LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
April 07/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias/english.april07.17.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
Jesus's 40 Days
Fasting & The Devil's Temptation
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 04/01-13/:"Jesus, full of
the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the
wilderness,
where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during
those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, ‘If
you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus
answered him, ‘It is written, "One does not live by bread alone." ’Then the
devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And
the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority;
for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you,
then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’Jesus answered him, ‘It is written,
"Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him." ’Then the devil took him to
Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you
are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, "He will
command his angels concerning you, to protect you", and "On their hands they
will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone." ’Jesus
answered him, ‘It is said, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." ’When the
devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not
according to the tradition that they received from us
Second Letter to the Thessalonians 03/06-18/:"We command you, beloved, in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in
idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you
yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with
you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and
labour we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was
not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to
imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone
unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in
idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and
exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own
living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. Take note
of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with
them, so that they may be ashamed. Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them
as believers. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in
all ways. The Lord be with all of you. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own
hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published On April 06-07/17
Gassing’ Syrians Is Overshadowed by Considerations of “The Eastern Question”
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/April 06/17
Tech Underestimates Future Demand for Privacy/Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg
View/April 06/17
Iranian Militias in Bahrain/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/April 06/17
Scholar Radwan al-Sayed Wins King Faisal International Prize for Islamic
Studies/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/April 06/17
The Terrorism Industry/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/April 06/17
Europe's Out-of-Control Censorship/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/April
06/17
What happened? Iranians are condemning Khan Sheikhoun massacre/Mamdouh AlMuhaini/Al
Arabiya/April 06/17
Is it now Trump’s turn to bring misery to Syrians/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/April
06/17
Why some family businesses do not taste success/Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi/Al Arabiya/April
06/17
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published
On April 06-07/17
Al-Rahi Meets Aoun: We Won't Accept to Reach Elections without New Law
Hariri: Our government achieved a lot in 3 months
Hariri: Investing in Lebanon Prepares for Massive Reconstruction of Syria
Parliament Convenes to Assess Government Performance
Aoun Says Judicial Line-Ups Should be Free from Political Affiliations
Beary Says UNIFIL Would Evacuate Southern Citizens in Case of Crisis
Nusra Militant Dead, Another Hurt in Arsal Outskirts Blast
Ibrahim Pledges Effective Policies to Confront Terrorism
UK Says Lebanon Continues to be the Focus of International Attention
Fares braces new poll law based on proportionality with single constituency
Italian bilateral military mission (MIBIL) trains Lebanese air force on
activation safety and aircraft accident investigation
Sakr asks government over exit to vote law vicious circle
Machnouk from Tunis: Congratulations for Lebanese as Beirut will host upcoming
Arab interior ministers meeting
Bassil concludes his Australian tour: State cannot rise up without fair
representation, political stability
Army Commander, Canadian Ambassador tackle general situation
Army: Terror cell in Tripoli referred to judiciary for links to terrorist
organization
Doueihy: 60's law better than vacuum
Zahra from Nejmeh square calls for holding parliamentary session to endorse wage
scale
Fadlallah from Nejmeh square: We register for government budget accomplishment
Hamadeh from Brussels: Implementing our vision will help mitigate ramifications
of Syria crisis
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published On
April 06-07/17
US, Russia debate limit of US strike against Assad
UN urges 72-hour ceasefire to allow aid to Syria’s eastern Ghouta
US, Britain, France request name of pilot who carried out Syrian chemical attack
Responding to Idlib attack, Trump considering military action in Syria
Kremlin says Syrian gas attack ‘unacceptable’ but US data on it not objective
Israel Says Assad Ordered 'Chemical Attack'
Turkey Says Initial Probe Suggests Syria Attack Victims Exposed to Sarin
Trump Sees Russia as 'Problem', Says Haley
Russia, Syria Hit Back as Pressure Builds over 'Chemical Attack'
Syria 'Did Not and Will Not' Use Chemical Weapons, Says Muallem
French FM Says Assad Will be Judged as a War Criminal
Two Iraqi pilots killed when helicopter shot down over Mosul by ISIS
Top Bahrain Activist Denied Family Visit after Surgery
Moscow Says US Has No Objective Data on 'Monstrous Crime' in Syria
Human Rights Watch Slams 'Barbaric' Hamas Executions
Drone Strike Kills Qaida Suspect in Yemen
Army: Israeli Killed in West Bank Car Ramming Attack
Macron, Le Pen Still Leading Polls after ‘Historic’ Presidential Debate
Russia Arrests Suspected Accomplices of St. Petersburg Bomber
Paris, London: Priority in Syria Remains UN Resolution
Key Player of 1988 Massacre to Run in Iran "Presidential Elections"
Geneva – UN European HQ: Condemning Executions in Iran
Condemnation of the Syria Gas Attack in Idlib Province
Links From
Jihad Watch Site for
April 06-07/17
Egyptian President Sisi: “Trump has true understanding of terrorism”
Islamic State tells Muslims to steal from infidels and send them 20%
Israel: Two Muslim clerics arrested in connection to jihad stabbing attack in
Jerusalem
France: Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar” murders Jewish woman, cops cover up
terror angle
PA TV instructs viewers to obey Qur’an’s rules for wife-beating
Islamic State hackers release ‘kill list’ with 8,786 targets in US, UK
Robert Spencer in PJ Media: South Carolina Terror Case Highlights U.S.’s
Schizophrenic Response to Jihad
Fifty Shades
of Green
Video: Harvard students say Trump is more dangerous than the Islamic State
“Palestinian” rams car into Israeli soldiers, killing one and injuring another
Poland blasts EU for migrant quotas: ‘We will resist blackmail and pressure’
Making Things Appear What They Are Not
Links From
Christian Today Site For
On April 06-07/17
Muslim births will soon outpace Christian births – while more Christians are
dying than Muslims
EXCLUSIVE: Nicky Morgan vows to keep asking questions because 'we have no
effective opposition'
Christian charity defends its President Franklin Graham after controversial
comments backing Donald Trump
Monk accused of child sex abuse 'was allowed to stay at leading Catholic school
for years after claims emerged'
Prince Charles' aides deny he 'bumped' Theresa May off 'prime ministerial plane'
for trip to see The Pope
Corbyn blasts Livingstone for causing 'deep offence and hurt' to Jewish
community as Labour opens fresh inquiry
Trump launches military strike against Syria
Barbara Starr and Jeremy Diamond, CNN
Updated 9:46 PM ET, Thu April 6, 2017
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/06/politics/donald-trump-syria-military/index.html
(CNN)The United States launched a military strike on a Syrian government target
in retaliation for their chemical weapons attack on civilians earlier in the
week.
On President Donald Trump's orders, US warships launched between 50-60 Tomahawk
cruise missiles at a Syrian government airbase where the warplanes that carried
out the chemical attacks were based, US officials said.
A US defense official said the strike was targeted on runway, aircraft and fuel
points. The missiles were launched from warships in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Strikes are over "until another decision is made," the official said.
Trump on Syria's Assad: 'Something should happen'
Trump on Syria's Assad: 'Something should happen'
The strikes are the first direct military action the US has taken against the
leadership of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's six-year civil
war and represent a substantial escalation of the US' military campaign in the
region, which could be interpreted by the Syrian government as an act of war.
Trump was very affected by the images of dead children among the civilian
casualties in the Syrian chemical weapons attack and felt compelled to act, a
senior administration official said.
The US began launching airstrikes in Syria in September 2014 under President
Barack Obama as part of its coalition campaign against ISIS, but has only
targeted the terrorist group and not Syrian government forces.
Trump met with his national security team before his dinner with Chinese
President Xi Jinping in Mar-a-Lago Thursday, where he made the decision to pull
the trigger on the biggest military action of his presidency, an administration
official says.
He sat through dinner with the President Xi as action was under way.
Hillary Clinton: US should 'take out' Assad's air fields
Hillary Clinton: US should 'take out' Assad's air fields
Defense Secretary James Mattis has been updating Trump about the missile strikes
in Syria following his dinner with Xi, according to a US official.
Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Trump's national security adviser
Gen. H.R. McMaster were with Trump at Mar-a-Lago at the time. Vice President
Mike Pence remained in Washington, where he returned to the White House after
dinner.
Trump's order to strike the Syrian government targets came a day after he said
the chemical attacks -- whose grisly effects were broadcast worldwide where
videos captured in the immediate aftermath -- "crossed a lot of lines for me"
and said he felt a "responsibility" to respond.
Tillerson: No doubt Assad is responsible 01:39
"I will tell you it's already happened that my attitude toward Syria and Assad
has changed very much," Trump said.
"When you kill innocent children -- innocent babies -- babies -- little babies
with a chemical gas that is so lethal, people were shocked to hear what gas it
was, that crosses many, many lines. Beyond a red line, many, many lines," Trump
said.
Trump's decision to launch the strikes, the most significant military action of
his young presidency, came nearly four years after the US first concluded that
Syrian forces had used chemical weapons in Syria. The Obama administration
concluded that Syria had violated the "red line" Obama had set a year earlier in
discussing the use of chemical weapons, but ultimately decided against military
action against Syria in favor of a Russian-brokered deal to extricate the
country's chemical weapons stockpile.
Trump at the time said the US should "stay the hell out of Syria" and urged
Obama on Twitter to "not attack Syria" in the wake of the 2013 chemical attack.
"There is no upside and tremendous downside. Save your 'powder' for another (and
more important) day," he tweeted in September 2013.
Trump repeatedly criticized Obama during his presidential campaign for not
acting on his "red line" threat, but the real estate mogul also argued against
deepening the US' military involvement in Syria, particularly as it related to
Assad.
Trump argued last May in a TV interview that he would "go after ISIS big
league," but said he did not support targeting Assad's regime, arguing the US
has "bigger problems than Assad."
Syria's six-year civil war has claimed the lives of at least 400,000, according
to a United Nations estimate released a year ago. More than 5 million Syrians
have fled the country and more than 6 million more have been displaced
internally, according to UN agencies.
Latest Lebanese Related News published
On April 06-07/17
Al-Rahi Meets Aoun: We Won't Accept
to Reach Elections without New Law
Naharnet/April 06/17/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Thursday visited
President Michel Aoun in Baabda and stressed that a new electoral law should be
reached as soon as possible.“After 12 years (from the 2005 elections), we cannot
accept to reach the electoral juncture without a (new) law,” al-Rahi said after
the meeting. “This is shameful and the president categorically rejects it,” he
added. “We urge the parliament to perform its duty in organizing fair and
comprehensive elections that prove that we are a democratic country in which all
Lebanese forces are represented,” the patriarch went on to say. He emphasized
that it is not enough to repeat the “no to vacuum, no to extension and no to the
1960 law” slogan.
Hariri: Our government achieved a lot in 3 months
Thu 06 Apr 2017/NNA - This is the statement made by President of the Council of
Ministers Saad Hariri during the parliamentary session to assess the
government's performance: "This government was formed with a new term that gave
the Lebanese the hope of restoring the respect of the state and its legitimate
institutions. Three months after the government won the vote of confidence, we
return to the parliament with many achievements. The government's commitment to
the policy statement in this short period of time is a clear commitment that
reflects the governmental solidarity and the effort exerted to address several
chronic demands. First: We committed in the policy statement to have a new
electoral law and to hold the parliamentary elections according to this law. The
issue of the electoral law has been there for years and it has been placed in
the hands of the political forces, which are all represented in parliament, and
most of them are present in the government.
This issue has reached the final point and there is no escape from a new law. We
are in a race with the constitutional deadlines and this new law is a national
responsibility just as it is the responsibility of the government. We in the
government bet on a political agreement that would be translated in the cabinet
and the bet continues. But if you want to move discussions and negotiations to
the cabinet table, we are ready to do so. The government is committed to hold
the parliamentary elections and reject the vacuum in the legislative authority
and this would be achieved by a new law, and I will insist in Cabinet that we
submit a draft law soon, and the cabinet will hold a meeting on Monday to
discuss it and when we approve it we will send it to parliament. Second: This
government worked on compensating the delay in the gas and oil sector, and
approved the decrees related to it. It also launched a licensing session and
approved the draft law on tax provisions of the sector and announced Lebanon's
intention to join the Arab initiative for transparency in extractive industries.
Third: The government held 16 meetings to discuss the draft budget law of 2017,
completed it and sent it to parliament. The deficit in this budget is expected
to be less than the deficit of last year. In one month we will also start
preparations for the 2018 state budget. The government also took a number of
decisions to stimulate the economy, control squander and benefit the revenues
without adding burdens to the low income class. The government also made the
necessary appointments in the customs starting with the general director to the
remaining members in an attempt to control the land borders, airport and ports
to combat customs evasion and squander.
Fourth: The government prepared a three year contingency plan for the
electricity sector that will provide non-stop electricity. At the same time
there will be no need to finance the electricity from the treasury. The plan
involves the private sector in the production, and the transfer from fuel to gas
for power generation and alternative energies.
Fifth: The government prepared a new vision to deal with the displaced Syrians,
based on economic stability and development. I discussed this vision during
several Arab and international meetings and with concerned ministers, just as we
did yesterday in Brussels conference. We ask the international community to
shoulder its responsibility and invest in Lebanon to enable our infrastructure
and public services to carry the pressure resulting from displacement and in
order to re-launch growth and job opportunities especially for the youth.
Sixth: The government achieved the security appointments and this gave a great
thrust for the work of the military and security institutions. The government's
decision to invest in the legitimate security and combating terrorism and
outlaws is a decisive decision that had national and political consensus and
security is the responsibility of the state and its legitimate institutions.
Seventh: During the last three months, there were massive efforts to correct our
relations with Arab countries, and in this respect I would like to praise the
initiatives of president Michel Aoun, his visits to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Qatar and Egypt, Lebanon's participation in the Arab summit and the speech he
delivered which touched the souls of all Arabs. Lebanon is an inseparable part
of the Arab world, and Lebanon's presence under the ceiling of Arab solidarity
is a brotherly commitment that we stress, and it is in Lebanon's interest to
cooperate with its brothers and not deny their role in supporting us. Eight: The
government completed the book of conditions for security and technical equipment
at the Rafic Hariri International Airport, including detection machines,
cameras, etc… Also a workshop on the safety of the airport's security in
cooperation with the European Union was completed. This workshop complies with
the requirements of the World Civil Aviation Organization. The government
achieved a lot in such a short time as a result of the solidarity among its
members and the seriousness in dealing with the files. But we still have a lot
to do to achieve the hopes of the Lebanese to live in dignity. We are determined
to continue the achievements and regain the confidence that is the emblem of our
government. Here I would like to thank your parliament for cooperating for the
country's interest and we are ready to answer any question."
Hariri: Investing in Lebanon Prepares for Massive
Reconstruction of Syria
Naharnet/April 06/17/At the opening of the Silk Road Conference on Thursday,
Prime Minister Saad Hariri invited China and other countries to invest in
Lebanon as a preparation for the massive reconstruction of Syria, as he called
for joint efforts by private and public sectors between the two countries in
that regard. “China has always been a leading exporter to Lebanon. The same is
not true of our exports to China. This calls for particular joint efforts by
private and public sectors in our two countries. Today is a good start,” said
Hariri at the opening of the conference “One Belt One Road in Lebanon” at the
Adnan Kassar center for Arab economy. “Relations between Lebanon and China are
ancient. They developed as transport and communications grew always shrinking
the distance. So today, in the age of the global village, none of us, Chinese or
Lebanese have any excuse!” he added. “Our ancestors traced the Silk Road,
knowing its economic and social importance. Today, this importance has doubled
to push economic growth and combat poverty and unemployment. This is the only
way to combat extremism, bigotry, racism and isolation. In other words, it is
the only way to preserve world stability and peace,” added the Premier. Turning
to the issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Hariri said: “My government has
adopted a new approach to dealing with the challenge of hosting over 1.5 million
displaced Syrians. “We thank the international community for humanitarian
assistance extended to the Syrian displaced and we certainly hope it will
continue. But our infrastructure and public services are simply not designed for
this massive influx of users.”He went on to say: “I am sure the Chinese
government and private companies will understand how important this is,
especially that investing in Lebanon today is preparing for the massive
reconstruction of Syria when a political solution is reached, we hope sooner
than later.”“Lebanon is too important to be left alone,” he said, “Lebanon is
the model of coexistence and dialogue. It is the model for political settlement
so many crises in the region are seeking today. Security and stability of our
country is my government’s utmost priority today. It should be the priority for
everyone hoping to preserve these values in the world today. Our choice is to
travel down the road of hope, stabilization and development. And that’s just
where the “silk road” might lead us all.”
Berri Says Clock Ticking, Urges Agreement on Voting System
Naharnet/April 06/17/As the parliament prepares to convene on Thursday in a
general discussion where MPs will question the cabinet's progress, Speaker Nabih
Berri said the session is an “alarm bell” as he urged all political parties to
shoulder responsibility and agree on a new law for the upcoming parliamentary
polls to avoid vacuum in the legislative institution. Parties who have recently
met the Speaker came out with the impression that “he is not comfortable” and
believes Lebanon is facing a difficult stage, An Nahar daily reported Thursday.
Today's session is a “alarm bell”, said Berri and urged everyone to “shoulder
their national responsibilities.”Berri has fears that political parties could
fail to agree on a new voting system before mid of April, and he is not certain
if they will agree on one in the cabinet paving the way for its referral to
parliament for approval and hence a technical extension of the parliament' term,
said the daily. The parliament's ordinary term ends on May 31. Efforts will be
carried out to complete a “bitter” term extension in order to preserve the
legislative institution so it won't slip into vacuum. The Speaker has warned on
numerous occasions that rejecting a “technical” extension of the parliament's
term is aimed at “paving the way for vacuum in parliament consequently the other
constitutional institutions.”MP Ibrahim Kanaan of the FPM had announced Tuesday
after meeting Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea that the two parties reject a
so-called technical extension of parliament's term in the absence of an
agreement on a new electoral law. Berri's visitors have quoted him as reminding
that Lebanon has a parliamentary system and that any vacuum in parliament would
delegitimize the other institutions seeing as they were either elected by
parliament or are operating under the legislature's confidence.
Parliament Convenes to Assess Government Performance
Naharnet/April 06/17/A parliamentary session to assess the performance of the
government on a number of issues began on Thursday in Nejmeh Square, in light of
the political parties failure to devise a new voting system that will rule the
upcoming parliamentary polls. Prime Minister Saad Hariri said at the opening of
the session: “We are committed to stage the parliamentary elections and reject
all forms of vacuum.”Referring to Lebanon's relations with Arab countries, he
said: “During the three previous months, there were massive efforts to reform
our relations with Arab countries.
He stressed that the cabinet is “determined to pursue the achievements in the
government and restore confidence. We are ready to answer your questions.”MP
Wael Abou Faour who spoke standing up from his designated place said: “Consensus
must be the major title to agree on a new law. I hope we are not pushed into the
taboo.”For his part MP Hassan Fadlallah stressed the need to combat what he
described as the “phenomenon of smuggling which causes losses worth between $500
to $700 million.”He pointed out saying that the “State is being robbed. The
government does not fear the parliament's accountability nor do the MPs fear the
people's accountability.”He concluded and called for a proportional
representation electoral system. Focusing on the problematic electricity issue,
MP Robert Ghanem urged the government to send a specialized inspection team to
two Turkish vessels (Fatmagül Sultan and Orhan Bey) providing Lebanon with
electricity, to verify if this company carried out its commitments. MP and
former PM Najib Miqati urged the formation of a “committee to oversee the
parliamentary elections before the constitutional deadlines.”He called on the
government to either review an electoral law that was suggested by his
government when he was in office, or to study a new one." “Lebanon's experience
as for the electricity file was a bad one, we hope that the 2012 experience will
not be repeated,” said MP Akram Shehayyeb. “We are en route to a crisis in 2018
regarding waste management file,” he said, adding “that the agriculture sector
is facing important difficulties due to smuggling." MP Antoine Zahra touched on
the long-stalled salary scale file, he said: “It would be wrongful to approve a
state budget without considering the wage scale file.”MP Oqab Saqr of al-Mustaqbal
bloc meanwhile said that "the crisis of blocking the electoral law is similar to
the (2014-2016) crisis of blocking the election of the president.""We reject
extension and we reject parliamentary vacuum," he stressed. Saqr lamented that
"there is a search for an electoral law tailored to fit the interests of parties
and sects, and this is the truth." Turning to the issue of corruption, Saqr
added: "We have made an anti-corruption initiative and lifted the political
cover off (ex-OGERO chief) Abdul Menhem Youssef. Let the judiciary rule in his
case and we call on all political forces to lift the cover off corrupt
employees."Commenting on the latest security incidents in the country, Saqr
called on the government to "work on a plan to remove weapons from cities,
starting by Greater Beirut."He also warned that the Hizbullah-linked Resistance
Brigades have "undermined the image of the state." The parliament is scheduled
to meet again on Friday to continue questioning the government's progress.
Aoun Says Judicial Line-Ups Should be Free from Political
Affiliations
Naharnet/April 06/17/President Michel Aoun called on Thursday for the necessity
to let any judicial line-ups be clean from any sense of political affiliation in
order for the judicial authority to be able to carry out its missions with
equality and justice, the State-run National News Agency reported. Aoun
underscored the significance of letting the judicial authority work in parallel
with the security apparatuses in favor of anchoring local stability and
security, NNA said. He stressed the need to catch any saboteur and bring him to
justice. The President hailed the security and military performance and the
national sacrifices made in this regard.
Beary Says UNIFIL Would Evacuate Southern Citizens in Case
of Crisis
Naharnet/April 06/17/After repeated troubles between the United Nations
International Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and citizens in south Lebanon over the
forces' military vehicles patrols in some towns, UNIFIL Commander Michael Beary
said on Thursday that the forces would use its military vehicles to evacuate the
citizens shall a crisis erupt in the area, al-Akhbar daily reported on Thursday.
Our forces “will evacuate the citizens, women and children using these very
military vehicle when a crisis occurs in the south,” he said during chitchats
with reporters at the headquarters in Naqoura. Giving an example on how their
vehicles are used, Beary said: “Not many know the use of these vehicle which I
would like to mention here.” A few days ago, the UNFIL carried out a live
exercise to evacuate its soldiers, employees and their families in the event of
an incident. Although the training was a regular procedures carried out at all
United Nations missions around the world, but the added measures to the recent
training were striking, said the daily. Reports said that residents of some
towns in south Lebanon have been protesting the UNIFIL's village patrols.
Nusra Militant Dead, Another Hurt in Arsal Outskirts Blast
Naharnet/April 06/17/A member of the jihadist group al-Nusra Front was killed
and another was wounded in a bomb attack in the outskirts of the eastern
Lebanese border town of Arsal on Thursday, state-run National News Agency
reported. It said the explosive device was planted by jihadist rivals from the
Islamic State group in the Wadi Ajram area in the town's outskirts. Members of
the two groups are entrenched in rugged areas along Lebanon's eastern border
with Syria. The Lebanese army regularly shells their positions while Hizbullah
and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the
border. The two jihadist groups briefly overran the town of Arsal in 2014 before
being ousted by the Lebanese army after days of deadly battles.
Ibrahim Pledges Effective Policies to Confront Terrorism
Naharnet/April 06/17/General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said on
Thursday that the renewal of his term as the agency's chief is a “great
responsibility thrown on my shoulders” that he will seek to safeguard, as he
assured that he will seek to make the institution a source of pride. “The
General Security will not be less motivated in the next stage. Renewal of my
term is a great responsibility and a confirmation of trust in Law,” said Ibrahim
in an interview to the General Security magazine. “I promise the Directorate
officers and military personnel of all ranks that we will make them an
institution they will be proud of belonging to. We will continue with the same
policy,” added Ibrahim who retained his post as chief of General Security in
March. Speaking of the challenges facing Lebanon in the coming stage, Ibrahim
said that Lebanon is part of the region and it will be affected by the crises
running around it “the region is being hit by storms from all directions,” he
said. “We are going to face great challenges at all levels, and I think we have
prepared a lot in the past period to face any emergency we face in the future,”
he assured. “At the administrative level, we have set plans until the year 2025
in terms of equipments and members to keep up to date,” added Ibrahim. Turning
to the security level, he said: “I don't want to speak of the accomplishments we
made so far, but we will carry on with the same policy of confronting terrorism.
I will do my full duty with President Michel Aoun, who renewed his confidence in
me and chose me to be next to him in the coming period.”
UK Says Lebanon Continues to be the Focus of International
Attention
Naharnet/April 06/17/One year on from the London conference for “Supporting
Syria and the Region”, Lebanon continues to be the “focus of international
attention” in Brussels, the British Embassy in Lebanon said on Wednesday. At the
Brussels conference on “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region” that was
held earlier in the day, the UK reiterated its “ongoing support to the Lebanese
people and the Government of Lebanon as it continues to generously host large
numbers of refugees until it’s safe for them to return home,” an Embassy
statement said.
In his speech, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson paid tribute to countries
hosting millions of refugees including Lebanon, saying: “We are all humbled by
the contribution and sacrifice of our friends such as Lebanon.”
He added: “We should work together to help refugees gain an education and find
work so that they can contribute to the economies of their host countries and
eventually support themselves in a peaceful Syria.”
On the sidelines of the conference, Johnson and British International
Development Secretary, Priti Patel, met with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the
accompanying delegation where discussions focused on “the UK’s continued and
steadfast support to Lebanon as it continues to host large number of refugees.”
The Foreign Secretary and Development Secretary confirmed the UK “will provide
new support for PM Hariri’s new economic vision, through technical assistance
from top British universities as well as new funding for infrastructure and SMEs.”
Patel also held a bilateral meeting with Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh that
focused on the UK’s continued support to the Ministry of Education, amounting to
£160m over four years to “help bring quality education to all, including helping
the Lebanese public school system to become stronger despite the huge numbers of
additional students,” the Embassy statement said. British Ambassador to Lebanon
Hugo Shorter meanwhile said: “The UK has delivered on the promises made last
year at the London Conference in 2016 with our support reaching hundreds of
thousands of Lebanese and refugees. We pledged and we are now delivering.”“The
UK continues to be one of the largest bilateral donors to Lebanon and we hope
today’s new pledges in Brussels will bring further support to Lebanon, its
people and the refugees until they can safely return home. As Prime Minister
Hariri said in his inspirational speech: 'an investment in Lebanon is an
investment in peace and stability in the entire region’,” Shorter added. In
February 2016, the London Conference raised over $12 billion in pledges from
2016-2020. Lebanon received from the UK and the international community over
$1.9bn last year (including carry over from 2015) in support for host
communities and refugees.
Fares braces new poll law based on proportionality with
single constituency
NNA - Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) bloc MP Marwan Fares called for
holding timely parliamentary elections, voicing support to a new poll law based
on proportionality and Lebanon single electoral constituency. "Practicing
democracy life is an essential matter to all the Lebanese," MP Fares said in his
address at the parliamentary evening session at Nejmeh Square, devoted to
weighing up the government performance in its mandate. Fares considered the
single constituency bolsters the unity of the Lebanese in all regions,
indicating that Lebanon as one constituency is outside the confessional
registration or alignment. The Lawmaker also deemed the poll law based on
proportionality and single constituency an essential principle to extricate out
of the longstanding confessional and sectarian predicament
Italian bilateral military mission (MIBIL) trains Lebanese air force on
activation safety and aircraft accident investigation
Thu 06 Apr 2017/NNA - Today, a ceremony at the Beirut Air Force Base marked the
conclusion of the training course on Aviation Safety and Aircraft Accident
Investigation organized by the Italian Bilateral Military Mission in Lebanon (MIBIL),
with the participation of Italian and Lebanese civilian and military
authorities.The two-week course was held by a team of trainers from the Italian
Military Air Force and saw the participation of 20 soldiers of the Lebanese
Armed Forces (LAF), including pilots and technical team specialists. The outcome
of this training activity is an important result of the close collaboration that
the Italian Armed Forces have established since 2015 with the Lebanese Armed
Forces through the Italian Bilateral Military Mission in Lebanon (MIBIL), to
contribute to the overall improvement of operational capabilities through
training and educational activities.
Sakr asks government over exit to vote law vicious circle
Thu 06 Apr 2017/NNA - Deputy Oqab Sakr asked on Thursday the government about
the exit to the current crisis resulting from the poll law issue, stressing the
dire need for the endorsement of a new vote law. "We are currently living a
disruption crisis for the birth of a new law similar to the crisis to disrupt
the birth of a new president," MP Saqr said on Thursday at the resumption of the
evening parliamentary session at Nejmeh Square devoted to weighing up the
government performance during its mandate. Saqr stressed the need for a new poll
law, voicing rejection of parliamentary term extension and vacuum. He also
called for lifting cover on any corrupt employee.
Machnouk from Tunis: Congratulations for Lebanese as Beirut
will host upcoming Arab interior ministers meeting
Thu 06 Apr 2017/NNA - Interior and Municipalities Minister Nouhad Machnouk
congratulated Lebanese as Beirut will host the upcoming round for Arab interior
ministers meeting that will be in March 2018. Minister Machnouk's stance came
Thursday from Tunisia as he concluded his participation in the 34th round of
Arab interior ministers meeting.
Bassil concludes his Australian tour: State cannot rise up
without fair representation, political stability
Thu 06 Apr 2017/NNA - Foreign Affairs Minister, Gibran Bassil, said that the
Lebanese state could not rise up without the approval on a new electoral law
able to provide fair popular representation at the parliament and to preserve
coexistence, freedom, equality, justice and political stability. Minister
Bassil's stance came Thursday as he concluded his Australian tour in the South
of Australia. Bassil spoke of Lebanon as the country of human values and
principles, confirming Lebanon's commitment to international regulations and
standards and its utter refusal to extremism via enhancing national unity and
boosting the coexistence.
Army Commander, Canadian Ambassador tackle general
situation
Thu 06 Apr 2017/NNA - Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, met on Thursday at
his Yarzeh office with Canadian Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Cameron, over the
general situation in Lebanon and the region as well as army bilateral relations.
General Aoun also received Egyptian Military attaché, Colonel Houssam el Din
Mohsen Ali Hasan, on a farewell visit upon ending his diplomatic mission in
Lebanon. He received MPs Emile Rahme and Walid Khoury as well as former MP
Ousama Saad with talks focusing on most recent developments in the country.
Army: Terror cell in Tripoli referred to judiciary for
links to terrorist organization
Thu 06 Apr 2017/NNA - Army intelligence referred to the concerned judiciary a
terror cell consisting of 11 people in the city of Tripoli, for links to a
terrorist organization inside Ain Helweh Palestinian camp, army command said in
a communiqué on Thursday.
The 11-member cell was planning to target the Lebanese army posts and patrols
with hand grenades and explosive devices, and the killing of civilians and
military men.
Doueihy: 60's law better than vacuum
Thu 06 Apr 2017/NNA - MP Estephan Doueihy said on Tuesday during the general
discussion of the Parliament that 60's law was better than vacuum. "We want to
regain trust and to reach a new electoral law as soon as possible," MP Doueihy
added.
Zahra from Nejmeh square calls for holding parliamentary
session to endorse wage scale
Thu 06 Apr 2017/NNA - "Lebanese Forces" bloc MP Antoine Zahra deemed it wrong to
endorse the national budget without the wage scale figures, calling for a
parliamentary session to approve said scale. "The salary and rank scale is a
national deadline which we have failed to accomplish," MP Zahra said, stressing
the necessity to hold a parliamentary session to approve it. The Lawmaker failed
to see an economic prosperity in the offing, underling the need for adopting
austerity measures. Zahra also branded the proposed national budget as
"unbalanced" saying that the current situation can be salvaged through a
political decision.
Fadlallah from Nejmeh square: We register for government
budget accomplishment
Thu 06 Apr 2017/NNA - MP Hasan Fadlallah said that public fund was for all
Lebanese "and we register for the government the accomplishment of 2017 budget
pending its discussion by the finance committee."MP Fadlallah's stance came
Thursday in the context of the general session for the Parliament. Fadlallah
spoke about the waste of money in allocating sums for illusionary public
employments. He reiterated his support for an electoral law based on total
proportionality.
Hamadeh from Brussels: Implementing our vision will help
mitigate ramifications of Syria crisis
Thu 06 Apr 2017/NNA - The Lebanese official delegation to Brussels winded up its
conference activities on Thursday. Higher Learning and National Education
Minister, Marwan Hamadeh, delivered a word representing the delegation and Prime
Minister Saad Hariri.
"My Government has presented to this Conference a Vision for Stabilization and
Development in Lebanon aimed at mitigating the impact of the Syrian crisis.
Since the London Conference the flow of displaced Syrians to Lebanon has
abated," Hamadeh said. "But today, six years after the start of the Syrian
conflict, no less than one out of three persons is a displaced or refugee in
Lebanon. Unfortunately, prospects for the return of the displaced to their home
country in the short term are uncertain at best. The Government of Lebanon,
therefore, looks forward to a resolution of the Syrian conflict and will support
international initiatives in this respect," he added. Hamadeh went on to
explain: "As a result of the crisis, and according to World Bank estimates,
Lebanon has suffered some US$18 billion in cumulative loss in GDP through 2015,
and some US$ 6 billion in incremental fiscal deficits that have been financed by
incurring additional external debt on market terms. Growth estimated now at less
than 1% for a population of 4 million has in fact plunged to minus 5-6% if
calculated for the effective population of 4 million Lebanese plus 2 million
displaced."
"Our economy is depressed, poverty and unemployment among Lebanese are rising,
and social discontent intensifying, with increasing tensions in the host
communities, and not to forgot that we have 17 communities. Increasing
unemployment among Lebanese and Syrians is of particular concern. Since the
start of the crisis, the rate of unemployment among Lebanese has doubled and 30%
of Lebanese youth is now unemployed, partly because they have lost their jobs to
Syrian workers who accept lower wages.
Thanks to the efforts made by Lebanon and the donor community, nearly half the
displaced young Syrians are now employed," Hamadeh added.
"The recent socio-economic trends, in particular increased poverty and
unemployment, could result in increasing social unrest and violence, and
threaten the country's security and political stability.
The current situation is a ticking time bomb. If it explodes for lack of decent
action to reverse recent trends, the repercussion would be felt beyond Lebanon's
borders. As long as the conflict in Syria is not resolved, the needs for
humanitarian assistance will remain large. Lebanon does not have the resources
to provide such assistance," the Minister said.
He went on to say that the Government of Lebanon was aware that there were
increasing needs for humanitarian assistance in other parts of the world.
"But we nevertheless expect the international donor community to continue to
provide such assistance directly to our institutions or through the UN system
and NGO's as long as needed. Lebanon needs to create half a million jobs over
the next five years in order to absorb new entrants into the labor force, to
reduce the unemployment rate among Lebanese and to provide increased
opportunities for Syrians."
Hamadeh added, "Under the current circumstances, it cannot be the private sector
that takes the lead on this aspect of the crisis. It is the Government that
should and will take the lead. At the same time, implementation of our Vision
for Stabilization and Development will help boost private sector confidence and
quick-start the economy. The prime objectives, as outlined in the Vision, are
the creation of employment opportunities through an expansion of public
investment in infrastructure and providing educational opportunities for
Lebanese and Syrian youth, in particular with an expansion of non-formal
education, technical education and vocational training, which would reduce the
number of new entrants into the labor force. Lebanon wants the young Syrians to
return to their country educated and with skills that will allow them to
contribute to Syria's reconstruction. In this connection, Lebanon is very proud
of its achievements in our Reaching All Children with Education five-year plan
and must receive 350 million USD per annum in multi-year funding commitments to
continue to deliver results on enrolment and learning."The Minister concluded
his speech by saying that Lebanon could no longer accumulate market debt in
order to provide a global public good. "Without the continuous flow of
humanitarian and development support and especially concessional financing
requested from the international community, the objectives of the Vision cannot
be achieved, and the ticking time bomb will explode."
Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published On
April 06-07/17
US, Russia debate limit of US strike against Assad
DEBKAfile Special Report April 6, 2017/The Trump administration is clearly on
the brink of military action against the Assad regime judging by the thunderous
rhetoric of its highest officials Wednesday night, April 5. President Donald
Trump said the horrific chemical attack had “crossed many, many lines” for him.
“It is now my responsibility to respond to the crisis. My attitude toward Syria
and Assad has changed very much.”Vice President Mike Pence said later that “all
options are on the table,” while US Ambassador Nikki Haley warned the UN
Security Council emergency meeting that countries could be "compelled to act
individually if the world body does not take collective action after a deadly
poison gas attack in Syria. The ambassador spoke in expectation of a Russian
veto against the US-UK-French draft resolution condemning Syria for the use of
chemical weapons. Israel lined up behind Washington on this issue when Defense
Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke of proof Thursday that the order to launch the
sarin bombs against the town of Khan Sheikhun came directly from the Syrian
leader Bashar Assad. Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part is firing
big guns both to defeat a UN condemnation of the Syrian ruler, by claiming the
bomb hit a rebel toxic weapons store, and trying to head off an American
military strike to punish him. President Trump himself was still wrestling
Thursday morning with three major decisions.
1. Determining the scale of a military operation in the complicated Syrian
arena. Should it aim for a regime or a military target, or also extend the
attack to the Iranian and Hizballah presence? The thinking behind the latter
option is that if weakening Assad is the goal, why not go all the way and hit
the foreign forces propping him up as well?
2. A clash with Russian forces must be avoided. However, Russia could agree to
stay out of action in the Assad regime’s defense, but would certainly demand in
return to be informed in advance of the precise limits of such mililtary
operation.
debkafile’s military and intelligence sources reported Thursday that Washington
and Moscow have been locked in intense negotiations for hours regarding the
possible attack. The outcome is still awaited.
3. The arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday for two days of talks
with Trump at his Florida residence is a seriously complicating factor. A
decision by the US president to go for military action against Syria it would
need to be powerful enough to impress his visitor of America's determination not
only to cut Assad down but also the North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un, unless China
steps in to curb its bellicose neighbor’s nuclear aspirations.
UN urges
72-hour ceasefire to allow aid to Syria’s eastern Ghouta
AFP, Geneva Thursday, 6 April
2017/The UN called Thursday for an urgent ceasefire in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta
region, near Damascus, to allow in desperately needed aid and avoid a repeat of
the devastation seen in Aleppo. “We need a 72-hour pause for Eastern Ghouta, and
we need it in the coming days,” the head of the United Nations-backed
humanitarian taskforce for Syria, Jan Egeland, told reporters in Geneva. He
warned that the some 400,000 people besieged in the area near Damascus “are now
suffering alone in the sense that they have a shortage of medical supplies,
their hospitals have been bombed, and they are running out of food and other
supplies.” Eastern Ghouta, the last remaining opposition stronghold near the
capital, has been under a devastating government siege since 2012, and is
targeted regularly by air strikes and artillery. During the weekly meeting of
the humanitarian taskforce for Syria, co-chairs Russia and the United States,
along with others had agreed to “look specifically at the Eastern Ghouta
situation,” Egeland said. “Everybody agrees, including the Russians, that the
situation there is very dire, and that a special ... agreement is needed for
Eastern Ghouta,” he said. “Nobody wants another eastern Aleppo to be happening
on our watch,” he insisted, referring to the drawn-out siege and massive Syrian
army offensive last year to retake the former rebel stronghold. “We should learn
from the horrific inability to help civilians there, and I am still hopeful that
we will have arrangements for the 400,000 people in the Eastern Ghouta besieged
areas,” Egeland said, pointing out that “there are more people besieged east of
Damascus city than there were in the east Aleppo besieged enclave.”Thursday’s
taskforce meeting also discussed the suspected chemical attack that left at
least 86 people dead, 30 of them children, in the rebel-held town of Khan
Sheikhun in northwestern Syria earlier this week. “A war where children
suffocate to death because of toxic chemicals is a very, very dirty war,”
Egeland said. Tuesday’s attack so shocked US President Donald Trump that
Washington has threatened unilateral US action, marking an about-face after he
previously opposed deeper US military involvement in Syria’s civil war. Egeland
stressed that he did not believe in a military solution to Syria’s six-year war,
which has already killed more than 320,000 people and forced millions to flee
their homes. But “what I do welcome is a renewed interest from the US to focus
on the carnage in Syria,” he said.
US, Britain, France request name of pilot who carried out
Syrian chemical attack
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Thursday, 6 April 2017/The US, Britain and
France have demanded the names of the pilots who carried out the recent chemical
attack in Syria. Their request came as part of the draft resolution, which they
submitted on Wednesday during an emergency session at the UN Security Council.
The draft resolution calls for a full investigation into the attack in the early
hours of Tuesday in the town of Khan Sheikhoun. At least 72 people were killed
in the strike and dozens more were injured. Syrian Pilot Mohammed al-Hasouri,
who took off in his jet from the Shayrat military airport on Tuesday morning,
may have not thought that his name may be internationally listed and he will be
pursued.
Victim testimonies
According to the testimonies of Khan Sheikhoun residents, Hasouri carried out a
similar attack using chemical weapons four days ago in Hama’s countryside in the
town of Al-Lataminah. A local observatory has taken charge of monitoring the
regime air force’s activity. On the day of the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun,
it monitored that the same jet which attacked Lataminah – dubbed Quds 1
according to an audio which the Syrians have been circulating – took off. It was
6:00 a.m. when the jet began to attack Khan Sheikhun in Edleb, northwest of
Syria. The attack was thunderous and the one in charge at the observatory said:
“It seems the jet is carrying toxic substances.”
Wiretapping communication
These observatories carry out their work by using radars to wiretap the
communication among Assad’s forces. Then they use wireless devices to broadcast
the type of the jet, its time of departure and the raids it carried out. There
are rotating shift workers to carry out this job throughout the day. They also
use different channels to broadcast the information they have to members of the
armed opposition in Idlib’s countryside. The identity of the pilot is not
established yet. However, according to the observatory, opposition members who
secretly work in regime-held areas said Hasouri was the pilot who carried out
the attack, adding that he hails from Talkalakh in west Homs.
Responding to Idlib attack, Trump considering military
action in Syria
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Thursday, 6 April 2017/CNN quoted US sources
reported that US President Donald Trump told members of Congress that he was
thinking of military action against Syria. Earliers, the US has not excluded a
military response to a poison gas attack that killed scores of civilians which
Washington blamed on the Syrian government, a senior administration official
said on Thursday. Asked whether the military option had been taken off the
table, the official said: “No.” It is unclear how much US military planning
exists on striking targets associated with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s
government. The Pentagon is presenting a range of possible military options the
White House could take in response to the suspected chemical attack in Syria.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said options include strikes to
ground the Syrian air force. Pentagon chief Jim Mattis is presenting the options
to President Trump and administration officials in response to White House
requests, the official said.
The official stressed that no decisions had been taken.
Trump suggested that Assad may have to leave power after this week’s chemical
weapons attack. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said Thursday
that what happened in Syria is “a disgrace to humanity.” Asked if Assad should
go, Trump said, “He’s there, and I guess he’s running things so something should
happen.”The president would not discuss what, if anything, the United States
might do in response to the deadly chemical attack. He said the attack
“shouldn’t have happened, and it shouldn’t be allowed to happen.”Trump said he
may talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in Syria.
Russia is a key supporter of the Assad government.
Tillerson, Russia’s Lavrov spoke about Syria poison gas attack
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday about a poison gas attack in Syria that the United
States has blamed on the Russia-backed Syrian government, a senior State
Department official said on Thursday.
The discussion came days before Tillerson goes to Moscow for talks with Russian
officials expected to focus on the Syrian civil war and Russia’s backing of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “We sought the Russian analysis or readout of
what they thought had happened” in the poison gas attack, the official said on
condition of anonymity. Tillerson also said Washington would make an
“appropriate response” to Tuesday’s suspected chemical attack in Syria, while
calling for the ouster of Assad. “We are considering an appropriate response (to
the) violations of all previous UN resolutions, violations of international
norms,” he said in televised comments at the Palm Beach International Airport in
Florida, where he greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping who was arriving for a
summit with US President Donald Trump.
Tillerson did not specify what actions the United States would take.
He added: “Assad’s role in the future is uncertain and with the acts that he has
taken, it would seem that there would be no role for him to govern the Syrian
people.”US intelligence agencies suspect Assad kept some chemical weapons. US
intelligence agencies suspect that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad kept some of
the chemical weapons or components that he agreed to surrender under a 2013
US-Russian deal, a US intelligence official said. “We have never taken the Assad
regime at its word that it declared its entire chemical weapons stockpile,” said
the US intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Assad has
repeatedly shown that he is willing to use whatever chemical weapons he has
retained or reconstituted to attack and terrorize his own people,” the official
said. (With Agencies)
Kremlin says Syrian gas attack ‘unacceptable’ but US data
on it not objective
Reuters, Moscow Thursday, 6 April 2017/The Kremlin on Thursday called a deadly
poison gas attack in Syria’s Idlib province earlier this week a “monstrous
crime,” but said Washington’s conclusions about the incident were not based on
objective data. “This was a dangerous and monstrous crime, but it would be
incorrect to hang labels (to identify those who did it),” Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. The use of chemical weapons
was “unacceptable,” he said, urging the Syrian army to ensure such arms did not
fall into the hands of terrorists. Peskov said evidence about the incident
provided by the White Helmets civil defence group could not be considered
reliable and added: “We do not agree with these conclusions.”“Immediately after
the tragedy no one had access to this region ... any data which the US side or
our colleagues from other countries might have had access to could not have been
based on objective facts,” Peskov told reporters. The disagreement was unlikely
to change the nature of ties between Russia and the United States, Peskov added.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said earlier on Thursday it was too early to accuse
the Syrian government of being responsible for the attack in Idlib and said a
proper investigation was needed, the RIA news agency reported.
Israel Says Assad Ordered 'Chemical Attack'
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April
06/17/Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Thursday he was "100
percent sure" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ordered a suspected chemical
attack this week that provoked international outrage. Lieberman said the alleged
attack in the neighbouring country was carried out "on the direct and
premeditated command of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with Syrian planes.""I
say this with 100 percent certainty," Lieberman told the Yediot Aharonot daily,
according to excerpts from an interview published on the paper's website. He did
not say what his certainty was based on. At least 86 people were killed on
Tuesday in rebel-held Khan Sheikhun in Idlib province in the suspected chemical
attack.The minister criticised the international community, saying there had
been "zero" reaction. Britain, France and the United States on Wednesday held
off calling a vote at the UN Security Council on a resolution demanding an
investigation after Russia suggested it would veto it. Asked whether Israel
should be more directly involved in the war in Syria, Lieberman replied, "Why
would it be up to us to do the work of others? It is the responsibility of the
international community." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the
world must act to rid Syria of chemical weapons. Israel has sought to avoid
being dragged into the six-year Syrian conflict, but has acknowledged carrying
out strikes to stop advanced weapons deliveries to Hezbollah, with whom it
fought a devastating war in 2006. Syria and Israel remain officially at war,
though the border was quiet for decades until Syria's civil war began in 2011.
Assad is supported by Israel's enemies Iran and Lebanese movement Hezbollah.
Russia also supports Assad and Netanyahu has held a series of talks with
President Vladimir Putin in recent months to avoid accidental clashes in Syria.
Turkey Says Initial Probe Suggests Syria Attack Victims
Exposed to Sarin
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/17/An initial analysis of victims of the
suspected chemical attack in Syria who were brought to Turkey for treatment
suggests they were exposed to the deadly nerve agent sarin, the Turkish health
ministry said on Thursday. "According to the results of the initial analysis,
the findings suggest the injured were exposed to a chemical substance (Sarin),"
the health ministry said in a statement, confirming that 31 people were being
treated in Turkey and three had died in hospital.
Trump Sees Russia as 'Problem', Says Haley
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/17/President Donald Trump does consider
Russia a problem, his ambassador to the United Nations and rising US
administration star Nikki Haley insisted before an often-hostile New York
audience Wednesday. "I have hit Russia over the head more times than I can count
and it's because if they do something wrong we're going to call them out on it,"
she told the annual Women in the World Summit. "The things they've done with
Crimea and Ukraine... and how they've covered up for (Syrian President Bashar
al-) Assad, those types of things we're not going to give them a pass on," she
said. "So I have had conversations with the president where he very much sees
Russia as a problem." The Republican president has come under sustained fire
from political opponents for not voicing tougher criticism of Russia at a time
when US law enforcement agencies and lawmakers are probing alleged ties between
his campaign and the Kremlin. "Everybody wants to hear his (Trump's) words, but
look at his actions," said Haley, adding that Russia opposed strengthening of
the US military and US energy expansion. "The president has done both of those,"
she told the opening night of the eighth annual summit that was founded by
journalist Tina Brown. The remark was met by jeers from an, at times, hostile
crowd in a largely Democratic-voting city where many dislike the president. The
United States and Russia are on a collision course over Syria after an horrific
chemical attack early Tuesday killed at least 86 people in rebel-held Khan
Sheikhun in northern Syria. Trump came to office promising both to improve ties
with Russian President Vladimir Putin but earlier Wednesday US Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson urged Russia to rethink its support for Assad. Haley, a
former Republican governor of South Carolina who endorsed Trump's primary
election rival Marco Rubio last year, said she had "a lot" of interaction with
the president. "I talked to him this morning," she said, adding that she was in
Washington at least once if not twice a week for the president's National
Security Council meetings and was also working to keep US senators informed. Her
conversation with a television anchor spanned just over 20 minutes and was
several times interrupted by an apparent heckler. She was applauded for remarks
in support of veterans and military families.
Russia, Syria Hit Back as Pressure Builds over 'Chemical
Attack'
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/17/Syria's regime and Russia hit back
Thursday at accusations that Damascus was behind a deadly chemical weapons
attack, as pressure built for international action over what Washington called
an "affront to humanity."France said it was determined to pursue a U.N. Security
Council resolution to investigate dozens of civilian deaths in a northwestern
Syria town, which Turkey blamed on a "chemical attack" by the Damascus
government. At least 86 people were killed early on Tuesday in rebel-held Khan
Sheikhun, and dozens more have received treatment for convulsions, breathing
problems and foaming at the mouth. World powers have pointed the finger at the
government of Bashar al-Assad, but Foreign Minister Walid Muallem repeated the
government's denial on Thursday. "The Syrian army has not, did not and will not
use this kind of weapons -- not just against our own people, but even against
the terrorists that attack our civilians with their mortar rounds," he said.
Longtime ally Russia described the events in Khan Sheikhun as a "monstrous
crime," but said there was no "realistic, verified information." "Any data that
the American side or our colleagues in other countries could have cannot be
based on objective materials or evidence," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told
reporters.
'Must not go unpunished'
At least 32 people were transferred across the border into Turkey for treatment,
and Ankara said autopsies performed on three people who died in Turkish
hospitals confirmed chemical weapons had been used. "This scientific
investigation also confirms that Assad used chemical weapons," Justice Minister
Bekir Bozdag told Turkish state media. An AFP correspondent in Khan Sheikhun on
Wednesday said the town was reeling, with dead animals lying in the streets and
residents still shell-shocked after watching their entire families die.
"Nineteen members of my family were killed," 28-year-old Abdulhamid said in the
town, surrounded by mourning relatives. "We put some masks on but it didn't do
anything... People just started falling to the ground," said Abdulhamid, who
lost his twin children and wife in the attack. After an emergency session of the
U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, Western diplomats are expected to push for a
vote as early as Thursday on a resolution demanding an investigation of the
suspected attack. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the resolution,
presented by Britain, France and the United States, remained a priority.
"These crimes must not go unpunished," Ayrault told CNEWS television.
"It's difficult because up to now every time we have presented a resolution,
there has been a veto by Russia and sometimes by China... but we must cooperate
because we need to stop this massacre," he added. If confirmed as an attack, it
would be among the worst incidents of chemical weapons use in Syria's civil war,
which has killed more than 320,000 people since it began in March 2011. It has
also prompted an about-face from U.S. President Donald Trump, who in 2013 urged
then-president Barack Obama not to intervene against Assad after a major
suspected chemical attack. Senior U.S. officials had also recently suggested it
was no longer a priority that Assad be removed from power. Trump described the
alleged attack as an "affront to humanity" and warned it had changed his view of
Assad. "I will tell you, it's already happened, that my attitude towards Syria
and Assad has changed very much," he told reporters at a joint White House news
conference with Jordan's King Abdullah. "It crossed a lot of lines for me," he
said, alluding to Obama's failure to enforce his own 2013 "red line" on the use
of chemical weapons in Syria. As she held up pictures of lifeless children at
the U.N. on Wednesday, U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley warned of unilateral action
if the U.N. failed "in its duty to act collectively."The draft U.N. resolution
backs a probe by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
and demands Syria provide information on its operations. On Thursday, Muallem
said such an investigation "must guarantee that it is not politicized, that it
has broad geographic representation and that it is launched from Damascus, not
Turkey." British ambassador to the U.N. Matthew Rycroft told reporters he hoped
council members would agree on a draft resolution by Thursday, but vowed to
press for a vote regardless. Failure to agree on a compromise text could prompt
Russia to use its veto to block the draft resolution, which Moscow has done
seven times to shield Syria. Syria officially relinquished its chemical arsenal
and signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013 to avert military action
after it was accused of an attack outside Damascus that killed hundreds. But
there have been repeated allegations of chemical weapons use since. Doctors said
victims showed symptoms consistent with the use of a nerve agent such as sarin
-- suspected to have been used by government forces in the 2013 attacks.
Syria 'Did Not and Will Not' Use Chemical Weapons, Says
Muallem
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/17/Syria's armed forces "did not and will
not" use chemical weapons, even against jihadist groups, Foreign Minister Walid
Muallem said on Thursday. "I stress to you once again: the Syrian army has not,
did not and will not use this kind of weapons -- not just against our own
people, but even against the terrorists that attack our civilians with their
mortar rounds," he said. Muallem spoke at a press conference in Damascus two
days after a suspected chemical attack left at least 86 people dead in the
rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun in northwestern Syria. The deaths have sparked
international outrage with many pointing the finger at the government of
President Bashar al-Assad, but Muallem cast doubt on the evidence. "The first
air raid conducted by the Syrian army was at 11:30 am (0830 GMT) on that day
(Tuesday) and it attacked an arms depot belonging to Al-Nusra Front that
contained chemical weapons," he said. Al-Nusra -- now known as Fateh al-Sham
Front -- was once Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate and is the main jihadist rival of
the Islamic State group. "Al-Nusra Front and ISIS (IS) and other organisations
continue to store chemical weapons in urban and residential areas," Muallem
added. The Syrian army denied on Tuesday that it had used chemical weapons
against Khan Sheikhun, and Damascus ally Moscow said "toxic substances" may have
been released when the army struck a "terrorist warehouse".
French FM Says Assad Will be Judged as a War Criminal
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/17/French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc
Ayrault said Thursday that "a day will come when international justice will give
its verdict on Bashar al-Assad who is massacring his people."Speaking to news
channel CNEWS, he added: "These crimes must not go unpunished. In any case,
there are investigations, United Nations commissions... there will be a war
crimes trial." At least 86 people were killed on Tuesday in rebel-held Khan
Sheikhun in northern Syria in a suspected chemical attack that left people
choking and foaming at the mouth. France is again pushing for a resolution at
the United Nations to condemn the attack blamed by the West on Assad's regime,
but Ayrault did not sound optimistic after the first discussions on Wednesday at
the international body. "It's difficult because up to now every time we have
presented a resolution, there has been a veto by Russia and sometimes by China
... but we must cooperate because we need to stop this massacre," he added.
Moscow, which launched a military intervention in 2015 in support of Assad's
forces, has defended the Syrian government against accusations it is responsible
for the attack.
Two Iraqi pilots killed
when helicopter shot down over Mosul by ISIS
Reuters Thursday, 6 April 2017/Two Iraqi army pilots were killed on Thursday
when their helicopter was shot down over the city of Mosul by ISIS, according to
a military statement. The helicopter was providing air support to Federal Police
forces battling ISIS fighters on the western side of Mosul, the statement said.
It is the first aircraft downed by ISIS over Mosul since the start of the
U.S.-backed offensive on the northern Iraqi city, in October. Mosul is ISIS’
last major city stronghold in Iraq. The hardline group seized the city nearly
three years ago, declaring from one of its old mosques a "caliphate" that also
spans parts of Syria. ISIS’ news agency Amaq said the helicopter crashed in al-Ghabat,
east of the Tigris river which runs through Mosul. The Iraqi military statement
also located the crash on the eastern side, which was recaptured from the
militants in January, after 100 days of fighting. The insurgents are putting up
stiff resistance in the remaining district under their control in northwestern
Mosul and the densely populated Old City. The militants are dug in surrounded by
civilians, effectively using them as human shields and taking advantage of the
narrow streets of the Old City that restrict the movements of the Iraqi forces
and limit the use of artillery and air power.
Top Bahrain Activist Denied Family Visit after Surgery
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/17/The family of jailed Bahraini activist
Nabeel Rajab has been denied visiting rights after he underwent surgery,
relatives said Thursday. Rights activists confirmed to AFP that Rajab, who is
behind bars while facing trial on charges of insulting the state, had had
stomach surgery and was banned from seeing his family. Rajab's son also said the
family was unable to see the 52-year-old prominent activist and remained
concerned about his health. "My father Nabeel Rajab (has) undergone surgery
today," Adam Nabeel Rajab tweeted late Wednesday. He said the family was
concerned about the state of Rajab's health after the interior ministry denied
them visitation. Bahrain's interior ministry did not respond to requests for
comment on Thursday. Rajab, a leading rights activist, had been arrested
multiple times in recent years over protests that the government said were
unauthorized. The Shiite activist was pardoned for health reasons in 2015 before
being rearrested in June 2016. He is currently on trial for tweets and
statements made in interviews with the foreign press that authorities say
insulted Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The Sunni-ruled kingdom has been the scene of
frequent protests and clashes with police since security forces quelled
Shiite-led nationwide protests that called for political reforms in 2011.
Hundreds of Bahrainis have been arrested and several high-profile figures,
including Shiite clerics, stripped of citizenship.
The king last week ratified a constitutional amendment permanently granting
military courts the right to try citizens accused of threatening national
security.
Moscow Says US Has No Objective Data on 'Monstrous Crime'
in Syria
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/17/The Kremlin on Thursday said US
allegations that Syrian forces carried out a deadly chemical attack are not
based on "objective" information. "Any data that the American side or our
colleagues in other countries could have cannot be based on objective materials
or evidence," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that the
incident in rebel-held Khan Sheikhun was a "monstruous crime."
Human Rights Watch Slams 'Barbaric' Hamas Executions
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/17/Human Rights Watch condemned
Thursday's executions of three men in the Gaza Strip who were accused by Hamas
of collaborating with Israel, calling on the Islamist group to stop the
"barbaric" practice. The executions were carried out after Hamas vowed revenge
for the mysterious killing of one of its commanders last month, which it blamed
on the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and its Palestinian "collaborators".
The men who were hanged on Thursday were not implicated in his killing but were
accused of past acts of "treason and collaborating," a Hamas interior ministry
statement said. "The abhorrent executions by Hamas authorities of three men in
Gaza deemed to be collaborators project weakness, not strength," Human Rights
Watch said in a statement. "Hamas authorities will never achieve true security
or stability through firing squads or by the gallows, but rather through respect
for international norms and the rule of law." It cited data from the Gaza-based
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights as saying that the Islamist group had now
executed a total of 25 Palestinians since seizing power in the Gaza Strip in
2007. The Palestinian Authority's Independent Commission for Human Rights said
the hangings were illegal. "These judgements were not issued by a competent
national court and are based on suspicion not certainty," it said.
Hamas Hangs Three Gaza 'Collaborators' with Israel
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/17/Gaza's Hamas rulers hanged three men
they accused of collaborating with Israel Thursday following calls for revenge
for the killing of one of their commanders last month, an AFP journalist
reported. Hamas says that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and its
"collaborators" killed Mazen Faqha in the Palestinian territory on March 24, but
has offered no evidence. According to Hamas, Faqha formed cells for the Islamist
group's military wing in the West Bank cities of Tubas, where he was born, and
Jenin. The men who were hanged on Thursday were not implicated in his killing
but the Islamist group has pledged "radical measures" against Palestinians who
"collaborated" with Israel. Hamas has offered "collaborators" with Israel a
chance to turn themselves in and receive clemency. "The doors of repentance will
be open for one week, from Tuesday, April 4 to Tuesday, April 11," the interior
ministry said on Tuesday. Hamas also tightly restricted movement out of the
enclave following the assassination. The measure remains in place despite calls
from NGOs and human rights groups to lift it. The restrictions have stopped male
patients aged from 15 to 45 from using the territory's sole crossing for people
to enter Israel to receive medical treatment, Human Rights Watch said. Security
checks and searches have increased, including roadblocks. Israel and Palestinian
militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008. The enclave has been under
an Israeli blockade for 10 years.
Drone Strike Kills Qaida Suspect in Yemen
A drone strike killed a suspected al-Qaida militant in southern Yemen, a
security official said on Thursday, as the US steps up its air war against the
jihadists. The missile hit al-Qaida provincial official Ahmed Ali Saana as he
was riding a motorbike late on Wednesday in the town of Khabar al-Muraqasha in
Abyan province, a major target of recent drone strikes, the official said on
condition of anonymity. The Pentagon has confirmed more than 70 air strikes on
al-Qaida targets in Yemen since February 28. Yemeni security officials have
reported dozens of suspected jihadist fighters killed in the strikes on Abyan
and the neighbouring provinces of Shabwa and Baida. More than two years of civil
war in Yemen between government forces and Shiite rebels who control the capital
have created a power vacuum which al-Qaida has exploited to consolidate its
presence. A commando raid against al-Qaida in Baida province was the first
operation US President Donald Trump ordered after taking office in January. It
went badly wrong, resulting in the deaths of a US Navy SEAL and multiple
civilians, including women and children, the Pentagon acknowledged. Last month,
Trump reportedly gave the Central Intelligence Agency new powers to authorize
drone strikes against extremist targets in the Middle East independently of the
Pentagon.
Army: Israeli Killed in West Bank Car Ramming Attack
Asharq Al-Awsat English/Asharq Al
Awsat/April 06/17/One Israeli was killed and another injured on Thursday in a
car-ramming attack near the Ofra settlement in the occupied West Bank, the
Israeli army said, adding the alleged attacker was arrested. The army statement
did not give details about him.
Pictures published by Israeli media showed a vehicle with Palestinian license
plates which had mounted the pavement, surrounded by soldiers. Witnesses told
Israeli media that as he approached a bus stop, outside Ofra, north of Ramallah,
the driver accelerated and aimed the vehicle at two Israelis waiting there.
Israeli emergency services said the dead man was in his 20s and the wounded one
19. It was the first fatal attack on Israelis since January 8, when a
Palestinian killed four soldiers in a Jerusalem truck-ramming attack. A wave of
violence that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 259
Palestinians, 41 Israelis, two Americans, one Jordanian, an Eritrean and a
Sudanese, according to an AFP count. Most of the Palestinians killed were
carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli
authorities. Others were shot dead during protests or clashes, while some were
killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. The violence has greatly
subsided in recent months. Israel has accused the Palestinian leadership of
inciting the violence. The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited
self-rule in the occupied West Bank, denies incitement and charges that in many
cases, Israel has used excessive force in thwarting attackers armed with
rudimentary weapons.
Macron, Le Pen Still Leading Polls after ‘Historic’
Presidential Debate
Michel Abu Najm/Asharq Al Awsat/April 06/17/Paris – All 11 candidates for the
French presidency held a debate on Tuesday night, the first of its kind in the
European country. The four hours of debate, which drew in six million viewers,
saw candidates clash over economy and redefining France’s place in Europe. While
frontrunners 39-year-old centrist Emmanuel Macrona and 48-year-old far-right
leader Marine Le Pen continued to lead the polls, the television debate helped
shed light on the six lesser-known candidates. “I want to recover the optimism
of the French,” said Macron, currently tipped to win in May, asserting that
entrepreneurs and businesses are job creators. “We must invest to get the
machine going again.”But Le Pen said the answer lies in “economic patriotism”,
vowing to fight “out-of-control globalization” with her anti-EU agenda. Former
Prime Minister Francois Fillon, under pressure after being charged with misuse
of public funds, said France’s grinding 10 percent unemployment and massive debt
combined to create an “explosive situation”. The 63-year-old conservative said
Europe was “veering off course” and that France needs to get it back on track.
Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon, 65, who has been rising in the polls, came
out slugging against big business, saying it should “pay back” its riches. For
his part Benoit Hamon, who is carrying the Socialist banner as Francois Hollande
nears the end of a deeply unpopular presidency, vowed to “demolish” new labor
laws seen as too pro-business, and create one million jobs in the next five
years. He took a swipe at Fillon, who has vowed to cut half a million jobs from
the country’s bloated civil service. The presence of the six minor candidates —
all polling well under five percent — added a strong anti-capitalist element to
the debate, as well as vivid anti-EU sentiment.
“The French understand that the stakes in this election are to reorient Europe”
in view of globalization and Britain’s decision to quit the EU, said Nicolas
Dupont-Aignan, head of Debout la France (Rise Up France). Jacques Cheminade,
head of the LaRouche movement, railed against what he called the “financial
dictatorship” and Philippe Poutou of the New Anti-Capitalist Party slammed
“those who stuff themselves”. Jean Lassalle, speaking in the thick accent of the
southwest, said he proposed a “future based on hope” in contrast to high suicide
rates in the suburbs of main cities, as well as in rural communities — “that’s
the reality”. Security issues prompted a vigorous discussion as the country is
still under state of emergency following deadly attacks in Paris in 2015.
Le Pen wants to reinstate France’s national borders to prevent potential
attackers from entering the country. She pledged to boost the military budget
and suggested closing a hundred mosques in the country she describes as
preaching a “radical” Islam. Macron vowed to pursue France’s military operations
in Syria, Iraq and Africa’s Sahel region and promised to hire 10,000 police
forces to help ensuring security on the country’s territory. In the crowded
debate, each candidate was allowed to speak for around 15 minutes and the
questions were restricted to just three themes — how to create jobs, how to
protect France, and the thorny issue of how each candidate would implement their
vision of France’s social model. The final result of an election that is being
watched closely around the world is still seen as highly unpredictable.
Dissatisfaction and outright hostility towards mainstream politics is high in
France and surveys show around a third of voters plan to abstain, while around a
third of likely voters say they have still not made up their minds. Macron, whom
the daily Le Parisien on Tuesday dubbed “the man to beat”, has warned that
commentators are still underestimating Le Pen. Those who say she stood no chance
in May’s deciding round — between the top two places in the first round on April
23 — are “the same people who said (Donald) Trump couldn’t win”, Macron said. He
is facing the most scrutiny, as he is tipped to clinch final victory in a May 7
run-off against Le Pen.
Russia Arrests Suspected Accomplices of St. Petersburg
Bomber
Asharq Al Awsat/April 06/17/. (AP) Several people were arrested on Thursday on
suspicion of being accomplices of the man behind Monday’s St. Petersburg metro
bombing, news agency Interfax reported on Thursday, citing a law enforcement
source. It said the detainees’ links with the suicide bomber were being
verified. Russian investigators said they had searched a flat of acquaintances
of the suspected metro bomber, as they probe the attack that left 13 people
dead. “Objects relevant to the investigation were found during the search of the
apartment where these people lived,” the Investigative Committee said. “They
were all confiscated and sent for analysis.”Russia’s Federal Security Service
(FSB) said, according to Russian news agencies, that the object found early
Thursday in an apartment building on St. Petersburg’s eastern outskirts could
contain explosives. Residents have been evacuated and explosives experts have
started working on the site. Police in the city are on high alert following
Monday’s explosion that killed the attacker and 13 other people and wounded some
55. Police on Wednesday arrested eight Central Asian migrants suspected of
acting as recruiters for the ISIS group and al-Qaeda’s Syria branch. The
investigators found no immediate evidence of their involvement in the subway
attack. Also on Thursday, a man was hurt in an explosion in the southern Russian
city of Rostov-on-Don, a law enforcement source told TASS news agency. At around
6:30am (0330 GMT), the man discovered a bag containing a torch and when he tried
to switch it on, it exploded and tore off his hand, the TASS official news
agency quoted a local policeman as saying. REN-TV cited witnesses as saying that
the explosion happened near a school on Sadovaya Street.
Paris, London: Priority in Syria Remains UN Resolution
Asharq Al Awsat/April 06/17/France and Britain are still seeking a United
Nations Security Council resolution on Syria, the foreign ministers of the two
countries said on Thursday, adding that diplomatic negotiations were a priority
over possible military action. A chemical attack by regime forces in Syria’s
rebel-held Idlib province earlier this week killed at least 72 people. Jean-Marc
Ayrault told CNEWS television that France was pursuing a UN resolution
condemning the attack and trying to convince allies to back it, in spite of
pushback from Russia. “France is still seeking to talk with its partners on the
Security Council, especially the permanent members, and Russia in particular,”
Ayrault said. He was more cautious on whether or not France would contemplate a
military intervention if Washington decided to take action and ruled out
stepping in for now. “The first stage is to get a resolution vote and above all
to re-start peace negotiations in Geneva. It is not to go in ourselves, under
the pretext that the US President may have a rush of blood to the head, and get
onto a war footing,” Ayrault said, asked whether France would join any possible
US military operation. Ayrault added that the US response on Syria was still
unclear, and that he was getting mixed messages from his counterpart, US
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. “They’re not
saying the same thing,” he said. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also
said a UN resolution should be passed before any unilateral action was taken in
Syria. “It is very important to try first to get out a UN resolution,” Johnson
told reporters in Sarajevo. “I cannot understand how anybody on UN Security
Council could fail to sign up to a motion condemning the actions of the regime
that is almost certainly responsible for that crime,” Johnson told reporters.
France and Britain renewed their call this week for the head of the Syrian
regime Bashar Assad to leave office. “His crimes cannot remain unpunished. The
day will come when international justice will have its say on Bashar al-Assad,”
Ayrault said. “In any case, there are investigations, United Nations
commissions… there will be a war crimes trial,” he added.
Key Player of 1988 Massacre to Run in Iran "Presidential Elections"
NCRI/Thursday, 06 April 2017/Ebrahim
Raisi was born in 1960. He entered the clerical regime’s judiciary from the
first years of the regime. He started his work as assistant prosecutor in Karaj
(West of Tehran) when he was 18 years old. He became the prosecutor of the
revolutionary court of Karaj when he was just 19. In 1988, when he was Deputy
Prosecutor of Tehran, he was one of the four individuals who Khomeini appointed
to carry out his order to massacre the activists of the People’s Mojahedin
Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). During that massacre, 30,000 political
prisoners, who were primarily from the PMOI, were executed within a few months.
An audio tape surfaced last summer, after 28 years, of Hossein-Ali Montazeri,
Khomeini’s designated successor at the time, meeting with the “death committee”
in Tehran, including with Raisi, about 20 days after the start of the massacre.
Montazeri told them that these executions were the biggest crimes committed by
the Islamic Republic… In that meeting Montazeri talked about how pregnant women
and 15-year-old girls were executed during the massacre. Those who attended the
meeting (including Raisi) condoned the mass executions. It was subsequently
exposed that Raisi was the most active and most ruthless member of the
committee. The audio file of the meeting between Khomeini’s then-successor and
the “death committee” also corroborated this reality. Raisi, who is Deputy Head
of the regime’s “Assembly of Experts”, was promoted to the position of Tehran
Prosecutor in 1989 subsequent to Ali Khamenei assuming the role of the regime’s
supreme leader. He held this position for five years. He was the Head of the
Office of the Inspector General for a decade from 1994 to 2004. He was the
Deputy Head of the Judiciary for a decade from 2004 to 2014. Since 2012, while
he held the position of Deputy Head of Judiciary, upon Khamenei’s order, he
became the Prosecutor General of the Special Court for the Clergy. Raisi was the
Prosecutor General from 2014 to 2015. Following the death of mullah Vaez-Tabasi,
Khamenei appointed Raisi as the Head of the Astan Quds Razavi foundation, which
is one of the most important political and financial conglomerates of the
clerical regime controlling massive assets and capital.
Geneva – UN European HQ: Condemning Executions in Iran
NCRI/Thursday, 06 April 2017/call to
hold perpetrators of 1988 massacre accountable
Speakers at a conference held in the United Nations European Headquarters in
Geneva by the international Radical Party condemned widespread human rights
violations and increasing executions in Iran, and discussed the 1988 massacre of
30,000 political prisoners in Iran. As the conference coincided with the 34th UN
Human Rights Council session, the speakers called for a UN probe into these
crimes and holding the perpetrators accountable. Former Italian MP Elizabetta
Zamparotti, joint chair of the Italian Committee of Citizens and
Parliamentarians for a Free Iran underscored the deteriorating human rights
situation in Iran. “As members of the international Radical Party we support an
international campaign for the rule of law in various countries. Iran must be
the center of this campaign’s focus,” she said. “Despite an international trend
seeking the complete revoking or suspension of the death penalty, Iran continues
to horrendously use the death penalty even against juveniles, and this is a
violation of the most fundamental international conventions, especially the
Convention on the Rights of the Child,” she added. “Rouhani is no different in
comparison to other figures involved in this regime’s massacre of 30,000
political prisoners back in 1988,” Zamparotti highlighted. Expecting moderation
from this regime is nothing but an illusion. Iran’s crimes, and especially the
1988 massacre, must be challenged through international means. “Change will only
take place through brave activists in Iran, and the international community, and
the West must support this effort by conditioning any economic relations with
this regime to Tehran respecting human rights standards,” the former Italian MP
added. Dr. Henirk Mansson, professor of Copenhagen University said human rights
violations are not forgotten through the passage of time and evaluated various
international methods to evaluate the 1988 massacre in Iran. “There are three
methods to pursue this dossier. First, referring the case to the International
Criminal Court and demanding strong accountability. Second is to include the
1988 massacre into the mission of Iran’s Special Rapporteur. This can be a
decent basis for holding the perpetrators accountable. And there is an imminent
solution through the UN Investigative Commission. This can be tracked through
the UN Human Rights Council and especially the High Commissioner in regards to
gross and systematic human rights violations. To this day 18 investigative
commissions have been launched and eight cases have involved human rights
violations,” he said. A number of eyewitnesses also delivered their remarks at
the conference. Farzad Madadzadeh, a former political prisoner in Iran,
explained what he witnessed in Iran’s prisons, the crimes and tortures used
against political prisoners in various jails across the country. He also spoke
of various pressures and inhumane measures imposed on himself and other
cellmates. Ms. Iran Mansouri, a family member of political prisoners in Iran,
spoke of arrests, tortures and inhumane pressures against political prisoners in
Iran’s prisons. Ms. Simin Nouri spoke of the women’s role in the Iranian
opposition and provided explanations regarding the women’s movement activities
and international support for these measures. Ms. Masoumeh Joshaghani, another
former political prisoner, provided further details about what she witnessed in
the regime’s prisons and how political prisoners, especially the women, stood
firm against such atrocities. Ms. Azade Alamian referred to a scope of women’s
activities against the regime aiming to establish freedom and equality.
Condemnation of the Syria Gas Attack in Idlib Province
NCRI/Thursday, 06 April 2017/Mr.
Struan Stevenson, President of the European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA),
issued a statement concerning the horrific chemical attack in Syria, the
following is the full text: We strongly condemn the gas attack in Khan Sheikhoun,
Idlib Province on Tuesday and call for urgent and effective action by the UN
Security Council to punish Bashar al-Assad. This attack, which left hundreds
dead and injured, is a war crime. The international community's silence and
inaction in responding to this massacre will simply embolden the Syrian dictator
and his allies to continue to expand their war crimes and crimes against
humanity. Assad has slaughtered tens of thousands of Syrians with bombs,
bullets, torture and poison gas. A similar attack took place in Eastern Ghouta
in 2013, after which the US administration did nothing, despite Barack Obama
having said that any use of chemical weapons would cross a red line. His failure
to act led to 4 more years of ongoing atrocities in Syria. Raed Al Saleh the
head of the Syrian Civil Defence or White Helmets has said: “I am horrified at
reports that certain leading European politicians want to consider a deal with
the Assad regime. It is beyond belief that the perpetrators of most of the
violence could effectively be rewarded and even propped up, for their brutal
crimes.” It is important to point out that war crimes in Syria have taken place
with the full cognizance and support of the Iranian regime and the active
presence and involvement of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and
its affiliated militias. Therefore the UN, US and EU must combine their
political will and use all their resources to expel the Iranian regime’s forces
and militias from Syria as the first essential step for toppling Assad and
establishing peace and democracy in Syria. The European Iraqi Freedom
Association (EIFA) extends its condolences to the families of the victims.
Struan Stevenson, President, European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA).
Struan Stevenson was a member of the European Parliament representing Scotland
(1999-2014), President of the Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Iraq
(2009-14) and Chairman of Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup (2004-14). He is a
lecturer on Middle East policy and President of the European Iraqi Freedom
Association (EIFA).
Iran's War Crimes in Syria
NCRI/Thursday, 06 April 2017/Syrian
opposition delegation chief Dr. Nasr al-Hariri warned of Iran’s occupation of
Syria and measures provoking sectarian wars. “Iran is committing war crimes west
of Damascus. What is taking place today is a continuation of a planned policy by
the Assad regime and its allies, especially Iran, to gain dominance over all
areas west of Damascus. This is a very dangerous initiative,” he said in an
interview with Al Arabiya TV. “This regime is involved in war crimes. Displacing
people from their homes, forcing locals from their ancestral home lands,
altering the social fabric, all the while imposing blockades and mass killings
against the Syrian people,” al-Hariri added. “America’s focus on fighting
against Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) and ending Iran’s meddling will serve in the interest
of the Syrian revolution,” he continued. “Washington’s focus on distancing Iran
from Syria, and in the end, expelling this regime’s proxies from Syria will
leave Iran completely isolated,” al-Hariri concluded.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published
On April 06-07/17
Gassing’ Syrians Is Overshadowed by
Considerations of “The Eastern Question”
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/April 06/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=54090
Washington graciously ‘reassured’ us the other day that the fate of Syria’s
Bashar Al-Assad is no longer a United States priority in dealing with the
ongoing tragedy there. This message was conveyed by not one, but two foreign
policy authorities, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Ambassador to the
United Nations Nikki Haley. Hours before, Turkey, too, had some ‘good news’. It
declared its “Shield of the Euphrates” in northern Syria as ‘complete’ as after
‘achieving its aim (!)’, although, what had been achieved up till the declared
‘completion’ contradicts with not only Ankara’s promises, but also with its
threats and sabre-rattling since 2011.
Between Washington’s ‘reassurances’ and Ankara’s ‘good news’, the journey of
lost peace, non-existing trust, as well as ill will, limped to another unsavory
Geneva stop.
The Syrian regime’s thugs continued with the help of their Iranian and Russian
‘sponsors’ the process of uprooting and displacing people, and shamelessly and
openly redrawing a map of Syria based on sectarian cleansing and partition.
Secessionist Kurds, too, were working over-time to carry out what they had been
tasked to do in order to destroy what remains of the Syria we know; while
‘loyalists’ and ‘opposition radicals’ – who have been accusing each other of
apostasy and terrorism – found enough common interests in carrying out
‘population exchange’ at the expense of helpless people.
A couple of days ago, I read two interesting articles. The first tackled the
competition raging between Turkey and Iran to re-establish their long gone old
empires while, in fact, they are nothing more than lackeys to the more powerful
superpowers. The second posed the valid question of ‘why after 6 years of
tragedies and bloodshed we do not hear of a ‘Syrian Question’, similar to the
‘Palestinian Question’ and the ‘Armenian Question’?
Here, I venture to say that there are several complex and intersecting issues
involved. Issues that one needs to understand and deal with realistically, away
from the announcements and posturing.
I claim that, we in the Middle East are completely lost. There are no more
proper yardsticks for running away and moving forward, expansionism and
entrenchment, barricading behind nationalism bordering on racism… and religion
to the extent of accusing others of being infidels. Indeed, if the Arabs appear
almost ‘absent’ from the scene, the Iranians, the Turks and also the Kurds seem
to be lost even if their respective leaders have managed to convince them that
they are approaching a great dawn in the ‘absence’ of the Arabs.
However, there is still one major difference between the case of the Iranians
and the Turks, and that of the Kurds. The former are raising the banners of
religious and sectarian ‘leadership/legitimacy’ in what is fundamentally a
nationalist bid for regional supremacy. As for the latter, they are bidding for
national sovereignty and expansion by becoming clients to global superpowers
that are much more powerful that Turkey and Iran, both of which have never
agreed on one issue as much as they did against a ‘Greater Kurdistan’!
While the Arabs are nowhere to be seen, Tehran is bidding to convince the West,
indeed, the ‘World of Christendom’, that it is its ally in the war against “Takfiris”.
A term in Tehran’s jargon which simply means political Sunni Islam.
In turn, Ankara is trying – so far unsuccessfully – to remind the West of its
past NATO ‘services’ during the Cold war. However, Russia’s apparent success in
‘penetrating’ Western political and security establishments has weakened the
credibility of Turkey’s leadership in America and Europe. Noteworthy here, is
the fact that in Russia’s Christian and nationalist memory, there is a deeply
held hate and fear of any Muslim power – particularly, Sunni – sharing its
southern borders.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rhetoric, almost always, is neither
helpful in putting to rest the Ottoman siege of Vienna and the old ‘Eastern
Question’, nor persuading Europeans to ignore what their racist leaders are
drumming up as the ‘Muslim time-bomb’ in the Continent.
In this regard, the Iranians have proven to be far more ‘PR savvy’ than their
Turkish neighbors. They have been much more skillful, despite the frequent vocal
threats against Israel’s existence. To begin with, even the Israel’s leadership
does not believe these threats, and treats them as empty bravado intended for
local consumption; the reason being that Iran which today boasts being in
control of four Arab capitals, has never attacked Israel. However, Tel Aviv
seems happy about these empty threats for two reasons: the first is that they
facilitate the process of liquidation of any future Palestinian state; and the
second, is that they ensure Tel Aviv continued Western political, military and
economic support.
Furthermore, a powerful Iran wreaking havoc in the Muslim world, and creating
terrorist Sunni organizations that help its PR strategy, and distort the image
of Sunni Political Islam, is very beneficial to Israel and the West since the
Sunni-Shi’ite animosity whose fire Tehran is stoking is the best recipe for a
global Islamic ‘civil war’.
While these complications engulf the Middle East, voices of hate and xenophobia
– especially against immigrants and refugees, and particularly those from Muslim
countries increase. Regardless, which is the main reason behind such a
situation; is it Western racist supremacy which establishes centuries of
colonialism, and even the Crusades before that; or is it the Islamic conquests
which reached central Europe and Western Europe, or the current difficult
co-existence between Muslims and ‘civil rule’?
My guess is that the two sides have enough to fear and be greedy about. The
Christian west is demographically dwindling, and its global influence looks
threatened by the rise of non-Western, non-white and non-Christian powers, and
in both cases its cause is not being helped by the tide of globalization. Thus
it feels cornered as the refuge of the ‘nation-state’ is shaken, ‘capitalism’ is
losing its glitz, ‘democracy’ no longer enjoys consensus, and neither does the
issue of the separation of the state and the church.
On the other side, those outside the ‘World of Christendom’ that they are
outside the arena which they had entered, and sometimes accepted its rules and
preconditions unwillingly. They have adopted a ‘democracy’ alien to their
traditions, a ‘capitalism’ detached from their heritage, and a ‘secularism’ they
are barely comfortable with. However, as major Asian players are accommodating
what is going on with patience and wisdom, irrational violent rejection embodied
in what we define as ‘terrorism’ is pitting the Muslim World, specifically,
Sunni Muslims in an indiscriminate war of obliteration against the West, Indeed,
the whole World.
This brand of ‘terrorism’ has provided anti Muslims everywhere with not only the
perfect excuse to practice racism and discrimination, but also justified using
all kinds of weapons against them… including disregarding their human rights,
dehumanizing them, and ignoring their most just and humane causes.
**Eyad Abu Shakra is the managing editor of Asharq Al-Awsat. He has been with
the newspaper since 1978.
Tech Underestimates Future Demand for Privacy
Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg View/April 06/17
US Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey designed his social
media presence to be safe from prying eyes. He set up a private Instagram
account only followed by family members, and subscribed to Twitter under a false
name. After just one mention in a public speech, it took only a few hours of a
reporter’s time to discover the accounts with certainty approaching 100 percent.
(Apparently in response to the story, the Twitter account — which quickly
started gaining followers — is now available only to subscribers approved by its
owner.)
If anyone really wants Comey’s family pictures and media-reading history, the
Instagram and Twitter accounts will be hacked in no time. In any case, the
companies involved have the data, and the Senate recently voted to allow
internet service providers to sell personal browsing and app usage histories to
advertisers — or, presumably, to anybody who wants them. Meanwhile, the internet
privacy of non-US citizens is not protected at all thanks to an executive order
that tells agencies foreigners are exempt from the US Privacy Act, even though
European officials cling to the illusion of an unenforceable “Privacy Shield”
arrangement with the US (Under it, affected Europeans are invited to sue in US
courts; I’d have to be officially accused of being the leader of ISIS before I’d
contemplate that.) People the world over should be aware that using any of the
services provided by major US-based internet companies means giving up privacy
altogether and opening up the most personal data to governments, advertisers,
the press and private investigators. It also makes malicious hackers’ work a lot
easier because a lot of eggs are being put in large baskets.
Up until now, the services have flourished anyway thanks to the well-known
privacy paradox: people say they care about their privacy, but in practice they
willingly give it up for convenience. My favorite explanation of the phenomenon
is so-called “benefit immediacy”: When the benefits of disclosure are
instantaneous while the risks are delayed, the benefits are perceived to be
higher than the risks. Last year’s Pew Research study of the paradox showed a
plurality of Americans is fine with giving up shopping histories in exchange for
a discount card, but not with putting tracking devices in cars in exchange for
cheaper car insurance.
The trade-off, though, is highly fluid; customers may become hostile to privacy
intrusions by the tech industry if there are more major security breaches and
more people are personally affected. So while investment currently flows mostly
to companies whose products further compromise privacy — such as Uber, which
knows everything about its customers’ movements and has been known to misuse the
information, or Internet of Things startups that essentially install
surveillance technology in people’s homes — privacy protection may be Silicon
Valley’s next hot play.
While there are many privacy protection products available, from browsers that
block trackers to messenger applications offering end-to-end encryption, using
one or several such products doesn’t guarantee true safety: users need a
holistic approach that entails lifestyle changes to stay safe but still
connected to the tech-enabled universe.
A company called Purism, for example, sells laptops with maximum privacy and
security in mind. It means not using certain processors — like recent Intel ones
— that enable remote access to the computers even when they’re powered off. It
also employs an operating system (Linux-based) that prevents information
collection, and has privacy-ensuring software, from a custom browser to
encrypted messaging to a Google-bypassing map app. If one has the discipline to
give up the social networks (especially Facebook, whose data-collection
practices are so complex that it’s probably fair to say no outsider understands
them), a Purism machine can take care of all the basic privacy and security
needs. But Purism is a tiny firm, which has had to crowdfund its component
inventory. It gets some attention in the tech press, but not enough for a
breakthrough: Its target audience is considered paranoid.
Because much of the tech economy is advertising-financed, and advances in
important fields such as big data and artificial intelligence depend on people’s
propensity to share lots of information, much of it inadvertently, privacy
concerns have taken a back seat. That doesn’t mean, however, that the status quo
is sustainable.
I wrote recently about a similar lack of investment in devices that work to
reduce, not increase, people’s device dependency; at some point, when medical
science judges the digital media addiction as dangerous as the tobacco one and
there’s public pressure to combat it, the money will come. The same goes for
privacy. The more intrusive the tech industry becomes, the less users want to be
the commodity sold by tech companies to advertisers or other exploiters of
behavioral data and the more demand there will be for means of resistance.
Investors betting on a Big Brother future may be in for some nasty surprises;
those who bet against its endurance may be rewarded for their prescience.
Iranian Militias in Bahrain
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/April 06/17
The quiet kingdom on the Arabian Gulf has experienced a tough crisis over six
years of chaos, explosions and sabotage. Bahrain has been shouting loud for six
years: This is not a revolution nor a peaceful protest, but a riot supported by
Iran. The West, however, only sees what it wants to see. Even worse, the
administration of former US President Barack Obama abandoned its closest ally
and the Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy – it also blinded itself to the
facts. But the facts are finally being revealed to the western governments– they
themselves are admitting, for the first time, that there are criminal acts by
which Iran is endeavoring to form militias in Bahrain.The Washington Post has
published documents and interviews with former and current intelligence
officials on a detailed training program by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC) to train its Bahraini members on building advanced bombs and waging
guerrilla warfare.European and American analysts now see a mounting threat since
Iranian-funded and -armed cells are emerging. The Washington Post intelligence
report also revealed that over the past three years, a huge quantity of modern
weapons and military grade bombs have been discovered in Bahrain, all of which
have most certainly been made by Iran.
At any rate, what the western intelligence considers as a newly-discovered major
surprise has been known and backed with evidence since the eruption of the riots
in February 2011. The Iranian exploitation of these acts to picture them as
another form of the “Arab Spring” has also been known.
In fact, the Iranian regime had itself made this admission when in March 2016,
Senior IRGC Saeed Qassimi openly declared “Bahrain an Iranian province that had
broken away from our country due to colonization.” He added that Iran is now a
base to support “the revolution in Bahrain”.
The belated western confession that the developments in Bahrain are neither a
revolution nor an “Arab Spring” is a new western failure in analyzing, reading
and taking decisions in the region. It is true that the Trump administration is
keen on setting things right through imposing sanctions on two Bahraini
individuals who have been designated as terrorists on the US terrorism list. The
US Department of State pointed out clearly that the designation came after the
“escalation of rebel attacks in Bahrain, where Iran provided arms, funds and
training for the rebels.”
The Bahraini kingdom has however witnessed serious losses and has been suffering
for six years from organizations, associations and western parliaments that
depended on the wrong stances of their governments. This led to the acquittal of
the criminals and the indictment of the victims and caused unjustified
international pressure. This complicated the Bahraini crisis, which was not a
revolution, but a riot backed by the Iranian regime’s money and arms. The West’s
confession, although very late, is an opportunity for Bahrain to face all these
rights and humanitarian organizations that overlooked all the human rights
violations in all the conflict zones around the world and focused only on
Bahrain.It is time to confront these organizations with their own weapons: the
intelligence reports that they have long used as an excuse, even if in most
cases they were used for political, not rights, purposes.
Scholar Radwan al-Sayed Wins King Faisal International
Prize for Islamic Studies
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/April 06/17
Well did the committee supervising King Faisal International Prize for Islamic
Studies this year by granting its award to Dr. Radwan al-Sayed whose work made
significant difference in this field. Sayed is one of today’s few intellectuals
who provide a systematic and developed analysis of Islamic culture. By
presenting this award to him the committee sent a positive message indicating
that this was the Islamic ideology we wanted. In the speech he delivered when he
received the award, Sayed focused on three challenges Muslims were facing across
the world. The three challenges he shed light on were: the challenge of rescuing
the national state, as he called it, the challenge of religious reform and the
challenge of rectifying relations with the world. Moreover, and over the course
of four decades, Sayed contributed to issuing valuable ideological works that
have been distinguished from other traditional ones.
His ideas discuss the modernization of Islam, which is lagging behind because of
burdens that prevent it from progressing, leaving it unsuitable for the current
time and place.
Sayed’s history has a rich and diverse academic career; from Tarshish in Lebanon
to al-Azhar, then to the University of Bamberg in Germany followed by the
University of Chicago. He was familiar with different schools of Islam in
several Arab cities. In his speech, Sayed talked about his categorization of
political Islam’s ideology, which is an essential matter that must be addressed
considering the dangerous historical circumstances. The political crisis among
Muslims lies in the historic interpretations of Islam, that parties are being
selective about. Before Sayed classified this, several groups had created cells
whose political Islamic ideology established the “legitimacy” of the ISIS group
and described how the Muslim individual should live his life. These groups are
responsible for the disasters the world is suffering from nowadays. The
significance of intellectuals like Dr. Sayed is their intellectual and
scientific capability.
This is, of course, in addition to their respect, which makes them the most
competent to submit a new cultural project that could resolve the crisis of a
billion Muslims, who suffer from oppression by their jurists. Those jurists have
either been brainwashed or failed to keep up with the developments that have
changed the world. Dr. Sayed was aware of this challenge when he graduated from
al-Azhar University in Cairo and traveled to Germany to resume his Islamic
studies.
He says that a German orientalist ironically asked him: “Why do you come to us
from al-Azhar to attain a degree in Islamic studies while we do not feel the
need to go to al-Azhar to study about classical Islam?” Islamic studies, like
all studies, are not exclusive for Muslims and some of the most distinguished
works related to Islam are found in Western universities. Dr. Sayed, who studied
in many universities and research centers, believes that participating in
establishing and developing the “science of Islam” is a necessary and honorable
task performed by respectable institutions like the King Faisal Foundation.
Granting Dr. Sayed this award signifies the recognition he deserves. We look up
to him, to figures like him and to modernizing groups because they push the
elite towards reforming the underdeveloped and sabotaging ideological situation
that neither suits the present of a great nation nor its great history.
Developing scientific centers and activating the special ones is the first step
towards developing the entire society.
The Terrorism Industry
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/April 06/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8744/terrorism-industry
What is obvious is that the West concerns itself with its live citizens; we
concern ourselves in glorifying our industry of death. No one here really cares
about the dead: they quickly become just an excuse for more violence and more
terror attacks.
When one looks at Westerners, one can only envy the hyper-morality of their
self-criticism. They are forever accusing themselves of moral lapses. Sometimes
they seem to have some kind of autoimmune disease whose function is to cleanse
their societies.
To us, it looks as if all they really care about are hating Jews and stroking
corrupt dictatorships.
Perhaps the time has come to learn from our "enemy" and first take a cold hard
look at ourselves.
It is obvious that the West concerns itself with its live citizens; we concern
ourselves in glorifying our industry of death.
It seems we regard our dead differently from the way the dead are regarded in
the West. Here, no respect is paid to the shaheed [martyr]; he is expendable. He
serves only as an excuse to hate, riot and glorify the "resistance" and the
"jihad" -- terrorist attacks.
Why, during the long years of our conflict in the Middle East, have we
Palestinians never interested ourselves in the bodies of Palestinian terrorists
killed in terrorist attacks? No one has ever shown the slightest interest in
their fate. Arabs and Muslims in the Middle East often point fingers at one
another, yet in reality, we respect neither the living nor the dead. No one
buries the thousands of bodies of Islamists killing each other. We abandon our
brothers to rot in foreign soil. There are untold number of civilians killed in
Syria, Iraq and Yemen, their bodies unmourned, eaten by scavengers.
We simply use the bodies of terrorists -- to call for more blood and more
terrorism against civilians, and to keep the terrorism industry going. No one
here really cares about the dead: they quickly become just an excuse for more
violence and more terror attacks.
When one looks at Westerners, one can only envy the hyper-morality of their
self-criticism. They are forever accusing themselves of moral lapses. Sometimes
they seem to have some kind of autoimmune disease whose function is to cleanse
their societies.
One honestly has to wonder at the West, surrounded as it is by murderers,
rapists and terrorists responsible for the flight of millions of refugees from
the Middle East, yet struggling to be hyper-moral, dealing obsessively with
self-criticism about people who offend terrorists, or how to be nicer to
individuals who often can be seen not accepting hospitality but trying to see
how much advantage of it they can take. There do not seem to be many refugees
risking their lives to get to the oil-rich countries of the Gulf -- Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait. Nor do there seem many
invitations from them to go there.
The so-called "human rights" groups -- usually just political hit-squads -- the
lazy, biased media; the sweet but misguided do-gooders of Europe; the
sanctimonious church groups who cannot tell their friends from their enemies;
the United Nations, which empowers all the corrupt dictatorships -- they really
do not give a rap about us, our jobs, or well-being or our rancid governance. To
us, it looks as if all they really care about are hating Jews and stroking
corrupt dictatorships.
Perhaps the time has come to learn from our "enemy" and first take a cold hard
look at ourselves.
**Bassam Tawil is a scholar based in the Middle East.
© 2017 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.
Europe's Out-of-Control Censorship
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/April 06/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10123/europe-censorship
If Facebook insists on the rules of censorship, it should at the very least
administer those rules in a fair way. Facebook, however, does not even pretend
that it administers its censorship in any way that approximates fairness.
Posts critical of Chancellor Merkel's migrant policies, for example, can be
categorized as "Islamophobia", and are often found to violate "Community
Standards", while incitement to actual violence and the murder of Jews and
Israelis by Palestinian Arabs is generally considered as conforming to
Facebook's "Community Standards".Notwithstanding the lawsuits, Facebook's bias
is so strong that it recently restored Palestinian Arab terrorist group Fatah's
Facebook page, which incites hatred and violence against Jews -- despite having
shut it down only three days earlier. In 2016 alone, this page had a minimum of
130 posts glorifying terror and murder of Jews. Germany has formally announced
its draconian push towards censorship of social media. On March 14, Germany's
Justice Minister Heiko Maas announced the plan to formalize into law the "code
of conduct", which Germany pressed upon Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in late
2015, and which included a pledge to delete "hate speech" from their websites
within 24 hours.
"This [draft law] sets out binding standards for the way operators of social
networks deal with complaints and obliges them to delete criminal content,"
Justice Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement announcing the planned
legislation.
"Criminal" content? Statements that are deemed illegal under German law are now
being conflated with statements that are merely deemed, subjectively and on the
basis of entirely random complaints from social media users -- who are free to
abuse the code of conduct to their heart's content -- to be "hate speech". "Hate
speech" has included critiques of Chancellor Angela Merkel's migration policies.
To be in disagreement with the government's policies is now potentially
"criminal". Social media companies, such as Facebook, are supposed to be the
German government's informers and enforcers -- qualified by whom and in what
way? -- working at the speed of light to comply with the 24-hour rule. Rule of
law, clearly, as in North Korea, Iran, Russia or any banana-republic, has no
place in this system.
Maas is not pleased with the efforts of the social media companies. They do not,
supposedly, delete enough reported content, nor do they delete it fast enough,
according to a survey by the Justice Ministry's youth protection agency. It
found that YouTube was able to remove around 90% of "illegal" postings within a
week, while Facebook deleted or blocked 39% of content and Twitter only 1%. The
German minister, it seems, wants more efficiency.
"We need to increase the pressure on social networks... There is just as little
room for criminal propaganda and slander [on social media] as on the streets,"
said Maas. "For this we need legal regulations." He has now presented these
legal regulations in the form of a draft bill, which provides for complaints,
reporting and fines.
There also appears to be no differentiation made between primary-source hate
speech, as in many religious tenets, and secondary-source hate speech, reporting
on the former.
According to the draft, social media platforms with more than two million users
would be obliged to delete or block any criminal offenses, such as libel,
slander, defamation or incitement, within 24 hours of receipt of a user
complaint. The networks receive seven days for more complicated cases. Germany
could fine a social media company up to 50 million euros for failing to comply
with the law; it could fine a company's chief representative in Germany up to 5
million euros.
It does not stop there. Germany does not want these measures to be limited to
its own jurisdiction. It wants to share them with the rest of Europe: "In the
end, we also need European solutions for European-wide companies," said Maas.
The European Union already has a similar code of conduct in place, so that
should not be very hard to accomplish.
Facebook, for its part, has announced that by the end of 2017, the number of
employees in complaints-management in Berlin will be increased to more than 700.
A spokeswoman said that Facebook had clear rules against hate speech and works
"hard" on removing "criminal content".
If Facebook insists on operating under rules of censorship, it should at the
very least aim to administer those rules in a fair manner. Facebook, however,
does not even pretend that it administers its censorship in any way that
approximates fairness. Instead, Facebook's practice of its so-called "Community
Standards" -- the standards to which Facebook refers when deleting or allowing
content on its platform in response to user complaints -- shows evidence of
entrenched bias. Posts critical of Merkel's migrant policies, for example, can
get categorized as "Islamophobia", and are often found to violate "Community
Standards", while incitement to actual violence and the murder of Jews and
Israelis by Palestinian Arabs is generally considered as conforming to
Facebook's "Community Standards".
Facebook's bias, in fact, became so pronounced that in October 2015, Shurat
Hadin Israel Law Center filed an unprecedented lawsuit against Facebook on
behalf of some 20,000 Israelis, to stop allowing Palestinian Arab terrorists to
use the social network to incite violent attacks against Jews. The complaint
sought an injunction against Facebook that required it to monitor incitement and
to respond immediately to complaints about content that incites people to
violence. Shurat Hadin wrote at the time:
"...Facebook is much more than a neutral internet platform or a mere 'publisher'
of speech because its algorithms connect the terrorists to the inciters.
Facebook actively assists the inciters to find people who are interested in
acting on their hateful messages by offering friend, group and event suggestions
... Additionally, Facebook often refuses to take down the inciting pages,
claiming that they do not violate its 'community standards'. Calling on people
to commit crimes is not constitutionally protected speech and endangers the
lives of Jews and Israelis".
In 2016, Shurat Hadin filed a separate $1 billion lawsuit on behalf of five
victims of Hamas terrorism and their families. They are seeking damages against
Facebook under the U.S. Antiterrorism Act, for Facebook's having provided
material support and resources to Hamas in the form of Facebook services, which
Hamas then used to carry out their terrorist activities. The US has officially
designated Hamas a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" which means that it is a
criminal offense to provide material support to such an organization.
Notwithstanding the lawsuits, Facebook's bias is so strong that it recently
restored Palestinian Arab terrorist group Fatah's Facebook page, which incites
hatred and violence against Jews -- despite having shut it down only three days
earlier. In 2016 alone, this page had a minimum of 130 posts glorifying terror
and the murder of Jews.
It is only a small step from imposing censorship on social media companies to
asking the same of email providers, or ordering postal authorities to screen
letters, magazines and brochures in the event that citizens spread supposed
"xenophobia" and "fake news". There is ample precedent for such a course of
action on the continent: During the Cold War, people living behind the Iron
Curtain had their private letters opened by the communist authorities; those
passages deemed to be out of line with the communist orthodoxy, were simply
blacked out.
Who would have thought that more than a quarter of a century after the fall of
the Berlin Wall (1989), Western Europe would be reinventing itself in the image
of the Soviet Union?
**Judith Bergman is a writer, columnist, lawyer and political analyst.
© 2017 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.
What happened? Iranians are condemning Khan Sheikhoun massacre!
Mamdouh AlMuhaini/Al Arabiya/April 06/17
Millions have been shocked by the sight of children dying as a result of the
recent Khan Sheikhoun massacre in Idlib. We should be aware that unfortunately
this might not be the last chemical attack. Such attacks have taken place
several times in the past. We wake up to the news of horrific massacres and then
life goes back to normal. Then another massacre happens. The photo of Aylan
Kurdi, the Syrian boy who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea as he was fleeing the
war in Syria with his family, shook the world but nothing happened. Later on,
there was the picture of Syrian child Omran Daqneesh wiping blood off his face;
nothing happened thereafter. Unfortunately, nothing will happen now as well. It
is morally and ethically shameful to live through these developments and watch
how these crimes against humanity are being committed before the eyes of the
entire world. Why did I say this tragedy will happen again and perhaps very
soon? It is because the world is passing through a phase of chaos and there is
no power capable of ending these human tragedies. Victims’ hopes and demands do
not jail criminals; security forces do but there is no one policing the world
today. Assad will attack his people with toxic gas like he has done before and
Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Iranian regime and Hezbollah will protect
him. There will be no power in the world that will be capable of punishing him.
In order to understand how we have reached this state of affairs, where crimes
are being publicly committed, we must go back a little.
Action speaks louder than words. The discussion should now be focused on the
policy Trump adopts to deal with this crisis and what are likely to be its
implications
Dictators of the past
History is full of leaders who have committed hideous massacres. However, there
has always been a virtuous power capable of deterring them and maintaining the
international system. Adolf Hitler committed terrifying massacres but thanks to
American power and famous British leader Winston Churchill, he was defeated. As
he killed himself, his evil regime ended for good. Benito Mussolini also
committed horrible crimes and in the end he was executed and his body was hung
upside down like a slain sheep. The allies’ power was the reason behind his
fall. Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi also committed terrible crimes and he would
have remained in power for many decades and committed more crimes if the NATO
hadn’t intervened and put an end to his dark era. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
paid the price for his horrible crime. Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who
committed war crimes, ended up dead in a prison cell in The Hague. All these and
many other criminals would have resumed killing people if a power had not
emerged at the right time and eliminated them.
When it comes to Bashar al-Assad, the situation has been different for several
reasons. The most significant one is the retreat of the American power during
Barack Obama’s term who promised to punish Assad but backed down at the last
minute. Some officials in his administration – such as US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton and later John Kerry – called on him to intervene and end the
Syrian tragedy but he refused to perform the role of the necessary good power at
the right time. Although Obama reiterated that he did not want to involve his
soldiers in this war, like the way it happened in Iraq, the issue was much
bigger than that. It was maintaining a world order, which had lost its balance
due to the crimes against innocent people.
Lack of accountability
This is the reason why several massacres have taken place and yet no one is held
accountable. It is no longer strange to see footages of blue bodies of dead
children being shown on television channels. What’s worse is that the Iranians
and Russians practically want to destroy this international system and establish
another that has different standards and conditions where rogue regimes continue
to commit their crimes without being held accountable. This amounts to
destroying the world we live in today – the world which we thought has become
civilized to the point that it will not allow these massacres to be committed in
public. Obama’s term has ended so the attention is focused on the Trump
administration, which has condemned these massacres. Trump’s comments on the
chemical attack have been far more forceful than that of his aides. He said the
attack is something “that cannot be ignored by the civilized world.”Of course,
action speaks louder than words. The discussion should now be focused on the
policy Trump adopts to deal with this crisis and what are likely to be its
implications. Will he continue the isolationist policy like his predecessor or
demand human rights, like Jimmy Carter. Will he call for democracy like George
W. Bush or be a realist like George Bush Sr.? All these political
classifications do not matter amid the chaos and all these unprecedented
horrific massacres. Syrians do not want to defend their rights but they just
want to stay alive. This is the least that the American power, which is the only
power capable of confronting this axis of evil, can do. Ironically, the Iranians
have condemned the crime and said they want to help children caught in this
conflict. These are the same children Iran participated in killing by attacking
them with chemical gas and barrel bombs.
Is it now Trump’s turn to bring misery to Syrians?
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/April 06/17
I have written extensively (such as this article) about the fact that the Obama
administration could and should have ended the civil war by intervening in Syria
to enforce their own chemical weapons “red line”. Obama’s failure to deliver on
that very reasonable threat has done untold damage to Syria, to its people, but
also to America’s ability to project power and promote its interests around the
world. Not to be outdone, President Trump has now made matters even worse.
Though he has failed to intervene, President Obama did at least impose some
restraint on the Assad regime, by getting both him and his Russian allies to
agree that the Syrian government should surrender all chemical weapons. At the
very least, Syrian civilians would no longer need to worry about the threat that
they will be gassed by their own president. But that was then. As it turns out,
Assad still has some Sarin gas stockpiles lying around and what better use for
it than to drop it on his own civilians, once more? And the response from the
White House? Have at it, Bashar! Syria is no longer a priority for America.
Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are rather more preoccupied with
smoothing things over with Russia. What is a few more hundreds of dead civilians
in Syria to the hundreds of thousands we have already?
This, of course, does nothing to allay concerns over Trump’s dealings with
Russia. Though, to be fair, the administration has been increasingly brazen in
the face of mounting evidence on that front.
A former Trump adviser has insisted that giving documents to a Russian spy was
“no big deal” while a former national security advisor to Trump, Michael Flynn,
has a “story to tell” about the administration’s links to Russia in exchange for
immunity.
If tyrants like Assad can now deploy chemical weapons against civilians with
impunity, any pretense that international law is still in force has to be
abandoned. This attack is a war crime, and nobody is queuing up to respond to it
Turning point in geopolitics
Nevertheless, this potentially marks a very dangerous turning point in
geopolitics. If tyrants like Assad can now deploy chemical weapons against
civilians with impunity, any pretence that international law is still in force
has to be abandoned. This attack is a war crime, and nobody is queuing up to
respond to it.
The United States would normally be the first to respond, and its allies would
join in. Now the United States has declared it has no interest in the situation,
and the other Western countries, for all their protestations, have neither the
capacity, nor the will to intervene on their own in any effective manner.
What is worse, this does not in any way promote in any way American interests.
America’s Western allies did not need any more reason to be concerned over the
new direction Trump is dragging the United States towards.
Such a stark difference in the moral response over what is expected from America
in the world, and the clear preference towards Russian interests even at the
cost of implicit American strategic interests is not going to put anyone in NATO
at ease. Nor is the European Union be happy about the next incoming wave of
Syrian refugees this escalating situation in Syria is likely to produce. Trump
seems to be doing exactly what many of his supporters claimed he would do:
“shake things up”. What that will mean for the United States domestically
remains to be seen. But for Syria, this already means giving Assad and Putin
free reign to commit as many crimes against humanity as they wish. For the wider
Middle East, this will translate into further destabilization and the increased
likelihood of full-blown war. For America’s allies, this means that America’s
treaties and commitments are hardly worth the paper they are written on.
And for the world, it means that the United States has forfeited its rightful
place as leader among nations. So much for America and “greatness”.
Why some family businesses do not taste success
Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi/Al Arabiya/April 06/17
In most cases, family businesses are those firms that are established and run by
individuals. Sometimes, the individual owner gives a portion of the stake in the
firm to his brothers or sons. The individual, usually from humble beginnings,
starts his business and then he expands it, transforming it later into an
establishment or company. That individual founder will be the major decision
maker of the firm until he becomes aged or breathes his last. In the event of
the founder’s death, his eldest son will normally take over the firm on the
basis of a will, if there is one prepared beforehand. There are many instances
in which such firms are successful and expand their activities. In other cases,
disagreement among the heirs may lead to the collapse of the firm. This might be
because of mismanagement by those who run the firm or because of the jealousy
and suspicion of some partners about the overall functioning of the firm.
This may be one of the key factors that has prompted many owners of family
businesses to convert their establishments and limited liability companies into
joint stock companies by floating a maximum of 30 percent of shares into
circulation, and keeping the remaining shares in their name and the names of
their sons and daughters. They constitute the board of directors and choose its
chairman by exercising their power as long as they are the holders of more than
two-thirds of the shares. The shareholders have to agree with the decision of
the chairman of the board, and those who try to criticize him or make an
observation with which he does not agree might be marginalized to the extent of
not having their board membership renewed in the future.
Poor performance
Some family businesses have had a record of poor performance and a subsequent
fall in their profits. Some of these firms have failed to earn any profit while
others are run at a loss. There are other firms that follow corrupt practices
even in the process of their formation and publish false financial statements.
These firms float their shares at a high premium and this causes tens of
thousands of subscribers to incur huge losses, and eventually results in cases
of fraud and cheating. Subsequently, these cases lead to the trial of the
concerned officials and the award of stiff penalties as happened in some cases.
There could be alternative ways of exposing these fraudulent practices and
prosecuting those who have eaten the money of people in a wrong way, and of
helping secure compensation for those subscribers who were victims of fraud and
malpractice.
Some companies resort to duplicity by announcing that they had incurred losses
after being converted into joint stock companies. This was the case with some
companies that announced huge profits before launching their IPO so as to fix a
high share premium
Some officials of chambers of commerce and industry and concerned government
agencies have discovered malpractice in the functioning of some family
businesses and have taken action to tackle the fraudulent activities of their
boards of directors. These measures are aimed at protecting the rights of
shareholders who purchased shares at the time of their initial public offering
(IPO).
These companies resorted to duplicity by announcing that they had incurred
losses after being converted into joint stock companies. This was the case with
some companies that announced huge profits before launching their IPO so as to
fix a high share premium. Such unethical practices are more common after the
passing of the first generation of the founders of companies. In such a
scenario, it is significant that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the
Eastern Province (Asharqia) is organizing a forum on the governance of family
firms on April 19. The theme of the forum is “Secrets of success of a board of
directors,” according to a recent report published by Okaz newspaper. In the
report, Abdul Rahman Al-Otaishan, chairman of the board of Asharqia, said that
several leading legal and financial consultants specialized in the governance of
family businesses will attend the forum.
Procedures of good governance
“Global studies and research have confirmed that family businesses should be
converted into joint stock companies with strict application of the procedures
of good governance so as to ensure the sustainability of family businesses and
their smooth transition through generations. Therefore, Asharqia has taken the
initiative of making the owners of family businesses aware that the current
governance law needs a comprehensive revamp so as to close those loopholes that
have made it virtually useless in effectively regulating these businesses,” he
said.
Al-Otaishan noted that in the case of most family businesses, it is the
president of the board who holds the majority of shares and, therefore, makes
decisions while the rest of the shareholders do not have any noteworthy
influence and their voice is not heard. Their numbers in certain firms are very
limited and the number of shares owned by them does not give them any voting
power. The current law of governance has proved incapable of preventing
conflicts of interest. There are loopholes in the law that allow some companies
to restrict items in their general assembly agenda to merely ratifying deals
that have been concluded earlier between the company and members of the board of
directors.
Hence, an effective corporate governance law is the need of the hour for the
smooth running of family businesses. The absence of such a law is attributed to
the poor performance of both family businesses and other firms. This has also
forced some foreign investors to quit the local Saudi market.