LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 03/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 04/14-21/:”Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on September 02-03/2019
IRGC, Al Qods and Hizballah chiefs plot anti-Israel drive at secret Beirut summit
Guterres Urges Restraint after Lebanon, Israel Exchange Border Fire
Hezbollah leader says 'no more red lines' after Israel border clash
Escalation Ends, but Israel-Hizbullah Tensions Remain
Hizbullah and Israel: A New War or Restraint?
Israel Flies Spy Balloon over Mays al-Jabal after Fire Flare
UNIFIL runs patrols in Maroun Ras
Aoun from Baabda: No to turning difference of opinion into dispute at the expense of the nation’s supreme interest
Baabda Hosts Economic Meeting to Address Crisis
Lebanese officials declare state of economic emergency
Kataeb Party Chief, MP Sami Gemayel reserved about Baabda economic meeting statement, calls for 'government of specialists' to implement reforms
Chehayeb: We look forward to a single history book that unites us together over the facts, no matter how hard
Iran Tanker Sought by US Now off Lebanese Coast
Foreign Ministry in response to its Turkish counterpart: Addressing the President of the Republic in this manner is rejected and condemned, Turkish Foreign Ministry ought to rectify the error
Imagine Lebanon without Hezbollah

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 02-03/2019
Erdogan’s AKP to expel ex-premier from party: Report
UN criticizes transfer of 1,600 displaced Iraqis
Iran grants Qataris visas on arrival amid close ties: Report
Israel lifts Gaza fuel restriction after calm returns
Iran Says Views Converging with France on Breaking Impasse
US would withdraw 5,000 troops from Afghanistan and close bases under peace plan
Israel Lifts Gaza Fuel Restriction after Calm Returns
Presidential Campaigns Start in Tunisia after Essebsi Death

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 02-03/2019
IRGC, Al Qods and Hizballah chiefs plot anti-Israel drive at secret Beirut summit/DEBKAfile/September 02/2019
Imagine Lebanon without Hezbollah/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arab News/September 02/2019
Erdoğan's Elections: Heads I Win, Tails You Lose/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/September 02/2019
The absent Egyptian role in Sudan/Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/September 02/2019
Johnson’s ruthless assault on Parliament/Chris Doyle/Arab News/September 02/2019
End of August: Oil had a good week, but the outlook may be less rosy/Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/September 02/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on September 02-03/2019
IRGC, Al Qods and Hizballah chiefs plot anti-Israel drive at secret Beirut summit
موقع دبيكا/انعقاد أجتماع سري في الضاحية الجنوبية من بيروت للتآمر على دولة إسرائيل شارك فيه كل من حسن نصرالله، الأمين العام لحزب اللوه قائد لواء القدس الجنرال قاسم سليماني وقائد الحرس الثوري الجنرال حسين سلامة
DEBKAfile/September 02/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/78131/%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%aa%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%b9-%d8%b3%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b6%d8%a7%d8%ad%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d9%86%d9%88%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%b1%d9%88/
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Only an extraordinary errand would have brought two top Iranian generals, IRGC chief Maj. Gen, Hossein Salami and Al Qods’ Qassem Soleimani, flying to Beirut for a secret conclave with Hizballah’s Hassan Nasrallah. But DEBKAfile reports exclusively that this is what happened on the night of Aug. 22, shortly after the thwarting of Iran’s first attempt to launch 4 killer drones into Israel from Syria. Our sources report the two key Iranian Guards generals, who were never before known to have flown out of Iran together, spent three and-a-half hours talking to the Hizballah chief before leaving the Lebanese capital as quietly as they came. The content of this singular meeting has not been established for sure by any intelligence agency, but it is generally believed to have been called as a counsel of war to set out a joint program of operations against US and Israeli Middle East targets in the coming weeks. A partial parallel may be drawn between this event and a meeting 12 years ago. On July 19, 200, Nasrallah travelled to Damascus to sit down with then Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar Assad. They met to outline a common Iranian-Hizballah-Syrian plan of action against Israel as a sequel to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war. This time, Assad was conspicuously absent from the deliberations, evidence of his decision in recent weeks to draw some distance from Tehran and deepen his cooperation with Moscow. It is also worth noting that Moscow hastened to step into the exchange of fire between Hizballah in Lebanon and the IDF on Sunday, Sept. 1, Russian commanders in Syria carried messages between the warring sides to keep the flareup in check and prevent it escalating into all-out war. This would have damaged Russian interests in Syria. This and other incidents in the region in the last 10 days were evidently the outcome of last month’s extraordinary summit in Beirut. The process they set in motion is clearly only at its outset.

Guterres Urges Restraint after Lebanon, Israel Exchange Border Fire
Naharnet/September 02/2019
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged Lebanon and Israel to maintain a ceasefire on their borders and ensure full compliance with UN Security Council resolutions. Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General, said Guterres “calls for restraint and calls on the parties to cease all acts that violate resolution 1701 and to prevent and stop hostilities.” On Sunday, Hizbullah said it destroyed an Israeli military vehicle and killed and wounded those inside. Israeli officials refuted claims by the Iranian-backed movement saying there were no casualties. Tensions have risen in the last week between Israel and Hizbullah. Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Saturday his movement had decided to respond to an alleged Israeli drone attack on the group's Beirut stronghold.

Hezbollah leader says 'no more red lines' after Israel border clash
Arab News/September 02/2019
MAROUN AL-RAS, Lebanon: Lebanon's Hezbollah leader said on Monday that while a flare-up with Israel at the border had ended, the episode had launched a "new phase" in which the Iran-backed movement no longer has red lines. In a televised speech, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the new focus, now in the hands of fighters in the field, would be on targeting Israeli drones entering Lebanon's skies. He said Hezbollah's Sunday attack had sent Israel a message that "if you attack, then all your border, your forces and your settlements" will be at risk. The Lebanon-Israel border area was quiet on Monday, after Iran-backed Hezbollah and the Israeli army exchanged cross-border fire on Sunday. Israel’s military said anti-tank missiles from Lebanon targeted an army base and vehicles. It responded with fire into southern Lebanon, after a week of growing tension raised fears of a new war with long-time enemy Hezbollah. Hezbollah said its fighters destroyed an Israeli military vehicle, killing and wounding those inside. Israel said there were no casualties. Following the cross-border fire, the Israel army resumed its excavation work and lifted the dirt mounds near the Wazzani parks in Nabatieh’s Marjeyoun district, Lebanon state news agency, NNA reported. Three dust trucks were also transported to the southern side of the occupied Syrian village of Ghajar. Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006 after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid, but neither side seems eager for another conflict now. Reuters witnesses on the Lebanese side of the border said all was quiet on Monday morning. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the UN peacekeeping force on the frontier, was seen patrolling the border. The Israeli shelling into Lebanon stopped at 6pm local time on Sunday, Lebanese state media said. The UN peacekeeping force on the frontier said calm had returned to the region at night. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said it had urged both sides to “exercise utmost restraint to prevent any further escalation.”(With Reuters)

Escalation Ends, but Israel-Hizbullah Tensions Remain
Naharnet/September 02/2019
An escalation between Israel and Hezbollah has ended after a brief exchange of fire, but tensions remained high along the Lebanese border Monday after a series of accusations from the two enemies. Burnt fields could be seen in the border area and a new military checkpoint was set up outside the Israeli community of Avivim. Schools were however open and residents were returning to normal activity in Avivim, from where the Lebanese town of Maroun al-Ras is clearly visible on a nearby hill. "The war can start in a minute. I am worried it could happen," Dudu Peretz, 35, said as he was dropping his son off at kindergarten. Sunday's incident -- which caused no casualties -- followed a week of rising tensions that included what Hezbollah described as an Israeli drone attack on its Beirut stronghold on August 25. Israel has not acknowledged that attack but subsequently accused Hezbollah of working with Iran in Lebanon to produce precision-guided missiles. Hezbollah had warned of retaliation, and on Sunday it fired up to three anti-tank missiles from Lebanon at an Israeli battalion headquarters near Avivim and at a vehicle Israel said was a military ambulance. Israel retaliated with around 100 artillery shells targeting the squad that fired the missiles. Hezbollah issued a statement soon afterward saying it had destroyed an Israeli military vehicle and killed and wounded those inside. Israel's military later refuted the claim, saying no one was injured, but Israeli media reported that a ruse may have contributed to Hezbollah's statement.
Decoy operation?
According to the reports, Israel's military staged an evacuation of two supposedly injured soldiers who were not in fact wounded in order to deescalate the situation. The thinking was that Hezbollah could expect a major response from Israel if soldiers were wounded and would stop its assault, according to the reports. Israel's military declined to comment on the reports. It appeared neither side wanted a prolonged escalation. After the exchange of fire began, Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri contacted senior US and French officials to urge their countries and the international community to intervene. The UN called for restraint and France said it had made "multiple contacts" to avert further fire. The United States voiced concern while noting it "fully supports Israel's right to self defence." Israel had been on alert for a response from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite movement backed by Iran. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Saturday his movement had decided to respond to the alleged Israeli drone attack. The pre-dawn August 25 attack involved two drones -- one exploded and caused damage to a Hezbollah-run media centre and another crashed without detonating due to technical failure. The incident came hours after Israel had launched strikes in Syria to prevent what it said was an impending Iranian drone attack on its territory. Hezbollah says two of its members were killed in that strike. A source connected to Hezbollah called Sunday's missiles a response to those deaths and said a reaction to the alleged drone attack would take place in the air.
- 'Used to it' -
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets in neighbouring Syria since the civil war began there in 2011. It has pledged to prevent its arch-foe Iran from entrenching itself militarily in Syria. Iran and Hezbollah, along with Russia, have backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict. But a drone attack by Israel inside Lebanon would mark a departure -- what Nasrallah had called the first such "hostile action" since a 2006 war between them. Sunday's escalation came ahead of Israel's September 17 election. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen as wanting to avoid a major conflict before the vote, but he has also warned that Israel was "prepared for any scenario." Shlomi Flax, head of the emergency team in Yiron, another Israeli community near the Lebanese border, said he was concerned but felt the military was prepared. "We have zero minutes to go to the shelters," he said.  "We are so close to the border the army can't notify us with a siren. But we are used to it."

Hizbullah and Israel: A New War or Restraint?
Naharnet/September 02/2019
Lebanon's Hizbullah movement and Israel traded cross-border fire on Sunday, in a spat that came after a week of heightened tensions between the two rivals. Are both sides heading towards a repeat of a deadly 2006 war or was the latest carefully weighted exchange a sign they will step back from all-out conflict? Analysts lean towards the latter but warn that Israel and Hizbullah don't hold all the cards.
Border flare-up?
Hizbullah on Sunday said it destroyed a military vehicle in northern Israel. Israel's army said it responded with around 100 artillery shells. Israeli officials refuted Hizbullah claims that it had killed and wounded those inside the military vehicle, saying there were no casualties. The episode came amid soaring tensions after Israel targeted Hizbullah with an air strike in Syria on August 24, which the Iran-backed group said killed two of its members. Hizbullah also accused Israel of conducting a separate drone attack hours later in its southern Beirut stronghold, an incident it described as the most serious attack on Lebanon since the 2006 conflict. Hizbullah said the unit behind Sunday's attack on northern Israel was named after its two militants killed in the Syria strike. "This is a clear message that this is a response to the attack in Syria... and not a response to the (Beirut) drone attack," said Hizbullah expert Amal Saad.
"It was definitely a very calculated, contained and I would call it a responsible response," she told AFP. The response she said "takes care of not escalating the situation and safeguards Lebanon" from an all-out conflict. Hizbullah's number two Naim Qassem in an interview with Russia Today last week played down talk of a fresh war. "The atmosphere is an atmosphere of response to an aggression," he said.
Incident closed?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after Sunday's attack that his government was mulling the next steps: "I have ordered that we be prepared for any scenario."Experts expect tensions to ease off, at least temporarily. Saad said Hizbullah may be planning a separate response to the Beirut drone attack "further down the line", saying it may be "low key". "I don't think it would be the kind of attack that would ignite a war by any means," she said. An official close to Hizbullah told AFP that the second part of the retaliation "will be aerial and confront Israeli drones". Analyst Karim Bitar said he would expect the tit-for-tat to end here if was up to Hizbullah and Israel.  "There is no real interest among the two parties for a rapid escalation," he said. But a de-escalation is contingent on the state of affairs between Hizbullah and Israel's respective main allies, Tehran and Washington. "The Trump administration's policy of maximum pressure on Tehran not only aims to weaken the Iranian economy, but also aims to crush Iran's wings by weakening its regional partners in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon," Bitar said. Another element of concern is Israel's September 17 election, Bitar said. "The history of the last 20 years shows that election periods are sometimes conducive to flare-ups," he said.
Balance of deterrence?
In 2006, after the killing and abduction of Israeli soldiers by Shiite militant group Hizbullah, Israel launched a devastating offensive in Lebanon.The 33-day war killed 1,200 Lebanese -- mostly civilians -- and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Israel has since carried out hundreds of strikes against Hizbullah targets in Syria, where the Iran-backed party has deployed thousands of fighters since 2013 to help the regime battle rebels and jihadists. Israel killed senior Hizbollah figures in separate attacks in 2015. In both cases, the Shiite goup responded with border attacks. Analysts and Hezbullah's number two Naim Qassem himself, speaking to the movement TV channel, said Sunday's attack was aimed at maintaining "a balance of deterrence". "Hizbullah firmly believes that any response is a move that is actually preventing war," Amal Saad said. Hizbullah, which has grown into Iran's most powerful regional proxy, wields huge influence in Lebanese politics and its military might is said to outstrip the state's. Israel's military capabilities, which include cutting-edge technology and a fleet of the world's most advanced fighter jets, are vastly superior. But reports that Hizbullah is acquiring precision-guided missiles with Iran's help are raising alarm across the border.

Israel Flies Spy Balloon over Mays al-Jabal after Fire Flare
Naharnet/September 02/2019
Israel sent a “spy balloon” on Monday over the border town of Mays al-Jabal one day after a border flare between Hizbullah and Israel sent security concerns high, the National News Agency reported. NNA said “Israel launched early Monday a spy hot air balloon near al-Assi area over Mays al-Jabal village close to the borders of the occupied territories.”Israel and Hizbullah exchanged fire on Sunday along the Lebanese border after a week of rising tensions, sparking fears of an escalation and prompting concern from world powers.

UNIFIL runs patrols in Maroun Ras
NNA -Mon 02 Sep 2019
The United Nations Interim Force in Southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) is currently conducting military patrols to search for cluster bombs near the agricultural and secondary roads in the Maroun al-Ras area, which was subjected to artillery shelling by the Israeli enemy yesterday, NNA said.

Aoun from Baabda: No to turning difference of opinion into dispute at the expense of the nation’s supreme interest
NNA - NNA -Mon 02 Sep 2019
President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, stressed at the opening of the political-economic meeting in Baabda Palace today the need not to turn the differences of opinion and perspectives between various sides in the country into a dispute that would hinder the country’s national interests. "The prevailing economic and financial conditions necessitate that we all transcend our political or personal differences, and that we do not turn our differences of opinion into disputes at the expense of the supreme national interest," he said. "Our people expect us, as the international community, to reach effective solutions to the economic and financial conditions we are experiencing in the country, so that we can move on to the phases of stability and growth, avoiding the worst,” the President emphasized. Addressing the cabinet ministers, parliamentary bloc heads and economic and financial figures attending the meeting, Aoun said: "Let me first welcome you to Baabda Palace, and express my optimism towards the positive outcome expected from this uniting national meeting.”
He added: “In light of this hope we begin our meeting, through which we wish to erase the harmful accumulations of the past and establish a new stage that will restore to our society confidence and faith in a brighter tomorrow, and to our nation its presence and status in its surroundings and the world at large. "
"Sacrifice, of course, is required of us all, but the process of rebuilding confidence in our institutions and our performance and changing the prevailing pattern that has proved its failure, remains the cornerstone for the advancement of our country and achieving our citizens’ aspirations,” Aoun asserted.
"We are all responsible and trustworthy of the rights, future, security and livelihood of the Lebanese. We must, therefore, unite our efforts to come up with viable solutions to the economic crisis that is stifling the dreams of our people," he maintained. The President outlined the main goals behind the Baada encounter today, namely to assess together the possible formulas that can be executed to address the country’s pressing needs, and to find a set of steps and responsible, objective measures that would lead to the start of the recovery stage, veering the state away from the much-feared deterioration threatening its economic and social stability.
“We must take steps to complement the decisions of the 2019 budget, in terms of strengthening the state's finances and reducing its deficit, and of course pave the way for the adoption of the 2020 budget at its constitutional date, taking into account the situation of the underprivileged classes in our society,” Aoun underlined. It is to note that the economic meeting at Baabda Presidential Palace, which began around 3:00 o'clock this afternoon, was preceded by a closed encounter between President Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and House Speaker Nabih Berri. Attending the wider meeting were: “Al-Azem Movement” Bloc Chief, MP Najib Mikati; “Strong Lebanon” Bloc Head, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil; Progressive Socialist Party Chief, former Minister and MP Walid Jumblatt; “Marada Movement” Chief, former Minister and MP Sleiman Franjieh; Lebanese Forces Party Chief, Samir Geagea; “Mountain Guarantee” Bloc Head, MP Talal Arslan; “Loyalty to Resistance" Bloc Head, MP Mohammed Raad; Syrian Social Nationalist Party Chief, MP Asaad Hardan; Tashnaq Party Head, MP Agop Paqradounian; Kataeb Party Chief, MP Sami Gemayel; and Representative of the Consultative Gathering, MP Jihad al-Samad.
The meeting was also attended by the Ministers of Finance and Economy, Ali Hassan Khalil and Mansour Bteich, who briefed the conferees on the country’s prevailing financial and economic status, alongside State Minister for Presidency Affairs Salim Jreissati, Central Bank Governor Riyad Salameh, Banks Association President Salim Sfeir, Republic Presidency Director General Antoine Choucair and Advisor to PM Hariri, Hazar Caracalla.

Baabda Hosts Economic Meeting to Address Crisis
Naharnet/September 02/2019
President Michel Aoun urged Lebanon’s officials, party leaders and bankers to help salvage Lebanon from an economic collapse, one day after a border fire flare between Hizbullah and Israel. Aoun who chaired an economic meeting at Baabda said all Lebanese officials and partisans must overcome their differences in order for Lebanon to cross into safety. “Economic and monetary conditions compel us all to rise above political and personal differences in order not to transform a conflict in opinion, into a conflict at the expense of the higher interest of the nation,” said Aoun at the opening of the meeting. “We have to take decisions complimentary of the 2019 state budget that enhance the State’s finances, trim down the deficit and pave way for 2020 state budget approval,” he added. Lebanon’s ministers, party leaders, parliamentary bloc heads convened at Baabda Palace on Monday to lay specific economic foundations to address Lebanon’s problematic economic situation. Chaired by Aoun, the meeting was attended by many including Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh, Kataeb chief Sami Gemayel, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and many other ministers and officials.

Lebanese officials declare state of economic emergency
Arab News/September 02/2019
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s political leaders declared what they called an economic state of emergency Monday following a meeting aimed at finding a solution to the country’s economic crisis, raising concerns that more taxes will be imposed. Lebanon has one of the world’s highest public debts in the world, standing at 150 percent of gross domestic product. Growth has plummeted and budget deficit reached 11 percent of GDP as economic activities slowed and remittances from Lebanese living abroad shrank. The government hopes to bring down the budget deficit to 7.6 percent of the GDP this year and to 6.5 percent in 2020. The meeting at the presidential palace discussed measures to be taken in the near future and as part of the 2020 draft budget.Prime Minister Saad Hariri told reporters after the meeting that the leaders have agreed on “declaring an economic state of emergency” and the formation of a committee that will follow on the situation. Hariri added that employment in the public sector will be frozen and work will begin for a new retirement system. He said officials will work on reducing the percentage of the debt through partnership between the public and private sectors. President Michel Aoun said in a speech at the opening of the one-day session that everyone should make “sacrifices” in order to get one of the world’s most indebted countries out of its problems. “We have to unite our efforts to come out with solutions to the economic crisis that is strangling the dreams and hopes of our people,” Aoun said.
No official details about the expected measures have been made public but economists who took part in preparatory talks for Monday’s meeting said they included raising tax on gasoline, boosting the value added tax from 11 percent to 15 percent on luxury items, as well as fighting tax evasion.
The meeting came 10 days after international ratings agency Fitch downgraded Lebanon’s ratings and as tensions on the border with Israel increased in recent days. Hezbollah on Sunday fired a barrage of anti-tank missiles in retaliation for an airstrike that targeted the group in Syria and an alleged Israeli drone attack south of Beirut late last month. The recent developments have led for the first time in years for the US dollar to reach 1,560 Lebanese pounds on the black market, compared with the 1,500 that has been fixed since 1997. Hariri vowed that the peg of the Lebanese pound to the American currency will remain in place. Corruption-plagued Lebanon suffers from one of the world’s highest debt ratios, high unemployment and little growth. In July, Lebanon’s parliament ratified a controversial austerity budget that aims to save the indebted economy. Last month, Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings maintained its long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings, saying the country’s outlook remains negative. The agency is scheduled to issue new ratings within six months. Hariri said Lebanon has a period of six months to act and it is better “that we not become like states that collapsed.” In January, Moody’s downgraded Lebanon’s issuer ratings to Caa1 from B3 while changing the outlook to stable from negative.

Kataeb Party Chief, MP Sami Gemayel reserved about Baabda economic meeting statement, calls for 'government of specialists' to implement reforms
NNA – Mon 02 Sep 2019
Kataeb Party Chief, MP Sami Gemayel, declared on emerging from the Baabda economic meeting this evening that "due to the critical nature of our present conditions, we expected more drastic measures and bolder steps.”“There are good and appealing headlines, but they keep repeating the same symphony we have been talking about for the past four years, while nothing is implemented,” he said. Therefore, Gemayel expressed his Party’s reservation towards the content of the statement to follow the Baabda meeting. “There are key steps, including controlling illegal crossings and taking a firm decision to send the army to close them and cancel all fake contracts to save the state’s wasted money, in addition to abolishing the illusory employment that has occurred since 2017 to-date,” Gemayel indicated. "We hoped that these steps would be speedily adopted, yet those who have failed to carry out reform in the past period are doubted to be able to do so at any time,” he maintained. Gemayel, hence, emphasized the need for a “government of specialists to implement these reforms, since the authority has no capacity to do so.”He added: “We did not stall the meeting, but we expressed our reservations about the content of the statement which will be issued following the meeting, and we hope that they will implement part of what will be announced." Over the possibility of imposing new taxes, Gemayel said: "We absolutely rejected any new taxes.” He added that assurances were made that no such taxes will be imposed, hoping that no there would be no “surprise” in this respect!

Chehayeb: We look forward to a single history book that unites us together over the facts, no matter how hard
NNA - Mon 02 Sep 2019 Higher Education Minister, Akram Chehayeb, tweeted Monday saying, "With the start of the centenary of the declaration of the Greater Lebanon State, we look forward to the completion of a unified history book that would bring the Lebanese together in agreement over the facts, no matter how difficult, so that we can build on what is mutual, while deriving lessons and morals from the cruel stages in our joint history."

Iran Tanker Sought by US Now off Lebanese Coast
Associated Press/Naharnet/September 02/2019
An Iranian oil tanker pursued by the U.S. that has been traveling across the Mediterranean Sea is now off the coast of Tripoli in northern Lebanon. The ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.com showed the Adrian Darya 1 moving slowly just outside the Lebanese territorial waters, after it had stood off the coast of Syria a day earlier. The ship's Automatic Identification System does not show its destination after its mariners onboard previously listed it as ports in Greece and Turkey. Turkey's foreign minister at one point suggested it would go to Lebanon, something denied by Lebanese officials. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later claimed that it was bound for a refinery in Syria. The U.S. has warned countries not to accept the Adrian Darya, which carries 2.1 million barrels of crude oil worth some $130 million.

Foreign Ministry in response to its Turkish counterpart: Addressing the President of the Republic in this manner is rejected and condemned, Turkish Foreign Ministry ought to rectify the error
NNA – Mon 02 Sep 2019
In an issued statement Monday by the Lebanese Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Ministry, it deplored the statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry in response to President Michel Aoun’s address marking the start of the first centenary of the declaration of the “State of Greater Lebanon”.
The statement affirmed that “the President’s speech included a factual narrative of some of the historical events that Lebanon faced under the Ottoman rule, and which were overcome by the Turkish and Lebanese peoples, who are looking forward to the best political and economic bilateral relations in the future.” “What brings the two countries together is far more than what divides them, and the common challenges require mutual work and not division,” the Foreign Ministry maintained. “It is important for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants to emphasize that addressing His Excellency, the President of the Republic in this manner is unacceptable and denounced, whereby the Turkish Foreign Ministry ought to correct the error, especially that the Turkish-Lebanese relations are deeper and greater than an exaggerated, out-of-place reaction,” the statement asserted.
The Foreign Ministry concluded by indicating that it “will follow up on the required measures to correct the error in diplomatic terms and prevent any damage to relations between the two countries.”

Imagine Lebanon without Hezbollah
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arab News/September 02/2019
I think there is a group of people who still believe the lies Hezbollah and its leader spout to justify using Lebanon in this week’s attack against Israel. At the same time, I doubt there are any people, even from within this group, who agree with Hezbollah’s actions and the damage the group causes Lebanon while using excuses that no longer convince anyone.
Hezbollah has given years of ethnic, patriotic and religious excuses, from the liberation of the south to the protection of religious places and the Syrian Shebaa Farms. Because of Hezbollah, Lebanon is beleaguered internationally in its financial transactions and trade and tourism, while nationally it is held captive and controlled, from the airport to the house of government. The price of the damage every Lebanese has paid and is still paying is easily calculated. The salary of a qualified engineer in Lebanon is way less than $24,000 per year, which is about a quarter of an engineer’s salary elsewhere, and the same goes for doctors, farmers and cab drivers. Beirut’s small airport accommodates fewer than 9 million travelers per year, while in Dubai, where the population does not exceed even half of Lebanon’s, the airport accommodates more than 70 million travelers per year. While the UK’s Port of Dover deals with up to 13 million passengers per year, Beirut’s port is visited by only 9,000 passengers each year.
Moreover, Lebanese citizens lack basic services, including health care, electricity and municipal services, such as roads and sanitation, among many others. The main cause is the presence of the armed party of Hezbollah, though the blame usually falls on politicians, who do not dare blame Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is the only cause of the state’s low income and political bullying, presenting the armed militias under the pretext of resistance. When late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri rebuilt Beirut International Airport, Hezbollah and the Syrian regime waged a relentless campaign against him, accusing him of corruption because he built an airport that exceeded the country’s needs; the final construction plan was set to accommodate up to 35 million travelers per year. The bullying ended with Hariri’s assassination, only four months after the opening of the airport. The operation of impoverishing the country is ongoing, and the aim is to prevent any other party from taking independent decisions regarding the state under its control and becoming stronger than Hezbollah and its men.
Millions of tourists from all around the world do not visit Lebanon, which is supposed to be the top destination in the region, as most governments have added Lebanon to their warning lists. It is not hard to understand the damage caused to Lebanon’s 6 million people by Hezbollah’s presence as an armed militia. However, it is harder to understand those who are still supporting Hezbollah today, echoing its resistance claims against Israel and justifying its arms and daily defiance of the state and its authorities. All other front-line states have signed peace agreements with Israel: Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and even Syria, with the Agreement on Disengagement, which is why it used Hezbollah to carry out its heroic acts on behalf of Lebanon.
Millions of tourists from all around the world do not visit Lebanon, which is supposed to be the top destination in the region, as most governments have added Lebanon to their warning lists. And the only reason is Hezbollah. The poverty of Lebanese citizens, the immigration of millions of others, and the influx of Syrian refugees are all caused by Hezbollah. The weakness of the state and its poor services are also caused by Hezbollah. Hezbollah is the cause of the Lebanese lira’s depreciation, the low wages and the high unemployment rate. There was a time when each qualified person could have found a job with double the wages received by their counterparts in the region. Israel is not the problem, Hezbollah is. If Lebanon’s politicians do not address this problem, the country will not come out from the hole dug for it by Iran and its proxy. Hezbollah’s followers and fans can still preserve it, while preserving Lebanon at the same time, by forcing it to disarm and become a civil political party. Otherwise, more painful decisions are on the way.  Finally, I would only like to say: Imagine Beirut, and all of Lebanon, without Hezbollah.
*Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a veteran columnist. He is the former general manager of Al Arabiya news channel, and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat. Twitter: @aalrashed

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 02-03/2019
Erdogan’s AKP to expel ex-premier from party: Report
AFP, Istanbul/ Tuesday, 3 September 2019
The executive committee of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party on Monday unanimously agreed to send former premier and party member Ahmet Davutoglu to a disciplinary board for dismissal, local media reported. The decision came after a nearly five-hour meeting of the central executive committee of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) chaired by Erdogan, the Hurriyet newspaper reported on its website. A leading AKP figure who served both as foreign minister and prime minister, Davutoglu has recently accused the party of deviating from its core principles. His criticism included the party’s insistence on a rerun of the Istanbul vote after the AKP lost the city to the opposition in March local elections, as well as the removal of three mayors in eastern Turkey on terror-related claims. The party’s move to expel the ex-premier comes as other former allies have fallen out with Erdogan including former president Abdullah Gul and former deputy prime minister Ali Babacan - both founding AKP members. Babacan quit the party in July citing “deep differences” over policy and said Turkey was in need of a “new vision.”
He is expected to launch a new political party.

UN criticizes transfer of 1,600 displaced Iraqis
AFP, Baghdad/ Monday, 2 September 2019
The United Nations on Monday criticized Iraqi authorities for transferring around 1,600 people from camps to their areas of origin, saying the returns could put them in danger. The returnees, who fled violence during and after ISIS group’s 2014 seizure of swathes of Iraq, had sought refuge at displacement camps in the northern province of Nineweh. Since August 23, Iraqi authorities have bussed about 300 families, an estimated 1,600 people, from the three camps to their provinces of origin.
The transfers took place despite humanitarian groups’ concerns that the families had no homes or access to services and may be targeted by their home communities for perceived links to ISIS, a terrorist group. The UN said Monday returnees had “expressed fears that they would be threatened upon their return, and had reportedly received threatening phone calls from community members in their areas of origin warning against return.” “Despite such concerns, security actors confiscated the (displaced people’s) civil identification, informing the families that their documents would only be returned once they boarded the convoy,” it said in a statement. More than 1.6 million people remain displaced in camps, unfinished structures or rented apartments across Iraq, nearly two years after the country declared victory over ISIS. The government has stressed its policy is for all those displaced to return home and for camps to be shut. Last week, AFP journalists witnessed transfers from the Hammam al-Alil camp in Nineweh province of hundreds of Iraqis originally from Kirkuk, further south. Women and children, some of them crying, were loaded onto buses by security forces. Some said they did not know where they were being taken. The transfers often happened “with little notice or apparent planning,” the UN’s Iraq humanitarian coordinator, Marta Ruedas, said on Monday. “I am concerned about the lack of organization and advanced communication with affected communities and humanitarian partners,” she said.
In some cases, the UN said, security forces denied families entry to camps in their home provinces, displacing them a second time. In the worst case of violence against returnees so far, three hand grenades were thrown into the Basateen camp in Iraq’s Salahaddin governorate on Sunday, a day after the arrival of 150 displaced families from Nineweh. “The grenades caused no damage, injuries or casualties (but) are a cause of great concern for the safety of the camp residents,” the UN said.
Other rights groups have already sounded the alarm, including Amnesty International, which has called the returns “premature” and urged Iraqi authorities to halt them immediately. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) called on the government to double down on reconciliation efforts to heal lingering resentment from the fight against ISIS.

Iran grants Qataris visas on arrival amid close ties: Report
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Monday, 2 September 2019
Iran has granted Qataris visas on arrival access, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, citing an official source at the Qatari Foreign Ministry’s Department of Consular Affairs. The source added that Qatari nationals can obtain a single or multiple-entry visa from Iran’s embassy in Doha, to avoid occasional delays at the arrival airport in case of crowding of passengers at the visa office there, reported Mehr. Qatar has increased its ties with Iran since 2016, when the Arab Quartet of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, and the UAE began their boycott of the island nation. Qatar has been accused of hosting members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as funding and promoting terrorism. To visit Qatar, Iranian nationals can obtain a business visa on arrival if they have proof of a hotel booking and return ticket, a credit card or at least 5000 Qatari riyals in cash, and an invitation letter from a company certified by the Qatari government. Otherwise, Iranians can apply online for a visa before arrival. The two countries have recently increased their economic ties, with Iranian exports to Qatar almost tripling and providing a lifeline for the country’s economy. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said the country is willing to cooperate with Qatar on construction projects for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, according to reports from Iran’s official IRNA news agency. Rouhani made his comments in a phone call with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on August 25, 2019, reported IRNA. Iran is currently suffering from the effects of US sanctions as part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” policy, aimed at sanctioning Iran in response to the country’s refusal to stop promoting terrorism and proxy groups across the region.

Israel lifts Gaza fuel restriction after calm returns
AFP, JERUSALEM/Monday, 2 September 2019
Israel has lifted a restriction on fuel delivered to Gaza for electricity, a defense official said on Monday, a week after cutting the flow by half over a series of violent incidents. Israeli defense ministry unit COGAT announced on August 26 it was halving the amount of fuel allowed into Gaza from its territory, after three rockets were fired at the Jewish state the day before. Israel responded with air strikes against the Gaza Strip’s ruling Hamas movement. A series of other violent incidents in August preceded that. A further round occurred on August 27, when Gaza militants fired a mortar round across the border and an Israeli aircraft struck a Hamas post in northern Gaza in response. There have not been projectile launches from Gaza since. A defense official told AFP that the fuel restriction had been removed on Sunday. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008 and fears of a fourth remain.Israel maintains a crippling blockade of Gaza it says is necessary to isolate Hamas and keep it from obtaining weapons, but which critics label collective punishment.

Iran Says Views Converging with France on Breaking Impasse
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 02/2019
Iran said Monday its views have been converging with those of France on ways to save a nuclear deal at risk of unravelling since the US withdrew last year. Government spokesman Ali Rabiei also suggested President Hassan Rouhani could meet US counterpart Donald Trump if it served Iran's interests, while cautioning there was no need to meet an "agitator" in the current circumstances. Rouhani has had a series of phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron in recent weeks aimed at salvaging the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. The French leader has been trying to convince the United States to offer Iran some sort of relief from sanctions it has imposed on the Islamic republic since pulling out of the deal in May last year. "In the past few weeks, there have been serious negotiations" between Rouhani and Macron, as well as talks with other European nations, said Rabiei. "Fortunately, in many areas, our views have come closer together," the government spokesman told a news conference. Tehran and Washington have been at loggerheads since Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the nuclear accord and began reimposing crippling sanctions on Iran. The arch-foes were on the cusp of confrontation in June when Tehran downed a US drone and Trump ordered retaliatory strikes on Iran before cancelling them at the last minute. The situation has calmed down somewhat since, with Macron expressing hopes during a G7 summit in late August of organising a meeting between Rouhani and Trump.
- Credit line -
Rouhani has played down the likelihood of a meeting, saying the Americans first needed to lift all sanctions against Iran. But his government's spokesman hinted on Monday that such a meeting could still happen if it suited Iran's interests.
"The president (Rouhani) still holds the same position that because of national interests, if he's sure that meeting someone will help our people, he will not hold back," Rabiei said, quoted by state news agency IRNA. "In my opinion, the US president's goal for meeting Iran's president is one thing and ours is another. The US president's goal is more for domestic reasons, while we aim to return to what is our right and has been neglected." He cautioned that "there is no reason for the president to meet an agitator and an economic terrorist in the current situation", according to IRNA. Iran has hit back with countermeasures in response to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, which gave it relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its atomic programme. It has been threatening to take a third step in reducing its commitments to the deal, reportedly on Friday, after already increasing its uranium enrichment and stockpile. A conservative Iranian lawmaker said Macron had proposed offering Iran a $15-billion line of credit on condition it returns to the fold. "Macron has proposed Iran stop its third step for now in exchange for this sum, and maybe retreat from its first and second steps to the initial situation," said Ali Motahari, quoted late Sunday by Tasnim news agency.

US would withdraw 5,000 troops from Afghanistan and close bases under peace plan
Arab News/September 02/2019
KABUL: The United States would withdraw almost 5,000 troops from Afghanistan and close five bases within 135 days under a draft peace accord agreed with the Taliban, the chief US negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad said on Monday. The deal, reached after months of negotiations with representatives from the insurgent movement, must still be approved by US President Donald Trump before it can be signed, Khalilzad said in an interview with Tolo News television. “In principle, we have got there,” he said. “The document is closed.” In exchange for the phased withdrawal, the Taliban would commit not to allow Afghanistan to be used by militant groups such as Al-Qaeda or Daesh to plot attacks on the United States and its allies. However the distance that must still be covered before peace is achieved was underlined by a large explosion that rocked the Afghan capital Kabul even as Khalilzad’s interview was being aired, shaking buildings several kilometers away. Khalilzad, a veteran Afghan-American diplomat said the aim of the deal was to end the war and he said it would lead to a reduction in violence but there was no formal cease-fire agreement. It would be up to negotiations among Afghans themselves to agree a settlement, he said. He declined to say how long the remainder of the roughly 14,000 US troops would remain in Afghanistan after the first stage of the withdrawal although Taliban officials have previously insisted that all foreign forces must leave. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has been briefed on a draft of the accord and will look at details of the deal before giving an opinion, his spokesman said on Monday. Khalilzad said so-called “intra-Afghan” talks, which might be held in Norway, would aim to reach a broader political settlement and end the fighting between the Taliban and the Western-backed government in Kabul.
However details of any future negotiations remain unclear, with the Taliban so far refusing to deal directly with the government, which it considers an illegitimate “puppet” regime. Ghani met Khalilzad and will “study and assess” details of the draft, spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told reporters earlier on Monday. “But for us, a meaningful peace or a path to a meaningful peace is the end of violence and direct negotiation with the Taliban,” he said. Presidential elections, scheduled for Sept. 28 in which Ghani is seeking re-election to a second five-year term, were not covered in the agreement, Khalilzad said. Many Afghan government officials have resented the exclusion of the government from the US-Taliban talks, an issue that was underlined when Ghani was not allowed to keep a text of the draft agreement after it was shown to him. Khalilzad, who has completed nine rounds of talks with Taliban representatives, is scheduled to hold meetings with a number of Afghan leaders in Kabul this week to build a consensus before the deal is signed. The peace talks have taken place against a backdrop of relentless violence, even before Monday’s blast in Kabul, with the Taliban mounting two large-scale attacks on the major northern cities of Kunduz and Pul-e Khumri at the weekend. Afghan security forces pushed back Taliban fighters from both cities but a suicide bomber detonated his explosives on Monday in Kunduz, killing at least six policemen and wounding 15, officials and the Taliban said.
Trump has made little secret of his desire to bring the roughly 14,000 troops home from Afghanistan, where American troops have been deployed since a US-led campaign overthrew the Taliban in 2001. But there are concerns among Afghan officials and US national security aides about a US withdrawal, with fears Afghanistan could be plunged into a new civil war that could herald a return of Taliban rule and allow international militants, including Daesh, to find a refuge.

Israel Lifts Gaza Fuel Restriction after Calm Returns
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 02/2019
Israel has lifted a restriction on fuel delivered to Gaza for electricity, a defence official said Monday, a week after cutting the flow by half over a series of violent incidents. Israeli defence ministry unit COGAT announced on August 26 it was halving the amount of fuel allowed into Gaza from its territory, after three rockets were fired at the Jewish state the day before. Israel responded with air strikes against the Gaza Strip's ruling Hamas movement. A series of other violent incidents in August preceded that. A further round occurred on August 27, when Gaza militants fired a mortar round across the border and an Israeli aircraft struck a Hamas post in northern Gaza in response. There have not been projectile launches from Gaza since. A defence official told AFP that the fuel restriction had been removed on Sunday. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008 and fears of a fourth remain. Israel maintains a crippling blockade of Gaza it says is necessary to isolate Hamas and keep it from obtaining weapons, but which critics label collective punishment. Under an informal agreement brokered last year, the Jewish state was expected to ease restrictions in exchange for calm but Hamas has since accused Israel of not fully abiding by the agreement. Fuel deliveries, which are coordinated with the United Nations and paid for by Gulf state Qatar, were part of that truce agreement. The Gaza Strip suffers from electricity shortages and the Qatari fuel has boosted public power to around 10 hours a day, up from as little as four.

Presidential Campaigns Start in Tunisia after Essebsi Death
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 02/2019
Campaigning for Tunisia's presidential elections opened Monday with 26 candidates vying to replace late leader Beji Caid Essebsi in a vote seen as vital to defending democratic gains in the cradle of the Arab Spring. Seven million Tunisians are expected to head to the ballot box in the September 15 poll, which was brought forward from November following Essebsi's death in July. He had been elected in the wake of the 2011 uprising that overthrew former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and set off revolts in many Arab countries that forced other veteran leaders out. Tunisia has been praised as a rare case of democratic transition after the Arab Spring, and Essebsi in 2014 became the country's first democratically elected president. But the North African country has struggled with repeated jihadist attacks, along with inflation and unemployment that have hit the popularity of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed. The election comes as Tunisia has been wracked by internal conflict, including struggles between Chahed and the late president's son that led the premier to quit the ruling Nidaa Tounes party and form Tahia Tounes. Launched at the start of the year, Tahia Tounes has become the second largest party in parliament behind the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party.Aged 43, Chahed is the country's youngest prime minister and has delegated his powers to the public services minister to devote himself to the election campaign. He faces competition from a slew of candidates, including interim parliamentary speaker Abdelfattah Mourou, of Ennahdha, as well as former defence minister Abdelkrim Zbidi. Another powerful opponent could be media magnate Nabil Karoui, who despite his arrest on August 23 for alleged money laundering is still eligible to run according to Tunisian law.
'Everything is possible'
"It is the first time that Tunisians have no idea who will become their president," according to the Tunis-based Joussour think tank. Joussour noted there were only two frontrunners in the last election in 2014 -- Essebsi and former president Moncef Marzouki. "Now everything is possible," it said. Chahed launched his overseas campaign Saturday in the French city of Lyon, casting himself as a human rights defender. Some 1.2 million Tunisians live overseas, mainly in Europe. "We hope to speak with Tunisians to explain to them... our vision for a stronger Tunisia, a more modern and developed Tunisia, and a Tunisia that truly believes in the universal values of human rights," he told AFP ahead of a campaign meeting. He also denied accusations from Karoui backers that he had masterminded the arrest of the controversial media magnate. "I had nothing to do with this," he said, stressing that Karoui's arrest was a legal issue. Karoui, who recently set up a political party, Heart of Tunisia, has said he was targeted by "attempts to undermine his growing popularity". In recent years, Karoui used his popular Nessma TV -- which is now facing a ban to cover the election -- to launch high-profile charity campaigns, handing out food and clothing in front of the cameras. Chahed's government tried to eliminate Karoui from the race, by voting earlier this year on an amended electoral code which was passed by parliament in June but not ratified by Essebsi before his death. Tunisia's electoral commission, which approved Saturday the final list of 26 presidential hopefuls, has banned the publication of surveys, making it difficult for pundits to evaluate each candidate's strength.
'Power cannot be shared'
Zbidi told AFP in an interview that if he were elected he was determined to "restart the social ladder" and improve public services so they become "accessible" for all Tunisians. The 69-year-old former defence minister, who presents himself as an independent technocrat, said he would also like to revise the constitution in order to give the head of state more powers. "Power cannot be shared," he said, adding however that it would be up to the Tunisian people to choose, through a referendum, if they want a "parliamentary regime or a presidential one". Another prominent presidential hopeful is Mourou, a 71-year-old lawyer and the first candidate ever announced by Ennahdha. Mourou is known as a moderate and is one of the founding members of the Islamist-inspired party. Political analyst Hamza Meddeb said he believed Mourou would make it to the second round of voting expected to be held the first week of November. "The big unknown is who will be his rival," Karoui, Chahed or Zbidi, he said. The final list of candidates revealed on Saturday includes only two women -- former tourism minister Salma Elloumi and Abir Moussi, who heads a group formed from the remnants of Ben Ali's ruling party. Campaigning ends on September 13.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 02-03/2019
Erdoğan's Elections: Heads I Win, Tails You Lose
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/September 02/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14787/erdogan-elections-losses
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promised party fans a clear election victory in Istanbul [on the June 23 rerun] -- but lost, this time, by a margin of more than 800,000 votes, compared to only 13,000 in the original race.
"Your wrath stems from the fear in you." — Meral Danış Baştas, Kurdish MP, replying to Erdoğan.
By using an administrative decision as a pretext to oust elected mayors, Erdoğan is effectively nullifying millions of Kurdish votes. Moreover, if the ousted mayors actually had proven links to terrorist organizations, why were they allowed to run in an election in the first place?
This drama will probably continue: Kurds will elect their leaders, Erdoğan will sack them. Kurds again will elect their leaders, Erdoğan will sack them too. Kurds will vote for other leaders and Erdoğan will sack them too.
Erdoğan should sit down, think and find out: why do his country's 20 million or so Kurds insist on invariably electing "terrorists" as mayors to their cities and towns, and defying his calls to do otherwise?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has taken to ridiculing even further whatever little remains of his country's democratic culture.
No one in the saner parts of the world has ever claimed that Turkey's Islamist President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is a liberal democrat who never in the slightest rigged election results. But he was, at least, known to respect the ballot box. No longer. Erdoğan has taken to ridiculing even further whatever little remains of Turkey's democratic culture.
Claiming vote-rigging, he pressured Turkey's supreme election board for a recount of ballots cast on March 31 in Istanbul, Turkey biggest city, which boasts more than 10 million registered voters. His Justice and Development Party (AKP) had lost municipal elections in Istanbul by a small margin of 13,000 votes. This was the first time Erdoğan's party had lost elections in Istanbul since 1994. The man who is notorious for saying "who wins Istanbul, wins Turkey" immediately ordered a rerun.
His cries of irregularities and fraud brought shy smiles to the faces of most foreign observers and Turks. "Sometimes you get the best detectives from the ranks of best thieves," joked a European diplomat who asked not to be named, in a private conversation with Gatestone on April 4. Although the Supreme Election Board did not find any vote-rigging in favor of the opposition, it ruled for a rerun on June 23. Grudgingly, voters changed their travel plans, and cancelled and remade their flight and hotel bookings to be present at the ballot box on June 23. Erdoğan promised party fans a clear election victory in Istanbul -- but lost, this time, by a margin of more than 800,000 votes, compared to only 13,000 in the original race.
The Islamist strongman had bitterly to admit defeat: 800,000 votes were just too many to hijack. He simply said there would not be other elections for four and a half years, when Turkey will hold presidential and parliamentary elections.
In the original March 31 local elections, along with Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, Turkey's three biggest cities, his AKP party also lost other large provinces -- including Antalya, Mersin, Adana, Hatay and Bolu -- that typically had voted for it in previous polls.
Erdoğan, apparently, did not care much if he adhered to the rules as long as he won power. In 2016, Turkey's Interior Ministry appointed trustees to replace the elected mayors of 28 municipalities across the country, predominantly in Turkey's largely Kurdish eastern and southeastern provinces, on the grounds that the mayors allegedly had provided support to outlawed terrorist organizations. The target was the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) which Erdoğan has declared a terrorist entity.
In his election campaign last October, Erdoğan did not mind threatening Kurdish voters: "Elections are nearing. If those involved with terror come out of the ballot box, we shall appoint trustees with no delay," he said in a speech. By then, 94 of 102 municipalities in Kurdish-majority cities and towns were administered by Ankara-appointed trustees, as Ankara moved to depose, arrest, and jail mayors in the aftermath of the 2014 city council vote. A Kurdish MP, Meral Danış Baştas, replied to Erdoğan in Kurdish: "Your wrath stems from the fear in you."
Elections have become an unpleasant political tug-of-war between the central government in Ankara and the Kurdish east: Kurds elect their leaders, who are then replaced by trustees from Ankara. Kurds once again elect their leaders, the government in Ankara once again appoints trustees to replace them -- a malignant vicious circle.
Erdoğan did not surprise anyone when, on August 19, his government replaced Kurdish mayors with state officials in three cities and detained more than 400 people for suspected militant links. The mayors of three major southeastern cities -- Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van -- are accused of various crimes, including membership in an alleged terrorist organization and spreading terrorist propaganda, according to the Interior Ministry. "This is a new and clear political coup. It is a clear and hostile stance against the political will of the Kurdish people," the HDP executive board said in a written statement. The three mayors had been elected with between 53% to 63% of the vote in their cities in March.
Erdoğan would do well to ask himself tough questions: If the Kurdish mayors actually had links to terrorism, why did the election board vet them favorably in the run-up to the vote? Does the fact that they have not been found guilty of any terror-related crimes after their election forcefully remind us that this is simply hijacking the votes of millions of Kurds? By using an administrative decision as a pretext to oust elected mayors, Erdoğan is effectively nullifying millions of Kurdish votes. Moreover, if the ousted mayors actually had proven links to terrorist organizations, why were they allowed to run in an election in the first place?This drama will probably continue: Kurds will elect their leaders, Erdoğan will sack them. Kurds again will elect their leaders, Erdoğan will sack them too. Kurds will vote for other leaders and Erdoğan will sack them too.
Erdoğan should sit down, think and find out: why do his country's 20 million or so Kurds insist on invariably electing "terrorists" as mayors to their cities and towns, and defying his calls to do otherwise?
*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.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

The absent Egyptian role in Sudan
Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/September 02/2019
Egypt and Sudan have been one country since ancient times; both peoples are bonded by brotherhood, love and cordiality. But, on the political level, we often find what disturbs this good relationship. These disturbances increased almost a quarter of a century ago for many reasons, but what was most important was the frequent changes in the Sudanese political scene and the rise of strict movements to the highest levels, which made agreements among politicians of the two countries a difficult matter. Egypt is extremely important for Sudan and, similarly, Khartoum is important for Cairo, with Egypt being the most important and biggest country in the region (it is the heart of developments and the main driving force for all policies and orientations) and given Sudan’s strategic importance. Egypt’s southern neighbor has, however, also been a cause of concern with regard to terrorism.
Egypt was not influential — either by action or by opinion — in relation to what has happened in the Sudanese political scene this year. In the wake of protests all over Sudan, there were visits and statements by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and public support was offered to former President Omar Al-Bashir and his regime.
After the Sudanese people insisted on completing their journey, Bashir was overthrown and Egypt disappeared from Sudan’s political scene. It then called for neighboring countries to extend the time given to the transitional military council to hand over power to civilians from two weeks to two months. As a result, protests twice headed to the Egyptian Embassy in Khartoum to condemn that move and state that Egypt was standing against the revolution. After the political equation in Sudan saw an agreement between the military and the forces of change, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly appeared at the “Joy of Sudan” celebrations, where the political and constitutional declaration was signed by the two sides. He also gave a speech clarifying Egypt’s support for what had happened.
The Sudanese reception for Madbouly’s speech was not on a level befitting a country as big and important on the international and regional level as Egypt, and was not in line with Egypt being the head of the African Union this year. The reasons for the half-hearted reception were understandable, but what was most incredible was how Egypt completely cleared the scene for the Ethiopian presence. Addis Ababa had presented a mediation that met with the acceptance of the Sudanese people, and this was clear in the warm reception granted to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s speech during the signing of the agreement. On the other hand, some Sudanese brothers acted inappropriately by protesting in front of Egyptian embassies in many cities around the world. Similarly, it was not appropriate for Sudan — or some of its forces more precisely — to attempt to transfer the tension and terrorism to Egypt, as well as side with Ethiopia in the negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
The media should take a significant amount of the blame on both sides. The Egyptian media completely ignored what was happening in Sudan, as if it was a country in the Arctic or Latin America. As for the Sudanese media, it also contributed to spreading unfounded rumors, with some members of anti-Egypt Islamist movements trying to exaggerate the disagreements, which contributed to broadening the gap between the two sides.
Egypt was not influential — either by action or by opinion — in relation to what has happened in the Sudanese political scene this year. There are also historical mistakes on the Egyptian side that could have easily been avoided, such as the treatment of former Sudanese Prime Minister Sadiq Al-Mahdi last year. He was detained for many hours at Cairo’s international airport and refused entry to the country as a result of the Bashir regime’s demands. There was also the case of Mohammed Hasan Al-Boshi, a prominent opposition figure who faced up to the leaders of the former Sudanese regime for their corruption and the devastation they caused, who was reportedly arrested in Egypt and handed over to the Khartoum authorities.
On the other hand, Sudan always falls prey to external stoking regarding protests over the Halayeb Triangle dispute. This file was again reopened in 2017 after an agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia about the maritime border demarcation between the two countries in the Red Sea. Sudan has claimed sovereignty over the Halayeb Triangle since its independence in 1956, but Cairo says it belongs to Egypt. In 2016, Egypt denied Khartoum’s request to start negotiations or resort to international arbitration.
I understand that the positions of Egypt’s leadership and people have sometimes contradicted those of Sudan, but it would have been more useful if Cairo were an effective factor in the equation. The Sudanese brothers should have listened to the Egyptian voice, especially when it came to drawing up the road map for the future. I had imagined that, due to Egypt’s significant presence in the region, its presidency of the African Union, and the power, decisiveness, depth and experience it has in complex files, it would play many roles in the rapprochement between the conflicting currents in Sudan, especially during the revolution and in the understandings relating to a road map for the future, but that did not happen.
But it is not too late. The issue has to be raised in discussions among the decision-makers of both countries, which are joined by one Nile, one fate and one Arab and African blood.
*Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy is a multimedia journalist, writer and columnist who has covered war zones and conflicts worldwide. Twitter: @ALMenawy

Johnson’s ruthless assault on Parliament
Chris Doyle/Arab News/September 02/2019
The Brexit years have been rich drama; part soap opera, part tragicomedy. Boris Johnson, the new British prime minister, is playing his part by triggering a semi-nuclear option. He has suspended, or prorogued, Parliament. In normal times — that is prior to 2016 — prorogation is a typical parliamentary procedure closing one session and setting the date for a new one. But this is no ordinary move. It was designed, as the defense secretary admitted off-air, to reduce the parliamentary time available to scotch a no-deal Brexit. It is not the full nuclear option, as Johnson had threatened to suspend Parliament for even longer by setting a date for a general election. Johnson has upped the ante. Many portray this as a blow for democracy, the moment when an anti-democratic government unshackles itself from the oversight of Parliament. In a non-Western country, this would be met by howls of outrage. The government deploys the populist nonsense that this is the people versus Parliament, where anti-democratic legislators are defying the will of the electorate. Is this the final few episodes of the Brexit saga? Is it the endgame? Are we facing the last great battle of this political war? Well, only this phase. The fight is between Brussels and London, the UK and the EU, but also within Britain itself.
No-dealers, dealers and remainers are all squaring up to each other. It is also no longer a contest between strictly out-and-out leavers and remainers. No-dealers, dealers and remainers are all squaring up to each other. The government is under the aegis of the no-dealers. Johnson declares he still wants a deal but, instead of the no-deal option being a million to one as it was according to him in June, it is now just “touch and go.” The dealers are the remnants of the May government loyalists alongside other MPs who believe in the need to respect the 2016 referendum result without a crash. At present, they are at the back of the grid. With barely a voice in government, they command too few votes in Parliament. They are disunited, with no clear vision or strategy for what a deal looks like. Their aim will be to force the government to request an extension to the Oct. 31 deadline from Brussels, allowing more time to secure a deal or perhaps have a referendum or an election.
Remainers and dealers could, in theory, unite and force a vote of no-confidence in the government. Yet this triggers questionable scenarios. Johnson could set the election date for Nov. 1, removing all parliamentary avenues to stop a no-deal scenario. The law has to be changed to stop Britain leaving. If it was accepted that a government of national unity could be formed, who would lead it? The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn proposed that it should be him, as the leader of the opposition. Other parties have insisted it should be a consensus figure. Johnson is happy to terrify Tory naysayers with the line of, “It’s me or Corbyn.”The government has the whip hand, for now. It controls the parliamentary timetable. The unelected House of Lords can be relied upon to hold up any attempt to alter the timetable. If Parliament does force the government to seek an extension, the UK can veto this in Brussels as one of the 28 members of the EU. Johnson has suspended Parliament for five weeks, when the average prorogation is about eight days. It is the longest since the Second World War. In effect, this wipes a week in September off the parliamentary timetable and it will be nigh impossible for opponents to challenge this. What, one wonders, could stop Johnson extending the suspension of Parliament until Nov. 1? He has threatened any Conservative MPs who thwart his plans with deselection, meaning they cannot stand as Conservatives in any general election. This could include up to 20 former ministers, who may have to become independents.
Opponents have also gone for a judicial review. Many have backed this, including the former Conservative Prime Minister John Major. Yet again, the legal system will in all likelihood not move fast enough.
The EU remains frustrated. Publicly it maintains the line that it will not budge, but this did weaken a trifle. In the EU contest, Johnson has also narrowed down the terrain of dispute to the Northern Irish backstop alone. Get that replaced and he would not seek to alter the remainder of the existing withdrawal agreement. Many look to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. She, however, never rescued David Cameron in talks or his successor Theresa May. She might be less inflexible than President Emmanuel Macron of France but evidence that she will tear up the united EU line is thin. European leaders still believe that it is they who have the whip hand against an isolated and desperate Britain.
Johnson, egged on by his main adviser Dominic Cummings, is exhibiting a hard, ruthless exterior. All opposition to his plans is met with immediate consequences, and no option, however constitutionally questionable, is ruled out. It has the hallmarks of an increasingly semi-authoritarian government, quite something when one considers that Brexit was advertised as a push for independence and true parliamentary sovereignty. For anyone in any doubt, a senior Cabinet minister, when asked if the government would respect a law Parliament passed to delay Brexit, refused multiple times to say that it would. The power grab is from Downing Street, by a government who no longer has a functioning majority. The British Parliament is in a fight for its life.
*Chris Doyle is director of the London-based Council for Arab-British Understanding. Twitter: @Doylech

End of August: Oil had a good week, but the outlook may be less rosy
Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/September 02/2019
Last week was positive for the oil markets. Brent rose by just below 4.1 percent between Monday and its high point on Thursday. This was on the back of extraordinarily good data. US crude stocks fell by 10 million bpd according to the US Department of Energy. Product stocks fell too. Markets rallied when Donald Trump mentioned on Monday at a press conference during the G7 summit that he had positive communications with the Chinese and that trade negotiations would continue.
In the month of July OPEC+ (an alliance between OPEC and 10 friendly nations) had a stunning 159 percent compliance with a deal that they struck last June in Vienna, which was designed to take 1.2 million bpd out of the market. US-induced sanctions on Iran and Venezuela (both OPEC members) contributed to the numbers. All of this helped to reduce the inventory overhang.
Alas, the storm clouds are gathering. Year-on-year demand growth for the month of August stood at 600,000 bpd, which is about 50 percent below the consensus forecast for 2019. In the short run this trend was exacerbated by Hurricane Dorian, which sent demand forecasts tumbling and had an immediate effect on WTI. (Dorian did also lead to gasoline shortages in Florida.) In the longer run, South Korea serves as a good example for how trade wars affect oil demand. Its exports fell for the ninth consecutive month because its exports to its largest market, China, fell considerably. The flow of exports was also disturbed by its own mini-trade war with Japan. When countries export less, they require less oil and petrochemicals to manufacture and ship their products.
Sunday, Sept. 1 was a pertinent day because China levied a 5 percent tariff on imports of US crude for the first time. On the same day the US levied a 15 percent tariff on certain types of Chinese apparel and consumer electronics.
So much for demand. Supply is set to increase as well. In August OPEC output rose again because lower production in Saudi Arabia as well as the hamstrung output from Iran and Venezuela could not offset the increased volumes from Nigeria and Iraq. Russia was also successful in clearing up the contamination issues from the Druzhba, which will result in higher export volumes. The country’s exports rose to 11.3 bpd for the month of August. Looking forward, a cut of 1.2 million bpd from OPEC+ may not be enough to keep markets balanced. On Sept. 12 the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) will convene in Abu Dhabi. It is tasked with monitoring compliance with the deal that was reached in June in Vienna and is ably chaired by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and his Saudi energy counterpart, Khalid Al-Falih. The JMMC will need to assess market developments over the next two weeks and the impact of lower demand and higher production. Progress in the trade negotiations between the US and China or the lack thereof will feature prominently. It will be interesting to see how Russia interprets the changed outlook. Russian producers are exerting pressure on Alexander Novak because they want to bring more oil from newer wells on stream and on to international markets. Observers should watch out for his comments. They will indicate the direction of travel for Russia, which is the leader among the non-OPEC countries in OPEC+.
All in all, it looks like the current production cuts will not suffice and OPEC+ may need to go further. The ministers will assess, but final decisions will have to be taken at the next OPEC conference of ministers, which is currently scheduled to take place in early December.  On Monday oil closed down 2.3 percent from its Thursday high in early European trading. Brent stood at $58.97 per barrel.
• Cornelia Meyer is a business consultant, macro-economist and energy expert. Twitter: @MeyerResources