LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 09/18
Compiled &
Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the
lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias18/english.december09.18.htm
News
Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006
Bible Quotations For today
Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will
it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth
Book of Revelation 06/09-17: “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the
altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for
the testimony they had given; they cried out with a loud voice, ‘Sovereign Lord,
holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the
inhabitants of the earth?’ They were each given a white robe and told to rest a
little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow-servants
and of their brothers and sisters, who were soon to be killed as they themselves
had been killed. When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and there came a great
earthquake; the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,
and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree drops its winter
fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll rolling itself up,
and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the
earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and
everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,
calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the
one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of
their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”.
Titles For The Latest
English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on
December 08-09/18
Parliament would act according to Constitution if Aoun
sends letter: Berri
Former Prime Ministers Blast Aoun's Potential Move on Government Stalemate
Hariri Says Not behind Govt. Delay, Rejects 32-Minister Govt. Proposal
Lebanon Chooses Silence after Israeli Demand to Destroy Border Tunnels
Lebanon’s Hariri Says his ‘Political Intentions Are Clear’
Netanyahu and Putin Discuss Hezbollah Tunnels, Improved Military Coordination by
Telephone
Report: Tunnels Found in Northern Israel are ‘Old, Deserted’
Sabaa Party Protests Govt. Delay, ‘Worsening Living Conditions’
ISF: Suspect Arrested over Arms Trafficking
Jumblatt, Zaspkin partake in Kamal Jumblatt's anniversary commemoration: To
accelerate the government formation for Lebanon's sake
Army Commander checks on Airport Defense Unit, Beirut Air Base: Army will remain
a source of admiration, trust for the Lebanese
Anti Corruption Ministry calls for disclosing content of MEA aircrafts purchase
protocol
Tony Franjieh: Maradah Movement made concessions in several government dossiers
to facilitate matters
Arslan: We stress the need to crystallize a unified framework that brings
together many Druze figures, parties
Abu Faour from Rashaya: Meeting with Hezbollah was 'friendly and fruitful'
Riachy at Salim Badawi's "Pine Neighborhood" book signing: Story of a homeland
summarized by the story of a person, a neighborhood
Sami Gemayel: Public Schools' dossier is one of our priorities, must be
integrated into large complexes for quality improvement
Bazzi represents Berri, Amal Movement in receiving body of Lebanese expatriate,
calls for strengthening communication between Lebanon's residents and immigrants
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports
And News published on December 08-09/18
Catholic Monks Killed in Algeria’s Civil War Are Beatified
Iraq’s Sistani Warns Against Political Violence
Iran's Rouhani: US Sanctions are 'Economic Terrorism'
US warns imprisoned Iranian activist in imminent danger
US Accuses Russia of Lying on Syria Attack to Undermine Truce
No Breakthrough in Second Day of Yemen Peace Talks
Egypt Carries out Joint Drill with Britain, Italy in Mediterranean
Ansar Al-Furqan Group Claims Attack against IRGC HQ in Iran
Police restore calm in Paris as 1,385 ‘Yellow Vests’ protesters detained
French PM calls for ‘dialogue’ after fresh ‘yellow vest’ protests
Brussels police arrest hundreds in ‘yellow vest’ riot
Tear Gas, Mass Arrests as New 'Yellow Vest' Protests Hit Paris
Trump says prosecutors have found no evidence of Russia collusion
Trump attacks Paris climate agreement, cites France protests
Trump says Chief of Staff John Kelly will leave at years end
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 08-09/18
Jumblatt, Zaspkin partake in Kamal Jumblatt's anniversary
commemoration: To accelerate the government formation for Lebanon's sake/Sat 08
Dec 2018/NNA
How to Read Lebanon’s Acceptance of Russian Military Aid/Anna Borshchevskaya and
Hanin Ghaddar/The Washington Institute/December 08/18
The UAE and Yemen’s Islah: A Coalition Coalesces/Barbara A. Leaf and Elana
DeLozier/The Washington Institute/December 08/18
Russian romancing, Saudi intrigue precede OPEC meeting/Simon Henderson/The
Hill/The Washington Institute/December 08/18
Does The Netherlands Have a Problem/Judith Bergman/Gatrestone Institute/Decembe
08/18
Italy Adopts Hardline Immigration Law/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/December
08/18
On Iraq: The lesson has not been learnt/Adnan Hussein/Al Arabiya/December 08/18
Latest LCCC English Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on
December 08-09/18
Parliament would act according to Constitution if Aoun sends
letter: Berri
The Daily Star/December 08,
2018/BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri said in remarks published Saturday that
Parliament would follow the Constitution if President Michel Aoun were to send a
letter requesting that lawmakers hold consultations about the government
formation stalemate. “The president has a constitutional right to send a letter
to Parliament. When we receive the letter ... we will deal with it according to
the law and the Constitution,” the Saturday edition of Al Joumhouria newspaper
quoted Berri as saying. Local media had reported Friday that Aoun would consider
sending a letter calling for lawmakers to question the formation process should
the deadlock persist. The president’s office subsequently released a statement
downplaying the weight of such a move, saying it would be normal. Berri also
said in the remarks that he still believes there is a solution to the formation
obstacle, “and I previously discussed it with [caretaker Foreign] minister
Gebran Bassil, but it has not yet been discussed. We only need to wait.” The
idea that Aoun was considering sending the letter had received support from
other politicians as well, including caretaker Justice Minister Salim Jreissati.
In a statement released Friday evening, Jreissati said, “It is apparent that
those criticizing the [issue of the] president’s letter [being sent] to
Parliament ... do not want a government to be formed. They are apparently
unaware of the economic, financial and social situations in the country."
Jreissati added that addressing Parliament “reflects our democratic system and
Constitution ... as Parliament can take the appropriate decisions and
recommendations because it is the main party associated with designation and
giving the vote of confidence [to government].”The government formation process,
now in its seventh month of deadlock, has been stalled over a demand by six
Hezbollah-backed Sunni MPs who at the 11th hour renewed their insistence for
representation in the new Cabinet. Hariri has opposed the MPs' demand, and
Hezbollah in turn has refused to grant Hariri the names of its ministers until
the six MPs’ demand is met.
Former Prime Ministers Blast Aoun's Potential Move on Government Stalemate
Kataeb.org/Saturday 08th December
2018/After President Michel Aoun announced on Friday that it would be normal for
him to ask lawmakers to question the failure to form a government if the
stalemate persists, former prime ministers expressed their support for
PM-designate Saad Hariri, warning of the repercussions that Aoun's planned move
would entail. In a statement issued by his media office, former PM Fouad Siniora
said that referring the government formation issue to the Parliament will only
exacerbate the problem, noting that the legislature is not entitled to to deal
with this matter. "The Parliament's task is restricted to the binding
parliamentary consultations and the vote of confidence once the government is
formed," he noted. Siniora added that it would have been better for the
president to address the ongoing deadlock jointly with the PM-designate, warning
that media reports regarding the Aoun's potential move usher in a bigger, more
complex and more dangerous crisis. "The solution to this whole problem lies in
the full abidance by the Constitution, away from pressure and dictates," Siniora
concluded. Moreover, former PM Tammam Salam condemned the president's stance,
saying that it implies a new "heresy" that goes against the Constitution. "The
Constitution [...] does not give the president the prerogative to refer the
government formation issue to the Parliament. It doesn't also give the
Parliament the right to reconsider the designation of the prime minister," Salam
said in a statement. "We call on those who really care about speeding up the
government formation to solve the real reasons behind the delay and to clear the
hurdles that are being premeditated placed in the way of the PM-designate," he
added.
Hariri Says Not behind Govt. Delay, Rejects 32-Minister Govt. Proposal
Naharnet/December 08/18/Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri stressed Friday that he is not to blame for the
continued delay in the cabinet formation process but rather the Hizbullah-led
camp.
“The government formation mechanism is clear according to the constitution and
it stipulates that the PM-designate forms the government in agreement with the
President. Period. This is the constitution that was devised by those who
participated in the Taef conference after the bloody civil war that the Lebanese
lived,” Hariri said. “There’s no doubt that a lot of parties do not prefer that
implementation of the Taef Accord, the constitution and the laws. What these
people want and what their project is have become clear and what happened last
week does not harm Saad Hariri but rather Lebanon,” the PM-designate added,
referring to verbal attacks against him by pro-Hizbullah parties and a botched
Internal Security Forces operation in ex-minister Wiam Wahhab’s hometown
Jahliyeh. “Everything that is happening is aimed at obstructing the formation of
the government. The problem has become clear and no one can hide behind any
issue to justify what they are doing. My political beliefs are well-known and
the subservience of the others is blatant,” Hariri went on to say. Referring to
the verbal attacks against him and against slain ex-PM Rafik Hariri, the
PM-designate said: “What happened insults Lebanon and my family and this is
something I won’t allow or tolerate no matter what they do. In the end, every
person must bear the responsibility for his actions.”A statement distributed by
the premier’s office had earlier said that “reviving the 32-minister proposal to
justify naming a minister from the group of six MPs is unacceptable.”“Creating a new norm in the formation of governments is rejected and the
PM-designate categorically rejects to endorse it,” the statement added.
Lebanon Chooses Silence after Israeli Demand to
Destroy Border Tunnels
Beirut - Paula Astih/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 December, 2018/Lebanon had yet
to comment Friday on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon’s (UNIFIL)
confirmation of the existence of a tunnel stretching from southern Lebanon into
Israeli territory that Tel Aviv said was dug by Hezbollah. The party itself has
not yet commented on the latest development on the southern border. “The party
opted to remain silent to avoid being lured into divulging any strategic or
confidential information,” sources informed on Hezbollah’s position said Friday.
Ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that “all concerned official parties
were following up on the issue and they are exerting efforts to address it away
from the media or political spotlight.” The necessary measures will be taken at
the appropriate time, they said after Israel demanded that the Lebanese army
take the initiative and destroy the tunnels.
A statement on President Michel Aoun’s meetings on Friday did not disclose
whether he held talks related to this issue. Meanwhile, General Security chief,
Major General Abbas Ibrahim met with UNIFIL Commander General Stefano Del Col to
discuss the latest developments along the border with Israel. On Thursday, Tel
Aviv asked the Lebanese army to take the initiative, block the access to the
tunnels and make sure they are not used for hostile purposes against Israel. A
source from the Lebanese Forces told Asharq Al-Awsat that after UNIFIL confirmed
the presence of such tunnels, Lebanon will be faced with two options. On
the internal scene, the Lebanese government should inform Hezbollah that its
actions could lead Lebanon to war and it must therefore, urge it to respect UN
Security Council resolution 1701. On the foreign level, it should turn to the UN
and major powers to confront any Israeli aggression against Lebanon. On Friday,
the National News Agency reported that an Israeli infantry unit, backed by six
vehicles, crossed the technical border fence on the outskirts of Mays al-Jabal
in Bint Jbeil and infiltrated the area by some 100 meters to carry out works. It
added that the force returned to Israel in the afternoon. Beirut is preparing to
file a complaint to the UN over Israel’s “diplomatic and political campaign
against Lebanon that are a precursor to waging attacks against it.”Director of
the INEGMA - Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, Riyad Qahwaji
said that after UNIFIL confirmed the existence of the tunnels, Israel, the
United States, Europe and other countries will try to “exploit the issue as a
Lebanese assault against Israeli sovereignty.”He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The
international community is aware however, that the Lebanese state does not have
the power to declare war or peace. This power lies in Hezbollah’s hands.”“The
question therefore, remains over the party’s stance if Israel decides to truly
act on its threats and destroy the tunnels from the Lebanese side of the
border,” he added.
Lebanon’s Hariri Says his ‘Political Intentions
Are Clear’
Beirut/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 December, 2018/Lebanese Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri has said that it was not possible to govern the
country amid differences between its different factions. Lebanon can only be
governed through “understanding and cooperation,” said Hariri on Friday. "We
have full confidence in our institutions and the state, but what is happening
with the obstacles facing government formation,” it has become clear who is
blocking it, Hariri said during a meeting with officials from his Mustaqbal
Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party in Iqlim al-Kharroub. “We have no
choice but to work together to preserve each other,” said Hariri, who has been
trying for months to form a national unity cabinet. “My political intentions are
clear,” he said, hinting that his rivals had ulterior motives in obstructing the
government lineup. Hariri reiterated that the Lebanese Constitution on the
formation of the cabinet is clear. “It states that the PM-designate forms his
government in consultation with the President,” said Hariri. Yet many sides have
no interest in implementing the Taef Accord, he told his visitors.
Unfortunately, last week’s defamation campaign only “hurt Lebanon,” he added.
Druze politician Wiam Wahhab has been at the heart of rising political tension
over the last week with a series of verbal attacks on Hariri. Hariri supporters
lodged a legal complaint against Wahhab. The tension has cast another shadow
over efforts to form a new national unity government more than six months since
an election, with rival parties still unable to agree on how to share out
portfolios in the new cabinet. The internal security forces said they went to
Wahhab's village of al-Jahiliya to take him for questioning after the public
prosecutor accepted the legal complaint against him and referred the matter to
the police. In a statement, police said one of Wahhab's aides – Mohamed Abu
Diyab - was shot in "random" gunfire by Wahhab supporters and denied the police
had opened fire.
Netanyahu and Putin Discuss Hezbollah Tunnels, Improved Military Coordination by
Telephone
Noa LandauéHaaretz/December 08/18/Relations have been tense since the downing of
a Russian spyplane two months ago. Despite recent attempts, Netanyahu and Putin
have yet to set an official diplomatic meeting. A Kremlin spokesman said on
Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone with Russian
President Vladimir, updating him on the situation near the Lebanon border. The
Russian Embassy of Israel tweeted Saturday "Talking with Prime Minister
#Netanyahu at the initiative of the Israeli side President #Putin emphasized the
necessity to improve the Russian-Israeli interaction in the military sphere."
"It was emphasized that a contact between experts of the Defense Ministries
within the joint working group is relevant. The Russian side stressed the need
to ensure stability along the line separating #Israel and #Lebanon in strict
compliance with 1701 #UNSC resolution," the embassy went on to tweet. Last month
Putin said he had no intention of meeting with Netanyahu in the near future.
However the two spoke briefly at the Paris Peace Forum hosted by French
President Emmanuel Macron. "The conversation with Putin was good and to the
point, and I would even say that it was very important," Netanyahu said at a
press conference following the conversation. This was the first time the two
leaders spoke in person since the downing of a Russian plane in Syria in
September. The Israeli premier has been trying to obtain a meeting with Putin
for a while, especially in light of deterioration in the bilateral ties between
the two countries since Moscow accused Israel two months ago of downing a
Russian spyplane. In the past week, the Israeli military launched an operation
to destroy cross-border tunnels constructed by Hezbollah, crossing the Lebanon
border into Israel. Netanyahu has said there has already been "operation
success" in a statement last week. Israel, Netanyahu added "is operating
divisively and responsibly on all fronts simultaneously."
Report: Tunnels Found in Northern Israel are
‘Old, Deserted’
Naharnet/December 08/18/The “Hizbullah” tunnels reportedly discovered by the
Israeli army on the Blue Line last week are “old and deserted” tunnels that
Israel is “exploiting for political ends,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on
Saturday. “The tunnels that Israel and the UNIFIL are talking about are old and
deserted, more than half of which have collapsed a long time ago,” a security
source told the daily on condition of anonymity. “The Israeli enemy has already
announced long time ago that they discovered these tunnels but did not make a
fuss about it because it is old and tattered. However, Israel is using these
tunnels today for political gains no secret to anyone,” added the source. “The
Lebanese authorities are insisting on non existence of any new usable tunnels.
They are waiting for the UNIFIL’s official report to build on the matter," he
said. On Thursday, the UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Stefano Del
Col, along with a technical team, confirmed during a site inspection the
existence of a tunnel near Metulla in northern Israel close to the Blue Line.
Israel had said Tuesday that it started an operation to destroy alleged
Hizbullah tunnels on the Lebanese border. An Israeli army spokesman has said the
"attack tunnels" were not yet operational. He declined to say how many had been
detected or how they would be destroyed, but stressed all activities would take
place within Israeli territory.
Sabaa Party Protests Govt. Delay, ‘Worsening
Living Conditions’
Naharnet/December 08/18/Activists from the Sabaa party staged a sit-in on
Saturday near the Ministry of Finance-TVA Directorate in Beirut's neighborhood
of Adliyeh. The National News Agency said the protesters have blocked the main
entrance to the premises and erected a tent outside. The campaigners were
protesting “the delayed government formation and deteriorating living conditions
in the country," NNA said. "The aim of the move is to pressure the authorities
to form a government because we have been hearing for six months that there is
an economic and financial collapse," Secretary General of Sabaa Party said.
Dagher also warned that his party shall adopt escalatory moves in the upcoming
days. Disagreements among political parties over the Cabinet quotas and shares
have delayed Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s mission to form the
government. Hariri was designated for the task on May 24. Political bickering
over shares is threatening to scuttle pledges worth $11 billion by international
donors. In November, the World Bank issued a stark warning, with one official
saying that unless a government is formed soon to carry out badly needed
reforms, "the Lebanon we know will fizzle away."
ISF: Suspect Arrested over Arms Trafficking
Naharnet/December 08/18/The Internal Security Forces arrested a van driver in
the Bekaa district of Hermel on charges of trafficking arms and ammunition from
Syria into Lebanon, the National News Agency reported on Saturday. “Following
intensive investigations, the ISF - Information Branch - managed to arrest the
driver on charges of smuggling weapons and ammunition from Syria into Lebanon,"
an ISF statement said. Police confiscated 26 ammunition boxes from his truck.
Each box contained 440 gunshots, said the statement. The detainee admitted
during the course of investigation to having been secretly smuggling weapons and
ammunition in coordination with his partners and in return for financial gains.
Investigations are still underway to catch the rest of the gang.
Jumblatt, Zaspkin partake in Kamal Jumblatt's anniversary
commemoration: To accelerate the government formation for Lebanon's sake
Sat 08 Dec 2018/NNA
The town of Mukhtara and the Progressive Socialist Party revived Saturday the
late leader Kamal Jumblatt's 101st birth anniversary this year, with crowds of
supporters participating in the commemoration despite the bad weather conditions
and PSP Chief, Walid Jumblatt's call for relieving citizens and rendering it a
normal working day.The heavy popular participation came "to renew the era of the
late Kamal Jumblatt and to continue his approach and safeguarde his intellectual
heritage, values and principles, on one hand, and to rally around PSP Chief
Walid Jumblatt and his son, Democratic Gathering Head, MP Taymour Jumblatt,
during the current delicate political phase in Lebanon, on the other
hand."Jumblatt thanked all participants in the commemoration of his late
father's birth anniversary, saying, "If Kamal Jumblatt was with us today, he
would have laid a flower for the sake of Lebanon and its unity and safety...On
this occasion, we renew our hope to accelerate the formation of the new
government for the sake of Lebanon."Jumblatt highlighted the need for
compromises from both contradicting sides in order to preserve the country's
best interests. He vowed to pursue the peaceful and democratic struggle, adding
that "all of Lebanon is fine, yet economically it is not in good condition."For
his part, Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zaspkin, who laid a wreath at
the tomb of the late Kamal Jumblatt accompanied by a senior Embassy delegation,
stressed "the important and remarkable place that the great Kamal Jumblatt
occupies...who embraced all sides together in politics, science and
philosophy."Zaspkin reiterated the strong, historic and qualitative ties shared
between Lebanon and Russia ever since the days of Kamal Jumblatt until today.
"We have created an atmosphere of friendship and strategic cooperation that
lasted till this day, and we always benefit from the teachings of Kamal Jumblatt
in all areas, especially with regards to human and national issues, to overcome
factional and partisan considerations...and this is what we are fully aware of
in Russia today," he added. Over the new government formation, Zaspkin said:
"The position of Russia encourages the concerned parties to speed up the cabinet
formation, for we are aware of its importance in relation to the fate of
Lebanon...and it is clear to all the huge problems that threaten security,
stability and economy.""I am convinced that it is a Lebanese decision,
regardless of what is happening in the region," he went on. "It is the goal we
seek and the international community should help, but the biggest responsibility
in these circumstances rests on the Lebanese political forces," Zaspkin
corroborated.
Army Commander checks on Airport Defense Unit, Beirut Air
Base: Army will remain a source of admiration, trust for the Lebanese
Sat 08 Dec 2018/NNA - Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, visited this
afternoon the military defense unit positioned at Rafic Hariri International
Airport where he inspected the work progress, and then checked on the Beirut Air
Base where he conducted a field tour of the Air Force's Art Wing and received a
briefing on its capabilities.In his word to military officers, the Army Chief
called for "maintaining efforts in safeguarding security at the Airport in the
face of the major challenges by arresting those who are in breach of security
and controlling smuggling operations." "This poses a huge challenge to the
world's most important countries, which seek to invest in security and military
in light of the risks and threats they face," he added. General Aoun considered
the Army's presence at the Airport as equivalent to its existence along the
borders and crossings, noting that "security stability is a key factor in the
economic cycle, especially during the holidays." He concluded by emphasizing
that "the Lebanese Army will remain in constant readiness to play its role in
maintaining security at home and on the border," adding that "what distinguishes
it is the strong will and dedication in carrying out the task entrusted to it,
despite the limited material and logistical resources." "The Army will remain a
source of pride, admiration and trust in the eyes of the Lebanese," Aoun
underscored.
Anti Corruption Ministry calls for disclosing content of
MEA aircrafts purchase protocol
Sat 08 Dec 2018/NNA - In an issued statement Saturday by the Ministry of State
for Anti-Corruption Affairs, it called for disclosing the content of the
contracts pertaining to the purchase of new Middle East Airline planes. "The
State Ministry for Anti-Corruption Affairs has information that MEA intends to
sign a protocol for the purchase of a number of aircraft and jet engines.
Accordingly, the Ministry invites the Board of Directors to disclose the content
of said protocol, along with a detailed price table for what will be purchased,
as well as the prices offered by all companies participating in the tender,
unless the purchase is made by mutual consent," the statement indicated. "This
declaration must include a clear definition of the financing mechanism as well
as the economic feasibility of this process, especially as the amounts to be
paid are very high at a time when the Lebanese finances are going through a
tight period," the statement added. "Investing financial sums of this size
requires caution, careful consideration and absolute transparency. The
procurement process ought not to be confined to one person, but to a committee
comprising the Ministries of Finance and Public Works, in order to make the
right decision," the statement emphasized.
Tony Franjieh: Maradah Movement made concessions in several
government dossiers to facilitate matters
Sat 08 Dec 2018/NNA - "National Bloc" Member, MP Tony Franjieh, referred
Saturday to the many concessions made by the Maradah Movement in several
government files, in order to facilitate the country's affairs and not to
obstruct their course. Speaking before supporters from the district of Bsharre
who visited him in Zgharta earlier today, Franjieh noted that "the entire
Lebanese regions suffer from great deprivation, but we tried to break this
reality in the North."Franjieh vowed that "the economic, social and financial
challenges facing Lebanon, in addition to the difficulties facing the formation
of the government, will not stand in the way of our ambitions." "We will
continue to strive towards providing a model for creating an incubator
environment for investments that ensure employment opportunities for our youth,"
he added. "We work within a clear plan to strengthen our presence and spread
across all Lebanese regions within an organized framework, in coordination with
our allies with whom we have historical ties," Franjieh corroborated. In this
connection, he deemed that "reconciliation with the Lebanese Forces Party has
opened the door for coordination at the level of development and legitimate
competition in political work." "Despite the different political projects of
both Parties, yet there are several internal and national files that bring us
together, especially in protecting the people we represent and ensuring their
rights and interests, which is one of our most important goals throughout our
political career," Franjieh emphasized.
Arslan: We stress the need to crystallize a unified
framework that brings together many Druze figures, parties
Sat 08 Dec 2018/NNA - Lebanese Democratic Party Chief, Talal Arslan, highlighted
in a statement Saturday the need for "a unified framework to bring together many
Druze figures and parties.""We emphasize the need to crystallize a unified
framework that brings together many Druze figures, parties and dignitaries to
correct the blatant imbalance in dealing with the issues and concerns of the
Druze community at all levels," Arslan said. "The Druze status requires
comprehensive review and ongoing workshops to simulate the aspirations of our
youth and our future in a country in which we have played a key role in its
formation and entity," he added. Arslan refused that the Druze be marginalized
due to the policy of domination, abolition, hegemony and political influence at
the expense of their dignified living.
Abu Faour from Rashaya: Meeting with Hezbollah was
'friendly and fruitful'
Sat 08 Dec 2018/NNA - "The meeting between the Progressive Socialist Party and
Hezbollah was friendly and productive," said Democratic Gathering Member, MP
Wael Abu Faour, on Saturday. "The two parties do not want to veer from the
course of reconciliation, understanding and organizing of differences that they
have adopted since the events of the seventh of July in 2008," Abu Faour added,
addressing a popular youth group at the Kamal Jumblatt Social-Cultural Center in
Rashaya earlier today. Touching on the recent events that took place in the
Mountain region, Abu Faour stressed, "The Mountain is not subject to strife and
there will be no sedition between any of its components. We do not want the
repercussions of what happened recently when the law and public order were
challenged to leave any negative impact on the Mountain, specifically with
regards to return, reconciliation and social stability."
"Political rivalry is open and it is a right for all, in accordance with the law
and the fundamentals of political and democratic action...However, security
manipulation is unacceptable. The Progressive Socialist Party and Walid Jumblatt
cannot accept from now on any security manipulation of the Mountain's stability
or any attempts to tamper with the stability of its people," Abu Faour
underscored.
Riachy at Salim Badawi's "Pine Neighborhood" book signing:
Story of a homeland summarized by the story of a person, a neighborhood
Sat 08 Dec 2018/NNA - Representing Lebanese Forces Party Chief Samir Geagea,
Caretaker Information Minister Melhem Riachy attended Saturday the book signing
of journalist, researcher and historian Salim Badawi's new work entitled, "Pine
Neighborhood", at the Antoine Bookshop's branch at the Beirut International Book
Fair. The book speaks about the "Snoubra" neighborhood in Ain el-Remeneh area,
from which the spark of the Lebanese civil war began in 1975. "The author is a
writer and a journalist colleague, one of the names we are proud of in Lebanon
and the Diaspora, and I know that the content of the book is not an easy
narrative expression of a person's story...It is the story of a nation
summarized by the story of a person and a neighborhood," said Riachy, referring
to Badawi's new book. "The importance of Salim is that he portrays the immortal
roots and the seeds present in the soil that will yield a new plant," Riachy
added.
Sami Gemayel: Public Schools' dossier is one of our
priorities, must be integrated into large complexes for quality improvement
Sat 08 Dec 2018/NNA - Kataeb Party Head, MP Sami Gemayel, disclosed Saturday
that the dossier of public schools in Lebanon is one of his Party's priorities,
referring to the need to integrate them into large complexes to improve their
performance and quality. "The public school is not supposed to be second class,
or for the poor, or for those who do not have the ability to enroll their
children in private schools. In all countries of the world, in Paris, for
example, the public school is the most important," Gemayel added, citing the
Lycee in Paris as being one of the most famous schools, as well as the public
university in France that ranks among the most prestigious universities. Gemayel
referred to the unfortunate condition of public schools in Lebanon that have
turned over time into political favoritisms. "The solution lies in the State's
effort to develop a road map and decide on the suitable place to build a
school...and to close nearby schools and merge them into larger complexes so as
to reduce their cost burden on the State and improve their conditions in terms
of equipment and construction," he explained. "Instead of having 44 schools in
the Metn region, for instance, there can be 15 or 20 schools on condition that
they be of high quality and compete with private schools," Gemayel added. He
concluded by considering that the next Education Minister should waste no time
in setting up a comprehensive guideline in this respect and start implementing
it the soonest possible, in order to assemble schools in a manner that improves
the level of public education in the country.
Bazzi represents Berri, Amal Movement in receiving body of Lebanese expatriate,
calls for strengthening communication between Lebanon's residents and immigrants
Sat 08 Dec 2018/NNA - "Development and Liberation" Parliamentary Bloc Member, MP
Ali Bazzi, represented House Speaker Nabih Berri and Amal Movement in receiving
the body of Lebanese young expatriate, Mohammed al-Khoshn, at Rafic Hariri
International Airport this morning. MP Bazzi conveyed his sincerest condolences
to the family of the deceased, reiterating the call on Lebanese authorities to
"accord special attention to Lebanon's immigrants and to embrace their concerns
and strengthen official communication between Lebanon's residents and
expatriates." It is to note that MP Bazzi, in line with House Speaker Berri's
instructions, conducted the necessary measures and contacts to arrange for
receiving the body of al-Khoshn at Beirut Airport, after being shot dead by a
gang of thieves in Angola, Africa.
Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous
Reports & News published on
December 08-09/18
Catholic Monks Killed in Algeria’s Civil War Are Beatified
Associated Press/ Saturday
08th December /A cardinal dispatched by the Vatican is holding a beatification
ceremony for 19 monks, nuns and other Catholics who were killed during Algeria's
civil war in the 1990s. Pope Francis recognized all 19 as martyrs in January,
paving the way for Saturday's ceremony in the Algerian city of Oran.
Beatification is a step in the process of being declared a saint. Cardinal
Angelo Becciu, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, is
celebrating Saturday's Mass at the Notre Dame de Santa Cruz basilica as the
pope's special envoy. The French monks were kidnapped from the monastery of
Tibhirine, south of Algiers, in 1996. A radical group was blamed for their
beheadings, but some observers have suggested Algeria's military was
responsible.The Algerian president agreed to allow the ceremony in Algeria
despite continued tensions over the deaths.
Iraq’s Sistani Warns Against Political Violence
Baghdad - Hamza Mustafa/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 December, 2018/Iraq's top
Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani warned on Friday from using
political violence as a means to eliminating rivals. “There are many means of
violence, including political violence used by some to reach political goals,
such as killing opponents, threatening them and ruining their reputation,”
Sheikh Abdul Mahdi Karbalai, Sistani’s representative, said in the Friday sermon
delivered from Karbala. Sistani’s warnings came in light of a political crisis
in Iraq over disagreement on some ministerial positions. The country’s two
powerful Shiite factions are at loggerheads over the defense and interior
ministries, paralyzing efforts to form a government six months after the
elections. A vote in parliament to fill the two ministries in Prime Minister
Adel Abdul Mahdi’s cabinet has been repeatedly delayed over disputes between
cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the leader of the Iranian-backed Badr Organization,
Hadi al-Amiri. Last Monday, Sadr urged the Prime Minister to swiftly present the
rest of his cabinet line-up to parliament for approval, without naming
controversial figures. “You must not yield to what is going on behind the
scenes,” Sadr told Abdul Mahdi. The dispute between the two groups could get
blown out of proportion, leading to street protests. “If Bina (Amiri’s bloc)
ignores us, then we will resort to all possible options including mobilizing the
street,” Reuters quoted a member of Sadr’s alliance as saying. On Thursday, a
commander in Sadr’s Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades), Hussein Hijami, was shot
by unknown gunmen in the al-Shuala area on the northern edge of the Iraqi
capital. “Hijami’s killing is certainly part of the political violence which
threatens civil peace in the country,” former head of parliament's security and
defense committee Hakim al-Zamili told Asharq Al-Awsat Friday.
Iran's Rouhani: US Sanctions are 'Economic Terrorism'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 08/18/Iran's President Hassan Rouhani
said US sanctions were "economic terrorism", as he sought to foster a united
front from visiting regional officials on Saturday. Washington has reimposed an
oil embargo and other damaging sanctions on Iran since pulling out in May from a
landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers. "America's unjust
and illegal sanctions against the honourable nation of Iran have targeted our
nation in a clear instance of terrorism," Rouhani said in a televised speech. He
was speaking at a conference on terrorism and regional cooperation attended by
parliament speakers from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey. "We
are facing an all-out assault which is not only threatening our independence and
identity but also is bent on breaking our longstanding ties," he added. Rouhani
drew parallels with the sanctions and other pressure faced by the countries
attending the conference. "When they put pressure on China's trade, we are all
harmed... By punishing Turkey, we are all punished. Any time they threaten
Russia, we too consider our security to be endangered," he said. "When they
impose sanctions on Iran, they deprive all of us of the benefits of
international trade, energy security and sustainable development. And in fact,
they impose sanctions on everyone. "We are here to say that we don't intend to
tolerate such insolence." Rouhani also warned Europe -- which has strongly
objected to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal -- that much is at stake in
its efforts to bypass US sanctions and maintain trade with Iran. "They should
know that by sanctioning Iran, they would harm our ability to fight drugs and
terrorism," Rouhani said, referring to Iran's efforts to combat smuggling,
particularly from Afghanistan. The European Union is working on a payment
system, known as the "special purpose vehicle", to keep money flowing into Iran,
but has struggled to find a host since many countries fear repercussions from
the Trump administration. The conference in Tehran was the second regional
meeting on terrorism -- the first was held last December in Islamabad.
US warns imprisoned Iranian activist in imminent danger
The Associated Press, Washington/Saturday, 8 December 2018/The State Department
is warning the life of an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist is in
imminent danger. Deputy Spokesman Robert Palladino says in a statement Friday
that Farhad Meysami began a hunger strike four months ago and should be released
immediately. Palladino says Meysami’s detention is a “brazen violation of human
rights.” He is calling on Iran to release all unjustly detained political
prisoners. The statement says Meysami was arrested for peacefully protesting in
support of women’s rights in Iran. President Donald Trump has increased pressure
on Iran by re-imposing punishing sanctions on Tehran after scrapping the
landmark 2015 nuclear deal. Trump administration officials often cite Iran’s
human rights record as the reason for their hardline policies.
US Accuses Russia of Lying on Syria Attack to Undermine Truce
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 08/18/The United States and Britain
accused Russia on Friday of fabricating a story about chemical weapons use by
Syrian rebels and warned Moscow against undermining a shaky truce. Russia's
defense ministry said rebels fired weapons containing chlorine on November 24 on
the regime-held city of Aleppo, with Syrian state media reporting that around
100 Syrians were hospitalized for breathing difficulties. Russia responded to
the purported attack with air raids on Idlib, the latest major stronghold of
rebels and jihadists battling President Bashar al-Assad, throwing into question
a truce reached in mid-September.
The United States said it had "credible information" that the chlorine account
was false and that Russian and Syrian forces instead had fired tear gas. "The
United States is deeply concerned that pro-regime officials have maintained
control of the attack site in its immediate aftermath, allowing them to
potentially fabricate samples and contaminate the site before a proper
investigation of it by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement. "We
caution Russia and the regime against tampering with the suspected attack site
and urge them to secure the safety of impartial, independent inspectors so that
those responsible can be held accountable," he said.
He said that Russia and Syria were "using it as an opportunity to undermine
confidence in the ceasefire in Idlib." In a similar statement, Britain said it
was "highly unlikely" that chlorine or the opposition were involved in the
incident.
"It is likely that this was either a staged incident intended to frame the
opposition, or an operation which went wrong and from which Russia and the
regime sought to take advantage," a Foreign Office spokesperson said, also
backing an investigation by the OPCW, the international chemical weapons
watchdog.
- History of chemical attacks -
Russia's embassy in Washington hit back on Facebook.
"The Russian Defense Ministry does not rule out that the US Department of
State's allegations about the recent toxic chemicals attack in Syria's Aleppo
are aimed at distracting the public attention from the crimes of the US aviation
in the east of the Middle Eastern country," the post said. Western powers, the
United Nations and human rights groups have repeatedly pointed to chemical
attacks by Assad's forces. A sarin gas attack in April 2017 in the town of Khan
Sheikhun killed 83 people, according to the United Nations. US President Donald
Trump replied by ordering 59 cruise missiles to strike a Syrian air base, a
reversal from his predecessor Barack Obama's controversial reluctance to respond
militarily. Russia, the top international backer of Assad, and the Syrian
government both denied the incident, saying footage of suffering victims
including children was staged. In the latest incident, a US official said that
suspicions were raised as Russia and Syria immediately put out similar official
media accounts and quickly carried out strikes. The official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said that witnesses did not report the odor of chlorine
that is characteristic of such attacks. "Technical analysis of videos and images
of munition remnants indicate the mortars portrayed in Russian media are not
suitable for delivering chlorine," the official said. Russia's allegations over
the latest incident come amid elusive efforts to find a political solution to
Syria's civil war, which has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced
millions. Negotiators from Russia and fellow Assad ally Iran met last week with
opposition supporter Turkey in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, making no apparent
headway in a UN-backed goal of setting up a constitutional committee by the end
of the year.
But Russia and Turkey agreed to keep working to preserve the U-shaped buffer
zone around Idlib, which is keeping pro-government forces out of the region. Jan
Egeland, in a press conference last week before he stepped down as the head of
the UN Humanitarian Task Force for Syria, warned that the flare-up amounted to
"a gigantic powder keg in the middle of three million civilians."
No Breakthrough in Second Day of Yemen Peace
Talks
Rimbo (Sweden) - Badr al-Qahtanit/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 December, 2018/The
second day of Yemeni talks in Sweden ended Friday without any significant
breakthroughs. However, the legitimate government managed to impose the Taiz
file during confidence-building talks held between the warring parties. It also
objected to discussing a comprehensive political solution, or what UN special
envoy Martin Griffiths calls the “framework agreement.” Griffiths said talks,
held in the Johannesberg Castle in Rimbo north of Stockholm, aim to set up "a
framework for negotiations" on a future peace agreement. A source from the UN
said discussions between the two parties were “constructive and positive,”
refusing to uncover details of issues tackled during the talks. “The two sides
indirectly discussed many files,” the source said. The peace talks are the first
since 2016. A previous round of talks in Geneva in September collapsed when the
Iran-backed Houthi militias failed to show up after they made last-minute
demands..On Friday, Griffiths held two meetings with the attending delegations,
and for unknown reasons, he canceled a third meeting scheduled by his team with
the delegation representing the legitimate government. The stringent militia
stances over the government’s proposals have forced Griffiths to cancel the
meeting and he has since returned to the Houthis for more clarifications, a
source from the government delegation said. Meanwhile, Hamza Al Kamali, a member
of the delegation, said: “There are differences in opinion and a lack of
understanding or commitment by the United Nations concerning the agenda of the
consultations.” He added that Houthis are seeking to make gains and acquire
positions in power, while the legitimate government is working to ease the
humanitarian crisis in Yemen. “Here lies the dispute between the legitimate
government that cares about Yemen and its people and Houthis, who care about
their personal interests,” he said. On the issue of Yemen’s airports, Baligh al-Mekhlafi,
a Yemeni journalist and a political researcher, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the
government believes that reopening Sanaa International Airport or other Houthi-controlled
airports is a “humanitarian issue”, on condition that the militias do not use
the facilities to smuggle arms and individuals. “The government insists that
those airports be open for internal flights,” he said, adding that international
flights should pass through the airport in the temporary capital Aden.
Egypt Carries out Joint Drill with Britain, Italy in Mediterranean
Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 December, 2018/Egyptian naval forces carried
out a joint drill with Britain and Italy in the Mediterranean. Egyptian military
spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said Friday that the exercise is part of a general
armed forces’ plan to bolster military cooperation with friendly nations. A
number of Egyptian, Italian and British vessels took part in the drill. The
forces focused on naval formations and signals, landing on and taking off from
carriers, searching and raiding ships and protecting vessels while crossing
dangerous routes. Rifai said that the training demonstrated the forces’ high
capabilities in carrying out collective work. Such exercises stress the depth of
military cooperation with friendly countries and the forces’ readiness in
confronting different potential threats in the Mediterranean, he added.
Ansar Al-Furqan Group Claims Attack against IRGC
HQ in Iran
Islamabad – Jamal Ismail/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 December, 2018/The Ansar
Al-Furqan group, known for its opposition to the Iranian regime, claimed
responsibility for the attack against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards
headquarters in the southeastern port city of Chabahar on Thursday. It confirmed
that it targeted the IRGC in the city where India was developing a port to
compete with Pakistan’s Gwadar Port that is being developed by Chinese
companies. In a statement Friday, Ansar Al-Furqan said that its members used a
booby-trapped Nissan type van to target a military headquarters in Chabahar. The
vehicle was detonated at the entrance of the facility after the driver failed to
breach the security measures taken by the IRGC. The Guards had upped their
security after coming under repeated attacks by the Jaish al-Adl group. Tehran
said that two officers were killed and 41 people were wounded in the attack. Ten
are in critical condition. Meanwhile, Iranian figures living outside the country
refuted government claims that women and children were present at the site of
the bombing, saying that the target was a military base. It said that the
government made such allegations to rally the people’s support after they had
grown disgruntled by its security, economic and political policies. The IRGC had
blamed regional powers of being behind the bombing in an attempt to avoid
acknowledging the existence of groups that are opposed to the regime within
Iranian territory. Dr. Nour Jomaa, who has Baloch roots, said that the operation
reflects the anger harbored by the minority against the government. He explained
that Tehran had expelled thousands of Baloch families from Chabahar and brought
in Persian ones instead in an effort to alter the demographics of the area and
impose its complete control over it. He revealed that anti-regime Baloch
movements have recently intensified their operations against Tehran in an
attempt to deter it from carrying out its plan to expel and marginalize the
Baloch from their ancestral regions. Moreover, Jomaa said that Iranian
authorities were naturalizing Shiite Afghan fighters in the city as a reward for
their fighting in Syria and Iraq and for executing Tehran’s policies in
Afghanistan.
Police restore calm in Paris as 1,385 ‘Yellow Vests’ protesters detained
Staff writer, Al Arabiya/EnglishSaturday, 8 December 2018/Police were able to
restore calm in Paris on Saturday after thousands of “yellow vest” protesters
had turned out to demonstrate around France in a fourth weekend of unrest that
has shaken President Emmanuel Macron’s authority. French Interior Minister
Christophe Castaner said that 125,000 “yellow vest” protesters had turned out to
protest across the country on Saturday. Police detained 1,385 of them.
Protesters angry at their President and France’s high taxes returned to the
streets of Paris on Saturday, amid exceptional security measures aimed at
preventing a repeat of last week's rioting. Speaking from the vicinity of the
Arc de Triomphe near Avenue Marceau, Al Arabiya's Paris Bureau Chief Hussein
Kneiber said protesters have turned violent and burned two cars, forcing riot
police to push them away using tear gas. “The cat and mouse chase taking place
between the riot police and the Yellow Vests protesters are going on in between
the alleys and avenues in the vicinity of the Arc de Triomphe. This tactic is
meant to exhaust the protesters and push them further away,” Kneiber said. From
another location, Al Arabiya correspondent Saad al-Massoudi confirmed that
protesters threw objects and built makeshift barricades as their main goal is to
reach the most famous monuments in Paris. “Many protesters told us their main
goal is to approach the Arc de Triomphe, a central location that has been
symbolic struggle between the Yellow Vests and Macron and there are fears of
increased escalations should the police use force later in the evening,” al-Massoudi
reported. After two weekends of violence in Paris that made the authorities look
powerless to secure their capital, police went into overdrive to keep a lid on
unrest. The grassroots movement began as resistance against a rise in taxes for
diesel and gasoline, but quickly expanded to encompass frustration at stagnant
incomes, the growing cost of living and other grievances. Abdulqader Khiyashi, a
writer and journalist, told Al Arabiya from Paris that it is difficult to
currently gauge and label the current protests as either being a protest or an
intifada as some observers have been calling them. “What we know right now is
that the Yellow Vests protesters are venting their anger at an economic level
and are listing their demands which seems long and varied and not organized as
it should be expected. The path of where these protests will head will depend on
tonight and how the Elysee will react to them and should they head to a
consecutive Saturday then we could expect another level of escalations,”
Khiyashi said. “We’re now past just defining these protests as just that but now
have to look at a possible revolution that has to be taken seriously. The
current government has to take seriously in sitting down with any and everyone
involved in order to find a path forward. Whether that includes a snap elections
to determine where France would want to head, then that’s a step that needs to
be taken to curb wide public anger,” he said. An estimated 31,000 people joined
“yellow vest” anti-government protests across France on Saturday, deputy
interior minister Laurent Nunez said, adding that 700 people had been detained.
French PM calls for ‘dialogue’ after fresh
‘yellow vest’ protests
Al Arabiya English and agencies/Saturday, 8 December 2018/French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe called Saturday for fresh dialogue with
representatives of the “yellow vest” movement staging protests across France,
promising the government would address concerns over rising living costs. “The
dialogue has begun and it must continue,” Philippe said in a televised
statement. “The president will speak, and will propose measures that will feed
this dialogue.”Interior Minister Christophe Castaner added that 125,000 “yellow
vest” protesters had turned out to demonstrate around France on Saturday. Police
detained 1,385 of them. French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner speaks at a
press conference alongside French PM Edouard Philippe. (Al Arabiya) French
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said that the ongoing “yellow vest”
demonstrations were now under control. Speaking in a joint press conference with
French Prince Minister Edouard Philippe, Castaner confirmed that 118 were
wounded in Saturday’s protests while 17 security personnel were injured during
the confrontations. Authorities also confirmed that 1,350 protesters were
arrested on Saturday. An estimated 31,000 people joined “yellow vest”
anti-government protests across France on Saturday, deputy interior minister
Laurent Nunez said, adding that 700 people had been detained earlier in the day.
French PM Philippe also spoke on Saturday after holding a security meeting with
cabinet ministers in which he said that “time for dialogue with the Yellow Vests
is still valid” and on the table in the coming days.
Brussels police arrest hundreds in ‘yellow vest’ riot
By Ghassen Fridhi Brussels Correspondent, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 8
December 2018/ Belgian police detained more than 400 people on Saturday after
“yellow vest” protesters inspired by riots in France threw rocks and
firecrackers and damaged shops and cars as they tried to reach official
buildings in Brussels. Belgian police fired tear gas and water cannons at
stone-throwing yellow-vested protesters near the country’s government offices
and parliament. Protesters said their first intention was to march until the EU
headquarters in Brussels but were directly blocked by the police who were
prepared for mass gatherings during the day.According to the Belgian media
outlets, authorities deployed around 1,000 policemen in Brussels, many of whom
were undercover officers in plainclothes. “I am fed up. This can’t continue as
it functions today. We want to express it. We can see that there are a lot of
angry people today. So we are expressing it together,” one protester told Al
Arabiya English. Another protester said the Belgian government was pocketing a
lot of the state funds and that transparency was among their main demands on
Saturday. “And as soon as we open our mouth, they gas us. The state gives orders
to the police to gas us, to use police pumpers but we don’t do anything bad. We
are just giving our opinion and showing our disagreement,” a protester said. The
movement in Belgium, inspired by the “gilets jaunes”, or yellow vest, protests
in neighboring France over the past month, has given voice to complaints about
the cost of living and demanded the removal of Belgium’s centre-right coalition
government, six months before a national election is due in May.
Tear Gas, Mass Arrests as New 'Yellow Vest' Protests Hit Paris
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 08/18/Police fired tear gas and arrested
hundreds of people in Paris on Saturday as the French capital went on lockdown
for the latest "yellow vest" protests against President Emmanuel Macron. Shouts
of "Macron, resign" mingled with the tear gas near the famous Champs-Elysees
avenue, the scene last Saturday of the worst rioting in Paris for decades. A
forklift truck driver who gave his name as Denis said he was planning, like
others, to march on Macron's presidential palace in anger against a leader who
they say only looks out for the rich. "I'm here for my son," said the
30-year-old, who had travelled down to Paris from the Normandy port of Caen. "I
can't let him live in a country where the poor are exploited." The protests
began on November 17 with road blockades against rising fuel prices but have
since ballooned into a mass movement against Macron's policies and top-down
style of governing. Coordinated "yellow vest" protests were taking place across
the country on Saturday, including on numerous motorways, causing havoc on the
national road network. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said 481 people had been
detained in Paris as police carried out checks on people arriving at train
stations and at protest hotspots such as the Champs-Elysees and Bastille
monument. Among them were dozens arrested for carrying masks, hammers,
slingshots and rocks that could be used to attack police. Shops, museums, the
Eiffel Tower and many metro stations were closed, while top-flight football
matches and concerts have been cancelled. Last weekend's violence, which saw
some 200 cars torched and the Arc de Triomphe vandalised, shook France and
plunged Macron's government into its deepest crisis so far. "These past three
weeks have produced a monster that its creators no longer control," Interior
Minister Castaner said on Friday, vowing "zero tolerance" towards those aiming
to wreak further destruction. Philippe on Friday evening met a delegation of
self-described "moderate" yellow vests who urged people not to join the
protests. A spokesman from the movement, Christophe Chalencon, said Philippe had
"listened to us and promised to take our demands to the president".
"Now we await Mr Macron. I hope he will speak to the people of France as a
father, with love and respect and that he will take strong decisions," he said.
Philippe said some 89,000 police were being mobilised for protests nationwide,
including 8,000 police in Paris, where a dozen armoured vehicles were being
deployed for the first time in decades. - Death threat -Shops around the
Champs-Elysees boarded up their windows and emptied them of merchandise on
Friday, while the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay and other museums were shut.
Department stores were also closed due to the risk of looting on what would
normally be a busy shopping weekend in the run-up to Christmas. Foreign
governments are watching developments closely in one of the world's most visited
cities. The US embassy issued a warning to Americans in Paris to "keep a low
profile and avoid crowds", while Belgium, Portugal and the Czech Republic
advised citizens to postpone any planned visits. In a warning of impending
violence, an MP for Macron's party, Benoit Potterie, received a bullet in the
post on Friday with the words: "Next time it will be between your eyes."
Macron's U-turn
Macron this week gave in to some of the protesters' demands for measures to help
the poor and struggling middle classes, including scrapping a planned increase
in fuel taxes and freezing electricity and gas prices in 2019. But the "yellow
vests", some of whom who have become increasingly radicalised, are holding out
for more. Protests at dozens of schools over university reforms, and a call by
farmers for demonstrations next week, have added to a sense of general revolt.
The hardline CGT union, hoping to capitalise on the movement, has called for
rail and metro strikes next Friday to demand immediate wage and pension
increases.
'President of the rich'
Macron's decision early in his presidency to slash taxes on France's wealthiest
is particularly unpopular with the protesters. Arguing that such a move was
necessary in order to boost investment and create jobs, the former investment
banker has so far ruled out re-imposing the "fortune tax".
But the policy, along with hikes on pensioners' taxes, cuts in housing
allowances and a string of comments deemed insensitive to ordinary workers, has
led critics to label him a "president of the rich". Macron had previously vowed
to stay the course in his bid to shake up the French economy and not be swayed
by mass protests that have forced previous presidents to back down. The
climbdown on higher fuel taxes -- which were intended to help France transition
to a greener economy -- marked a major departure for the centrist president.
Trump says prosecutors have found no evidence of Russia
collusion
Sat 08 Dec 2018/NNA - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday prosecutors
had found no evidence of collusion with Russia despite a lengthy and costly
investigation into allegations of Russian interference in his 2016 presidential
election campaign. A day after U.S. prosecutors detailed a previously unknown
attempt by a Russian to help the campaign, Trump tweeted: "After two years and
millions of pages of documents (and a cost of over ê30 million) no collusion!"
Russia has denied interfering in the election to help Trump. --- Reuters
Trump attacks Paris climate agreement, cites France protests
AFP, Washington/Saturday, 8 December 2018/US President Donald Trump on Saturday
once again attacked the Paris agreement on fighting climate change, citing the
ongoing protests in the French capital as proof that he was right to reject the
pact. His morning tweet came in the middle of UN climate talks in Poland, where
nearly 200 nations have gathered to agree on a universal rulebook to make good
on the promises they signed up to in the 2015 Paris climate deal. “The Paris
Agreement isn’t working out so well for Paris. Protests and riots all over
France,” Trump said. “People do not want to pay large sums of money, much to
third world countries (that are questionably run), in order to maybe protect the
environment.”Saturday’s comment was not the first time Trump had used the Paris
“yellow vest” protests -- which began on November 17 with road blockades against
fuel prices but have since ballooned into a mass movement against French
President Emmanuel Macron -- to slam the climate deal. On Tuesday, he called the
Paris agreement “fatally flawed.”Trump has long said he distrusts the consensus
by nearly all the world’s respected climate scientists on the link between human
activity and rising temperatures, as well as other damaging climate change
phenomena. Since becoming president in January 2017, he has pulled the United
States out of the international Paris Agreement on attempting to bring down
global temperatures, and torn up a raft of environmental protection laws, saying
the US economy needs the boost. Late last month, Trump’s own government issued a
dire report warning of massive economic losses if carbon emissions continue to
feed climate change unchecked, but the US leader said he didn’t believe the
findings.
Trump says Chief of Staff John Kelly will leave
at years end
The Associated Press/Sunday, 9 December 2018/US President Donald Trump said on
Saturday that chief of staff John Kelly will leave his job by year’s end amid an
expected West Wing reshuffling reflecting a focus on the 2020 re-election
campaign and the challenge of governing with Democrats reclaiming control in the
House. An announcement about Kelly’s replacement was expected in the coming
days, the president told reporters as he departed the White House for the
Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia. Only a day before, Trump named his
picks for attorney general and ambassador to the United Nations, and two senior
aides shifted from the White House to Trump’s campaign. Kelly had been credited
with imposing order on a chaotic West Wing after his arrival in June 2017 from
his post as homeland security secretary.
But his iron first also alienated some longtime Trump allies, and he grew
increasingly isolated, with an increasingly diminished role. Known through the
West Wing as “the chief” or “the general,” the retired Marine Corps four-star
general was tapped by Trump via tweet to try to normalize a White House driven
by infighting and competing power bases. “John Kelly will leaving - I don’t know
if I can say retiring - but he’s a great guy,” Trump told reporters. “John Kelly
will be leaving at the end of the year. We’ll be announcing who will be taking
John’s place - it might be on an interim basis. I’ll be announcing that over the
next day or two, but John will be leaving at the end of the year. ... I
appreciate his service very much.”
Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on December 08-09/18
How to Read Lebanon’s Acceptance of Russian Military Aid
حنين غدار وبورشيفسكيا/موقع واشنطن/كيق يمكن قراءة قبول لبنان المساعدة العسكرية من
روسيا
Anna Borshchevskaya and Hanin Ghaddar/The Washington Institute/December 08/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/69768/anna-borshchevskaya-and-hanin-ghaddar-how-to-read-lebanons-acceptance-of-russian-military-aid-%d8%ad%d9%86%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%ba%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d9%88%d8%a8%d9%88%d8%b1%d8%b4%d9%8a%d9%81/
The assistance package is small
but symbolically important, demonstrating Moscow’s growing influence in Beirut
while potentially throwing Hezbollah and Iran for a loop.
On November 26, Lebanon accepted $5 million in Russian military aid, with Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s office noting that “the Internal Security
Forces in the Ministry of Interior will benefit” from the incoming funds. For
years, the Kremlin has sought to cultivate religious, cultural, economic, and
military ties in Beirut as part of a strategy to expand Russian influence in the
Middle East, elevate its role as a peacemaker, and sideline the United States.
Lebanon has traditionally resisted the military overtures, so the latest
reversal is a win for President Vladimir Putin. The symbolic value of the small
gift far outweighs its substance, highlighting Moscow’s regional goals and
Hariri’s interest in maintaining good bilateral relations, despite reservations
from Hezbollah and Iran.
MILITARY, ENERGY, AND TRADE OVERTURES
For more than a decade, Beirut declined various Russian military deals—usually
after Washington firmly reminded it of the copious U.S. aid its forces received
over the same period ($1.5 billion since 2006). In December 2008, it turned down
a gift of ten fighter jets as part of a defense cooperation deal that aimed to
boost Russia’s arms sales and political influence. In late 2010, the two
governments were close to striking a similar deal involving a mixture of gifts
and weapons purchased with Saudi money, reportedly in coordination with Syria.
Yet Beirut ultimately turned that down as well.
More recently, Moscow began working on a $1 billion arms deal in February 2017
that would include fifteen years of interest-free arms purchases. Lebanese
president Michel Aoun allegedly approved the deal, then froze it under U.S.
pressure. A year later, Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a draft
agreement that proposed broadening and deepening bilateral military cooperation,
though Beirut has reportedly declined to sign it so far.
Regarding the new $5 million offer, Moscow apparently wanted the Lebanese Armed
Forces to receive some of the funding, but Washington insists that the LAF
cannot simultaneously take Russian and U.S. aid. Hariri appears to have found a
loophole, however: transferring the money to the Internal Security Forces.
In tandem with this military outreach, Putin has pursued various deals on energy
and other economic interests. In November 2010, he met with Hariri in Moscow and
announced “concrete plans” for expanding bilateral cooperation on energy and
transport. Three years later, they signed an energy cooperation deal, and
several Russian firms prequalified for tender bids: Rosneft, Gazprom, LUKOIL,
and Novatek, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2014. This January, a
consortium of Novatek, France’s Total, and Italy’s Eni signed agreements to
exploit two offshore blocks in Lebanon’s waters; they reportedly plan to start
drilling for oil and gas in mid-2019. Moscow typically views such deals as an
extension of its foreign policy toolset, with the goal of achieving greater
access and power projection in the Mediterranean region.
The two countries have also signed a number of trade deals in recent years,
contributing to a marked increase in bilateral commerce. According to Lebanese
Customs, trade with Russia nearly doubled between 2012 and 2017, from $423
million to $770—a significant jump for a country of 6 million people.
ORTHODOX AND CULTURAL OUTREACH
Putin has long used religion as a domestic and foreign policy tool, in part by
aligning the Kremlin with the Russian Orthodox Church (together with far-right
groups) and reviving his country’s historical mission as the main protector of
Eastern Orthodox Christianity. This includes courting the sect’s relatively
large community in Lebanon, mainly via the Orthodox Gathering (al-Liqaa al-Orthodoxi),
founded in 2011. The most prominent member of this group is Elie Ferzli,
Lebanon’s deputy speaker of parliament and former information minister, who has
long supported Syria’s Assad regime.
In January 2014, a Russian parliamentary delegation—including Sergei Gavrilov,
head of a Duma committee that focuses on “defending Christian values”—stopped in
Lebanon en route to Syria and met with members of the Orthodox Gathering and
other figures, joined by Russian ambassador Alexander Zasypkin. Gavrilov called
on the stakeholders to form a joint council with the goal of “activating
cooperation on all levels.” In October-November 2017, they held a spate of
meetings that resulted in calls for closer cooperation with Orthodox entities in
Lebanon, including the Gathering.
Moscow also promotes Russian culture in Lebanon, often through agencies that may
have wider goals in mind. According to Deutsche Welle, the Imperial Orthodox
Palestine Society (IOPS)—a tsarist-era NGO that was revived after the fall of
the Soviet Union—has become “the centerpiece of the Kremlin’s activity” in
Lebanon. Similarly, a number of Russian cultural centers—which have a history of
serving as intelligence fronts—sprang up in Lebanon over the years, and press
reports indicate more are forthcoming.
PLAYING PEACEMAKER
Putin has also sought to cultivate his image as a peacemaker in Lebanon, whether
between the pro- and anti-Syria camps or with Israel. This includes working with
Hezbollah at times—Russia does not consider it a terrorist organization and has
hosted the group’s officials in the past. Yet Hezbollah and its Iranian patron
have reservations about Moscow’s activities inside Lebanon.
To be sure, they welcomed Putin’s 2015 intervention in Syria because they were
desperate for help at the time, and they have since relied heavily on Russian
air cover and diplomatic efforts. Moscow’s involvement changed the course of the
war, greatly bolstering Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies. Yet the group is
not dependent on Moscow back home in Lebanon, where its position is much
stronger, so it tends to perceive any expanded Russian role there as competition
for its own powerbrokers in Beirut. This is no doubt why the pro-Hezbollah daily
al-Akhbar enthusiastically and erroneously reported that Lebanon had refused the
new $5 million military aid package. Likewise, Iran has done quite well at
gaining influence within Lebanon’s political, security, and parallel
institutions, so it would prefer not to cede any of this control to the
Russians.
For his part, Hariri favors a greater Russian role and has visited Moscow
several times in recent years. He and other Lebanese elites see the Kremlin as a
mediator capable of providing an indirect channel between the Syrian regime and
its Lebanese adversaries.
Moscow’s interest is rooted in the strategy of portraying itself as the most
credible broker for regional conflict resolution, particularly regarding
Iranian-Israeli tensions. Many officials are growing more concerned about the
prospect of Israel attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, since the group is
reportedly moving its precision missile development efforts back home from Syria
(an issue that will be discussed at length in a soon-to-be-published Washington
Institute Policy Note). Russia apparently hopes to mediate an agreement like the
one reached in south Syria, this time managing escalation between Israel and
Hezbollah in Lebanon. To do so, it needs a greater presence in Lebanon.
The Syrian refugee issue gives Moscow further opportunities to establish such a
presence. This July, it launched an initiative with Lebanon to repatriate
refugees to Syria. The agreement reportedly included facilitating conditions for
their return, and hundreds have begun the journey. Yet this is merely a token
number compared to the roughly one million refugees residing in Lebanon, and
recent reports suggest that Syrian authorities are ignoring Russia’s safety
guarantees and killing or detaining many returnees.
Ironically, though, the resultant slow pace of repatriation is allowing Russian
officials to consolidate ties with Beirut, gain diplomatic leverage, and keep
pressing for further involvement. For example, they reportedly proposed to their
U.S. counterparts that Russia deploy a military police brigade twenty kilometers
inside Lebanon to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees. National Security
Advisor John Bolton reportedly rejected the proposal, but Moscow remains
persistent in its quest to establish a military presence inside Lebanon.
CONCLUSION
Although Putin’s initiatives in Lebanon may ultimately fail, he has repeatedly
showed an eagerness to assume a leading role there, and a willingness to invest
the time and resources necessary for reaching that objective. In doing so, he is
more interested in gaining leverage than finding genuine resolutions to the
refugee issue or other pressing problems—the end result of Russian involvement
is usually conflict management rather conflict resolution. Beirut and its
Western allies should therefore be wary of the Kremlin’s gifts.
More broadly, Putin has long expressed hope that the United States will withdraw
from the affairs of Lebanon and the rest of the Middle East. For now, Washington
still has leverage via its aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces, and this
relationship has helped convince Beirut to reject past security agreements with
Russia. But Moscow is steadily filling the gaps wherever Washington is absent,
and would almost certainly do so again if U.S. military assistance to Lebanon
were to dry up.
*Anna Borshchevskaya is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute. Hanin
Ghaddar, a veteran Lebanese journalist and researcher, is the Institute’s
Friedmann Visiting Fellow.
The UAE and Yemen’s Islah: A Coalition Coalesces
Barbara A. Leaf and Elana DeLozier/The Washington Institute/December 08/18
To jumpstart the moribund peace process and ensure Emirati influence in postwar
Yemen, Abu Dhabi seems willing to swallow its distaste for certain Islamist
parties, at least for now.
When it comes to the public calendar of Muhammad bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s crown
prince and the UAE’s de facto head of state, nothing is accidental. Thus, his
November 14 meeting with Yemen’s main Islamist political coalition offered
potent evidence that diplomatic ice floes are breaking up in the long-frozen
effort to negotiate an end to the war.
Regional press outlets and social media were awash with pictures of bin Zayed
(often referred to as “MbZ”) hosting the two leaders of the Yemeni Congregation
for Reform, a party commonly known as Islah. His meeting with Islah chairman
Mohammed Abdullah al-Yadoumi and secretary-general Abdulwahab Ahmed al-Ansi was
the second such encounter in a year; he attended a similar meeting hosted by
Saudi crown prince Muhammad bin Salman in December 2017. But the latest powwow
was held without the Saudis and in Abu Dhabi, marking a crucial turning point
between erstwhile antagonists just when the Saudi-UAE coalition is moving toward
UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden and maneuvering for influence in postwar
Yemen. The United States should capitalize on this step and ensure that the
coalition implements a de facto ceasefire, providing diplomatic support to bring
the Houthi rebels to the negotiating table.
HINTS OF AN EMERGING UAE STRATEGY
MbZ’s outreach to Islah may seem surprising given his longstanding antipathy
toward the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and its regional variants. For more than two
decades, Emirati authorities cracked down on their own country’s main Islamist
party, also called al-Islah, in an effort to cleanse the UAE of MB influence.
This policy accelerated with the shocking revelation that two young men from the
conservative northern Emirates were among the September 11 hijackers. Viewing
the group as a threat to the moderate Islam espoused by the UAE, authorities
outlawed the group, purged its members from government office, and prosecuted
many of them.
The events of the 2011 Arab Spring—particularly the MB’s ascension to power in
post-Mubarak Egypt—only hardened Abu Dhabi’s resolve to confront the movement.
Joined by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the UAE formally designated the MB as a
terrorist organization in 2014, and worked assiduously (if unsuccessfully) to
persuade the United States, Britain, and other Western governments to do the
same.
The theory driving this approach was seemingly simple—in Abu Dhabi’s view, the
MB is a transnational organization that woos adherents away from their national
loyalties and provides the ideological underpinnings for the world’s most
violent Islamist movements. Yet the regional applications of the MB model have
been more complicated in practice. This is especially true with Yemen’s version
of Islah, a diverse coalition of groups that includes a local MB branch but also
northern tribesmen, conservative businessmen, and Salafi Muslims.
As the Yemen war progressed after 2015, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi found themselves
diverging on key issues and relationships, creating uncomfortable political
dynamics on the ground. From the outset, the Saudis were willing to work with
Islamist parties like Islah to fight their common adversary, the Houthis, and
achieve stability in the north. The UAE was reluctant to do so, and was even
accused of actively targeting Islah members across the south.
For a variety of reasons, the UAE also relied heavily on non-Islamist commanders
and tribes in its fight against the Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda. Yet those same
factions are now actively pursuing secession—an outcome that Saudi Arabia
opposes.
Most important, Abu Dhabi’s relations with internationally recognized Yemeni
president Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi rapidly deteriorated in 2015, to the point that
UAE-backed forces battled Hadi’s forces on several occasions in the streets of
Aden. Emirati officials also kept Yemen’s vice president, Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar,
at arm’s length due to his Islamist ties. In contrast, Riyadh has hosted Hadi
and his government since they fled the country and maintained cordial relations
with Ali Mohsen.
More recently, however, the UAE has pursued an incremental and very public
strategy to develop relationships with a full range of Yemeni political actors,
particularly in the south. As such, it has been carefully positioning itself to
play an outsize role there after the war regardless of the future government’s
political makeup, while still maintaining strategic ambiguity on controversial
topics such as southern secession. MbZ’s public meeting with Islah leaders is
the latest and arguably most important step in this strategy. Yet his gradual
pivot has come with one crucial condition: that Islah publicly sunder its ties
to the MB.
ENGINEERING A SPLIT
The November meeting represents a pivot for Islah as well, continuing its
tradition of survival through adaptation. Since its founding in the 1990s, the
Yemeni party has comprised strange bedfellows whose differing objectives often
led to deep internal divisions.
Although Islah benefited from the 2011 transitional agreement that forced
President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, its fortunes were dramatically
reversed when the Houthis began their slow-motion takeover of Yemen in 2014. As
a movement whose identity was forged in reaction to conservative Sunni Islamist
encroachment in the north, the Houthis reviled Islah above all. They burned down
the family home of the Ahmars, the tribal group that helped found Islah. And
when they captured Sana, they targeted MB members for arrest, torture, and
imprisonment. Islah has yet to recover from these blows—its meeting with MbZ may
therefore be an attempt to reestablish its political clout and ensure a seat at
the postwar table.
As early as 2016, Yadoumi began sending public signals—presumably intended for
Riyadh and Abu Dhabi—that his group was not connected to the transnational MB.
In December 2017, he and Ansi held their first public meeting with Gulf
coalition leaders in Riyadh. The day after that summit, UAE minister of state
for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash posted approving remarks on Twitter regarding
Islah’s formal severance of ties with the MB, a potent signal of Emirati
intentions.
In January 2018, the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat published an interview with
Yadoumi in which he affirmed, “There are no organizational or political
relations [between Islah and] the international organization of the Muslim
Brotherhood.” A month later, the party suspended the membership of Nobel
laureate Tawakkol Karman, a prominent MB-affiliated figure who now operates
primarily from Turkey. The decision came after Karman made statements critical
of the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
These actions paved the way for MbZ to bring Yadoumi and Ansi to Abu Dhabi last
month. Posting photos of the meeting on his social media accounts, the crown
prince signaled that the UAE has publicly accepted Islah’s separation from the
MB and deems it an important player, if not entirely a partner, in Yemen.
Islah’s leaders were fulsome in their widely publicized praise of MbZ’s move,
asserting that Islah has “never been opposed to the UAE helping to restore order
in Yemen.”
The meeting should not be confused for a blossoming friendship, however. Abu
Dhabi and Islah will keep a skeptical eye on each other, and for good reason.
The Emiratis have certainly not changed their strategic views on political
Islamists, and Islah still needs its religious base. For the UAE, getting on
good terms with Islah ensures its influence with a potentially relevant postwar
player. For Islah, publicly claiming a split with the MB may seem like a fair
trade—for now. The party likely wants the UAE to protect it in the south, where
separatists generally revile it.
In the longer term, though, Islah will be hard-pressed to survive without its
religious base, which has largely come from its MB wing. Like MbZ, Yadoumi is
seemingly trying to thread the needle. His statements consistently note that
Islah is not connected to the international MB, but his careful wording likewise
avoids disassociating the party from any MB-like elements inside Yemen.
THE U.S. ROLE
As UN envoy Martin Griffiths races the clock to bring Yemen’s warring parties to
Stockholm this week, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi’s efforts to knit up their differences
on Islah represent a significant preparatory step. Many observers remain
concerned that the main conflict between Hadi and the Houthis will wind down
only to see other internal conflicts break out. The degree to which Saudi Arabia
and the UAE can synchronize their diplomacy and form a big-tent coalition of
Yemeni political actors will shape the odds of establishing a real transition
out of civil war.
The United States has an urgent role to play in this regard. The Trump
administration’s halting response to the war accelerated recently to stay ahead
of potential congressional action aimed at cutting off all U.S. support for
coalition operations. But simply calling for a ceasefire is insufficient. To
reinforce the work of Griffiths, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi, Washington should
choreograph its own political outreach to various Yemeni factions. This would
have the added benefit of pressuring the Hadi government and the Houthis to make
substantive progress toward a peace deal.
Barbara A. Leaf is the Rosenblatt Distinguished Visiting Fellow at The
Washington Institute and former U.S. ambassador to the UAE. Elana DeLozier is a
research fellow in the Institute’s Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy.
Russian romancing, Saudi intrigue precede OPEC meeting
Simon Henderson/The Hill/The Washington Institute/December 08/18
Those with long memories probably can recall when meetings of the OPEC oil
exporters cartel were major news events, on one occasion horrendously inflated
by the terrorist Carlos the Jackal seizing the 11 ministers attending. Without
the latter ingredient, one hopes, this week’s meeting in Vienna on Thursday and
Friday could dominate many front pages.
Even before Tuesday’s almost 800-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average
prompted by doubts about a trade deal with China, the market was responding
furiously to economic indicators. The price of oil has dropped 30 percent since
October — that’s good for manufacturers, but not good for oil companies or, in
particular, producers of shale oil, which is not profitable at below $50 per
barrel.
Complicating the picture have been clashing political factors: President Trump
effectively giving a pass to Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman regarding
the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi because the U.S.-Saudi
partnership is so important, and then the extraordinary high-five caught on
video between MbS, as Saudi Arabia’s effective leader is known, and President
Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires last weekend. Who has
the key special relationship, Washington or Moscow?
The White House position was further undermined yesterday when senior senators
appeared to conclude after a briefing by CIA chief Gina Haspel that MbS’s
culpability in the demise of Khashoggi was as great as many have feared.
The key agenda item for OPEC oil ministers is how to reach agreement on cutting
back production so that the price is high enough to support their various
domestic budget needs. In their vocabulary, this is market stabilization. In
ours, it means higher prices at the pumps; hence, President Trump’s running
tweet attacks on the cartel.
But the Thursday meeting of the mainly Arab oil ministers — plus Nigeria,
Venezuela, Iran and a couple of African states — will be undermined by another
meeting on Friday that will include non-OPEC producers, of which Russia is the
most significant. Several OPEC members think that Saudi Arabia and Russia are
going to stitch up a deal to their mutual benefit, leaving the rest of them out
in the cold.
The Russian and Saudi oil ministers, Alexander Novak and Khalid al-Falih, have a
policy “romance,” according to an unnamed official quoted by the Wall Street
Journal this morning. What with the MbS-Putin “bromance” as well, the United
States appears to be a mere bystander.
Perhaps the long-term trends still look good for America: the Big Read page in
yesterday’s Financial Times was headlined, “Opec: why Trump has Saudi Arabia
over a barrel.”
Could the combination of this week’s activities and the apparent inevitability
of shale oil’s increasing role lead to the end of OPEC? Quite possibly. The week
started by Qatar announcing it was withdrawing from the cartel as of Jan. 1,
2019. There are plausible economic reasons for doing this. Qatar produces a
relatively small amount of oil but is a huge producer and exporter of (much
cleaner) natural gas. Developing that comparative advantage is what it should
concentrate on.
But Qatar also is at diplomatic odds with Saudi Arabia, which has been leading a
trade blockade of Qatar since mid-2017, alleging a litany of grievances and
essentially accusing Doha of being a bad neighbor. Withdrawing from OPEC was
widely interpreted as Doha’s thumbing its nose at Riyadh. However, to add to the
confusion, King Salman, still the Saudi leader at least in name, yesterday
invited his Qatari counterpart Emir Tamim to the summit of the largely moribund
Gulf Cooperation Council scheduled to take place in Riyadh on Dec. 9.
My bet is that Tamim won’t go and instead will send a senior minister. But who
knows? These days, a mythical political equivalent of the Dow Jones index is
fluctuating widely as well.
Simon Henderson is the Baker Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on
Gulf and Energy Policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Does The Netherlands Have a Problem?
Judith Bergman/Gatrestone Institute/Decembe 08/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13362/netherlands-problem
"The number of Dutch victims of grooming gangs has risen sharply in recent
years". It is estimated that rape-groomers force around 1400 under-age girls
into sex-slavery every year. — Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
"Despite stagnating growth, the size of the Dutch jihadist movement is cause for
concern." — Terrorist Threat Assessment for the Netherlands (DTN), published by
the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism.
It is estimated that 140 mosques in the Netherlands are affiliated with the
Religious Affairs Directorate of the Republic of Turkey (Diyanet). One sermon,
given in the city of Hoorn, was about jihad and martyrdom: "The one who dies in
the way of Allah, never call him dead, but call him alive".
According to the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism of the
Netherlands, Islamic terrorism has been growing for several years. "Despite
stagnating growth, the size of the Dutch jihadist movement is cause for
concern," it wrote. (Image source: iStock)
"Right-wing extremists are growing more confident. They continue to focus on
protesting against the perceived Islamisation of the Netherlands, the arrival of
asylum seekers and the perceived loss of Dutch identity..." [emphasis added]
wrote Dutch authorities in a September threat assessment.
Islamization in the Netherlands, however, is not merely a "perception" of
"right-wing extremists" but an increasingly established trend. The threat
assessment by the country's National Coordinator for Security and
Counterterrorism, for example, shows that Islamic terrorism has been growing for
several years. "Despite stagnating growth, the size of the Dutch jihadist
movement is cause for concern," it wrote.
"This group, which grew significantly between 2013 and 2016, may be inclined to
embrace a 'revenge narrative' that blames the West for the collapse of the
'caliphate'...Jihadists now no longer have a compelling reason to travel to that
part of the world, and their focus has shifted to da'wa, or spreading the
jihadist message. This may lead to a rise in the number of jihadists in the
Netherlands. In addition to adherents of jihadism, there are also several
thousand jihadist sympathisers, and ISIS sympathisers in particular, in the
Netherlands."
The Netherlands has been the scene of several attempted jihadist terrorist
attacks in recent months. In late September, police arrested seven suspected
jihadist terrorists who were planning a massive attack there, including
attacking a large event -- the police did not say where -- by attacking the site
with automatic rifles and a car bomb. Earlier in September, an Afghan man who
had a "terrorist motive" according to Dutch officials, stabbed two Americans at
a train station in Amsterdam. "It is apparent from his statements that he
believes that in the Netherlands, the Prophet Muhammad, the Quran, Islam and
Allah are repeatedly insulted," prosecutors said. In August, another man was
shot and arrested at a supermarket in the city of Naaldwijk, where he was waving
a knife at people while shouting "Allahu Akbar".
The threat level for the Netherlands remains at "substantial" (level 4 on a
scale of 1 to 5), which means that the risk of an Islamic terrorist attack in
the Netherlands is very real, although not necessarily imminent.
There are several other factors, apart from Islamic terrorism, that show an
increase in the Islamization of the Netherlands:
One is the growth of Islamic parties. In the last parliamentary elections, Denk,
a Muslim party that was formed six months ahead of the elections by two Turks
who were former members of the Socialist party, received one-third of the Muslim
vote and three seats in parliament. The party does not hide its affinity for
Turkey: Criticism of Turkey is taboo, as is its predictable refusal to name the
Turkish mass-slaughter of the Armenians during the First World War a genocide.
The Denk party ran on a platform against the integration of immigrants into
Dutch society (instead advocating "mutual acceptance", a euphemism for creating
parallel Muslim societies); and for the establishment of a "racism police" that
would register "offenders" and exclude them from holding public office. In July,
a former political activist for Denk, Hussein Jamakovic, sent an email to the
Telegraaf newspaper, as well as three other news organizations. The email said,
"May you get cancer, you filthy, far-right cancer Jews." The email came after
the news outlets brought reports claiming that Jamakovic had expressed sympathy
for ISIS. In June, a van was deliberately driven into the entrance of the
Telegraaf newspaper's building, where it burst into flames.
Another facet of the increasing Islamization is the preaching of jihad in
mosques. The Religious Affairs Directorate of the Republic of Turkey (Diyanet)
distributes its official Friday sermons to Turkish mosques across the world; the
mainstream media in the Netherlands have publicized at least one case of such a
sermon being preached, at the mosque in the city of Hoorn. It is unclear in just
how many mosques this sermon was preached, but it is estimated that 140 mosques
in the Netherlands are affiliated with the Diyanet. The sermon was about jihad
and martyrdom:
"Our soldiers show the whole world that we are sacrificing everything to protect
our faith, flag and country. (...) Every son of our country who, in the power of
his life, drinks the sweet nectar of martyrdom, shouts at us. (...) The one who
dies in the way of Allah, never call him dead, but call him alive".
According to the Diyanet representative in The Hague, Dutch-Turkish imams write
their own sermons. He then claimed that the war sermon was not preached anywhere
in the Netherlands. That is simply not credible -- why would the Diyanet make an
exception for Turkish Muslims in the Netherlands of all the places it seeks to
influence?
The new mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, said in September that she would
close down mosques if imams are spreading messages of hate, but "only as a last
resort". According to DutchNews.nl, Halsema said that closing mosques is "a very
rigorous [action] and that is something you only do as a last resort." You must
be able to act if "an imam gives disgusting sermons, such as saying women should
be subservient or that homosexuality is a crime". According to the news report,
she also said that, unlike her predecessor, Jozias van Aartsen, she did not plan
to develop links with fundamentalist and Salafist organizations. "I will not
invite people who are not democratic and who do not take equality between men
and women seriously to the office," she said.
Another aspect of the increasing Islamization is that vandalism and violence
against Jews have risen dramatically. A report published by the Dutch Public
Prosecution Service in April listed 144 confirmed criminal offenses in 2017
involving hate crimes, including intimidation, vandalism, assault and incitement
to hate or violence. Of those cases, 41 percent were "directed against Jews,"
who only account for 0.2 percent of the Dutch population.
A poll of 557 Dutch Jews published in November showed that nearly half of them
were afraid of identifying themselves as Jews, with 43% saying they take active
steps to hide their Jewish identity and 52% saying anti-Semitism on the street
has become more common. In addition, 34% said they had experienced anti-Semitic
remarks directed against them and 11% had experienced anti-Semitic violence
directed against them.
In December 2017, a Syrian asylum seeker, Saleh Ali, smashed the windows of a
kosher restaurant in Amsterdam. For that, he served just 52 days in prison even
though he had reportedly told an officer that the attack was "only the first
step." Asked about the next step, he said: "I will tell you later, no one needs
to know."In May, a Syrian asylum seeker, Malek F, stabbed three people in the
Hague, while looking to harm "Christian and Jewish kuffars " according to the
prosecution's report of the recent trial. He said that "kuffars" [unbelievers]
were akin to "animals or retarded people". Two days earlier, Malek F. had
brought a knife to a church in The Hague but when no one opened the door when he
knocked, he left. Yet another disquieting characteristic of the Islamization is
the grooming and rape of under-age girls, as seen for more than a decade in the
UK. According to recent reports, "The number of Dutch victims of grooming gangs
has risen sharply in recent years". It is estimated that rape-groomers force
around 1,400 under-age girls into sex-slavery every year. Known in the
Netherlands as "loverboys", they groom the girls with drugs, alcohol and gifts
and then blackmail them into sex-slavery. Research has shown that 89% of the
rape-groomers have migrant origins and that 60% are Muslims. Some young girls
have 20 "customers" a day. "Minors are set to work in another country [Belgium]
as a method to keep them from running away" according to reports. The men can
earn "up to 800 euros a day on a girl".
Does the Netherlands have a problem?
**Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished
Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2018 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.
Italy Adopts Hardline Immigration Law
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/December 08/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13392/italy-immigration-law
Under the new law, the Italian government will only grant asylum to legitimate
refugees of war or victims of political persecution. Asylum seekers may now lose
their protection if they are convicted of crimes including: threat or violence
to a public official; physical assault; female genital mutilation; and a variety
of theft charges.
"I wonder if those who contest the security decree have even read it. I do not
really understand what the problem is: it deports criminals and increases the
fight against the mafia, racketeering and drugs." — Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini.
Italy will not sign the United Nations Global Compact for Migration, nor will
Italian officials attend a conference in Marrakech, Morocco, on December 10 and
11 to adopt the agreement. The Global Compact not only aims to establish
migration as a human right, but also to outlaw criticism of migration through
hate crimes legislation.
Italy, a main European gateway for migrants arriving by sea, has approved a
tough new immigration and security law that will make it easier to deport
migrants who commit crimes. Pictured: Migrants in a wooden boat wait to be
picked up by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station Phoenix vessel on June 10, 2017
off Lampedusa, Italy. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
The Italian Parliament has approved a tough new immigration and security law
that will make it easier to deport migrants who commit crimes and strip those
convicted of terrorism of their Italian citizenship.
Italy's lower house of parliament, the Camera dei Deputati, voted 396 to 99 on
November 28 to approve the new law, which was sponsored by Interior Minister
Matteo Salvini. The law had previously been approved by the Italian Senate on
November 7. The measure was promulgated by President Sergio Mattarella on
December 3.
Also known as the "Security Decree" or the "Salvini Decree," the new law
includes several key provisions:
Eliminates Humanitarian Protection. A primary objective of the new law is to
limit the number of migrants granted asylum in Italy. To achieve this aim,
Article 1 of the decree abolishes residence permits for so-called humanitarian
protection, a form of security available to those not eligible for refugee
status.
Under the previous system, the conditions to qualify for humanitarian protection
— one of the three forms of protection granted to asylum seekers, in addition to
political asylum and subsidiary protection — were vague and subject to abuse.
Migrants arriving in Italy were able to claim humanitarian protection, which
lasted for two years and provided access to a job, social welfare benefits and
housing.
Under the new law, the Italian government will only grant asylum to legitimate
refugees of war or victims of political persecution. The new law also introduces
a series of special permits (for health reasons or natural disasters in the
country of origin) with a maximum duration of between six months and one year.
Extends Period of Detention for Migrants. Article 2 of the new law authorizes
Italian authorities to detain migrants held at so-called repatriation centers (Centri
di permanenza per il rimpatrio, CPR) for a maximum of 180 days, up from a
maximum of 90 days. The extension is in line with the period considered
necessary to verify a migrant's identity and nationality.
In addition, Article 3 provides that asylum seekers may be held for a maximum
period of 30 days at so-called hotspots, identification facilities at the EU's
external borders. If identity is not established in the 30 days, asylum seekers
may also be held in repatriation centers for 180 days. In other words, asylum
seekers may be held for 210 days to verify their identity.
Increases Funds for Deportation. Article 6 provides for the allocation of
additional funds for repatriations: 500,000 euros ($570,000) in 2018, 1.5
million euros ($1.7 million) in 2019 and another 1.5 million euros in 2020.
Eases Revocation of Protection. Article 7 extends the list of crimes for which
refugee status or subsidiary protection can be withdrawn. Asylum seekers may now
lose their protection if they are convicted of crimes including: threats or
violence to a public official; physical assault; female genital mutilation; and
a variety of theft charges. The asylum application may also be suspended if the
applicant is in a criminal proceeding for one of the aforementioned crimes and
would result in the refusal of asylum in the event of a final conviction.
Furthermore, refugees who return to their country of origin, even temporarily,
will lose international and subsidiary protection. Establishes List of Safe
Countries of Origin. Article 7-bis provides for the establishment of a list of
safe countries of origin, namely countries which have democratic political
systems and where "generally and consistently" there is no political
persecution, torture or inhumane or humiliating treatment or punishment, threat
of violence or armed conflict.
At least 12 EU countries already have such lists, which are used to prevent
abuses of EU and national asylum systems. According to the decree, asylum
seekers from countries on the list will be required to provide proof that they
face danger in their home countries. The law also introduces new categories that
qualify an asylum application as "manifestly unfounded" in the case of: people
who have made inconsistent statements; people who have made false information or
provided false documents; people who refuse to be fingerprinted; people who are
subject to deportation orders; people who constitute a danger to order and
security; foreigners who entered Italian territory in an irregular manner and
who did not immediately apply for asylum.
In addition to the list of safe countries of origin, Article 10 institutes the
principle of "internal flight," that is "if a foreign citizen can be repatriated
in some areas of the country of origin where there are no risks of persecution,
the application for international protection is rejected."
Downsizes the Asylum Seeker Shelter System. Article 12 stipulates that
henceforth only unaccompanied minors and those persons who qualify for
international protection will be allowed to use the system for the reception of
asylum seekers and refugees (Sistema di protezione per richiedenti asilo e
rifugiati, SPRAR), the ordinary reception system managed by Italian
municipalities. All other asylum seekers will be processed through the
Extraordinary Reception Centers (Centri di Accoglienza Straordinaria, CAS) and
by Reception Centers for Asylum Seekers (Centri di Accoglienza per Richiedenti
Asilo, CARA). The changes are aimed not only at reasserting central control over
the asylum process, but also at restricting access to all but the most basic
social services.
Authorizes Revocation of Citizenship. Article 14 provides for revoking Italian
citizenship from those who are not Italian by birth and convicted of crimes
related to terrorism. Those subject to revocation include: foreigners who
acquired citizenship after ten years of residence in Italy; stateless persons
who acquired citizenship after five years of residence in Italy; children of
foreigners born in Italy who acquired citizenship after the age of 18; spouses
of Italian citizens; and adult foreigners who were adopted by an Italian
citizen.
The revocation of citizenship is possible within three years of the final
conviction for crimes related to terrorism, by decree of the President of the
Republic on the proposal of the Minister of the Interior.
Article 14 also increases the waiting period to obtain citizenship to 48 months
from 24 months.
Boosts Security Measures. The new law also introduces rules aimed at
strengthening measures to guarantee public safety, with particular reference to
the threat of terrorism and the fight against criminal infiltration in public
tenders.
In an effort to prevent vehicular attacks on pedestrians in crowded places,
Article 17 requires car rental agencies to increase controls on individuals who
rent trucks and vans. Article 19 authorizes police in municipalities with
populations above 100,000 persons to use electric tasers, while Article 24
includes measures to strengthen anti-mafia laws and prevention measures. The
Italian mafia has been accused of profiting from the migration crisis.
At a press conference, Interior Minister Salvini said that the new law would
provide order for a dysfunctional asylum system. "With criteria, common sense
and excellent results, we put order, rules, seriousness, transparency and
uniformity in the asylum reception system that had become a commodity, a
business out of control and paid for by the Italian people." He added:
"We must welcome those fleeing wars, but there is no room for economic migrants.
In the era of global communication, a clear message is being sent to migrants in
all countries of origin, and also to smugglers, who will understand that they
need to change jobs. He who escapes from war is my brother, but he who comes
here to sell drugs and create disorder must return to his country."
The new law has been roundly condemned by Italy's mainstream media, left-leaning
political parties, as well as by NGOs and other groups dealing with immigration.
Salvatore Geraci, of Caritas Italia, an Italian charity, described the law as
"the worst in Italian history" and as "pathogenic, useless and harmful." He
added: "The text is largely a result of prejudices and electoral calculations,
simplistic approaches to a complex and articulated phenomenon."
Salvini retorted: "I wonder if those who contest the security decree have even
read it. I do not really understand what the problem is: it deports criminals
and increases the fight against the mafia, racketeering and drugs."
Salvini, leader of the anti-immigration League (Lega) party, formed a new
coalition government with the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) on June 1. The
government's program, outlined in a 39-page action plan, promised to crack down
on illegal immigration and to deport up to 500,000 undocumented migrants. Italy
is a main European gateway for migrants arriving by sea: 119,369 arrived by sea
in 2017, after 181,436 in 2016, according to the International Organization for
Migration (IOM). An estimated 700,000 migrants have arrived in Italy during the
past five years, but since Salvini took office, the number of arrivals has
fallen sharply. During the first eleven months of 2018, only 23,000 migrants
arrived, according to the IOM.
Meanwhile, Salvini announced that Italy will not sign the United Nations Global
Compact for Migration, nor will Italian officials attend a conference in
Marrakech, Morocco, on December 10 and 11 to adopt the agreement. The Global
Compact not only aims to establish migration as a human right, but also to
outlaw criticism of migration through hate crimes legislation.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, addressing Parliament on November 28, said: "The
Global Migration Compact is a document that raises issues and questions that
many citizens have strong feelings about. Therefore, we consider it right to put
the debate in parliament and subject any final decision on the outcome of that
debate, as Switzerland has done. So, the government will not participate in
Marrakech, reserving the option to adopt the document, or not, only when
parliament has expressed its opinion."
More than a dozen countries have announced they will not sign the agreement.
Western countries include: Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech
Republic, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Switzerland, and the United States.
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
© 2018 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.
On Iraq: The lesson has not been learnt
Adnan Hussein/Al Arabiya/December 08/18
When King Faisal I assumed power in 1921, Iraq was neither a state nor even a
semi-state. It was divided into several states under the Ottoman era whose
protracted and backward occupation had ruined Iraq’s great cultural heritage.
King Faisal had to begin from scratch, but in just 12 years, he managed to
establish the modern state of Iraq. When he died in 1933, his successors did not
find any difficulty in managing the state, as he established the cornerstone for
it: The constitution, the laws and the administration department required for a
state with its three authorities.
Abd al-Karim Qasim ruled Iraq for less than four years, during which he made
major economic and social changes. His achievements included abolition of the
feudal system and the Tribal Disputes Code in favor of the modern state system.
This is in addition to agrarian reforms, expansion of education, health, social
and cultural services. The current Iraqi regime is now into its 16th year.
However, it has not matured enough like King Faisal I’s regime did in less than
12 years and it also did not reach the extent of maturity which Qasim’s rule
reached in less than four years
This is in addition to regaining 99.5 percent of the land granted to foreign oil
companies, which later paved the way to nationally invest in oilfields,
establish industrial, agricultural and irrigation projects planned by the
reconstruction council in the last years of the royal era and legislate the new
personal status law, which guaranteed women many of their rights.
Current regime falls short
Within 10 years (1968-1978), Al-Ba’ath Party established a powerful state, by
stopping the war against the Kurds and recognizing their rights, mainly
autonomy. The party also paved the way for a powerful state by being open to
other political forces (Kurdish, Arab nationalism and the Communist Party),
nationalization of oil and construction of large factories, planning
agricultural and irrigation projects, building ports and highways and developing
the public services system (electricity, water, health, education, sewage and
transport). It managed to end illiteracy, all before Saddam Hussein turned
against the leadership of his own party turning everything into ashes with his
aggressive wars and flagrant violence against those who had different opinions.
The current Iraqi regime is now into its 16th year. However, it has not matured
enough like King Faisal I’s regime did in less than 12 years and it also did not
reach the extent of maturity which Qasim’s rule reached in less than four years
and al-Ba’ath regime reached in less than 10 years. The current regime has in
the past 15 years increased the extent of comprehensive destruction caused by
Saddam Hussein’s regime. There is not the faintest hope that it would change its
course which is only reproducing destruction, crises, disasters and ordeals — a
fate we have been suffering for the past 15 years. The corrupt people who manage
the current regime have not even left the aspired and desired state its
cornerstone as the transitional phase that the corrupt had agreed upon shall
remain open for several years and decades as this is what the permanence of
corruption requires!