LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 02/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 05/33-39/:”Then they said to Jesus, ‘John’s disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.’ Jesus said to them, ‘You cannot make wedding-guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.’ He also told them a parable: ‘No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, “The old is good.””.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 01-02/2019
Protesters March in Beirut amid Rival Demos in Baabda
Lebanon army separates protests near Aoun’s palace
Sunday of Clarity" marches in Beirut: For a transitional government to face corruption
Lebanese army separates rival protests near president palace
'Crucial 48 Hours' as Hizbullah Speaks of 'Int'l Support' for Solutions
Lebanon stops migrant boat carrying 34 Syrian refugees
Al-Sayyed: Hizbullah Won't Bow, No Govt. Next Week
Kanaan: PM May be Named Next Week, Caretaker Govt. Must Act
Kanaan: The President did not ask for dialogue over the form of government only, but over the next stage's content and form as well
Energy Ministry to open gasoline tender on Monday
Baalbek movement continues its protest at Khalil Moutran Square
Women's march in Sidon: Rejection of war, corruption, discrimination and intimidation
El-Khalil: Next week will witness the birth of a government in an image that matches the aspirations of the people and the movement
Kouyoumjian: Our youth want Lebanon a developed state, free of corruption and deals
Lebanese Rally against Iraq's Crackdown on Protesters
French-Lebanese Engineer Chosen as Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Secretary General
Rahi calls for dialogue

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 01-02/2019
Iran Says May 'Reconsider' Atomic Watchdog Commitments
Iran Official Points to More Open Elections
Iraq Parliament Approves Cabinet Resignation
Turkey Cancels Press Credentials of 685 Journalists
Rocky Road ahead for Merkel after Ally Loses Shock Vote
Terror Checks Intensified as London Attack Enters Election Fray
'Still Angry': Hong Kong Protesters Return to the Streets
U.N. Chief Says Humanity's 'War against Nature' Must Stop
Israel planning new settlement in flashpoint Hebron
Iran begins registering of election candidates
Nearly 70 dead in Syria regime clashes with Idlib armed groups
Syrian govt denounces ‘US interference’, its role in Constitutional Committee

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 01-02/2019
‘Murder, Starve, Oppress’: Envoy reveals Hezbollah operations in Venezuela/Abdulla Almanai/Al Arabiya/December 01/2019
Iran’s proxies in Iraq, Lebanon signing own death warrants/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/December 01/2019
Lebanon’s total economic collapse creeping ever closer/Randa Takieddine/Arab News/December 01/2019
Hezbollah, Amal turn to violence as ongoing protests shake Lebanon’s sectarian system/Simon Speakman Cordall/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
No end in sight for political impasse in Lebanon amid fears of ‘economic free fall’/Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
There is light at the end of the tunnel for Lebanon/Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
Sunday's March of Clarity: Restating the revolution’s demands/Nessryn Khalaf/Annahar/December 01/2019
Lebanon: Money Transfer Crisis Affects Foreign Workers/ Hanan Hamdan/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 01/2019
Lebanese Shi'ite Scholar Sami Khadra: I Apologize For The 'Bad Image' Of Lebanese Women As Revealed In Protests/MEMRI/December 01/2019
Lebanese Rally against Iraq's Crackdown on Protesters/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 01/2019
AMCD Commends UN Secretary General for Stance on Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon/AMCD/December 01/2019
Hezbollah uses Germany to finance terrorism, weapons purchases – report/Jerusalem Post/December 01/2019
*Analysis/With Over 400 Dead and PM Resigning, Iran’s Hold on Iraqi Politics Is Eroding/Zvi Bar’el/Haaretz/December 01/2019
Trump Warms to Syria Kurds Again, Alarming Russia and Turkey/Zvi Bar’el/Haaretz/December 01/2019
Mass arrests follow unprecedented wave of unrest in Iran as more turbulence looms/Thomas Seibert/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
Erdogan-Sarraj deal risks scuttling diplomatic efforts, entangles GNA in border dispute/Michel Cousins/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
GCC officials urge unity against Iranian threats/Mohammed Alkhereiji/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
Erdogan uses religion, fear to stay politically afloat/Yavuz Baydar/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
World must not forget Iran’s detained protesters/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/December 01/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 01-02/2019
Protesters March in Beirut amid Rival Demos in Baabda
Naharnet/December 01/2019
Anti-corruption protesters on Sunday marched from Hamra, Ashrafieh and Mathaf towards central Beirut as rival demos were held near the presidential palace in Baabda. One of the demos in Baabda was organized by the Sabaa Party and civil society protesters while the other was organized by supporters of President Michel Aoun. The army intervened to contain scuffles between the two groups after the National News Agency reported that the rival demonstrators had engaged in a “peaceful and optimistic” dialogue. Scuffles had erupted Tuesday during similar demos in the area, prompting the intervention of security forces. Anti-corruption protesters meanwhile marched Sunday from Hamra, Ashrafieh and Mathaf towards Martyrs Square and Riad al-Solh Square in central Beirut. The protesters marched under the slogans “Sunday of Clarity” and “Unity and Solidarity of the Lebanese People”. They called for the formation of a “transitional government” free of ruling parties’ representatives in order to “take urgent measures in the face of the economic collapse caused by the ruling class.”Protesters also called for “the independence of the judiciary and the prosecution of corrupts and those who robbed public funds and public and private property including bank deposits.”Carrying olive branches, some protesters called on the ruling parties not to try to scare them with “civil war” threats, emphasizing on the peaceful nature of the protests. Protesters have called on President Michel Aoun to call for binding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier following the resignation of Saad Hariri on October 29. Aoun has delayed the consultations, arguing that a prior agreement is needed on the shape of the new government in order to avoid a political clash and a lengthy formation process.

Lebanon army separates protests near Aoun’s palace
The Associated Press/Monday, 02 December 2019
Lebanon’s armed forces have deployed near the presidential palace east of Beirut to prevent friction between rival Lebanese protesters as the stalemate over forming a crisis government continues. Anti-government protesters called for a rally on Sunday outside the Presidential Palace in Baabda to press President Michel Aoun to formally begin the process of forming a new government. Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned over a month ago amid nationwide protests accusing the political elite of corruption and mismanagement of the economy. The call prompted a counter-rally by supporters of Aoun.
Army soldiers formed a human chain to separate the groups on a highway leading to the palace, preventing clashes. Meanwhile, hundreds of anti-government protesters marched toward central Beirut amid a deepening economic crisis. On Sunday, Lebanon’s caretaker Trade Minister, Mansour Bteish, said that he and others had asked the central bank governor and commercial banks at a recent meeting to reduce interest rates by roughly half. Since protests erupted across Lebanon on October 17, pressure has piled on the financial system. A hard currency crunch has deepened, with many importers unable to bring in goods, forcing up prices and heightening concerns of financial collapse.

Sunday of Clarity" marches in Beirut: For a transitional government to face corruption
NNA/December 01/2019
"Sunday of Clarity" marches set out in the streets of Beirut today, namely from the Museum, Hamra and Jeitaoui areas, under the slogan of "Unity and Solidarity of the Lebanese People", in a sign that the demonstrators are clear in their goals and are in solidarity together until their goals are achieved.
The marches are to join in Sodeco and continue towards Riad El Solh and Martrys' Squares in Downtown Beirut. Protesters called for "a transitional government in which the authority is not represented, so as to adopt urgent measures to face the economic collapse caused by the ruling class, and to ensure the independence of the judiciary and proceed with the prosecution of the corrupt and looters of public and private property and money, including bank deposits." Additionally, protesters called for "overthrowing the scarecrow of the civil war and its political and cultural system, while emphasizing the unity and peacefulness of the popular uprising squares."

Lebanese army separates rival protests near president palace
Associated Press/ December 01/2019
The call prompted a counter-rally by supporters of Aoun who called him a “red line.” Army soldiers formed a human chain to separate the groups on a highway leading to the palace, preventing clashes.
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s armed forces have deployed near the presidential palace east of Beirut to prevent friction between rival Lebanese protesters as the stalemate over forming a crisis government continues. Anti-government protesters had called for a rally Sunday outside the Presidential Palace in Baabda to press President Michel Aoun to formally begin the process of forming a new government. Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned over a month ago amid nationwide protests accusing the political elite of corruption and mismanagement of the economy. The call prompted a counter-rally by supporters of Aoun who called him a “red line.” Army soldiers formed a human chain to separate the groups on a highway leading to the palace, preventing clashes. Meanwhile, hundreds of anti-government protesters marched toward central Beirut amid a deepening economic crisis.

'Crucial 48 Hours' as Hizbullah Speaks of 'Int'l Support' for Solutions
Naharnet/December 01/2019
A Hizbullah minister has noted that there could be a solution soon to the government formation crisis after the international community sent a “message” to all political forces. “A solution started looming after the international message reached the various political parties,” caretaker State Minister for Parliament Affairs Mahmoud Qmati said, noting that “several international parties” are pushing for a solution in Lebanon. Describing President Michel Aoun’s decision to postpone parliamentary consultations for naming a new PM as “rational and wise,” Qmati acknowledged that any one-sided government would face huge international pressures. He also said that the re-designation of caretaker PM Saad Hariri or picking someone close to him would help Lebanon win international support for the new government. Sources informed on the negotiations pertaining to the governmental crisis meanwhile said that the next 48 hours will be “important, and perhaps crucial, in terms of negotiations with Hariri with the aim of re-designating him.”The coming hours will determine whether “the language of conditions and counter-conditions has receded,” An-Nahar newspaper quoted the sources as saying in remarks published Sunday.

Lebanon stops migrant boat carrying 34 Syrian refugees
AFP, Beirut/Monday, 2 December 2019
Lebanon’s army on Sunday said it stopped a boat carrying 34 Syrian refugees who were trying to leave the protest-hit country. It stopped the boat near the coast of the northern city of Tripoli on Saturday, it said in a statement. The army said it arrested a Lebanese citizen who was trying to smuggle them out of the country, adding that there were five Lebanese on board the vessel. The boat’s final destination was not immediately clear. Lebanon, a small Mediterranean country of some 4.5 million people, says it hosts around 1.5 million Syrian refugees.Those escaping Lebanon by boat have often tried to cross into Europe through Turkey or Cyprus, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) away. In October, Lebanon said it agreed to work with Cyprus to prevent migrants from reaching its shores. Lebanon has been rocked by unprecedented anti-government protests since October 17. The government resigned two weeks after demonstrations started, bowing to popular pressure. The country’s deeply divided political parties have yet to form a new one.

Al-Sayyed: Hizbullah Won't Bow, No Govt. Next Week
Naharnet/December 01/2019
MP Jamil al-Sayyed has stressed that no premier-designate will be picked next week to form the new government. “According to the obvious indications, there will be no government next week and the issue is related to its shape,” al-Sayyed, who is close to Hizbullah, said in a TV interview. “Hizbullah won’t cede in peacetime what it didn’t cede in wartime,” al-Sayyed emphasized, suggesting that calls for forming a technocrat government are aimed at reining in Hizbullah’s political influence. “Several proposals were raised, the first of which was the exit of all former ministers from the government, including foreign minister Jebran Bassil,” the MP said. “The president informed Hizbullah of this format and the latter dispatched finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil and Hizbullah secretary-general’s political aide Hussein Khalil to resigned PM Saad Hariri to inform him of this format, but he then moved to demanding other things, including the formation of a technocrat cabinet,” al-Sayyed revealed. He added that Hariri then demanded a technocrat cabinet, the dissolution of parliament and the finance portfolio. At this point, Hizbullah, the Free Patriotic Movement and the AMAL Movement “preferred to keep the caretaker cabinet,” al-Sayyed said.

Kanaan: PM May be Named Next Week, Caretaker Govt. Must Act
Naharnet/December 01/2019
A premier-designate is supposed to be named next week if the intentions turn out to be “honest,” Strong Lebanon bloc secretary MP Ibrahim Kanaan said on Sunday. “It is needed to activate the work of the caretaker government pending the formation of the new government,” Kanaan said in a radio interview.
“Any official must work for 24 hours amid the current circumstances and it is a duty to maintain the continuity of the state and its institutions,” he said. He added: “We must show solidarity to halt the collapse.”e prosecution of the corrupt and looters of public and private property and money, including bank deposits." Additionally, protesters called for "overthrowing the scarecrow of the civil war and its political and cultural system, while emphasizing the unity and peacefulness of the popular uprising squares."

Kanaan: The President did not ask for dialogue over the form of government only, but over the next stage's content and form as well
NNA/December 01/2019
MP Ibrahim Kanaan pointed out in an interview with "Voice of Lebanon" Radio Station today that "the President of the Republic did not ask for dialogue on the form of government solely, but on the content and form of the next stage as well."He added: "The Free Patriotic Movement advocates holding the binding parliamentary consultations immediately, but to form which government, and for what purpose and what program?""What is required of the PM-designate is to be able to form a government quickly," he said, noting that "President Aoun is trying within his constitutional powers to secure the conditions of this rapid formation that the country needs."Kanaan indicated that next week is expected to be the week of commissioning, followed by the cabinet formation, if intentions are true. However, he deemed that "the activation of the work of the caretaker government is required, until the formation of the new government," stressing that hands ought to be joined together to stop the country's collapse. "The citizen wants answers from the civic movement to determine his options; is the movement with the displaced staying? Does it support a free economic system or another system? What election law does it want? Are we before a project that places the poor class against the rich?" questioned Kanaan. He considered that "there are practices in the name of the revolution that contradict the slogans raised."The MP highlighted the need for efforts to be focused on developing a common vision, away from contradictory choices that contribute to obstruction. "What's needed is a Lebanese project that we market internationally, and not an external project that markets Lebanon," he said. Kanaan concluded by expressing a word of praise for the initiatives of women and mothers in the popular movement, for their conscious and wise demonstration, hoping that a woman would be commissioned to form the next government.

Energy Ministry to open gasoline tender on Monday
NNA/December 01/2019
The Department of Oil Installations called on concerned companies to participate in the tender to import gasoline for local market use, tomorrow Monday at 10:00 a.m. in the presence of Caretaker Minister of Energy and Water Nada Boustani, in Hazmieh.

Baalbek movement continues its protest at Khalil Moutran Square
NNA/December 01/2019
Baalbek's citizens rallied in the square of the poet Khalil Moutran in front of the city's archaeological site today, cutting off the entrance of the city on the commercial market's side across the square, NNA correspondent reported.
Protesters pursued their vigil carrying Lebanese flags and chanting their demand slogans, while the Lebanese singer Ahmed Kaabour contributed with some of his songs.

Women's march in Sidon: Rejection of war, corruption, discrimination and intimidation
NNA/December 01/2019
A women's march set out from Qunaya roundabout towards the intersection of Elia in Sidon this afternoon, to protest against war, corruption, discrimination and intimidation, in which women from Sidon and its neighboring areas participated, carrying Lebanese flags and chanting slogans calling for unity and popular demands. The message behind the organized march was to "break down all sectarian barriers, and to keep away the specter of war and infighting," and to "emphasize that Sidon, like other Lebanese regions, will remain united and away from all forms of strife, and will remain a city of diversity and coexistence, and a role model for national unity."

El-Khalil: Next week will witness the birth of a government in an image that matches the aspirations of the people and the movement
NNA/December 01/2019
"Development and Liberation" Parliamentary Bloc Member, MP Anwar El-Khalil, anticipated the birth of a new government next week, whose image would reflect the aspirations of citizens and the people's movement.
Speaking to the popular delegations who visited him at his Hasbaya residence today, El-Khalil said: "Our limited information indicates that the commissioning process will be followed by the formation process in a single basket. If this expectation is true, it will carry next week to the Lebanese the news that we have been awaiting for a long time, and we hope that this government will be in the form that the people desire and the popular movement demands." "We do not forget the problems related to the economic, financial and banking issue, which can never be solved unless there is a responsible government," El-Khalil underlined. He emphasized the need for the new cabinet, once formed, to immediately address the economic issue, pointing herein to the agreed upon "list of reforms" presented by Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Referring to Lebanon's payment of its foreign debts, El-Khalil said: "This is what we have always stressed. Lebanon is not like the Greek State and has not failed, even once, to pay its external debts or banks as well." He concluded by stressing that "everyone should work on the birth of the government, which would contribute to a speedy improvement of the economic situation."

Kouyoumjian: Our youth want Lebanon a developed state, free of corruption and deals
NNA/December 01/2019
"The flavor of Lebanon's independence this year is the flavor of the revolution," said Caretaker Social Affairs Minister, Richard Kouyoumjian on Sunday. Addressing the students of Vahan Tekeyan School in Bourj Hammoud in an event marking Independence Day, Kouyoumjian said: "The new generation dreams of a modern state and from here we see its rally around the Lebanese army and its refusal that any party takes up arms."He added: "The army has proved its capability to carry out its duty to the utmost, whether in the battles of Nahr al-Bared and Fajr al-Jouroud, or in maintaining security at home." Kouyoumjian hoped that "the coming days will bring about political solutions to the situation, for Lebanon is under political, economic and social crises."

Lebanese Rally against Iraq's Crackdown on Protesters
Naharnet/December 01/2019
Dozens of people in protest-swept Lebanon have staged a candlelit vigil outside Iraq's embassy to denounce the excessive use of force against demonstrators there. They raised pictures of Iraqi protesters who have been killed since the unprecedented anti-government movement began on October 1.
Some raised the Lebanese flag, while one woman wrapped the Iraqi tricolor around her shoulders. Iraq's grassroots protest movement has been the largest the country has seen in decades -- but also the deadliest. More than 420 people have been killed and 15,000 others wounded since early October, according to an AFP tally compiled from medics and an Iraqi rights commission. The toll spiked dramatically this week, when a crackdown by security forces left dozens dead in Baghdad, the Shiite shrine city of Najaf and the southern hotspot of Nasiriyah -- the birthplace of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, who vowed to resign on Friday. Lebanon has also seen an unprecedented anti-government protest movement since October 17. Layal Siblani, the organizer behind the vigil, said the spiraling crackdown in Iraq this past week prompted the idea. "The uprising in Iraq and the uprising in Lebanon are one," she told AFP.
"A protester killed there is a protester killed here."Like their counterparts in Iraq, Lebanese demonstrators are rallying against corruption, unemployment and appalling public services. They are also pushing for an end to the kind of political system that prioritizes power-sharing between sects over good governance.
Despite confrontations with security forces and supporters of established parties, protesters in Lebanon have largely been spared the violent crackdown seen in Iraq. But rights groups and the United Nations last week criticized security forces for failing to protect protesters after they were attacked by backers of Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement at several locations. Amnesty International on Friday urged the Lebanese Army "to end arbitrary arrests" and "torture" of peaceful protesters following a wave of detentions. Hussein, at the vigil outside the Iraqi embassy, said Lebanese protesters had a duty towards those in Iraq. "We have to stand in solidarity with our Iraqi counterparts who are being arrested and killed on a daily basis," he said.

French-Lebanese Engineer Chosen as Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Secretary General
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 01/2019
A French-Lebanese engineer has been chosen as secretary general of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi auto alliance, part of a new business framework announced a year after former boss Carlos Ghosn was arrested. Hadi Zablit, 49, will oversee industrial cooperation projects to improve the efficiency and financial performance of the partnership, a source close to the matter told AFP on Friday, confirming a report in French newspaper Le Figaro.The operational revamp aims to mark a new start for the trio as they battle to emerge from the shadow cast by the legal woes of Ghosn, detained last November over allegations of financial impropriety. Zablit is currently business development chief for the French-Japanese auto alliance, which sold 10.6 million vehicles worldwide in 2017. The dual citizen, born in Lebanon, first joined Renault as an engineer and product manager in 1994. He left to work for the Boston Consulting Group in 2000 and returned to the French car giant nearly three years ago. Ghosn's sudden arrest last year at a Tokyo airport sent shockwaves through the business world. The 65-year-old Brazil-born executive -- one of the world's best-known and respected tycoons -- is now out on bail after 130 days in a Japanese detention center. He faces charges of deferring part of his salary until after his retirement and concealing this from shareholders, as well as siphoning off millions in Nissan cash for his own purposes. Ghosn says he is innocent and is seeking to have his case declared null and void -- even if legal experts and his own defense deem his chances unlikely.

Rahi calls for dialogue
NNA/December 01/2019
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rahi, said Sunday that "it is time for those who control political power to resume national dialogue to break the deadlock and solve all pending matters to save the state from doom."
Speaking during Sunday Mass in Bkirki, Rahi added that "Lebanon needs genuine men of politics who work for elevating the country from its suffering on the political, social and security levels."Rahi also called on the demonstrators to maintain their protests, civilized and peaceful, in order to form a government and begin serious reforms,

‘Murder, Starve, Oppress’: Envoy reveals Hezbollah operations in Venezuela
Venezuela's Vanessa Neumann.
Abdulla Almanai/Al Arabiya/December 01/2019
Lebanese Hezbollah controls vast swaths of territory in Venezuela, has close ties to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and leads drug trafficking and illegal gold mining efforts in the country, Venezuelan opposition ambassador to the UK Vanessa Neumann told Al Arabiya English in an exclusive interview.
“The Hezbollah presence in Venezuela has been part of the death and suffering of my people. [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah is interfering in our politics and giving training to murder, starve, and oppress us,” Neumann said in an interview at the IISS Manama Dialogue summit in Bahrain.
Neumann described how Hezbollah controls swaths of territory in the country.
In Venezuela’s western region, the group has led a drug trafficking organization for decades, according to Neumann, who says she was relayed this information by Hezbollah commanders in 2012 in Beirut.
In the eastern region, Hezbollah is profiting from illegal gold mining, with the gold being transferred to Turkey and Iran on airplanes owned by Maduro, said Neumann. Venezuela is known to have some of the world’s largest gold reserves. Hezbollah, which Iran assisted in founding and continues to back today, is designated as a terrorist organization by many countries including the US. Despite Hezbollah being most known for its destabilizing and terrorist activities in Lebanon and Syria, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed the organization has active cells throughout South America, specifically mentioning Venezuela during an interview in February.
Neumann said Venezuela’s relationship with Hezbollah and its backer Iran “comes straight from the top.”
“Nicolas Maduro has direct relations with Hezbollah. Maduro’s foreign minister Jorge Arreaza visits Hassan Nasrallah directly,” said Neumann.
Syrian-Lebanese Venezuelan Tareck El Aissami, who currently serves as Minister of Industries and National Production under Maduro, is “Hezbollah’s main point of contact, bagman in Venezuela,” according to Neumann.
The US blacklisted El Aissami for drug trafficking in 2017. El Aissami and his family have helped sneak Lebanese Hezbollah militants into the country, gone into business with a drug lord and shielded 140 tons of chemicals believed to be used for cocaine production, according to a secret dossier reported by The New York Times. Neumann says she hopes the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will help fight the Maduro-Hezbollah alliance in Venezuela.
“Hezbollah are part of the repressive regime. While they help our oppressors and our murderers, they personally enrich themselves. By helping us purge the Hezbollah influence, it will help us attain the free and democratic Venezuela we are trying to attain,” said Neumann.
Neumann was appointed to her position as ambassador to the UK by Venezuela’s interim ruler Juan Guaido, who assumed his position in January following the disputed re-election of his rival Maduro. Guaido is recognized as Venezuela’s leader by almost 60 countries, including the US and UK.
Venezuela, once one of the richest countries in South America, is now in the midst of one of the Western Hemisphere’s worst humanitarian crises. Government repression and economic recession have caused a mass exodus. It is estimated the number of refugees will reach eight million by the end of 2021.
Venezuelans are faced with deadly shortages of food and medicine.
Neumann said Hezbollah is part of the system that keeps Venezuelans hungry while personally enriching themselves. “We have hundreds of thousands of children starving and every morning a mother has to decide which of her children she is going to feed because she can’t feed all of them. And Hezbollah is intricately involved in this,” said Neumann.

Iran’s proxies in Iraq, Lebanon signing own death warrants
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/December 01/2019
With 400 already dead, the killings in Iraq escalated horrifically at the weekend following the torching of Iran’s consulate in the holy city of Najaf. About 70 protesters were gunned down in just 48 hours, largely at the hands of unaccountable Tehran-backed paramilitaries. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s representative incited Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi militants to “pursue” and “uproot” those responsible for the consulate fire.
Tehran’s crackdown strategies in Lebanon, Iraq and upon its own streets increasingly reek of desperation. Playing for time and making cosmetic political changes have failed. Attempts to terrorize and crush the demonstrations have simply brought out thousands more furious and defiant protesters. When Hezbollah personnel taunted protesters with their yellow flags and sectarian slogans, citizens defiantly chanted back: “This is Lebanon, not Iran,” and “Hezbollah is a terrorist.” Accusations of being “Zionist stooges” or failing to support the “axis of resistance” used to intimidate Hezbollah’s critics into silence. Now such rhetoric is incessantly ridiculed in the protest camps.
At recent international conferences, regime-connected Iranian academics have floated proposals for converting Hezbollah into a purely political entity. Hezbollah is Tehran’s crown jewel in terms of its overseas sedition. The fact this is even being mooted suggests a degree of panic within the regime due to the existential threat that current developments pose.
Having used an iron fist against Iranian protesters, Khamenei believes that proxies in Iraq and Lebanon haven’t been sufficiently aggressive. On Nov. 21, Khamenei summoned to Tehran Iraqi officials, including paramilitary leaders Falih Al-Fayyadh and Hadi Al-Amiri, and reportedly demanded “extreme levels of violence” to crush protests, even if the death toll extended into the thousands. “Iran will not give up Iraq and will not allow its influence to be reduced,” Khamenei was quoted as saying.
The Quds Force’s Qassem Soleimani micromanaged the crackdown. Most deaths in Iraq are attributable to his paramilitary allies. According to eyewitness accounts, Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq personnel in Shiite-majority towns like Nasiriyah and Amarah opened fire on protesters from the roofs of their own offices, as well as driving around shooting indiscriminately at citizens. There have been intensifying campaigns of abductions by paramilitaries, with instances of torture reported.
In the wake of the Najaf consulate incident, proxy leaders Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis (Kata’ib Hezbollah) and Qais Al-Khazali (Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq) called for deploying their forces in the holy cities, claiming — improbably — that protesters were plotting to attack their outspoken defender Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani. Indeed it was Al-Sistani’s call for Iraq’s leaders to “reconsider their choices” that is credited with forcing Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s resignation. Tehran has pursued various pretexts for beefing up its presence in Iraq’s holy cities, having recently seen its proposal to send 20,000 Iranian security personnel to “protect pilgrims” rebuffed.
Abdul Mahdi’s resignation was jubilantly celebrated by demonstrators, but it changes nothing. The prime minister has been threatening to resign for weeks and was only prevented by the interventions of Soleimani, Al-Amiri and Al-Muhandis. Just as in Lebanon, constituting a new government could take months and will simply promote a new combination of the same corrupt, discredited faces. Protesters’ goals can only be achieved when the entire Tehran-sponsored sectarian system is razed to the ground.
Khamenei is desperate for rapid and decisive solutions because prolonged instability in Lebanon and Iraq weakens his ability to hold sway
Khamenei is desperate for rapid and decisive solutions because prolonged instability in Lebanon and Iraq weakens his ability to hold sway, while risking further contagion of unrest to Iranian cities. As well as harming ordinary Lebanese, the imminent collapse of the banking system would also impact Iran and Hezbollah, which have systematically laundered and hoarded funds via these channels. Tehran furthermore fears that, just as happened in 1982, Israel would exploit Lebanese civil conflict to try and eradicate the “resistance” once and for all.
Hezbollah can only hold sway in Lebanon via the collaboration of Christian leaders like President Michel Aoun and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, whose support within their communities is rapidly draining away. Hassan Nasrallah fears that killing protesters will further unite Lebanon against Hezbollah. Nevertheless, just as Khamenei arm-twisted Nasrallah into wading into the Syrian conflict, if Hezbollah’s paymasters demand blood, then the streets of Beirut will obediently run red.
The fatigued response from Western leaders has encouraged Iran’s allies that they can repress citizens with impunity. If we are to avoid an exponentially higher death toll, then diplomats must forcefully stipulate that there will be meaningful consequences (UN measures, sanctions, war crimes investigations, diplomatic action, etc.) if the aspirations of demonstrators are ignored and the authorities continue down the path of repression.
Although Khamenei is trying to peddle the model of brutal crackdowns as a magic solution to domestic unrest, protests inside Iran persist and may become further inflamed. Iranian protesters have been brutally crushed over and over again in recent years, yet still they courageously come out against their oppressors.
In the late 1970s, the shah of Iran desperately oscillated between confused attempts to appease Iranian demonstrators and botched crackdowns, which only succeeded in uniting the entirety of Iran against him. The result was the 1979 revolution, in which Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini came out on top and ruthlessly crushed all other segments of the opposition.
The protests in Iraq and Lebanon today are likewise on the brink of passing the point of no return. Through their escalating reliance on brutal and excessive force, Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi and Hezbollah are tantalizingly close to signing their own death warrants, as they continue to undermine any remaining popular legitimacy among their grassroots supporters.
If this is indeed the beginning of the end for Iranian hegemony in Iraq and Lebanon, then we still have a long and bloody road ahead of us. Khamenei, Nasrallah and Al-Amiri are far from admitting defeat. Tehran has invested billions in its regional dominance strategy and won’t simply walk away. Their knee-jerk response to recent setbacks may be to ramp up the killing. This will reap a horrific toll, yet such atrocities will ultimately only serve to reinforce the popular determination to eliminate all manifestations of Iranian influence — permanently.
• 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.

Lebanon’s total economic collapse creeping ever closer
Randa Takieddine/Arab News/December 01/2019
A gathering of Lebanese anti-government protesters getting haircuts in front of the central bank building in Beirut last week attracted many jokes and much amusement. The protesters were expressing their rejection of a potential move by banks to take a proportion of their depositors’ money — known as a “haircut” — as a result of the country’s ongoing financial crisis.
The demonstrators were having fun and enjoying this original way of protesting despite their fears over the uncertainty of the outcome of their popular uprising against corruption and the failures of the political classes. Salim Sfeir, the head of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, said in an interview with Reuters that a haircut would not solve the problem and, on the contrary, would scare off customers. The Lebanese diaspora has plenty of money overseas and this money would never come back if there was a haircut, Sfeir said.
The Lebanese economy is experiencing its worst crisis since the civil war began in 1975. Government debt amounts to $88.4 billion — 150 percent of Lebanon’s gross domestic product. However, despite the liquidity crisis that is endangering the country, Lebanon last week settled a maturing $1.5 billion Eurobond, signaling to the market that, despite the political and economic crisis, it has not defaulted.
But the political stalemate — with the political class denying the people’s demands for a new government of honest, independent people — is aggravating the financial situation. The banks were shut at the beginning of the protest for two weeks. They reopened last week but limited weekly withdrawals to $1,000 and restricted transfers abroad. Added to that, depositors can only withdraw money in Lebanese pounds, which they can change for US dollars with an exchange agent. As a result of this unofficial market, the dollar rate reached as high as 2,000 Lebanese pounds, even though the currency is officially pegged to the dollar at 1,500.
These measures have created panic among the people. A growing fear surfaced about the possibility of banks failing to give money to their depositors. The confidence of nonresident depositors has been lost. Banks have been targeted by many protesters, some shouting at central bank governor Riad Salame to “give us back the stolen money.” Rumors have spread in the cities, with crowds rushing to the banks to withdraw money.
The central bank said last week that it was allowing banks to borrow dollars without limits at 20 percent interest to secure depositors’ needs, but stressed that the funds should not be sent abroad. The Institute of International Finance said that deposits had dropped by more than $10 billion dollars since the end of August. An important part of this money was sent abroad, while more than $4 billion of it is being kept in people’s homes.
Hezbollah and its allies are dragging their feet with no concern for the demands of the people.
One group of Lebanese economists proposed an emergency economic rescue plan, which recommended: The careful management of Lebanon’s rapidly dwindling foreign currency reserves; defending the value of the Lebanese pound, including tighter measures of capital control; a deep fiscal plan to fight corruption; new social policies to protect those most affected by the current crisis; a negotiated debt reduction plan with a fair sharing of the burden across society; and a monitoring mechanism that allows the people to put pressure on their leaders to implement these reforms while state oversight mechanisms are reinforced.
The country is on the brink of total economic collapse, with people getting poorer, more than 250 restaurants closing, many people unable to pay for imported goods because of the dollar restrictions, and hotels cutting salaries and laying off many workers. Unemployment is increasing rapidly.
The start of a solution to this catastrophic situation could come from international and regional support, but only if a credible government with honest, capable ministers who can inspire confidence is formed. But, since Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s resignation, President Michel Aoun, who is constitutionally required to start consultations with Parliament to nominate a replacement, has been delaying. The president and his foreign minister son-in-law Gebran Bassil, who are allies of Hezbollah, are in denial over the requests of the protesters on the street. They think the country can wait while they endlessly discuss with their ally Hezbollah its choice of government. Both seem to want a mix of political and technocratic ministers to come back with the same politicians who are hated on the street. The pro-Iran Hezbollah is insisting on having Hariri back on its own conditions, whereas Hariri insisted on a purely technocratic government, as demanded by the popular will. Hezbollah has less to lose from the liquidity and economic crisis. Its money is in homes or in its caves and tunnels — it has no money in Lebanese banks because of American sanctions. Nevertheless, the group has a large number of government employees who need their end-of-month salaries. But this does not look to be a worry for Hezbollah.
The financial crisis is being driven by the rising burden of servicing and refinancing the public debt and the sharp fall of capital inflows. Meanwhile, Hezbollah and its allies are dragging their feet with no concern for the demands of the people. Some observers of Hezbollah’s relations with Iran think that, usually, Hassan Nasrallah has the leverage to act however he sees fit in Lebanon but, this time, in view of the violent outcomes of the popular uprisings in Iran and Iraq, Tehran is pressuring Hezbollah not to give in to the protesters’ demands. The unstable political situation, the serious incapacity of a political class that is eager to keep its benefits, Hezbollah’s grip on its power to decide the kind of government it wants, and the corruption of many in government and within the administration all contribute to making the future of Lebanon very bleak unless something is quickly done to save it.
*Randa Takieddine is a Paris-based Lebanese journalist who headed Al-Hayat’s bureau in France for 30 years. She has covered France’s relations with the Middle East through the terms of four presidents.

Hezbollah, Amal turn to violence as ongoing protests shake Lebanon’s sectarian system
Simon Speakman Cordall/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
TUNIS - As Lebanon’s protests stretch into their second month, much of the early optimism is giving way to an overriding sense of caution, as the country finds itself navigating rising sectarian violence, government paralysis and an economy that looks to be rapidly circling the financial plug hole.
On the street, protesters are calling for the dismantling of Lebanon’s confessional system of government, where positions and ministries are allocated according to religion or sect, in favour of a technocratic body capable of tackling the corruption and reversing much of the economic damage they feel the current system has wrought.
For supporters of the Shia, Amal and Hezbollah groups, who see their political survival as vested in the status quo, the struggle is becoming increasingly desperate. Brutal clashes between protesters and supporters of the two groups rocked Martyrs’ Square in Lebanon November 24, as moped-riding counter-protesters attempted to force their way into the crowds of anti-government demonstrators.
“We are standing before two dangers that are racing with each other, the danger of financial collapse and the danger of security collapse. It is an unprecedented situation,” Nabil Bou Monsef, deputy editor-in-chief of the An-Nahar newspaper, told the Associated Press.
Foreign Policy reported chants of “Terrorists, terrorists, Hezbollah are terrorists,” had taken hold among protesters in Beirut, a public sentiment unimaginable just a few weeks ago.
One senior Shia cleric, Sheikh Ali al-Khatib, cautioned against the street again spinning out of control, leading “our nation into a slide towards anarchy.” He urged politicians to “remedy the situation and contain the deterioration,” Reuters reported. The state’s military, the heavily Western-backed Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), has appeared to hold back and, assuming the role of policeman, concentrated on keeping roads open and warring crowds of protesters apart.
Mona Yacoubian, senior adviser for Syria, Middle East and North Africa at the US Institute of Peace, cautioned “…though their behaviour has been largely professional, there are some worrying trends to watch: First, the LAF appears to be largely absent in Hezbollah and Amal strongholds, increasingly allowing thugs and others to intimidate protesters in those areas. Second, there are reports that elements of the LAF, particularly military intelligence, are arresting and torturing protesters.”
While initially both Hezbollah and Amal appeared accommodating of the protesters, going to lengths to sympathise with their grievances, their leadership has clung to the notion of government by confessional divide, which they insist is vital for Lebanon’s survival.
“The last few days have witnessed a decided shift in the behaviour of Amal/Hezbollah supporters,” Yacoubian said. “They have become increasingly brazen in their intimidation tactics, harassing protesters, burning tents and essentially looking to turn the otherwise peaceful protests violent.”
“It appears that this shift in behaviour could be the result of Hezbollah leadership determining that the protests increasingly pose a threat to the status quo and may lead to an outcome that is not favourable to their interests,” she added. Yacoubian said two developments, in particular, appear to have underpinned the shift in tactics: “increasing pressure to form a cabinet — Hezbollah is insisting on some political elements to the cabinet, rather than a purely technocrat cabinet as demanded by the demonstrators. Second, it is interesting to note that this shift also coincides with the outbreak of demonstrations across Iran, initially peaceful and against gas price hikes, but quickly evolving into protests against the supreme leader and the revolutionary government. Protests in Iraq are also becoming increasingly dangerous and violent.”However, Yacoubian cautioned that, though there was no direct link between Lebanon’s protests and those in Iraq or Iran, the popular cries for good governance and an end to corruption were strikingly similar. “Hezbollah and Amal are prime beneficiaries of the current status quo in Lebanon and would be threatened by a shift in the system of governance,” Yacoubian concluded.

No end in sight for political impasse in Lebanon amid fears of ‘economic free fall’
Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
BEIRUT - More than a month after anti-government protests toppled Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s cabinet, there is no indication that a new government will be formed soon despite looming economic and financial collapse. Demonstrations demanding an overhaul of the entire political system and a ruling class accused of corruption and bankrupting the country have rocked Lebanon since mid-October, forcing Hariri to resign on October 29. Protesters came from all walks of life, regions and sects challenging the sectarian-based system. “The protest movement has definitely destabilised the (sectarian) political parties. None (including Hezbollah) can now claim to command the total allegiance of its partisans or community. All the politicians are being questioned and held accountable for widespread corruption at a time of financial and economic duress,” said Riad Tabbara, former Lebanese ambassador to the United States and director of the Centre for Development Studies and Projects (MADMA).
The country’s bitterly divided political leaders have yet to form a new cabinet. Hariri’s outgoing cabinet remains in a caretaker capacity as leaders haggle over the next government make-up, which the protesters demand be composed entirely of independent experts. President Michel Aoun has yet to schedule mandatory parliamentary consultations to appoint a cabinet. Aoun, whose Christian Free Patriotic Movement party is backed by Hezbollah and the Shia Amal movement of Speaker Nabih Berri, said he supports forming a government of technocrats and representatives of the popular movement but also including members of established parties.
Hariri, the main leader of the Sunni community, said he will not head the next government, an obvious reaction to the rejection of his condition to lead an independent cabinet with extraordinary powers. While politicians were dragging their feet, tensions have been on the rise. In the most recent violence, Hezbollah and Amal followers attacked anti-government protesters in several spots in Beirut and in the southern port city of Tyre. Intense clashes, mostly fist-fights and stone hurling, occurred between Chiyah and Ain Remmaneh, a former frontline in Beirut during the civil war (1975-1990). In reaction, hundreds of women from all religions marched pledging no return
to civil strife.
Protesters remained defiant despite the repeated attacks. “They are trying to instil fear in us as people, so we don’t progress and stay at home. But the attack gave us a sense of determination,” Dany Ayyash, 21, told Agence France-Presse.
Michel Nawfal, a political observer, said the violence was a “turbulence” that is unlikely to be repeated. “It was a failed attempt to intimidate the protest movement and turn it into sectarian friction. In fact, these acts backlashed and tarnished the image of the concerned parties, even within their own community.”
“The next turbulence will be triggered by the collapsing economy unless a reliable and capable government is formed quickly to deter the economic free fall,” Nawfal said. “Businesses are closing down; others are paying half salaries and many people are no longer able to pay for their children’s schooling… That will definitely lead to strong reactions.”
Lebanon is reeling under the worst financial crisis in decades with unprecedented control in place over banking transactions. Fearing capital flight and amid a hard currency shortage, commercial banks have placed tight restrictions on withdrawals and transfers abroad. Faced with the restrictions, customers turned to the black market where the price for US dollars has surged since the start of the unrest, reaching over 2,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, about a third higher than the pegged rate of 1,507.5. “The absence of a functional and efficient government compounded with more than a month of protests that put the country to a standstill is obviously speeding up economic collapse,” says Tabbara. “Lebanon’s main foreign currency resources have stopped almost totally. These include remittances by Lebanese expatriates, foreign direct investment (FDI) and tourism. For instance, hotel occupancy which reached 70-80% in September and October, dropped drastically to 5% after the outbreak of the protests,” Tabbara said. “The situation in Lebanon could be described as a stunt doing acrobatics on the verge of a ravine,” he warned. With no sign of a political breakthrough amid the failing economy, Lebanon is in for a long crisis, Nawfal contends. “Lebanon is experiencing not only a cabinet crisis; but a crisis of its entire (sectarian-based) political system, which is no longer viable,” he said. “The system should either be reformed or changed altogether. There would be a transitional period during which solutions and ways of reforming the political system can be explored. But, in the meantime, a social security network is needed urgently as we are heading towards a more difficult period which necessitates supporting the most impoverished classes.”Tabbara underlined Lebanon’s need for international support to help pull it out of the economic and financial mayhem. “But the authorities need to win the confidence of the international community first in addition to winning back the trust of the Lebanese.”

There is light at the end of the tunnel for Lebanon
Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
Friends of Lebanon cannot deal with a country whose government includes Hezbollah ministers.
There is a need to simplify things in Lebanon in order to avoid wasting more time, and time is a luxury that Lebanon cannot afford right now in light of the gravity of the economic crisis. It seems useful to note that the Lebanese banking system, which was the first line of defence for the country and its economy, has lost some foundations following the recent measures taken that restrict people’s access to their funds in Lebanese banks and their ability to transfer them elsewhere. In the past Lebanon was a safe haven for both the rich and the poor from Lebanon, Arab countries and the wider world, but, with these measures who in their right mind would be willing to risk depositing their money in Lebanese banks? With these restrictions on fund transfers, one of the reasons for the existence of Lebanon is gone. This reveals the depth of the crisis that the country is going through, a crisis that clearly seems to have been completely ignored by Lebanese President Michel Aoun in his speech on the eve of the 76th anniversary of independence.
His words revealed a strange inability to understand the complexities of the current situation and the need to move to a higher level of thinking, that is to consider whether there is room to seek a way out of the deepening crisis away from the complexes, obsessions and knots of the past. This includes the Rafik Hariri complex from which everybody at the Free Patriotic Movement is suffering. The president’s speech was characterised by ignoring the reasons for the economic crisis, despite his focus on corruption. And even his talk about corruption was misplaced. The reason is simple. Corruption has become a common phenomenon in the country with the establishment of the quota system, one that is staunchly supported by Hezbollah, which is only interested in making Lebanon a playing card in Iran’s hand.
It is this grave reality that Aoun omitted to mention in his independence anniversary speech. This omission simply confirms the fear that the era in place since his election as president on October 31, 2016, is really Hezbollah’s era. Such an era cannot defend the interests of Lebanon and the Lebanese. This is an era that refuses to grasp the meaning and significance of the popular revolution that erupted on October 17 and it cannot solve any of the underlying problems. To give just one small example, how can the camp controlling this era justify the dismal situation of electricity in Lebanon when ministers from it have been at the helm of the Ministry of Energy since 2008? This sector is costing the Lebanese state $2 billion a year in losses and fixing it can easily absorb a good chunk of Lebanon’s deficit. Is there a bigger corruption than the one in the electricity sector? Some might argue that there are plenty of other sectors where corruption is widespread but we cannot ignore the fact that the electricity sector has been under the domination of the Aoun camp for more than 10 years, always benefiting from a cover generously provided by Hezbollah. It is a party that cares less about what may happen to Lebanon and more about making it an Iranian “space.”Is Lebanon an Iranian “space” or not? This is the fundamental question that needs to be addressed right now. And yet Aoun chose not to answer this question in his anniversary speech. He simply disregarded the fact that the Lebanese know very well what they want. They want to end the “Hezbollah era,” which is responsible for bringing about US sanctions against Lebanese banks and for isolating Lebanon from its Arab environment.
To get out of its crisis, Lebanon needs a miracle. Unfortunately, it is not possible to bet on the present era to achieve this miracle for at least two reasons.
First, it’s hard to find among the political class people who are gutsy enough to examine the relation between the economic crisis and Hezbollah’s dominance over decision making in Lebanon, including who to have as president and how to form the cabinet. The second reason why this miracle is not possible under the current circumstances has to do with the fact that it is impossible to dissociate the components of the current era and Hezbollah. Hezbollah has not come all this way since October 31, 2016, to accept to back away a bit and agree to a cabinet made up of qualified and specialised individuals and headed by Saad Hariri or someone else with Hariri’s qualities. The fact remains, however, that until further notice, there is no other alternative to Hariri among the Sunnis in Lebanon, especially when it comes to opening channels of fruitful dialogue with the Arab world, the US administration and senior European officials concerned with Lebanese matters. Neither the Americans nor the Arab countries really capable of helping Lebanon are willing to deal with a government that includes Hezbollah ministers.
No one can deny that Hezbollah is in Lebanon to stay but these same sane persons cannot ignore the fact that Lebanon’s economy concerns all Lebanese and that the deposits in banks are for all Lebanese, including members of the Shia community that Hezbollah claims to have seized. In case the banking sector is exposed to any harm, there will be no discrimination between this Lebanese and the other based on their sects. The difficulty of the Lebanese situation is due to the fact that the “Hezbollah era” cannot overturn itself. That miracle requires politicians of another kind, people who can deal with the situation in a cool and rational manner and not fall prey to the illusion that Lebanon’s gas and oil will be flowing by tomorrow. Oil and gas specialists are saying that no gas will appear before 2029 at best. Lebanon is heading for a disaster, despite the high hopes raised by the popular revolution, which still needs to write a clear and reasonable list of demands. There may be a glimmer of hope at the end of the dark tunnel if all parties become convinced of the necessity to place authority in the hands of specialists who will tackle the economic problems with the help of Lebanon’s friends in the world. What must be understood is that these friends of Lebanon cannot deal with a country with a government that includes Hezbollah ministers. That’s all there is to it. Can Hezbollah’s era overturn itself and accept this last chance?

Sunday's March of Clarity: Restating the revolution’s demands
Nessryn Khalaf/Annahar/December 01/2019
The aim was to remind everyone of what the protesters are actually requesting and desire to see as an outcome of this revolution.
BEIRUT: Since the dormant Lebanese politicians have proved to be inactive in fulfilling the demands of the distressed protesters, this Sunday’s demonstration was established as the Sunday March of Clarity (مسيرة أحد الوضوح). At 2 pm, protesters assembled in front of the National Museum, Sassine Square, and the Central Bank preparing to march to Sodeco. Then, at 3 pm, the steadfast protesters marched from Sodeco to Martyrs’ Square and Riad el Solh. Holding banners that read “our demands are clear, we want a technocratic government” and “national unity against sectarianism," protesters once again asserted the pleas, which the government has turned a deaf ear to for the past 46 days.“Many political parties are trying to instill fear in the people’s hearts by bringing up the prospect of a new civil war, but we won’t let that happen,” Nada Karaki, a protester in Sodeco, expressed while waving the Lebanese flag.
Marwan el Helou, a demonstrator in Riad el Solh, told Annahar that “my wife and I are here today because we want to provide our children with a future that does not comprise of wars, corruption, unemployment, and immigration.”
The aim was to remind everyone of what the protesters are actually requesting and desire to see as an outcome of this revolution. That includes the establishment of a transitional government with exceptional legislative powers, whose members are not affiliated with any of the ruling political parties.
Many protesters expressed their dissent and irritation with the country’s feeble political and economic situation during the march, and Maria Abou Arraj, an economics graduate from AUB protesting in Martyrs’ Square, told Annahar that “immediate procedures need to be implemented to halt Lebanon’s severe economic collapse and protect citizens from drowning in a pond of poverty.”The zealous citizens also chanted and reemphasized their unity through anti-sectarian slogans like “we don’t want sectarianism” and “the government will not divide us."
Their demands are plain and conspicuous, and while the government may be refusing to listen, they will not abandon their ardent cause.

Lebanon: Money Transfer Crisis Affects Foreign Workers
 Hanan Hamdan/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 01/2019
A few days ago, Bouzi, an Ethiopian worker, was unable to transfer a small sum to her family back home after learning that a money transfer company has placed a ceiling for financial transfers to $300 per week.
Bouzi told Asharq Al-Awsat she had to return the next day and send only $200 to her family. The Ethiopian girl is one of few foreign domestic workers who are still receiving their salaries in the US dollar. “The majority of foreign domestic workers are now being paid in the Lebanese Lira,” Zeina Ammar, a Lebanese activist with the Anti-Racism Movement, told Asharq Al-Awsat. She said the Movement encourages employers to pay those workers in the US dollar to help them avoid facing problems when transferring the money to their homeland. “A week ago, the money transfer companies accepted to transfer their salaries in the Lebanese Lira at the exchange rate of LL1,520 per $1. But, now, they are only accepting transfers in the US dollar, a move that prevented several workers to send money to their needy families or forced them to exchange their salaries at a rate of LL2,000 per $1,” Ammar said.
In Sidon, several money transfer firms were accepting sums the Lebanese Lira, however, they exchange those sums at a high rate, exceeding the LL1,508 set by the Central Bank.
Malak, a Lebanese woman from the southern city, said she had to pay an extra LL120,000 ($80) to the money transfer firm to be able to send LL450,000 ($300), the salary of her domestic helper, to Ethiopia.
What happens with the foreign domestic workers in Lebanon applies to all foreign workers who are paying the price of the currency crisis. Director of the Employees' and Workers' Unions in Lebanon (FENASOL), Castro Abdullah, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Most foreign workers at local factories and companies are now losing 30 to 40 percent of their salaries. Those workers have to exchange their salaries paid in the Lebanese Lira to the US dollar before transferring the sum to their families.”However, head of Public Relations at OMT Joyce Mouawad told Asharq Al-Awsat the company had not placed any ceiling or new measures on money transfers. She said OMT operates through Western Union and abides by international rules.

Lebanese Shi'ite Scholar Sami Khadra: I Apologize For The 'Bad Image' Of Lebanese Women As Revealed In Protests
MEMRI/December 01/2019
Lebanese Shi'ite Scholar Sheikh Sami Khadra responded to a viewer's question on a religious TV show aired on Iranian Kawthar TV on November 20, 2019, about vetting online dating candidates. Khadra said that many people across the Arab world want to marry Lebanese women because Lebanon is the land of Jihad and Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah. However, he recommends that these men "take their time." He wondered whether they were familiar with Lebanese women, "their mentality, their views, their clothes, their habits, their customs," as revealed in the recent protests. Khadra continued to apologize to the Arabs and Muslims "for the bad image of Lebanese women". He said that the entire Lebanese society was portrayed badly in the protests, especially the women, "their expressions, their clothes, their movements, their absurdity…" This video, which was also posted on Khadra's Twitter account, generated angry reactions in Lebanon. Following the backlash, Khadra posted a video, in which he said that this did not apply to 95% of Lebanese women.
Sami Khadra: "We are experiencing a certain problem. Many brothers from across the Arab world call me to express their fascination with Lebanese women."
Interviewer: "There is a certain general perspective…"
Sami Khadra: "Perhaps the reason is that Lebanon is the country of Jihad and resistance, the country of Hassan Nasrallah, and they see the mujahideen and so on… So they call and say that they want to marry a Lebanese woman. I get many such messages. If anyone starts a matchmaking office, he is bound to make good business. There is nothing to prevent them from getting married, but I tell them to take their time. I ask if they are familiar with Lebanese women's mentality, their views, their clothes, their habits, their customs, their demands, their conduct… The way they mix with men in public… In Lebanon, we have many problems in this respect."
Interviewer: "Right."
Sami Khadra: "What exposed us the most is what happened in the past 10 days – the so-called Lebanese protest. I am very sad to say…"
Interviewer: "The image of women that was revealed…"
Sami Khadra: "I apologize to all the Arabs and Muslims for the bad image of Lebanese women portrayed during the demonstrations. Lebanese society as a whole was portrayed badly, and especially Lebanese women: Their expressions, their clothes, their movements, their absurdity…"
Interviewer: "Indeed, this was a comic play…"
Sami Khadra: "It was very shameful."

Lebanese Rally against Iraq's Crackdown on Protesters
Asharq Al-Awsat/December 01/2019
Dozens of people in protest-swept Lebanon staged a candlelit vigil outside Iraq's embassy on Saturday to denounce the excessive use of force against demonstrators there. Participants at the Beirut observance raised pictures of Iraqi protesters who have been killed in an unprecedented anti-government movement. Some raised the Lebanese flag, while one woman wrapped the Iraqi tricolor around her shoulders, said AFP. Iraq's grassroots protest movement has been the largest the country has seen in decades -- but also the deadliest. More than 420 people have been killed and 15,000 others wounded since protests began on October 1, according to an AFP tally compiled from medics and an Iraqi rights commission. The toll spiked dramatically this week, when a crackdown by security forces left dozens dead in Baghdad, the city of Najaf and the southern hotspot of Nasiriyah. Nasiriyah is the birthplace of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, who vowed to resign on Friday. Lebanon has also seen an unprecedented anti-government protest movement since October 17. Layal Siblani, the organizer behind the vigil, said the spiraling violence in Iraq this past week prompted the show of solidarity.
"The uprising in Iraq and the uprising in Lebanon are one," she told AFP. "A protester killed there is a protester killed here." Like their counterparts in Iraq, Lebanese demonstrators are rallying against corruption, unemployment and poor public services. They are also pushing for an end to the kind of political system that prioritizes power-sharing between sects over good governance. Despite confrontations with security forces and supporters of established parties, protesters in Lebanon have largely been spared the violent crackdown seen in Iraq. But rights groups and the United Nations last week criticized Lebanese security forces for failing to protect protesters from attacks by backers of the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal movements. Amnesty International on Friday also urged the Lebanese army "to end arbitrary arrests" and torture of peaceful protesters following a wave of detentions. Lebanon and Iraq are ranked among the most corrupt countries in the region by anti-graft watchdog Transparency International. At the vigil on Saturday, a demonstrator who gave his name as Hussein said that in light of excesses committed by Lebanese security forces, protesters had a duty towards their peers in Iraq. "We have to stand in solidarity with our Iraqi counterparts who are being arrested and killed on a daily basis," he said.

AMCD Commends UN Secretary General for Stance on Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon
AMCD/December 01/2019
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy commends United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for boldly calling for the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon. A new UN report has confirmed that Hezbollah is preventing the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon from operating in Hezbollah-controlled areas. In September, Hezbollah launched rockets against Israel’s defense forces in Northern Israel and the terror group is now preventing the UNIFIL from inspecting the area.
Said Secretary General Guterres, “I call upon the Government of Lebanon to take all actions necessary to ensure the full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), which require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon so that there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than those of the Lebanese State.”
“The Lebanese government must disarm Hezbollah or it will never regain full sovereignty over its territory,” said AMCD co-chair, John Hajjar. “Unfortunately, the government may not be strong enough to accomplish this alone and the UN peacekeeping force does not have the mandate to help with that mission. The UNIFIL was tasked with keeping the peace between Lebanon and Israel after the Lebanese government was supposed to have disarmed this terrorist organization. Unfortunately, Hezbollah never disarmed and so Iran now has control of vast swathes of Southern Lebanon.”
“No country can survive in the long-run with a foreign terrorist organization operating freely within its territory,” added AMCD co-chair, Tom Harb. “Iran has poured millions of dollars into Lebanon, employing Hezbollah fighters and supplying them with advanced weapons, including the rockets they fire into Israel. If Lebanon is to survive, its national armed forces must be strengthened while Iran’s forces are diminished.”
“We applaud President Trump for applying strong sanctions against Iran,” said AMCD vice-chair, Hossein Khorram. “The people of Iran are rising up in protest against their nation’s limited resources being lavished on terrorist groups in foreign countries. They’re tired of sacrificing for the mullah’s foreign adventures. They want to turn toward positive goals of national development and away from the mullahs’ obsession with destroying Israel.”

Hezbollah uses Germany to finance terrorism, weapons purchases – report
جيروسالم بوست: حزب الله يستخدم ألمانيا لتمويل الإرهاب ومشتريات الأسلحة
Jerusalem Post/December 01/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/81031/%d8%ac%d9%8a%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%b3%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85-%d8%a8%d9%88%d8%b3%d8%aa-%d8%ad%d8%b2%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%87-%d9%8a%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%ae%d8%af%d9%85-%d8%a3%d9%84%d9%85%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a7/
Some 30 mosques and cultural centers in Germany have links to Hezbollah, according to a 2019 Hamburg intelligence agency report.
The Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah uses a center in Berlin as well as other locations across Germany to recruit members and raise funds for terrorism and weapons purchases, according to a report by the Berlin-based Tagesspiegel newspaper.
Tagesspiegel on Saturday published a detailed exposé on how the Lebanese terrorist organization uses Germany for “money generated” illicit activities and those funds are “used for arms purchases and for financing attacks.”
According to the article, Hezbollah members “use Germany as a place for drug trafficking, trade in stolen cars and money laundering. The implications of the group for the drug business are well documented.”
The report said that Hezbollah’s “main routes now move from South America to Africa into the EU. Cocaine reaches Germany mainly via the ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg.”
Within the capital city of Berlin, “Hezbollah is also allowed to spread propaganda here in the Reuterstrasse, recruit new members, collect donations – and then forward them to Beirut,” Tagesspiegel reported.
The Islamic Center Imam Riza, a Shi’ite institution, is located on Reuter Street in the Berlin district of Neukölln. Berlin’s intelligence agency – the rough equivalent of Shin Bet – revealed in its 2019 report that 250 Hezbollah members live in the capital. A total of 1,050 Hezbollah members and supporters operate across Germany, according to other German intelligence reports.
Muhamad Abdi and Sebastian Leber, the Tagesspiegel journalists who wrote Saturday’s article, reported that the Islamist Tevekkül Erol, from the Islamic Center Imam Riza, preached against Israel and spreads Hezbollah propaganda on Twitter and Facebook. Erol circulates incitement messages from the Hezbollah leaders who are celebrated as “the right fighters” against the USA, they wrote. He has also posted the Hezbollah logo that depicts an upraised arm grasping an AK-47 assault rifle.
When asked by Tagesspiegel if he is a member of Hezbollah, Erol refused to comment.
The Berlin paper wrote that Erol is filled with anger as he scolds the “Zionists who kill our siblings in Palestine with bombs.”
The radical Islamist lashes out at the USA and Muslims who dare to conduct business with the “Zionists” or forge diplomatic relations with Israel, the report noted. It also said that Erol claimed that these Muslim who align themselves with the USA and Israel will regret their bad deeds.
He declared, “They will all end up in hell.”
The Tagesspiegel article reports that Erol spreads incitement online, including antisemitic conspiracy theories. A telling example, Erol contends that the Jews are behind the terrorist organization the Islamic State. Erol says that the slain Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is Jewish and his real name is Simaun Eliot.
The paper reported that a second building near the Islamic Center Imam Riza is a meeting and prayer place for supporters of Hezbollah. The association Al-Irschad is, according to security officials, a hot spot for Hezbollah members. The paper wrote that Islamists like Kassem R., who pledged his loyalty to Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah on Facebook, visits Al-Irschad. Kassem is a barber who posted photographs of his two sons in soldier’s uniforms, one of which was holding a firearm.
Some 30 mosques and cultural centers in Germany have links to Hezbollah, according to a 2019 Hamburg intelligence agency report.
“In Germany, there are currently about 30 known cultural and mosque associations in which a clientele regularly meets that is close to Hezbollah or its ideology,” wrote the intelligence agency.
The Jerusalem Post exclusively reported in August that a Hezbollah mosque in the German city of Münster posted a shocking video on its Facebook page announcing it was proud of terrorism and its allegiance to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
A Lebanese member of the Imam Mahdi Zentrum Shi’ite mosque in Münster declared: “We belong to the party of Ruhollah [Khomeini]. We have been accused of being terrorists – we are proud of terrorism.”
In July, the Post reported an increase of Hezbollah members in Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Münster is located. According to the intelligence document reviewed by the Post, the number of Hezbollah members climbed from 105 in 2017 to 110 in 2018 in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The Iranian regime supplies Hezbollah with funds and weapons and the Lebanese Shi’ite organization is Tehran’s chief strategic ally in the Middle East.
The Al-Mustafa Community Center in the northern German city-state of Bremen is a major hub for raising funds for Hezbollah, according to an intelligence report from the city-state of Bremen.
The German government has rejected appeals to outlaw Hezbollah’s so-called political wing from the country; the military wing was banned by the Germany and the European Union in 2013.
The Iranian regime supplies Hezbollah with funds and weapons and the Lebanese Shi’ite organization is Tehran’s chief strategic ally in the Middle East.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 01-02/2019
Iran Says May 'Reconsider' Atomic Watchdog Commitments
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 01/2019
Iran warned Sunday it may "seriously reconsider" its commitments to the U.N. atomic watchdog if European parties to a nuclear deal trigger a dispute mechanism that could lead to sanctions. The 2015 nuclear accord has been unraveling since last year when the United States unilaterally withdrew from it and began reimposing sanctions on Iran. The three European countries still party to the deal -- Britain, France and Germany -- have been trying to salvage it but their efforts have so far borne little fruit. "If they use the trigger (mechanism), Iran would be forced to seriously reconsider some of its commitments to" the International Atomic Energy Agency, said parliament speaker Ali Larijani. "If they think doing so is more beneficial to them, they can go ahead," he told a news conference in Tehran. In May, one year after the US pullout, Iran began retaliating by scaling back its commitments to the deal -- known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Following its latest step back this month, the European parties warned the JCPOA's dispute resolution mechanism could be triggered if Iran continued down that path. It covers various stages that could take several months to unfold, but the issue could eventually end up before the U.N. Security Council, which could decide to reimpose sanctions. Larijani also suggested the current deadlock with the United States could be "fixed" if Iran's arch-foe learns from the past. Ahead of the 2015 deal, then U.S. president Barack "Obama wrote a letter and said that I accept Iran's enrichment, now let's negotiate," he said. "If the American officials have just as much wisdom, to use past experiences, then they can fix this issue." The JCPOA set out restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of Western sanctions.

Iran Official Points to More Open Elections
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 01/2019
A senior Iranian official has suggested in an interview with AFP that authorities may be more open than in the past in appoving candidates for a looming parliamentary election. "We don't consider ourselves immune from criticism. We may also accept that mistakes have been made in the past," said Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaee. "But for the next legislative elections we are trying to reduce our mistakes and respect the rights of candidates." Kadkhodaee was speaking to AFP on the eve of the opening on Sunday of the registration of candidates for the parliamentary election to be held on February 21. The Guardian Council, which is under the control of ultra-conservatives, is responsible for organizing and monitoring elections in Iran, including vetting candidates. "If we insist on enforcing the law, we'll be able to satisfy as many candidates as possible," said Kadkhodaee. In past elections, the council has faced accusations in Iran, particularly by reformists, of barring candidates more on political than constitutional grounds. In November, President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate conservative, called on the council to stick to the letter of the law in view of the forthcoming election. At Iran's last parliamentary election in February 2016, the council authorized 6,229 candidates for the 290 seats at stake -- just over 51 percent of those who sought to stand. In the interview, Kadkhodaee said a higher number of successful candidates should also lead to a "higher participation rate". The opening of the registration period, which runs until Saturday, comes two weeks after around 100 cities and towns in sanctions-hit Iran saw protests against a shock fuel price hike that turned violent. Authorities say they have restored calm after "rioting" backed by enemies of the Islamic republic, including the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia. London-based human rights group Amnesty International said 161 demonstrators were killed in a crackdown.
'Unjust economic sanctions'
But Iran's deputy interior minister, Jamal Orf, said such figures were "exaggerated", in remarks published on Saturday by state news agency IRNA. For Kadkhodaee, the unrest was not a sign of the rejection of the political system of the Islamic republic. The people would "continue to support the country despite the difficulties, as they have patiently endured the unjust economic sanctions imposed by Western countries," he said. They would "continue to support the Iranian political system", he added. Iran's economy has been battered since last year when the United States withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal and began reimposing crippling sanctions. The International Monetary Fund expects the country's economy to shrink by 9.5 percent this year. "Sometimes the participation rate can be low when the people are not happy with the country's economic situation," said Kadkhodaee. "But we are sure that we will have a good participation rate, even if it is lower than it may have been in the past," said the Guardian Council spokesman. "Generally in Iran, the participation rate is between 50 and 70 percent, depending on the economic and social situation in the country," he told AFP. "Even if the turnout is low, it does not endanger the Iranian political system. We know that there are ups and downs depending on elections. "Personally I expect and hope that the rate will be higher than 50 percent."

Iraq Parliament Approves Cabinet Resignation
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 01/2019
Iraq's parliament approved the resignation of the embattled cabinet on Sunday, after two months of violent unrest that have left more than 420 people dead and thousands mourning them in nationwide marches. Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi said Friday he would submit his resignation to parliament following a spike in the death toll among protesters who accuse the entire ruling elite of being inept, corrupt and beholden to foreign powers. The demonstrations spread from their epicenter in Baghdad and the mostly Shiite south to the northern, majority-Sunni city of Mosul, where hundreds of students dressed in black organised a mourning march for fallen activists. Parliament opened its session on Sunday afternoon and within minutes had approved Abdel Mahdi's resignation, which according to the constitution renders him and the entire cabinet a "caretaker government." The speaker of parliament said he would now ask President Barham Saleh to name a new prime minister. Just before the session began, another protester was shot dead in the capital, medical sources said. The protest movement is Iraq's biggest since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein and installed a democratic system in the oil-rich but poverty-plagued nation. The demonstrators have vented their anger at neighboring Iran, which is seen to wield huge influence in Iraq, with protesters last week burning down an Iranian consulate. "Abdel Mahdi should leave, so should parliament and the parties, and Iran," said a young demonstrator on Baghdad's Tahrir (Liberation) Square, the center of the protest movement that started in early October.
First death sentence
In other developments, an Iraqi court sentenced a police officer to death on Sunday after convicting him of killing demonstrators, the first such sentence in two months of deadly civil unrest. The Kut criminal court sentenced the police major to be hanged and jailed a police lieutenant colonel for seven years for their roles in the deaths of seven protesters in the southern city on November 2, judicial sources said. In Mosul, protesters were marching in solidarity with activists elsewhere in the country. "It's the least Mosul can give to the martyrs of Dhi Qar and Najaf," said Zahraa Ahmed, a dentistry student, naming the two provinces where most of the recent deaths took place. "The protesters are asking for their basic rights so the government should have answered from the beginning."Previously, most Sunni-majority areas had refrained from protesting, fearing that opposing the central government would earn them the labels of being "terrorists" or supporters of Saddam Hussein. For three years, Mosul was the heart of the Islamic State group's ultra-conservative "caliphate", and much of it still lies in ruins today. Another student in Mosul, Hussein Kheder, carrying an Iraqi flag, said the whole country was now on the same page politically and told AFP that "now the government needs to heed the protesters' demands". In Salaheddin, a Sunni-majority province north of Baghdad where rallies were held for the first time, authorities had already declared on Friday three days of mourning for the victims.  And eight Shiite-majority provinces announced a day of mourning on Sunday during which government offices would remain shut. More than 20 people were killed in the Shiite shrine city of Najaf, 40 people in the hotspot of Nasiriyah and three in the capital Baghdad in three consecutive days of violence. On Sunday, an AFP correspondent reported calm in Nasiriyah, the birthplace of Abdel Mahdi, who came to power just a year ago based on a shaky alliance between rival parties. He had resisted protesters' calls for him to step down over the past two months. But the crackdown turned the tide this week, as it prompted Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, to call on parliament to drop its support for the premier. In quick succession, political factions indicated they would support a no-confidence motion.

Turkey Cancels Press Credentials of 685 Journalists
Ankara- Saeed Abdulrazek/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 01/2019
Turkey announced on Saturday it has canceled the press credentials of 685 journalists working in the country over claims of posing a threat to national security. The step came amid condemnations launched by human rights organizations that accuse the Turkish government of tightening restrictions on journalists. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay confirmed on Saturday the cancellation of the cards. During a parliamentary budget planning session, Oktay said Turkey granted a total of 343 yellow, or temporary, new press cards in 2019 while canceling the press cards of 685 journalists over links to groups that are considered a threat to national security. Since December 2018, Ankara started to implement new regulation on press cards, allowing for authorities to cancel press credentials of journalists over security-related reasons while placing restrictions on obtaining them.
According to the regulation, a journalist must never “engage in behavior against national security and public order” to be able to hold a press card. Also, the Directorate of Communications, which operates under the Turkish presidency and is responsible for issuing press cards, is allowed to cancel the existing press cards of journalists convicted of such behavior. In 2018, the Committee To Protect Journalists said that for the third consecutive year, Turkey remains the worst jailer of journalists with 68--or over a quarter of those imprisoned worldwide--behind bars for their work.
Meanwhile, the UK-based Amnesty International launched this week a campaign calling for the immediate release of jailed Turkish journalist Ahmet Altan. On Nov. 12, renowned Turkish author and former newspaper editor Ahmet Altan was detained after a court overturned the decision taken on 4 November to release him from over three years in detention. Altan has been accused of having links to the outlawed movement of US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of ordering the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.

Rocky Road ahead for Merkel after Ally Loses Shock Vote
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 01/2019
Angela Merkel faces a rocky political road ahead as she battles to hang on until 2021 as German chancellor, after her junior coalition partner SPD elected a left-leaning leadership duo. Rank and file Social Democrats late Saturday delivered a humiliating blow to Finance Minister Olaf Scholz's run for co-chair of his center-left party, picking instead two relative unknowns as their new leaders. The shock result heralded a week of uncertainty for the coalition, with next Friday a key date as the SPD is to vote on whether to stay in government when it meets for its annual congress. Merkel, in power for 14 years, has said she would step down when her term ends in 2021. But her departure may well be accelerated following Saturday's stunning vote.
'Unacceptable conditions?'
Wounded by an election rout in 2017, the SPD had initially sought to go into opposition, but allowed itself reluctantly to be coaxed into renewing an alliance with Merkel. Many within the party however remained wary of continuing to govern in Merkel's shadow, fearful that their social roots were being eroded by the conservatives. The uneasy marriage from the start had left the coalition lurching from crisis to crisis. A new series of regional and European electoral defeats had finally forced the SPD to seek a new leadership. Saturday's decision against Scholz is a "solid vote of no-confidence against the party establishment", said left-leaning TAZ daily. "Within the SPD, it is believed that an exit from the GroKo is very possible" with the new leaders Nobert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken, added Bild daily. Even if an immediate collapse of the government was averted, there is the "possible scenario that (the Social Democrats) would set unacceptable conditions to prepare an exit," added the newspaper. The SPD's new leaders have already said they will push Merkel's center-right alliance for greater investments in climate protection. They have also questioned the "black zero" no new debt policy -- an absolute red line for Merkel and her center-right alliance. "If the two parties cannot agree on the further tilt of German policies to the left which the SPD activists desire, the coalition would end," noted Holger Schmieding, analyst at Berenberg.
'Minority government?'
That would leave Merkel with the option of a minority government.
Merkel has repeatedly ruled out the option, but right-leaning Welt daily noted that this time round, the conditions were "not so bad" since 2020's budget has already been decided. Ministerial posts vacated by SPD ministers could then be taken up by her conservative alliance. Her planned successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer could also assume the deputy chancellor role and potentially steer Germany as it takes on the presidency of the EU from next June, added Welt. For now, party heavyweights on both sides have urged calm. CDU general secretary Paul Ziemiak stressed that "nothing has changed" in terms of the coalition deal between both sides. Leading voices in his party have also underlined the responsibility of keeping the government stable. The SPD's former chief Martin Schulz meanwhile warned his party against flight from the government. "My advice is that the cure is not to seek an escape from the government, rather it lies in the power to shape things in the government," he told Tagesspiegel daily.

Terror Checks Intensified as London Attack Enters Election Fray
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 01/2019
Britain's Boris Johnson said Sunday the security services were stepping up monitoring of convicted terrorists released early from prison, as the London Bridge attack became embroiled in the election campaign. The prime minister revealed around 74 people with terrorist convictions had been released early from prison in a similar way to Usman Kan, who left jail last December and went on to stab two people to death in Friday's rampage. "They are being properly invigilated to make sure there is no threat," Johnson told the BBC in an interview. "We've taken a lot of action as you can imagine in the last 48 hours," he said, adding he would not provide "operation details." Khan, 28, was shot dead while wearing a fake explosives vest by police on London Bridge after a stabbing spree that also injured three people launched at a nearby prisoner rehabilitation event he was attending. Members of the public were hailed as heroes for preventing even greater loss of life by tackling him -- one armed with a five-foot (1.5-meter) narwhal tusk and another with a fire extinguisher. The incident comes two years after Islamist extremists in a van plowed into pedestrians on the bridge before attacking people at random with knives, killing eight people and wounding 48. Police, who on Saturday searched two properties in central England believed to be linked to Khan, have said they believe he was acting alone and are not seeking anybody else. But the Islamic State group has released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.
'Keep you safe'
Khan, a British national, had been handed an indeterminate sentence for the protection of the public in 2012, with at least eight years in prison.
He was part of an eight-man network inspired by Al-Qaeda who had plotted to bomb targets including the London Stock Exchange, and planned to take part in "terrorist training" in Pakistan. But his sentence was quashed by the Court of Appeal in April 2013 and he received a new 21-year term, comprising a custodial sentence of 16 years and five years on conditional release. He had then been conditionally released from jail last December under so-called licensing conditions after serving around half of his jail term. Khan has become a contentious political issue ahead of Britain's December 12 election, with Johnson blaming the previous Labor government for changing the law in 2008 to allow for the early release of prisoners. The Tory leader has vowed that if he reclaims power this month he will end early release for terrorist offences and introduce minimum 14-year sentences, with some convicted never to be released. The proposals were not in the Conservatives' formal manifesto released last Sunday. Johnson penned an article setting out the new stance in The Mail on Sunday newspaper, under the headline: "Give me a majority and I'll keep you safe from terror."
- 'Knee-jerk reactions' -
Critics have hit out fiercely at him for appearing to politicize Friday's attack -- including the father of the first named victim. David Merritt confirmed on Twitter the death of his son Jack Merritt, a course coordinator at the Cambridge University's criminology institute which was hosting the event targeted by Khan.
He described his 25-year-old son as "a beautiful spirit who always took the side of the underdog", in a series of messages that also responded to the political furor around the attack. "We don't need knee-jerk reactions," Merritt wrote. "It's not lenient policies that are to blame, it's the destruction of the probation service that is supposed to monitor and supervise prisoners after release, & rehabilitation services," he added. "Since 2010 these service(s) have been cut to the bone. We are all less safe as a result."Meanwhile, Johnson's political opponents noted his Conservative Party has been in power for nearly a decade but had chosen not to tighten the laws around terrorism sentencing. They have also argued changes to sentencing laws introduced in the 1990s under the Conservatives also contributed to the early release system. "I think there has to be an examination of how our prison services work and crucially what happens to them on release from prison," Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn told Sky News. He would not commit to ending early release in all scenarios for terrorism offences. "I think it depends on the circumstances and it depends on the sentence but crucially depends on what they've done in prison," Corbyn said.

'Still Angry': Hong Kong Protesters Return to the Streets
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 01/2019
Police fired tear gas and pepper spray in Hong Kong on Sunday as tens of thousands of black-clad protesters flooded into the streets, a week after pro-democracy candidates scored a landslide local election victory.
The rally heralded an end to a rare lull and a return to the large-scale demonstrations that Hong Kongers have staged for nearly six months, fueled by growing fears that authoritarian China is stamping out the city's liberties.
It also marked a resumption of the increasingly violent confrontations between protesters and police, with officers shooting volleys of tear gas at crowds that included children. The day's main rally in the Tsim Sha Tsui neighborhood was one of three called for Sunday, as protesters seek to keep pressure on the government after the November 24 district council elections.
"The government are still not listening to us so the protests will go on, they will not stop," said a 20-year-old student who gave only his surname, Chen.
"It is hard to predict what will happen. But the people are still very angry and want change."The rally started peacefully, with people flooding to the waterside neighborhood by ferry and train. "Never forget why you started," read a banner carried by protesters taking part in the march. A little girl with her hair in pigtails led chants reiterating the movement's demands for direct elections of the city legislature and leadership.
'We have to keep going'
But as part of the march ran into a phalanx of police, protesters were told to move back and warned they were straying from the permitted route. First pepper spray and then tear gas was fired at several locations, in one case catching in the crossfire an older man selling drinks and ice creams from a converted moped. "I've sold all my drinks but it seems that I can't leave now," he told reporters, his eyes streaming. But he quickly recovered, tucking into a red ice lolly pulled from his stocks. "I have nothing to be ashamed of or guilty about," he said with a smile. Hong Kong's Beijing-backed chief Carrie Lam has offered no additional concessions in the wake of the elections, and protesters said they felt compelled to return to the streets. "The government has given no real response, it's unacceptable," 19-year-old student Edmund told AFP.
"We have to keep going. We are fighting for our freedom, not just our own freedom but the next generation too. If we give up now all will be lost."
Earlier, a smaller rally marched peacefully to the US consulate to thank American lawmakers for passing legislation backing the protest movement.
There too, demonstrators said they wanted to press their advantage after the district council vote. "I would like to send a message to the government: we are not done and this is not over," said one 27-year-old protester, who declined to give his name. The main rally dispersed as night fell but some protesters moved to other parts of the city, setting up the possibility of clashes later in the evening.
Fears of fresh violence
Months into the huge protests kicked off by opposition to a bill allowing extradition to China, demonstrators still appear to command widespread support -- with the victory of pro-democracy candidates undercutting government claims of a "silent majority" opposed to the movement.
Ahead of Sunday's rallies there were calls from organizers for people to remain "highly restrained", with fears of a return to the violence that has marked more recent months in the political crisis. On Saturday night police fired tear gas for the first time since the election as protesters blocked roads in the Mong Kok neighborhood. A video from the district emerged online and appeared to show a protester brutally assaulting a man as he attempted to clear a barricade.
A voice in the video mocks the man, who stumbled and slumped over after being hit across the head with a heavy metal object. In a statement, police confirmed the incident: "So far no one has been arrested. The victim suffered a serious head injury and was sent to hospital."In a radio interview on Sunday morning, police chief Tang Ping-keung slammed the violence. "It could have killed him," Tang said.

U.N. Chief Says Humanity's 'War against Nature' Must Stop
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 01/2019
Devastating impacts of global warming that threaten humanity are a pushback from Nature under assault, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Sunday ahead of a key climate conference. "For many decades the human species has been at war with the planet, and now the planet is fighting back," he said, decrying the "utterly inadequate" efforts of the world's major economies to curb carbon pollution. "We are confronted with a global climate crisis and the point of no return is no longer over the horizon, it is in sight and hurtling towards us." Guterres flagged a UN report to be released Tuesday confirming the last five years are the warmest on record, with 2019 likely to be the second hottest ever. "Climate-related disasters are becoming more frequent, more deadly, more destructive," he said on the eve of the 196-nation COP25 climate change talks in Madrid. Human health and food security are at risk, he added, noting that air pollution associated with climate change accounts for seven million premature deaths every year. The Paris Agreement calls for capping global warming at under two degrees Celsius, but recent science has made clear that the treaty's aspiration goal of 1.5C is a far safer threshold.
Pelosi in Madrid
A U.N. Environment Program report last week concluded that CO2 emissions would need to drop a vertiginously steep 7.6 percent per year over the next decade to stay within that limit. But Guterres insisted that the 1.5C goal is doable. All that is missing, he said, is political will. "Let's be clear -- up to now, our efforts to reach this target have been utterly inadequate," he said. "The world's largest emitters are not pulling their weight."Current national pledges -- if carried out -- would see global temperatures rise by at least 3C, a recipe for human misery, according to scientists. The U.N. chief's comments were clearly aimed at the handful of countries responsible for more than half of global greenhouse gas emissions, though he did not call them out by name. President Donald Trump has set in motion the process that will see the United States withdraw from the Paris deal by year's end. At the same time, a U.S. Congressional delegation going to Madrid will be headed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, listed by the Spanish government among heads of state and VIPs. "We want to give every opportunity to the US to remain within the commitments in the fight against climate change," a spokesperson for the Spanish prime minister's office told AFP. Other major emitters -- China, India, Russia and Brazil -- have given scant indication that they will deepen their commitments in the near term. Guterres did single out the European Union as playing a constructive role. "Europe has an absolutely essential role to play, and must be a cornerstone in the global negotiations leading to carbon neutrality," he said. The European Commission's new president Ursula Von der Leyen is trying to steer the bloc towards a target of "zero net emission" by 2050, but continues to face resistance from members such as Poland and Hungary. Despite growing public pressure for decisive action, the 12-day negotiating session is likely to remain technical in nature, focused on finalizing the "rulebook" for the Paris Agreement, which becomes operational at the end of next year.

Iran begins registering of election candidates
The Associated Press/Monday, 02 December 2019
Iran has begun registration of candidates for running in the country’s parliamentary elections set for February 2020, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday. The elections will be a gauge for the popularity of the moderate and reformist camps that President Hassan Rouhani represents.
It comes after unrest over government-set petrol prices earlier in November.Iran has not released any figure on the death toll, though Amnesty International says at least 161 were killed in the protests. An Iranian lawmaker has said more than 7,000 were arrested. The current speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, who played a major role in the government increasing energy prices, has said he will not run in the election. He has been speaker for 12 years. The elections will be held on February 21 and the new parliament will begin working in May.
Candidates run in 208 constituencies for 290 seats. A constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, vets and must approve those wishing to run in the elections.Those wishing to register must be between 30 and 75 years old, and hold a masters degree to be qualified.

Israel planning new settlement in flashpoint Hebron
AFP/Sunday, 01 December 2019
Israel’s new hard-right defense minister on Sunday ordered officials to start planning a new Jewish settlement in the heart of the divided West Bank city of Hebron. The announcement came as the prospects of a third snap election since April loomed larger, with Defense Minister Naftali Bennett’s New Right party leaning heavily on settlers for support at the polls. The Defense Ministry said Bennett had instructed ministry departments responsible for the Israeli occupied West Bank “to notify the Hebron municipality of planning a new Jewish neighborhood in the wholesale market complex.”The market area is on Hebron’s Shuhada Street, once a bustling thoroughfare leading to a holy site where the biblical Abraham is believed to have been buried. The street is now largely closed off to Palestinians who have repeatedly demanded that it be reopened to traffic. The city is holy to both Muslims and Jews and is a flashpoint for clashes between the two sides. On Saturday, Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian southwest of Hebron, with the army saying that he was one of three men throwing petrol bombs at a military vehicle. About 800 Israeli settlers live in the ancient city under heavy military protection amid around 200,000 Palestinians. Sunday’s statement said the planned new building project would “double the number of Jewish residents in the city.”The move comes at a time of political turmoil in Israel after general elections in April and September ended in deadlock. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and allies like Bennett nor their opponents won enough parliamentary seats to form a viable coalition. Lawmakers now have until December 11 to find a solution or see parliament dissolved once again. At Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu also offered good news for the settlers, pledging 40 million shekels ($11.5 million) for improved security. “We are strengthening the security components in the communities in Judea and Samaria, of the Israeli citizens there,” he said, using the biblical terms for the West Bank. Israel’s West Bank settlements are considered illegal under international law and are bitterly opposed by Palestinians.

Nearly 70 dead in Syria regime clashes with Idlib armed groups
AFP, Surman/Sunday, 1 December 2019
Two days of clashes between regime forces and armed groups in Syria’s last major opposition bastion have killed nearly 70 on both sides, a war monitoring group said Sunday. The battles in the northwestern province of Idlib are the most violent there since a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement went into effect in late August, said the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. On Sunday morning, clouds of smoke rose over the Maaret al-Numan region as warplanes pounded extremists and allied rebels in positions they had recently recaptured from regime forces, said an AFP correspondent.
Residents of affected villages fled north to escape the fighting, adding to the tens of thousands who have already flooded out of the province’s violence-plagued south since an escalation started earlier this year. The Observatory on Sunday put the death toll from fighting at 69 combatants since battles started the previous day. At least 36 regime forces were among those killed. It said an attack led by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate on several regime positions had initially sparked the fighting. Overnight, the Syrian army backed by Russian warplanes launched a counter-push to reclaim territory it had lost in the battles, according to the Britain-based war monitor. Regime forces have since regained lost ground but violent clashes are ongoing, the war monitor and an AFP correspondent said. The Idlib region, home to around three million people including many displaced by Syria’s eight-year civil war, is controlled by the country’s former al-Qaeda affiliate. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham extremist alliance also controls parts of neighboring Aleppo and Latakia provinces where battles with regime forces have also recently taken place. The region is one of the last holdouts of opposition to forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
A ceasefire announced by Russia in late August has reduced violence in the area. Between the end of April and the end of August, Idlib was pounded ceaselessly by Syrian soldiers backed by Russian air power. The Observatory estimates that nearly 1,000 civilians were killed in that period, and the UN says that more than 400,000 people were displaced. The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted in 2011.

Syrian govt denounces ‘US interference’, its role in Constitutional Committee
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 01 December 2019
The Syrian government denounced on Sunday what it called “US interference” in Syria after the State Department released a statement criticizing the Assad regime’s delegation during a meeting of the UN’s Syria Constitutional Committee aimed at drafting a constitution for the war-ridden country.
The State Department’s statement read that at the second round of meetings between the drafting committees, the Assad regime’s delegation “requested preconditions before they were willing to meet to discuss these constitutional principles. The requested preconditions from the Assad regime clearly violate the constitutional committee’s rules of procedure, and are a blatant attempt to delay the work of an important effort.” In response, the state SANA news agency cited an interior ministry source as saying that the government “reaffirms that this dialogue is Syrian, and that no one has the right to interfere or support any party under any pretext.” The news agency also cited the source as saying that that the role of the United Nations represented by its Special Envoy Pederson “is limited to facilitating the Committee's discussions and its affairs only.”The source stressed that any “opinions or statements from the United States or others have no value and will not affect the work of the Committee and the nature or form of its content and dialogues.”A second week-long round of Syrian talks has ended without a meeting of the group of 45 delegates meant to be negotiating on the constitution, United Nations Special Envoy Geir Pedersen had said on Friday. The Syrian government and opposition co-chairs were unable to agree on agenda for the constitutional talks, he told reporters. “We have been trying to reach consensus but as I said we are not there yet.”The talks are meant to be a step forward in what the UN says will be a long road to political rapprochement, followed by elections.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 01-02/2019
Analysis/With Over 400 Dead and PM Resigning, Iran’s Hold on Iraqi Politics Is Eroding
Zvi Bar’el/Haaretz/December 01/2019
The next Iraqi prime minister will have to at least profess distance from Iranian influence, without jeopardizing close economic ties with Tehran, including dependence on Iranian aid
The Iraqi parliament is expected to confirm the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, as well as that of his government, on Sunday. The Iraqi public appears to have achieved the initial goal of the violent protests, in which more than 400 people have been killed and thousands more have been injured. But this is not the end of the “wicked government.”
Under the provisions of the Iraqi constitution, the current government will remain in power for at least another month, until a consensus can be reached on a candidate to lead the next one. After the country’s president assigns this task, the candidate has another month to form a coalition. On paper, the goal is simple, but experience shows that the selection of a consensus candidate could take a long time and that the formation of a government that parliament would approve could take many months.
During this period, the caretaker government cannot pass new legislation, implement reforms it has agreed to carry out or draw up a new budget that would meet the demands of the public and the various communities represented in parliament. That also means the tranquilizer shots Abdul-Mahdi’s government sought to give the public cannot be administered.
This will be a period during which anyone can attempt to influence the choice of prime minister and the composition of the government. Iran has the greatest interest in demonstrating its capacity to navigate this political process to its advantage. After losing its bid to keep Abdul-Mahdi in office, and out of concern that a victory for the demonstrators in Iraq would encourage protesters in Iran, Tehran has begun recruiting supporters in Shi’ite parties in Iraq, particularly in the Fatah Alliance — led by Hadi al-Amiri, the political leader of the Shi’ite paramilitary Popular Mobilization Units — in an effort to avoid further defeat.
Iran’s ability to shape the future of the Iraqi government has been eroded by the demonstrations, which began in October: Tehran itself was a target of the protests, which reached their peak with the torching of the Iranian consulate in Najaf. The next prime minister will have to at least profess distance from Iranian influence, without jeopardizing Iraq’s close economic ties with Iran, including a dependence on Iranian aid.
The United States, whose influence on political events in Iraq has been substantially diminished in recent years, should be concerned about the change in government and the appointment of a prime minister who might aim to expel American forces from the country. The United States views its foothold in Iraq, particularly on the border with Syria, as critical to blocking expansion of the territorial contiguity between Iraq and Syria, as well as to keeping the Islamic State organization from renewing its operations in southern Iraq.
Saudi Arabia, which has expanded its economic cooperation with Iraq since Abdul-Mahdi became prime minister, 13 months ago, sees his resignation as an opportunity to push for the appointment of a prime minister who would protect its interests, particularly vis-à-vis Iran, but the Saudis lack the political leverage needed to accomplish that.
These international considerations are not the demonstrators’ main concern. Although the protesters expressed satisfaction with Abdul-Mahdi’s plans to resign, they see it as just a first step. Their immediate demands are for free and fair parliamentary elections, the scrapping of sectarian and ethnic quotas for senior positions, more equal distribution of government funding and the elimination of corruption.
Their spokespeople are insistent on continuing the protests, and on Saturday they were joined by demonstrators in northern provinces and some of the Sunni provinces that up to now had been seen as apathetic to the protests, which have been centered in the cities and in decisively Shi’ite provinces. What appears to have tipped the scales and pushed Abdul-Mahdi to tender his resignation, despite his prior insistence in remaining on the job, was senior Shi’ite religious scholar Ali al-Sistani’s call for parliament “to reconsider … and conduct itself in accordance with what Iraq’s interest and what protecting the blood of Iraq’s sons requires.”
Sistani’s strong support for the demonstrators also made it clear to Iran that the hard-line policy that Iran has dictated to the Iraqi government and its militias could lead to civil war and a total loss of Iran’s ability to manage Iraq’s affairs remotely from Tehran.
There is no need to quibble over points of religious law to make clear the disparity that has existed for decades between the ideology and political-religious strategy of Sistani, who opposes the system of government in Iran, and the views of Islamic religious scholars and the leadership in Iran. Obedience to the directives of Sistani, who controls millions of followers, presents a barrier to Iranian ambitions; at the same time, it positions Iraq as a country in which the views of Islamic scholars still have supreme political authority.
And it’s not just Sistani. The separatist religious scholar Muqtada al-Sadr, whose religious prestige is derived from his being the son of leading religious authority Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, is calling for Iran to be removed from the Iraqi arena.
Granted that he is not a “source of emulation” like Sistani, but a large segment of Iraq’s Shi’ite Muslim population views him as a spiritual leader and not only a political leader with a private army at his disposal. Muqtada al-Sadr, who until about a week ago had agreed to support Abdul-Mahdi’s remaining Iraq’s prime minister – following a meeting in Iraq with the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force, Qassem Soleimani — said this weekend that Abdul-Mahdi should resign. He also warned that if the government didn’t resign, it would spell the end of Iraq.
The question now is whether a caretaker government will be able to lay the foundations for the next government, in light of the continuation of the demonstrations and the political pressures in the country. Also in question is whether it can prepare for new elections or whether the fervor of the protests and the sense of achievement that has been engendered will only widen the demonstrations, including perhaps a violent confrontation not only between demonstrators and the regime but also within the protest movements.
Iraqi protester in a Money Heist outfit stands behind a Shiite Muslim cleric during an anti-government demonstration, Basra, November 29, 2019

Trump Warms to Syria Kurds Again, Alarming Russia and Turkey
Zvi Bar’el/Haaretz/December 01/2019
Washington will step up its forces and expand the war on ISIS with the Kurds, who hope to win a seat at the negotiating table. Meanwhile, Russia’s efforts at ending the conflict have failed and Iran is watching closely
U.S. armored vehicles patrolling fields near the northeastern Syrian town of “I don’t have an end date” for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, told a press conference Saturday. It seems, then, that Donald Trump’s controversial decision last month to withdraw all American forces from the combat zones in northern Syria has fizzled out.
On Wednesday, the American forces even got a boost from armored forces that included three tanks and three other armored vehicles in addition to a logistics unit that crossed into Syria from the Kurdish region. According to McKenzie, these forces, in cooperation with the Kurdish militias, will broaden their operations against the Islamic State in the Deir el-Zour province. The U.S. justification for the continued involvement of some 1,000 soldiers, to be joined by additional forces, can be found in the American intelligence reports saying that Islamic State forces are regrouping to carry out attacks, and that the Turkish and Russian forces operating east of the Euphrates don’t plan to counter this revamp.
This explanation contradicts Trump’s declaration that the Islamic State has been defeated and American troops have finished their mission in Syria. But it seems that despite the concerns about ISIS attacks, the group is an excuse for the U.S. president to backtrack on his decision to withdraw from Syria given the criticism in Congress, including from Republicans who were furious when America’s Kurdish allies were abandoned.
20 miles from the border
The decision to leave U.S. forces in Syria also affects the Kurdish militias’ willingness to comply with the agreement signed between them, Russia and the United States on October 22. It states that the Kurds must pull back 32 kilometers (20 miles) from the Turkish border.
Some of the Kurdish forces have already withdrawn from the frontier, but in recent days their withdrawal seems to have halted, leading Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to warn that they should uphold their commitment and not rely on U.S. aid. This happened after Russia declared last month that all Kurdish forces had already withdrawn.
Russia and Turkey are concerned that with the turnaround in U.S. policy and the renewed recruitment of Kurdish forces for a war against the Islamic State, the Kurdish withdrawal agreement could collapse. This might prompt Turkey to resume its military operations aimed at forcing the Kurds 32 kilometers from the border. The agreement with the Kurds, which was signed around the time Turkey invaded west of the Euphrates in Syria, has brought Russian forces into some of the places where U.S. forces were operating. The Russians had already begun joint patrols with the Turks to secure the region designated as a security zone to which Ankara plans to relocate around 2 million Syrian refugees of the 4 million or so living in Turkey. Now the fate of the planned security zone is unclear, as is whether conditions will allow for the refugees to be transferred.
But the fate of the refugees is secondary to concerns about a possible confrontation between Turkish and U.S. forces if Turkey decides to resume its offensive in Syria. Russia, for its part, is concerned that Turkey might accuse it of failing to uphold their agreement by not evacuating the Kurdish forces, and that it will leverage Russian hesitancy to entrench itself deeply in Syria, undermining the plan to transfer the region to President Bashar Assad’s control.
Concerns about a constitution
At the same time, it seems that Russia isn’t managing to advance its diplomatic plan to end the war in Syria, after the second meeting of the constitution-drafting committee fell apart. During the conference, which took place this week in Geneva and was attended by representatives of the Assad regime and the opposition, the two sides couldn’t even agree on an agenda for future meetings. It seems that the excitement over the agreement to establish a 150-member constitutional committee, from which 45 people were chosen to draft the constitution, was premature, perhaps very premature. The disagreements aren’t just between the opposition and the regime – whom Assad referred to as “representatives who support the government position,” not as official government representatives. He did this so he wouldn’t be directly blamed if the talks failed, but also among opposition members it’s not clear what Assad’s role should be in the new government to be formed.
The constitutional committee has almost no Syrian Kurdish representatives, even though the Kurds make up around 20 percent of the population. Nor did the Kurds attend the diplomatic conferences in Astana, Kazakhstan, that preceded the establishment of the constitutional committee. The people ostensibly representing the Kurds are from the Kurdish National Council, which is part of the coalition of opposition movements, but the council is controlled by the Kurdish administration in Iraq that’s under the patronage of Turkey, which strongly opposes any involvement of Syrian Kurds in the process.
Herein lies the importance of the American presence in Syria and the renewed military cooperation with the Kurdish militias. Their status as a fighting force in the war against the Islamic State with American support could also strengthen them on the diplomatic front and make clear to both Turkey and Russia that without them any diplomatic process is doomed.
Interesting is that in all the military moves in northern Syria and the diplomatic ones in Geneva, Iran isn’t involved, even though it was an integral part of the process before the forming of the constitutional committee. According to reports from Syria, Iran now seeks to entrench itself in the border area between Syria and Iraq by completing the construction of a large military base at Albukamal that will assure a clear land route between Tehran and Syria. Iran is also striving to entrench itself economically in Syria. Now that it has been pushed out of the cellular-telephone market that it had been promised by Assad, it’s targeting the rights to develop the Syrian power grid. It has signed an agreement to build a power station at Latakia worth 400 million euros and has been awarded a contract to build an electricity network in the Homs region and in other cities. Despite these achievements, Iran remains far behind Russia, which holds a full portfolio of future investments, notably the rights to develop the Syrian oil fields, most of which are now under the control of the Kurds and the Americans.

Mass arrests follow unprecedented wave of unrest in Iran as more turbulence looms
Thomas Seibert/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
ISTANBUL - Following an unprecedented wave of unrest in Iran with record numbers of protesters on the streets around the country, the Tehran regime has arrested thousands but is unlikely to prevent further eruptions of public dissatisfaction, analysts say.
Giving a glimpse into the scale of what may have been the biggest anti-government protests in the 40-year history of the Islamic Republic, officials said 200,000 people had taken part and 7,000 were arrested when public anger about a steep rise in the price of petrol on November 15 triggered countrywide demonstrations. Iran has given no official death toll but Amnesty International said it had documented at least 143 protesters’ deaths. Tehran has rejected this figure, but a number anywhere close to that would make it the deadliest anti-government unrest at least since the authorities put down protests that surrounded the disputed 2009 presidential election and probably since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the shah and swept clerics to power.
Unlike the 2009 Green Movement protests or the 2017 economic ones, demonstrations this month rapidly turned violent within a day, showing the boiling anger of many as the country’s economy struggles under renewed American sanctions.
Arif Keskin, a Middle East expert in Turkey and editor of Maduniyet, a magazine on Iran studies, said Iran was experiencing a growing confrontation between major parts of the population and the regime.
“There is no space left for people to voice criticism and express grievances,” Keskin said by telephone. “So the protests are getting tougher.”
Keskin added the protest movement did not have ideological roots but involved demands for economic and political change. He said the movement had support from the middle classes as well as from the lower classes, who drove the 1979 revolution. “The regime is losing the support of the lower classes,” Keskin said. “The protests are also countrywide and they involve everyone, from the Kurds to the Arabs.”
“The fact that the protests went on for days, that hundreds were killed, thousands injured and thousands arrested, that hundreds of banks and government buildings were torched shows us what has become of politics in Iran.”
A near-total internet blackout was imposed by the Islamic Republic on November 16, the day after the government made the shock announcement that petrol prices were immediately going up by as much as 200%. This, though the price increases have been lifted, and a lack of official figures about victims of the violence makes it difficult to get the whole picture of the crackdown. The New York-based organisation Human Rights Watch accused Tehran of “deliberately covering up” deaths and arrests.
Iranian officials have blamed the street violence on the intervention of “thugs” backed by royalists and Iran’s arch-enemies — the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Iranian people extinguished “a very dangerous deep conspiracy that cost so much money and effort.” He praised the police, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij, the volunteer force of the Guards, for “entering the field and carrying out their task in a very difficult confrontation.”Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, described the protests as being orchestrated by “global arrogance,” a term he often uses to refer to the United States, “and Zionists.” He described America as seeing the price hikes as an “opportunity” to bring their “troops” to the field but the “move was destroyed by the people.”
Citing the intelligence ministry’s counter-espionage department, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that eight people who have been accused of having links to the American CIA and of gathering information to send abroad had been arrested. A senior commander of the IRGC urged the country’s judiciary to mete out harsh sentences to protesters. The tough response has not been balanced by signs that the government takes the criticism by the protesters seriously. But blaming outside forces for economic difficulties at home does not convince a majority of Iranians, a recent poll for the Centre for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy and the Canadian polling firm IranPoll suggested. Even though Iran’s economic woes have worsened since the escalation of US sanctions since May, 55% of Iranians questioned in October told pollsters that “domestic economic mismanagement and corruption” had the greatest negative impact on Iran’s economy, the survey showed.
Keskin said the government’s failure to handle the protest in a more constructive way meant that more unrest was under way. “The Iranian society wants concrete change,” he said. Corruption and nepotism were seen as major problems. “But the state is not prepared to solve them,” Keskin said.
He added the frequency of unrest in Iran was increasing. “It took nearly a decade from the Green Movement in 2009 to the 2017 protests, but it took just two years to the 2019 unrest,” Keskin said. “That means another explosion could come sooner rather than later.”

Erdogan-Sarraj deal risks scuttling diplomatic efforts, entangles GNA in border dispute
Michel Cousins/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
TUNIS - After nine months of a largely military stalemate in the siege of Tripoli by the Libyan National Army, recent developments could alter the course of the conflict. Tensions are set to rise after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a security deal with the besieged Government of National Accord (GNA). Although its details remain murky, the agreement seems almost certain to mean additional Turkish military support to the GNA forces in their battle against the Libyan National Army (LNA). Another recent development is a US diplomatic initiative, apparently driven by Washington’s wariness about the role Russian private military advisers of the Wagner group are said to be playing in backing the LNA in its fight for Tripoli.
Details of the Turkish agreement have not been made public, although the GNA’s all-powerful interior minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has been at the centre of the negotiations with Turkey’s defence minister, has said that the deal covers “all aspects needed” to develop the GNA’s military capacities.
Turkey had been sending drones and other military equipment to the GNA in blatant violation of UN sanctions but supplies dried up over the summer when Turkey focused on Syria. The LNA has managed to slowly wipe out the GNA’s fleet of drones. With the GNA out of air power by late September, the balance started tipping in favour of the LNA’s forces, led by Field-Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Other experts see the impact of Russia in that shift.
To try to reverse the trend, Ankara is sending fresh military equipment, including drones, to back the GNA, and possibly also specialised Turkish forces.
Washington, increasingly fearful that a Haftar victory might result in Libya moving back into Russia’s sphere of influence, has ditched the hands-off approach it has taken since Donald Trump became president and vigorously re-engaged, pursuing its own initiative, independent of the UN.
Victoria Coates, a deputy US national security adviser, has now had meetings with GNA Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, Bashagha and, in Jordan November 24, with Haftar.
How either Haftar or the GNA responds to the US entreaty for a halt to the fighting and direct talks is far from clear. The subsequent Turkish deal may harden positions on both sides and scuttle diplomatic efforts, including a German initiative to hold a peace conference in Berlin..
Matters are further complicated by the GNA’s acceptance, in return for Turkish support, of Ankara’s demand of a maritime boundary in the Mediterranean between Libya and Turkey that would hand Turkey a massive seabed area thought to be rich in oil deposits. Including areas south of Crete, it completely ignores the rights of Greece. The Greeks are furious, so too are the Cypriots, already battling Turkish claims to waters off its coast. The issue risks driving a wedge between the GNA and Athens, as well as between the GNA and the EU. Egypt, a close ally of Greece and Cyprus, has also lashed out, condemning the GNA-Turkish deal as illegal. Sarraj’s decision to back Erdogan in the maritime dispute cements their Islamist alliance but could end up seriously damaging the GNA’s already shaky international credibility.

GCC officials urge unity against Iranian threats
Mohammed Alkhereiji/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
LONDON - Iran’s expansionist policies factored heavily in the 15th edition of Bahrain’s Manama Dialogue, a three-day event organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies and attended by defence and security officials as well as global experts. Bahraini officials directed harsh criticism at the Islamic Republic’s policies towards regional states, accusing Tehran of “attempting to impose hegemony.” Addressing the security event, Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid al-Khalifa cited Iran’s “interference” in the affairs of Bahrain and several other Arab countries.“In my country Bahrain, we have experienced the full brunt of Iran’s interference for almost 40 years,” he said.
“Despite periods of increased cooperation and despite our numerous efforts over the years to have better relations, Iran just doesn’t seem capable of viewing Bahrain as anything other than a target.”Khalifa went on to underscore what he said was Iran’s blatant interference in other regional countries.
“Iran continues to impede Iraq’s progress as a modern state… In Syria, Iranian militias have established a substantial presence to establish long-term control… In Yemen, Iran continues to back the Houthi terrorist group and [is] benefiting from the conflict in the country,” he said.
Khalifa added that in Lebanon, the Iranian interference has led to “stagnation and paralysis” in the country’s political system and “continued confrontations” at home and with neighbouring countries through Tehran’s “terrorist proxy” Hezbollah group. The United Arab Emirates also accused Iran of being a bad neighbour.
“Iran’s expansionist policy is one of the reasons for instability in the region,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said, a November 23 report by Al Arabiya TV stated. Gargash stressed “the necessity to resolve the crisis of Iran’s ballistic missiles with joint regional diplomatic efforts.”
Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir compared some international policies towards Iran to Adolph “Hitler’s appeasement policy.”
“When the Iranian foreign minister presented guarantees to the UK and the government of Gibraltar that the Iranian tanker [Adrian Darya I] would not offload its cargo in Syria, then the vessel ends up delivering the shipment to Syria, we have two problems: The Iranian minister is being deceptive, which is odd, or the foreign minister does not know the intentions of his government, which is worse. Therefore, Hitler’s appeasement policy will not work with the Iranian regime,” al-Jubeir said in the Al Arabiya report.
“The world must unite against Iran and send a clear message that its behaviour is unacceptable,” al-Jubeir stressed, adding that “killing diplomats, bombing embassies, fanning the flames of sectarianism, meddling in other states’ affairs are unacceptable.”
“Saudi Arabia wants to see Iran a prosperous and respectable nation but it has to abandon destruction, respect sovereignty and comply with international law,” Jubeir added. The harsh rhetoric from Gulf officials comes after revelation that the September 14 attacks that hit Aramco’s Khurais oil installation and the Abqaiq oil processing facility were personally approved by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and meticulously developed over several months.
Reuters reported that Khamenei gave the go-ahead to the operation, which was intended to punch the United States for pulling out of the nuclear deal, under the strict conditions that “Iranian forces must avoid hitting any civilians or Americans.”The drone and cruise missile attack overseen by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps resulted in temporarily compromising 50% of the kingdom’s oil production, while also spiking global crude prices.
US Under Secretary of Defence for Policy John C. Rood said that “in the last six months alone, Iran has sought to disrupt the freedom of navigation and the global economy and destabilise its neighbours through direct attacks and through its proxies in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.”
“Unfortunately, with this May’s attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s attack on Aramco oil facilities in Saudi Arabia in September, Iran has made clear its intent to continue a pattern of aggressive and malign behaviour that is destabilising,” Rood said, adding that these attacks are not merely a regional or US problem but a threat to global security and the global economy and are “necessitating an international response.”

Erdogan uses religion, fear to stay politically afloat
Yavuz Baydar/The Arab Weekly/December 01/2019
Having survived political defeat in the local elections some seven months ago, Erdogan is back in the game, using the same fundamental tools that have kept him in power.
Circumventing every possible obstacle, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan keeps moving ahead on the path he set, cementing his rule in Turkey, as he takes every opportunity, big or small, to consolidate his legitimacy on the basis of “stability in Turkey.”
Having survived political defeat in the local elections some seven months ago, Erdogan is back in the game, using the same fundamental tools that have kept him in power: use of religion in a rhetoric similar to the one applied by the Muslim Brotherhood; conducting divisive policies at home, fiercely exercised to keep the opposition as polarised as ever before; constantly driving a wedge between bodies such as NATO and the European Union and, as the Syrian incursion exemplified, raising the stakes for Turkish nationalism; and irredentism, which causes growing concern in the Eastern Mediterranean basin.
In all these efforts Erdogan seems unstoppable. Regarding religion as a political tool, he knows he has the powerful backing of the overwhelming Muslim majority at home, which he hopes will see him as the unchallenged leader of the country.
Addressing the sixth Religious Council meeting of the Presidency of Religious Affairs November 28 in Ankara, his gambling became obvious once more: “Even if it may burden ourselves, we shall place the decretals, and not the rules of the present, at the centre of our lives,” Erdogan said. “Islam is an acquis of rules and prohibitions which encircle all the sections of our lives. We believe in a religion that encompasses its every phase. We are ordered to live as Muslims until the very end.”
Even if Erdogan took his time to underline the traps of “fault lines among Muslims in the world,” it was these words that echoed in Turkey’s increasingly oppressed secular circles, more than his unanswered ambitions to emerge as the leader of the Islamic world.
He also knows that such statements are without a doubt breaches of the constitution, which emphasises that the president remains an impartial and unifying figure. But his challenging in-your-face gestures have always remained his game. He knows that dropping the rhetoric of religion altogether may spell a lethal weakening of his power. Nevertheless, the result of such statements is a continuous Islamisation of the education system, undermining Turkey as a modern nation.
His use of nationalism has pushed the centrist opposition into a corner but, for Erdogan, it is not sufficient, unless coupled with bold divisions within it.
The chain of events placing the secular main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), have recently presented a taste of what is bound to come in the near future. It all began with an obvious piece of disinformation spread by a couple of murky reporters in the press. The “rumour,” these reports said, was that a prominent figure of the main opposition had secretly met Erdogan at his palace to hear from him that “it would be a fine idea if he had replaced the current leader of the CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.”
The media jumped on the bandwagon, dragged by the unconfirmed piece aimed at manipulation. It took several days to deny it, as the opposition party was delivered blow after blow, and internal rifts surfaced. The damage was done, proving, as it were, the oppressed Kurdish politicians who had warned the CHP figures that “you remain silent before the cruelties to us, but you will be next in line.” Erdogan was visibly content and in waves of joyful attacks, as was expected of him. He felt assured that he has his opponents in control.
In foreign policy, Erdogan is benefiting enormously from the overall turbulence and international folly developing day by day. Volatile conjuncture in the Middle East and Europe leaves his daredevil policies room to develop and enlarge, so far so that Ankara feels a growing appetite for irredentism for redrawing the map of the eastern Mediterranean, testing the reaction capacities of the EU.
The more the EU appeases, the more it encourages an escalation of the crisis with Turkey at one side and Greece, Cyprus and Egypt on the other. Amnesia reigns: It was the reactions to the Treaty of Versailles that shaped the Nazi regime in Germany and, in some sense perhaps, the discontent with the Lausanne Treaty will have a similar effect in Turkey’s path to totalitarian rule.
Erdogan, while challenging the European Union, places his bet on the EU trauma. The violent fall of Muammar Qaddafi in Libya is the main source of the refugee crisis that has been reshaping the European political landscape to far-right populism and overall disorder. Erdogan knows very well that the EU at the end of the day would prefer to have him as the leader of Turkey, who will maintain its stability, as opposed to any alternative that would amount to deeper chaos.
The same fear — a prospective instability bigger than in Libya — applies among NATO’s European allies. Thus, Erdogan and his team feel free to block NATO’s plans for its Baltic members, as the bloc turns into a witness as Ankara develops into a Trojan horse.
All these factors explain the success of Erdogan’s survival. He reads the new global reality better than all the others — except perhaps Russian President Vladimir Putin.
*Yavuz Baydar is a senior Turkish columnist, and news analyst. A founding member of the Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) in Istanbul, he has been reporting on Turkey and monitoring media issues since 1980. A European Press Prize Laureate in 2014, he is also the winner of Germany's 'Journalistenpreis' in 2018.

World must not forget Iran’s detained protesters
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/December 01/2019
Although demonstrations against the Islamic Republic generally grab international attention, less focus is placed on the situation after the protests end and the policies the Iranian regime pursues following its successful suppression of widespread demonstrations.
Every wave of protests has further questioned the legitimacy of the regime and challenged its hold on power. Nevertheless, from the perspective of the Iranian leaders, protests are a good opportunity to unleash a sweeping crackdown on their opponents. For example, during the 2018 protests, about 7,000 people were arrested but, soon after the regime silenced the protesters with brute force, the international community appeared to have forgotten about the plight of those captured by the authorities.
The Iranian leaders have declined to report how many people were arrested and killed during last month’s protests. This is a classic strategy employed by the authorities in order to hide the scope of the ongoing crackdown and to impose fear in society. Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, accurately pointed out that: “Keeping families in the dark about the fate of their loved ones while ratcheting up an atmosphere of fear and retribution is a deliberate government strategy to stifle dissent.”
The regime is attempting to extract forced confessions by threatening detainees and their families
Human rights groups believe that at least 140 people were killed and thousands were arrested during the recent public display of discontent in more than 100 locations across Iran. Iranian officials have announced that at least 97 people identified as “leaders” or “influential actors” have been arrested. Those arrested are most likely to be among the younger members of the population, women and university students.
The international community must pay close attention to the domestic situation in Iran after protests are violently crushed. It is also critical to continue shedding light on the fate of the detainees. The regime generally labels protesters as rioters, foreign conspirators or political dissidents. This gives the authorities the power to send them to the Revolutionary Courts and keep them in notorious political jails such as Evin Prison.
Iran’s Revolutionary Courts are known for their lack of due process and for denying detainees access to lawyers. Detainees generally face ambiguous charges such as endangering the national security of the government, attempting to overthrow the government or conspiring with “enemies” and foreigners.
These courts are also known for passing harsh sentences, which range from long-term solitary confinement to execution. Several Iranian officials have already recommended the government sentence protesters to death. The representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office in Khuzestan Province, Mohammed Ali Mousavi Jazayeri, told the official Persian language IRNA news agency that “rioters who used the increase in fuel prices to come to the street and damage public property were trained by foreigners and… should be executed.” The Persian language newspaper Kayhan, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by Khamenei, wrote: “There are reports that suggest judicial authorities consider execution by hanging as the destiny for the rioters.” It is worth noting that the act of insulting Khamenei or chanting “Death to Khamenei” is punishable by death.
The Iranian regime is most likely also resorting to various methods of torture. For example, following the extensive protests in 2009, reports emerged from a specific detention center, Kahrizak, where detained protesters were tortured and raped. Several detainees died there, according to human rights groups. Two major institutions will be playing crucial roles in this regard: The Ministry of Intelligence and the judiciary, which are both dominated by hard-liners.
In addition, the regime is attempting to extract forced confessions by threatening detainees and their families. In such situations, detainees are normally required to state that they were cooperating with foreign governments, spying, and inciting anti-government protests. These “confessions” are videotaped and broadcast to the rest of the world in order to justify the harsh sentences and buttress the Iranian regime’s argument that the demonstrations were acts of foreign “sedition,” while proving that the regime continues to enjoy a high level of domestic popularity. Iran’s state television channels have already broadcast several such coerced confessions.
Some people also die in detention centers because of the torture, and the regime attempts to brush off these deaths as “suicides” without providing any details.
Other detainees will most likely be lashed in public in order to send a strong message to their peers that demonstrations against the regime will not be tolerated. Family members will also be threatened and warned against speaking to the media or writing posts about their situation on social media.
As the Iranian regime is unleashing its sweeping crackdown, the international community must put pressure on the authorities to stop their campaign of oppression and release innocent detainees.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh