English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese
Related, Global News & Editorials
For
May 13/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.may13.20.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and
take up their cross and follow me
Matthew 16,21-28: “From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he
must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and
chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This
must never happen to you.’But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me,
Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on
divine things but on human things.’Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want
to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and
follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who
lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they
gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return
for their life? ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of
his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell
you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the
Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 12-13/2020
After Spike in Infections, Lebanon Imposes 4-Day Lockdown over Virus
Eleven Coronavirus Cases, Total Reaches 870
Lebanon, fearing second virus wave, to shut down again for 4 days
Rise in Coronavirus Cases is ‘Worrisome’, Ministry Says
Coronavirus Committee Calls for Penalizing Violators of Health Measures
Aoun: Abide by Safety Rules against Virus to Avoid Accountability
Lebanon to Start IMF Negotiations in Next 2 Days, Says Minister
Lebanese Judiciary Vows to Prosecute Manipulators of Currency Exchange Rate
Lebanon: Franjieh Accuses Aoun, Bassil of Lying
FPM Says Franjieh's Accusations Aim to Protect 'Real Culprits'
PSP Calls For Investigations Into Wheat, Diesel Oil Smuggling to Syria
Former Lebanese Minister Wiam Wahhab Recalls Being Called To Task In France For
Making Antisemitic Comments/Translated By MEMRI/May 12/2020
Saudi Columnist Mashari Al-Dhaidi: Germany's Decision To Ban Hizbullah Was Late
In Coming; When Will The Rest Of Europe Wake Up And Do The Same?/MEMRI/May
12/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
May 12-13/2020
Egypt, UAE, France, Greece, Cyprus Denounce Turkish Escalation
48 Regime Forces, Militants Killed In Hama Countryside
Libyan National Army Warns of Qatari, Turkish Moves in Tunisia
Pompeo to Convey a Message About Freezing West Bank Annexation
Israeli Soldier Killed by Rock During West Bank Raid
Netanyahu appoints Gilad Erdan to double role of ambassador to US, UN
US official mocks Iran over prisoner exchange proposal
'Bogus charges': US calls for Tehran to release two Iranian college students
arrested during pandemic
Egypt receives $2.77 bln in IMF emergency financing
Arabs boycott Facebook after Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer Tawakkol Karman
joins content board
EU Looks to Save Summer Holiday
New Virus Cases Threaten World's Moves Back to Work
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on May 12-13/2020
Developments in Libya cannot be ignored/Maria Maalouf/Arab News/May
12/2020
How and Why Muslims Delude Themselves about Islam/Raymond Ibrahim/May 12/2020
Turkish 'Justice': Free Mobsters, Keep Dissidents Locked Up/Burak Bekdil/
Gatestone Institute/May 12/2020
A Reply to My Critics/Daniel Pipes/JNS/May12/2020
Coronavirus: Lockdown for Europeans, Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants/Soeren Kern/
Gatestone Institute/May 12/2020
U.S. Sanctions on Iran: Is Natural Gas Next?/Brenda Shaffer/FDD/May 12/2020
Putin is Betting on a Losing Horse (As In Iran)/Alireza Nader/The National
Interest/May 12/2020
What message will Pompeo deliver to Israel on annexation?/Osama Al-Sharif /Arab
News/May 12/2020
Iraq On The Path Of National Recovery From Iranian Hegemony/Yigal Carmon,and S.
Ali/MEMRI/May 12/2020
World’s Great Online Learning Experiment/Clara Ferreira Marques/Bloomberg/May
12/2020
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published on May 12-13/2020
After Spike in Infections, Lebanon
Imposes 4-Day Lockdown over Virus
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 12 May, 2020 - 17:30
Lebanon’s government has ordered most of the country to shut down again for four
days, starting on Wednesday night, as it seeks to ward off a coronavirus
resurgence after easing some restrictions. The country has been under lockdown
since mid-March to rein in an outbreak that has infected 870 people and killed
26. Lebanon started lifting restrictions last week as part of a longer-term
plan, letting restaurants, hair salons, construction sites and others reopen at
lower capacity. But "the rate at which the coronavirus is spreading from one
person to the other has accelerated in our community in the past three days,"
Prime Minister Hassan Diab said on Tuesday, explaining why his government is
tightening lockdown measures. The cabinet agreed on Tuesday on the “full
closure” for four days to curb the rise, after a drop in cases which the
government had hailed as a success.
“This achievement is at risk of collapsing” because some people did not comply
with the guidelines, Diab was quoted as saying during the meeting. He said the
country has recorded more than 100 new infections over four days, accusing some
of "negligence and lack of responsibility" for violating government measures to
stem the coronavirus. The total lockdown -- which will start at 7:00 pm on
Wednesday and end at 5:00 am on Monday -- excludes the health, agriculture, food
and manufacturing industries, Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad said after
the cabinet meeting.
But "citizens should stay home and avoid going out except for urgent cases," she
told journalists. The closure will also allow teams from the health ministry to
conduct more testing, she said. She added that the government would re-evaluate
its original five-stage plan for gradually reopening the economy.
Beirut airport has been closed for nearly two months, except for flights
bringing thousands of expatriates home, adding to the rise in infections. The
lockdown already includes an overnight curfew, with security forces patrolling
some streets.
The pandemic has compounded woes in Lebanon, which was already wrestling with a
financial crisis that has slashed more than half the value of its currency since
late last year.
Eleven Coronavirus Cases, Total Reaches 870
Naharnet/May 12/2020
Lebanon recorded eleven new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, as the Cabinet
mulls upped measures and complete shutdown over the weekend to stop its
spread.The Health Ministry said ten among the new cases are among residents,
while one case was recorded in a Lebanese expat repatriated recently from
abroad. Tuesday’s cases raise the tally to 870. The number of fatalities remains
unchanged at 26. The country started to lift confinement measures last week,
although the number of cases has increased in recent days, including among
Lebanese repatriated from abroad. But with the number of virus cases rising,
Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi warned that failure to comply with social
distancing measures would result in the re-imposition of stricter lockdown
measures.
Lebanon, fearing second virus wave, to shut down again for 4 days
Reuters/May 12/2020
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s government has ordered most of the country to shut down again
for four days, starting on Wednesday night, as it seeks to ward off a
coronavirus resurgence after easing some restrictions.
The country has been under lockdown since mid-March to rein in an outbreak that
has infected 870 people and killed 26. Lebanon started lifting restrictions last
week as part of a longer-term plan, letting restaurants, hair salons,
construction sites and others re-open at lower capacity. But the cabinet agreed
on Tuesday on the “full closure” for four days to curb a rise in new infections
in recent days, after a drop in cases which the government had hailed as a
success. “This achievement is at risk of collapsing” because some people did not
comply with the guidelines, Prime Minister Hassan Diab was quoted as saying
during the meeting. Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad said the four-day
closure, which excludes supermarkets and pharmacies, would also allow teams from
the health ministry to conduct more testing. She added that the government would
re-evaluate its original five-stage plan for gradually reopening the economy.
Beirut airport has been closed for nearly two months, except for flights
bringing thousands of expatriates home, adding to the rise in infections. The
lockdown already includes an overnight curfew, with security forces patrolling
some streets. The pandemic has compounded woes in Lebanon, which was already
wrestling with a financial crisis that has slashed more than half the value of
its currency since late last year.
Rise in Coronavirus Cases is ‘Worrisome’, Ministry
Says
Naharnet/May 12/2020
All efforts are focused in Lebanon on controlling the sudden spike in the number
of coronavirus cases, as the country “prepares to face a tough stage ahead,” al-Joumhouria
daily reported on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, what we feared would happen has
happened. We urge vigilance and call on Lebanese not to compromise their health
security,” Health Ministry sources told the daily on condition of anonymity.They
warned that “recklessness” and failure to wear face masks while disrespecting
social distancing rules help the virus “spiral out of control,” they added.
Lebanon had on Sunday witnessed its biggest spike in weeks in the numbers of
daily coronavirus cases, prompting the health and interior ministers to warn
that a strict lockdown could be re-imposed. “It is truly worrisome, we have a
tough phase ahead as pointed out by Health Minister Hamad Hassan who described
it as catastrophic. All efforts are focused now on keeping this under control
through a bunch of strict measures,” he added. Lebanon on Monday confirmed 14
more COVID-19 coronavirus cases raising the country's tally to 859. Death toll
stands at 26.
Coronavirus Committee Calls for Penalizing Violators of
Health Measures
Naharnet/May 12/2020
Lebanon's national anti-coronavirus committee on Tuesday called for a stricter
implementation of the preventative measures in light of the spike in infections
in recent days. “The conferees discusses the general situation of the
coronavirus outbreak in various Lebanese regions, especially those that did not
witness any infections in the previous period,” the committee said in a
statement issued after a meeting at the Grand Serail. “The major laxness that we
witnessed over the past days with the arrival of scores of Lebanese from abroad,
including some who are infected with the disease, has raised the daily rate of
infections to dangerous levels, which obliged the committee to issue strict
recommendations on reviewing the tracking plan and activating it in a better
manner,” the panel added.It said “the strictest measures for implementing home
quarantine must be taken and violators must be penalized to prevent the spread
of the disease and a huge number of infections that Lebanon cannot bear.”The
meeting was chaired by Higher Defense Council secretary-general Maj. Gen.
Mahmoud al-Asmar and attended by President Michel Aoun's advisor ex-MP Walid
Khoury, Premier Hassan Diab's adviser for health affairs Dr. Petra Khoury, the
president of the state-run Rafik Hariri hospital Dr. Firas al-Abyad and
representatives of international organizations and specialized local
associations. Lebanon on Tuesday ordered a four-day-long lockdown to stem the
spread of the coronavirus. The country has officially announced 870 cases of
COVID-19, including 26 deaths. Last month it started to slowly emerge from a
weeks-long lockdown that has aggravated its worst economic crisis since
1975-1990 civil. Restaurants and cafes have reopened at 30 per cent capacity,
mosques have resumed prayers, and many people are back at work. But "the rate at
which the coronavirus is spreading from one person to the other has accelerated
in our community in the past three days," PM Diab warned on Tuesday, explaining
why his government is tightening lockdown measures. He said the country has
recorded more than 100 new infections over four days, accusing some of
"negligence and lack of responsibility" for violating government measures to
stem the coronavirus. The new virus cases include repatriated Lebanese nationals
who have returned to the country en masse in recent weeks.
Aoun: Abide by Safety Rules against Virus to Avoid
Accountability
Naharnet/May 12/2020
President Michel Aoun said at the beginning of the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday
that legal measures will be taken if the safety rules against coronavirus were
not respected. Aoun called for “the necessity of reviewing the arrangements made
regarding tightening of preventive measures to keep pace with the coronavirus
pandemic.”He noted how cases witnessed a spike in the past few days describing
it as “unfortunate”.He urged citizens in quarantine “to abide by safety rules to
avoid legal measures."
Lebanon to Start IMF Negotiations in Next 2 Days, Says
Minister
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 12 May, 2020 - 08:00
Lebanon will start negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in
the next two days, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said on Tuesday, as Beirut seeks
aid to deal with its financial crisis.Lebanon, which officially requested IMF
assistance on May 1, is grappling with a crisis seen as the biggest threat to
its stability since the 1975-90 civil war. “There is contact with the IMF and in
the coming two days we will start the negotiation sessions,” Wazni told
reporters after a cabinet session. Turning to the IMF is widely seen as the only
way for Lebanon, one of the world’s most heavily indebted nations, to secure the
financial assistance it urgently needs. A source close to the government said
the two sides held an introductory meeting on Monday ahead of Wednesday’s
detailed talks, reported Reuters. Wednesday’s talks via video conference will
include officials from the prime minister’s office, central bank and presidency.
Lebanon defaulted on its foreign currency debt in March, while its currency has
lost more than half its value since October. Savers have largely been shut out
of foreign exchange deposits as the supply of dollars has grown scarce. Wazni
said last week that Lebanon hoped to secure IMF financial support of $9
billion-$10 billion. A government economic recovery plan, which outlines steps
that would result in vast losses for Lebanon’s financial system, will form the
basis for the IMF talks. Donors, which have supported Lebanon in the past, say
the government must enact long-delayed reforms to address state waste and
corruption, widely seen as root cause of the economic crisis, before they will
consider any fresh aid.
Lebanese Judiciary Vows to Prosecute Manipulators of
Currency Exchange Rate
Beirut - Youssef Diab/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 12 May, 2020
The Lebanese spectrum of judicial and security prosecutions against currency
traders have largely expanded in the past week, with reports saying around 60
changers are accused of manipulating the price of the dollar. Last Thursday,
Lebanon’s financial prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim arrested Mahmoud Murad, head of
the Syndicate of Money Changers and his brother, Yehya, on charges of
manipulating the price of the dollar for financial gain and trading money
illegally. The two men were later transferred to the first investigative judge
for questioning. The case expanded in the last hours after the summoning of
Michel Mecattaf, a shareholder in a Lebanese company that ships banknotes from
abroad to Lebanon. Mecattaf was questioned over two cases related to the
dollar’s exchange rate. He first appeared in front of the Beirut judiciary
section and then in front of the Southern Beirut Suburbs (Dahiyeh) section on
suspects of having a business relation with Murad. After being questioned,
Mecattaf was released on bail. Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat the issue
“became extremely complex and it requires speedy steps to contain the dollar
slip in the black market and its repercussion on the insane increase of the
prices of meat and food products.” The source said the Judiciary believes that
Murad and his brother are mainly responsible about this slip. Last week, the
price of the US dollar on the exchange market in Lebanon has touched 4,300
Lebanese pounds (LBP), an unprecedented figure since the end of the civil war,
nearly 30 years ago. Since last October, when commercial banks have gradually
reduced the amount of dollars customers can withdraw, the Lebanese relied on
currency traders to secure the necessary liquidity in dollars. There are only
305 exchange offices affiliated with the syndicate, while between 200 and 300
others are working without a license. The judicial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat
that the arrest of currency traders relies on investigations proving their
involvement in manipulating the price of the dollar. They said several traders
were released after signing a pledge for respecting the Central Bank's circulars
to set the exchange rate to 3,200 pounds for $1.
Lebanon: Franjieh Accuses Aoun, Bassil of Lying
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 12 May, 2020
The leader of Al-Marada party, former Minister and MP Sleiman Franjieh lashed
out at President Michel Aoun and the head of the FPM, MP Gebran Bassil, accusing
them of lying and politicizing the defective fuel scandal. In a press conference
on Monday, Franjieh said that recent investigations over the defected fuel file
- which included the head of the Energy Ministry’s oil facilities department
Sarkis Hleis – were politicized. “Sarkis Hleis will appear before the judiciary,
but not before the justice and the judges of Gebran Bassil,” he said. Stressing
that the official was innocent, he said: “The judiciary will decide whether
Sarkis Hleis is guilty or not and we consider the counterfeit fuel file
politicized because the side and judges who raised it are known,” Franjieh
added. On a different note, the Marada leader asserted that there were no
offshore oil or gas reserves in Lebanon, revealing that French giant Total “is
studying the option to pay the penalty clause and leave Lebanon.”“Lebanon is not
an oil country and has no trace of gas in it. They have lied to you,” he
underlined. Turning to Aoun, Franjieh launched the fiercest attack at the
president since his election in 2016. “You have lied to people in 1989 and you
destroyed Lebanon and the Christian regions. You lied to people in 2005 and now
you are lying to people. Your strength came from popular support and today your
strength stems from being in power. But when power wanes, you will become
nothing. If the judiciary won’t put you on trial, history will,” he said. The
presidential office issued a statement saying that most of Franjieh’s remarks
were baseless, false, and “not worthy of a response.” The statement added that
“insults” thrown by the Marada chief “harm Lebanon’s reputation, interest,
economy, role, and presence in its neighborhood and the world, especially what
he mentioned about the issue of oil and gas exploration.”
FPM Says Franjieh's Accusations Aim to Protect 'Real
Culprits'
Naharnet/May 12/2020
The Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc on Tuesday hit back at
Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh without naming him. “As to the
counterfeit fuel file, the FPM was the party that pushed for tackling this file
before the judiciary after malfunctions” at the country's power plants, the bloc
said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting. “The FPM is in the position
of addressing accusations in this file and it does not accept the approach of
generalizing the accusations with the aim of protecting the real culprits,” the
bloc added, asking the judiciary and security agencies to “shoulder their fill
responsibilities” in this regard. “This file should be a lesson in putting an
end to corruption files and depriving those involved of any political cover or
condemned and rejected protection,” Strong Lebanon went on to say. It added:
“Let it be a lesson for every politician who dares, after all what happened, to
insolently announce that he will carry on with a corrupt approach that cost
Lebanon a financial collapse and deprived citizens of their money and
rights.”Franjieh on Monday announced that the head of the Energy Ministry's oil
facilities department "Sarkis Hleis will appear before the judiciary, but not
before the justice of (FPM chief) Jebran Bassil and the judges of Jebran Bassil."Noting
that he believes in Hleis' "innocence," Franjieh said his movement's conscience
is "very clear.""The judiciary will decide whether Sarkis Hleis is guilty or not
and we consider the counterfeit fuel file a politicized file, because the side
and judges who raised it are known," Franjieh added.
PSP Calls For Investigations Into Wheat, Diesel Oil
Smuggling to Syria
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 12 May, 2020
The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and its Democratic Gathering parliamentary
bloc called for investigating the file of wheat and diesel oil smuggling into
Syria and holding the perpetrators accountable. MP Hadi Abul Hassan submitted a
report to the Public Prosecution about smuggling supplies out of Lebanon,
especially subsidized diesel and flour. In a statement, the Democratic Gathering
deputy called for “opening a judicial investigation and the prosecution and
arrest of smugglers and those who cover them.”“We submitted a report to the
State Prosecution, and we urged Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat, whom we trust, to
open an investigation into what’s happening,” he remarked. “We call on the
judiciary to stop political interference. We also ask politicians not to
intervene to cover the smugglers,” he underlined. Abul Hassan noted that putting
an end to smuggling was at the top of reforms requested by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) to address the squandering of public funds. Meanwhile, a
patrol from the General Administration of Customs in Tripoli seized two trucks
carrying tanks filled with diesel (about 22,000 liters), which were “heading
towards a border area,” according to the National News Agency (NNA). “While
escorting the two trucks to the Customs checkpoint, the patrol was attacked by a
large group of people, which allowed the two vehicles to flee,” the NNA noted.
Those were then re-captured by a Lebanese army checkpoint.
Former Lebanese Minister Wiam Wahhab Recalls Being Called
To Task In France For Making Antisemitic Comments
Translated By MEMRI/May 12/2020
https://www.memri.org/reports/former-lebanese-minister-wiam-wahhab-recalls-being-called-task-france-making-antisemitic
In a May 3, 2020 interview on Al-Manar TV (Hizbullah-Lebanon), former Lebanese
minister Wiam Wahhab referred to statements he had made "half-jokingly" in an
interview on Jadeed TV (Lebanon) – that were translated and released in a MEMRI
TV clip in 2010– about his support for the German soccer team FC Bayern Munich
because the Germans had burned the Jews, and expressed surprise that this
statement had drawn negative attention from French politicians and media several
years after later. He went on to explain in the Al-Manar interview that he
dislikes Zionists, that he doesn't hate Jews, and that he didn't mean what he
had said in his original statement on Jadeed TV.
Wahhab had said in 2010: "I support Germany in politics and Brazil in soccer. I
like the way Brazil plays. But I like the Germans because they hate the Jews and
they burned them."
To view the clip of former Lebanese minister Wiam Wahhab's Al-Manar TV interview
on MEMRI TV, click or below.
"I Was Asked [On Jadeed TV] Why I Supported Germany And [The] Bayern Munich
[Soccer Team] And I Said That Maybe It Is Because They Burned The Jews"
Wiam Wahhab: "I have supported the Bayern Munich [soccer team] ever since I was
little, but you wouldn't believe what problem they caused me once. I was
interviewed on Jadeed TV and it was really strange... I was talking on Jadeed
TV... I don't hate the Jews as Jews. I don't like the Zionists, but as a Jewish
people... No.
"Many Jews invented things and introduced many good things to humanity. But when
I was on Jadeed TV, I said half-jokingly... I was asked why I supported Germany
and Bayern Munich and I said that maybe it is because they burned the Jews."
Interviewer: "No, no..."
"A Few Years Later... One Of The Ruling Parties In France Approached Me... One
Of Them Said: 'We Have A Problem That Mars Our Relations With You, As A
Political Party'
Wahhab: "I didn't mean this. I don't hate the Jews. Absolutely not. I was
surprised that when I was in Paris a few years later, a delegation from one of
the ruling parties in France approached me and while we were talking, one of
them said: 'But we have a problem that mars our relations with you, as a
political party,' I asked what it was about and he said: 'A few years ago...' It
was after four years believe it or not! He said that a few years earlier I had
said something on a Lebanese TV channel."
I Said To Him: 'I Was Laughing. It Was A Joke. And You Still Remember This...'
Wahhab: "I said to him: 'I was laughing. It was a joke. And you still remember
this...' I was then surprised that on the following day, they sent me a reporter
from their newspaper to interview me and this was the first question he asked
me..."
[...]
Wahhab: "I support Germany in politics and Brazil in soccer. I like the way
Brazil plays. But I like the Germans because they hate the Jews and they burned
them."
Saudi Columnist Mashari Al-Dhaidi: Germany's Decision To Ban Hizbullah Was
Late In Coming; When Will The Rest Of Europe Wake Up And Do The Same?
MEMRI/May 12/2020
On April 30, 2020, Germany's Interior Ministry announced that it had "banned all
activities by the Shi'ite terrorist organization Hizbullah in Germany."[1]
Responding to this news, Mashari Al-Dhaidi, a columnist for the London-based
Saudi daily Al-Shaqrq Al-Awsat, wrote that Germany was late taking this
decision, for it has known for decades about the activities of this
organization, and of its patron Iran, in Germany and in the rest of Europe,
which include assassinations, the manufacture of explosives, drug trafficking
and money laundering. He also criticized the silence of the other European
countries, who he said continue to turn a blind eye to Iran's and Hizbullah's
crimes.
The following are translated excerpts from Al-Dhaidi's article:[2]
"The [interesting] story is not that Germany has designated the Lebanese
Hizbullah as a terrorist organization, and has banned its activity in its
territory as well as membership in it. The [interesting] point is the question:
Why did Germany take so long? And who are the other European countries that are
still delusional and have not yet seen the dark and criminal face of this
international network that specializes in terror, assassinations, boobytrapping
and explosive devices, money laundering, drug trafficking and collaboration with
other terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda?!
"The European silence over Iran's terrorist activity, [conducted] by means of
its Lebanese proxy Hizbullah or directly by means of the [Islamic] Revolutionary
Guards Corps [IRGC], despite decisive evidence of the involvement of these
Iranian networks in assassinations and in the bombing of crowded [targets], is
extremely puzzling, especially considering that the IRGC insisted on carrying
out these activities against an Iranian opposition organization in Belgium and
France. [3]
"In the era of [former U.S. president] Barack Obama, whose departure is not to
be lamented, this disregard [of the Iranian activity] was understandable, since
no condemnation would have kept the great genius Obama from making the poisoned
[nuclear] deal with the Khomeini regime, and his European allies joined him in
the wild-eyed [position] that advocates openness towards this regime.
"The information, or [at least] some of the information, exposed by the German
security [services] regarding the Lebanese Hizballah's activity on [German] soil
is astonishing, including the information about several Shi'ite businessmen who
used their trade activity to launder money and transferred hundreds of millions
of euros into the bank accounts of this Lebanese organization, some of which was
used to finance the activity of Hizbullah cells that operated across Germany.
Berlin even discovered a secret warehouse in a city in southern Germany where
the organization hid hundreds of kilos of ammonium nitrate, used to manufacture
explosives.
"Germany has been an important hub, not just for the Lebanese Hizbullah but for
the Arab and Turkish Muslim Brotherhood organizations, for decades. Does
Germany's [banning of Hizbullah] mean that the moment of awakening has arrived,
or is this an isolated decisive step that does not herald a West-European
uprising against the addiction to sleeping with the devil?"
[1] Bmi.bund.de/, 30.4.2020.
[2] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), May 4, 2020.
[3] Apparently a reference to an Iranian plan to bomb a June 18, 2018 rally of
the Iranian opposition movement Mujahideen Al-Khalq in Paris, which was thwarted
with the help of the Israeli Mossad. Some of the figures involved in this affair
were Belgian citizens, arrested in Belgium in July 2018.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
May 12-13/2020
Egypt, UAE, France, Greece, Cyprus
Denounce Turkish Escalation
Athens - Abdel Sattar Barakat/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 12 May,
2020
Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) discussed
Monday the latest developments in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as a number
of crises in this region, namely in Libya. In a joint statement issued after a
teleconference meeting among the foreign ministers of the five countries, they
highlighted the strategic importance of enhancing and intensifying their
political consultations, while denouncing the ongoing Turkish escalation in the
Eastern Mediterranean. The meeting was held within the framework of a "3+1"
formula joined by the UAE. According to the joint declaration, the parties
“denounced the ongoing Turkish illegal activities in the Cypriot Exclusive
Economic Zone and its territorial waters, as they represent a clear violation of
international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea.”Turkey in less than a year has made six attempts to illegally conduct
drilling operations in Cyprus’ maritime zones.The foreign ministers also
denounced the escalation of Turkey’s violations of the Greek national airspace
and condemned Turkey’s use of civilians to illegally cross into Greece, whether
by land or by boat. They "urged Turkey to fully respect the sovereignty and the
sovereign rights of all States in their maritime zones in the Eastern
Mediterranean." Moreover, they condemned Turkey's military interference in
Libya, urging Turkey to fully respect the UN arms embargo and to stop the influx
of foreign fighters from Syria to Libya. "These developments constitute a threat
to the stability of Libya's neighbors in Africa as well as in Europe," read the
statement. The top diplomats called on the Libyan parties to observe a truce
during the holy month of Ramadan and stressed their commitment to work towards a
comprehensive political solution to the Libyan crisis under the auspices of the
United Nations. They also expressed keenness for the resumption of the meetings
of the three tracks of the Berlin process (Political, military, economic and
financial), and they agreed to continue their consultations on a regular basis.
48 Regime Forces, Militants Killed In Hama Countryside
Ankara - Saeed Abdul Razzak/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 12 May, 2020
Fierce clashes between Syrian regime forces and militant groups operating under
“Hurras el-Din” operations room in the northwestern countryside of Hama left
tens of casualties, the highest death toll since a ceasefire was reached between
Turkey and Russia in Moscow on March 5. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said it documented a spike in death toll among both conflicting parties due to
the intensive shelling and fierce clashes. “The death toll of regime soldiers
and loyal militiamen has risen to 35, while the number of fatalities among
militants jumped to 13. The death toll is expected to rise, as many injured are
in serious conditions,” it wrote. The clashes took place on Al-Manarah frontline
(Tanjarah) in Sahl Al-Ghab early on Sunday. They followed counter attack by
regime forces backed by intensive ground firepower, in an attempt to recapture
the village they lost to “Hurras al-Din organization” and other militant groups.
"It's the highest death toll for fighters since the truce came into force," said
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman, who relies on sources inside Syria. He told
AFP, "There had been intermittent clashes and mutual bombardment between both
sides before, but this is the most violent attack yet."
The Idlib region is dominated by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group led by Syria's
former Al-Qaeda affiliate. However, other militants and rebel groups are also
present. Hurras al-Deen has around 1,800 militants including non-Syrians. On
March 5, Russia and Turkey agreed in Moscow on a ceasefire, the establishment of
a safe corridor 6 km along the M4 road in Idlib, and launching joint patrols.
Meanwhile, a Turkish column was seen heading towards Turkish posts in the Idlib
countryside via the Kafr Losisin crossing. The column consisted of about 20
trucks carrying “caravans” and logistical equipment.
The number of military vehicles, which entered Syrian territory since the start
of the new ceasefire, has reached 3,180, in addition to thousands of Turkish
soldiers.
Libyan National Army Warns of Qatari, Turkish Moves in
Tunisia
Cairo - Khaled Mahmoud/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 12 May, 2020
The Libyan National Army (LNA) questioned a recent statement by the Turkish
foreign ministry that threatened to attack the military should it target
Ankara's interests in Libya. LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said the Turkish
statement is "misleading because Ankara has been fighting the army since 2014
through its proxies in Libya." It wasn't up until recently that it became
directly involved in the fight, he noted in televised remarks on Sunday. On the
ground, he revealed that the militias that are loyal to the Government of
National Accord (GNA) have retreated somewhat in Tripoli, but they continue to
amass their forces near the Okba Ibn Nafa Air Basein al-Watiya. Mismari also
expressed his concern over the growing number of Turkish and Qatari flights
landing in regions close to Libyan-Tunisian border. He said that the activity is
part of efforts to set up an administration for the Turks, Qataris and Muslim
Brotherhood that are allied with Rached al-Ghannouchi, the Tunisian parliament
speaker and founder of the Islamist Ennahda party. Separately, Mismari
criticized the United Nations mission in Libya, accusing it of being biased
towards the GNA. He said the mission "sees and hears with one eye and one ear."
The mission had accused last week the LNA of striking civilian neighborhoods in
Tripoli. On the latest developments in the fighting, a prominent official in the
LNA told Asharq Al-Awsat that the military has inched closer to capturing
Tripoli. He revealed that the forces have seized new areas in the southern
suburbs of the capital and made progress in the Abou Slim district, forcing the
militias to retreat to the Watiya. The official refused to disclose further
details, simply adding: "God willing the coming days will bring many good news."
"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan will be the most pleased with them," he
added sarcastically in reference to the Turkish leader's recent remarks that
"good news" will come in from Libya after his forces recently offered military
and logistic support to the GNA.
Pompeo to Convey a Message About Freezing West Bank
Annexation
Tel Aviv – Nazir Magally/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 12 May, 2020
Senior sources within US Jewish organizations revealed that President Donald
Trump’s administration was reconsidering its stance over supporting Israel’s
decision to annex areas in the occupied West Bank, stressing that more room
should be given to diplomacy. The sources noted that US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo, who will arrive in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, will convey a message in this
regard from Trump to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his partner in the
upcoming government, Knesset Speaker Benny Gantz, and will try to persuade them
to abandon annexation plans at this moment. Sources in Tel Aviv said on Monday
that Netanyahu attached great importance to Pompeo’s visit, “in order to
understand the reality and extent of the change in the American position.”This
would be Pompeo’s first external visit since the outbreak of the coronavirus. A
report published by Maariv newspaper and written by its political correspondent
in the US, Shlomo Shamir, quoted officials of Jewish organizations who had held
meetings at the White House, as saying that the US administration “sees at this
stage that a unilateral decision by the Israeli government to annex lands in the
West Bank, would constitute a blow to President Trump’s plan to settle the
conflict in the Middle East, known as the Century Deal.”Meanwhile, sources in
Tel Aviv revealed on Monday that the Iranian and Syrian issues would occupy a
large part in Pompeo’s talks with Netanyahu and Gantz. This assertion confirms a
previous statement by the US State Department, which noted that Pompeo’s visit
to Israel would be devoted to discussing security issues pertaining to the
Iranian role in the region.
Israeli Soldier Killed by Rock During West Bank Raid
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 12 May, 2020
An Israeli soldier died after being struck in the head by a rock thrown from a
rooftop during an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the military
said. The incident was a departure from a relative lull in lethal violence in
the West Bank as Palestinians and Israelis have curbed movements and, to a
degree, cooperated on measures in response to the coronavirus crisis. But
tensions are stirring as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to
swear in on Thursday a new coalition government whose agenda includes a possible
declaration of sovereignty over Jewish settlements and the strategic Jordan
Valley in the West Bank - a de facto annexation. The Israeli military said the
soldier, a 21-year-old conscript, was struck in the head by a rock thrown from a
rooftop in Yabad village, near Jenin, as his special-forces unit withdrew after
detaining four Palestinians. "Israel's long arm will reach the terrorist and
settle the score with him," Netanyahu said on Twitter. Tuesday's raid was aimed
at arresting four Palestinians wanted for stone-throwing at Israeli vehicles and
other recent attacks. It comes a day after Israeli forces demolished the home of
a Palestinian accused of being behind a deadly blast in the West Bank last year.
Israel says 22-year-old Qassem Barghouti carried out the attack last August that
killed 17-year-old Israeli Rina Shnerb and wounded her father and brother near
the settlement of Dolev. As the demolition took place Monday, dozens of
Palestinians burned tires and hurled rocks and firebombs toward Israeli troops.
Several Palestinians were wounded in the ensuing clashes. The uptick comes as US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to arrive Wednesday for a quick visit
to discuss Israeli plans to annex large parts of the West Bank as early as this
summer. The Palestinians want the West Bank for a future state and deem Israeli
settlements there illegal, as do most world powers. Israel and the United States
dispute that view. US-backed peace talks broke down in 2014.
Netanyahu appoints Gilad Erdan to double role of ambassador
to US, UN
Times Of Israel/May 12/2020
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday announced that Likud minister Gilad
Erdan would be appointed as Israel’s ambassador both to the United Nations and
to the United States, as the premier works to divvy up the ministerial
portfolios designated for his right-wing religious bloc in the next government.
“I’ve known Gilad for many years. I’m familiar with his skill, experience,
expertise, and commitment to defend the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said
alongside Erdan, currently the public security minister, in a video statement
from his office in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu said Erdan would only take over as the envoy in Washington after the
US presidential elections in November, leaving his long-time aide Ron Dermer as
ambassador until then.
“I’m proud and excited for the privilege to fight for our truth in the world and
to defend Israel against the expected challenges,” said Erdan, one of Likud’s
most veteran lawmakers. A statement from Netanyahu’s office said Erdan will
continue to serve as a minister until he is officially appointed ambassador by
the incoming government. Illustrative: Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan
gives a statement to the press at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City
following several terror attacks in and around Jerusalem, on February 6, 2020.
(Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Under the coalition agreement between Netanyahu’s Likud and Benny Gantz’s Blue
and White — which will see them rotate the post of prime minister — Netanyahu
can pick Israel’s ambassadors to the UN, United Kingdom, France and Australia
for the duration of the government’s tenure, while each of them can choose their
own envoy to the US while serving as premier. A Blue and White spokesperson
reiterated that Gantz will make his own appointment. Netanyahu previously
offered Erdan the UN ambassador’s role after the first of three consecutive
elections held over the past year, but the latter said he turned it down to stay
and help Likud win the subsequent elections. The only person to previously serve
as ambassador to the US and the UN at the same time was Abba Eban, who is viewed
as one of Israel’s greatest diplomats.
Israel’s Ambassador Danny Danon speaks in the Security Council, at United
Nations headquarters, Monday, April 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Erdan will
replace the current ambassador, Danny Danon, a former Likud minister who was
appointed to a three-year term in 2015, and has had his tenure extended several
times. With Erdan’s decision to serve as ambassador, Netanyahu can appoint
another Likud lawmaker to a top ministerial position, as senior party members
tussle for the reduced number of ministries Likud will have in the next
government.
It could also allow him to make a more generous offer to the national-religious
Yamina party, a key member of his bloc, which is warning that it will head to
the opposition, as it remains at odds with Likud over its role in the new
coalition.
US official mocks Iran over prisoner exchange proposal
The New Arab & agencies
The United States and Iran clashed Monday on the prospect of a prisoner swap,
with a US official mockingly urging the adversary to send a plane to repatriate
its citizens.
An Iranian government spokesman said Sunday that Tehran had offered "some time
ago" to exchange all Iranian and US prisoners but was waiting for a response
from the United States. He received a reply of sorts Monday via social media as
Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy homeland security secretary, insisted that the
United States had been trying to send back Iranian nationals. "We have 11 of
your citizens who are illegal aliens who we have been trying to return to your
country," tweeted Cuccinelli, who is known for his hardline views against
immigration. "You suddenly SAY you want them back, so how about you send a
charter plane over and we'll return all 11 at once?" he wrote, attacking the
credibility of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi hit back on Twitter, noting
that Zarif has been publicly proposing a prisoner swap since September 2018, and
told Cuccinelli: "Stop talking rubbish!""Your regime has reacted callously and
risked their lives. (The world) is watching your action, not your word. Let our
citizens go!"Cuccinelli charged that the United States has been trying to send
back Sirous Asgari, an Iranian scientist acquitted in November on US charges he
stole secrets while on an academic visit to Ohio. The Iranian foreign ministry
said that Asgari contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus while in US custody. Asgari
told The Guardian in March that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency
was keeping him in a detention center in Louisiana without basic sanitation and
refusing to let him return to Iran despite his exoneration. The State Department
has been more cautious about Iranian statements that the two nations, both hard
hit by the coronavirus, are moving ahead on a prisoner swap.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday thanked the efforts of Switzerland,
which represents US interest in Iran in the absence of diplomatic relations, in
a phone call with Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. State Department spokeswoman
Morgan Ortagus said Sunday - a day before Cuccinelli used Twitter to urge Zarif
to send a plane - that "we do not conduct sensitive diplomacy through the
media."
The Islamic republic in December freed Xiyue Wang, a US academic, in an exchange
for scientist Massoud Soleimani and said it was open to further swaps. Iran is
holding US citizens Siamak Namazi, convicted on charges that include espionage,
his father Baquer and environmental expert Morad Tahbaz. Relations have sharply
deteriorated since two years ago when President Donald Trump withdrew from a
nuclear accord and unilaterally imposed sweeping sanctions.
US official mocks Iran over prisoner exchange proposal
The New Arab & agencies/May 12/2020
The United States and Iran clashed Monday on the prospect of a prisoner swap,
with a US official mockingly urging the adversary to send a plane to repatriate
its citizens.
An Iranian government spokesman said Sunday that Tehran had offered "some time
ago" to exchange all Iranian and US prisoners but was waiting for a response
from the United States. He received a reply of sorts Monday via social media as
Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy homeland security secretary, insisted that the
United States had been trying to send back Iranian nationals. "We have 11 of
your citizens who are illegal aliens who we have been trying to return to your
country," tweeted Cuccinelli, who is known for his hardline views against
immigration. "You suddenly SAY you want them back, so how about you send a
charter plane over and we'll return all 11 at once?" he wrote, attacking the
credibility of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Iranian foreign
ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi hit back on Twitter, noting that Zarif has been
publicly proposing a prisoner swap since September 2018, and told Cuccinelli:
"Stop talking rubbish!""Your regime has reacted callously and risked their
lives. (The world) is watching your action, not your word. Let our citizens
go!"Cuccinelli charged that the United States has been trying to send back
Sirous Asgari, an Iranian scientist acquitted in November on US charges he stole
secrets while on an academic visit to Ohio. The Iranian foreign ministry said
that Asgari contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus while in US custody. Asgari told
The Guardian in March that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was
keeping him in a detention center in Louisiana without basic sanitation and
refusing to let him return to Iran despite his exoneration. The State Department
has been more cautious about Iranian statements that the two nations, both hard
hit by the coronavirus, are moving ahead on a prisoner swap. Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo on Monday thanked the efforts of Switzerland, which represents US
interest in Iran in the absence of diplomatic relations, in a phone call with
Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus
said Sunday - a day before Cuccinelli used Twitter to urge Zarif to send a plane
- that "we do not conduct sensitive diplomacy through the media."The Islamic
republic in December freed Xiyue Wang, a US academic, in an exchange for
scientist Massoud Soleimani and said it was open to further swaps. Iran is
holding US citizens Siamak Namazi, convicted on charges that include espionage,
his father Baquer and environmental expert Morad Tahbaz. Relations have sharply
deteriorated since two years ago when President Donald Trump withdrew from a
nuclear accord and unilaterally imposed sweeping sanctions.
'Bogus charges': US calls for Tehran to release two Iranian
college students arrested during pandemic
Zachary Halaschak/Washington Examiner/May 12/2020
The United States is calling for the release of two award-winning Iranian
college students arrested by Iran's security forces after the regime accused
them of stirring up unrest during the coronavirus pandemic.
The students, Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi, were arrested in early April.
State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told the Washington Examiner that
the two were detained on trumped-up charges.
“The Iranian regime is focused on harassing rather than empowering the most
talented Iranians,” Ortagus said in a statement on Sunday. “A month ago, the
regime arrested two talented students, Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi on
bogus charges. We join the countless Iranians and others around the world in
calling for their release.”Younesi is a second-year computer student at Tehran’s
Sharif Industrial University. He won the gold medal at the International
Astronomy Olympiad hosted in Beijing in 2018. He had previously won gold and
silver medals at Iran’s National Astronomy Olympiad. Moradi is also a top
student who studies physics and has won awards, Radio Farda reported last month.
Iran’s judiciary spokesman, Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, said the students were
arrested because they were affiliated with a leading anti-regime dissident
group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
He said the students had been trained to "carry out terrorist operations" in
Iran. He also claimed that explosive devices were found at Younesi's and
Moradi's residences. The group said in a press release that an additional 18
people have been arrested recently.
"This was a conspiracy by the enemy that wanted to instigate a riot amid the
coronavirus situation, but the conspiracy was neutralized as a result of the
diligence of security forces," Esmaili said.
Younesi’s sister, Aida Younesi, said that her brother was physically assaulted
by the dozen security agents who raided their home and arrested Younesi. She
said he was hit in the head and was bleeding.
“Based on what laws you can arrest a 20-year-old young man using physical
assault and show his bloody face to the parent?” Aida Younesi said in a video
posted to Twitter.
The dissident group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization, or MEK, said student
protests broke out at Sharif University following the arrests.
Iran is known to arrest people who speak out against leader Ali Khamenei or the
Islamic Republic. The country has been facing a major health crisis since the
coronavirus pandemic began. It was one of the first “hot spots” after the
initial wave of infections swept mainland China before spreading to the rest of
the world. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has told citizens not to be afraid
of the illness as the country begins to reopen.
Official counts from the Iranian government claim that about 100,000 people have
been infected with COVID-19 and that more than 6,600 have died. Experts and
dissident groups believe the real number is far higher. NCRI claimed it has
tallied more than 40,000 deaths as of Sunday.
Iran has aggressively pushed back on those who question the country’s handling
of the pandemic, with a top Iranian official claiming that thousands of citizens
were arrested late last month for “spreading rumors about the coronavirus.”
Egypt receives $2.77 bln in IMF emergency financing
Reuters/May 12/2020
CAIRO: Egypt has received $2.77 billion in emergency financing from the
International Monetary Fund, its state news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a
senior central bank source. The IMF had approved the funds on Monday in an
effort to help Egypt to contend with the new coronavirus pandemic that has
brought tourism to a standstill and triggered capital flight.
Arabs boycott Facebook after Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer
Tawakkol Karman joins content board
Agencies/Arab News/May 12/2020
LONDON: Yemeni journalist and political activist Tawakkol Karman has complained
of “widespread bullying and smear" after Facebook’s decision to induct her into
its content Oversight Board plunged her into controversy. But what if her
credibility was more at risk from her own words and actions than any alleged
“smear campaign?”
To much of the globe, Tawakkol Abdel-Salam Khalid Karman is the first Arab woman
— and the second Muslim woman — to win a Nobel Prize, in 2011.
Less well known is the fact that Karman held a senior position with her
country’s Al-Islah Party, an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood known
regionally for its divisive and violent agenda.Karman has severed ties to the
Brotherhood’s Yemeni branch, an Islamist movement founded by Abdul Majeed Al-Zindani,
a man who figures in Washington’s Specially Designated Global Terrorist list.
But many wonder whether the move was merely a cosmetic exercise.
Unsurprisingly, Facebook’s choice has prompted outrage on social media networks,
with many worried that it will bring the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideas right into
the heart of the biggest social networking company in the world.
“She has not denounced the extremist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Ghanem
Nuseibeh, founder of risk consultancy Cornerstone Global Associates, told Arab
News.
“On the contrary, there is everything to believe that she continues to espouse
the hate speech that has been a mark of the Brotherhood in general.”
Given her prominent role in the revolution that toppled Yemen’s former leader
Ali Abdullah Saleh, Karman’s Nobel Prize is not without merit, say political
analysts. But they add that her advocacy of extremist causes can hardly be
glossed over.
“Karman was considered a symbol of the Yemeni revolution against the rule of
Saleh, but over time she has become associated with intolerance, discrimination
and lack of neutrality,” Hani Nasira, a terrorism and extremism expert, told
Arab News.
Soon after Karman was awarded the Nobel Prize, she was invited to Doha and
personally congratulated by Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader and
preacher of hate, whose fatwas call for suicide bomb attacks and who praises
Hitler for “punishing” the Jews.
After conveying to her his message of “support” for the Yemeni people, Al-Qaradawi
gave Karman a copy of his book, “Fiqh Al-Jihad,” as a gift.
Such easy rapport with a personality as controversial as Al-Qaradawi calls into
question Karman’s political beliefs, despite her ostensible split with the
Brotherhood’s Yemeni branch. It also rings the alarm about the judgement of
Facebook, a social networking behemoth that claims to be an unbiased arbiter of
international political discourse.
“We understand that people will identify with some of our members and disagree
passionately with others,” a Facebook Oversight Board spokesperson told Arab
News.
Tawakkol Karman with Yusuf Al-Qaradawi. (Supplied)
“Board members were chosen to represent diverse perspectives and backgrounds
that can help with addressing the most significant content decisions facing a
global community.”
Facebook declined to respond to specific questions regarding Karman’s links to
extremist groups. But clearly the platform has put its credibility on the line
by bringing her on board.
Facebook “risks becoming the platform of choice for extremist Islamist
ideology,” Nuseibeh, who is also chair of UK-based nonprofit Muslims Against
Anti-Semitism, told Arab News. “With Karman’s appointment, Facebook’s argument
that it is an impartial platform is severely weakened. There is no guarantee
that Karman will not have a direct editorial influence on what Facebook allows
to be published.
“Would Facebook, for example, appoint Aung San Suu Kyi, another Nobel laureate,
to arbitrate in disputes over posts related to the Rohingya atrocities in
Myanmar?”
Nuseibeh added: “Karman, to much of the world, is what Aung San Suu Kyi is to
the Rohingyas.” Karman’s abrasive personality became evident during the Arab
Spring protests, which began with Tunisia’s “Jasmine Revolution” in 2011 before
spreading out to other Arab countries including Yemen. Previous Yemeni protest
leaders who had aligned with her called her “dictatorial,” someone who went
against the consensus of peaceful movements by urging young protesters to march
on in the face of imminent danger.
“She called for that march, the police brutally attacked it and 13 people died,”
one protest organizer who declined to be named told Reuters in 2011.
“She didn’t apologize for it and it really upset a lot of people.”
In recent years, Karman’s utterances have tended to hew closely to the party
line of her two leading patrons, Qatar and Turkey, while being reflexively
critical of the actions of Saudi Arabia. For instance, in an interview with the
Saudi daily Al Riyadh in 2015, Karman praised the Arab coalition and its role in
restoring the UN-backed government in Yemen.
She called it a “savior” and posed for a picture with President Abd-Rabbo
Mansour Hadi, who she described as “the legitimate leader of the country.”
A few years later, she suddenly changed her tone to accuse Saudi Arabia and the
UAE of committing war crimes in Yemen, and demanded the toppling of regimes in
Egypt and Bahrain. It was no coincidence that all four countries she denounced
happened to have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5, 2017, for its refusal
to abandon support for extremists. “Karman’s loyalty to, and association with,
governments that flout all norms of democracy, such as Qatar and Turkey,
deprives her of any claim to neutrality and objectivity,” Nasira said. “Her
political rhetoric encourages extremism, divisiveness and shunning of those who
disagree with her current loyalties.”
Numerous posts on her Twitter handle and Facebook page attest to her desire to
see specific Arab governments destabilized and toppled.
She has called on Bahraini, Algerian and Tunisian citizens to revolt against
their governments, and accused the Egyptian army of being full of terrorists.
“Saudi Arabia should be worried. All the Gulf countries should be scared, except
for Qatar,” Karman can be heard saying in an undated video clip broadcast by
Yemen TV.
In another video aired in 2019, Karman likened Saudi Arabia to Daesh, saying:
“No country other than the Saudi Kingdom could be like ISIS.”
Karman’s unremitting hostility towards Saudi Arabia and the UAE has made her
almost a natural choice for stewardship of the Qatari-funded and Turkey-based
Belqees TV station.
The consensus view of many Middle East political observers is that Karman is an
Islamist activist who is firmly embedded within regional and international
networks backed by Qatar and Turkey. “Karman is an extremely divisive figure
whose judgement is severely impaired by her many years of (harboring) extreme
political bias,” says Nuseibeh.
As for Facebook, the company “has only one choice to make and that is to sever
all ties” with Karman, he told Arab News. “If it doesn’t, Facebook would be on
the side of promoters of hate speech, extremism and anti-Semitism.”
EU Looks to Save Summer Holiday
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 12/2020
The EU will present recommendations on Wednesday to save the summer season in
Europe’s reeling tourism sector, which has been pounded by the coronavirus
crisis. The European Commission will urge EU countries to gradually reopen
shuttered internal borders and to above all treat each member state on the same
criteria. According to a draft seen by AFP, the Commission insists that
reopening of everyday life after the pandemic must be done in a "concerted" and
"non-discriminatory" manner and must remain "as harmonious as possible."The
points are only recommendations on the part of the EU's executive as it is up to
national governments to decide whether to lift the restrictions put in place to
deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Brussels recommends that when countries are
in a comparable epidemiological situation and have adopted the same
precautionary measures, they should be treated in the same way. If, for example,
Austria opens its borders with Germany, it must also open its borders with the
Czech Republic if that country is in a comparable situation to Germany.
Similarly, when a country opens its borders with another country, it must do so
for all the residents of that country, whether or not they are nationals of that
country. This issue of restoring freedom of movement within the passport-free
Schengen area is crucial for European tourism, a sector which accounts for 10
percent of the EU's GDP and 12 percent of employment.
In some southern European countries, such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal,
this impact is even greater and if holidaymakers were to stay home, their
already bad economic situation could worsen further. In its recommendations, the
commission also addresses the thorny issue of whether or not to reimburse
cancelled trips and holidays.Under EU rules, the European consumer is entitled
to a cash refund, but many operators and airlines prefer to offer a credit
instead.n "Carriers and tour operators should follow a common approach, offering
passengers and travelers an attractive choice between a cash refund, in line
with their rights under EU law, or the acceptance of a voucher," the document
said. Late last month, 12 European countries asked the European Commission to
suspend the obligation for airlines to reimburse passengers whose journeys have
been cancelled because of the coronavirus.
New Virus Cases Threaten World's Moves Back to Work
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 12/2020
Russia and India eased coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday, despite facing
upsurges in infections and expert warnings that the world could face a second
wave epidemic. Chinese authorities, meanwhile, moved to test the entire
11-million strong population of the city of Wuhan, cradle of the global
pandemic, after new cases were reported there. In Russia, the government began
to gradually ease lockdown rules Tuesday as the country's infections surged past
232,000 -- now the second most in the world after only the United States,
according to an AFP tally. The grim landmark came as President Vladimir Putin's
spokesman Dmitry Peskov told news agencies he has the virus. Meanwhile, in giant
India, the railway network ground back to life, in defiance of a recent surge in
the number of infections, with 3,600 recorded on Monday, just below Sunday's
record tally.
The country of 1.3 billion imposed a strict shutdown in late March, which Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's government has credited with keeping cases to a modest
70,000, with around 2,300 deaths. Iran also eyed a cautious easing of its
restrictions and said it would reopen mosques for three nights this week for the
first time since March, after struggling to contain the outbreak that has killed
more than 6,700 people in the country. outh Korea, credited with one of the
world's more successful anti-virus campaigns, said it was using mobile phone
data to track Seoul nightclub visitors after a cluster of new cases.
The outbreak -- which forced a delay in reopening schools -- involves gay venues
and potential carriers are feared to be reluctant to come forward because of the
stigma surrounding homosexuality. And in Britain, which already has Europe's
most confirmed deaths, the Office of National Statistics said reports from care
homes for the elderly suggest the government's tally of 32,065 deaths
underestimates the full toll. Precautionary economic and social lockdowns have
paralyzed much of the global economy and, while many areas are now cautiously
moving back to work, world markets are trading cautiously amid fears of a second
wave epidemic.
'Needless suffering'
The United States -- where at least 80,000 people have died -- has by far the
world's highest caseload, but President Donald Trump is keen to reopen the
economy quickly amid soaring job losses. He faces resistance, however, and
Washington's top epidemiologist Anthony Fauci has warned of "needless suffering
and death" if Americans return to work and group leisure activities before the
pandemic is under control. "If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines
to: 'Open America Again,' then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks
throughout the country," Fauci told the New York Times in an email.
"This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually
set us back on our quest to return to normal," he warned, ahead of testimony to
a Senate committee.
On Monday, the World Health Organization had warned of the need for "extreme
vigilance" against a second wave.
'Driving blind'
In Russia, Putin ordered a cautious return to work from Tuesday, but the gradual
effort was overshadowed by a fire in a Saint Petersburg hospital's intensive
care unit that left five people dead. Observers were also nervously eyeing
Wuhan, where the virus was first reported late year, after the Chinese city
registered the first cluster of new COVID-19 infections since it reopened after
a 76-day lockdown on April 8. Cautious optimism in some quarters was also
tempered by the increasingly dire economic situation, with Belgium's Brussels
Airlines becoming the latest carrier to warn of massive job losses.
The virus has now killed more than 286,000 people around the world, according to
AFP's tally. The number of infections has surpassed 4.1 million, but seems to be
slowing. "The good news is that there has been a great deal of success in
slowing the virus and ultimately saving lives," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus said. But the agency's emergencies chief Michael Ryan lamented that
some governments were choosing to "drive through this blind" by not ramping up
capacity to test for and trace the virus.
White House fears -
The virus appeared to have gained a foothold in the White House at the weekend,
with a second confirmed case. West Wing staff were told Monday they had to wear
masks, and Trump said he might limit contact with his deputy after an aide to
Vice President Mike Pence tested positive. Trump, who is desperately seeking to
reboot the economy ahead of the November election, said the US was making
"tremendous strides" in ramping up testing. "The people want our country open,"
he said. On Tuesday, France reported a 27 percent plunge in economic activity
for April compared with pre-pandemic forecasts.
Japanese auto giant Toyota said it expected a 79.5 percent drop in annual
operating profit this fiscal year, calling the effect of the virus
"wide-ranging, significant and serious."
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 12-13/2020
Developments in Libya cannot be ignored
Maria Maalouf/Arab News/May 12/2020
With the world’s attention focused on the coronavirus disease pandemic, major
developments have been taking place in Libya that threaten the stability of the
nation and represent serious new occurrences in its decade-long civil war.
There have been a series of military clashes between the UN-backed Government of
National Accord led by Fayez Al-Saraaj and the forces of Field Marshal Khalifa
Haftar. The ability of Haftar and his loyalists to successfully recover from
their military losses should be a lesson not forgotten by his enemies.
Haftar made some authoritative pronouncements when he started his campaign to
oust the allies of the Muslim Brotherhood from Tripoli. He had a vision for
Libya and his assertiveness was welcomed by regional powers. He was not
perturbed by the entrenched opposition in the western part of the country.
He understood the nature of the change Libya underwent after the overthrow of
Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. The question was not so much that of who governs Libya
— which is a central problem in itself — but of how much influence the Islamists
who exploited the chaos following Qaddafi’s ouster would have. There were some
important instances where the Libyans could have established a degree of
understanding among themselves that could have thwarted any opportunists from
capturing the reins of government.
Haftar had a different concept than most of the Libyan leaders when it came to
the argument over which comes first: Stopping the religious extremists from
controlling Libya or making the country united again. He was confident the
Islamists could be defeated and he had a pragmatic attitude toward national
unity. The latter for him was an obligation, not a demand. The needs of Libyans
have to be met, since the majority would place security and essential services
at the heart of national unity.
Qatar and Turkey’s support for Islamists should not be Libya’s experience. These
countries are drawn to Libya to use its resources for their own advantage. The
irony is that the militias they shepherded and sponsored have ruined Libya and
destroyed its economy. They do not understand the realities of Libya.
Haftar was confident the Islamists could be defeated and he had a pragmatic
attitude toward national unity.
The latest developments in the Libyan civil war’s military balance raise a
number of questions. How often will the pro-Turkey militias intervene? How can
the war be ended? Will Haftar issue a call to encourage the return of the more
than 200,000 Libyans who have fled the country in the last year?
The evolution of the civil war in Libya should not be neglected internationally.
Based on recent reports of a new phase of activism by Daesh in Iraq and other
parts of the Arab and Islamic worlds, the Trump administration and the West
should pay attention to Libya and the fact it is part of the global war against
terrorism. Haftar has been fighting terrorism and he should garner more support
from President Donald Trump. With his leadership commanding the support of more
and more Libyans, it is time the whole world sided with Haftar and told Turkey’s
Recep Tayyip Erdogan to curtail his dangerous ambitions in Libya.
*Maria Maalouf is a Lebanese journalist, broadcaster, publisher, and writer. She
holds an MA in Political Sociology from the University of Lyon. Twitter: @bilarakib
How and Why Muslims Delude Themselves about Islam
Raymond Ibrahim/May 12/2020
Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb and Pope Francis
Egypt’s leading Muslim cleric and sheikh, Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb—also known as Pope
Francis’s “wolf in sheep’s clothing”—recently asserted a demonstrable falsehood.
On April 30, 2020, during his televised program that appears every year around
Ramadan and is watched by millions in Egypt and the Arab world, the Grand Imam
of the Islamic world’s most prestigious university, Al Azhar, declared that
“Islam doesn’t seek war or bloodshed, and Muslims only fight back to defend
themselves.”
This, of course, is a reaffirmation of the grand conclusion reached at—and
therefore making a mockery of—a recent mega conference dedicated to finding
solutions to “extremism.” Hosted in Egypt by Al Azhar, and attended by leading
representatives from 46 Muslim nations, al-Tayeb capped off the two day
conference by declaring that:
Jihad in Islam is not synonymous with fighting; rather, the fighting practiced
by Prophet Muhammad and his companions is one of its types; and it is to ward
off the aggression of the aggressors against Muslims, as opposed to killing
those who offend in [matters of] religion, as the extremists claim. The
established sharia rule in Islam bans antagonism for those who oppose the
religion. Fighting them is forbidden—as long as they do not fight Muslims.
Needless to say, such claims fly in the face of more than a millennium of both
well documented Islamic teachings and Islamic history. Beginning with
Muhammad—whose later wars were hardly defensive but rather raids meant to
empower and aggrandize himself and his followers over non-Muslims—and under the
first “righteous” caliphs and virtually all subsequent sultans and rulers, jihad
consisted of raiding, slaughtering, enslaving, and ideally conquering
non-Muslims who refused the invitation to embrace Islam. One need only look at a
map of the Muslim world today and realize that the vast majority of it—all of
the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, Central Asia, as far east as Pakistan and
further—was taken by violent conquest in the name of jihad.
However, rather than dismiss al-Tayeb as just another liar, trying to save face,
it’s worth noting that something else is going on at a deeper level when Muslims
insist to one another—in both instances, al-Tayeb was not addressing Westerners
but fellow Muslims—that jihad is defensive.
The fact is, the overwhelming majority of Muslims, even of the terrorist
variety, are, like most people, committed to seeing themselves and their
religion as the “good guys.” As such, there is an implicit agreement between
them always to present their religion as according with innate concepts of
justice. This has caused them to go to extreme lengths, as the current case
suggests.
For example, the historic Islamic conquests are never referred to as “conquests”
in Arabic and other Muslim languages; rather, they are futuhat—literally,
“openings” for the light of Islam to enter (or fatah in the singular, as the
Palestinian group tellingly calls itself). In this context, every land ever
invaded or seized by Muslims was done “altruistically” to bring Islam to wayward
infidels, who are seen as the aggressors for unjustly resisting Islam.
Thus, according to an article titled “The Wisdom of Jihad,” published by Islam
Question and Answer, jihad does not “only and simply mean to kill non-Muslims”;
rather, “The kuffaar [non-Muslims, or infidels] whom we fight will themselves
benefit from jihad. We strive against them and fight them so that they will
enter the religion of Allah which is acceptable to Him, which will lead to their
salvation in this world and in the Hereafter.”
From here one understands why even sadistic mass murderers and pedophiles such
as Ottoman Sultan Muhammad (or “Mehmet”) II is known in Islamic historiography
as “Muhammad the Opener”—for it was he who brought Islam’s light to the
reluctant denizens of Constantinople in 1453.
Mocking such Muslim logic, Dr. Ahmed ‘Abdu Maher, an Egyptian researcher and
political activist, once made a video where he asked a hypothetical. What if
Donald Trump—instead of banning immigration from a few terrorist nations (mostly
Muslim) and being denounced as a “racist” for it—followed Islam’s “altruistic”
outlook and offered American Muslims three choices: either convert to
Christianity, pay jizya and live as second class citizens, or die?
Would he be a racist or not? Would he be a terrorist or not? How then [when one
considers] that we have in our Islamic jurisprudence, which you teach us, and
tell us that all the imams have agreed that the Islamic openings [i.e.,
conquests] are the way to disseminate Islam? This word “openings” [ futuhat] —
we must be sensitive to it! The Islamic openings mean swords and killing.
The Islamic openings, through which homes, fortresses, and territories were
devastated, … [are part of] an Islam which you try to make us follow. So I
wonder O sheikh, O leader of this or that Islamic center in New York, would you
like to see this done to your wife and daughter?… That your daughter goes to
this fighter [as a slave], your son to this fighter, a fifth [of booty] goes to
the caliph, and so forth? I mean, isn’t this what you refer to as the Sharia of
Allah?
Maher—this nominal Muslim who has embraced the ugly realities of Islam’s
historic conquests—is, however and unfortunately, a rare commodity in the Muslim
world. As one American historian of Islam writes:
[T]he conquests were seen from the beginning as one of the incontrovertible
proofs of Islam. To disavow them or to examine them critically—which has yet to
happen in the Muslim world—will be very painful for Muslims especially
Arabic-speaking Muslims. At every point… when Muslims have tried to abandon
militant jihad for the internal, spiritual jihad… the memory of the conquests
and the need to rationalize them have defeated this effort. The problem may lie
in the unwillingness to confront the fact that the conquests were basically
unjustified. They were not a “liberation” and they were not desired by the
non-Muslim peoples; they were endured and finally accepted [Understanding Jihad,
p.167]
Islam’s leaders such as Grand Imam al-Tayeb—one can add the Western mainstream
as well—are committed to deluding Muslims about Islam’s past (and therefore
present). And little wonder; the “average” Muslim who learns about the ugly
reality of Islam’s past often apostatizes in his heart—lapses—remaining Muslim
only in name. In other words, the problem is not just that many in the West are
being deceived about Islam and its past; hundreds of millions of “regular”
Muslims are also being deceived—and for the very same reason.
Turkish 'Justice': Free Mobsters, Keep Dissidents Locked Up
Burak Bekdil/ Gatestone Institute/May 12/2020
When drafting the bill, Erdoğan and his MPs were surgically precise not to let
one single political prisoner walk free.
About 50,000 inmates who were excluded from the bill, as terror convicts and
suspects would not be eligible for amnesty.
You forgive the mafia... You don't forgive journalists that write the truth. You
don't forgive those that want peace." — Turan Aydoğan, opposition lawmaker.
Under Erdoğan's 18 years in power, the free-fall of this professed NATO ally
back toward the authoritarian East looks sadly irrevocable.
When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his rubber-stamp parliament
passed a law for the temporary release of around 45,000 prisoners "to stem the
spread of the coronavirus," they were surgically precise not to let one single
political prisoner walk free. Pictured: Released prisoners meet their families
as they get off a bus near Bakirkoy women's prison on April 15, 2020 in
Istanbul.
Aleaddin Çakıcı is a well-known Turkish mafia figure. But his militant far-right
past makes him a shadier figure in Turkey's domestic and international political
scenes, not just in the criminal underworld. In the 1970s he was a leading
fighter in Turkey's near civil war between ultra-left and -right fractions. His
first arrest came shortly after the military coup d'état in 1980: He was tried
on charges of murdering 41 leftists.
According to leaked reports, Çakıcı was used as a hitman in the 1980s and 1990s
by Turkish intelligence. His targets were leftists and pro-Kurdish groups.
Turkish intelligence also tasked him with carrying out operations in foreign
countries, including Greece and Lebanon, targeting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
and the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA).
In 2018 Devlet Bahçeli, a far-right politician and a staunch supporter of
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, described Çakıcı as "brave and fearless"
and as someone "who was in love with [his] homeland and ideals." Bahçeli had
said that Çakıcı was in prison on multiple sentences for murder, armed attack,
money laundering, and leading an illegal armed group. Among other such
escapades, he had contracted out the murder of his ex-wife, who in 1995 was shot
dead in front of their son.
Çakıcı's is certainly not the résumé of an ideal, law-abiding, peaceful citizen.
But last month, at age 67, he walked free from the prison in which he had been
kept. How could this ruthless crime machine walk out of prison, jump into a
chauffeur-driven car and be escorted to a holiday resort accompanied by a big
convoy and hundreds of "devotees" who gave him a hero's welcome? How, especially
in a country where a simple joke on social media can earn an otherwise honest
citizen several months in jail?
The short answer is amnesty. Erdoğan's rubber-stamp parliament passed a law that
opened the way for the temporary release of around 45,000 prisoners "to stem the
spread of the coronavirus." Another justification for the law is "prison
overcrowding." The amnesty bill will reduce the number of inmates by a third
from around 300,000, while Turkey's present prison capacity is 230,000.
When drafting the bill, Erdoğan and his MPs were surgically precise not to let
one single political prisoner walk free. About 50,000 inmates who were excluded
from the bill, as terror convicts and suspects would not be eligible for
amnesty.
That is where the trouble starts: under terror charges, the expression of even
the slightest dissent could cost a Turk several months in pre-trial detention.
It did not come as surprise that Turkey -- minus team Erdoğan and mobsters --
unanimously condemned the move. "You forgive the mafia... You don't forgive
journalists that write the truth. You don't forgive those that want peace," said
opposition lawmaker Turan Aydoğan.
"The state wants to release the ones who committed a crime against citizens
while keeping the ones who questioned its authoritarianism behind bars,"
thousands of anti-amnesty campaigners including journalists, academics and NGO
members said in a signed statement. "When lives are at stake, there can be no
discrimination based on beliefs or ideologies".
Two European Union lawmakers, Nacho Sanchez Amor and Sergey Lagodinsky called
the law "a great disappointment".
Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey director at Human Rights Watch, told Middle East Eye
that the amnesty law was "utterly discriminatory" and politically biased.
"Turkey is notorious for having a justice system under tight political control
and locking up government opponents and perceived critics on terrorism charges,"
she said.
According to an annual report of the Turkish Journalists' Union:
There are 85 journalists presently in jail (and excluded from the amnesty bill)
Only in the past year 103 journalists were detained 108 times
They spent a minimum 239 days in jail
Eleven journalists claimed they were beaten up in jail, two complained of forced
strip search
In the past year new investigations were launched against 79 journalists
Erdoğan and his men just shrugged it off, but the opposition MPs said on April
14 that they would take the law to Turkey's top court (the Constitutional Court)
and demand its annulment.
"Many aspects of the reform package violate the constitution," said opposition
MP Mustafa Yeneroğlu "It is highly likely that the Constitutional Court will
have to extend the scope of the package because of the principle of
non-discrimination".
The top court may or may not announce a verdict to correct this galling piece of
Erdoğan legislation. Regardless of that verdict, however, the bitter truth will
remain: More than half a century after its march into Western democracy, Turkey
is a country where a pen is viewed as more dangerous than a gun. Under Erdoğan's
18 years in power, the free-fall of this professed NATO ally back toward the
authoritarian East looks sadly irrevocable.
*Burak Bekdil, one of Turkey's leading journalists, was recently fired from the
country's most noted newspaper after 29 years, for writing in Gatestone what is
taking place in Turkey. He is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2020 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.
A Reply to My Critics
Daniel Pipes/JNS/May12/2020
From the JNS website: "I hardly expected my article to arouse high emotions. It
deals with a tactical issue distant from philosophical foundations, principles
or ideology."For further discussion of the NYT article, see an interview, "I
Believe in Compromise, Says Hawkish Pundit Under Fire for Opposing Annexation."
As Aristotle long ago recognized, virtue is the midpoint between extremes. And I
found myself smack at that midpoint in recent days.
I published a modest article suggesting six reasons why the Jewish state should
not extend its sovereignty to a Palestinian-majority territory. (Confusingly,
the New York Times titled the May 7 online version "Annexing the West Bank Would
Hurt Israel" and the slightly different May 8 print version as "Annexation Would
Hurt Israel.")
I hardly expected the article to arouse high emotions. It deals with a tactical
issue distant from philosophical foundations, principles, or ideology. I did not
condemn annexation in principle but only argued that now, given today's
circumstances, the tradeoff looks unfavorable compared to the status quo. I
evaluated the topic from a mainstream friend-of-Israel vantage point. I did not
instruct Israelis what to do but addressed fellow Americans.
Maybe I am right, maybe I am wrong, but let's stay calm. Show me how annexation
now is in fact a good idea, and then we can get a beer together, friendship
intact. Indeed, several colleagues at the Middle East Forum (Efraim Inbar, Gregg
Roman, Matt Mainen, Nave Dromi) argue for annexation, which is fine with me.
Some responses, such as those by Jonathan Tobin, and Yishai Fleisher
respectfully disagree; I am grateful for their constructive sobriety.
But mostly, my analysis prompted wild attacks, starting with a deranged Twitter
mob of Leftists (like Bernie Sanders' foreign policy advisor), Islamists (CAIR),
and Israel haters (Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow). Extremists slithered from
their holes to bay at the moon with long, boring, incoherent refutations. From
one side, the anti-Israel Electronic Intifada decried my "anti-Palestinian
racism"; from the other, the pro-Israel Zionist Organization of America
denounced my "absurd falsehoods."
And I happily perch at Aristotle's midpoint, ignoring their howls.
Some critics note that dire predictions about moving the U.S. embassy to
Jerusalem (a step I heartily supported) proved wrong, therefore my predictions
about annexation must also be wrong. To which, I reply: 1. That was an American
action. 2. It had wide Israeli support, contrary to annexation. 3. It created no
potential Israeli citizens. In short, there's no comparison.
As founder of the Israel Victory Project, I defer to no one in seeking to compel
the Palestinians truly and permanently to accept Israel as the Jewish state. The
NYT article makes that point repeatedly – and to a newspaper audience that
almost never hears such arguments:
I am not someone who frets over the Israeli "occupation" of the West Bank: in my
view, the Palestinians long ago would have enjoyed self-rule had they stopped
murdering Israelis. Contrarily, I do encourage Israeli steps that signal the
Palestinians that the conflict is over, and they lost. ...
Annexation would likely make more Palestinians eligible to become citizens of
Israel. That would be a profound mistake, since its Arab citizens constitute
what I believe is the ultimate enemy of Israel's status as a Jewish state. ...
Israel must assert itself against the Palestinians; but any moves must align
with the larger campaign to compel Palestinians to give up their goal of
eliminating the Jewish state. Annexing the West Bank is a self-indulgence that
has the opposite result. It buoys the anti-Zionist cause and hinders a
resolution of the conflict. I believe in a smart Israel Victory that goes for
the jugular and see annexation of the West Bank at this time as dumb, as going
for the extremities. As I wrote in the article, it "would probably damage
Israel's relations with the Trump administration, the Democrats, Europeans and
Arab leaders, as well as destabilize the region, radicalize the Israeli Left,
and harm the Zionist goal of a Jewish state."
I appeal for cool tempers, clear goals, and smart tactics.
In this case, that means carefully considering what steps will most advance the
goal of breaking the Palestinian will to eliminate Israel while simultaneously
doing the least damage to Israel's internal harmony and external standing. One
possibility would be, as I have argued before, "When official [Palestinian
Authority] guns are turned against Israelis, seize these and prohibit new ones,
and if this happens repeatedly, dismantle the PA's security infrastructure.
Should violence continue, reduce and then shut off the water and electricity
that Israel supplies."
Again, let's debate calmly and stay focused. Only that way, and not via
legalistic distractions or tactical enthusiasms, can Israel Victory be achieved.
Mr. Pipes (DanielPipes.org, @DanielPipes) is president of the Middle East Forum.
© 2020 by Daniel Pipes. All rights reserved.
Coronavirus: Lockdown for Europeans, Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants
Soeren Kern/ Gatestone Institute/May 12/ 2020
While Europe is experiencing an economic shock without precedent, and tens of
millions of Europeans have lost their livelihoods, migrants in Europe illegally
are being showered with free housing and healthcare.
The actual number of illegal immigrants in France is unknown but was estimated
to be between 300,000 and 400,000 in 2017, according to the Pew Research Center.
Considering the waves of mass migration since then, the number is probably well
above a half-million.
Britain has up to 1.2 million illegal immigrants, a quarter of all those that
have unlawfully entered Europe, according to the Pew Research Center.... The
UK's leniency appears to have sparked another wave of illegal immigration. Since
the coronavirus lockdown began on March 23, nearly 900 people have illegally
crossed the English Channel from France, according to Migration Watch UK.
"There is great discontent among the [German] population because everyone who
arrives here immediately has many or even higher rights and rights to benefits
or medical care than someone who has worked here for their entire life." —
Interior Minister of Saarland, Klaus Bouillon (CDU), interview with Die Welt.
"Muslim countries currently have 300 million males under the age of 15. This is
not a forecast, but already a reality. Scientists like Gunnar Heinsohn assume
that a maximum of 100 million can obtain a position in the society of their home
country. The remaining 200 million will try to emigrate or otherwise fight for
their place." — Anabel Schunke, political commentator, German blog Die Achse des
Guten
While Europe is experiencing an economic shock without precedent, and tens of
millions of Europeans have lost their livelihoods, migrants in Europe illegally
are being showered with free housing and healthcare. Pictured: Some of a group
of 50 asylum-seekers (16 minors and 34 people from migrant camps) prepare to
board a "family reunion rescue flight" from Athens to London on May 11, 2020.
(Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)
European governments are using the coronavirus pandemic to grant mass amnesties
to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle
East. While Europe is experiencing an economic shock without precedent, and tens
of millions of Europeans have lost their livelihoods, migrants in Europe
illegally are being showered with free housing and healthcare.
In Italy, where public debt is forecast to reach 160% of GDP this year, the
left-wing coalition government has announced a plan to grant amnesty to at least
600,000 migrants in the country illegally. They would receive residency permits,
initially valid for six months, that could be renewed in perpetuity.
The so-called Marshall Plan for Agriculture is the brainchild of Agriculture
Minister Teresa Bellanova, who argues that the migrants are essential because
they are picking crops and caring for the elderly during the coronavirus crisis.
Opponents of the measure say that only a small fraction of the undocumented
immigrants in Italy are currently working in agriculture or as care-givers for
the elderly.
Approximately 100,000 farmhands from Eastern Europe work — legally — in Italy
each year, but cannot this year due to coronavirus travel bans. Agriculture
trade unions report a current shortage of 200,000 workers. This figure
represents one-third of the number of migrants Bellanova says she would like to
legalize.
Former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who now leads the opposition, said that
he was in favor of temporarily granting work permits for those currently working
as farmhands, but that a mass amnesty of hundreds of thousands of migrants
cannot be justified. He proposed an alternative plan: unemployed immigrants who
are in the country legally and receiving welfare payments should be recruited to
work in the fields.
Salvini said that the regularization of hundreds of thousands of illegal
immigrants was "slap in the face" to millions of unemployed Italians. He warned
that it would also spark a new wave of illegal immigration to Italy. Bellanova
threatened to resign if she does not get her way.
Although calls for a mass amnesty predate the coronavirus crisis by several
years, they were consistently blocked while Salvini and his League party were in
the government. The current government, sworn into office in September 2019, has
been more liberal in matters of illegal immigration. Bellanova, backed by
activist groups, now appears to be using the democratic vacuum created by the
coronavirus state of emergency to decree the amnesty without parliamentary
approval.
In Portugal, the government announced on March 28 that all migrants with pending
applications would be treated as permanent residents until at least July 1 to
ensure that the migrants would have access to public services during the
coronavirus outbreak. The migrants were granted access to the national health
service, welfare benefits, bank accounts, and work and rental contracts. The
move by Portugal has spurred similar calls for mass amnesties in other European
countries.
In France, more than 100 French MPs signed a letter addressed to Prime Minister
Édouard Philippe which called on the government to regularize all undocumented
migrants due to the coronavirus. The letter, published in the newspaper Le
Journal du Dimanche on April 12, stated:
"We solemnly ask the French government to implement the same measures as the
Portuguese government. The health catastrophe we are suffering from compels us
to act responsibly and without delay, as did our Portuguese friends."
The actual number of illegal immigrants in France is unknown but was estimated
to be between 300,000 and 400,000 in 2017, according to the Pew Research Center.
Considering the waves of mass migration since then, the number is probably well
above a half-million.
In Spain, where an astonishing one-half of the total population of 47 million
people now depend on payments from the state for their livelihoods, 200 NGOs
asked the government for an "extraordinary regularization process" for illegal
immigrants due to the coronavirus. "The wide and extraordinary regularization of
all migrants living in Spanish territory is the most agile and exhaustive
measure to guarantee that all people can face this health and economic crisis,"
they said in a statement dated April 14. The number of illegal immigrants in
Spain is estimated to be well over 800,000, according to the nationwide radio
broadcaster COPE.
In the United Kingdom, Catholic leaders, on May 3, called on Prime Minister
Boris Johnson to offer asylum seekers and other "insecure" immigrants the
ability to live freely and work in the country during the coronavirus pandemic.
Britain has up to 1.2 million illegal immigrants, a quarter of all those that
have unlawfully entered Europe, according to the Pew Research Center.
Meanwhile, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja
Mijatović, called on European governments to release rejected asylum seekers and
irregular migrants from detention due to the coronavirus. In a statement dated
March 26, she wrote:
"In the face of the global Covid-19 pandemic, many member states have had to
suspend forced returns of persons no longer authorized to stay on their
territories, including so-called Dublin returns, and it is unclear when these
might be resumed. Under human rights law, immigration detention for the purpose
of such returns can only be lawful as long as it is feasible that return can
indeed take place. This prospect is clearly not in sight in many cases at the
moment....
"The release of the most vulnerable should be prioritized. Since the immigration
detention of children, whether unaccompanied or with their families, is never in
their best interest, they should be released immediately. The authorities of
member states should also refrain from issuing new detention orders to persons
who are unlikely to be removed in the near future."
In Spain, where a coronavirus state of emergency was declared on March 14, the
government has released thousands of illegal immigrants held in so-called
Internment Centers for Foreigners (Centro de Internamiento de Extranjeros, CIE).
Spanish law stipulates that migrants cannot be held in a CIE, a temporary
holding facility prior to deportation, for more than 60 days. Because
coronavirus travel bans have made deportations impossible, the Interior Ministry
let them go. Many migrants have been sent to so-called Refugee Reception Centers
(Centro de Acogida a Refugiados, CAR), where they will be provided with room and
board for six months.
In Belgium, the government released several hundred migrants from detention
centers. The Brussels Times reported:
"The 300 detainees, mainly men, were released from detention with an order to
leave Belgium within 30 days. In such cases, the sans-papiers, as they are
known, are not forcibly placed on a flight to their homeland, but simply allowed
to go out of the front door of the detention center. It is to be expected that
many will disappear into clandestinity. Since they are without papers, tracing
them from now on will be difficult if not impossible."
In the United Kingdom, the government released more than 700 migrants from
Immigration Removal Centers (IRC) because they cannot be deported due to the
coronavirus pandemic. Judicial tribunals forced the Home Office to release
dozens of migrants despite fears that they could pose a risk to the public.
"More than 40 countries to which the Home Office planned to deport them have
either closed their borders or imposed travel restrictions, making deportation
impossible," according to The Telegraph.
The UK's leniency appears to have sparked another wave of illegal immigration.
Since the coronavirus lockdown began on March 23, nearly 900 people have
illegally crossed the English Channel from France, according to Migration Watch
UK. On May 8, border patrol officers stopped eight boats carrying 145 people, a
record for a single day, according to the Home Office. More than 1,200 illegal
immigrants are believed successfully to have crossed the English Channel
illegally so far in 2020.
The National Crime Agency told Parliament that the aim of both migrants and
smugglers is now to be "intercepted" by British authorities and taken to a UK
port where a large majority of those arriving (possibly over 90%) will claim
asylum.
"The biggest incentive for those attempting the dangerous Channel crossings is
the knowledge that being picked up by a British Border Force vessel or managing
to set foot on our soil provides a strong chance of a permanent stay," according
to Migration Watch UK.
On May 8, the German newspaper Die Welt reported on a leaked document from the
European border protection agency, Frontex, which is bracing for a new influx of
migrants at the border between Greece and Turkey once the Turkish government
lifts its coronavirus restrictions:
"The restrictions on Covid-19 have been gradually lifted in most Aegean
provinces, but not yet in Canakkale, Istanbul and Izmir. If freedom of movement
is restored in these areas, massive movements of migrants towards the
Greek-Turkish border can be expected."
In an interview with Die Welt, the Interior Minister of Saarland, Klaus Bouillon
(CDU), said that the German public would not look kindly on another wave of
illegal immigration:
"The willingness and acceptance in the country to accept people has decreased.
We probably would not be able to activate enough volunteers anymore. In
addition, the absorption capacity is a big problem.
"There is great discontent among the population because everyone who arrives
here immediately has many or even higher rights and rights to benefits or
medical care than someone who has worked here for their entire life.
"There is great resentment and frustration, which I hear in conversation every
day. Basic amounts of benefits are established by law. Even if someone throws
away their passport and does not cooperate with the authorities, their benefits
can be reduced only minimally."
The German government continues to take in more migrants. The Chancellery
recently announced that it was seeking a "coalition of the willing" from across
Europe to take in children from refugee camps in Greece. The plan was to help
1,500 children identified as being particularly in need: unaccompanied children
under the age of 14 or children in need of urgent medical assistance. The German
government pledged to take in 350 children and stressed that its top priority
was to rescue young girls. When the first flight carrying 47 children arrived in
Hanover on April 18, only four were girls.
Writing for the German blog Die Achse des Guten ("The Axis of Good"), political
commentator Anabel Schunke described the long-term problems facing Germany by
allowing in millions of mostly uneducated males. In an essay titled, "Many Men
and Few Women — The Problem with Immigration," she wrote:
"It has been a while since the issue of immigration has been as heated as in
recent days.... The reason for this was the admission of 'unaccompanied minor
refugees' from Greece as agreed to by a 'coalition of the willing.' Yesterday,
47 of them landed in Hanover. Earlier, twelve youths had arrived in Luxembourg.
In addition to Germany and Luxembourg, France, Ireland, Finland, Portugal and
Croatia have also agreed to accept unaccompanied asylum seekers from the camps
in Greece. A total of 1,500 children are to be flown out in this way. Germany
alone has announced that it will accept between 350 and 500 of them....
"This number may seem insignificant compared to the refugee crisis of 2015/16
and what has happened since then in uncontrolled, illegal migration. It was said
that the children were primarily seriously ill or girls. Most of them under the
age of 14.
"As we know today, the reality is different, and the outrage is correspondingly
great. The first images from Luxembourg suggested that things would not be much
different in Germany. There was not a single girl among the twelve young people
flown in. By contrast, ten boys from Afghanistan and two from Syria. Among the
47 unaccompanied persons who arrived in Hanover yesterday, there were only four
girls....
"Such an admission of 'unaccompanied minor refugees' (UMF) is expensive.
Depending on the region, a UMF costs the taxpayer between 5,000 and 7,000 euros
per month. In Hesse, every unaccompanied minor costs 101,515 euros a year and
thus just under 8,460 euros per month.
"Even if you take the lowest cost of 5,000 euros, this alone results in costs of
235,000 euros per month for the 47 minors who entered yesterday. This is not a
trifle.
"The enormous costs that result from the fact that every social worker would
like to have a piece of the cake and that that could be fundamentally
questioned, especially in times of an impending economic crisis, is not our only
problem.
"The proportion of male asylum seekers has been significantly higher than that
of women in every age group since 2015. No fewer than 93% of the children and
adolescents in the Greek refugee camps are male, and it can be assumed that the
Interior Ministry was aware of this when, for general reassurance, it was
announced that they would primarily take in the seriously ill and girls....
"Sixty-seven percent of asylum seekers between 18- to 25-years-old are male;
63.9% of those between 16- and 18-years are male; and 64.9% of those between 25-
and 30-years are male.... If you add all the age groups, you get a share of over
50% for those under 30.
"Muslim countries currently have 300 million males under the age of 15. This is
not a forecast, but already a reality. Scientists like Gunnar Heinsohn assume
that a maximum of 100 million can obtain a position in the society of their home
country. The remaining 200 million will try to emigrate or otherwise fight for
their place.
"Religious, ideological fanaticism thrives on this breeding ground for young men
who are ready to fight, which only serves as justification for their own
struggle for a piece of the cake. So, what we see today in terms of crises and
conflicts will not be less in the next 15 years, but probably more. Against this
background, the migration flows we are experiencing today are only the
beginning....
"Where there are many men with fewer women, there is a higher level of sexual
frustration on all sides, which in turn leads to conflicts between locals and
immigrants and leads to increased sexual assault and general hatred of women.
Many young migrants are in constant contradiction between strict Islamic sexual
morals and the sexual freedom of Europe. This immigration also influences the
portrayal of women and the security of women living here. It is all the more
tragic that it is precisely the women here who are largely in favor of this
immigration. Perhaps the increasing loss of freedom and security among women
living here will eventually lead to more empathy with the fate of tormented
women in radical Islamic countries like Afghanistan. Maybe one day they will see
that it does make a difference whether it is mostly boys and men or girls and
women who come to us.
"If you look at the comment sections of German news sites, many citizens still
cannot seem to get enough of the current wave of immigration. In any event, it
will become interesting when the economic crisis has accelerated after the
corona shutdown. It remains to be seen whether the current supporters of mass
migration will still be willing to let their 'moral' superiority cost so much.
We will find out after the corona crisis."
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
© 2020 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.
U.S. Sanctions on Iran: Is Natural Gas Next?
Brenda Shaffer/FDD/May 12/2020
The Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign is having a significant
impact on Iran’s macroeconomic stability and draining the government’s export
earnings and reserves. As Iranian oil exports plunge, Iran’s regional and
non-oil trade remains an important sanctions target. Iran is the world’s
third-largest producer of natural gas, and it holds the world’s second-largest
gas reserves. Iran relies heavily on its domestic natural gas production.
Indeed, natural gas comprises close to 70 percent of its domestic energy
consumption. By comparison, natural gas comprises 31 percent of the energy
consumption in the United States, 24 percent in Germany, and 15 percent in
Norway. According to the budget submitted to the Iranian Majles at the end of
2019, the regime anticipated earning $4 billion in revenue from natural gas
export sales this year, amounting to roughly 3.5 percent of Iran’s budget. Iran
exports natural gas to Turkey, Iraq, and Armenia. While U.S. sanctions do not
explicitly target Iranian natural gas exported by pipeline, U.S. sanctions are
applicable to financial transactions that facilitate such sales, and payments
for Iranian natural gas must be held in escrow accounts in the importing country
and not made to Iran. The Trump administration has requested that each buyer
demonstrate that it is reducing imports over time. The administration can target
Iranian natural gas exports, since Turkey, Iraq, and Armenia have alternatives
for new sources of gas or substitute fuels.
TURKEY
For over a decade, Turkey was Iran’s main gas export market. However, in the
last two years, Turkey has lowered its imports from Iran and Russia and
increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline gas imports from
Azerbaijan. Iran has dropped from Turkey’s second-largest gas supplier to its
fourth-largest.
Ankara has made this shift partly to please Washington. Turkey not only has cut
back on Iranian imports, but it has also imported significant quantities of U.S.
LNG. The 2018 inauguration of the Southern Gas Corridor from Azerbaijan to
Turkey has also afforded Ankara an opportunity to import from a low-cost and
politically reliable source. This has also benefited Turkish companies that
invested in the gas production and pipeline.
Turkey may end up ceasing Iranian gas imports sooner rather than later. On March
31, a gas pipeline from Iran to Turkey was attacked, disabling its operation.
While pipelines can often be restored within a week after attacks of this type,
Turkey and Iran have not yet done so. The National Iranian Gas Company blamed
Kurdish militant groups for the attack; Turkish officials have not commented.
IRAQ
Iraq has extensive local natural gas reserves but has taken few steps to harness
them. According to the International Energy Agency, more than half of the
natural gas produced in Iraq, most of which is released during oil production,
is burned off, or “flared.” In fact, Iraq is one the top three countries in the
world in the amount of gas it flares. Over the years, major energy companies
have attempted to convince Iraq to allow them to invest in capturing the flared
gas, but to no avail, potentially because Iran-backed actors in Iraq benefit by
keeping Iraq hooked on Iranian energy. If the government were to acquiesce, Iraq
could be self-sufficient and even export natural gas. Iraqi government estimates
suggest that Iraq would need more than $10 billion in new infrastructure to
accomplish this.
To meet its gas needs, Iraq imports approximately 4 billion cubic meters (bcm)
of natural gas annually from Iran, a quarter of Iraq’s gas consumption. The
imports began in 2017. Two gas pipelines operate from Iran to Iraq: one to
Baghdad and the second to Basra. Iraq also imports electricity from Iran. The
electricity imports are subject to U.S. sanctions and require a waiver, which
the Trump administration continues to provide.
Iran’s gas supplies to Iraq have been erratic, however. There have also been
frequent price disputes between the two countries. In 2018, Iran even cut supply
to Iraq, leading to extensive electricity outages. Even without such
disruptions, Iraq’s electricity provision is uneven and is subject to frequent
blackouts. Power outages have triggered anti-government demonstrations in Iraq.
Source: Majed al-Suwailem, Saleh al-Muhanna, and Rami Shabaneh, “U.S.-Iran
Tensions and the Waiver Renewal for Iranian Gas Exports to Iraq,” King Abdullah
Petroleum Studies and Research Center, January 30, 2020, page 4. (https://www.kapsarc.org/research/publications/u-s-iran-tensions-and-the-waiver-renewal-for-iranian-gas-exports-to-iraq/)
ARMENIA
Iran initiated gas exports to neighboring Armenia in 2009. Armenia pays for this
gas by exporting electricity to Iran. Armenia currently imports approximately
0.5 bcm of natural gas annually from Iran, but the pipeline between the two
countries, owned by Gazprom’s Armenian subsidiary, can carry more gas. Both
Armenia and Iran have expressed interest in using more of this spare capacity
and establishing additional pipelines.
In fact, Tehran and Yerevan would like Armenia to serve as a transit state for
Iranian gas exports to new destinations. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan
stated so during his visit to Iran in February 2019. Of particular interest to
Armenia and Iran is a gas export route running from Armenia to Georgia and on to
destinations in Europe.
Armenia has announced that it will not comply with U.S. sanctions on Iran, and
Tehran frequently praises this defiance. As the Tehran Times recently noted,
“The northwestern neighbor Armenia is one of the countries preserving and
expanding its economic relations with Iran regardless of the sanction
condition.”
Since Armenia exports goods as payment for gas imports from Iran, these
transactions are sanctionable. It is not clear why the Trump administration has
not applied sanctions to these transactions.
IMPLICATIONS OF ENDING GAS IMPORTS FROM IRAN
All three states that import gas from Iran have supply options to replace the
Iranian gas or produce energy from different fuel sources. Turkey has already
made a significant shift in its gas import mix, increasing LNG imports and
pipeline gas volumes from Azerbaijan and decreasing imports from Iran and
Russia. The fact that Ankara did not rush to repair the recently attacked gas
pipeline from Iran illustrates that these supplies are not critical for Turkey,
especially under the current economic conditions.
For Iraq, halting gas imports from Iran could further disrupt the country’s
unstable electricity supplies. However, Iraq could replace its gas with oil,
since its electric power plants have dual-fuel capability. Over 60 percent of
Iraq’s electricity is currently generated from liquid fuels (diesel, crude oil,
and heavy fuel oil). Plummeting oil demand has left surplus oil available for
this purpose. This would yield important geopolitical benefits by reducing Iraqi
dependence on Iran. Indeed, this is the time for the Trump administration to
encourage Iraq to make this transition, using the renewal of electricity waivers
as leverage.
Ending imports of Iranian gas might also incentivize Iraq to take steps to
capture its gas rather than flare it. This would yield environmental as well as
long-term economic and geopolitical benefits. Flaring is a significant
contributor to air pollution and climate change. Baghdad has committed to reduce
flaring but has so far failed to do so.
Armenia could end gas imports from Iran without major consequences. The country
uses Iranian gas to produce heat, but that heat could be generated by the
electricity Armenia currently exports to Iran. Additional electricity could be
produced by building a low-cost, coal-fired plant, which could be built quite
quickly.
Ceasing electricity exports to Iran would have an additional benefit. These
exports currently rely on the Metsamor nuclear power plant, which is a danger
both to the people of Armenia and the wider region. This Soviet-era nuclear
power plant has no secondary containment structure and is located in a major
seismic zone. One-quarter of the electricity produced in this plant is exported
to Iran in exchange for natural gas. Ending these electricity exports to Iran
would enable Yerevan to close the plant, which would remove a danger to Armenia
and its neighbors.
CONCLUSION
Washington still has not used all the sanctions tools at its disposal to
maximize the pressure on Tehran. Iranian natural gas exports are a prime target.
The United States should encourage Turkey, Armenia, and Iraq to end imports of
Iranian natural gas. For all three countries, the risk of doing so is low, while
the potential long-run economic and geopolitical benefits are great.
*Brenda Shaffer is a senior advisor for energy at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD) and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She also
contributes to FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP). For more
analysis from Brenda and CEFP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Brenda on Twitter @ProfBShaffer.
Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CEFP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based,
nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
Putin is Betting on a Losing Horse (As In Iran)
Alireza Nader/The National Interest/May 12/2020
The Russian-Iranian alliance, a defining feature of power politics in the Middle
East, is experiencing strains that should be exploited by the Trump
administration.
The Russian-Iranian alliance, a defining feature of power politics in the Middle
East, is experiencing strains that should be exploited by the Trump
administration. Moscow and Tehran are historic enemies whose differences are
re-emerging now that they have achieved their mutual objective of preventing a
breakdown of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. Vladimir Putin’s assessment of
Russian interests may be clouded by anti-Americanism, but he ought to see that
Islamic Republic is far weaker and a far less valuable ally than it was just
five years ago. Thus, Russia has far more to lose than it has to gain by
employing its Security Council veto to protect the Iranian regime from
Washington’s maximum pressure campaign.
By working together to ensure the survival of the Assad regime, Russia has
arguably become the paramount foreign power in the Levant, while the Islamic
Republic has carved a corridor of influence stretching from Iraq to Lebanon. Yet
Russia and Iran may be beginning to see each other as competitors now that
Assad’s regime is more secure.
Historically, Iranians have viewed their larger northern neighbor as an imperial
aggressor rather than a friendly nation. The history of Russian-Iranian
relations is replete with armed conflict, Russian interventions in Iranian
politics, and cultural/religious animosity between the two people. To this day
Iranians speak bitterly about the Treaty of Turkmenchay in which Iran lost a
large part of its territory to the Russian empire. In the 1980s, the Islamic
Republic vilified the Soviet Union as the “Lesser Satan” (as compared to the
Great Satan in Washington), yet the U.S. victory in the Cold War gradually drew
Moscow and Tehran together. The two countries share an intense fear of America
pushing for regime change in Iran, with Moscow additionally concerned that the
fall of the Islamic Republic could lead to a more pro-American and anti-Russian
government.
The current Russian-Iranian alliance in Syria owes its existence to General
Qassem Soleimani, the chief of the Revolutionary Guards’ specialized Qods Force
and the regime’s strategic mastermind who was recently killed by U.S. forces.
Soleimani’s clandestine visit to Moscow in July 2015 initiated the military
partnership to save Assad. Soleimani’s proxy army of foreign Shi’a militias were
able to defeat the Syrian insurgents only with the help of the Russian air
force.
Yet now Moscow is attempting to take over Iranian proxies while challenging
Iranian dominance in key parts of Syria, including the restive Dera governorate
in the south. Iran’s usefulness to Russia has decreased significantly as the two
powers fight over the spoils of their Syrian war. Already, Moscow has edged out
Tehran for control of key resources, such as Syria’s phosphate mines. This past
January, Soleimani’s death eliminated a key node in the Russian-Iranian
partnership. His successor, General Esmail Ghaani, does not possess the
charisma, skills, and foresight to hold the partnership together.
Syria aside, the Islamic Republic is much weaker than it was at the time of
Soleimani’s trip to Moscow. The regime has faced successive rebellions since
December 2017, including nationwide protests in November 2019 that shook the
regime to its core. Iran’s economy is mired in a deep multi-year recession
thanks to U.S. sanctions and the COVID-19 epidemic while the regime’s proxies in
Iraq and Lebanon face unprecedented popular revolts.
Putin should recognize that the geopolitical balance in the Middle East may be
approaching a tectonic shift. The Islamic Republic is likely to face additional
popular rebellions, both at home and across the region. Russian arms sales to a
cash-strapped Iran will be less rewarding than cooperation with wealthier Arab
states of the Persian Gulf and better relations with Israel. Even if it were
willing to try, Russia’s ability to shape the course of events in Iran is
limited.
For all these reasons, Russia ought to consider whether it still benefits any
longer from protecting Iran at the Security Council. Unquestionably, a Russian
veto could prevent the Trump administration from extending the UN’s conventional
arms embargo on Iran, set to expire in October. Russia can also cause
considerable difficulty for Washington as the latter seeks a “snapback” of UN
sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program. But what does Moscow have to gain from
such obstruction?
For its part, the Trump administration should explore new ways to drive a wedge
between Moscow and Tehran. At minimum, the White House should make clear that
its pressure on Tehran will be unrelenting, so Iran has little prospect of
recovering its strength.
Putin’s reflexive anti-Americanism will likely prevent him from making choices
that protect Russia’s long-term interests. But whether Moscow likes it or not,
the Islamic Republic is living on borrowed time and their partnership may be
headed for a fundamental transformation. Russia does not have the power to
reverse those trends, so what does Putin have to gain from doing so many favors
for Tehran?
*Alireza Nader is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD),
where he also contributes to FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP).
For more analysis from Alireza and CMPP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Alireza
on Twitter @AlirezaNader. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CMPP. FDD is a
Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national
security and foreign policy.
What message will Pompeo deliver to Israel on annexation?
Osama Al-Sharif /Arab News/May 12/2020
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Israel on Wednesday for a
one-day visit, 24 hours before a new twin-headed government is sworn in, ending
more than a year of political impasse that produced three inconclusive
elections. This will be Pompeo’s first foreign trip since the US adopted strict
measures to confront the coronavirus outbreak, including total lockdowns in some
states. The timing and nature of the visit are indicative. In addition to
meeting with incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his partner/rival
Benny Gantz, Pompeo, it is now believed, will deliver an important message
regarding the possible annexation of parts of the West Bank and Jordan Valley.
That message, this writer has learned from multiple sources, calls for caution
and the postponement of this controversial move. While Pompeo will reiterate his
administration’s staunch support for Israel, he will also stress the need to
avoid unilateral steps at this juncture. Whether or not this position will be
made public remains to be seen. Pompeo will address the fact that Donald Trump’s
Middle East peace vision, revealed in January, should be dealt with as a
complete package.
This would be the first time that a clear position on annexation has been made
by the Trump administration. Last month, Pompeo said that annexation was a
decision to be taken by Israel alone, and that his administration would deliver
its position privately to the Israeli government. That ambiguous statement was
interpreted as giving a green light to the new Israeli government to decide when
and how to proceed with possible annexation.
Then, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman made a number of contradictory
statements on the subject. While he publicly supported a unilateral move on the
issue, he was reported to have told Israeli officials that the Trump
administration considers its vision to be a peace plan and not an annexation
plan. One unnamed senior US official was also quoted by Axios as having said
that annexation is only part of the plan and that it should be accompanied by
recognition of a Palestinian state through negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians.
Netanyahu’s deal with Gantz gives him the right to submit an annexation proposal
to the government and/or the Knesset as early as July. Despite Gantz’s Blue and
White alliance’s reservations regarding that move, Netanyahu’s proposal is
expected to pass without much objection from lawmakers. But it is important to
note that the Israeli public remains divided over the issue. Retired security
and army officials have warned Netanyahu that annexation would jeopardize
Israel’s national security. Israeli pundits, as well as a number of US Jewish
organizations, have also warned that annexation would end Israeli democracy
while turning the country into an apartheid state.
Arab states have rejected Trump’s peace plan and, along with the EU, the UN,
Russia and China, maintained that the two-state solution remains the only path
to a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas has appealed to Trump to review his position, but
refused to resume contacts with the White House, which were terminated when the
US recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The US had called on Abbas to
submit a counter-offer to the peace plan.
But, last week, this writer has learned, the Palestinian Authority (PA) sent
what was described as a “white paper” to the US, in addition to the Middle East
Quartet, outlining its position, as well as its principles, on reaching a peace
settlement with Israel. The unsigned two-page letter was written by chief
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and is believed to be the first official
contact between the PA and the White House in more than two years. Sources tell
me that the White House considered the move to be a goodwill gesture.
Coinciding with these events, this writer has learned that Jordan, one of the
most vocal critics of annexation, has delivered a message to the UN Security
Council that annexation of the Jordan Valley would be treated as a violation of
the Jordan-Israel peace treaty. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi made it
clear that such a move would violate the delineation of borders between Jordan
and Israel as stipulated in the treaty. His argument has not been made public to
date.
The Trump administration considers its vision to be a peace plan and not an
annexation plan. It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet last week also
stressed that the Palestinian cause remains a “central issue” for Arabs and
Muslims, while referencing the results of the emergency meeting of Arab League
foreign ministers that condemned Israel’s plans to annex Palestinian land.
The White House is aware that the unilateral annexation of West Bank territory
will only complicate matters and will fail to end the conflict. Renewed contacts
between the Palestinians and the US at this juncture are of paramount
importance. Efforts must be made to foil Netanyahu’s attempt to destroy the
two-state solution and prolong the region’s most challenging conflict. The US is
the only power that can stop Netanyahu from taking this dangerous step.
Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.
Twitter: @plato010
Iraq On The Path Of National Recovery From Iranian Hegemony
Yigal Carmon,and S. Ali/MEMRI/May 12/2020
Iraq's national recovery has been brewing internally over nearly seven months of
political unrest, ignited by protesters who took to the streets in October 2019
to demonstrate against the country's endemic corruption and lack of basic
services, and against Iran's increasing meddling in Iraq's internal affairs.
Iran's attempt to silence protesters by force using its Iraqi militias failed
when the protesters forced the Tehran-backed prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi,
to resign in November 2019, after only one year of his four-year tenure. Abdul
Mahdi's resignation signaled the beginning of the shattering of Iran's grip over
Iraq's political system.[1]
During the odyssey of the political attempts to replace Abdul Mahdi, Tehran
failed to reinstate him as prime minister, and also failed to secure the path to
this office for any of its proxies in Iraq.[2]
The only time that Iran managed to score a win, albeit short-lived, was when it
obstructed the designation of pro-U.S. MP Adnan Al-Zurfi as prime minister. But
it was forced to accept the pro-U.S. intelligence chief Mustafa Al-Kadhimi as
prime minister-designate, yet hoped that its proxies would prevent him from
fulfilling his assignment to form a cabinet by May 9, the constitutional
deadline for submitting his cabinet to parliament for approval.
However, on May 6, Iraqi lawmakers defied the odds and approved Al-Kadhimi as
Iraq's new prime minister, and also approved two-thirds of his proposed cabinet.
His appointment is a major step that ushers in the start of Iraq's independence
from a decade of Iranian hegemony.
What Brought About Iraq's National Recovery From Iranian Hegemony?
Iran's current political decline in Iraq is inextricably linked to the bold U.S.
airstrike that killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force together with Popular Mobilization Units (PMU)
deputy commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis. Both men had built and nurtured Iran's
network of Shi'ite militias in Iraq that were consolidated under the umbrella of
the Iraqi government-funded PMU.
To avenge these killings, the PMU sponsored a parliamentary resolution in
January to expel U.S troops from Iraq, and it was approved by Iraqi lawmakers.
Yet four months later, and following an anti-U.S. one-million-man march staged
by Iranian stooges, and despite minor rocket attacks launched by Iran-backed
militias against Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops, the latter maintain a strong
presence in the country.
In April, another heavy blow was dealt to Iran and its leaderless PMU, by Iraq's
Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani. Al-Sistani ordered his factions to withdraw from
the PMU and merge with the Iraqi security apparatus, giving the green light for
the dismantling of the PMU. By withdrawing these factions, Al-Sistani stripped
the PMU of the cover of legitimacy that it had leveraged when he issued his June
2014 fatwa allowing all Iraqis capable of bearing arms to join the fight against
the Islamic State (ISIS).[3]
A major factor in Iran's declining power has been the shrinking of its budget,
due to the U.S. sanctions, along with the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on oil
prices and on Iran's economy in general. All these factors further exacerbated
the collapse of Iran's economy, and impacted Iran's activity via its regional
military arms in Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon. They also created new conditions
that paved the way for Al-Kadhimi's emergence as a prime minister who could
gradually assert Iraq's national recovery from Iran in the coming months of his
tenure.[4]
Reactions By Iran And By Its Iraqi Network Of Shi'ite Militias
Despite these dramatic events, Iran's reaction was a thundering silence. None of
the Iranian military or political leaders expressed any objections to the
emerging reversal in Iraqi politics. This highlights their inability to obstruct
and stop the Iraqi political process as they had in the past. Moreover, the
official reactions of Iranian President Hassan Rohani and Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif were acceptance and willingness to fully cooperate with Al-Kadhimi
–who was being accused by the Iran-backed Iraqi Shi'ite militias of conspiring
with the U.S. to eliminate Qods Force commander Soleimani.
While Tehran officially welcomed Al-Kadhimi's appointment, Kataib Hizbullah (KH),
the most prominent of the Iran-backed Shi'ite militias in Iraq, issued a brief
communique on May 6 criticizing its own militia allies in the Iraqi parliament
for failing to stop Al-Kadhimi's appointment: "We realize the great pressure to
which the loyal group of brothers in the parliament were subjected in the vote
for the Al-Kadhimi government, but this does not excuse their responsibility to
continue to pursue those involved in the murder of our martyred leaders [Soleimani
and Al-Muhandis]."[5] This statement is much softer in tone than the group's
April 11 statement warning that Al-Kahdimi's appointment would constitute a
"declaration of war on the Iraqi people." Such a threat is even harder to carry
out now since it was KH's "brothers" in parliament who approved Al-Kahdimi's
appointment.[6]
Meanwhile, Mohammad Al-Ghaban, head of the Al-Fatah parliamentary bloc which
includes two of Iran's most loyalist factions, Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq and Badr Corps
(the latter of which he heads), issued an unexpected statement on May 7. In the
statement, which reflects a change in the bloc's position towards the U.S., he
practically acknowledged the pro-U.S. camp's victory, calling on Washington to
prioritize Iraq and help Baghdad through "these critical times." He said: "We
call on the United States not to consider the passing of the new government as a
victory for it and a loss for its opponents in Iraq and the region. Indeed, the
Iraqi political forces favored the interests of Iraq over all other
considerations."
Following the release of Al-Ghaban's statement, Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq
secretary-general Qais Al-Khazali, an Iranian loyalist, tweeted a Quranic verse:
"And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their
religion."[7] By this, he was suggesting that even though the Al-Fatah
parliamentary bloc had extended its support to Al-Kadhimi, the pro-U.S. camp
would never consider it the bloc an ally.
Populist cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr resorted to his typical double-dealing, voicing
his satisfaction with the new prime minister and at the same time noting that he
would "assess Al-Kadhimi's performance after 100 days" – likely assuming that
these statements would shield him from Iranian criticism.
Within Days, Al-Kadhimi Consolidates Power, Asserts The Independence Of Iraqi
Politics
Aware of the challenges ahead, Al-Kadhimi put forth an ambitious government
program asserting his government's pro-U.S. policy, which he had already begun
implementing in his first week in office. The program includes the following:
1. Government Structure: The Iraqi lawmakers approved 15 of the 22 ministers
proposed by Khadhimi, including his choice of pro-U.S. figures for interior and
defense ministers.[8] The new interior minister is Staff General Othman Al-Ghanimi,
an officer widely admired by U.S. and British military officers. Last year, in
his capacity as chief of staff, Al-Ghanimi was the guest of honor at the Royal
Edinburgh Military Tattoo. In the previous Iraqi governments, this post had
often gone to candidates from the Iran-backed Badr Corps and had previously been
filled by officers with close ties to the PMU. The first Iraqi citizen to
receive the U.S. Armed Forces Legion of Merit, Al-Ghanimi is also the scion of a
powerful and wealthy tribe in southern Iraq; he is not likely to be intimidated.
General Jum'a I'nad, the new Sunni defense minister, who born was in Salahuddin
province and has master's degree in military sciences, gained admiration for his
command in the fighting against ISIS in his home province.
Also significant is the number of U.S.-trained senior military officers sacked
by prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and PMU who have been brought back into
military service – obviously very objectionable to the Iranians. Among them is
General Abdul Wahab Al-Sa'di, who played a key role in defeating ISIS in Mosul;
his sacking by the previous Iraqi government was the trigger for the October
2019 protests.[9] Al-Kadhimi also promoted Al-Sa'id to head the military's
Counter Terrorism Force. Another respected military figure who has been
reinstated is Defense Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, who had
been moved to an administrative role in April.[10] Also, Al-Kadhimi's choice for
Finance Minister, Ali Allawi, was minister of trade, defense and finance after
2003 and worked for the Washington-based World Bank Group. Allawi is also
serving as the acting oil minister until this vacant post is filled by a
candidate approved by the parliament.
2. Legislation: In his first cabinet meeting, on May 9, Prime Minister Al-Khadhimi
announced that he had asked parliament to ratify the new elections law and
political parties law, aimed at meeting two key demands of the protesters. The
two laws will pave the way for the removal of the current Iran-backed elite from
the Iraqi parliament and government and will allow voters to elect independent
candidates instead.
3. Release of Protesters And Accountability: Prime Minister Al-Khadhimi ordered
the judicial and security authorities to release all protesters arrested by the
outgoing government for taking part in the demonstrations, and also ordered a
full investigation of the killing of many of protesters and for "all those who
shed Iraqi blood to be held to account," regardless of position or influence.
This means that Iran-backed militias accused of suppressing protesters will be
included in these investigations.
In this regard, on May 11, Al-Kadhimi ordered security forces in Basra to close
the headquarters of the Iran-backed Tha'ir Allah militia, whose fighters had,
the previous day, killed one protester and wounded four others.[11] According to
a statement by the Prime Minister's Office, several militiamen were arrested and
their arms and ammunition were also seized.[12]
4. Disarming Militias: In line with the previous objective, the program of Al-Kahdimi's
government includes restricting weapons to state and military institutions. In
his speech before the parliament immediately following his appointment, Al-Kadhimi
explained: "The government's authority must be restored everywhere, in
accordance with the constitution, by enforcing the exclusive right of the state
to bear arms and making sure that Iraqi territory is not used to settle accounts
or attack others."
5. The U.S Military Presence in Iraq: Following his first cabinet meeting, Al-Kadhimi
told reporters that his government had established a crisis desk, comprising
foreign affairs experts, to commence detailed preparations for the upcoming
talks with the U.S. in June on the future relationship between the two countries
and the presence of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. The talks are aimed at
preserving "Iraq's higher interests and fulfilling the aspirations of the Iraqi
people." These remarks seem to be in line with the U.S. State Department's
statements that stressed that "all strategic issues between our two countries
will be on the agenda, including the future presence of the United States forces
in that country, and how best to support an independent and sovereign Iraq."[13]
6. Expansion of Partnership with NATO: Al-Kadhimi invited NATO Secretary-General
Jens Stoltenberg to visit Baghdad "as soon as possible, to discuss ways of
increasing collaboration especially in the areas of training and support to the
security forces." This collaboration with NATO would allow U.S.-led coalition
troops to remain in Iraq under control.
7. Fighting Corruption: Al-Kadhimi's program stresses that the government will
focus on fighting corruption by promoting integration among state institutions,
to provide judges with the powers to implement necessary laws and to begin
audits of financial records of officials regardless of their influence. It also
openly stresses reactivating old corruption cases in which Iran-backed officials
in previous governments could be indicted.
8. Distancing Iraq from Iran: Al-Kahdimi's government program emphasizes that
"Iraq will not allow any country to violate its sovereignty and will not permit
its territories to be used to launch attacks on any of its neighbors or be used
as an arena to settle regional or international scores."[14] In his speech
before the parliament, Al-Kadhimi noted that Iraq is seeking "brotherly and
cooperative relations" with Arab countries, which could further distance the
country from Iran.
9. Symbolic Gestures: Al-Kadhimi made several significant gestures, including
the removal of a giant billboard depicting Soleimani and Al-Muhandis at the
entrance of Baghdad International Airport where they were killed. Notably, the
depiction of Al-Muhandis was restored yesterday, probably by members of his
militia; the depiction of Soleimani was not.
Is Iran Accepting U.S. Demands To Become A Normal State That Does Not Meddle In
Other Countries' Affairs Regionally Or Globally?
On May 9, in an unexpected show of weakness, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
marked the birthday of the second Shi'ite Imam Hassan (624-670 CE), tweeting his
praise of him and noting that Hassan had made concessions by giving power to his
enemy Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan.[15]
Khamenei chose the occasion of Imam Hassan's birthday to describe him as a hero
at a time when Iran's hegemony in Iraq is rapidly declining. He said that when
Hassan could not form a government he handed power to his rival Mu'awiya and
moved on "as a great revolutionary movement." Thus Imam Hassan acknowledged his
weakness and gave up power in order to preserve the ideology and the lives of
its followers, the Shi'a. While the tweet does not connect these events to
anything specific, this approach should be interpreted as relating to the
elements of the Iran-Iraq relationship, and reveals a new pragmatic approach
based on Iran's current weakness.
It is not unusual for Iranian leaders to use the Shi'ite heritage to convey
political messages. A well-known example is the late Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini's statement, "I drink this chalice of poison," describing his
acceptance of the ceasefire with Iraq in 1988. It is one of the most memorable
metaphors used by Iran when capitulating to pressure.
*Yigal Carmon is Founder and President of MEMRI; S. Ali is a Research Fellow at
MEMRI.
[1] Skynewsarabia.com, December 1, 2009
[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 8483, After His Call To End U.S. Military
Presence In Iraq, Adel Abdul-Mahdi Seeks To Be Reinstated As Iraq's Prime
Minister With The Support Of Pro-Iran Lawmakers, Jan 29, 2020.
[3] See MEMRI Disparch No.8648, Anti-Iran Political Forces In Iraq Move To Free
Iraq From Decade-Long Submission To Iranian Hegemony, March 19, 2020.
[4] See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1508 Is Iran Accepting Its Defeat In
Iraq?, April 20, 2020 by S. Ali.
[5] Kataibhezbollah.com, May 7, 2020.
[6] Kataibhezbollah.com, April 10, 2020.
[7] Surah Al Baqarah, verse 120
[8] Gds.gov, May 7, 2020.
[9] Rudaw.net, May 9, 2020.
[10] Twitter.com/OIRSpox, May 9, 2020.
[11] Alhurra.com, May 11, 2020.
[12] Twitter.com/IraqiPMO, May 11, 2020.
[13] State.gov/secretary-michael-r-pompeo-remarks-to-the-press-8/, April 7,
2020.
[14] Gds.gov, May 7, 2020.
[15] Twitter.com/khamenei_ir, May 9 2020.
World’s Great Online Learning Experiment
Clara Ferreira Marques/Bloomberg/May 12/2020
My son’s experience with remote learning is in many ways exceptional — but it
may also provide clues to how school systems around the world can harness the
potential of technology to improve outcomes for all students. The quality of
education students have received during this crisis has been uneven. The digital
divide, and the related homework gap, are painfully real. Wealthier parents can
afford to stay home; they are more educated and better able to support their
children; they have enough laptops, steady Wi-Fi and live in homes where there’s
a modicum of personal space. In Hong Kong, nearly 97% of less-well-off children
in a March survey by the The Society for Community Organization reported
problems with distance learning, much of it related to poor internet
connections. Even those who overcome that obstacle cannot always unlock online
opportunities without extra help.
That doesn’t mean that the greatest learning experiment in history is doomed to
fail. There’s a very real possibility we will see more disruptions, whether
driven by extreme weather or pandemics, and we can’t afford to have hundreds of
millions of children falling behind. With the right infrastructure, it’s
possible to rethink academic structures that have in many ways been unchanged
since the Victorian period, and come out with options that are more inclusive
and flexible. It won’t be cheap, but in the age of multi-trillion fiscal
stimulus, it may be the best investment we make.
Almost everyone I’ve spoken to, from head teachers to students and parents, has
expressed frustration over the abrupt switch to virtual schooling during the
current health crisis. Most institutions were ill-prepared to move to online
instruction. In part, this comes from our overoptimistic views of how easy it is
to teach and learn online. That’s not new: Radio, then television, and later
mass open online courses, were also supposed to provide high-quality free
education for all, yet haven’t quite lived up to expectations.
Distance learning comes with inherent limitations. In China, online tuition is a
500 billion yuan, or nearly $71 billion industry, but even at that size, virtual
lessons don’t make the bricks-and-mortar alternative irrelevant. Schools help
children turn into self-sufficient beings that can thrive in society. They teach
and model good study habits. They also allow parents to work, and in many
places, they mean shelter and nutritious food that is otherwise unavailable.
Physical schools played these critical roles before the pandemic, and these
functions will be even more essential after it passes.
And yet the traditional schoolroom is far from perfect, as students with
learning challenges know. It’s also unclear if the current model is the one best
suited to produce the workers of the future. Sugata Mitra, a computer
programmer-turned-educational researcher famous for his Hole in the Wall
experiments in India, argues that the current set-up is the product of an
imperial era, geared toward training human computers with neat, legible
handwriting and quick arithmetic. Our modern economy, on the other hand,
requires innovative, collaborative, problem-solving workers.