abuses: US official
Reuters/12 June ,2021
G7 leaders have reached consensus on the need for a shared approach to China
selling exports at unfairly low prices and to human rights abuses, a senior
official in the US President Joe Biden’s administration said on Saturday. The
official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the leaders of the Group of
Seven world’s largest advanced economies had also agreed on the need to
coordinate on supply chain resilience to ensure democracies are supporting each
other. “I would say there was unanimity in terms of a willingness to call out
human rights abuses and violations of fundamental freedoms that invoke our
shared values,” the official said. “There was commitment to take action in
response to what we’re seeing.” The official said the G7 had moved far from
three years ago when the final communique made no mention of China. Under the
legal structure of the World Trade Organization, the designation of China as a
“non-market economy” allows its trading partners, including the US, to use a
special framework to determine whether China’s exports are being sold at
unfairly low prices and, if that is found to be the case, to apply additional
anti-dumping duties.
Shelling kills 16 in northern Syria’s Afrin: Monitor
Arab News/June 12/2021
BEIRUT: Shelling of the rebel-held city of Afrin in northern Syria killed at
least 16 people Saturday, many of them when a hospital was struck, a war monitor
said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a doctor, three hospital
staff, three women and a child died at Al-Shifaa hospital in the city which is
held by Turkish-backed rebels. The artillery fire originated from northern
Aleppo province where Syrian regime and Kurdish forces are both deployed, the
Britain-based group said. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) issued
a statement denying any involvement in the shelling.
Hundreds take part in funeral of Canadian Muslim family
killed in ‘terrorist attack’
Reuters/13 June ,2021
Several hundred mourners joined a public funeral service on Saturday of a
Canadian Muslim family run over and killed by a man in a pick-up truck last
Sunday in an attack the police said was driven by hate. The four victims,
spanning three generations, were killed when Nathaniel Veltman, 20, ran into
them while they were out for an evening walk near their home in London, Ontario.
A fifth family member, a 9-year-old boy, is recovering from his injuries in the
hospital. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the killings a
“terrorist attack” and vowed to clamp down on far-right groups and online hate.
Police have said the attack was premeditated and allege the family was targeted
because of their Islamic faith. The hour-long ceremony started after the four
coffins draped in Canadian flags rolled into the compound of the Islamic Centre
of Southwest Ontario, and ended with prayers and condolences offered by
religious and community leaders. The funeral procession later proceeded for a
private burial. “And the very fact their coffins are draped in the beautiful
Canadian flag is an apt testimony of the fact that the entire Canadian nation
stands with them,” Raza Bashir Tarar High Commissioner for Pakistan to Canada
told the gathering.
The family moved to Canada from Pakistan some 14 years ago. The attack sparked
outrage across Canada, with politicians from all sides condemning the crime,
spurring growing calls to take action to curb hate crime and Islamophobia. The
city of London, 200 km (120 miles) southwest of Toronto, has seen an outpouring
of support in the aftermath of the attack. Veltman, who returns to court on
Monday, faces four charges of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder.
“I think we’re emotionally exhausted,” Imam Aarij Anwer told the Canadian
Broadcasting Corp before the ceremony. “We’re looking forward to having some
closure on Saturday.”
Egypt and Sudan will confront any unilateral Ethiopian action on the Renaissance
Dam — FM
Arab News/June 12/2021
AMMAN: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Saturday that he
anticipates negotiations with Ethiopia over the Grand Renaissance Dam will
continue to falter. Speaking during a television program on Sada El-Balad
channel, Shoukry said that the Nile waters concern every Egyptian, and the
government deals with transparency and informs its people on all the
negotiations that take place. Shoukry said that his recent visit to Sudan came
to confirm the close link between the two countries and to coordinate to assess
the filling status of the dam, the pace of construction, and review all data
related to this issue. He said his country and Sudan will politically and
decisively confront any unilateral action by Ethiopia on the dam, adding that
the second filling of the dam will affect the course of negotiations and that
Addis Ababa’s actions are contrary to international standards. Ethiopia began
the second phase of filling the reservoir behind its giant Grand Renaissance Dam
in early May, a process expected to accelerate in July and August after seasonal
rains. Further construction work on the dam had already allowed for the second
phase to start. Ethiopia began filling the reservoir behind the dam, which is
still under construction on the Blue Nile close to the border with Sudan, last
year.
“We hope that a breakthrough will be reached in the negotiations, but this
depends on the Ethiopian political administration, and we affirm that the
downstream countries will not compromise or give up their rights, in the event
of serious damage occurring when filling and operating the Renaissance Dam,” he
said. Earlier on Saturday, Shoukry addressed a letter to the UN Security Council
to explain the developments of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam issue, and
affirmed Egypt’s objection to Ethiopia’s announcement of its intention to
continue filling the dam during the upcoming flood season. On Palestine, Shoukry
said Cairo is working with Israel to advance the peace process and achieve the
aspirations of the Palestinian people, which is the establishment of a
Palestinian state and the two-state solution. “Egypt is committed to the need to
establish a Palestinian state, and we will continue to work with the new Israeli
government and international partners led by the United States to implement the
goals of the Palestinian people.” He also said President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
has approved providing $500 million in aid, and they are coordinating with the
Palestinian and Israeli sides to set appropriate frameworks that provide for
reconstruction and speed up the provision of support to the Palestinian people.
(With Reuters)
Brazil, UAE, Albania, Ghana and Gabon Win UN Council
Seats
Associated Press/June 12/2021
The United Nations elected five countries to join the powerful U.N. Security
Council on Friday with no suspense because all were unopposed -- Brazil, the
United Arab Emirates, Albania, Ghana and Gabon. Winning a seat on the 15-member
Security Council is considered a pinnacle of achievement for many countries
because it gives them a strong voice on issues of international peace and
security ranging from conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Mali and Myanmar to the nuclear
threat posed by North Korea and Iran, and attacks by extremist groups such as
the Islamic State and al-Qaida.
It will be Albania's first time serving on the council and Brazil's 11th time,
which will tie Japan as the country elected to the council for the most two-year
terms. There had been a three-way race for two African seats but Congo dropped
out on Monday.
General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir announced the results of the
secret-ballot vote and congratulated the winner. The five new council members
will start their terms on Jan. 1, replacing five countries whose two-year terms
end on Dec. 31 -- Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and
Vietnam. They will join the five veto-wielding permanent members of the council
-- the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France -- and the five
countries elected last year: India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway. Albania's
Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka tweeted that its election is "an historic
opportunity" and its U.N. Ambassador Besiana Kadare tweeted thanks to all
countries that "entrusted us with this huge responsibility." UAE Foreign
Minister Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whose country has
only served on the council once before in 1986-1987, pledged to support
multilateralism, international law and the U.N. Charter and contribute to peace
and security "with great diligence and determination."The UAE's U.N. Ambassador
Lana Nusseibeh said the country will also seek to overcome divisions and make
progress on "the most critical challenges of our time -- from building
resilience to climate change to tackling global health crisis and pandemics, to
harnessing the potential of innovation for peace." Brazil's Foreign Ministry
called vote a "recognition of Brazil's historic contribution to international
peace and security" and said the South American nation will work to promote
peaceful settlement of disputes, strengthen the U.N.'s peacekeeping missions,
and safeguard the U.N.'s important role. Before COVID-19, countries running for
Security Council seats often invited ambassadors for lavish visits to their
nations, put on dinners and held receptions with entertainments, and sent senior
government officials around the globe lobbying for votes. But the pandemic has
curtailed all of that since March 2020.
Last year, the election for new council members was held under dramatically
different voting procedures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of having
ambassadors from the 193 U.N. member nations in the General Assembly chamber
together for elections, a new procedure was adopted. A few ambassadors arrived
at the assembly during spaced-out time slots to avoid a large gathering and
ensure social distancing, and deposited ballots in a large box not only for new
Security Council members but for other positions. In recent months, the assembly
has been meeting in person, with just two diplomats allowed from each country.
So on Friday ambassadors were able to deposit their ballots one-by-one in a
large box. The 10 non-permanent seats on the council are allotted to regional
groups, who usually select candidates, but sometimes cannot agree on an
uncontested slate. Even if a country is running unopposed, it must obtain the
votes of two-thirds of the member states that voted in order to win a seat on
the council. In Friday's ballot, Ghana received 185 votes, Gabon 183 votes,
Brazil 181 votes, UAE 179 votes and Albania 175 votes.
Putin Denies Russia Preparing to Give Iran Advanced
Satellite System
Agence France Presse/June 12/2021
President Vladimir Putin on Friday denied a US media report that Russia is set
to deliver an advanced satellite system to Iran that will vastly improve its
spying capabilities. The Washington Post reported Thursday that Moscow is
preparing to give Iran a Kanopus-V satellite with a high-resolution camera,
allowing Islamic republic to monitor facilities of its adversaries across the
Middle East. Putin, who is expected to hear a range of complaints from US
President Joe Biden when they meet Wednesday in Geneva, dismissed the report as
"garbage." "We have cooperation plans with Iran, including the military and
technical cooperation," he told NBC News in an interview ahead of the summit.
"It's just fake news. At the very least, I don't know anything about this kind
of thing, those who are speaking about it probably will maybe know more about
it. It's just nonsense, garbage."Biden, who is on his first foreign tour since
entering the White House, is expected to raise a slew of complaints with Putin
including over election interference and hacking purportedly linked to Russia.
The Washington Post, quoting current and former US and Middle Eastern officials,
said the launch of the satellite could happen within months, and is the result
of multiple trips to Russia by leaders of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards. The
satellite, while not of US capabilities, could allow the monitoring of Israeli
bases and the US troop presence in Iraq, the report said. Iran has a tense
relationship with many nations in the region including Israel, raising fears by
its adversaries it could share imagery with proxies in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.
The satellite could be launched in Russia, although Russian trainers have
assisted ground crews who would operate the satellite near a new site near the
northern Iranian city of Karaj, The Post reported. Details of the sale also come
at a delicate time when world powers are meeting to bring the United States back
to the Iran nuclear deal and Tehran back into compliance with it. The 2015
landmark accord has been hanging by a thread since the United States left it in
2018 and reimposed sanctions, leading to Tehran to step up nuclear activities
long curtailed by the deal.
G7 Leaders Outline Pandemic Pact, Eye Foreign Policy
Threats
Agence France Presse/June 12/2021
G7 leaders are set to agree a declaration Saturday aimed at preventing another
pandemic, and try to showcase Western democratic cohesion on China and Russia,
at their first in-person summit in almost two years. The group of leading
economies -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United
States -- will be largely consumed by the global health crisis at their
gathering at a beachside venue in Cornwall, southwest England. But as the agenda
broadens to foreign policy issues, they will also be joined by the leaders of
Australia, South Africa and South Korea, with India taking part remotely.
The big powers' first face-to-face meeting since 2019 -- after the pandemic led
to the cancellation of last year's summit -- will aim for a more unified stance
towards an increasingly assertive Beijing and recalcitrant Moscow. The leaders
opened the three-day meeting Friday with expectations of a pledge to donate one
billion vaccine doses to poor countries this year and next, which campaigners
said was much too slow to end the crisis immediately. US President Joe Biden
arrived with a message of solidarity and resolve in stark contrast to the
isolationist stance of his predecessor Donald Trump.
After an opening session on "building back better" from Covid-19, the leaders
spent the evening at a reception hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Cornwall's Eden
Project, a renowned attraction showcasing the world's ecological riches. The G7
will on Sunday discuss tackling climate change and safeguarding global
biodiversity, laying the groundwork for the UN's pivotal COP26 environmental
summit in Scotland in November.
'Alternative vision'
On Saturday's foreign policy agenda, this year's coup in Myanmar and crackdown
on pro-democracy supporters in Belarus are expected to figure, alongside
tensions with Russia and China. Biden is expected to press allies to bolster
cooperation in dealing with Beijing in various areas, from offering an
alternative to its trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure initiative to
confronting its alleged forced labour practices. "This is not just about
confronting or taking on China," a senior White House official said. "This is
about providing an affirmative, positive alternative vision for the world."
He added Biden would be urging "concrete action" on the forced labour
accusations, calling them "an affront to human dignity, and an egregious example
of China's unfair economic competition". The US president will also seek to
address frayed relations with Moscow, in particular over its cyber activity.
"There's uniform recognition that ransomware and the abuse of virtual currencies
is an urgent threat and escalating threat," the US official said, noting the
issue would feature prominently in every key meeting during Biden's eight-day
overseas tour. Most of the leaders will reconvene Monday in Brussels for a NATO
meeting, before Biden heads on to his first summit with President Vladimir Putin
in Geneva, vowing to deliver a blunt message about Russian behaviour. "I'll tell
you (about it) after I've delivered it," Biden told reporters Friday. In a rare
interview with US media, Putin voiced hope Friday that Biden will be less
impulsive than Trump, who faced criticism for being too soft on the Russian
leader. "It is my great hope that, yes, there are some advantages, some
disadvantages, but there will not be any impulse-based movements on behalf of
the sitting US president," Putin told NBC News.
Pandemic radar
The G7 is expected to finalise the "Carbis Bay Declaration" comprising a series
of commitments to prevent a repeat of the devastation wreaked by Covid-19. "For
the first time today the world's leading democracies have come together to make
sure that never again will we be caught unawares," British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson said in remarks released ahead of the summit's second day. "That means
learning lessons from the last 18 months and doing it differently next time
around." The declaration will be published Sunday alongside the G7's final
communique, following a beachside barbecue on Saturday night. The collective
steps include slashing the time taken to develop and license vaccines,
treatments and diagnostics for any future disease to under 100 days, while
reinforcing global surveillance networks. The leaders will vow to boost genomic
sequencing capacity, and support reforms to strengthen the World Health
Organization, according to Johnson's government, which like the US wants China
to allow new access to WHO experts to determine how Covid-19 first emerged. WHO
chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, criticised in some quarters for being too
accommodating of China, welcomed the health pact.
And he said the UN agency would examine a British proposal to create a "Global
Pandemic Radar" to send early warnings of future outbreaks. "The world needs a
stronger global surveillance system to detect new epidemic and pandemic risks,"
Tedros said. However, Oxfam said the declaration "does nothing to address the
fundamental problems that are preventing vaccines being accessible to the vast
majority of humanity". "It's welcome that G7 leaders are planning measures to
end future pandemics faster, but the lack of urgent action to end the current
crisis is unforgiveable," its health policy manager Anna Marriott said.
Polls Open in First Algeria Parliamentary Poll since 2019
Uprising
Agence France Presse/June 12/2021
Polling stations opened Saturday in Algeria's first parliamentary election since
a popular uprising forced longtime autocratic president Abdelaziz Bouteflika
from office in 2019. The authorities are seeking to bolster their legitimacy and
snuff out the Hirak pro-democracy protest movement that mobilised hundreds of
thousands of people to stop the ailing Bouteflika's bid for a fifth term.
Canada condemns arrest of political candidates and civil society leaders in
Nicaragua
June 11, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the
following statement:
“Canada joins the Organization of American States, the United Nations,
international human rights bodies and members of the international community in
condemning the arbitrary arrest of political candidates in Nicaragua. The
Government of Nicaragua has failed to implement meaningful electoral reforms
that are desperately needed and is now further eroding the democratic process
with these arbitrary detentions.
“We stand with the Nicaraguan people in their aspirations for a more just and
democratic future, which includes a fundamental respect for human rights, media
freedom, and the opportunity to make their own democratic choices in free, fair
and transparent elections.
“The Government of Nicaragua needs to guarantee the human rights and fundamental
freedoms of all its people in accordance with international law and its own
constitution. International human rights bodies must be allowed to return
immediately to the country to monitor the situation and ensure the government is
fulfilling these crucial responsibilities.
“Canada calls for the immediate release of the arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned
or detained political candidates, as well as the release of all political
prisoners, and an end to the arrest and harassment of the independent media and
civil society actors. We remain in close contact with our international
partners.
“Canadians in Nicaragua should regularly check our Travel Advice and Advisories
page, monitor local news reports and follow the advice of local authorities.
“At any time, Canadians requiring emergency consular assistance can contact the
Embassy of Canada to Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua in San José, Costa Rica
at 506 2242-4400 or Global Affairs Canada’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response
Centre in Ottawa by calling 1 613 996 8885 collect or by sending an email
message to sos@international.gc.ca.”
Bashir’s supporters ride the wave of protests to
destabilise Sudanese government
The Arab Weekly/June 12/2021
KHARTOUM – Forces affiliated with the dissolved National Congress Party are
seeking to exploit popular anger over the lifting of fuel subsidies as citizens
have taken to the streets during the last few days in rallies against the
decision to hike prices. The Islamist movement called for street protests to
overthrow the transitional government and to hold it accountable for what it
described as “making living conditions more difficult through harsh and brutal
economic policies.” Barricades have emerged across main streets in Khartoum and
other Sudanese cities to prevent the organisation of mass demonstrations led by
many political forces that reject the government’s decision to lift fuel
subsidies that came into effect on Thursday. The economic situation now seems
much more difficult than it was under the previous regime. Greater political and
security tolerance also makes possible the organisation of mass protests that
could push the government to reverse the fuel price hike or even force it to
resign. In both cases, the exacerbation of tensions would serve the interests of
counter-revolutionary forces, including Bashir’s Islamlist remnants. The leader
of the Forces for Freedom and Change, Munther Abu Al-Maali, downplayed the
possibility of Bashir’s supporters exploiting the street protests against the
government’s economic policies. He argued that experience of the the past two
years shows that street protests are fuelled by revolutionary goals and not by
the remnants of the old regime who have been removed from the structure of the
protest movement to which it is difficult for them to return. Abu al-Maali told
The Arab Weekly that the demands of the demonstrators before the end of Bashir’s
rule were focused on the fall of the regime in the hope of achieving freedom,
dignity and social justice. Demands have now changed and focus on completing the
revolutionary process even if it means the dismissal of the government and the
appointment of another cabinet.
The economic conditions in Sudan have deteriorated in the recent past. This has
led to great hardship for a large part of the population and political forces
believe that taking to the street is the only way to stop what they describe as
“economic absurdities.”
This week, as part of economic reforms and measures with which the government is
trying to correct the country’s economic imbalances, the ministry of energy and
oil announced a complete liberalisation of the prices of all types of fuel sold
in the local market, which meant a spike of about 100 percent in prices.
Sudanese experts expect inflation rates to reach an unprecedented level as they
increased 363% until last April.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Jibril Ibrahim, explained that
the government has stopped interfering with gas and petrol subsidies. “The
government has no choice but to reform the economy” he said , “and if it falls,
another government will come after it, which has no choice but to proceed with
the same reforms.”Economist Sidqi Kablu said the transitional authority had not
“immunised” the poor classes against political exploitation by the remnants of
Bashir’s rule, especially since the aid programme intended to help poor families
is not reaching its supposed beneficiaries, as the government itself admits.
In a statement to The Arab Weekly, Kablo explained that the effects of the
decision to lift fuel subsidies disproportionately affects urban residents
through the doubling of public transportation fares within cities. Moreover,
urban populations have the ability to politically influence government
decisions.
Kablo, who is one of the prominent leaders of the Communist Party, stressed that
the government is in a tough spot because the demands of the street are
escalating and evolving. After focusing in the past on issues of justice and
retribution, protesters are increasingly calling for the dismissal of the
government, which, said Kablo, now has to look for other options than
“mortgaging the fate of Sudan to Western powers that control economic policies”.
He added that what leads to the rise in anger against the government is that it
has neglected to develop a plan to upgrade national projects and increase
sources of national wealth, while it quickly fulfilled the demands of
international economic institutions. The government’s decision to liberalise
fuel prices has unified disparate political forces all calling for its reversal.
Meanwhile the political backers of the government have failed to defend the
decision because there is disagreement on the government’s economic policies
among the majority of the forces that belong to the Freedom and Change Alliance.
Observers believe that fulfilling the demands of the political forces will not
be easy, as the government is bound by its pledges to international institutions
that provide support to the transitional authority in exchange for implementing
the agreed upon reforms, But analysts see any neglect of street pressure and the
growth of momentum of revolutionary forces would serve the interest of Bashir’s
supporters, who are likely to intensify their actions in order to provoke the
police forces into dealing harshly with protesters thus causing bloodshed and
creating a violent and unstable situation that complicates the political task
for the transitional authority.
Suspected cases of police abuse spark outrage, protests
in Tunisia
The Arab Weekly/June 12/2021
TUNIS--A video of what seems to be officers in civilian clothes beating a naked
minor has sparked outrage in Tunisia and sow-balled into a major political
crisis, a few days after a man died in suspicious circumstances after having
been in police custody.
Authorities launched investigations Thursday into both incidents which took
place in the working-class Tunis district of Sijoumi – Sidi Hassine. The
district have been rocked by angry protests since Tuesday, when the man died
after being arrested by police on suspicion of dealing drugs, according to local
media. His family claimed his body showed traces of severe beating by the
police. The unrest has not subsided as Tunisian police fired tear gas on Friday
night to disperse protesters in the capital’s neighbourhoods where the first
incidents occurred. Late on Friday, protesters blocked roads, burned tires and
threw stones at police, and officers responded with tear gas and chased
demonstrators. The Association of Young Tunisian Lawyers said in a statement
that police had detained and handcuffed the man then beaten him, “leading
directly to his death.”Interior ministry spokesman Khaled Hayouni denied the
allegations. He said the man had escaped when a group of young people attacked
security forces, but had later died in hospital. This incident comes a few
months after the death of a young man with diabetes, Abdeslam El-Zayani, in a
detention centre last March in Sfax, after he was refused insulin doses. The
police were accused of neglect in what happened.
Shocking images
On Thursday, a video went viral on social media showing a minor being beaten
after being stripped from his clothes and pinned down on a sidewalk. Images
showed him being escorted later by what appears to be policemen in civilian
clothes and shoved into a van. The incident took place on Wednesday following
clashes between police and mourners who had attended the funeral of the man who
had died the previous day. The interior ministry initially said the minor was
drunk and had taken off his clothes to provoke the police who arrested him for
“violating decency.” It had to retract later after the video of the incident
went viral showing a policeman stripping a young man of his pants before beating
him violently. It said a probe is underway and the suspects have been suspended
pending the probe. The prime minister said the matter is now under judicial
investigation. In his first statements to the media since his release late
Thursday, the victim denied he was drunk or under the influence of any
substances, revealing that he is 15 years old. I was not even involved in the
protests,” the minor said, stressing that he was trying to avoid gatherings and
running from tear gas. “When they took me to the police station, they kept on
beating me,” he said, questioning the reasons for his arrest and the excessive
violence of the security forces. The ministry said Friday it had opened an
inquiry into possible “abuses” and would “take the necessary measures based on
the findings.”
Massive outcry
Ten years since the 2011 uprising which toppled the Ben Ali regime, Tunisia’s
security forces have yet to show signs of meaningful systemic reform. The
socioeconomic roots of violence and despair have yet to be addressed. On Friday,
a number of Tunisian rights groups and social organisations held the prime
minister responsible for the abuses by the security establishment. “What
happened in Jayara and Sidi Hassine-Sijoumi are not isolated incidents, but
rather a continuation of the practices that prevailed after the revolution, with
a remarkable rise in police violence over the last two years. These practices
were depicted in the response of the security forces to social movements between
December 2020 and January 2021”, a statement said. “We hold the prime minister
and the acting minister of interior responsible for the abuses committed by the
security establishment,” the statement added.
The statement was signed by 43 civil society groups and social organisations,
including the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, the Tunisian General
Labour Union, the Tunisian League of Human Rights and the Tunisian Association
of Democratic Women.
Tunisia’s independent High Human Rights Commission said Thursday that incidents
such as those in Sidi Hassine risked undermining “confidence in the state and
its institutions.”Parliament also released a statement urging authorities to
provide the minor with “physical and legal protection” and to carry out a
serious investigation into the “heinous” incident. The World Organisation
Against Torture warned in a statement that “the investigation should be all the
more prompt given that the video makes it possible to identify the aggressors
and to affirm that it is indeed mistreatment without any justification.”
Some parliamentary blocs were seen jockeying to submit a motion of
non-confidence against Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi who also serves as acting
minister of the interior. But Mechichi enjoys a solid majority in parliament and
has the support of legislative blocs led by Islamist Ennahda party.
Emergency powers
Tunisian President Kais Saied, received Friday at the Carthage Palace in Tunis,
Prime Minister and acting Interior Minister Hichem Mechichi as well as acting
Justice Minister Hassna ben Slimane. At a separate session he later received
Tunisian trade unions leader Noureddine Tabboubi. During his meeting with the
prime minister and acting minister of justice, the president expressed his “deep
unhappiness and strong condemnation” of the “latest developments” in Tunisia,
including the incidents involving the police. But he alarmed by the more general
situation in the country which he described as “facing grave danger” of
“dislocation”. His words were interpreted as hinting at his possible use of
emergency powers granted to him by the constitutions. Article 80 of the
constitutions allows the president to rule by decree for a month without
dissolving the parliament.
Saied, who mentioned a number of incidents this week involving alleged police
abuses and also an MPs sit-in during a court session investigating corruption
and a siege of a private radio station by disgruntled municipal workers,
stressed that “no one is above the law and that there is no room for any
discrimination based on social class or political alliances.”Saied called on the
acting minister of justice to “play the role entrusted to her by the law in
raising public lawsuits,” and stressed “the need to send requests to lift MPs
immunity to parliament” so that everyone bears responsibility for any mistakes.
Immunity, the president said, is provided by law to ensure independence in
carrying out the tasks one performs and not to abuse power. Saied also expressed
his anger with the violations that threaten the unity of the state, noting that
“the constitution has given him the duty to preserve the state.”“There is no
room to exploit any state position to monopolise power or exert pressure with
the aim of undermining the country’s unity,” the president said. Saied visited
the Sijoumi district Friday. He met with police officials and talked to
inhabitants there.
The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on June
12-13/2021
To Biden Administration: Record of Iran's Top "Moderate" Mullah
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/June 12/2021
During Rouhani's tenure, thousands of people were executed, including women and
children. In its 2019 global review of the death penalty, Amnesty International
stated: "Iran retained its place as the world's second-most prolific executioner
after China."
In total, according to official estimates of the Iranian regime, more than 4,000
people were executed in Rouahni's two-term presidency: an average of 10
executions a week for eight years.
Rouhani's two terms as President taught many Iranians that the idea of moderates
in the Iranian regime is laughable and a myth. Many chants became popular in
Iran for the first time, such as "Reformist, hardliner, the game is now over",
"Death to Rouhani," "Shame on you Khamenei, step down from power," and "Death to
the Islamic Republic."
The Biden administration must not lift sanctions against the Iranian regime and
should immediately halt all negotiations with Rouhani's administration. It has
presided over unspeakable human rights violations; record-setting executions of
men, women and children; suppression of Christians and other minorities, and a
brutal crackdown on its population. If a country does not treat its own people
well, why would it treat its neighbors any better?
During Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's tenure, thousands of people were
executed, including women and children. Pictured: Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has long been labeled in the West a "moderate"
or "diplomatic sheikh" who will change the Iranian regime for the better. The
Obama administration reached a deal with the Rouhani's administration and lifted
sanctions against the Iranian regime; and now the Biden administration is
forging ahead to revive former President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with
Rouhani before he leaves office.
Here, for perusal, are the eight-years of records of the so-called moderate
President of Iran.
In his first term of presidency, beginning in 2015, Rouhani sealed the nuclear
deal -- which, incidentally, Iran never signed -- with the Obama administration.
As a result of the deal, both the United Nations' four rounds of sanctions and
US sanctions against the Iran's regime were swiftly lifted and the ruling
mullahs joined the global financial system. Billions of dollars flew into the
regime's treasury.
The beneficiaries of having sanctions lifted were not, however, the ordinary
people of Iran. Instead, the regime's officials, those connected to them, the
Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC), its elite branch called the Quds Force, and Iran's militia and terror
groups across the Middle East profited from the Obama nuclear deal.
Under Rouhani's rule, in fact, the ordinary people's living standards in Iran
kept deteriorating. The country's rising inflation reached a level witnessed in
Iran only during World War I. Last month, an Iranian official, Ehsan Khandouzi,
acknowledged on his Twitter account:
"Recently, the 75-year-old record of inflation was broken in Iran; If [sic] this
is not happening then, the Central Bank should publish the February report. Iran
only has seen inflation over 50 percent in the years of occupation (World War
I)."
When it came to Rouhani's promises of providing greater political freedom and
improving human rights, Iran's crackdown on free speech and its levels of
oppression continued to rise under his watch. During the widespread protests of
2017 and 2019, the regime brutally suppressed the desperate levels of political
unrest.
Rouhani's administration allowed one of the bloodiest crackdowns on protesters:
more than 1,500 individuals were killed, many were arrested and tortured, and
some high profile figures such as the champion wrestler Navid Afkari and
dissident journalist Rouhollah Zam were mercilessly executed.
Under Rouhani's watch, systematic persecution of religious and ethnic
minorities, including the Kurds, Sunnis and Christians also escalated .
During Rouhani's tenure, thousands of people were executed, including women and
children. In its 2019 global review of the death penalty, Amnesty International
stated: "Iran retained its place as the world's second-most prolific executioner
after China." The Human Rights Watch "World Report 2021" stated that the Tehran
regime is still one of the leading executioners in the world. In total,
according to official estimates of the Iranian regime, more than 4,000 people
were executed in Rouahni's two-term presidency: an average of 10 executions a
week for eight years. To execute political prisoners, the regime's judiciary
accuses defendants of vaguely defined charges labeled as "national security
crimes," which include "moharebeh" (enmity against God), "ifsad fil arz" (sowing
corruption on Earth), and "baghi" (armed rebellion).
Under Rouhani's rule, Iran's Sharia courts system denied defendants access to
legal counsel and a fair trial. Lack of due process, forced confessions and
physical or psychological torture were prominent. As the Human Rights Watch
report noted:
"Iranian courts, and particularly revolutionary courts, regularly fall far short
of providing fair trials and use confessions likely obtained under torture as
evidence in court. Authorities have failed to meaningfully investigate numerous
allegations of torture against detainees. Authorities routinely restrict
detainees' access to legal counsel, particularly during the initial
investigation period."
Rouhani's two terms as President taught many Iranians that the idea of moderates
in the Iranian regime is laughable and a myth. Many chants became popular in
Iran for the first time, such as "Reformist, hardliner, the game is now over",
"Death to Rouhani," "Shame on you Khamenei, step down from power," and "Death to
the Islamic Republic."
The so-called moderate President of Iran, Rouhani is only loyal to Khamenei, not
to the people of Iran. Rouhani famously said, following the establishment of the
Islamic Republic:
"If the revolution remains within the country it will be destroyed... We must
export our revolution to Iraq, to Kuwait, to Afghanistan and to all Muslim
countries and to all the oppressed countries."
The Biden administration must not lift sanctions against the Iranian regime and
should immediately halt all negotiations with Rouhani administration. It has
presided over unspeakable human rights violations; record-setting executions of
men, women and children; suppression of Christians and other minorities, and a
brutal crackdown on its population. If a country does not treat its own people
well, why would it treat its neighbors any better?
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated
scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and
president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has
authored several books on Islam and US foreign policy. He can be reached at
Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2021 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.
The G7 global minimum tax rate plan is fair and may work
Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/June 12/2021
The leaders of the world’s richest industrialized nations are holding their
first face-to-face G7 summit in well over a year. The enthusiasm is great as
multilateralism seems to be back on the agenda. Heads of government are eager to
explore how to rebuild the global economy in a world ravaged by the COVID-19
pandemic. Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, spoke in his opening statement
of “building back better, building back greener, building back fairer.”
G7 finance ministers sang from the same hymn sheet when they met last weekend.
What could be a bigger testament to multilateralism and fairness than a global
agreement on corporate taxation, which becomes doubly important as governments
have to pay back trillions of dollars of debt amassed during the pandemic? The
finance ministers’ proposal envisages a global minimum tax rate of at least 15
percent on large international corporations. Countries would be allowed to levy
a tax of at least 20 percent on corporate revenues exceeding a 10 percent margin
obtained in their jurisdictions. This puts an end to a transatlantic spat over
taxing tech giants where they earn their money, rather than allowing them to pay
minimal taxes in “friendly places” where they are headquartered and which
provide them with lucrative tax rates and other incentives. Should GCC states be
afraid of the G7 global corporate tax plan? Frank Kane explores the
ramifications for countries in the Middle East here.
The agreement is a reaction to what US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen
and several of her European peers have called a race to the bottom in corporate
tax rates. The average corporate tax rate was 40 percent in 1980 on a global
basis. Since then, it has steadily decreased to around 20 percent. The Biden
administration takes a very different line from the previous one, something that
will be put into sharp focus and may be an obstacle when the proposal needs to
pass a deeply divided Congress to be enacted into law. The likes of Bern and
Dublin stand to lose most because their corporate tax rates are below 15
percent, and their business model is built on offering both tax and other
incentives to international corporations. The G20 is another hurdle for the
proposed scheme, which will be discussed in Venice when G20 finance ministers
meet in July. Both politicians and experts have criticized the tax proposal for
not being bold enough. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that he
believed the proposal was the starting point, not the endpoint — a statement
that will do little to endear him to those who find the proposal too
far-reaching.
Another criticism levelled is that the proposal addresses only about 100 of the
world’s largest companies. The 10 percent margin requirement snags most of the
big tech champions and other multinationals. However, large parts of the
businesses of Facebook and Amazon have both an operating and a net income margin
well below 10 percent. Amazon’s web services have a 30 percent margin, while the
international e-commerce margin stands at 0.7 percent.
Whenever there are new laws, there will be winners and losers. The likes of Bern
and Dublin stand to lose most because their corporate tax rates are below 15
percent, and their “business model” is built on offering both tax and other
incentives to international corporations when they choose to locate their
regional headquarters in Switzerland or Ireland. If the G7 is serious about
rebuilding the global economy more equitably, then their finance ministers’
proposal is a step in the right direction since it demonstrates a willingness
among the world’s richest nations to cooperate and walk the talk.
Is the proposal perfect? Far from it, but we must not let the perfect become the
enemy of the good.
* Cornelia Meyer is a Ph.D.-level economist with 30 years of experience in
investment banking and industry. She is chairperson and CEO of business
consultancy Meyer Resources. Twitter: @MeyerResources
Why Biden will not return from Russia summit with love
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/June 12/2021
Geneva is home to the European seat of the UN and the international headquarters
of the Red Cross, yet its unofficial status as the world’s “peace capital” may
not be borne out by Joe Biden’s big summit with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
Addressing US troops in the UK last week, it is noteworthy that the biggest line
of applause Biden got was when he warned that he will tell Putin “what he wants
him to know” in their meeting. While the US president was playing to his
military audience, he has repeatedly warned of “robust and meaningful”
consequences for Russia if it continues to engage in “harmful” activities.
Hot-off-the-heels of the NATO summit on Monday Biden will use the session with
Putin, who he has long had a chilly relationship with, to cover a full range of
pressing issues including arms control, climate change, Moscow’s military
involvement in Ukraine, and the jailing of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. US
concerns about Russia’s behavior grows by the month, at the moment, with
organizations linked to Navalny outlawed by a Moscow court on Wednesday for
being “extremist”.
This builds from US concern with Russia’s recent military escalation at the
Ukraine border. Former deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak has warned that Moscow
could intervene to help its citizens in eastern Ukraine as tensions rise in the
region which has been a flashpoint since Russian-sympathizing separatists seized
swathes of territory there in 2014. Biden is also still seething from recent
major foreign cyber-hacks by Russia. A key US intelligence report released in
January highlighted that up to 10 US government bodies, such as the US Treasury,
had their data potentially severely compromised. Organizations outside of
government were also affected, with work still ongoing to understand the scope
of the incident.
The outlook for Washington’s relations with Moscow therefore appears bleak in
the immediate term, and both sides are playing down expectations. Russia was one
of the last major countries to acknowledge Biden’s election victory last year,
and Putin has no great hopes for an improved relationship. In April, the Russian
president accused Western powers of trying to “pick on” Moscow and warned them
not to cross any “red lines.”
For as long as Moscow’s relationship with Beijing remains so close, there are
key geopolitical constraints on the scope of any future rapprochement given the
post-pandemic chill in China-US ties.
So the best that appears possible for the foreseeable future is both sides
aiming for, in the US president’s words, a more “stable and predictable
relationship.” Yet, Biden has not ruled out completely a more constructive
relationship in the medium term and stressed that he is not “looking for
conflict.” He was, after all, one of the architects of the attempted US re-set
of relations with Moscow in the Obama era when key achievements included the
US-Russia civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, and Washington is interested
in a longer-term extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction agreement.
There may be some common agendas here, but also some real challenges to
cooperation. And if the going gets tough, Putin (68 years old compared to
Biden’s 78) may already be thinking ahead to the next US president, or even two,
hoping for another maverick Donald Trump-type figure more congenial to his
interests. This, despite the fact that the four years of Trump’s administration
were a deep disappointment for Moscow, after the initial hints of a
rapprochement and calls to “fully restore” ties. This agenda was stalled by the
accusations of the Trump team’s collusion with Russia, a charge not completely
refuted by the Mueller report. However, a much wider range of issues clouded the
bilateral agenda too. This included disagreements on issues from Iran to Syria
and arms control deals, including the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces
Treaty which the Trump team began withdrawing from in response to alleged
Russian violations. Tensions between the two sides became particularly strained
over Syria. Trump’s former secretary of state Rex Tillerson said in 2017 that
“either Russia has been complicit or simply incompetent” referring to Moscow’s
apparent inability to prevent the Assad regime from using chemical weapons,
despite a 2013 agreement, under which Russia was a guarantor, to remove these
stockpiles from the country. The depths to which relations sank was underlined
by then-prime minister Dmitry Medvedev who said that bilateral relations were
“one step away from war” and “totally ruined” after Trump ordered US bombing in
Syria. Going forward, one of the key uncertainties over US-Russia relations that
Biden wants to probe is the degree to which Moscow’s much warmer ties with
Beijing are now set in stone under Putin and Xi Jinping. Perhaps the most cited
area of their closer collaboration is on the political and security front.
However, there is also an extensive economic dialogue which has grown since
Moscow’s annexation of Crimea.
This underlines again the limits to which any warming of US-Russia ties might
occur during Biden’s presidency. For as long as Moscow’s relationship with
Beijing remains so close, there are key geopolitical constraints on the scope of
any future rapprochement given the post-pandemic chill in China-US ties.
*Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics