Detailed
Lebanese & Lebanese Related LCCC English New Bulletin For November 09/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias
Bejjani
To Read The Detailed English
News Bulletin For November 08/2018 Click on the Link below
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News Bulletin Achieves Since
2006/Click on
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Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006
Bible
Quotations
We
renounce shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practise cunning or to
falsify God’s word
Second Letter to the Corinthians 04/01-06: "Therefore, since it is by God’s
mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have
renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practise cunning
or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend
ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even if our
gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the
God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them
from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image
of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord
and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said,
‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
نشرات اخبار عربية وانكليزية مطولة ومفصلة يومية على موقعنا الألكتروني على
الرابط التالي
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/
Daily Lebanese/Arabic - English news bulletins on our LCCC web site.Click on
the link below
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/
Titles For The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on November 08-09/18
Lebanon’s government and Iran’s sanctionsRadwan al-Sayed/Al Arabiya/November
08/18
US urges Russia to allow resumed Israeli air strikes in Syria/DebkaFile/November
08/18
Will Houthis Respond to the US Call/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/November
08/18
China Infiltrates American Campuses/Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone
Institute/November 08/18
How Extremist Scholars Promote Terrorism, Violence/A. Z. Mohamed/Gatestone
Institute/November 08/18
Iran’s sanctions and Saudi Arabia’s future/Abdullah bin Bijad Al-Otaibi/Al
Arabiya/November 08/18
CASA project and energy dynamics across Central, South Asia/Sabena Siddiqui/Al
Arabiya/November 08/18
Nation building through state building/Shehab Al-Makahleh/Al Arabiya/November
08/18
Europe-Iran relations complicated by alleged assassination attempts/Kerry
Boyd Anderson/Arab News/November 08/18
Mullahs’ policies exacerbating Iran’s financial crisis/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab
News/November 08/18
Titles For The Latest
LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
November 08-09/18
Hezbollah-Backed Jamal Suleiman Leaves Lebanon to Syria
Lebanon’s Speaker: No Breakthrough in Cabinet Formation
Hezbollah not cooperating in government dispute
Mashnouq: Hariri Won’t Withdraw, Sunni MPs Made the Wrong Approach
Hawat: Electricity Disaster Result of Your Failures
Houri Says Hizbullah 'Confining' Govt. Formation
Loyalty to Resistance: Key Forces Must Cooperate to Represent Independent
Sunnis
Hezbollah: No Compromise on Sunni MPs’ Representation
Lebanon Ready to Assist in Return of 200,000 Syrian Refugees Before Year’s
End
Khoury Gets Berri’s Support in Measures against Generator Owners
Taymour Jumblat Meets Bogdanov in Moscow
No information of Syrian refugees killed upon return: Aoun
Maronite Patriarch, Gemayel Confer over Christians Role
Judge Postpones Session to Examine Kataeb Lawsuit in Waste Landfill Case
Lebanon’s government and Iran’s sanctions
Titles For The Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on November 08-09/18
Pakistan blasphemy case: Asia Bibi freed from jail
Gunman opens fire at bar in California leaves 12 dead
Iraq Gets U.S. Sanctions Break to Keep the Lights On
Syria Army Frees Druze Hostages from IS
Kurds near Turkey Border Dread Fresh Offensive
US urges Russia to allow resumed Israeli air strikes in Syria
Bulgaria detains three Iranians with fake Israeli passports
US warns nations not to allow Iranian oil tankers into their territorial
waters
Iranians Enraged by Luxury Life of the Rich, Powerful
US Allows Sanctions Exception for Iran Port Development
Raged by Tel Aviv's Policy, Putin Rejects to Meet Netanyahu
Israeli Forces Detain 11 Palestinians Including PLC Member
PLO: Washington Rejected Oman's Attempt to Pave Way for Peace
ISIS Suffers Heavy Syria Losses
Egypt Sentences 8 Militants to Death over Army Attack
New Egyptian Efforts to Reach Reconciliation Between Palestine, Israel
Egypt's Sisi Warns of Social Media Dangers
China Will Not Sell Passenger Planes to Iran
Sudan Expresses Will to Negotiate with Rebels
58 Combatants Killed in Fighting for Yemen's Hodeida
Houthi Leader Pleads with Deserters to Return
Seoul Says N. Korea Asked to Delay Pompeo Talks
The Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
November 08-09/18
Hezbollah-Backed Jamal
Suleiman Leaves Lebanon to Syria
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November, 2018/Ansarullah
Secretary-General Jamal Suleiman has left the Mieh Mieh Palestinian refugee
camp in southern Lebanon along with 20 family members under a deal brokered
by Hezbollah to end the violent clashes between Ansarullah and Fatah
movement that shook the shantytown last month. The Hezbollah-linked
Ansarullah leader’s reported departure to Syria was part of the solution
intended to restore stability and normal life in the camp, which lies near
the southern city of Sidon, and its outskirts. Extracting Suleiman from the
camp took six hours and was coordinated between Lebanese and Palestinian
officials following a lengthy security meeting at the Zogheib military
barracks, under the supervision of the head of Hezbollah’s Liaison Unit,
Wafiq Safa. At about 1:00 AM Wednesday, a convoy of four-wheel-drive
vehicles headed to Mieh Mieh, accompanied by security officials, and went
directly to Suleiman’s security zone. Suleiman had already planned for his
departure and was accompanied by his four wives and six sons - Hamza, Maher,
Khaled, Hassan, Mohammad and Mustafa - along with ten of his bodyguards.
About 45 minutes later, the convoy left the camp, carrying Suleiman and his
companions outside the camp, then out of Sidon, and heading to the southern
suburbs of Beirut as a first destination. His last destination is Syria,
according to informed sources. Shortly before Suleiman left, about 25
Ansarullah members led by the movement’s military official, Maher Owaid,
took control of his security zone. With Suleiman’s departure, the most
important item in the agreement reached under the supervision of Amal
Movement and Hezbollah to end the clashes in the refugee camp has been
enforced, pending implementation of further clauses. Scores of people have
been killed and injured in the clashes between Ansarullah and Fatah that
erupted mid-October in Mieh Mieh.
Lebanon’s Speaker: No Breakthrough in Cabinet Formation
Beirut - Caroline Akoum/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November, 2018/Lebanon’s
Maronite Bishops on Wednesday called for removing “last-minute obstacles to
the announcement of the new government," while Speaker Nabih Berri said
there was no breakthrough in the lineup. Following their weekly meeting with
Berri, deputies quoted the speaker as saying that no solution has been found
yet to the representation of the March 8 coalition’s Sunni deputies in the
next cabinet, a request made by Hezbollah before handing Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri the names of the party’s proposed ministers.
In this regard, Hezbollah-allied Sunni deputies met Wednesday in Beirut and
held Hariri responsible for the delay in the cabinet formation process.
Hariri traveled to Paris a week ago. Local reports said he would stay in the
French capital until next week to attend the November 11 World War I
commemorations. On Wednesday, Hariri’s Mustaqbal Movement said the
PM-designate had made a final decision not to name any of the independent
Sunni deputies in his new cabinet. Two days ago, a lawmaker claimed that
Berri had informed him that he had not heard from Hariri any rejection to
appoint one of the March 8 alliance’s Sunni MPs in his next cabinet.
However, Mustaqbal swiftly denied the reports. For their part, the Maronite
bishops highlighted the necessity to "liberate" the upcoming cabinet from
internal and external parties. "Let the government be the gift on
Independence Day, which is two weeks away," the Bishops said in a statement
following their meeting in Bkirki. They also deplored the spat on the
distribution of portfolios. Former Mustaqbal deputy Mustafa Alloush told
Asharq Al-Awsat that the bishops’ plea was a sign that the formation process
has become very challenging. Meanwhile, a senior political source close to
Hezbollah told Reuters it was up to President Michel Aoun to resolve the
problem because neither Hezbollah nor Hariri could give ground. “Neither can
Hariri retreat, nor can the (Hezbollah-allied) Sunnis, nor can Hezbollah. If
the president wants a government he has to take the responsibility,” the
source said. With regards to a two-day parliamentary session scheduled for
next Monday, Berri described it as more than necessary, saying the
legislature would continue to assume its responsibilities and that it would
not allow the country to remain paralyzed.
Hezbollah not
cooperating in government dispute
Row over Sunni representation final hurdle to formation of
new government
Gulf News/Agencies/November 08, 2018/Beirut - The Lebanese Shiite Muslim
group Hezbollah will not give way in a dispute over Sunni Muslim
representation in a new unity government, the pro-Hezbollah Al Akhbar
newspaper reported on Wednesday, signalling no quick end to the standoff.
Separately, a senior political source close to Hezbollah told Reuters it was
up to President Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian, to resolve the problem
because neither Hezbollah nor Prime Minister-designate Sa’ad Hariri could
give ground. Six months since a parliamentary election, the row over Sunni
representation is seen as the final hurdle to the formation of a new
government. Posts in the 30-seat cabinet are parcelled out along sectarian
lines. Lebanon is in dire need of a government able to make economic reforms
that are seen as more pressing than ever. The country is wrestling with the
world’s third largest public debt as a proportion of the economy and
stagnant growth. A deal seemed close last week when a dispute over Christian
representation was settled, with the anti-Hezbollah Christian Lebanese
Forces ceding ground to Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement, which is
allied to Hezbollah. But Hezbollah, a powerful armed group backed by Iran,
is pressing its demand for one of its Sunni allies to be given a cabinet
portfolio to reflect gains they made in the May 6 parliamentary election. Al
Akhbar, citing unidentified sources, said Aoun and Hariri must listen to
Hezbollah’s Sunni allies “and agree with them on a way out” of the row.
“Hezbollah will accept whatever the allies find appropriate,” it said.
Hariri, Lebanon’s leading Sunni who is currently on a visit to France, has
ruled out ceding one of his cabinet seats to the Hezbollah-allied Sunnis.
Another possibility would be for Aoun to nominate one of the
Hezbollah-allied Sunnis within a group of ministers allocated to him. But he
appeared to rule this out last week when he criticised the Hezbollah-allied
Sunnis for demanding a ministry, saying their demand was “not proper” or
“justified”. The senior political source close to Hezbollah said the ball
was in Aoun’s court. “Neither can Hariri retreat, nor can the
(Hezbollah-allied) Sunnis, nor can Hezbollah. If the president wants a
government he has to take the responsibility,” the source said.
Mashnouq: Hariri Won’t Withdraw, Sunni MPs Made the
Wrong Approach
Caretaker Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq assured on Thursday that
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri will not withdraw from forming the
country’s government, noting that Sunni MPs have made the wrong approach. On
Hariri’s presence in Paris amid rumors he is on a retreat in the French
capital, Mashnouq brushed off the claims. “It is a matter of days and Hariri
will return back to Beirut to hold contacts with the various political
parties in a bid to find a solution. Calm rhetoric is crucial in order to
form the government, which will be formed according to the national
standards,” said Mashnouq. His remarks came after meeting Grand Mufti of the
republic Abdullatif Daryan in Dar el-Fatwa. On demands of the so-called
independent Sunni MPs of March 8 to be represented in the government,
Mashnouq said they “made the wrong approach.”“They used the wrong door and
approached it through a political party not suitable to name any of them,”
he said, in an indirect reference to Hizbullah. The government was on the
verge of formation on October 29 after the Lebanese Forces accepted the
portfolios that were assigned to it but a last-minute hurdle over the
representation of the aforementioned MPs surfaced. Hizbullah insisted that
the six Sunni MPs should be given a seat in the government, refraining from
providing Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri with the names of its own
ministers in a bid to press him. President Michel Aoun -- a Hizbullah ally
and the FPM founder -- threw his support behind Hariri and rejected the
demand during a TV interview, slamming the “use of delay as a political
tactic” and insisting that the aforementioned MPs are “individuals and not a
bloc.”
Hawat: Electricity Disaster Result of Your Failures
MP Ziad Hawat criticized on Thursday the State’s failure to resolve
Lebanon’s chronic electricity crisis. "The electricity disaster is the fruit
of your epic failure to secure this service for years," Hawat said via
Twitter. "This is the main problem here. Do not throw it only on private
generators owners," he wrote. "Provide electricity as you promised, and then
the need for generators will be no more. The argument of 'generator traders'
will not wipe off the argument of 'politics traders',” he lashed out.
Electricity providers had switched off their generators for two hours on
Tuesday, plunging most Lebanese regions into darkness, to protest perceived
maltreatment at the hands of authorities and security forces. Caretaker
Justice Minister Salim Jreissati issued a stern warning afterwards telling
them that authorities would “confiscate” their generators should they stage
another cut-off protest. Authorities have been trying to implement a decree
obliging providers to install meters for their subscribers amid an uproar
over new tariffs and alleged technical difficulties.
Houri Says Hizbullah 'Confining' Govt. Formation
Naharnet/November 08/18/Al-Mustaqbal Movement former MP Ammar Houri on
Thursday blamed Hizbullah party for the government formation delay, as he
assured that head of the Movement, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s
presence in Paris is only “temporary.”“When Hizbullah sees that the regional
situation suits it, only then will it let the government be formed,” Houri
said in remarks he made to VDL (100.5) radio station. “Hizbullah is holding
the Sunni paper and confining the government formation for regional
cognition,” he added, referring to the representation hurdle of Sunni MPs of
March 8. The MP said that regardless of the reasons, Hizbullah’s main goal
is to delay the formation. “If it was not for the Sunni obstacle, Hizbullah
would have invented a new one just to hamper the formation,” he stated. On
Hariri’s presence in the French capital in light of reports claiming he is
on a retreat, Houri said: “Hariri is not on a retreat in Paris. His presence
there is only temporary.”The government was on the verge of formation on
October 29 after the Lebanese Forces accepted the portfolios that were
assigned to it but a last-minute hurdle over the representation of the
aforementioned MPs surfaced. Hizbullah insisted that the six Sunni MPs
should be given a seat in the government, refraining from providing Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri with the names of its own ministers in a bid
to press him. President Michel Aoun -- a Hizbullah ally and the FPM founder
-- threw his support behind Hariri and rejected the demand during a TV
interview, slamming the “use of delay as a political tactic” and insisting
that the aforementioned MPs are “individuals and not a bloc.”
Loyalty to Resistance: Key Forces Must Cooperate to
Represent Independent Sunnis
Naharnet/November 08/18/Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc on Thursday
called on the country’s “key forces” to “cooperate” to represent the
so-called “independent Sunnis” in the new , government, warning that the
marginalization of any component is not in the country’s interest. “The
formation of the government is very important in order to delineate the safe
tracks that Lebanon must be put on so that it preserves its security and
addresses its domestic problems,” said the bloc in a statement issued after
its weekly meeting. “A government bringing together most political
components is the right and needed framework for confronting the
challenges,” Loyalty to Resistance added, noting that “the elimination of
any political component and the rejection of its participation in the
government do not serve the national interest or the government’s proper
functioning.”Referring to the controversy over the issue of representing
pro-Hizbullah Sunni MPs in the cabinet, the bloc said “representing the
independent Sunnis is a responsibility that falls mainly on the
PM-designate,” calling on the “key forces” to “cooperate to achieve this
thing.”The government was on the verge of formation on October 29 after the
Lebanese Forces accepted the portfolios that were assigned to it but a
last-minute hurdle over the representation of the aforementioned MPs
surfaced. Hizbullah insisted that the six Sunni MPs should be given a seat
in the government, refraining from providing Prime Minister-designate Saad
Hariri with the names of its own ministers in a bid to press him. President
Michel Aoun -- a Hizbullah ally and the FPM founder -- threw his support
behind Hariri and rejected the demand during a TV interview, slamming the
“use of delay as a political tactic” and insisting that the aforementioned
MPs are “individuals and not a bloc.”
Hezbollah: No Compromise on Sunni MPs’ Representation
The Daily Star/ Thursday 08th November 2018/Despite growing criticism of its
role in the Cabinet formation process, Hezbollah does not appear to be
willing to compromise over its support for a demand by independent Sunni
lawmakers for representation, the last remaining hurdle to the formation,
senior party officials said Wednesday. “From the very beginning, we have
supported the independent Sunni MPs in their demand to be represented in the
new government. These MPs have a weighty representation and have the right
to be represented in the government under the criterion used in the
formation of a national unity Cabinet,” caretaker Youth and Sports Minister
Mohammad Fneish, one two Hezbollah ministers in the outgoing Cabinet, told
The Daily Star. “We support these MPs’ right to be represented in the new
Cabinet,” he said. Asked how the problem of the six so-called “independent”
Sunni MPs not affiliated with the Future Movement would eventually be
resolved in order to clear the way for the Cabinet formation, which has been
deadlocked for nearly six months, Fneish said: “The solution to this problem
lies with the prime minister-designate in understanding with the president.”
Lebanon Ready to Assist in Return of 200,000 Syrian Refugees Before Year’s
End
TASS/Thursday 08th November 2018,/Lebanese authorities are ready to assist
in the return of about 200,000 Syrian refugees to their native country
before the end of the year, Head of the Russian National Defense Management
Center Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev said at the Wednesday meeting of
the Russian and Syrian coordination centers for the return of refugees.
"Lebanon and Jordan have been actively assisting in the return of Syrian
refugees to their homes. Lebanese authorities have expressed readiness to
ensure the return of about 200,000 refugees before the end of the year,"
Mizintsev said.According to the general, these plans imply only voluntary
return of refugees based on the fundamental principles of the United
Nations.
Khoury Gets Berri’s Support in Measures against
Generator Owners
Naharnet/November 08/18/Caretaker Economy Minister Raed Khoury on Thursday
announced that he has the support of Speaker Nabih Berri regarding the
ministry’s decision to regulate the private power providers sector. “The
Speaker supports us in using all the available legal measures to impose the
state’s authority and he is ready for any help,” said Khoury after talks
with Berri in Ain el-Tineh. “We’re not concerned with the escalation of
generator owners, we’re only concerned with implementing the laws and we
will act accordingly,” the minister added.
He also revealed that “850 fines have been issued over the past month and
have been referred to the judiciary.”Caretaker Justice Minister Salim
Jreissati had on Wednesday issued a stern warning to neighborhood power
generator providers, telling them that authorities would “confiscate” their
generators should they stage another cut-off protest. Providers had switched
off their generators for two hours on Tuesday, plunging most Lebanese
regions into darkness, to protest perceived maltreatment at the hands of
authorities and security forces. Authorities have been trying to implement a
decree obliging providers to install meters for their subscribers amid an
uproar over new tariffs and alleged technical difficulties.
Taymour Jumblat Meets Bogdanov in Moscow
Naharnet/November 08/18/The head of the Democratic Gathering
MP Taymour Jumblat held talks Wednesday in Moscow with Russia’s Deputy
Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. A statement issued by the Progressive
Socialist Party said the meeting was attended by the Russian official in
charge of the Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian files, Andrey Panov, MP Wael
Abu Faour and Dr. Halim Bou Fakhreddine. The terse statement said talks
“tackled the latest developments.”Jumblat had visited Moscow in August to
discuss the situations of the Druze community in Syria's Jabal al-Arab
region in the wake of a bloody Islamic State assault on the region. The
young MP said at the time that he discussed means to “protect” the Druze of
Syria in his talks with the Russian officials.
No information of Syrian refugees killed upon return:
Aoun
The Daily Star/November 08, 2018/BEIRUT: President Michel
Aoun said Thursday that there is no information indicating that Syrian
refugees who returned to their homeland have been subject to persecution,
hours after a group of refugees left Lebanon.
“President Aoun confirmed that there was no information on the persecution
of Syrian refugees returning to their country,” a tweet from the
presidency’s Twitter read. Aoun was also quoted as saying that “the
international community's assistance to Syrian refugees after they return to
their country encourages them to return.” The president’s remarks appeared
to refer to last week’s claims by caretaker Minister of State for Refugee
Affairs Mouin Merehbi that regime forces had killed around 20 Syrian
refugees who returned from Lebanon. “The information received ... also shows
they were killed by a senior official in the Syrian regime’s army,” Merehbi
said at the time.Syrian refugees departed from various gathering points in
Lebanon Thursday morning aboard buses destined for their home country, as
part of the latest voluntary return process organized by Lebanese General
Security, the state-run National News Agency reported. “Many of the Syrian
refugees are returning at their own expense, especially after the situation
in Syria has become stable and reconstruction has begun,” said Mustafa
Mansour, head of the Association of Arab Syrian Workers in Lebanon,
according to the NNA. The NNA reported that two buses carrying 53 Syrian
refugees departed from a meeting point at the Camille Chamoun Sports City
Stadium in Beirut. And in the southern city of Nabatieh, 32 returnees
gathered at the Kamel Yousef Jaber Cultural and Social Center in
preparation. Another group of Syrian refugees gathered at Bassel al-Assad
Cultural Center in the southern coastal city of Tyre ready to return to
Syria. A group of 80 Syrians in the northeastern town of Arsal were also
ready to depart to their hometowns in Syria’s Qalamoun. The United Nations
refugee agency and the Lebanese Red Cross deployed ambulances and mobile
clinics to ensure the safety of the Syrian refugees, the NNA said. General
Security personnel were also present and monitoring procedures at the
assembly points. When General Security announced the return a day prior, it
said buses would also be departing from Tripoli and Bekaa before making
their way through the Masnaa, Abboudieh and Al-Zamarani border crossings.
General Security has been registering Syrian refugees who are willing to
return and organizing their transportation, as well as serving as an
intermediary with Syrian authorities. Most recently, 545 Syrians returned to
their home country last week.
Maronite Patriarch,
Gemayel Confer over Christians Role
Kataeb.org/Thursday 08th November 2018/Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi on
Thursday met with Kataeb MP Nadim Gemayel in Bkirki, with talks featuring
high on the latest developments in the country. Following the meeting,
Gemayel said that he had briefed the Patriarch on his latest visit to
Benachii where he met with Marada leader Sleiman Frangieh and his son, MP
Tony Frangieh. The two men also conferred over the role that the Christians
must play in Lebanon, as well as in the Middle East, amid the large-scale
changes being witnessed.
Judge Postpones Session to Examine Kataeb Lawsuit in Waste Landfill Case
Kataeb.org/Thursday 08th November 2018/Metn's Urgent Matters Judge Ralph
Karkabi on Thursday postponed once again a session aimed at examining the
lawsuit filed by the Kataeb party to demand the closure of the Burj Hammoud
landfill. The lawsuit was lodged against the Development and Reconstruction
Council and the contracting company owned by Dany Khoury. The upcoming
session has been scheduled for December 8.
Lebanon’s government
and Iran’s sanctions
Radwan al-Sayed/Al Arabiya/November 08/18
For the past three months, the dispute over the formation of the Lebanese
government seemed to revolve around two axes: the president’s clash with the
prime minister and his jurisdictions and role, and the president’s and his
son-in-law’s confrontation with the Lebanese Forces.
For several months it appeared that the president and not Hariri, who is the
prime minister-designate, is the one who is forming the government.
According to the constitution, the prime minister-designate is the one who
forms the cabinet in consultation with heads of the parliamentary blocs. He
then presents the cabinet formation to the president who in turn issues a
decree and transfers the matter to the parliament to discuss the cabinet’s
ministerial statement and vote on it. Presidential spokesmen, however
claimed that the president does not only sign the decree but is a
participant in government formation. Former prime ministers Fouad Seniora,
Tammam Salam and Najib Mikati and constitutional jurists have said that
norms and traditions (like those related to the President’s quota) were not
considered, and the word is for the parliament hence there is no need for
control by the president, or else what is the role of the parliament?!
Three months ago, those close to Hezbollah told me that Hezbollah does not
want a government in Lebanon. I said that this is irrational as Hezbollah is
besieged and sanctions on it and on Iran are increasing
President versus parliament
Anyway, it seems that Hariri satisfied the president by giving him the right
to appoint a Sunni figure from his party as a minister, as it was in the
first government. Thus, the debate over the president’s quota fizzled out.
Over the past two months, however, a public debate raged between Gebran
Bassil, who is Aoun’s son-in-law, and Samir Geagea over the Lebanese Forces’
share in the government. They violently and publicly argued over these two
issues: the quota of each of the two parties according to the results of the
elections, and the written agreement between both parties in Maarab
(2015-2016).
The written agreement states that the ministries and the general
directorates of the Christians would be divided in half between them and the
Muslims. According to the Lebanese Forces’ calculation, they should have
four or five Christian ministers and a deputy prime minister. After long
acrimonious exchanges between the two parties and after Walid Jumblatt
stopped insisting on choosing the three Druze minister and got convinced to
give the president the right to choose the third Druze minister, the
Lebanese Forces were forced to accept three ministers and a deputy prime
minister. This is in addition to accepting their ministries be of third
degree and not to include any important ministries, like the ministry of
justice, education or public works!
Anyhow, after clearing all obstacles, the government would now be formed.
However, Hezbollah had surprised everyone by calling for appointing a Sunni
minister from among the Sunni MPs who are not part of Hariri’s bloc.
Hezbollah said that they nominate Faisal Karami. The other surprise was that
Hariri and the president refused this under the pretext that these
independent Sunnis who were elected do not represent a bloc but they are
only factions, adding that some of those allied with Hezbollah won in the
elections via non-Sunni votes thanks to the proportional electoral law that
was adopted during this year’s elections!
Iran’s remote control
Three months ago, those close to Hezbollah told me that Hezbollah does not
want a government in Lebanon. I said that this is irrational as Hezbollah is
besieged and sanctions on it and on Iran are increasing, and although it is
true that Hezbollah controls Lebanon, the coming months are dangerous hence
the government cover, though being transparent, benefits it and does not
harm it, as everyone is submissive and they have, for the last two years,
challenged the Americans, the Europeans and international laws for
Hezbollah’s sake. A few days ago, the UN Secretary General said that
Hezbollah could drag Lebanon into war, and that the government should disarm
it according to UN resolution 1559. Meanwhile, the president and the prime
minister kept saying that Hezbollah does not use its weapons internally!
All these considerations are not part of Hezbollah’s priorities, as there
are Iranian considerations that control its decisions. Iran believes that
there should be no government in Lebanon that would have to implement the
sanctions imposed by Trump’s administration and which would require
procedures by the banks and the government. Those who know the Lebanese
president and the prime minister-designate also know that they accept all
the demands of Hezbollah, even if it may seem detrimental to national
interests. As for Hezbollah and Iran they still believe that holding on to
Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq is beneficial for them in challenging the
West and negotiating with it at the same time. Although the international
community is concerned that a government has not been formed, observers
argue that even if the government is formed, it will not solve the national
burdens and might even complicate them.
The Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News
published
on
November 08-09/18
Pakistan blasphemy case: Asia Bibi freed from jail
BBC/November 08/18/A Pakistani Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after
spending eight years on death row has been freed from prison, her lawyer
says.
Some reports say Asia Bibi has boarded a plane but its destination was not
known.
The Supreme Court ruling sparked protests from Islamists and the government
had said it would bar her from leaving Pakistan.
Her husband had said they were in danger and pleaded for asylum.
Asia Bibi, a mother-of-five, was released from prison in the city of Multan,
her lawyer Saif Mulook said.
Also known as Asia Noreen, she was convicted in 2010 of insulting the
Prophet Muhammad during a row with neighbours.
Several countries have offered her asylum.
The Pakistani government has said it will start legal proceedings to prevent
her going abroad after agreeing the measure to end the violent protests.
Many of the protesters were hardliners who support strong blasphemy laws and
called for Asia Bibi to be hanged.
One Islamist leader said all three Supreme Court judges also "deserved to be
killed".A spokesman for the hardline Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party said Asia Bibi's
release was in breach of their deal with the government.
"The rulers have showed their dishonesty," TLP spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi told
Reuters.
The deal also saw officials agree not to block a petition for the Supreme
Court to evaluate Asia Bibi's acquittal in the light of Islamic Sharia law.
What was Asia Bibi accused of?
The trial stems from an argument Asia Bibi had with a group of women in June
2009.
They were harvesting fruit when a row broke out about a bucket of water. The
women said that because she had used a cup, they could no longer touch it,
as her faith had made it unclean.
Prosecutors alleged that in the row which followed, the women said Asia Bibi
should convert to Islam and that she made offensive comments about the
Prophet Muhammad in response.
She was later beaten up at her home, during which her accusers say she
confessed to blasphemy. She was arrested after a police investigation.
Acquitting her, the Supreme Court said that the case was based on unreliable
evidence and her confession was delivered in front of a crowd "threatening
to kill her".
Why is this case so divisive?
Islam is Pakistan's national religion and underpins its legal system. Public
support for the strict blasphemy laws is strong.
Hard-line politicians have often backed severe punishments, partly as a way
of shoring up their support base.
But critics say the laws have often been used to exact revenge after
personal disputes, and that convictions are based on thin evidence.
The vast majority of those convicted are Muslims or members of the Ahmadi
community, but since the 1990s scores of Christians have been convicted.
They make up just 1.6% of the population.
The Christian community has been targeted by numerous attacks in recent
years, leaving many feeling vulnerable to a climate of intolerance.
Since 1990, at least 65 people have reportedly been killed in Pakistan over
claims of blasphemy.
Gunman opens fire at
bar in California leaves 12 dead
Reuters/08 November/18/A gunman killed 12 people including a
sheriff's deputy after he walked into a Southern California bar and started
shooting late Wednesday night, police said. The gunman was also killed,
Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean told a news conference early Thursday,
though it was not immediately clear by whom. An unknown number of people
were wounded during the attack at the Borderline Bar and Grill, a country &
western venue in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks. "It's a horrific
scene in there," Dean said. "There is blood everywhere and the suspect is
part of that."The dead officer was identified as Sergeant Ron Helus, a
29-year veteran of the department, Dean told reporters. Helus and a
California Highway Patrol officer were the first to arrive at the bar and
went inside just before 11:30 p.m. PST (0730 GMT). After a lull of about 15
minutes, more officers went inside and found the suspected gunman dead of a
gunshot wound. It was not clear whether he killed himself or was killed by
officers, Dean said. The incident came less than two weeks after a gunman
with an automatic rifle fatally shot 11 people during sabbath services at a
Pittsburgh synagogue. Witness John Hedge told ABC News he was near the front
door of the California bar when the shooting began. “I just started hearing
these big pops. Pop pop pop. There was probably three or four. I hit the
ground. I look up. The security guard ... was shot, he was down. The gunman
was throwing smoke grenades all over the place. I saw him point to the back
at the cash register and he just kept firing." Dean estimated that 10 to 15
people, including one with a gunshot wound, went themselves to area
hospitals. He said he thought their injuries were minor, and that most of
them were likely injured as they escaped, some by breaking windows.
None of the civilian victims were identified. Helus died while being treated
at an area hospital several hours after he was shot, Dean said. Officials
said shots were still being fired when the first officers arrived at the
scene.
Iraq Gets U.S.
Sanctions Break to Keep the Lights On
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 08/18/Iraq has won an
exemption allowing it to buy Iranian electricity despite U.S. sanctions, as
the country plagued by chronic power shortages walks a tightrope between
rivals Washington and Tehran. With US measures imposed Monday taking aim at
Iran's banking and energy industries, there were concerns Iraq -- which
heavily relies on its eastern neighbor for electricity and consumer goods --
would be caught in the crossfire. But Baghdad has managed to secure an
exception. "We granted Iraq a waiver to allow it to continue to pay for its
electricity imports from Iran," Brian Hook, the State Department's
representative on Iran, announced Wednesday. Iraq would be expected to show
the U.S. how it would wean itself off Iranian gas, a well-informed source
told AFP. "The U.S. gave us 45 days to give them a plan on how we will
gradually stop using Iranian gas and oil," the source said. "We told them it
may take us up to four years to either become self-sufficient or find
another alternative."The exemption came after talks between Iraqi and U.S.
officials, including from the White House and Treasury, the source said.
Iraqi government representatives have shuffled between American and Iranian
officials for months in a bid to insulate their fragile economy from
escalating tensions. This week, Prime Minister Adel Abdel-Mahdi said Baghdad
was in talks with both sides to protect its interests. "Iraq is not a part
of the sanctions regime. It talks to everyone, and does not want to get
involved in a conflict that it's not a part of," he told reporters Tuesday.
Baghdad has a strong relationship with the United States, coordinating on
security, politics, and governance. But its economy is profoundly
intertwined with that of Iran.
- Keeping the lights on -
Gutted by the international embargo of the
1990s and the US-led invasion of 2003, Iraq's industries produce little.
Instead, its markets are flooded with Iranian goods -- from canned food and
yoghurt to carpets and cars. These non-hydrocarbon imports amounted to some
$6 billion (five billion euros) in 2017, making Iran the second-largest
source of imported goods in Iraq. Perhaps most consequential for Iraq's 39
million people is their dependency on Iran for electricity. Chronic cuts,
which often leave homes powerless for up to 20 hours a day, were a key
driving factor behind weeks of massive protests in Iraq this summer. To cope
with shortages, Baghdad pipes in natural gas from Tehran for its plants and
also directly buys 1,300 MW of Iranian-generated electricity. That reliance
is uncomfortable for the U.S., whose quest to diminish Tehran's influence
prompted it to reimpose sanctions on Iranian financial institutions,
shipping lines, energy, and petroleum products on Monday. Eight countries
would be temporarily allowed to import Iranian crude oil. Iraq's special
exemption appears to have come with a condition that it lay out how it would
stop using Iranian electricity, said Nussaibah Younes, a senior adviser for
the European Institute of Peace. "In order to get this exemption, the Iraqis
had given some sort of roadmap idea," Younes told AFP. One way would be
capturing the gas set alight when Iraq extracts oil, which according to the
World Bank represents an annual loss of about $2.5 billion -- enough to fill
the gap in Iraq's gas-based power generation.
- Appeasing Iran -
American firms may help fill the vacuum left by Iran. In January, Iraq
signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. energy company Orion on gas
exploits at a southern oil field.
And in October, Iraq signed a memo with the US' General Electric to revamp
the electricity sector, after signing a similar agreement with Germany's
Siemens. The source told AFP that GE was among several U.S. companies
proposed to Baghdad during negotiations with the U.S.
But Iraq has had to simultaneously reassure Iran, in part by granting it an
outlet to circumvent U.S. sanctions. "The focus for the Iranians is informal
sanctions-busting activity in Iraq, including accessing hard currency
through Iraqi exchanges and through smuggling operations," said Younes.
Baghdad, she expected, would likely "turn a blind eye." Iraq has
simultaneously been granting Iranian officials more time for face-to-face
meetings, including its ambassador in Baghdad, Araj Masjadi. He met with new
Finance Minister Fuad Hussein and Electricity Minister Luay al-Khateeb on
Wednesday, pledging close cooperation on the power sector in the future. For
Masjadi, the meetings appeared to be a reminder of Tehran's entrenched role
in Iraq.
"We need Iraq the way Iraq needs us," said Masjadi.
Syria Army Frees Druze Hostages from IS
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 08/18/Syrian state media said
Thursday the army has freed all remaining Druze women and children abducted
in July from the southern province of Sweida by the Islamic State group. The
army "clashed directly with the IS terrorist organization, which had
abducted women and children from the Sweida province," state news agency
SANA said.Government troops "were able to liberate all the 19 hostages...
and kill the terrorist kidnappers," it added. State television broadcast
images of veiled women, boys and at least one girl surrounded by men in
military uniforms near a white pick-up truck in a desert landscape. It said
the images were broadcast from the desert near the ancient city of Palmyra
in the center of the country. IS jihadists abducted around 30 people --
mostly women and children -- from Sweida in late July during the deadliest
attack on Syria's Druze community of the seven-year civil war. Nour Radwan,
a journalist based in Sweida, confirmed the liberation but said the women
and children were freed in a prisoner exchange deal. "The freeing of the
remaining hostages came as part of a prisoner swap deal, and today was the
second stage of that deal," he told AFP. Two women and four children were
released last month in a first step of the same agreement that also saw
women and children related to IS fighters freed from regime jails, he said.
The Druze community had been hoping for the return of 20 hostages, Radwan
said. "IS told the family of one of the female hostages that they had killed
her but did not send any proof," he said. "We're waiting for them to arrive
in Sweida. If there are 19 of them then it means she really was killed," he
said. The jihadists executed a 19-year-old male student among the hostages
in August and then a 25-year-old woman in early October. IS said a
65-year-old woman being held by the group also died from illness. Sweida
province is the heartland of the country's Druze minority, which made up
roughly three percent of Syria's pre-war population -- or around 700,000
people.
Kurds near Turkey
Border Dread Fresh Offensive
Chimo Osman's children stopped going to school after Turkish shelling struck
his home in northeastern Syria, where Kurdish residents fear another
military onslaught is imminent. In recent days, cross-border Turkish
artillery fire has targeted positions held by the People's Protection Units
(YPG), the main Kurdish militia in Syria. Ankara sees the de-facto
autonomous rule set up by Syrian Kurds as an encouragement to the
separatists of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has
close ties to the YPG. The village of Ashma is nestled in olive groves in
the region of Kobane and directly looks out onto the Turkish flags and wire
fencing that mark the demarcation line. The streets of this village and
others along the border are empty: "We can't even venture on the roof
anymore," said Osman. "We don't leave the house, the kids are scared," said
the 38-year-old, standing on the steps leading to his front door, with his
five children huddled around him. Nobody can predict when the Turkish forces
stationed on the other side of the border will open fire, he said. Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on October 30 that plans for an assault
were complete and vowed to "destroy" the YPG, which he considers a terrorist
organization. One salvo punched a large hole in the second floor of Osman's
house and several other homes in the village were damaged by Turkish fire.
Five YPG fighters and a child have been killed in Turkish shelling that has
in recent days mostly targeted Kurdish positions in the Kobane and Tal Abyad
areas, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
'Injustice'
The YPG is the backbone of an outfit known as the Syrian Democratic Forces,
which is the U.S.-led coalition's main local ally in its battle against the
Islamic State group. To protest against the Turkish attacks, SDF forces late
last month announced they were suspending their involvement in military
operations against one of the very last jihadist pockets in eastern Syria.
The move was aimed at obtaining guarantees from their U.S. sponsors that
Turkey would not seek to move in across the border as they did in the
Kurdish-dominated enclave of Afrin earlier this year. According to the
Britain-based Observatory, more than 330 Kurdish fighters have already
perished in the course of the latest offensive against IS. Many fighters
waging this deadly battle on jihadists in their remote desert hideouts feel
they would rather die protecting their ancestral land from Turkey. In Kobane
cemetery, hundreds of people attended the funeral Tuesday of an SDF fighter
who became the latest casualty of the jihadists' bloody last stand in the
Hajin region. Women wept over the coffin as patriotic songs were blared on
speakers and local officials gave speeches condemning the Turkish
bombardment. "The Turkish state is hostile to the Kurds and we have to right
to respond to any attack," Esmat Sheikh Hassan, a Kobane military official,
told AFP at the funeral. "They don't differentiate between soldiers and
civilians. They strike inhabited villages," he said, replying to Ankara's
claims its forces only strike military targets. Hamo Masibkeradi, one of the
residents who came to attend the funeral, points to the rows of marble
tombstones that mark the graves of fighters who died fighting against IS.
"These martyrs fell for humanity. The international community should help
us," he said. "Erdogan wants to wipe us out. The U.S. cannot allow this
injustice."
US urges Russia to allow resumed Israeli air strikes in
Syria
DebkaFile/November 08/18
Special US envoy for Syria, James Jeffrey, said on
Wednesday, Nov. 7, “We certainly hope Russia’s permissive approach will
continue” for Israeli air strikes in Syria against Iranian targets, despite
its supply of S-300 air defense systems to the Syrian government. He noted
that Russia has been permissive about the flights in the past – in
consultation with the Israelis. The American diplomat spoke after meeting
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, Nov. 5. However, DEBKAfile’s military sources have seen no sign of Moscow relenting. Quite
the reverse; Moscow indicated this week that should Israeli jets enter
Syrian airspace to attack Iranian targets, the S-300 would shoot them down.
According to our sources, Ambassador Jeffrey’s talks with Netanyahu,
attended also by high-ranking IDF officers, encompassed the situation in
Syria, including the possibility of a military clash between Russia and
Israel. This clash is envisaged to take place shortly after President Donald
Trump sits down with President Vladimir Putin in Paris next Sunday, Nov.11 –
or even while it is taking place. The prime minister shared with the US
ambassador intelligence showing Syrian operating teams installing the S-300
batteries in recent days and getting into position to fire at Israeli
aircraft – not just military planes, and not just over Syria, but also
commercial flights flying over Israel. This was the data which the Israeli
minister Ze’ev Elkin also disclosed on Monday in a rare briefing to Russian
correspondents. He appended a warning: If its aircraft were struck in this
way, Israel would not be satisfied with demarches, but take action against
the S-300 batteries, even if they were manned by Russian personnel. Two days
later, the Kremlin shot back by clarifying that President Putin had no
intention of meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu in Paris next Sunday. The
Russian-Israeli dispute is not going away any time soon, but deepening,
Bulgaria detains three Iranians with fake Israeli
passports
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Thursday, 8 November 2018 /Bulgarian border
police detained three Iranians attempting to enter the country with fake
Israeli passports, the interior ministry said. The men, in their 20s and
early 30s, arrived at the checkpoint located on the border between Bulgaria
and Turkey on October 31. The three men were transferred to a facility for
temporary detention of foreigners in Lyubimets, southeast of the country.
Fast-track proceedings against them have been initiated, the Bulgaria’s
interior ministry added in a statement. In September, Authorities in Bahrain
had also arrested 14 Iranians who allegedly entered the island nation on
“forged Asian passports.”Bahrain’s Interior Ministry made the announcement
Saturday night, saying those arrested paid for the Asian passports in cash
to be able to enter the island off Saudi Arabia.
US warns nations not to allow Iranian oil tankers into
their territorial waters
The Associated Press, Washington/Thursday, 8 November 2018/The United States
is warning other countries not to allow Iranian oil tankers into their
territorial waters or ports, saying such access may run afoul of US
sanctions and not only incur penalties, but also result in catastrophic
economic and environmental damage should an accident occur. The State
Department reminded the global shipping and insurance industries Wednesday
that as part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure campaign” to
get Iran to change its behavior, insuring Iranian tankers will now incur
penalties under US sanctions reinstated this week. Brian Hook, the special
US representative for Iran, said that as major insurers withdraw coverage
from Iranian vessels, Iran will likely turn to domestic insurance companies
that will not be able to cover losses for maritime accidents that could run
into the billions of dollars.
“From the Suez Canal to the Strait of Malacca and all choke points in
between, Iranian tankers are now a floating liability,” Hook told reporters.
“Countries, ports and canal operators and private firms should know they
will be likely responsible for the costs of an accident involving a
self-insured Iranian tanker.”The US “sincerely hopes” accidents do not
occur, he said, but he noted that an Iranian tanker was involved in an
accident in the East China Sea in January that resulted in the loss of the
ship and a massive oil spill. He said the US has evidence that Iranian
vessels are trying to evade US sanctions by disabling location transponders
used to prevent collisions. “This tactic is a maritime security threat,”
Hook said. “These transponders are designed to maximize visibility at sea
and turning them off only increases risk of accidents and injuries.
Self-insured Iranian tankers engaging in unsafe behavior, with many tons of
crude oil on board, is courting environmental and financial disaster.”The
sanctions that came into force Monday target Iran’s energy, financial and
shipping sectors and mark the end of US participation in the 2015 nuclear
deal that President Donald Trump withdrew from in May. The sanctions aim to
further isolate Iran by choking off its main source of revenue - oil exports
- by imposing sanctions on countries and companies that do not end their
imports. However, some trade is still allowed, as the administration has
granted waivers for eight major importers to continue buying Iranian
petroleum products without penalty for another six months.
Iranians Enraged by Luxury Life of the Rich, Powerful
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November, 2018/With the dark clouds of
economic crisis looming over the horizon for Iran, local activists have
launched a campaign targeting some of the country’s richest elites and most
influential figures. Despite US sanctions threatening to eventually cripple
the Iranian economy, alt-right conservative and Revolutionary Guard (IRGC)
Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari, alongside his son, continue to lead a life of
luxury and housing exotic pets. Seyed Mahdi Sadrossadati posted on Instagram
a picture showing Jafari’s son posing next to a tiger resting on a mansion’s
porch.
“A tiger at home? What’s going on?” Sadati wrote in the caption, unleashing
his anger towards economic inequality between Iran’s rich and the public.
"And this from a 25-year-old youth who could not gain such wealth. People
are having serious difficulty getting diapers for their children," he added.
The campaign blasted corruption and the splurging of the rich who are living
lavishly, while the majority of Iranians slave away in an economy strained
by US sanctions. In addition to his written contributions, Sadrossadati has
posted videos of debates between himself and some of those he has
criticized.
In one, he confronted Mehdi Mazaheri, the son of a former central bank
governor who was criticized online after a photograph appeared showing him
wearing a large gold watch. In a heated exchange, Sadrossadati shouted: "How
did you get rich? How much money did you start out with and how much money
do you have now? How many loans have you taken?" Mazaheri, barely able to
get in a reply, said he would be willing to share documents about his
finances. Children of more than a dozen other officials have been criticized
online and are often referred to as "aghazadeh" - literally "noble-born" in
Farsi but also a derogatory term used to describe their perceived
extravagance. The Iranian rial currency has hit 149,000 to the US dollar on
the black market used for most transactions, down from around 43,000 at the
start of 2018 as US President Donald Trump vowed to pull out of the nuclear
deal between Tehran and world powers aimed at curbing its nuclear program.
Public anger has been brewing in Iran for some time. Uprisings against
economic hardship—faced brutal state repression that killed 25
protesters--began sprouting late last year and spread to over 80 cities and
towns.
US Allows Sanctions Exception for Iran Port Development
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November, 2018/The top US diplomat has
granted an exception to certain US sanctions that will allow the India-led
development of a port in Iran as part of a new transportation corridor
designed to boost Afghanistan’s economy, a State Department spokesman said
on Tuesday. The exception granted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to US
sanctions reimposed on Iran on Monday also will permit the construction of a
railway line from Chabahar port to Afghanistan, and for shipments to the
war-torn country of non-sanctionable goods, like food and medicines, the
spokesman said. In addition, Afghanistan will be allowed to continue
importing Iranian petroleum products, the spokesman said, according to
Reuters. “These activities are vital for the ongoing support of
Afghanistan’s growth and humanitarian relief,” the spokesman said in a
statement emailed to the news agency. The sanctions reimposed on Iran’s oil
exports - its main revenue source - and financial sector were triggered by
US President Donald Trump’s May 8 decision to abandon the 2015 international
deal designed to block Tehran’s development of nuclear weapons.
Raged by Tel Aviv's Policy, Putin Rejects to Meet
Netanyahu
Tel Aviv - Nazir Majali/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November, 2018/Russian
President Vladimir Putin's assistants conveyed his apology for not meeting
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Paris next Sunday, where they are due
to participate in the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Although
the Israeli Prime Minister's Office claimed that the cancellation was in
response to a French demand not to hold side meetings, reliable political
sources affirmed that the Russians canceled the meeting in an indicator of
Moscow's rage over the official Israeli policy, especially Tel Aviv's
statements on striking targets in Syria and threatening to destroy S-300
missiles system granted by Russia to Damascus. The cancellation was
coordinated between Putin and Netanyahu's offices without agreeing on
another meeting, according to Israeli political sources. The sources denied
claims that this step is an attempt to cover any secret meeting that could
take place, noting that Netanyahu might reconsider the Paris trip following
the meeting's cancellation. Israeli-Russian ties in September when four
Israeli jets raided an Iranian base in Lattakia, after a previous
coordination with Russia. The Syrian regime launched missiles against the
jets hitting a Russian spy jet and killing all its staff. Russia held Israel
responsible for downing the jet. Lately, foreign sources revealed that the
Greek and Israeli air forces conducted a joint exercise in which pilots were
trained over attacking several targets including destroying S-300 missiles.
Russians got wrath over the intensive actions carried out by Netanyahu in a
number of Eastern Europe countries, where Russian rivals rule a great part
of. He is also signing oil deals that weaken the Russian oil exports. Dmitry
Peskov, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, responded on a related
question that this meeting wasn’t even planned for.
Israeli Forces Detain 11 Palestinians Including PLC Member
West Bank- Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November, 2018/Israeli forces
detained early Wednesday at least 11 Palestinians, including a member of the
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), across the occupied West Bank. The
Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) confirmed that Israeli forces detained a
member of the PLC, Muhammad Abu Jhesheh, from Idhna town in the southern
West Bank district of Hebron. Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council,
Mohammed Abu Juhaisheh, In the central West Bank district of Ramallah, one
Palestinian was detained and identified as Salah Ibrahim Salah, 28. Two
former Palestinian prisoners were detained in the northern West Bank
district of Jenin identified as Ahmad Balal Abu Bakr and Ahmad Tareq Abu
Bakr. In Qalqiliya, Israeli forces also detained Ahmad Saber Radwan, 23. Two
other Palestinians were detained in the northern West Bank district of
Nablus. PPS identified them as Muhammad Anis Ashqar, 17, and Sharaf Jamil
Abu Asab, 28. In the northern West Bank district of Tulkarem, four
Palestinians were detained. They were identified as former prisoner Alaa
Yousef Sharbawi, 35, Muhammad Mahmoud al-Azab, 30, Muntaser Yousef Ode, 30,
and Walid Suleiman Naawla, 55, who is the father of Ashraf Naawla, 23, who
carried out a shooting attack in the Barkan industrial area, in which two
Israeli settlers died and another sustained serious injuries. Israeli
military raids into Palestinian cities, towns, and refugee camps are a
near-daily occurrence.
PLO: Washington Rejected Oman's Attempt to Pave Way for Peace
Ramallah - Kifah Ziboun/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November,
2018/US asked Oman to “let go of the Palestinian issue”, rejecting any Omani
role in the political process, according to Secretary general of the
Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb
Erekat. "The Sultanate is not and will not be part of the deal of the
century. It has tried to open up prospects for a peace process leading to
ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with
Jerusalem as its capital," Erekat said during a session of the Amman
Security Forum in Jordan’s University. US President Donald Trump’s
administration supported the Israeli government in its response to the
attempt of Oman. The statements have raised doubts about Oman's ability to
achieve a breakthrough in the peace process without US approval. Erekat's
speech comes after Jordan’s King Abdullah received Omani Minister of State
for Foreign Affairs Yousef Bin Alawi, who delivered a letter from Sultan
Qaboos of Oman, according to a Royal Court statement. The meeting focused on
ongoing coordination and consultation over issues of mutual interest. They
also discussed developments in the Palestinian cause, reiterating the
necessity of relaunching peace negotiations between Palestinians and
Israelis based on the two-state solution, which leads to the establishment
of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The
statement read: “the meeting touched on the Palestinian cause and the need
to relaunch Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations based on the two-state
solution and the Arab Peace Initiative, leading to the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 lines with East Jerusalem
as its capital.”Omani officials are trying to bring the views closer to
launch a new peace process based on the US peace plan. Bin Alawi has said
earlier his country is offering proposals to help Israel and the
Palestinians come together but is not acting as mediator. Adding that Oman
is relying on the US and Trump in working towards the “deal of the century”.
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas opposes the deal,
rejecting the United States to be the sole mediator in the peace process
after it recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Abbas called for the
launch of an international peace conference resulting in a mechanism to
sponsor the negotiations according to specific terms and a set time limit.
Abbas has repeatedly said he will not even listen to the deal of the century
because Washington has begun to implement it effectively by taking Jerusalem
off the negotiating table and ending the refugee issue. Erekat accused
President Trump of targeting Palestinians, asserting that “no one aspires to
achieve peace more than Palestine, and there are accusations from Trump that
we are the ones who started the problems." He indicated that the Trump
administration has isolated itself from the peace process and can not be
accepted as a partner or mediator because it rejects the right to
self-determination of the Palestinian people and supports the racist
nationalism law. He also listed some of US measures against Palestinians
such as closing the offices of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in
Washington, cutting aid to UNRWA, and separating Gaza Strip from the West
Bank and Jerusalem. Erekat called on the international community to adopt
the initiative presented by Abbas at the UN Security Council last February,
to hold an international conference based on the international law and the
relevant resolutions of international legitimacy which guarantees to end the
occupation and achieving the independence of the State of Palestine with its
capital East Jerusalem.
ISIS Suffers Heavy Syria Losses
Beirut - London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November, 2018/At least 65
ISIS militants have been killed around their last enclave in Syria despite a
pause in a two-month Kurdish-led assault, a monitor said Wednesday. The
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces announced a pause in its offensive in the
eastern province of Deir Ezzor last week in protest at Turkish shelling of
Kurdish positions along Syria's northern border.But waves of US-led air
strikes since Monday have killed 48 militants, including during two ISIS
assaults on oilfields north of the Hajin enclave, the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said. On Tuesday the militants launched an assault on the Azrak
oil field, followed by an attack Wednesday on the Tanak oil field where
US-backed SDF fighters are based, it said. A coalition spokesman did not
immediately reply to a request for comment. The SDF killed another 17 ISIS
extremists while defending a base in the village of Al-Bahra just outside
ISIS-held territory on Monday, the Britain-based monitoring group said.
Alliance spokesman Kino Gabriel had stressed that the pause in offensive
operations did not mean SDF fighters would not defend themselves. The SDF
launched its assault on the ISIS enclave around the Euphrates valley town of
Hajin on September 10. But after making slow progress, it suffered a major
setback last month when ISIS used cover provided by sand storms to launch a
series of counter-attacks. By the end of the month, the militants had
recaptured all of the territory the SDF had won.
Egypt Sentences 8 Militants to Death over Army Attack
Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November, 2018/The military court in
Ismailia sentenced Wednesday eight people to death in absentia on charges of
membership in the ISIS-Sinai Province terrorist organization. The court in
northeast Egypt also sentenced 32 people to life imprisonment, while two
others were given 15 years.Two defendants were acquitted. The accused were
tried for killing 14 soldiers and attempting to kill 16 others. All were
identified as members of the Egyptian branch of ISIS, which has led an
insurgency in North Sinai and carried out several attacks across the
country.
On the other hand, the Cairo Criminal Court said the trial of the deposed
former president, Mohamed Morsi, and 28 others, in the 2011 prison break
case was postponed to December 2. Until then, it will continue to hear
witness testimonies, which will include former President Hosni Mubarak.
Ex-Interior Minister Habib al-Adli has already testified in the case. The
defendants include Morsi, 27 Muslim Brotherhood leaders, members of the
Palestinian Hamas Movement and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. During Wednesday’s
session, head of the Border Guard Intelligence in Arish said that those
accused of abducting three police officers in northern Sinai requested the
release of Mohamed al-Zawahri (al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri’s brother)
and a number of other militants in return for releasing the kidnapped
officers. Another department of the Cairo Criminal Court had sentenced to
death Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide and Spiritual Leader Mohamed
Badie, his deputy Rashad al-Bayoumi, member of the Guidance Bureau Mohyi
Hamed, speaker of Egypt's dissolved Islamist-dominated parliament Mohamed
Saad al-Katatni and Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam al-Aryan. It had also
sentenced 20 other defendants to life imprisonment, but the Court of
Cassation overturned the sentences and ordered a retrial before a new court
department. The prosecution said the defendants in the case, which dates
back to 2011, have "participated in the planning and execution of the
incursion into Wadi Natroun prison and attack on security installations, in
agreement with Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah." Meanwhile, the Southern
Cairo Criminal Court sentenced two police secretaries to three years in jail
for inciting citizens against the interior ministry. The same court
sentenced on April 28 the same defendants to five years in prison in
absentia before being brought to trial.
New Egyptian Efforts to Reach Reconciliation Between
Palestine, Israel
Ramallah- Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November, 2018/Member of the PLO
Executive Committees of the Fatah and the Central Committee of the Fatah
movement Azzam al-Ahmad stressed that Egypt will make new movements in the
coming days to achieve reconciliation, based on the agreements signed
between Israel and Palestine. He expressed hope that Hamas would not
continue its maneuvers, waste time and procrastinate. "Let us give a chance
to the Egyptian efforts. They will either succeed or not," he said. Ahmad
reiterated the Palestinian Leadership's rejection of an agreement in Gaza
that represents a political dimension. “Egypt was putting efforts to reach
ta ruce in exchange for easing the situation in Gaza Strip and preventing a
new war, but without reaching an agreement,” Ahmad explained. “However,
Hamas, through Mladenov and Qatar’s efforts, was seeking to sign an
agreement with a political dimension, yet President Mahmoud Abbas, the PLO,
and all its factions opposed that.”“The agreement with Israel is a form of
negotiations, and therefore it is a national affair, not a factional one,
and must be done as in 2014,” he added, stressing the keenness of all
Palestinians and all factions to achieve reconciliation before the truce.
"It is painful to barter the Palestinian blood with money, and Hamas is
doing so with the collusion with some factions and regional parties,” Ahmad
noted. Despite the PA’s position, Israel and Hamas are moving forward in the
interim agreement. After one week of relative calm in Gaza, Israel has a
state of cautious optimism about the possibility of reaching a long-term
ceasefire agreement. “Israel, under a clear policy led by Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, is seeking long-term compromise with Hamas. It intends
to allow further steps by Qatar and Egypt to transfer large sums of money to
Gaza to pay civil servants’ wages,” said Political Analyst in Haaretz Amos
Harel. “Despite the leaks from the Palestinian Authority, which claim the
opposite, the Israeli defense establishment anticipates that Egypt will
approve the plan to transfer the money for the salaries,” Harel stressed.
“The momentum for achieving a deal has returned – and it’s bringing a
certain degree of optimism in terms of preparedness,” he pointed out.
Egypt's Sisi Warns of Social Media Dangers
Cairo- Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November, 2018/President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi
recommended forming a national research committee to set a strategy to deal
with social media sites in the session titled “Social Media: Saving or
enslaving users” on Nov. 5, the second day of the World Youth Forum. “Social
media outlets must be used positively and developed countries must deal with
social media challenges in a way that does not affect the security and
stability of other countries,” Sisi warned. Sisi described the internet as a
sign of human development, adding that ways to increase its positive impacts
and decrease its disadvantages should be discussed. The president asserted
that any trial to fight social media sites will not be successful. “In 2010,
I delivered a speech, saying that the development of social media will have
a dangerous effect on Egypt and the Arab region in general and that’s what
proved to be true later; the country was not ready to face its dangers,”
Sisi said. He also warned about how, he said, the spreading of rumors has
evolved through social media. "Nevertheless the fault is not in the social
media, it is in the fact that we are not ready to use it properly," he said.
The roundtable panel on “Social media: Saving or enslaving users” featured
15 experts and prominent figures on social media from all over the world,
including researcher in social media and mental health Bailey Parnell,
multidisciplinary artist Arwa Abounoun, specialist in digital security
Christine Adero, specialist in media networking Khawla Al-Hawi, and Egyptian
national security expert Khaled Okasha. This year, the forum’s events
revolve around a vision inspired by The Seven Pillars of the Egyptian
Identity, a book by Egyptian author Milad Hanna written to emphasize the
unity and harmony of Egyptian society despite differences, according to the
official website of the forum. Around 5,000 youth are participating in the
events. The first World Youth Forum took place last year, also in Sharm
El-Sheikh, which has been described by Egyptians officials as the “city of
peace.”
China Will Not Sell Passenger Planes to Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 7 November, 2018/China will not sell passenger
planes to Iran to help the Islamic Republic revive fleet renewal plans,
announced the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) on Wednesday.
The declaration coincided with a Russian executive’s suggestion that Moscow
would be wary of putting its own programs at risk of US retaliation,
reported Reuters. The comments in separate interviews at China’s largest air
show underscore the challenges Iran faces in rekindling plans to import
planes after the US reimposed sanctions, though IranAir reiterated on
Wednesday it would welcome offers from suppliers not subject to restrictions
on the export of US plane parts. Deals to buy 200 aircraft from Airbus,
Boeing and European turboprop maker ATR have virtually all stalled after the
United States withdrew from a 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and
world powers and reimposed sanctions on firms including IranAir. Iran’s
search for other suppliers was a talking point on the sidelines of Airshow
China this week, where China promoted its growing aircraft industry as it
looks to break into foreign markets for planes such as its long-delayed
ARJ21 regional jet, said Reuters. But asked whether Iran had shown interest
in buying Chinese airplanes, Zhao Yuerang, general manager of Comac, told
Reuters: “No, we cannot sell to Iran. Iran is off the table.” Pressed on
China’s ability to sell the ARJ21 to Iran, he added: “We need to abide by
regulations of both countries.” In May, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC) revoked licenses to sell passenger jets to Iran that
are required for any plane with more than 10 percent US parts, regardless of
where it is made. IranAir has said it is looking to buy planes from any
company not requiring the US permits and may consider Russia’s Sukhoi
Superjet 100. Asked at Airshow China in Zhuhai whether Moscow was in talks
to sell the Superjet to IranAir, a senior official with state holding
company Rostec declined to comment in detail. “This is a sensitive issue,”
Viktor Kladov, Rostec’s director for international cooperation and regional
policy, told Reuters. “You understand why, because we cannot endanger the
whole Superjet program,” he added. Besides controlling exports for aircraft
containing over 10 percent US parts, analysts say the United States sets the
tone for global aviation through its benchmark system of safety regulation
and the widespread use of the dollar in plane deals. Kladov said Russia’s
industry would continue to follow international standards on regulation and
aircraft safety, but would strive to be independent commercially. Rostec is
already doing some deals in Russian and other currencies, he added.
Sudan Expresses Will to Negotiate with Rebels
Khartoum - Ahmed Younes/Asharq Al Awsat/November 08/18/The Sudanese
government renewed its wish to hold a dialogue with the rebels in Darfur,
following South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit launching a mediation
among Sudanese parties.Meanwhile, Berlin hosted meetings between the African
mediation and leaders of Nidaa Sudan to revive the African road-map. Juba
launched, days ago, the mediation of South Sudanese President between the
Khartoum government and armed opposition movements. Amin Hassan Omar, the
chief negotiator for the Darfur peace process, said that the door to peace
is open for whoever wishes from the armed movements. He pointed out that the
government didn’t receive an invitation from any mediator regarding resuming
peace negotiations in Darfur. He added to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the
initiative of Mayardit is not contrary to previous agreements, clarifying
that Juba will only work on facilitating negotiations without intervening in
details. Sadiq Youssef, official from Justice and Equality Movement, told
Asharq Al-Awsat that there are peaceful movements and initiatives to reach a
settlement among Sudanese parties, noting that the German initiative aims to
resolve obstacles facing the African road-map, in participation with
international parties. Last month, Asharq Al-Awsat reported that there is an
approach for negotiations between armed movements and the Khartoum
government. Meanwhile, Sadiq al-Mahdi, Head of the National Umma Party (NUP),
announced his return to the country, which increases the possibility of the
return of Nidaa Sudan to negotiations. Darfur armed movements have been
raging a war since 2003 against the government forces, including the Justice
and Equality Movement and Sudan Liberation Army. UN reports revealed that
the war in Darfur has led to thousands of deaths and millions of refugees
and displaced.
58 Combatants Killed
in Fighting for Yemen's Hodeida
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 08/18/Dozens of combatants were
killed as pro-government forces closed in on rebel forces in the heart of
the Yemeni port city of Hodeida on Thursday, hospital sources said. Medics
at hospitals inside the city reported 47 rebels had been killed in overnight
ground fighting and air raids by a Saudi-led coalition supporting the
government. Sources at hospitals in government-held areas on the outskirts
said 11 soldiers had also been killed. Over the past week, Yemeni government
forces backed by coalition troops have slowly edged into the city of some
600,000 people, one of the last rebel strongholds on the Red Sea coast. An
army source in Hodeida said rebel trenches and landmines had slowed their
advance into the city on Thursday. Nearly 80 percent of Yemen's commercial
imports and practically all UN-supervised humanitarian aid pass through
Hodeida.
Aid groups have appealed to both the rebels and the coalition to allow
civilians to escape the fighting. The rebels have controlled Hodeida since
2014 when they overran the capital Sanaa and then swept though much of the
rest of the country, triggering Saudi-led military intervention the
following year and a devastating war of attrition. Government forces backed
by significant numbers of United Arab Emirates ground troops launched an
offensive to retake the city in June.
Houthi Leader Pleads with Deserters to Return
Jeddah - Sanaa - Saeed al-Abyad and Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 November,
2018/Leader of Yemen's Houthi militias Abdulmalik al-Houthi called Wednesday
on his supporters who had fled Yemeni battlefronts to rejoin the ranks of
the insurgents. In a speech in which he looked rather confused, al-Houthi
called for general mobilization against an operation launched by the
Saudi-led Arab Coalition in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah. "I call
upon all free men … to head to the fronts to defend the port city," he said
in a speech aired by the Houthi-run Al Masirah satellite TV channel. "It is
a big battlefield stretching 2,000 km along the Red Sea coast," he said. His
speech made no reference about any desire for peace. For its part, the
Yemeni government warned from Houthi plots to bomb government buildings and
national institutions like the Port of Hodeidah, and terrorist plans of
targeting international maritime trade navigation at Bab al-Mandab and the
south of the Red Sea, and bombing Safer Oil Tank at Ras Isa Port, which
contains nearly a million barrel of crude oil and can cause environment and
economic catastrophe to Yemen and the regional countries. Government
spokesperson Rajeh Badi said Houthis have placed heavy weapons in populated
areas and damaged highways to hamper the delivery of humanitarian aid. On
Wednesday, pro-government forces said they had made further advances on
Hodeidah after fierce battles that have killed nearly 200 fighters in the
past week. In the past 24 hours, 27 Iran-backed Houthi rebels and 12
pro-government fighters have been killed on the outskirts of Hodeidah city,
a medical source told AFP on Wednesday. Hodeidah, considered a crucial port
city for aid delivery and food imports to Yemen, was seized by the rebels
along with the capital Sanaa in 2014. Separately, a Yemeni source said that
during a meeting held last Tuesday, the self-proclaimed Houthi Supreme
Political Council threatened the remaining council members to blow up their
homes in case they try to escape towards government-controlled areas. They
also threatened to deal harshly with their family members in Sanaa, the
source said.
Seoul Says N. Korea Asked to Delay Pompeo Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 08/18/North Korea asked the United
States to delay planned high-level talks in New York this week, Seoul's top
diplomat said Thursday, a day after Washington abruptly announced the
meeting's postponement. The US State Department said Wednesday that the
encounter between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and top North Korean
official Kim Yong Chol, initially scheduled for Thursday, had been shelved
for "a later date". No further explanation was given, but Pyongyang is
demanding sanctions imposed on it over its weapons programmes are eased,
while Washington insists they should stay in place until it denuclearises.
South Korean foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said it was Pyongyang that had
asked for a delay. "The US told us that it received a message from the North
to postpone the meeting," Kang told lawmakers, according to Yonhap news
agency. South Korean reports said that Kim -- one of North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un's right-hand men -- had been scheduled to catch a lunchtime flight
from Beijing to New York on Wednesday. But his reservation was repeatedly
cancelled and rebooked on Tuesday, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported, until
it was cancelled for good. The sudden postponement came only two days after
the US State Department announced Pompeo would meet the North Korean in New
York to discuss progress towards denuclearisation and plans for a second
summit between President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong Un. Trump and Kim
held a historic summit in June in Singapore -- the first ever between the
two countries -- where they signed a vaguely worded deal on
denuclearisation. Little progress has been made since then, with the two
countries sparring over the exact meaning of the agreement. Despite warm
words from Trump since meeting Kim in Singapore, his administration has
insisted on maintaining pressure on Pyongyang until a final agreement is
reached. North Korea, which is subject to multiple UN Security Council
sanctions over its weapons programmes, warned last week that it would
"seriously" consider returning to nuclear weapons development unless
Washington lifts the restrictions. Koo Kab-woo of the University of North
Korean Studies said that the differences over sanctions were probably the
"biggest reason" for the postponement. "Kim Jong Un needs a visible outcome
that can be felt by the ordinary people, and for that, North Korea
desperately needs sanctions to be lifted," Koo told AFP. "If there was a
problem, it's possible there was a clash between Pyongyang's demand for
sanctions to be relaxed even by a little bit and Washington's firm stance
that the restrictions will remain," he added.
The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on
November 08-09/18
Will Houthis Respond
to the US Call?
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/November 08/18
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threw a stone in the stagnant waters of
the Yemeni crisis, after calling on all parties to agree on a ceasefire and
enter into negotiations in the next 30 days. In parallel, UN Envoy to Yemen
Martin Griffith announced that he would work to hold new negotiations
between the parties to the conflict within a month. This is an important
development that will lead to finding real exits for the Yemeni crisis. The
Yemeni government welcomed the call for a ceasefire and a solution based on
the three references, namely the Gulf Initiative, the outcome of national
dialogue and UN Security Council Resolution 2216. However, will this
important and necessary invitation to dialogue, which was received
sportively by the Yemeni legitimacy, be faced with positivity by the Houthis?
Unfortunately, all the previous attempts to reach a peaceful solution did
not work, in the absence of a practical move by the Houthis to enter into
serious negotiations to end the war. In fact, in all past negotiations over
the Yemeni crisis, the Houthis were a stumbling block to any peaceful
solution. In order for any new US vision not to be a clone of the previous
initiative by former US Secretary of State John Kerry - which was doomed to
failure because it did not take into account the relevant international
resolutions – it should reject the status quo and insist on bringing back
the situation in Yemen to its previous state, before the Houthi coup in
September 2014. However, until now, the US invitation is nothing more than
mere statements, it’s not yet a plan nor a program. Any peace plan must pass
through the UN Security Council and be in accordance with relevant UN
Security Council resolutions, mainly Resolution 2216. Here, we should not
overlook the new wave of US sanctions on Iran; the Iranian regime finds in
the Houthi coup and the continuation of the war a golden opportunity to
respond indirectly to the US and to maintain instability in the region. Are
the Houthis really capable of engaging into peace and going to negotiations
with a real desire to end the war, while Tehran refuses to do so?! The
answer is known.
The Yemeni legitimacy, the Arab Coalition and the international community
have a sincere desire to end this war, which resulted from the coup. Good
intentions alone, however, do not end of a war. Mattis, in the same speech
delivered in Bahrain where he called for negotiations, noted that his
country was against the supply of arms from Iran to the terrorist
organizations in Yemen and Lebanon. He also said that “Iran threatens global
security”, pointing out that Tehran sought to expand its dominance outside
its borders and intervene in the affairs of neighboring countries. He
stressed that unless the factors contributing to the continuation of this
war are stopped, by curbing the Iranian intervention in Yemen’s affairs and
its ownership of the Houthi decision, stopping Iran’s export of arms and
ballistic missiles to the Houthis, and cutting the umbilical cord between
the Houthis and Tehran, any talk of ending the war may be difficult to
implement. Every sane person hopes to end the shedding of blood and to stop
the war. No one is against the principle of establishing the long-awaited
peace, safeguard the Yemenis’ rights and end their sufferings. But all this
depends on a group that considers the continuation of the coup as a victory,
even if it stands alone, with only one state pushing it to continue with its
intransigence.
China Infiltrates
American Campuses
Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/November 08/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13261/china-american-campuses
The main points of contact for Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA)
chapters in the U.S. are often intelligence officers in the embassy and
consulates. China's Ministry of State Security uses CSSA students to inform
on other Chinese on campus.
Let us get the FBI to round up Ministry of State Security agents who, up to
now, have been given free rein to operate in America. Putting these agents
behind bars or even just revoking their visas will end many of the
activities that endanger American campuses. The Chinese kill CIA agents in
China. The least Washington can do is declare China's agents personae non
gratae.
The Chinese feel emboldened to violate American sovereignty and break laws
because American administrations have let them do these things -- sometimes
openly -- since at least the early 1990s. This is as much a Washington
problem as a Beijing one.
Congress can also change laws to make life inhospitable for Confucius
Institutes. Legislation should bar an educational institution from receiving
any federal funds if it hosts a CI.
China's Communist Party has targeted institutions of higher learning as part
of an intensive, multi-decade effort to influence American society. Chinese
President Xi Jinping (pictured) has placed great emphasis on international
propaganda efforts. (Photo by Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images)
Beijing, in seeking influence on American college and university campuses,
has been infringing on academic freedoms, violating American sovereignty,
and breaking U.S. law. U.S. officials, neglecting their responsibilities to
the American people, have allowed this injurious behavior to continue, in
some instances for decades.
As an initial matter, some of this impermissible Chinese conduct is
harmless, even amusing. As detailed by Anastasya Lloyd-Damnjanovic in a
landmark study for the Wilson Center, Chinese officials in 2004 and 2007
threatened then Columbia University professor Robert Barnett, the prominent
Tibet expert, that if he did not adopt a more favorable view of China's
policies they would -- heavens! -- stop speaking to him.
Most of the time, however, impermissible conduct has taken on a more ominous
tone. Barnett, for instance, was also the target of an effort, by a Chinese
student at Columbia and a faculty member from China (at another
institution), to "depose" him for trying to protect Tibetan exiles from
harassment by Chinese students and Chinese consular officials.
In 2009, an official from the Chinese Consulate in New York got in touch
with Ming Xia, a faculty member at City University of New York, and demanded
he stop work on a documentary on the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. The official,
saying China could offer more "financial rewards" than he was getting for
the documentary, essentially offered Xia a bribe; when that did not work,
the official directly threatened him.
Then there was the Yang Shuping incident in June 2017. Yang gave the
commencement speech at the University of Maryland, criticizing Beijing's
environmental record and praising American democratic values. She was
targeted by the infamous Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA),
which called her speech "intolerable", a word inconsistent with the notions
of an open campus. Her family back in China was threatened.
China's Communist Party, especially its United Front Work Department, has
targeted institutions of higher learning as part of an intensive,
multi-decade effort to influence American society. Chinese President Xi
Jinping, who has placed great emphasis on international propaganda efforts,
in May 2015 identified students as "a new focus of United Front Work,"
suggesting they should be promoters and implementers of Party efforts.
As a result of this direction from the top of the Chinese political system,
United Front Work Department activity, according to one "senior US official"
quoted in the Financial Times, has "reached an unacceptable level."
Unacceptable? What the official may have found "unacceptable" was that
students from China have acted in ways that have intimidated faculty, staff,
and other students at American universities. Chinese students have done this
by, among other things, demanding schools remove research materials, by
insisting that faculty change teaching content to suit Beijing, by trying to
prevent others from criticizing China, and by trying to force the
cancellation of academic activities.
Chinese students, not surprisingly, are becoming a part of what is known as
"China's long arm." Far more worrying than the activities of students,
however, are the actions of Chinese diplomats. Chinese diplomats, as Lloyd-Damnjanovic
wrote in her September 2018 report, have been "employing intimidating modes
of conversation."
Diplomats have also infringed on academic freedom by complaining about
on-campus speakers and events, by trying to coerce faculty, and by
threatening retaliation against American university programs in China.
The main instruments of Chinese power on American campuses are the Confucius
Institutes and CSSA chapters.
CIs, as the Confucius Institutes are known, were first established in 2004
to provide Chinese language instruction, but they now teach Chinese society,
culture, and other topics. They have also, incredibly, organized
demonstrations on American soil, often to welcome Chinese leaders or to
hound the Dalai Lama.
The CIs operate at Beijing's direction. The 107 or so Confucius Institutes
in the U.S. formally report to the Hanban, the National Chinese Language
Office, "affiliated" with the Chinese Ministry of Education.
In reality, the Hanban appears to be a front for the Communist Party's
United Front Work Department, which is charged with managing relations with
other organizations and individuals. Liu Yunshan, once head of the Party's
Propaganda Department, in 2010 exhorted CIs to "actively carry out
international propaganda battles." CIs appear, in fact, to be funded by the
Propaganda Department. A party-state, especially one as problematical as
China's, disseminating information as a formal unit of an institution of
higher learning is nothing short of alarming, especially considering the
Party's renewed emphasis on undermining freedom and democracy worldwide.
Possibly even more alarming are the arrangements between China and American
educational institutions. The contracts establishing Confucius Institutes
are rarely public. One might well wonder why. According to Rachelle
Peterson, director of research projects at the National Association of
Scholar:
The contractual language the Hanban pushes on universities poses a more
substantive threat to academic autonomy. The Confucius Institute
constitution requires all universities to avoid "tarnish[ing] the reputation
of the Confucius Institutes" — an offense punishable by revocation of the
contract, immediate loss of all Hanban funds, and potential unspecified
"legal action." I examined eight signed contracts between American
universities and the Hanban, all eight of which duplicate this language
almost verbatim.
The institutes, therefore, have been set up from the get-go to be exempt
from criticism. This immunity, by itself, undermines the ability of
administrators to supervise the CIs.
Even more dangerous are the 150 or so chapters of the CSSA and their closely
affiliated groups. These organizations are sometimes covertly sponsored,
funded, and, most disturbingly, directed by China's embassy and five
consulates in the U.S.
Sometimes these links are openly admitted, but often the chapters try to
hide their connections to Beijing. The website of the University of
California San Diego chapter once said it was "a subordinate organization"
of the Los Angeles Chinese Consulate. The George Washington University
chapter says it is "directed by" and "works with" the Chinese embassy. The
chapter at the University of Tennessee requires members to swear adherence
to certain positions advocated by the Chinese government. The constitution
of Southwestern CSSA -- a group of chapters in Arizona, California, Hawaii,
and New Mexico -- states that all local CSSA presidential candidates must be
approved by China's Los Angeles consulate.
The main points of contact for CSSA chapters are often intelligence officers
in the embassy and consulates. China's Ministry of State Security uses CSSA
students to inform on other Chinese on campus. Sulaiman Gu, a student at the
University of Georgia, told Radio Free Asia that MSS agents tried to get him
to inform on fellow Chinese. Gu actually provided RFA with tapes of MSS
agents giving him requests for information on certain targets.
Moreover, the Chinese state has, for several decades, been organizing -- and
paying for -- Chinese students to engage in demonstrations on U.S. soil
outside campuses, thereby impermissibly interfering in the American
political process.
So, what should be done about all this?
Let us start with what should not be done. America should not, as President
Trump's senior advisor Stephen Miller proposed this year, ban all Chinese
students. The U.S. is an open society, and Americans should keep it open.
That is why their country is so strong. Americans do not need to create a
climate of intimidation and fear against a racial group.
Americans also should not vilify Chinese students as a group or forget that
Chinese students and faculty members of Chinese descent are often the
targets of Beijing's influence and interference operations. In short, let us
not punish victims.
So what should America do?
First, universities can take over many of the functions of CSSA chapters. In
addition to their malign activities, CSSA chapters provide important support
services, such as helping Chinese students adjust when they first arrive on
campus. The Communist Party should not be the only institution providing
those services. U.S. colleges and universities benefit from the tuition of
about 340,000 students from China, and these institutions can certainly
offer services to support their stay.
Second, Washington should rely on existing norms, rules, and laws. American
institutions certainly can deal with whatever Beijing throws at them. So,
for instance, any CSSA chapter that hides funding from Beijing -- a
violation of college and university rules -- should be disbanded.
Most of all, let us get the FBI to round up Ministry of State Security
agents who, up to now, have been given free rein to operate in America.
Putting these agents behind bars or even just revoking their visas will end
many of the activities that endanger American campuses. The Chinese kill CIA
agents in China. The least Washington can do is declare China's agents
personae non gratae.
The Chinese feel emboldened to violate American sovereignty and break laws
because American administrations have let them do these things -- sometimes
openly -- since at least the early 1990s. This is as much a Washington
problem as a Beijing one.
Third, Congress can also change laws to make life inhospitable for Confucius
Institutes. The John McCain 2019 National Defense Authorization Act provides
that an educational institution cannot receive Defense Department funds for
any program that involves a Confucius Institute.
That is a good start, but the Trump administration should try to extend the
prohibition. Legislation should bar an educational institution from
receiving any federal funds if it hosts a CI.
Rachelle Peterson of the National Association of Scholars told Gatestone
that there are now three bills before Congress -- the Foreign Influence
Transparency Act, the Stop Higher Education Espionage and Theft Act, and the
Aim Higher Act -- addressing the problems posed by Confucius Institutes.
Fourth, U.S. and campus officials must make sure that Communist Party
members do not abuse their First Amendment rights. The First Amendment gives
China's Party committees the freedom to convene, but they do not have the
freedom to intimidate others, especially Chinese and American students and
scholars, a violation of civil liberties.
The existence of a Party cell on a U.S. campus -- there are now several of
them -- signals to Chinese students and faculty that, although they are in
the United States, they are still subject to Beijing's supervision.
This issue of Chinese intimidation on campus for me is personal. My father,
born in China, came to Cornell University in 1945 on a Chinese government
scholarship. For Chinese students in the United States, I wish for them what
my father had, the experience to study -- and live -- without fear.
*Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China and a
Gatestone Institute Distinguished Senior Fellow.
© 2018 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.
How Extremist Scholars Promote Terrorism, Violence
A. Z. Mohamed/Gatestone Institute/November 08/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13073/scholars-terrorism-extremism
"I would like to pay tribute to the sincere scholars of Al-Azhar and the
Ministry of Awqaf [Endowments] who are working to correct the misconceptions
about the tolerant Islamic religion and its moderate middle approach, to
address and counter extremism and deviant ideology and to uphold the human,
moral and love values among all human kind." — Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah El-Sisi, June 11, 2018.
The Grand Imam conspicuously chose to ignore the fact that many Muslims hate
and despise non-Muslims. These Muslims are acting in accordance with what
the Quran and the Hadith tell them about the disbelievers. Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi deserves to be universally commended for his
words supporting an approach to "counter extremism and deviant ideology and
to uphold the human, moral and love values among all human kind." Pictured:
Sisi addresses the United Nations on September 25, 2018 in New York City.
(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Prominent Muslim scholars continue to argue that the Quran and Prophet
Mohammed do not incite intolerance or killing Christians and Jews. Many
scholars, however, seem prepared to do their utmost to hide this
"inconvenient truth."
Take, for example, Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar,
Egypt's preeminent Sunni university, who recently claimed that "there is no
single verse in the Quran that calls for killing Jews or Christians."
While it is true that the Quran does not specifically call for killing
Christians and Jews, the Hadith — a record of the words, actions, and the
silent approval of Prophet Mohammed — does refer to killing all Jews.
The Quran, however does refer to Christians and Jews as disbelievers, and
calls on Muslims to fight and kill disbelievers.
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar made his claim in a speech delivered in Cairo,
Egypt, in the presence of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, senior government
officials and Al-Azhar clerics on June 11 during the annual celebration of
Laylat al-Qadr ("Night of Decree").
In his speech, the senior Muslim cleric reconfirmed Al-Azhar's previous
condemnation of a call from many intellectuals and politicians in France to
reconsider as outdated the verses of the Quran that provoke hatred, killing
Jews and other disbelievers, and that promote anti-Semitism and hatred of
other non-Muslims. The French declaration says: "... we ask the verses of
the Quran calling for the killing and punishment of Jews, Christians and
unbelievers be [denounced as] outdated by theological [Islamic] authorities,
as were the incoherencies of the Bible and the Catholic anti-Semitism
abolished by Vatican II, so that no believer can rely on a sacred text to
commit a crime."The following are some examples of verses in the Quran that
refer to Jews and Christians as disbelievers and call on Muslims to fight
against them:
"They have certainly disbelieved who say, 'Allah is the Messiah, the son of
Mary.'" (Quran 5:72, Sahih International translation)
"They have certainly disbelieved who say, 'Allah is the third of three.'"
(Quran 5:73, Sahih International translation)
Because all or most Christians believe in the trinity and believe Jesus
Christ is God, they are by the Quran and Muslims as disbelievers:
"Among the Jews are those who distort words from their [proper] usages and
say, 'We hear and disobey' and 'Hear but be not heard' and 'Ra'ina,'
twisting their tongues and defaming the religion. And if they had said
[instead], 'We hear and obey' and 'Wait for us [to understand],' it would
have been better for them and more suitable. But Allah has cursed them for
their disbelief, so they believe not, except for a few." (Quran 4:46, Sahih
International translation)
According to the last verse, all Jews, with the exception of a few, are
cursed and disbelievers.
"[Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, 'I am with you, so
strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of
those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them
every fingertip.'" (Quran 8:12, Sahih International translation)
This verse and others clearly call on Muslims to wage war on the
disbelievers.
"O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers
and let them find in you harshness." (Quran 9:123, Sahih International
translation)
"Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not
consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do
not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture -
[fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled." (Quran
9:29, Sahih International translation)
Because Jews or Christians are "disbelievers," Muslims must apparently obey
God's orders and fight against them and kill them.
It is verses such as these that inspire Muslim terrorists to carry out
attacks against non-Muslims. Moreover, it is verses such as these on which
Muslim preachers continue to rely to incite against non-Muslims.
As one can see, that the Quran is quite clear about the need to fight and
kill "disbelievers." That detail, however, does not stop senior Muslim
clerics such as the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar from continuing to claim that the
Quran is only urging Muslims to defend themselves against "aggression."
The Hadith also calls on Muslims to fight and kill Jews:
Al-Bukhari (3593) and Muslim (2921) narrated from the Hadith of Ibn 'Umar
(may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I heard the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: "The Jews will fight
you and you will prevail over them, then a rock will say: 'O Muslim, here is
a Jew behind me; kill him.'"
In Saheeh Muslim (2922), it is narrated from the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah that
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The
Hour will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims will
kill them, until a Jew hides behind a rock or a tree, and the rock or tree
will say: O Muslim, O slave of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and
kill him. Except the gharqad (a thorny tree), for it is one of the trees of
the Jews."
Ironically, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar regretted "that those who publish
these statements [in the anti-Semitism manifesto] do not know how much
hatred these words could create in the hearts of over 1.5 billion Muslims."
The Grand Imam consciously chose to ignore the fact that many Muslims hate
and despise non-Muslims. These Muslims are acting in accordance with what
the Quran and the Hadith tell them about the disbelievers:
"You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the
believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allah."
(Quran 5:82, Sahih International translation)
"O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies.
They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them
among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the
wrongdoing people." (Quran 5:51, Sahih International translation)
"And the Jews say, 'The hand of Allah is chained.' Chained are their hands,
and cursed are they for what they say... And that which has been revealed to
you from your Lord will surely increase many of them in transgression and
disbelief. And We have cast among them animosity and hatred until the Day of
Resurrection... And they strive throughout the land [causing] corruption,
and Allah does not like corrupters." (Quran 5:64, Sahih International
translation)
In his attempt to deny that the Quran verses breed anti-Semitism and hatred
of non-Muslims, El-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, quoted the following
verse from the Quran:
"They are not [all] the same; among the People of the Scripture is a
community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during
periods of the night and prostrating [in prayer]. They believe in Allah and
the Last Day, and they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and
hasten to good deeds. And those are among the righteous. (Quran 3:113-14,
Sahih International translation)
Yes, there are positive references to the Jews in the Quran; one verse even
depicts the Jews as the preferred group of people:
"And We did certainly give the Children of Israel the Scripture and
judgement and prophet-hood, and We provided them with good things and
preferred them over the worlds." (Quran 45:16, Sahih International
translation)
Moreover, the Quran verses 5:21 and 17:104 state that the Holy Land was
promised to the Jews.
Muslim scholars argue, in response, that verses favoring the Jews refer only
to Jews who became true believers, and not the majority whom Allah labeled "kufaar"
(disbelievers).
In addition to absolving Islam of any connection to hatred, violence and
terrorism, El-Tayeb accused the Anti-Semitism Manifesto of provoking
terrorism, saying, "Such boldness on others' sanctity is one of the major
causes of terrorism." There seems, however, to be a blind spot about a
reciprocal "boldness on others' sanctity" when it comes to respecting
non-Muslims.
At the same celebration of Laylat al-Qadr, President El-Sisi, in his brief
speech, which came after El-Tayeb's long one, said:
"I would like to pay tribute to the sincere scholars of Al-Azhar and the
Ministry of Awqaf [Endowments] who are working to correct the misconceptions
about the tolerant Islamic religion and its moderate middle approach, to
address and counter extremism and deviant ideology and to uphold the human,
moral and love values among all human kind."
President El-Sisi deserves to be universally commended for his words.
The Grand Imam, on the other hand, clearly does not share his president's
views on Islam. By continuing to turn a blind eye to the verses of Quran and
Hadith that incite intolerance and hatred of non-Muslims, the imam is
thwarting any attempt to turn Islam into a tolerant and moderate religion.
His approach only serves to promote violence, extremism and terrorism.
*A. Z. Mohamed is a Muslim born and raised in the Middle East.
© 2018 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone
Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be
reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of
Gatestone Institute.
Iran’s sanctions and Saudi Arabia’s future
Abdullah bin Bijad Al-Otaibi/Al Arabiya/November 08/18
The destiny of states depends on their leadership, decisions and vision.
Those who choose the past remain trapped in it, and those who choose the
future reach it. There are two major projects taking place in the Middle
East. The first one belongs to the past and is governed by the past and it
only invokes evil sectarianism, brutality and terrorism. This is Iran’s
project. The other project belongs to the future and is driven by the
future. This is the project of the new Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabia of
King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
At the time of the publication of this article, the toughest US sanctions
would have been enforced against Iran. These sanctions are part of the new
US strategy announced by President Trump who annulled the worst deal in
history — as Trump himself put it — between the Obama administration and the
Iranian regime. There are two major projects taking place in the Middle
East. The first one belongs to the past and is governed by the past and it
only invokes evil sectarianism, brutality and terrorism. This is Iran’s
project. The other project belongs to the future and is driven by the
future. This is the project of the new Saudi Arabia
The first phase of the sanctions began in early August. The one enforced now
marks the second phase. These sanctions will gradually and effectively
stifle the Iranian regime along with all its affiliates, both within that
country and abroad. These sanctions serve the interest of the US and the
world and confront the most powerful regimes spreading extremism, terrorism,
disruption and destruction. This development coincides with an amazing model
which the new Saudi Arabia is building under the leadership of the Saudi
Crown Prince to diversify the economy, renew the country’s identity and
develop it towards the future to overcome its challenges. His ambitions’
limits are the sky and his vision and its associated plans are announced and
their achievements are quantified in numbers and are aired in the daily
news. There is a great deal of flexibility and continuous renewal that
ensure the fulfillment of promises and the achievements.
It is important to consider these two contradictory models to look into the
behavior of some European countries and most of the liberal Western media
which opposes Trump and into the hysteria, as expressed by the Saudi Foreign
Minister, they adopted to deal with the Khashoggi case. Saudi Arabia has
seriously dealt with this case and it has imprisoned the ones involved in it
and referred them to the Attorney General, according to the highest judicial
standards. The Kingdom also announced that it will punish them according to
the law and will announce the results to the world. How can it be compared
to a well-established policy and methodology to kill millions, like those
that are openly adopted by Iran which has killed hundreds of thousands in
Iraq, Syria and Yemen?
Saudi stand for stability
The Iranian ideology adopts all types of “deadly identities” – as Amin
Maalouf and others phrased it – of sectarianism, fundamentalism, brutality
and terrorism that have a political, economic, cultural and social system
and that have been associated with decisions, policies and strategies over
the duration of 40 years.
This ideology killed millions of Iranians and Arabs where the Iranian
regime’s wings played a role. This ideology has established the belief that
homeland is an idea not a territory. It is expansionist and does not
acknowledge borders, countries, international laws or states’ sovereignty.
Its prominent figures even boast of occupying four Arab capitals. On the
other hand, the Saudi model is the main supporter of stability in the
region. It is the most powerful protector of international laws, of the
respect for state policies and of rejection of foreign interferences in
other countries’ internal affairs. The new Saudi Arabia has used its moral
and financial resources to support international laws and protect its
interests and the interests of Arab countries and peoples, as well as of the
world. The new Saudi Arabia also stood up against the world and the former
US administration – the Obama administration – against its shameful nuclear
agreement with Iran. This agreement exacerbated the crisis instead of
resolving it. Saudi Arabia also stood up against the “fundamentalist Spring”
in Arab countries which took the countries that suffered from it centuries
back.
The deluded Left
It is very difficult for ideological leftists, nationalists and
fundamentalists to back down on their stances or reconsider them or even
accept criticism. Thus they are destined to remain hard-line and
contradictory. It would be enough to track the way they deal with the crises
in this short period, where they exaggerate what they do not want and
minimize what they want, or else who would compare the murder of the Assad
regime, which is loyal to Iran, of hundreds of thousands with poison gas and
other weapons with a mysterious incident which dimensions have not been
revealed yet!
Homeland for all of these people is just an “ideology” not a modern state
that has borders, sovereignty and independent decision. Ideology can lead to
absence of reason, logic and reality. Leftist figures often praised Khomeini
“the bearded revolutionist” who looks like Guevara and Castro but with a
turban. They were unable to get over such notions, despite the crimes and
destruction that took place over four decades, from the moment the French
intellectual Michel Foucault supported Khomeini until today, with all the
nonsense of the Arab left. One of the salient aspects of the new model being
established by the Saudi Crown Prince is a model that provides a new
interpretation of the homeland, is that it is not only in conformity with
the ideals of a modern nation state, which how Saudi Arabia has been since
its formation in the 1930s, but that it is the state of the future. This
unique interpretation clarifies the direction, vision and the will. The
homeland is its children, youths and future generations; the children who
work hard in the present, the youths who are full of aspirations and
ambitions and future generations that should be prepared for bearing the
flag and continuing the task when their turn comes.
But does this mean to reject or undermine the past? Never! Anyone who
studies the Saudi Crown Prince’s vision would find that the past forms a
solid foundation for it. It is based on great achievements and is full of
cultural and social diversity. It has a vision of tolerance and coexistence
and aims to spread peace in the region and the whole world and to overcome
mistakes, even if they last for decades, via brave decisions and a sharp
insight.
Homeland for posterity
The Saudi Crown Prince represents the future in the eyes of his people. 70%
of the people constitute youth who stand behind him because they are aware
that the ambitious founders and developers of the state are the ones who
build, dream and work. The homeland is undoubtedly a legacy but it’s more
than that as it is a future characterized by building and developing. The
comparison is usually useful for revealing and giving the mind an area of
reflection and meditation. It shows clear results while comparing with the
two models presented above. It also exposes the biased ideologies and
promotes rational, balanced and realistic attitudes. One hundred years ago,
in January 1919, Max Weber wrote: “The fatherland is not the land of the
fathers, but the land of the children.”
CASA project and energy dynamics across Central, South Asia
Sabena Siddiqui/Al Arabiya/November 08/18
Having similar objectives as the CPEC and the TAPI, the CASA-1000 happens to
be the third most significant, groundbreaking project of the decade for this
geopolitical region. Officially declared a project in 2015, the progress of
the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project
(CASA-1000) has been at a snail’s pace until only recently. Launched in
2016, it involves four countries, namely, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Afghanistan and Pakistan and most of the funding is arranged from the World
Bank, while the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are also funding it partially. In the
broader perspective, this ambitious scheme intertwines two separate
geopolitical regions with one single project. Connecting the energy-rich
Central Asian states with the massive consumer market of South Asia, both
US-backed projects of CASA 1,000 and the
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline (TAPI) promote regional
integration as well as facilitate economic connections and multi-lateral
co-operation. With an initial budget of $1.17 billion, the CASA-1000 also
happens to be the third most significant, ground-breaking project of the
decade in this geopolitical region, after the two bigger projects that are
the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline. Hydropower dams running on
water cascading from mountain ranges, such an electricity transmission line
connecting Central Asia to Afghanistan, Pakistan and maybe even India can
uplift the entire region
Under-rated
Unfortunately, CASA-1000 has been quite under-rated and is not as well-known
as the other two projects due to perpetual delays which create confusions
whether the project is still on. Nevertheless, since TAPI was inaugurated in
March this year, there is new hope that the CASA 1000 could also move ahead
as it is in the same region. Announcing plans to start building the required
infrastructure, the Tajikistan Ministry of Energy and Water Resources has
said that, “The implementation of the physical part of the CASA-1000 Project
will begin in all countries participating in the Project during this year.”
Assessing the overall impact of this project the following main factors
emerge; Firstly, it helps utilize the excess from hydropower plants in
Central Asia in summers. Harnessing the surplus of clean energy produced by
the republics of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, it makes economic sense for
these states to utilize their abundant water resources for generating
electricity that can be exported.
Hydropower dams running on water cascading from the mountain ranges, such an
electricity transmission line connecting Central Asia to Afghanistan,
Pakistan and maybe even onwards to India can uplift the entire region.
Secondly, it helps establish Afghanistan’s viability as a stable and
dependable transit route for supplies. In the construction phase, this
large-scale power project is to be stretched 550km across the length of
Afghanistan from the Sher Khan Bandar at the Afghan-Tajikistan border to the
Torkham border check-point at the Afghan-Pakistan border. Projected to be
completed in 2020 now, most of this construction is to happen in early 2019
and it should reach the commercial operation phase in late summer 2021,
according to the World Bank. Thirdly, it helps to reduce Pakistan’s energy
crisis, which virtually knocks off 3% percent of its economic growth every
year. Providing Pakistan financing of around $120 million, the World Bank is
facilitating Pakistan in laying the power transmission lines for its part of
the project while the US played a prominent role in striking the power
supply deal between Pakistan and Tajikistan. Conducting the feasibility
research, Canadian company SNC Lavalin has endorsed the viability of the
CASA-1000 project. Finalizing modalities, the construction tender was won by
two Indian companies in March 2018, and work is to begin with the
installation of transmission lines.
Project agreements
To be executed in three phases, all the main project agreements and
procurement detail for infrastructure packages have also been settled
between the four participants. Once completed successfully, it can be a
virtual stepping-stone for the establishment of the CASA Regional Energy
Market initiative (CASAREM) which aims to enhance the growth prospects of
both Central Asia and South Asia with clean power export revenues and
alleviating an energy deficit. Beginning with two Central Asian countries as
exporters and two South Asian ones as importers, Afghanistan receives 300
megawatts of power according to its domestic demand, while the remaining
1000 megawatts would be transited to Pakistan via Afghan land routes.
Standing to benefit $50 million annually just in transit duty, this is a
litmus test for Afghanistan. If it proves to be a successful model there is
great potential for more South Asian countries to join in and access
reliable energy supply lines from Central Asia. Defining the long-term
vision of the project, Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Regional Director for
South Asia has said that, “CASA 1000 is a key part of the broader effort to
develop a regional electricity market linking Central Asia with the broader
region and is also promoting energy security and economic development in the
four countries part of the project.”Connecting states and regions, the idea
for this 1200 km, 1300MW link is originally on the pattern of the North
American grid that covers a 340,000 km area or even the European power
network which spans across 230,000 km of territory. Enabling inter-regional
electricity trade, the CASA-1000 can economically uplift some of the poorest
regions as well as bring in more infrastructure investment. Not only that,
the development plan enhances the energy security of South Asia and upgrades
regional stability.
Nation building through state building
Shehab Al-Makahleh/Al Arabiya/November 08/18
To diagnose Arab issues, one should first address two concepts:
nation-building and state-building. For more than 80 years, Arabs have lost
their real identity due to hundreds of years of colonialism and regional
conflicts.
Nation building has been used to refer to multilateral and bilateral
engagements in post-conflict situations to brittle and friable states. On
the other hand, state building hinges on effective political and economic
institutions to build the identity and enrich human resources.
The process of building the state relies on the political paradigm in the
first place because the innards and objectives vary according to those who
are in charge of the state-building process based on their goals, interests
and doctrines. The process also depends on social and economic factors.
Therefore, this ontological incongruity has imposed multiple epistemological
definitions of state and nation building as an indicator of the dynamic
concept of state and nation building at the theoretical and methodological
levels in the Arab world, which can be blamed behind all Arab failures at
the international fields politically and economically.
Between state and identity
Looking at the predicaments that Arabs are undergoing from the Levantine
(Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon) and Iraq, North Africa and the
Arabian Peninsula, one notices that the denominators are state and nation
building. In 1805, Napoleon said: “There cannot be a firmly established
political state unless there is a teaching body with definitely recognized
principles. If the child is not taught from infancy that he ought to be a
republican or a monarchist, a Catholic or a free-thinker, the state will not
constitute a nation; it will rest on uncertain and shifting foundations; and
it will be constantly exposed to disorder and change.”There is a dire need
in the Middle East to focus on institutional reconstruction and to claim
that state-construction undertakings do not inescapably entail a concomitant
nation-building struggle. The onus on external actors in nation building is
to succour through organized architecture, which represents social justice
backed by democratic procedures such as free elections, constitution, free
media, and rule of law. This cannot act well without healthy economies and
free market policies. The link between a state and a nation building is
education and media which help to disseminate national cognizance, construct
and promote national identity through education, mass media, iconography of
the state and its apparatuses. The oxymoron of endeavouring to construct or
reconstruct states cannot be achieved without building the nation. Thus,
state foundations cannot be operational and productive without bearing in
mind the socio-political consistency of communities. The notion of state and
nation building in the Middle East is very important to understand the
challenges that the Middle Easterners are encountering. State-building is
different from nation-building; yet, they are interrelated. This is similar
to a hardware (state) and a software (nation). They cannot function well
without this juxtaposition. Thus, there is a dire need in the Middle East to
focus on institutional reconstruction and to claim that state-construction
undertakings do not inescapably entail a concomitant nation-building
struggle because once the state is under construction, the nation can be
prepared for the next phase as part of socio-political cohesion.
Challenges galore
The Middle East states face many existential threats and challenges.
However, the extortions are twofold. First, state governance is very
fragile. Second, because most of the Middle East countries depend on other
countries to achieve quick and visible results; this can work out on the
short run, but will not be beneficial for these states on the mid-term and
long-run. A flashback at these states reveals that the nation-building
process has borne fruits through improving security, expanding economic
activities, and enhancing human development.
Either or both?
Hundreds of years ago, the greatest cities in the world had been Baghdad,
Damascus and Cairo were built in synchronisation with building the nation.
The secret lies in building a state in parallel with building the nation as
the state is the body and the nation is the soul.
Before the Arab Spring broke out in some countries, the issues that would
hinder any progress and development of any state were crystal clear in most
of the Middle East countries. This has been fueled by external factors that
led to mass demonstrations that toppled some Arab regimes and to civils
conflicts amongst others. Referring to recent history in the aftermath of
Western colonialism of Arab states, none of them has enjoyed peace,
integration, prosperity and progress although these countries have gained
their independence long time ago. Imperialism effect still controls the
hinges of most of Arab countries’ political and economic activities. The
2011 watershed events left many Arab states in shambles and others in
muddles due to the ongoing chaotic shift of coalitions, proxy wars, bigoted
vehemence which have marred the Middle Eastern geopolitical landscape.
Since 1970s, many Arab countries had states without a system, which paved
the way for non-state actors to fill the vacuum in some cities and provinces
such as in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia. This has enfeebled the existing
Arab states in favor of other regional powers such as Israel, Iran and
Turkey which have benefited from this status quo by gaining clout and
ground.
Diagnosing the crisis
By following up the recent history of all Arab states, it can be realised
that the state crisis in the Middle East lies in two spheres. The first is
the failure state such as Yemen where the decline of the central authority
of the government is at stake.
This has instigated dangerous groups to take the initiative to manage and
control the country’s security. The second is that Arab states are between
the hammer of modernity of economic and social structures and the anvil of
conventional systems. This discrepancy exacerbates governance, development
and rule of law. As long as there are conflicting priorities between state
and nation-building in the Arab countries, Arab states will not have any
political influence regionally and internationally. Thus, state-building
should start in line with nation-building through overhauling social, media,
economic, educational, security, military and judicial systems in the Arab
world to meet future challenges.
Europe-Iran relations complicated by alleged
assassination attempts
Kerry Boyd Anderson/Arab News/November 08/18
The leaders of the EU, France, Germany and the UK last week released a joint
statement expressing Europe’s ongoing support for the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA) and their intentions to try to preserve business and
trade with Iran, despite newly reimposed US sanctions. However, recent
allegations regarding Iranian efforts to assassinate dissidents based in
Europe threatens to undermine the continent’s resolve at a particularly
sensitive time.
Friday’s statement noted that Europe is trying to implement mechanisms to
allow European firms to continue to conduct business in Iran and to continue
importing Iranian oil. “Our collective resolve to complete this work is
unwavering,” the European leaders said.
At the same time, the statement contained a warning to Iran, noting that the
leaders “expect Iran to play a constructive role” in maintaining the JCPOA.
Part of that is a reminder to Tehran that, in exchange for Europe’s efforts
to ensure economic benefits for Iran, the regime must continue abiding by
the JCPOA’s limitations on its nuclear program. Additionally, the language
may also be a warning that Iran needs to be more careful regarding its
actions in European countries.
In October, two serious accusations were made against Iran for allegedly
attempting to assassinate Iranian dissidents in Europe. The first came early
in the month, when French authorities said that Iranian intelligence had
plotted to bomb a June gathering in Paris of the political arm of the
Mojahedin-e Khalq. Related arrests were made in France and Belgium, and
German police arrested an Iranian diplomat who is reportedly the
intelligence agent who ordered the attack.
Later in October, Danish authorities revealed that they believe Iran planned
to assassinate members of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of
Ahvaz (ASMLA) in Denmark. A Norwegian man of Iranian origin was arrested in
Sweden in October and is accused of involvement in the plot.
These cases came at a particularly sensitive time in Iran-Europe relations,
but there have been previous cases too. A year ago, ASMLA’s founder, Ahmad
Mola Nissi, was killed in the Netherlands, raising suspicions about Iranian
involvement. In late 2015, a man was shot in the Netherlands and reports
emerged in June this year that the man may have been “Mohammad Reza Kolahi
Samadi, who was accused of planting a bomb that resulted in the deadliest
attack in modern Iranian history,” according to the BBC.
For now, Europe is likely to continue trying to preserve relations with Iran
and the JCPOA. However, it will be important to follow Denmark’s reaction.
There are questions about all of these cases. The Iranian government has
denied involvement, blaming the allegations on actors that want to disrupt
European-Iranian relations. The publicly available evidence so far is weak,
especially in the Danish case, leaving observers to rely on European
intelligence agencies. There are multiple reports that Israel’s Mossad
provided information in the Danish case, and Israel clearly has a strong
interest in weakening European support for Iran. However, many European
authorities say they feel confident in their information.
It is possible that factions within Iran that oppose the JCPOA are
responsible and acted without the knowledge of President Hassan Rouhani.
Furthermore, from Iran’s perspective, given ASMLA’s role in attacks within
Iran — including a September attack on a military parade in Iran that killed
civilians as well as soldiers — Europe has been harboring terrorists; so it
might feel justified in trying to assassinate them.
Regardless of the allegations’ accuracy or the motives of anyone behind
them, they pose a significant challenge to European-Iranian relations at a
critical time. France responded to the alleged Paris plot in a measured way,
freezing the assets of two Iranian officials and choosing not to appoint a
new ambassador to Iran. Denmark, however, appears to be seeking a more
muscular response; it has recalled its ambassador and is talking with other
EU countries about how to respond. Several European nations have recently
expressed solidarity with Denmark.
Yet, on Friday, Europe appeared united behind its efforts to continue
conducting business and trade with Iran in order to preserve the JCPOA. This
leaves Europe facing a dilemma: It wants to circumvent US sanctions and do
business with Iran in order to preserve the JCPOA, but its strongest tool
for responding to Iranian killings on European territory is to impose
sanctions.
European leaders believe that the JCPOA is a successful agreement that
significantly limits Iran’s nuclear program as a global and regional threat.
They believe the approach of international sanctions leading to negotiations
and a deal is a good model, and they do not want to undermine it as a
potential plan for addressing other global concerns. Also, the pre-JCPOA
sanctions on Iran hurt Europe’s economic interests more than they hurt the
US’, and European leaders are keen to allow business and trade. Furthermore,
Europeans have many reasons to be annoyed with US President Donald Trump and
do not want to hand him a win by imposing their own sanctions on Iran.
For now, Europe is likely to continue trying to preserve relations with Iran
and the JCPOA. However, it will be important to follow Denmark’s reaction.
If actors within Iran are trying to spoil the JCPOA through assassinations
in Europe, more attempts could occur. At a minimum, relations between Europe
and Iran are complicated, and much will depend on political outcomes in Iran
as well as in Europe.
*Kerry Boyd Anderson is a writer and political risk consultant with more
than 14 years’ experience as a professional analyst of international
security issues and Middle East political and business risk. Twitter: @KBAresearch
Mullahs’ policies exacerbating Iran’s financial crisis
د. ماجد ربيزاده/
سياسات الملالي تفاقم الأزمة المالية الإيرانية
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/November 08/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/68759/dr-majid-rafizadeh-mullahs-policies-exacerbating-irans-financial-crisis-%d8%af-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%af-%d8%b1%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%87-%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%a7/
The Iranian leaders continue to project a
picture that their country is not facing any economic crisis. Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei recently declared that the Islamic Republic would be one of the
most powerful economies in the world over the next five decades. President
Hassan Rouhani also famously stated that, over the next three decades, Iran
could become one of the top 10 economies in the world. This is an attempt to
project power and economic stability to the rest of the world.
But such rhetoric contradicts the reality on the ground. The fact is that
the Iranian regime has created the worst economic crisis the nation has
faced in many decades.
Iran’s economy is officially in recession, according to the International
Monetary Fund. Its national currency, the rial, has dropped to historic lows
— one US dollar, which equaled approximately 35,000 rial in November last
year, is now worth nearly 150,000.
Although Iran has an educated youth population, almost 30 percent of them
cannot find jobs. In some provinces, the unemployment rate is over 60
percent. According to an official representative of the regime’s Planning
and Management Organization, “42 percent of unemployed people in Iran have a
university degree, and huge sums of money have been spent on their
education.”
The unemployment rate among university-educated women is much higher than
that of men, hovering near 80 percent in some provinces, and approximately
70 percent in others.
In addition, more than 40 percent of the population, or approximately 32
million citizens, live below the poverty line.
Widespread corruption and economic mismanagement has also led to food
shortages in many Iranian cities. In some provinces, such as Sistan and
Baluchistan, more than 75 percent of the population is currently struggling
with food shortages and a lack of drinking water. This will inevitably
result in an unprecedented health crisis.
The main underlying problems lie in the fact that Iran's large wealth is not
being redistributed among the nation. Instead, it has been monopolized by
the theocratic establishment and spent on financing terror and militia
groups.
Meanwhile, inflation is on the rise. In April, inflation was 7.9 percent,
but by September it had rocketed to 31.4 percent. While salaries and wages
have generally remained the same, the price of commodities, food, housing
and rent have soared, making it extremely difficult for many people to
afford basic necessities.
The average cost of living in Iran is roughly half of the average cost of
living in the US, with the living expenses for one person costing roughly
$6,500 a year. But the average salary of an Iranian family is only around
$1,900 dollars a year, according to Iran’s official figures.
That is why the economy has been forcing people to take to the streets and
revolt against the regime. They have been chanting: “Reformists,
hard-liners, the game is over now;” “Leave Syria alone, think about us
instead;” “Death to Hezbollah;” and “Forget Gaza, forget Lebanon, I’d give
my life for Iran.”
Protests in Iran are regular occurrences as the economy continues to worsen.
Currently, Iranian teachers have joined other groups, such as truck drivers,
merchants, traders and shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, by going on a
nationwide strike in order to protest poor economic conditions.
Iran’s economy ought to be one of the strongest in the world. With
approximately $27.3 trillion of natural resources and it being the
18th-largest country in the world when ranked by purchasing power parity,
Iran is considered one of the globe’s richest countries. It has the world’s
second and fourth-largest gas (with a value of nearly $12 trillion) and oil
(worth nearly $17 trillion) reserves, respectively.
But the main underlying problems lie in the fact that the nation’s large
wealth is not being redistributed among the nation. Instead, it has been
monopolized by the theocratic establishment and spent on financing terror
and militia groups, pursuing military adventurism in the region, boosting
the power of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and further
enriching the gilded circle of the ruling politicians. It is worth noting
that Khamenei’s financial empire is currently proven to be worth at least
$95 billion.
In a nutshell, Iran’s economy is facing its worst crisis in decades. The
recent US sanctions against the regime, alongside the Iranian leaders’
unwillingness to redistribute the nation’s wealth, battle financial
corruption, halt terror financing, cease money laundering, or make
fundamental reforms within its economy, only mean that Iran’s economy will
continue its downward spiral.
As long as the mullahs and the IRGC rule over Iran with an iron fist, the
Iranian people’s economic conditions will most likely continue to
deteriorate.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political
scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a
businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1401431