English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For December 24/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.december24.22.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has
himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 12/48-50/:"The one who
rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word
that I have spoken will serve as judge, for I have not spoken on my own, but the
Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what
to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak,
therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me."
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on December 23-24/2022/
Video-Text: Christmas Is A Holy Event For Openness Prayers, Contemplation, &
Forgiveness/Elias Bejjani/December 25/2022
Lebanon Pursues Suspect in Killing of Irish Peacekeeper
Macron Urges Lebanon to ‘Get Rid’ of Leaders Blocking Reforms
Lebanon identifies suspects in Blue Helmet's killing
Italian foreign minister meets with Berri, Mikati
Jumblat decries 'presidential blackmail' in chief of staff file
Bassil meets Jumblat after delay caused by 'Abu Faour's Maarab visit'
Timeline: Lebanon in economic, political dire straits
Lebanon's financial pains eased by remittances over holidays
Rahi welcomes US Ambassador in Bkerki
Berri meets Italian Foreign Minister in Ain Al-Tineh
Mikati tackles developments with Italian Foreign Minister, Interior Minister
Army Commander broaches developments with Russian Ambassador, Italian Army
Commander
Identity is complex for Lebanon's Christian Palestinian camp
Only Radical Change Can Save Lebanon?/Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al-AwsatDecember,
23/2022
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on December 23-24/2022/
Three dead, four injured after shooting at Kurdish center in Paris
Germany Formally Suspends Guarantees for Business with Iran
Film Stars Call for Release of Jailed Iranian Actor Alidoosti
Iran Says Arrested Four Mossad-linked Cells
Zelenskiy says U.S. Patriot system will be crucial part of Ukraine's defenses
Russian politician files legal challenge over Putin's reference to Ukraine "war"
Russia forced to slash oil output by half a million barrels a day as sanctions
hit Kremlin
Ukraine president back in Kyiv, Russia keeps up attacks
Ukrainians who fled war set to mark first Christmas in Canada, far from loved
ones
The peculiar Russian missile 'cemetery' in eastern Ukraine
Russia considering emergency rescue mission for space station astronauts after
leak detected
No, Zelensky Isn’t Fighting a ‘War on Christianity’
Iraq Tells Visiting Italy PM It Seeks Closer Economic Ties
Israeli police kill assailant after alleged car-ramming
Titles For The
Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on December 23-24/2022/
Turkey Crushes Human Rights at Home, Complains About 'Discrimination' in
Europe/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/December 23, 2022
Ukraine: A Recipe for Appeasement/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-AwsatDecember, 23/2022
Accelerating Mediterranean Integration Through Energy/Ferid Belhaj/Asharq Al-AwsatDecember,
23/2022
on December 23-24/2022/
Video-Text: Christmas Is A Holy Event For Openness
Prayers, Contemplation, & Forgiveness
Elias Bejjani/December 25/2022
ذكرى الميلاد هي فرصة مقدسة للصلاة والتأمل والإنفتاح على الغير والمسامحة
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
(Luke 02/11)
Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 02/14)
The holy birth of Jesus Christ bears numerous blessed vital values and
principles including love, giving, redemption, modesty and forgiveness.
Christmas is a role model of love because God, our Father Himself is love.
Accordingly and in a bid to cleanse us from our original sin He came down from
heaven, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and became
man.
This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
(John15/12)
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
(John15/13)
Christmas is way of giving …God gave us Himself because He is a caring,
generous, forgiving and loving and father.
Christmas embodies all principles of genuine redemption. Jesus Christ redeemed
us and for our sake He joyfully was crucified, and tolerated all kinds of
torture, humiliation and pain
Christmas is a dignified image of modesty ..Jesus Christ accepted to be born
into a manger and to live his life on earth in an extremely simple and humble
manner.
Let us continuously remind our selves that when our day comes that could be at
any moment, we shall not be able to take any thing that is earthly with us for
the Day of judgment except our work and acts, be righteous or evil.
Christmas is a holy act of forgiveness ….God, and because He is a loving and
forgiving has Sent His Son Jesus Christ redeem to free us from the bondage of
the original sin that Adam and Eve committed.
Christmas requires that we all genuinely pray and pray for those who are hurt,
lonely, deserted by their beloved ones, feel betrayed, are enduring pain
silently pain, suffer anguish, deprived from happiness, warmth and joy .
Christmas is ought to teach us that it is the duty of every believer to practice
his/her faith not only verbally and via routine rituals, but and most
importantly through actual deeds of righteousness….
Christmas’ spirit is not only rituals of decorations, festivities, gifts and
joyful celebrations…But deeds in all ways and means by helping those who need
help in all field and domains.
Christmas’s spirit is a calls to honour and actually abide by all Bible
teachings and values.
In this realm we have a Biblical obligation to open our hearts and with love
extend our hand to all those who are in need, and we are able to help him
remembering always that Almighty God showered on us all sorts of graces and
capabilities so we can share them with others.
Christmas is a time to hold to the Ten Commandments, foremost of which is
“Honour your father and your mother”.
Christmas is a good time for us to attentively hear and positively respond to
our conscience, which is the voice of God within us.
Christmas should revive in our minds and hearts the importance of fighting all
kinds temptations so we do not become slaves to earthly wealth, or power of
authority.
Christmas for us as patriotic and faithful Lebanese is a time to pray for the
safe and dignified return of our Southern people who were forced to take refuge
in Israel since the year 2000.
Christmas for each and every loving and caring Lebanese is a holy opportunity
for calling loudly on all the Lebanese politicians and clergymen, as well as on
the UN for the release of the thousands of Lebanese citizens who are arbitrarily
and unjustly imprisoned in Syrian prisons.
Most importantly Christmas is a time for praying and working for the liberation
of our dear homeland Lebanon, from the Iranian occupation.
No one should never ever lose sight for a moment or keep a blind eye on the
sacrifices of our heroic righteous martyrs who willing sacrificed themselves for
our homeland, identity, existence, and dignity. Our prayers goes for them on
this Holy Day and for peace in each and every country, especially in the chaotic
and troubled Middle East. May God Bless you all and shower upon you, your
families, friends, and beloved ones all graces of joy, health, love,
forgiveness, meekness and hope.
Lebanon Pursues Suspect in Killing of Irish
Peacekeeper
Beirut - Nazeer Rida/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Lebanese military intelligence held on Thursday a number of people for their
testimony and narrow down suspects in the attack on the United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) last week that left an Irish peacekeeper dead. Pvt.
Seán Rooney, 23, was killed and three others wounded when their unidentified
attackers opened fire on their convoy as it passed near the outhern town of Al-Aqbiya.
The area is a stronghold of the Hezbollah party. Pvt. Shane Kearney, 22, was
left in serious but stable condition and has since been flown back to his home
country for further medical treatment. Security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat
that the probe has not yet determined whether the detainees are directly
complicit in the attack. The probe is still in its early stages, they added.
Authorities have obtained footage from surveillance cameras that were in the
area, they revealed. Investigators have identified suspects, a judicial official
told AFP on Thursday. "The investigation has been able to identify suspects but
so far none has been arrested and the security services are still looking for
them," said the judicial official who could not be further identified. The UN
patrol "was the target of gunfire from at least two people" when it arrived in
Al-Aqbiya, according to the same source. Citing preliminary findings, the source
said the incident "was premeditated and the patrol was surveilled and followed
by a car carrying armed men". UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Lebanon and
Israel, neighbors which remain technically at war. The force operates near the
southern border. Wafiq Safa, Hezbollah's security chief, has said the killing
was "unintentional". Witnesses said villagers in the Al-Aqbiya area blocked
Rooney's vehicle after it took a road along the Mediterranean coast not normally
used by UNIFIL. Al-Aqbiya is just outside UNIFIL's area of operations, the force
said. A Lebanese judicial source earlier told AFP that the driver was killed by
a bullet to the head, one of seven that penetrated the vehicle. The three
passengers were injured when the vehicle hit a pylon and overturned. According
to the judicial official, the patrol was "harassed and intercepted at two
locations before reaching the scene of the incident". The official said, without
elaboration, that there had been "difficulties linked to the investigation" but
interviews with civilian witnesses led to the suspects' identification. UNIFIL
was set up in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they
invaded Lebanon in reprisal for a Palestinian attack. Israel withdrew from south
Lebanon in 2000 but fought a devastating 2006 war with Hezbollah. UNIFIL was
then beefed up to oversee a subsequent ceasefire and now counts more than 10,000
soldiers and naval personnel. Last week, the mission urged Beirut to ensure a
swift investigation into the first death of a UNIFIL member during a violent
incident for nearly eight years.
Macron Urges Lebanon to ‘Get Rid’ of Leaders
Blocking Reforms
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 23 December, 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron called on Lebanon Friday to "get rid" of its
political leadership who have for months blocked reforms vital to save its
stricken economy. "The problem with Lebanon is that we must solve people's
problems and get rid of those who cannot do it," Macron said, referring to the
country's entrenched political class -- widely blamed for the country's
financial collapse since late 2019. "Lebanon must change its leadership," he
said in an interview with three media outlets including Lebanon's Annahar
newspaper. Macron has taken the lead in international efforts to bail out the
Lebanese economy after a collapse in the value of the Lebanese pound plunged
most of the population into poverty. International lenders have demanded that
Lebanon adopt a program of painful economic reforms in return for releasing
billions of dollars in bailout loans. But deadlock between opposing alliances of
the confessional political parties that have dominated Lebanon since the 1975 to
1990 war have left the country with only a caretaker government since an
inconclusive May election and a vacant presidency since last month. "The
question is: this caste that lives off Lebanon, does it have the courage to
change?" Macron asked, adding that he was dismayed to see the mass emigration of
young Lebanese who had taken to the streets at the start of the crisis in late
2019 to demand political and economic reform. "My answer is to try to help bring
a political alternative to life... and to be intractable with political forces.
"I care about Lebanese men and women, not those living off their backs," he
said. Macron said the priority now was to have "honest" people as president and
as prime minster capable of moving swiftly to restructure Lebanon's failed
financial system. Parliament has convened 10 times over the past two months in a
bid to elect a replacement for Michel Aoun, whose mandate as president expired
at the end of October. But it is split between supporters of the Iran-backed
Hezbollah movement and its opponents, neither of whom have a clear majority.
Macron would not be drawn on whether he supported army chief Joseph Aoun as a
consensus choice for president. "I don't want to discuss names. If there isn't a
plan and a strategy behind the name, they won't succeed," he said. Macron, who
was speaking on his flight home from a regional summit on Iraq in Jordan, said
he would work to organize a conference with a "similar format" for Lebanon in
the coming weeks. He said he was "convinced" that problems in the Middle East
can only be resolved "if we find a framework for discussion that includes Iran,
given its influence in the region".
Lebanon identifies suspects in Blue Helmet's
killing
Agence France Presse/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Lebanese investigators have identified suspects in the fatal shooting of an
Irish United Nations peacekeeper whose vehicle came under fire earlier this
month, a judicial official told AFP on Thursday. Private Sean Rooney, 23, was
killed and three others injured on December 14 when their UN Interim Force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle was attacked near the village of Al-Aqbiya in Lebanon's
south. The area is a stronghold of Hezbollah. One of the injured was medevaced
home to Ireland on Wednesday for further treatment. "The investigation has been
able to identify suspects but so far none has been arrested and the security
services are still looking for them," said the judicial official who could not
be further identified. The U.N. patrol "was the target of gunfire from at least
two people" when it arrived in Al-Aqbiyeh, according to the same source. Citing
preliminary findings, the source said the incident "was premeditated and the
patrol was surveilled and followed by a car carrying armed men". UNIFIL acts as
a buffer between Lebanon and Israel, neighbors which remain technically at war.
The force operates near the southern border. Wafic Safa, Hezbollah's security
chief, has said the killing was "unintentional". Witnesses said villagers in the
Al-Aqbiyeh area blocked Rooney's vehicle after it took a road along the
Mediterranean coast not normally used by UNIFIL.Al-Aqbiyeh is just outside
UNIFIL's area of operations, the force said. A Lebanese judicial source earlier
told AFP that the driver was killed by a bullet to the head, one of seven that
penetrated the vehicle. The three passengers were injured when the vehicle hit a
pylon and overturned. According to the judicial official, the patrol was
"harassed and intercepted at two locations before reaching the scene of the
incident". The official said, without elaboration, that there had been
"difficulties linked to the investigation" but interviews with civilian
witnesses led to the suspects' identification. UNIFIL was set up in 1978 to
monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon in reprisal
for a Palestinian attack. Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000 but fought
a devastating 2006 war with Hezbollah and its allies. UNIFIL was then beefed up
to oversee a subsequent ceasefire and now counts more than 10,000 soldiers and
naval personnel. On Friday, the mission urged Beirut to ensure a swift
investigation into the first death of a UNIFIL member during a violent incident
for nearly eight years.
Italian foreign minister meets with Berri, Mikati
Naharnet/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani
on Friday met in Beirut with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime
Minister Najib Mikati. In his talks with Mikati, Tajani demonstrated the
relations between Lebanon and Italy on the various levels, the situation in
Lebanon, and the ongoing failure to elect a new president, state-run National
News Agency said. Mikati for his part lauded “the firm ties that link Lebanon to
Italy and the active Italian presence for supporting Lebanon on all levels.” He
also praised “the initiatives that Italy is making to help the army and the
humanitarian aid it is offering to Lebanon every year,” as well as “Italy’s
active role within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).”
Jumblat decries 'presidential blackmail' in chief of staff
file
Naharnet/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has decried what he described
as “political blackmail” and “presidential blackmail” in the current controversy
related to the army’s Military Council. “The Defense Minister is making an
excuse that extending the term of the incumbent Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Amin
al-Orm would not be legal, although the term of former Chief of Staff Maj. Gen.
Walid Salman had been extended,” Jumblat said in an interview with Annahar
newspaper. Caretaker Defense Minister Maurice Slim had recently rejected a
request submitted by Army chief General Joseph Aoun for the extension of the
terms of al-Orm and Military Council Inspector General Maj. Gen. Milad Ishak,
who will reach the age of retirement on December 24 and 25. “Army Commander
General Joseph Aoun was a little late in his proposal,” Jumblat told Annahar,
adding that “what is happening in this file and in other files is political
blackmail on the one side and presidential blackmail on the other.” Asked about
the situation in the country amid the political bickering and obstructionism,
the PSP leader said: “The country is sinking and some political forces are not
electing a president, while others are questioning the legitimacy of holding
cabinet session.”“What is happening is absurd,” Jumblat lamented.
Bassil meets Jumblat after delay caused by 'Abu Faour's
Maarab visit'
Naharnet/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil met Friday evening with Progressive
Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, following political clashes and a lengthy
break in ties between the two parties. “The Jumblat-Bassil meeting was not held
at noon over a lunch banquet after the FPM expressed dismay over (MP Wael) Abu
Faour’s visit to Maarab and his statement from there,” MTV reported. “The
meeting between Jumblat and Bassil took place at the house of his (Jumblat’s)
daughter Dalia, and several mediators worked on securing this meeting, espcially
MP Farid al-Bustani,” the TV network added. Speaking to MTV, FPM sources said
that Bassil meets with a lot of figures without media coverage. “Some meetings
become known and some remain unknown, and this is all part of a drive that he is
leading in order to elect a president based on a salvation program that was
established in the (FPM’s) presidential priorities paper,” the sources added.
Al-Jadeed TV had reported that the meeting comes following an initiative from
Bassil, who “had previously expressed his desire to discuss the presidential
file with Jumblat through several mediators.” It added that Bassil is working on
blocking the election of Suleiman Franjieh as president through a host of
meetings that he intends to make, while Jumblat for his part is decrying that
the term of Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Amin al-Orm has not been extended.
“Accordingly, his meeting with Bassil might be a gateway for the signature of
Defense Minister Maurice Slim on the extension decree,” al-Jadeed added.
Timeline: Lebanon in economic, political dire straits
Agence France Presse/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Lebanon for more than three years has been mired in a deep financial, economic
and social crisis, aggravated by a political deadlock. Here is a recap since
turmoil broke out in October 2019.
- Protests erupt -
Mass protests follow a government announcement on October 17, 2019 of a planned
tax on voice calls made over messaging services such as WhatsApp. In a
graft-plagued country with poor public services, many see the tax as the last
straw, with demonstrators demanding "the fall of the regime". The government of
prime minister Saad Hariri scraps the tax the same day. But protests continue
over the ensuing weeks, culminating in demonstrations calling for the overhaul
of a ruling class in place for decades and accused of systemic corruption.
Hariri's government resigns in late October.
- First default -
Lebanon, with a $92 billion debt burden equivalent to nearly 170 percent of its
gross domestic product, announces in March 2020 that it will default on a
payment for the first time in its history.
In April, after three nights of violent clashes, then-prime minister Hassan Diab
says Lebanon will seek International Monetary Fund help after the government
approves an economic rescue plan.
But talks with the IMF quickly collapse.
- Catastrophic blast -
A massive explosion on August 4, 2020 at Beirut port devastates entire
neighborhoods of the capital, kills more than 200 people and injures at least
6,500. Revelations that the pile of volatile ammonium nitrate that caused one of
the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded had been left unsecured in a
warehouse for six years, further enraging the Lebanese public.
- Political impasse -
Diab's government resigns in the wake of the blast, a little more than seven
months after taking office. Diplomat Mustapha Adib is named new premier but bows
out after less than a month, and Hariri, who already served as prime minister
three times, is named in October.
- One of worst crises -
Amid runaway inflation, authorities announce in February 2021 that bread prices
will rise further. In June, the World Bank says Lebanon's economic collapse is
likely to rank among the world's worst financial crises since the mid-19th
century.
- New government -
After nine months of political negotiations, Hariri steps aside on July 15
saying he is unable to form a government. Billionaire Najib Mikati, Lebanon's
richest man and already twice prime minister, forms a new government on
September 10 after a 13-month vacuum.
- Bloody clashes -
But the new government is shaken by demands from the powerful Hezbollah movement
for the judge investigating the Beirut blast to be removed on grounds of
political bias. Tensions come to a boil on October 14 when a shootout kills
seven people following a rally by Hezbollah and its ally Amal demanding Tarek
Bitar's dismissal.
- Accord with IMF -
On January 24, 2022 the IMF launches talks with Lebanese officials.
Mikati's government meets for the first time after months of negotiations
between rival factions. On February 11 the IMF calls for fiscal reforms to
ensure Lebanon can manage its debt load as well as measures to establish a
"credible" currency system. On April 7, the lender says it has reached a
staff-level agreement to provide Lebanon with $3 billion in aid over four years.
Hezbollah and its allies lose their parliamentary majority in May 15 legislative
elections. Mikati is appointed on June 23 to form a new government. He has not
yet succeeded.
- Leaderless -
Political deadlock deepens on October 31 when Aoun's mandate expires without a
successor in place. The divided parliament has met 10 times in a bid to appoint
a new president but each attempt has failed. In an interview published on
Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron calls on Lebanon to "get rid" of its
entrenched political leadership who have blocked reforms vital to saving the
bankrupt economy.
Lebanon's financial pains eased by remittances over
holidays
Associated Press/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Youssef Safouri wandered through a noisy jam-packed Beirut Christmas market,
where the hundreds of families who flocked to stands selling gifts by Lebanese
designers belied a severe economic crisis that has sapped the savings of
millions.
Safouri is among thousands of Lebanese who left the country when its economy
started to tumble in late 2019. They have now become a lifeline for families
back home who receive remittances from abroad and cash brought in suitcases
during holiday visits. Three-quarters of the population is now plunged into
poverty.From his new home in Canada, Safouri, an accountant, sends part of his
monthly salary back to his family to help cover skyrocketing monthly expenses,
from private generator and water bills to surging food prices. "Everyone is
having a hard time getting their money out of the bank and trying to cover their
basic expense at home," he said. "I was forced to leave the country and my
family to make money abroad and send it back."Lebanon will receive roughly $6.8
billion in remittances this year, up from almost $6.4 billion in 2021, as they
continue to be a core component of the country's shrinking and battered economy.
The World Bank estimates they are worth almost 38% of the country's gross
domestic product. Apart from the remittances sent from abroad, many of the
diaspora return during the holiday season, bringing with them much-needed cash
dollars. Caretaker Tourism Minister Walid Nassar said last month that the
crisis-hit country is expecting some 700,000 people to come into the country
during the holiday season, most of them of Lebanese descent. He estimated they
will bring some $1.5 billion between December and mid-January. Beirut
international airport is expected to receive 6.1 million tourists this year,
about 400,000 more than in 2021, with daily arrivals doubling during the holiday
season. Since Lebanon's financial meltdown over three years ago, banks have
essentially locked out depositors from their own savings as they suffered losses
worth tens of billions of dollars. The country's mismanaged economy for decades
has been mired in corruption and wasteful spending. Before its fragile economy
collapsed, Lebanon had a sizable middle class that was able to spend money to
celebrate Christmas and other holidays with family.
The crisis has forced a drastic lifestyle change for most of the country, unable
to afford skyrocketing costs for Christmas gifts and celebrations. Farah Jurdi,
a mother of two, says her husband's job in Saudi Arabia over the past decade has
been crucial for her to avoid having to compromise on her children's quality of
life. With the economic crisis, it has become even more critical, as he helps
his parents and his siblings with their expenses as well. "I always worry that
he would have to come back to Lebanon one day, because life will not be the
same," she said.Remittances have become necessary not only for celebrating the
holidays but for many families in Lebanon they cover the most basic household
expenses, said Mohamad Faour, assistant professor of Finance at the American
University of Beirut. "Prices are steadily reverting back to pre-crisis levels,
but salary increases are nowhere near these levels," he said. "Someone earning a
salary of 5 million Lebanese pounds (about $113) cannot afford a generator bill
unless some relative sends them U.S. dollars."At the Christmas market, which was
filled with hundreds of families strolling past the maze of decorated stands and
enjoying live music, most refused to talk about the remittances they receive
from relatives abroad and the lifestyle changes they've had to endure. But the
planner behind the event admitted they have had to go the extra mile to make
their Christmas market more affordable this year. They have included more
affordable pop-up gift shops and cut entry fees for children. "People who live
in Lebanon need a breath of fresh air or a change of scenery," organizer Cynthia
Wardi said.
Rahi welcomes US Ambassador in Bkerki
NNA/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Maronite Patriarch, Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, on Friday welcomed at his
Bkerki residence US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea.
Berri meets Italian Foreign Minister in Ain Al-Tineh
NNA/Friday, 23 December, 2022
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Friday met at his Ain al-Tineh residence with
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italian
Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, who visited him in the company of Italian
Ambassador to Lebanon, Nicoletta Bombardieri, and an accompanying delegation.
The meeting reportedly discussed bilateral relations between Lebanon and Italy,
as well as the country’s general situation and political developments, with
special focus on the need to swiftly elect a new Lebanese President. For his
part, Speaker Berri praised Italy’s support for Lebanon through its UNIFIL
peacekeepers in south Lebanon, noting the historical relations between Lebanon
and Italy, especially economically. Berri also briefed the Italian delegation on
the Lebanese parliament’s approval of a number of legislations within the
framework of its negotiations with the IMF, which will lead Lebanon towards a
greater partnership with the economies of friendly countries, particularly
Italy.
Mikati tackles developments with Italian Foreign Minister,
Interior Minister
NNA/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Friday welcomed at the Grand Serail
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italian
Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, who visited him in the company of Italian
Ambassador to Lebanon, Nicoletta Bombardieri, and an accompanying delegation.The
meeting reportedly focused on bilateral relations between Lebanon and Italy on
all levels, the situation in Lebanon, as well as the obstacles that have been
preventing the election of a new Lebanese president. For his part, Mikati
praised the strong existing relations between Lebanon and Italy, the active
Italian presence in support of Lebanon at all levels, the initiatives undertaken
by Italy to assist the Lebanese army, in addition to the humanitarian aid it
provides annually to Lebanon. Mikati also stressed Italy's active role within
the framework of the international forces operating in South Lebanon. The
Premiere separately had an audience with Caretaker Minister of Interior and
Municipalities, Judge Bassam al-Mawlawi, who visited him in the company of two
Sidon MPs, Osama Saad and Abd al-Rahman al-Bizri, Former MP Bahia Hariri, as
well as Sidon Mayor, Mohammad al-Saudi. In the wake of the meeting, which
capitalized on Sidon’s alarming environmental conditions, Bizri said the city
currently suffered from a trash collection crisis due to a problem with the
contractor, adding that the meeting with Mikati stressed the need to find an
expedited solution to this problem.
Army Commander broaches developments with Russian Ambassador, Italian Army
Commander
NNA/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Lebanese Army Commander, Major General Joseph Aoun, on Friday welcomed at his
Yarzeh office Russian Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Rudakov, with whom he
discussed the country’s general situation. Aoun also received Italian Army
Commander, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, with whom he discussed the means to
bolster cooperation between the armies of both countries.
Identity is complex for Lebanon's Christian Palestinian
camp
Associated Press/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Tucked away in the hills north of Beirut below a Maronite monastery, Lebanon's
only remaining Christian-majority Palestinian camp gives few outward clues to
its identity. Unlike the country's other Palestinian refugee camps, there are no
flags or political slogans on display in Dbayeh camp.
Behind closed doors, it's a different story. At a recent community Christmas
dinner for elderly residents, attendees wearing Santa hats danced the dabke to
popular Palestinian songs like "Raise the Keffiyeh," twirling the traditional
Palestinian scarves, or using napkins to simulate them. A speaker who toasted
his hope of celebrating next year's Christmas in Jerusalem in a "free Palestine"
prompted ululations.
The residents of the camp, founded in 1956 on land belonging to the monastery
that overlooks it, have good reason to keep a low profile. During Lebanon's
15-year civil war, the area was a stronghold of Lebanese Christian militias that
battled the Palestine Liberation Organization. The other two Palestinian camps
in Christian areas — Jisr al-Basha and Tel al-Zaatar — were razed during the war
by the militias, their inhabitants killed or scattered.
Dbayeh was invaded in 1973 by the Lebanese army and in 1976 by the Lebanese
Phalangist militia. Many residents fled. Those who stayed found themselves on
the opposite side of battle lines from fellow Palestinians, most of them
Muslims.
In the decades after the war ended in 1990, Dbayeh was largely forgotten by the
rest of Lebanon's Palestinians.
"Because of the separation of territories…between Muslim quarters and the
Christian quarters (in Lebanon), the minority that stayed in the (Dbayeh) camp
was isolated completely from the other communities," said Anis Mohsen, managing
editor of the Institute for Palestine Studies' quarterly Arabic journal.
Dbayeh's story is an extreme example of the wider fragmentation of Palestinian
communities.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes
during the 1948 Mideast war over Israel's creation. Today, several million
Palestinian refugees and their descendants are scattered across Jordan, Syria
and Lebanon, as well as the West Bank and Gaza, lands Israel captured in 1967.
Palestinians are separated by geographical and political barriers, but religious
differences between Christians and Muslims are not generally a source of
division.
"We are one people," said Antoine Helou, a member of the Higher Presidential
Committee of Churches' Affairs in Palestine and a former resident of Jisr al-Basha.
"The misfortunes we have as Palestinians are bigger than thinking about this one
is Muslim, this one is Christian."
But the sectarian divisions in Lebanese society made their mark on the
Palestinian community.
Eighty-four-year-old retired teacher Youssef Nahme of Dbayeh, originally from
the now-destroyed village of al-Bassa in today's Israel, recalled that as a
young man in Lebanon, he had friends from Muslim-majority camps.
But, he said, "after the Civil War, these connections were disturbed. Not
because they don't like to visit us or we don't like to visit them, but because
(of) Lebanese society."
Eid Haddad, 58, fled Dbayeh with his family after his brother was killed by
Phalangist fighters and after the 1976 invasion of the camp. He said it was
difficult to fit in anywhere.
"In the Christian area we were rejected because we are Palestinians, and
in...the Muslim area, we were rejected because we are Christians," he said.
Some of the Dbayeh residents who fled, like Nahme and his wife, returned after
the fighting ended. Others, like Haddad, never came back. Today he lives in
Denmark.
"I wish I could go back, but every time I think about it, all (the memories)
come back," he said.
Today, the camp is home to a population of about 2,000, a mix of Palestinians,
Lebanese and Syrian refugees. Wissam Kassis, head of a civil committee that
serves as a governing body of sorts, said of about 530 families living in the
camp, some 230 are Palestinian.
Palestinian residents said they maintain good relations with their Lebanese
neighbors. Many have intermarried and some have been granted Lebanese
citizenship. But some Lebanese continue to blame the Palestinians for the
country's civil war. Palestinians in Lebanon are barred from owning property and
from working in many professions. "People say, 'Go back to Palestine.' I say,
'Send us back,'" said Therese Semaan, who lives in the two-room house her family
built, and then rebuilt in 1990, after it was bombed during fighting between
rival Christian Lebanese factions.
Still, Semaan said, "We're living better than the other camps."
The camp receives limited services from the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which
was set up decades ago to assist Palestinian refugees. The agency runs a clinic
and cleans the streets but does not operate a school in the camp. An UNRWA
school in the nearby Beirut suburb of Bourj Hammoud was closed in 2013 due to
low enrollment — a sore point among locals.
Until recently, the relationship with Palestinian officials was even more
limited. It was only in 2016 that Dbayeh formed its own committee to serve as a
go-between with the U.N. agency and the Palestinian embassy and political
factions.
The factions themselves do not have an active presence in Dbayeh, Kassis said,
and camp residents keep their political activities low-key. "For example, if
there is bombing (by Israeli forces) in Gaza, maximum we do a prayer vigil," he
said. "We don't go out and protest in an aggressive way."
Many Muslim Palestinians in Lebanon are either unaware of the camp or view its
residents with suspicion, believing them to be aligned with the right-wing
Christian Lebanese parties that took control of the area during the war. Kassis
acknowledged that in some cases that is true, but said it is a small minority.
"There are people who love Palestine very much and there are people who don't,
but it's a small percentage" of people who have aligned themselves with the
other side, he said. "We are fighting to create more of a feeling of belonging."
In one new initiative, youth athletes from Dbayeh play basketball and soccer
alongside those from other Palestinian camps. The games have led to renewed
ties, Kassis said.
Eighteen-year-old Rita al-Moussa, one of the players, speaks with a Lebanese
accent, studied in Lebanese schools and has Lebanese friends. Growing up, she
felt little connection to her Palestinian roots, but now she plays soccer with a
group of young women from Beirut's Shatila and Mar Elias camps.
As a result, she said, "we have become closer to the other Palestinian camps."
Only Radical Change Can Save Lebanon?
Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al-AwsatDecember, 23/2022
Many rolled their eyes as they heard Prime Minister Najib Mikati claim that
anyone shown to have been involved in the killing of Irish UNIFIL peacekeeper
Sean Rooney would be punished! No one in Lebanon was surprised to see him
angrily ask what has happened to the investigation days after the crime against
the UNIFIL forces in South Lebanon was perpetrated. No one has been arrested
since the horrific crime that Hezbollah claims the “people of the area” had
committed, as it always does when the UNIFIL is attacked in an area under the
control of the statelet! This is despite the fact that leaks affirm that the
UNIFIL vehicle was chased and had 27 bullets fired at it, leaving no room for
doubt that this was a deliberate attack planned in advance by professionals!
Mikati’s irritation aside, citizens remember the promises that the investigation
into the August 4 port blast that destroyed a third of the capital and led to
mass extermination would conclude in five days. 28 months on from the crime, the
people of Lebanon have seen nothing but the obstruction of the investigation and
efforts to impede justice. This comes after the tyrannical authorities manage to
arbitrarily end the investigation and prevent the judicial investigator from
uncovering the truth about a blast of nuclear proportions.
Subsequent crimes that could well be linked to the port blast and the political
activities of some victims were not seriously investigated either. No one has
been accused no motives have been established. Nothing has come of the
investigations into the assassinations of Lokman Slim, the photographer Joe
Bejjani, and retired customs colonel Mounir Abou Rjeily. Meanwhile, the case
file of Antoine Dagher, the former Head of the Group Ethics & Fraud Risk
Management Department at Byblos Bank, found that “the surveillance cameras in
the building and its surroundings were down.” All of this attests to the fact
that the rule of law is weak when the militants of the statelet are accused of
being behind the crime!
For decades, no one has been found guilty of a single of the many crimes that
have shaken Lebanon. No one has been held accountable for the financial and
political crimes that have drained the country’s resources either, while the
authorities began putting their hands on people’s bank deposits in 2011. People
are killed daily, and no one has been held responsible. There are no suspects.
Thus, no one has been detained despite the fact that, in the blink of an eye,
the vast majority of the Lebanese people went from living comfortably to being
destitute.
In the early nineties, the General Amnesty Law was issued, closing the door to
accountability for the crimes of the civil war, and many of the perpetrators
went from killing and abducting people based on their identity to rulers of the
country. They barricaded themselves behind legal immunities, special courts, and
the amnesty law… After deliberately destroying the economy, the parliamentarians
responsible for these crimes obstructed investigations into the looting and
passed legislation to provide amnesty for it.
The hardships of the Lebanese are the result of an imbalance that began with the
nullification of the constitution, the reinforcement of the
sectarian-quota-based spoil-sharing regime, and the passing of legislation that
legalized corruption- these are the claims of former prime minister Fouad
Saniora. This process was facilitated by the Syrian regime’s representative in
Lebanon, who controlled Lebanon’s decision-making and government, dazzling the
Lebanese with slogans like “one nation in two countries.” This imbalance created
a subjugated political class that suspended democracy, curtailed freedoms, and
made partisan and syndical organizing impossible. Nothing changed after the
earthquake of the “independence uprising” that led to the expulsion of the
Syrian regime army.
The parties to the spoil-sharing regime then moved to conclude the sectarian
“quadripartite agreement”, which brought together the “rival” March 8 and March
14 forces. The uprising was betrayed, killing a genuine opportunity for
correcting the national imbalance of power! This imbalance was subsequently
deepened with “national unity” governments that united the parties of the
sectarian-based-quota spoil-sharing regime. These authoritarians considered the
government their personal property, which they could use as they liked.
The politicians consistently prioritized their interests and their hold on
power, allowing the borders to be violated, robbing the people and pillaging the
country’s resources, and putting their hands on its public beaches. They used
amoral, opportunistic technocrats to do their bidding. With the deal to bring
Aoun to the presidency, they covered Hezbollah’s hijacking of the state with its
arms, monopolizing decision-making, and perpetuating misgovernance. Instead of
going down the path of success and development, they brought the country into
the axis of resistance…
For this reason, even before the October revolution, but especially after it,
there has been no vision for how to protect the people from the crushing
collapse. Even the current caretaker government, Hezbollah’s government, has
prioritized erasing billion of dollars in depositors’ money and imposing taxes
that eat up income and line the pockets of those who became wealthy through the
spoil-sharing regime. All of this is at the heart of the so-called “recovery”
program.
October opened the door to change. The dispute is now between the sectarian
mafioso alliance led by Hezbollah and the majority of the people, who have
confidence in the revolution that arrived to clean up corruption and push for
sovereignty and judicial accountability. The fact that parties to the regime
left the Eden of power three years ago changes nothing! They are responsible as
well. They had been gambling with deposits since 2011 to cover the state
deficits and their looting, as well as the prosperity of the statelet’s parallel
economy. By 2018 alone, the banking cartel had racked up 25 billion dollars in
profits. They accumulated wealth as the country made losses. After the
revolution, they smuggled tens of billions abroad, robbing depositors of their
life savings. Those who want to agree to a “solution” with those responsible for
the state of the country (and did it deliberately) are misguided.
The governments that were formed after October 17 considered the problems facing
the country a detail. They covered up their crimes, announcing that the
country’s gas wealth would solve the problem one day and claiming that the world
would save us from the collapse another day. Meanwhile, the people were stranded
outside of hospital doors! The corpses of those feeling on “death boats” were
not recovered, leaving them to be eaten by the fish in the sea! This corruption
is protected by the statelet’s arms, and it has left the people to fend for
themselves after having been fooled by claims that the “Lira is fine!”
Change must encompass the relevant stakeholders if it is to be comprehensive.
The balance of power must be changed, and the “historical bloc” must crystalize.
We will not see another moment like that of October 17, and only the emergence
of political parties that represent October and push for accountability and
justice, protecting the freedom to disagree and retrieving the hijacked state,
can reinstate citizens’ confidence in the state. The ultimate prerequisite for
ending tyranny is the emergence of organized political movements that embrace
the values crystallized by the revolution, reaffirming that the Lebanese people
are employees working for the mafioso alliance protected by Hezbollah’s arms!
Only then will targeting the UNIFIL become difficult and will the truth emerge.
Until then, justice will continue to be obscured, and accountability will remain
impossible... If this does not happen, as Rafik Koury has said, “the race to
become president of the republic will finish off of the republic!”
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on December 23-24/2022/
Three dead, four injured after shooting at Kurdish center in Paris
Agencies/December 23, 2022
PARIS: A 69-year-old gunman opened fire at a Kurdish cultural center and a
hairdressing salon in Paris on Friday, killing three people and injuring three
others, witnesses and prosecutors said. The shots shortly before midday (1100
GMT) caused panic in rue d’Enghien in the trendy 10th district of the French
capital, a bustling area of shops and restaurants that is home to a large
Kurdish population. The shooting shook the Kurdish community in Paris and
sparked skirmishes between angry Kurds and police. It also rattled merchants in
the bustling neighborhood in central Paris on the eve of Christmas weekend and
put officers on alert for more violence. Witnesses told AFP that the gunman, a
white Frenchman with a history of racist violence, initially targeted the
Kurdish cultural center before entering a hairdressing salon where he was
arrested. Of the three wounded people, one was being given intensive care in
hospital and two were treated for serious injuries, officials said. The Kurdish
community center, called Center Ahmet Kaya, is used by a charity that organizes
concerts and exhibitions, and helps the Kurdish diaspora in the Paris region.
Within hours of the attack, Kurdish protesters clashed with police, who used
teargas in an attempt to disperse them as they tried to break through a police
cordon deployed to protect Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin who had arrived at
the scene. Darmanin said the suspect was clearly targeting foreigners and had
acted alone and was not affiliated with any extreme-right or other radical
movements. Demonstrators threw objects at police while voicing fury over an
attack they saw as deliberate and which they said French security services had
done too little to prevent. Several cars parked in the area as well as police
vehicles had their windows smashed as protesters threw bricks. A gathering
outside the cultural center was ongoing on Friday evening after order was
restored.
The alleged shooter, named as William M. in the French media, is a gun
enthusiast with a history of weapons offenses who had been released on bail
earlier this month. The retired train driver was convicted for armed violence in
2016 by a court in the multicultural Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of Paris, but
appealed. A year later he was convicted for illegally possessing a firearm. Last
year, he was charged with racist violence after allegedly stabbing migrants and
slashing their tents with a sword in a park in eastern Paris. “He is crazy, he’s
an idiot,” his father was quoted as saying by the M6 television channel. He had
been held in provisional detention in that case until Dec. 12, when he was
released under judicial supervision, ordered to get psychiatric care and banned
from carrying weapons. French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter that
“the Kurds in France have been the target of an odious attack in the heart of
Paris.”German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent his condolences, saying “a terrible
act has shaken Paris and France today.”US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
expressed his “deepest sympathies” for the victims, writing on Twitter that his
thoughts were with the Kurdish community and people of France on this “sad
day.”French authorities are likely to face questions in the coming days over why
the gunman had been recently released on bail given his criminal record and
previous weapons offenses. He suffered facial injuries on Friday and had been
taken to hospital for treatment. Darmanin told reporters at the scene that while
the attacker “was clearly targeting foreigners,” it was “not certain” that the
man was aiming to kill “Kurds in particular.” “We yet don’t know his exact
motives,” he said, while adding that he was not a known member of a far-right
political group. The Kurdish Democratic Council of France (CDK-F), an umbrella
group for Kurds in France which uses the cultural center as its headquarters,
said in a statement it considered the shooting to be a “terror
attack.”Abdulkarim Omar, the representative of the Kurdish-led autonomous
administration in northeast Syria to Europe, also condemned the attack as a
“cowardly terrorist act.” Some members of the Kurdish center could be seen
weeping and hugging each other for comfort after the shooting which revived
traumatic memories of the murders of three Kurdish activities in January 2013.
“It’s starting again. You aren’t protecting us. We’re being killed!” one person
could be heard shouting at police at the scene. The 2013 murders were widely
believed to be the work of a Turkish intelligence agent, but the Turkish man
arrested and charged with the killings died in 2016 shortly before his trial.
Often described as the world’s largest people without a state, the Kurds are a
Muslim ethnic group spread across Syria, Turkiye, Iraq and Iran. The CDK-F said
the attack occurred “following multiples threats from Turkiye, an ally of Daesh.”
There is no indication of Turkish involvement in Friday’s violence. Ankara
launches regular military operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
— a designated terrorist group by the European Union and the United States — and
Kurdish groups it accuses of being allies in Syria and Iraq. The PKK has waged
an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, at first seeking a Kurdish
homeland and latterly in pursuit of greater political autonomy for Kurds. (With
AFP and Reuters)
Germany Formally Suspends Guarantees for
Business with Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 23 December, 2022
The German government said Friday it is formally suspending export credit and
investment guarantees for business in Iran in the wake of authorities' crackdown
on protests. The Economy Ministry said it also has suspended other “economic
formats,” including a dialogue on energy issues, in view of “the very serious
situation in Iran.” Export credit guarantees protect German companies from
losses when exports aren’t paid for. Investment guarantees are granted to
protect direct investments by German companies from political risk in the
countries where they are made. The ministry said that use of those instruments
for projects in Iran was suspended for decades until there was a “short phase of
opening” from 2016 as a result of Iran's agreement with world powers, including
Germany, on its nuclear program. It said that guarantees were granted or
extended for a few projects in that period, but there have been no new ones
since 2019. The German government has now decided to “suspend completely” the
guarantees, it added, and exemptions can only be granted if there are solid
humanitarian reasons. German-Iranian trade totaled 1.76 billion euros (nearly
$1.9 billion) in 2021 and 1.49 billion euros in the first nine months of this
year, the ministry said. Nationwide protests erupted in September after the
death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, detained by the morality police for allegedly
violating Iran’s strict dress code for women. They have since transformed into
calls for the overthrow of Iran’s ruling clerics. Authorities have sought to
stamp out the demonstrations and ramp up pressure on critics. Since the
protests started, the United States and European Union imposed additional
sanctions on Iran for its brutal treatment of demonstrators and its decision to
send hundreds of drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Germany pushed for a
meeting of the UN Human Rights Council last month that voted to condemn the
crackdown and create an independent fact-finding mission.
Film Stars Call for Release of Jailed Iranian Actor Alidoosti
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Hundreds of high-profile figures from the global cinema industry called
Wednesday for Iran to release actor Taraneh Alidoosti, who was jailed over her
support for the country's three-month-old protest movement. Actors Emma
Thompson, Penelope Cruz, Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen and directors Ken Loach
and Mike Leigh were among a host of luminaries to sign an open letter demanding
the star of "The Salesman" be freed. "We demand the immediate release" of
Alidoosti, "who was arrested on 17 December 2022 and has been taken into custody
at Evin prison, Iran, where many other political prisoners also remain," the
letter says. Alidoosti, 38, was arrested last Saturday, official media said,
after issuing a string of social media posts supporting the protest movement,
including removing her headscarf and condemning the execution of protesters. The
actor is one of the most prominent figures arrested in a crackdown by Iran's
hard-line regime that has seen the detention of lawyers, cultural figures,
journalists and campaigners. "The Iranian authorities have strategically chosen
to arrest Taraneh before Christmas to ensure her international peers would be
distracted," the letter continues. "But we are not distracted. We are outraged.
Taraneh Alidoosti, like all citizens of Iran, has a right to freedom of
expression, freedom of association, and freedom from arbitrary arrest and
detention. "We hereby stand in solidarity with her and demand her immediate
release and safe return to her family." Iran has been shaken by protests since
the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini in custody after her arrest by the
morality police for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress rules for
women. At least 14,000 people have been arrested since the nationwide unrest
began, the United Nations said last month. The United States on Tuesday
condemned Alidoosti's arrest as "part of the regime's effort to sow fear and
suppress these peaceful protests." The open letter came after "The Salesman"
director Asghar Farhadi took to Instagram to demand Alidoosti's freedom.
Alidoosti appeared in two of Farhadi's earliest films before he won
international renown, "Beautiful City" (2004) and "Fireworks Wednesday" (2006).
She then appeared in the 2009 film "About Elly," which earned Farhadi the Silver
Bear for best director at the Berlin film festival, before reuniting for "The
Salesman" in 2016. "The Salesman" won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in
2017.
Iran Says Arrested Four Mossad-linked Cells
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Iran said intelligence ministry forces arrested four cells tied to Israel’s
Mossad spy agency on Thursday. The intelligence ministry said in a statement
that “relentless efforts” led to the arrest of all operatives, IRNA reported.
The statement said Israel took advantage of the riots in Iran over the past
weeks and wanted to use the four cells to carry out "hybrid terrorist
operations". It added that the groups were arrested before they could carry out
their assaults. The report did not reveal more details.
Zelenskiy says U.S. Patriot system will be crucial part of
Ukraine's defenses
Dec 21 (Reuters)/December 21, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday said a U.S. promise to
provide the Patriot surface-to-air missile defense system was an important step
in creating an effective air shield. "This is the only way that we can deprive
the terrorist state of its main instrument of terror - the possibility to hit
our cities, our energy," Zelenskiy told a White House news conference, standing
next to U.S. President Joe Biden. The Patriot system is "a defensive system,
it's not escalatory, it's defensive" Biden told reporters. "We'd love not to
have them used, just stop the attacks."Zelenskiy and other senior Ukrainian
officials have long pleaded with allies to provide more anti-aircraft and
anti-missile systems to help counter Russian missile strikes against power
generating plants and other critical infrastructure.Biden and Secretary of State
Antony Blinken had earlier said the United States would provide $1.85 billion in
additional military assistance for Ukraine, including a transfer of the Patriot
Air Defense System. The Patriot is considered to be one of the most advanced
U.S. air defense systems and offers protection against aircraft, cruise and
ballistic missiles. It typically includes launchers along with radar and other
support vehicles. The United States has sent about $50 billion in assistance to
the Kyiv government as it defends itself against an invasion by Russia that
began 10 months ago.
Russian politician files legal challenge over Putin's
reference to Ukraine "war"
Mark Trevelyan/LONDON (Reuters)/Fri, December 23, 2022
A St Petersburg politician has asked prosecutors to investigate Russian
President Vladimir Putin for using the word "war" to describe the conflict in
Ukraine, accusing the Kremlin chief of breaking his own law. Putin has for
months described his invasion as a "special military operation". He signed laws
in March that prescribe steep fines and jail terms for discrediting or spreading
"deliberately false information" about the armed forces, putting people at risk
of prosecution if they call the war by its name. But he departed from his usual
language on Thursday when he told reporters: "Our goal is not to spin the
flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war." Nikita
Yuferev, an opposition councillor in the city where Putin was born, said he knew
his legal challenge would go nowhere, but he had filed it to expose the
"mendacity" of the system. "It's important for me to do this to draw attention
to the contradiction and the injustice of these laws that he (Putin) adopts and
signs but which he himself doesn't observe," he told Reuters. "I think the more
we talk about this, the more people will doubt his honesty, his infallibility,
and the less support he will have." In his challenge, filed in an open letter,
Yuferev asked the prosecutor general and interior minister to "hold (Putin)
responsible under the law for spreading fake news about the actions of the
Russian army". Yuferev, who asked Reuters not to disclose his location, said
Putin critics who publicly called the war a war have suffered harsh punishments.
Opposition politician Ilya Yashin was jailed for 8-1/2 years this month for
spreading "false information" about the army. In July another local councillor,
Alexei Gorinov, was sentenced to seven years for criticising the invasion.
Yuferev said he had previously drawn authorities' attention to the use of the
word "war" by other prominent figures including Sergei Kiriyenko, deputy head of
the presidential administration, and leading lawmaker Sergei Mironov. He said
police told him they examined the complaint against Kiriyenko and found he had
done nothing wrong, and refused to look into the Mironov case. After publishing
the open letter about Putin, Yuferev said he had received hundreds of hate
messages. But he said he believed the majority of Russians understood what was
really happening in Ukraine. "War, in Russian society, is a frightening word.
Everyone is brought up by grandparents who lived through World War Two, everyone
remembers the saying 'Anything but war'," he said.
Russia forced to slash oil output by half a million barrels
a day as sanctions hit Kremlin
Rachel Millard/The Telegraph/December 23, 2022
Russia is preparing to cut its oil output by tens of millions of barrels per
month in response to a Western price cap that threatens the Kremlin’s revenues.
Alexander Novak, deputy prime minister, said oil output could be reduced by
5pc-7pc per day in response to price caps imposed by the West. Mr Novak told
state television the cuts could reach 500,000-700,000 barrels per day, which is
a fraction of global supply but would nonetheless add pressure on a tight oil
market. The move threatens to drive oil prices higher, adding to cost of living
pressures across the West. As well as punishing its enemies, higher oil prices
would allow Moscow to demand more money from buyers such as China and India who
are snapping up Russian oil. Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, is expected to
issue a decree early next week responding to the Western policy, which uses
financial muscle to impose a maximum price of $60 [£50] per barrel on Russian
oil exports. The cap has been designed to lower the money the Kremlin can make
from oil, which helps fund its war against Ukraine. However, it does not prevent
Russian oil from flowing, given its importance to the market. Russia accounts
for about 10pc of global production. Russian oil was trading at a heavily
discounted price even before the price cap, with Urals oil blend averaging
$57.49 per barrel between November 15 and December 14, below the price cap and
$20-$30 cheaper than Brent Crude. Nathan Piper, head of oil and gas at Investec,
said: “What they’re trying to do is to manipulate the market, perhaps to push
the price up, so that even if there is a price gap they are able to achieve a
higher oil price themselves. “It’s a 100m-barrel-per-day market, but the amount
of spare capacity is only 2-3 million barrels a day. So threatening to cut half
a million barrels is not nothing; they’re trying to influence what is already
quite a tight market.”India and China have ramped up their purchases of Russian
oil this year as Western buyers have turned their backs on the market. India
bought on average just under one million barrels per day from Russia between
September and November, according to Alan Gelder, oil market expert at Wood
Mackenzie. Purchases before the war were negligible. Mr Gelder said the cuts
signalled by Russia were lower than what markets had feared, while traders were
focused on what would happen to Chinese demand as Covid rules are relaxed,
helping the economy to re-open but driving a surge in infections. Brent crude
rose 1.7pc by 11am UK time on Friday, to $82.38 per barrel, while West Texas
Intermediate rose to $78.98 a barrel, up nearly 2pc. It means oil prices are now
at similar levels to the start of the year, having hit highs of almost $128 per
barrel in March.
Ukraine president back in Kyiv, Russia keeps
up attacks
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) /December 23, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sounded another defiant note on his
return to his nation’s capital Friday following his wartime visit to the United
States, saying his forces are “working toward victory” even as Russia warned
that there would be no end to the war until it achieved its military aims.
Zelenskyy posted on his Telegram account that he’s in his Kyiv office following
his U.S. trip that secured a new $1.8 billion military aid package, and pledged
that “we’ll overcome everything.“ The Ukrainian president also thanked the
Netherlands for pledging up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.65 billion) for 2023, to
help pay for military equipment and rebuild critical infrastructure. Zelenksyy’s
return comes amid relentless Russian artillery, rocket and mortar fire as well
as airstrikes on the eastern and southern fronts and elsewhere in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the war would end at the negotiating table
once the “special military operation“ achieves “the goals that the Russian
Federation has set,” adding that “a significant headway has been made on
demilitarization of Ukraine.” The Kremlin spokesman said no reported Ukrainian
peace plan can succeed without taking into account “the realities of today that
can’t be ignored” — a reference to Moscow’s demand that Ukraine recognize
Russia’s sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed in 2014, as
well as other territorial gains. At least five civilians were killed and 18
others were wounded in Russian attacks on eight regions in Ukraine's south and
east in the past 24 hours, according to the deputy head of Ukraine’s
presidential office. In a regular Telegram update, Kyrylo Tymoshenko said
Russian missiles destroyed a boarding school in the the eastern city of
Kramatorsk, home of the Ukrainian army's local headquarters.
The Ukrainian military said Russian forces fired multiple rocket launchers “more
than 70 times” across Ukrainian territory overnight, while fierce battles raged
around the city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region. The General Staff of
the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Bakhmut and Lyman in the neighboring Luhansk
region as well as the front line between the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions bore
the brunt of the Russian strikes, but didn't specify to what degree.
As many as 61 Russian rocket, artillery and mortar fire attacks were launched in
the Kherson region over the past 24 hours. Kherson regional Gov. Yaroslav
Yanushevych posted on Telegram that Russian forces attacked from dug-in
positions on the right bank of the Dnieper river, hitting educational
institutions, apartment blocks and private homes. In the eastern Kharkiv and
Dnipropetrovsk regions, Ukraine's military said Russia launched six missile
strikes and as many air attacks on civilian targets while Ukrainian forces
repelled Russian ground attacks on or near 19 settlements in the north and east.
Russian shelling overnight also struck a district hospital in the northeastern
city of Volchansk, Kharkiv region, wounding five people, according to local Gov.
Oleh Syniehubov. Syniehubov posted on Telegram that the four men and one woman
were all in “moderate condition." Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said several
blasts tore through factory buildings housing Russian troops in the occupied
city of Tokmak in the southern Zaporizhzhia region late on Thursday, sparking a
fire. The Center for Strategic Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
didn't immediately report on casualties or who was behind the blasts. Earlier
Friday, the Ukrainian mayor of the southern city of Melitopol said that a car
used by Russian occupation forces exploded, although it's unclear if anyone was
hurt. The reports came a day after a car bomb killed the Russia-appointed head
of the village of Lyubymivka in the neighboring Kherson region, according to
Russian and Ukrainian news reports. Ukrainian guerrillas have for months
operated behind Russian lines in Ukraine’s occupied south and east, targeting
Kremlin-installed officials, institutions and key infrastructure, such as roads
and bridges. Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin
would on Friday visit a weapons factory in Tula, about 150 kilometers (90 miles)
south of Moscow, and chair a meeting on the country’s arms industry there.
Ukrainians who fled war set to mark first Christmas in
Canada, far from loved ones
The Canadian Press/December 23, 2022
Anastasiia Tertyshna remembers sitting around the dinner table at her parents'
house in eastern Ukraine on Christmas Eve last year, cracking jokes with her
husband and siblings as they ate a traditional pudding typically prepared for
the holidays. It'll be a far different scene this year as Tertyshna marks the
season in Canada, far from her husband, parents and other family after fleeing
the war in Ukraine. "I don't know when I will be able to see them," she says in
an interview. "I wish my relatives were with me here at least. But it's
impossible." Tertyshna, who arrived in Mississauga, Ont., about two months ago,
is among the tens of thousands of Ukrainian newcomers marking their first
Christmas in Canada while worrying about the loved ones they had to leave
behind. Tertyshna says her Christmas plan this year is to call her husband in
Kyiv and join virtually in a family gathering he plans to be at. "I will see
them all on video," she says. "I will probably cry."In Ukraine, many mark the
festive season from Jan. 6 to Jan 19, based on Orthodox calendar, with Orthodox
Christmas falling on Jan. 7. Tertyshna says while it will be hard to celebrate
the holidays away from her loved ones, she hopes to participate in festivities
in Canada on Christmas Day as well as on Orthodox Christmas. On Dec. 25, she and
her friends plan to visit downtown Toronto to experience Canadian Christmas
traditions. On Orthodox Christmas Eve, she plans to have dinner with the family
she lives with, and on the morning on Jan. 7, she hopes to visit a church in
Toronto.
Some Ukrainian newcomers are planning to celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25 rather
than Jan. 7 this year as a form of protest against the Russian Orthodox church,
which supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Korzhenovska Yuliia, who arrived in
Canada from Ukraine in August, says her family started discussing changing when
they mark Christmas after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014. They
celebrated Christmas on Dec. 25 for the first time last year. "Now I'm 100 per
cent sure that it was a good decision for us," she says, noting that her
family's goal was to distance themselves from Russian culture. She and her
roommate will do the same this year. "For me, Christmas on January 7th, it is
reminding me more about Russian tradition," she says. "I want to keep it far
from Russia, from Russian tradition."Yuliia says it makes her "very sad" knowing
her family won't be around her during this holiday season, but she hopes to be
able to reunite with them for next year's holidays. "It is really, really hard,"
she says. Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 have been prohibited from
leaving the country since Russia invaded. As a result, many newcomers who
arrived in Canada are women and children, separated from male members of their
family. Olya Bolshov, a mother of two children who now lives in Toronto, says
it'll be hard to celebrate Christmas while her husband remains in Ukraine but
she's putting on a brave face to show her kids that "Russian invaders" haven't
been able to steal their joy.
"We're not really much in a celebration mood because there is a war going on in
Ukraine, and all of our thoughts and prayers obviously are over there," she says
through her husband, who was on the phone and translated her words.
Bolshov recalled that recently her eight-year-old daughter asked whether it was
safe for Saint Nicholas — the Ukrainian version of Santa — to travel to Ukraine
and distribute gifts for children there. "She was worried that whether or not
Saint Nicholas would visit Ukraine, since Russians are bombing and there's lots
of rockets flying," she says. St. Demetrius Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Toronto
is hoping to help Ukrainian newcomers mark the season by hosting them for a
dinner service on Orthodox Christmas Eve. Darcia Moskaluk-Rutkay, the church's
vice president, says the plan is to serve Sviat Vechir, 12 meatless dishes
Orthodox Ukrainians prepare for dinner on Christmas Eve, "so they know that they
aren’t forgotten."Moskaluk-Rutkay says many newcomer families may not be able to
afford preparing the dishes or know where they can procure the spices and other
ingredients needed, so the church is stepping in to serve the meal. Born in
Canada to Ukrainian parents, Moskaluk-Rutkay says her family has preserved their
traditions for decades and she wants to help others to do the same. "We as old
Ukrainian Canadians and immigrants brought this to Canada and we have maintained
it," says Moshaluk-Rutkay, who is also the president of the Ukrainian Women's
Association of Canada. "The occupiers are trying to annihilate our traditions,
and it's so important to keep up our tradition so that it continues and so that
the occupiers do not win in that respect."
*This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2022.
*Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press
The peculiar Russian missile 'cemetery' in eastern Ukraine
KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) /December 23, 2022
The eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has a peculiar “cemetery,” one that
recalls some of the worst damage done since the Russian invasion: the debris of
rockets used against this town and its people. The graveyard has more than a
thousand missiles, or parts of them. Local authorities hope they can help
provide information for any prosecution case against Russians authorities and
soldiers. And one day, maybe, they will become part of a museum of the
atrocities in the country. The blueish cylinders are lined up in rows according
to their size, making an impressive if shocking sight from the air. Dmytro
Chubenko, spokesman for the Kharkiv region’s Prosecutor Office, said that the
rockets have been collected since the first attacks, and after some time
officials decided to organize them by type. “These are pieces of evidence that
an international criminal court would use,” he said during a visit to the place.
He mentioned that some specialists have already come to the city to analyze the
material. The missiles, he added, were used against some important residential
areas, like North Saltivka and Oleksiivka. He said that the authorities estimate
that at least 1,700 people have been killed by shelling, including 44 children,
in Kharkiv and its surroundings. In summer, the buildings in areas like Saltivka
were severely damaged, some blackened and others crumbling. There were
practically no activities, with shops closed and apartments destroyed. The
winter has not improved anything. “We have lost everything, and it is not clear
at all what we can expect in the future,” said Anna, a North Saltivka resident
who left months ago and who didn't give her last name for security reasons. Ihor
Deshpetko, 44, still lives in Kharkiv, despite what he has to suffer. "There is
no heating in my house, (and) unfortunately there won't be until the end of the
winter,” he said, adding that he now tends to call the area he lives the “black
neighborhood.” Back in the missiles “cemetery,” Chubenko, from the prosecutors'
office, said that they will keep the rockets as long as needed so any expert or
prosecutor can take the information they need to use as evidence against
Russians.
And after that? “I don’t know what will happen next," he said. “Maybe we will
make a museum.”
Russia considering emergency rescue mission for space station astronauts after
leak detected
Vishwam Sankaran/The Independent/December 23, 2022
Russia may send a rescue vessel to the International Space Station after an
“unexplained leak” was detected earlier this month spewing particles into space
from the orbiting laboratory’s Russian Soyuz crew capsule. The “massive”
external leak of snowflake-like particles was detected on 14 December from the
rear section of the Soyuz MS-22 capsule docked to the space station. Sergei
Krikalev, who leads human spaceflight programs at the Russian space agency
Roscosmos, told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday that the damage due to
the leak was being assessed. The leak led to the temperature within the crew
section of the capsule rising to 30°C, the Associated Press reported on Monday.
Then the crew used ventilators in the Russian section to blow cold air into the
capsule to reduce temperature, Roscosmos said. “The increase in temperature on
the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft is admissible and isn’t critical for the functioning
of the equipment or health of the crew in case they need to be in the
spacecraft,” the agency noted. Nasa said in a statement that the two agencies
are closely monitoring Soyuz spacecraft temperatures that currently “remain
within acceptable limits.”Mr Krikalev said if the analysis found that the
capsule is unfit for crewed flight then a scheduled launch of another Soyuz
capsule in March would be moved up to February. The leak was first noted when
pressure sensors in the spacecraft’s cooling loop showed low readings just when
Russian cosmonauts were preparing to conduct a spacewalk.
Russian Mission Control then aborted the spacewalk after agency specialists on
the ground saw a torrent of fluid and particles streaming from the Soyuz capsule
on a live video feed from the ISS. Nasa noted that none of the current members
of the ISS crew - three US Nasa astronauts, three Russian cosmonauts, and a
Japanese astronaut - was in any danger. A Roscosmos official said the leak was
likely caused by a micrometeorite striking one of the space station’s radiators.
A closer inspection of the capsule’s surface using a camera on a Canadian-built
robotic arm helped spot the leak’s location, Nasa noted.
No, Zelensky Isn’t Fighting a ‘War on Christianity’
Matt Lewis/The Daily Beast/December 23, 2022
It was Christmastime in 1941, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill came
to America hoping to rally Americans to defeat Nazi Germany. His visit came on
the heels of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, but Churchill’s charm offensive had
stretched over a year at that point—with rhetoric that intentionally sought to
lump together all of “the English-speaking world.”His efforts to cement this
special relationship went beyond highlighting our shared language. Churchill
declared in 1940 that, “Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian
civilization.” The next year, he and President Franklin Roosevelt secretly met
on a battleship off the coast of Newfoundland. The meeting included a church
service where Churchill—not a religious man, himself—arranged for the last hymn
to be “Onward Christian Soldiers.”Fast forward to this week. Ukraine’s President
Volodymyr Zelensky also visited America at Christmastime. Like Churchill, his
visit included a rousing speech to the U.S. Congress. But Zelensky, who is
Jewish, is not well-equipped to sing “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Indeed, when
it comes to using Christianity to rally Americans to their cause, Zelensky’s
detractors seem to be leading the charge. “If you were a Republican office
holder, and Zelensky came to Washington, maybe you would, for a moment, ask him
about his current and ongoing war against Christianity in Ukraine,” said my
former boss, Tucker Carlson, on his Fox News show on Wednesday night. Tucker
continued: “You will not hear a word on television tonight about the fact that
Zelensky has banned an entire ancient Christian denomination in Ukraine, and
then seized churches, and then thrown priests in jail,” he said. “According to
Mitch McConnell—who apparently hasn’t left his office since the
mid-’80s—anti-Christian despotism is what most Republicans want above all.” He
was referring to Ukraine’s decision in early December to effectively shut down
the Moscow-linked Russian Orthodox Church in the country. The reason? As
Christianity Today reported, Ukrainian authorities say they have “uncovered
large amounts of cash, ‘dubious’ Russian citizens, and leaflets calling on
people to join the Russian army…Other material cited as evidence included prayer
texts of ROC patriarch Kirill and a video of hymn singing that celebrated
Russia’s ‘awakening.’”It’s easy to understand why Zelensky wants to prevent a
fifth column spy network from operating in Ukraine. However, his actions provide
fodder to prove he is at war with Christianity.
The charge that Zelensky is at war with Christianity is potentially a potent
wedge issue on the right, particularly as Republicans, many of whom are
Christian (and many of whom are increasingly skeptical of foreign entanglements)
take control of the U.S. House of Representatives next month. Most Republicans
still support aiding Ukraine, but support is declining. If this narrative takes
hold, it is sure to negatively impact our role as an ally. Russia knows this.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, wasted no time
in casting Zelensky as an enemy of Christendom, saying, “The current Ukrainian
authorities have openly become enemies of Christ and the Orthodox faith.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov went so far as to accuse Ukraine of “waging a
war on the Russian Orthodox Church.”But is it true? It seems to me that if
Zelensky is actually waging a war on Christianity, then it is an ill-advised war
against his own constituents. According to the Pew Research Center, 78 percent
of Ukrainians identify as Orthodox (a higher percentage than exists in Russia).
Meanwhile, only “14 percent of the public called themselves faithful to the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate…” That leaves a lot of
Christians with whom Zelensky isn’t at war with.Tucker Carlson Bizarrely Accuses
Ukraine’s Zelensky of Dressing Like a ‘Strip Club’ Manager. As The Wall Street
Journal notes, a rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine “was recognized in 2019 by the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople as fully independent from Russia, a
major diplomatic achievement for Kyiv and a blow to Russian soft power.”Besides,
Zelensky doesn’t talk like a man who is at war with Christians. “[W]e will
celebrate Christmas,” Zelensky declared during his speech to Congress on
Wednesday night. “Maybe candlelit. Not because it’s more romantic, no, but
because… there will be no electricity… We’ll celebrate Christmas. Celebrate
Christmas and, even if there is no electricity, the light of our faith in
ourselves will not be put out.”The bottom line is this: It’s impossible for
anyone to know exactly what is happening in Ukraine. But I’m inclined to trust
Zelensky over Putin. You’d probably have to believe in Santa Claus to believe
otherwise.
Iraq Tells Visiting Italy PM It Seeks Closer
Economic Ties
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Iraq's prime minister appealed to visiting Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on
Friday for closer economic ties with his oil-rich country suffering from power
cuts and decaying infrastructure. Meloni, who leads the eurozone's third-largest
economy, is on her first bilateral trip outside Europe. She is on a
pre-Christmas visit to Italian troops posted in Iraq in support of an
anti-extremist mission. "We expressed our disposition to develop economic
cooperation in all fields, especially agriculture, water and health," Prime
Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said at a joint press conference.
He invited to Iraq "companies specialized in infrastructure but also in the
exploitation of gas." A government priority is to eliminate the highly polluting
practice of gas flaring, a precursor to oil extraction, which contributes to
global warming. The United Nations says Iraq is one of five countries most
exposed to some impacts of climate change. Italian oil firm Eni has been
involved in exploration and production in Iraq for more than a decade. Part of
its program "includes the use of associated gas for electricity generation," the
firm says on its website. Captured and treated flared gas could help address
Iraq's chronic power shortages. The country is rich in oil but beset by
infrastructure in disrepair, endemic corruption and widespread unemployment
nearly two decades after a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. Nearly
one-third of the population lives in poverty, the UN says. Sudani said Iraq "is
prepared to supply Italy with what it needs in terms of oil and gas." With
output of more than 3.3 million barrels per day, Iraq is the second largest
crude producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party swept to power in September
elections, forming a coalition government with the anti-immigration League and
Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing Forza Italia. She is the first woman to
become Italian prime minister and heads Italy's most far-right government since
World War II. Italy is a NATO member with up to 650 personnel deployed to Iraq
and Kuwait, according to the defense ministry website. Under operation Prima
Parthica, those personnel help staff multinational commands in Kuwait, Baghdad
and Erbil. They also train the armed forces and police, and provide
administrative support.
Israeli police kill assailant after alleged car-ramming
Associated Press/Friday, 23 December, 2022
Israeli police shot dead an assailant who allegedly rammed them with his car
after trying to shoot an officer in central Israel on Friday, authorities and
medics said, an attack that left three policemen wounded. The incident took
place in the Arab Israeli town of Kfar Qassem, an unusual site for what police
suspected was a militant attack. The Arab community in Israel is struggling with
surging violent crime that residents blame on decades of government neglect.
Police said that the suspect first called officers to his house over an alleged
violent incident. When police arrived at the scene, they said they were greeted
with a barrage of stones and alcohol bottles hurled from the house. A man then
rushed out of the apartment with a gun drawn, according to security footage from
the scene. A police spokesman said the man tried to shoot but the gun didn't
fire. Moments later, security footage shows the man speeding in reverse down the
street toward where officers were stationed. The suspect's car crashed into
another, lightly wounding three officers. Police opened fire, killing the
suspect, according to Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service. Authorities
did not identify the assailant.Soldiers and police said they searched the scene
and found an automatic weapon, along with a knife and tear gas belonging to the
suspect. It remains unclear whether other suspects were involved in the attack.
Palestinians have been accused in dozens of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming
attacks targeting Israeli civilians and security personnel in recent years. It
is rare for such attacks to be committed by Palestinian citizens of Israel,
however. The attack comes amid heightened violence in the occupied West Bank and
days before Israel is set to swear in the most right-wing government in its
history.
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on December 23-24/2022/
Turkey Crushes Human Rights at Home,
Complains About 'Discrimination' in Europe
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/December 23, 2022
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19175/turkey-crushes-human-rights
Torture and abuse of citizens in Turkey is systematic and commonplace.
Kurds in Turkey are not only exposed to racism and discrimination; they are
murdered simply for being Kurdish.
At the same time, those who call for an investigation on Turkey's alleged use of
chemical weapons against members of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) in Iraqi
Kurdistan — journalists, lawyers, medical doctors, and members of parliament —
have been detained by police and criminally investigated. On November 4, lawyer
Aryen Turan was detained and released on condition of judicial control, with a
ban on leaving the country, after she called for an investigation about Turkey's
alleged use of chemical weapons.
For Turkish government officials to accuse Europe of racism, discrimination or
Islamophobia, while Turkish authorities victimize hundreds of thousands of their
own citizens, is beyond hypocritical. It is not in Europe that Turks, Kurds and
other Muslims are exposed to torture, rights abuses and other illegal acts. It
is the government of Turkey that is violating and abusing their own citizens for
either thinking differently or belonging to an ethnic or religious group of
which the government is not fond.
Torture and abuse of citizens in Turkey is systematic and commonplace. Kurds in
Turkey are not only exposed to racism and discrimination; they are murdered
simply for being Kurdish. Pictured: Riot police in Istanbul on October 26 clash
with citizens who are protesting the arrest of Dr. Sebnem Korur Fincanci,
President of the Union of Doctors of Turkey, for her statements about the
country's alleged use of chemical weapons against Kurdish PKK rebels. (Photo by
Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)
While the government of Turkey continues to crush the basic human rights and
freedoms of its citizens, its officials are making statements completely
detached from facts. On October 17, for instance, the head of Parliament's
Foreign Affairs Committee Çağatay Kılıç said that "racism and discrimination
against religious identities in Europe have reached a peak."
"A human being is an entity with thoughts, feelings, beliefs and social
networks," he added. "If a person is not allowed to live with these
characteristics, this person's fundamental rights and freedoms are taken away
from them."
It is actually Turkey that is silencing and even the destroying "thoughts,
feelings, beliefs and social networks'" of those who disagree with the
government, or who belong to a religion or ethnic group not considered
sufficiently "Turkish." Torture and abuse of citizens is also systematic and
commonplace. Dr. Sebnem Korur Fincanci, the head of the Human Rights Foundation
of Turkey (HRFT), was arrested for her statements about the country's alleged
use of chemical weapons. The foundation issues daily reports about the human
rights violations in the country, such as torture and ill-treatment. The reports
are based on media disclosures as well as testimonies of individuals who seek
help from the organization after being exposed to torture, mistreatment, or
other human rights violations.
One community that is often targeted by the government is the Alevis, a
historically oppressed religious minority. Turkey's Alevi population is
estimated to be in the tens of millions. Although Alevism is an authentic faith
with its own traditions and philosophy, the Turkish government counts them as
Muslim, in order to forcibly assimilate them and erase the Alevi culture.
Since the founding of Turkey in 1923, the Alevi faith and its places of worship,
"cem houses," have been officially unrecognized, which makes the Alevi community
a victim of discrimination and aggression. On July 30, for instance, two Alevi
places of worship and an Alevi foundation were physically attacked in Ankara.
Alevis top the list of victims of hate crimes in the 2021 report of "Hate Crimes
in Turkey Based on Religion, Belief or Unbelief" by the Freedom of Belief
Initiative of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. The report cites a number of
incidents of hate crimes, such as:
An Alevi family living in Istanbul said that their neighbors attacked and beat
them, shouting hateful slogans such as "May Allah burn those who are disturbed
by the sound of the adhan [Islamic call to prayer]".
A Muslim teacher in Ankara insulted Alevis, including his own Alevi students and
their parents, because of their religious identity.
An Alevi sought help from the police after experiencing insults by an imam in
the city of Amasya.
An Alevi family living in Izmir said that they were exposed to insults, verbal
abuse, and threats from their neighbors.
A middle school teacher in the city of Hatay was subjected to systematic
pressure, harassment, and coercion at the hands of the school principal for
being an Alevi.
The harassment against Alevis has reached such levels Federation of Alevi Unions
in Germany is suing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in court, announcing that
they were filing suit against him in Ankara for "discriminating against and
humiliating" them.
The case concerns a speech Erdogan made in the city of Siirt on December 5,
2021, where he said:
"A new religion is almost being put forward as Alevism without Ali, especially
in Germany. And they [Germany] give them serious financial support. There was 30
million Euros of annual financial support for them two years ago."
On October 19, the court in Ankara ruled that the case be dismissed.
Discrimination against Alevis also occurs in prisons. Ergin Doğru, former
provincial co-chairman of the Dersim branch of the pro-Kurdish DBP party and
co-founder of the Dersim newspaper, has been incarcerated since 2016 for
allegedly "making propaganda for a terrorist organization." He has repeatedly
requested for the past two years to meet with an Alevi faith leader, also called
a Dede or Pir, but his requests were rejected by the prison authorities.
Kurds in Turkey are not only exposed to racism and discrimination; they are
murdered simply for being Kurdish. On June 17, 2021, Deniz Poyraz, a 38-year-old
member of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), was killed in the party's
provincial office in the city of Izmir. The office was under police
surveillance. The murderer, who was arrested by police, was identified as Onur
Gencer. He is a supporter of Turkey's fascist "Grey Wolf" movement. His trial is
still in process.
Garibe Gezer, a female Kurdish political prisoner who was imprisoned in solitary
confinement in Turkey, was killed in December 2021 after months of rape and
torture. Turkish prosecutors recently dismissed the case about Gezer's torture
and death because of a claimed "lack of evidence". But the Jin News Agency
accessed footage showing the torture Gezer was subjected to.
At the same time, those who call for an investigation on Turkey's alleged use of
chemical weapons against members of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) in Iraqi
Kurdistan — journalists, lawyers, medical doctors, and members of parliament —
have been detained by police and criminally investigated. On November 4, lawyer
Aryen Turan was detained and released on condition of judicial control, with a
ban on leaving the country, after she called for an investigation about Turkey's
alleged use of chemical weapons.
On November 6, Kurds and other activists in Istanbul attempted to protest
against the Turkish army's alleged use of chemical weapons. Police attacked the
crowd, detaining 121 people.
On November 7, prosecutors prepared a summary of proceedings against a member of
parliament from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Sezgin
Tanrıkulu, after his statements concerning Turkey's alleged use of chemical
weapons. The MP had said he would file a parliamentary question about the
allegations that Turkey had used chemical weapons against the PKK.
Erdogan's government is also violently targeting the actual and supposed
supporters of Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Muslim preacher who fled to the US in
1999, and who the government claims was behind a 2016 coup attempt. For alleged
connections with the Gülen movement, tens of thousands of people have been
dismissed from their jobs, imprisoned, and tortured in prison or while in police
custody.
The number of those seeking help from the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey has
reached a 30-year peak. According to the "2021 Treatment and Rehabilitation
Centers Report" published by the HRFT, 984 people went to the foundation because
they or one of their relatives were tortured or ill-treated. Of them, 616 said
that they were tortured in 2021, and 211 stated that they were tortured between
2016 and 2020. According to the report, they were tortured either during police
detention, in the streets, during public demonstrations, or in police
headquarters.
For Turkish government officials to accuse Europe of racism, discrimination or
Islamophobia, while Turkish authorities victimize hundreds of thousands of their
own citizens, is beyond hypocritical. It is not in Europe that Turks, Kurds and
other Muslims are exposed to torture, rights abuses and other illegal acts. It
is the government of Turkey that is violating and abusing their own citizens for
either thinking differently or belonging to an ethnic or religious group of
which the government is not fond.
*Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the
Gatestone Institute.
© 2022 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.
Ukraine: A Recipe for Appeasement
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-AwsatDecember, 23/2022
Russian military lore is full of references to the cold months ahead in that
part of Europe as "General Winter". So, it is no surprise that Vladimir Putin,
disappointed in the performance of his generals, is looking at "General Winter"
to help him snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as it had helped Kutuzov
against Napoleon.Putin’s reading of history, however, is slanted in favor of his
illusions. In the Napoleonic war "General Winter" was on the side of the
defender not the aggressor. With "General Winter" unlikely to work for Putin,
Tsar Vladimir, may have to look at another grand old man, this time a diplomat,
to help him out of the hole he has dug for Russia. While reports indicate that
Russia is mobilizing massive forces for a new attempt at dismantling Ukraine as
a nation-state, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, labeled "the grand
master of diplomacy" by his adulators, is talking of peace with Vladimir Putin.
In an article published in a US magazine last week, Kissinger writes:
"The time is approaching to build on the strategic changes which have already
been accomplished and to integrate them into a new structure towards achieving
peace through negotiation… A peace process should link Ukraine to NATO, however
expressed. The alternative of neutrality is no longer meaningful."
The paragraph just quoted shows that Kissinger is reluctant to or afraid of
saying what he really demands, which is appeasing Russia. He says "the time is
approaching" but doesn’t say at what speed or, if it is approaching, why not
wait until it has arrived. He talks of "strategic changes that have already been
accomplished", but doesn’t say which changes and accomplished by whom. Does he
see the annexation of Crimea and the presence of Russian forces in some 20
percent of Ukrainian territory as an accomplishment?
The grand old man of American diplomacy claims that the mumbo-jumbo he has just
spewed would somehow create "a new structure towards achieving peace through
negotiation." In the next sentence, however, he reduces "peace" to a "peace
process" like the one he launched in the Middle East almost 50 years ago and
which is supposed to be still going on fast to nowhere.
Kissinger then demonstrates his inability to think, or at least to clearly state
his thoughts by adding: "A peace process should link Ukraine to NATO, however
expressed. The alternative of neutrality is no longer meaningful." If anyone
understands what the good doctor means, please let me know. Last May Kissinger
proposed a ceasefire under which Russia would withdraw to the front lines before
the February invasion, but Crimea would be the subject of "negotiation." He
described the war as a "territorial conflict", unknowingly or deliberately
misunderstanding its nature.
This war isn’t about territory.
Russia has more "territory" than any other nation on the planet. Some claim that
annexing Crimea was necessary to maintain Russia’s naval presence in the Sea of
Azov and the Black Sea. But that claim too could be dismissed as an excuse for
aggression.
Ukraine had granted a 40-year lease to the Russian Navy to continue its presence
in Crimea protected by 20,000 Russian troops. To offer further assurances to
Putin, Ukraine had also agreed that the lease accord could be renewable at the
end of its current term.
Kissinger may be making another error of analysis by identifying Russia with
Putin. In his new autobiography, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once a close Putin pal
and a leading oligarch, even suggests that, when it comes to international
relations, Russia should not be regarded as a single entity. He suggests that in
the vast stretch of land between Europe and the Pacific Ocean, sandwiching
Siberia between them, three Russias exist side by side. The first consists of
Saint-Petersburg, Moscow and a few large cities where living standards,
socio-political culture and common aspirations, are close to median European
standards.
In that Russia, Putin’s rule is tolerated, partly because it has offered
economic growth and prosperity, at least until now. However, that Russia does
not share Putin’s expansionist strategy and is uneasy about the war in Ukraine.
A majority of the estimated 80,000 Russians who have left the country since
Putin declared a partial mobilization came from that Russia.
The next Russia consists of what he calls "sultanates" patches of territory
ruled over by governors appointed by Putin and answerable only to him. In many
of those "sultanates" ethnic Russians form a minority of the population. Some
"sultanates" like Chechnya support Putin’s war but others, like Tatarstan or
Dagestan, try to stay out of the adventure started by Putin. The third Russia
consists of numerous towns, cities and villages, spread across the vast land
like an archipelago inspiring and sustaining a sense of "away from it all"
isolation. Putin’s Russia is an empire and, like all empires, lives in fear of
losing territory with a constant urge to acquire new territory to preserve the
old ones. Russia, as the USSR, ended up losing vast chunks of land when the
empire collapsed in 1991. Putin’s invasion and annexation of South Ossetia,
occupation of Abkhazia and creation of a Trojan horse in eastern Moldova were
signs of that fear and that urge. Other signs include stationing Russian troops
in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan.
Empires do not stop until they are stopped. They resemble the wolf of the
steppes which, in a short story by Chekhov, pursues a man driving a troika
pulled by dogs amid a snowstorm. The man tries to ward off the wolf by throwing
food at it until he himself runs out of food. He ends up throwing the dogs at
the insatiable wolf that remains in hot pursuit. At the end, only the man
himself is left as food for his determined pursuer. With his policy of détente,
Kissinger arguably helped prolong the life of the Soviet Empire by treating it
as an equal partner, playing a leading role in the Helsinki Accords, and
providing it with access to global capital markets among other favors bestowed.
If he skims through the Kremlin media, Kissinger would see that Putin won’t be
satisfied with just a chunk of Ukraine, as he has said many times, and has
already set the theme for "protecting our kith-and-kin" in Moldova and Estonia,
with less direct musings about a pan-Slav empire that could include Poland,
Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro. If implemented, Dr. K’s "peace plan" could
become a prelude to endless war, cold, lukewarm and hot, in Europe, and the most
disastrous attempt at appeasement since the Chamberlain-Daladier duo went to
Munich.
Accelerating Mediterranean Integration Through Energy
Ferid Belhaj/Asharq Al-AwsatDecember, 23/2022
As Mediterranean countries look to chart a path forward in the wake of the
multiple crises that have upended economies, accelerating regional integration
becomes more critical than ever. Increased trade flows, two-way investments, and
mobility across the Northern, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries would
be major drivers of a sustainable recovery. And while there are multiple entry
points for pursuing this agenda, few are more important at this juncture than
energy. Currently, trade within the Mediterranean region is valued as under $1
trillion annually, which is barely a third of the trade between the
Mediterranean and the rest of the world. This stands in contrast to other
prospering regions, where countries’ biggest trading partners are often their
regional neighbors.
With this limited envelope, currently about a third of regional trade is in
energy.
Tapping the potential for further economic integration between the Southern
shore of the Mediterranean and the Europe block could be a game changer when it
comes to energy. Such a transition would help Europe wean itself away from heavy
dependence on Russian supplies, while helping advance climate goals. It would
also help increase opportunities and prosperity for the people of the Middle
East & North Africa (MENA), with wider knock-on effects for stability in the
region.
Fossil fuels are still the main source of energy for Europe. Petroleum products
represent roughly one-third of the total, followed by natural gas at
approximately 24%, and coal and other solid fossil fuels at 10%. The war in
Ukraine has been a shock to European and global energy markets, forcing a
dramatic reappraisal of European energy security. In the short term, expanding
oil and gas exports from the southern and eastern Mediterranean can help Europe
realign its energy provisioning away from Russia, especially as gas supplies are
being cut. Algeria is already Europe’s third-largest supplier of natural gas,
and there is potential for more, either piped or by LNG, from the southern and
Eastern Mediterranean.
In the medium and longer term, Europe’s transition to renewable energy could be
increasingly bound to a vigorous development of clean energy production in MENA.
The EU has established ambitious climate and energy policy targets: reducing
greenhouse emissions by 2030 by more than half vis-à-vis 1990 levels and
achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This growing demand for clean energy
represents an important spur to the development of the untapped potential for
renewable sources in MENA, like solar and wind energy as well as hydrogen, where
the sun-drenched southern side of the Mediterranean has a competitive advantage.
Indeed, Low-carbon hydrogen is now seen as an important component of EU
decarbonization plans. As suggested above, it complements the established EU’s
external energy policy, and by virtue of its proximity, the Eastern
Mediterranean region can position itself as a credible supplier of low-carbon
hydrogen for Europe. Energy cooperation in this region has focused on natural
gas development in recent years but synergies could be possible if this
cooperation extended to hydrogen development – both for exports and domestic
decarbonization.
Many countries have recognized this multi-source potential and are acting on it.
In 2021, Greece, Israel, and Cyprus started formal cooperation around the
construction of the EuroAsia “Interconnectors,” undersea cables meant to bring
renewable electricity from Israel as early as 2025.
Egypt and Greece are exploring a similar project, and Italy is working out
similar plans with both Tunisia and Algeria. The ELMED project interconnecting
Tunisia and Italy is at an advanced preparation stage. In the Western
Mediterranean, Morocco and Spain are already trading energy (gas and
electricity). The recent signing during COP27 of the Sustainable Electricity
Trade (SET) MoU by Morocco, Spain, Portugal, France and Germany to promote
cross-border trade corporate green energy further highlights the acceleration of
the Mediterranean integration in the energy sector. The move towards renewables
in MENA is accelerating. Morocco, for instance, aims to have 80% of its total
electricity generation capacity from renewables by 2050. This trend, boosted by
European investment deals for clean energy production in the region has the
potential to not only increase GDP in the MENA countries involved, but also
provide much-needed jobs. The current challenge of furnishing Europe with
adequate—and increasingly, clean—energy supplies creates a unique opportunity to
draw the countries of the MENA region into a nexus of trade, growth, and peace,
while at the same time pushing forward the transition to renewable energy. It is
a win-win opportunity that we must not let slip away.