English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For April 09/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.april09.22.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
You always have the poor with you, but you
do not always have me
John 11/55-57//12-01-11: “Now the Passover of the Jews
was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to
purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as
they stood in the temple, ‘What do you think? Surely he will not come to the
festival, will he?’Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that
anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest
him.Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.There they gave a dinner for him. Martha
served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of
costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her
hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas
Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why
was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the
poor?’(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a
thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus
said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of
my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’
When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only
because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So
the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on
account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in
Jesus.“
Titles For The
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on
April 08-09/2022
President Aoun meets Patriarch Rahi in Baabda
Berri refers capital control draft law to joint parliamentary committees
Saudi, Kuwaiti ambassadors arrive in Beirut
Experts pour cold water on Lebanon-IMF tentative deal
Hizbullah says Tel Aviv 'heroic attack' exposed Israel's weakness
US lauds 'hard work' after Lebanon, IMF reach tentative deal
Aoun tells al-Rahi govt. committed to implement IMF-required laws
After KSA and Kuwait, Yemen's ambassador returns to Lebanon
Judge Ghada Aoun referred to judicial inspection, sued by MTV
Saudi Arabia returns its ambassador to Lebanon
As tensions ease, Saudi, Kuwaiti, Yemeni envoys return to Lebanon
Lebanon reaches funding deal with IMF, conditional on reforms
200 European observers to monitor Lebanese elections; Aoun warns of low voter
turnout
Lebanese Democracy Under the Shadow of Hezbollah/Elias Harfoush/Ashark Al
Awsat/April, 08/2022
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on April 08-09/2022
Israeli security forces kill Tel Aviv gunman in shootout
Tel Aviv terror shooting victims identified as two childhood friends out for a
drink
Israeli PM gives security 'full freedom' to act after Tel Aviv attack
Rights Organizations Accuse Iran of Harassing Witnesses of 2019 Protests Court
EU Imposes Sanctions on Putin's Daughters
35 dead in Kramatorsk train station strike as civilians flee east Ukraine
Japan to Expel 8 Russian Officials, Impose New Sanctions
EU Proposes 500 Million Euros More for Arms to Ukraine
Putin Has Given Up on Conquering Kyiv, Pentagon Chief said
WHO Says over 100 Attacks Confirmed on Healthcare in Ukraine
France's Le Pen Says 'So Close' as Election Battle Enters Crucial Stage
US Bans Exports to Three Russian Airlines for Sanctions Violations
Civilians Flee East Ukraine, Warnings of 'Horrific' Abuses
UN General Assembly Suspends Russia from Human Rights Council
Canada/Minister Joly concludes productive trip to Europe
US-led coalition in Iraq downs drone targeting base
Priest dies from stabbing on seaside promenade in Egypt
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on April 08-09/2022
Israel Is Not Russia, and Palestinians Are Not Ukraine/Shany Mor and
David May/ The Algemeiner/April 08/2022
Putin’s winning streak in European politics/Dalibor Rohac and Ivana Stradner/The
Spectator/April 08/2022|
It’s also important to win the information war with Putin’s Russia/Ivana
Stradner/The Hill/April 08/2022
Manhunt Ensues After Terrorist Attack in Tel Aviv/Joe Truzman/FDD/April 08/2022
Turkey: What Happens When You Have No Freedom of Speech/Uzay Bulut/ Gatestone
Institute/April 8, 2022
Points that Putin Apologists Miss/Amir Taheri/Ashark Al Awsat/April, 08/2022
Question: "What is Psalm Sunday?"/GotQuestions.org?//April, 08/2022
The negative consequences of normalizing ties with Iran/Dr. Majid
Rafizadeh/April 08/2022
The failure of Muslims/Mohamed Wani/The Arab News/April 08/2022
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on April 08-09/2022
President Aoun meets Patriarch Rahi in
Baabda
NNA/April, 08/2022
Maronite Patriarch, Mar Beshara Botrous Rahi, confirmed that President Aoun’s
visit to the Vatican was successful, and the proof is the decision taken by the
Pope to visit Lebanon next June. "We are looking forward to the day when the
Pope will come to Lebanon after the date and program of the visit are set" the
Patriarch said. In addition, Patriarch Rahi pointed out that His Holiness the
Pope will bring with him a word of hope to Lebanon and assure the Lebanese that
after this long night in which they are living, there will be dawn. Stances of
the Maronite Patriarch came while meeting President of the Republic, General
Michel Aoun, today at Baabda Palace. The Maronite Diocese of Byblos, Archbishop
Michel Aoun, also joined the meeting as head of the executive body of the
Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon and responsible for
arranging the Pope's visit to Lebanon at the ecclesiastical level.
During the meeting, preparations for the Pope's visit to Lebanon were discussed,
and Patriarch Al-Rahi invited President Aoun to participate in the glorious
Easter mass in Bkerke.
Statement:
After the meeting, Patriarch Rahi made the following statement:
"I had the honor with our master Archbishop Michel Aoun, to visit His Excellency
the President to congratulate him on his safe return from the Vatican. President
Aoun made a successful visit to the Vatican and the proof is the decision taken
by His Holiness to visit Lebanon next June.
The meeting addressed this issue because Archbishop Michel Aoun is the head of
the executive body of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon,
in which the various metropolitans from all churches are represented, and is
responsible for arranging the visit at the ecclesiastical level.
President Aoun gave directives regarding the arrangements of the National
Committee in the Presidential Palace. I also briefed President Aoun on my
meetings in Egypt and conveyed to him the greetings of the Egyptian President
and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed AboulGheit, who
bear Lebanon's concern.
The Egyptian President thanked us for opening Egypt's doors to the Lebanese and
Lebanese companies in this difficult circumstance, as well as for opening the
Egyptian markets for Lebanese apples.
I had the honor to extend an invitation to President Aoun to celebrate Easter
together, especially since he is keen to preserve this tradition on Christmas
and Easter, and that we celebrate with him in Bkerke.
The meeting also tackled several topics, and we are all looking forward to next
June and to the day when His Holiness will come to Lebanon after the date and
program of this visit are determined. This is what is currently being working on
in the Papal Embassy in coordination with Bishop Michel Aoun and in the National
Committee in the Presidential Palace”.
Questions & Answers:
Question: What message does His Holiness the Pope want to convey through his
visit to Lebanon?
Answer: "I think that His Holiness the Pope will carry a word of hope to say to
the Lebanese that you live a long night at all levels, but after this long night
there will be dawn. He will talk about the value of Lebanon, its role, its
advantages in living together and its pluralism, its democracy and the
difficulties it is going through today on different levels, economic, social and
financial. He will have a word of hope”.
Question: During your meeting with His Excellency the President, did you discuss
the issue of the judiciary? Especially since you constantly talk about a
politicized judiciary? Do you see violations in the practices of some judges?
Answer: “In fact, there was no room for discussing this topic. The discussion
was mainly limited to the three topics that I referred to, and we did not touch
on current Lebanese issues”.
Question: Do you see violations in the practices of some judges?
Answer: "We did not actually mention the judiciary, and there was no room for
that. Talking about preparing for the Pope's visit to Lebanon took a large part
of the meeting”.
Question: Yesterday, an initial agreement with the International Monetary Fund
was announced in conjunction with the talk about the return of the ambassadors
of the Gulf Cooperation Council to Lebanon, so how do you view this return?
Answer: "This agreement and the return of ambassadors complement each other. We
discussed this issue during the meeting with His Excellency the President, and I
clarified some points about the agreement with the IMF.
President Aoun indicated that it was agreed on all stages, as well as on the
reform plan, explaining that everything is ready, and it is possible for us to
immediately start implementing the agreement. The Cabinet should take the
initiative to submit draft laws to the Parliament, as Speaker Berri announced
that Parliament is ready to start doing what is required of it in this context.
The agreement does not stop after the parliamentary elections are held under a
caretaker government, there is a continuation of the authority's work, and
decisions on this matter have been taken before the elections are held, and work
must be continued.
The countries of this council always express their willingness to stand by
Lebanon and help it, so there is no contradiction but rather complementarity”.
Question: You always talk about the necessity of mass voting in parliamentary
elections. Are you afraid of something in the event that there is no mass
polling?
Answer: "We call on the Lebanese to vote, because it is not enough to demand
change, as you do not have the right to say that you do not have confidence in
anyone. Voting is a constitutional duty, and if you really want change, you must
go to the polls and choose people you give your confidence in. It is not enough
to say that there is no confidence in anyone. Not everyone can be considered
bad, and choose the people who you think will be able to make change in Lebanon,
and the people who respond to your cries. We basically blessed the revolution
when it started. Why? Because it crossed sects and regions and started
spontaneously. And we always said to the revolutionaries, "Continue your path,
but know what you want. Prepare the elites among you and stop burning tires and
blocking roads. We always call on the Lebanese to vote heavily, for it is in the
ballot boxes that change begins”.
Question: The visit of His Holiness the Pope to Lebanon imposes the existence of
national unity and national reconciliation? Will you work during the period
between the visit to reduce the tension that we see now?
Answer: "This matter does not happen by magic. It requires intensive work.
Unfortunately, its intensity has increased with the approaching elections, which
should witness competition in programs instead of insults and insults. Today,
this matter has become very far. We ask what is the meaning of national unity?
We demand national unity, not because we differ on the vision. Do you think we
all have loyalty to Lebanon? To the state and its institutions? The Lebanese
say, and the Christians in particular, that they are divided. And I say to them:
Are they divided ideologically? No, but they are divided because there is
something abnormal about loyalty to Lebanon. I personally criticized naming the
government a national unity government, as it cannot be called national unity
when opposites and antagonists sit together. National unity is formed when
understanding and reconciliation takes place on national affairs, while they
call them controversial points. I repeat the call to the Lebanese officials that
in the event that they are unable to sit at a table to resolve matters, then an
international conference must take place, as happened in Taif and others. There
can be no national unity if everyone participates in the government.
First, we have to come to an understanding on what they call points of
disagreement and know what these points are. The doctor must first diagnose the
patient with his disease. The Lebanese do not want to sit at a table to diagnose
the problem. And I think that the Pope will have a strong speech on this matter,
as in the Vatican they grieve for Lebanon and its divided people, but rather for
its divided politicians”.
Swearing an oath for a member of the Election Supervisory Board:
The newly appointed member of the Election Supervision Commission, Dr. Nassim
Shafik El-Khoury, took the oath before President Aoun, in the presence of the
Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Judge Bassam Mawlawi, and the
Commission’s head, Judge Nadim Abdel-Malik.
Dr. El-Khoury repeated the following oath: “I swear by God Almighty to do my job
in the commission supervising the elections in all honesty, impartiality,
sincerity and independence. I am keen to abide absolutely by the laws and
regulations, especially those that sponsor the elections in order to ensure
their freedom, integrity and transparency.
For his part, President Aoun wished Dr. El-Khoury success in his mission,
stressing the importance of the role played by the Election Supervision
Commission in keeping pace with the path of parliamentary elections, in
accordance with the tasks entrusted to it under the election law.
During the meeting, Minister Mawlawi and Judge Abdul Malik presented what the
commission has done so far in preparation for the elections and the difficulties
it is facing, which require granting it additional powers that make its role
more effective to ensure integrity and transparency.
Signing Decree No. 9022:
The President signed Decree No. 9022 on April 8, 2022, to give a treasury
advance to pay temporary social assistance to all workers in public
administrations, regardless of their job titles, and retirees who benefit from a
retirement pension, and the possibility of giving a treasury advance to
beneficiaries of the provisions of Decree No. 8838 dated 22/2/2022.
The value of the treasury advance amounts to 4860 billion Lebanese pounds, and
it includes workers in the operating departments, whatever their job titles:
public authorities, employees, contractors, workers, military and security
agencies, judges, daily wage workers, invoice workers, technical service
providers, the educational corps of various stages and types: Primary,
intermediate, secondary, vocational and technical education, in addition to
retirees who benefit from a retirement pension. -- Presidency Press Office
Berri refers capital control draft law to joint
parliamentary committees
Naharnet/April, 08/2022
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday referred a much-awaited capital control
draft law to the joint parliamentary committees, which will now study it before
referring it to parliament’s general assembly. Berri’s move comes a day after
Lebanon and the International Monetary Fund reached a tentative agreement for
comprehensive economic policies that could eventually pave the way for financial
aid for the crisis-hit country, after Lebanon implements wide-ranging reforms.
Among the requested reforms is the adoption of a capital control law. An earlier
version of the draft law had been recently rejected by the joint parliamentary
committees, which prompted the government to send an amended version. Lebanese
banks have imposed informal capital controls since the economic crisis began in
October 2019. Since then, people do not have full access to their savings and
those who withdraw cash from their U.S. dollar accounts get an exchange rate far
lower than that of the black market. Some banks are meanwhile accused of
bypassing those exact same capital controls by helping the political elite
squirrel billions of dollars overseas.
Saudi, Kuwaiti ambassadors arrive in Beirut
Naharnet/April, 08/2022
Kuwaiti Ambassador to Lebanon Abdul-Al al-Qinai and Saudi Ambassador Walid al-Boukhari
returned Friday to Beirut, five months after a row erupted over the Riyadh-led
military intervention in Yemen. Last October, Riyadh had recalled its ambassador
and ordered the Lebanese envoy to leave the kingdom within 48 hours. Three other
Gulf states -- the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait -- sided with Saudi
Arabia and expelled Lebanese envoys. The Lebanese foreign ministry welcomed the
ambassadors' return. So did Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Grand Mufti Sheikh
Abdul Latif Daryan. "The ambassadors' return to Lebanon brings hope and
confidence in Lebanon's future and its Arab identity and belonging," Daryan
said. For its part, al-Mustaqbal movement praised the move, stressing that
Lebanon should not be used as a "political, military and media Launchpad against
the Gulf nations."
Experts pour cold water on Lebanon-IMF tentative deal
Agence France Presse/April, 08/2022
Economic and financial experts have reiterated doubts over the willingness of
Lebanon's political elite, widely blamed for endemic corruption, to implement
the reforms requested by the International Monetary Fund to resuscitate the
economy, shortly after Lebanon and the IMF reached a tentative deal.
A former vice governor of Lebanon's central bank, Nasser Saidi, said he had
doubts that such reforms would ever materialize. "This is good news if the set
of Monetary-Fiscal-Governance-Structural reforms including banking sector
restructuring are implemented. Highly unlikely!" he wrote on Twitter.
Financial analyst Henri Chaoul dismissed the IMF agreement as a "non-event.""The
prior actions will never be done. We are light years away," he told AFP. "We
have 30 years of track record with a perfect-fit regression line," he added. The
IMF announced Thursday a conditional agreement to provide Lebanon with $3
billion in aid to help it emerge from its severe economic crisis, following
months of negotiations. The country has been battered by triple-digit inflation,
soaring poverty rates and the collapse of its currency since a 2020 debt
default. Officials in Beirut applauded the announcement as it will open the door
to additional financial support from foreign donors. The deal is "a visa stamp
for donor countries to begin co-operating with Lebanon and to put Lebanon back
on the global finance map," Prime Minister Najib Miqati told reporters on an
upbeat note after the IMF announcement of the "staff-level agreement.".
Hizbullah says Tel Aviv 'heroic attack' exposed Israel's
weakness
Naharnet/April, 08/2022
Hizbullah lauded Friday the "heroic" attack by a Palestinian gunman who shot
dead two people and wounded several more in Tel Aviv. "The attack has shown the
weakness and the fragility of the Zionist entity," Hizbullah said in a
statement. It added that Israel "with a thousand soldiers on the battlefield"
has "miserably failed to face a single Palestinian."The attacker had shot at
revelers at a bar on Thursday evening on the busy Dizengoff Street in the
coastal city of Tel Aviv, triggering chaos as people fled in panic. nIsraeli
police said Friday they had shot dead the Palestinian gunman. "We are granting
full freedom of action to the army, the Shin Bet and all security forces in
order to defeat the terror," Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a
public address in Tel Aviv. "There are not and will not be limits for this war."
US lauds 'hard work' after Lebanon, IMF reach tentative
deal
Naharnet/April, 08/2022
The United States has welcomed the staff-level agreement reached Thursday
between the government of Lebanon and the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
commending the “hard work” of the IMF delegation and the Lebanese ministerial
team. “Lebanon has committed to an ambitious and comprehensive reform program,
including key prior actions to reform its banking sector, improve transparency,
and beginning the path toward debt sustainability. We urge the quick passage of
the required legislation and implementation of all prior actions,” the U.S.
Embassy in Beirut said in a statement. “We are eager to see these reforms
implemented in order to bring the IMF agreement to fruition to help rescue the
economy and put it back on the path to sustainability,” it added. The IMF
announced Thursday a conditional agreement to provide Lebanon with $3 billion in
aid to help it emerge from a severe economic crisis, following months of
negotiations. The country has been battered by triple-digit inflation, soaring
poverty rates and the collapse of its currency since a 2020 debt default.
Officials in Beirut applauded the announcement as it will open the door to
additional financial support from foreign donors.
Experts meanwhile reiterated doubts over the willingness of Lebanon's political
elite, widely blamed for endemic corruption, to implement the reforms needed to
resuscitate the economy.
Aoun tells al-Rahi govt. committed to implement IMF-required
laws
Naharnet/April, 08/2022
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi met Friday with President Michel Aoun who
assured him that the government is ready to submit the IMF-required draft laws
to Parliament. Al-Rahi urged the Lebanese for a heavy turnout in the upcoming
parliamentary elections, adding that "voting is a duty."
"It's in the ballot boxes that change happens," al-Rahi said. The IMF had
announced Thursday that it had reached a staff-level agreement to provide
Lebanon with $3 billion in aid to help it emerge from its severe economic
crisis. The aid would be released under the global lender's Extended Fund
Facility but only after the parliament in Beirut approves a 2022 budget and a
new bank secrecy law to fight corruption. It also will require cabinet approval
of a debt restructuring plan. Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, who led the IMF mission to
Lebanon said that the Lebanese officials have expressed their strong commitment
"to carry out this reform program and sustain decisive implementation during the
upcoming parliamentary and Presidential elections."
After KSA and Kuwait, Yemen's ambassador returns to Lebanon
Naharnet/April, 08/2022
Yemen's Foreign Ministry announced Friday the return of its ambassador to
Lebanon. The ministry said it took the decision as Lebanon vowed to "stop all
aggressive activities and practices that are detrimental to Arab countries."
The move comes after Saudi Arabia announced Thursday it was sending back its
ambassador to Lebanon, "in response to the calls and appeals of the moderate
national political forces in Lebanon." The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry later
affirmed that the country is sending back its ambassador to Lebanon. Prime
Minister Najib Miqati said the Kuwaiti ambassador will be in Beirut "before the
end of the week."
Judge Ghada Aoun referred to judicial inspection, sued by
MTV
Naharnet/April, 08/2022
MTV said Friday it has filed a lawsuit against Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge
Ghada Aoun accusing her of slandering the TV channel. "Judge Aoun is not
respecting the confidentiality of investigations," MTV's lawyer Mark Habaka
said, adding that the suit aims at banning the judge's tweets. "If she has any
complaint, she must resort to the judiciary instead of tweets," Habaka said.
Aoun had filed a lawsuit against MTV and TV host Marcel Ghanem as he severely
criticized Aoun in his "Sar el Waqt" political talk show on MTV. Meanwhile, Aoun
has also been referred to a disciplinary council by Head of the Judicial
Inspection Authority Judge Barkan Saad who claimed that she had travelled to
France "without an official authorization."He also accused her of giving
"offensive" testimonies against Lebanese judges. "I was surprised with the
decision," Aoun said, as she added that she had called Justice Minister Henry
Khoury before travelling and submitted to him a travel permission request. Aoun
had travelled to France on Monday to participate in a conference about the
victims of corruption and armed conflicts. She said that she was proud of
fighting corruption, asking for the help of Europe and France. "Corruption is a
result of impunity," she said, claiming that economists, banks and the central
bank chief are backed by politicians and "some judges." "People with influence
are not held accountable before the judiciary because they enjoy a political and
judicial protection," she said. Aoun had charged Central Bank Governor Riad
Salameh with illegal enrichment and money laundering, while his brother Raja,
who is now in custody, was accused of interfering in the alleged offenses. She
also froze the assets of five of Lebanon's largest banks and those of their
board of directors as she investigates possible transfers of billions of dollars
aboard during the country's economic meltdown.
Saudi Arabia returns its ambassador to Lebanon
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/April, 08/2022
Saudi Arabia announced Thursday it was sending back its ambassador to Lebanon,
five months after a row erupted over the Riyadh-led military intervention in
Yemen. The foreign ministry "announces the return of the ambassador... to the
sisterly Republic of Lebanon," read a statement carried by Saudi state media.
The return of the ambassador comes "in response to the calls and appeals of the
moderate national political forces in Lebanon," the statement said. It added
that Lebanon has agreed to "stop all political, military and security activities
affecting" Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab nations.
Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Miqati meanwhile announced that Kuwait will also
return its ambassador to Beirut "before the end of the week." A diplomatic
crisis broke out last October after then-information minister George Kordahi was
quoted criticizing the Saudi role in Yemen, where a grinding war has produced
what the U.N. describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Kordahi, who
has since resigned, said in a television interview recorded prior to his
appointment as minister that the Huthi rebels fighting Yemen's
internationally-recognized government were "defending themselves... against an
external aggression."He said "homes, villages, funerals and weddings were being
bombed" by the Saudi-led coalition, and called the war in Yemen "futile." The
Huthis are backed by Saudi arch-rival Iran, which has significant influence in
Lebanon, where it backs the powerful Hizbullah.
In response to the remarks Riyadh recalled its ambassador and ordered the
Lebanese envoy to leave the kingdom within 48 hours. Three other Gulf states --
the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait -- sided with Saudi Arabia and
expelled Lebanese envoys.
The row, which has also seen Saudi Arabia ban the imports of Lebanese goods, was
a blow to a country already in the grip of crippling political and economic
crises. Lebanon had been counting on financial assistance from the Gulf to
rescue its economy. Lebanon welcomed the Saudi announcement.
"We highly value the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's decision to return its ambassador
to Lebanon and we stress the fact that Lebanon is proud of its Arab allegiance
and is adamant on maintaining the best ties with Gulf nations," Prime Minister
Najib Miqati tweeted. Lebanon's Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi also praised
the move. "Once again the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has proven, by the return of
its ambassador... that Lebanon is in its heart and conscience and that it will
never abandon it," Mawlawi said.
"We will continue to work on strengthening ties and we will not allow any harm
or offense to come its way from now on," he added. Saudi Arabia, which wields
strong influence over many of the smaller Gulf states, had stepped back from its
former ally Lebanon in recent years, angered by the influence of Hizbullah.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan had blamed the row on Hizbullah
and Iran's dominance over Lebanese politics. "There is no crisis with Lebanon
but a crisis in Lebanon because of Iranian dominance," he told Al-Arabiya
television in October.
"Hizbullah's dominance of the political system in Lebanon worries us," he had
said.
As tensions ease, Saudi, Kuwaiti, Yemeni envoys return
to Lebanon
Reuters/Arab News/April, 08/2022
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Yemen on Thursday announced the return of their
ambassadors to Lebanon in a sign of improving ties which hit rock bottom last
year when the kingdom and other Arab Gulf states withdrew their envoys. Saudi
Arabia and fellow wealthy Gulf states were once major donors for Lebanon.
However, relations have been strained for years by the growing influence of the
Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said its ambassador
returned in response to calls by “moderate” Lebanese political forces and after
remarks by Prime Minister Najib Mikati regarding “ending all political, military
and security activities” that affect Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. The
Saudi statement on state news agency SPA stressed the importance of Lebanon
“returning to its Arab depth.” Kuwait’s foreign ministry issued a similar
statement. Mikati’s office said Kuwait’s envoy would return before the end of
the week. Mikati, in a Twitter post welcoming the move, said Lebanon was “proud
of its Arab affiliation and upholds the best relations with Gulf states”,
describing them as pillars of support. The Gulf rift has added to the
difficulties facing Lebanon as it struggles with a financial crisis that the
World Bank has described as one of the sharpest depressions ever recorded. The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday it had reached a draft
funding agreement with Lebanon, but that Beirut needed to enact a batch of
economic reforms first before its board decided whether to approve the deal.
Later on Thursday, Yemen’s foreign ministry announced the return of its envoy to
Lebanon. “The move is in response to Beirut’s pledge to halt activities and
practices offensive to Arab countries,” the Yemeni ministry said in a statement
carried by the country’s state news agency.Souring ties had hit new lows last
October after a former Lebanese government minister criticised the Saudi-led
military coalition fighting in Yemen, a conflict widely seen as a proxy war
between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Hezbollah supports Tehran in its regional
struggle for influence with US-allied Gulf Arab states, which say the group has
aided Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement. Hezbollah has a militia more
powerful than Lebanon’s army and has backed pro-Iran allies in the region,
including in Syria. The group and its allies also exercise major sway over
Lebanese state policy.
Lebanon reaches funding deal with IMF, conditional on
reforms
Reuters/Arab News/April, 08/2022
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday it had reached a draft
funding agreement with Lebanon, but that Beirut needed to enact a batch of
economic reforms first before its board decided whether to approve the deal. An
IMF deal is widely seen as vital for Lebanon to begin recovery from an economic
meltdown that has devastated the country since 2019, locking savers out of their
deposits, sinking the currency and causing poverty to soar, in the country's
worst crisis since its1975-90 civil war.
The United States welcomed the staff-level agreement, saying Lebanon has
committed to an ambitious and inclusive reform programme, according to a
statement by the US embassy in Lebanon. "We urge the swift passing of the needed
legislations and carrying out all prerequisites," the statement added.
The French embassy in Beirut also welcomed the agreement. Thursday's staff-level
agreement covers a 46-month extended fund facility, under which Lebanon has
requested access to the equivalent of around $3 billion, the IMF said in a
statement. But it is dependent on Beirut enacting reforms that include steps its
ruling politicians have failed to deliver since the crisis erupted, such as
addressing how to allocate losses from a government-estimated $70 billion hole
in the financial system.
While Lebanese leaders hailed the preliminary agreement and said they were ready
to make it a success, some analysts doubted whether politicians could deliver
after more than two years of inaction. Legislative elections are scheduled for
May 15, after which a new government will need to be formed, a process that
typically takes many months in Lebanon, potentially another complication to
implementing the agreement. Lebanese authorities had agreed, before the IMF
board considering whether to approve the deal, to complete eight reform
measures, the fund said.
These include a plan to address the huge losses in the financial system, which
collapsed in 2019 due to massive public debts racked up by decades of corruption
and waste. The Lebanese cabinet must approve a banking restructuring strategy
that "recognises and addresses up front the large losses in the sector, while
protecting small depositors and limiting recourse to public resources", the fund
said. The cabinet must also approve a "fiscal and debt restructuring strategy,
which is needed to restore debt sustainability". Lebanon defaulted on its
sovereign debt, including $31 billion in dollar bonds, in March 2020. Other
measures to be delivered included parliamentary approval of a reformed banking
secrecy law, completion of an audit of the central bank's foreign asset position
and "initiation of an externally assisted bank-by-bank evaluation for the 14
largest banks".
The statement set no timeline for agreeing to a programme, noting "authorities
understand the need to initiate the reforms as soon as possible."
“Close cooperation”
President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati affirmed their "close
cooperation, in collaboration with the parliament, to ensure fast implementation
of the measures," a tweet from the presidency's account said.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the legislature was ready to work "with
great seriousness" to make the programme succeed. Still, Mikati in February said
agreeing to an economic recovery plan "is a difficult process, a kamikaze
operation," and disagreements persist between main stakeholders, including
commercial banks, the central bank and the government. Toufic Gaspard, a former
advisor at the IMF and the Lebanese finance ministry, said even if half the
reforms were implemented "it would be music to the ears of Lebanese". But he
added the measures would "constitute a major source of worry for authorities
because they have to implement many reforms even before submission to the IMF
board. "This is a major political challenge and the long list of substantial
reforms to be implemented even before submission to the board rightly reflects a
lack of confidence in the authorities," he said. The IMF statement said the
facility would also depend on enactment of economic reforms aimed at restoring
financial sustainability, strengthening governance and transparency and removing
impediments to job-creating growth. These would include unification by the
central bank of exchange rates, of which there are currently several, "for
authorised current account transactions, which is critical for boosting economic
activity ... and will be supported by the implementation of formal capital
controls." Parliament has repeatedly failed to pass formal capital controls.
Alongside its financial meltdown, Lebanon has faced political paralysis and a
diplomatic crisis in ties with Gulf Arab states, formerly major donors to
Lebanon, over their opposition to Iran-backed Hezbollah's undue influence in
Beirut. A number of Gulf states recalled their ambassadors to Beirut last year,
but in a sign of a possible thaw in ties, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait Thursday
evening announced their ambassadors would return.
200 European observers to monitor Lebanese elections;
Aoun warns of low voter turnout
Najia Houssari/April 08/2022
As a result of the financial crisis in the country, increasingly impoverished
citizens are prioritizing food over healthcare, Doctors Without Borders warns
‘Opposition forces that claim to confront the ruling authority and corruption
are no longer concerned with people’s suffering but are focusing on their own
ambitions,’ said workers union chief
BEIRUT: Gyorgy Holvenyi, the head of the EU’s Electoral Observation Mission,
said on Thursday that about 200 observers will monitor the Lebanese
parliamentary elections on May 15 and will do so with “all transparency and
impartiality.”
Part of the team arrived in Lebanon on March 27 and will remain there until June
6, he told Lebanese President Michel Aoun.
Holvenyi said the observers will produce a detailed assessment of the election
process, as was done during the previous electoral cycle. They will also monitor
the voting process for expatriates in several European countries in accordance
with the same standards and rules applied in Lebanon, he added.
Aoun said that “work is underway to overcome obstacles to holding the elections
despite the difficult economic and financial conditions that Lebanon is going
through, which could have been mitigated for voters if mega centers had been
adopted.”
He blamed the legislative authority for this. The aim of the mega centers Aoun
favors is to allow voters to cast their ballots outside the areas in which they
are registered, meaning they would not have to return to their hometowns to
vote. There were concerns among some, however, that if the creation of such
centers was approved for the current election cycle it could lead to delays or
postponement.
Aoun expressed concern that the rejection of the mega centers will result in low
voter turnout because rising fuel prices as a result of the financial crisis in
the country will mean additional expense for voters who have to travel further
to vote. A judicial source told Arab News that 45 judges in Lebanon have so far
rejected the possibility that they will oversee the vote-counting process.
Public Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oweidat previously submitted a letter about this
to the Ministry of Justice and urged the appointment of alternatives.
The source said: “The judges will refrain from participating given the economic
conditions and the low wages they would receive for more than 24 hours of work.”
The source also expressed concern that “staff in public institutions could
refrain from supervising the electoral process amid the low wages and long
working hours.”
On Thursday, Aoun signed a law, approved by parliament, authorizing an
extraordinary allocation in the 2022 general budget for the General Directorate
of Political Affairs of the Ministry of Interior, the General Security and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cover the costs of the elections at home and
abroad. The total amount is 620 billion Lebanese pounds ($31 million, based on
the Central Bank’s Sayrafa exchange rate of 20,000 pounds to the dollar). It
will be distributed as follows: 260 billion pounds for the Ministry of Interior,
300 billion pounds to cover the costs of issuing 1 million Lebanese passports,
and 60 billion pounds to cover the expense of organizing polling in other
countries for expatriates.
Political parties have been organizing special events in an effort to encourage
hesitant or reluctant voters since the official electoral lists were announced.
Despite this there is still widespread skepticism that the elections will take
place next month as scheduled.
However, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Thursday: “Ever since the
government was formed, we keep hearing people deliberately doubting everything
we do in this country — as if they want to prevent Lebanon from rising once
again and achieving financial, economic and social recovery.
“I call on all people to find common ground and steer clear of tensions.”
He added that that there is great hope attached to the elections, especially
among the younger generation.
Political analysts believe that many people are questioning the realistic
chances of the elections going ahead because of the prevailing poor living
conditions in the country as a result of the financial crisis, and public
resentment of a political elite that is once again standing for election under
unconvincing slogans.
The financial situation has also created power supply problems across the
country, which could disrupt the provision of electricity to polling stations
and vote counting centers in all regions.
Mikati confirmed during a cabinet session on Wednesday that his government will
not surrender “in the face of the difficult social and economic situation.” He
stressed the need to invite all sections of society to cooperate to overcome the
“difficult situation we are experiencing, and not spread panic and despair among
the Lebanese.”
On Thursday, Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders,
warned that financial pressures are forcing people to prioritize the purchase of
food over healthcare in a country where privatization of medical services is
rampant.
The organization, which has organized health projects in Wadi Khaled in northern
Lebanon, one of the poorest parts of the country, said: “To avoid spending
money, people delay seeking care until their health condition deteriorates and
reaches a critical degree. Sometimes, it will be too late.”
Marcelo Fernandez, the head of the MSF mission in Lebanon, said: “With the
increasing poverty rates, communities living on the edge of the poverty line are
likely to neglect preventive care or try to treat diseases on their own.
“What we are witnessing in Wadi Khaled is a vivid example of that and people in
fragile conditions are the most affected.”
The National Federation of Trade Unions and Employees in Lebanon has announced
that it will take to the streets on Labor Day, May 1, in a comprehensive show of
civil disobedience to protest against poor working conditions and the greed its
says it said is manipulating prices and the black market.
Castro Abdullah, the federation’s president, said food prices have increased by
1,500 percent, while hospitals are failing to meet required moral and
humanitarian standards.
He accused candidates standing for election next month of exploiting the
prevailing conditions in the most horrific ways.
“The opposition forces that claim to confront the ruling authority and
corruption are no longer concerned with the people’s suffering but are rather
focusing on their own ambitions, claiming that change can only be achieved
through parliament,” said Abdullah.
Lebanese Democracy Under the Shadow of Hezbollah
Elias Harfoush/Ashark Al Awsat/April, 08/2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/107750/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%81%d9%88%d8%b4-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%85%d9%82%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%b7%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d8%a8%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%81%d9%8a/
Electoral campaign banners and billboards erected by opposition parties have
been spreading across Lebanon, denouncing the wretched state of the country and
promising change. Looking at these slogans, you ask yourself: What are these
dreamers betting on in a country that has been at rock bottom by political
paralysis and the severe economic crisis? Is there still a chance to save the
country while the faction that calls the shots in Lebanon, Hezbollah, continues
to respond to opponents with accusations of treachery and being “operatives
working for embassies” and tools in the service of the plot against the party?
All the political forces taking part in the election need slogans to mobilize
popular support. Because slogans are easier to say than act on, these elections
will leave some achieving what they had set out to achieve and others who fail,
depending on the balances of power and each team’s ability to garner support for
their slogans.
A lot is at stake in the elections scheduled for the middle of next month. The
ruling powers (or rather the hegemonic powers), an alliance that brings together
Hezbollah and its helpers of various inclinations, say they have the broadest
cross-sectarian and regional alliance competing in these elections. Among the
forces allied to this party are the Free Patriotic Movement, the Amal movement,
and the Baathist and Nationalist parties tied to the axis of resistance. This
team is fighting a battle that it considers existential against demands for
change born out of the weight of the total collapse.
This team seeks to maintain the gains it has made over the past few years
through disruption and intimidation. Its electoral campaign is ridden with
sectarian incitement and political hysteria, as it accuses opponents of being
operatives working to advance an “American project” and claims that their
campaigns are funded by foreign embassies seeking to undermine the resistance.
The campaign seeks to compel supporters to turn out to the polls on the grounds
that it is “an obligation of Jihad and an opportunity to demonstrate religious
devotion.”
The deputy who heads Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad, warns that
his opponents are hoping for a parliamentary majority that would allow them to
choose the president once the incumbent’s term ends next fall, in order to see
the policies sought by the US implemented in Lebanon. Raad also ominously added:
We are against it, and we will prevent this from happening. He does not shy away
from confirming that Hezbollah and the Amal Movement will win every seat
allocated to the Shiite sect (27 Shiite deputies), which demonstrates how Mr.
Raad understands the democratic process, the results of which he seems to think
are announced before the elections are even held!
On the opposite corner, we have those dreaming of the ability to change things.
Their aspirations are founded on the conviction that since the majority of
Lebanese are struggling with the difficult, harsh living conditions in the
country, they will generally hold those responsible for this state of affairs
accountable, and the electorate will thus make the right choice and choose an
alternative.
The “forces of change” that emerged from the so-called uprising of October 2019
are fragmented and could not unite around a single project or electoral list.
There is a cross-sectarian bloc of parties seeking change that includes the
Lebanese Forces, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Kataeb Party, and Sunni
leaders, whose supporters are scattered across a variety of regions. They are
opposed to the hegemony of Hezbollah and are trying to fill the void left by the
decision of Saad Hariri and the Future Movement to abstain from taking part in
elections. Among the slogans raised by the Lebanese Forces, for example, “We
want to and we can,” which has been written in plain Lebanese dialect on
billboards across the country, suggests their desire for change and their
ability to do so.
The grouping that brings these forces together is calling for the state to
regain its ability to take political and security decisions and formulate its
foreign policy after Hezbollah had managed to control its centers of gravity,
starting with the presidency and most ministries. It believes that this is the
correct approach leaving the state in a position to manage its political and
financial affairs.
The Grand Mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian, expressed his support for
this demand in the message he delivered to mark the start of the month of
Ramadan. He said that these elections are as important as the “Lebanon first”
slogan that had been raised by the parties opposed to Hezbollah’s hegemony and
Syrian influence in the aftermath of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s
assassination, when the March 14 alliance was in power.
Derian added that “this slogan that we had advocated was and remains the
priority.” He also criticized what he described as “the horrifying deterioration
of Lebanon’s Arab and international relations and the wretched attempts to
undermine Lebanon’s identity and position,” before decrying the marginalization
of the military institution and security services in favor of a militia- or
rather private militias- that follow foreign dictates.
Opposition to Hezbollah has undoubtedly been louder than it had been during any
of the previous elections held in Lebanon, and fingers are being pointed at both
the Party and its allies, especially the Free Patriotic Movement, which is
considered to bear primary responsibility because it holds the presidency.
Because the Party has begun feeling the weight of these accusations and the
country’s difficult economic conditions, its counter campaigns have become
attempts to paint its rivals as “traitors” being funded from abroad. Speaker
Nabih Berri, for example, claimed that his rivals had allocated 30 million
dollars to their drive to unseat him in his district.
In light of this climate, and given the fact that forces opposed to the “Shiite
duo” are incapable of competing in the districts it controls, which have the
lowest number of electoral lists and candidates, the outcome of the democratic
process can be determined, as Mohammad Raad had done, before the elections are
held. Demands for change become futile as well. The forces calling for change
are unable to achieve it, and the forces opposing it and benefiting from the
status quo have the capacity to impose their will by force, whether at the
ballot box or outside it. Moreover, in the 2005 and 2009 elections, the team
opposed to Hezbollah won but was prevented from governing. The same is happening
in Iraq, where those opposed to Iranian loyalists won the majority of
parliamentary seats but have not been allowed to use that majority to occupy
seats of power.
Mohammad Raad gave a piece of advice to those betting on turning things around
through elections: those thinking of ruling the country with a new majority
should understand that no majority can govern Lebanon.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published on
April 08-09/2022
Israeli security forces kill Tel Aviv gunman in
shootout
Ynetnews/April 08/2022
Shin Bet forces and police anti-terror unit Yamam
locate gunman near a mosque in Jaffa quarter in the early hours of Friday;
gunman identified as a Palestinian resident of the West Bank
Security forces early on Friday killed the suspected gunman who opened fire on a
busy Tel Aviv street the evening before, killing two and wounding others The
forces from the Shin Bet internal security agency and police special anti-terror
unit Yamam located the gunman near a mosque in the Jaffa quarter of the city and
killed him in an exchange of fire. There were no casualties reported among the
security forces. He was identified as 28-year-old Ra’ad Hazem, a resident of the
Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank who was in Israel illegally after
being denied an entry permit under security considerations due to his
affiliation with the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.He was located by Shin Bet forces
who called on him to surrender but he opened fire and was killed by the troops.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett received briefings through the night and will be
holding security consultations later in the morning with Defense Minister Benny
Gantz and Public Security Minister Omer Barlev, his office said. "We maintain
maximum vigilance within Tel Aviv and throughout the country for fear of further
incidents or copycat attacks," Bennett said. "Our war against murderous
terrorism is long and hard. We will win. The gunman opened fire at people
sitting at a popular bar on Dizengoff Street around 9pm. He escaped through side
alleys, prompting hundreds of police, security agency operatives and IDF
soldiers, including members of the military's special units, to go door to door
in an effort to capture him. Roadblocks were set up around Tel Aviv and further
out in areas predominately populated by Arabs in case he was able to flee the
city as searches continued through the night. Tel Aviv's Sourasky Medical Center
said 10 out of 14 people injured in the attack were being treated there. Four of
the injured who were in critical condition were rushed to surgery, three were
stabilized but one remains in critical condition. U.S. Secretary of State Antony
Blinken condemned the attack. "We strongly condemn the terrorist attack that
occurred in Israel today. We are thinking of the victims of today’s attack and
the families of those killed. May the memories of those who passed be a
blessing," Blinken said on Twitter.
Tel Aviv terror shooting victims identified as two
childhood friends out for a drink
Eitan Glickman,Sivan Hilaie,Roi Rubinstein|/Ynetnews/April 08/2022
The two victims of Thursday night's terrorist shooting at a Tel Aviv pub were
identified as Tomer Morad and Eitam Magini — two childhood friends who went to
the same high school in Kfar Saba. The two 27-year-olds were students at Tel
Aviv University. Tomer recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical
engineering and Eitam was studying for a bachelor's in neuroscience, psychology
and computer science. The two will be laid to rest next to each other in the
Pardes Haim Cemetery in their hometown on Sunday. Tomer and his girlfriend
Arielle met six years ago. Eitam got engaged to his girlfriend Ayala last month.
At the Morad family's home in Kfar Saba, sister Tal wept as she sat by her
parents, Benjamin and Etty. Brother Omri was making his way from the United
States back to Israel following the heavy disaster."Tomer was the glue that held
our group together, an officer in the [IDF's] Nahal [infantry brigade], a man of
values, he always took care of everyone and now he was taken from us, and we no
longer have Tomer and his friend Eitam," Alon Grossman, a friend of Tomer's,
told Ynet in tears. "They were best friends; they grew up together and went out
together. This is a disaster we simply cannot wrap our heads around. We lost two
friends who were like brothers. Tomer had a beautiful relationship with Arielle
and now everything's ruined.
I cannot understand how we lost my good friend, the excellent cook who always
used to spoil us with special and delicious food. They decided to go to a pub
and were murdered there." Gal Benbenishti, another friend of Morad's, said that
he tried calling the two when he heard about the shooting and immediately
realized something was wrong when they did not pick up the phone.
Yoatm, a friend who served in the army with Magini, said that "Eitam was a role
model, I always consulted him. He was a man who took care of everyone." The
shooter was identified as Ra’ad Hazem, a 28-year-old Palestinian from the Jenin
refugee camp in the northern West Bank. On Thursday night, he arrived at Ilka
Bar where Morad and Magini were sitting and opened fire at a crowd of customers,
both of them and wounding several others. He was ultimately eliminated by
Israeli security forces after an hours-long manhunt. Security sources estimate
he was familiar with the scene.
After shooting up the pub, Hazem fled the scene through a nearby alley. At this
point, the terrorist encountered a man standing about seven feet in front of
him. Hazem aimed the gun at the man and fired. Luckily for the man, the bullets
missed him and hit a parked vehicle instead. The terrorist then fled southward.
A preliminary investigation of the incident revealed that the terrorist walked
five kilometers (three miles) from the scene of the attack to the place where he
hid in Jaffa quarter of the coastal financial hub.
Close to a thousand troops, cops and special forces combed building after
building in central Tel Aviv until police received information from a Jaffa
resident around 5am about a suspicious figure near the Shlomo Bay promenade.
At approximately 5:30am, Shin Bet operatives located the terrorist near a mosque
and called on him to freeze. He opened fire at them and was immediately killed
in the firefight that ensued.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack and said in a statement
in Arabic that "killing Palestinian and Israeli civilians will only further
exacerbate the situation, as we all strive to achieve stability, especially
during the month of Ramadan."
However, he pinned the escalation on Israeli forces' "repeated incursions into
the al-Aqsa Mosque" and "the provocative actions of extremist settlers
everywhere."
Hazem's father, Fathi — a key figure in Abbas's Fatah movement in Jenin and a
former officer in the Palestinian security forces — praised his son's actions in
a video that circulated online Friday morning.
"[Palestinians] will see victory with the help of Allah, you will get liberty
and independence. I pray that Allah would free al-Aqsa from the sullied
occupiers," said Fathi Hazem. Meanwhile, a third victim of Thursday night's
deadly shooting was identified as Barak Lufan, 35, from Kibbutz Ginosar in
northern Israel. Lufan sustained critical injuries in the attack and passed away
Friday evening at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv. Lufan, a father of three,
was once considered one of Israel's leading kayakers. Sourasky Director-General
Prof. Ronni Gamzu said that three people who were seriously wounded in the
shooting were gradually waking up and their lives were not at immediate risk.
Four others were hospitalized with light to moderate wounds. Over the last two
weeks, 13 Israelis were murdered in a spate of Islamist terrorist attacks in Tel
Aviv, Bnei Brak, Hadera and Be'er Sheva.
Israeli PM gives security 'full freedom' to act after
Tel Aviv attack
Agence France Presse/April, 08/2022
Israel's premier on Friday gave security agencies "full freedom" of operation to
curb surging violence, after the latest deadly attack saw a Palestinian gunman
kill two men in a popular nightlife area. "There are not and will not be limits
for this war," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, speaking hours after the
attack in Tel Aviv. "We are granting full freedom of action to the army, the
Shin Bet (the domestic security agency) and all security forces in order to
defeat the terror," he added, in a public address in the Israeli coastal city.
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and the
Islamic Jihad group praised the attack but have stopped short of claiming
responsibility. Earlier Friday, Israeli police said they had shot dead a
Palestinian gunman who killed two Israeli men and wounded over a dozen others
when he opened fire on a street of busy bars and restaurants crowded on a
Thursday evening. The attacker had shot at revellers, triggering chaos as people
fled in panic, and sparking an overnight manhunt that saw some 1,000 heavily
armed police and soldiers deployed. The two Israeli men killed were named as
Tomer Morad and Eytam Magini, both 27 and childhood friends from the city of
Kfar Saba, the mayor Rafi Saar said, who called them "our best sons."
Hundreds arrested -
Special forces confronted the attacker in the old city of Jaffa, the historic
Arab district of Tel Aviv, where on Friday morning, street cleaners hosed blood
off the ground. Police commissioner Yaakov Shabtai said officers had "succeeded
this morning... in eliminating the terrorist by exchange of fire".
Israel's Shin Bet agency named the assailant as Raad Hazem, 28, from Jenin in
the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where last week Israeli forces
killed three in a raid. Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas condemned
the attack. The Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported Abbas said "the
killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians only leads to a further
deterioration of the situation."Thursday's attack in Tel Aviv came as Israeli
police are on alert for the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque in annexed east Jerusalem. The third-holiest site in
Islam, it is a flashpoint in the long-running Middle East conflict and scene of
frequent clashes. Last year, nightly demonstrations in Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa
compound escalated into 11 days of war between Israel and Hamas. A total of 13
people have been killed in attacks in Israel since March 22, including some
carried out by assailants linked to or inspired by the Islamic State group. Over
the same period, at least nine Palestinians have been killed, including
assailants. Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz, speaking alongside Bennett,
said Israel has made "around 200 arrests, and if necessary there will be
thousands."
'A nightmare' -
Following the Tel Aviv attack, the Magen David Adom medical emergency service
said 16 people had been taken to hospital, with "four seriously wounded". Tel
Aviv's Ichilov Hospital, which was treating eight people injured in the
shooting, said Friday morning that one of the victims was "in critical condition
with an immediate risk to his life". On Friday, outside the bar where the attack
took place, mourners lit candles and left flowers. Noa Roberts, 21, who works at
a bar across the street from the attack, said she heard dozens of bullets as
terrified customers and staff raced to shelter. "We all ran in the back, it was
so scary," Roberts said. "You hear real shooting, it was like a nightmare." She
said 50 people cowered for two hours at her bar until police told them they
could leave. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the "terrorist
attack" and said Washington stood with Israel "in the face of senseless
terrorism and violence."
Islamist groups praise attack -
The Israeli army said Friday the Jalama border crossing from the northern West
Bank into Israel would be closed, as troops step up their presence in the area.
On Thursday night, Islamic Jihad "welcomed" the attack as a "natural response"
to Israel's "crimes", including a recent raid on the West Bank city of Jenin,
where the alleged attacker was from. One of its leaders, Yussef al-Hasainah,
said: "It confirms that the resistance can penetrate the security system... and
that the resistance will continue and that it is the best choice to deter the
arrogant enemy". The Hamas militant Islamist group praised what it called a
"heroic operation... which led to the killing of a number of occupying soldiers
and Zionist settlers."The Iran-backed Hezbollah movement on Friday called the
murders in the bar a "victorious" attack saying that the Palestinian people's
"determination is stronger than the occupier's will"
Rights Organizations Accuse Iran of Harassing Witnesses
of 2019 Protests Court
London /Friday, 8 April, 2022 - 09:30
A total of 15 rights organizations issued a joint statement calling on the
international community to urge the Iranian authorities to immediately cease
their reprisals against the Iran Atrocities (Aban) Tribunal’s witnesses and
their families. An international-popular court in London started last November
hearing testimonies of more than 300 former detainees in addition to their
families as well as current and former medical cadres and officials. “Since
mid-November 2021, Iranian authorities, including Ministry of Intelligence
agents, have subjected at least six Tribunal witnesses and/or their families to
a litany of abuses, including arbitrary arrest and detention. As such, these
violations constitute a form of torture, or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment.” “The Iranian authorities have subjected Amin Ansarifar, whose son
Farzad Ansarifar was killed by security forces on 16 November 2019 during the
protests in Behbahan, Khuzestan province, and his family, to harassment since he
testified at the hearings in November 2021,” added the statement. “The
authorities have ordered relatives in Iran to cut ties with Tribunal witnesses
based abroad and publicly denounce their testimonies or face consequences
including detention and other harm to them and their family members, including
children,” read the statement. “We further reiterate our call on the UN Human
Rights Council to establish an investigative and accountability mechanism on
Iran to collect, analyze and preserve evidence of crimes under international law
committed in Iran to facilitate fair criminal proceedings in the future.” The
statement concluded, “To date, no public official has been investigated, let
alone held accountable, for ordering, committing or acquiescing to the grave
human rights violations and crimes under international law committed during and
in the aftermath of the protests.”
Protests erupted in Iran on 15 November 2019 over a sudden overnight increase in
the price of fuel. Amnesty International has released details of the deaths of
304 men, during last November’s crackdown.
EU Imposes Sanctions on Putin's Daughters
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 8 April, 2022
The European Union has imposed sanctions on two adult daughters of Russian
President Vladimir Putin as part of a new package of measures targeting Russia
for its invasion of Ukraine, according to two EU officials.
The EU included Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova in its updated list of
individuals facing an assets freeze and travel ban. The two EU officials from
different EU member countries spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated
Press because the updated list of sanctions has not been published yet. The move
from the European bloc follows a similar move two days earlier by the United
States. In the wake of evidence of torture and killings emerging from war zones
outside Kyiv, the EU decided to impose a fifth package of measures in
retaliation for Russia’s war. In addition to sanctions on individuals, the
27-nation bloc also approved an embargo on coal imports. That will be the first
EU sanctions targeting Russia’s lucrative energy industry over its war in
Ukraine and is estimated to be worth 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year,
the EU presidency said. The EU has already started working on additional
sanctions, including on oil imports.
35 dead in Kramatorsk train station strike as civilians
flee east Ukraine
Agence France Presse/April, 08/2022
Dozens of people were killed in a rocket attack on the train station in the
eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Friday as civilians raced to leave the
Donbas region in the crosshairs of the Russian army.
At least 35 people died, a rescue worker on the ground told AFP, and the head of
Ukraine's railway company said "over 100 were injured," in one of the deadliest
strikes of the six week-old war. AFP journalists on the scene saw the bodies of
at least 20 people grouped and lying under plastic sheets next to the station.
Blood was pooling on the ground and packed bags were strewn outside the building
in the immediate aftermath of the attack. The remains of a large rocket with the
words "for our children" in Russian was lying just adjacent to the main
building. The attack came as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen
and EU foreign policy chief Jose Borrell headed to Kyiv on Friday in a sign of
solidarity with Ukraine. The attack on the railway station showed "evil with no
limits", Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. More than a month into
Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has shifted its
focus to eastern and southern parts of the country after stiff resistance
torpedoed its plans of an easy capture of the capital Kyiv. Instead, Russian
troops appear to be aiming to create a long-sought land link between occupied
Crimea and the Moscow-backed separatist statelets of Donetsk and Lugansk in
Donbas. Heavy shelling has already begun to lay waste to towns in the region,
and officials have begged civilians to flee, but the intensity of fighting is
impeding evacuations. In Donetsk, the head of the regional military
administration Pavlo Kyrylenko said three evacuation trains had been temporarily
blocked after a Russian airstrike on an overpass by a station. But officials
continued to press civilians to leave where possible."There is no secret -- the
battle for Donbas will be decisive. What we have already experienced, all this
horror, it can multiply," warned governor of the Lugansk region, Sergiy Gaiday.
"Leave! The next few days are the last chances. Buses will be waiting for you in
the morning," he added.
- 'I want to escape this hell' -
A barrage of shells and rockets was already hammering the industrial hub
Severodonetsk, the easternmost city held by Ukrainian forces in Donbas, leaving
buildings engulfed in flames. "Every day it's worse and worse. They're raining
down on us from everywhere. We cannot take it anymore," said Denis, a man in his
forties with a pale, emaciated face.
"I want to escape this hell."
Around the capital meanwhile, residents and Ukrainian officials returning after
the Russian redeployment are trying to piece together the scale of the
devastation. Violence in the town of Bucha, where authorities say hundreds were
killed -- including some found with their hands bound -- has become a byword for
allegations of brutality inflicted under Russian occupation. But Zelensky warned
worse was being uncovered. "They have started sorting through the ruins in
Borodianka," northwest of Kyiv, he said in his nightly address. "It's much more
horrific there, there are even more victims of Russian occupiers." Violence in
the area has caused massive destruction, levelling and damaging many buildings,
and bodies are only now being retrieved. Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna
Venediktova said Thursday that 26 bodies had been recovered from two destroyed
apartment buildings so far. "Only the civilian population was targeted: there is
no military site here," she said, describing evidence of war crimes "at every
turn". Fresh allegations emerged from other areas too, with villagers in
Obukhovychi, northwest of Kyiv, telling AFP they were used as human shields. And
in besieged Mariupol, even the pro-Russian official designated "mayor" of the
destroyed city acknowledged that around 5,000 civilians had been killed there.
'Help us now'
Moscow has denied targeting civilians in areas under its control, but growing
evidence of atrocities has galvanized Ukraine's allies to pile on more pressure.
On Thursday, the EU approved an embargo on Russian coal and the closing of its
ports to Russian vessels as part of a "very substantial" new round of sanctions
that also includes an export ban and new measures against Russian banks. In
addition, it backed a proposal to boost its funding of arms supplies to Ukraine
by 500 million euros, taking it to a total of 1.5 billion euros. In a show of
support, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also headed to Kyiv
on Friday with the bloc's diplomatic chief Josep Borrell for talks with Zelensky.
En route to Kyiv, Borrell told journalists the EU would supply 7.5 million euros
($8.2 million) to train Ukrainian prosecutors to investigate war crimes, which
Russia is accused of committing in the country.
"Ukraine is not a country invaded and dominated. There's still a government to
receive people from outside," Borrell said, announcing the EU would reopen its
diplomatic delegation in the capital. And the Group of Seven industrialized
nations agreed to more sanctions, including a ban on new investments in key
sectors and fresh export restrictions, as well as the phasing out of Russian
coal. At the United Nations, 93 of the General Assembly's 193 members voted to
suspend Russia from the body's rights council over its actions in Ukraine.
Russia blasted the move as "illegal and politically motivated", while U.S.
President Joe Biden said it confirmed Moscow as an "international pariah."
"Russia's lies are no match for the undeniable evidence of what is happening in
Ukraine," Biden said, calling Russia's actions in the country "an outrage to our
common humanity."Ukraine has welcomed new measures on Moscow, as well as the
U.N. suspension, but it continues to push for more support. "Ukraine needs
weapons that will allow us to win on the battlefield, and this will be the
strongest sanction," Zelensky said in his address, echoing calls from his
foreign minister, who earlier asked NATO for heavy weaponry, including air
defense systems, artillery, armored vehicles and jets. "Either you help us now
-- and I'm speaking about days, not weeks -- or your help will come too late,
and many people will die, many civilians will lose their homes, many villages
will be destroyed," Dmytro Kuleba said after meeting NATO foreign ministers in
Brussels
Japan to Expel 8 Russian Officials, Impose New Sanctions
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 8 April, 2022
Japan announced Friday it is expelling eight Russian diplomats and trade
officials and will phase out imports of Russian coal and oil because of Moscow's
invasion of Ukraine.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan will also ban imports of Russian lumber,
vodka and other goods, and will prohibit new Japanese investment in Russia.
It will also step up financial sanctions against Russian banks and freeze assets
of about 400 more individuals and groups, including military-linked
organizations, Kishida said at a news conference, The Associated Press said.
He said Russia must be held accountable for “war crimes" in Ukraine, including
atrocities against civilians and attacks on nuclear facilities, that are “severe
violations of international law and are absolutely impermissible."“We are at a critical moment in our efforts to get Russia to stop its cruel
invasion of Ukraine and restore peace. Everyone, please cooperate," Kishida
said, referring to the sanctions' impact on Japanese people, such as higher
prices for gasoline, electricity and food.
Earlier Friday, the Foreign Ministry announced it is expelling eight Russian
diplomats and trade officials. European countries have already expelled dozens
of Russian diplomats as their relationships have plunged over Moscow's war
against Ukraine.
Europe and the United States have also stepped up sanctions against Russia,
including restrictions on coal imports, following revelations of harrowing
atrocities against civilians in Ukrainian cities.
Kishida said the additional sanctions are in line with an agreement by the Group
of Seven advanced industrialized nations.
The measures contained in a G-7 leaders’ statement include a phasing out or
banning of imports of Russian coal and oil. Japanese trade minister Koichi
Hagiuda said Japan plans to gradually reduce its energy reliance on Russia while
seeking ways to reduce the burden on Japanese companies.
Japan has already imposed a series of sanctions, including freezing assets of
top Russian officials such as President Vladimir Putin, restricting exports to
Russia of goods including sensitive items transferrable to military use, and
removing key banks from an international messaging system.
Japan is taking a greater role in the international effort against Russia's
invasion of Ukraine because of concerns about its impact on East Asia, where
China's military has grown increasingly assertive.
Japan has already faced reprisals from Russia. Moscow recently announced the
suspension of talks on a peace treaty with Tokyo that include negotiations over
Russian-held islands which the Soviet Union seized from Japan at the end of
World War II.
EU Proposes 500 Million Euros More for Arms to Ukraine
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 8 April, 2022
European Council chief Charles Michel on Thursday backed a proposal to release
an additional 500 million euros ($540 million) to provide arms for Ukraine.
"Once swiftly approved this will bring to 1.5 billion euros the EU support
already provided for military equipment for #Ukraine," Michel tweeted, also
thanking EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell for proposing the extra funding.
The proposal was agreed on Thursday by the 27 EU nations at ambassador level,
AFP said.
The EU has already agreed a 1 billion euro package to provide arms for Kyiv.
"This may seem like a lot, but one billion euros is what we pay Putin every day
for the energy he provides us," Borrell said on Wednesday.
The money comes from a 5 billion euro European peace fund set up by members
states.
At a NATO meeting in Brussels on Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro
Kuleba said he expected NATO members to send Kyiv the weapons it needs,
insisting they had to act quickly as Russia readies another major offensive.
"Either you help us now -- and I'm speaking about days, not weeks, or your help
will come too late, and many people will die, many civilians will lose their
homes, many villages will be destroyed. Exactly because this help came too
late," Kuleba said after meeting NATO foreign ministers in Brussels
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said "it was a clear message from the meeting today
that allies should do more and are ready to do more to provide more equipment".
Putin Has Given Up on Conquering Kyiv, Pentagon Chief said
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 8 April, 2022
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir
Putin has given up on conquering Kyiv after his forces were soundly beaten back
by the Ukrainian military.
"Putin thought that he could very rapidly take over the country of Ukraine, very
rapidly capture this capital city. He was wrong," Austin told a hearing of the
Senate Armed Services Committee in Congress.
"I think Putin has given up on his efforts to capture the capital city and is
now focused on the south and east of the country," said Austin.
But the path of the overall war, six weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, remains
uncertain, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, told
the same hearing, AFP said.
For Ukraine to "win" the fight, it needs to remain a free and independent
nation, with its recognized territory intact, he said.
"That's going to be very difficult. That's going to be a long slog," Milley
said.
"The first part of it has probably been successfully waged," he said of the war
that began on February 24.
"But there is a significant battle yet ahead down in the southeast, down around
the Donbas region where the Russians intend to mass forces and continue their
assault," he said.
"So I think it's an open question right now, how this ends."Austin told the panel of lawmakers that the United States is providing
intelligence to Ukraine's military to support its fight in the Donbas, where
Moscow-backed secessionists have been fighting government forces since 2014 and
now have the direct support of Russian troops.
But Milley said the fight in that area will be difficult, and that to try to
push the Russians out, Ukraine will likely need more arms support, like tanks.
"The fight down in the southeast -- the terrain is different than it is in the
north," Milley explained.
"It is much more open and lends itself to armor, mechanized offensive
operations, on both sides. And so those are the systems that they're looking
for," he said.
"They are asking for and they could probably use additional armor and
artillery," he said.
WHO Says over 100 Attacks Confirmed on Healthcare in Ukraine
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 8 April, 2022
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said it had confirmed over 100
attacks on health services in Ukraine, as it called for humanitarian access to
the besieged city of Mariupol.
"As of now, WHO has verified 103 incidents of attacks on health care, with 73
people killed and 51 injured, including health workers and patients," WHO chief
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference, calling it a "grim
milestone.
Of the confirmed attacks 89 had impacted health facilities and most of the rest
hit transport services, including ambulances, AFP said.
"We are outraged that attacks on health care are continuing," the WHO chief
said, adding they constituted "a violation of international humanitarian law."
Speaking at an earlier press conference in Lviv, WHO regional director for
Europe Hans Kluge lamented that while health assistance had reached many
"affected areas", some were still out of reach.
"It's true some remain very difficult. I think a priority definitely, I think we
all agree, would be Mariupol," Kluge told reporters.
Located in a strategic southeastern spot between Russia-occupied Crimea and
pro-Russian separatist regions in Ukraine's east, Mariupol has been the scene of
some of the fiercest assaults by Moscow's forces.
Residents have spoken of utter devastation and dire conditions. The city's
population has shrunk from 400,000 before the conflict to around 120,000 today.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday accused Russia of blocking
humanitarian access to the city to hide evidence of the "thousands" of people
killed there.
Kluge at the same time noted that the WHO had "delivered over 185 tons of
medical supplies to the hardest hit areas of the country, reaching
half-a-million people".
The regional director also noted that "50 percent of Ukraine's pharmacies are
presumed closed and 1,000 health facilities are in proximity to conflict areas
or changed areas of control".
Kluge also stressed that attacks on healthcare service were a clear "breach of
international humanitarian law," but also added that it was not the WHO's
mandate to attribute the attacks to actors and that they had only verified that
the attacks had taken place.
France's Le Pen Says 'So Close' as Election Battle Enters Crucial Stage
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 8 April, 2022
French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said Thursday she had
never been "so close" to power at a jubilant final rally before this weekend's
election, which polls suggest is an increasingly tight battle between her and
President Emmanuel Macron.
In front of around 4,000 upbeat supporters chanting "President Marine!" and
"We're going to win!", Le Pen promised to help French families struggling with
inflation and compared Macron to a "stunned boxer", AFP said.
"Never before has the prospect of a real change been so close, but it depends on
you," Le Pen told the crowd in far-right stronghold Perpignan in southern
France.
"Never forget and tell people around you: if the people vote, the people will
win," she said in a speech that repeatedly appealed to the roughly one quarter
of French adults who are projected to abstain on Sunday.
Last month, polls suggested Macron had an almost unassailable lead ahead heading
into the first round and would go on to win the second-round run-off scheduled
for April 24.
But all bets are off, with up to a quarter of voters thought to be undecided and
surveys suggesting a major swing towards Le Pen, who is now shown as only
marginally behind the president.
With France's traditional right- and left-wing parties facing electoral
disaster, rising far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon still believes he can
sneak into a run-off and is shown running third.
The war in Ukraine as well as strains on the health system after two years of
Covid-19 are high among voter concerns, behind the biggest worries of all:
inflation and incomes.
"We're going to live the founding moment of a new era," Le Pen, 53, added, a
sentiment shared by many supporters in sun-drenched Perpignan, a short trip from
the Spanish border.
"It's the first time that I feel this confident," said Mireille Redon, 74, who
has voted for Le Pen and her father Jean-Marie for more than 20 years.
"I feel like she's ready. She's learned from her mistakes and seems much more
confident in herself," she told AFP.
Meanwhile, Macron blasted his closest rival, accusing Le Pen of "lying to the
people" over policies she will not be able to finance.
In an interview with readers of Le Parisien newspaper he said that while Le Pen
had become mainstream "her fundamentals have not changed", with "a racist
manifesto that aims to divide society".
Tight polling
The latest OpinionWay-Kea Partners survey out Thursday showed Macron falling
back to 26 percent in the first round and Le Pen edging up to 22 percent, with
Melenchon also gaining ground on 17.
Macron was shown beating Le Pen in the second round with 53 percent to her 47 if
it were held today -- a narrower margin than the same pollsters forecast last
week.
A new Ifop-Fidicual poll showed similar trends of Macron slipping and Le Pen
gaining with the president on 26.5 percent in round one and Le Pen on 24
percent.
It indicated Macron would win the second round with 52 percent compared with Le
Pen's 48.
"Our initial objective is to consolidate our lead and to prevent Marine Le Pen
coming out ahead in the first round," a figure in Macron's ruling party, who
asked not to be named, told AFP.
Another advisor added: "We see Marine Le Pen's dynamic and we will need to put
on turbo engines for round two... It's not won until the end."Despite starting campaigning only two weeks ago after being distracted by his
diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, Macron made no public appearance
on Thursday.
"I've acquired experience of crises, international experience. I've also learned
from my mistakes," Macron told Le Figaro newspaper in an interview published
Thursday.
"Emmanuel Macron keeps talking to us about crises, like a stunned boxer who is
stuck thinking about the uppercut that put him on the floor," Le Pen replied in
Perpignan.
Chasing candidates
Among the other chasing candidates, Melenchon is rising strongly in the polls
and is talking up his chances of springing a surprise, helped by a confident
rally Tuesday that saw him beamed by hologram into 11 French cities.
Greens candidate Yannick Jadot, conservative Valerie Pecresse, far-right former
TV pundit Eric Zemmour and flagging Socialist nominee Anne Hidalgo also had
rallies Thursday.
According to the Le Monde newspaper, Hidalgo hosted a secret dinner of Socialist
grandees including ex-president Francois Hollande to discuss the party's
post-election future, prompting allegations she had capitulated before the poll
had even taken place.
Le Pen's speech in Perpignan underlined how she has toned down her
anti-immigration rhetoric during campaigning this year in order to focus on
household spending.
"Our program is a social program and I dare to say it and I take responsibility
for it," she added, detailing how she would slash fuel taxes and increase
pensions.
In an interview with RTL radio earlier in the day, she explained how she would
implement a planned ban on the Muslim headscarf in public spaces, which experts
believe would be unconstitutional.
"People will be given a fine in the same way that it is illegal to not wear your
seat belt," she said.
She laughed at the idea that she could be demonized on her third run for the
presidency despite Macron's intention of attacking her as economically reckless
and xenophobic.
"Scare-mongering which entails saying that unless Emmanuel Macron is re-elected,
it will be a crisis, the sun will be extinguished, the sea will disappear and
we'll suffer an invasion of frogs, no longer works," she told RTL.
US Bans Exports to Three Russian Airlines for Sanctions
Violations
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 8 April, 2022
The US government has banned exports to Russian state airline Aeroflot as well
as two other carriers for flying aircraft in violation of sanctions, the
Commerce Department said Thursday. Washington warned last month that the
carriers had gone against penalties imposed on Moscow over its invasion of
Ukraine by flying Boeing aircraft, as had billionaire Chelsea football club
owner Roman Abramovich for his use of a Gulfstream jet, AFP said. The Commerce
Department cited the warning in announcing that Aeroflot as well as Azur Air and
Utair were banned from receiving American goods for the next 180 days.
"We are cutting off not only their ability to access items from the United
States but also re-exports of US-origin items from abroad," Commerce Secretary
Gina Raimondo said in a statement. "Any companies that flout our export
controls, specifically those who do so to the benefit of Vladimir Putin and the
detriment of the Ukrainian people, will feel the full force of the department's
enforcement." Commerce announced no action against Abramovich, who has been
participating on the Russian side in peace talks with Ukraine held in Turkey.
The statement said the sanctioned airlines had operated flights within Russia as
well as to countries including China, Vietnam, Turkey, India and the United Arab
Emirates without seeking US permission as the sanctions require. Separately the
US Treasury Department announced sanctions against one of the world's largest
diamond mining companies, the Russian state-owned Alrosa.
The State Department also blacklisted state-owned United Shipbuilding
Corporation (USC) as well as its subsidiaries and board members.
Civilians Flee East Ukraine, Warnings of 'Horrific'
Abuses
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 8 April, 2022
Civilians in eastern Ukraine struggled to evacuate Friday as Russia redirects
its firepower, with President Volodymyr Zelensky warning of "even more horrific"
devastation being uncovered around the capital. Ukrainian allies tightened the
screws on Moscow further in response to shocking images from Bucha and other
regions around Kyiv, with the European Union announcing an embargo on Russian
coal and a ban on Russian vessels at its ports, AFP said. And at the United
Nations, the General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the Human Rights
Council, only the second-ever suspension of a country from the body. "Russia's
lies are no match for the undeniable evidence of what is happening in Ukraine,"
US President Joe Biden said, calling Russia's actions in the country "an outrage
to our common humanity." More than a month into President Vladimir Putin's
invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has shifted its focus after stiff resistance put
paid to hopes of an easy capture of the country. Instead, troops are being
redeployed towards the east and south, aiming to create a long-sought land link
between occupied Crimea and the Moscow-backed separatist statelets of Donetsk
and Lugansk in Donbas.
Heavy shelling has already begun to lay waste to towns in the region, and
officials have begged civilians to flee, but the intensity of fighting is
starting to hamper evacuations. Lugansk governor Sergiy Gaiday said Russian
shelling had damaged a railway route being used by evacuees in the town of
Schastia, north of Lugansk. "The railway was damaged. Train evacuation is in
question. Thousands of people are still in the cities of Lugansk region," he
wrote on Facebook. And in Donetsk, the head of the regional military
administration Pavlo Kyrylenko said three evacuation trains had been temporarily
blocked after a Russian airstrike on an overpass by a station. But officials
continued to press civilians to leave where possible. "There is no secret -- the
battle for Donbas will be decisive. What we have already experienced, all this
horror, it can multiply," warned Gaiday. "Leave! The next few days are the last
chances. Buses will be waiting for you in the morning," he added.
'I want to escape this hell'
A barrage of shells and rockets was already hammering the industrial hub
Severodonetsk, the easternmost city held by Ukrainian forces in Donbas, leaving
buildings engulfed in flames. "Every day it's worse and worse. They're raining
down on us from everywhere. We cannot take it anymore," said Denis, a man in his
forties with a pale, emaciated face. "I want to escape this hell." Around the
capital meanwhile, residents and Ukrainian officials returning after the Russian
redeployment are trying to piece together the scale of the devastation. Violence
in the town of Bucha, where authorities say hundreds were killed -- including
some found with their hands bound -- has become a byword for allegations of
brutality inflicted under Russian occupation. But Zelensky warned worse was
being uncovered. "They have started sorting through the ruins in Borodianka,"
northwest of Kyiv, he said in his nightly address.
"It's much more horrific there, there are even more victims of Russian
occupiers." Violence in the area has caused massive destruction, levelling and
damaging many buildings, and bodies are only now being retrieved. Ukraine's
Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said Thursday that 26 bodies had been
recovered from two destroyed apartment buildings so far. "Only the civilian
population was targeted: there is no military site here," she said, describing
evidence of war crimes "at every turn". Fresh allegations emerged from other
areas too, with villagers in Obukhovychi, northwest of Kyiv, telling AFP they
were used as human shields. And in besieged Mariupol, even the pro-Russian
official designated "mayor" of the destroyed city acknowledged that around 5,000
civilians had been killed there.
'Help us now' -
Moscow has denied targeting civilians in areas under its control, but growing
evidence of atrocities has galvanized Ukraine's allies to pile on more pressure.
On Thursday, the EU approved an embargo on Russian coal and the closing of its
ports to Russian vessels as part of a "very substantial" new round of sanctions
that also includes an export ban and new measures against Russian bans. In
addition, it backed a proposal to boost its funding of arms supplies to Ukraine
by 500 million euros, taking it to a total of 1.5 billion euros. The Group of
Seven industrialized nations also agreed more sanctions, including a ban on new
investments in key sectors and fresh export restrictions, as well as the phasing
out of Russian coal. At the United Nations, 93 of the General Assembly's 193
members voted to suspend Russia from the body's rights council over its actions
in Ukraine. Russia blasted the move as "illegal and politically motivated",
while Biden said it confirmed Moscow as an "international pariah". Ukraine has
welcomed new measures on Moscow, as well as the UN suspension, but it continues
to push for more support. "Ukraine needs weapons that will allow us to win on
the battlefield, and this will be the strongest sanction," Zelensky said in his
address, echoing calls from his foreign minister, who earlier asked NATO for
heavy weaponry, including air defense systems, artillery, armored vehicles and
jets. "Either you help us now -- and I'm speaking about days, not weeks -- or
your help will come too late, and many people will die, many civilians will lose
their homes, many villages will be destroyed," Dmytro Kuleba said after meeting
NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. In a show of support, European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Kyiv on Friday with the bloc's
diplomatic chief Josep Borrell for talks with Zelensky. The prospects for peace
talks meanwhile appeared to fade further as Russia accused Ukraine of shifting
its position from earlier discussions in Istanbul. Ukrainian presidential
adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak meanwhile warned Moscow to "lower the degree of
hostility" if it was interested in peace.
UN General Assembly Suspends Russia from Human Rights
Council
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 8 April, 2022
The UN General Assembly voted Thursday to suspend Russia from the global body's
Human Rights Council as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine.
The high-profile rebuke of Moscow marked only the second ever suspension of a
country from the council -- Libya was the first, in 2011 -- and it earned praise
from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and his American counterpart Joe
Biden, AFP said. The expulsion confirmed Moscow as an "international pariah,"
Biden said in a searing statement that addressed what he called "horrifying"
images from Ukrainian towns like Bucha, where Russian forces are accused of
atrocities against civilians. "Russia's lies are no match for the undeniable
evidence of what is happening in Ukraine," Biden said.
"The signs of people being raped, tortured, executed -- in some cases having
their bodies desecrated -- are an outrage to our common humanity." Zelensky, who
has longed called for a tougher international position against Moscow, applauded
the UN move as "an important step," describing it on Twitter as "another
punishment for RF's (Russia's) aggression" against Ukraine. Of the 193 members
of the General Assembly, 93 voted in favor of suspension as proposed by the
United States, while 24 voted against. Fifty-eight abstained and the remainder
did not participate, suggesting a weakening international unity against Russia
at the United Nations. Suspension required support from two-thirds of the member
countries casting votes for or against; the abstentions and absences did not
count. Russia swiftly rejected the suspension, with its foreign ministry
blasting the move as "illegal and politically motivated, aimed at ostentatiously
punishing a sovereign UN member state that pursues an independent domestic and
foreign policy." Biden's top diplomat said Moscow got what it deserved. "A
country that is perpetrating gross and systematic violations of human rights
should not sit on a body whose job it is to protect those rights," Secretary of
State Antony Blinken said in Brussels. Countries voting against included China,
a Moscow ally which has steadfastly abstained from criticizing the invasion.
Others were Iran, the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan and communist Cuba,
as well as Russia itself, Belarus and Syria.
Despite pressure from Moscow for a no vote, several African countries only
abstained, such as South Africa and Senegal. Also abstaining were Brazil, Mexico
and India.
- 'Held accountable' -
The UN Human Rights Council was founded in 2006 and is composed of 47 member
states chosen by the General Assembly. Washington argues that suspending Russia
from the Geneva-based organization that is the UN's main human rights monitor is
more than symbolic, and in fact intensifies Russia's isolation after the assault
on Ukraine that began February 24. Zelensky has also called for Russia to be
expelled from the UN Security Council "so it cannot block decisions about its
own aggression, its own war." Washington has admitted there is little anyone can
do about Russia's position on the Security Council, where it holds veto power.
The world has been outraged by images of civilians apparently executed and left
in the streets or buried in mass graves in areas formerly controlled by Russian
troops. The carnage has led to new rounds of sanctions against Moscow.
Journalists including from AFP last weekend found corpses in civilian clothes,
some with their hands bound, in the town of Bucha outside the capital Kyiv. The
Kremlin has denied Russian forces killed civilians, and alleged that the images
of dead bodies in Bucha were "fakes."
Canada/Minister Joly concludes productive trip to Europe
April 8, 2022 – Brussels, Belgium - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, concluded a productive
trip to Finland, Germany and Belgium, during which she met with multiple
partners and NATO Allies to advance shared priorities and to discuss Canada’s
ongoing response to President Putin’s illegal and unjustifiable war in Ukraine.
While in Europe, the Minister also announced additional sanctions to hold close
associates of the Russian and Belarusian regimes accountable for their barbaric
actions against the Ukrainian people. Throughout her visit, Minister Joly
coordinated efforts with her counterparts to support vulnerable populations in
Ukraine and the region. She also highlighted Canada’s steadfast commitment to
peace and stability in the Arctic and the Indo-Pacific. In Helsinki, Finland,
Minister Joly reaffirmed her commitment to strengthening Canada-Finland
bilateral cooperation. Minister Joly met with Pekka Haavisto, Finland’s Minister
of Foreign Affairs, and they reinforced Canada and Finland’s strong support for
Ukraine and the need for continued collaboration to deter Russian hostilities.
They also issued a joint Canada-Finland statement on bilateral cooperation
highlighting key issues, such as how to address a host of challenges affecting
the Arctic and North. In Berlin, Germany, the Minister met with Annalena
Baerbock Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Nicu Popescu, Moldova’s
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration,
to discuss security and humanitarian issues in Eastern Europe. Minister Joly
also attended the Moldova Support Platform Conference, where she underscored
Canada’s commitment to supporting Moldova and assisting refugees fleeing Ukraine
as a result of the Russian regime’s unprovoked and unjustifiable invasion.
While in Brussels, Belgium, Minister Joly met with her G7 and NATO counterparts;
together they learned of the latest developments in Ukraine directly from Dmytro
Kuleba, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Minister Joly spoke of the
growing humanitarian crisis, the need for greater cooperation amongst Allies,
and for continued sanctions against the Russian regime. Minister Joly also
discussed global security challenges with NATO’s Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific
Partners, whose participation underlines the global implications of Russia’s
invasion. NATO members also agreed to deepen their cooperation with Indo-Pacific
partners on additional shared challenges, including malicious cyber activities
and disinformation.
US-led coalition in Iraq downs drone targeting base
Naharnet/April, 08/2022
The U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq said it shot
down Friday an armed drone that targeted an air base, reporting no casualties or
damage. "U.S. air defense systems shot down an armed unmanned aerial system
entering Al Asad Air Base" early Friday morning, the coalition said in a
statement. "There are no reported injuries or damage and all coalition personnel
are accounted for," it said, adding that the incident was "under investigation."
The base, which is controlled by Iraq, is located in the desert in the western
Anbar province. The attack comes after four U.S. troops were hurt Thursday when
rockets were fired at a base housing American forces in neighboring Syria's Deir
Ezzor province. Dozens of rocket and armed drone attacks have targeted U.S.
troops and interests in Iraq in recent months. Western officials have blamed
hard-line pro-Iran factions for the attacks, which have never been claimed. In
early January, coalition forces in Iraq said they shot down two armed drones
targeting the Ain Al-Asad base. The U.S.-led coalition ended its combat mission
in Iraq in December, four years after the Baghdad government declared victory
over the jihadists. But roughly 2,500 American soldiers and 1,000 coalition
soldiers remain deployed in three Iraqi-controlled bases across the country,
including Ain Al-Asad, to offer training, advice and assistance to national
forces.
Priest dies from stabbing on seaside promenade in Egypt
Associated Press/April, 08/2022
A knife-wielding man has mortally wounded a Coptic priest during an attack at
the popular seaside promenade in Alexandria evening, Egypt's interior ministry
said. The ministry said the priest died while being treated for his wounds. It
said the suspected attacker had been arrested.
The priest was identified by the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria as
Arsanious Wadid, 56. It said he had served at a local parish, Sectarian violence
is not uncommon in Egypt, where an Orthodox Christian minority, the Copts, is
believed to be among the world's oldest Christian communities.
Christians make up more than 10% of Egypt's mostly Muslim population. Violence
between communities occasionally erupts, mainly in rural communities in the
south. Islamic extremists have also targeted Christians in the past. Sheikh
Ahmad al-Tayyeb, who heads Egypt's Al-Azhar — the highest institution of Sunni
Islam in the Muslim world — condemned the attack, warning that such acts "might
instigate religious wars.""The Grand Imam affirms that homicide is a major sin
that arouses God's wrath and is punishable in the afterlife," read the statement
posted on Al-Azhar's Facebook page.
The Latest LCCC English
analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on April 08-09/2022
Israel Is Not Russia, and Palestinians Are Not Ukraine
Shany Mor and David May/ The Algemeiner/April 08/2022
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine set off an immediate wave of boycotts and sanctions
targeting Moscow. These swift and comprehensive economic punishments have left
the frustrated activists of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign
asking why they have failed to inspire similar actions against Israel.
According to them, the answer is discrimination. BDS leader Omar Barghouti
denounced “the West’s blatant hypocrisy.” Palestinian Authority (PA) President
Mahmoud Abbas condemned the “double standard” that prevents the West from
holding Israel accountable for its “ethnic cleansing.” Coverage in The New York
Times, The Guardian, and Politico has reinforced this line of thinking.
But the two calls for boycotts are being made in radically different conflicts,
with radically different goals, and on behalf of sides employing radically
different means.
The ambiguity of the US-led sanctions regime against Russia leaves room for a
range of interim settlements, staged concessions, and partial easing of specific
sanctions along the way.
If Russia were to withdraw from all Ukrainian territory occupied since 2014,
sanctions could be lifted entirely. But many of the most crippling sanctions
could be lifted even if Russia were to hold on to Crimea and areas east of the
Line of Control, from the 2015 cease-fire agreement. There are many things
Russia could realistically do to relax sanctions or even eliminate them
entirely, which is what makes the sanctions such a tempting lever to pressure
Moscow.
Somewhat surprisingly, the BDS movement’s demands of Israel are clearly stated.
There are three, and the third one demands that Israel absorb millions of
Palestinians, a likely death blow to the Jewish state.
Needless to say, this isn’t an effective lever with which to pressure Israel,
which is why policy-makers in America, Europe, and Asia, even those keen to
pressure Israel, keep their distance from BDS. BDS supporters have gone to great
lengths to present their campaign as a social justice movement. But the
realization of BDS’s goals would necessarily mean the dispossession of the
world’s largest Jewish community, and would almost certainly lead to ethnic
cleansing, massacre, or both.
This is why BDS is attractive to those who detest Israel and wish to see any
kind of cultural or economic interaction with it blocked. Nothing is new about
this wish. The Arab boycott of Israel predates BDS by decades; in fact, it
predates Israel by three years. The boycott used the word “Jews” — not a Jewish
state — just months after the fall of the Third Reich and 12 years after the
Nazis launched their “Do not buy from Jews” campaign. BDS has struggled to
overcome its antisemitic legacy and association with the Nazis.
When the Arab boycott of Israel began to fall apart in the early 1990s, groups
of western NGOs conceived of a new boycott of Israel with similar aims of
strangling Israel economically, except instead of being policed by repressive
Arab governments, it would be pushed by pure-hearted human rights activists. The
strategy was formalized at an NGO conference in Durban in 2001 — four years
before the supposed “call by Palestinian civil society” for BDS.
It’s not just different ends that produce different responses. It’s also
different means. The 11 Israelis murdered recently are a reminder of the
terrorism that Israel faces. Ukrainians have not pursued their cause by blowing
up Russian buses or cafes. They have not hijacked Russian airplanes or murdered
the Russian Olympic team. They have not taken hostage and murdered pupils at
Russian primary schools.
Unlike Palestinians, Ukrainians do not pay their people to murder Russian
children.
Nor have they been reluctant to sit at the negotiating table and reach a
diplomatic settlement with their Russian neighbors. On the contrary, Ukraine
engaged for eight years with Russia in diplomatic negotiations, and even now —
with the whole world backing them — have signaled repeatedly their willingness
to compromise on core issues such as neutrality, Crimea, and the final status of
the two breakaway regions in the east.
The contrast with the Palestinians is telling. Three times since 2000, the PA
has refused to make a peace deal with Israel — one that would grant them an
independent state for the first time in history — if the price of such a deal
were a formal reconciliation with the existence of Israel as their neighbor.
This continues a century-long history of Palestinian-Arab diplomacy that has
always preferred rejection and war, to the alternative of compromise, peace, and
nation-building.
One commentator recently framed BDS as “a direct response to the failure of the
international system to deliver justice.” This is a rather implausible way of
repackaging the Palestinian preference for rejectionism and suicidal violence.
The same commentator laments the gap between the efforts to impose economic
sanctions on Russia and the effort to impose them on Israel, and weirdly points
out some of the comical excesses of anti-Russian actions, all of which have
occurred at the margins and with little impact. He cites banning Russian cats
from competitions, spilling Russian vodka, and canceling dead Russian poets.
But these stories, however silly, offer an accidental window into the difference
of the situation in Israel and Ukraine, also.
Diaspora Jews don’t worry about comical misapplications of boycotts every time
there is a new round of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Instead, they worry about
actual attacks on their schools, markets, and synagogues.
This qualitatively different form of spillover (no Russians in America or
elsewhere fear for their personal safety), reveals much about the radically
different natures of the two conflicts. And that is why calls for sanctions on
Israel will never command the kind of consensus that exists today for punitive
actions against Russia.
*Shany Mor is an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of
Democracies.
*David May is a senior research analyst. Follow them on Twitter @ShMMor and @DavidSamuelMay.
FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy
and national security issues.
Putin’s winning streak in European politics
Dalibor Rohac and Ivana Stradner/The Spectator/April 08/2022|
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission president
Ursula von der Leyen said triumphantly that ‘if Putin was seeking to divide the
EU, to weaken Nato, and to break the international community, he has achieved
the exact opposite.’
A month later, Vladimir Putin may be struggling on Ukraine’s battlefields but he
has been on a winning streak in European politics. In both Serbia and Hungary,
Kremlin-favored incumbents were re-elected last weekend. If the tight polls are
any indication, Putin may get lucky in the upcoming presidential election in
France as well, providing an ample pay-off to Russia’s long-term investment in
Europe’s far right and proving von der Leyen’s jubilation premature.
Both Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán owe their political
success primarily to their own prowess as political actors and manipulators than
to Moscow’s interference. Both, however, exploit their countries’ own versions
of the post-imperial nostalgia that is currently fueling Russia’s killing spree
in Ukraine – using grievances about lost territories and prestige to get ahead.
Orbán does not hide his ambition to reverse the 1920 treaty of Trianon and
restore Great Hungary to its ‘thousand-year-old borders.’ The Serbian government
has called for the creation of the ‘Serbian World’ – a Balkan parallel to
Putin’s ‘Russian World’ where all Serbs live and are united under a common
cultural framework. After the world had seen Slobodan Milošević’s genocide of
Bosnian Muslims in the 1990s first hand, a young Vučić thought it a good idea to
join Milošević’s government. ‘For every Serb killed, we will kill 100 Muslims,’
Vučić vowed to Serbia’s parliament.
Over time, Vučić toned down his rhetoric and pledged to move Serbia towards the
EU. But Serbia has simultaneously been doing Moscow’s bidding. Russian arms
supplies have made it a regional power that remains threatening to its Nato
neighbors. Belgrade’s destabilization of the western Balkans is testing the
alliance and the EU’s cohesion – which is exactly what Putin wants. To
reciprocate Putin’s loyalty, Vučić has refused to impose sanctions on Russia
following the invasion of Ukraine.
In an ominous gesture of foreign policy alignment shortly before Russia’s
invasion, Belgrade and Moscow pledged to combat western influence and ‘color
revolutions’ together. In Bosnia, the region Republika Srpska, a client of
Belgrade and Moscow, threatens to secede, while keeping the country’s complex
federal politics paralyzed.
Orbán’s revisionist goals and his alignment with Moscow look similar. His
government has been giving away Hungarian citizenship to ethnic Hungarians in
neighboring countries; buying soccer clubs in formerly Hungarian areas; and
channelling funds into Hungarian parties.
The fever dreams of restoring Great Hungary have long put Hungary at odds with
Ukraine, undercutting Kyiv’s efforts to forge a closer relationship with Nato
and the EU. Hungary has not only ruled out providing any military assistance to
Ukraine, it has also prohibited any such shipments from other Nato countries to
move through its own territory. Orbán’s government, touting its own 15-year
contract with Gazprom, has also pledged to veto any energy sanctions and
breached western unity by offering to pay for Russian natural gas in roubles, as
requested by the Kremlin. ‘We will by no means allow Hungarians to be made to
pay the price of war,’ the foreign minister Péter Szijjártó said last week.
On the night of his re-election, Orbán namechecked Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky
as one of his ‘opponents’ who have been defeated in the Hungarian polls. Later,
he rejected the idea of expelling any Russian diplomats and even personally
invited Putin to peace talks in Budapest.
Even as they cause a headache in Brussels and Washington, elections in Serbia
and Hungary can be dismissed as largely inconsequential affirmations of the
status quo in both countries. The same cannot be said of the increasingly less
remote possibility of Marine Le Pen’s victory in the French presidential
election. While polls vary, Le Pen is on track to outperform her 2017 results.
Unlike in 2017, she appears to have successfully shed much of the stigma that
once mobilized the French voting public to support her (and her father’s)
opponents in the second round, no matter how lackluster they appeared.
While her ‘dédiabolization’ (dedemonization) as the French terms goes, appears
successful, her long-standing loyalties are clear. Only a few weeks ago, amid
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, she said of Zelensky: ‘I have no particular
admiration for [him].’ In contrast she has praised Putin on many occasions,
including for helping to usher ‘a new world [that] has emerged in these past
years,’ adding that ‘it’s the world of Vladimir Putin, it’s the world of Donald
Trump in the US. I share with these great nations a vision of cooperation, not
of submission.’
Even as she painstakingly navigates the minefield created for her by Putin’s war
crimes in Ukraine, she has long been on the record as endorsing the annexation
of Crimea. Given the political liabilities created by the generous Russian loan
to her campaign in 2017, she is currently receiving funding from a bank linked
to Orbán.
As in the case of Vučić and Orbán, Le Pen’s strength is drawn not primarily from
Russian interference but from domestic factors, including President Emmanuel
Macron’s mixed record as a domestic reformer and as a leader of the European
project. But that does not make the prospect of her victory any less
catastrophic for Ukraine, for European security, and for the future of the
transatlantic alliance. Very soon, the western self-congratulation that has
surrounded Putin’s strategic blunder in Ukraine might end up looking very
foolish indeed.
Dalibor Rohac is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in
Washington DC.
*Ivana Stradner is an advisor to the Barish Center for Media Integrity at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington DC. Follow Ivana on Twitter
@ivanastradner. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute
focusing on national security and foreign policy.
It’s also important to win the information war with Putin’s
Russia
Ivana Stradner/The Hill/April 08/2022
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/3260987-its-also-important-to-win-the-information-war-with-putins-russia/
The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, accuses the West
of plotting “an information war on Russia.” If only he were right.
As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, Vladimir Putin is attempting to ban the
free flow of information within Russia, clearly concerned about domestic
opposition to his war. This sign of weakness is an opportunity for the West and
for the United States, in particular.
During the run-up to the invasion, the Biden administration skillfully
declassified intelligence to alert the world to Russia’s military designs on
Ukraine and to preempt Russian information operations. That information war
should never have ended. Washington needs to invest in countering the Kremlin’s
fictitious narrative about Ukraine, both by drawing on Cold War-style lessons
and by developing strategies and tools tailored for the 21st century
environment. The first step is to understand the lay of the land in Russia.
Since the war began, Putin has shuttered what was left of Russia’s independent
media and restricted Russians’ access to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and
various Western news agencies. The Russian government plans to cut Russia off
from the global internet and use the homegrown “Ru-Net” instead. On March 4, the
Russian leader signed a law threatening prison time for deviating from the
Kremlin’s talking points on the war or Russia’s. military. This sweeping law has
had a chilling effect on independent international coverage in Russia, prompting
outlets to shut down for fear of their journalists being arrested.
Confronting Putin’s censorship in the present starts with learning from the
past. During the Cold War, the U.S. government’s success in identifying and
combating propaganda helped defeat the Soviet Union. Government-sponsored Voice
of America and Radio Free Europe pierced the Iron Curtain to promote freedom,
providing a link to the outside world and a clandestine source of truth and
hope. The United States should more aggressively leverage these existing tools
to facilitate the free flow of information. In cases where Western media outlets
are banned, old-fashioned Cold War-era tools such as radio may be worth
revisiting. In fact, the BBC, which Moscow blocked earlier this month, has
brought back its shortwave radio service to broadcast news to Ukraine and
Russia. Within Russia itself, people are using emojis to organize protests while
avoiding the government censors. Let’s help them.
U.S. information efforts also must leverage innovative strategies to engage with
younger audiences and circumvent 21st century censorship. For example, banned
media platforms should make themselves accessible via encrypted web browsers and
share a list of available VPNs that can be used to access Western media. With
many young pro-Western Russians now leaving the country, encouraging their
engagement with Russians still in the country via social media platforms may be
equally useful. The “Call Russia” is facilitating such action on a larger scale
by connecting Russian speakers abroad with one of 40 million Russian phone
numbers so that they can provide news about Ukraine.
In addition, although the Kremlin has banned social media platforms for its own
citizens, Russian government officials still use those platforms to spread
disinformation. Deletion from social media might be a bridge too far, but in
addition to labeling Russian handles as state-run accounts, social media
platforms should put warning labels on their content and adjust algorithms to
suppress their content, as Twitter did this week.
Russia and Ukraine: The economic consequences of peace
China’s long game with Russia
Winning the information war will require creativity. The White House briefed
TikTok influencers about the war in Ukraine to spread information about Russian
aggression. While the somewhat awkward situation drew eye rolls, the
administration deserves credit for thinking outside the box. Chinese-owned Tik
Tok remains one of the last foreign social media platforms available within
Russia, but it is censoring content. The Biden administration could do the same
thing and brief users on popular Russian media such as Telegram and VKontakte.
The United States should invest in helping Western and Russian-speaking social
media influencers who live abroad spread the truth to Russians.
It’s clear that the Biden administration understands that it must confront
Russia on the psychological and informational battlefield. But the U.S.
government needs to retool and systematize its efforts and up its hearts and
minds game. There is no better moment than now.
*Ivana Stradner serves as an adviser to the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies, where her research focuses on Russia’s information operations and
cybersecurity, particularly Russia’s use of advanced forms of hybrid warfare.
Manhunt Ensues After Terrorist Attack in Tel Aviv
Joe Truzman/FDD/April 08/2022
A manhunt continues in Tel Aviv after an individual armed with a gun carried out
a shooting attack on Dizengoff street Thursday night. Two civilians were killed
and at least ten injured in the assault, according to Israeli reports.
Israeli security forces have not released information about the shooter,
although footage released by authorities show the suspect walking on Dizengoff
street before the strike.
Despite the increased security presence due to previous terrorist attacks, the
shooter successfully carried out the assault and managed to escape.
Thursday’s strike is the fourth high-profile terrorist attack in Israel over the
last two and a half weeks.
The first in the series of major assaults occurred on March 22 when an Islamic
State-inspired terrorist, Abu al-Qia’an, launched an “operation” in Be’er Sheba
that resulted in the death of four Israeli civilians. The claim refers to Qia’an
as an inghamasi (suicide commando) suggesting he may have also been a member of
the Islamic State, although Israeli security officials believe he was a
lone-wolf.
On March 27, two cousins, Ayman and Khaled Ighbariyah, swore bayat (oath of
allegiance) to the Islamic State and its new leader, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi
al-Qurayshi, before launching a shooting attack in northern Israel. The strike
resulted in the killing of two Israeli border police officers and the injury of
several civilians.
Lastly, on March 29, Dia Hamarsha, a Palestinian from a village near the West
Bank town of Jenin, shot and killed four civilians and one police officer in the
city of Benei Berak.
Thursday’s attack drew praise from Palestinian militant organizations with some
blaming Israeli provocations against Palestinians as the cause.
Hamas went a step further in its published statement claiming the assault was in
response to Israel’s attempts to “Judaize Jerusalem” and “offering sacrifices at
the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque” for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover.
Despite statements by Palestinian militant organizations praising and
encouraging further offensives, none have claimed responsibility.
The shooting was also lauded by activists and supporters of the Iran-led
Resistance Axis. Footage of celebratory rallies in Gaza, the West Bank and
southern Lebanon were published on Palestinian social media.
At the present time, Israeli security forces continue to search for the
perpetrator of Thursday night’s shooting.
Update: The perpetrator of the Tel Aviv shooting attack was killed by Israeli
counter-terrorism forces in Jaffa Friday morning. He has been identified as Raed
Hazem, a Palestinian from the West Bank town of Jenin, according to a
Palestinian report.
*Joe Truzman is a contributor to FDD's Long War Journal.
Turkey: What Happens When You Have No Freedom of Speech
Uzay Bulut/ Gatestone Institute/April 8, 2022
"In Turkey, human rights lawyers are particularly targeted for their work
representing human rights defenders, victims of human rights violations, victims
of police violence and torture, and many people who simply express dissenting
opinions." — Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
defenders, June 9, 2021.
The government announced in 2020 that it had opened legal proceedings against
597,783 individuals, detained 282,790 and arrested 94,975 for allegedly being
behind the 2016 coup attempt. Meanwhile, torture and abuse targeting the
government's perceived opponents have become widespread in prisons across
Turkey.
"The Commissioner is alarmed by the fact that the Turkish judiciary displays,
especially in terrorism-related cases, unprecedented levels of disregard for
even the most basic principles of law, such as presumption of innocence, no
punishment without crime and non-retroactivity of offences, or not being judged
for the same facts again." — The Council of Europe, Office of the Commissioner
for Human Rights, February 19, 2020.
Erdogan, meanwhile, claims there are no journalists behind bars...
It appears that, according to the Turkish government, dissent is "terrorism."
Anyone who does not support the government might be put in the category of
so-called "traitors" or "terrorists" and punished by the government.
The citizens of Turkey who are perceived to be "enemies" or simply opponents of
the government are targeted, abused, jailed or even killed. If they are
suspended from their jobs, they are blacklisted by the government, so that it is
almost impossible for them to find another job. They are thus put in a situation
where they face hunger and poverty daily. Their lives and livelihoods are
systematically destroyed. Is there any Western country that treats Muslims so
cruelly and unlawfully?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's regime has arrested and abducted
countless Muslims. He has apprehended them from across the world for allegedly
being, or supporting, "terrorists" behind a 2016 coup attempt. "In Turkey, human
rights lawyers are particularly targeted for their work representing human
rights defenders, victims of human rights violations, victims of police violence
and torture, and many people who simply express dissenting opinions," according
to Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
defenders.
"Racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and discrimination remain the main problem for
the Turkish community in Europe," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at
a press conference in Germany in 2021.
The statement was doubly ironic, as Erdogan's regime has arrested and abducted
countless Muslims. He has apprehended them from across the world for allegedly
being, or supporting, "terrorists" behind a 2016 coup attempt.
Nowhere else, however, can one find the countless crimes committed by the
government of Turkey against its own Muslim citizens. The human rights of many
citizens of Turkey who were born Muslim -- whether they became devout, secular,
or ex-Muslim -- are continually and systematically being violated by the Turkish
government.
"This virus [Islamophobia]," Erdogan said at the "A Fairer World Is Possible"
conference organized by the Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC)
in New York City in 2021. "is spreading very quickly in countries that have been
portrayed as cradles of democracy and freedom for years."
Yet, Erdogan's government persecutes millions of Turkish Muslims. Because of its
tyrannical policies, many citizens have had to leave in recent years. In 2019
alone, 330,289 Turks emigrated, according to the government's official
statistics body. The main opposition group, the Republican People's Party (CHP),
in 2021, published a report claiming that "the government's authoritarianism,
nepotism, incompetence and hostility to divergent lifestyles" are driving the
youth out of the country.
Many of those who disagree with governmental policies but are not "lucky" enough
to escape are in jail, have been dismissed from their places of employment, or
are coerced into silence for fear of losing their jobs, freedoms or even lives.
Those who speak out are under constant threat.
The U.S. State Department's "2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices:
Turkey" details human rights violations by the Turkish government against its
own citizens such as arbitrary deprivations of life and other unlawful or
politically motivated killings, disappearances, torture and other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishments, arbitrary arrests or detentions, denial
of fair public trials, politically motivated reprisals against individuals
located outside the country, and arbitrary or unlawful interference with
privacy, family, home, or correspondence.
Many citizens of Turkey -- regardless of their religion -- who do not agree with
official policies are targeted by the government. But as the Christian and
Jewish communities of the country have almost been completely cast aside, such
that there are almost no Christians or Jews left for the government to
persecute, it now mostly goes after its Muslim citizens. A century ago,
Christians made up 20% of Turkey's population; that figure is now just 0.1%.
This collapse is a result of decades-long persecution against Christians,
including the 1914-1923 Christian genocide.
Even though today the Christian and Jewish communities are on the verge of
extinction in Turkey, they are still exposed to discrimination and suppression
of free speech. Turkey's Press Advertisement Institution (BIK), the authorized
state institution for the distribution of official advertisements to the
newspapers throughout the country, did not, in 2020, provide any financial aid
to the minority press. In addition, the BIK does not place ads in minority
newspapers such as those of the Armenians, Jews, Greeks, and Assyrian (Syriac)
Christians. That decision deprives these media outlets of a serious source of
income, making it even harder for them financially to survive. According to a
February 2022 report, the BIK has not held a meeting since February 17, 2021,
keeping the problems of minority and other newspapers suspended. Why, then, when
the Turkish government claims to fight "Islamophobia," does it discriminate
against non-Muslims and find its president saying that "Islam is a religion of
benevolence, morality, and mercy"?
Turkey's tradition of silencing critics has a decades-long history -- not just
during Erdogan's regime. These human rights violations escalated even further in
the wake of the 2016 coup attempt, which the government claims was carried out
by U.S.-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gülen, formerly a close ally of Erdogan.
The Erdogan government now considers the Gülen community a "terrorist
organization" responsible for the attempted coup.
The Turkish government's persecution targets not only the supposed or actual
supporters of Gülen but almost everyone who does not support or vote for Erdogan.
Any law-abiding citizens could find themselves accused of terrorism and lose
their job or their freedom based just on the accusation.
Nurullah Koycu, for instance, a Turkish ex-Muslim and prominent atheist, is one
of the outspoken critics of Islam and Erdogan being targeted by the government.
The Atheist Alliance International reported in 2021 that Koycu was born into the
Muslim religion and had studied theology. His studies made him question his
religious beliefs and he abandoned all religious practices. Later, he became an
activist to raise his voice against Muslim doctrines and to support of
secularism in Turkey. Koycu has since faced several lawsuits for his criticism
of Sunni Islamic doctrines and Turkey's president.
The articles of the Turkish Penal Code used against Koycu -- TCK [Turkish Penal
Code]299/1, TCK 301/1, TCK 216/3, TCK 218/1, TCK 43/1, TCK 53 -- are often used
to oppress critics in Turkey. Koycu finally sought asylum in Europe.
The laws in Turkey that are used to crush dissent and silence the opponents of
the government are used against human rights lawyers as well. They are not
exempt from arbitrary arrests based on "charges of terrorism." On February 14,
human rights defender and lawyer Tarik Gunes was arrested and jailed.
Article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code and Article 7 of the Anti-Terror Law
relating to leaders and members of armed organizations are being used to convict
human rights defenders and sentence them to lengthy prison sentences, said Mary
Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, in
June 2021.
"In Turkey, human rights lawyers are particularly targeted for their work
representing human rights defenders, victims of human rights violations, victims
of police violence and torture, and many people who simply express dissenting
opinions.
"Turkey is violating some of the pillars of international human rights law –
freedom of expression, freedom of association and the right to lawfully practice
one's own profession – by repeatedly depriving human rights defenders and
lawyers of their freedom."
Tens of thousands of citizens the government considers to be terrorists have
faced criminal investigation and incarceration. The government announced in 2020
that it had opened legal proceedings against 597,783 individuals, detained
282,790 and arrested 94,975 for allegedly being behind the 2016 coup attempt.
Meanwhile, torture and abuse targeting the government's perceived opponents have
become widespread in prisons across Turkey.
The Council of Europe, in a statement published on February 19, 2020, said:
"[T]he Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, calls
on the Turkish authorities to restore judicial independence and stop the
practice of targeting human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists and
silencing them... The Commissioner is alarmed by the fact that the Turkish
judiciary displays, especially in terrorism-related cases, unprecedented levels
of disregard for even the most basic principles of law, such as presumption of
innocence, no punishment without crime and non-retroactivity of offences, or not
being judged for the same facts again."
Erdogan has also launched a purge that has seen tens of thousands of people
suspended from their jobs for their alleged ties to terrorism or on other
pretexts. According to the 2021 Activity Report by Turkey's Inquiry Commission
on the State of Emergency Measures, 125,678 public officials have been dismissed
from their jobs since 2016.
Turkey was the world's worst jailer of journalists for most of the 2010s.
Following the 2016 coup attempt, a total of 204 media outlets in Turkey were
closed. The closure decision was later revoked for 25 of them. Among the 179
media outlets that were shut down are 53 newspapers, 37 radio stations, 34
television stations, 29 publishing houses, 20 magazines and 6 news agencies.
Many journalists have had to leave the country to escape imprisonment. As the
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) noted in 2021:
"Turkey's crackdown after a failed coup attempt in 2016 effectively eradicated
the country's mainstream media and prompted many journalists to leave the
profession. Turkey's prison count is also declining as the government allows
more journalists out on parole to await trial or appeal outcomes."
Erdogan, meanwhile, claims there are no journalists behind bars: In 2017, he
said:
"We told them to give us a list of journalists in prison. It [the list] includes
everyone from murderers to child abusers. A list of 149 people came in. 144 of
them are in jail due to terrorism and 4 due to ordinary crimes."
It appears that, according to the Turkish government, dissent is "terrorism."
Anyone who does not support the government might be put in the category of
so-called "traitors" or "terrorists" and punished by the government.
Even leaving Turkey might not mean freedom or safety for those who the Erdogan's
government perceives to be its enemies. According to Freedom House:
"[T]he regime has pursued its perceived enemies in at least 31 different host
countries spread across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
The campaign is also notable for its heavy reliance on renditions, in which the
government and its intelligence agency persuade the targeted states to hand over
individuals without due process, or with a slight fig leaf of legality. Freedom
House cataloged 58 of these renditions since 2014. No other perpetrator state
was found to have conducted such a large number of renditions, from so many host
countries, during the coverage period—and the documented total is almost
certainly an undercount."
There is also the Turkish government's persecution of the Kurds for calling for
their political or national rights. As of 2022, Turkey still refuses officially
to recognize the Kurdish language or the right of Kurds to be educated in their
mother tongue. Kurds who request the right to autonomy and self-determination
are systematically oppressed. According to the data shared with Gatestone by the
pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), following the 2014 local elections,
93 co-mayors, and deputy mayors were arrested, and trustees were appointed by
the government to 95 municipalities that Kurdish mayors had democratically won.
Following the 2019 elections, 38 co-mayors from the HDP were arrested and
trustees were appointed to 48 HDP-run municipalities.
The number of detentions of HDP members by Turkish police has exceeded 16,000
since 2015. The total number of arrestees behind bars including those that HDP
have not been able to reach is estimated to be over 4,000. The number of jailed
HDP members includes six parliamentarians. In addition, 23 co-mayors from the
pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP) are currently in jail.
On October 10, 2015, HDP supporters were victims of a massacre -- a double
suicide bombing in Ankara at a "Labor, Peace and Democracy" rally: 103 people
were murdered, and hundreds were wounded. The families who want to commemorate
the victims have for years been exposed to attacks, barricades, and detentions
by the police.
Deadly violence against Kurds continues. On June 17, 2021, for instance, Deniz
Poyraz, a 38-year-old member of the HDP, was killed in the city of Izmir when a
gunman entered the party's office and shot her dead.
So what exactly is "Islamophobia," according to the Turkish government? If it is
"anti-Muslim hatred," as Erdogan defined it, then millions more Muslim Turks and
Kurds are suffering at his own hands than they are in the West. Muslims enjoy
far more human rights and liberties across the West than they do in Turkey.
Erdogan's government claims to fight against "acts of Islamophobia and
discrimination against Muslims in different parts of the world" -- but not all
Muslims -- only against Muslims whose political views are in line with those of
the Turkish government. The citizens of Turkey who are perceived to be "enemies"
or simply opponents of the government are targeted, abused, jailed or even
killed. If they are suspended from their jobs, they are blacklisted by the
government, so that it is almost impossible for them to find another job. They
are thus put in a situation where they face hunger and poverty daily. Their
lives and livelihoods are systematically destroyed. Is there any Western country
that treats Muslims so cruelly and unlawfully?
*Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the
Gatestone Institute.
© 2022 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.
Points that Putin Apologists Miss
Amir Taheri/Ashark Al Awsat/April, 08/2022
Who do you think is to blame for the war in Ukraine?
For the Blame-America-International the answer is simple: the culprit is the
United States.
At one end of the Blame-America International (BAI) we find usual suspects such
as the Khomeinist mullahs, the Sudanese and Burmese jackboots, the retarded
Maoists of Eritrea, the Assad clan in Damascus and the bad boys of Belarus.
These one could dismiss if only because their mercenary status is clear.
It is at the other end of the spectrum that one finds a potentially more
dangerous narrative at a time that what is euphemistically referred to as the
world order is facing its biggest challenge since World War II. For here we find
individuals and groups that try to use, or rather abuse, such labels as “public
intellectuals” and/ or “elder statesmen” to legitimize Vladimir Putin’s
invasion.
That narrative is peddled by people like former British Foreign Secretary David
Lord Owen, professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, French presidential
candidates Marine Le Pen, Eric Zemmour and Jean-Luc Melenchon, British columnist
Peter Hitchens, and a string of lesser known figures in Europe and the United
States.
They all build their narrative around three charges.
The first is that Putin and his Russia must be seen as victims of the United
States insatiable quest for global hegemony by constantly trying to downgrade
Russia’s status.
The second is that, by trying to include Ukraine in its ranks, the North
Atlantic Treaty (NATO) posed a direct threat to Russia’s national security, a
threat that no Russian leader could ignore.
The third is that Ukrainian leaders, prompted by Washington, refused to
recognize Russia’s right to “reintegrate” the Crimean Peninsula, a part of
Russian homeland that Nikita Khrushchev, a Ukrainian chauvinist disguised as a
Bolshevik, snatched away from Mother Russia.
As for the first charge, the opposite may be nearer to the truth.
For successive US administrations starting with George WH Bush’s went out of
their way not only to soften the shock caused by the collapse of the Soviet
Empire but also to recognize Russia as its legitimate successor with
“superpower” status.
Although post-Soviet Russia was diminished in terms of demographic, economic,
diplomatic and military power, all treaties and procedural agreements concluded
with the USSR remained in force. The US worked closely with Moscow to smooth the
difficult transition that Europe faced as the Warsaw Pact was dissolved and the
European Union enlarged.
Anxious to keep Russia “on board” the US campaigned for Russia’s membership of
the G-7, which became G-,and the World Trade Organization (WTO), helped open
global capital markets to Russia, and encouraged American businesses to heavily
invest in developing the post-Soviet economy.
It is no exaggeration to suggest that the American stamp of approval played a
key role in encouraging other foreign, especially European, investment followed
by the biggest transfer of technology witnessed in Russian history.
The second charge related to NATO’s alleged rush to included Ukraine, or what
Professor Mearsheimer calls “reckless expansion”, provoked Putin is equally
absurd.
To start with NATO never invites any state to join. It is up to other states to
apply for membership and, to this day, Ukraine has not done so and, if it did,
it is clear that its application would be unacceptable under NATO’s rules that
exclude any country with unresolved irredentist and/or other territorial
disputes with any other nation.
For almost two decades Russia made no objection to NATO enlargement that
included former members of the Warsaw Pact. Under Putin, Russia even concluded a
deal for cooperation with NATO on issues of mutual security with the Helsinki
Accords as historic reference. In 2002, Putin met NATO Secretary-General George
(Lord) Robinson and quipped that “may be it is time NATO invited Russia to
become a member.”
Robinson wasn’t sure whether that was a serious approach or Russian black humor
but reminded Putin that NATO never issues invitation but would consider
applications.
In the 2008 Bucharest summit of NATO both Georgia and Ukraine expressed the
desire to apply for membership but were quietly told not to submit formal
applications. The undeclared reason was the persistence of irredentist problems
both had with Russia. Putin interpreted that as a rebuff to Kiev and Tbilisi by
NATO and invaded Georgia, snatching South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The “provocation” charge is equally nonsensical.
However, even if there was provocation shouldn‘t one apportion blame between the
provoker and the provoked? Isn’t the rapist who claims he was provoked because
his victim wore provocative dress at least as much to blame as the victim?
Without saying so the pro-Putin chorus is advocating a new concept, that of
limited sovereignty for countries that were once part of the Tsarist and/or
Soviet empires. That concept would apply not only to Ukraine and Georgia but
also to the Baltic republics and the Eastern European members of the defunct
Warsaw Pact. In his latest rhetoric, Putin has extended that concept to Central
Asian republics, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania in the Balkans.
More importantly, perhaps, should the “threat to national security” be regarded
as an excuse exclusive to Vladimir Putin?
The Montevideo Convention of 1933-34, in its Article 8, stipulated that “no
state has the right to intervene in the internal and external affairs of
another.” That principle was designed to deal with the lacunae in the League of
Nations that contributed to World War. Later, it became a fundamental principle
of the United Nations and the world order that has shaped the global system for
seven decades.
Mercifully, not even Eric Zemmour repeats Putin’s absurd claim that Ukraine is
governed by neo-Nazis, implying that the current war is a sequel to World War
II.
However, the claim that Ukraine’s refusal to accept the loss of Crimea and,
presumably also of Donbas, left Putin with no choice but to invade is equally
questionable. What would Putin do if China invaded Russia to regain control of
territory that was once Chinese?
If we accept that what once belonged to one state can never belong to another,
Crimea must be handed over to Turkey as successor to the Ottoman caliphate, or,
even better, the Tatar khans who ruled it before the Ottomans. As for Donbas and
chunks of southern Russia returning to “original owners”, this means the revival
of the Cossack state that once controlled both.
It is a pity, not to say a shame, that hatred for America has led so many
otherwise sane people to endorse Putin’s authorship of a great tragedy.
Question: "What is Psalm Sunday?"
GotQuestions.org?//April, 08/2022
Answer: Palm Sunday is the day we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into
Jerusalem, one week before His resurrection (Matthew 21:1–11). As Jesus entered
the holy city, He neared the culmination of a long journey toward Golgotha. He
had come to save the lost (Luke 19:10), and now was the time—this was the
place—to secure that salvation. Palm Sunday marked the start of what is often
called “Passion Week,” the final seven days of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Palm
Sunday was the “beginning of the end” of Jesus’ work on earth.
Palm Sunday began with Jesus and His disciples traveling over the Mount of
Olives. The Lord sent two disciples ahead into the village of Bethphage to find
an animal to ride. They found the unbroken colt of a donkey, just as Jesus had
said they would (Luke 19:29–30). When they untied the colt, the owners began to
question them. The disciples responded with the answer Jesus had provided: “The
Lord needs it” (Luke 19:31–34). Amazingly, the owners were satisfied with that
answer and let the disciples go. “They brought [the donkey] to Jesus, threw
their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it” (Luke 19:35).
As Jesus ascended toward Jerusalem, a large multitude gathered around Him. This
crowd understood that Jesus was the Messiah; what they did not understand was
that it wasn’t time to set up the kingdom yet—although Jesus had tried to tell
them so (Luke 19:11–12). The crowd’s actions along the road give rise to the
name “Palm Sunday”: “A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while
others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (Matthew 21:8).
In strewing their cloaks on the road, the people were giving Jesus the royal
treatment—King Jehu was given similar honor at his coronation (2 Kings 9:13).
John records the detail that the branches they cut were from palm trees (John
12:13).
On that first Palm Sunday, the people also honored Jesus verbally: “The crowds
that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of
David!’ / ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ / ‘Hosanna in the
highest heaven!’” (Matthew 21:9). In their praise of Jesus, the Jewish crowds
were quoting Psalm 118:25–26, an acknowledged prophecy of the Christ. The
allusion to a Messianic psalm drew resentment from the religious leaders
present: “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke
your disciples!’” (Luke 19:39). However, Jesus saw no need to rebuke those who
told the truth. He replied, “I tell you . . . if they keep quiet, the stones
will cry out” (Luke 19:40).
Some 450 to 500 years prior to Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, the prophet
Zechariah had prophesied the event we now call Palm Sunday: “Rejoice greatly,
Daughter Zion! / Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! / See, your king comes to you, /
righteous and victorious, / lowly and riding on a donkey, / on a colt, the foal
of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). The prophecy was fulfilled in every particular,
and it was indeed a time of rejoicing, as Jerusalem welcomed their King.
Unfortunately, the celebration was not to last. The crowds looked for a Messiah
who would rescue them politically and free them nationally, but Jesus had come
to save them spiritually. First things first, and mankind’s primary need is
spiritual, not political, cultural, or national salvation.
Even as the coatless multitudes waved the palm branches and shouted for joy,
they missed the true reason for Jesus’ presence. They could neither see nor
understand the cross. That’s why, “as [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the
city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day
what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will
come upon you when your enemies . . . will not leave one stone on another,
because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Luke 19:41–47).
It is a tragic thing to see the Savior but not recognize Him for who He is. The
crowds who were crying out “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday were crying out “Crucify
Him!” later that week (Matthew 27:22–23).
There is coming a day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10–11). The worship will be real then. Also,
John records a scene in heaven that features the eternal celebration of the
risen Lord: “There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from
every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before
the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their
hands” (Revelation 7:9, emphasis added). These palm-bearing saints will shout,
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (verse
10), and who can measure sum of their joy?
د. ماجد رفي زاده/ لنتائج السلبية لتطبيع العلاقات مع إيران
The negative consequences of normalizing ties with Iran
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/April 08/2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/107747/dr-majid-rafizadehthe-negative-consequences-of-normalizing-ties-with-iran-%d8%af-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%af-%d8%b1%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%87-%d9%84%d9%86%d8%aa%d8%a7%d8%a6%d8%ac-%d8%a7/
Any deal between Iran and the P5+1 world powers on the former’s nuclear program
should not lead to the belief that normalizing political relations with the
Tehran regime is safe and secure. This is due to the fact that the Iranian
government views international agreements as transitory and a means to an end,
with the ultimate goal of the theocratic establishment being the fulfillment of
its ideological and revolutionary principles and ideals.
In other words, it is extremely unlikely that any deal between the world powers
and the Iranian regime would change the core, underlying policies of the Islamic
Republic. A clear example is the previous nuclear deal. Some politicians,
scholars and policy analysts hoped that Iran would change its behavior after the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was struck in 2015 and act as a constructive
and modern nation state. However, we ought to be cautious of conflating and
intertwining our hopes with the sociopolitical reality and underlying character
of the Iranian regime.
The Tehran government’s fortunes shifted in 2015 after the signing of the
nuclear agreement, which led to the lifting of global sanctions. As a result,
the Islamic Republic became the recipient of significant geopolitical, strategic
and economic opportunities and rewards from the global powers.
Iran’s leaders could have capitalized on these opportunities in two different
ways. The first and most rational path would have been to focus their new status
on the global stage — their enhanced legitimacy and the additional revenues they
received — toward investing in improving the living standards of its citizens,
advancing the nation’s technological landscapes, avoiding interference in other
countries’ affairs, refraining from the use of provocative and incendiary
speeches against other nations, refraining from intimidating other countries by
their military power, and instead trying to be a respected nation state in the
region and on the global arena.
Building ties with the Iranian regime will not necessarily make a foreign state
immune from its malign and destructive policies
But the Iranian leaders took a different path. Their modus operandi, which was
using their elevated status — as well as the economic opportunities offered by
the nuclear agreement and sanctions relief — to project their military power and
fund more proxies in the region. The Iranian regime chose to provoke other
nations with its ballistic missile capabilities, issue confrontational,
incendiary and irrational statements to antagonize other countries, to be an
ideological and revolutionary state with the goal of being treated as the
regional superpower at any cost, to impose its Shiite doctrine on other nations,
and act as an ideological cause. And the Islamic Republic decided to more
forcefully interfere in the domestic affairs of other nations, including Yemen,
Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
In addition, the Iranian regime’s military adventurism escalated, with the
region witnessing more Houthi rocket attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia
and the deployment of thousands of Hezbollah foot soldiers in Syria.
The EU, which also normalized relations with the Iranian regime, faced similar
negative consequences. The bloc’s member states were among the main targets of
Iran’s terrorist plots. The Iranian regime was implicated in a series of
assassinations, the seizure of European hostages and other hostile acts across
the continent, some successful, others not. European officials were able to foil
a terrorist attack targeting a large “Free Iran” convention in Paris in 2018,
which was attended by many high-level speakers. Iranian diplomat Assadollah
Assadi was last year sentenced to 20 years in prison in Belgium for his role in
the bomb plot.
This shows that building ties with the Iranian regime will not necessarily make
a foreign state immune from its malign and destructive policies. The EU would do
well to recall what Winston Churchill famously said about those that appease a
rogue state: “Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the
crocodile will eat him last. All of them hope that the storm will pass before
their turn comes to be devoured. But I fear — I fear greatly — the storm will
not pass.”
In a nutshell, governments ought to be cautious of swiftly normalizing political
ties with the Iranian regime. International agreements with the Islamic Republic
do not change its destructive behavior or revolutionary principles. Instead,
deals with Tehran seem to only encourage the regime to more forcefully interfere
in the domestic affairs of other nations and to reassert its regional
preeminence and hegemonic ambitions.
• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political
scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh
The failure of Muslims
Mohamed Wani/The Arab News/April 08/2022
The greatest misfortune that has befallen contemporary Muslims is that their
preachers have turned to “sloganeering,”
Islam is a religion and a system of government. Yes, this is true, but which
religion and which government? Is it enough to always say that Islam is the
solution? Without knowing how and by what mechanism? The greatest misfortune
that has befallen contemporary Muslims is that their preachers have turned to
“sloganeering,” as if chanting slogans has become part of their way of life.
Islam is justice, equality, freedom and independence, which are values that
these advocates were totally unable to translate into reality, even when they
were at the height of their political power in Tunisia, Sudan, Algeria and
Egypt.
The problem with those who live by slogans is that they say one thing and do
another that is completely different from reality.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey, for example, claims to adhere to the
teachings of the Islam of Prophet Mohammed, which call for justice, equality,
freedom and Islamic brotherhood. Nevertheless, Turkey is in fact closer to
secular nationalist Kemalism than to pure Islamic morals. It does not adhere to
the simplest rules of Islam which encourage love according to the honourable
Prophetic hadith, which says "None of you believes until he loves for his
brother what he loves for himself", and therefore hates for his brother what he
hates for himself.
Does Erdogan love the Kurds the way he loves his own kind? Of course not. When
the Kurds are not allowed to contemplate the formation of their nation-state,
one similar to Turkey or any other country in the world and are prevented from
exercising the natural human rights with which God has endowed them, then this
deviates from the teachings of Islam and the hadiths of the Prophet.
The same is true for the Islamic Republic of Iran.
This deceptive duplicity in dealing with Islam and trying to embody it on the
ground in this distorted fashion is what has brought the reputation and prestige
of Muslims and their countries to the bottom and kept them away from
participating in determining and deciding the fate of the world, even when it is
on the brink of disaster. Thus, Islam has lost the most important and greatest
of its goals for which the Prophet himself vowed to strive, which is to “save
humanity” from destruction. Instead, it turned into a heavy burden.
The desired Islamic system which we always advocate and try to establish is a
mirror of the religion we embrace, or it is supposed to be. If our perception of
religion is distorted and impractical, it is impossible to establish it as a
system of government of any kind on the ground or if it is established, it is
bound to fall. And if we see power before anything else, whether through
military coups, terrorist operations or even through democratic mechanisms, with
the intent of then applying Islamic teachings and imposing them on others as a
fait accompli, according to the Machiavellian saying “the end justifies the
means,” as most Islamist movements, especially in the Arab world, do, then this
would be nothing but a deceptive and risky approach that insults the
intelligence of others. It is very similar to putting the cart before the horse.
If, after the fall of the Ottoman Caliphate, the Islamists had relied on the
Islam of Prophet Mohamed and preserved its purity and its faith and human
dimensions and did not defile it with politics, the conditions of Muslims would
not have turned to what they are today.
Where is Islam and where are Muslims in what is happening in the world today?
There is a state of complete absence from the global political and humanitarian
scene. A nation in its last gasp.
*Mohamed Wani is an Iraqi Kurdish writer.