English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For February 16/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Do not think that I have come to abolish the
law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew
05/17-20/:”‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I
have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and
earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the
law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of
these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in
the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called
great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness
exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials
published on February 15-16/2022
Cabinet discusses electricity plan and parliamentary elections, President
stresses need to activate work of ministries
Lebanon approves $18 million to hold May election
Jordan to export electricity to Lebanon via Syria in March
Mustaqbal Accuses President Aoun of Ordering Salameh's Arrest
ISF denies preventing state security patrol from implementing subpoena against
Central Bank Governor
ISF Says It Didn't Prevent State Security from Arresting Salameh
Judge Aoun Vows to 'Bring Salameh to Justice' as State Security Raids His Houses
UN, Ministry of Interior Chair Second Meeting of Elections Forum in Beirut
Mikati chairs meeting for donor sides, international organizations over solid
waste management
Berri tackles developments with French, New Zealand Ambassadors
Cassation Court Re-Allows Judge Eid to Look into Anti-Bitar Recusal
Mawlawi Slams 'Provocative' Bahraini Opposition Rally in Ghobeiry
Lebanon qualifies for final Arab Men's Basketball Championship after victory
over Somalia
Turkish Company Barred from Haifa Port Tender over 'Hizbullah Ties'
Miqati Says Won't Run in Elections, Funds Secured, Polls to be Held on Time
Judge extends subpoena after Banque du Liban governor skips hearing
Questions about elections in Lebanon/Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab
Weekly/February 15/2022
Incapable billionaire?/Mariam Kesserwan/Now Lebanon/February 15/2022
Lebanon: The Clock is Ticking for the World Bank’s Lake Qaraoun Project/Hala
Nasreddine/Daraj/February 15/ 2022
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on February 15-16/2022
Israel PM Meets Bahrain King, Jewish Community on Landmark Visit
Putin Says Russia 'of Course' Does Not Want War
Russia Says Pulling Back Some Forces from Ukraine Border
In Blinken Call, Lavrov Urges 'Pragmatic Dialogue'
Russia’s defense chief arrives in Syria to review naval drills
Bomb Blasts Military Bus in Syrian Capital, Killing 1
Erdogan's visit to UAE leads to more cooperation deals as policy changes awaited
from Ankara
Close aides to Erdogan to visit Israel Wednesday
Trump cheers on France's far-right, anti-migrant candidate Zemmour
Canada/First anniversary of Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in
State-to-State Relations
Titles For The Latest LCCC English
analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on February 15-16/2022
Emirati Journalist, Salem Al-Ketbi , Urges Regional Countries To Increase
Military, Intelligence Cooperation With Israel To Confront Threat Of Iran-Backed
Militias/MEMRI/February 15/2022
Biden Administration Kills Israel-to-Europe Gas Pipeline/Soeren Kern/Gatestone
Institute/February 15/2022
Economic woes pile pressure on Tunisian democracy/Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab
News/February 15, 2022
World is 'done' with COVID and it's time to move on from restrictions:
Ford/Holly McKenzie-Sutter/The Canadian Press/February 15/2022
on February 15-16/2022
Cabinet discusses electricity plan
and parliamentary elections, President stresses need to activate work of
ministries
NNA/February 15/2022
The Cabinet convened today, in a session headed by President of the Republic,
General Michel Aoun, and attended by Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the
ministers.
The Cabinet approved agenda items, and decided to open an exceptional additional
appropriation to cover the expenses of the parliamentary elections scheduled for
next May, at a value of 320 One billion Lebanese pounds, and an appropriation of
40 billion pounds from the 2022 budget was transferred to the budget of the
Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, according to the 12th rule.
The Cabinet also asked the Energy Minister to develop a plan to implement Law
462 related to regulating the electricity sector in Lebanon and to study the
possibility of reconsidering the electric tariff in parallel with the increase
in electric-feeding hours, and to develop a plan to start installing smart
meters to improve collection.
At the beginning, the President stressed the need to activate the work of
ministries, especially service ministers who are in direct contact with
citizens, in order to alleviate peoples’ complaints about the lack of official
attention in health, social and educational fields.
President Aoun also indicated that today’s session tackles two important topics,
the electricity plan and parliamentary elections. Concerning elections, the
President said “It is necessary to adopt the Mega center to enable citizens to
exercise their electoral rights without having to move to their towns and
villages that are practically far from their place of residence. President Aoun
also considered that such a step achieves a wide participation of citizens
especially in these difficult financial and economic conditions that Lebanon is
going through.
In addition, the President pointed out that the participation rate in the past
two elections was low for several reasons, including long distances and the
inability of voters to move from their places of residence to their towns.
Afterwards, Prime Minister Mikati stressed that Lebanon is facing several
challenges and the role of the government is to achieve the rescue goals for
which it was formed, and this basic task is more than important than all
controversies.
The Prime Minister said “The Lebanese are looking forward to the government
achieving what they need in reforms and services. The Lebanese reject any
differences which may occur, and the important thing is that we all be in a
state of coordination and in true partnership at multiple levels, according to
the constitution”.
Prime Minister Mikati also pointed out that the 2022 budget, which was referred
to the Parliament, was studied over a period of more than 8 sessions “On commas
and points”. “This is the best possible budget at the present time in order to
secure the state’s public financial order. We are governed by numbers and facts
which cannot be ignored” PM Mikati said.
In addition, the Prime Minister called for avoiding auctions, especially since
the country is 90 days away from parliamentary elections, and we must work
together to achieve this deadline.
“We do not shirk our responsibilities because we realize the magnitude of
challenges and difficulties, but buds are unacceptable, especially from those
who participated in previous years in financial decisions of the Parliament and
Cabinet” the Prime Minister said.
In addition, the Prime Minister considered that frankness with the Lebanese is a
necessity for them to be partners with us, without embarrassment, so that the
Lebanese wound will be healed and Lebanon will return to what is was before.
“Populist talk doesn’t help nor does denial” Prime Minister Mikati concluded.
The Cabinet session was also partially attended by the Chairman of the Board of
Directors of the Electricité du Liban, Director General Kamal Hayek.
Before the session, the President of the Republic and the Premier, held a
bilateral meeting during which the topics on the agenda were discussed, in
addition to some life and livelihood affairs.
Statement:
After the session, Minister Halaby read the Cabinet statement:
“The Cabinet convened today at the Presidential Palace, in a session chaired by
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and attended by Prime Minister,
Najib Mikati and ministers.
At the beginning, the President stressed the need to activate the work of
ministries, especially service ministers who are in direct contact with
citizens, in order to alleviate peoples’ complaints about the lack of official
attention in health, social and educational fields.
President Aoun also indicated that today’s session tackles two important topics,
the electricity plan and parliamentary elections. Concerning elections, the
President said “It is necessary to adopt the Mega center to enable citizens to
exercise their electoral rights without having to move to their towns and
villages that are practically far from their place of residence. President Aoun
also considered that such a step achieves a wide participation of citizens
especially in these difficult financial and economic conditions that Lebanon is
going through.
In addition, the President pointed out that the participation rate in the past
two elections was low for several reasons, including long distances and the
inability of voters to move from their places of residence to their towns.
Afterwards, Prime Minister Mikati stressed that Lebanon is facing several
challenges and the role of the government is to achieve the rescue goals for
which it was formed, and this basic task is more than important than all
controversies.
The Prime Minister said “The Lebanese are looking forward to the government
achieving what they need in reforms and services. The Lebanese reject any
differences which may occur, and the important thing is that we all be in a
state of coordination and in true partnership at multiple levels, according to
the constitution”.
Prime Minister Mikati also pointed out that the 2022 budget, which was referred
to the Parliament, was studied over a period of more than 8 sessions “On commas
and points”. “This is the best possible budget at the present time in order to
secure the state’s public financial order. We are governed by numbers and facts
which cannot be ignored” PM Mikati said.
In addition, the Prime Minister called for avoiding auctions, especially since
the country is 90 days away from parliamentary elections, and we must work
together to achieve this deadline.
“We do not shirk our responsibilities because we realize the magnitude of
challenges and difficulties, but buds are unacceptable, especially from those
who participated in previous years in financial decisions of the Parliament and
Cabinet” the Prime Minister said.
In addition, the Prime Minister considered that frankness with the Lebanese is a
necessity for them to be partners with us, without embarrassment, so that the
Lebanese wound will be healed and Lebanon will return to what is was before.
“Populist talk doesn’t help nor does denial” Prime Minister Mikati concluded.
Then, the Cabinet began deliberating the agenda and approved all items, most
notably:
- A draft law related to opening an additional exceptional appropriation to
cover the expenses of the parliamentary elections to be held next May, at a
value of 320 billion Lebanese pounds.
-Transferring an appropriation from the general budget reserve for year 2022 to
the budget of the Interior Ministry on the basis of the 12th rule, at a value of
40 billion Lebanese pounds.
-Determining the value of the compensations for electoral work and the lump-sum
transfer compensation for employees who are delegated to carry out parliamentary
or municipal electoral work, whether general or subsidiary”.
Questions & Answers:
Question: The Shiite duo said that the budget was not approved, so was there a
retreat by the duo to return to the Cabinet?
Answer: “We draw attention to the fact that the Council of Ministers held
several sessions in the Grand Serail, and in fact all the ministers participated
in discussing the draft budget, and when we met in Baabda, there was a final
reading, and some amendments were made to a number of items and they were
approved and referred to the Parliament according to what was announced at the
end of the previous meeting”.
Question: The last session ended in chaos and convulsions regarding the issue of
appointments. Was there someone who pledged not to repeat the issue, and how was
the atmosphere today?
Answer: “The Cabinet is a constitutional authority that cannot be restricted or
framed. Today, he did not insist on raising the issue of appointments at all,
and it was satisfied with what the Prime Minister said, which was summarized in
the statement that I have just read”.
Question: Have you approved the necessary funds for the parliamentary elections?
Did the ministers point out the size of the difference between the dependence
that was approved on the old exchange rate?
Answer: “Yes, the credits have been approved. The Prime Minister presented the
cost of the last elections, which amounted to 54 million dollars, and this time
15 million dollars were allocated to the Ministry of Interior and 4 million
dollars to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to secure the participation of
expatriates in the elections”.
Question: Why is this difference in cost that no one spoke about?
Answer: “The data of the previous elections were not before us, and we cannot
now estimate this matter”.
Question: We were told about a dispute that took place on the issue of the
electricity plan between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Energy. What is
the reason for this controversy?
Answer: “There was no controversy, but heat in the debate. And we will talk
about the issue of electricity after we finish discussing it”.
Question: Is there anyone who rejects increasing the electric tariff at all?
Answer: “It is not possible to impose an increase in the tariff on the citizen
without the presence of electricity, so the condition was to reconsider the
electric tariff when the electric current reaches the citizens”.
Question: Who set this condition?
Answer: “All of us, we cannot say to reconsider the price of electricity if it
is not secured for people first”.
Question: What about the issue of the Lebanese University and the professors?
Answer: “The full-time file has been in the Prime Minister’s office since last
Friday, and it needs days to study it before referring it to the Council of
Ministers”.
Question: Within the electricity plan, will the appointment of the regulatory
authority be noticed?
Answer: “Certainly, and this is the application of Law 462. This file is hot and
is the cause of political conflict in the country, and the waste of tens of
billions of dollars, and the government is required to implement the law”.
Question: With regard to the elections supervising body, will it remain the
same?
Answer: “This issue was not addressed”.
Question: How will the citizen pay the electricity bill and the private
generator bill?
Answer: “This matter will be discussed within a general plan that was presented
by the Minister of Energy, and comments were made regarding it and we have not
finished it yet”.
Question: How serious is the application of this electrical plan in light of
previous experiences that made people question what is being said?
Answer: “I am with people, we trust when we see the light”.
Question: Has the issue of border demarcation been discussed?
Answer: “The issue was not on the agenda and was not addressed”.
Question: Have you set the date for the next session?
Answer: “We will meet tomorrow morning in the Serail, and then we will know”.
Question: It was said that the appointment of registration committees is
unconstitutional, so is this a reason to not hold the elections?
Answer: “All that is being worked on and what the government intends are to
establish this entitlement on its specified date on May 15”.— Presidency Press
Office
Lebanon approves $18 million to hold May election
Reuters/February 15, 2022
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s government on Tuesday approved the allocation of 360 billion
Lebanese pounds ($18 million) to hold a parliamentary election, Telecoms
Minister Johnny Corm told Reuters following a cabinet meeting. Lebanon went into
financial meltdown in 2019 and some officials had raised concerns over elections
potentially being postponed over financial constraints. Speaking after the
cabinet session, acting Information Minister Abbas Halabi quoted Prime Minister
Najib Mikati as saying the last vote in 2018 had cost the state $54 million, but
only a much smaller amount was available now.
The United Nations and Western governments have repeatedly urged Lebanese
leaders to hold elections on time and allocate the appropriate funding, amid
fears that powerful political parties could seek to use the financial crisis as
a pretext to postpone the vote.The May 15 election would be the first for the
128-member legislature since mass protests in October 2019 against political
elites widely seen as responsible for decades of corruption and mismanagement.
The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, had earlier
on Tuesday “stressed the importance of holding the elections on time,” a UN
statement said.“I hope that the Council of Ministers will approve the electoral
budget...so that preparations can proceed swiftly and no shadow of uncertainty
hangs over the election,” Wronecka said, according to the statement.
Jordan to export electricity to Lebanon via Syria in
March
AP/The Arab Weekly/February 15/2022
Jordan will begin exporting electricity to Lebanon in March after finalising a
funding agreement with the World Bank, Jordan's Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh
told Saudi-owned TV station Al-Arabiya. Jordan signed deals last month to export
electricity to Lebanon to help the small Mediterranean country deal with its
crippling energy crisis. The deals are expected within two months to bring
Lebanon up to 250 megawatts a day of Jordanian electricity, through
government-controlled areas of Syria. This will be enough for about two hours of
power a day. The US-backed funding deal aims to ease crippling power shortages
in Lebanon by transmitting electricity across neighbouring Syria. Lebanon has
suffered an acute shortage of electricity since its economy began collapsing
three years ago and because of a mountain of debt built up since the end of the
1975-1990 civil war.
Separately, the Jordanian minister also told Al-Arabiya his country would invite
international companies to explore for gas and oil from mid-2022. Kharabsheh,
who was in Cairo on Monday for an energy conference, told Al Arabiya television
that the electricity supply would begin “after the conclusion of a financing
agreement with the World Bank". The World Bank said that it is willing to loan
Lebanon the money it needs to pay for the electricity imports through Syria.
Such a loan would be practically impossible without tacit approval from the US,
which in recent months has eased its policy of isolation against the Syrian
regime. Lebanon’s Energy Minister Walid Fayyad said details of the financing
from the Word Bank “will be clear” by March. The Syrian regime has been largely
ostracised in the region following its crackdown on the 2011 uprising against
five decades of Assad family rule. However, Jordan, which is one of the largest
recipients of US aid, has been advocating normalisation of ties with Syria.
Mustaqbal Accuses President Aoun of Ordering Salameh's
Arrest
Naharnet/February 15/2022
Al-Mustaqbal Movement on Tuesday issued a statement in defense of Central Bank
Governor Riad Salameh, after his residences were raided by State Security with
the aim of bringing him to interrogation before Judge Ghada Aoun. “It would be
beneficial to warn all Lebanese that the prosecution of the governor and the
raids of his houses and his office at the Banque du Liban represent a step on
the course of collapse and not a step towards the solution illusions and the
fight against corruption,” Mustaqbal said. It charged that the raids and the
arrest decision “had been taken at the presidential palace through a direct
request from President Michel Aoun in person to the head of the State Security
agency, Maj. Gen. (Tony) Saliba,” noting that “the date of the raids has been
known for a week and has been circulated on social networking websites by
Aounist activists.”
“The President’s insistence on this measure is aimed at serving the interest of
the Free Patriotic Movement on the eve of parliamentary elections… It also aims
to justify the shortcomings in the ongoing negotiations with the International
Monetary Fund, to paralyze these negotiations and to undermine any possibility
to achieve economic stability,” Mustaqbal added.It also charged that Aoun said
that he did not mind a “clash” between the raiding State Security agents and the
Internal Security Forces members tasked with guarding Salameh’s properties
should that lead to the governor’s arrest. “Drag him (to interrogation), even if
it requires a clash with the ISF,” Mustaqbal quoted the President as saying.
“This is an arbitrary decision by the Presidency. They are running in the
parliamentary elections over the remains of the state and the economy,”
Mustaqbal added.
ISF denies preventing state security patrol from
implementing subpoena against Central Bank Governor
NNA/February 15/2022
In response media rumors, the internal security forces (ISF) on Tuesday issued a
statement denying attempts at preventing a state security patrol from
implementing a judicial subpoena issued against Central Bank Governor, Riad
Salameh. “The Internal Security Forces’ checkpoint was set up some time ago, by
order of top chiefs, to protect the Governor from security threats, especially
after receiving information in this regard,” the statement said, adding that
members at the checkpoint were in no way authorized to interfere, report, or
even prevent the implementation of any official memorandum. “This matter has
been confirmed in a call between Director-General of the Internal Security
Forces, Major General Imad Osman, and Director-General of State Security, Major
General Tony Saliba, as part of the ongoing coordination between them,” the ISF
statement concluded.
ISF Says It Didn't Prevent State Security from Arresting
Salameh
Naharnet/February 15/2022
The Directorate General of Internal Security Forces on Tuesday announced that
its members “did not prevent a State Security patrol from enforcing a subpoena
against the governor of the central bank” Riad Salameh, denying media reports in
this regard. “The ISF checkpoint (at Salameh’s residence) has been in place for
a certain period of time, at the presidents’ requests, to protect the governor
against any security threat, especially after information was received in this
regard,” the ISF said in a statement. “The members of this checkpoint are not
authorized to intervene, deliver a notice or even prevent the enforcement of any
official warrant,” the ISF clarified. It added that “this is what was stressed
in a phone call made by ISF chief Maj. Gen. Imad Othman with State Security head
Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba, as part of the continuous coordination between them.”
State Security agents had earlier in the day raided Salameh’s residences in
Rabieh and Safra and his office at the central bank without managing to find
him, according to media reports. The agents sought to enforce a subpoena issued
against Salameh by Judge Ghada Aoun in a financial corruption case.
Judge Aoun Vows to 'Bring Salameh to Justice' as
State Security Raids His Houses
Naharnet/February 15/2022
Mount Lebanon Attorney General Judge Ghada Aoun on Tuesday pledged that she
"will continue to pursue Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh until he is brought
to justice," after State Security agents raided his residences in Safra and
Rabieh and the bank's headquarters in Beirut without managing to find him.
The raids were aimed at enforcing a subpoena issued against Salameh by Judge
Aoun. A session for Salameh’s interrogation had been scheduled for today,
Tuesday. He failed to show up. Judge Aoun later kept the subpoena in effect. Al-Jadeed
said Salameh’s guards in each of Safra and Rabieh initially tried to prevent the
State Security agents from entering the properties before letting them in after
insistence. The judge had issued the subpoena against Salameh on February 1
after he failed to show up for a third interrogation session in the lawsuit
filed by the People Want to Reform the System group. The judge has recently
issued a travel ban and an assets freeze against Salameh. The lawsuit accuses
the governor of "illicit enrichment, money laundering and squandering public
funds on personal benefits." Salameh, one of the world's longest-serving central
bank governors, is also facing judicial investigations in France, Switzerland
and other European countries on suspicion of money laundering and illicit
enrichment, among other allegations. Salameh has recently dismissed the cases
against him as unfounded and lacking in evidence, claiming they were opened
based on complaints filed by Lebanese citizens "for reasons that could be
political... or tied to certain interests."He said that a top-tier financial
audit firm had scrutinized his accounts at his request and presented him with a
report that he then submitted to officials and judges. "I am ready to cooperate
with all investigations," he said, claiming they were based on "fabricated
evidence" that made it seem as though he "took all of Lebanon's money and
pocketed it."
UN, Ministry of Interior Chair Second Meeting of
Elections Forum in Beirut
NNA/February 15/2022
The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, and
Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Bassam Mawlawi, chaired today the
second Elections Forum to take stock of the preparations for the parliamentary
elections scheduled on 15 May.
Held at the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities in Beirut, the Elections
Forum brought together government officials, including representatives of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Supervisory Commission for Elections, civil
society and the international community.
Underlining the respect of constitutional timelines, the Special Coordinator
stressed the importance of holding the elections on time. While the Cabinet is
considering the electoral budget today, the Special Coordinator said, “I hope
that the Council of Ministers will approve the electoral budget, both for its
domestic and its overseas components, so that preparations can proceed swiftly
and no shadow of uncertainty hangs over the election.”The Special Coordinator
emphasized the role of public awareness campaigns, intensifying voter education
as well as more updates on out-of-country voting. She called on the Lebanese
authorities to enable the Supervisory Commission in every possible way so it can
perform its mandated role that is eminently important for the integrity of the
electoral process. Statements by Ambassadors and representatives of civil
society at the Forum demonstrated the continued attention to Lebanon’s
elections. The meeting also confirmed the significant financial, material,
technical and political support already extended by the international community
to Lebanon’s electoral process. The Special Coordinator looked forward to the
continued dialogue between the Government, domestic stakeholders and the
international community in support of the elections.
Mikati chairs meeting for donor sides, international
organizations over solid waste management
NNA/February 15/2022
Prime Minister Najib Mikati chaired, at the Grand Serail on Tuesday, an extended
meeting for the donor sides and international organizations, devoted to
discussing the comprehensive solid waste management. Among attendees, were also
Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, Head of the Council for Development and
Reconstruction Nabil Jisr, and a panel of representatives of ministries,
embassies, and UN bodies. "We are meeting here, at the Grand Serail, today, to
discuss the strategic vision and aspirations the Ministry of Environment has
drawn up for the comprehensive management of solid waste, in addition to the
means of cooperation between local partners and the international community, to
achieve [this vision], said the Prime Minister. "Lebanon is in need of the
international community's cooperation to improve the management of this sector,
especially amid the crises it is going through," he added. "We are looking
forward to our international partners to stand by our side along this path," he
continued. "We are looking forward to providing the required support for the
local authorities," he went on to say. "We welcome any support our international
partners can provide in that respect," he concluded.
Berri tackles developments with French, New Zealand
Ambassadors
NNA/February 15/2022
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Tuesday welcomed at his Ein Al-Tineh residence
New Zealand Ambassador to Lebanon, Greg Lewis, with whom he discussed the
general situation and bilateral relations between the two countries. Berri then
received Beirut Archdiocese of the Maronite community, Archbishop Boulos Abdel
Sater. Berri later met with French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo, with whom
he discussed the latest developments and the country’s general situation.
Cassation Court Re-Allows Judge Eid to Look into Anti-Bitar
Recusal
Naharnet/February 15/ 2022
Court of Cassation Judge Rola al-Masri dismissed Tuesday a recusal request that
had been suspending the investigation into the Beirut port blast. Former
ministers and incumbent MPs Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zoaiter had filed a
request before the Court of Cassation to recuse Judge Naji Eid from looking into
a recusal lawsuit against Judge Tarek Bitar. The investigation had been
suspended for two months because of the delay in taking legal decisions on these
recusal lawsuits. Last week, families of the victims of the Beirut port blast
stormed the Justice Palace in Beirut to urge faster court decisions regarding
the recusal lawsuits obstructing the investigation. The families considered the
delay to be an intentional obstruction to the probe as suspended Bitar waits for
a court decision to return to work while Masri had been failing to appear to
take the decision."The decision should have been taken a week ago," said William
Noun, brother of Joe Noun, a member of the Fire Brigade team who was killed by
the devastating blast, during last week's protest.
Mawlawi Slams 'Provocative' Bahraini Opposition Rally in
Ghobeiry
Naharnet/February 15/ 2022
Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi asked Tuesday "how can provocative seminars
and conferences achieve Lebanon's interest?""We are Arabs and we will remain
Arabs," Mawlawi said, stressing that sisterly countries are helping Lebanon,
while "some" inside the country are letting it become "a stage for incitement."A
pro-Bahraini opposition organization had held yesterday a meeting at the Risalat
Theater in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Former Hizbullah's minister Mahmoud
Qmati delivered a speech at the event. Mawlawi had banned last week two
pro-Bahraini opposition rallies that had been scheduled to be held on February
11 and 14 at al-Saha Hotel near Beirut airport. He had addressed two memos to
the Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces and the Directorate
General of General Security, asking them to immediately inform the hotel’s
administration not to host the events for their failing to obtain legal
permissions.
Lebanon qualifies for final Arab Men's Basketball
Championship after victory over Somalia
NNA/February 15/2022
The Lebanese national basketball team on Tuesday has
qualified for the final match of the Arab Men's Basketball Championship, which
is being held in the United Arab Emirates, after renewing its victory over
Somalia by 15 points, 87-72, in a match that took place between them today at
Al-Nasr Club Hall.
Turkish Company Barred from Haifa Port Tender over 'Hizbullah
Ties'
Naharnet/February 15/2022
The Israel Government Companies Authority decided this week to disqualify a
Turkish company from taking part in a tender for the privatization of Haifa
Port, an Israeli media report said. Sources close to the matter told Israeli
financial newspaper Globes that the reason for the disqualification is that one
of the owners of the Turkish company is also a member of the shipping company
operating Beirut Port. Israeli intelligence sources involved in the tender
process told Globes that one of the controlling owners of Yilport, Turkish
businessman Robert Yuksel Yildirim, is also a management member of the CMA CGM
Group, one of the world's largest shipping companies. Among other facilities,
CMA CGM operates the Beirut Port in Lebanon. “Israeli intelligence reports and
classified information indicate a connection between CMA GCM and senior
Hizbullah figures and Shi'ite terrorist activists worldwide… The company also
operates Latakia port in Syria, through which Iran conveys weapons to Hizbullah,”
the newspaper added. “The decision to disqualify Yilport has not come as a
surprise in Turkey and it is not expected to harm improving relations between
Israel and Turkey,” Globes added.
Miqati Says Won't Run in Elections, Funds Secured, Polls
to be Held on Time
Naharnet/February 15/2022
Prime Minister Najib Miqati said he won't run in the upcoming parliamentary
elections. Miqati told al-Akhbar newspaper, in remarks published Tuesday, that
he is still mulling over his choice but he is leaning toward not running. He
added that he fears a low Sunni turnout, warning against boycotting the
elections. "My bloc and I will will participate and we definitely won't
boycott," he affirmed. Miqati said he will support the list that expresses the
aspirations of the Tripolitans. He also assured that the funds for the elections
have almost been secured, and will be discussed in Cabinet today, Tuesday.
"Elections will be held on time," Miqati affirmed. President Michel Aoun had
said that he fears that the parliamentary elections might be postponed due to a
lack of funds.
Judge extends subpoena after Banque du Liban governor
skips hearing
Najia Houssar/The Arab Weekly/February 15/2022
Aoun has sought to interrogate Salameh as a witness in several cases alleging
financial impropriety
BEIRUT: Judge Ghada Aoun, the state prosecutor of Mount Lebanon, indefinitely
extended on Tuesday a subpoena issued earlier this month for Banque du Liban
Gov. Riad Salameh after he failed to appear at a hearing.
Aoun has sought to interrogate Salameh as a witness in several cases alleging
financial impropriety. The subpoena is related to a criminal lawsuit filed
against Salameh by a group called “The People Want to Reform the System” who
accuse the governor of “illegal enrichment,” “money laundering,” and “wasting
public funds.”Lebanese State Security personnel sent to the central bank’s
headquarters in Ras Beirut and to Salameh’s house in Rabieh were denied entry by
members of the Internal Security Forces.
It was the fourth hearing set by Aoun, who is affiliated to the Free Patriotic
Movement, to question Salameh, who did not attend under the pretext that he had
previously submitted a request to have Aoun removed from the case.
Salameh’s nearly three decades at the helm of the central bank have come under
increased scrutiny since the country’s financial meltdown in 2019.
He is being investigated in Lebanon and several European country’s, including
Switzerland, for alleged money laundering and embezzlement of hundreds of
millions of dollars at the BDL — allegations he has repeatedly denied.
In a TV statement, Aoun said she “will keep prosecuting BDL Gov. Riad Salameh
until he is brought to justice.”
The group that filed the lawsuit against Salameh accused Maj.-Gen. Imad Othman,
director general of the Internal Security Forces, of “violating the law by
protecting the governor, and rebelling against the judicial order issued against
him.”
It added that “the state security agents are responsible for the execution of
the summons. However, Maj-Gen. Othman, his officers and his generals have
committed a cold-blooded crime that automatically deprives them of any
functional immunity.”
The group, which includes a number of lawyers active in the civil movement, said
they decided to “lodge a personal lawsuit against Othman and his agents, who
have confronted the security of the state.”
A judicial source told Arab News: “Judge Aoun is the one violating the laws. The
public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Judge Ghassan Oueidat, had
previously removed her from cases related to important financial crimes,
referring them to judicial inspection last April. However, no decision has been
taken yet because of the difficulty of voting within this body due to political
interference.”
The judicial source clarified that “Judge Aoun violates the law by issuing a
subpoena against the BDL governor, as he is not a defendant but a witness. How
does she give herself the right to issue a subpoena against him? Salameh’s
representatives had previously submitted a request to have Aoun removed from the
case, but she refused to receive the request.”According to the source, Aoun
cannot issue a subpoena in absentia against Salameh, and can only postpone the
hearing. The act of sending the State Security to places where Salameh might be
found caused widespread shock in the Palace of Justice in Beirut.
The internal dispute over the BDL governor is intense between the political
party of President Michel Aoun, who is trying to overthrow Salameh, and his
backers. Salameh’s camp is of the view that “Judge Aoun’s move … reflects a
political decision to replace the governor with someone affiliated to the
president.” Prime Minister Najib Mikati, though, wants the veteran central bank
chief to remain in his post while Lebanon battles its economic crisis. Judge
Aoun issued a decision to freeze all the governor’s properties and cars on Jan.
18, and imposed a travel ban on him.
The governor has been the target of a political and popular campaign against him
since protests broke out in 2019 following the start of Lebanon’s economic
collapse, holding him accountable for seizing people’s deposits in banks and
lending to the state.
The governor, however, insists that he is working to “protect the social
security of the Lebanese people and to secure their minimal needs in spite of
the financial situation.”He has said that “the problem will be solved when the
parties concerned assume their responsibilities instead of holding the central
bank accountable for the crises.”Meanwhile, as political tensions rise,
Hezbollah challenged the decision of the Ministry of Interior to ban the
activity of a prohibited Bahraini group on Monday.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi, after consulting Mikati, sent two notices last
weekend to the Directorate General of Internal Security Forces and the
Directorate General of Public Security to prevent two activities on Feb. 14 and
15, held by “Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society” and the “Coalition of 14
February Youth.” The notices were sent for “failure to obtain legal
authorization” and asked to “take all the necessary investigative measures to
collect information about organizers, advocates and invitees.”
Neither security organization carried out the order, however.
Questions about elections in Lebanon
Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weekly/February 15/2022
It is clear, especially in light of the recent statement from the International
Support Group for Lebanon, that the outside world is insisting on holding the
parliamentary elections on time.
This insistence reflects a clear desire to avoid further deterioration of the
country’s situation. It also reflects a belief that the elections are a means of
bringing about change for the better and overcoming the dynamics that have led
to Lebanon's ruin.
But are elections really the solution to the problem in Lebanon, especially
considering Hezbollah’s armed hegemony over the country? Do elections actually
make sense in the shadow of that party's guns?
The Support Group’s statement, coming in the wake of a clear message by US
Ambassador to Beirut, Dorothy Shea, according to which elections should be held
on time, ignores the fact that there are other questions that arise in Lebanon
at the delicate stage through which the country is going.
These go beyond whether the parliamentary elections are held on their scheduled
date on May 15th. Hezbollah is unlikely to lose its majority in the new
parliament. The party, which is nothing but a brigade in the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards, cannot lose its majority under the law on which the
elections are held.
One can however wonder if the elections could be postponed because of the crisis
within the Free Patriotic Movement, the party of the presidential duo Michel
Aoun-Gebran Bassil? The Movement suffers from a real problem with declining
popularity among Christians. This threatens Bassil, who is searching for new
alliances that would enable him to maintain his parliamentary seats. Bassil was
finally forced to send a delegation to Damascus to ask the Syrian regime to
pressure the leader of the Marada movement, Suleiman Franjieh, and persuade him
to support him.
In the end, the matter will be up to Hezbollah, which must decide whether its
primary concern is to obtain a majority in the parliament, or whether it must
also accommodate its Christian ally, the “Aounist movement”, which is being
pushed to retrench by the advances by the “Lebanese Forces” party, with its
leader Samir Geagea, and also by those of the “Lebanese Kataeb”.
To what extent will Hezbollah carry the Aounists on its shoulders in the next
stage, at the very time that it has to think about how to satisfy its own Shia
support base? This base has itself been eroded as a result of President Aoun's
rule, which has imposed upon the population a formula whereby “weapons protect
corruption”. This formula has led to the bankruptcy of Lebanon and most of the
Lebanese, including a large part of the Shia after the country, lost all those
foundations underpinning its existence since the declaration of the
establishment of “Greater Lebanon” in 1920.
It is no secret that Hezbollah will not be comfortable in a new parliament,
should it face a clear Christian majority challenging its hegemony over Lebanon,
even if it can achieve Sunni and Druze breakthroughs. This assumption may be
sufficient for Hezbollah to go along with Michel Aoun and Gebran Bassil's wish
to postpone the elections on the grounds that more time is needed to better
prepare for the ballot, at least from a Christian perspective.
Moreover, the presidential duo believes that the fallout of any US-Iranian
agreement will serve them and their old ally, the Syrian regime. From this point
of view, they believe their only option to save the political future of the
president's son-in-law is to postpone the elections and draw advantage from the
potentially improved regional climate that would boost the interests of the
"Islamic Republic". Iran had brought Michel Aoun to Baabda Palace on the last
day of October 2016, the first place.
The elections could be a reason for hope in Lebanon. The ballot could bring
about change from above, that is, we could see Michel Aoun go home at the end of
his presidential term by next October. A vacuum would be better than the
presidential compromise that brought Michel Aoun to the Baabda Palace. Six years
ago, a vacuum would have raised the question of whether Lebanon, as it fell
under Iranian hegemony, was still viable or whether there is a need for a new
formula, currently undefined except for the suggested notion of expanded
decentralisation.
Incapable billionaire?
Mariam Kesserwan/Now Lebanon/February 15/2022
Najib Mikati’s tone-deaf statements, made after the approval of the budget,
betray a billionaire PM’s complete disconnect from the plight of his people,
writes activist Mariam Kesserwan.
On February 11, 2022, after over a month of negotiations, Lebanese prime
minister Najib Mikati of the so-called “rescue government” announced the
approval of the much-awaited 2022 budget decree. The budget approval was the
main reason the crippled Lebanese cabinet managed to finally convene after
Hezbollah and the Amal Movement blocked any decision for over two months due to
the Beirut blast investigation. The budget itself is a total shame, and clearly
very far from any sense of reform. It only serves to suffocate the population in
every possible way.
But that is not all, Najib Mikati ended the announcement of this small step with
a stab in the heart of every Lebanese citizen: “We cannot offer free internet,
free electricity, and free water anymore. We are incapable, we wish we can but
we’re incapable.”
This statement, shocking enough, came amidst an electricity shortage the country
has been facing for years. After spending a scorching summer in blackouts, and a
freezing winter without heat, the Lebanese receive 2 – 3 hours of electricity
daily, while paying for generator power between $50 – $90, when the minimum
wages are equivalent to $30. And the truth is that it was never much better.
For decades, Lebanese citizens have had to buy extra water weekly in most areas
of the country because what the government provided was not enough. Even after
it rained. And it’s not that Lebanon could not have water all round the year,
but governments have failed for decades to build proper storage infrastructure.
Lebanon’s telecom fees have been the highest worldwide for years. The services
others paid $10-15 for, we paid at least $100. At least in this matter, the
Lebanese have never “benefited from subsidies” for as long as they had cell
phones and the internet. Mikati’s delusion and complete disconnection from the
real life of the Lebanese doesn’t only lie in this part of his speech. The
Forbes-listed billionaire whose wealth is estimated at $3 billion dollars
continued with a blow under the belt.
“Citizens might ask me “what are we supposed to do if our deposits are seized by
the banks? I tell them they are right, but we should bear with each other”.
We. Should. Bear. With. Each other. These words were addressed to citizens who
can’t find medication in pharmacies, who are dying in hospital admission rooms
because they can’t gather the money to pay for treatment, who are hungry. People
who survived one of the biggest explosions in history, and are still protesting
for their right to a fair investigation into the deaths of their loved ones. All
this, as their life savings were seized by the Lebanese banks two and a half
years ago because the government could not pay back what it had borrowed. The
rage against his statements was loud, as expected. The next day, protesters
gathered in front of his house in a display of disapproval. Activist Ola Harakeh
brought her travel bag. “He said we should bear with each other, I have no
electricity in my house, I came to live for a while here and he should bear with
me,” she said. “ I am not staying for so long, it’s only until he provides us
with electricity and when he returns the money he’s seizing in Saradar.”
A matter of common sense
Mikati’s message was that he and his government cannot possibly do more for the
people at this time. This is immoral, to say the least, especially as Mikati
himself contributed to this state of affairs. Not only has he been PM twice
before, leading cabinets that did nothing to curb the corruption that was
draining all resources from the state, but the PM, his brothers and his
brother-in-law are shareholders of Saradar bank, which has seized 1,804,918,000$
in deposits. But business is business, and Mikati, who said he was “incapable”
of fulfilling his job with what he labels “his rescue government”, is meanwhile
capable of “rescuing” a Norwegian telecom company in Myanmar. Telenor is
shutting down their business in Myanmar after the coup d’état of Tatmadaw for
ethical reasons – they cannot work with a military regime that is accused of
serious human rights violations.
The group decided to withdraw from the market as the government demanded users’
data.
For Mikati, however, that was an opportunity. M1, the group owned by the
billionaire Mikati brothers, offered to buy Telenor. The deal is still in
process as human rights organizations criticize the Lebanese group, and
explicitly our PM, for thriving under brutal regimes like Syria, Yemen, and
Sudan. The Mikati brothers have experience in making telecom deals in places
with patchy records when it comes to fairness and transparency in business, and
where oligarchs dominate local markets with the blessing of dictators.
As Mikati continues to benefit from authoritarian regimes and do big business at
the international level, he serenely tells his suffering population that they
cannot get water, electricity and telecom services “for free”, despite the fact
that the Lebanese have been paying at least twice as much as anyone else in the
world for these utilities, which have become increasingly scarce. MTN, the South
African telecom giant where Mikati is an associate, faced a lawsuit in the US
for paying protection money to the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan between
2009 and 2017. The lawsuit was filed by 400 US service members and civilians,
and their families. MTN got off the hook in 2020, after telling the court it had
no jurisdiction over it, as it did not operate in the US.
It was also accused of funneling US technology to Iran by circumventing
sanctions. It also faces a lawsuit together with China’s ZTE for indirectly
supporting an Iranian-backed campaign in Iraq by doing business with the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards.
But let’s get back to Myanmar. M1, the Lebanon-based telecom group owned by the
Mikati family, offered to buy Telenor for $105 million and invest $330 million
in the upcoming three years to expand broadband infrastructure and services.
Azmi T. Mikati, the PM’s brother, said it himself in an interview with
Bloomberg. Yes, we are talking about a total of $435 million to be generated by
the family of the prime minister of Lebanon, a country in total collapse.
In Lebanon itself, Mikati has also faced corruption allegations over the
low-income housing loans he allegedly received between 2011-2013. The affair is
still under scrutiny, as the investigation was completely silenced, given that
the judge conducting it is under fire for her political allegiance. Mikati
allegedly received 6 housing loans amounting to approximately $14 million.
Mikati dismissed all accusations. But there is more to look at when the PM
demands that we “bear with each other”. In 2006 Mikati sold Investcom for $ 5.5
billion, firing all Lebanese employees.
Not to mention Cellis and Libancell, which benefited from the proceeds of
selling more than 800,000 telephone lines, while the contracts gave the two
companies the right to sell only 250,000 telephone lines. Thus, the two
companies were able to achieve an illegitimate profit at the expense of the
Lebanese state, at a value of 600 million dollars, as a result of this violation
alone. He also dismissed these accusations. As Mikati continues to benefit from
authoritarian regimes and do big business at the international level, he
serenely tells his suffering population that they cannot get water, electricity
and telecom services “for free”, despite the fact that the Lebanese have been
paying at least twice as much as anyone else in the world for these utilities,
which have become increasingly scarce.
And he has the legitimacy to negotiate our moment of change?
*Mariam Kesserwan is a Lebanese civic activist who was part of the 2015 You
Stink movement. During the October 17, 2019 protests she founded the @LebanonUprising
page on Instagram, a well-known outlet that exposes corruption and violations.
Lebanon: The Clock is Ticking for the World Bank’s Lake Qaraoun Project
Hala Nasreddine/Daraj/February 15/ 2022
In 2016, Lebanon was given a $55 million World Bank loan to clean up the Litani
River and lake Qaraoun. Five years later only a fraction of the money has been
spent, the river and lake remain an open sewer and cancer rates have
skyrocketed. Will the people of the Bekaa Valley ever see the rest of the money,
and enjoy clean water?
This investigation was carried out with the support of “Skeyes Center for Media
and Cultural Freedoms“
Corruption has turned the Litani River, Lebanon’s main artery, into a cancerous
curse that has left no home or family on its banks untouched. As the people
living along the river are fighting the pollution and disease penetrating their
homes, time to implement the Lake Qaraoun Pollution Prevention Project (LQPPP)
is running out.
Meanwhile, Lake Qaraoun, the artificial lake in the Bekaa Valley created by the
Litani River, continues to be polluted before their very eyes. There has been no
tangible improvement in water quality in recent years. It appears companies and
contractors allied to the parties in power are the only ones to have benefited
from the World Bank loan for the project.
They include contractor Dani Khoury, who is closely linked to the head of the
Free Patriotic Movement Gibran Bassil and has recently been subjected to US
sanctions. Another contractor, Mohamed Danach, is affiliated with Parliament
Speaker Nabih Berri.
The $55 million World Bank loan to implement the project aimed at reducing the
discharge of untreated sewage into the river and improving pollution in and
around Lake Qaraoun has been in place since 2016. But the project’s closing date
is June 30, 2023. And so far, nothing has changed for the better
Cancer Rules
Years of pollution have caused a human and environmental tragedy in a region the
inhabitants refer to as “the dumpster.”
According to Ziad Chehab, a man in his fifties, the Lebanese state has committed
“genocide” using “biological warfare with contaminated water.”
Chehab’s mother has bone cancer. His wife has breast cancer.
Cancer is not the exception but the rule in the region. The disease has become
widespread among all age groups. Chehab’s wife’s nephew, who is only ten years
old, is suffering from a terminal illness and undergoing treatment.
In Bar Elias, a town of some 40,000 people east of Zahlé, the same story is
repeated over and over again.
“The Litani River has become a sewer,” said Qassem Al-Hayek, a man in his
fifties. “In Bar Elias not a day passes without mourning someone who died of
cancer.”
Billions of Dollars with Minimal Impact
A lot of money has been pumped into Lebanese sanitation projects over the past
few decades. In terms of endowments, it is the country’s second-largest sector
with a value of nearly $1.5 billion, which does not include amounts allocated as
loans, according to the Gherbal website.
However, improvements made by such sanitation projects are rather small and do
not live up to the large amounts of allocated money. The biggest beneficiaries
are generally companies, contractors and consultants.
Most of the money has been wasted, as it failed to provide any sustainable
solution to fight the widespread pollution. Meanwhile, it only increased the
financial burden that weighs heavy upon Lebanon and the Lebanese. Nevertheless,
international financers are still passing contracts and projects to consultants
and contractors linked to politicians who have long been suspected of
corruption.
“The main problem is that private interests are prioritized over the public
interest,” Dr. Sami Alawieh, Director General of the Litani River Authority (LRA)
told Daraj.
This may take the form of contractors and consultants prolonging the project to
the extent of depleting its operating expenses. Another reason for projects
failing is a lack of urge and responsibility on the part of the authorities
concerned.
So far, only Danny Khoury has been placed on the US sanctions list. In 2020
alone, his company received more than $615,000 from the WB project’s loan.
Project & Loan
The World Bank approved the Lake Qaraoun Pollution Prevention Project on July
14, 2016. The $55 million loan agreement was ratified and published on the
official gazette on September 12, 2016. Yet, while the project’s end date is set
at June 30, 2023, work on the project is still in its infancy.
Agreement date Project end date Loan amount Paid to date Interest and costs
12 September 2016 30 June 2023 $55 million $9.62 million $2.01 million
The project’s main pillars are:
(1) Improving domestic sewage collection
$50.5 million
Supporting the expansion and rehabilitation of the sewage network in:A – The
vicinity of the city of Zahle to connect it with the sewage treatment plant in
Zahle
B – The vicinity of the city of Anjar to connect it with the sewage treatment
plant in Anjar
C – In the vicinity of the city of Aitanit, to connect it with the sewage
treatment plant in Aitanit.
(2) Promoting sound agricultural practices
$1.5 million
Encouraging the “use of sustainable production systems among farmers in the
upper Litani Basin.”
A – Evaluation of current agricultural practices
B – Developing a Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) program
C – Training stakeholders on how to implement the program
(3) Solid waste management, water quality control, capacity building and project
management
$3 million
Providing technical assistance to:
A – Ministry of Environment
B – Litani River Authority
C – Bekaa Water Corporation
D – Ministry of Energy and Water
According to the loan agreement signed by the Lebanese state and the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which is
administered by the World Bank, the total cost of the project is $60 million.
Source Amount (million dollars)
Self-financing 5
A loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 55
Total 60
According to the latest World Bank interim report on the project, which was
released in September 2021, it is showing only slow progress.
By the end of 2020, only $9.62 million had been paid out, while the project has
been running for over five years, which is over two-third of the project’s
timespan.
The Challenges
“When the project was signed, it aimed to dilute about 60% of the sewage
reaching Lake Qaraoun,” said head of the LRA Sami Alawieh. “This project
stumbled alongside the stumble of other parallel projects related to the
wastewater treatment stations.” Consequently, and with several stumbling
projects, “spending is increasing and sewage is increasing,” to the extent that
Alawieh considered that “there is a process of extermination, biological warfare
with sewage against the people of the central Bekaa, Baalbek-Hermel, and some
western Bekaa.”
In an interview with Daraj, Dr. Walid Safi, Government Commissioner of the
Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) (until his retirement on
February 11, 2022), gave several reasons for the delay in implementing the
project.
Most notably, he mentioned the successive crises in Lebanon, starting with the
collapse of the national currency and economic crisis in October 2019, the
recent amendment by banks to the execution warranties (in lollars instead of
dollars), the Covid pandemic and the Beirut port explosion.
This is in addition to incomplete acquisitions of land, especially after the
expropriation judge retired and did not appoint a replacement. The latter was
confirmed by Alawieh.
However, all these factors date back to 2019 or later, i.e. several years after
the project was inaugurated.
One of the main obstacles the project faced after its launch was the difference
between the preliminary studies, on the basis of which the number of kilometers
and areas for the sewerage system was determined, and the reality on the ground,
which showed greater lengths and additional areas.
It is necessary to extend sewerage networks for the project to achieve its
goals, according to Safi, who also mentioned the project had already failed in
an earlier period, which resulted in a change of teams working on the project.
The latter has been cited as another reason for the delay in its implementation.
For his part, Alawieh believes that the main reason for the project’s failure is
mismanagement by the CDR, as well as some parties in the World Bank and the
Ministry of Energy and Water. According to the loan agreement, the Lebanese
state is obliged to repay 6.67% of the loan on every April 15 and October 15,
starting October 15, 2022. In other words, Lebanon would have to pay back $3.67
million later this year, but the issue has not yet been discussed with the World
Bank, according to Safi.
The author of this investigation contacted the World Bank with questions about
the project, but did not receive a response before publication. The project has
three refining stations: Zahle, Anjar and Aitanit. For each station, according
to Safi, the sewage network is to be expanded, so that the plant can function
properly.
He emphasized the importance of working in an integrated manner, as only a few
areas have adequate sewage networks and infrastructure. He furthermore stressed
the need to build and/or repair all sewage networks in all areas near the Litani,
the upper basin of which extends over an area of 1,500 square kilometer. It
includes 99 towns distributed over the administrative regions of Baalbek, Zahle,
West Bekaa, Rashaya.
However, the current loan should be seen as but one stage in the process, as it
does not cover the cost of extending sewage networks in the entire region. It is
necessary to extend sewerage networks for the project to achieve its goals,
according to Safi, who also mentioned the project had already failed in an
earlier period, which resulted in a change of teams working on the project. The
latter has been cited as another reason for the delay in its implementation.
How does the World Bank Deal with Suspicions of Corruption?
The World Bank states in its report of September 2021 that the main risks facing
the project since its inception have been politics and good governance. But how
does the bank confront such risks?
The last financial audit on the project issued on December 31, 2020 shows that
the following companies received the following amounts: Note that the project
had failed in an earlier period and that the project management team was
changed. Therefore, some of the names mentioned in the document are no longer
part of the project.
Among the most prominent companies benefiting from the project are:
Khoury Contracting Company
Danny Khoury is a businessman close to Gebran Bassil, who on October 28, 2021,
was placed on the US sanctions list for “contributing to the collapse of the
rule of law in Lebanon.”
“Because of his close relationship with Bassil, Khoury obtained significant
public contracts that brought him millions of dollars while failing to
purposefully fulfill the terms of those contracts,” reads the US Treasury
statement. “In 2016, Khoury was the recipient of a contract worth $142 million
from the CDR to operate the Bourj Hammoud landfill. Khoury and his company have
been accused of dumping toxic waste and refuse into the Mediterranean Sea,
poisoning fisheries, and polluting Lebanon’s beaches, all while failing to
remedy the garbage crisis.”
ELARD Earth Link and Advanced Resources Development:
Ramez Robert Kayal and his partner Ricardo El Khoury have been registered in the
Lebanese Land Registry three times with different capital and registration
details. Their file was transferred to Baabda in August 2013. Kayal is also
founder and shareholder of Equality Offshore, which was established May 2015.
This is the same company that prepared the Environmental and Social Impact
Assessment for the Al-Ghadir project, which was funded by the European
Investment Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, yet until today has not been
finalized.
Suzy/ Souad Howayek
Suzy Howayek is the project coordinator for the Lake Qaraoun Pollution
Prevention Project. After being appointed as project coordinator in September
2019, she received $55,000 from the loan allocated for the project in 2020. She
had a monthly salary of over $6,000. Suzy is the sister of Marianne Howayek,
Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh’s assistant since April 2020.
Marianne Howayek is the founder of the company CloudX in 2018, through which
Howayek contracted (in return for a commission) with FOO in 2020 to launch the
“Sayrafa” platform, noting that Howayek used to receive her money exclusively in
US dollars even after the Lebanese banks started holding the deposits of the
Lebanese accounts.
Dynamesh Company
The company’s owner is Kamal Merhej, who has worked in managing information
systems for 11 different projects funded by the World Bank for such
organizations as the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), the
Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Ministry of Finance, the Beirut
Water Authority, Electricité du Liban, the General Directorate of Land and
Maritime Transport in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, etc.
Dar Al-Handasah, Nazih Taleb and his partners, Matilda Khoury, a member of the
Beirut Municipal Council, Marie Nahas, engineer Pierre Abi Akl and others.
This is in addition to companies that work in networks not shown in the World
Bank report, such as the Danach company, owned by Mohamed Danach, who is close
to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and others.
“Local forces are stronger than the supervising World Bank,” said Alawieh. “The
loopholes created by the World Bank are exploited under the pretext of
professionalism, which the Lebanese authorities have turned to waste.” The
approach to loan financing must change within the World Bank itself. The bank
must impose strict guidelines and set a black list that prevents dealing with
contractors who have a proven record of: delays in implementing projects,
political or business affiliations with figures in the authorities.
Current Reality
In May 2021, some forty tons of dead fish washed up on the shore of Lake Qaraoun,
which caused great panic among people in the region. There has been a ban on
fishing in the lake since 2018.
According to a Daraj investigation by journalist Hussein Mahdi, the Litani River
in the early 1990s “provided in the fresh water needs of about one million
people, as it irrigated thousands of hectares of agricultural land and
constituted a source of income for some 6% of the basin’s population (370,000),
working in agriculture, and provided 31% of the income of the agricultural
sector that depends on its water.”
Mahdi’s investigation was based on a report issued by the Litani River
Authority, which states that “127 municipalities in the upper basin and 19
municipalities in the lower basin are directly and indirectly diverting sewage
into the river. In addition, there are 85 factories in the upper basin, 21
slaughterhouses, and 16 farms that dump their waste and divert sewage into the
river.”
The Litani has attracted numerous projects and funds over the years. However,
they did not succeed in avoiding the catastrophe that rules the river basin
today. In 2016, the National Council for Scientific Research declared Lake
Qaraoun clinically dead.
“I want to send a message to the donors who are offering aid. I hope they don’t
send us anything anymore, because it’s not getting delivered to us, said Ziad
Shehab in Bar Elias. “If anything is implemented, it is usually very minimal and
does not help at all for the situation to improve… If donor states want to send
money for this issue, they should be the ones monitoring the projects, not the
Lebanese state, Because we do not have a Lebanese state.”
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
February 15-16/2022
Israel PM Meets Bahrain King, Jewish
Community on Landmark Visit
Associated Press/February 15/ 2022
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Bahrain's king on a landmark visit
Tuesday to the small, oil-rich Gulf country, 17 months after they ended decades
of tensions to normalize ties. It was the latest diplomatic breakthrough since
several Arab states under the U.S.-brokered 2020 Abraham Accords ended their
isolation of Israel, despite the fact the Israel-Palestinian conflict remains
unresolved. Israel's new alliances reflect the fact that major Arab Gulf powers,
the Jewish state and their common ally the United States share an animosity
toward Iran and concerns about its nuclear program. "In these tumultuous times,
it's important that from this region we send a message of goodwill, of
cooperation, of standing together against common challenges," Bennett said. On
Tuesday, he met King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad
Al-Khalifa, who is also prime minister of the island nation that is close to top
regional power Saudi Arabia, and which hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. Bennett,
the first Israeli head of government to visit Bahrain, discussed "deepening
cooperation" in meetings with the defense and other ministers, his office said.
"We want to fill this relationship with substance in energy, in drive, in
economy, in tourism and in the regional architecture," Bennett said. "We spoke
about opportunities where we can strengthen the bridge." Bennett also met U.S.
Fifth Fleet commander Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, said the premier's office,
stressing its role in maintaining regional stability in the face of threats.
'Seeing my family'
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became only the third and fourth Arab
states -- following Egypt and Jordan -- to establish ties with Israel in the
pacts negotiated under then U.S. president Donald Trump. Bennett visited the UAE
in December. Bahrain's king welcomed Bennett's visit and emphasized the
importance of strengthening the bilateral partnership in light of the Abraham
Accords, said the official Bahrain News Agency. Bennett also met the small
Jewish community of Bahrain, about 50 people, who had practiced their faith
behind closed doors since the 1947 start of the Arab-Israeli conflict. After the
Abraham Accords, a small synagogue in the heart of Manama was renovated and
reopened. Bennett told Jewish community members there that "I'm very delighted
to be here in Bahrain, and I could think of no better way to kick off this visit
than seeing my family here."Bennett's Bahrain trip follows a visit by Israeli
Defense Minister Benny Gantz earlier this month, that saw the two countries sign
a defense agreement. That deal covered intelligence, procurement and joint
training. As part of the agreements, Israel is set to post a naval official in
Bahrain. Bennett also held discussions with Bahraini youth, highlighting
cooperation in the face of threats. "The fault lines used to be between
Arabs and Israelis," he said, adding that now the divisions were between them
and the "agents of terror and chaos."
"I am convinced that Israel's growing friendships with Bahrain and other
countries in the region are a leading force in the profound change," he said.
'Absolutely' about Iran
Dore Gold, head of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, said Israel and
Bahrain have been pushed towards closer ties as both are "under threat by
Iranian actions." Yoel Guzansky, a senior researcher at the Institute for
National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, also said the focus of Bennett's trip was
"absolutely" on Iran. Iran is now engaged in talks in Vienna with Britain,
China, France, Germany and Russia directly, and with the United States
indirectly, to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. The agreement offered Tehran
sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. The U.S.
unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018 under Trump. Bennett's government strongly
opposes a return to the deal, and has warned repeatedly that lifting sanctions
would give Iran more money to buy weapons for use against Israelis. Guzansky
said that Bennett's trip, "in light of the talks in Vienna, it is a show of
force, symbolism that the countries are working together."He pointed to unrest
in Bahrain blamed on Iran-backed opposition groups and the range of threats that
Israel says Iran poses, notably its arming of Lebanon's Hizbullah. Guzansky said
that, in several respects, Bahrain has been perceived as moving slower than the
UAE in terms of consolidating ties with Israel. Allowing an Israeli military
officer to be based in Bahrain was "significant", he said, as Bahrain "does not
want to be seen as an Israeli base in the Gulf."
Putin Says Russia 'of Course' Does Not Want War
Agence France Presse/February 15/ 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he was ready to continue
working with the West on security issues to de-escalate tensions over Ukraine.
"We are ready to work further together. We are ready to go down the negotiations
track," Putin told a press conference following talks in Moscow with German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Putin said that "of course" Russia does not want war.
But it "cannot turn a blind eye" to how Washington and NATO "freely interpret"
the principle of the indivisibility of security -- that no country should
strengthen its security at the expense of others. Scholz's meeting with Putin
comes a day after he travelled to Kyiv to shore up support for Ukraine during
talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Earlier on Tuesday, the Kremlin
confirmed a pullback of some forces from Ukraine's borders but said the move was
planned and stressed Russia would continue to move troops across the country as
it saw fit. Western countries for weeks have been sounding the alarm over a
build-up of Russian troops around Ukraine and a potential invasion, saying any
military action would be met with sweeping economic penalties. Western countries
warned Moscow they could impose sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 -- a pipeline set
to double supplies of Russian gas to Europe -- if Russia attacks Ukraine. The
pipeline has been criticized by some Western countries as a geopolitical weapon,
warnings it will increase Europe dependence on Russian gas. The pipeline also
diverts supplies from an existing route through Ukraine and is expected to
deprive the EU's partner of crucial transit fees from Russia. Putin said during
Tuesday's press conference that Russia was ready to continue gas supplies via
Ukraine "even after 2024", when the current contract expires.
Russia Says Pulling Back Some Forces from Ukraine Border
Agence France Presse/February 15/ 2022
Western leaders said Tuesday they were seeing positive signs that Russia was
looking to ease tensions over Ukraine, after Moscow announced it was pulling
back some of the troops deployed on its neighbor's borders. In the first
announced withdrawal from among more than 100,000 troops Russia amassed on the
Ukrainian border, the defense ministry in Moscow said some soldiers and hardware
were returning to bases at the end of planned exercises. Western leaders had
accused Moscow of positioning the troops in advance of a possible invasion of
pro-Western Ukraine, warning that any attack would be met with severe economic
sanctions. After a meeting Tuesday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Moscow,
President Vladimir Putin said Russia "of course" did not want war, and was
willing to look for solutions with the West. "We are ready to work further
together. We are ready to go down the negotiations track," Putin told a joint
press conference with Scholz, confirming a "partial pullback of troops." The
German leader joined others in the West in expressing hope that steps were being
taken towards de-escalation in the crisis. "That we are now hearing that some
troops are being withdrawn is in any case a good sign," Scholz said. "For
Europeans it is clear that lasting security cannot be achieved against Russia
but only with Russia."
'Reason for hope'
Moscow released few details about the troop withdrawal and there was no
immediate outside confirmation. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels
there was not yet "any sign of de-escalation on the ground" but that there were
"grounds for cautious optimism." A French government spokesman said it was a
"positive signal" if Russian forces were indeed withdrawing, while Germany's
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said "every real step of de-escalation would
be a reason for hope." British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there were
"signs of a diplomatic opening" with Russia, but that intelligence on a possible
invasion was "still not encouraging". The crisis -- the worst between Russia and
the West since the Cold War ended -- reached a peak this week, with U.S.
officials warning that a full-scale invasion, including an assault on Kyiv, was
possible within days.
Washington took the dramatic step on Monday of relocating its embassy in Kyiv to
the western city of Lviv, after previously urging US citizens to leave Ukraine.
The Russian defense ministry announced the partial withdrawal on Tuesday
morning, saying some forces deployed near Ukraine had finished their exercises
and were packing up to leave. "Units of the southern and western military
districts, having completed their tasks, have already begun loading onto rail
and road transport and today they will begin moving to their military
garrisons," the ministry's chief spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said in a
statement. It was not immediately clear how many units were involved and what
impact the withdrawals would have on the overall number of troops surrounding
Ukraine. Konashenkov said "large-scale" Russian military drills were continuing
in many areas, including joint exercises in Belarus and naval exercises in the
Black Sea and elsewhere. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the
pullback was the "usual process" after military exercises and blamed the West
for the crisis. "This is nothing but a totally unprecedented campaign to provoke
tensions," he said, calling decisions to move embassies to western Ukraine
"ostentatious hysteria".
'Believe what you see'
Ukraine said deterrence efforts against Russia appeared to be working but that
it would watch to see if any Russian withdrawal was real. "We have a rule: don't
believe what you hear, believe what you see. When we see a withdrawal, we will
believe in a de-escalation," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters. In a
separate move likely to anger Kyiv, Russian lawmakers on Tuesday voted to urge
Putin to recognize two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as "sovereign and
independent states". This would allow Russia to abandon the Minsk agreements
peace plan for eastern Ukraine and potentially move in Russian troops -- giving
Putin a strong hand to play in any future negotiations with Kyiv. The European
Union "strongly" condemned the move, saying it would violate the Minsk
agreements that Moscow had signed up to. Russia has repeatedly blamed the
Ukraine crisis on the West, saying the United States and western Europe are
ignoring Russia's legitimate security concerns. The Kremlin insists NATO must
give assurances Ukraine will never be admitted as a member and roll back its
presence in several eastern European and ex-Soviet countries. Russia already
controls the Crimean Peninsula that it seized from Ukraine in 2014 and supports
separatist forces who have taken control of parts of eastern Ukraine, in a
conflict that has claimed more than 14,000 lives.
In Blinken Call, Lavrov Urges 'Pragmatic Dialogue'
Agence France Presse/February 15/ 2022
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Antony
Blinken on Tuesday that Moscow urged "pragmatic dialogue" as the West looks for
signs of a de-escalation over Ukraine. "Lavrov emphasized the inadmissibility of
the aggressive rhetoric whipped up by Washington and its closest allies, calling
for pragmatic dialogue over the entire range of issues raised by Russia," the
foreign ministry in Moscow said in a statement. Lavrov also stressed that it was
necessary to continue "joint work." Western leaders said earlier Tuesday they
were seeing positive signs that Russia was looking to ease tensions over
Ukraine, after Moscow announced it was pulling back some of the troops deployed
on its neighbor's borders. After a meeting Tuesday with German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said Russia "of course" did not want
war, and was willing to look for solutions with the West.
Russia’s defense chief arrives in Syria to review naval
drills
AP/February 16, 2022
The drills are part of a surge of Russian military activity amid a standoff with
the West over security in Europe
MOSCOW/DAMASCUS: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Syria to
inspect naval drills involving 15 warships and 30 aircraft in the eastern
Mediterranean on Tuesday, the RIA news agency cited his ministry as saying. The
drills are part of a surge of Russian military activity amid a standoff with the
West over security in Europe. Russia said earlier it had deployed fighter jets
with hypersonic missiles to its Syrian air base for the naval exercises. Moscow
announced on Jan. 20 that its navy would stage an array of exercises involving
all its fleets from the Pacific to the Atlantic, drawing on 10,000 servicemen,
140 warships and dozens of planes. Meanwhile, a bomb attached to a bus carrying
Syrian troops in Damascus exploded on Tuesday morning, killing one soldier and
wounding 11, state TV reported. The blast occurred during rush hour at a customs
roundabout near the capital’s landmark Omayyad Square, according to the report.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Such attacks have occurred in
Damascus in recent months amid an otherwise calm period in the capital. Regime
forces captured rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of the city in 2018. Regime
forces now control much of Syria with the help of President Bashar Assad’s
allies Russia and Iran, while rebels are mostly cornered in the country’s
northwestern province of Idlib. US and Turkish troops, meanwhile, are deployed
in parts of the country’s north and east. In October, two bombs attached to a
bus carrying Syrian troops exploded in Damascus, killing 14. It was one of the
deadliest bombings in the capital in years. A little-known group calling itself
the Qasioun Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack at the time. In
recent years, attacks in Damascus have been rare. One of the last major
explosions to take place was in 2017 — when bombers hit a judicial office
building and a restaurant, killing nearly 60 people.
Bomb Blasts Military Bus in Syrian Capital, Killing 1
Associated Press/February 15, 2022
A bomb attached to a bus carrying Syrian troops in Damascus exploded Tuesday
morning, killing one soldier and wounding 11, state TV reported. The blast
occurred during rush hour at a customs roundabout near the capital's landmark
Omayyad Square, according to the report. It gave no further details. There was
no immediate claim of responsibility. Such attacks have occurred in Damascus in
recent months amid an otherwise calm period in the capital. Government forces
captured rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of the city in 2018. Government forces
now control much of Syria with the help of President Bashar Assad's allies
Russia and Iran, while rebels are mostly cornered in the country's northwestern
province of Idlib. U.S. and Turkish troops, meanwhile, are deployed in parts of
the country's north and east. In October, two bombs attached to a bus carrying
Syrian troops exploded in Damascus, killing 14. It was one of the deadliest
bombings in the capital in years. A little-known group calling itself the
Qasioun Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack at the time. In recent
years, attacks in Damascus have been rare. One of the last major explosions to
take place was in 2017 — when suicide bombers hit a judicial office building and
a restaurant, killing nearly 60 people. The attacks were claimed by Islamic
State group militants. The extremist organization has not held territory in
Syria since 2019, but it continues to represent a threat with sleeper cells,
mostly hiding in Syria's expansive desert. IS fighters have attacked Syrian
troops in central and eastern Syria. The extremist group has also carried out
attacks on U.S.-backed Kurdish-led fighters in the northeast, including a raid
on a prison in late January that led to 10 days of fighting in the city of
Hassakeh. The clash left nearly 500 people dead. Syria's conflict began in March
2011 and has killed nearly half a million people, displaced half the country's
pre-war population of 23 million and left large parts of the country destroyed.
Erdogan's visit to UAE leads to more cooperation deals
as policy changes awaited from Ankara
AFP/The Arab Weekly/February 15/2022
The warm welcome extended to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his
visit to Abu Dhabi reflected the UAE's intent to put old differences with Turkey
behind it and instead give Erdogan a real chance to demonstrate a desire to
build a solid relationship with the UAE and restore the confidence of the Gulf
states in Ankara, regional experts said. They believe that much will depend
however on the Turkish leader and the steps he will take especially to support
Gulf security and to clarify his position on the regional threats posed by Iran
and its proxies. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nayhan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi,
talked Monday with Erdogan about, "the prospects of further consolidating
bilateral relations and advancing cooperation and joint work between the two
nations in various fields in addition to the latest regional and international
issues and developments of interest, " said the official Emirati news agency WAM.
Sheikh Mohamed said he hoped the visit "would create further momentum to
strengthening cooperation and building a new prosperous phase of partnerships
for the higher good of the two countries, their peoples and all the nations of
the region."On regional issues, "the two sides also exchanged views on a number
of issues and developments in the Middle East, stressing, in this context, that
the two countries agree on the importance of supporting efforts and peaceful
solutions aimed at enhancing security, peace and stability in the region," said
WAM. Local experts said his UAE trip provides Erdogan with an opportunity to
regain Gulf confidence after his past hostility toward Gulf leaders. Relations
had soured in the past few years following Turkey's political and diplomatic
exploitation of the Jamal Khashoggi case as well as Ankara's support for
Islamist groups and its siding with Doha during Qatar’s row with Gulf countries.
It is reported that 13 agreements were signed during Erdogan's visit, including
deals on trade, industry, health and medical sciences, land and sea
transportation and climate action. WAM and Turkish news agency Anadolu said an
agreement on defence was also signed.
Last month the two countries agreed on a nearly $5 billion currency swap deal.
Following Sheikh Mohammed's visit in November, the UAE announced a $10 billion
fund for investments in Turkey, where the economy has been reeling and inflation
last month surged to a near 20-year high.
The UAE and Turkey have also agreed to start negotiating a bilateral trade and
investment deal, known as a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA),
WAM said.
The warming of diplomatic relations comes as Turkey, facing economic turmoil,
seeks dividends in terms of investments, trade and financial support from
improved relations with the UAE. Turkey-UAE trade topped 26.4 billion dirhams
($7.2 billion) in the first half of 2021. About 400 Emirati companies operate in
Turkey, the UAE's 11th largest trading partner, WAM said. Observers stressed,
however, that the Gulf Arabs will not continue backing major deals with Turkey
without clear and supportive from Ankara on regional issues. They expect from
Erdogan less ambiguous positions regarding Iran and its proxy strikes on Saudi
Arabia and the UAE. They want more from Turkey than vague policy statements such
as the ones he voiced during the visit. Erdogan told reporters at Istanbul's
Ataturk Airport before he left for Abu Dhabi: "During this visit, we aim to
develop the momentum we have captured with the United Arab Emirates and to take
the necessary steps for ties to go back to the level they deserve." He added,
"The dialogue and cooperation of Turkey and the United Arab Emirates carry great
importance for the peace and stability of our entire region". In a weekend op-ed
in the Emirati English-language daily Khaleej Times, said that "Turkey and the
UAE together can contribute to regional peace, stability and prosperity". Today,
analysts say, Gulf countries, especially the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will
not be satisfied with such statements or with bland expressions of readiness to
bolster ties. They want Erdogan to reverse his adversarial positions, which were
resented by Gulf countries and eventually led to a de facto boycott of Turkish
products. While the UAE pursues a "zero problem" foreign policy towards
countries of the region, Erdogan has not shown that Turkey's overtures to the
Gulf are part of a strategic shift or a determination to undertake a full review
of his country's flawed policies, which have marred relations with Abu Dhabi and
other Arab Gulf capitals over past years. For now, the Emiratis seem to be
giving Erdogan the benefit of the doubt. The Turkish president's trip "will open
a new, positive page in bilateral relations", Tweeted Anwar Gargash, adviser to
the UAE president.
Close aides to Erdogan to visit Israel Wednesday
AFP/The Arab Weekly/February 15/2022
A team of senior officials from Turkey will travel to Israel ahead of President
Isaac Herzog’s planned trip to Ankara, the Turkish foreign ministry said on
Tuesday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief foreign policy adviser Ibrahim
Kalin and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal will lead a delegation on February
16-17, the foreign ministry said, adding the officials would also meet
Palestinian authorities. Israel and Turkey expelled ambassadors in 2018 and
relations have remained tense, but Ankara has since worked to mend strained ties
with several neighbouring countries in an effort launched in 2020 with the aim
of overcoming regional isolation. Ankara, which supports a two-state solution to
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has condemned Israel’s occupation of the West
Bank and policy towards Palestinians. Israel has called on Turkey to drop
support for the militant Palestinian group Hamas, which runs Gaza. But both
countries never suspended diplomatic or economic ties. Israel’s presidency and
foreign ministry said Kalin and Onal would visit to coordinate Herzog’s planned
trip and hold talks with officials following discussions in Turkey in December.
The delegation was also expected to meet Palestinian officials including
President Mahmoud Abbas, the foreign ministry said. Herzog will visit Turkey
from March 9-10, Turkish media said on Tuesday. The two countries are also at
odds over policies in the east Mediterranean. Erdogan has said energy
cooperation could be discussed during Herzog’s visit. Erdogan has spoken to
Herzog before amid tensions, although the Israeli presidency is a largely
ceremonial role. In November, he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali
Bennett, the first such call in years. Trying to come out of isolation, Ankara
has also made overtures to estranged rivals Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates. While cooperation has picked up with the UAE, the Egypt and Saudi
Arabia efforts have so far yielded little public improvement.
Trump cheers on France's far-right, anti-migrant candidate
Zemmour
Reuters/The Arab Weekly/February 15/2022
French far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour had a phone call with
former US President Donald Trump who told him not to give in to pressure, a
senior official of Zemmour's campaign said on Tuesday. Trump's 2016 presidential
run is often cited as a blueprint for the current campaign of former French talk
show commentator Zemmour, who has been convicted several times for inciting
racial hatred and bigotry, especially against Muslim immigrants. Zemmour pins
the blame for France's crime and unemployment problems on the "disproportionate"
number of African, Arab and Muslim immigrants in France. The conversation took
place late on Monday and lasted "around 40 minutes", Guillaume Peltier, the
vice-chairman of Zemmour's "Reconquete" movement, told France 2 television.
"Donald Trump told Eric Zemmour not to give in, hold firm, stay courageous",
said Peltier, adding the call was held "after Donald Trump's office responded
positively to our various requests."Trump's representatives were not immediately
available for comment. Randy Yaloz from the Republican Party's overseas group in
France told BFM TV he was in the room during the call and said that although the
conversation was "cordial", Trump at this stage had taken no decision to
officially endorse Zemmour. Similar to Trump, Zemmour is looking to position
himself as an outsider to traditional parties and the French political
establishment, banking instead on his celebrity status and large following on
social media.
Tenacity and endurance make you win at the end of a campaign, Trump told Zemmour,
according to Peltier's account of the conversation. Zemmour is fourth in opinion
polls and is vying with Marine Le Pen, from the Rassemblement National party who
is polling second, for the far-right electorate, with both hoping to beat
President Emmanuel Macron in the April election. In her 2017 presidential
campaign, Le Pen sought to display her proximity to Trump when she travelled to
the Manhattan business headquarters of the former US president, but left the
place discretely when nobody received her.
Canada/First anniversary of Declaration Against
Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations
February 15, 2022 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the
following statement to mark the first anniversary of the launch of the
Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations:
“Throughout our history, Canada has defended the set of rules that guide our
societies to be more fair and just. Canada helped to establish this rules-based
international order and we will not stand by while others bend the rules for
political expediency.
“The practice of arbitrary detention puts all citizens at risk, especially those
who travel, work or live abroad. All states must strive to ensure fair and
public hearings by competent, independent and impartial tribunals. It is
important for the international community to stand together to denounce all
forms of coercive arbitrary detention. This is how we keep all our citizens
safe.
“A year ago today, Canada launched the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention
in State-to-State Relations as part of an international initiative promoting
human rights, the rule of law, judicial independence and the rules-based
international order. The declaration fosters a global common front against
arbitrary arrest, detention and sentencing in diplomatic relations.
“Since the launch of this essential declaration, international support for it
has risen to 67 countries, from all continents, as well as the European Union.
“Canada takes this opportunity to thank its partners, who are standing united to
end this unacceptable and illegal practice worldwide. We also take the
opportunity to welcome all democracies and like-minded countries around the
world that have not yet endorsed the declaration to consider doing so. Together,
we will continue the fight for a world free of arbitrary detention for
diplomatic leverage, now and for future generations.”
Quick facts
Arbitrary arrests and detentions are a violation of international human rights
law, including Article 9 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, which states, “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest
[or] detention,” and Article 9 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights,
which states, “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or
exile.” Arbitrary arrest and detention is also prohibited in various regional
human rights instruments.
The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations states that “consular officers shall
have the right to visit a national of the sending State who is in prison,
custody or detention, to converse and correspond with him and to arrange for his
legal representation.”
In addition to its 67 global endorsers, Canada’s declaration is supported by
relevant UN bodies, including the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention, as well as by former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.
Canada developed the Partnership Action Plan in May 2021 to extend the
initiative beyond the declaration. It proposes a range of voluntary action that
states, organizations and civil society can support to deter arbitrary arrest,
detention or sentencing in state-to-state relations and sustain momentum against
those practices.
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published on
February 15-16/2022
Emirati Journalist, Salem Al-Ketbi ,
Urges Regional Countries To Increase Military, Intelligence Cooperation With
Israel To Confront Threat Of Iran-Backed Militias
MEMRI/February 15, 2022
Iran, United Arab Emirates | Special Dispatch No. 9771
Amid the missile and drone attacks carried out by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels
in Yemen against the UAE, Emirati journalist and political analyst Salem Al-Ketbi
noted that the threats posed by Iran and its proxies to various regional
countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel, are very similar. Writing
in his column on the news site Elaph, he argued that, given the similarity of
the threats, and in light of the superpowers' preoccupation with other matters,
the countries of the region must enhance their military, intelligence and
security cooperation – including with Israel – in order to effectively confront
these threats.
Salem Al-Ketbi (Source: Facebook.com/salemalketbieng)
The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1]
"The strategic situation in the Middle East is growing worse every day and the
tensions are increasing. This stems from several reasons, mainly the spread of
terrorist militias and the transformation of the entire region into a hothouse
[producing] these militias, which are sponsored, funded and armed by regional
forces known to all [i.e., Iran].
"Clearly, silence is not a valid option in the face of these rapid developments,
and it is therefore vital for the countries of the region to cooperate in facing
these dangers and repelling these threats. [The danger] is not faced only by one
of them, since the Houthi militias, which have carried out many criminal attacks
against civil facilities in Saudi Arabia, [recently] did the same against the
UAE, and are also threatening Israel with similar attacks.
"The solution to this situation cannot be just to purchase systems to defend
against missiles and drones, because these mafia gangs bet on the psychological
effect more than on causing tangible damage to the facilities and countries they
target. These militias realize the significant psychological impact of creating
tension in countries that have long been known for their security and stability
and [therefore] became an ideal environment for investment, trade and business.
Hence, the mere spread of the militias in some countries of our region is enough
to threaten all [of its] countries and peoples…
"The peoples of the Middle East cannot [afford] to slumber, and then awaken
under the threat of militias. Moreover, it is inconceivable that the security
and stability of such a vital region will depend on the delusions of figures
like [Houthi leader 'Abd Al-Malik] Al-Houthi, [Hizbullah secretary general
Hassan] Nasrallah and other [Iranian] agents who seek to realize various goals
that do not at all serve the interests of their own peoples. In fact… [these
Iranian agents] are simply conspiring against the security and stability of
their own peoples, as evident from the crimes and the starving [of people] in
Yemen, and from the disasters they have brought upon Lebanon, which have plunged
this Arab country and its people into innumerable economic, political and
security catastrophes.
"Gambling on international intention to defend the security and peace of the
region is wishful thinking, given the state of alert, the conflicts and the deep
crises that [currently characterize] international relations, and the tension
between the superpowers due to the crisis in Ukraine, [the issue of] Taiwan and
many other conflicts. Hence, it seems that [the solution] lies in cooperation
and coordination between the countries of the region, on all levels, so as to
reach a formula that will repel these threats and create an atmosphere of
security and stability for the peoples.
"It's a known fact that the strategic threats facing the UAE are the same as
those facing other countries in the region, chief of them Israel… In the present
situation, everyone is paying for the fact that regional forces have filled the
strategic vacuum that was formed in certain countries due to chaos and
upheavals, and due to strategic mistakes of the superpowers. There is no
difference between the UAE and Israel in this regard, for the militias brandish
the false slogans of 'resistance' and exploit the suffering of their peoples in
order to follow dictates whose source [i.e., Iran] and whose goals we are all
aware of!
"There is no substitute for enhancing the security, intelligence and military
cooperation between the UAE and the countries of the region that are suffering
from the same chaos created by the regional militias, including Israel –
especially since the U.S. and the other superpowers are busy struggling for
influence and furthering their interests in the north and in the east. I am
convinced that, through cooperation, coordination, exchange of information, and
mutual support, the countries of the region can repel this unrestrained chaos of
militias, which calls for finding solutions and alternatives outside the box of
conventional thinking."
[1] Elaph.com, February 2, 2022.
Biden Administration Kills Israel-to-Europe Gas Pipeline
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/February 15, 2022
Biden's decision — reportedly coordinated with Turkey but reached without
consulting Israel, Greece or Cyprus, the main countries involved in the project
— undercuts three of the strongest American allies in the Mediterranean region.
EastMed's cancellation — variously described as a "disastrous decision," a
"strategic mistake" and an act of "appeasement" of Erdoğan — represents a major
geopolitical victory for the Turkish strongman.
The EastMed pipeline has been in the works for more than a decade. The
Israel-Greece-Cyprus project — joined by Bulgaria, Hungary, North Macedonia,
Romania and Serbia — has long been seen as a way to diversify natural gas
supplies to Europe.
The Turkish government has always insisted that Israeli gas can only be sold to
Europe through Turkey.
"The Americans do not want the pipeline because Ankara might 'get angry.'" —
Theofrastos Andreopoulos, defense analyst, defensenet.gr.
"If Erdogan perceives the non-paper as some form of appeasement by Washington,
he will simply double down on his gunboat diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean
and play the role of spoiler in the region." — Richard Goldberg, a member of the
U.S. National Security Council during the Trump administration.
Is the Biden administration truly concerned about climate change, or does it
want to prevent Israel from becoming a strategically important supplier of
natural gas to Europe?
"The reversal on the EastMed pipeline becomes only more hypocritical and
offensive given the fact that President Biden continues to clear the path
towards completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline." — U.S. Representatives Gus
Bilirakis (R-FL) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), in a letter to U.S. Secretary of
State Antony Blinken.
"This is a disastrous decision that imperils European security and opens the
door for further Russian energy hegemony in European gas markets. It should be
reversed." — Ariel Cohen, veteran energy analyst, The Hill.
"Turkey is not looking to participate in Eastern Mediterranean initiatives, it
wants to dominate them. Ankara's goal is not one of cooperation but of regional
primacy if not hegemony." — Endy Zemenides, Executive Director, Hellenic
American Leadership Council.
The Biden administration has abruptly withdrawn American support for the Eastern
Mediterranean (EastMed) pipeline, a project aimed at shipping natural gas from
Israel to European markets. The White House appears to have caved to pressure
from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has vociferously opposed the
underwater pipeline because it would bypass Turkey. Many European leaders have
argued that this decision will effectively give Moscow a stranglehold over
European gas supplies and open the continent to Russian blackmail. Pictured:
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiadis (left), Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos
Mitsotakis (center) and then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake
hands in Athens on January 2, 2020, ahead of signing the pipeline agreement.
The Biden administration has abruptly withdrawn American support for the Eastern
Mediterranean (EastMed) pipeline, a project aimed at shipping natural gas from
Israel to European markets. The White House said the project was antithetical to
its "climate goals."
In reaching its decision, which effectively kills EastMed, the White House
appears to have caved to pressure from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,
who has vociferously opposed the underwater pipeline because it would bypass
Turkey.
Biden's decision — reportedly coordinated with Turkey but reached without
consulting Israel, Greece or Cyprus, the main countries involved in the project
— undercuts three of the strongest American allies in the Mediterranean region.
The White House could not have chosen a less opportune moment to announce its
decision. With tensions rising between Russia and Ukraine, Europe (which relies
on Russia for approximately one-third of its natural gas supplies) is searching
for alternative sources of gas to reduce its overreliance on Moscow.
The Biden administration's decision also smacks of hypocrisy. The White House
claims that it wants the Mediterranean region to transition to "clean energy,"
but it recently announced its support for the Russia-backed Nord Stream 2
pipeline, which would double shipments of Russian natural gas to Germany.
EastMed's cancellation — variously described as a "disastrous decision," a
"strategic mistake" and an act of "appeasement" of Erdoğan — represents a major
geopolitical victory for the Turkish strongman. Analysts worry that he will be
emboldened to continue escalating tensions in the Aegean and the Eastern
Mediterranean in his quest to expand Turkish control over energy supply routes
to Europe.
EastMed Pipeline
The EastMed pipeline has been in the works for more than a decade. The
Israel-Greece-Cyprus project — joined by Bulgaria, Hungary, North Macedonia,
Romania and Serbia — has long been seen as a way to diversify natural gas
supplies to Europe.
The 6-billion-euro ($6.8 billion) project envisages the construction of a
1,900-kilometer (1,180-mile) undersea pipeline that would carry up to 20 billion
cubic meters of gas annually from Israeli and Cypriot waters to Crete and then
on to the Greek mainland. From there, the gas would be transported to Italy and
other countries in southeastern Europe.
In January 2020, the leaders of Israel, Greece and Cyprus — with strong support
from the Trump administration — signed the EastMed intergovernmental agreement,
which aimed at reaching a final investment decision by 2022 and completing the
pipeline by 2025. The EastMed project could eventually have supplied up to 10%
of Europe's natural gas needs.
At the time, then U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said:
"We are free countries, free-market countries, working together and working to
create energy infrastructures. This is when better security follows. If we do it
properly, we will attract investment and maximize these resources."
In November 2021, the European Commission (the administrative arm of the
European Union) included the EastMed pipeline in its list of so-called Projects
of Common Interest (PCI), priority cross-border energy projects aimed at
integrating the EU's energy infrastructure.
On January 9, 2022, in a sharp reversal of previous U.S. policy, the Biden
administration announced that it no longer supports EastMed. Rather than
delivering the news in person, as diplomatic protocol would require on an issue
of such regional importance, the U.S. State Department quietly emailed the Greek
government a so-called non-paper (unofficial diplomatic correspondence that
lacks direct attribution) which described the EastMed project as a "primary
source of tension" that was "destabilizing" the region by pitting Israel, Greece
and Cyprus against Turkey.
The Biden administration appears to have lost its nerve after the Turkish Navy
recently harassed the Italian-operated survey ship Nautical Geo while it was
charting a potential route for EastMed in Greek waters off the coast of Crete.
Turkey claimed that Nautical Geo was engaging in "unlawful, aggressive and
provocative" infringement of Turkish-claimed waters.
The Turkish government has always insisted that Israeli gas can only be sold to
Europe through Turkey. In 2016, Turkish and Israeli officials tried to sign a
deal to deliver gas, but Erdoğan's demand that Israel lift its blockade on the
Hamas-run Gaza Strip made it impossible to reach an agreement.
The Greek public broadcaster ERT reported that the Biden administration's
non-paper downplayed Turkey's objections to the pipeline as the reason for the
White House's decision. Instead, the document specified environmental concerns
and a supposed lack of economic and commercial viability.
After the contents of the non-paper generated anger in Greece, the U.S. State
Department engaged in damage control and cited climate change as the basis for
its decision. It said that it was committed to "promote clean energy
technologies" and that priority should be given to interconnecting the
electricity grids of countries in the region.
Greek defense analyst Theofrastos Andreopoulos wrote that Biden's decision was a
triumph for Turkey and a defeat for Greece:
"In short, this means that Turkey, which supposedly was falling into disfavor
with the Americans, got exactly what it wanted: the cancellation of the
pipeline.
"The most important parameter in the non-paper justifying the U.S. position,
beyond the economic and commercial elements, points out that this pipeline is
a source of tension in the Eastern Mediterranean — clearly taking the position
of Turkey!
"That is, the Americans do not want the pipeline because Ankara might 'get
angry.'"
Erdoğan, the Turkish president, hailed Biden's U-turn as a victory. "If Israeli
gas is to be brought to Europe, it can only be done through Turkey," Erdoğan
said. "We can sit down and talk terms."
Israel versus Turkey
The demise of the EastMed pipeline project appears to be — in large measure —
the handiwork of Amos Hochstein, a political operator in the American Democratic
Party and an acolyte of Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and former U.S. President
Barack Obama. Hochstein, a confidant of U.S. President Joe Biden, currently
serves as Senior Advisor for Energy Security at the U.S. Department of State.
In January 2022, Turkish state television channel TRT aired a documentary — "The
Pipe Dream" (Part 1 and Part 2) — in which Hochstein repeatedly criticized the
EastMed pipeline because it excludes Turkey. He also decried the Trump
administration's support of the project:
"I don't see the need for the United States to come in and support this project.
This is a project that probably should not happen because it's too complicated,
too expensive, and too late in the arc of history.
"Today in the Biden administration I would be extremely uncomfortable with the
United States supporting this project. Why would we build a fossil fuel pipeline
between the East Med and Europe at a time when our entire policy is to support
new technology, new developments, and new investments in going green and going
cleaner?
"So, by the time this pipeline is built, we will have spent billions of dollars
of taxpayer money, probably, on something that is obsolete. And not only
obsolete but against our collective interest between the United States and
Europe."
Hochstein's comments reek of hypocrisy: he has long been a proponent of fossil
fuels. In 2017, during a speech to the GE Oil and Gas Annual Meeting, Hochstein
praised fossil fuels as creating "so much job growth and economic prosperity in
the United States and around the world." He added that natural gas "will
continue to be the backbone of a cleaner energy future." That same year,
Hochstein joined the supervisory board of Naftogaz, the largest state-owned gas
and oil company in Ukraine.
In 2019, Hochstein warned against bans on drilling for oil and bans on exporting
liquefied natural gas (LNG). In 2020, he described climate change activists as
being "emotional." He added: "I truly believe that natural gas is going to play
a far greater role in the [green energy] transition." Hochstein also disparaged
the idea of keeping fossil fuels in the ground:
"We are past the conversation of the last few years where transition was going
to be immediate. 'We're just keeping it all in the ground and going to go to all
renewables.' That is not going to happen. We're going to have the oil and gas
industry here to stay for several decades, and the renewable industry is going
to grow by leaps and bounds. That we all know."
In July 2021, the Biden administration approved completion of the Nord Stream 2
pipeline, which would double shipments of Russian natural gas to Germany by
transporting the gas under the Baltic Sea.
Biden's decision abruptly reversed a long-standing bipartisan policy consensus.
Both the Obama and Trump administrations opposed Nord Stream 2 on the grounds
that, once completed, it would strengthen Russian President Vladimir Putin's
economic and political influence over Europe. Hochstein — known in Europe as
"Biden's guy" — initially opposed Nord Stream 2 but then reversed course and
agreed to ensure that the pipeline would be completed.
Biden's U-turn angered the leaders of many countries in Eastern and Western
Europe. They argued that it will effectively give Moscow a stranglehold over
European gas supplies and open the continent to Russian blackmail.
Meanwhile, U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe have reached
record levels. The Biden administration has also held talks with several
international energy companies on contingency plans for supplying natural gas to
Europe if the conflict between Russia and Ukraine disrupts Russian supplies. The
White House suddenly appears to have jettisoned its concerns over "climate
goals."
Hochstein's claim that EastMed is not commercially viable is also in dispute. A
2019 feasibility study financed by the European Union confirmed that "the
EastMed Project is technically feasible, economically viable and commercially
competitive."
Endy Zemenides, Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council,
in a podcast with Kathimerini, a daily political and financial newspaper
published in Athens, noted that the Biden administration's assertion that
EastMed's is not commercially viable is not for the White House to decide:
"If you read the non-paper itself, there are so many conflicting and unnecessary
rationales. Given our renewable energy policies, our climate goals, that's fine,
this is the policy we are taking. But then they went on with commercial
viability. Two comments on that: It's not their decision. If somebody steps up
and pays for it, that makes it commercially viable. Nobody was asking the U.S.
State Department or the USA. Second. They were supposed to give a report to
Congress about commercial viability. Frankly, it sounds like they [the Biden
administration] wanted to head off any further studies about commercial
viability. This was aimed in part to the European Union, which has been funding
feasibility studies. So, you read this, and this is truly a case of the cover-up
being worse than the crime. This was not handled well at all."
Richard Goldberg, a member of the U.S. National Security Council during the
Trump administration, expressed bafflement at the Biden administration's
decision to withdraw support from EastMed:
"The paper was very surprising and raises questions as to why the administration
would want to publicly waffle on such an important project at this time. Was
there a quid pro quo for Turkish assistance on the withdrawal from Afghanistan
or was this prompted by domestic political interests without considering the
consequences for the region? Either way, the non-paper was a strategic mistake.
"The project has been moving forward now for several years and has passed
several important milestones on the development path. The decision to call into
question its technical feasibility, economic viability and commercial
competitiveness now — at this late hour — smells of a political decision, not an
economic one. "If Erdogan perceives the non-paper as some form of appeasement by
Washington, he will simply double down on his gunboat diplomacy in the Eastern
Mediterranean and play the role of spoiler in the region."
Meanwhile, NATO is studying the possibility of building a new pipeline across
Spain that would transport natural gas from Algeria to France and Germany.
Is the Biden administration truly concerned about climate change, or does it
want to prevent Israel from becoming a strategically important supplier of
natural gas to Europe?
Turkish Opposition
Turkey has challenged the EastMed project by attempting to expand its claims
over gas-rich areas of the Mediterranean Sea.
In November 2019, Turkey and Libya reached a bilateral agreement on maritime
boundaries in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. The deal, signed by Erdoğan
and the UN-backed leader of Libya, Fayez al-Sarraj, attempted to redraw existing
sea boundaries so that Libya ostensibly can claim exclusive rights over 39,000
square kilometers of maritime waters that belong to Greece.
Map showing waters claimed by Turkey and Libya. (Image source: Turkish
Flame/Wikimedia Commons)
The bilateral agreement — which established a new Turkey-Libya economic zone
that the EastMed pipeline would now have to cross — appeared aimed at giving
Turkey more leverage over the project. Referring to the Turkey-Libya deal,
Erdoğan said:
"Other international actors cannot conduct exploration activities in the areas
marked in the Turkish-Libyan memorandum. Greek Cypriots, Egypt, Greece and
Israel cannot establish a natural gas transmission line without Turkey's
consent."
In December 2019, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Israel's top diplomat in
Ankara to inform him that Israel's plan to lay down a natural gas pipeline to
Europe would require Turkey's approval.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said that there was no need to
build the EastMed pipeline because the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline
already exists. "The most economical and secure route to utilize the natural
resources in the eastern Mediterranean and deliver them to consumption markets
in Europe, including our country, is Turkey," he said in a statement.
The European Union dismissed the Turkey-Libya deal as inconsistent with
international law. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said:
"The recent Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on the delimitation of
maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea infringes upon the sovereign
rights of third States and does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot
produce any legal consequences for third States."
Egypt condemned the Turkey-Libya deal as "illegal and not binding or affecting
the interests and the rights of any third parties."
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias noted:
"Any maritime accord between Libya and Turkey ignores something that is
blatantly obvious, which is that between those two countries there is the large
geographical land mass of Crete. Consequently, such an attempt borders on the
absurd."
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu hinted that Ankara could use its
military to prevent gas drilling in waters off Cyprus that it claims as its own.
"No one can do this kind of work without our permission," he said in an
interview with the newspaper Habertürk. "We will, of course, prevent any
unauthorized work."Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and
occupied the northern third of the island. Turkey, which does not have
diplomatic relations with the southern Republic of Cyprus, an EU member, claims
that more than 40% Cyprus's offshore maritime zone, known as the Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ), is located on Turkey's continental shelf and therefore
belongs to Ankara or to Turkish Cypriots.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the pipeline was of
"geostrategic importance" and would contribute to regional peace. Greek Energy
Minister Kostis Hatzidakis called it "a project of peace and cooperation"
despite "Turkish threats." Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said that his
aim was "cooperation and not rivalry in the Middle East."
Constantinos Filis, Director of the Institute of Global Affairs at the American
College of Greece warned that the Biden administration's decision to withdraw
support from EastMed would incentivize Turkish belligerence:
"From Turkey's perspective, it is very reasonable to believe that it is a
diplomatic victory, achieved by using methods that all regional and other
players condemned. What is most worrying is that Turkey could understand that
what the U.S. is effectively saying is that you can destabilize the area and be
blamed for that, but at the end of the day we take it into account and make a
decision that satisfies you."
Select Commentary
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Representatives Gus
Bilirakis (R-FL) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) wrote:
"We write in stark opposition to the Biden Administration's change of course on
the EastMed pipeline project. Since 2019, the United States played a critical
role in the establishment of the 3+1 [Greece, Israel and Cyprus plus the United
States] framework and the Eastern Mediterranean energy development discussions.
Digressing from that course is fraught with national security concerns. By
undermining the EastMed pipeline project, the Biden Administration undercuts our
allies and their hopes for energy independence and economic prosperity. The
sting of the reversal is made worse by the Administration's continued tacit
approval of Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, deepening Europe's energy
dependence on an adversary....
"Despite Europe's decades long push towards green and renewable energies, the
surge in energy prices has ironically led to the increased use of coal to meet
demand. Since natural gas is a cleaner energy option over other fossil fuels, it
is a crucial energy source for government policies seeking to transition into
greener energies. The European Union recognizes this and has even declared the [EastMed]
pipeline a special project. The EastMed pipeline project would not only
alleviate future shortages of natural gas to Europe but would promote energy
independence and economic prosperity for our strategic allies of Greece, Israel
and Cyprus.
"The reversal on the EastMed pipeline becomes only more hypocritical and
offensive given the fact that President Biden continues to clear the path
towards completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Biden's announcement last May
to suspend sanctions on the Russian pipeline and his continued fight against
sanctions shows clear preference towards Russia over our allies....
"We hope you and President Biden recognize the significant national security
implications the United States and our European allies are facing because of
European reliance on Russian gas. The EastMed pipeline must be a priority. It is
a viable alternative to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and European dependence on
Russian natural gas. We strongly urge you to reconsider your opposition to the
EastMed pipeline project and support energy independence for our allies in the
Eastern Mediterranean and Europe."
Energy analyst Ariel Cohen, in an essay — "America's Strategic Mistake in the
Mediterranean" — wrote:
"As tensions between the Kremlin and NATO over Ukraine highlight Europe's
strategic dependence on Russian gas, a critical natural gas pipeline stretching
across the Mediterranean finds itself at the center of competing geopolitical
forces. The EastMed Pipeline was supposed to diversify and increase European gas
supplies, thereby enhancing the continent's energy security.
"The pipeline, over 1,100 miles long and costing over $7 billion, was given
'Special Project' status by the EU and hailed as a boon to EU energy
independence by the United States. But in early 2022 the Biden administration
did an about-face, informing allies that it no longer supported the strategic
pipeline on environmental grounds.
"The project was designed to bring some 20 billion cubic meters (bcm) of dry
natural gas from the offshore fields of Israel and Cyprus, across Greece, to
Italy and Bulgaria — much to the chagrin of Turkey and Russia, both excluded
from the project. As Europe suffers from historically high gas prices, and the
U.S. scrambles to sanction Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany, EastMed
is about to be killed.
"This is a disastrous decision that imperils European security and opens the
door for further Russian energy hegemony in European gas markets. It should be
reversed."
In an opinion article — "US Pipeline Withdrawal Marks New Chapter in Eastern
Mediterranean" — Henri J. Barkey, a professor of International Relations at the
U.S. based Lehigh University, wrote that the timing of the Biden
administration's announcement was ill-timed:
"Even if the US may have thought it had a responsibility as part of the 3+1
mechanism of meetings with Cyprus, Greece and Israel designed to encourage
regional cooperation, the fact remains that the decision to build a pipeline
rests with those three countries and the Europeans, and not Washington.
"Similarly, if the project did not fit the future European green energy plans,
presumably this too was a European decision. After all, both Greece and Cyprus
are members of the European Union. But as it stands now, this announcement will
be perceived as an attempt by Washington at strong-arming the parties.
"The timing of the non-paper was awkward. Europe and the US are amid one of the
most dangerous confrontations with Russia over Ukraine. Russian natural gas
pipelines are the ones that heat European homes and fuel industry. If President
Vladimir Putin were to attack Ukraine, it appears that the recently completed
Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany would be the first target of retaliation.
Even if the EastMed pipeline was unrealistic, would it not have been more astute
to let Putin think that Europe has other options?"
In an essay — "It's Not the Pipeline, Stupid" — Endy Zemenides, Executive
Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, argued that the U.S. State
Department must stop trying to appease Turkey:
"There has been a troubling trend of certain officials at State constantly
probing for openings for Turkish participation in Eastern Mediterranean
diplomatic initiatives.
"Turkey continues to make every State Department official who tries this look
bad. A 'rules-based international order' — the very kind of order that President
Joe Biden himself has set as his goal — is being established in the Eastern
Mediterranean. Turkey doesn't accept any of these rules — not the Law of the
Sea, not the exclusive economic zones that were legally delineated etc.
"Turkey is not looking to participate in Eastern Mediterranean initiatives, it
wants to dominate them. Ankara's goal is not one of cooperation but of regional
primacy if not hegemony. It is Turkey's behavior that has led to a balancing
coalition which includes not only Greece, Cyprus and Israel, but Egypt and
features support from France and others. The problem for Ankara is that this
balancing coalition (unlike balancing coalitions in the South China Sea for
example) now features a much larger total population, more dynamic and
innovative economies, more than capable militaries, and far more diplomatic
leverage.
"Moreover, Turkey's priorities are contrary to the priorities the US laid out in
the non-paper, in two State Department statements and in interviews granted by
Amos Hochstein following the controversy. Turkish officials are telling anyone
that will listen that they also oppose the [electricity] interconnectors, which
they declare "not viable" — directly contradicting State. President Erdogan
declared that East Med gas is going nowhere without Turkey. Renewable energy
goals in the region are hampered by the casus belli Turkey maintains against
Greece in the Aegean — preventing for example wind turbines being developed
outside of a 6-mile radius around Greek islands (an absurd limitation that would
seriously and negatively affect Greek tourism if complied with).
"US officials recognize that the East Med Gas Forum has the potential to evolve
and to be as significant as the European Coal and Steel Community. For Turkey to
be part of that, it has to play the role of Germany of the 1950s instead of the
Eastern Mediterranean's version of the revisionist Germany of World War II.
State Department officials openly muse about Turkey the day after Erdogan yet
keep trying to give Erdogan a place at the table. It is Turkey's behavior that
has to change, not simply the manner in which it makes its demands."
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based 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.
Economic woes pile pressure on Tunisian democracy
Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/February 15, 2022
To many, the appointment of the Arab world’s first female prime minister in
Tunisia late last year typified its troubled but genuine democracy. Of all the
countries that experienced regime change during the tumult of the so-called Arab
Spring, Tunisia remains the only nation that has fostered a functional
democracy. It is, however, a bankrupt one, with the country currently in the
throes of its worst ever economic recession.
The modern state of Tunisia has always struggled with the challenges facing any
developing country, but the destabilization since the 2011 revolution has seen
its problems grow more acute. With a huge public spending bill, Tunisia has a
gaping budget deficit and its debts have soared to nearly 100 percent of gross
domestic product. The COVID-19 pandemic greatly exacerbated an existing cost of
living crisis, while the same unemployment that pushed its youths on to the
streets more than a decade ago remains a chronic problem. Labor supply pressures
caused by a weakness in demand for skilled labor and the mismatch between the
skills needed and those produced by the country's education and training systems
has led to scenes of top graduates queuing up for jobs. Tunisia now requires an
international rescue package to avert economic collapse. Faced with national
bankruptcy, the political situation is becoming increasingly contentious.
When President Kais Saied and his advisers first planned to take control of
Tunisia, it was in a bid to break the political paralysis of successive
post-revolutionary governments that had failed to improve the country’s
circumstances, most prominently concerning the economy. There were scattered
protests in September in response to his takeover, but these were muted by the
huge numbers that came out in his support. “We are all Kais Saied, we are all
Tunisia,” they chanted along Avenue Habib Bourguiba in downtown Tunis. For
normal Tunisians, confidence in democratic institutions had “fallen
dramatically” and, according to the 2019 Arab Barometer country report, more
than half (51 percent) of the Tunisians surveyed saw democracy as “indecisive,”
42 percent said that it “leads to instability,” and 39 percent blamed it for
“weak economic outcomes.”
Amid this sentiment, Saied promised to “remake” the Tunisian political and
economic spheres in 2022. But the year has started with the economy on the brink
and the traits his detractors had worried about coming to the fore. The sharp
decline in living standards has meant the praise Saied had initially received
has been replaced by an emboldened opposition. The abandonment of the country’s
fragile 2014 constitution — the embodiment of its emergence from dictatorship —
was broadly accepted at the time. However, this disregard for the country’s
hard-won freedoms has now manifested itself through increasingly assertive
security forces, high-profile arrests and robust policing. It is little
surprise, therefore, that Tunisians consistently top lists of nationals arriving
in Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
Though Saied's tactics may be reminiscent, for some, of the Zine El-Abidine Ben
Ali years, the failing economy is not. Though Ben Ali preceded over an
infamously leaky crony capitalist state, the economic reality is that, since his
flight, the dinar has lost almost half its value. Tunisians have begun to
question the benefits of the democracy for which they fought.
Faced with national bankruptcy, the political situation is becoming increasingly
contentious.
Protests have so far been modest but, should Tunisia lurch toward an economic
calamity as currently being experienced in Lebanon, there is the potential that
Saied’s strongarm measures could push public opinion against him. A recent
national dialogue, coupled with the appointment of a female prime minister, were
designed to ensure some semblance of democracy. However, democracies are judged
by the extent to which a state manages to foster accountable institutions,
competent governance and the application of rules that apply equally alongside
the provision of basic universal services. Thus far, Tunisia’s democracy has
only managed to secure elected representatives — which were then dismissed by
Saied. It has fallen short of guaranteeing the other essential pillars and it
cannot hope for the lives of Tunisians to improve without the guarantee of those
essential tenets of any functional democracy.
*Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator, and an adviser to private clients
between London and the GCC. Twitter: @Moulay_Zaid
World is 'done' with COVID and it's time to move on from
restrictions: Ford
Holly McKenzie-Sutter/The Canadian Press/February 15/2022
TORONTO — It's time to move on from public health restrictions aimed at reducing
the spread of COVID-19 because people are "done" with rules like vaccine
certificates and masks, Ontario's premier said on Tuesday.
A day after his Progressive Conservative government announced plans to speed up
its business reopening plan and end its vaccine certificate system within a few
weeks, Doug Ford said he's eager to "get these mandates moving.""I hate as a
government telling anyone what to do. We've just got to get moving forward and
get out of this and protect the jobs," Ford said at a manufacturing announcement
in Hamilton, Ont.
"The world's done with it, so let's just move forward."
The government intends to fully lift capacity limits on businesses and social
gatherings on March 1. Its vaccine certificate policy -- which requires that
certain businesses only admit vaccinated patrons -- is set to end the same day.
Ford said Tuesday that he was "never sold" on the proof-of-vaccination policy,
but that he introduced it on the advice of the province's chief medical officer,
Dr. Kieran Moore."Dr. Moore's phenomenal, but you know, something he's
reasonable, too. He's reasonable, he gets it, he understands the economy," Ford
said. "Thank God, on March 1, we're moving forward out of this ... I just can't
wait."Moore has said that masks should be required in Ontario for a bit longer.
The province has not yet set a date to end its mask mandate covering public
spaces, but Ford indicated on Tuesday that he wants to end that policy as well,
saying that people want to "get back to normal" without such rules.
Moore and Ford have both pointed to improving virus indicators such as dropping
hospitalizations and intensive care admissions as the rationale behind lifting
more public health rules.
Those trends continued on Tuesday, with 1,550 people hospitalized with the virus
and 384 people in intensive care -- down from 2,254 hospitalizations and 446
intensive care patients one week ago.
The exact picture of COVID-19 spread in Ontario remains unclear, however, after
the province limited access to PCR tests when the Omicron wave of infections
overwhelmed resources.
Ontario is the latest province to accelerate its plans to end public health
rules such as proof-of-vaccination policies in businesses. Others including
Alberta and Saskatchewan are moving even faster to end their own policies -- a
domino effect that began not long after protests against vaccination rules and
government shutdowns started disrupting cities and border points across the
country. Ford has denied that the decision to roll back public health measures
was influenced by pressure from protesters who have occupied the city of Ottawa
and key border crossings with the United States demanding that Canada do just
that. He again on Tuesday mentioned the divisions that have arisen between
friends and family members over pandemic responses, noting that he has
personally dealt with such issues. Ford's daughter is a vocal opponent of
vaccine mandates, while Ford himself has received three shots.
He said on Tuesday that people have the choice not to get vaccinated and pointed
out that people can still be infected with the virus if they are vaccinated,
although they are better protected against severe illness. Ford said people
should remain cautious but move forward from restrictions.
"We just have to be careful (and) always make sure we wash our hands and move
forward," he said. "We can't stay in this position forever. We've got to learn
to live with this and get on with our lives." This report by The Canadian Press
was first published Feb. 15, 2022.
*Holly McKenzie-Sutter, The Canadian Press