English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese
Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 24/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.june24.20.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and
they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said,
‘No; he is to be called John
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 01/57-66: “Now the
time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbours and
relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they
rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they
were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, ‘No; he
is to be called John.’They said to her, ‘None of your relatives has this
name.’Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to
give him. He asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And all
of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and
he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbours, and all
these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All
who heard them pondered them and said, ‘What then will this child become?’ For,
indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 23-24/2020
19 New Coronavirus Cases in Lebanon
US determined to counter Hezbollah's terrorist activities: State Department
More sanctions on Hezbollah and its allies coming, says US official
Army Commander talks developments with UNIFIL’s Del Col
Hitti participates in virtual meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers on Libya
developments
Reopening of Rafik Hariri International Airport as of July 1st
Prosecution Sues Anti-Hizbullah Shiite Cleric for 'Meeting Israelis'
Mouallem: Syria Eager to Cooperate with Lebanon to Face Caesar Act
PM’s Press Office: Relationship between Lebanon and Egypt cannot be disturbed by
spoilers’ hallucinations
Franjieh, Amin Gemayel Announce Boycott of Baabda Talks
Former PMs to Boycott Baabda Meeting
Hariri: Lawsuit against al-Amin a Blatant Attack on Dignity of Lebanese
Gemayel Urges Talks on Arms, Economy, Elections, Govt.
Empty Fridges as Lebanon Economic Crisis Bites
Economic Crisis, Pandemic Hit American University in Beirut
Najm Confirms She Plans to Resign over Independence of Judiciary Law
Lawyer Files Complaint Accusing Hizbullah with Tax Evasion
Sudanese Jobless in Lebanon Risk Life on Israel Border
Future bloc calls for reforms and denounces freedom violations
Nadine Labaki in Netflix’s Coronavirus-era short film anthology
UN: Israeli Violations of Lebanese Sovereignty Endanger Calm
US State Department is denying any deal-making or “good-will diplomacy” behind
the impending release of Kassim Tajideen,
Nasrallah's Chinese Delusion/Alberto M. Fernandez/MEMRI Daily Brief/June 23/2020
US State Department insists no ‘back-room deal’ behind release of Hezbollah
financier
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
June 23-24/2020
Israeli Strikes Kill 2 Syrian Troops, Wound 4
Arab League Urges Libya Cease-Fire amid Fears of Wider War
Trump Sends Stern Warning to Protesters in U.S. Capital
Qatar, GNA Accused of Obstructing Arab Ministerial Meeting
US Official: Israel to Take into Consideration Arab Warnings against Annexation
Erekat Says 192 Countries Reject Annexation
Nile Dam Dispute Escalates Ahead of UN Security Council Debate
Russia Demands Immediate Ceasefire in Libya
Somalia: Suicide Bomber Kills 2 at Turkish Military Base
Iran Urges Romania to 'Seriously' Investigate Death of Fugitive Judge
Fear of Infection Hurt the Economy More Than Lockdowns
Sudan Says Near Settlement With US for 1998 Embassy Bombings
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on June 23-24/2020
Iran’s regime escalates violent persecution of Baha’is/Benjamin Weinthal/Jerusalem
Post/June 23/2020
Syrian Opposition: Anti-Regime Protests In Al-Suwayda Give Us Hope Of Toppling
The Regime/MEMRI/June 23/2020
Jerusalem, Jordan, and the Jews/Daniel Pipes/Israel Hayom/June 23/2020
A Brief History of Antifa: Part II/Antifa in the United States: A Brief History
of Antifa: Part II
U.S. Seeks Indefinite Arms Embargo on Iran in UN Resolution/David Wainer/Bloomberg/June
23/2020
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published
on June 23-24/2020
19 New Coronavirus Cases in Lebanon
Naharnet/June 23/2020
Nineteen more COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Lebanon on Tuesday, which raises
the overall tally to 1,622. Twelve of the cases were recorded among residents
and seven among expats repatriated from Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia, Syria,
Nigeria and the Central African Republic, the Health Ministry said.
The local cases were recorded in Basta, Shiyyah, Mreijeh, Tahwitat al-Ghadir,
Wadi al-Nahleh, al-Qobbeh, Dahr al-Ain, Zgharta, Brital and Aita al-Shaab.
US determined to counter Hezbollah's terrorist activities:
State Department
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/June 23/2020
The United States is determined to counter Hezbollah’s terrorist activities, a
State Department spokesperson said Monday.
“Iranian-backed Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that continues to pose a
significant threat to the United States and its international partners,” the
spokesperson told Al Arabiya English on Monday.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the
app.
Reports circulated in recent days that Washington decided to release a Lebanese
businessman who is designated as am important financial supporter to Hezbollah
as part of a goodwill gesture.
Lebanon freed a Lebanese-American citizen in March after being arrested upon
arrival in Lebanon last year for his work with an Israeli-backed militia in
southern Lebanon until 2000. But on Monday, the State Department said these
reports that Kassim Tajideen’s release from a US prison was part of a backroom
deal were false.
“This Administration has made clear its determination to counter Hezbollah’s
terrorist and illicit activities,” the spokesperson said.
Tajideen was arrested in Morocco in 2017, following an international arrest
warrant and then extradited to the US. He later pleaded guilty to charges
related to evading sanctions against him. Last week, a statement released by his
family said that he would return home to Lebanon in the “near future.” The
family's statement said that US Judge Reggie Walton agreed on May 27 to release
Tajideen on compassionate grounds because of the risks of coronavirus on his
life should he remain in prison.
The Tajideen family thanked the Lebanese and US authorities for facilitating his
return home. Prosecutors were given one month to appeal the decision, but an
authoritative source with knowledge of the matter previously told Al Arabiya
English that no appeal would be filed. However, according to the State
Department spokesperson, “the US government opposed Tajideen’s motion for
compassionate release, but in the end, the court ruled in his favor.”
Tajideen has since been handed over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) “for purposes of removal from the United States,” the spokesperson
revealed.
But the fact that Tajideen is being released early due to health concerns and
removed from the US “does not diminish the severity of his crime,” the
spokesperson said.
Tajideen was designated by the Department of Treasury in 2009 as a Specially
Designated Global Terrorist and he remains designated. His assets remain
blocked, and US persons are still prohibited from engaging in any transactions
with him.
The State Department spokesperson hit out at Hezbollah for also threatening
Lebanon’s security, stability and sovereignty. “It is more concerned with its
own interests and those of its patron Iran, than what is best for the Lebanese
people.”
More sanctions on Hezbollah and its allies coming, says US
official
Al Arabiya English/Tuesday 23 June 2020
Hezbollah is working to destroy Lebanon’s banking system while carrying out its
money laundering and drug trafficking activities, a senior US official said
Tuesday.
“What Hezbollah is doing is a complete threat to Lebanon ... when Lebanon cannot
afford any other crisis, in addition to the financial crisis,” it is currently
in, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Schenker said.
Schenker, speaking to the Lebanese website Al-Hadeel, said that a new batch of
sanctions would be announced to target both Hezbollah and its allies.
“Yes, there will be sanctions … related to combating Hezbollah’s activities,”
the US diplomat said. He noted that these sanctions might fall under the Global
Magnitsky Act, a US law meant to sanction those who take part in corruption or
human rights violations. Hezbollah has long been accused of money laundering
using various methods, including drug trafficking. It is also widely believed
that the Iranian-backed group uses the Port of Beirut for smuggling routes in
and out of Lebanon.
Asked what the US response would be to a war between the militia and Israel,
Schenker said that Hezbollah was a terrorist organization and that “it always
carries out actions that might lead to conflict.” Schenker added that Tel Aviv
has the right to defend itself.
Turning to the relationship between Washington and the current Lebanese
government, made up of Hezbollah and its allies, Schenker said it needed to make
difficult decisions and implement reforms to unlock aid from the international
community. But he said Hezbollah does not seek reform, and it “lives on
corruption.”Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government has been in office for over
100 days. Still, it has yet to implement the requested reforms from the
international community and the International Monetary Fund, which Lebanon is in
talks with.
Last week Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hasan Nasrallah, called for Lebanon to
look to China and Iran for help after he accused Washington of preventing US
dollars from reaching the Lebanese market.
Schenker warned against falling into this “trap,” citing the lack of Iranian and
Chinese aid to Lebanon during the most recent coronavirus pandemic.
He also denied Nasrallah’s allegations that the US was not allowing US
dollars into Lebanon. According to Schenker, one of the main reasons for the
current economic and financial crisis in Lebanon is Hezbollah’s smuggling of
dollars to Syria and Hezbollah’s tax evasion. As for China, Schenker noted Sri
Lanka, in 2017, and its inability to pay its debt to China. As Schenker said,
Beijing forced Sri Lanka to hand over a lease to its port for 99 years.
Nevertheless, Schenker said Washington would continue to provide aid to the
Lebanese Army, which relies almost solely on American assistance. Lebanon
arrests activist who Hezbollah supporters accuse of spying for Israel
Army Commander talks developments with UNIFIL’s Del Col
NNA/June 23/2020
Lebanese Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, on Tuesday welcomed at his Yarzeh
office UNIFIL Commander, Major General Stefano Del Col, with whom he discussed
the general situation in Lebanon and the region.
Hitti participates in virtual meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers on Libya
developments
NNA/June 23/2020
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Nassif Hitti, on Tuesday participated
in the virtual meeting of the Arab Foreign Ministers Council, which was
exceptionally held today to discuss developments in Libya.Minister Hitti also
partook in the extraordinary meeting to discuss 'Ethiopian Renaissance Dam'
developments.
Reopening of Rafik Hariri International Airport as of July
1st
NNA/June 23/2020
Middle East Airlines-Lebanese announces that in light of the reopening of Rafik
Hariri International Airport and the Lebanese Airspace as of July 1st , 2020,
MEA will gradually resume its operations applying precautionary measures to
ensure the safety of our passengers.
Entry into Lebanon is permitted in accordance with the rules and regulations
applied by the Lebanese General Security prior to the closure of the airport,
for: Lebanese, Arab and foreign nationals, diplomats and foreign workers
(domestic assistance) accompanied by the sponsor. Also allowed, is the
Palestinian traveler with a "Palestinian refugee travel document" issued by the
Lebanese authorities.
Syrians connecting by surface to Syria are not allowed due to land border
closure.
PCR countries:
Middle East: Amman- Baghdad- Bassra- Najaf- Cairo- Erbil
Gulf: Abu Dhabi-Dammam- Dubai- Jeddah- Medina- Riyadh
Europe: Athens-Brussels-Frankfurt- Geneva- Istanbul -Larnaca- London- Paris
Africa: Accra-Lagos
Non PCR countries:
Gulf: Doha – Kuwait
Europe: Copenhagen - Yerevan – Milano – Rome
Africa: Abidjan
PCR countries procedure:
Passengers travelling to Lebanon from the countries that perform PCR tests shall
undergo such a test at certified lab by local authorities latest 96 hours or D-4
prior to departure of their trip and show the result at check-in before
proceeding to immigration. Passenger with positive test result will not be
allowed to board the plane. Upon arrival at RHIA another PCR test will be done
to those passengers and the cost of the test will be borne by the airline. The
result of that test will be advised to passenger within 24 hrs.
Exemptions:
-Passengers who travelled out of Lebanon and are returning within one week are
exempted from doing PCR tests at their departure station. (example: departure on
Friday July 17, return on Friday July 24)
-Connecting passengers are allowed to board a flight from PCR countries without
conducting a PCR test before departure
NON –PCR countries procedure:
Passengers arriving from non-PCR countries will undergo a first PCR test upon
arrival at RHIA and the cost of the test will be borne by the airline. The
passenger will have to take a second test after 72 hours at accredited
laboratories as advised by Health authorities on the passenger own cost.
Positive results
In the event that any positive result appears to the passengers who arrived to
Lebanon, they must follow the directives of the Ministry of Public Health until
they recover according to the approved medical protocol.
All Passengers
-Any passenger who shows symptoms of illness including covid-19, will not be
allowed to board the aircraft.
-All passengers traveling to Lebanon must fill health declaration form online
before departure. (link: https://arcg.is/0GaDnG)
-Passengers travelling to Lebanon need to possess an insurance policy that is
valid for the duration of their stay in Lebanon, covering all costs of treatment
for Coronavirus on Lebanese Territory.
-Passengers shall follow the MoPH directives.
Hand luggage:
Economy class passengers are not allowed to carry their hand luggage onboard,
they shall be checked in for free provided it does not exceed 10kg. Exemptions:
limited items such as women handbag, laptop, valuables, electronics and
medication.
Business class passengers are allowed to take their cabin baggage with them into
the aircraft provided they are tagged with a cabin baggage label.
Face masks & hand sanitizers
All passengers must bring with them:
Enough face masks that are mandatory to wear at airport and during the entire
flight and must be replaced every four hours. Passenger having medical reason,
infants and children under age of 6 years are exempted from wearing a mask.
Hand sanitizers for their own use. Passenger is responsible for complying with
all laws, regulations, travel requirements including entry/exit rules from
countries flown from or to.--Middle East Airlines (MEA)
Prosecution Sues Anti-Hizbullah Shiite Cleric for 'Meeting
Israelis'
Naharnet/June 23/2020
The public prosecutor’s office in Mount Lebanon on Tuesday filed a lawsuit
against anti-Hizbullah Shiite cleric Sayyed Ali al-Amin for “meeting Israeli
officials in Bahrain” and a host of other charges, the National News Agency
said.
The prosecution’s move is based on a lawsuit filed by the lawyer Ghassan al-Mawla
on behalf of Nabih Awada, Khalil Nasrallah, Shawqi Awada and Hussein al-Dirani.
The initial lawsuit accuses al-Amin of “meeting Israeli officials in Bahrain,
attacking the resistance and its martyrs on permanent basis, inciting strife
between sects, sowing discord and sedition, and violating the Sharia laws of the
Jaafari sect.”
Mouallem: Syria Eager to Cooperate with Lebanon to Face Caesar Act
Naharnet/June 23/2020
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid el-Mouallem said during a press conference on
Tuesday, that Syria is willing to cooperate with Lebanon to face the new US
sanctions "if Lebanon shows the same willingness."“We are ready to cooperate
together with Lebanon to face the Caesar Act, and that is only possible through
a common desire (between Syria and Lebanon),” said Moallem in his remarks.
However, “there is no such communication between us so far,” he added. On the
demarcation of the border with Lebanon, Mouallem said Syria will never accept
such a move. “Syria will never agree to demarcating its border with Lebanon or
the deployment of international forces because this is only done with the
enemies,” he said. The Minister added: “I am not underestimating the Caesar Act,
but we have been used to dealing with sanctions for decades, and we must strive
to turn Caesar Act into an opportunity to achieve self-sufficiency and deepen
cooperation with allies.”The U.S. Ceasar Act punishes companies that work with
Syrian President Bashar Assad and seeks to prevent his normalization without
accountability for human rights abuses. It also blocks US reconstruction
assistance.
PM’s Press Office: Relationship between Lebanon and Egypt cannot be disturbed by
spoilers’ hallucinations
NNA/June 23/2020
The Press office of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers issued Tuesday
the following statement: “Some media circulated false news about the content of
the Egyptian PM Dr. Mustafa Madbouly’s phone call with Lebanese PM Dr. Hassan
Diab.The truth is that the relationship between Lebanon and the Arab Republic of
Egypt, and between the two brotherly peoples cannot be disturbed by the
spoilers’ hallucinations. The phone call between the two PMs has pinpointed the
basic principles of this relationship. As for the information reported by some
media outlets, against a backdrop of political incitement, it is just an
invention of its author and writer.”
Franjieh, Amin Gemayel Announce Boycott of Baabda Talks
Naharnet/June 23/2020
Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh and former president Amin Gemayel on
Tuesday announced their boycott of Thursday’s national dialogue meeting in
Baabda.
“We will not take part in the Baabda meeting on Thursday, while wishing the
attendees success in their endeavor to rescue the economic, security and social
situation and find the aspired solutions,” Franjieh tweeted. Gemayel for his
part said in a statement that he “spares no chance to reaffirm his support for
state institutions, topped by the Presidency, and does not waste any chance to
engage in national dialogue.”But he noted that President Michel Aoun’s call for
the meeting “does not address the existential threat facing Lebanon in light of
the domestic and regional risks and the usurpation of the state’s sovereignty
and decisions.”He accordingly called on Aoun to “postpone the national meeting
and rearrange its priorities according to the requirements of the constitution
and the state’s higher interest, in a manner that would preserve Lebanon’s
sovereignty, unified fabric, pioneering role and Arab and international
ties.”Aoun has stated that the main objective behind the meeting is the
“immunization of civil peace” in light of the latest violent incidents in Beirut
and Tripoli.
Former PMs to Boycott Baabda Meeting
Naharnet/June 23/2020
Former Prime Ministers Saad Hariri, Najib Mikati, Fouad Siniora, and Tammam
Salam decided to boycott the Baabda meeting scheduled on Thursday at the
Presidential Palace.
The MPs announced this after a meeting at the Center House on Monday evening.
Siniora delivered the following statement:
“We received an invitation from His Excellency President General Michel Aoun to
attend a meeting at the Presidential Palace next Thursday. We never failed to
respond positively to such invitations, and we often overlooked many
sensitivities and formalities to respond to the requirements of national
interest.
But this invitation today, and its declared aim, seem out of place in form and
content. It is a waste of time, at a moment when the country needs different
approaches to pull it out of the acute crisis it is facing, to restore the
confidence of citizens and reassure them about the future. This should be done
by emphasizing the respect of Taif, the constitution and the unified national
decision, by controlling the borders, by ensuring the independence of the
judiciary through a publication of the judicial appointments decided by the
Supreme Judicial Council instead of harming the principle of separation of
powers, by stopping false interpretations of texts to invent concepts that are
outside the provisions of the constitution and the law, or searching for gaps
that do not exist to destroy the national balance and disassociation that the
Lebanese drafted in the "Taif Agreement".
The real threat to stability may come from the deteriorating economic and
financial situation the country has reached, which contributed to the delay in
initiating reform from the part of those in position of responsibility, who do
not have an agenda to protect civil peace from social explosion. This cannot be
solved by large meetings that do not have a clear agenda, but rather by getting
out of the state of confusion and complaining, by ceasing to blame others, and
by embarking on reforms that restore confidence and save the economy and the
national currency according to a serious plan of action that convinces the
Lebanese, the international bodies and the donors.
The performance of the government in the past months (the electricity file, in
particular the issue of Selaata, circumventing the Appointment Mechanism Law
passed by Parliament, the selective fight against smuggling and the confusion in
dealing with exchange rates or the government's failure to develop a unified
study and plan for reform) indicates a blatant inability to make the country
meet the serious challenges and be at the level of the current serious events.
This can only be done by a program that draws a clear road map that includes a
unified stance on the issues that led to the political, financial, economic and
social collapse, and to the security and military exposure, and a program that
corrects options and paths, launches reforms, restores Lebanon to its place and
position, so it reconciles with its Arab environment and regains the world's
confidence.
We do not find in the meeting a serious opportunity to revive the table of a
national dialogue that leads to serious decisions that settle Lebanon's position
as a free, independent and sovereign State that belongs to its Arab surrounding,
and restores the best relations with it.
We agree with what Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rai said yesterday and salute
his national positions.
Our non-participation in this meeting is a clear objection to the inability of
this authority to devise solutions that can save Lebanon with all its
components. Today, Lebanon is threatened by a complete collapse that affects
especially the middle class, that was always the backbone and the true lever of
Lebanese society.
While we are aware of the criticality of the stage, we invite everyone to a
rapid move to stimulate productive energies with all its economic, labor, union
and civil components. In order to return to the fundamentals and defend:
1- The respect and implementation of the Lebanese constitution.
2- The approval of a reform plan and program that is clear and convincing
economically and financially.
3- The respect of the decisions of the Arab and international legitimacies.
4- The respect of the social commitment to disassociation.
5- The integration with the Lebanese interest system in the relationship with
the Arab world.
We express our deep regret of not participating in the meeting called for by His
Excellency the President, as a clear protest message against the inability of
this authority to devise solutions that can save Lebanon with all its
components. And based on our national position and our respect for the minds and
aspirations of the Lebanese, we announce our unwillingness to participate in a
meeting without a horizon. May God help Lebanon and its people”.
Hariri: Lawsuit against al-Amin a Blatant Attack on Dignity of Lebanese
Naharnet/June 23/2020
Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri on Tuesday described a lawsuit
filed against anti-Hizbullah Shiite cleric Sayyed Ali al-Amin as “a blatant
attack on the dignity of the Lebanese.”“It represents a crime, a blatant attack
on the dignity of the Lebanese and contempt for their intelligence and
patriotism,” Hariri said in a tweet. “Sayyed Ali al-Amin
is one of the icons of national and Islamic unity and any attack against his
dignity is an attack against us all, both Muslims and Christians,” he added.
“Stop committing these heresies under the name of the judiciary and false
reports,” Hariri went on to say. The public prosecutor’s office in Mount Lebanon
had earlier on Tuesday filed the lawsuit against al-Amin, accusing him of
“meeting Israeli officials in Bahrain” and a host of other charges. The
prosecution’s move is based on a lawsuit filed by the lawyer Ghassan al-Mawla on
behalf of Nabih Awada, Khalil Nasrallah, Shawqi Awada and Hussein al-Dirani. The
initial lawsuit accuses al-Amin of “meeting Israeli officials in Bahrain,
attacking the resistance and its martyrs on permanent basis, inciting strife
between sects, sowing discord and sedition, and violating the Sharia laws of the
Jaafari sect.”
Gemayel Urges Talks on Arms, Economy, Elections, Govt.
Naharnet/June 23/2020
Kataeb Party chief Sami Gemayel on Tuesday announced that he will boycott the
Baabda national meeting, urging dialogue over the country’s “real problems.”
“We call on President Michel Aoun to put the essential issues on the table. We
are advocates of dialogue and peace and we want the country to be civilized,”
Gemayel said at a press conference. But “we cannot but put the real problems on
the table instead of silencing or drugging the people or trying to make them
forget their bitter situation,” he added. “We don’t want a dialogue that calls
on people to remain silent and we are ready to attend a dialogue over the topics
that are the reasons behind the problem, not a dialogue for ‘dying silently,’”
Gemayel went on to say.
He said dialogue should be over key topics such as holding new parliamentary
elections, forming an independent government, sovereignty and the control of
non-state weapons. Gemayel also said that dialogue should tackle the issue of
devising an economic rescue plan that “addresses the people’s problems, unlike
the one that is witnessing a conflict among the ruling parties.”Commenting on
Aoun’s remarks that the Baabda meeting aims to “immunize civil peace” in the
wake of the latest incidents in Beirut and Tripoli, Gemayel said those incidents
“were fabricated by the existing regime in order to scare people and make them
return to bigotry.”“To us, the solution for protecting stability lies in
implementing the law and arresting security violators, not in calling for
dialogue,” Gemayel pointed out.
Empty Fridges as Lebanon Economic Crisis Bites
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 23/2020
Lebanon's economic crisis has led to a collapse of the local currency and
purchasing power, plunging whole segments of society into poverty as exemplified
by near-empty fridges in many households. Earlier this year, Lebanon defaulted
on its debt and, while the peg to the dollar remains unchanged, the pound has
since nosedived on the black market. In a country so heavily reliant on imports,
the blow is huge and thousands of businesses were doomed even before the
coronavirus lockdown shuttered the economy. Prices have soared almost as fast as
the currency has plummeted, meaning that a salary of one million pounds is now
worth around $200, instead of almost $700 last year. The crisis is sounding the
death knell of a middle class that is sliding into the half of the population
the World bank now estimates lives under the poverty line.
A far cry from the country's erstwhile image as the "Switzerland of the Middle
East" fabled for its nightlife and entrepreneurial genius, a class of destitute
Lebanese is emerging across the country. AFP photographers spent several days in
June visiting people's homes in the main cities of Beirut, Tripoli, Jbeil,
Jounieh and Sidon to ask them how they managed to put food on the table. Those
who accepted to be photographed posed in front of open refrigerators whose bare
shelves often hinted at the leanest of diets. Holding her fridge door open,
Fadwa Merhebi explains she already downsized once because she could not afford
enough food to fill it up. Now it contains only a bottle of mineral water and
two cucumbers. "If there were smaller fridges on the market, I would sell this
one and buy a smaller one," says the 60-year-old, who lives alone in a tiny flat
in Tripoli. "At least I could use the money to buy something to eat."
Economic Crisis, Pandemic Hit American University in Beirut
Associated Press/Naharnet/June 23/2020
One of the Arab world's oldest and most prestigious universities, which endured
civil war, kidnappings and various economic crises, is preparing for what may be
the biggest challenge in its 154-year history. The American University of Beirut
is confronting a global pandemic, a severe recession and the collapse of
Lebanon's currency — all at the same time — and is planning a series of sweeping
layoffs and salary cuts in response. AUB president Fadlo Khuri said the school,
which ranks among the top 150 in the world, will lay off up to 25% of its
workforce, close administrative departments and shelve an ambitious project for
a major new medical center. "The layoffs are very painful," Khuri told The
Associated Press in an interview at the sprawling campus on the Mediterranean
Sea. "AUB has never had to do this before, we've never been forced to have
layoffs."
The American University of Beirut, which operates under a charter from the state
of New York, was the first to introduce American education to the Middle East.
For generations, it has educated the Arab world's elite, produced three
presidents, around a dozen prime ministers — including Lebanon's current
premier, Hassan Diab — and countless Cabinet ministers and ambassadors.
Its vibrant campus has also been a pillar of Beirut's cultural and intellectual
life, with a diverse student body and a history of activism. The announcement
has come as a shock to members of the 6,500-strong workforce of AUB and the
American University Medical Center. Tens of thousands of Lebanese have already
lost their jobs in a worsening economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus
outbreak.
The crisis is rooted in decades of institutionalized corruption and
mismanagement that came to a head last October, igniting mass protests. The
economic meltdown has plunged the fragile country into deep uncertainty and
threatens to unleash further unrest and chaos. Unemployment has skyrocketed to
35%, and nearly half the population lives below the poverty line, according to
the World Bank.
The crisis has also squeezed the middle class. Lebanese, who have long used the
dollar and the Lebanese pound interchangeably, have seen the local currency lose
nearly 70% of its value. With incomes and savings evaporating, many parents have
been unable to afford school, and university fees charged in dollars. Khuri
first laid out the painful reality in a memo to staff on May 5, describing the
situation as a "confluence of calamities" that he said together amount to the
"greatest crisis since the university's foundation in 1866."He said the
university had expected to raise $609 million in revenue for 2019 and 2020, but
instead faces real losses of $30 million, an amount that would almost totally
wipe out contingency funds it has built up since 2015.In a June 15 memo, he
announced there would be a series of unprecedented layoffs to help cope with the
crisis. Khuri told the AP the decision was "very difficult personally" but aims
at making AUB more sustainable.
The university remained open throughout much of the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil
war, providing an oasis of calm and greenery even as a number of foreign staff
members were kidnapped or killed, including president Malcom Kerr who was
assassinated in 1984 and David Dodge who was acting university president when he
was kidnapped by pro-Iranian gunmen in 1982. He was released a year later in
Iran. International and local faculty and students joined waves of Lebanese who
fled the country's recurring conflicts.
The university closed down when the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, but it
has partially reopened for summer classes. It currently enrolls around 9,250
students.
Khuri said the current crisis is very different than what happened during the
civil war, when the Central Bank and government still had resources that could
stabilize the situation. "What happened during the civil war is that the
Lebanese state disintegrated but the Lebanese government still had resources,"
Khuri said. "Right now, what you have is a perfect storm." Khuri, who has
expressed support for the demands of the protest movement, said the system in
Lebanon needs to fundamentally change. He hopes that the aspirations of young
Lebanese who took to the streets in October last year will be heard. "The poison
in the American constitution was slavery, the poison in the Lebanese
constitution is sectarianism," he said.
Lebanon's communal power-sharing system, established since the country's
independence from France, distributes top government posts according to sect and
has spawned widespread corruption and political paralysis. Khuri, who was born
in Boston and brought up in Beirut, where he attended AUB in the early 1980s,
said he was concerned that when Beirut airport reopens after the coronavirus
shutdown, even more of Lebanon's best and brightest will emigrate. He said a
strong AUB is the best hope for the people of Lebanon and the Arab world, to
help develop the region's future leaders — another reason to take tough
measures.
"It's a very bitter cup to drink, but we don't get to choose our battles in
life, and unfortunately this is the one that I've inherited," he said.
Najm Confirms She Plans to Resign over Independence of Judiciary Law
Naharnet/June 23/2020
Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm said she plans to submit her resignation if
the Parliament fails to approve the law on the independence of the judiciary,
al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday. Najm, whose remarks were made in an
interview with the daily, said she intended to submit her resignation twice
during her six-month period in office. The first was because of her
“disappointment” that the Higher Judicial Council did not take her remarks into
consideration in the judicial formations, she said. Noting that PM Hassan Diab
dissuaded her from that step.
The Minister said she planned to resign again when the financial and
administrative appointments were issued at the Cabinet, but decided to “continue
with the confrontation because the rescue path is long,” and that she “will not
give up.”
But shall the Parliament fail to endorse the law on the independence of the
judiciary, Najm said she will “resign if this law gets obstructed.”
Lawyer Files Complaint Accusing Hizbullah with Tax Evasion
Naharnet/June 23/2020
A lawyer filed a complaint with the Financial Prosecution against Hizbullah
accusing the party of tax evasion, media reports said on Tuesday. Lawyer Majd
Harb, filed the complaint against Hizbullah, in a first against the party, on
charges of "tax evasion, customs evasion and money laundering, thus depriving
the Lebanese state of hundreds of millions of dollars."“Hizbullah’s annual
budget amounts to one billion dollars according to a global report, which
Hizbullah itself did not deny. 500 million of which are paid as salaries and
compensation which must be taxed as part of taxes on salaries. Tax on income
must also be paid by employees. The Lebanese State has seen no tax paid by
Hizbullah in that regard,” Harb told al-Hadath TV channel.
On accusations of tax evasion, he said that Iran sends donations to the party.
He asked “How do these donations make it into Lebanon?”“Any profit made of these
practices, that in turn get invested, are considered money laundering,” he
added.
Sudanese Jobless in Lebanon Risk Life on Israel Border
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 23/2020
Cowering in a pipe after fleeing Lebanon, a man desperate for work became the
latest Sudanese national to risk his life in a perilous trek across the Israeli
border.
With Lebanon facing its worst economic crisis in decades, soaring unemployment
has sparked a new trend at the country's southern frontier. Since the start of
May, around 16 Sudanese men have been caught trying to sneak across the heavily
militarised border under the cover of night. The latest was found Wednesday in a
pipe and interrogated by the Israeli army, before being sent back across the
border.
While Israel remains on high alert for border breaches by Lebanese militant
group Hezbollah, against which it fought a devastating war in 2006, both sides
say the Sudanese are economic migrants. "According to the initial investigation,
the attempted infiltrations into Israel are not motivated by security or spying,
but are solely tied to the economic and monetary crisis in Lebanon," a Lebanese
security source told AFP.
Lebanon's currency plunged to record lows earlier this month, causing food
prices to skyrocket in a country where more than 45 percent of the population
were already living below the poverty line. At their embassy in Beirut, many
Sudanese have been calling on their government to take them home. "I want to go
back to Sudan because life has become so expensive here and my salary is worth
nothing. I can barely get enough to eat," said 27-year-old Issa. His monthly
wage of 500,000 Lebanese pounds from working at a supermarket has dropped from
$333 to just under $100 due to the currency devaluation. More than 1,000
Sudanese have registered at the embassy hoping to be repatriated, out of at
least 4,000 living in Lebanon, according to Abdallah Malek from the Association
of Young Sudanese in Lebanon.
Slim chances
Some of those trying to cross the southern frontier may have contacts among the
Sudanese community in Israel, but the journey still comes with serious risks.
Lebanese soldiers found the bullet-ridden body of a Sudanese man on their side
of the border who they believe was headed south, although the precise
circumstances of his death remain unclear. Another was arrested in the same
area.
Five other Sudanese were arrested last month for trying to slip illegally into
Israel, the Lebanese army said. While it is impossible to say how many people
may have evaded border patrols and made it into Israel, just one is known to
have been picked up by Israeli authorities this year and remains in the country.
Muhammad Abshar Abakar was stopped in January by the Israeli army, before being
handed to the police and detained. Hotline for Refugees and Migrants worked to
have him released from detention in late April, but due to coronavirus
restrictions staff from the Israeli organisation have been unable to meet him in
person. "He told us that he does want to apply for asylum. When we meet him
we'll discuss that," said Hotline spokeswoman Shira Abbo. But his chances are
slim, with Israel granting refugee status to just one Sudanese person in recent
years out of a 6,000-strong community.
The majority have had asylum applications pending for years, allowing them to
work in the interim, while around 1,000 Sudanese have been granted humanitarian
protection.
-'Such great risks' -
Most Sudanese migrants began arriving in Israel in 2007 through the border with
Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. The porous frontier has since been largely sealed off
by Israel, putting an end to arrivals. Anwar Suliman made it through Sinai to
Israel in 2008, following a friend's advice that he would be safe because the
country has no formal ties with Khartoum. Now living in Herzliya, north of Tel
Aviv, 40-year-old restaurant worker was not aware of Sudanese abroad contacting
compatriots in Israel. Abbo deplored the forced return of Sudanese intercepted
by the Israeli army.
"If someone says they want to seek asylum, they have to give this person a
chance to meet people who are trained in dealing with these kinds of people,"
she said.
With Israel and Lebanon technically still at war, there is no coordination
between the two countries on economic migrants. According to details pieced
together by soldiers, unemployed waiters and dishwashers used social media to
plan their journey.
Despite Israel's determination to prevent border breaches, the dire situation in
Lebanon could push more Sudanese to try their luck. "The living conditions and
the feeling of despair have pushed them to take such great risks," Malek said of
his compatriots seeking to leave Lebanon.
Future bloc calls for reforms and denounces freedom
violations
NNA/June 23/2020
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri chaired this afternoon at the Center House the
weekly meeting of the Future Parliamentary Bloc, in the presence of former
Deputy Speaker Farid Makari and former MPs and ministers of the movement.
Discussions focused on the latest political developments. At the end of the
meeting, MP Nazih Najem read the following statement:
First: The Future Bloc highly praised the stance issued by the former Prime
Ministers regarding their non-participation in the Baabda meeting, as a message
of protest against the inability of the Mandate and its government to manage the
situation in the country at all levels, prepare a clear rescue plan, develop
solutions that pull the country out of its crises, stress the respect of the
Arab and international resolutions and disassociate Lebanon from the region's
problems.
It considers that the statement issued by the former Premiers expresses the
bloc’s stance and it supports their position in protecting civil peace and
committing to the official institutions, under the roof of Taef and the
Constitution and implementing its provisions, regardless of the dangers
surrounding us and the winds of division and discord blowing in the region.
Second: The bloc noticed that the mandate, its government, and pillars continue
to flounder in the various files facing the Lebanese including the
socio-economic, educational, financial and monetary difficulties. It supports
the citizens who are witnessing daily the erosion of their savings because of
the deterioration of the exchange rate of the LBP, the negligence in combating
the black markets and the moneychangers in charge of collecting the hard
currency in the interest of smuggling operations and some political funds. The
bloc considers that the Lebanese are fed up of words and false accomplishments,
stressing that the best and most effective way to reach solutions and
negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and the international
community is through actions and the initiation of the required reforms, which
are now known to all, instead of throwing the responsibility of the danger of
collapse on others.
Third: The bloc welcomes the work of the parliamentary fact-finding committee,
which exerted great efforts to unify the figures presented by the government in
its financial plan, which contradict the figures of the central bank. The bloc
awaits the committee’s final report, which would give the delegation negotiating
with the IMF a solid position in the undergoing negotiations after the confusion
it went through due to the figures of the government.
The bloc discussed what is being said about the government's intention to lift
subsidies on gasoline and diesel and its implications on the overall
socio-economic situation in the country. It considered that this kind of partial
solution is not useful because the seriousness of the socio-economic situation
requires an integrated rescue plan and the immediate initiation of the necessary
reforms as a first step to pull the country out of its crisis.
Fourth: The Bloc stresses the importance of respecting the freedoms guaranteed
by the constitution and the laws in effect. It totally rejects any violation of
these freedoms, especially after the growing discourse about restricting the
freedom of activists and the media under various names.
Fifth: MP Bahia Hariri informed the bloc of the steps she has taken and is
taking at the legislative and educational levels to address the education crisis
in Lebanon in general, with the aim of enabling public and private schools to
face the repercussions of coronavirus and the economic situation. She informed
the bloc of the draft laws she submitted and is following up and the outcome of
her meetings with all concerned parties and the relevant educational sectors and
the proposals put forward to reach practical solutions to this crisis. These
solutions should secure the requirements for ending the current academic year
and overcoming possible difficulties that will face the start of the new
academic year.
German ambassador
Earlier, Hariri received the German Ambassador to Lebanon Georg Birgelen in a
farewell visit on occasion of the end of his mission in Lebanon.
Nadine Labaki in Netflix’s Coronavirus-era short film anthology
NNA//June 23/2020
Netflix has become a pastime for many who have been stuck at home during the
coronavirus pandemic lockdown, and now the streaming giant has announced a new
“HOMEMADE” short film series, which will be available online on June 30,
2020.“HOMEMADE” features short films produced by filmmakers from all around the
world, including Lebanon’s renowned Nadine Labaki, who have produced or
documented their lockdown experience. All of the films have been made using
typical household products and cover genres including intimate diary entries of
a filmmaker’s day-to-day life, to short fictional tales.
The series was produced by The Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle company, and
Fabula, which worked with the wide range of filmmakers to explore how creativity
can thrive even in lockdown. Notable names involved in the “HOMEMADE” project
include Kristen Stewart, Nadine Labaki, Ladj Ly, the director known for his 2019
film Les Misérables, Rachel Morrison of Black Panther, and Gurinder Chadha of
Bend It Like Beckham, are also featured in the “HOMEMADE” roster.
In honor of each filmmaker, donations from Netflix’s Hardship Fund will also
benefit third parties and non-profits that provide emergency relief to the
out-of-work crew and cast members across the broader TV and film industry.
The full list of short films and their directors are listed below, courtesy of
Variety.
• Ladj Ly (“Les Misérables”) – short filmed in Clichy Montfermeil (France)
• Paolo Sorrentino (“The Great Beauty,” “The New Pope”) – short filmed in Rome
(Italy)
• Rachel Morrison (“Black Panther,” “Mudbound”) – short filmed in Los Angeles
(U.S.)
• Pablo Larraín (“El Club,” “Jackie”) – short filmed in Santiago (Chile)
• Rungano Nyoni (“Kuuntele: I am not a witch”) – short filmed in Lisbon
(Portugal)
• Natalia Beristáin (“She does not want to sleep alone”) – short filmed in
Mexico City (Mexico)
• Sebastian Schipper (“Victoria,” “Roads”) – short filmed in Berlin (Germany)
• Naomi Kawase (“True Mothers,” “Sweet Bean”) – short filmed in Nara (Japan)
• David Mackenzie (“Hell or High Water,” “Outlaw King”) – short filmed in
Glasgow (Scotland)
• Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Kindergarten Teacher,” “The Honourable Woman”) – short
filmed in Vermont (U.S.)
• Nadine Labaki & Khaled Mouzanar (“Caramel,” “Capernaum”) – short filmed in
Beirut (Lebanon)
• Antonio Campos (“The Devil All The Time”) – short filmed in Springs, New York
City (U.S.)
• Johnny Ma (“Old Stone,” “To live to sing”) – short filmed in San Sebastian del
Oeste, Jalisco (Mexico)
• Kristen Stewart (“Clouds of Sils Maria,” “Come Swim”) – short filmed in Los
Angeles (U.S.)
• Gurinder Chadha (“Bend It Like Beckham,” “Blinded by the Light”) – short
filmed in London (U.K.)
• Sebastián Lelio (“Gloria Bell,” “A Fantastic Woman”) – short filmed in
Santiago (Chile)
• Ana Lily Amirpour (“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” “The Bad Batch”) –
short filmed in Los Angeles (U.S.)
UN: Israeli Violations of Lebanese Sovereignty Endanger
Calm
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 23 June, 2020
UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col warned
on Monday that the Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty could escalate
tensions and potentially trigger incidents endangering the cessation of
hostilities between both sides. "UNIFIL has observed an increase in activities
of Israeli fighter aircraft flying in the Lebanese skies," State news agency NNA
cited Del Col as saying, noting that Israeli overflights into Lebanese airspace
were violations of UN Security Council resolutions as well as of Lebanon's
sovereignty.
"Such violations of Lebanese sovereignty and of resolution 1701 escalate
tensions and could potentially trigger incidents endangering the cessation of
hostilities between Lebanon and Israel," he added. Del Col also stressed that
they also come in contravention of UN objectives and efforts to reduce tensions
and establish a stable security environment in southern Lebanon. "Once again, I
reiterate the call to Israel to cease all overflights of Lebanese territory
immediately."
US State Department is denying any deal-making or
“good-will diplomacy” behind the impending release of Kassim Tajideen,
Joyce Karam/The Ntional/June 23/2020
Kassim Tajideen was designated a 'global terrorist' by the US Treasury
Department for supporting Hezbollah
The US State Department is denying any deal-making or “good-will diplomacy” was
behind the impending release of Kassim Tajideen, a Lebanese-Belgian businessman
and convicted financier of the militant organisation Hezbollah.
Tajideen, 64, was designated a “global terrorist” by the US Treasury Department
in 2009 for supporting Hezbollah, which is designated a terrorist group by the
US.
He was arrested in Morocco in 2017, extradited to the US and sentenced to five
years in prison in August 2019.
But after a judge's order on May 28, Tajideen was granted “compassionate
release” because of "serious health conditions" and coronavirus.
He is in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is expected to
be deported to Lebanon in the next two weeks.
With no evidence that Tajideen’s health is suffering, or that there is
coronavirus in his prison, his release is fuelling talk of a prisoner swap
between Washington and Beirut, or with Hezbollah’s main backer, Iran.
But on Monday, a US official told The National that there was no such deal and
Tajideen’s release was a matter of judicial process.
“The US government opposed Tajideen's motion for compassionate release but in
the end the court ruled in his favour,” the US State Department spokesperson
said.
Asked why no appeal notice by federal prosecutors was filed, the State
Department referred the query to the Justice Department, which was not available
for comment.
Legally, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of the
judgment. In Tajideen’s case, the deadline is May 28.
He was transferred from prison to a detention centre on June 11.
Lebanese reports said it was a “good-will gesture” from the US, and part of a
possible swap after the release of Lebanese-American dual citizen Amer Fakhoury
in March. But the US State Department official denies that explanation.
“We have seen some inaccurate reports characterising this judicial action as
good-will diplomacy or part of a back-room deal. Those reports are false,” he
said.
The early release “due to health concerns and removed from the United States
does not diminish the severity of his crime".“Iranian-backed Hezbollah is a
terrorist organisation that continues to pose a significant threat to the United
States and its international partners,” the official said.
Tajideen’s return has been a major request by the Lebanese General Security
Directorate and for Hezbollah.
“The case of Lebanese businessman arrested in the US, Kassim Tajideen, is on
mind, is not ignored, and I met him in his jail in the US,” Abbas Ibrahim, the
top Lebanese security official, said last summer.
Mr Ibrahim has negotiated hostages release from Syria and Iran over the past
four years. “I’m concerned about the precedent that it sets, especially if it’s
linked to the broader Iran hostage swaps,” said Jason Brodsky, a policy director
at United Against Nuclear Iran. “Previous prisoner exchanges involved sanctions
evaders but Mr Tajideen is a specially designated global terrorist.”
Mr Brodsky said Tajideen’s work and experience in African countries was further
evidence of the importance Iran and Hezbollah placed on the continent.
The commander of Iran's Islamic Republican Guard Corps' Quds Force, Esmail
Ghaani, dealt directly with Tehran’s influence in West Africa, the US Treasury
Department says. Tajideen pleaded guilty in December 2018 for making nearly $1
billion (Dh3.67bn) in illegal transactions and evading US sanctions.
In August 2019, after his extradition, he was ordered to pay $50 million
alongside his prison sentence.
Nasrallah's Chinese Delusion
Alberto M. Fernandez/MEMRI Daily Brief/June 23/2020
البيرتو فرناندس/ميمري/وهم
نصرالله الصيني
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/87584/alberto-m-fernandez-memri-nasrallahs-chinese-delusion-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%aa%d9%88-%d9%81%d8%b1%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%86%d8%af%d8%b3-%d9%85%d9%8a%d9%85%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d9%88%d9%87%d9%85/
On June 17, Naim Qassem, the deputy of the Lebanese terrorist group Hizbullah
which enforces the Iranian satrapy over Lebanon, gave a lengthy interview to the
LBC channel in Beirut.[1] Ostensibly, Qassem and his boss Hassan Nasrallah are
just the leadership of a political party/"resistance" organization, but
Hizbullah's stranglehold over the country means that everyone looks for context
and meaning in these periodic discourses and interviews. Enemies look for clues,
and Iran's servants in Lebanon look for guidance.
Among other points, Qassem reiterated a point made earlier, that Lebanon should
look east for economic support as it seeks to survive a financial crisis which
has morphed inevitably into an unprecedented economic and societal catastrophe.
Lebanon has opened negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for
emergency assistance, but various accounts relate that negotiations have not
gone well. The transparency, reform, and pain usually demanded by the IMF is
tough for the country's elite (which is in turn subservient to Hizbullah) to
swallow. By east, Qassem mentioned "Iran, China, Syria, Russia" as possible
alternate sources of economic support. Qassem was echoing an earlier interview
given by Nasrallah to Hizbullah's own Al-Manar channel touting the Chinese
option.[2] He suggested that Chinese investment in the port of the north
Lebanese city of Tripoli, in a railroad and a power plant, would bring money and
job opportunities for Lebanese.
Not surprisingly, the remarks by the two Hizbullah leaders were echoed within
hours by other Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Hassan Diab and
former foreign minister Gebran Bassil. Another Hizbullah-controlled media outlet
publicized "exclusive documents" stating that China was ready to invest $50
billion in Lebanese projects.[3]
There is no doubt, of course, that China has real economic heft in the world
today and that it is aggressively seeking to project all sorts of power – soft
and hard – worldwide. But the China boomlet among Lebanon's terrorist masters
and their collaborators seems eerily familiar.
I first encountered this People's Republic of China wet dream among
authoritarian rulers in Sandinista-ruled Nicaragua. Looking at the economic
basket case that was the Soviet Union and Cuba, some Nicaraguan regime
journalists offered China as an example of a "socialist country that actually
works." It would not be the last time I heard this.
Years later, around 1994, while serving as a diplomat in Assad's Syria, I heard
a more expansive claim for China. While visiting a supposed think-tank connected
to the ruling Ba'ath Party in the Damascus suburb of Al-Tal, I was told how
China was a much more attractive model than the West. Here was true development,
but also "socialism," and "order." A better standard of living and monopolistic
party rule – what's not to like?
The Islamist ideologues of Sudan's then ruling National Congress Party (NCP) a
decade later also repeatedly touted China. Here the claim had a real-world
connection, as Chinese oil companies had replaced American ones to exploit
Sudan's new-found oil wealth. The Americans, companies like Chevron, had
discovered the oil but had to withdraw from Sudan due to complaints about the
country's massive human rights violations. While the "China card" played by NCP
officials was always tinged with scornful arrogance directed at the U.S., local
Sudanese living in the oil patch told me that American companies had been far
more benevolent and paternalistic than the tight-fisted Chinese.
Interestingly enough, the one country where I heard a more cynical appraisal of
the Chinese in high places was in Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich state in the
Gulf of Guinea, which had a considerable Chinese economic presence (except in
the petroleum sector, which was overwhelmingly American). President Obiang, now
Africa's longest-ruling head of state, once told me that "we use China because
we have to, but you get what you pay for."
An able authoritarian to his fingertips, Obiang was particularly irritated by
the poor quality of Chinese construction – some projects had to be redone a
second or third time – and by the Chinese propensity to bring in Chinese labor
to perform even the most menial jobs which could have been done by locals. "When
you go to China and visit Shanghai and see these companies, this is not what
they send to Africa. They don't send their best," he noted.
But the authoritarians' China pipedream is a hardy perennial. Even before the
recent comments from Hizbullah, the terrorist group's counterparts in Iraq were
promoting China, and to a lesser extent Russia, as economic and security
substitutes to the U.S.[4] Both Iraqi militia leaders and the heads of Shia
Islamist parties were enamored with the China option because they had seen it
work, more or less, in neighboring Iran. China could not solve all of Iran's
problems, but it had proven to be a major lifeline. China is Iran's biggest
trading partner for over a decade, and even during the American "maximum
pressure" campaign in 2019, trade between the two countries totaled more than
$20 billion.[5]
In Iran, China has made a difference. It has been a lifesaver for the regime in
spite of American pressure. The problem is that China's motivation cannot only
be to thwart the U.S. There is profit to be made and power to acquire. Lebanon
does not offer China the energy resources and large market it craves and which
exist in Iran or even in Venezuela. And any Chinese infrastructure investment in
Lebanon is one Israeli airstrike away from being reduced to rubble in the next
Hizbullah-instigated war. China cannot solve Lebanon's problem in the same way
that it could not solve them in the Syria and Sudan, which said that they looked
to China as a model to emulate. The Sudanese regime fell, and the Syrian one
survives, barely, amidst the rubble. China will not rebuild Assadistan for
nothing.
For Lebanon's corrupt ruling class, the China appeal is obvious. It will give
the impression of forward motion and progress while the Lebanese people sink
further into servile penury. Maybe it will buy more time as it has done in Iran
– time to continue doing what that Lebanese ruling class and what Hizbullah have
been doing for years, without change or reform. China's Yin to the IMF's Yang;
instead of the American-controlled IMF with its onerous conditions, you have the
tantalizing image of Chinese largesse with no strings attached. This is, of
course, an image which may well have no basis in reality, either from the
Chinese side or on the ground in Lebanon.
*Alberto M. Fernandez is Vice-President of MEMRI.
US State Department insists no ‘back-room deal’ behind
release of Hezbollah financier
Joyce Karam/The Ntional/June 23/2020
Kassim Tajideen was designated a 'global terrorist' by the US Treasury
Department for supporting Hezbollah
The US State Department is denying any deal-making or “good-will diplomacy” was
behind the impending release of Kassim Tajideen, a Lebanese-Belgian businessman
and convicted financier of the militant organisation Hezbollah.
Tajideen, 64, was designated a “global terrorist” by the US Treasury
Department in 2009 for supporting Hezbollah, which is designated a terrorist
group by the US.He was arrested in Morocco in 2017, extradited to the US and
sentenced to five years in prison in August 2019.
But after a judge's order on May 28, Tajideen was granted “compassionate
release” because of "serious health conditions" and coronavirus.
He is in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is
expected to be deported to Lebanon in the next two weeks.
With no evidence that Tajideen’s health is suffering, or that there is
coronavirus in his prison, his release is fuelling talk of a prisoner swap
between Washington and Beirut, or with Hezbollah’s main backer, Iran.
But on Monday, a US official told The National that there was no such deal and
Tajideen’s release was a matter of judicial process.
“The US government opposed Tajideen's motion for compassionate release but in
the end the court ruled in his favour,” the US State Department spokesperson
said.
Asked why no appeal notice by federal prosecutors was filed, the State
Department referred the query to the Justice Department, which was not available
for comment.
Legally, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of the
judgment. In Tajideen’s case, the deadline is May 28.
He was transferred from prison to a detention centre on June 11.
Lebanese reports said it was a “good-will gesture” from the US, and part of a
possible swap after the release of Lebanese-American dual citizen Amer Fakhoury
in March. But the US State Department official denies that explanation.
“We have seen some inaccurate reports characterising this judicial action
as good-will diplomacy or part of a back-room deal. Those reports are false,” he
said. The early release “due to health concerns and
removed from the United States does not diminish the severity of his
crime".“Iranian-backed Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation that continues to
pose a significant threat to the United States and its international partners,”
the official said.
Tajideen’s return has been a major request by the Lebanese General Security
Directorate and for Hezbollah. “The case of Lebanese
businessman arrested in the US, Kassim Tajideen, is on mind, is not ignored, and
I met him in his jail in the US,” Abbas Ibrahim, the top Lebanese security
official, said last summer.
Mr Ibrahim has negotiated hostages release from Syria and Iran over the past
four years. “I’m concerned about the precedent that it sets, especially if it’s
linked to the broader Iran hostage swaps,” said Jason Brodsky, a policy director
at United Against Nuclear Iran. “Previous prisoner exchanges involved sanctions
evaders but Mr Tajideen is a specially designated global terrorist.”Mr Brodsky
said Tajideen’s work and experience in African countries was further evidence of
the importance Iran and Hezbollah placed on the continent.
The commander of Iran's Islamic Republican Guard Corps' Quds Force,
Esmail Ghaani, dealt directly with Tehran’s influence in West Africa, the US
Treasury Department says. Tajideen pleaded guilty in December 2018 for making
nearly $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) in illegal transactions and evading US sanctions.
In August 2019, after his extradition, he was ordered to pay $50 million
alongside his prison sentence.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on June 23-24/2020
Israeli Strikes Kill 2 Syrian Troops, Wound 4
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 23/2020
Two Syrian soldiers were killed and four others wounded in Israeli strikes
Tuesday in the southern province of Sweida, a military source said, reporting
other raids elsewhere in the war-torn country. "Several hostile missiles were
fired at our military positions in Kababej, west of Deir Ezzor and in the al-Sukhna
region," a military source quoted by the official SANA news agency said, using
its common term for Israeli attacks. "At the same time, one of our military
positions was targeted near the town of Salkhad in the southern city of Sweida,
resulting in the death of two martyrs and the wounding of four other soldiers,"
the source added.
Arab League Urges Libya Cease-Fire amid Fears of Wider War
Associated Press/Naharnet/June 23/2020
The Arab League on Tuesday pressed Libya's warring parties and their foreign
backers to halt fighting and restart peace talks, as regional tensions threaten
a new escalation in the oil-rich country's years-long conflict.
Following an emergency meeting requested by Egypt, Arab League foreign
ministers warned against a "continuation of military action that alters existing
front lines." The statement came as a coalition of Turkish-backed forces based
in the capital, Tripoli, pushed toward the key coastal city of Sirte.
Over years of war, Libya has become divided between west and east, with
the United Nations-supported government based in Tripoli, in the west. Rival
military commander Khalifa Haftar is based in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Turkey has escalated its support in recent months for the Tripoli-based
government, supplying armed drones, military experts and thousands of Syrian
fighters to shore up its presence in the eastern Mediterranean. Its efforts have
rattled its regional rivals, especially Egypt, which shares a long and porous
desert border with Libya. Retaking Sirte, the
birthplace of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi, would open the door for
Turkish-backed forces to advance even farther eastward, to potentially control
vital oil installations, terminals and fields now under Haftar's control.
The refusal by Tripoli and the Turkish-backed forces to back down stirred
fears of a wider war over the weekend, when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
called Sirte a "red line" and threatened to intervene directly on behalf of
Haftar's forces if the city came under attack. "All of
our forces are working hard at preparations for the operation to liberate Sirte,"
said Mustafa al-Mujie, a spokesman for the Tripoli forces, on Tuesday. "We are
sending reinforcements and expect the offensive to launch very soon."
Tripoli forces have also vowed to capture al-Jufra, Haftar's air base in central
Libya, where the U.S. military has accused Russia of sending at least 14 fighter
jets. In recent months, Turkish-backed Tripoli
militias have turned the war's momentum against Haftar, compelling his forces to
retreat from most of the territory they seized since starting their campaign to
capture the capital in April last year. Haftar and his foreign backers,
including Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, have pushed for a return
to the negotiating table to stem their losses and head off a larger
conflagration.The Arab League ministers expressed "grave concern" over a
military escalation that "threatens the security of the entire region," and
emphasized the need to "stop foreign interference, whatever its type or
source."They appealed for an immediate return to U.N.-mediated cease-fire talks
and for all foreign forces to be sent out of Libya — a daunting task in a
country where thousands of mercenaries, mainly from Syria, have been deployed to
both sides of the battlefield.
Trump Sends Stern Warning to Protesters in U.S. Capital
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 23/2020
President Donald Trump delivered a strong warning Tuesday to protesters in
Washington, threatening "serious force" if they tried to create a Seattle-like
autonomous zone in the U.S. capital. A day after
police used pepper spray to disperse demonstrators who tried to topple a statue
of a former president just outside the White House, Trump also threatened stiff
prison sentences against "anarchists" who damage national monuments.
"I have authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes
or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the U.S. with
up to 10 years in prison," Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.
"This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used
retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no
exceptions!" he wrote. "There will never be an
'Autonomous Zone' in Washington, D.C., as long as I'm your President. If they
try they will be met with serious force!" Trump was
referring to the police-free district created by protesters in Seattle, in
Washington state, two weeks ago, which has sparked outrage among conservatives.
On Saturday, police were denied access to Seattle's six-block "Capitol
Hill Autonomous Zone" after a person was shot dead, and on Monday the west coast
city's mayor announced that they planned to take control back of the area.
In the U.S. capital of Washington late Monday, protesters attempted to
pull down a monumental statue of Andrew Jackson, who was president from 1829 to
1837, astride a rearing horse. The statue stands just outside the White House,
and was targeted for Jackson's history as a slave owner and his brutal policies
toward Native Americans. Beginning in 1830 he forced the relocation of tens of
thousands of native Americans from the southeast across the country on what was
called the Trail of Tears. US Park Police forced the protesters away using
batons and pepper spray, but only after the monument was heavily spray-painted
with epithets and slogans. The letters "BHAZ," for
Black House Autonomous Zone were painted on St. John's Episcopal Church also
near the White House. Early Tuesday police had blocked off the streets near the
White House as Trump left by helicopter on a trip to Arizona for a speech to
supporters. "We are looking at long term jail sentences" for those who damage
federal monuments, Trump said. "These are not protestors by the way. These are
anarchists and other things," he said.
Qatar, GNA Accused of Obstructing Arab
Ministerial Meeting
Cairo- Sawsan Abu Hussein/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 23 June, 2020
The Arab League has postponed its ministerial meeting till Tuesday, which raised
questions about the reasons behind this delay, especially amid current
developments. Sources in the Arab League General Secretariat and official
diplomatic missions stated that the delay was due to attempts by Qatar and
Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) to obstruct the meeting by creating
issues over the agenda. Earlier, Egypt called for an emergency meeting for Arab
foreign ministers on developments in Libya and managed to mobilize the consensus
needed of member states to hold the meeting.
The meeting was supposed to be held Monday via video conferencing, after
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced that “any direct intervention
from the Egyptian state has now acquired international legitimacy.”
Sisi also warned that his country has the right to defend itself after receiving
“direct threats” from “terrorist militias and mercenaries” supported by foreign
countries. Sources at the Arab League’s general secretariat indicated that GNA
and Qatar sought to postpone the session, fearing the agenda of the meeting
might include an item relating to the illegitimacy of GNA, or decisions that
condemn the Turkish intervention and occupation of an Arab state. The sources
explained that the GNA-Qatari attempt was to avoid a possible claim to activate
the Joint Arab Defence and Economic Co-operation Treaty, which will further
legitimize the Egyptian intervention in Libya. The General Secretariat has
succeeded in reaching a consensus on the common goal among all Arab countries,
which include: ceasefire, resumption of a political solution, dissolution of the
militias, and the removal of all mercenaries from Libya, the sources told Asharq
Al-Awsat. An Arab diplomatic source also spoke of Oman’s efforts to reach an
agreement among all member states, stressing that the meeting will be held on
Tuesday. According to a source at the Arab League, the ministerial meeting will
also discuss the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), where the
Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, will give a statement on the latest
developments. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Foreign Minister had a phone call with the
Omani Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, Yousef bin Alawi, who is the
chairperson of the urgent session of the Arab League ministerial meeting. The
Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ahmed Hafez, said the two officials
discussed a number of regional issues of common concern and recent developments
in the region. They also addressed the agenda of the Arab League Council for the
forthcoming ministerial session under Oman’s presidency of the current session.
US Official: Israel to Take into Consideration Arab
Warnings against Annexation
Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 23 June, 2020
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker said the
Israeli government will take into consideration the positions of Arab officials
who have objected and warned against its plans to annex vast parts of the West
Bank.
“Israel has in the past been savvy with how it handles relations with its Arab
partners, and so I’m sure they will take all these factors into consideration,”
he told Israel's Kan public radio on Monday. He added: “However, Israel
proceeds, that it will do so while taking steps that will preserve the
administration’s vision for peace.It is no secret that some states in the region
“are concerned about annexation, so Israel has a number of decisions before it,”
Schenker said. Israel Hayom reported on Monday that head of Israel's Blue and
White Party Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks on
annexation. The PM warned his rival that if annexation plans were thwarted “then
there will be no government and he will turn to early elections”. Gantz
commented that he wants to implement the annexation, but in a way that benefits
Israel and does not put it at odds with the whole world. US Ambassador to Israel
David Friedman had mediated in this dispute but in vain. Interior Minister Aryeh
Deri has also recently mediated between them, saying that he agrees with the US
position that annexation should follow an agreement between Gantz and Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is under tremendous pressures from his right-wing allies and the
council of Israeli settlements to move forward with annexation, Deri added, even
if partially, in the upcoming month.
Erekat Says 192 Countries Reject Annexation
Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 23 June, 2020
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told AFP that a "large international
coalition" including Arab, African and European countries back the Palestinians
against Israel's annexation plan. "We have an unprecedented support of 192
member states out of 194 members of the United Nations General Assembly that
reject the Israeli move," he added. Palestinians fear that Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would implement the annexation plan in the occupied
West Bank and the Jordan Valley as of July 1. He said that only the US and
Israel approve the annexation, while everyone else doesn’t, noting that the
Palestinians are discussing with these countries and groups the possibility of
holding a UN General Assembly meeting on the issue. Erekat further pointed out
that the UN Security Council (UNSC) will hold a meeting on June 24 at a
Palestinian request to address annexation. "The meeting will be held at the
level of ministers and is very important in the efforts to present a draft
resolution to the UN Security Council," Erekat said. He stated that the
timeframe is not the issue, but the concept of annexation itself, stressing that
the Palestinian Authority position is final. Annexation violates international
law and legitimacy and it further systematically ruins the peace process. Erekat
said all Arab states stand by Palestine in this battle against annexation,
adding that Palestinians have several options to foil Israel’s ambitions, and
ending the occupation is one of them.
Nile Dam Dispute Escalates Ahead of UN Security Council
Debate
Cairo- Mohammed Abdo Hasanein/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 23 June,
2020
A dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the filling and operation of the $4
billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) escalated on Monday.
Cairo threatened “an open and clear procedure,” in case the UN Security Council
fails to return Ethiopia to the negotiating table. Ethiopia, for its part, began
filling the dam reservoir unilaterally. Addis Ababa stressed that “no internal
or external force can prevent it from moving on with the filling process early
July.”Egypt referred the issue to the UN Security Council after Egypt, Ethiopia
and Sudan failed again last week to reach an agreement on the rules for filling
and operating the dam. Ethiopia insists on filling the dam reservoir as a first
stage in July, with about five billion cubic meters, without regard to Egypt and
Sudan’s objections. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry challenged on Monday
Ethiopia to “resume negotiations immediately since it declared abiding by its
international obligations not to fill it unilaterally.”Ethiopian Foreign
Minister, for his part, accused Egypt of escaping from negotiations and
resorting to the Security Council. Shoukry affirmed his country has been
engaged, in a spirit of good faith, for almost a decade, in innumerable rounds
of negotiations on GERD to meet all parties’ interests. Ethiopia refused to sign
a final agreement on the rules of filling and operating the dam earlier this
year, under the auspice of the US Treasury and the World Bank. “The UN Security
Council shall shoulder its responsibility to prevent any harm to international
peace and security by preventing Ethiopia from taking any unilateral action that
negatively affects Egypt’s water rights,” he stressed in a statement. The FM
warned that filling the reservoir without an accord would violate the 2015
declaration of principles governing their talks — and rule out a return to
negotiations. Shoukry affirmed that the Egyptian government has not threatened
military action, has sought a political solution and has worked to convince the
Egyptian public that Ethiopia has a right to build the dam to meet its
development goals.“Egypt has never, never over the past six years even made an
indirect reference to such possibilities.”Yet, he further noted that if the
Security Council fails to bring Ethiopia back into negotiations and the filling
begins, Egypt “will find itself in a situation it has to deal with.”“When that
time comes, we will be very vocal and clear in what action we will take,” he
stressed. Starting to fill the reservoir now, he said, would demonstrate “a
desire to control the flow of the water and have effective sole determination”
of the water that reaches Egypt and Sudan. He called on the US and other
Security Council members, as well as African nations, to help reach a deal that
“takes into account the interests of all three countries.”
Russia Demands Immediate Ceasefire in Libya
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 23 June, 2020
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday called for an immediate
ceasefire in Libya, adding that Turkey and Egypt agreed with Moscow’s approach
to the settlement of that conflict. Lavrov said all external players should
create conditions for inclusive dialogue between the warring factions in Libya,
something that Turkey and Egypt also agreed with, after Lavrov held talks by
phone with the foreign ministers of those countries. Separately, the Russian
foreign ministry on Tuesday dismissed a report on Moscow’s military presence in
Libya, reported the RIA news agency.
The ministry demanded an investigation into the report, which it said was based
on questionable sources and inaccurate information. A United Nations report in
May said Russian private military contractor Wagner Group had up to 1,200 people
deployed in Libya. Foreign ministry official Petr Ilichev said the data had
clearly been falsified and that the group of experts who published the report
was seeking to misrepresent Moscow’s policy in the region.
Somalia: Suicide Bomber Kills 2 at Turkish Military Base
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 23 June, 2020
Two people were killed after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a
Turkish military training base in Somalia's capital, police said Tuesday.
Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab extremist group quickly claimed responsibility,
according to its Radio al-Furqan affiliate. It was the first time Turkey's
largest overseas military base has been attacked by the Somalia-based group.
Police Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the attack occurred as new military cadets
were doing their morning drills. Col. Ahmednor Abdulle, a Somali military
officer, said authorities were investigating how the bomber managed to sneak
into the base, the Associated Press reported. The Turkish Defense Ministry in a
statement said a Somali citizen was killed and one other person was wounded. It
said no Turkish personnel were hurt and there was no damage to the barracks.
Turkey has a significant presence in Somalia and operates one of a number of
foreign military training operations in the Horn of Africa nation long
destabilized by conflict. The Turkish ministry condemned the “terrorist
organization and its supporters who carried out this cowardly attack.”“We will
not leave our Somali brothers alone in their fight against terrorist
organizations.”
Iran Urges Romania to 'Seriously' Investigate Death of
Fugitive Judge
London, Tehran/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 23 June, 2020
Iran’s General Prosecutor Mohammad Jaffar Montazeri call on his Romanian
counterpart to “quickly and seriously” launch an investigation into the death of
a fugitive Iranian judge. Gholamreza Mansouri was confirmed dead after falling
out of a window in the Duke Hotel in Bucharest, Romania, on Friday.
The Romanian police announced that they had launched an investigation into the
incident, but no new details had been revealed in the case.The Iranian Foreign
Ministry delivered the letter to the Romanian Ambassador in Tehran, requesting
an investigation into the circumstances of the accident and the retrieval of
Mansouri's body to Iran. In his letter, Montazeri explained that the fugitive
was wanted by Iran’s Judiciary, which pursued his case through Interpol and got
him arrested. He called upon Romania to commit to international obligations of
handing fugitives involved in corruption cases. The Iranian judicial top
official also urged his Romanian counterpart to pursue any person involved in
Mansouri's death. Montazeri ruled out the possibility of suicide, saying that
the circumstances of the case are “unknown and suspicious.” However, deputy head
of judiciary Ali Bagheri Kani suggested the Iranian judge might have committed
suicide. Mansouri was one of the suspects in the largest corruption case in the
country accusing senior officials in the Iranian judiciary of accepting bribes
and misusing power. He previously denied all charges accusing him of taking more
than €500,000 in bribes. He also denied he is on the run, saying he is abroad to
receive medical treatment and will be returning to Iran soon. On June 12,
Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili confirmed that the Interpol
had arrested Mansouri in Romania, but he could not be extradited yet due to the
new coronavirus restrictions.
Esmaili indicated Mansouri’s promise to return was not “serious,” which is why
Iran notified the Interpol. Soon after Mansouri’s location was disclosed, human
rights activists and journalists moved to prevent the judge from being deported
to Tehran, due to his responsibility in charges against dozens of journalists.
The German chapter of Reporters without Borders (RSF) submitted a request to the
German Public Prosecution in this regard. Later, RSF announced it regretted that
the Romanian and German authorities did not immediately arrest Mansouri when it
filed complaints against him, as this would have prevented his sudden death.
Mansouri's family denies reports that he committed suicide, while the Romanian
authorities have not yet announced the results of its investigation.
Meanwhile, Iranian media continued to report Mansouri’s case on its front pages,
which has now become a public opinion case in the country.
Fear of Infection Hurt the Economy More Than Lockdowns
Noah Smith/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 23/2020
Until recently, it seemed like the contentious debate over lockdowns was over.
By the end of May, many states were defying the warnings of public-health
experts, reopening restaurants, retail and public spaces. The huge protests
against police brutality and racism reinforced the notion that keeping Americans
confined to their homes was a lost cause. Now, even San Francisco, one of the
first cities to issue a stay-at-home order, is proceeding with a phased
reopening of businesses and public spaces. But reopening always came with a
question mark. With the coronavirus still out there, would cases rise if
stay-at-home orders were lifted? And if that happened, would lockdowns have to
come back? Unfortunately, while the hard-hit Northeast has mostly gotten its
outbreak under control, almost half of the states, largely in the South and
Southwest, are seeing a rise in new cases. In states such as Texas, South
Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona, positive test ratios are rising,
suggesting that a wave of new infections, rather than increased testing, is
behind the increase. This has some experts asking which states will be the first
to re-instate lockdown. Houston is already considering a new stay-at-home order.
The arguments for new localized lockdowns are strong. After all, the disease is
the same as it was in March, so if lockdowns made sense then, why not now? And
epidemiological evidence does show that stay-at-home orders were effective in
suppressing the disease in the US, reducing a county’s death rate by about 60%
after three weeks. The easiest way to see the difference is simply to compare
Sweden, which famously refused to implement a lockdown, to its Nordic neighbors,
all of which made the opposite decision:
Despite this surge of deaths, Sweden still hasn’t reached herd immunity, meaning
more infections and loss of life are on the way. The epidemiologist who designed
the country’s strategy now says he regrets his choice.
But what about the economic damage? Sweden’s economy is set to suffer a sharp
contraction, but less than that of most other European countries. With the
federal government considering whether to curtail the flow of relief money after
the end of July, states and cities that shut down again might risk economic
devastation. There’s good reason, though, to believe that most of the economic
damage from the lockdowns weren’t due to stay-at-home orders, but because of
public fear of the virus. For example, people started avoiding restaurants
before lockdowns began in late March:
More rigorous evidence confirms the finding. A recent paper by economists Lisa
Kahn, Fabian Lange and
David Wiczer uses data from a job-vacancy website, together with unemployment
claims, to measure the precise timing of coronavirus’ economic toll. They found
that lockdowns had very little to do with it: The labor market collapsed at the
same time across the US irrespective of the state-level policies imposed. There
is very little evidence that labor markets in states…that imposed stay-at-home
orders earlier were differentially affected. State lockdowns also didn’t affect
credit-card spending very much. Even in Scandinavia, economists estimate that
lockdowns accounted for only a modest fraction of Denmark’s economic
underperformance relative to Sweden. It might seem strange that lockdowns can be
both effective at protecting people from coronavirus and yet not have a big
impact on the economy. But it’s definitely not impossible. There’s growing
scientific evidence that Covid-19 spreads primarily through prolonged indoor
personal contact. By forcing people to work from home and socialize over the
internet instead of filling crowded offices and social gatherings, lockdowns
could protect public health without doing too much harm to the economy.
This suggests that new lockdowns need not be as restrictive as the ones in March
to protect the public. Instead of mandating that everyone stay at home, they
could simply ban large indoor social gatherings and indoor restaurant and bar
seating, while requiring that companies continue work-from-home policies.
Everything else -- indoor retail, outdoor gatherings, small indoor social
interactions -- could be allowed, with the additional requirement that masks be
worn in stores or at outdoor events.
This sort of lockdown-lite might achieve the best of both worlds for states and
cities experiencing coronavirus spikes. But it also needs to be paired with
vigorous testing, contact tracing and isolation of infected people. Most states
still either haven’t hired enough contact tracers to track new infections, or
aren’t doing enough testing -- or both. Together, this toolkit -- masks, testing
and tracing and targeted lockdown-lite -- can control the virus until a
treatment or vaccine arrives, while causing minimal damage to the economy.
Sudan Says Near Settlement With US for 1998 Embassy
Bombings
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 23 June, 2020
Sudan is close to finalizing a deal with the United States to compensate the
victims of 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people,
Foreign Minister Asma Abdalla said Tuesday. "The final touches of a settlement
with victims of embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam are being
finalized," Abdalla told AFP in an interview. "We now have a delegation in
Washington negotiating with the victims' lawyers and officials at the US
Department of State."The twin bombings took place in August 1998 when a massive
blast hit the US embassy in downtown Nairobi, shortly followed by an explosion
in Dar es Salaam. The attacks claimed by Al-Qaeda killed a total of 224 people
and injured around 5,000 -- almost all of them Africans. The US has accused
Sudan of aiding militants linked to the militant bombings and demanded
compensation for victims' families.
Sudan has since August been led by a transitional administration following the
military ouster of President Omar al-Bashir in the wake of mass protests against
his rule. Under Bashir's 30-year rule, the country adopted a more radical course
of Islam, hosting Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden between 1992 and 1996.This
strained ties with the US, which blacklisted Sudan as a state sponsor of
terrorism. The post-Bashir government has sought to boost the country's
international standing and rebuild ties with the US. In February, Sudan had to
compensate families of victims of the USS Cole bombing in 2000 in Yemen's Aden
harbor, for which Al-Qaeda also claimed responsibility. Khartoum had always
denied any involvement but agreed to the settlement to fulfill a key US
condition to remove it from Washington's terrorism blacklist. After the deal on
the embassy bombings, Sudan "will have fulfilled all the requirements" to be
removed from the US blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, Abdalla said.
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on June 23-24/2020
Iran’s regime escalates violent
persecution of Baha’is
Benjamin Weinthal/Jerusalem Post/June 23/2020
At least 77 Baha'is face a new wave repression for their religious faith
The Islamic Republic of Iran has ignited a new round of violent persecution
toward the Baha’i minority religious group over the last month.
Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS) reported on June 11 that “Baha’is in the
provinces of Fars, South Khorasan, Mazandaran, Isfahan, Alborz, Kerman,
Kermanshah, and Yazd have been arrested, summoned to court, tried, sentenced to
jail or imprisoned, all under baseless accusations.”BWNS said the violence
targeting Baha’is is taking place “for no reason other than a deep-seated
antagonism to the Baha’i faith and its teachings, which emphasize truthfulness,
equality of men and women, safeguarding the rights of all people, and the
harmony of science and religion.”
“The recent incidents have placed great pressures on so many families,” said
Bani Dugal, the Principal Representative of the Baha’i International Community,
told the BWNS. “Subjecting them to the constant threat of imprisonment under
these circumstances and emotional anguish associated with it is yet another
attempt to place greater strain on the community. And to do all this during a
health crisis, at an alarmingly escalated rate without any justification
whatsoever, is extremely cruel and outrageous.” According to the BWNS article,
“the Iranian authorities have escalated their persecution of the Baha’is,
targeting at least 77 individuals across the country in recent weeks despite the
present health crisis afflicting the country.” Iran’s regime has engaged in
widespread persecution of the Baha’i community before, including the murder of
members of the Baha’i religion, since the founding of the Islamic Republic of
Iran in 1979. Tehran enforces state-sponsored discrimination against the Baha’i
community in all walks of life. The 2019 United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom report said the Iranian regime continued the
harassment, interrogation and detention of Baha’i followers as well as judicial
trials against at least 65 of them within a six-month period.Iran’s opaque
judicial system is riddled with fraud and misconduct, including the use of
torture. BWNS reported that “in one instance, a court in South Khorasan Province
had sentenced nine Baha’is to three to six years of imprisonment. These include
an elderly man, whose advanced age puts his health at great risk if he is
imprisoned. In the Fars Province, 12 Baha’is were given a sentence of one to 13
years of imprisonment under spurious charges.”The news article continued that
“in recent days, six Baha’is in South Khorasan Province were summoned and have
had to presented themselves to the court for imprisonment; four more were
arrested in Kerman and Yazd provinces; another Baha’i in Alborz Province was
sentenced to one year of imprisonment and two years of internal exile; and yet
another Baha’i in Isfahan province was summoned to serve a prison sentence.”
BWNS reported that “Iran’s state-affiliated media has stepped up the public
defamation of the Baha’is through an increasingly coordinated spread of
disinformation about their beliefs by using television channels, newspapers,
radio stations, websites and social media to denigrate and to ostracize the
Baha’is. The Baha’is, meanwhile, are not permitted to respond publicly, denying
their fellow citizens the opportunity to investigate the truth themselves.”
Syrian Opposition: Anti-Regime Protests In Al-Suwayda Give Us Hope Of Toppling
The Regime
MEMRI/June 23/2020
Introduction
The escalating economic crisis in Syria – especially in light of the coming into
force of the U.S. Caesar Act,[1] which is expected to yield further sanctions on
the Syrian regime, and the Syrian government's mishandling of the economy – has
led to considerable tension in the country, in particular in the southern
governorate of Al-Suwayda, which has a Druze majority. For over a week in early
June, protests took place in that area, with dozens to hundreds of participants,
most of them young people in their 20s. In addition to protesting the dire
economic situation, they also shouted slogans against President Bashar Al-Assad
and even made rude gestures at his portraits, while also condemning the regime's
allies, Iran and Russia.[2] Photos and videos of the protests were circulated on
social media, with many oppositionists and analysts remarking that the slogans
called out by the protesters, including "the people want to topple the regime,"
"long live Syria and down with Bashar Al-Assad," and "Syria belongs to us not to
the Assad family," remind them of the start of the Syrian uprising in 2011.[3]
Throughout the Syria war, Al-Suwayda governorate has remained neutral. Its
residents did not engage in armed resistance against the regime, but at the same
time they refused to join the army and fight the rebels in other parts of the
country.[4] The current wave of protests has created a rift between the
traditional older leadership of the Druze community, which released a communique
renouncing the protests and calling them "foolish and reprehensible actions by
individuals that must be stopped by any means," and the young protest leaders,
who addressed the community leaders in a communique of their own, saying, "do
not let the oppressor use you as an excuse to spill our blood."[5]
Despite this rift, the protests in Al-Suwayda continued and even prompted
demonstrations of solidarity in other parts of Syria. In the city of Tafas in
the neighboring Der'a governorate, protests took place on June 7, 9 and 17, with
participants calling to topple the regime and expressing support for the protest
movement in Al-Suwayda.[6] Similar protests took place on June 12 in the Al-‘Azba
area north of Deir Al-Zor,[7] and on June 12 and 19 in Idlib.[8] Support for the
Al-Suwayda protests was voiced even by activists in Masyaf, a town west of Hama
known as a stronghold of support for the regime. Photos circulated on social
media show these activists, whose faces remain hidden, holding up signs against
the regime and in solidarity with the protests in Al-Suwayda.[9]
The Syrian regime, for its part, refrained from covering these anti-regime
protests, and at the same time organized demonstrations in various parts of the
country in support of President Assad and against the Caesar Act. One of these
demonstrations took place in Al-Suwayda itself, and was attended by dozens, who
waved Syrian flags and portraits of the president.[11] Similar demonstrations
were held in Damascus (June 11),[12] Der'a (June 14),[13] and Homs (June
18).[14] According to some reports, in order to ensure a large turnout, elements
in the ruling Ba'th Party threatened university students and civil servants that
measures would be taken against them if they did not attend the
demonstrations.[15]
Simultaneously, the regime began to violently suppress the protests against it
in Al-Suwayda. On June 15, regime supporters, with the encouragement of the
Ba'th Party, violently attacked the anti-regime protestors, and the security
apparatuses arrested 10 of the latter.[16] According to the Al-Suwayda 24 news
agency, which reports from the region, the security apparatuses threatened to
keep the detainees in custody until the protests ended.[17] As of this writing,
the protests have indeed stopped.
The Al-Suwayda protests were widely supported by the Syrian opposition, both its
military and political branches,[18] as well as by anti-regime writers, who
regarded them as a sign that the uprising was reviving and the regime would soon
fall. They expressed these views in their statements, social media posts and
articles published in oppositionists websites and papers.
The following are translated excerpts from some of these articles.
Syrian Journalist Faisal Al-Qassem: The Revolution Is Catching Fire Among Regime
Supporters
Syrian journalist Faisal Al-Qassem, who is known for his anti-regime views and
who is originally from Al-Suwayda governorate, wrote that the Assad regime's
current situation is the gravest it has known since the revolution began. This,
he said, is because even its supporters in Al-Suwayda have started coming out
against it. He wrote:
"Throughout its history, Syria has never experienced circumstances as
catastrophic and as tragic – not even in the worst days of the revolution and
the conflict between the regime and the opposition forces of the Syrian
people... Syria is now in a situation from hell, with all that that means,
particularly with regard to the [regime] supporters, who have supported it and
helped it for the last nine years of its destruction of Syria and its expulsion
of their compatriots...
"And now regime supporters and members of minority communities who [throughout
the crisis] have stood with the regime or at least remained neutral are raising
their voices and reiterating the slogans voiced by the rebels nine years ago. If
we look at the slogans of the Al-Suwayda intifada, we find that they are harsher
than those of the previous revolution. Furthermore, several days ago the
protesters were emboldened to speak out against Assad personally; at one
demonstration they [even] gave him the finger and, for the first time,
threatened to use weapons against him if necessary. This came after he
considered them his allies, especially when he had for years promoted the slogan
of protecting minorities. The minorities now pose the greatest danger to the
regime... The regime is now facing the minority communities that it claimed to
be protecting from ISIS, the Islamists, and the takfiris [i.e., Salafi-jihadis].
"The situation of the minority communities on the Syrian coast – the regime's
stronghold – is no different than their situation in Al-Suwayda, since a
starving man does not hesitate to use any means at his disposal. Assad is today
dealing with the harshest American law [yet], that is a greater threat to Syria
than any other law throughout its history – [namely] the Caesar Act, which began
to strangle the regime economically even before it came into force... The
situation in Syria is very dangerous; the [regime] opponents, who failed at
regime change, now sense that with this American Caesar Act they have won the
greatest victory over Assad...
"It is crystal clear that the revolution is now catching fire in the ranks of
the regime supporters... [but] no one has heard the voice of the ostensible
president during the worst phase that his supporters, or shall we say his [new]
opponents, have ever experienced. Where is Bashar Al-Assad? Don't his starving
supporters now deserve consolation, at least via Skype?..."[19]
Syrian Opposition Journalist: Al-Suwayda Governorate Is "The Finger That Will
Gouge Out The Eyes Of The Regime"
Syrian opposition journalist Fouad ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz wrote in his column on the
opposition website Zamanalwsl.net that the residents of Al-Suwayda governorate
had actually supported the revolution since its inception nine years ago, but
had feared retribution from the regime. Now, he added, since they had dared to
join it, they would be the factor to turn the tide. He wrote:
"When the revolution broke out from Der'a, and [in response] the regime cut off
its electricity and everything [it needed] to live, Al-Suwayda province was the
place where we could [go to] breathe freely, and where the residents of Der'a
turned to buy whatever they needed...
"I was one of those who went to Al-Suwayda several times, who patronized its
businesses, who mingled with the people and talked with them and came to know
their real [pro-revolution] views. Some of them even tried to embrace me when
they found out that I was from Der'a – as if it were I who had ignited the
revolution there. Even in workplaces in Damascus, Al-Suwayda residents were the
closest to us Der'a residents. From them, we heard things that strengthened us,
calling us to continue [the revolution] and stating that they would surely join
us...
"What happened afterwards we all, or most of us, know. The regime utilized the
elements of force at its disposal to intimidate its [‘Alawite] community so that
it would stand alongside it and defend it to the death. Later on, it used all
[possible] forms of violence against the rebel areas, as a sizeable lesson to
all those who thought of rebelling against it – particularly in regions
[populated by] an ethnic minority, such as in Al-Suwayda and the Salamiyah
region in Rif Hama...
"The regime naively thought that its policy of intimidation and repression would
allow it to continue to run the country and force its people to accept its
presence. But what happened is that, after nine years of the regime's use of the
most loathsome means possible, [it became clear] that the people could still
take to the streets and demand its removal. Furthermore, today they are even
more opposed to it than in the first days of the revolution.
"Thus, we must not dismiss the Al-Suwayda protest movement. Something a
politically experienced man told me at the beginning of the revolution still
rings in my ears. These were his exact words: Keep an eye on Al-Suwayda
governorate. When it comes out [against the regime], then you will know that the
fall of the regime is certain. His position on this matter was that the regime
can depict the protest movement in Der'a, Homs, Hama, Al-Raqqah, Aleppo, and the
rest of the Sunni provinces as an ethnic [i.e. not political] protest, but that
the moment the [Druze] Al-Suwayda joins the protest, it will become the finger
that will gouge out the eyes of the regime."[20]
Syrian Journalist: The Protests Give Us Renewed Hope, Show The Regime And Its
Supporters That Its End Has Come
Bassem Yousuf, a columnist for the oppositionist website Sytia.tv, wrote that
the Al-Suwayda protests have given Syrians new life and new hope of regaining
their homeland, and that they convey important messages to the regime, to its
supporters and to oppositionists who tried to take over the revolution. He
wrote: "In the recent days, protests have resurged in the Der'a and Al-Suwayda
governorates, giving new life and hope to all Syrians, who had almost drowned in
the blood flowing through the streets of the cities… [The protests] remind them
of their initial revolution [in 2011] and revive their hope, which had almost
died, that they have a say and that their future will necessarily be good… These
protests – with all their circumstances and options – have already managed to
convey to the Syrians their most important messages:
"The first message, justified and accompanied by a rude gesture, is directed at
the head of the regime [Bashar Al-Assad] and his gang: The kingdom of silence
founded by your father [the late president Hafez Al-Assad], which fed on Syria
for decades, has collapsed. It collapsed with the first cry of the Syrian
[revolution] in March 2011, a cry that is still reverberating and will not stop
until it achieves its aim. You, [your] security apparatuses, [your] mercenaries
and your allies can stifle this cry and muffle it, or stop it for a while, but
you will never be able to silence it [for good]. Don't count too heavily upon
your methods, which have been exposed. The talk about terror and conspiracy
[against Syria] will no longer avail you, nor will sowing division among the
Syrians, between different sects or between supporters and opponents of the
regime. For you no longer have any supporters, except those you intimidate or
whose conscience you buy with crumbs from your table… You try to force the
Syrians to obey you again, but to no avail, for your authority has been
completely eroded by corruption, sectarianism and crimes… How bitter and
catastrophic will be your fate if the decade-long Syrian crisis has not taught
you… that the future will bring about your end, just like it did to many tyrants
before you.
"The second message is directed to the supporters [of the regime], wherever they
are: You chose the president when the choice was between the president and the
homeland. You chose humiliation when the choice was between humiliation and
dignity, and slavery when the choice was between slavery and citizenship. Why do
you not now break your silence for the sake of your homeland, honor and freedom?
Why do you not overcome the barrier of your fear? We [Syrians] love [our]
homeland, [and love] freedom, liberty and livelihood. We do not love sectarian
hostility and mutual fear, or murderers who fear punishment and revenge… Today
we are all witnessing the prolonged and resurging pains of Syria's rebirth,
which compel us to shame anyone who does not stand by it, help it in its hour of
need, support it and save it from slaughter. For a long while we were silent and
did not heed its cries of anguish and its destruction. Now none of us have an
excuse [to continue doing so]…
"The third message is directed to oppositionists who delude themselves that they
own the revolution and have the only say [in it]. The revolution is a revolution
first of all because it is not, and cannot be, anyone's property. It is like the
homeland: both of them belong to all of us. So why are you trying to usurp
them?... For ten years we have been weeping and paying with our blood, our sweat
and the future of our children because some of us falsely considered themselves
to be the patrons of the revolution… or of the Syrian people, etc. Has the
disaster we have suffered taught us nothing?!...
"All the wars you are waging on the screens [of the media] and all your tweets
no longer interest us. We are now interested in [only] one thing: setting our
priorities straight, and giving first place to regaining Syria and liberating it
from the gang that has kidnapped it for half a century…"[21]
Syrian Opposition Official: The Young People Of Al-Suwayda Demand Democracy,
Freedom And Justice
As stated, on June 12, 2020, youths from Al-Suwaida addressed a communique to
the leaders of the Druze community, urging them to withdraw their support from
the Assad regime and embrace their protest. Yahya Al-‘Aridi, member of the
opposition's High Negotiations Committee (HNC), referred to this communique in
his June 15 column on the opposition website Syria.tv.
He wrote: "Last Friday [June 12], the youth of Al-Suwayda addressed the [Druze
community leaders], who are the only tools that the tyrannical regime is still
able to use against the [youths'] peaceful protest movement… These youths
understand that the claims by which the regime justifies the killing of their
brethren throughout Syria are no longer convincing, especially in Al-Suwayda…
They also understand that the regime will find it difficult to belie its claim
about ‘protecting the minorities', [a claim that is] beloved by the West and
which [the regime] used to manipulate the sentiments of the international
community, [presenting itself] as the protector of the minorities. After paying
their respects to the [Druze] dignitaries, the youths remind them, as well as
several other sheikhs in the governorate, that they have unfortunately served
the regime as a tool to oppress the calls for freedom, honor and liberation from
tyranny…
"The youths of Al-Suwayda now demand their natural right to lay the
responsibility [for the situation in Syria] on those who [actually] bear this
responsibility [i.e., the regime]. For it is not they who [destroyed] Syria, nor
did any conspiracy or foreign power have the ability to do so… [In their
communique] the youths pledge to formulate their positions, and have expanded
their just demands regarding the homeland, defining it as a civil state with a
democratic system [of government] whose motto is law and justice. They say: ‘We
will formulate our position to satisfy the demands of the homeland and of
democracy, citizenship and justice.'
"The youths of Al-Suwayda conveyed a message to the homeland, outlining a plan
for [all of] Syria, not [just] for Al-Suwayda. They reminded the people of Syria
of the Great Syrian Revolt, whose war-cry was ‘to arms'.[22] But [the youths']
slogan is ‘to freedom': to a homeland where man is the supreme value; a homeland
governed by the rule of law, not by the law of the jungle; a homeland where the
Syrian's honor and blood are above all; a homeland anchored in the values of
wisdom, experience, knowledge and labor, rather than fear, pandering, and blind
loyalty; a homeland that will not be sold to keep [its leader] on his throne; a
homeland whose resources will not be exclusively controlled by a gang that
threatens to rob [the people of] the homeland of their livelihood… a homeland in
which Allah alone is sacred, and which relies on the law and embraces the system
of democracy and the spirit of freedom."[23]
* O. Peri is a research fellow at MEMRI.
[1] The Caesar Act, which was passed by Congress in December 2019 and came into
force on June 17, 2020, enables the U.S. to impose sanctions and travel
restrictions on anyone supporting or trading with the Syrian regime. The Act is
named after a former photographer in Assad's army who leaked thousands of photos
documenting the torture and murder of prisoners in Syrian jails.
[2] Facebook.com/Suwayda24, June 15, 13, 10, 9, 8, 2020.
[3] See e.g., Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 8, 2020; Al-Arabi Al-Jadid (London),
June 15, 2020; enabbaladi.net June 14, 2020.
[4] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), July 31, 2018.
[5] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), June 14, 2020.
[6] Facebook.com/groups/Horan.Free.League, June 7, 2020, smart-news.agency.com,
June 18, 10, 2020.
[7] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), June 12, 2020.
[8] Enabbaladi.net, June 19, 2020; baladi-news.com, June 12, 2020.
[9] Orient-news.net, June 10, 2020.
[10] Facebook.com/Suwayda24, June 13, 2020.
[11] Sana.sy, June 10, 2020.
[12] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 12, 2020.
[13] Sana.sy, June 14, 2020.
[14] Sana.sy, June 18, 2020.
[15] Facebook.com/groups/Horan.Free.League, June 14, 2020;
Facebook.com/Suwayda24, June 10, 2020.
[16] Facebook.com/Suwayda24, syriahr.com, June 15, 2020.
[17] Facebook.com/Suwayda24, June 16, 2020.
[18] Twitter.com/SyrianCoalition, June 9, 2020; twitter.com/MustafaSejari, June
7, 2020.
[19] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), June 12, 2020.
[20] Zamanalwsl.net, June 15, 2020.
[21] Syria.tv, June 14, 2020.
[22] The Great Syrian Revolt, also known as the Great Druze Revolt (1925–1927),
was an uprising against the French Mandate in Syria and Lebanon, which began
among the Druze community. The uprising was declared on July 21, 1925 by Druze
leader Sultan Pasha Al-Atrash, who called on Syrians to take up arms and
liberate the country.
[23] Syria.tv, June 15, 2020.
Jerusalem, Jordan, and the Jews
Daniel Pipes/Israel Hayom/June 23/2020
http://www.danielpipes.org/19600/jerusalem-jordan-and-the-jews
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas famously deny any historic or religious
connection of Jews to Jerusalem. To cite one example, Ikrima Sabri, the city's
mufti, announced in 2001 that "There is not the smallest indication of the
existence of a Jewish temple on this place in the past. In the whole city, there
is not even a single stone indicating Jewish history." This bizarre fraud,
Itamar Marcus has explained, is based on a simple switch: Take authentic Jewish
history, "documented by thousands of years of continuous literature": cross out
the word Jewish and replace it with Arab.
So much for the rejectionist Palestinians. What about the moderate and sober
Jordanian government, Israel's long-time, discreet partner; what says it? Amman
does not go so far as to deny any Jewish connection, but it too makes a hash of
history.
The white paper cover.
Consider the just-issued 108-page, English-language-only white paper, The
Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian Holy Sites
1917–2020 CE, published by The Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought.
(Aal al-Bayt means "family of the house," or the family of Muhammad, the Islamic
prophet.) Although nominally an independent non-governmental organization, the
institute was founded by King Hussein in 1980 and since then has continuously
been headed by a member of the royal family. Secretive about its lavish funding,
it appears to depend completely on government largess.
Hashemite Custodianship baldly states:
"Jerusalem was always an Arab city."
"when the Ancient Jews came, they attacked, killed and destroyed everyone and
everything they could."
"Even after they conquered the city of Jerusalem, however, [the Jews] were never
able to expel all the original Arab inhabitants."
"the Palestinian Arabs of today are largely the direct descendants of the
indigenous Canaanite Arabs who were there over 5,000 years ago."
There are just a few problems with this account. The Arab (or more accurately,
Arabian) identity does not go back 5,000 years; even 3,000 stretches the record.
The Canaanites were not Arabians. The ancient Jews did a little bit more than
"attack, kill and destroy everyone and everything they could"; does one really
have to point out that the Bible they wrote serves as the basis of Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam, whose adherents make up over half the world's
population?
The Gutenberg Bible reminds us of the achievements of ancient Jews.
And while DNA evidence shows that descendants of the Canaanites in Palestine
survive throughout the Middle East, the great majority of its Muslims and
Christians descend from immigrants. Writing in 1911, before the many
twentieth-century immigrations, Irish archeologist Robert Macalister already
listed 19 foreign ethnicities in addition to native farmers and Jews in
Palestine: Algerian, Arabian, Armenian, Assyrian, Bosnian, Circassian, Crusader,
German, Greek, Italian, Kurd, Motawila, Nawar, Persian, Roman, Samaritan,
Sudanese, Turkic, and Turkoman.
How disappointing that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which wishes to be seen
as responsible and moderate, publishes such twaddle in a purported scholarly
study. It is the more dismaying when one recalls that King Abdullah II, Jordan's
ruler since 1999, has taken a brave and forthright stand against Islamists,
denouncing them as "religious totalitarians ... who seek power by intimidation,
violence and thuggery." He has also called for "a dynamic, moderate Islam – an
Islam that upholds the sanctity of human life, reaches out to the oppressed,
respects men and women alike, and insists on the fellowship of all humankind."
An Islamist-style white paper applauded by a Palestinian anti-Zionist
substantially undercuts these bold words.
The white paper promotes a familiar Islamic imperialism. Other recent examples
include Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Turkish government insisting that the Hagia
Sophia Cathedral was originally a mosque; Muslims pressing to use the Cordoba
Cathedral as a mosque; and the so-called Ground-Zero Mosque near the obliterated
World Trade Center in New York City.
Ironically, the English-language Hashemite Custodianship meant for international
consumption distorts history more than Arabic materials intended for locals. For
example, Jordan's Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs only asserts Arabs
founded Jerusalem 5,000 years ago without the nasty corollary that Jews
"attacked, killed and destroyed everyone and everything they could."
Find the typo in Jordan's Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs webpage.
The Jordanian government can and should do better. If falsifying ancient history
seems like a small matter, it is not; such errors form opinions, shape
governments, and potentially lead to renewed hostilities.
Where are the historians and theologians to denounce these falsehoods? Where are
the friends of Jordan to urge a responsible course? Where are the Israelis,
inhibited by an ever-present mistress syndrome, to protest this calumny?
*Mr. Pipes (DanielPipes.org, @DanielPipes) is president of the Middle East
Forum. © 2020 by Daniel Pipes. All rights reserved.
A Brief History of Antifa: Part II
Antifa in the United States: A Brief History of Antifa: Part II
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/June 23, 2020
"The only long-term solution to the fascist menace is to undermine its pillars
of strength in society grounded not only in white supremacy but also in ableism,
heteronormativity, patriarchy, nationalism, transphobia, class rule, and many
others." — Mark Bray, "Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook," 2017.
"They're coming from other cities. That cost money. They didn't do this on their
own. Somebody's paying for this.... What Antifa is doing is they're basically
hijacking the black community as their army. They instigate, they antagonize,
they get these young black men and women to go out there and do stupid things,
and then they disappear off into the sunset." — Bernard Kerik, former
commissioner of the New York City Police Department.
The coordinated violence raises questions about how Antifa is financed. The
Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ) is an organizing group that serves as a
fiscal sponsor to numerous radical left-wing initiatives, according to Influence
Watch, a research group that collects data on advocacy organizations,
foundations and donors.... The Open Society Foundations, Tides Foundation, Arca
Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation, and the Brightwater
Fund have all made contributions to AFGJ, according to Influence Watch.
One of the groups funded by AFGJ is called Refuse Fascism ... an offshoot of the
Radical Communist Party (RCP).... The group's slogan states: "This System Cannot
Be Reformed, It Must Be Overthrown!"
Editor's note: This is Part II of a series on the history of the global Antifa
movement. Part I described Antifa and explored the ideological origins of the
group. Part II examines the history, tactics and goals of the movement in the
United States.
Antifa in the United States is highly networked, well-funded and has a clear
ideological agenda: to subvert, often with extreme violence, the American
political system, with the ultimate aim of replacing capitalism with communism.
Pictured: An Antifa demonstration on November 16, 2019 in New York City. (Photo
by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced that the American government
would designate Antifa — a militant "anti-fascist" movement — as a terrorist
organization due to the violence that erupted at George Floyd protests across
the United States.
The Code of Federal Regulations (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85) defines terrorism as
"the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to
intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment
thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."
American media outlets sympathetic to Antifa have jumped to its defense. They
argue that the group cannot be classified as a terrorist organization because,
they claim, it is a vaguely-defined protest movement that lacks a centralized
structure.
As the following report shows, Antifa is, in fact, highly networked, well-funded
and has a clear ideological agenda: to subvert, often with extreme violence, the
American political system, with the ultimate aim of replacing capitalism with
communism. In the United States, Antifa's immediate aim is to remove President
Trump from office.
Gatestone Institute has identified Antifa groups in all 50 U.S. states, with the
possible exception of West Virginia. Some states, including California, Texas
and Washington, appear to have dozens of sub-regional Antifa organizations.
It is difficult precisely to determine the size of the Antifa movement in the
United States. The so-called "Anti-Fascists of Reddit," the "premier
anti-fascist community" on the social media platform Reddit, has approximately
60,000 members. The oldest Antifa group in America, the Portland, Oregon-based
"Rose City Antifa," has more than 30,000 Twitter followers and 20,000 Facebook
followers, not all of whom are necessarily supporters. "It's Going Down," a
media platform for anarchists, anti-fascists and autonomous anti-capitalists,
has 85,000 Twitter followers and 30,000 Facebook followers.
Germany, which has roughly one-quarter of the population of the United States,
is home to 33,000 extreme leftists, of whom 9,000 are believed to be extremely
dangerous, according to the domestic intelligence agency (Bundesamt für
Verfassungsschutz, BfV). Violent left-wing agitators are predominantly male,
between 21 and 24 years of age, usually unemployed, and, according to BfV, 92%
still live with their parents. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most Antifa
members in the United States have a similar socio-economic profile.
In America, national Antifa groups, including "Torch Antifa Network," "Refuse
Fascism" and "World Can't Wait" are being financed — often generously, as shown
below — by individual donors as well as by large philanthropic organizations,
including the Open Society Foundations founded by George Soros.
To evade detection by law enforcement, Antifa groups in the United States often
use encrypted social media platforms, such as Signal and Telegram Messenger, to
communicate and coordinate their activities, sometimes across state lines. Not
surprisingly, the U.S. Department of Justice is currently investigating
individuals linked to Antifa as a step to unmasking the broader organization.
Historical Origins of American Antifa
In the United States, Antifa's ideology, tactics and goals, far from being
novel, are borrowed almost entirely from Antifa groups in Europe, where
so-called anti-fascist groups, in one form or another, have been active, almost
without interruption, for a century.
As in Europe, the aims and objectives of the American Antifa movement can be
traced back to a single, overarching century-long ideological war against the
"fascist ideals" of capitalism and Christianity, which the Antifa movement wants
to replace with a "revolutionary socialist alternative."
The first so-called anti-fascist group in the United States was the American
League Against War and Fascism, established in 1933 by the Communist Party USA.
The League, which claimed to oppose fascism in Europe, was actually dedicated to
subverting and overthrowing the U.S. government.
In testimony to the U.S. Congress in 1953, CPUSA leader Manning Johnson revealed
that the American party had been instructed by the Communist International in
the 1930s to set up the American League Against War and Fascism:
"as a cover to attack our government, our social system, our leaders... used as
a cover to attack our law-enforcement agencies and to build up mass hate against
them... used as a cover to undermine national security... used as a cover to
defend Communists, the sworn enemies of our great heritage... used as a cover
for preparing millions of people ideologically and organizationally for the
overthrow of the United States Government."
A precursor to the modern Antifa movement was the Black Panthers, a
revolutionary political organization established in October 1966 by Marxist
college students in Oakland, California. The group advocated the use of violence
and guerilla tactics to overthrow the U.S. government.
Historian Robyn C. Spencer noted that Black Panther leaders were deeply
influenced by "The United Front of the Working Class Against Fascism," a report
by Georgi Dimitroff delivered at the Seventh World Congress of the Communist
International in July and August 1935:
"By 1969, the Panthers began to use fascism as a theoretical framework to
critique the U.S. political economy. They defined fascism as 'the power of
finance capital' which 'manifests itself not only as banks, trusts and
monopolies but also as the human property of FINANCE CAPITAL — the avaricious
businessman, the demagogic politician, and the racist pig cop.'"
In July 1969, the Black Panthers organized an "anti-fascist" conference called
"United Front Against Fascism," attended by nearly 5,000 activists:
"The Panthers hoped to create a 'national force' with a 'common revolutionary
ideology and political program which answers the basic desires and needs of all
people in fascist, capitalist, racist America.'"
The last day of the conference was devoted to a detailed plan by the Black
Panthers to decentralize police forces nationwide. Spencer wrote:
"They proposed amending city charters to establish autonomous community-based
police departments for every city which would be accountable to local
neighborhood police control councils comprised of 15 elected community members.
They launched the National Committees to Combat Fascism (NCCF), a multiracial
nationwide network, to organize for community control of the police."
In 1970, members of the Black Panthers created a terrorist group called the
Black Liberation Army, whose stated goal was to "weaken the enemy capitalist
state."
BLA member Assata Shakur described the group's organizational structure, which
is similar to the one used by today's Antifa movement:
"The Black Liberation Army was not a centralized, organized group with a common
leadership and chain of command. Instead there were various organizations and
collectives working together out of various cities, and in some larger cities
there were often several groups working independently of each other."
Other ideological anchors of the modern Antifa movement in the United States
include a left-wing terrorist group known as the Weather Underground
Organization, the American equivalent to Germany's Red Army Faction. The Weather
Underground, responsible for bombings and riots throughout the 1970s, sought to
achieve "the destruction of U.S. imperialism and form a classless communist
world."
Former FBI Counterterrorism Director Terry Turchie has noted the similarities
between Black Lives Matter today and the Black Panther Party and Weather
Underground groups of the 1960s and 1970s:
"The Black Panther Party was a Marxist Maoist Leninist organization and that
came from Huey Newton, one of the co-founders, who said we're standing for
nothing more than the total transformation of the United States government.
"He went on to explain that they wanted to take the tension that already existed
in black communities and exacerbate it where they can. To take those situations
where there is a tinderbox and light the country on fire.
"Today we're seeing the third revolution and they think they can make this
happen. The only thing that is different are the names of the groups."
American Antifa
The roots of the modern Antifa movement in the United States can be traced back
to the 1980s, with the establishment of Anti-Racist Action, a network of
anarchist punk rock aficionados dedicated to fist-fighting neo-Nazi skinheads.
Mark Bray, author of "The Antifa Handbook," explained:
"In many cases, the North American modern Antifa movement grew up as a way to
defend the punk scene from the neo-Nazi skinhead movement, and the founders of
the original Anti-Racist Action network in North America were anti-racist
skinheads. The fascist/anti-fascist struggle was essentially a fight for control
of the punk scene during the 1980s, and that was true across of much of north
America and in parts of Europe in this era.
"There's a huge overlap between radical left politics and the punk scene, and
there's a stereotype about dirty anarchists and punks, which is an
oversimplification but grounded in a certain amount of truth."
Anti-Racist Action was inspired by Anti-Fascist Action (AFA), a militant
anti-fascist group founded in Britain in the late 1970s. The American group
shared the British group's penchant for violently attacking political opponents.
ARA was eventually renamed the Torch Network, which currently brings together
nine militant Antifa groups.
In November 1999, mobs of masked anarchists, predecessors to today's Antifa
movement, laid waste to downtown Seattle, Washington, during violent
demonstrations that disrupted a ministerial conference of the World Trade
Organization. The Seattle WTO protests birthed the anti-globalization movement.
In April 2001, an estimated 50,000 anti-capitalists gathered in Quebec to oppose
the Third Summit of the Americas, a meeting of North and South American leaders
who were negotiating a deal to create a free trade area that would encompass the
Western Hemisphere.
In February 2003, hundreds of thousands of anti-war protesters demonstrated
against the Iraq War. After the war went ahead anyway, some parts of the
so-called progressive movement became more radicalized and birthed the current
Antifa movement.
The Rose City Antifa (RCA), founded in Portland, Oregon, in 2007, is the oldest
American group to use "Antifa" in its name. Antifa is derived from a group
called Antifaschistische Aktion, founded in May 1932 by Stalinist leaders of the
Communist Party of Germany. Antifa's logo, with two flags representing anarchism
(black flag) and communism (red flag), are derived from the German Antifa
movement.
The American Antifa movement gained momentum in 2016, after Vermont Senator
Bernie Sanders, a self-described Socialist, lost the Democratic Party's
nomination to Hillary Clinton. Grassroots supporters of Sanders vowed to
continue his "political revolution" to establish socialism in America.
Meanwhile, immigration became a new flashpoint in American politics after Donald
Trump campaigned on a pledge to reduce illegal migration. In June 2016,
protestors violently attacked supporters of Donald Trump outside a rally in San
Jose, California. In January 2017, hundreds of Antifa rioters tried to disrupt
President Trump's inauguration ceremony in Washington, DC.
In February 2017, Antifa rioters employing so-called black bloc tactics — they
wear black clothing, masks or other face-concealing items so that they cannot be
identified by police — shut down a speech by Milos Yiannopoulos, a far-right
activist who was slated to speak at the University of California at Berkeley,
the birthplace of the 1964 Free Speech Movement. Antifa radicals claimed that
Yiannopoulos was planning to "out" undocumented students at Berkeley for the
purpose of having them arrested. Masked Antifa vandals armed with Molotov
cocktails, bricks and a host of other makeshift weapons fought police and caused
more than $100,000 in property damage.
In June 2018, Republican Representative Dan Donovan of New York introduced Bill
HR 6054 — "Unmasking Antifa Act of 2018" — that calls for prison sentences of up
to 15 years for anyone who, while wearing a mask or disguise, "injures,
oppresses, threatens, or intimidates" someone else who is exercising any right
or privilege guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. The bill remains stalled in
the House of Representatives.
In July 2019, Antifa radical Willem Van Spronsen attempted to firebomb the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Tacoma, Washington. He
was killed in a confrontation with police.
That same month, U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Bill Cassidy introduced a resolution
that would label Antifa a "domestic terrorist organization." The resolution
stated:
"Whereas members of Antifa, because they believe that free speech is equivalent
to violence, have used threats of violence in the pursuit of suppressing
opposing political ideologies; Whereas Antifa represents opposition to the
democratic ideals of peaceful assembly and free speech for all; Whereas members
of Antifa have physically assaulted journalists and other individuals during
protests and riots in Berkeley, California;
"Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Senate ... calls for the groups and
organizations across the country who act under the banner of Antifa to be
designated as domestic terrorist organizations."
"Antifa are terrorists, violent masked bullies who 'fight fascism' with actual
fascism, protected by Liberal privilege," said Cassidy. "Bullies get their way
until someone says no. Elected officials must have courage, not cowardice, to
prevent terror."
Antifa Exploits Death of George Floyd
Antifa radicals increasingly are using incendiary events such as the death of
George Floyd in Minnesota as springboards to achieve their broader aims, one of
which includes removing President Trump from office.
Veteran national security correspondent Bill Gertz recently reported that the
Antifa movement began planning to foment a nationwide anti-government insurgency
as early as November 2019, when the U.S. presidential campaign season kicked off
in earnest. Former National Security Council staff member Rich Higgins said:
"Antifa's actions represent a hard break with the long tradition of a peaceful
political process in the United States. Their Marxist ideology seeks not only to
influence elections in the short term but to destroy the use of elections as the
determining factor in political legitimacy.
"Antifa's goal is nothing less than fomenting revolution, civil war and
silencing America's anti-communists. Their labeling of Trump supporters and
patriots as Nazis and racists is standard fare for left-wing communist groups.
"Antifa is currently functioning as the command and control of the riots, which
are themselves the overt utilization of targeted violence against targets such
as stores — capitalism; monuments — history; and churches — God."
Joe Myers, a former Defense Intelligence Agency official and counterinsurgency
expert, added:
"President Trump's election and revitalization of America are a threat to
Antifa's nihilist goals. They are fomenting this violence to create havoc,
despair and to target the Trump campaign for defeat in 2020. It is employing
organized violence for political ends: destruction of the constitutional order."
New York's top terrorism officer, Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and
Counterterrorism John Miller, explained why the George Floyd protests in New
York City became so violent and destructive:
"No. 1, before the protests began, organizers of certain anarchist groups set
out to raise bail money and people who would be responsible to be raising bail
money, they set out to recruit medics and medical teams with gear to deploy in
anticipation of violent interactions with police.
"They prepared to commit property damage and directed people who were following
them that this should be done selectively and only in wealthier areas or at
high-end stores run by corporate entities.
"And they developed a complex network of bicycle scouts to move ahead of
demonstrators in different directions of where police were and where police were
not for purposes of being able to direct groups from the larger group to places
where they could commit acts of vandalism including the torching of police
vehicles and Molotov cocktails where they thought officers would not be.
"We believe that a significant amount of people who came here from out of the
area, who have come here as well as the advance preparation, having advance
scouts, the use of encrypted information, having resupply routes for things such
as gasoline and accelerants as well as rocks and bottles, the raising of bail,
the placing of medics. Taken together, this is a strong indicator that they
planned to act with disorder, property damage, violence, and violent encounters
with police before the first demonstration and/or before the first arrest."
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Bernard B. Kerik, former police
commissioner of the New York City Police Department, said that Antifa "100
percent exploited" the George Floyd protests:
"It's in 40 different states and 60 cities; it would be impossible for somebody
outside of Antifa to fund this. It's a radical, leftist, socialist attempt at
revolution.
"They're coming from other cities. That cost money. They didn't do this on their
own. Somebody's paying for this.
"What Antifa is doing is they're basically hijacking the black community as
their army. They instigate, they antagonize, they get these young black men and
women to go out there and do stupid things, and then they disappear off into the
sunset."
After photos appeared to show protesters with military-grade communications
radios and earpieces, Kerik noted: "They have to be talking to somebody at a
central command center with a repeater. Where do those radios go to?"
Across the country, in Bellevue, Washington, which was also hit by looting and
violence, Police Chief Steve Mylett confirmed that the people responsible were
organized, from out of town, and being paid:
"There are groups paying these looters money to come in and they're getting paid
by the broken window. This is something totally different we are dealing with
that we have never seen as a profession before. We did have officers that were
in different areas that were chasing these groups. When we make contact, they
just disperse."
Antifa Financing
The coordinated violence raises questions about how Antifa is financed. The
Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ) is an organizing group that serves as a
fiscal sponsor to numerous radical left-wing initiatives, according to Influence
Watch, a research group that collects data on advocacy organizations,
foundations and donors.
AFGJ, which describes itself as "anti-capitalist" and opposed to the principles
of liberal democracy, provides "fiscal sponsorship" to groups advocating
numerous foreign and domestic far-left and extreme-left causes, including
eliminating the State of Israel.
The Tucson, Arizona-based AFGJ, and people associated with it, have advocated
for socialist and communist authoritarian regimes, including in Cuba, Nicaragua
and Venezuela. In the 2000s, AFGJ was involved in anti-globalization
demonstrations. In the 2010s, AFGJ was a financial sponsor of the Occupy Wall
Street movement.
AFGJ has received substantial funding from organizations often claiming to be
the mainstream of the center-left. The Open Society Foundations, Tides
Foundation, Arca Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation, the
Ben & Jerry Foundation and the Brightwater Fund have all made contributions to
AFGJ, according to Influence Watch.
One of the groups funded by AFGJ is called Refuse Fascism, a radical left-wing
organization devoted to promoting nationwide action to remove from office
President Donald Trump, and all officials associated with his administration, on
the grounds that they constitute a "fascist regime." The group has been present
at many Antifa radical-left demonstrations, also according to Influence Watch.
The group is an offshoot of the Radical Communist Party (RCP).
In July 2017, the RCP bragged that it took part in violent riots against the G20
Summit in Hamburg, Germany. The RCP has argued that capitalism is synonymous
with fascism and that the election of President Trump would lead the U.S.
government to "bludgeon and eliminate whole groups of people."
In June 2020, Refuse Fascism took advantage of the death of George Floyd to
raise money for a "National Revolution Tour" evidently aimed at subverting the
U.S. government. The group's slogan states: "This System Cannot Be Reformed, It
Must Be Overthrown!"
Antifa's "Utopia"
Meanwhile, in Seattle, Washington, Antifa radicals, protesters from Black Lives
Matter, and members of the anti-capitalist John Brown Gun Club seized control of
the East Precinct neighborhood and established a six-square-block "autonomous
zone" called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, "CHAZ," recently renamed "CHOP,"
the Capitol Hill Organized (or Occupied) Protest. A cardboard sign at the
barricades declares: "You are now leaving the USA." The group issued a list of
30 demands, including the "abolition" of the Seattle Police Department and court
system.
"Rapes, robberies and all sorts of violent acts have been occurring in the area
and we're not able to get to them," said Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best.
Several people have been wounded or killed.
Christopher F. Rufo, a contributing editor of City Journal, observed:
"The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone has set a dangerous precedent: armed left-wing
activists have asserted their dominance of the streets and established an
alternative political authority over a large section of a neighborhood. They
have claimed de facto police power over thousands of residents and dozens of
businesses — completely outside of the democratic process. In a matter of days,
Antifa-affiliated paramilitaries have created a hardened border, established a
rudimentary form of government based on principles of intersectional
representation, and forcibly removed unfriendly media from the territory.
"The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone is an occupation and taking of hostages: none
of the neighborhood's residents voted for Antifa as their representative
government. Rather than enforce the law, Seattle's progressive political class
capitulated to the mob and will likely make massive concessions over the next
few months. This will embolden the Antifa coalition — and further undermine the
rule of law in American cities."
Antifa in its Own Words
The American Antifa movement's long-term objectives are identical to those of
the Antifa movement in Europe: replacing capitalism with a communist utopia.
Mark Bray, one of the most vocal apologists for Antifa in the United States and
author of "Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook," explained:
"The only long-term solution to the fascist menace is to undermine its pillars
of strength in society grounded not only in white supremacy but also in ableism,
heteronormativity, patriarchy, nationalism, transphobia, class rule, and many
others. This long-term goal points to the tensions that exist in defining
anti-fascism, because at a certain point destroying fascism is really about
promoting a revolutionary socialist alternative."
Nikkita Oliver, former mayoral candidate of Seattle, Washington, added:
"We need to align ourselves with the global struggle that acknowledges that the
United States plays a role in racialized capitalism. Racialized capitalism is
built upon patriarchy, white supremacy, and classism."
Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, confirmed
that the immediate goal is to remove President Trump from office:
"Trump not only needs to not be in office in November, but he should resign now.
Trump needs to be out of office. He is not fit for office. And so, what we are
going to push for is a move to get Trump out. While we're also going to continue
to push and pressure Joe Biden around his policies and relationship to policing
and criminalization. That's going to be important. But our goal is to get Trump
out."
Rose City Antifa tweeted:
"As antifascists we know that our fight is not just against organized fascism,
but also against the capitalist state, and the police that protect it. Another
world is possible!"
Seattle Antifascists added:
"This is the revolution, this is our time and we will make no excuses for the
terror."
A group called PNW Youth Liberation Front, Antifa's youth organization, tweeted:
"The only way to win a world without police, prisons, borders, etc. is to
destroy the oppressive systems which we are currently caught in. We must
continue the fight against the state, imperialism, capitalism, white supremacy,
patriarchy, and so on if we ever want to be free."
A pamphlet distributed in the Seattle "Autonomous Zone" stated:
"The idea that the working class can control our own lives, without states,
governments or borders, is also called anarchism. But how do we get from our
current capitalist society to a future anarchist-communist one? .... In order to
destroy the current order, there will need to be a revolution, a time of great
upheaval."
A poster in the Seattle "Autonomous Zone" stated:
"Oh, you thought I just wanted to defund the police? This whole system needs to
go."
One of the leaders of the Seattle "Autonomous Zone" said:
"Every single day that I show up here I'm not here to peacefully protest. I'm
here to disrupt until my demands are met. You cannot rebuild until you break it
all the way down. Respond to the demands of the people or prepare to be met with
any means necessary. By any means necessary. It's not a slogan or even a
warning. I'm letting people know what comes next."
A group called the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement, which has nearly 15,000
Twitter followers, called for an insurrection:
"Revolutionary greetings from the insurrection sweeping throughout the occupied
territories of the so-called United States of America.
"As the history of this miserable nation repeats itself once again, what has
become clearly evident is that black people have been and will continue to be
the only revolutionary force that is capable of toppling the oppressive status
quo.
"Everywhere the pigs [a derogatory term for police] have lost their will to
fight. Their eyes, which only yesterday were windows to empty hatred and
contempt, now display stultifying self-doubt and cowardice. For once, their
behavior portrays their weakness as every step they take back is marked by
hesitation.
"Together, if we keep pushing, this land of chattel slavery, indigenous
genocide, and foreign imperial aggression can finally be wiped out so that it
will only be remembered as one of the more ugly chapters in human history."
An Antifa radical from Maryland tweeted:
"This isn't protest. This is rebellion. When rebellion gets organized we get
revolution. We are seeing the beginnings of that and it's glorious."
An Antifa agitator from New York comments on the American flag:
"That sh*t is a fucking cloth with colors on it. It doesn't live or breathe and
is nothing but a representation. Any Black, Latinx, or Native person looking at
that thing being respected, should be offended at that flag that represents
genocide, rape, slavery, and colonization."
An Antifa media platform, "It's Going Down," wrote:
"Looting is an effective means of wealth redistribution."
An Antifa activist from North Carolina on free speech:
"The idea that freedom of speech is the most important thing that we can protect
can only be held by someone who thinks that life is analogous to a debate hall.
In my opinion, 'no platforming' fascists often infringes (sic) upon their
speech, but this infringement is justified for its role in the political
struggle against fascism."
Torch Antifa Network, in response to President Trump's announced plans to
designate Antifa as a terrorist group:
"Antifa will be designating the United States of America as a terrorist
organization."
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
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U.S. Seeks Indefinite Arms Embargo on Iran in UN Resolution
David Wainer/Bloomberg/June 23/2020
Draft measure would extend arms ban due to expire in October
Russia, China blame U.S. for choosing to quit nuclear deal
The U.S. has shared a draft resolution with members of the United Nations
Security Council that would extend an arms embargo on Iran indefinitely,
according to diplomats. With the ban on arms transactions with Iran set to
expire in October under terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, the U.S. draft calls on
all countries to “prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer” of
weapons to and from the Islamic Republic unless a Security Council committee
approves it at least 30 days in advance on a case-by-case basis, according to a
copy of the text obtained by Bloomberg News.
The U.S. proposal Monday came after Russia and China, two veto-wielding members
of the council, have already said they won’t support extending the embargo
because they blame President Donald Trump for exiting the nuclear accord
unilaterally. Diplomats expect a clash at the council over the next few months
because the U.S. is threatening that it will invoke a“snapback” provision in the
2015 deal if it doesn’t get its way, which would reimpose all UN sanctions
against Tehran.
The Security Council is set to begin negotiations on the resolution on
Wednesday, diplomats said. Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft told
reporters that the resolution had already been shared with close allies and
Russia, and that the text would be circulated among the rest of the council
soon.
The American resolution cites the conclusion by UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres in his most recent report that missiles and drones used in several
attacks against Saudi Arabia in 2019 originated in Iran. The draft expresses
“grave concern about the risk that these attacks posed to global energy
supplies, to freedom of navigation in the region, to the safety of persons
working in the energy and maritime transportation sectors and to the
environment.” It adds that “such attacks and continued proliferation of arms and
related material by Iran constitute a threat to international peace and
security.”
Iran “categorically” rejected the UN findings, saying in a statement earlier
this month that the secretariat “lacks the capacity, expertise, and knowledge to
conduct such a sophisticated and sensitive investigation.”
The expiration of the arms embargo theoretically would let Iran move ahead with
purchases of conventional weapons from Russia and China. Iran could modernize
its forces by buying advanced weapons systems that it has mostly been unable to
acquire for decades, including fighter aircraft and main battle tanks, the
Pentagon warned in November. The issue takes on added political emphasis for
Trump, with the October expiration coming just weeks before the U.S.
presidential election.