English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 12/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Matthew 28/16-20: “The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 11-12/2022
US envoy to visit Lebanon, discuss Israel maritime talks/Najia Houssari
Aoun, Miqati hold 'technical' talks, discuss sea border 'maps'
Berri reviews hours issues with Hout, Ibrahim & Qandil
Al-Rahi at the end of Maronite Bishops’ spiritual retreat: Preserving Lebanon requires awareness, education & loyalty among all...
Hajj Hassan, Dukan meet in Paris
Jumblatt, Shea convene in Al-Mukhtara
Taymour Jumblatt underlines "urgent need for reform, benefiting from Lebanon's wealth"
Hassan Murad after his election as Education House Commission Chair: We will restore consideration to the Lebanese public school & national university
Lebanese civilians ‘suffer harm’ from flights by Israeli spy planes and drones
Lebanese protest Israel vessel at disputed gas field
Seven people killed in helicopter crash near Tuscany in Italy

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 11-12/2022
EU chief visits Ukraine to discuss its bid to join bloc
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a 'preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil'
Zelenskiy tells Asian meeting: Stopping Russian invasion crucial for whole world
First Russian passports issued to residents of southern Ukraine
Iran, Venezuela sign two-decade cooperation deal
Syria says repairing airport damaged in Israeli strikes
Italian Ministry of Defense: Aerial imaging showed 7 scattered bodies
Canada-Mexico-United States Joint Statement by Foreign Ministers

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 11-12/2022
Iran's Mullahs Score Nuclear Victory/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/June 11/2022
Turkey Targeting Iraq, Syria, Cyprus, Greece/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute./June 11/2022
Four more years of corruption in Iraq foretold/Farouk Yousef/The Arab Weekly/June 11/2022
The future of France rests on Sunday’s elections/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/June 11 2022
Lobbyists in US play key role in Turkish-American relations/Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/June 11 2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 11-12/2022
US envoy to visit Lebanon, discuss Israel maritime talks
Najia Houssari/Arab News/June 11/2022
BEIRUT: Amos Hochstein, the US State Department’s senior advisor for energy security, will visit Lebanon June 13-14 to discuss the country’s energy crisis and underscore Washington’s hope that Lebanon and Israel can reach a decision delimiting their maritime boundary. The State Department said in a statement that it “welcomes the consultative and open spirit of the parties to reach a final decision, which has the potential to yield greater stability, security, and prosperity for both Lebanon and Israel, as well as for the region.” This comes following the arrival of the Energean Power floating production, storage and offloading vessel to the disputed maritime area in the south of Lebanon. The ship’s arrival in the Israeli oil field of Karish has reopened a divisive political issue in Lebanon — whether to adopt Line 29 or Line 23 in the demarcation of the country’s southern maritime borders.
Adopting Line 29 would entail Lebanon relinquishing 1,430 square kilometers, according to a technical team from the Lebanese Army and a legal study based on a report of the British Hydrographic Office done on behalf of the Lebanese government in 2011. In 2011, the Lebanese government sent Decree 6433 to the UN stating that Line 23 pertains to Lebanon and that Lebanon commits to demanding it. This would mean that Lebanon receives only an area of 860 square kilometers from the disputed block. To date, Decree 6433 has not been amended to include the additional 1,430 square kilometers south of Point 23 and deposited with the UN before the resumption of negotiations. Indirect Lebanese-Israeli negotiations to demarcate the maritime borders took place in October 2020, with Washington mediating. The negotiations, received by the UN at the UN Interim Force in Lebanon border headquarters, were hastily frozen by the Israeli side after the Lebanese delegation raised its demands. Hochstein’s visit includes meetings with President Michel Aoun and Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab, tasked by the president to follow up on the border demarcation file.
Former caretaker Premier Hassan Diab signed on April 12, 2021 the draft decree amending Decree 6433. It was sent by the Cabinet to the presidential palace in the hope that Aoun would sign it into force, but the president has yet to sign the decree, and a new government has not been formed to act in accordance with the constitution's requirements. Brig. Gen. Bassam Yassin, former head of the Lebanese delegation at the maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel, agreed that “the Lebanese Cabinet should meet and amend Decree No. 6433 before the two-month deadline for the commencement of the oil and gas extraction from the disputed Karish field.”
“One of the conditions of the US mediator Hochstein to resume negotiations is not to amend this decree,” said Yassin. President Michel Aoun considers Line 29 to be a “negotiating line” and that “the amendment of the decree is linked to the negotiations.”
In Beirut, the US mediator’s response early next week “will be oral and nothing will be written,” according to a source close to the ongoing communications taking place prior to Hochstein’s return. Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on Thursday that Karish is a disputed field, telling Israelis “to stop exploring it” and warning “the Greeks not to continue drilling and extraction.” Greece’s Foreign Ministry summoned the officer-in-charge of the Lebanese Embassy in Athens and registered his protest against Nasrallah’s speech. Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said that “the Greek Foreign Ministry informed the Lebanese officer-in-charge that the extraction vessel in the Mediterranean is not the property of the Greek government.”“The Lebanese Foreign Ministry has reported that there are Greek sailors aboard the ship brought by Tel Aviv to the Karish field,” clarified Bou Habib. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri did not join Saturday’s meeting between Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as he is holding on to the framework agreement reached on Oct. 1 with the US to begin demarcation negotiations. MP Mohammed Khawaja of the Berri parliamentary bloc said that Berri “adheres to the framework agreement and does not waive any fraction of our right,” considering Nasrallah’s position as “a support force for the Lebanese negotiator.”

Aoun, Miqati hold 'technical' talks, discuss sea border 'maps'
Naharnet/June 11/2022
President Michel Aoun and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Saturday met in Baabda and discussed “the Lebanese stance over the issue of the demarcation of the southern border,” state-run National News Agency said.
The meeting comes on the eve of the arrival in Lebanon of U.S. energy mediator Amos Hochstein. According to al-Jadeed TV, the Aoun-Miqati meeting was “technical par excellence.”“There is no divergence in the stances of the Lebanese parties and until the moment no stance, ceiling or official paper will be issued regarding the negotiations pending what Hochstein will carry” to his Lebanese interlocutors, al-Jadeed added. “The meeting between President Aoun and caretaker PM Miqati was dedicated to discussing the Lebanese stance over demarcation and coordinating a unified stance,” the TV network said.“The meeting lasted for more than an hour and it involved discussing maps and files that were carried by Miqati in a black file to Baabda,” al-Jadeed added.

Berri reviews hours issues with Hout, Ibrahim & Qandil
NNA/June 11/2022
House Speaker Nabih Berri met today at Ain El-Tineh Palace with MP Imad El-Hout, with whom he discussed the general situation prevailing in the country, latest developments and legislative affairs. Berri also received today the Director General of Public Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, and former Deputy Nasser Qandil.

Al-Rahi at the end of Maronite Bishops’ spiritual retreat: Preserving Lebanon requires awareness, education & loyalty among all...
NNA/June 11/2022
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, presided over the closing Mass of the annual spiritual retreat of the Maronite bishops in Lebanon and countries of emigration, which was held at the "Church of Our Lady" in Bkirki this morning. In his religious sermon, al-Rahi considered that "the law of coexistence is nothing but the practice of brotherhood horizontally, and filiation to one father vertically," reminding that "Lebanon existed to be an example of a sovereign, free and neutral nation towards its surroundings and the world, and a symbol of equality and partnership among all its citizens on the basis of the Constitution and the Charter."He added: "We want Lebanon to be a strong and impregnable democratic state, with its institutions, people, army, impartial judiciary, and sound Arab and international relations." "I wish that our officials and politicians in Lebanon would understand the value and uniqueness of this country, which we find in the Constitution, the National Charter (1943) and the principles of the Taif Agreement," al-Rahi said. The Patriarch emphasized that "preserving Lebanon, its idealism and mission in the East and the world, requires awareness, education and loyalty among all Lebanese groups, especially those who serve public affairs.""Let the forgiveness of our sins at the end of this spiritual excerise be the beginning of a new pattern in our lives, so that we may shine before our people as men of prayer, love and mercy," al-Rahi concluded.

Hajj Hassan, Dukan meet in Paris
NNA/June 11/2022
Caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Abbas Hajj Hassan, met in Paris the coordinator of international aid for Lebanon, Ambassador Pierre Dukan, during which he confirmed France's continued support for Lebanon. Hajj Hassan presented the conditions of the agricultural sector and the challenges it faces, explaining the difficult situation of Lebanese farmers and the ministry's plans and priorities, and its quest to network with various international and regional bodies and institutions.

Jumblatt, Shea convene in Al-Mukhtara
NNA/June 11/2022
Al-Mukhtara - Progressive Socialist Party Chief Walid Jumblatt, met this afternoon in the presence of Democratic Gathering Head, MP Taymour Jumblatt, with US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea who visited him at Al-Mukhtara Palace accompanied by a number of embassy advisors. The visit was a chance to discuss various hour issues, current developments and affairs related to Lebanon and the region. Jumblatt and Shea later continued their disucssions over lunch, with the participation of "Democratic Gathering" MPs Akram Chehayeb, Bilal Abdallah, Raji Al-Saad, Faisal Al-Sayegh and Wael Abu Faour, and PSP Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Zaher Raad.

Taymour Jumblatt underlines "urgent need for reform, benefiting from Lebanon's wealth"
NNA/June 11/2022
Head of the "Democratic Gathering" parliamentary bloc, MP Taymour Jumblatt, called Saturday for an "immediate setting of the dates for binding parliamentary consultations to nominate a prime minister-designate to form a new government that will manage the exceptional and severe phase Lebanon is going through."Jumblatt wondered about the “purpose behind the heresy of linking the pm-designation to the cabinet formation in violation of the constitution, while the urgent need is to implement legislation and reform programs, complete negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and benefit from Lebanon’s wealth in gas and oil, instead of losing it due to populism and outbidding on our basic national rights.”He stressed the need to rush "to form the government and provide possible solutions in the electricity dossier, away from all false promises that exhausted the treasury and the citizen altogether," adding, "We have called on the Ministry of Energy to take quick measures to operate the Naameh landfill plant for the benefit of the people of the neighboring villages.""The parliament’s responsibility, folliwing the completion of its internal elections, also lies in devoting time to the required legislative workshops. In this context, the 'Democratic Gathering' will present practical proposals that converge with the people’s demands and concerns, and we hope that the parliament members will meet around these projects,” the MP said. Jumblatt's words came during his meetings with several popular delegations that visited him today at Al-Mukhtara Palace, raising their daily living issues and general demands.

Hassan Murad after his election as Education House Commission Chair: We will restore consideration to the Lebanese public school & national university
NNA/June 11/2022
Following his election as head of the Education House Commission, MP Hassan Murad stressed the importance of cooperating with all colleagues in the various parliamentary blocs and working hard to launch a workshop to advance education, higher education and culture in Lebanon.
Murad pledged to work with colleagues within the Commission to launch a comprehensive educational reform process that includes rehabilitating the public school to be able to compete with its private counterpart and strengthening formal vocational education in line with the needs of the market. He also highlighted the importance of strengthening the role of the national university, approving the necessary legislation for its development, opening the door for the annual recruitment of full-time faculty, and rendering it a starting point for joint research between Universities, Chambers of Industry, Commerce and Agriculture.
"We will work on restructuring the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to be more responsive to the accelerating scientific developments, focus on developing educational curricula and work on the completion of the unified history book and the amendment of the national education book to reinforce patriotism and the state of citizenship," Murad said. "Our beloved Lebanon has always been a beacon of learning, higher education and culture," he added, noting that "these projects are being pushed forward with the aim of building a better tomorrow and restoring Lebanon's standing as a beacon of education and culture," Murad asserted. He thanked his fellow members of parliament who gave him their votes to preside over the Higher Education and Culture House Commission

Lebanese civilians ‘suffer harm’ from flights by Israeli spy planes and drones
Najia Houssari/Arab News/June 11/2022
BEIRUT: There have been 22,111 Israeli violations of Lebanon’s airspace since 2007, according to a database that wants to show the effects of “systematic and prolonged exposure to the roar of these military planes in the airspace, and their impact on the physical and psychological life of those who have had to withstand constant air pressure” from above. Airpressure.info compiled the database to make all Israeli air violations visible. Lawrence Abu Hamdan, a 37-year-old Jordanian who lived in Beirut for years, is behind the information. He said he wanted to shed light on “an accumulated event, one extended crime” that had taken place over the past 15 years. “It is an atmosphere of violence that takes its toll over time. That is why it might be ignored, although it shouldn’t be ignored any longer.”Lebanon and Israel are still in a state of war despite the Israeli withdrawal from the south of the country in 2000. The last Israeli attack witnessed by Lebanon was in the summer of 2006 which lasted a month. Hamdan is also a contemporary artist who specializes in the political effects of listening, using various kinds of audio to explore its effects on human rights and law. Airpressure.info said that 8,231 fighter aircraft and 13,102 drones had violated Lebanese airspace since 2007. It said: “These acts of aggression in Lebanese airspace are not short overflights, but last for four hours and 35 minutes on average. The total duration of these violations amounts to 3,098 days. This is equal to eight years and a half of continued occupation of Lebanon by jet planes and drones.”These violations meant that life in Lebanon was under random group surveillance, it added. “These are an unprecedented violation of people’s privacy by a foreign state. Through these airspace violations, people’s phone calls and text messages are being monitored and their homes and movements are being randomly filmed.”
Journalist Samer Wehbe, who is from the southern city of Nabatieh, told Arab News that Lebanese people living in the south had become used to the sound of the Israeli aircraft every day. "They find it odd when these aircraft do not violate the airspace for one or two days. Apart from watching the movements of the Lebanese, the Israeli spy planes, roaring all day and night, cause disturbance, anxiety, and stress. Even children complain about the sounds.”The website relied on the findings of 17 articles published in popular international journals detailing “the severe physiological effects of airplane noise.”
These articles showed that “hypertension, circulatory effects, sleep disorder, and psychosocial pain” were usually associated with long-term exposure to this type of noise pollution. The website recorded 30 times where around eight to 12 aircraft breached Lebanese airspace at the same time, "regularly violating the sound barrier above civilian areas, causing a sonic boom known to smash windows.”It was possible that all residents would hear these aircraft while they flew north over the mountains and south to the coast as Lebanon was just 88 km at its widest point, it said.
It noted that Israel used advanced military aircraft and modern surveillance aircraft. Wehbe said: “Adults who have lived through Israel's wars and invasions of Lebanon suffer from anxiety more than others. During my fieldwork, I have often seen women having panic attacks because they expect to be raided after hearing the roar of flying aircraft, especially since this roar lasts hours and becomes disturbing as minutes and hours pass.”In a survey of Lebanon's complaints against Israeli air violations, the website said 243 letters were uploaded to the UN Digital Library from 2006 to 2021. “They are addressed to the Security Council and contain all radar information, including time, duration, type, and route for each violation of the aircraft.” The Lebanese Defense Ministry, the UN Security Council, and UNIFIL forces usually monitor and record such violations. But the website said this information was stored in a “partial and uncoordinated manner” by these three institutions. It published a map of the airspace violations above Lebanon’s regions and showed the routes followed by the aircraft in the form of overlapping circles that covered most of the country.
The flights are concentrated in the south, where they appear to follow set routes. But Beirut is also a frequent destination, as are areas north of the capital and closer to the Syrian border. A Lebanese diplomatic source told Arab News: “Violations are being recorded on the Lebanese side and stored in the UN library, but the UN doesn’t judge. This is how it works.”

Lebanese protest Israel vessel at disputed gas field
AFP/11 June ,2022
Hundreds of people and several lawmakers protested Saturday in southern Lebanon against Israel moving a gas production vessel into an offshore field partly claimed by Beirut. The demonstration comes just days before the US envoy mediating maritime border talks between the two neighbors is expected in Lebanon, and after the ship operated by London-listed Energean Plc arrived in the Karish gas field last week. Several hundred people waved Lebanese and Palestinian flags at Lebanon’s border town of Naqoura to protest Israel’s claim on the area where the Karish field is located, an AFP correspondent said. “We absolutely refuse to neglect Lebanon’s maritime resources, which belong to all Lebanese,” said lawmaker Firas Hamdan, reading a joint statement from 13 independent parliamentarians, most of whom were newly elected last month. Lebanon and Israel have no diplomatic relations and are separated by a UN-patrolled border. Lebanon’s president and prime minister have condemned Israel for moving the vessel into the Karish field, and have invited US envoy Amos Hochstein to Beirut for mediation. Hochstein is scheduled to arrive in Lebanon on Monday for a two-day visit, according to the US State Department. Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group this week warned Energean against proceeding with its activities. Lebanon and Israel resumed negotiations over their maritime frontier in 2020, but the process was stalled by Beirut’s claim that the map used by the United Nations in the talks needed modifying. Lebanon initially demanded 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of territory in the disputed maritime area but then asked for an additional 1,430 square kilometers (552 square miles), including part of Karish.The independent lawmakers said in Saturday’s statement that they supported Lebanon’s claim to part of Karish.

Seven people killed in helicopter crash near Tuscany in Italy
Agencies/June 11, 2022
ROME: Five people were killed after a helicopter crash in Italy, a regional governor said on Saturday, and two passengers were still missing two days after the aircraft vanished from radar screens. Eugenio Giani, the governor of the Tuscany region, wrote on Facebook the helicopter crashed in a mountain area at the border between Tuscany and the Emilia Romagna region. The bodies of the five dead were found on Saturday. The helicopter took off on Thursday from Lucca in Tuscany and was heading toward the northern city of Treviso when it disappeared from radar screens after hitting bad weather above a hilly, wooded area. Seven people were aboard the helicopter, including four Turkish businessmen working for Eczacibasi Consumer Products, a subsidiary of the major Turkish industrial group, Eczacibasi . They had been attending a paper technologies fair in Italy, the company said in a statement. According to Lebanese state news agency NNA, the other two passengers were Lebanese.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 11-12/2022
EU chief visits Ukraine to discuss its bid to join bloc
Agence France Presse/June 11/2022
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen visited Ukraine on Saturday to discuss with President Volodymyr Zelensky his country's bid to get candidacy status to join the European Union. While Kyiv has been pushing for rapid admission into the European Union, officials and leaders in the bloc have cautioned that the road to membership is a long one, which can take years or decades. Ukraine sees the prospect of joining the EU as a way of reducing its geopolitical vulnerability, which has been exposed by Russia's war inside its borders. "With President Zelensky I will take stock of the joint work needed for reconstruction and of the progress made by Ukraine on its European path," von der Leyen tweeted on arrival in Kyiv. She told a group of journalists travelling with her, including AFP, that the discussions "will feed into our assessment" of Ukraine's readiness to be considered a candidate country to begin lengthy negotiations, including needed reforms. That assessment by her commission will be presented "soon," she said. EU commissioners and officials are expected to pore over Ukraine's bid next week, ahead of a June 23-24 summit that will likely take up the matter. Von der Leyen's trip to Kyiv was her second since the Russian invasion in late February. Her last one, on April 8, was to hand Zelensky a questionnaire his officials needed to fill out to provide details that would help inform the European Commission's opinion it has to give to the European Council, representing the EU's 27 member states. On that April visit, von der Leyen said "Ukraine belongs to the European family". However some EU countries have expressed wariness about giving Ukraine a speeded-up candidacy process. They point out Ukraine's problems with corruption documented before the war, and the fact that other countries such as North Macedonia and Albania were already further along the candidacy path. The European Union is helping channel weapons to Ukraine through a two-billion-euro ($2.1-billion) fund and has given it more than 700 million euros in aid and in-kind assistance since the invasion. It has also slapped six rounds of sanctions on Russia, including against its coal and oil sent to the bloc, and against oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin and media outlets deemed to be propagandizing the war. EU countries are hosting nearly five million Ukrainian refugees who have fled the war in their country.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a 'preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil'
John L. Dorman/Business Insider/Sat, June 11, 2022
Austin rejected Russia's invasion of Ukraine during his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. "It's a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in," he said. Zelensky also spoke at the summit, stating that "the future rules of this world are being decided" in Ukraine.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin while speaking in Singapore on Saturday articulated that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a "preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil."While speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Austin remarked on the potential repercussions of the deadly invasion, which was launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February and has been widely condemned by an array of global leaders, notably those from NATO member countries. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is what happens when oppressors trample the rules that protect us all. It's what happens when big powers decide that their imperial appetites matter more than the rights of their peaceful neighbors. And it's a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in," he said at the major Asian defense summit.
He added: "So we understand what we could lose. We see the dangers of disorder."
The Pentagon chief then spoke of the importance of the "rules-based international order," highlighting how Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea all helped Ukraine in the aftermath of the invasion, while also noting the critical contributions from India, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also gave an address to the summit on Saturday — with his speech was conducted virtually — where he emphasized that the global order was being tested in his country. "I am grateful for your support … but this support is not only for Ukraine, but for you as well," Zelensky said, per Reuters. "It is on the battlefields of Ukraine that the future rules of this world are being decided along with the boundaries of the possible." Since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, an alliance of leaders — including US President Joe Biden — have continued to appropriate money for arms necessary for the Ukrainian military to fight back against invading forces. The first few weeks of the war featured critical errors on the part of the Russian military, with the country suffering major losses among its members on the ground and utilizing inadequate equipment. Russia has recalibrated and in recent weeks has focused its actions largely in eastern Ukraine — largely in the Donbas region, which have included intense battles in the city of Severodonetsk. Ukraine has pleaded for longer-range weapons from the West in order to counter the weaponry being used by Russia. Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence, recently told The Guardian that the battle against Russia is "an artillery war now" and said his forces were currently "losing in terms of artillery."On Friday, Austin also met with his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Wei Fenghe, the minister of national defense, where he emphasized that the US did not "seek confrontation or conflict" as it pertains to Taiwan. Since entering the White House last year, Biden has had several foreign policy rifts with China, largely as it relates to the United States' stance of "strategic ambiguity" regarding Taiwan, which the Chinese government considers a breakaway province.

Zelenskiy tells Asian meeting: Stopping Russian invasion crucial for whole world
SINGAPORE/Reuters/Sat, June 11, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking remotely at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, said the outcome of the war in his country affected not just Ukraine, but the future of international order. His country is seeking to push the Russians out of areas it has controlled since early in the war, and is defending against ferocious Russian attacks in the country's east, particularly around the city of Sievierodonetsk. Noting the support so far from the West and its Asian allies, Zelenskiy - addressing the event via video link from an undisclosed location in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv - said it was crucial that the nations sending aid do not let up. "I am grateful for your support... but this support is not only for Ukraine, but for you as well," he said. "It is on the battlefields of Ukraine that the future rules of this world are being decided along with the boundaries of the possible." He noted that Russia is blocking ports in the Black Sea and Azov Sea, keeping Ukrainian food exports from the world market. That hurts not just Ukrainians, but the entire world, he said. "If ... due to Russian blockades we are unable to export our foodstuffs, the world will face an acute and severe food crisis and famine in many countries in Asia and Africa," he said. Zelenskiy directly linked Russian actions to soaring commodity prices, saying it blocked energy first to make prices soar, and was now doing so with food. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists. Speaking to 575 delegates from 40 countries, Zelenskiy said his military had no ambitions to move into Russian territory: "Please remember the war is being waged on our soil. People in Ukraine are dying. ... We don’t want to go to Russian soil." Ukraine's ambassador to Singapore, Kateryna Zelenko, pressed home the urgency of additional aid. “We understand it will take time, but time is what we don’t have,” she said.

First Russian passports issued to residents of southern Ukraine
NNA/June 11/2022
Moscow - Russia handed over today the first Russian passports to residents of the city of Kherson occupied by Russian forces in southern Ukraine, Agence France-Presse reported, quoting Russian news agencies. According to the official TASS news agency, 23 residents of Kherson received a Russian passport during a ceremony, according to a simplified procedure provided by a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of May.

Iran, Venezuela sign two-decade cooperation deal
Agence France Presse/June 11/2022
Iran and Venezuela on Saturday signed a 20-year cooperation agreement during a visit by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to Tehran, state media reported.
Inking the pact "shows the determination of the high-level officials of the two countries for development of relations in different fields," Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said, according to state TV.

Syria says repairing airport damaged in Israeli strikes
Agence France Presse/June 11/2022
Repairs have begun at the airport in Syria's capital, which was closed for a second day Saturday after Israeli air strikes, Syria's transport ministry said. The ministry confirmed in a statement that runways were out of service with serious damage after the attack. Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbor, targeting government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and fighters from Lebanon's Hizbullah. But rarely have such attacks caused major flight disruptions. "Civil aviation and national companies are working... to repair the sizeable damage at the airport," the ministry said. The official SANA news agency said a civilian was wounded in the Israeli bombardment. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the missile strike carried out before dawn on Friday hit one of the runways as well as three arms depots near the airport belonging to Hezbollah, and other Iran-backed groups. The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources within Syria, said the strikes wounded an undetermined number of people.According to the Observatory, the damaged runway was the only one still operational after an Israeli strike last year put another one out of service. Satellite images posted on Twitter by the Israeli firm ISI showed three separate areas of what it said was "extensive damage to both military and civilian runways" caused by the strikes. Russia strongly condemned "the provocative Israeli attack against essential civilian infrastructure" on Friday night. A spokesperson for Russia's foreign ministry warned that continued Israeli bombardment of Syrian territory would be "an absolutely unacceptable violation of international norms."Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke by phone and also condemned the attack, SANA reported. Syria "will defend itself by all legitimate means" against Israeli attacks, Mekdad said. While Israel rarely comments on individual strikes, it has acknowledged carrying out hundreds, in what the Jewish state's military says is necessary to prevent its arch foe Iran from gaining a foothold on its doorstep. The conflict in Syria started with the brutal repression of peaceful protests and escalated to pull in foreign powers and global jihadists. The war has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes. Russia's military intervention in 2015 helped turn the war in favor of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. Moscow maintains military bases in the country.

Italian Ministry of Defense: Aerial imaging showed 7 scattered bodies
NNA /June 11/2022
The "National News Agency" learnt shofrtly from the Italian Ministry of Defense, that aerial photography showed the presence of 7 scattered bodies, adding that the plane, before its complete crash onground in Monte Cosna, was colliding with the thick trees in the area. The Ministry indicated that with every collision of the plane, one of the persons aboard might have fallen due to the force of the strike, which explains the large distance between each of the scattered bodies.

Canada-Mexico-United States Joint Statement by Foreign Ministers
June 10, 2022 – Los Angeles, California – Global Affairs Canada
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Mélanie Joly, Secretary of Foreign Relations of Mexico Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón, and Secretary of State of the United States of America Antony Blinken, today issued the following joint statement:
“Canada, Mexico, and the United States share a close relationship based on shared values and priorities. We acknowledge that working together as North America we can bring new ideas and energy to the hemisphere, and we commit to reinvigorating how we address together the issues of our time. As three likeminded countries, we affirm our strong commitment to democratic principles and intend to cooperate closely to stand up for multilateralism and the rules-based international order, support the rule of law, promote inclusive growth, invest in the development of communities, protect and promote human rights, advance gender equality, and reinforce democracy at home and inspire democratic development around the world. We worked together towards ending the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to create the conditions for equitable growth and strengthening North American competitiveness. On the occasion of today’s North American Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Los Angeles, our three countries commit to further enhancing our deep partnership and to continue working together in support of peace and prosperity around the globe.
“We reaffirm our support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and condemn Russia’s unprovoked invasion of its sovereign and democratic neighbor in violation of international law. Canada, Mexico, and the United States have repeatedly condemned civilian deaths resulting from Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and stated the importance of upholding international law, including the UN Charter. We also emphasize the urgent need to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. These are principles that sustain our rules-based order. We affirm the need to ensure accountability in relevant national and international courts for crimes committed, without exceptions, and support the work of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine established by the Human Rights Council. We are united in our continued support for the people of Ukraine. We also express our commitment to work together in support of those suffering around the world from the global impacts of this invasion, particularly vulnerable populations now experiencing greater food and economic insecurity.
“Our coordinated responses to Russian aggression against Ukraine, including calls to establish a diplomatic path forward, demonstrate the importance of North American solidarity. We call on the Russian Federation to withdraw immediately all its military forces and equipment from within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine and return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy. Canada, Mexico, and the United States – as close hemispheric partners and friends – are committed to further strengthening our relations, which is key to our collective security and prosperity.
“We reaffirm our commitment to addressing the root causes of irregular migration and poverty and to investing in the region – prioritizing cooperation for development to create economic opportunity for all. In particular, the three governments are united in efforts towards investing in initiatives that directly benefit the most marginalized communities. We support multilateral efforts to develop value chains and physical infrastructure in the Americas that will generate employment and equitable growth. We acknowledge that addressing irregular migration in the region requires a coordinated approach, and we support the Regional Conference on Migration, the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework and the vision of the Global Compact on Migration.
“We celebrate the tradition of our region in welcoming refugees and migrants, and we recognize the positive contributions of refugees and migrants to the socio-economic development of their host communities. We applaud the sustained efforts of States in our hemisphere in ensuring safe, orderly, and regular migration by hosting refugees, providing regular migration pathways, promoting local economic and social integration, facilitating voluntary return, and supporting the reintegration of returnees. We remain committed to collectively leveraging the benefits of migration while addressing its challenges in countries and communities of origin, transit, destination, and return.
“We are committed to continuing our cooperation to support and strengthen Haiti’s democratic process, including through our collective efforts to promote an inclusive, Haitian-led political path forward. We are also committed to working closely with the United Nations and other regional partners to promote peaceful, fair, and sustainable growth throughout the hemisphere.
“We reaffirm our commitment to protect human rights, particularly for members of vulnerable and historically marginalized communities, like the LGBTQI and two spirit community, and afro-descendant communities, as well as the rights of Indigenous peoples. We also stress the importance of individual freedom of expression and media freedom, and together advocate for addressing impunity and inequality.
“We collectively commit to taking bold, swift, and coordinated action to address the climate crisis. Climate change threatens our economies and our communities, especially those that are vulnerable and underserved. As we work to address the climate crisis, we recognize the tremendous opportunity to build back better, to create well-paying and reliable jobs in ever-growing markets, and to position North America as a global leader in clean energy solutions.
“As partner countries in championing development in the Americas, we reaffirm our commitment to advancing feminist approaches, eliminating structural and indirect barriers for women, girls and marginalized people, and to integrate gender perspectives in our shared priorities. We continue to advocate for feminist approaches for a more effective, fair, relevant and accountable United Nations in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.
“We recognize the integral place of Indigenous peoples in North America, and their contributions to the diversity and richness of our culture and society. We acknowledge that cultural diversity and linguistic plurality are part of the heritage of humanity, so we place great value in the historical and cultural legacy of Indigenous communities in the region. By recognizing the historical legacy towards Indigenous communities, our vision aims to achieve real progress towards reconciliation and a renewed relationship based on respect, truth, cooperation, partnership, and in recognition of the rights of Indigenous peoples. We reiterate our unwavering commitment to ensure that Indigenous rights, interests, and aspirations are recognized in decision-making. We intend to work together, in partnership with Indigenous peoples from our three countries, to attain our goals of safety, security, well-being, socio-economic development, and empowerment for all Indigenous peoples. We also recognize that ending violence against Indigenous women and girls requires a holistic, multidimensional, and multi-sectoral approach.
“During our meeting today, we also discussed planning for the next North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico in December.
“We look forward to our increased cooperation in the years to come.”

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 11-12/2022
ماجد رفي زاده/معهد جيتستون : ملالي إيران يسجلون نصرًا نوويًا
Iran's Mullahs Score Nuclear Victory
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/June 11/2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/109316/majid-rafizadeh-gatestone-institute-irans-mullahs-score-nuclear-victory-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%af-%d8%b1%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%87-%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%87%d8%af-%d8%ac%d9%8a%d8%aa%d8%b3%d8%aa/
After agreeing to extend the monitoring mechanism of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by reinstalling surveillance cameras a year ago, Iran then announced that it would not allow the IAEA to see images from the devices.
The Iranian regime is also refusing to answer the IAEA's questions about uranium particles found at three clandestine and undeclared nuclear sites in Iran.
Nevertheless, the Biden administration has yet to take any tangible action to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear state...
The Iranian regime has also been setting up weapons factories abroad, and manufacturing ballistic missiles and weapons -- include precision-guided missiles with advanced technology -- to strike specific targets in other countries, including in Syria.
If the Biden administration would eliminate Iran's nuclear weapons, the move would not only spare the world from yet another ruthless regime that acts despotically at home and abroad; it would also immediately send Biden's poll numbers soaring.
The Biden Administration is sitting idly by while Iran's ruling mullahs continue to advance their nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency announced last month that Iran now has enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb.
The Biden Administration is sitting idly by while Iran's ruling mullahs continue to advance their nuclear program.
For almost a year and half, the P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia and China, plus Germany) have held fruitless negotiations with Iran, all while the Islamic Republic's theocratic establishment has clearly succeeded at speeding up its nuclear program by increasing its uranium enrichment from 20% to 60%, conducting uranium metal production, and adding additional advanced centrifuges. After agreeing to extend the monitoring mechanism of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by reinstalling surveillance cameras a year ago, Iran then announced that it would not allow the IAEA to see images from the devices.
Most importantly, the IAEA announced last month that Iran now has enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb.
The Iranian regime is also refusing to answer the IAEA's questions about uranium particles found at three clandestine and undeclared nuclear sites in Iran. The IAEA stated:
"Iran has not provided explanations that are technically credible in relation to the Agency's findings at those locations... The Agency remains ready to engage without delay with Iran to resolve all of these matters."
The Institute for Science and International Security warned in November 2021:
"Iran has enough enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6) in the form of near 20 and 60 percent enriched uranium to produce enough weapon-grade uranium (WGU), taken here as 25 kilograms (kg), for a single nuclear weapon in as little as three weeks. It could do so without using any of its stock of uranium enriched up to 5 percent as feedstock. The growth of Iran's stocks of near 20 and 60 percent enriched uranium has dangerously reduced breakout timelines."
Nevertheless, the Biden administration has yet to take any tangible action to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear state in spite of these critical reports, and even though a joint statement issued by the UK, France and Germany acknowledged that "Iran has no credible civilian need for uranium metal R&D and production, which are a key step in the development of a nuclear weapon."
The Biden administration would do well to understand that if the Islamic Republic becomes a nuclear state, there is the dangerous likelihood of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of Iran's proxies and terrorist militias, or that the Iranian regime will share its nuclear technology with these groups, not to mention the nuclear arms race that will take off in the region.
The Iranian regime has also been setting up weapons factories abroad, and manufacturing ballistic missiles and weapons -- include precision-guided missiles with advanced technology -- to strike specific targets in other countries, including in Syria. The latest UN Security Council "Panel of Experts on Yemen" report revealed this year that Yemen's Houthis have been receiving significant amount of weapons from the Iranian regime:
"An increasing body of evidence suggests that individuals or entities in the Islamic Republic of Iran supply significant volumes of weapons and components to the Houthis."
Iran's regime has for years been designated by the US Department of State as a "State Sponsor of Terrorism". One of the regime's own diplomats, Assadollah Assadi -- on trial in Europe for a failed terror bombing plot in Paris, in which a "Free Iran" rally was targeted -- was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison. Several countries, including Kuwait, have detained cells of Iranians spies trying to infiltrate their country, and Iran has been found using its embassies and diplomats in foreign countries for such purposes.
The Iranian regime has frequently threatened to "wipe" a whole country -- Israel -- meaning: wipe out or wipe off. General Hossein Salami, the chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) made the regime's plans vehemently clear: "Our strategy is to erase Israel from the global political map," he stated on Iran's state-controlled Channel 2 TV in 2019.
The Biden administration might understand that this is a revolutionary regime that prioritizes the pursuit of its revolutionary ideals. These include exporting its ideology and system of governance to other countries around the world. The regime, in fact, incorporated this critical mission into Iran's constitution, as the preamble stipulates:
"The mission of the constitution is to create conditions conducive to the development of man in accordance with the noble and universal values of (Shiite) Islam."
The constitution goes on to state that it "provides the necessary basis for ensuring the continuation of the revolution at home and abroad."
The Biden administration's appeasement of the ruling mullahs and wait-and-see policy will soon leave the world with a dangerous nuclear-armed Iran.
If the Biden administration would eliminate Iran's nuclear weapons, the move would not only spare the world from yet another ruthless regime that acts despotically at home and abroad; it would also immediately send Biden's poll numbers soaring.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US foreign policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 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.

Turkey Targeting Iraq, Syria, Cyprus, Greece
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute./June 11/2022
This means that Turkey will once again attack Kurds in Syria in an attempt to push them out of the region and claim their lands. These Kurdish groups that Erdogan labels "terrorists," however, just so happen to be US allies who fought ISIS.
Erdogan has publicly claimed parts of northern Syria, and Sinjar and Kirkuk in Iraq as part of Turkey in his dream for a new Ottoman Empire. In 2016, for instance, he referred to Misak-ı Milli ("the National Pact"), which contains six decisions about the borders of the Ottoman Empire made by the last term of the Ottoman Parliament in 1920. The National Pact includes claims to parts of Iraq and Syria. "We have responsibilities in accordance with Misak-ı Milli," Erdogan said. "Concerning ourselves with Iraq, Syria, Libya, Crimea, Karabakh, Bosnia and other brother regions is both a duty and a right of Turkey."
Meanwhile, Erdogan's expansionist policies keep targeting Iraq, Greek islands in the Aegean Sea and the Turkish-occupied northern part of the Republic of Cyprus, among other places.
Meanwhile, Turkey's latest military offensive, named "Operation Claw Lock," against northern Iraq (including the majority Kurdish-populated regions) is still ongoing.
Turkey, under Erdogan, has become an increasingly destabilizing force in the region, and will presumably keep on destabilizing it until it is stopped.
Turkey's new military incursion into northern Syria, announced in late May by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, means that Turkey will once again attack Kurds in Syria, in an attempt to push them out of the region and claim their lands. These Kurdish groups that Erdogan labels "terrorists," however, just so happen to be US allies who fought ISIS. Pictured: Kurds attend the funerals of a civilian and a fighter from the mostly Kurdish Women's Protection Units, who were killed in a Turkish drone strike in Qamishli, northeastern Syria, on June 5, 2022. (Photo by Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at it, disrupting the region again. This time, he is threatening aggression not only against Greek islands, but also actually attacking the Kurds in northern Syria and Iraq as well as the Yazidis in their homeland of Sinjar, Iraq.
Turkey's neo-Ottoman expansionist goals in the region appear to be the major motive behind its aggressive policies. The Republic of Turkey will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2023. Erdogan has publicly claimed parts of northern Syria, and Sinjar and Kirkuk in Iraq as part of Turkey in his dream for a new Ottoman Empire. In 2016, for instance, he referred to Misak-ı Milli ("the National Pact"), which contains six decisions about the borders of the Ottoman Empire made by the last term of the Ottoman Parliament in 1920. The National Pact includes claims to parts of Iraq and Syria. "We have responsibilities in accordance with Misak-ı Milli," Erdogan said.
"Concerning ourselves with Iraq, Syria, Libya, Crimea, Karabakh, Bosnia and other brother regions is both a duty and a right of Turkey. Turkey is not just Turkey... Our physical borders are different from the borders of our hearts."
In line with this expansionist ideology, Erdogan announced a new military incursion into northern Syria in late May, to create a 30 km "safe zone" in Syria along Turkey's southern border. "We will be clearing Tell Rifaat and Manbij in Syria from terrorists," Erdogan said. This means that Turkey will once again attack Kurds in Syria, in an attempt to push them out of the region and claim their lands. These Kurdish groups that Erdogan labels "terrorists," however, just so happen to be US allies who fought ISIS.
On June 5, Syria condemned Turkey's recent attacks in the north of the country, calling them a "violation of international law" and of its sovereignty. Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement saying they were following the "hostile" actions by Turkey, and its constant violations of Syrian sovereignty, which have "claimed the lives of a number of innocent people."
Meanwhile, Erdogan's expansionist policies keep targeting Iraq, Greek islands in the Aegean Sea and the Turkish-occupied northern part of the Republic of Cyprus, among other places.
Yazidis in Iraq, for instance, have been the victims of air raids carried out by Turkey, which uses the presence of the Yazidi Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) as a pretext to bomb the Yazidi homeland of Sinjar under the pretense that it is fighting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Ankara says it is targeting the PKK, an armed Kurdish group fighting for an autonomy for the majority-Kurdish southeast region in Turkey long regarded by Turkey as a terrorist organization. Meanwhile, there is mounting evidence that the same Turkish government supported and enabled a real terrorist organization, the Islamic State (ISIS), for years.
These attacks by Turkey continue to traumatize the Yazidis, an indigenous, non-Muslim people of Iraq. This peaceful community is facing existential threats from major military forces in the region. These include attacks by Iraqi army; the ongoing consequences of the 2014 genocide by ISIS, and ongoing Turkish military airstrikes. Between May 1 and 5, thousands of Yazidis were forced to flee as fighting raged between the Yazidi Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), and the Iraqi military in Sinjar.
The YBS was created there in 2014 to fight ISIS, which tried to wipe them out in an apparent genocide. The YBS has never been on any terrorist list and has received their salaries from the Iraqi Ministry of Defense since 2016.
The Yazidi human rights organization, Yazda, reported in 2021:
"Genocide against the Yazidi people in Iraq began on the 3rd of August, 2014, with organized military and community extermination efforts by Da'esh, resulting in acts of war and genocide including mass crimes, massacres, systematic abductions, enslavement of women and children, forced conversion, and forced displacement of thousands of our people. Seven years later, the genocide continues with more than 2,900 Yazidis still missing in captivity, over 200,000 IDPs and refugees unable to return to their homes in Sinjar and the Nineveh Plains, and a destroyed homeland that continues to face political, security, economic, and social uncertainties."
The results of the 2014 genocide by ISIS included 10,000 dead or kidnapped Yazidis; around 2,900 Yazidi girls and women still missing, at least 82 Yazidi mass graves and more than 200,000 displaced Yazidis living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
On May 2, the official website of Free Yezidi Foundation posted on Twitter:
"The fighting today in #Sinjar #Shingal is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. Regardless of political / military affiliation, there should be no attacks against #Yezidi #Yazidi from Sinjar by anyone at any time. This violates basic responsibility to protect. Yezidis flee Sinjar today - again."
On October 9, 2020, the Iraq central government and the Kurdistan regional government reached an agreement about the Yazidi homeland of Sinjar.
"Yazidis were excluded from the Sinjar Agreement, were not consulted about the appointment of a mayor, and have not had local elections since 2003," Nadine Maenza, former Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), told Gatestone.
Human rights activist Dr Amy L. Beam, author of the book The Last Yezidi Genocide, told Gatestone:
"One condition of the agreement was that PKK (the Kurdistan Workers' Party) forces would be removed from the Sinjar region. Another point was that a new mayor of Sinjar would be appointed." Beam, who moved to Kurdistan, Iraq, in 2014, obtained Iraqi IDs and passports for nearly 1,000 Yazidis to help them leave.
This agreement was rejected by Yazidis, who were not included in the negotiations. Since the end of 2015, when ISIS was removed from Sinjar city, Yazidis installed their own council and mayor. However, both the Iraqi and Turkish militaries have since targeted Sinjar. It is important to note that there are many Iraqi militias across the country, but the Iraqi army chose to fight the Yazidi YBS group and not any other militia.
The recent clashes, Beam continued, began "when the Iraqi army deployed soldiers to establish a checkpoint on the north side of the Sinjar Mountain."
"The YBS militia resisted this effort. Tension mounted and a YBS soldier picked up his gun and shot an army soldier. This resulted in a full onslaught against the Yazidis by Iraqi army tanks."
Maenza notes that the Yazidi right to self-defense is crucial for their survival:
"The last time Yazidis put down their weapons and trusted the Iraqi government to defend them in 2014, Iraqi military forces fled, leading to the genocide of Yazidis. It is reasonable that the Yazidis be allowed to protect their own people. Any narrative that the YBS are outlaws is ridiculous -- their salaries have been paid by the Iraqi Government.
"Turkey, however, has started an aggressive military campaign against the PKK and they are also using that excuse to attack civilians in northeast Syria, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and Sinjar, no doubt with the goal of acquiring more land. Perhaps Iraq believes that Turkey will invade Sinjar if they don't remove the YBS first? Why else would they go after these Yazidis when they could be removing dangerous PMFs [armed factions of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces] preparing to launch more rockets who are a real threat to security and stability?
"The Iraqi and Turkish governments will likely not give Yazidis the respect they deserve unless the U.S. and the international community demand it."
The attacks against YBS were finally over by May 6. Iraqi Army General Jabbar Kamar and the YBS leadership reached an agreement that de-escalated the confrontation. However, Yazidis remain in a vulnerable situation. According to Beam:
"This conflict and massive movement of military tanks with gun turrets deployed throughout Sinjar terrorized Yazidis. Several thousand fled to safety in Kurdistan. Memories of the genocide against them on August 3, 2014, are still fresh in their minds. They want asylum in safe countries."
Murad Ismael, the president of Sinjar Academy, told Gatestone:
"I believe the Sinjar Agreement led to the current confrontation as it didn't include a mechanism to address local militants who carried arms in 2014. The agreement said Iraq will remove the Kurdish PKK group and its affiliates, it seems that the current Iraqi government increasingly sees YBS [Yazidis] as a PKK [Kurdish] affiliate and hence, in recent months attempts to disarm them."
Meanwhile, Turkey's latest military offensive, named "Operation Claw Lock," against northern Iraq (including the majority Kurdish-populated regions) is still ongoing. It began on April 17, when Ankara launched an air and ground offensive. These attacks by Turkey have become a regular occurrence since the 1990s, destabilizing the lives of Iraqi communities, including Yazidis, Kurds and Assyrians.
When the fighting between the Iraqi army and the YBS erupted, Beam said, "Turkey took this opportunity to conduct airstrikes in the region."
"Two Yazidi YBS fighters were killed. Since Iraq will not take action to stop Turkey's illegal cross-border airstrikes in Sinjar, only the United Nations or NATO can stop Turkey's aggression."
Observers agree that due to many factors, Sinjar remains an unsafe place for Yazidis. According to Ismael:
"The overall security situation in Sinjar, including presence of various security actors, latest clashes between Iraqi forces and YBS which occurred in populated locations, and the Turkish airstrikes, all have led to instability and prevent return of normalcy to Sinjar.
Pari Ibrahim, the Executive Director of Free Yezidi Foundation, told Gatestone:
"It appears that the airstrikes against the YBS from Turkey and the ground assault by the Iraqi Army have been planned and coordinated. This is extremely problematic. YBS fighters are Iraqi citizens who have suffered immensely from the onslaught of ISIS. Whether or not one agrees with their political party, they do not deserve to be targeted by the armed forces of their own country. We believe this is contrary to basic humanitarian principles. These YBS fighters want to defend the Yezidi homeland - they are not the aggressors."
Meanwhile, Turkey continues threatening Greek islands in the Aegean Sea -- islands that belong to Greece according to several international treaties. On June 7, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu once again called on Greece to withdraw any military forces stationed on the Greek islands. Cavusoglu warned that Turkey will challenge the status of the islands if Greece fails to demilitarize them.
In addition, Turkey has turned the Tymbou ("Ercan") Airport, located in the Turkish-occupied northern part of the Republic of Cyprus, into a Turkish domestic airport. Erdogan's regime has also made a new financial assistance deal with the illegal regime occupying northern part of Cyprus. 36% of the Republic of Cyprus -- a European Union member state -- has been illegally occupied by Turkey since it invaded the island in 1974. These recent moves by Turkey appear to be further steps toward annexing the occupied north. The Republic of Cyprus announced they will lodge a complaint with the United Nations.
Erdogan's regime has not only systematically violated the rights of millions of its own citizens inside his country, but he has also escalated aggression against Turkey's neighbors in an apparent attempt to acquire more territory in violation of international law. Turkey, under Erdogan, has become an increasingly destabilizing force in the region, and will presumably keep on destabilizing it until it is stopped.
*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.

Four more years of corruption in Iraq foretold
Farouk Yousef/The Arab Weekly/June 11/2022
It would be foolish to warn the Iraqi people against Moqtada al-Sadr. At this late stage, advice does not work. No one can claim not to know the truth about the man who was presented in a sectarian hue as the “Shia leader” above any other rival.
Sadr occupies a leading position in the sectarian transformation that Iraq underwent after the US occupation. He was the man of the first civil war.
Nouri al-Maliki, who is more sectarian than Sadr, had managed that war in cooperation with the US forces, but from behind the scenes.
Sadr was a field commander. His boys led the campaign of extermination against innocent Iraqis, who became targets of revenge.
The then-young Shia leader began his brilliant career with the murder of Abdul Majeed Al-Khoei, the advocate of the British project in Iraq, whose survival was not suitable for American interests. When the Najaf war broke out in 2004, it would have been easy for US forces to get rid of Moqtada al-Sadr by killing him, but they did not.
They saved him for the coming civil war so that the sectarian quota system would become a reality. This prepared the ground for the transition of sectarianism from its political dimension to the social level, which is the level at which Iraqis are at their worst. And that is actually what happened.
Moqtada al-Sadr was nothing but a puppet. All his family background is meaningless. That legacy is based on a succession of lies and myths.
His father, Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, was hated in Najaf and in Iran. The circumstances of his assassination by the Iraqi regime were fabricated and suspicious. This is because the regime did not need to carry out such operations on Iraqi soil.
The regime of the time was idiotic, as it did not make public the details of the assassination and did not bother search for the perpetrators.
Against the background of that injustice, Moqtada the young orphan’s fortunes rose. He still relies on that legacy despite becoming a crucial actor within the system that he had more than once previously saved from collapse. Sadr’s role in thwarting the October 2019 protests was evident.
And if the voters in the last elections in 2021 gave him their votes, they did so only to reject the parties and militias that were openly pro- Iranian. Nonetheless, that did not vouch for his innocence of corruption.
Iraqis know that Sadr is as corrupt as others, if not the most corrupt of all.
He was responsible for the failure of electricity projects and the collapse of the health sector. He ran the ministries that were under his tutelage and that came with an exorbitant price tag. Today, Moqtada al-Sadr is striving to swallow the entire political system. His opponents have no weight unless he decides otherwise. And while he asks them to shed their weapons, he makes no such requests within his own movement, because he knows he may need those weapons some day.
Moqtada does not trust the people who distrust him, too. On more than one occasion, he abandoned his movement and disappeared under false pretexts, whether to complete his studies in Qom, seclude himself in Najaf or claim he despaired of being understood by others. He considers his immature behaviour to be part of his political philosophy. This does not alter the project promoted by his people, which is intertwined with the projects of other political parties in terms of benefiting from corruption to amass wealth, loot public funds and prevent the emergence of a real state based on the rule of law.
Moqtada is now playing with the constitution as he tells others to ignore the constitutionally-ordained deadlines for forming the government and reviving institutions. He imposes his rules on everyone and claims to give opponents a reprieve, in violation of the constitution. And no one objects. He is the actual ruler as he imposes his cross-sectarian alliance on others as the largest parliamentary bloc.
He does not care about the government’s failure to function. Everything is postponed until he achieves his final victory, which may happen under Iranian auspices and be sealed with US consent. This is what the rival pro-Iranian parties fear.
The four years of the next government have not yet begun. They may not start unless Moqtada’s demands are met. This means that the Iraqis will then be living in a new era of corruption, waiting for the next elections when Moqtada will be removed from the political scene as well.

The future of France rests on Sunday’s elections
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/June 11 2022
The legislative elections in France this Sunday have largely flown under the global “radar,” yet their outcome could have as great an effect on the nation’s future as Emmanuel Macron’s more widely watched re-election as president in May.
A key reason for the lower profile of the latest vote is the commonly held view that French legislative elections are designed to hand the president a workable majority. Yet while the incumbent president has, throughout much of the Fifth Republic, enjoyed the support of a relatively secure legislative majority from his own party, it is never certain.
This is particularly true in Macron’s case. Four years into his presidency, it is sometimes forgotten that France remains in largely uncharted political territory, governed as it is by an alliance that was formed by the young president only six years ago. The two most recent presidential elections are the only ones in the country’s modern history in which neither the party of the mainstream center-right, the Republicans, or the center-left, the Socialists, managed to qualify. It remains unclear whether one or both of those parties might stage a comeback or whether the French political system is now realigned forever.
The elections are structured in such a way that if no candidate in a constituency attracts 50 percent of the votes in the first round on Sunday, a run-off will be held on June 19. Every candidate who secures the support of at least 12.5 percent of registered voters on Sunday is eligible to advance to the second round.
If Emmanuel Macron wins a majority, the prospects of his agenda being enacted and his presidency being viewed as a success will increase significantly.
One poll, released on Tuesday by the Institut Francais d’Opinion Publique (French Institute of Public Opinion), suggests that Macron’s Ensemble (Together) centrist coalition is likely to be the largest single party, winning more than 250 seats in the lower house but probably fewer than the 289 needed for an outright majority.
This would be a significant change from Macron’s first term. In 2017, his bloc won 350 of the 577 seats, one of the most significant majorities since former President Charles de Gaulle’s landslide victory in 1968.
The momentum appears to be with the left-wing Nouvelle Union Populaire Écologique et Sociale (New Ecologic and Social People’s Union) coalition led by hard-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon. The IFOP poll suggests that the bloc could make major gains and win between 170 and 205 seats.
Melenchon and his team have engineered what many had viewed as a near-impossible feat: Developing a broad alliance among France’s deeply fractured left — the Socialist Party, the Greens and the French Communist Party — in an unexpected show of unity. The coalition is united around a common policy platform that includes restoring a wealth tax scrapped by Macron, lowering the retirement age to 60, and raising the minimum wage by 15 percent.
The right-of-center conservatives of Les Republicains are eyeing the possibility of being the third-biggest parliamentary group. This could position them as kingmakers if Ensemble is the largest group but lacks an outright majority. Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party is polling third in terms of first-round votes, but fourth in terms of projected seats.
In the view of Olivier Veran, the French minister delegate for relations with parliament and citizen participation, failure to give Macron a majority in the National Assembly will represent a “major destabilization of politics in our country for years to come.” While such language might be exaggerated, falling short of an absolute majority will certainly force Macron to broaden his alliance, complicating deal-making going forward.
This could undermine his reforms agenda which, as a foreign direct investment report released last month by Ernst & Young highlights, has helped to significantly improve investor perceptions of France in the past 12 months. Indeed, the country was the stand-out performer in the report, with a 24 percent increase in the nation’s perceived attractiveness.
A minority Cabinet or coalition government would be an unusual scenario for modern-day France; the Fifth Republic was designed to avoid such unwieldy coalitions.
While Macron’s bloc might be the largest single party but lack a clear majority, an even worse scenario for him would be if an opposition grouping, most likely the leftist alliance, were to surprise and secure a majority. Macron would then have to name a prime minister from the winning camp, ushering in a period of so-called cohabitation.
There are precedents for this in the Fifth Republic, from 1986 to 1988, 1993 to 1995 and 1997 to 2002 under the presidencies of Socialist Francois Mitterrand and Republican Jacques Chirac. During these periods, the center of gravity of domestic policy moves into the hands of the prime minister and the majority party in the legislature, with the president retaining the lead on foreign policy.
The result of the elections matters not only for the next few years in France, but could shape the next decade, too. There remains widespread anti-establishment anger and, unless Macron is seen to succeed with his reforms, the beneficiaries could be the far-right Le Pen and/or far-left Melenchon.
So it is not only the success of the rest of Macron’s presidency that rests significantly on the elections. If he wins a majority, the prospects of his agenda being enacted and his presidency being viewed as a success will increase significantly, shaping the context for the next presidential ballot in 2027.
• Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

Lobbyists in US play key role in Turkish-American relations
Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/June 11 2022
The US political system enables pressure groups and lobbies to access the policymaking process and exert their influence on foreign policy. Through their activities, these groups aim to become powerful political players. In this regard, four major lobbies — namely Armenian, Greek, Jewish and Turkish — play a significant role in shaping Turkish-American relations. Despite them pursuing different agendas, these four lobbies have one common goal: To protect the interests of their homeland by getting the US on their side.
Since Turkey has recently engaged in a reconciliation process with both Israel and Armenia, the position of the Jewish and Armenian lobbies in the US has been questioned. During a recent panel on Turkish-American relations organized by a prominent Turkish university, I raised this question with one of the panelists: Prof. Kemal Kirisci, a non-resident fellow at Brookings and an expert on Ankara-Washington ties. He closely follows the activities of these lobbies. Kirisci said the influence of these lobbies had significantly declined and this was due to several reasons related to Turkey’s relations both with its previous foes and with Washington.
Before touching on how these lobbies gained their considerable influence on Turkish-American relations, it is important to briefly explain their agendas and relations with Ankara. Countries interested in the political decision-making process in the US and which seek to influence Congress or the White House achieve their goals mainly through lobbying. In this regard, the Armenian, Greek and Jewish lobbies pay particularly close attention.
The Armenian lobby’s attention is concentrated on the issues concerning Turkey and Azerbaijan. It used to actively affect US politics and even caused the tension in Turkish-American relations seen in the 1980s.
The Greek lobby focuses on issues in Turkish-Greek relations, such as the Aegean Sea continental shelf dispute and the Cyprus conflict. Since the 1980s, the Greek lobby has also been actively lobbying against US arms sales to Turkey. Since both Athens and Ankara are NATO members, giving them geostrategic value in the eyes of US policymakers, their lobbying activities receive a great deal of attention. The Turkish lobby is a relative latecomer to the US arena and therefore is lacking some experience.
In recent decades, there has been considerable cooperation between the Greek and Armenian lobbies in the US. This is not only due to their common concerns related to Turkey, but also their shared adherence to the Orthodox Church. These two lobbies have turned into important allies in the US political arena.
The Jewish lobby groups, which have been supportive of Turkish interests in the US, especially by adopting a pro-Ankara position on the issue of the Turkish-Armenian conflict, traditionally countered the Greek-Armenian alliance.
The Israeli lobby’s support for Turkey dramatically declined as a result of the Mavi Marmara incident in 2010
However, this situation started to change following the deterioration of Turkish-Israeli relations after 2009. The support of Israeli lobbies dramatically declined as a result of the Mavi Marmara incident in May 2010, when Israeli commandos attacked a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza, killing nine people. This incident and subsequent developments not only strained Ankara-Tel Aviv relations, but also incited the Israeli lobby in the US to act against Turkey’s interests.
This situation automatically paved the way for the Greek and Armenian lobbies to have the upper hand and exert further influence on US politics. One of the most significant examples of this was in 2010, when the Jewish groups stepped back from actively lobbying against a congressional resolution declaring the events of 1915 as genocide. The tragic events that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians are a greatly controversial matter for Ankara and Yerevan, as Armenians describe the events as genocide while Turkey rejects that description and says both Turks and Armenians were killed.
Turkey has repeatedly urged US presidents not to use the word “genocide” during their speeches on the memorial day every April 24. The Jewish lobbies were effective in influencing the White House and pressing lawmakers not to advance a bill that would recognize the events as genocide. However, US President Joe Biden’s use of the term last year was welcomed by some Jewish groups that had lobbied against recognition in 2007. Turkey condemned Biden’s statement, saying that it was made due to the pressure of certain lobbyists.
Now, things seem to have changed again. Turkey and Armenia have recently appointed special envoys to restore diplomatic relations, which have been interrupted since the early 1990s, and to open a border crossing. Meanwhile, Isaac Herzog visited Ankara in March, becoming the first Israeli president to visit Turkey in 14 years. There is an ongoing dialogue between the two countries that is supported by the US.
There is a general understanding in Ankara that Turkey’s rapprochements with Israel and Armenia may have a substantial impact on the Armenian and Jewish lobbies in Washington. More importantly, this rapprochement may even play a constructive role in Turkish-American relations in general, despite the existence of several structural problems between the two sides.
• Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkey’s relations with the Middle East. Twitter: @SinemCngz