English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 11/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the
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Bible Quotations For today
Very
truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit
John 12/20-28: “Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some
Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him,
‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus. ’Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip
went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man
to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the
earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much
fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this
world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where
I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.
‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say “Father, save me from this
hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify
your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will
glorify it again.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials
published on
October 10-11/2021
Health Ministry: 619 new Corona infections, 3 deaths
Rahi initiates call for Lebanese, international monitoring of electoral process
Mikati confers with Jordanian Monarch over prevailing conditions, expansion of
bilateral cooperation
Lebanese energy ministry to issue new fuel prices on Oct. 11
EDL Turns to Army for Fuel, Iraqi Shipment Expected Next Week
Khalil Decries 'Very High Level of Politicization' in Port Blast Probe
Seven items on tomorrow’s Finance & Budget Committee work agenda
Sami Gemayel: Lebanon is under Iranian control, and the biggest challenge is to
withdraw legitimacy from the system in the upcoming elections
Fayyad: Power network has returned to normal operation in Deir Ammar, Al-Zahrani
Plants
Hamieh: Council of Ministers has commissioned me to communicate with Syria,
Jordan, Turkey & Iraq to reconsider transit fees
Army: Signing of a cooperation protocol between the Air Force and Balamand
University
Boustany: Judge Al-Bitar's stepping down will have negative repercussions
Election of 6 deputies to represent Lebanese expatriates a ridiculous idea,"
tweets Abou Faour
Khawaja: Mikati's government is working at a normal pace during exceptional
circumstances
Two Lebanese inventors win the gold medal at the African International Invention
Fair (AIIF2021)
Hezbollah’s role in the global drugs trade — the West Africa connection/Baria
Alamuddin/Arab News/October 10/ 2021
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
October 10-11/2021
Iran makes more 20% enriched uranium than UN nuclear watchdog
Israel Security Will Remain Priority, Merkel Says on Farewell Tour
Voters disillusioned by corruption boycott Iraq parliamentary elections
Iraqis Vote a Year Early with Little Hope for Change
Greece to boost guards on Turkey border
5 Dead, 11 Hurt in Yemen Blast Targeting Aden Governor
Thousands Rally against Tunisian President
Plane crashes in central Russia, fears for the fate of 16 passengers
'Father of Pakistan's Bomb' A.Q. Khan Dies at 85
Canada/Statement on World Day Against the Death Penalty
Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC
English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on
October 10-11/2021
‘If we stop the generators, our babies die’: Lebanon on life support
Campbell MacDiarmid and Simon Townsley/The elegraph/October/October 10/2021
Between the Tug of War and the Tightrope in the Russian-Iranian-Israeli
Relations/Raghida Dergham/The National/October 10/2021
The Jihadist Genocide of Christians in Nigeria Intensifies/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone
Institute/October 10/2021
Efforts to renew Egypt’s religious discourse will counter extremists/Heba Yosry/Al
Arabiya/10 October ,2021
Butchers of Tehran must be held to account/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/October
10/ 2021
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on October 10-11/2021
Health Ministry: 619 new Corona infections, 3 deaths
NNA/October 10/2021
In its daily report on the COVID-19 developments, the Ministry of Public Health
announced the registration of 619 new infections with the Coronavirus, which
raised the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 630,180.
The report added that 3 deaths were also recorded during the past 24 hours.
Rahi initiates call for Lebanese, international
monitoring of electoral process
NNA/October 10/2021
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, appealed for a Lebanese
and international surveillance of the electoral process starting today. Speaking
in his religious sermon as he presided over Sunday Mass at the “Church of Our
Lady” in Bkirki this morning, the Patriarch said: “While the people and friends
of Lebanon want a better future for the country, we are keen on holding the
parliamentary elections at their constitutional dates, so that changing the
dates, amending the existing law, and circumventing the participation of
expatriates do not become excuses that threaten the holding of elections against
the will of the people and the international community.”He added that “tampering
with the issue of elections this time would lead to risks of unknown
repercussions…The people want the elections as an opportunity to change their
painful reality, and a starting point for a new national life. The people want
transparent and fair elections, far from political money that bets on people's
poverty to buy their votes and conscience. Therefore, we call, from now, for
Lebanese and international monitoring of the electoral process.”
Over the new government’s mission, the Patriarch said: “We are counting on the
current government, especially on its head, who assured us, in his honorable
visit yesterday, of his determination to work to overcome the many obstacles
that would confront his cabinet, and to embark on the reform workshop
immediately, without which there is no success, aid, or Arab and international
solidarity.”However, al-Rahi reminded that “as much as Lebanon, in its
tremendous crises, needs the help of its friends and international monetary
institutions, the state must preserve the country's independence, sovereignty,
and normal relations, so that some in-kind aid is not a cover for dominating
Lebanon and undermining its identity and peaceful role in this East.”
He added: “Lebanon's interest requires that it respects its commitments, and
that reform and reconstruction remain within a unified national framework. We
hope that the government will be the watchful eye on Lebanon's interest, and the
one that utters the bold truth."
The Patriarch also urged the government to accord the youth of Lebanon all
attention and care, “for the fate of Lebanon depends on the fate of its youth,
and there is no salvation without securing a prosperous future for the youth on
the land of their fathers and grandfathers, so that they renew their national
and spiritual heritage.”“In this extremely difficult and threatening
circumstance for the entity and for Lebanon’s international standing, and for
emptying it of its best lively forces, all officials and workers in the field of
politics must join forces to save Lebanon,” al-Rahi underscored. “Our national
dignity requires all of us to preserve Lebanon's reputation, its value, its
historical role and its importance in the Middle East, thanks to its
pluralistic, coexisting democratic system, and its location on the shore of the
Mediterranean. We call on social media to highlight the positive facets of
Lebanon and its constructive society, putting aside negative matters and
refraining from betting on differences,” he emphasized. “We pray to the Lord
Almighty to awaken in all of us the spirit of responsibility and to practice it
with honesty and wisdom,” the Patriarch concluded.
Mikati confers with Jordanian Monarch over
prevailing conditions, expansion of bilateral cooperation
NNA/October 10/2021
Jordan's King Abdullah II received this afternoon Prime Minister Najib Mikati at
Al Husseiniya Palace in the Jordanian capital, Amman. According to an issued
statement by the Royal Hashemite Court, it indicated that, "His Majesty King
Abdullah II received today, Sunday, the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati at
Al Husseiniya Palace. The meeting was devoted to tackling the distinguished
fraternal relations that unite the two brotherly countries and peoples, and
mechanisms for widening joint cooperation in various fields.”The statement
added: “During the meeting, His Majesty reiterated Jordan's continued support
for Lebanon and its brotherly people. They also discussed the crises in the
region and efforts to reach political solutions. The meeting was attended by
Prime Minister, Dr. Bisher Al-Khasawneh, and Director of His Majesty's Office,
Dr. Jaafar Hassan.”
Lebanese energy ministry to issue new fuel prices on
Oct. 11
Reuters/10 October ,2021
Lebanon’s LBCI TV said on Sunday that the energy ministry informed importers
that it will issue new fuel prices on Monday to solve distribution problems.
Lebanon is in the grip of an energy crisis that has deepened as supplies of
imported fuel have dried up. Power supplies were back to normal on Sunday after
a blackout the previous day when the country’s two biggest power stations shut
down because of a fuel shortage. Lebanon’s energy ministry had said earlier on
Sunday it received central bank approval for $100 million in credit to issue
fuel import tenders for electricity generation. The country’s power supplies
were back to normal on Sunday after a blackout the previous day when the
country’s two biggest power stations shut down because of a fuel shortage, the
Energy Ministry said. The closure piled further hardship on Lebanese struggling
with job losses, soaring prices and hunger wrought by the country’s worsening
financial meltdown. The ministry said it had received central bank approval for
$100 million in credit to issue fuel import tenders for electricity generation,
adding the country’s grid had resumed supplying the same amount of electricity
as before the complete outage.
On Saturday, Lebanon’s two largest power stations, Zahrani and Deir Ammar
plants, shut down due to fuel shortages, bringing the Lebanese power network to
a complete halt. The Lebanese army agreed on Saturday evening to provide 6,000
kiloliters of gas oil distributed equally between the two power stations, the
state electricity company said in a statement reported by the official National
News Agency.
EDL Turns to Army for Fuel, Iraqi Shipment Expected Next
Week
Associated Press/October 10/2021
Lebanon's two main power plants have been forced to shut down after running out
of fuel, leaving the small country with no government-produced power. Lebanon is
grappling with a crippling energy crisis made worse by its dependency on fuel
imports. Erratic power supplies have put hospitals and essential services in
crisis mode. The Lebanese increasingly depend on private operators that also
struggle to secure supplies amid an unprecedented crash of the national
currency. The shortage of diesel and fuel, along with an antiquated
infrastructure, has worsened power cuts that have been a fixture for years.
Blackouts that used to last for three to six hours could now leave entire areas
with no more than two hours of state power a day. On Saturday, the state
electricity company said Zahrani power plant in the country's south was forced
to shut down because of fuel shortage; the main plant in the north was shut down
on Thursday. Electricite du Liban said the shutdown reduces the total power
supply to below 270 megawatts, which means a major drop in the stability of the
grid. It said it would reach out to fuel facilities in the country's north and
south to see if they can procure enough fuel to bring back power. It added that
a new shipment of fuel from Iraq is expected next week. But the company,
responsible for most of the government's debts, is dependent on credit from the
country's central bank, which is struggling with dwindling reserves.
The government has gradually raised prices of fuel and diesel as the central
bank cut back on subsidizing dollars for imports, adding to the hardships in
Lebanon, where about three quarters of the population has plunged into poverty
over the last year. With prices soaring and unemployment at a record high, many
families have given up private generators and few hours of state power a day is
all they get. On Saturday, distributors of gas canisters used for cooking and
heating stopped operating, saying subsidy cuts amid black-market currency
fluctuations meant they were selling at a loss.
The energy sector has been a huge drain on state coffers for decades. The
electricity company has annual losses of up to $1.5 billion, and has cost the
state more than $40 billion over the past decades. Energy sector reforms have
been a key demand by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. To help
alleviate the crisis, Lebanon has received Hizbullah-procured fuel shipments
from Iran via Syria. Iraq has also made a swap deal with the government that has
helped Lebanon's state electricity company stay operational for days. The new
Lebanese government is also negotiating supplies of electricity from Jordan and
natural gas from Egypt, also through Syria. But those deals are likely to take
months. Lebanon's Energy Minister Walid Fayyad told The Associated Press that
said the new shutdowns leave his government in "crisis management for a couple
of days." He said the government would turn to the military to get emergency
fuel supplies from its stocks "while we await the fuel cargo from the Iraqi deal
and swap."
Khalil Decries 'Very High Level of Politicization' in Port Blast Probe
Naharnet /October 10/2021
Speaker Nabih Berri’s political aide MP Aii Hassan Khalil on Sunday lamented
what he called a “very high level of politicization” in Judge Tarek Bitar’s
probe into the catastrophic Beirut port explosion. “Unfortunately, there is
still insistence on violating all the constitutional and legal norms… as if we
have become in a jungle governed by media scoops and making stances, away from
all the characteristics of proper judicial and legal action,” Khalil told
popular delegations at his residence in Khiyam. “As we said on the very first
day, we are still committed to legal and constitutional norms as to summonings
and answers, but unfortunately there are mechanisms that have nothing to do with
all legal and constitutional norms,” he decried. He added: “Today we have filed
a request to recuse the judge and colleagues have filed two legitimate suspicion
lawsuits, and this all proves that we are before a file in which the levels of
politicization and selectivity have become very high.”Lebanon's appeals court
had on Monday rejected lawsuits filed against Bitar in a decision that allowed
him to resume his work. Challenges were later filed by several ex-ministers
before the Court of Cassation. The lawsuits were part of a growing campaign by
Lebanon's political class against the investigation into the devastating port
explosion of Aug. 4, 2020. The blast heavily destroyed parts of Beirut, killed
over 200 people and wounded over 6,000. Families of the Beirut blast victims
have welcomed the resumption of the probe, urging the judge to continue his
investigation and appealed to the political class to let him do his job. The
ruling political class, accused by rights groups and the public of knowing about
the explosive material stored at the port and doing little to protect against
it, has closed ranks against Bitar and his predecessor. Both have wanted to
interrogate senior political and security officials accused of negligence that
led to the blast. Bitar took over the job in February after Judge Fadi Sawwan
was also removed from his post following similar legal challenges by senior
officials. Various political leaders have accused Bitar of politicizing the
investigation, violating the constitution by ignoring immunity granted to
lawmakers and government officials, and by going after some officials and not
others. The suspension of the probe, and the repeated attempts to obstruct it,
had angered families of the victims killed in the explosion who called Bitar's
probe the last hope they have in Lebanon's judiciary. They say the investigation
has been marred by repeated political interference and failure to bring
officials to justice.
Seven items on tomorrow’s Finance & Budget Committee work
agenda
NNA/October 10/2021
The Finance and Budget Parliamentary Committee will convene in session under MP
Ibrahim Kanaan at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, Monday, in the Parliament, with seven law
proposals on its agenda.These project laws will include: the Medicines Law
proposal; the decree to re-amend the Banking Secrecy Law; the proposal of a law
for a temporary reduction in fees on some building permits according to typical
designs; a proposal to allow those charged with income tax on the basis of real
profit and on the basis of lump sum profit to conduct a reassessment of their
stock; and a proposal to increase funding sources for offshore companies by
allowing these companies to borrow from their shareholders.”
Sami Gemayel: Lebanon is under Iranian control, and
the biggest challenge is to withdraw legitimacy from the system in the upcoming
elections
NNA/October 10/2021
Head of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, Sami Gemayel, confirmed today that "Lebanon
is under Iranian control,” adding that “the Iranian foreign minister's visit was
like a general's visit to locations he has won, so he toured the presidency, the
government, and the parliament to inspect the political sites that fell into his
hands as a result of the regime's surrender and settlements."He added: "The time
has come to politically delegitimize this guardianship by changing the
parliament in the upcoming elections and choosing the national qualified people
who are able to save Lebanon."Gemayel stressed the need to involve the Lebanese
expatriates in the electoral process, without discriminating between them and
those residing in Lebanon. His words came during his visit on Sunday to the
Kataeb region of Zahle, during which a number of prominent members were honored,
and the oath ceremony was held for a number of new members at the “Grand Qadri
Hotel”, in the presence of senior partisans and supporters. In a word of praise,
Gemayel said: "This region was and still is an example of steadfastness and
giving for the sake of Lebanon, and the honorees today are a model of the spirit
of struggle, adherence to the land and defending Zahle in all its difficult
times…”He also welcomed the new participating members from all sects to the
Kataeb Party, considering that their path will be the most difficult because it
involves giving and sacrificing for the sake of Lebanon, while holding their
head up high for remaining steadfast and not relinquishing the interests of
their land and people. “We say clearly to every Lebanese who believes in
Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence and in a strong, capable and just state,
and to every Lebanese who believes in Lebanon’s neutrality from the region’s
conflicts and the right of every citizen to a decent life in Lebanon…that he/she
is our brother and comrade regardless of the region or sect to which he/she
belongs,” pledged Gemayel.
Fayyad: Power network has returned to normal
operation in Deir Ammar, Al-Zahrani Plants
NNA/October 10/2021
Minister of Energy and Water, Dr. Walid Fayyad, renewed his gratitude to the
Prime Minister, the Minister of National Defense, the Army Commander, and the
Electricité du Liban, its chairman and general manager, for their "rapid
response to reconnecting the electricity network by arranging for the Army
Command’s handing of a total quantity of 6000 kiloliters of gas-oil, which was
divided equally between the Deir Ammar and Al-Zahrani power plants, from the
reserves of the Lebanese army.”Fayyad assured the citizens that "the network has
returned to its normal operation, according to its previous status before the
gas-oil ran out in the Deir Ammar and Al-Zahrani plants,” confirming that "less
than an hour from now, these plants will reach their maximum capacity available
on the network.""The day before yesterday, the approval of the Central Bank was
secured to obtain 100 million dollars, and it was sent to the Tender Department
to conduct the solicitation of offers to import fuel, which would help in
raising the hours of power supply by the month’s end,” he affirmed. Fayyad
concluded by stressing that he “will continue his efforts since assuming his
duties at the Ministry of Energy and Water with all determination and will to
secure the best for the Lebanese people."
Hamieh: Council of Ministers has commissioned me to
communicate with Syria, Jordan, Turkey & Iraq to reconsider transit fees
NNA/October 10/2021
Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamieh, met on Sunday with the heads
of municipalities and municipal unions within the scope of the Baalbek-Hermel
governorate, in the hall of the Baalbek Municipalities Union, where he listened
to the demands and needs of the region. Hamieh said he would work to ensure the
needs of the Baalbek-Hermel region so that it will not be excluded from any
development project, vowing to be honest and transparent with the people of said
region. He continued to explain that, “the projects in the Ministry of Public
Works and Transport have been divided into: a) immediate projects that address
people’s suffering, and they are projects that should be given priority to reach
solutions within the available capabilities, such as cleaning rainwater and
torrential sewers and paving roads in remote areas before winter; b) medium-term
projects at the level of all directorates of the Ministry of Works, whereby
efforts must be exerted to create new projects that lead to economic growth at
the level of the Beirut Port, Beirut Airport, the Ports of Tripoli, Sidon and
Tyre…”“Also at the level of roads, buildings and land and sea transport, there
are strategic projects to be prepared, which require the government to set
strategic plans related to the future of the country and contribute to
revitalizing the economic cycle and creating new job opportunities,” Hamieh went
on. The Public Works Minister emphasized "the priority of communicating
with the Syrian Arab Republic to resolve the issue of transit,” noting that
“everyone is well-aware that Akkar and Baalbek-Hermel depend mainly on
agricultural crops and industrial production, while the cost of fees on the
truck to transport the Lebanese produce via transit abroad is about 2,300
dollars, which leads to stagnation in the crop seasons and negatively affects
farmers and exporters.
He added: “I discussed the issue with the Ministers of Agriculture and Industry,
and the unions and cooperatives raised this matter with us as well. I also
presented the issue in detail to PM Najib Mikati, whereby I was officially
assigned by the Council of Ministers to communicate with Syria, Jordan, Turkey
and Iraq, to reconsider transit fees, as Syria is the main transit gateway and
a main land crossing for Lebanon, and here we are not talking about politics but
rather about the economy and the interest of farmers and land transport between
the two countries.” Minister Hamieh pledged to seek an appropriate solution and
economic resource for Lebanon, stating that he will meet with Lebanese-Syrian
Supreme Council Head to address the issues at stake within the framework of
transport between Lebanon and Syria. “I will propose justified solutions for the
benefit of both countries, and my aim is to cancel the fees, and I have no doubt
about the generosity and positive attitude of the Syrian state towards Lebanon,
for it has always been proactive in agreeing to solutions for the interest of
Lebanon,” the Minister reassured.
Army: Signing of a cooperation protocol between the
Air Force and Balamand University
NNA/October 10/2021
The Army Command disclosed via Facebook the "signing o an academic cooperation
protocol between the Air Force and the University of Balamand, which includes
the exchange of experiences and the provision of facilities for technical
officer cadets to pursue their specializations at the University, in addition to
providing facilities to the military in the Air Force who are in active service,
retirees and their families, and the families of the martyred soldiers.”
Boustany: Judge Al-Bitar's stepping down will have
negative repercussions
NNA/October 10/2021
MP Farid Boustany stressed today on the "rejection of any internal or external
political pressure or interference in the probe dossier into the Beirut port
explosion," cautioning against “negative repercussions in the port case if Judge
Al-Bitar steps down.”
He added: “Construction of the port is urgent and vital, and we must restructure
it in a modern way and with international specifications, unlike its previous
condition.”Speaking in an interview with "Voice of All Lebanon" Radio Station
this morning, the MP said that “if McKenzie's plan had been implemented at the
beginning of President Aoun's term, we would not have reached our current
situation,” adding that “we cannot implement a full rescue plan at this stage
because the lifespan of this government is short."
"Prime Minister Najib Mikati inherited successive crises, from the Corona
pandemic to a financial and economic collapse, therefore some time is
required…Livelihood matters will be resolved soon, but the major issues may
remain until the next year,” he indicated, considering herein that “had Hassan
Diab's government been given the opportunity, it would have succeeded because it
included patriotic ministers and qualified people.”The MP also called for
"solving the crisis of the Syrian displaced citizens the soonest possible, as
they are receiving international aid to return to their country and will
continue to do so after their return, which would relieve our treasury of
material losses." Over the upcoming parliamentary elections, MP Boustany
emphasized "the rejection of the law that abolishes the voting of expatriates”
stressing on “holding the elections in March, as fasting or all sects is
similar."
Election of 6 deputies to represent Lebanese expatriates a ridiculous idea,"
tweets Abou Faour
NNA/October 10/2021
Member of the Democratic Gathering, MP Wael Abou Faour, said today via Twitter
that “the election of 6 MPs representing the Lebanese residing abroad is an
absurd propaganda idea imposed by the Free Patriotic Movement in the electoral
law at the time of its previous political dominance, and which its allies
supported at a time of indifference...The idea must be buried, the law must be
amended and the Lebanese abroad must vote in the Diaspora for the 128 deputies,
in the hope that one day the Lebanese will bury this monstrous law and the sick
mind that produced it.”
Khawaja: Mikati's government is working at a normal
pace during exceptional circumstances
NNA/October 10/2021
Member of the "Development and Liberation" Parliamentary Bloc, MP Mohammad
Khawaja, considered via Twitter this morning that, “Prime Minister Mikati's
government is working at a normal pace during exceptional circumstances…Wasn't
the total darkness worthy of calling the cabinet to an immediate session? The
government must keep its sessions open to search for solutions to the
electricity and service sector crises, the collapse of the national currency,
etc…From here begins the process of restoring confidence...!"
Two Lebanese inventors win the gold medal at the
African International Invention Fair (AIIF2021)
NNA/October 10/2021
Members of the Lebanese Innovators Association, Engineer Mohammad Kassem Ismail
and Maher Jaafar Othman, each won the gold medal and a high-class evaluation at
the CU-OCIIP Africa International Invention Fair (AIIF2021), with the
participation of 72 different countries on the AVMS-Super Nebulizer project.
It is to note that this project has also won during this year:
-Patent from the Ministry of Economy in Lebanon
-Gold Medal in the Beirut International Exhibition of Inventions (BIIS)
-Silver Medal at NRCT Thailand International Exhibition
-Shield and certificate of appreciation from “Sanad Lebanon Association”
-Published as a scientific research in the “WIFA PLUS” magazine, distributed in
more than twenty countries in Europe and the world.
بارعة علم الدين/عرب نيوز: دور حزب الله في تجارة المخدرات
العالمية – ارتباطاته في غرب أفريقيا
Hezbollah’s role in the global drugs trade — the West Africa connection
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/October 10/ 2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/103227/baria-alamuddin-arab-news-hezbollahs-role-in-the-global-drugs-trade-the-west-africa-connection-%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%b9%d8%a9-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%86/
When Saudi Arabia banned the import of Lebanese produce in April because these
shipments were being abused to smuggle narcotics into the Kingdom, Hezbollah
found itself with a problem.
Following the collapse of the Lebanese and Syrian economies, Assad family
mafiosi and Hezbollah set about remodeling their nations as narco states — world
production centers for the amphetamine-based drug Captagon, a favorite among
partygoers and terrorist groups. Syria’s Captagon trade is estimated to be worth
over a billion dollars a year.
Captagon production had become established in areas such as Homs and Aleppo, but
given Syria’s extreme dysfunction, many major factories have been
reconsolidating themselves along the Lebanon-Syria border, particularly in
Hezbollah strongholds such as Qusair and the Bekaa Valley. Lebanon’s former
Justice Minister and security chief, Ashraf Rifi, describes a “partnership
between Hezbollah and the Syrian side in terms of manufacturing and smuggling”
Captagon. This is in addition to Syria and Lebanon becoming favored routes for
heroin, crystal meth and hashish.
Since the GCC shipping ban, Hezbollah has resorted to diverting these illegal
shipments via transit states to obscure the country of origin, once again
exploiting its connections with the worldwide Lebanese diaspora. West Africa has
become a preferred option, with 450,000 Captagon pills turning up at a port in
Lagos, discovered as a result of Saudi-Nigerian cooperation. GCC authorities
have also discovered millions of Captagon pills in West African shipments of
cocoa, with Syria almost certainly the original point of production.
This isn’t the first time Hezbollah has embroiled West Africa’s Lebanese
communities in the narcotics trade. During the 2000s, Hezbollah and Iran found
themselves with a different problem: Thanks to President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s
outreach to Latin American states, Hezbollah began reaping billions of dollars
from cocaine, but it had no means of repatriating these funds to Beirut and
Tehran. It hit on an ingenious idea: Investing the money in tens of thousands of
second-hand American cars that were then shipped to Benin, where hundreds of
Lebanese expats set themselves up in the West African car market. The proceeds
from these sales were then repatriated to Lebanon.
In a dying nation where so many have lost the will to live, “Hizb Al-Shaitan”
has made deadly narcotics more affordable than baby milk.
Cote d’Ivoire has an 80,000-strong Lebanese diaspora who dominate about 50
percent of the economy, while Hezbollah-affiliated mafia elements play major
roles in the narcotics trade. Cote d’Ivoire is a major transit point for money
laundering, with numerous instances of youths beig stopped trying to carry
suitcases containing millions of dollars back to Lebanon. Other West African
states such as Guinea, Togo, the Congo, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone, have
played pivotal roles in Hezbollah operations, involving money laundering,
weapons proliferation, drugs and organized crime.
One 2021 calculation suggests that this activity nets the group about $1 billion
a year, probably in the same ballpark as the stipends Hezbollah receives from
Iran. With the annual worldwide narcotics trade worth about $500 billion, this
could be a gross underestimate. As Lebanon’s economy continues its remorseless
slide, the day may come soon when this Hezbollah black economy comes to dominate
Lebanon’s markets, with the risk that country permanently descends into being a
narco state.
Iran and Hezbollah are meanwhile involved in millions of dollars’ worth of
weapons shipments, to Yemen, Africa, Iraq, and a host of other war-wracked
states. Thus we have a perfect storm, with the narcotics trade being used to
fund terrorism and paramilitarism. Yet still I encounter a remarkable lack of
curiosity about these issues among diplomats and journalists.
This comes at a time when Tehran is saber rattling on its northern frontiers in
the Caucasus region. Following a succession of assassinations of nuclear
scientists and “mysterious” explosions at sensitive Iranian sites, today Tehran
sees Mossad agents under every rock. The ayatollahs have become intensely
paranoid about Azerbaijan and Israel’s close defense relationship, and have
recently begun engaging in provocative military exercises on their shared
border. They have long feared that Baku could arouse separatist sentiments among
the vast Azeri population in northern Iran.
The consequences of Hezbollah provoking a ban on exports of Lebanese
agricultural produce to major regional markets are massive, and will ruin the
lives of farmers who, like most citizens, have been devastated by economic
disintegration and the collapse in the currency’s value. Just as in Afghanistan,
impoverished farmers turned to growing heroin, which bankrolled the Taliban’s
return to power; it is as if Hezbollah is doing everything in its power to
transform Lebanon into an economy based on the wares of death. The high-profile
visit to Beirut by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is a
reminder of how Lebanon’s embroilment in Tehran’s economic orbit means embracing
pariah statehood.
In a dying nation where so many have lost the will to live, “Hizb Al-Shaitan”
has made deadly narcotics more affordable than baby milk. Lebanon’s
Mediterranean location makes this historical trading nation the perfect outlet
for deluging European markets with narcotics, while Hezbollah’s continued
involvement in the Latin American cocaine trade is perhaps the closest Tehran
will get to achieving its slogan of “Death to America.”
The world shouldn’t wait for Lebanon’s compromised and dysfunctional justice
system to solve this problem. Legal cases against a smattering of Lebanese
drug-dealers are risible — people jailed for laundering a few hundred capsules!
It would seem that the major players are trying to eliminate the small-scale
competition. By tackling this threat head on, the world not only prevents
millions of lives being irreversibly ruined, but it can also prevent the
funneling of billions of dollars of drug revenues into terrorism and
paramilitarism. So why this international failure to address the fact that the
Hezbollah-Tehran nexus has become by far the world’s most globalized network for
criminality and terrorism?
• Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle
East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has
interviewed numerous heads of state.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on October 10-11/2021
Iran makes more 20% enriched uranium than UN
nuclear watchdog
AP/October 10, 2021
TEHRAN: Iran has produced more than 120 kilograms of 20 percent enriched
uranium, the country’s nuclear chief said, far more than what the UN nuclear
watchdog reported last month. Mohammad Eslami said in an interview with state TV
late Saturday that under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers the other
signatories were to provide Iran with 20 percent enriched uranium needed for its
research reactor. “But it was not delivered,” he said. “If we did not produce it
by ourselves this would have turned into one of our problems.” Under the terms
of the nuclear deal, Iran was prohibited from enriching uranium above 3.67
percent with the exception of its research reactor activities. Enriched uranium
above 90 percent can be used in a nuclear weapon. In September, the
International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to
up to 20 percent fissile purity was estimated at 84.3 kilograms up from 62.8
kilograms three months earlier. Scientists estimate that at least 170 kilograms
of 20 percent enriched uranium is needed to make a bomb. The nuclear deal known
as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, promises Iran economic
incentives in exchange for limits on its nuclear program, and is meant to
prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb. Tehran insists its program is
peaceful. The US unilaterally pulled out of the deal in 2018 under
then-President Donald Trump, but Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia have
tried to preserve the accord. Tehran’s strategy of deliberately violating the
deal is seen as an attempt to put pressure on Europe to provide it with
incentives to offset crippling American sanctions re-imposed after the US
pullout. President Joe Biden has said he is open to rejoining the pact. The last
round of talks in Vienna ended in June without a clear result.
Israel Security Will Remain Priority, Merkel Says on
Farewell Tour
Agence France Presse/October 10/2021
Germany's outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel said Israel's security will be a top
priority for "every German government", during a farewell tour in the Jewish
state Sunday near the end of her 16-year term in office. Merkel, making her
eighth and final visit as chancellor to Israel before retiring from politics,
held talks with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett before visiting Jerusalem's
Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem. "After the crimes against humanity of the Shoah
(Holocaust), it has been possible to reset and to reestablish relations between
Germany," Merkel said, standing alongside Bennett. "I want to use this
opportunity to emphasize that the topic of Israel's security will always be of
central importance and a central topic of every German government."Bennett
credited Merkel with fostering ties between the countries that have "never been
stronger" and described her as "Europe's moral compass" due to her support for
Israel. Before the visit, Bennett said he and the German leader were expected to
discuss regional security and "especially the Iranian nuclear issue". Merkel had
initially planned to visit in August, but delayed her trip during the chaotic
exit of U.S. and allied forces, including Germans, from Afghanistan.
The 67-year-old trained physicist is to receive an honorary doctorate from
Haifa's Technion -- Israel Institute of Technology. She, however, has no plans
to meet Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who Merkel dealt with
extensively as prime minister during his 2009 to 2021 tenure. Bennett's
ideologically diverse coalition ousted Netanyahu in June.
'Reality of apartheid' -
The chancellor is also not scheduled to meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
Under her leadership, Germany has advocated for a two-state solution to the
decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict but she has faced criticism from
activists for not pressing Israel to end its military occupation of Palestinian
territory that began in 1967. Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at
Human Rights Watch, criticized Merkel for regarding Israel's 54-year occupation
as "temporary.""Maintaining this fiction has allowed the Merkel government to
avoid dealing with the reality of apartheid and persecution of millions of
Palestinians," he said in a statement. "The new German government should put
human rights at the center of its Israel and Palestine policy," he added. More
than 600,000 Israeli settlers have moved into the West Bank and east Jerusalem,
which Palestinians hope will become part of a future state.Israel has maintained
a blockade on Gaza's two million residents since the Islamist movement Hamas
seized control in 2007.
Iran
Germany and Israel forged strong diplomatic ties in the decades after World War
II, with Berlin committed to the preservation of the Jewish state in penance for
the Holocaust. In 2008, Merkel stood before the Israeli parliament to atone on
behalf of the German people in a historic address.
Ex-premier Netanyahu repeatedly described Iran as the greatest threat to the
Jewish people since the Holocaust. But policy regarding the 2015 Iran nuclear
deal, signed and supported by Germany, has been a rare point of difference
between Berlin and Israel. Israel is officially opposed to the deal that saw
Iran agree to curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief and
has criticized efforts by Germany, the United States and other signatories to
revive it after former president Donald Trump's withdrawal in 2018.
Voters disillusioned by corruption boycott Iraq
parliamentary elections
Arab News/October 10, 2021
BAGHDAD/JEDDAH: Turnout plunged to a record low in parliamentary elections in
Iraq on Sunday amid a widespread boycott by voters disillusioned by corruption,
a crippled economy and failed public services. Electoral commission officials
said the nationwide turnout of eligible voters was 19 percent by midday,
compared with 44.5 percent in the last election in 2018. Prime Minister Mustafa
Al-Kadhimi’s government called the election early in response to protests in
October 2019 that toppled the previous administration. Protesters’ demands
included the removal of a ruling elite most Iraqis view as corrupt. The
demonstrations were brutally suppressed and about 600 people were killed.
Although authorities gave in and called the early elections, the death toll and
the heavy-handed crackdown — as well as a string of targeted assassinations —
prompted many who took part in the protests to later call for a boycott of the
polls. Results are expected within the next 48 hours, according to the
independent body that oversees Iraq’s election. Negotiations to choose a prime
minister tasked with forming a government are expected to drag on for months.
Voting began early Sunday in a contest that was the sixth held since the fall of
Saddam Hussein after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the sectarian-based
power-sharing political system it produced.
A total of 3,449 candidates are vying for 329 seats in the parliamentary
elections. Apathy is widespread amid deep skepticism that independent candidates
stand a chance against established parties and politicians, many of them backed
by powerful armed militias.
More than 250,000 security personnel across the country were tasked with
protecting the vote. Soldiers, police and anti-terrorism forces fanned out and
deployed outside polling stations, some of which were ringed by barbed wire.
Voters were patted down and searched. Iraq’s President Barham Salih and Prime
Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi urged Iraqis to vote in large numbers. “Get out and
vote, and change your reality for the sake of Iraq and your future,” said Al-Kadhimi,
repeating the phrase, “get out” three times after casting his ballot at a school
in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, home to foreign embassies and
government offices. The 2018 elections saw just 44 percent of eligible voters
cast their ballots, a record low, and the results were widely contested. There
are concerns of a similar or even lower turnout this time.
Pessimism prevails
Most Iraqis long for change, but few expect it to happen. Some voted in hopes of
seeing the corrupt politicians out. “I don’t want these same faces and same
parties to return,” said Amir Fadel, a 22-year-old car dealer, after casting his
ballot in Baghdad’s Karradah district. Abdul Ameer Hassan Al-Saadi, a
schoolteacher who lives in the Baghdad district of Karrada, was one of many who
boycotted Sunday’s election. “I lost my 17-year-old son Hussain after he was
killed by a tear gas canister fired by police during Baghdad protests,” he said.
“I will not vote for killers and corrupt politicians because the wound inside me
and his mother after losing our boy is still bleeding.”In the southern city of
Basra, Mohammed Hassan said: “Why won’t I vote? Because I have no faith in
people. Those we elected, what have they done? Look at the garbage, the filth
... The previous government’s projects, where are they?”
In a tea shop in Karradah, one of the few open, candidate Reem Abdulhadi walked
in to ask whether people had cast their vote. “I will give my vote to Umm
Kalthoum, the singer, she is the only one who deserves it,” the tea vendor
replied, referring to the late Egyptian singer beloved by many in the Arab
world. He said he will not take part in the election and didn’t believe in the
political process. After a few words, Abdulhadi gave the man, who asked to
remain anonymous, a card with her name and number in case he decided to change
his mind. He put it in his pocket.
“Thank you, I will keep it as a souvenir,” he said.
Streets deserted
By midday, turnout was still relatively low and streets mostly deserted. In some
areas, mosque loudspeakers were used to urge Iraqis to vote. Candidates sent
encouraging push notifications and audio messages on Whatsapp groups and
Telegram chatrooms.
At that moment, a low-flying, high-speed military aircraft flew overhead making
a screeching noise. “Listen to this. This sound is terror. It reminds me of war,
not an election,” he added. In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Iraq’s influential
cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr cast his ballot, swarmed by local journalists. He then
drove away in a white sedan without commenting. Al-Sadr, a populist who has an
immense following among Iraq’s working class Shiites, came out on top in the
2018 elections, winning a majority of seats.
Groups drawn from Iraq’s majority Shiite Muslims dominate the electoral
landscape, with a tight race expected between Al-Sadr’s list and the Fatah
Alliance, led by paramilitary leader Hadi Al-Ameri, which came in second in the
previous election.
The Fatah Alliance is comprised of parties affiliated with the Popular
Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of mostly pro-Iran Shiite militias that
rose to prominence during the war against the Sunni extremist Daesh group. It
includes some of the most hard-line pro-Iran factions, such as the Asaib Ahl Al-Haq
militia. Al-Sadr, a black-turbaned nationalist leader, is also close to Iran,
but publicly rejects its political influence. Under Iraq’s laws, the winner of
Sunday’s vote gets to choose the country’s next prime minister, but it’s
unlikely any of the competing coalitions can secure a clear majority. That will
require a lengthy process involving backroom negotiations to select a consensus
prime minister and agree on a new coalition government. It took eight months of
political wrangling to form a government after the 2018 elections.
The election is the first since the fall of Saddam to proceed without a curfew
in place, reflecting the significantly improved security situation in the
country following the defeat of IS in 2017. Previous votes were marred by
fighting and deadly bomb attacks that have plagued the country for decades.
As a security precaution, Iraq closed its airspace and land border crossings and
scrambled its air force from Saturday night until early Monday morning. In
another first, Sunday’s election is taking place under a new election law that
divides Iraq into smaller constituencies — another demand of the activists who
took part in the 2019 protests — and allows for more independent candidates. A
UN Security Council resolution adopted earlier this year authorized an expanded
team to monitor the elections. There will be up to 600 international observers
in place, including 150 from the United Nations. More than 24 million of Iraq’s
estimated 38 million people are eligible to vote. Iraq is also for the first
time introducing biometric cards for voters. But despite all these measures,
claims of vote buying, intimidation and manipulation have persisted. (With AP)
Iraqis Vote a Year Early with Little Hope for Change
Agence France Presse/October 10/2021
Iraqis voted Sunday in a parliamentary election held a year early as a
concession to an anti-government protest movement but seen as unlikely to
deliver major change to the war-scarred country. Many of the 25 million eligible
voters were expected to boycott the polls amid deep distrust in a political
class widely blamed for graft, unemployment and crumbling public services in
oil-rich Iraq. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi's future hangs in the balance,
with few observers willing to predict who will come out on top after the lengthy
backroom haggling between political factions that usually follows Iraqi
elections. "This is an opportunity for change," the premier promised, casting
his ballot in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone. "Get out there and vote, change
your reality, for Iraq and for your future."But few shared the enthusiasm, even
among those who queued early in the fifth election since the 2003 U.S.-led
invasion ousted dictator Saddam Hussein with the promise of bringing freedom and
democracy. "I have come to vote to change the country for the better -- and to
change the current leaders, who are incompetent," said housewife Jimand Khalil,
37.
"They made a lot of promises to us but didn't bring us anything."
'Corrupt horse-trading'
The election was held under tight security in a country where the major
parliamentary blocs have armed factions and Islamic State group jihadists have
launched deadly suicide attacks this year. Voters were searched twice at polling
stations. Travel between provinces was banned and restaurants, shopping centers
and airports closed for the day. The U.N. and EU sent dozens of election
observers. "Iraqis should have the confidence to vote as they please, in an
environment free of pressure, intimidation and threats," said the U.N. mission
in Iraq. But the vote was marred by technical problems at some stations,
including malfunctioning equipment and fingerprint readers, said the prime
minister's office and AFP journalists. One soldier was killed and another
wounded by "accidental fire" from a fellow soldier at a polling station in
Diyala province, east of Baghdad, according to an official statement. Polls were
set to close at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT), with preliminary results expected within 24
hours but subsequent negotiations likely to take weeks. A new single-member
constituency system for electing Iraq's 329 lawmakers is supposed to boost
independents versus the traditional blocs largely centered on religious, ethnic
and clan affiliations.
But many analysts believe the change will be limited. "The election will likely
result in another fragmented parliament, followed by opaque, corrupt
horse-trading among factions to form the next government," wrote researchers
Bilal Wahab and Calvin Wilder in an analysis published by the Washington
Institute. "Few expect this election to amount to more than a game of musical
chairs, and the (protest) movement's core demands -- curbing systemic
corruption, creating jobs and holding armed groups accountable -- are unlikely
to be met."
'We want change' -
The election is being held a year early in a rare concession to the
unprecedented youth-led protest movement that broke out in October 2019 in
Baghdad and swept across much of the country. Tens of thousands took to the
streets to vent their rage at corruption, unemployment and other problems, and
hundreds lost their lives in protest-related violence. Dozens more activists
have been killed, kidnapped or intimidated since, with accusations that pro-Iran
armed groups, many of which are represented in parliament, have been behind the
violence. The movement largely fizzled amid the bloodshed and as the Covid
pandemic hit, and the anger has given way to disillusion among many. "We want
change," said one eligible voter, Mohammed, 23, who asked not to have his full
name published. "I have a degree in Arabic literature but I clean the toilet in
a restaurant -- it's humiliating." Observers expect it will take some time for
the new balance of power to emerge as the leading factions compete for the
support of a larger number of independents. Iraq by convention has had a Shiite
Muslim prime minister, a Sunni parliament speaker and a Kurdish president. The
bloc of populist cleric Moqtada Sadr, already the largest in the outgoing
parliament, is predicted to make gains but not enough to dominate the Shiite
camp. Sadr, who resisted U.S. occupation but has also criticized Iranian
influence in Iraq, voted in one of his strongholds, the Shiite holy city of
Najaf in the country's south. Another major force is the Fatah Alliance, the
bloc representing many Iran-backed Shiite armed groups, which is expected to
roughly retain its share of seats.
Greece to boost guards on Turkey border
AFP/October 11, 2021
ATHENS: Greece’s police minister on Sunday said 250 additional guards would be
deployed on the country’s land border with Turkey, where thousands of
asylum-seekers tried to enter last year. “We are ready ... and we are further
increasing (security) forces by hiring 250 new border guards to support Greek
police,” Citizens’ Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos said during a visit
to the border area of Kastanies, according to a ministry statement. In February
2020, tens of thousands of migrants surged toward Greece after Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would let migrants seeking to reach the EU pass
through. Days of clashes with asylum seekers on the border ensued, with Greek
police accusing their Turkish counterparts of firing tear gas against them. In
the aftermath of the incident, Greece invested in a new anti-migration arsenal
including cameras, radar and a 40-km steel fence, to cover part of the 200-km
border region crossed by the river Evros. The Greek civil aviation authority on
Saturday also said a tethered balloon known as an aerostat, equipped with a
long-range thermal camera, had been deployed at Alexandroupolis airport in
August to assist border surveillance.
A Zeppelin operated by EU border agency Frontex is also active in the area,
state agency ANA said Sunday. Greece has said it will examine claims of illegal
pushbacks of migrants trying to enter from Turkey, made in a major investigation
published Wednesday by media from several European countries. Athens has
consistently denied any wrongdoing, including claims of migrants saying they
were beaten, stripped and robbed before being forced back across the land border
with Turkey.
5 Dead, 11 Hurt in Yemen Blast Targeting Aden Governor
Agence France Presse/October 10/2021
Five people have been killed in a car-bomb attack targeting the governor of
Aden, the seat of Yemen's internationally recognized government, security
sources said on Sunday. Aden, in southern Yemen, is home to a separatist
movement that last year precariously integrated into the central government, and
both have long been aligned against Huthi rebels in a grinding civil war. Aden
governor Ahmed Lamlas and Salem al-Socotri, a government minister, both survived
the blast which went off as their convoy passed, the sources said. "A car
bomb... on Al-Mualla Street exploded while the convoy of officials... was
passing," a Yemeni security source told AFP, adding that the victims were in the
convoy.Five members of the entourage were killed and 11 others were wounded in
the attack. The central government relocated to Aden from the capital Sanaa in
2014, forced out by the Iran-backed Huthis, who are fighting Saudi-backed Yemeni
government loyalists. The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen's war
in 2015. Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalek Saeed has called for an
investigation into Sunday's "terrorist and cowardly" attack, the official Saba
news agency reported.
It added that the premier spoke with Lamlas and Socotri, to whom "no harm" was
caused. Beyond the conflict with the Huthis, Southern Yemen has separately been
beset by periodic tensions between the central government and southern
separatists in recent years, including sporadic armed clashes. In December 2020,
officials from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) were integrated into the
cabinet in an uneasy power-sharing agreement. Lamlas and Socotri are both STC
personnel. No one has yet claimed responsibility for Sunday's blast, which is
the deadliest since December 2020 when an attack ripped through Aden's airport
targeting cabinet members. At least 26 people, including three members of the
International Committee of the Red Cross, were killed and scores were wounded
when explosions rocked the airport as ministers disembarked from an aircraft.
All cabinet members were reported to be unharmed, in what some ministers charged
was an attack by the Huthis. The STC has sought to restore the independence of
South Yemen, a then country which was integrated into the north in 1990. The
central government and the separatists are, despite their own differences,
aligned against the Huthis. The Huthis have lately intensified a campaign to
take Marib city, capital of an oil-rich province of the same name and government
loyalists' final toehold in northern Yemen. Some fear that the Huthis will then
turn their attention to expanding in southern Yemen. STC spokesman Ali al-Kathiri
in a statement on Sunday called the Huthis' offensive in Marib a "dangerous"
scheme that could be a springboard to targeting the south. Yemen is also home to
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which launches periodic attacks against both
fighters aligned with the country's authorities and the insurgents. Tens of
thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced
in Yemen's conflict, dubbed the world's worst humanitarian disaster by the
United Nations.
Thousands Rally against Tunisian President
Agence France Presse/October 10/2021
More than 5,000 Tunisians rallied on Sunday against a presidential power grab in
the only democracy to have emerged from the Arab Spring uprisings a decade ago.
Despite checkpoints and security screening of protesters, it was the biggest in
a series of Sunday rallies in central Tunis both pro and against the actions of
President Kais Saied. On July 25, after months of political stalemate, Saied
sacked the prime minister, suspended parliament and granted himself judicial
powers, a move he followed up in September with measures that effectively allow
the president to rule by decree.
A police source said at least 3,000 had gathered at the start of the rally, and
the crowd kept growing. Witnesses later said more than 5,000 people were flowing
toward Bourguiba Avenue, the main thoroughfare in central Tunis. The size of
Sunday's rally exceeded that of an estimated 2,000 who demonstrated against
Saied's "coup d'etat" two weeks earlier on Bourguiba Avenue. On October 3, an
estimated 3,000 people rallied on the same avenue in support of the president,
and local media reported that about 2,000 other pro-Saied supporters
demonstrated elsewhere in the North African country. "The people against the
coup d'etat," "Raise your voice, the revolution is not dead," the anti-Saied
demonstrators called, waving red-and-white Tunisian flags.Many identified as
supporters of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, which was the biggest in the
now-suspended parliament. Some complained to AFP about alleged police
intimidation to prevent them moving forward. Helmeted, black-clad riot police
were deployed, and demonstrators were forbidden from entering a stretch of
Bourguiba Avenue. "The rally is blocked," and "shame on you," one voice in the
crowd called. Tunisia was the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings, with the
resignation of the country's dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.
Although Saied's July measures enjoyed significant public support, civil society
groups have warned of a drift away from democracy.
Plane crashes in central Russia, fears for the fate of 16 passengers
NNA/October 10/2021
A plane carrying civilian paratroopers crashed today in central Russia, the
Emergencies Ministry announced, expressing fears for the fate of 16 of its
passengers, as reported by AFP. The plane crashed at around 23.9 (23.6 GMT) in
the Republic of Tatarstan, according to the Ministry on Telegram, with 23 people
on board, seven of whom were rescued.
'Father of Pakistan's Bomb' A.Q. Khan Dies at 85
Agence France Presse/October 10/2021
Abdul Qadeer Khan, celebrated as the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons
program but accused of smuggling technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya, has
died at 85, authorities said Sunday. The atomic scientist, who spent the last
years of his life under heavy guard, died in the capital Islamabad, where he had
recently been hospitalized with Covid-19. Khan died after being transferred to
the city's KRL Hospital with lung problems, state-run broadcaster PTV reported.
He had been admitted to the same hospital in August with Covid-19. After
returning home several weeks ago, he was rushed back after his condition
deteriorated. Khan was hailed a national hero for transforming Pakistan into the
world's first Islamic nuclear weapons power and strengthening its clout against
rival and fellow nuclear-armed nation India. But he was declared by the West a
dangerous renegade for sharing technology with rogue nuclear states. The news of
his death sparked an outpouring of grief and praise for Khan's legacy. "Deeply
saddened by the passing of Dr A.Q. Khan," Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted,
stressing how loved the nuclear scientist had been in Pakistan due to "his
critical contribution in making us a nuclear weapon state"."For the people of
Pakistan he was a national icon."Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif described his
death as a "huge loss for the country", tweeting: "Today the nation has lost a
true benefactor who served the motherland with heart and soul."
The prime minister said the scientist would be buried at Islamabad's Faisal
Mosque at his request. Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad told journalists
the scientist would be laid to rest with "full honors," with all government
ministers and senior armed forces officials attending a funeral at 3:30 pm (1030
GMT) Sunday. According to Islamic tradition, burials should take place as soon
as possible, usually within 24 hours of death.
Black market
Khan was lauded for bringing the nation up to par with India in the atomic field
and making its defenses "impregnable."But he found himself in the international
crosshairs when he was accused of illegally sharing nuclear technology with
Iran, Libya and North Korea. He confessed in 2004, after the International
Atomic Energy Agency -- a U.N. watchdog -- put Pakistani scientists at the
center of a global atomic black market. Pardoned by the nation's military ruler
Pervez Musharraf, he was instead put under house arrest for five years. "I saved
the country for the first time when I made Pakistan a nuclear nation and saved
it again when I confessed and took the whole blame on myself," Khan told AFP in
an interview in 2008. After his house arrest was lifted, he was granted some
freedom of movement around the leafy capital, but always flanked by authorities,
who he had to inform of his every move. On Sunday, journalists gathered behind
barriers blocking off the street leading to his home in the capital as a
procession of cars entered and left the property.
Best deterrent
Born in Bhopal, India on April 1, 1936, Khan was just a young boy when his
family migrated to Pakistan during the bloody 1947 partition of the
sub-continent at the end of British colonial rule. He did a science degree at
Karachi University in 1960, then went on to study metallurgical engineering in
Berlin before completing advanced studies in the Netherlands and Belgium. His
crucial contribution to Pakistan's nuclear program was the procurement of a
blueprint for uranium centrifuges, which transform uranium into weapons-grade
fuel for nuclear fissile material. He was charged with stealing it from the
Netherlands while working for Anglo-Dutch-German nuclear engineering consortium
Urenco, and bringing it back to Pakistan in 1976. On his return to Pakistan,
then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto put Khan in charge of the government's
nascent uranium enrichment project. By 1978, his team had enriched uranium and
by 1984 they were ready to detonate a nuclear device, Khan later said in a
newspaper interview. Khan maintained that nuclear defense was the best
deterrent. After Islamabad carried out atomic tests in 1998 in response to tests
by India, Khan insisted Pakistan "never wanted to make nuclear weapons. It was
forced to do so". None of the controversies that dogged Khan's career appeared
to dent his popularity at home. Many schools, universities, institutes and
charity hospitals across Pakistan are named after him, his portrait decorating
their signs, stationery and websites.
Canada/Statement on World Day Against the Death Penalty
October 10, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global
Affairs Canada
The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the
following statement:
“The death penalty is cruel and inhumane. It is an affront to human rights as
well as an ineffective deterrent to crime. Canada is strongly opposed to its use
in all cases, everywhere.
“This year, Canada joined the Support Group of the International Commission
Against the Death Penalty (ICDP), a diverse group of 23 countries led by Spain.
The ICDP’s aims are to stop planned executions, establish a universal moratorium
on the use of the death penalty and ultimately abolish this barbaric form of
punishment in all regions of the world.
“The World Day Against the Death Penalty is an opportunity for all to take a
stand. Today, Canada renews its pledge to work for the end of capital punishment
everywhere.”
The Latest The Latest LCCC
English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on October 10-11/2021
تقرير مهم باللغة الإنكليزية من جريدة التلغرام يلقي الأضواء على الوضع الصحي
المأزوم والخطير في لبنان جراء أزمة المحروقات
‘If we stop the generators, our babies die’: Lebanon on life support
Campbell MacDiarmid and Simon Townsley/The Telegraph/October/October 10/2021
Its collapsing healthcare system was once the envy of the Middle East – now, it
is a microcosm of a country in free fall
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/103214/campbell-macdiarmid-and-simon-townsley-the-telegraph-if-we-stop-the-generators-our-babies-die-lebanon-on-life-support-%d8%aa%d9%82%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%85%d9%87%d9%85-%d8%a8%d8%a7/
Endless fuel queues, runaway inflation, supply chain chaos and a shortage of
skilled labour are only some of the issues making Karen Saqr angry.
The elegant Lebanese director of Karantina public hospital in Beirut, Mrs Saqr
has spent the morning in her office making increasingly desperate phone calls to
ministries, NGOs and private suppliers, trying to buy the fuel needed to run the
facility’s generators in the absence of state electricity. “If we stop our
generators our babies die,” she says. In the neonatal intensive care unit down
the hall, eight tiny babies are kept alive with softly flowing oxygen and
regularly beeping machines.
The situation is perilous. Amid a severe fuel and electricity shortage, the
hospital – like most in Lebanon – has only a few days of diesel in reserve. The
state electricity company is running out of fuel itself and says the country
could be in total blackout by the end of the week, leaving private generator
owners desperately scouring the black market for diesel. “Today we didn’t get
fuel yet, and the supplier wants money in fresh dollars, he doesn’t want lira,”
Mrs Saqr says between phone calls. The local currency has lost over 90 per cent
of its value since 2019 and though a governmental hospital is not legally
allowed to pay in dollars,
Mrs Saqr has no choice. With no funds coming from the bankrupt government, she
turns for help from UNICEF, one of the international organisations now propping
up Lebanon’s healthcare system. Mrs Saqr asks herself how long she, her
hospital, and Lebanon can last. Her staff are leaving in droves and her own
daughter is moving to Abu Dhabi on Friday. “Every day I think about leaving,”
she says. “But leaving without anyone here to replace me is hard to
contemplate.”
‘Worse than the civil war’
The decline has been swift and precipitous. Until just a few years ago,
Lebanon’s healthcare system was the envy of the Middle East. Wealthy Arabs would
fly into Beirut for nose jobs or routine surgeries. Diaspora Lebanese would
visit their physician during annual trips home. Lebanese doctors were in high
demand in the Gulf. But now that system is on life support, its collapse a
microcosm of Lebanon’s broader downfall.
With only philanthropists and international NGOs staving off a total shutdown,
doctors are terrified that donor fatigue may eventually pull the plug. To
explain the current crisis, Robert Sacy refers back to the dark days of
Lebanon’s civil war. Today the snowy haired septuagenarian is the head of
pediatrics at Karantina, but back then he was a young doctor working for the Red
Cross after completing his studies in France. “It’s worse now than the civil
war,” says the suspenders-wearing Dr Sacy. “Then you’d have five days [of
fighting] then one month of living normally. Now for one year we’re not living
normally at all.”
Back then, Lebanese had faith that the war would eventually end, Dr Sacy
explains. “In a tunnel you have a light at the end, now we don’t have a
light.”In 1989, the light at the end of the tunnel was the peace deal signed in
Taif, Saudi Arabia. After 15 years of war, Lebanon was a shattered shell of a
country. State institutions were largely replaced by fiefdoms run by warlords,
some of whom kidnapped foreigners like Terry Waite with impunity. Others
extorted the population while offering a modicum of security and services to
their own constituencies. At least 30 per cent of the pre-war population had
emigrated. Many of those remaining believed that peace was only possible if
government funds and positions were divided between the country’s 18 recognised
religious sects. Thus the Taif agreement entrenched sectarian-based
power-sharing. Warlords turned politicians and treated the state as the spoils
of victory. Institutions were divided among them and used as vehicles for
patronage and rent-seeking. This consensus-based system became known as
muhasassa, an Arabic phrase meaning the ‘distribution of shares’.
The greatest Ponzi scheme in history’
During the 1990s and early 2000s Lebanon emerged from the rubble and many
Lebanese returned home to rebuild their lives.Beirut was resurrected with a
glitzy downtown designed to attract wealthy Gulf Arabs eager to spend their
money in Lebanon’s more permissive environment. The government privatised much
post-war rebuilding, funded by massive public borrowing with little public
oversight. By never addressing corruption or mismanagement, the true cost of
reconstruction would take longer to manifest. Former economy minister Nasser
Saidi has said that “Lebanon is that rare combination of an experienced
Kleptocracy and a Kakistocracy” – ruled by an elite that is both corrupt and
incompetent – that pulled off the “greatest Ponzi scheme in history”.
A tiny Mediterranean nation that produces little, since the war Lebanon has
attracted much of its foreign capital by offering high interest rates, with ever
increasing public borrowing used to pay creditors – essentially a regulated
Ponzi scheme. Expatriate Lebanese in particular parked their money in local
banks, many enjoying the high returns while planning for eventual retirement in
Lebanon. Rather than channelling money into productive investments like fixing
the electricity grid, Lebanon’s government used foreign capital to fix the lira
at an artificially high rate. This provided greater purchasing power to Lebanese
in a country where nearly everything is imported but the ever-mounting public
debt virtually guaranteed an eventual collapse. Even as growth slowed, public
debt piled up, reaching 178 per cent of GDP in 2019, making it the third most
indebted country worldwide after Japan and Greece. Interest payments were
consuming nearly half of revenues, with much of the rest going towards a bloated
public sector stacked with political appointees.
Collapse
Anger at Lebanon’s corruption and mismanagement had been growing for years but a
clumsy attempt to raise funds by proposing a tax on the popular messaging
platform WhatsApp finally provoked massive anti-government protests in October
2019. The demonstrators demanded the resignation of the political elite that had
ruled Lebanon since the war – chanting “all of them means all of them” – and
called for an overhaul of the post-war system of governance. After two weeks of
massive protests that brought the country to a standstill, then-prime minister
Saad Hariri resigned. But a new cabinet formed three months later failed to
appease protesters or arrest Lebanon’s economic slide and the state defaulted on
its debt for the first time in March 2020. The arrival of the coronavirus
pandemic only accelerated the economic downturn, while a shortage of foreign
currency led to a rapid devaluation of the lira on the blackmarket. Financial
institutions introduced informal capital controls to prevent bank runs. Then
came the devastating Beirut blast last summer, a explosion of 2,750 tonnes of
ammonium nitrate improperly stored at Beirut port under shady circumstances.
Over 210 people were killed, while several districts of the capital were
severely damaged. Worst hit was the portside neighbourhood of Karantina, whose
destroyed hospital required extensive rebuilding funded by international donors.
Again the government resigned in the wake of the blast, leaving a caretaker
cabinet unable to enact reforms at a critical time. With foreign reserves
dangerously depleted, unsustainable subsidies have been gradually lifted in a
piecemeal fashion from fuel, food and medicine, turbocharging hyperinflation.
The lira, which for years had been fixed at 1,500 to the greenback, was being
sold on the blackmarket for much less – 7,000 to the dollar, 10,000, over 20,000
(it is currently trading around 18,000). The International Monetary Fund and
international donors stand ready to help but have said they will not give carte
blanche to Lebanon’s government.
A 2018 donors conference hosted by France pledged $11 billion in aid to Lebanon
in exchange for reforms to increase accountability and reduce corruption. That
money remains unclaimed by the government, which has delayed key reforms such as
an audit of the central bank. The World Bank has accused the Lebanese government
of failing to act to help itself, citing a “political consensus in defence of a
bankrupt economic system, which benefited a few for so long”. Instead, Lebanon’s
leaders spent 13 months horsetrading until a new government was finally formed
in September. During his incoming speech last month, Prime Minister Najib Mikati
promised to enact reforms and resume bailout talks with the International
Monetary Fund. “Our government emerged to light a candle in this deep darkness,”
he told parliament. But many view the billionaire businessman – who has served
twice previously as prime minister – as part of the political class that led
Lebanon into this crisis and few expect him to take many tough decisions before
elections scheduled for next spring.
‘Multidimensional poverty’
Meanwhile ever more Lebanese are sliding deeper into poverty. In the southern
city of Sidon, Najwa Hashem Ibrahim understands little of the economic collapse
beyond the impact on her family. “What I’ve noticed is that the bags of rice I’m
able to buy keep getting smaller,” says the grandmother, sitting in the damp
cellar in the old city that she lives in with her daughter, son-in-law and two
young grandchildren. “Hopefully we won’t reach starvation but we don’t know if
we will hold it off.” With no phone or television, and little social contact,
the future is unknown. “I hear it will get worse,” she says.
The family’s sole income is the one million lira son-in-law Ahmed makes a month
as a security guard. Before they could get by on that – just. Now it’s not
enough. At current exchange rates it is worth scarcely £40.
Drinking water, delivered in 22 litre bottles, costs 84,000 per month. The
bottle of cooking gas they get through every month costs 150,000. Inflation
surpassed 137 per cent in August, according to Lebanon Central Administration of
Statistics, a rate exceeding that of Zimbabwe and Venezuela.
But their biggest expense is healthcare for their two-year-old son Mahdi, who
has a rare blood disease. The ministry of health is no longer able to provide
his medicine, which now costs 900,000 on the black market, and they are forced
to ration. They sold their fridge, their cooking stove, even the cushions from
their couches. They have not paid their rent in three months. “Most households
around here are in this situation,” she says, adding that they avoid the
neighbours to avoid burdening each other with reciprocal obligations. Across the
country, poverty rates have risen from an estimated 50 per cent at the start of
the year to encompass nearly three quarters of the population, the UN says. An
estimated 82 per cent of people in Lebanon are now unable to afford at least one
essential service like healthcare or public utilities, a rate that has doubled
since 2019. The UN calls this multidimensional poverty.
Even families that were once comfortably middle class now struggle to make ends
meet. From her home in the Bekaa Valley, Malak Mazloum explains that economies
like cutting meat from her family’s diet only goes so far. Nexium, a medication
to treat her six-year-old daughter Mira’s intestinal disease, now costs 400,000
a month. When it cost 35,000 the cost was borne by the healthcare plan provided
by her husband’s job as a sergeant in the army. Now they must buy it from his
salary of about 1.8 million lira a month. Visiting the family doctor’s private
practise has tripled in price, so she now takes her two children to a clinic run
by Medair, an international NGO. “Lebanese prefer private clinics,” she
explained. “Primary healthcare clinics have a huge workload, the consultations
are very brief, you feel like a number.”
Public hospitals have become inundated by patients unavailable to afford private
care. At Rafik Hariri public hospital in Beirut, patients are charged 10 per
cent of the cost of their care but many are unable to afford even this. “We
never say no to any case though,” says Dr Imad Chokr. But with the government
unable to pay running costs, the hospital is dangerously overstretched. The air
conditioning has been turned off on many wards, some elevators don’t work, and
the administrative staff are on strike, calling for wages sufficient to cover
their basic needs. The hospital is now reliant on donations, Dr Chokr says,
pointing out the respirators, incubators and even rubbish bins. “I worry every
10 minutes about donor fatigue,” he says. “Where’s the next packet of gloves
going to come from? I’m really scared.”
Between the Tug of War and the Tightrope in the
Russian-Iranian-Israeli Relations
Raghida Dergham/The National/October 10/2021
Russia’s diplomacy is walking a tightrope between Iranian pressures aiming to
force it to backtrack from the major shift happening in its Israel policy – most
recently going as far as committing to Israeli security – and Israeli pressures
querying Russia’s intensions with Iran, which in turn could determine Israel’s
handling of Russia. Yet the issue has less to do with publicized statements
meant for political consumption, and more to do with the Kremlin’s ultimate
strategic choices. Syria is the bottom line but there are secondary lines that
include the strained Russian relationship with NATO and the implications for the
efforts to revive the nuclear deal with Iran. US President Joe Biden is at the
heart of these implications and could find himself forced to reconsider many of
his policies, amid Iranian-Israeli escalation and Russian repositioning.
Moscow and Tehran have said they are drawing a roadmap to conclude a ‘strategic
cooperation’ agreement. In reality, the existing relationship already goes
beyond cooperation and is closer to being a strategic alliance, especially in
Syria where Russia, the power really in charge, still direly needs Iran and
Hezbollah.
Syria remains a strategic priority for the Kremlin and President Putin wants to
‘close’ the Syrian dossier next year and declare the war there over. His vision
requires ‘liberating’ what remains of Syrian territory, not from Iran – as some
believe – but from the United States and Turkey. The deal he wants with the
Biden administration seeks to extract US recognition of Assad’s legitimacy.
Assad is the key to maintaining Russian forces in Syrian bases, which the
Kremlin will never relinquish. And if the price for this is to accept the
reality of strong relations between the Assad regime and the Iranian regime, the
Kremlin is willing to pay it.
Yet the Israeli dilemma in this equation is not secondary. Moscow has managed to
strike a covert deal with Israel in Syria, where Israel refrains from conducting
operations that weaken the Assad regime, in return for Russian (and American)
consent to Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights. There was until recently a
‘balance of silence’ in this regard: Russian silence vis-à-vis Israeli actions
in Syria. Syrian silence vis-à-vis repeated Israeli military operations on its
territory. Iranian silence vis-à-vis the Russian-Israeli deal. Israeli silence
regarding Iranian and Hezbollah influence in Syria. And Iran and Hezbollah’s
silence over Russia’s consent to the Israeli annexation of the Golan, which
includes denying them the ability to activate ‘resistance’ against Israel from
the Syrian front.
The balance of silence continued until Russia’s foreign minister, in a joint
press conference with his Israeli counterpart, declared that Russia is now fully
committed to guaranteeing Israel’s security. This was a real game changer. The
Iranian leadership was not impressed, as it made it appear to be part of
regional and international secret deals that undermine its claim to be the
spearhead of resistance against Israel, a claim it deploys to mobilize loyalist
armies across the Arab countries led by Hezbollah. After all, silent accords are
one thing, and overtly declaring Russia’s commitment to Israel’s security is
another.
Thus Russia’s diplomacy was caught in a bind. During the visit of the new
Iranian FM Hossein Amir Abdollahian to Moscow and his meeting with Mr. Lavrov,
Abdollahian warned that the region could not tolerate any more escalation and
provocation. He said Tehran would not accept any geopolitical shifts in the
region, and will not accept a strengthened terrorist and ‘Zionist’ presence
across it, citing the Southern Caucasus where tensions are increasing between
Iran and Turkish-Israeli backed Azerbaijani government. According to informed
sources, Iran is willing to use military force in Azerbaijan, if necessary,
given the importance of strategic land corridors there.
Sources reported that Abdollahian’s talks in Moscow reflected strong Iranian
opposition to Russia’s commitment to Israel’s security. This in turn stirred
anxiety in Israel, expressed by its foreign minister in a phone call with his
Russian counterpart. And hence, Russian diplomacy is in a bind.
“Change is coming” to Russia’s declared stances on guaranteeing Israel’s
security, according to a Russian source, who expected Russia would somewhat step
back from that commitment. The source added: “Russia’s guarantees of Israel’s
security is not the priority for Russia in the region. Russia needs Syria
first”. The source also said balancing Iran and Israel would be “tricky” for
Russia and said closure in Syria is a priority, at least for now.
Stepping back from Lavrov’s declaration may appear as a political victory for
Iranian diplomacy, especially if the strategic deal with Iran in Syria is deemed
more important than Russian-Israeli relations. However, this would be a
superficial victory. Fundamentally, the vital accords between Russia and Israel
are unlikely to be revised to the point of collapsing, in places like Syria.
This means continued Russian commitment to preventing Iran or Hezbollah from
activating their resistance front out of the Golan. And this is no superficial
matter.
Yet the escalation between Iran and Israel may foil Russian efforts to cement
and develop previous de-escalation arrangements between them towards becoming
broader and more sustainable. The talks between Lavrov and Abdollahian also
addressed security in the Gulf region and the Middle East, going beyond
Abdollahian’s objections because after all is said and done, Russia remains
fundamentally crucial to Iran and the nuclear deal it so desires.
After Russia, Abdollahian headed to Lebanon for a ‘Persian victory round’ on the
ruins of Lebanese sovereignty. The Lebanese state, including president, speaker,
and prime minister, rolled out the red carpet for the Iranian foreign minister
with tacit Western endorsement. Indeed, for the European capitals and
Washington, Lebanon has become a channel for messages of appeasement to Tehran
and a conduit for their project aiming to rehabilitate Bashar al-Assad’s regime
in Syria and even Lebanon.
On the nuclear issue, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Lavrov
before the latter’s recent meeting with Abdollahian. The American messaging
restated the strong desire of the Biden administration to resume the Vienna
talks seeking to revive the nuclear deal within 3 to 4 weeksas long as Tehran
sets no preconditions. However, Blinken told Lavrov the situation now is
different from the Obama era, and therefore there would be a need to impose new
boundaries on the Iranian nuclear program. This development may in fact hinder
the negotiations. On the other hand, Iran’s demand that Western banks unlock $10
billion in funds for Iran as a precondition for resuming the talks will further
complicate and even make them impossible.
Russia has proposed a trilateral US-Russian-Iranian framework to resolve such
outstanding issues preventing the resumption of the talks. However, tensions
between NATO and Russia, and the diplomats’ crisis between Washington and
Moscow, have recently escalated. Pressure is increasing on President Biden, who
appears increasingly weak as he comes under European pressures to submit to
Iranian demands. This climate is thwarting the momentum for the resumption of
the talks in Vienna and the finalization of a deal with Iran, which Russia and
the Europeans want under Iran’s terms and on which the Biden administration
faces both domestic and Israeli objections – which could be either provisional
or prove fateful.
The tug of war in Syria has become part of the nuclear talks in terms of
appeasing Iran. Thus the verbal showdown between Iran and Israel from the
Caucasus to Syria may be reined in soon under a joint US-Russian decision. But
Tehran’s flexing its muscles against Russia, not just the United States, could
slow down the train of regional accords. Only Iran knows whether it is really
serious in pushing back against a power like Russia, which outguns it in Syria
and beyond, or whether it is making noise to get a better deal – in the nuclear
issue and in the region, vis-à-vis the Arab states and Israel. Or it could be
that Iran’s leaders are anxiously walking a tightrope themselves despite their
overconfident pretenses.
ريموند ابراهيم/معهد جيتستون :اشتداد الإبادة الجماعية التي
يقوم بها الجهاديين ضد المسيحيين في نيجيريا
The Jihadist Genocide of Christians in Nigeria Intensifies
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/October 10/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/103219/raymond-ibrahim-gatestone-institutethe-jihadist-genocide-of-christians-in-nigeria-intensifies-%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%85%d9%88%d9%86%d8%af-%d8%a7%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%87%d9%8a%d9%85-%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%87%d8%af/
What several international observers have for years characterized as a “pure
genocide” of Christians in Nigeria has reached new levels.
“We have never seen an evil government in this country like the one of today.
The government is fully in support of the bloodshed in Nigeria. We are being
killed just because we are not Muslims. These evil Fulani jihadists are enjoying
the backing of the government to go about killing people, destroying their
houses and farmlands, yet when we try to defend ourselves, the government will
go about arresting our people. What kind of justice is this?” — Rev. Jacob
Kwashi, Anglican bishop, during a funeral for 17 murdered Christians, Morning
Star News, August 30, 2021.
“[T]here is an ongoing genocide in Southern Kaduna targeted at the indigenous
Christians population…. Not a single church or school is left standing. Not a
single herdsman has been apprehended all these years. It is unfortunate that…
the western media do not believe that our lives are worth any news.” — Jonathan
Asake, a former member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, The Epoch Times,
August 4, 2021.
“Since the government and its apologists are claiming the killings have no
religious undertones, why are the terrorists and herdsmen targeting the
predominantly Christian communities and Christian leaders?” — The Christian
Association of Nigeria, International Centre for Investigative Reporting,
January 21, 2020.
“It’s tough to tell Nigerian Christians this isn’t a religious conflict since
what they see are Fulani fighters clad entirely in black, chanting ‘Allahu
Akbar!’ and screaming ‘Death to Christians.'” — Sister Monica Chikwe, Crux,
August 4, 2019.
Since the Islamic insurgency in Nigeria began in earnest in July 2009, more than
60,000 Christians have either been murdered or abducted during raids. The
abducted Christians have never returned to their homes and their loved ones
believe them to be dead. In the same time frame, approximately 20,000 churches
and Christian schools have been torched and destroyed.
What several international observers have for years characterized as a “pure
genocide” of Christians in Nigeria has reached new levels.
Since the Islamic insurgency began in earnest in July 2009 — first at the hands
of Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist organization, and later by the Fulani, who
are Muslim herdsmen also radicalized and motivated by jihadist ideology — more
than 60,000 Christians have either been murdered or abducted during raids. The
abducted Christians have never returned to their homes and their loved ones
believe them to be dead. In addition, in the same time frame, approximately
20,000 churches and Christian schools have been torched and destroyed.
Some of these findings are documented in an August 4, 2021 report by the
International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, also known as
“Intersociety,” a nonprofit human rights organization based in Nigeria. Although
the entire report is worth reading, a few notable excerpts follow:
“The total number of ‘direct’ Christian deaths… from July 2009 to July 2021… is
independently put at no fewer than 43,000…. The killings had emanated from the
propagation of radical Islamism in Nigeria…
“[T]he Islamic Jihadists and their ‘esprit de jihad’ in the Nigerian security
forces have been responsible for at least [an additional] 18,500 Christian
deaths arising from enforced disappearances, or those abducted and most unlikely
to return alive… While most of the Muslims abducted by Jihadists in Nigeria are
later released unconditionally to their families, most of their Christian
counterparts are killed in captivity or forcefully converted to Islam….
“The atrocities of the Jihadists primarily directed at Christians… include:
massacres, killings, mutilations, slitting of throats and wombs, beheadings,
torture, maiming, abductions, hostage-taking, rape, girl-child defilements,
forced marriages, disappearances, extortions, forceful conversions and
destruction or burning of homes and sacred worship and learning centers as well
as forceful occupation of farmlands, destruction and forceful harvesting of farm
crops and other internationally prohibited acts…
“In the past twelve years… at least 17,500 churches and 2,000 Christian schools
and other learning centers have been attacked by the Jihadists and destroyed in
part or in whole, or burned or razed down. In the past seven months of 2021, for
instance, the number of churches threatened or attacked and destroyed or burned
down has risen to over 300….
“In the same past twelve years, it was also independently found that no fewer
than 30 million Christians especially in Northern Nigeria [which is
Muslim-majority] and their ethno-religion were threatened and ten million of
them have been uprooted, six million forced to flee their homes or geopolitical
locations to avoid being hacked to death and over four million displaced and
became IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons]….”
Although the last month to be included in Intersociety’s reporting period was
July 2021, the massacres and atrocities have continued relentlessly since. A few
examples just from August 2021, include:
In one area of Plateau State, Fulani terrorists “killed 70 Christians, displaced
30,000 others and burned 500 homes [and 1,000 farms]” in just the first three
weeks of August, according to an August 25 report. Davidson Malison, a local
Christian leader from one of the affected areas, lamented:
“Unceasing tears have continued to roll in our eyes as a nation and people. The
terror being unleashed by Fulani herdsmen on Irigwe Christians has continued
unabated and without any sign of remorse or regret.”
Rev. Ronku Aka, another leader of the Irigwe Christian community, noted:
“While the Fulani herdsmen were attacking my communities, the soldiers and other
security agents were around. As the Fulani invaders were carrying out the
attacks, we expected them to confront the invaders and stop the destruction
going on, but that did not happen.”
When Aka confronted the soldiers about their failure to act, they responded that
they “had not received orders to repel the attackers.”
Elishi Datiri, another area Christian leader whose flock was slaughtered in this
round of jihad, explained the situation more unreservedly:
“Sadly, this carnage, genocide and wanton destruction of properties are being
carried out in the very eyes of the security personnel whom the government
spends billions of taxpayers’ money on in their operation to protect lives and
properties of all Nigerians. In many instances, the military collaborates with
the Fulanis to carry out these dastardly acts. The military’s direct
participation in the destruction of Christians’ farmlands and properties has at
many times generated many petitions, press conferences/releases and in some
instances physical demonstrations by the Christian communities demanding the
removal of the military…. There’s a continued onslaught on Christians which is
being championed by the Fulanis and aided by the security agencies saddled with
the responsibility to protect lives and property…. We wish to note with deep
concern the unacceptable plundering of our land under the direct watch of
constituted authorities charged with the responsibility of upholding all
people’s rights as entrenched in the Nigerian Constitution.”
According to another report from August 30, the Islamic herdsmen murdered
another 36 Christians — often to distinctly Islamic cries such as “Allahu Akbar”
— during several unchecked raids in the Nigerian state of Kadu throughout the
month of August.
During the funeral for 17 of these Christians, the Rev. Jacob Kwashi, an
Anglican bishop who had presided over many other funerals for murdered
Christians in recent weeks and months, unloosed his tongue:
“We have never seen an evil government in this country like the one of today.
The government is fully in support of the bloodshed in Nigeria. We are being
killed just because we are not Muslims. These evil Fulani jihadists are enjoying
the backing of the government to go about killing people, destroying their
houses and farmlands, yet when we try to defend ourselves, the government will
go about arresting our people. What kind of justice is this?”
On the night of August 24 in Jos North, Plateau State, “jihadist Fulani
herdsmen” entered yet another Christian village where, according to another
report, they “went house to house killing residents.” When they were finished,
37 more Christians lay murdered.
During the predawn hours of August 3, Fulani terrorists raided another four
Christian-majority villages where they murdered between 22 and 27 people,
torched hundreds of homes, and systematically destroyed the farming villages’
crops and grains. Discussing that attack, Jonathan Asake, a former member of
Nigeria’s House of Representatives, said:
“[T]here is an ongoing genocide in Southern Kaduna targeted at the indigenous
Christians population and the aim is to force or intimidate us to abandon our
faith or leave our ancestral lands for the armed herdsmen. Some of the attacked
villages… have been attacked at least three times in the past six years with
mass graves where scores were buried standing as a testimony of what we are
saying. Not a single church or school is left standing. Not a single herdsman
has been apprehended all these years. It is unfortunate that while Kaduna State
government and the Federal Government is playing blind to it, the larger world,
especially the western media do not believe that our lives are worth any news.”
On August 5, governmental authorities demolished a church in Maiduguri, the
capital city of Borno State in north Nigeria, which is Muslim-majority. The
pastor’s son, Ezekiel Bitrus Tumba, 29, was shot and killed for trying to
intervene and prevent the demolition of his church. On Sunday, August 8,
Christians gathered around the ruins of their church and held service. One
Christian wrote on Facebook: “They demolished the building, thinking it is the
Church. [But] the Church is Forever unstoppable and indestructible.”
Possibly in response, four more local Christian churches were torn down, all on
the pretext that they did not have proper permits, which are nearly impossible
to acquire in the Muslim-majority state of Borno. As one local Christian leader
noted:
“If you want to build a church, they will not give you a permit, because the
government will [fire] anyone who proposes/signs a document to build a church.”
According to another report from August 10:
“Sunni Muslim Fulani Herdsmen invaded the Christian orphanage in Miango, Nigeria
and burned every building. The 147 children and staff evacuated a few hours
before the August 2, 2021 attack. The children were made orphans in previous
attacks by Sunni Muslim terrorists such as Boko Haram.
“As Fulani herdsmen advance in the Miago and Jos areas they destroyed 500 homes,
5 churches and killed 68 Christians. Many were wounded. Nigerian law prohibits
anyone from owning a firearm in Nigeria, but oddly the Fulani had weapons
exactly like those of the army.”
The government under President Muhammadu Buhari naturally denies any wrongdoing.
It has also long insisted that none of these murders has anything to do with
religion — neither with the Muslim faith of the Fulani perpetrators nor with the
Christian faith of their slain victims. Rather, the violence and bloodshed,
according to the Nigerian government, is a byproduct of land disputes, poverty,
and inequality.
Although the Western mainstream media — and any number of Western politicians —
have only been too happy to repeat this narrative and present what is, in fact,
a jihadist-fueled genocide of Christians as a matter of economics — few Nigerian
Christians are fooled.
“Since the government and its apologists are claiming the killings have no
religious undertones,” the Christian Association of Nigeria once asked, “why are
the terrorists and herdsmen targeting the predominantly Christian communities
and Christian leaders?
The Christian Association of Nigeria has also asked: “How can it be a [secular
or economic] clash when one group [Muslims] is persistently attacking, killing,
maiming, destroying, and the other group [Christians] is persistently being
killed, maimed and their places of worship destroyed?”
In the words of Sister Monica Chikwe, a nun from the Hospitaler Sisters of
Mercy: “It’s tough to tell Nigerian Christians this isn’t a religious conflict
since what they see are Fulani fighters clad entirely in black, chanting ‘Allahu
Akbar!’ and screaming ‘Death to Christians.'”
Raymond Ibrahim, author most recently of Sword and Scimitar, is a Distinguished
Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, a Shillman Fellow at the David
Horowitz Freedom Center, and a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East
Forum.
© 2021 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17832/jihad-genocide-christians-nigeria
Efforts to renew Egypt’s religious discourse will counter
extremists
Heba Yosry/Al Arabiya/10 October ,2021
For quite some time there has been a rigorous and concerted effort to renew
religious discourse in Egypt to counter the pervasive extremist interpretation
espoused by different organizations. The effort has been spearheaded by the
President and his government, and has been implemented by Al-Azhar and Dar al-Iftaa
through training preachers, eliminating extremists from within their midst, and
issuing fatwas that reflect Islam’s spirit of openness and peaceful coexistence
amongst world religions.
Such decrees include; support for women’s appointment as judges, supporting the
legislative ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), supporting the government’s
decision to outlaw oral divorce and even saying that dogs were clean and pure
creatures who do not sully one’s ablution.
The caravan of progress, however, did not please everyone to say the least.
Azhari scholars who espoused open and modern thought were hurled with abusive
comments, suspicions of selling out true Islam to appease the government and
sometimes even threatened by some sincere Muslims who believed the authenticity
of their religion was being compromised by these Modern Sheikhs.
Alas, the seeds of war have been sown between those who aim to modernize
religion in a way that is congruent with our times and those who believe that a
revision of antiquated religious notions is an unforgivable and insulting
betrayal of Islam that ought to be punished.
The major flaw with the hardliners argument that prevents it from being readily
accepted by the public is that the modernizers are Muslim scholars who have a
firm grounding in religion. So, in reality the political dynamics that charges
this war is not fueled by genuine articulation of religious discourse.
It is one that is between a living religion that has been awakened by the need
to morph its teachings and be aligned with the zeitgeist versus ossified social
norms that were camouflaging itself under the guise of religion for so long that
it now feels naked in the wind without the blanket cover once provided by
religious orthodoxy. The fear that shackles people’s minds from accepting that
God doesn’t want to micromanage their lives is unfathomable. The major issue is
that those with the courage to think for themselves are being demonized and cast
as blasphemous.
After Naguib Mahfouz wrote Children of the Alley, some sheikhs have encouraged
their followers, the sincere Muslims, to avenge Islam by killing him. A failed
assassination attempt left Mahfouz with a significant injury that almost
prevented him from pursuing his writing.
Nasr Hamed Abu-Zeid a philosophy professor was summoned to court to profess that
he was a Muslim because a man thought that he was an atheist and accordingly
shouldn’t live with his Muslim wife. Taha Hussein was also summoned to defend
himself because some surmised that one of his books was insulting Islam. One
could imagine that the witch hunt for the blasphemous thinkers is a thing of the
past, but one would be mistaken.
A recent incident occurred during a rap concert by Marwan Pablo, when his guest
rapper switched a word from a popular religious song by Al Naqshbandi.
Accusations of blasphemy and atheism were hurled and Pablo was prevented from
holding future concerts.
I fail to believe that Al Naqshbandi, a Sufi lover, who venerated al-Hallaj who
declared “I am Al-Haqq,” one of the Divine names and was killed when people
charged him with apostasy, would agree with his self-appointed guardians. Is our
religion so feeble that we should shudder in fear and hastily attack those whom
we deem threatening? Will this self-righteous indignation rescue Islam from
threats?
I honestly had no idea who Pablo was prior to this incident. I’m definitely not
comparing him to Mahfouz or Abu-Zeid. Yet I am weary of the impact of this
idolization of religious emblems that aren’t sacred and our elevation of them to
the realm of sanctity.
I’m worried that this will turn a lived and experiential religion to dogmatic
idol worshipping that will further alienate youth from embracing the religion
they were born into. One of the eschatological signs for Muslims we were told is
when people abandon the Quran. I always thought that meant that people would
stop reading it. However, I’ve come to believe that this will happen when the
Quran turns into a relic that people aren’t meant to touch because it is too
sacred, because they aren’t worthy of approaching it, until one day it slips
into the abyss of forgetfulness. Let’s not allow that to happen.
د. ماجد رفيزاداه/عرب نيوز: يجب محاسبة الجزارين في طهران
Butchers of Tehran must be held to account
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/October 10/ 2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/103224/dr-majid-rafizadehbutchers-of-tehran-must-be-held-to-account-%d8%af-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%af-%d8%b1%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%87-%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a8-%d9%86%d9%8a%d9%88%d8%b2-%d9%8a/
If the international community remains silent when it comes to the Iranian
regime’s war crimes, it will only embolden and empower the theocratic
establishment. Currently, the trial of one of the alleged perpetrators of a
heinous crime — the massacre of 30,000 Iranian political prisoners in 1988 — is
taking place in a Swedish court. Former prosecutor Hamid Nouri, 60, is accused
of involvement in the massacre and is charged with “intentionally taking the
life of a very large number of prisoners.”
This is the first time an official of the Iranian regime has faced a war crimes
trial. What happened in 1988 was a ruthless, bloody and inconceivable massacre
of political prisoners. It was a horrible crime against humanity and could be
termed genocide, according to experts on international human rights law. As
Geoffrey Robertson, a human rights barrister and first president of the UN’s
Special Court for Sierra Leone, pointed out last month: “It has been a crime to
kill prisoners for centuries. The difference is that if it amounts to a
particular crime of genocide, there is an international convention that binds
countries to take action and punish that genocide… There is no doubt that there
is a case for prosecuting (Iranian President Ebrahim) Raisi and others. There
has been a crime committed that engages international responsibility. Something
must be done about it as has been done against the perpetrators of the
Srebrenica massacre.”
The fundamentalist theocracy led the execution of thousands of political
prisoners in its custody, violating all international laws and norms. Hearing
about the strength and courage of those who sacrificed their lives for freedom
should invoke immeasurable admiration.
In an ominous hand-written fatwa (religious decree), the regime’s then-Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Khomeini insisted in July 1988 that any prisoner who leans
toward “hypocrisy” — defined as opposition to the ruling dictatorship — should
be immediately executed. According to Human Rights Watch, the primary targets of
this heinous crime against humanity were thousands of Muslim youths, members of
the main opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq, who had angered the mullahs by offering a
moderate, democratic and tolerant interpretation of Islam. Khomeini branded them
“hypocrites” and thought that their annihilation was essential for the
preservation of his regime.
The fundamentalist theocracy led the execution of thousands of political
prisoners in its custody, violating all international laws and norms
The theocracy’s brutality in 1988 has been unparalleled in many ways. During the
massacre, a prisoner with epilepsy fainted after hearing about his execution
order. But his condition did not prevent the regime from hanging him. He was
carried by another political prisoner to a prison hall named the “Death
Corridor,” where the prisoners waited for their turn to be delivered to the
executioners.
Another prisoner, who was paralyzed after trying to commit suicide in an attempt
to free himself from the grueling torture, was taken to the so-called Death
Commission. In less than a minute, he was sentenced to death and taken on a
stretcher to the execution hall. These historical testimonies were given to the
Swedish court that is trying Nouri.
Following these gruesome crimes, the mullahs’ propaganda machine employed many
tactics to hide its misdeeds and demonize the main victims. In order to avoid
the public’s wrath and to deprive the victims of popular sympathy, the mullahs
launched a well-funded campaign against the opposition. The regime has also done
its utmost to erase all traces of the 1988 massacre by destroying the many mass
graves that held the victims.
Tehran is adept at hiding its heinous crimes, primarily because it has enjoyed
international impunity for so long. It tried to hide or otherwise mislead the
public about the rape, torture and murder of Iranian-Canadian journalist Zahra
Kazemi in July 2003. And, more recently, the Iranian regime has shown consistent
unwillingness to participate in a thorough investigation into the shooting down
of a Ukrainian plane, which killed all 176 passengers, in January 2020. Many of
the victims were Canadian citizens.
During June’s sham presidential election, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei paved the
way for the presidency of Raisi, who is known as “the butcher of 1988.” The
global human rights organization Amnesty International correctly demanded the
prosecution of Raisi for his key role in the massacre. Many other human rights
experts, including UN rapporteurs and scores of Western legislators, have since
joined the call to open an investigation.
Will the international community finally act and hold the Iranian regime
accountable for its crimes against humanity? Or will it continue to disregard
the 1988 massacre, while appeasing today’s rulers of Iran, apparently assured
that they will continue to enjoy international impunity? Only time will tell.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist.
Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh