LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 10/2019

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place/Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy
Mark 01/35-45/Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on March 09-10/2019
What We Can Learn From The Miracle Of Healing The Man With Leprosy
Lebanese President, IMF Mission Chief Discuss Financial Situation, Reform Plan
Hezbollah Admits to Financial Difficulties over Tighter Sanctions
Report: Washington Displeased with Lebanon Position on Hizbullah
Report: Berri ‘Dismayed’ with Satterfield over Oil Position
Alloush Asks if Nasrallah Will 'Fight Corruption with Weapons'
Minister: Germany Will Not Follow Britain's Lead on Hezbollah
Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel Rejects Hegemony, Authoritarianism in Lebanon
Abu Nader Warns of Lingering Refugee Crisis in Lebanon
BBC Report Sheds Light on Women's Role in Lebanese Air Force
LF launches draft law criminalizing marital rape
The Mother of The Child: How Lebanon's March 14 alliance collapsed

Litles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 09-10/2019
Washington Protesters Demand 'Regime Change' in Iran
Canada Political Crisis Hurts Trudeau's Image as Elections Loom
Guaido, Maduro Rallies Set as Venezuela Struggles with Blackout
Israel Hits Gaza in Response to 'Projectile'
Brazil's Bolsonaro to Visit Trump this Month
UN Aid Reaches Manbij for First Time
Turkey, Russia Begin Patrol in Northern Syria
Iran, France Close to Exchanging Ambassadors
Iran Opposition Protests in Washington for Regime Change
Tripoli Authorities: Gaddafi PM Still Held in Prison
Israel hits Gaza against Hamas sites in response to ‘projectile’
US accuses Palestinians of manufacturing crisis over tax transfer
Netanyahu campaign ‘Bibi or Tibi’ draws accusations of incitement

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 09-10/2019
What We Can Learn From The Miracle Of Healing The Man With Leprosy/Elias Bejjani/March 10/19
The Mother of The Child: How Lebanon's March 14 alliance collapsed/Bassem Ajami/Annahar/March 09/19
Sweden: Still More Migration/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/March 09/19
Saudi Arabia Does Not Need International Women’s Day/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/March,09/19
 Algeria on the Brink?/Sarah Feuer/The Washington Institute/March 09/19
The US and Russia are playing a game of weapons diplomacy in the Middle East/Raghida Dergham/The National/March 09/19
US military buildup in Iraq via Israel and Jordan ready for clash with pro-Iranian Iraqi militias/DEBKAfile/March 09/19

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on March 08-09/2019
What We Can Learn From The Miracle Of Healing The Man With Leprosy
Elias Bejjani/March 10/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/72843/elias-bejjani-what-we-can-learn-from-the-miracle-of-healing-the-man-with-leprosy/
Christ, the Son of God, is always ready and willing to help the sinners who seek forgiveness and repentance.
When we are remorseful and ask Him for exoneration, He never gives up on us no matter what we did or said. As a loving Father, He always comes to our rescue when we get ourselves into trouble. He grants us all kinds of graces to safeguard us from falling into the treacherous traps of Satan’s sinful temptations.
Jesus the only Son Of God willingly endured all kinds of humiliation, pain, torture and accepted death on the cross for our sake and salvation. Through His crucifixion He absolved us from the original sin that our first parents Adam and Eve committed. He showed us the righteous ways through which we can return with Him on the Day Of Judgment to His Father’s Heavenly kingdom.
Jesus made his call to the needy, persecuted, sick and sinners loud and clear: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) The outcast leper believed in Jesus’ call and came to Him asking for cleansing. Jesus took his hand, touched him with love, and responded to his request.
The leper knew deep in his heart that Jesus could cure him from his devastating and shameful leprosy if He is willing to do so. Against all odds he took the hard and right decision to seek out at once Jesus’ mercy.
With solid faith, courage and perseverance the leper approached Jesus and begging him, kneeling down to him, and says to him, “If you want to, you can make me clean.” When he had said this, immediately the leprosy departed from him and he was made clean. Jesus extended His hand and touched him with great passion and strictly warned him, “See you say nothing to anybody, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.” But the leper went out, began to proclaim it much, and spread about the matter so that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but was outside in desert places: and they came to him from everywhere. (Mark 01/40-45)
We sinners, all of us, ought to learn from the leper’s great example of faith. Like him we need to endeavour for sincere repentance with heartfelt prayer, begging Almighty God for absolution from all our sins. Honest pursuit of salvation and repentance requires a great deal of humility, honesty, love, transparency and perseverance. Like the leper we must trust in God’s mercy and unwaveringly go after it.
The faithful leper sensed deep inside his conscience that Jesus could cleanse him, but was not sure if he is worth Jesus’ attention and mercy.
His faith and great trust in God made him break all the laws that prohibited a leper from getting close to or touching anybody. He tossed himself at Jesus’ feet scared and trembling. With great love, confidence, meekness and passion he spoke to Jesus saying “If you will, you can make me clean.” He did not mean if you are in a good mood at present. He meant, rather, if it is not out of line with the purpose of God, and if it is not violating some cosmic program God is working out then you can make me clean.
Lepers in the old days were outcasts forced to live in isolation far away from the public. They were not allowed to continue living in their own communities or families. They were looked upon as dead people and forbidden from even entering the synagogues to worship. They were harshly persecuted, deprived of all their basic rights and dealt with as sinners. But in God’s eyes these sick lepers were His children whom He dearly loves and cares for. “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you”. Matthew(05/11-12)
The leper trusted in God’s parenthood and did not have any doubts about Jesus’ divinity and power to cleanse and cure him. Without any hesitation, and with a pure heart, he put himself with full submission into Jesus’ hands and will knowing that God our Father cannot but have mercy on His children. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”. (Matthew05/08)
We need to take the leper as a role model in our lives. His strong and steadfast faith cured him and put him back into society. We are to know God can do whatever He wants and to trust Him. If He is willing, He will. We just have to trust in the goodness and mercy of God and keep on praying and asking, and He surely will respond in His own way even though many times our limited minds can not grasp His help.
Praying on regular basis as Jesus instructed us to is an extremely comforting ritual: “Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions” (Mark 11/24-26)
The leper’s faith teaches us that God always listens and always responds to our requests when we approach Him with pure hearts, trust, confidence and humbleness. Almighty God is a loving father who loves us all , we His children and all what we have to do to get His attention is to make our requests through praying. “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened”. (Matthew 07/08 -09)
*From the 2015 Archives

Lebanese President, IMF Mission Chief Discuss Financial Situation, Reform Plan
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 9 March, 2019 /President Michel Aoun met on Friday with the head of the International Monetary Fund mission to Lebanon, Chris Jarvis, to discuss the economic situation and the measures that have been adopted to implement the economic growth plan. According to a statement from presidency, the meeting addressed the financial situation in the country and the government’s directives with regards to the expected reforms in various fields. Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil said during his meeting with Jarvis that work was underway to complete the state budget within the deadlines set by parliament. It includes a set of reforms commensurate with the direction of the government’s ministerial statement and his ministry’s plans to handle public finances. The international envoy will return to Beirut in the next three months to follow up on the development of the financial situation in Lebanon.

Hezbollah Admits to Financial Difficulties over Tighter Sanctions
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 9 March, 2019/Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday called on his supporters to donate money as the party comes under increasing pressure from Western sanctions intended to isolate it financially. "The sanctions and the terror lists are a form of war ... we should deal with them as if they are a war," Nasrallah said in a televised speech on the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Islamic Resistance Support Association, Hezbollah’s fund-raising arm. He called on Hezbollah supporters to remain steadfast in the face of these pressures and said the group's enemies would be "disappointed". "Their actions will not be able to make us poor, hungry or isolated. Those that support us will continue in their support - be they countries, people or our people and the people of resistance in Lebanon," Nasrallah said. "The resistance needs your support ... because we are in the heart of the struggle," he told his supporters. He also expected US sanctions “to get tighter on us and our supporters.”"We may see new names, and new people, and new organizations added to the sanctions lists,” the Hezbollah chief said. The United States deems all parts of Hezbollah a terrorist organization and has been steadily increasing financial sanctions against the Iran-backed movement. Britain last month said it would list all elements of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization for destabilizing the Middle East, breaking with the rest of the European Union which proscribes only its military wing. Nasrallah also promised that Hezbollah will forge ahead with its promised battle against corruption. “We consider ourselves in a battle that is no less sacred than the resistance’s battle against the enemy,” he said. He also called on those who accuse the party of corruption to go to the judiciary.

Report: Washington Displeased with Lebanon Position on Hizbullah
Naharnet/March 09/19/ U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will expectantly arrive in Beirut next week as part of a travel plan that includes Israel, Kuwait and Lebanon. According to diplomatic sources, Pompeo's visit to the region comes within the context of the “declared American agenda aimed at building the bases with Washington's allies on how to confront the Iranian threat and stop expanding Iran's influence in the region,” they told al-Joumhouria daily. On the other hand, the visit also aims at “pressuring Hizbullah in the context of a U.S. plan to tighten the political and financial sanctions against the party,” they added. The sources stressed that what Pompeo prepares to discuss in Lebanon was already laid out by David Satterfield, acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, in his meetings in Lebanon during his recent visit. He drew attention to “American dissatisfaction with the Lebanese official position, in particular the position of President Michel Aoun and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil regarding Hizbullah,” said the sources. Their position “offers unconvincing justifications for the party, embraces it, adopts its orientations, and ignores the fact that its power is growing and its permanent threat to the structure of the Lebanese state and to the overall stability in Lebanon and the region is increasing,” they added. The sources pointed out that this resentment was conveyed to official Lebanese bodies through Arab and Western diplomatic channels. Satterfield has also frankly expressed this discontent in front of some Lebanese personalities he met during his recent visit to Lebanon. “He stressed the need to increase the pressure on Hizbullah,” they concluded.

Report: Berri ‘Dismayed’ with Satterfield over Oil Position
Naharnet/March 09/19/Speaker Nabih Berri expressed “anger” with David Satterfield, acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, who met with several Lebanese officials in Lebanon last week without meeting the Speaker or President Michel Aoun, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday. But Berri has assured that “he would have refused to see Satterfield even the latter asked to meet him,” added the daily. Explaining Berri’s position, the newspaper said that Berri’s refusal to see Satterfield is due to a “stormy” meeting in February between the two over the Lebanese-Israeli oil and gas exploration dispute. Satterfield reportedly did not play the role of mediator, but adopted the Israeli position in a sharp way pressuring Lebanon to accept an American solution to the maritime border crisis ultimately serving the interests of Israel, it said. In this meeting, after the debate, Satterfield reportedly told Berri in a rhetoric “outside” the diplomatic framework "take it or leave it.”According to information obtained by the daily, the above has prompted Berri to sharply snap at the U.S. envoy. Berri told Satterfield: “I am Nabih Berri, you can't talk to me this way. The American proposal is unacceptable. Our position is firm and known to uphold our full right to the 860 square km area and its oil and gas reserves in the sea which Israel is trying to steal. This is not the only property within Lebanon’s territorial waters and sea borders, but add to it an area of more than 500 square km to the south that also belong to Lebanon.”Berri emphasized that Lebanon will not allow Israel to seize control of parts of its offshore oil and gas fields. In 2017, Lebanon invited companies to bid for exploratory offshore drilling along the countries' for two of 10 blocks in the Mediterranean Sea, including one that is disputed in part with Israel. Israel claims Lebanon will be drilling partly in areas owned by Israel.

Alloush Asks if Nasrallah Will 'Fight Corruption with Weapons'
Naharnet/March 09/19/Al-Mustaqbal Movement official ex-MP Mustafa Alloush wondered Friday if Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah intends to “fight corruption with weapons,” after the Hizbullah leader announced the anti-corruption fight is “as sacred as” his group's military resistance against Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon. “After setting aside Jerusalem's liberation and after the doors were locked in the face of the trade of blood, wars and destruction, someone today is inventing an alternative holy war titled as the battle against corruption! Then why should the weapons stay and will he fight corruption with weapons?” Alloush tweeted, in an apparent reference to Nasrallah. “Will he who wants to fight corruption open his party's financial records for inspection?” Alloush asked. Nasrallah had earlier in the day announced that Hizbullah is in “a necessary, important and national battle against corruption that is not less sacred than the resistance's battle against occupation.”

Minister: Germany Will Not Follow Britain's Lead on Hezbollah
Kataeb.org/Saturday 09th March 2019/Germany will not follow Britain's lead in proscribing Hezbollah and labeling it as a terrorist group, Minister of State Niels Annen told Der Spiegel magazine. The official noted that Britain's move will not affect the position of Germany and the European Union, saying that Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese society and Germany is keen to safeguard in Lebanon's stability. Annen dismissed U.S. claims that Germany is not making any effort to curb Iran's influence in the region, stressing that his country's foreign policy is based on finding political solutions even in tough situations. The German minister visited Lebanon earlier this week and held talks with the country's top officials.

Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel Rejects Hegemony, Authoritarianism in Lebanon
Kataeb.org/Saturday 09th March 2019/Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel on Friday reiterated the party's unwavering commitment to the values it has long defended, affirming that it stands firm to its constants. “We reject the presence of a ruler who undermines others, allocates ministerial portfolios, determines the size of each political force and dictates the State's choices,” Gemayel said at a dinner held by the Kataeb's office in Ehmej. “The Kataeb is a resistant party that is struggling to build a free, sovereign, independent, civilized and pluralistic State,” he stressed.

Abu Nader Warns of Lingering Refugee Crisis in Lebanon
Kataeb.org/Saturday 09th March 2019/Kataeb leader's top adviser, Fouad Abu Nader, on Saturday called for the swift return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, warning that their lingering presence poses risks to the country. “With each day of delay to bring the Syrian refugees to their country, the danger scale of them staying in Lebanon is raising. It will disrupt national partnership and jeopardizes Lebanon’s unity as well as identity," Abu Nader wrote on Twitter. "Let us be brave to face this big conspiracy that is threatening our existence and future,” he stressed.

BBC Report Sheds Light on Women's Role in Lebanese Air Force
Kataeb.org/Saturday 09th March 2019/As the world marked the International Women's Day this week, a BBC report published on Friday shed the light on the role that women are playing in the Lebanese Army, amid efforts to boost their contribution to administrative, logistical and even combat tasks. While women are not allowed to work on the front line in the army, the report noted, this rule doesn't apply to the air force to which six females had applied to be pilots. After undergoing testing, only two qualified: first Lieutenant Chantal Kallas, and first Lieutenant Rita Zaher. 26-year-old Rita told BBC that many had tried to persuade her to not join the Army because she was "taking a man's job". As for Chantal, 27, she had always nurtured a dream of becoming a pilot and was determined to fulfill it despite her parents telling her that she would not be able to achieve balance between work and family.
"In my opinion, a woman has to overcome all of the challenges with their family or society to realise her ambition," she says. "Everyone in the air force is helping us and encouraging us to fulfil our ambition, and this is why perceptions are changing and men have become more accepting of women in combat positions and emancipating women in society." Twenty-four year old Manar Iskandar is the first female mechanic in the air force. "When I first came here my male colleagues looked at me with sympathy, like I needed help. But little by little I have become stronger in my job and started doing work that they can't do themselves," Manar said. "I have small hands so sometimes I can do things they can't, like reaching into areas of the engine they can't."

LF launches draft law criminalizing marital rape
Zeina Nasser/Annahar/March 09 /19 /Maarab, Lebanon: A draft law criminalizing marital rape was introduced Friday at the Lebanese Forces’ headquarters in Maarab, marking another victory for women’s’ rights. “Before being his wife, you were his lover, and on top of all of that, you’re a human”, a short video prepared by the women’s department of the LF echoed. The draft law was submitted by Lebanese forces MPs Setrida Geagea and George Okais to Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri on Wednesday, and it now awaits the approval of their peers to be ratified. Touching on the challenges ahead, Okais was hopeful in attracting support for the bill given the LF’s collaboration with a number of civil society movements. The aim of the bill is simple, to preserve the women’s rights, the LF said. Speaking on the panel, Okais maintained that there still is a long way to go for women’s rights in Lebanon. "This is only a small step in a long process," he said, adding that LF MPs are preparing to submit a number of other draft laws in the coming years aimed at furthering women’s rights."We will fight so that Lebanese women’s rights are not violated by anyone, especially their husbands," Maya Zeghrini, a lawyer and head of women’s department at the LF said. She also stressed on the need to amend the penal code, while offering other explanations for instances of marital rape including the prevalence of the patriarchal society in the region. The LF is also exploring legal avenues to abolish article 505 of the Lebanese penal code which acquits an accused rapist if he marries his victim.

The Mother of The Child: How Lebanon's March 14 alliance collapsed
بسام عجمي/النهار/أم الصبي تسأل كيف انهار تجمع 14 آذار
Bassem Ajami/Annahar/March 09/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/72834/bassem-ajami-the-mother-of-the-child-how-lebanons-march-14-alliance-collapsed-%D8%A8%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B9%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A3%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84/
BEIRUT: It is no surprise that the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) joined Hezbollah in accusing former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora of corruption. This is primarily a result of the "presidential deal."
The fight against corruption is not a political issue. It is a law and order issue. Investigating a matter involving corrupt practices should be initiated not by the politicians, but by the prosecutors. This is how it is done in countries that respect the separation of powers and adhere to the rule of law. But in Lebanon, the fashion is to place political expediency ahead of the law.
Hezbollah barricades itself behind the fight against Israel in order to commit illegal activities. The list of accusations against the party is a long one. But if it truly wants to champion the fight against corruption, and show respect for the rule of law, it would start by handing over those accused of taking part in the assassination of Rafic Hariri. It would not defy the entire country and boldly declare "not in 100 years, 200 years or 300 years."
Similarly, the list of accusations of corruption against the FPM and its leadership is also a long one. The fact that the country has been enduring a poor supply of electricity for the past 10 years is corruption. The party, which has been in charge of the ministry of power for that period, bears direct responsibility. If its call to combat corruption is serious, it could start by explaining why an offer by the Kuwaiti Fund to rehabilitate Lebanon's electricity system was rejected in favor of a dubious deal to rent Turkish power-generating vessels?
Hezbollah and the FPM would not have dared to make their illegitimate claims against the former prime minister had they not sensed a weakness in the camp to which Siniora belongs, mainly from Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Hariri has built his political career on embracing the role of "the mother of the child." The myth is based on the biblical story of King Solomon and two women who fought over the motherhood of a child. The gist of the story rests on sacrifice. The true mother sacrificed her child to the false mother rather than see him cut in half, as proposed by the wise king. As a result, King Solomon knew who the true mother was and gave her the child.
But what Hariri failed to recognize is that in Lebanese politics sacrifice does not always produce a happy ending.
Since 2005, Hariri made many sacrifices, to the extent that he depleted the March 14 movement of its purpose. The false accusation against Siniora is a fallout of the sacrifices that Hariri made in the "presidential deal" with Hezbollah and the FPM in 2016. The immediate purpose of the deal was to end the two-year vacuum in the presidency and make Hariri prime minister. More important was the ultimate aim of the deal. It was to clip Hariri's wings and dismantle the March 14 movement.
Driven by the will to get the country moving by electing a president, Hariri ignored the ultimate consequences of the deal.
For Hezbollah and the FPM, combating corruption offers an attractive theme to camouflage such consequences, and distract attention from their own abuses.
https://en.annahar.com/article/945834-the-mother-of-the-child-how-lebanons-march-14-alliance-collapsed

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on March 09-10/2019
Washington Protesters Demand 'Regime Change' in Iran
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 09/19/Hundreds of people turned out in Washington Friday demanding regime change in Iran and denouncing "atrocity toward the people" under Tehran's regime. Protesters waved Iranian flags as they chanted for "regime change now" -- with some holding portraits of Maryam Rajavi, leader of the People's Mujahedin, an Iranian opposition group banned in the country. "The regime inside Iran is doing so much atrocity toward the people. Iran in whole has been destroyed by this regime," said Michael Passi, an Iranian-American engineer. "There are a lot of executions, a lot of tortures and a lot of export of terrorism by this regime," he alleged. "We want separation of religion and the state," added Mina Entezari, an Arizona-based designer who was a political prisoner in Iran for seven years. "We want freedom for people." The administration of US President Donald Trump consistently blasts a lack of freedoms in Iran and its "destabilizing" influence on the Middle East. A firm adversary of the Islamic republic, he has reimplemented harsh economic sanctions -- but Washington insists it is not pushing for regime change, only a change to Iran's policy in areas including missile development and support for militant groups. "I'm 100 percent behind President Trump's policy," Passi said. "The only language that this Iranian regime understands is a language of force."

Canada Political Crisis Hurts Trudeau's Image as Elections Loom
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 09/19/Justin Trudeau rose to power in Canada as a champion of feminism and indigenous rights, quickly earning him golden boy status at home and abroad as a progressive leader. But a major political scandal that sparked the resignation of two of his ministers -- both women, one indigenous -- has tarnished his image just seven months before national elections. Pundits say the 47-year-old premier faces a tough battle just to stay in office, with the latest polls showing his Liberals trailing the Conservatives for the first time. For weeks, Trudeau's government has been rocked by accusations of meddling in the criminal prosecution of engineering giant SNC-Lavalin, which was charged with corruption over alleged bribes paid to secure contracts in Libya. His attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould, who said she experienced "consistent and sustained" political pressure to shield the company from a trial, stepped down. Budget minister Jane Philpott followed suit, as did longtime Trudeau friend and top aide Gerry Butts. On Thursday, Trudeau addressed the allegations head-on, telling reporters in Ottawa that he had learned "lessons" from the crisis -- but denying any wrongdoing. For the opposition, that wasn't enough. On Friday, they renewed their calls for Trudeau to resign. "Trudeau is facing a serious crisis of confidence in his leadership," said Stephanie Chouinard, a politics professor at the Royal Military College of Canada. "Seeing not one, but two members of his cabinet slamming the door like that, it's unheard of for many years in Canada and it augurs very badly for him ahead of the October elections."
'Virtue' at issue
The Liberals built their brand around the handsome young Trudeau, a one-time bartender and snowboard instructor with Hollywood good looks and a father who was widely admired when he served as premier. Trudeau brought rock star energy to the job, and his brand of progressive politics -- he made bold statements on climate action, legalized cannabis and helped refugees make a new life in Canada. The Liberals' 2015 victory marked the return of the party, which had governed for most of the last century before being relegated to third-place status in a 2006 ballot. Trudeau was hailed. Now, his "virtue is being questioned," Chouinard said.  "He promised to do politics differently and introduce real change, but (in many eyes) has showed himself to be a politician like any other."
Libya, bribes and Trudeau's 'brand'
SNC-Lavalin was charged in 2015 with corruption for allegedly bribing officials in Libya between 2001 and 2011 to secure government contracts during the rule of former strongman Moamer Kadhafi. The Montreal-based firm openly lobbied the government for an out-of-court settlement that would result in a fine and agreeing to compliance measures, saying a conviction would lead to job cuts. But Wilson-Raybould, Canada's first indigenous attorney general, refused to ask prosecutors to settle, and the trial is set to proceed. She later testified to lawmakers that she had received "veiled threats" over her stance -- and Trudeau's inner circle came under suspicion. Since the crisis erupted a month ago, Trudeau has seemed "disconnected" and "not in control" of his government, said Eric Montigny, a politics professor at Laval University in Quebec City. The resignations of two tough, successful women who embodied his values have prompted Canadians to re-examine his bona fides, especially his commitment to women and indigenous people, he said. Also, apparent contradictions in his policies, such as pushing for carbon emissions cuts while buying an oil pipeline in support of Canada's energy sector, are getting more attention. "It strikes at the heart of the Trudeau brand," Montigny said. "It also becomes more difficult for the prime minister to tell voters to trust him when two senior ministers say they have lost confidence in him."For a hint of how things might play out, many will look to the March 19 federal budget vote.
If Liberals, who hold a majority in parliament, break ranks, it could trigger snap elections. Marcel Chartrand, a communications professor at the University of Ottawa, is nevertheless optimistic that Trudeau's party and Canadians in general will forgive his missteps. "He is young, he learns from his mistakes and I think Canadians will give him the benefit of the doubt," he said.

Guaido, Maduro Rallies Set as Venezuela Struggles with Blackout
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 09/19/Thousands of Venezuelans are expected to protest once again Saturday as opposition leader Juan Guaido cranks up the pressure on beleaguered President Nicolas Maduro -- in the midst of a sweeping electricity blackout that has crippled the crisis-wracked country. Both Guaido and Maduro, who are locked in a bitter power struggle for the right to lead the oil-rich South American nation, have asked their supporters to fill the streets of Caracas and other cities. "Tomorrow, I call on the Venezuelan people to make a huge statement in the streets against the usurper, corrupt and incapable regime that has plunged our country into darkness," Guaido wrote on Twitter. "We return to the streets and we won't leave until we reach the goal," said the 35-year-old National Assembly leader, who is recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president.
Guaido is trying to force out Maduro -- whose re-election in May he deems illegitimate -- in order to set up new elections. Maduro has meanwhile asked his backers to march on Saturday against "imperialism."The mounting political pressure comes after one of the worst and longest blackouts in recent memory in Venezuela. It began on Thursday afternoon, paralyzing much of the country. Power was gradually being restored to large areas of Caracas on Friday afternoon, as well as parts of Miranda state and Vargas, which contains the country's international airport and main port. But the relief was short-lived as the lights went off again, extending the blackout beyond 24 hours. As night fell, people banging saucepans could be heard around the capital: a form of popular protest often seen in South America.
Maduro has blamed the blackout on US sabotage and shut down offices and schools on Friday. Large lines formed at the few gas stations open as people fetched fuel for generators. Some took gas from their cars. The power "came for one moment and went away again," Antonio Belisario, who had been waiting around an hour for petrol, told AFP.
Crippled public services -
Venezuela has suffered more than four years of recession that has seen poverty soar as citizens struggle with food and medicine shortages. So the blackout came at an already stressful time -- and made matters worse. The outage had left most of the country in disarray, crippling day-to-day functioning of hospitals and other public services, according to local press reports. Witnesses described scenes of chaos at several hospitals as people tried to move sick relatives in the dark to clinics with better emergency power facilities. Marielsi Aray, a patient at the University Hospital in Caracas, died after her respirator stopped working. "The doctors tried to help her by pumping manually. They did everything they could, but with no electricity, what were they to do?" asked Jose Lugo, her distraught uncle. Generators at the JM de Rios children's hospital in downtown Caracas failed to kick in when the blackout hit, said Gilbert Altuvez, whose eight-year old son is among the patients."The night was terrible. Without light. Total madness," he said. The putrid odor of rotting flesh hung around the entrance to Caracas' main Bello Monte morgue on Friday where refrigerators had stopped working and worried relatives gathered outside, waiting to be allowed to bury their dead.
'Electrical war' -
The blackout in the capital hit Thursday at 4:50 pm (2050 GMT) -- just before nightfall. Its cause is still unknown. Thousands of homes in Caracas -- a crime-ridden city of two million people -- were without water. Telephone services and access to the internet were knocked out while the subway system ground to a halt. The capital's Simon Bolivar international airport was hit, as were others across the country. Following Maduro's decision to close the borders to keep out humanitarian aid for his people, the country was completely isolated on Friday. "The electrical war announced and directed by US imperialism against our people will be defeated," Maduro tweeted. Critics blame the government for failing to invest in maintaining the electrical grid, although the government often blames external factors when the lights go out. The state power company Corpoelec said there had been sabotage at the Guri hydroelectric plant in Bolivar state, one of the largest in Latin America. It gave no details. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Maduro was wrong to blame the US or any other country for Venezuela's woes. "Power shortages and starvation are the result of the Maduro regime's incompetence," he tweeted.

Israel Hits Gaza in Response to 'Projectile'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 09/19/Israeli forces said Saturday they had launched several strikes against Hamas sites in Gaza in response to a projectile launched from the besieged coastal territory the night before. "IDF fighter jets and aircraft struck several military targets in a Hamas compound in the southern Gaza Strip and underground structures in the northern Gaza Strip," it said in a statement. "The strike was conducted in response to the projectile that was launched from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory" as well as the "balloons carrying explosive devices" into Israel and attempts to damage "security infrastructure", it said. Security officials in Gaza said the strikes had not caused any casualties. A Palestinian was killed and at least 45 others wounded by Israeli fire Friday in new protests and clashes along the Gaza border, the enclave's health ministry said. An Israeli army spokesman said around 8,400 demonstrators had gathered along a barrier between the blockaded territory and Israel, throwing explosive devices and rocks and setting fire to tyres. The Gaza Strip has been the scene of mass protests and clashes since late March last year. Demonstrators have been calling for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to be allowed to return to former homes now inside Israel. Israeli officials say that amounts to calling for the Jewish state's destruction. At least 253 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the rallies began, the majority shot during weekly border protests and others hit by tank fire or air strikes in response to violence from Gaza. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed over the same period. Israel and Hamas, which has controlled the blockaded Gaza Strip for over a decade, have fought three wars since 2008.

Brazil's Bolsonaro to Visit Trump this Month
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 09/19/US President Donald Trump will host his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro on March 19, the White House said Friday, the first meeting between the two rightwing leaders who have lavished praise on each other. The visit was announced by Brazil's foreign ministry last month but a firm date had not been finalized. Bolsonaro, who entered office in January, has vowed to forge close ties with Washington after over a decade of leftist rule in Brazil, and has been dubbed "South America's Trump." "President Trump and President Bolsonaro will discuss how to build a more prosperous, secure, and democratic Western Hemisphere," the White House said. "The leaders of the Hemisphere’s two largest economies will also discuss opportunities for defense cooperation, pro-growth trade policies, combatting transnational crime, and restoring democracy in Venezuela. "Finally, they will talk about the major role that the United States and Brazil are playing in the effort to provide humanitarian assistance to Venezuela." Bolsonaro and Trump both favor regime change in Venezuela, and are harsh critics of the Cuban and Nicaraguan governments. Like Trump, Bolsonaro is a climate change sceptic, whose pro-business agenda and appointment of a like-minded right-winger as environment minister have done nothing to ease concerns about deforestation in the Amazon.

UN Aid Reaches Manbij for First Time
Deir Ezzor - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 9 March, 2019/The United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) reported that they conducted an interagency convoy to Manbij carrying humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of tens of thousands of people. “This is the first time we manage to deliver assistance to Manbij through Aleppo and one of the factors that made it possible was the collaboration and support by all the parties in the area,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) quoted its resident coordinator in Syria, Fran Equiza, as saying. Some 37 trucks carried 862 metric tons of food, non-food items, education materials, nutrition and medical supplies to the city, the OCHA statement said. “Food supplies will cover the needs of 50,000 people for approximately 30 days, while the medical supplies consisting of a range of life-saving medicines, will suffice to treat 81,000 people,” the statement added.

Turkey, Russia Begin Patrol in Northern Syria
Ankara - Saeed Abdelrazek/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 9 March, 2019/Turkish and Russian patrols began in Syria's northwestern Idlib region on Friday as part of a deal agreed in Sochi last September. The agreement between Russia and Turkey included setting up a demilitarized zone, ranging between 15-20 kilometers, around the region. That zone separates regime forces from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which holds Idlib."Today Russian patrols will start outside of Idlib in the border region (and) Turkish armed forces' patrols will begin in the demilitarized zone," Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Friday. The patrols are an important step in preserving stability and reaching a ceasefire, he added. Meanwhile, US-backed fighters said they will resume their assault on ISIS' last, small patch of ground in eastern Syria if no more civilians come out by Saturday afternoon. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have slowed their offensive on the militant enclave at Baghouz near the Iraqi border to allow many thousands of people to leave over the past few weeks. The head of the SDF media center, Mustafa Bali, said no more people had emerged on Friday. "We are waiting for tomorrow morning or perhaps until the afternoon, we'll give another space, for the possibility that civilians are present and the chance to get them out," he said. After that, "if no civilian or terrorist comes out, we will launch our military operation anew." The capture of Baghouz will mark the end of ISIS’ territorial rule over populated areas of Iraq and Syria, and the culmination of the US-backed military campaign waged by the SDF for four years.

Iran, France Close to Exchanging Ambassadors
Paris - Michel Abou Najm/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 9 March, 2019/Iran and France are set to exchange ambassadors after the diplomatic posts remained vacant for around eight months following accusations that the Iranian intelligence had planned an attack on an opposition group in Paris. Bahram Ghasemi, a former envoy to Spain and Italy and current spokesman of the foreign ministry, has been appointed as Iran's new ambassador to France, a high-ranking source told Arab journalists in Paris earlier this week.In Paris, the Official Gazette said that Philippe Thiebaud, a former envoy to South Korea and Pakistan who once represented France at the UN atomic watchdog, had been appointed as ambassador to Tehran. It is not yet known when he will travel to Iran to take over the diplomatic mission after a series of diplomatic fallouts between France and Iran that broke out last year. In June, France accused a branch of Iran's intelligence ministry of attempting to bomb a meeting of the People's Mujahedin, an Iranian opposition group, near Paris. Relations between France and Iran have also been strained over demands by Paris that Iran limits its ballistic missiles program -- which Tehran says is purely defensive. Asked whether the exchange of ambassadors would resolve differences between Paris and Tehran, French sources said that the European country holds onto its stance regarding Iran’s ballistic program and “destabilizing” role in the region. Yet this would not stop France from salvaging the 2015 nuclear accord.In May the United States withdrew from the deal and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran.

Iran Opposition Protests in Washington for Regime Change
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 9 March, 2019/Hundreds of people protested in Washington Friday against Iran, demanding a change in its regime and denouncing its "atrocity toward the people".Protesters waved Iranian flags as they chanted for "regime change now" -- with some holding portraits of Maryam Rajavi, leader of the People's Mujahedin, an Iranian opposition group banned in the country, reported AFP. "The regime inside Iran is doing so much atrocity toward the people. Iran whole has been destroyed by this regime," said Michael Passi, an Iranian-American engineer. "There are a lot of executions, a lot of tortures and a lot of export of terrorism by this regime," he alleged. "We want separation of religion and the state," added Mina Entezari, an Arizona-based designer who was a political prisoner in Iran for seven years. "We want freedom for people."The administration of US President Donald Trump consistently blasts a lack of freedoms in Iran and its "destabilizing" influence on the Middle East. A firm adversary of Tehran, he has re-implemented harsh economic sanctions -- but Washington insists it is not pushing for regime change, only a change to Iran's policy in areas including missile development and support for militant groups. "I'm 100 percent behind President Trump's policy," Passi said. "The only language that this Iranian regime understands is a language of force."

Tripoli Authorities: Gaddafi PM Still Held in Prison
Cairo - Jamal Jawhar/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 9 March, 2019 /Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) announced that former Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, the last prime minister to serve under late ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi, was still being held at the reform and rehabilitation Ain Zara prison that is run by the Justice Ministry. The GNA made the announcement in response to a decision taken by the government in the east’s Justice Ministry to release the inmate. The Tripoli-based Justice Ministry said in a statement that Mahmoudi “was still an inmate” and that the order to “release him is restricted to the legitimate authority that is solely represented in the GNA.” It added that it had previously released detainees on health grounds. This left the door open to the possibility of releasing two former Gaddafi regime officials. The Ministry said it will continue to exercise justice, stressing that it does not discriminate between those who can be released on health grounds. Meanwhile, dozens of people protested in the town of Harawa near Sirte to demand the GNA to release Abdullah Mansour, who acted as head of internal security under Gaddafi, from al-Hadba Prison in Tripoli.
Niger had repatriated Mansour to Libyan authorities in 2014 through secret negotiations, after he fled the county following the toppling of the Gaddafi regime. Abdul Warith Issawi, who hails from Harawa, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Mansour’s family hopes that he will be freed soon after several other officials were released. It will appeal to the Public Prosecutor’s office to release him for health reasons, he added. Separately, UN Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame briefed Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi on the political process in Libya ahead of an Arab League summit that will be held in Tunisia at the end of the month. The meeting discussed recent talks between parties, especially the meeting that was held last month between Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar and GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj, said Salame. Salame briefed his host on what he seeks to achieve in the political process and on the economic level in Libya. The envoy stressed the need to rebuild the ministry of interior and deploy state forces to restore security in the country.During their meeting in Abu Dhabi in February, Sarraj and Haftar vowed to hold elections before the end of 2019.

Israel hits Gaza against Hamas sites in response to ‘projectile’
AFP, Gaza City, Palestinian Territories Saturday, 9 March 2019/Israeli forces said on Saturday they had launched several strikes against Hamas sites in Gaza in response to a projectile launched from the besieged coastal territory the night before. “IDF fighter jets and aircraft struck several military targets in a Hamas compound in the southern Gaza Strip and underground structures in the northern Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement. “The strike was conducted in response to the projectile that was launched from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory” as well as the “balloons carrying explosive devices” into Israel and attempts to damage “security infrastructure”, it said. Security officials in Gaza said the strikes had not caused any casualties. A Palestinian was killed and at least 45 others wounded in Israeli firing on Friday in new protests and clashes along the Gaza border, the enclave’s health ministry said.
An Israeli army spokesman said around 8,400 demonstrators had gathered along a barrier between the blockaded territory and Israel, throwing explosive devices and rocks and setting fire to tires. The Gaza Strip has been the scene of mass protests and clashes since late March last year. Demonstrators have been calling for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to be allowed to return to former homes now inside Israel.

US accuses Palestinians of manufacturing crisis over tax transfer
Reuters, United Nations Saturday, 9 March 2019/The United States accused the Palestinians on Friday of manufacturing a crisis by rejecting the first 2019 monthly tax transfer from Israel because it slashed a portion designated for financial support to families of militants jailed in Israel. The United Nations Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the issue at the request of Kuwait and Indonesia. US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace envoy Jason Greenblatt represented Washington at the meeting. “It is entirely inappropriate to focus on Israel as the source of this crisis. It is the Palestinian Authority that has chosen to manufacture the current crisis,” Greenblatt told the 15-member council, according to UN diplomats in attendance. The US mission to the United Nations declined to comment on Greenblatt’s remarks. The Palestinians have condemned the Israeli decision as “piracy.”Greenblatt and White House adviser Jared Kushner have been working on a plan to mediate peace between Israel and the Palestinians. UN diplomats said Greenblatt gave no details of the plan on Friday.
Destabilizing the Palestinian Authority
Palestinians have refused to discuss any peace blueprint with the United States in the wake of Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017. The Palestinian decision on the tax transfer came despite increasing cash flow troubles, caused in part by US aid cuts, which could destabilize the Palestinian Authority, an interim self-government body set up following the 1993 Oslo accords between the Palestinians and Israel. Under the interim accords, Israel collects taxes on imports into the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip and makes monthly transfers of the proceeds to the PA. The tax transfers make up about half of the PA’s budget, according to Palestinian Finance Ministry data. On February 17, Israel announced a freeze on about 5 percent of that money affecting stipends the PA pays to families of Palestinian militants killed or jailed by Israel. “It’s a unilateral decision in violation of existing bilateral agreement,” Kuwait’s UN Ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi told reporters after the Security Council discussion. According to diplomats, Greenblatt said the Palestinian payments to militants’ families “creates incentives for further acts of terrorism.” The United States passed legislation last year to reduce aid to the PA unless it stopped the pay-outs. Greenblatt called on other council members to join the United States in urging the Palestinian Authority to end the payments, diplomats said.

Netanyahu campaign ‘Bibi or Tibi’ draws accusations of incitement
The Associated Press/Jerusalem Saturday, 9 March 2019
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has run into political trouble in the past, he has lashed out at the media, the political opposition and Israel’s Arab minority with incendiary and divisive language to galvanize his nationalist base.
Ahead of April 9 elections, Netanyahu has zoned in on prominent Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi. The Israeli leader, slumping in the polls after the dramatic announcement of his pending corruption indictment, is portraying Tibi as a threat to national security in a charged campaign that critics say questions the loyalty of the country’s Arab citizens.
Using his own nickname, Netanyahu has been repeating a campaign mantra: “Bibi or Tibi.” The snappy slogan, eagerly parroted by his hardline allies, highlights Netanyahu’s efforts to paint his challengers as weak “leftists” conspiring with Arab Israelis and a hostile media to oust him. It also shines a spotlight on Tibi - an affable, media-savvy political veteran who speaks fluent Hebrew. Tibi is known for his harsh criticism of government policies toward the country’s Arab citizens and toward Palestinians who live under Israeli control in territories Israel captured in 1967.
“Until this week, I didn’t know that against my will I was a leading candidate for prime minister,” he said with a smile from his home in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Despite the humor, Tibi said he is concerned about what he views as Netanyahu’s attempt to demonize Israel’s Arab minority. “He is delegitimizing the Arab parties, the Arab lawmakers and the Arab public in general,” he said. Tibi added: “He’s trying to transmit that it is either me, the supposed patriotic Jewish leader, or the Arabs will take over the country and decide who will be the prime minister. And he portrays this as a nightmare.”Arabs make up about 20 percent of Israel’s 9 million residents. They hold full citizenship rights but have faced decades of discrimination.
The outgoing Netanyahu-led government further stoked tensions by passing a controversial law that defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. A parliamentary panel recently recommended banning an Arab party from running in the election, while Netanyahu has courted anti-Arab extremists in hopes of improving his re-election chances. Part of Netanyahu’s typical stump speech these days alleges that his prime challenger, ex-military chief Benny Gantz, will be unable to build a ruling coalition without the backing of Arab parties. Arab parties never sat in an Israeli coalition government, and they say they have no interest in doing so now. Gantz has been quick to reject the association, flaunting his tough military record of pounding Gaza militants and saying he would not rely on the Arab bloc in parliament to stabilize a future government. The charge nonetheless is part of the Netanyahu campaign playbook that has worked before. Fearing a possible loss on election day in 2015, Netanyahu mobilized his supporters by releasing a frantic midday video in which he warned that Arab voters were heading “in droves” to the polls. The move, for which he later apologized, appeared to help turn the tide and secure another term for him. If he wins again, he’s expected to walk back his rhetoric once more, said Yohanan Plesner, president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute.
Plesner said Netanyahu tends to speak in two voices about the Arab minority.
He said Netanyahu has earmarked unprecedented budgets to Arab communities to try to close the wide economic gaps between Arabs and Jews. But during election campaigns, Netanyahu attempts to mobilize his base, Plesner said. Netanyahu “recruits the ultimate ‘other’ of Israeli life, which is the Arab minority,” he said. “It is cynical, and it is effective.”Such rhetoric will encourage more Arab voters to sit out the election, said Thabet Abu Rass, co-director of the Abraham Fund Initiatives, a non-profit dedicated to promoting equality in Israel. “A lot of people are now saying we cannot continue to play the game and pretend Israel is a state for all its citizens,” he said. “And they’ll say we have to highlight this by boycotting the election.”At the same time, many Israeli Jews, especially among Netanyahu’s right-wing base, consider the Arab minority disloyal for sympathizing with the Palestinians and other Arab adversaries. A decade ago, Arab lawmaker Azmi Bishara fled into exile after he was accused of spying for Hezbollah - a charge he denied. The 60-year-old Tibi illustrates many of the contradictions faced by Israel’s Arabs. He’s worked as a gynecologist in Israeli hospitals and served for years as a member of parliament, but also advised Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader.
For the past two decades, Tibi has advocated for Arab rights in Israel and for a Palestinian state. Hardline lawmakers frequently brand him a fifth-column in the Israeli legislature. But he is also considered the most popular Arab lawmaker, even among Israeli Jews. He is a regular on their television screens, known for his witty quips. In parliament, he’s earned praise for his environmental and consumer legislation and for his promotion of Holocaust commemoration that touched many Jews. In the current election campaign, he has refrained from endorsing any of Netanyahu’s challengers, wary of playing into the prime minister’s hands. Tibi said he is ill at ease with the leadership of the Blue-and-White party, which includes Gantz and two other former chiefs of what he calls the “occupation army.” But he makes no qualms about wanting to unseat Netanyahu, whom he accuses of “Arab hatred” and of leading Israel down a dangerous path by deepening control over the occupied West Bank and its millions of Palestinians. “It’s possible that Benjamin Netanyahu is leading us toward a binational state, and then it will either be an apartheid state in which only the Jews can vote or a democratic country in which there is one person, one vote,” he said. The prominent Arab lawmaker Tibi added: “If that happens, tomorrow I will run against Bibi. Then it will really be Bibi or Tibi.”

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 09-10/2019
Sweden: Still More Migration
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/March 09/19
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13846/sweden-more-migration
Sweden's reintroduction of the right to family reunion for people granted asylum in Sweden without refugee status, entitles so-called "unaccompanied children" to bring their parents to Sweden. Many of these "unaccompanied children" turned out to be adults, not minors. (The dentist who contributed to exposing this inconsequential detail was subsequently fired).
Mehdi Shokr Khoda, a gay 19-year old Iranian, who converted to Christianity in Sweden after he fled from Iran in 2017, probably wishes that Swedish authorities would apply their "humanitarian approach" to his particular case. The Swedish migration authorities rejected his asylum application, claiming that Khoda is "lying" about his situation. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has executed "between 4,000 and 6,000 gays and lesbians", according to a 2008 British WikiLeaks dispatch.
As for Sweden's humanitarian impulses -- or lack thereof -- regarding persecuted Christians, there are an estimated 8,000 Christians under deportation orders hiding in Sweden, according to attorney Gabriel Donner, who has assisted an estimated 1,000 Christian asylum-seekers facing deportation.
Swedish terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp recently warned Sweden against taking back not only ISIS terrorists, but also their wives and children, who he said also pose a security risk: "Some of them have learned how to kill... their identities will forever be linked to their time with ISIS..."
Sweden's new government, which was finally formed in January after months of delay, is introducing policies that will lead to more immigration into Sweden -- despite the main governing party, the Social Democrats, having run for office on a promise to tighten immigration policies.
The right to family reunion for those people granted asylum in Sweden who do not have refugee status is being reintroduced -- a measure that is estimated to bring at least 8,400 more immigrants to Sweden in the coming three years. According to the Minister of Migration, Morgan Johansson, this measure will "strengthen integration," although he has not explained how.
"I think it is a very good humanitarian measure; 90 percent [of those expected to come] are women and children who have lived for a long time in refugee camps, [and] who can now be reunited with their father or husband in Sweden", Johansson said. He was probably referring to the fact that most of the migrants who arrived in the past couple of years were young males, who had left their wives and children behind. The measure also entitles so-called "unaccompanied children" to bring their parents to Sweden. Many of these "unaccompanied children" turned out to be adults, not minors. (The dentist who contributed to exposing this inconsequential detail was subsequently fired).
Johansson also said that the government plans to extend the right to remain in Sweden by introducing "new humanitarian grounds for protection." This means that people who would otherwise not be eligible for a residence permit, will now be able to acquire it for the following reasons, according to Johansson:
"For very sensitive cases, there must be an opportunity to increase the options for acquiring residence permits. It may be cases where people are very sick, fragile or very vulnerable, for example. It is a very small group and a very small part of the total asylum policy. There have been a number of striking cases where one does not feel that this has worked well from a purely humanitarian point of view... There must be room for humanity and a humanitarian approach, even in these times. I think this is important".
Mehdi Shokr Khoda, a gay 19-year old Iranian man who converted to Christianity in Sweden after he had fled to Stockholm from Iran in 2017, probably wishes that Swedish authorities would apply their "humanitarian approach" to his particular case. He and his partner, an Italian resident of Sweden, are fighting for Mehdi to not be deported back to Iran, after the Swedish migration authorities rejected his asylum application, claiming that Khoda is "lying" about his situation. The authorities questioned, among other matters, why he was only baptized after coming to Sweden, and claimed that he "was unable to explain his coming out process" as a gay man. As homosexuality is prohibited under Islamic law, gays are routinely executed in Iran, most recently in January. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has executed "between 4,000 and 6,000 gays and lesbians" according to a 2008 British WikiLeaks dispatch.
As for Sweden's humanitarian impulses -- or lack thereof -- regarding persecuted Christians, there are an estimated 8,000 Christians under deportation orders hiding in Sweden, according to attorney Gabriel Donner, who has assisted an estimated 1,000 Christian asylum-seekers facing deportation.
Minister of Migration Morgan Johansson has also claimed, perhaps as a way of excusing how the government is going against its own election promise of reducing immigration into Sweden, that the country now has "the lowest asylum reception for 13 years." That claim is incorrect, according to numbers released by the Swedish Migration Board: The third-highest number of residence permits issued ever was in 2018 (132,696). The previous record years were 2016 and 2017, respectively, when 151,031 and 135,529 residence permits were granted to migrants. In 2018, the top ten source countries for foreigners granted residence permits were Syria, India, Afghanistan, Thailand, Eritrea, Iraq, China, Pakistan, Iran and Somalia.
It is a serious democratic problem for Sweden -- a country with a population of just over 10 million people -- that the government introduces policies that the majority of Swedes are against. In December 2018, a poll showed that 53% of all Swedes wanted legislation reducing the number of immigrants being accepted into Sweden. Sweden might also soon be welcoming returning ISIS terrorists. According to Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, who was recently interviewed about this prospect, returning ISIS terrorists have a "right", as Swedish citizens, to return to Sweden. Löfven claimed that it would be against the Swedish constitution to strip them of their citizenship, but that those who had committed crimes would be prosecuted. Currently, Swedish law actually does not allow the security services to take all necessary measures against returning ISIS fighters. The law does not allow authorities, for example, to seize or search the mobile phones or computers of returning ISIS fighters, unless there is a concrete suspicion of a crime.
On a positive note, however, at the end of February, the Swedish government presented plans to introduce legislation that would criminalize membership of a terrorist organization. This new law would enable the prosecuting of returning ISIS fighters who cannot be connected to a specific crime, but who were proven to have been part of a terrorist organization. Critics have pointed out that it has taken years for the government to take steps to criminalize membership of terror organizations and that the planned penalty for belonging to one -- two to six years in prison -- is "ridiculously low." Until the law is passed, however, returning ISIS terrorists can only be tried for specific crimes committed while there were fighting for the "caliphate." One Swedish terrorism expert, Magnus Ranstorp, recently warned Sweden against taking back not only ISIS terrorists, but also their wives and children, who he said also pose a security risk: "The women are not innocent victims, and there is also a large group of ISIS children... From the age of eight or nine, they have been sent to indoctrination camps where they have learned close combat techniques and how to handle weapons. Some of them have learned how to kill... their identities will forever be linked to their time with ISIS, and the fact that they have an ISIS father or an ISIS mother." Ranstorp also noted that Sweden's mental health system is "not fit to deal with that. If they stay with their extremist parents, there could be delayed effects further down the line, 15-20 years from now".
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Saudi Arabia Does Not Need International Women’s Day
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/March,09/19
For long decades, discussions were incessant about empowering women in Saudi Arabia. On the one hand, the state believes that the woman is a main pillar of foundations, and on the other, some sides within society have worked against projects that empower women. They justified their efforts with old excuses that they fear the westernization of society.Such claims have held back government and delayed providing women with secure environments and services that allow them to perform their national duties as effective members of society.
Then came the major leap in empowering her when she became a main beacon in Saudi Arabia’s development Vision 2030 when the state undertook a series of reforms and reviews to support her. There is a belief that empowering women socially, economically and politically will push forward development to achieve the state’s vision of sustainable development. It will also increase the participation of women in the workforce from 22 to 30 percent. Such an achievement will be an indication of the success of these reforms.
On International Women’s Days, which was commemorated on Friday, the Saudi woman found that she has achieved great accomplishments in a short period of time. The measures that her country has taken to protect her rights and empower her were unimaginable just a few years ago.
A royal decree was issued to all concerned sides saying that women no longer need permission from their guardians when approaching them for services. A woman was also appointed ambassador o the most important country in the world, the United States. Women were also empowered to reach decision-making positions in the private and public sectors.
Socially, she was allowed to drive a car after long decades of fear and hesitation. A law on combating domestic violence was issued. She was allowed to enter sports stadiums to watch events. The government also issued decrees and legislation that limit exploitation and discrimination against women and grant them independence in managing their affairs and the affairs of their families. It has also set restrictions on early marriage.
The empowerment of women does only not stem from the need for women to rise up to the standing that they deserve, but it stems from the needs of the Saudi society first and foremost. None of the empowering decisions were made at foreign dictates or for PR purposes, as some countries do, but all the decisions stemmed from an internal and social need.
The greatest evidence of this is society's acceptance and support in such a short period of time of all of these changes. This support has embarrassed those who were hoping for the failure of the empowerment of women.
As the world celebrated Women’s Day, Saudi Arabia is witnessing unprecedented modernity covering all aspects of life. It does not need such a day to remind it to empower half of its society. Its internal need is the greatest and strongest drive for it to empower women and pursue more social reforms. What has been accomplished so far is greatest evidence of this.
There is still a long way to go, but it would be unfair to overlook the success of the empowerment of women and how it has exceeded expectations. This success is attributed to purely and simply respecting the Saudi identity and avoiding copying foreign experiences.

 Algeria on the Brink?
Sarah Feuer/The Washington Institute/March 09/19
As Algiers braces for wider protests, Washington should coordinate with Arab and European allies to signal the government that it risks losing control unless it changes course.
Three weeks into a protest movement that broke out on February 22, the capital of Africa’s largest country is expecting as many as 2 million people to take to the streets on March 8. Launched in opposition to an expected fifth term for eighty-two-year-old president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algeria’s demonstrations have remained mostly peaceful thus far, but the possibility of violent clashes with state security forces will increase as the number of protestors swells. The coming days could determine whether one of the few countries to avoid the tumult of the Arab Spring embarks on a path toward reform or descends into chaos.
WHY ARE THEY PROTESTING?
Algeria is no stranger to demonstrations—in recent years, the country has seen thousands of small-scale protests over local issues such as access to housing and jobs. Yet the latest round represents the largest and most widespread since 2011, when a series of uprisings swept much of the Middle East. Algeria managed to avoid the worst of that strife, partly because memories of its decade-long civil war in the 1990s seemed to dissuade broader mobilization, and also because the government quickly dipped into its coffers to expand social welfare benefits. Neither deterrent appears to be operating today, however.
The proximate cause of the current protests was the perception that Bouteflika would run for a fifth five-year term in the April 18 presidential election, despite remaining largely out of public view since suffering a stroke in 2013. The formal announcement of his candidacy came on March 3—a week after he reportedly flew to Geneva for medical treatment, and two days after an estimated 800,000 protestors filed into the streets of Algiers to demand that he not run.
The deeper causes of the unrest lie in a sclerotic political system and a deteriorating economy. Since gaining independence from France in 1962, Algeria has been governed by an opaque alliance of military leaders, intelligence officials, business elites, and politicians collectively known as Le Pouvoir (The Powers That Be). For decades, much of this faction’s legitimacy stemmed from the fact that many of its members participated in the struggle for independence. Bouteflika, who assumed power in 1999, is among the last remaining elites of that generation and is widely credited with helping the country attain a measure of stability following a civil war that claimed an estimated 200,000 lives. Yet the decision to once again present his candidacy suggests that the elites presumably responsible for choosing his successor could not reach a consensus.
Moreover, references to the anti-colonial struggle and warnings of a return to the “black decade” of the 1990s carry little resonance for the 70 percent of Algeria’s 41 million residents who are under the age of thirty. Of more immediate concern to this generation is a youth unemployment rate of 25 percent and a steadily worsening economy that political elites have been unable or unwilling to improve. Algeria is heavily reliant on income from oil and gas sales, which constitute 95 percent of its export earnings and 60 percent of its budget revenues. The 2014 drop in global oil prices forced the state to dip into its foreign currency reserves, which have declined by nearly 50 percent since 2011. Meanwhile, restrictive business regulations severely limit foreign investment. Whoever holds power after the current electoral cycle will therefore face a dire economic situation in need of deep reform.
IMPLICATIONS FOR U.S. POLICY
Although Washington’s relationship with Algeria is not as robust as those it enjoys with neighboring Morocco and Tunisia, a serious bout of instability in the country would undermine American interests in the region. Algeria has emerged as a key counterterrorism partner in the campaign to degrade al-Qaeda-affiliated networks in the Sahel region to the south. For their part, European allies rely on Algeria to ensure a steady flow of hydrocarbons as their third-largest supplier of natural gas, and to reduce the flow of migrants from Africa. Algiers also recently joined multilateral talks aimed at resolving the decades-long conflict in Western Sahara.
Yet its response to the protests thus far has done little to reassure allies that these pillars of regional stability are safe. The government has replaced Bouteflika’s campaign manager and proposed that in the event he wins, he would serve only one year, and a national conference would be convened to prepare for a new election. These proposed concessions, coming so close to the current election, underscore the serious dysfunction of a government that had years to plan for an inevitable succession but clearly was not up to the task. Given today’s reports of widening protests, such offers are unlikely to calm the situation.
As such, Washington should prepare for the possibility of continued unrest, while quietly working with Arab and European allies in urging Algiers to craft a credible roadmap out of the impasse, one that adequately accounts for the protestors’ concerns. It should also consider broadening the channels of engagement to include discussions between U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and Algerian army chief of staff Ahmed Gaid Salah, who has already pledged to maintain the country’s stability and security.
*Sarah Feuer is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute.

The US and Russia are playing a game of weapons diplomacy in the Middle East
Raghida Dergham/The National/March 09/19
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States no longer have to choose between western and Soviet armaments – as a result, the political value of arms deals has soared
The arms race between the US and Russia took a Middle Eastern turn this week in the Gulf and Turkey, highlighting an emerging weapons diplomacy in an era of dangerous improvisation that has replaced conventional long-term policy planning. The fallout from the collapse of the INF treaty, signed between Washington and Moscow in 1987, has expanded, and now the race to sell arms to the Middle East has become more important for both powers than resolving the region’s conflicts. As a result, the prospects for ending wars are declining with the odds for further destabilisation in the region increasing at the same time. It is an era of “transitional diplomacy”, as one expert on US-Russian relations put it. The preference is not for statecraft of the pre-emptive, personal or multilateral variety, but of the kind that tests boundaries and red lines as it marches towards the brink.
This week, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov made a tour of the Arabian Gulf region, and seemed to focus on arms exports and luring investments in Russia, with little effort made to propose serious initiatives to resolve the region’s conflicts. According to one familiar source, Mr Lavrov did not bring with him any ideas regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the stand-off between the Gulf and Iran. Although he reiterated the Russian position that the Syrian regime must be readmitted into the Arab League, which was snubbed in the Gulf, his tour was not about Syria, but mainly about bringing in hard currency for Russia.
Mr Lavrov’s stop in Saudi Arabia had special characteristics that covered oil, politics, and armaments, in light of indications suggesting that Riyadh wants to acquire from Moscow the S-400 missile defence system if the US sale of the THAAD system is blocked. The US system is twice as costly as the Russian-made one, which makes the latter an obvious alternative for the Saudis. If the US Congress blocks the deal with Saudi Arabia and President Trump does not veto its decision to protect wider arms deal with Riyadh over the next two decades, Saudi Arabia will not hesitate to seek alternatives in the East.
Today, with the advancements in defence technology around the world, there is no need to adhere to a single doctrine as had been required during the Cold War, when states had to choose between western and Soviet equipment. As a result, the political value of arms deals has soared. Moreover, the ability to diversify defence sourcing has given importers an important margin for manoeuvrability within the grander geopolitical and strategic equation.
Mr Lavrov’s visit comes in this context, as Saudi Arabia explores alternative markets, including China. The US is not oblivious to this, and most likely will not renege on the massive deal with Saudi Arabia. However, the hint by the kingdom that it wants to diversify has encouraged Moscow to jump at the opportunity.
The arms race between the US and Russia is very costly, especially for Russia. As for the arms race in the Middle East, its financial and strategic revenues are immense, not just in the Gulf but also in Turkey, where the equation between the Russian S-400 system and the US F-35 has different dimensions.
The US State Department this week told Turkey that if it goes ahead with the S-400 deal, then Washington will have to reconsider Ankara’s participation in the F-35 program and the transfer of other US defence equipment.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey will not back away from the deal, and suggested that Ankara could participate in producing the system and may also consider the S-500 system afterwards, rejecting US threats of sanctions. Such escalation will have consequences, not just for US-Turkish relations, but also Turkey’s status in the Nato alliance.
Bringing Russia in to the heart of Nato will be unacceptable to Washington and western European capitals, regardless of Ankara’s assertions
President Trump has now backtracked from his pledge to withdraw US troops from Syria, which he announced in a now-infamous tweet that undermined US credibility. Mr Trump endorsed a letter from Congress that gave US forces in eastern Syria a fourth mission in addition to fighting ISIS, confronting Iranian plans, and guaranteeing US interests in the political process there. The letter said that US and European presence in eastern Syria aims to “help prevent conflict between our Nato ally Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces that have been central to the counter-ISIS campaign". In other words, Turkey will not be allowed to crush the Kurdish-led SDF or use Syria to implement its agenda on the Kurdish question. This is a small victory secured by Congress for the Kurds who had been let down by Mr Trump’s tweet. Broadly, this is a victory for the US establishment against the administration.
Senior US administration officials have visited Turkey and Lebanon on the eve of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s tour of the region, sending a number of signals regarding American priorities. These certainly include marketing US arms in the Middle East. At this juncture, the main American message contains the following broad lines: first, continued distrust in Russia amid rivalry at the levels of weapons exports, strategy, and geopolitics; second, containing Iran especially economically, reflecting an irreversible US strategic decision that includes containing Hezbollah and its allies in Lebanon; third, firmly telling Turkey that its actions in Syria and relations with Russia are not immune to consequences.
US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs David Satterfield visited Lebanon this week ahead of Mr Pompeo’s visit, carrying warnings to Lebanese parties to take seriously the US determination to dry out Hezbollah’s revenue streams and prevent Hezbollah’s attempts to use its government portfolios to offset US measures and find alternative sources of funding.
The US message, echoed by Britain’s minister of state for the Middle East Alistair Burt, is that there is less wriggle room now to accept Lebanon’s “particular” position with regard to Hezbollah. Western powers are fed up with Lebanon’s dithering on difficult decisions, or its pretexting of “resistance” as cover for its state within the state of Lebanon. Now, Britain has joined the US in blacklisting both of Hezbollah’s political and military wings, and the US has signalled to Lebanon that its patience is running out, but that it is ready to support its economy and stability if it makes the right choices.
Mr Satterfield did not meet with President Michel Aoun. That snub highlights the tense relations between the US administration and the president and leaders in his Free Patriotic Movement, led by Mr Aoun’s son-in-law and foreign minister Gebran Bassil. The FPM remains a close ally of Hezbollah, and Mr Bassil seems to think that he can weather the US containment targeting his faction and Hezbollah.
Washington believes that Mr Aoun continues to give political cover to Hezbollah’s extrajudicial arms, clearly undermining the sovereignty of the Lebanese state and the standing of its national army. Washington believes that Mr Aoun is also protecting Hezbollah from US accountability, turning a blind eye to the group’s violation of Lebanon’s declared policy of neutrality in Syria by intervening militarily alongside its regime there.
In other words, Washington sees Mr Aoun and Mr Bassil as implementing Hezbollah’s agenda in many places, as well as protecting Hezbollah, and there will be serious consequences for this.
An upcoming visit by President Aoun to Moscow is also being watched by the US – not because Lebanon is a valuable strategic asset in the US-Russian arms race or geopolitical rivalry, but because of the Iranian and Syrian agenda in Russian-Lebanese talks, and Moscow’s interest in displacing Washington in arming the Lebanese army.
https://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/the-us-and-russia-are-playing-a-game-of-weapons-diplomacy-in-the-middle-east-1.835035

US military buildup in Iraq via Israel and Jordan ready for clash with pro-Iranian Iraqi militias
أميركا تعزز وجودها العسكري في العراق عبر الأردن وإسرائيل وهي مستعدة لمحاربة الميليشيات الإيرانية- العراقية
DEBKAfile/March 09/19
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DEBKAfile Exclusive: US troop reinforcements were flown to Iraq on Wednesday, March 6 ready for an offensive by Iraq’s two largest pro-Iranian militias against US forces in northern Iraq and Syria. The additional troops were consigned from US bases in Jordan and Israel. The next day, when those militias called for “resistance to US presence in the region,” American forces in the Gulf region and southern Europe, particularly in Romania and Bulgaria, were also placed on high readiness.
Our sources name those militias as Kata’ib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq aka the Khazali Network – both linked to Hizballah, Iran’s Lebanese surrogate.
The US command in the region estimates that American forces in eastern and southern Syria as well as the US bases near the Syrian border are at risk, since both these militias have been deployed by their commander, Al Qods chief Gen. Qassem Solemani, to positions in Syria. They have also planted covert cells in Gulf emirates.
The call for “resistance” came the day after Washington designated as a terrorist organization – and imposed sanctions on – a third pro-Iranian Iraqi militia called Nujaba. This group provides the Iranian military in Syria with a special operations unit. It is armed with Iranian surface missiles and Russian-made T-72 tanks handed over by the Syrian army. Nujaba’s primary mission is to capture the Golan from Israeli rule.
Thursday saw American forces in Iraq facing a further hazard.
Nessar al-Rab’ee, head of the political wing of the military wing of Iraq’s powerful Sadrist movement, called on parliament in Baghdad for legislation ordering all foreign forces to leave the country. Since American troops make up the bulk of the foreign presence, this law initiative was seen as directed against them. This was an unexpected setback. Muqtada Sadr, who heads this movement, has long opposed Iranian influence in Baghdad. That he was willing for his armed wing, the Mahdi Army, to join forces with the pro-Iranian militias against the United States further stoked the forebodings of US commanders in the Middle East and the Trump administration in Washington.
Our sources report that on Friday, March 8, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced US concerns in a phone call to Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi. That evening, Abdul-Mahdi issued the following notice: “The US cannot legally establish new bases in Iraq and its current military presence is to be limited only to combating Daesh and training Iraqi troops.”
It is noted that the Iraqi prime minister can’t do much against the pro-Iranian militias since they outgun and outnumber the national army.
Baghdad’s notice was taken as a refusal to allow the US to go through with its plan to establish new military facilities to accommodate the troops whom President Donald Trump has ordered to be withdrawn from Syria. Those facilities are already under construction in the north near the oil city of Kirkuk opposite the US air base in the western Anbar province.