English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For February 12/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2023/english.february12.23.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
Parable Of Lazarus The Poor Man, & The Rich Man Who
Was dressed In Purple & Fine Linen
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/52531/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%a8%d8%ac%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d9%88%d8%aa%d9%82%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a1%d8%a9-%d8%a5%d9%8a%d9%85%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d9%85%d8%ab/
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint
Luke 16/19-31/:”‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen
and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named
Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell
from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor
man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man
also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up
and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, “Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in
water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” But Abraham said,
“Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and
Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in
agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so
that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can
cross from there to us.” He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my
father’s house for I have five brothers that he may warn them, so that they will
not also come into this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and
the prophets; they should listen to them.” He said, “No, father Abraham; but if
someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they
do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if
someone rises from the dead.” ’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTLTRuAODjY
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 11-12/2023
LF says FPM destroyed Lebanon, Bassil subservient to Hezbollah, Assad
Geagea at a forum on Charles Malek: What we are witnessing in Lebanon at the
hands of an authoritarian composition, empowered with illegal weapons,...
"We will not partake in any legislative session before electing a president &
we'll exercise any constitutional right to challenge it," declare 46...
Salam discusses economic cooperation with his Egyptian counterpart
Minassian receives Qatar's Ambassador: Presidential election in Lebanon requires
transcending political tensions, adhering to dialogue
Hajj Hassan: We call on our partners in the homeland to come to an understanding
in order to elect a president for the republic
First Shipment of 33,000 tons of Wheat Helps Rebuild Lebanon’s Stock and Ensure
Access to Affordable Bread
Siniora after visiting Derian: We realize the huge cost of Martyr PM Rafic
Hariri's absence...It it is not possible to rescue Lebanon from collapse...
Agriculture Minister meets a World Bank delegation, discusses mechanisms for
launching an agricultural project
Halabi calls on educational staff, school principals to attend next Monday and
receive students on Wednesday
LAF announces arrival of Lebanese rescue mission from Syria
Army: Joint training with US Army continues
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 11-12/2023
Nearly 26 million people affected by Turkey-Syria earthquake: WHO
Dramatic rescues as Turkiye-Syria quake toll nears 25,000
WHO chief arrives in Syria's quake-hit Aleppo
UN urges 'immediate ceasefire' in Syria to help quake aid
Aid trickles in as Turkey-Syria quake toll passes 24,000
Miracle Rescues as Türkiye-Syria Quake Toll Passes 25,000
First War, Now Earthquake: Many Syrians Displaced Again
German Groups Suspend Türkiye Quake Rescue over Security Problems
Türkiye-Armenia Gate Opens for First Time in Decades to Allow Aid
Iran Marks 44th Anniversary of Revolution as Online Hackers Interrupt State TV
Coverage
Adelkhah at Home after Release from Iran Prison
Iranian Uprising Gains More Momentum as Regime Marks 1979 Revolution
US Defense Secretary to Head to Tel Aviv, Ramallah to Help Ease Tensions
Russia strikes key Odessa bridge with first use of drone boat
Ukraine's Zelenskiy sacks top official, says clean-up drive continues
UN draft resolution: Any peace must keep Ukraine intact
Wagner Owner Says War in Ukraine Will Drag On for Years
Armenia-Turkey border crossing opened for first time in 35 years after massive
quake
Titles For
The Latest
English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 11-12/2023
Iran's Military at the Panama Canal: Significant National Security Threat/
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/February 11, 2023
Israel-Sudan agreement a success for Abraham Accords, setback for Iran/Joanthan
Spyer/Jerusalem Post/February 11/2023
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 11-12/2023
LF says FPM destroyed Lebanon, Bassil subservient to
Hezbollah, Assad
Naharnet/February 11, 2023
The Lebanese Forces snapped back Saturday at the Free Patriotic Movement in a
growing war of words over an expected legislative session.ى “It is insolent for
the FPM to rant about its usual argument, which is keenness on the presidential
post,” the LF said in a statement, accusing the FPM of “deliberately ceding the
presidency to the armed group,” in reference to Hezbollah, noting that the
Iran-backed party was in charge of both “the state’s decisions and the
presidency” during ex-president Michel Aoun’s tenure.ة“Which legislation is
necessary amid a collapse that is unprecedented in Lebanon’s history?” the LF
asked. It added that the FPM has undermined “the higher interests of Lebanon and
the Lebanese” and “destroyed the republic.”The LF also charged that no one can
“compete with” FPM chief Jebran Bassil in “running from the al-Muhajireen Palace
(in Damascus) to Haret Hreik.”
Geagea at a forum on Charles Malek: What we are witnessing
in Lebanon at the hands of an authoritarian composition, empowered with illegal
weapons,...
NNA/February 11/2023
"Lebanese Forces" Party Chief Samir Geagea affirmed that "what we are witnessing
in Lebanon at the hands of an authoritarian composition that is empowered with
illegal weapons, violates the most basic contents of human dignity and blocks
all prospects for natural, legitimate change before the Lebanese.”“This
constitutes an assassination of the Lebanon of Charles Malek and a stabbing of
his human self, which calls for searching for a new formula that will restore
Lebanon to its constants,’ Geagea underlined. His words came during a forum
entitled, "Charles Malek, the Mentor, the Philosopher and the Believer, Space
for Hope and Reflection in this Hustling World", organized by the LF Legal
Professions Department marking the anniversary of Malek's birth. Geagea
regretted “what we are witnessing in Lebanon at the hands of a corrupt,
tyrannical, and empowered authoritarian structure with illegitimate weapons,
impersonating legitimacy and constitutionalism, in terms of its blatant and
persistent breach of the most basic contents of human dignity, of decent living
and a dignified existence, and its blocking of all horizons of natural,
legitimate change for the Lebanese from within, politically and
constitutionally, and even disrupting the conduct of presidential elections
within their constitutional dates, leading to Lebanon being expelled from the
United Nations General Assembly and declaring it a failed and fallen state." He
continued to stress that “this prompts us, and all free Lebanese, to search for
a new formula that will restore Lebanon to the constants of Charles Malek, rid
us of everything that strengthens and fuels sectarian feelings and fanaticism,
and restores consideration for the human being in Lebanon as having the first
value in existence, as Charles Malek deemed...”
"We will not partake in any legislative session before electing a president &
we'll exercise any constitutional right to challenge it," declare 46...
NNA/February 11/2023
Forty-six deputies announced today that they will not participate in any
legislative session before electing a president and will not recognize any of
its laws, exercising any right granted to them by the constitution to challenge
it. This came in an issued statement regarding the legislative session expected
to take place in the upcoming week. The members of parliament underlined their
keenness on the legislative authority and affirmed their absolute commitment to
Articles 49, 74, and 75 of the Constitution, “which expressly stipulate that
when the presidency becomes vacant, the Parliament Council becomes an electoral
body that is continuously convened, existing de jure and by law, exclusively for
the purpose of electing a President of the Republic.”The statement continued to
indicate that managing the affairs of citizens and activating the work of
constitutional institutions lies not through prolonging the vacuum in the
presidency of the republic or normalizing with it and trying to organize it via
unconstitutional mechanisms and means, but rather by electing a president
immediately. “Persevering in holding sessions by a
resigned government and heading towards holding legislative sessions by the
Parliament Council in the absence of a President of the Republic, actually
perpetuates a reality that is contrary to the constitution and shows the
possibility of running the state without the need for a head of state, which
affects the spirit of the Taif Agreement and the foundations of our democratic
system,” the deputies cautioned in their statement.
“The risks of the presidential vacuum in light of this dramatic and fatal
collapse of the economic, social and humanitarian situation, threaten the fall
of the Lebanese state, and with it the homeland! People are waiting for us, and
they are waiting for us to elect a rescue president...and history is awaiting us
for this exceptional event, and we want to be up to the great responsibilities
that we bear, and up to the trust that we carry and the hopes of the people who
elected us!” the deputies underscored.
The statement was signed by the following 46 members of parliament:
Melhem Khalaf, Najat Saliba, Paula Yacoubian, Michel Douaihy, Firas
Hamdan, Ibrahim Mneimneh, Yassin Yassin, Elias Jaradeh, Halima Kaakour, Wadah
Al-Sadiq, Mark Daou, Charbel Massaad, Sami Gemayel, Nadim Gemayel, Elias
Hankash, Salim Al-Sayegh, Michel Moawad, Fouad Makhzoumi, Ashraf Rifi, Adeeb
Abel-Massih, Neemat Frem, Jamil Abboud, Ghassan Skaf, Ihab Matar, George Adwan,
Strida Geagea, Ghassan Hasbani, George Okais, Fadi Karam, Saeed Al-Asmar, Nazih
Matta, Camille Chamoun, Ghayath Yazbeck, Razi Al-Hajj, Melhem Riachy, Shawky
Daccache, Antoine Habshi, Elias Stephan, Pierre Bou Assi, Ziad Hawat, Elie
Khoury, Ghada Ayoub, Jihad Pakradouni, Michel Al-Daher, Jean Talouzian and
Abdel-Rahman Al-Bizri.
Salam discusses economic cooperation with his Egyptian counterpart
NNA/February 11/2023
On the sidelines of the meetings of the League of Arab States in Cairo,
Caretaker Minister of Economy and Trade Amin Salam held a meeting with the
Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, Ahmad Samir, with talks touching on
“ways to advance the level of joint economic cooperation and build on the
brotherly relations that bind both countries by establishing real projects that
are in the interest of the two brotherly peoples."
Minister Salam indicated that a number of issues were tackled in terms of
facilitating the movement of intra-trade between Lebanon and Egypt and facing
the challenges that impede the flow of trade exchange between them, as there is
constant communication between officials in both countries to overcome all
obstacles in this regard. The Egyptian Trade Minister
referred to his country’s keenness to stand by the brotherly state of Lebanon
and to meet the needs of the Lebanese market for various products, in which
context he commissioned his ministry's officials to coordinate with the Lebanese
embassy in Cairo to discuss any obstacles and find urgent solutions to
facilitate the flow of trade between the two countries.
In turn, Minister Salam stressed "the importance of Egypt's pivotal role
and its support to the Lebanese people on the political and humanitarian levels,
whether during the Corona virus pandemic or the Beirut port explosion," noting
that "there are great opportunities to enhance trade and economic cooperation
between the two countries, especially in light of the significant agreement in
perspectives shared by officials in both countries to achieve a quantum leap in
the level of joint trade and investment relations.”Salam also pointed to "the
importance of exchanging visits between businessmen in Lebanon and Egypt to
identify available investment opportunities and work to open new horizons for
commercial and industrial partnership," inviting the Egyptian Minister of Trade
and Industry to visit Lebanon at the head of a delegation of businessmen to
discuss strengthening joint investment and economic relations.
Minassian receives Qatar's Ambassador: Presidential
election in Lebanon requires transcending political tensions, adhering to
dialogue
NNA/February 11/2023
Patriarch of the House of Cilicia for Armenian Catholics, Raphael Bedros XXI
Minassian, received today Qatari Ambassador to Lebanon, Ibrahim Abdulaziz
Al-Sahlawi, at the Patriarchal edifice in Jeitaoui. On emerging, Al-Sahlawi
expressed his "pride in visiting this ancient ecclesiastical edifice which
testifies to a march full of faith and steadfastness,” and offered his “sincere
condolences to His Beatitude for the victims who died as a result of the
earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, wishing a fast recovery for the
wounded, and placing all his capabilities for assistance..."The encounter was a
chance to discuss Qatar's role in Lebanon and its ongoing support, hoping that
"a president of the republic will be elected as soon as possible, because
Lebanon can no longer tolerate such a vacuum that negatively affects all its
facilities and institutions." Both men considered that this entitlement requires
“transcending political tensions and adhering to effective dialogue." Touching
on the Armenian Republic, the Patriarch asked that Qatar pays attention to the
many sufferings due to the crises and challenges facing the Armenians,
especially in the Artsakh region, which further exacerbates the crises. Finally,
the visit was characterized by cordiality, as it consolidated the relations
between the Armenian Church and the State of Qatar.
Hajj Hassan: We call on our partners in the homeland to come to an understanding
in order to elect a president for the republic
NNA/February 11/2023
“We hope that our partners in the homeland will meet us on a national
understanding that produces a president without waiting for the outside to elect
the president, since the outside has its own interests, accounts, vision and
connections," said Head of the "Baalbek Hermel" parliamentary bloc, MP Hussein
al-Hajj Hassan, on Saturday. Speaking during a
political dialogue meeting organized by the "Lebanese Brigades for Resistance to
the Israeli Occupation" in the town of Al-Fakha earlier today, Hajj Hassan said:
"Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to elect a president of the republic
because of the current parliament's numerical and political composition...The
blocs and alliances within the Parliament Council do not allow for any single
party to secure 86 deputies for the legal quorum required constitutionally for
the first and second election cycles...” “Therefore,
the only logical approach available is internal dialogue," Hajj Hassan
underlined. “We, the Lebanese, have the possibility to
rebuild our country and our economy, after demarcating the maritime borders and
imposing our right to extract gas and oil, thanks to the Lebanese national
consensus supported by the resistance, so that we do not continue to beg for
money from anyone, after we had been denied this right for years by an American
decision...It is enough for us to extract our wealth from under the ground and
sell it to improve our country's economic situation and liberate its political
decision," the MP continued to emphasize. Hajj Hassan
called for building a productive economy, and rectifying trade balance and trade
agreements that have been signed but not yet implemented and which are to
Lebanon’s favor. He added: “We are with stable and
sustainable relations with all Arab countries, all European countries and all
countries of the world except for the Zionist entity. We are with relations that
prevail with respect, not superior and inferior relations, and with building a
healthy economy, and correcting what must be corrected in our political and
economic system, combating corruption, and encouraging the return of the
displaced Syrians to their homeland, and for the international community to
assume its responsibilities in this regard.”
First Shipment of 33,000 tons of Wheat Helps Rebuild Lebanon’s Stock and Ensure
Access to Affordable Bread
NNA/February 11/2023
A first shipment of 33,000 tons of wheat, financed under the Lebanon Wheat
Supply Emergency Project, has arrived at the Port of Beirut and started being
discharged. The shipment -equivalent to about one month-worth of Arabic bread
consumption in the country- will help rebuild Lebanon’s wheat stock and secure
affordable bread for poor and vulnerable households. This first shipment will be
followed by several additional shipments of varying sizes over the following
months, to ensure continuity of wheat supply and maintain access to affordable
bread throughout the lifespan of the project.
Approved in May 2022, in response to the global market disruptions caused by the
war in Ukraine, the US$150 million project aims to ensure the availability of
wheat in Lebanon. Lebanon imports nearly 80% of the wheat it consumes, and,
historically, the quasi totality of these imports have come from Ukraine and
Russia (respectively 80% and 16% in 2020). The war in Ukraine came at a time
when Lebanon had been grappling with an acute economic and financial crisis, an
increase in unemployment, a rise in poverty and vulnerability and a surge in
inflation, particularly food inflation, which primarily affects poorer
households among host communities and refugees. These negative macroeconomic
trends are forecast to continue into 2023. Following the Port of Beirut
explosion and the destruction of the Port silos that have severely reduced the
domestic storage capacity, wheat imports have been handled in a just-in-time
fashion. “Bread is an essential staple in the poorest
people’s diet. Any disruption of the wheat value chain will primarily impact
poor and vulnerable host communities and refugees,” said Jean-Christophe Carret,
World Bank Mashreq Country Director. “This project responds to the needs of
people in Lebanon severely affected by the impact of compounded crises the
country is facing. It complements the ongoing World Bank financed Emergency
Social Safety Net Project”. The project has multiple
layers of mitigation measures in place to ensure efficient and transparent
implementation of activities under World Bank supervision. These include a
competitive process to purchase wheat, with close attention to market
developments and price analysis through a technical cooperation between the
World Bank and FAO, third-party monitoring of the wheat, flour and bread
distribution and consumption throughout the value chain, strong focus on full
compliance with the World Bank’s fiduciary, safeguards, and anti-corruption
policies, as well as the public disclosure of the wheat purchase contract awards
and future project results. “We promised the Lebanese
people to protect their bread and we delivered proudly and successfully, thanks
to our partner the World Bank. The loan will provide great relief through
stability in wheat availability and bread prices in Lebanon during the country’s
most challenging times,” said H.E. Amin Salam, Minister of Economy and Trade.
While addressing the urgent food security needs in the immediate term, the
project is also helping develop the framework for reforms in wheat sector policy
and governance, including storage solutions and local production potential, with
the longer-term goal of putting the wheat sector on a pathway toward recovery
and greater resilience. The Wheat Supply Emergency Response Project includes a
US$15 million grant from the Global Concessional Financing Facility (GCFF), a
fund created in 2016 to provide concessional financing to middle income
countries hosting large numbers of refugees considering the global public good
they are providing. --- WB
Siniora after visiting Derian: We realize the huge cost of
Martyr PM Rafic Hariri's absence...It it is not possible to rescue Lebanon from
collapse...
NNA/February 11/2023
Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian, received today
former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and former Minister Khaled Qabbani who
visited him at his residence this morning. On
emerging, Siniora said that the visit was to check on His Eminence’s wellbeing
following his hospital stay. He also expressed sincere condolences to the
brotherly Syrian people and the friendly Turkish people in wake of the
devastating earthquakes that hit both countries, which resulted in this large
number of innocent victims, wishing the wounded a speedy recovery.
“I hope that all Arab countries and peoples, as well as friendly
countries in the world, will rush to the rescue of the Syrian and Turkish people
by providing urgent technical and relief aid that can help those concerned in
the two countries to save those who can still be rescued...This matter requires
specialized assistance in order to remove the huge debris and rubble under which
many are still stuck...We hope - God willing - that this assistance will take
place as soon as possible, and this is the least that can be done in order to
enable these two affected countries to deal with the major problems that will
result from this catastrophe,” Siniora added. On a different note and marking
the approaching commemoration of the assassination of PM Rafic Hariri, Siniora
said: “We are a few days away from the eighteenth anniversary of the martyrdom
of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, we ask God Almighty to rest his soul in eternal
heaven...We realize that after these eighteen years since the absence of the
martyr prime minister, he is still strongly present in the hearts of many
Lebanese and Arabs. We realize the huge loss we have incurred since his absence,
for he was as great as his country and remarkable for what he did for the sake
of Lebanon, and for the sake of restoring the state and its full authority over
all Lebanese lands so that Lebanon would advance to the ranks of developed
countries....”
He added: “Today, the Lebanese are aware of what Prime Minister Hariri has done
for the sake of rebuilding Lebanon and improving the standard of living of its
people, and for their country to be at the level of the Lebanese aspirations
instead of what has become of it today in terms of national, political and
livelihood collapse....We are aware of the huge cost of this resounding absence
of Prime Minister Hariri, caused by those who committed this heinous crime that
led to his assassination, and they are the ones who brought Lebanon - one way or
another - to these collapses from which the Lebanese are now
suffering.”Referring to the deteriorating situation in the country, Siniora
underlined that “there is no way to get out of the crisis if a real and firm
position is not formed, to address the essence of the problems plaguing
Lebanon....and there is no possibility to address these problems without taking
the path of real reform.”He stressed that “Lebanon cannot be extricated from its
current impasses and collapses without the state regaining its presence and full
authority over Lebanese territory, and without restoring respect for the
constitution and the proper and complete implementation of the Taif Agreement
and restoring the full independence of the judiciary.”Siniora reiterated that
the economic and daily-living deterioration that the Lebanese are suffering
from, in fact, reflects the lack of real and effective visionary leadership in
the country. “This brings us back to reaffirming the priorities regarding what
should be done immediately, namely the election of a new president for Lebanon,”
he said, cautioning that “every delay in this regard means more pains and
suffering that the Lebanese will bear and endure in their standard of living.”
Agriculture Minister meets a World Bank delegation,
discusses mechanisms for launching an agricultural project
NNA/February 11/2023
Caretaker Minister of Agriculture Abbas Al-Haj Hassan, received a delegation
from the World Bank. Conferees discussed projects funded by the world bank,
which include the plant and animal sector, cooperative work, agricultural
extension, and support for governmental and non-governmental institutions during
the coming weeks.
Halabi calls on educational staff, school principals to
attend next Monday and receive students on Wednesday
NNA/February 11/2023
Caretaker Minister of Education and Higher Learning, Abbas al-Halabi, called on
all employees of the ministry in all its educational directorates, units and
regions to return to work, starting Monday 13/2/2023.
"I call on the administrative authorities in schools, high schools, and official
professions, in the two periods before noon and in the afternoon, to return to
schools, starting next Monday morning, 13/2/2020, to report any cracks in them,
in cooperation with educational districts, municipalities, and the Engineers
Syndicate, in order to preserve the safety of school buildings," Al-Halabi said.
The minister also called on "teachers, in the two shifts before and in
the afternoon, to attend their schools, starting on Wednesday morning,
corresponding to 2/15/2023, to receive students, with the exception of schools
that were found by the engineering exam to pose a threat to the lives of
students and teachers."
LAF announces arrival of Lebanese rescue mission from Syria
NNA/February 11/2023
“The Lebanese rescue team arrived from Syria after completing the mission
entrusted to it and includes elements of the engineering regiment in the army,
the Red Cross, civil defense and the Beirut Fire Brigade,” LAF announced today
via its Twitter account.
Army: Joint training with US Army continues
NNA/February 11/2023
The Lebanese Army indicated today on Twitter "the continuation of joint training
between members of the Lebanese special forces academy and regiments: commandos,
sea commandos, airborne, and members of the US Army," adding that 'the training
includes maneuvers, shootings, and combat operations."
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on February 11-12/2023
Nearly 26 million people affected
by Turkey-Syria earthquake: WHO
AFP, Geneva/11 February ,2023
Almost 26 million people have been affected by the deadly earthquake that
ravaged Turkey and Syria this week, the WHO said Saturday, warning that dozens
of hospitals had been damaged. As the death toll from the quake rose above
25,000, the UN health agency launched a flash appeal Saturday asking for $42.8
million to help it address the immediate, towering health needs. The World
Health Organization, which has already released $16 million from its emergency
fund, had previously said up to 23 million people could be impacted. But on
Saturday, that rose to nearly 26 million, with 15 million affected in Turkey and
nearly 11 million in war-torn Syria. Among them, more than five million people
were considered to be particularly vulnerable, including close to 350,000
elderly people and over 1.4 million children. WHO estimated that in Turkey,
where more than 4,000 buildings have collapsed in the quake, 15 hospitals had
suffered partial or heavy damage. In Syria, where the health care system had
already been ravaged by 12 years of civil war, at least 20 health facilities
across the hard-hit northwest, including four hospitals, had sustained damage.
This is making it all the more difficult to help the tens of thousands of people
who have been injured in the disaster. And while emergency medical services have
been overwhelmed with trauma patients, essential health services have been
severely disrupted, WHO warned. The UN agency said there was a dire need for
immediate trauma care, post-trauma rehabilitative care, essential medicines,
prevention and control to prevent disease outbreaks and access to mental health
support. “WHO’s goal is to save lives in the immediate aftermath of the
disaster, to minimize its downstream health consequences, including mental
health, and to rapidly restore essential health services across all
earthquake-affected populations.” The agency added that it had flown 37 metric
tons of trauma and emergency surgery supplies to Turkey on Thursday, while 35
metric tons had arrived in Syria on Friday. “These life-saving supplies will be
used to treat and care for 100,000 people as well as for 120,000 urgent surgical
interventions in both countries,” it said. A third flight carrying a similar
load was scheduled to reach Syria on Monday. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, who arrived in Aleppo on Saturday, tweeted that he was “heartbroken
to see the conditions survivors are facing ... freezing weather and extremely
limited access to shelter, food, water, heat and medical care.”
Dramatic rescues as Turkiye-Syria
quake toll nears 25,000
AFP/February 11, 2023
KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkiye: Rescuers pulled children and the elderly from the rubble
Saturday as miraculous survival stories coincided with hasty mass burials five
days after an earthquake devastated parts of Turkiye and Syria, leaving almost
25,000 dead. Tens of thousands of local and international rescue workers are
still scouring through flattened neighborhoods despite freezing weather that has
compounded the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid. However, amid
the destruction and death, survivors continue to emerge. “Is the world there?”
asked 70-year-old Menekse Tabak as she was pulled out from the rubble in the
southern city of Kahramanmaras — the epicenter of Monday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor
— to applause and cries praising God, according to a video shared on state
broadcaster TRT Haber. In southern Hatay, a two-year-old girl was found alive
123 hours after the quake, reported the Hurriyet daily online, adding to
numerous children saved long after the disaster, and a pregnant woman who was
found on Friday. Meanwhile, in southern Turkiye, families clutched each other in
grief at a cotton field that has been transformed into a cemetery, with an
endless stream of bodies arriving for swift burial. Compounding the anguish, the
United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need of hot
meals across Turkiye and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may
have been made homeless. Turkiye’s disaster agency on Saturday said nearly
32,000 people from Turkish bodies are working on search and rescue efforts. In
addition, there are 8,294 international rescuers. However, 82 Austrian soldiers
on Saturday suspended rescue operations in Hatay over a “worsening security
situation,” an army spokesman told AFP. “There have been clashes between
groups,” he said, without giving details. The UN rights office had on Friday
urged all actors in the affected area — where Kurdish militants and Syrian
rebels operate — to allow humanitarian access. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’
Party, which is considered a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies,
announced a temporary halt in fighting to ease recovery work. In rebel-held
northwestern Syria, about four million people rely on humanitarian relief, but
there have been no aid deliveries from government-controlled areas in three
weeks.
The Syrian government said it had approved the delivery of humanitarian
assistance to quake-hit areas outside its control. Only two aid convoys have
crossed the border this week from Turkiye, where authorities are engaged in an
even bigger quake relief operation of their own. A decade of civil war and
Syrian-Russian aerial bombardment had already destroyed hospitals and created
electricity and water shortages. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the
Security Council to authorize the opening of new cross-border humanitarian aid
points between Turkiye and Syria. The council will meet to discuss Syria,
possibly early next week. Turkiye said it was working on opening two new routes
into rebel-held parts of Syria. The winter freeze has left thousands of people
either spending nights in their cars or huddling around makeshift fires that
have become ubiquitous across the quake-hit region.
Five days of grief and anguish have been slowly building into rage at the poor
quality of buildings as well as the Turkish government’s response to the
country’s worst disaster in nearly a century. Officials in the country say
12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the earthquake.
“Damage was to be expected, but not the type of damage that you are seeing now,”
said Mustafa Erdik, a professor at Istanbul-based Bogazici University. Police on
Friday detained a contractor trying to flee the country after his building
collapsed in the catastrophic quake. Authorities in Kahramanmaras and Osmaniye
have launched investigations into the buildings that have collapsed, according
to the Anadolu state news agency. The tremor was the most powerful and deadliest
since 33,000 people died in a 7.8-magnitude tremor in 1939. Officials and medics
said 20,937 people had died in Turkiye and 3,553 in Syria. The confirmed total
now stands at 24,490. The disaster and resulting fury at how the Turkish
government has handled it, comes just months before a presidential election in
June. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conceded for the first time on
Friday that his government was not able to reach and help the victims “as
quickly as we had desired.”
WHO chief arrives in
Syria's quake-hit Aleppo
Agence France Presse/February
11, 2023
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived on Saturday
in Syria's quake-stricken city of Aleppo, state media reported. Tedros "arrived
at Aleppo airport to tour some hospitals and shelters with (Syria's) health
minister and the governor of Aleppo," the official news agency SANA said.
UN urges 'immediate ceasefire' in Syria to help quake aid
Agence France Presse/February
11, 2023
The United Nations rights chief has called for an immediate ceasefire in Syria
to facilitate the delivery of aid to all victims of the region's devastating
earthquake. "At this terrible time in Turkey and Syria, we call for urgent
delivery of assistance to ALL in need," the U.N. rights office said in a tweet.
"U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk calls for immediate ceasefire in Syria, and
full respect for human rights and humanitarian law obligations so help can reach
everyone," it added. The call came as rescue workers
continued their search for survivors in the rubble of the 7.8 magnitude quake
that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, with the death toll approaching 24,000. The
U.N. security council will meet on Syria -- likely early next week -- according
to Swiss envoy Pascale Baeriswyl, who initiated the meeting along with Brazil.
The two non-permanent members are in charge of the Syria humanitarian file. At
the session, the council will hear from UN Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, who is to visit Turkey and Syria this
weekend. "He will be conducting an evaluation as to what the effective situation
is, where the bottlenecks for the delivery of aid exist, and in how best members
the council can address that," said Brazilian ambassador to the UN Ronaldo Costa
Filho said of Griffiths. At least 3,553 people have
died in Syria, where more than a decade of civil war and Syrian-Russian aerial
bombardment had already destroyed hospitals, collapsed the economy and prompted
electricity, fuel and water shortages. The rebel-held areas of Syria near
Turkey's border are in a particularly dire situation since they cannot receive
aid from government-held parts of Syria without Damascus's authorisation.
At the same time, Bab al-Hawa -- the sole border crossing used to shuttle
life-saving aid from Turkey into conflict-ravaged Syria -- has seen its
operations disrupted by the deadly earthquake. Even
before the tremor, the UN had repeatedly stressed the need to open more border
crossings to make it easier to get aid through.
Aid trickles in as Turkey-Syria quake toll passes 24,000
Agence France Presse/February 11, 2023
International aid was trickling into parts of Turkey and Syria on Saturday where
rescuers toiled to pull children from rubble in areas devastated by a massive
earthquake that has killed over 24,000 people.
A winter freeze in the affected areas has hurt rescue efforts and compounded the
suffering of millions of people, many in desperate need of aid. At least 870,000
people urgently needed food in the two countries after the quake, which has left
up to 5.3 million people homeless in Syria alone, the UN warned. Aftershocks
following Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor have added to the death toll and further
upended the lives of survivors. "When I see the destroyed buildings, the bodies,
it's not that I can't see where I will be in two or three years -- I can't
imagine where I'll be tomorrow," said Fidan Turan, a pensioner in Turkey's
southern city of Antakya, her eyes filling with tears. "We've lost 60 of our
extended family members," she said. "Sixty! What can I say? It's God's will."The
United Nations World Food Programme appealed for $77 million to provide food
rations to at least 590,000 newly displaced people in Turkey and 284,000 in
Syria. Of those, 545,000 were internally displaced people and 45,000 were
refugees, it said.
Humanitarian access
The U.N. rights office on Friday urged all actors in the affected area -- where
Kurdish militants and Syrian rebels operate -- to allow humanitarian access. The
outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is considered a terrorist group by
Ankara and its Western allies, announced a temporary halt in fighting to ease
recovery work. In rebel-held northwestern Syria, about four million people rely
on humanitarian relief but there have been no aid deliveries from
government-controlled areas in three weeks. The Syrian government said it had
approved the delivery of humanitarian assistance to quake-hit areas outside its
control. Only two aid convoys have crossed the border this week from Turkey,
where authorities are engaged in an even bigger quake relief operation of their
own. A decade of civil war and Syrian-Russian aerial bombardment had already
destroyed hospitals and created shortages of electricity and water. UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Security Council to authorise the
opening of new cross-border humanitarian aid points between Turkey and Syria.
The council will meet to discuss Syria, possibly early next week. Turkey said it
was working on opening two new routes into rebel-held parts of Syria. The winter
freeze has left thousands of people either spending nights in their cars or
huddling around makeshift fires that have become ubiquitous across the quake-hit
region. Anger builds Five days of grief and anguish have been slowly
building into rage at the poor quality of buildings as well as the Turkish
government's response to the country's most dire disaster in nearly a century.
Officials in the country say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously
damaged in the earthquake. "The floors are piling on top of each other," said
Mustafa Erdik, a professor at Istanbul-based Bogazici University, which means
the chances of being found alive are slim. Police on Friday detained a
contractor trying to flee the country after his building collapsed in the
catastrophic quake. The tremor was the most powerful and deadliest since 33,000
people died in a 7.8-magnitude tremor in 1939. Officials and medics said 20,665
people had died in Turkey and 3,553 in Syria. The confirmed total now stands at
24,218. Anger has mounted over the Turkish government's handling of the
disaster, changing the tenor of the country's presidential election campaign
ahead of polls due in June. "People who didn't die from the earthquake were left
to die in the cold," Hakan Tanriverdi told AFP in Adiyaman province. Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conceded for the first time on Friday that his
government was not able to reach and help the victims "as quickly as we had
desired".
Cypriot children
One of the single biggest tragedies involved 24 Cypriot children between the
ages of 11 and 14 who were in Turkey for a volleyball tournament when the quake
swallowed their hotel. Ten of their bodies were repatriated to their homeland in
northern Cyprus. Turkish media reported that at least 19 people in the group --
which included 15 accompanying adults -- have now been confirmed dead.
Miracle Rescues as Türkiye-Syria
Quake Toll Passes 25,000
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 February, 2023
Rescuers pulled a two-month-old baby and an elderly woman from the rubble on
Saturday, five days after an earthquake devastated Türkiye and Syria, leaving
more than 25,000 dead. Tens of thousands of local and international rescue
workers are still scouring through flattened neighborhoods despite freezing
weather that has compounded the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid.
However, Austrian soldiers and German rescue workers called off their searches
in southern Hatay, citing a difficult security situation and clashes between
local groups, without giving further details. In the midst of overwhelming
destruction and despair, miraculous tales of survival continue to emerge. "Is
the world there?" asked 70-year-old Menekse Tabak as she was pulled out from the
rubble in the southern city of Kahramanmaras -- the epicenter of Monday's
7.8-magnitude tremor -- to applause and cries praising God, according to a video
shared on state broadcaster TRT Haber. In the city of Antakya, a two-month-old
baby was found alive 128 hours after the quake, state news agency Anadolu
reported. A two-year-old girl, a six-month pregnant woman, plus a four-year-old
and her father, were among those rescued five days after the quake, Turkish
media reported. Meanwhile, in southern Türkiye, families clutched each other in
grief at a cotton field transformed into a cemetery, with an endless stream of
bodies arriving for swift burial. Compounding the anguish, the United Nations
has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Türkiye
and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.
A border crossing between Armenia and Türkiye opened for the first time in 35
years on Saturday to allow five trucks carrying food and water into the
quake-hit region.
'Clashes between groups'
Türkiye’s disaster agency on Saturday said nearly 32,000 people from Turkish
bodies are working on search and rescue efforts. In addition, there are 8,294
international rescuers. However, Austrian soldiers on Saturday suspended rescue
operations in Hatay over a "worsening security situation", an army spokesman
told AFP. Two dog handlers later resumed work under protection of the Turkish
army. A similar decision to halt rescue operations was taken in Germany by the
Federal Agency for Technical Relief (TSW) and an NGO specializing in helping
victims of natural disasters, ISAR Germany, according to an NGO spokesman.
"There are more and more reports of clashes between different factions, shots
have also been fired," said ISAR spokesman Stefan Heine. The UN rights office
had on Friday urged all actors in the affected area -- where Kurdish militants
and Syrian opposition factions operate -- to allow humanitarian access. The
outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is considered a terrorist group by
Ankara and its Western allies, announced a temporary halt in fighting to ease
recovery work.
Medical aid for Aleppo
In Syria, where years of conflict have ravaged the healthcare system and parts
of the country remain under the control of the opposition, aid has been slow to
arrive. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived on
Saturday in the quake-stricken city of Aleppo, state media reported. Tedros said
he was accompanying "emergency medical supplies of around 37 metric tons". The
Syrian government said it had approved the delivery of humanitarian assistance
to quake-hit areas outside its control. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
has urged the Security Council to authorize the opening of new cross-border
humanitarian aid points between Türkiye and Syria. The council will meet to
discuss Syria, possibly early next week. Türkiye said it was working on opening
two new routes into opposition-held parts of Syria. The winter freeze has left
thousands of people either spending nights in their cars or huddling around
makeshift fires that have become ubiquitous across the quake-hit region.
Anger builds Five days of grief and anguish have been slowly building into rage
at the poor quality of buildings as well as the Turkish government's response to
the country's worst disaster in nearly a century. Officials in the country say
12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the earthquake.
"Damage was to be expected, but not the type of damage that you are seeing now",
said Mustafa Erdik, a professor at Istanbul-based Bogazici University. Turkish
police on Saturday detained 12 people, including contractors, over collapsed
buildings in the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa, local media
reported. Türkiye's justice ministry has ordered prosecutors in the 10 provinces
to establish special "earthquake crimes investigation offices". Officials and
medics said 21,848 people had died in Türkiye and 3,553 in Syria. The confirmed
total now stands at 25,401.
First War, Now Earthquake: Many Syrians Displaced Again
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 February, 2023
Living for years in a tent camp for displaced people in Syria’s opposition-held
northwest, Ali Abu Yassin used to envy friends and relatives who had brick walls
around them and solid ceilings over their heads. The situation was turned on its
head after Monday’s devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Türkiye and Syria,
killing more than 23,000 people, collapsing and damaging tens of thousands of
buildings and potentially leaving millions displaced. More than 20 of Abu
Yassin’s relatives were killed when their apartment buildings collapsed from the
quake in the nearby village of Bisnya, he said, including one cousin’s entire
family of 14. Abu Yassin made it to the village to help with rescue efforts. “It
took us two days to pull out their bodies and bury them in a mass grave,” Abu
Yassin said by telephone from the rebel-held province of Idlib. From the tent he
had once wished to leave, the father of three said, “I am so lucky. It’s God’s
will.”Before the earthquake, Syria's 12-year-old uprising-turned-war had already
displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million. Abu Yassin was
among them, fleeing from his home in another part of Idlib years ago. Now the
earthquake has caused a new wave of displacement. The swath of destruction
included the rebel-held enclave, centered on Idlib province, as well as heavily
populated government-held cities like Aleppo, Hama and Latakia. The UN refugee
agency, UNHCR, said Friday that as many as 5.3 million people in Syria may have
been left homeless. For many, this is their second displacement. Wassim Jaadan
left his house in the rebel-held village of Zardana in Idlib, then under bombing
by government forces, and fled to Lebanon with his family in 2013. Nine years
later, after Lebanon collapsed into a protracted economic crisis and they could
no longer afford rent, Jaadan brought his wife and four children home to Zardana.
“The economic situation was better than Lebanon, and we had our family, our
parents here,” he said. When the earthquake struck on Monday, the family was
awoken by a light shaking that quickly became more violent. They escaped before
the building fell and crumbled to rubble. The family now lives in a tent, which
is nearly empty since all their possessions were destroyed. “We are about to die
from the cold,” Jaadan said. “I am unable to think because of the shock.” UNHCR
said in a statement that it is trying to ensure that shelters housing displaced
people have adequate facilities, as well as tents, plastic sheeting, thermal
blankets, sleeping mats and winter clothing. However, aid has been slow to reach
many areas. The first earthquake-related aid convoy of 14 trucks crossed through
Türkiye into northwestern Syria on Friday, a UN spokesperson told The Associated
Press. The road to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing was obstructed for days
following the earthquake due to road damage and debris from collapsed buildings.
In the rural areas of northwest Syria, there are “tens of thousands of displaced
people staying under olive trees in freezing temperatures,” Raed Saleh, head of
the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets, said during
a news conference Friday.
Saleh said 500 buildings in northwest Syria have been completely destroyed,
1,400 partially crumbled and tens of thousands of homes were damaged. In other
earthquake-damaged areas, displaced people crowded into temporary shelters in
churches and mosques, schools, hotels and gyms. On Friday, in his first visit to
areas hit by the earthquake, President Bashar Assad and his wife Asma visited
two shelters in the northern city of Aleppo and a kitchen preparing 3,000 meals
a day for displaced people. In the coastal city of Latakia, a base of support
for Assad, some 2,000 people on Friday evening crammed into the city's sports
center. Under a banner with Assad’s face and a Syrian flag, the floor of the
center’s basketball court was crowded with mattresses and sleeping bags.
Families huddled in winter jackets to stay warm and ate hot meals provided by a
local aid organization.
Wardah al-Hussein, a 67-year-old mother of nine, said she has been sleeping in
the stadium since the earthquake. Originally from Aleppo, she was now starting
her second displacement. “We fled from our city and our house was destroyed, and
we came here,” she said. “Now because of the earthquake we went through it all
again.” Those whose homes were spared have opened them to relatives and
neighbors. A resident of the opposition-held northwestern town of Atmeh, Mustafa
Ali, said that already two families of relatives moved in with his family in his
three-room apartment while they wait to see if experts will make sure their own
homes are suitable for living. “What people urgently need now is tents” as well
as warm clothes and baby formula, Ali said. An aid worker based in northern
Syria, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to
speak to the media, said eight sprawling facilities, including a center where
coronavirus patients were once kept, have been opened to host the displaced in
the region. Adding to the troubles of the displaced, he said, food prices are
going up in the wake of the earthquake due to limited supplies.
German Groups Suspend Türkiye Quake Rescue over Security Problems
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 February, 2023
Two German aid organizations suspended rescue operations in quake-hit Türkiye on
Saturday, citing security problems and reports of clashes between groups of
people and gunfire. The German International Search and Rescue (ISAR) and
Germany's Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) said they would resume their
work as soon as Turkish civil protection agency AFAD classifies the situation as
safe. "You can see that sadness is slowly giving way to anger. We will therefore
remain in the joint camp with the THW for the time being," ISAR Operations
Manager Steven Bayer told Reuters, adding however that the organizations would
be immediately ready to help if there are any indications of survivors. Turkish
authorities have not reported clashes in the quake-hit region, but President
Tayyip Erdogan commented on the general security situation on Saturday, noting
that a state of emergency had been declared and that there had been some
looting. "It means that, from now on, the people who are involved in looting or
kidnapping should know that the state's firm hand is on their backs," he said
during a visit to the region. The Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU) -
also briefly suspended operations on Saturday and then resumed, with Defense
Ministry spokesperson Michael Bauer tweeting that the Turkish army had taken
over protection of the AFDRU contingent. Some 82 rescue workers from Austria's
armed forces have been in Antakya, Türkiye, since Feb. 7 and their specialists
have freed nine people from the rubble. Switzerland said it was closely
monitoring the security situation in Hatay and that the security measures have
been increased accordingly. Switzerland has sent 87 specialists and eight dogs
to help in the rescue operation, and have so far recovered 11 people, including
two babies since arrived on Tuesday. An extra team of 12 was sent on Friday.
Türkiye-Armenia Gate Opens for First Time in Decades to
Allow Aid
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 February, 2023
A border gate between long-feuding Türkiye and Armenia has been opened for the
first time in 35 years to allow aid for victims of the devastating earthquakes
in southern Türkiye, state-owned Anadolu news agency and a diplomat said.
Türkiye’s special envoy for Armenia, Serdar Kilic, tweeted photos of trucks
passing through the Alican checkpoint at the Turkish side of the Aras river
separating the two countries. "I will always remember the generous aid sent by
the people of Armenia to help alleviate the sufferings of our people in the
earthquake stricken region in Türkiye," Kilic said, thanking Armenian officials.
Anadolu said the crossing was last used to send aid from the Turkish Red
Crescent to earthquake-hit Armenia in 1988. Last year, Turkish and Armenian
leaders met informally at a European summit, following a meeting by their
foreign ministers, in efforts to mend decades of animosity. Ankara has not had
diplomatic or commercial ties with Armenia since the 1990s. They are at odds
primarily over the 1.5 million people Armenia says were killed in 1915 by the
Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to modern Türkiye. Armenia says this constitutes
genocide. Türkiye accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were
killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War One, but contests the
figures and denies it was systematic.
Iran Marks 44th Anniversary of Revolution as Online Hackers
Interrupt State TV Coverage
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 February, 2023
Iran marked the 44th anniversary of its revolution on Saturday with
state-organized rallies, as anti-government hackers briefly interrupted a
televised speech by President Ebrahim Raisi. Raisi, whose hardline government
faces one of the boldest challenges from young protesters calling for its
ouster, appealed to the "deceived youth" to repent so they can be pardoned by
Iran's supreme leader. In that case, he told a crowd congregated at Tehran's
expansive Azadi Square: "the Iranian people will embrace them with open arms".
His live televised speech was interrupted on the internet for about a minute,
with a logo appearing on the screen of a group of anti-Iranian government
hackers that goes by the name of "Edalat Ali (Justice of Ali). A voice shouted
"Death to the Islamic Republic." Nationwide protests swept Iran following the
death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country's
morality police.
Security forces have responded with a deadly crackdown to the protests, among
the strongest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution
ousted 2,500 years of monarchy. As part of an amnesty marking the revolution's
anniversary, Iranian authorities on Friday released jailed dissident Farhad
Meysami, who had been on a hunger strike, and Iranian-French academic Fariba
Adelkhah. On Sunday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued an amnesty covering a
large number of prisoners including some arrested in recent anti-government
protests.
Rights group HRANA said that as of Friday, 528 protesters had been killed,
including 71 minors. It said 70 government security forces had also been killed.
As many as 19,763 protesters are believed to have been arrested. Iranian leaders
and state media have for weeks appealed for a strong turnout at Saturday's
rallies as a show of solidarity and popularity in an apparent response to the
protests. On the anniversary's eve Friday night, state media showed fireworks as
part of government-sponsored celebrations. However, many people could be heard
shouting "Death to the dictator!" and "Death to the Islamic Republic" on videos
posted on social media. Reuters could not verify the social media posts
independently. Government television on Saturday aired live footage of the state
rallies around the country. In Tehran, domestic-made anti-ballistic missiles, a
drone, an anti-submarine cruiser, and other military equipment were on display
as part of the celebrations. "People have realized that the enemy's problem is
not woman, life, or freedom," Raisi said in a live televised speech at Tehran's
Azadi Square, referring to the protesters' signature slogan. "Rather, they want
to take our independence," he said. His speech was frequently interrupted by
chants of "Death to America" - a trademark slogan at state rallies. The crowd
also chanted "Death to Israel."Adelkhah, who had been in prison since 2019, was
one of seven French nationals detained in Iran, a factor that has worsened
relations between Paris and Tehran in recent months. She was sentenced in 2020
to five years in prison on national security charges. They moved her to house
arrest later but in January she returned to jail. Adelkhah has denied the
charges. Meysami's release came a week after supporters warned that he risked
dying because of his hunger strike. He was arrested in 2018 for protesting
against the compulsory wearing of the hijab. In announcing Adelkhah's release on
Friday, the French foreign ministry called that her freedoms be restored,
"including returning to France if she wishes." "Legally, her file is considered
completed, and legally there should be no problem to leave the country, but this
issue has to be reviewed. So ... it is not clear how long it will take," said
her lawyer, Hojjat Kermani.
Adelkhah at Home after Release from Iran Prison
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 February, 2023
The release of Iranian-French academic Fariba Adelkhah is final, though it is
still unclear how much longer she will have to stay in Iran before returning to
France, her lawyer said on Saturday. In announcing Adelkhah’s release on Friday,
the French foreign ministry, called that Adelkhah's freedoms be restored,
"including returning to France if she wishes.” “She was freed last night and is
now at her home,” Hojjat Kermani told Reuters. Up until Adelkhah's release,
seven French citizens were being held by Iran, according to the French foreign
ministry. They are among two dozen foreign nationals campaigners say Iran has
jailed in a strategy of hostage-taking to extract concessions from the West.
Iranian Uprising Gains More
Momentum as Regime Marks 1979 Revolution
Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 February, 2023
As the Iranian government marks the anniversary of the 1979 revolution in
various parts of the country, the popular uprising against the regime gained
momentum, Iran International reported on Friday. In parallel, the authorities
released a journalist on Friday and seven female activists the day before,
according to AFP. Those released included Saba Kordafshari, Alieh Motalebzadeh,
Fariba Asadi, Parastoo Moini, Zahra Safaei, Gelareh Abbasi and Sahereh Hossein.
The Iranian authorities have arrested thousands of people since the outbreak of
protests across the country, following the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini,
on Sept. 16, days after she was arrested by the morality police for violating
the strict dress code for women in the country. A group of civil and political
activists chanted slogans such as, “down with oppressors” and “Woman, Life,
Freedom” in front of Tehran’s Evin Prison on Thursday night, after the release
of the detainees. The destruction of government symbols continued in various
places, as a video clip posted on social media showed a citizen lowering the
flag of the regime and throwing it in a trash can in the city of Ganrud, in the
west of the country. Another footage, obtained by Iran International, showed
demonstrators burning government banners commemorating the 1979 revolution in
the eastern Kerman province. Meanwhile, residents of Zahedan, southeastern Iran,
took to the streets for the 19th week in a row. In Sanandaj, the people
organized a march to demand the release of the cleric, Ibrahim Karimi, who was
arrested by the Tehran regime. Meanwhile, Iran released on Friday
hunger-striking jailed dissident Farhad Meysami, Reuters reported, citing the
Iranian judiciary. Supporters had been warning that the man risked dying for
protesting against the compulsory wearing of the hijab. Images on social media
of an emaciated Meysami, who had been in jail since 2018 for supporting women
activists protesting against Iran’s headscarf policy, had gone viral and caused
outrage among social media users and international rights group, Reuters said.
Also on Friday, the reformist Shargh daily reported that Hossein Yazdi, a
political activist and journalist, was released from Dastgerd Prison in the
central city of Isfahan. Yazdi was arrested on Dec. 5, sentenced to one year in
prison and banned from traveling for two years, the newspaper had earlier
reported, without providing details about the charges against him.
It had said Yazdi was the “manager of Mobin 24 website and Iran Times news
channel.”Earlier this week, Iran released a young protester, Armita Abbasi,
whose case sparked international concern after she was arrested in October in
connection with protests in the city of Karaj, outside Tehran. In November, a
CNN report cited leaks and an anonymous medical source as saying that she had
been taken to hospital after being raped while in detention. The Iranian
authorities denied the accusations. After her release, Abbasi posted a video on
Instagram, thanking all those who supported her case.
US Defense Secretary to
Head to Tel Aviv, Ramallah to Help Ease Tensions
Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 February, 2023
The Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to visit Tel
Aviv and Ramallah in February to continue efforts to ease tensions between the
Palestinians and Israelis. He will meet with Palestinian and Israeli officials
to discuss joint security challenges and tensions, sources said. Sources in Tel
Aviv said Washington's concerns over a security flareup in Jerusalem and the
occupied West Bank are growing with every passing day. It is sensing that a
greater danger may be in store in the region, they added. A security official
said that the recent tensions are a cause for concern and the Israeli security
agencies are so far failing in containing the situation. On the one hand, they
are coming under pressure from the right-wing government to exercise firm
measures against the Palestinians, and on the other, such extreme measures are
stoking protests against Israel and only fueling the tensions, explained the
source. West Bank violence, which surged last year as Israel intensified raids
following a series of lethal Palestinian street attacks in Israeli cities, has
picked up pace since a hard-right Israeli government was sworn in on Dec. 29.
Austin will be fourth senior US official to visit Israel in recent weeks. In
three weeks alone, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security
Adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA chief William Burns had all visited Israel.
Delegations from Congress and Jewish groups had also visited. American forces
also took part in the largest military drills with the Israeli army. Israeli
forces have carried out hundreds of arrests over recent months during near-daily
raids in the occupied West Bank that have seen bloody gunbattles with
Palestinian gunmen. At least 42 Palestinians, including gunmen and civilians,
have been killed this year. Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank
and east Jerusalem in 2022, making it the deadliest year in those territories
since 2004, according to leading Israeli rights group B’Tselem. Israel’s
formation of its most right-wing government in its history has only compounded
the situation.
Russia strikes key Odessa
bridge with first use of drone boat
James Kilner/The Telegraph/February 11, 2023
Russia attacked a key bridge in southern Ukraine, deploying a drone boat for the
first time since the war began. Western analysts warned that Russian drone boats
now posed a “major new threat” to Ukrainian supply lines and the control of the
Black Sea. “Russia was not known to have these types of drones or to think in
these terms,” said H.I. Sutton, an independent naval analyst. “We may see
another shift in the war in the Black Sea. This time in Russia’s favour.”Video
of the attack showed a boat speeding towards the low-slung Zatoka railway and
road drawbridge near Odessa late on Friday evening. As it passes under the
bridge the boat explodes, debris flies into the water and smoke billows into the
night sky. Neither the Russian nor Ukrainian militaries have commented, although
Russian opposition media confirmed the geolocation of the video. Ukraine has
attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea and Novorossiysk,
further along the Russian Black Sea coast, several times with drone boats but
this is the first time that Russia has used one. The first use of a drone boat
by Russian forces in the war gave rise to celebrations from supporters of
Vladimir Putin. “A year after the start of the Special Operation we have started
to use unmanned maritime drones,” said Poddubniy, a popular Russian military
blogger. “I’m happy that the people who promised this type of equipment have
come through.”The bridge at Zatoka is only a few hundred metres long but it is
strategically important because it crosses the mouth of the Dniester Estuary,
which flows into the Black Sea. It is also the most direct and the only
Ukraine-controlled route linking Odessa with Romania and the Danube Delta, a
shipping gateway into central Europe. Russian missiles struck the bridge in
April, forcing freight traffic heading to and from Odessa into a detour through
Moldova and possibly through Transnistria, a pro-Kremlin Moldovan breakaway
region.
100 missiles fired in new offensive
Further to the east, reports said that an intensified level of fighting
continued along the front lines. The renewed fighting comes as Russia is
suspected to have launched a fresh general offensive. Russia’s ministry of
defence also confirmed on Saturday that it had fired more than 100 missiles at
Ukraine on Friday in one of the heaviest attacks of the war. And Russian media
sources said that Russian forces had captured the village of Dvurechnoye in the
Kharkiv region, but Ukrainian sources have disputed this.
Ukraine's Zelenskiy sacks top official, says clean-up drive
continues
Reuters/Sat, February 11, 2023
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday issued a decree sacking a
senior security figure and said separately that his drive to clean up the
government would continue. Authorities have dismissed dozens of officials in
recent weeks and opened probes as part of a widespread drive against wrongdoing.
The European Union says addressing corruption is a requirement for Ukraine
joining the 27-member bloc. Zelenskiy dismissed Ruslan Dziuba as deputy
commander of the National Guard, according to a brief decree issued by the
presidential office. It did not give any reasons for the move.
Zelenskiy - who has stressed the need for the defence ministry in particular to
be cleaned up - did not specifically mention Dziuba in his daily video address.
Instead, he said he had met defence sector and law enforcement officials to
discuss ways to protect institutions from what he called attempts from outside
or inside to reduce their effectiveness and efficiency. Referring to the
crackdown, he said: "All this activity is not just about certain episodes or
criminal proceedings ... the state will continue to modernize the institutions
themselves. The purity of the work of state structures must be guaranteed."
Ukraine's defence minister said on Thursday hundreds of officials at the
ministry or in the armed forces had been disciplined last year after internal
audits, and that he had "zero tolerance" for corruption.
UN draft resolution: Any
peace must keep Ukraine intact
AP/February 11, 2023
session of the General Assembly on Ukraine will start on Feb. 22
UNITED NATIONS: Ukraine’s supporters have circulated a proposed resolution for
adoption by the 193-member UN General Assembly on the eve of the first
anniversary of Russia’s invasion of its smaller neighbor that would underscore
the need for peace ensuring Ukraine’s “sovereignty, independence, unity and
territorial integrity.”The draft, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, is
entitled “Principles underlying a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in
Ukraine.”The proposed resolution is broader and less detailed than the 10-point
peace plan that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at the November
summit of the Group of 20 major economies. This was a deliberate decision by
Ukraine and its backers to try to gain maximum support when it is put to a vote,
UN diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions have
been private.
General Assembly spokesperson Paulina Kubiak said Friday that a reactivated
emergency session of the General Assembly on Ukraine will start on the afternoon
of Feb. 22. Dozens of speeches are expected to continue through most of Feb. 23
and the vote is expected late that day.
Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister said last month that Zelensky wants to come to
the UN for the anniversary, but diplomats said expectations of a major new
Russian offensive may keep him at home. The General Assembly has become the most
important UN body dealing with Ukraine because the Security Council, which is
charged with maintaining international peace and security, is paralyzed because
of Russia’s veto power. Unlike the council, there are no vetoes in the assembly,
but while its five previous resolutions on Ukraine are important as a reflection
of world opinion, they are not legally binding.
The Security Council will hold a ministerial meeting on Feb. 24, the anniversary
of the invasion. Russian and Ukrainian diplomats will be at the same table, as
they have been at dozens of meetings since the invasion — but there will be no
outcome. The Ukrainian-backed draft resolution for the anniversary was
circulated Thursday night to all UN member nations except Russia and its ally
Belarus, and negotiations on the text started Friday afternoon, the diplomats
said. It underscores the need to reach “a comprehensive, just and lasting peace”
in Ukraine “as soon as possible” in line with the principles of the United
Nations Charter.
The Charter states that all UN member nations “shall refrain in their
international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial
integrity or political independence of any state,” and must settle disputes
peacefully. The draft calls on UN member states and international organizations
“to redouble support for diplomatic efforts” to achieve peace on those terms.
The proposed resolution reiterates the General Assembly’s previous demand that
Russia “immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its
military forces” from Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. And it
reaffirms that no territory acquired by the threat or use of force will be
considered legal. The draft demands that all prisoners of war, detainees and
internees be treated in accordance with the Geneva conventions and calls for the
“complete exchange” of prisoners of war, the release of people unlawfully
detained, “and the return of all internees and of civilians forcibly transferred
and deported, including children.”The proposed resolution urges all countries
“to cooperate in the spirit of solidarity to address the global impact of the
war on food security, energy, finance, the environment, and nuclear security and
safety.”
It would deplore “the dire human rights and humanitarian consequences of the
aggression against Ukraine, including the continuous attacks against critical
infrastructure across Ukraine with devastating consequences for civilians.” And
it would call for full adherence to international humanitarian law on the
protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. Zelensky’s 10-point plan is
far more specific, including establishing a special tribunal to prosecute
Russian war crimes, building a European-Atlantic security architecture with
guarantees for Ukraine, restoring Ukraine’s damaged power infrastructure and
ensuring safety around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia. The
resolution adopted by the General Assembly on Oct. 12 condemning Russia’s
“attempted illegal annexation” of four Ukrainian regions and demanding its
immediate reversal got the highest vote of the five resolutions – 143-5 with 35
abstentions.
The first resolution adopted by the assembly on March 2, 2022, days after the
invasion, demanded an immediate Russian cease-fire, withdrawal of all its troops
and protection for all civilians and received a strong vote – 141-5 with 35
abstentions. Three weeks later, on March 24, the assembly voted 140-5 with 38
abstentions on a resolution blaming Russia for Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis and
urging an immediate cease-fire and protection for millions of civilians and the
homes, schools and hospitals critical to their survival.
But the assembly voted by a far smaller margin April 7 to suspend Russia from
the UN’s Geneva-based Human Rights Council over allegations Russian soldiers in
Ukraine engaged in rights violations that the United States and Ukraine have
called war crimes. That vote was 93-24 with 58 abstentions.
And its last resolution adopted Nov. 14 calling for Russia to be held
accountable for violating international law by invading Ukraine, including by
paying reparations for widespread damage to the country and for Ukrainians
killed and injured during the war was approved by a similar vote — 94-14 with 73
abstentions.
Wagner Owner Says War in Ukraine Will Drag On for Years
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 February, 2023
The owner of the Russian Wagner Group private military contractor actively
involved in the fighting in Ukraine has predicted that the war could drag on for
years. Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video interview released late Friday that it
could take 18 months to two years for Russia to fully secure control of
Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland of Donbas. He added that the war could go
on for three years if Moscow decides to capture broader territories east of the
Dnieper River. The statement from Prigozhin, a millionaire who has close links
to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was dubbed “Putin’s chef” for his
lucrative Kremlin catering contracts, marked a recognition of the difficulties
that the Kremlin has faced in the campaign, which it initially expected to wrap
up within weeks when Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Russia suffered
a series of humiliating setbacks in the fall when the Ukrainian military
launched successful counteroffensives to reclaim broad swaths of territory in
the east and the south. The Kremlin has avoided making forecasts on how long the
fighting could continue, saying that what it called the “special military
operation” will continue until its goals are fulfilled.
The Russian forces have focused on Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk provinces that
make up the Donbas region where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting
Ukrainian forces since 2014.
Prigozhin said that the Wagner Group mercenaries were continuing fierce battles
for control of the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. He
acknowledged that the Ukrainian troops were mounting fierce resistance. As
Russian troops have pushed their attacks in the Donbas, Moscow has also sought
to demoralize Ukrainians by leaving them without heat and water in the bitter
winter. On Friday, Russia launched the 14th round of massive strikes on
Ukrainian energy facilities and other vital infrastructure. High-voltage
infrastructure facilities were hit in the eastern, western and southern regions,
resulting in power outages in some areas. Ukraine's energy company, Ukrenergo,
said Saturday that the situation was “difficult but controllable,” adding that
involved backups to keep up power supplies but noting that power rationing will
continue in some areas. Ukraine's military chief, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said
that Russian forces launched 71 cruise missiles, 35 S-300 missiles and seven
Shahed drones between late Thursday and midday Friday, adding that Ukrainian air
defenses downed 61 cruise missiles and five drones. The Ukrainian authorities
reported more attacks by killer drones later on Friday. The Ukrainian air force
said the military downed 20 Shahed drones in the evening. Late Friday, Russian
military bloggers and some Ukrainian news outlets posted a video showing an
attack by a sea drone on a strategic railway bridge in the Odesa region. The
grainy video showed a fast-moving object approaching the bridge in Zatoka, about
50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Odesa, and exploding in a powerful blast.
The authenticity of the video couldn't be verified. The Ukrainian military
hasn't commented on the attack, and Serhii Bratchuk, a spokesman for the
regional administration, wouldn't confirm the drone attack when he spoke in
televised remarks on Saturday. The bridge, which was targeted by Russian missile
strikes early in the war, serves the railway link to Romania, which is a key
conduit for Western arms supplies.
Armenia-Turkey border crossing opened for
first time in 35 years after massive quake
NNA/February 11/2023
A border crossing between Armenia and Turkey opened for the first time in 35
years on Saturday, to allow humanitarian aid through after a massive earthquake
hit the region, an official said. Five trucks with aid including food and water
arrived in Turkey from the Alican border crossing, tweeted Serdar Kilic,
Turkey’s special envoy for dialogue with Armenia. The assistance comes after a
7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria this week, killing nearly
25,000 people in both countries, and injuring tens of thousands more. State news
agency Anadolu said this was the first time the crossing had opened since 1988,
when Turkey sent aid to Armenia after the country was hit by an earthquake that
killed between 25,000 to 30,000. Kilic in his tweet thanked Armenia and the
Armenian national assembly’s vice president Ruben Rubinyan. The aid also
included medicine, he said. “Happy to have been able to assist,” Rubinyan said
on Twitter. The two countries have never established formal diplomatic relations
and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s. Their relationship is
strained by World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire,
atrocities Yerevan insists amount to a genocide. But in December 2021, the two
countries appointed special envoys to help normalize relations -- a year after
Armenia lost to Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan in a war for control of the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh region. Turkey fiercely rejects the genocide label, arguing
that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil
strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with
invading Russian troops. In February 2022, Turkey and Armenia resumed their
first commercial flights in two years. The land border between the two countries
has remained closed since 1993 however, forcing trucks to transit through
Georgia or Iran. --- AFP
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on February 11-12/2023
ماجد رفي زاده /معهد
جيتستون: الوجود العسكري الإيراني في قناة بنما هو تهديد كبير للأمن القومي
Iran's Military at the Panama Canal:
Significant National Security Threat
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/February 11, 2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/115677/115677/
Iran's military presence at the Panama Canal, the major maritime chokepoint in
the Western Hemisphere -- which is controlled by America's main enemy, China --
is a serious national security threat to the United States in more ways than
one.
"Iran has been aggressively strengthening its ties to the Western Hemisphere
through like-minded socialist regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. They are
also looking for opportunities elsewhere, and it's no coincidence that Iranian
ships are docking in Brazil just a month after a socialist retook power in the
country. Instead of supporting the Iran-friendly socialist and left-wing regimes
in Latin America, the Biden administration should be strengthening political
forces committed to keeping our hemisphere free of antisemitic terror." — U.S.
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, Fox News, February 1, 2023.
[T]he Islamic Republic has been shipping considerable amounts of oil to
Venezuela without either country fearing repercussions from the Biden
administration.
Iranian ships will be allowed to sail through the Panama Canal "as long as they
abide by international norms," Panamanian authorities said this week. However,
according to Reuters: "Panama's vessel registry, the world's largest, has
withdrawn its flag from 136 ships linked to Iran's state oil company in the last
four years, the country's maritime authority said this week, pushing back
against claims by an anti-nuclear group." So, you can tell which country is
really in charge.
Iran's military presence at the Panama Canal, the major maritime chokepoint in
the Western Hemisphere, is a serious national security threat to the United
States in more ways than one. Pictured: An armored vehicle exits an Iranian Navy
warship during a military exercise in the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz,
in southern Iran, on September 10, 2020. (Photo by Iranian Army/AFP via Getty
Images)
Iran's military presence at the Panama Canal, the major maritime chokepoint in
the Western Hemisphere -- which is controlled by America's main enemy, China --
is a serious national security threat to the United States in more ways than
one.
The Biden administration, seemingly as usual, has been turning a blind eye to
the Iran's increasing military presence in Latin America. Its latest activities
now pose a grave danger to North America's security and US national interests.
The Iranian regime, under the Biden administration's watch, has been rapidly
moving its military into Latin America. By now, the mullahs have been emboldened
to the extent that, for the first time, Iran is stationing warships in the
Panama Canal.
The Panama Canal, which was built by the United States at the excruciating
expense of life and treasure, enables ships to transit between the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans without having to sail around the entire continent of South
America. Stupidly, it was turned over to Panama in 1999.
Iran's state-controlled news outlet bragged on January 21, 2023:
"The Iranian flotilla, comprised of Dena and Makran warships, will reportedly
arrive at the Brazilian port within the next few days.
"The 86th flotilla set sail from south of Iran in early autumn with the purpose
of circumnavigating the world.
"The trip to Brazil appears to be part of a mission to the Panama Canal.
"On January 11, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said plans are
underway to dispatch naval forces to the Panama Canal as Iranian servicemen are
approaching the coasts of the Americas.
"Dena is a Mowj-class warship that joined the Iranian Navy in June 2021. The
military vessel is equipped with anti-ship cruise missiles, torpedoes and naval
cannons.
"The other vessel of the flotilla is Makran, a forward base ship weighing
121,000 tons.
'The oil-tanker-turned-warship can carry five helicopters and is employed for
providing logistical support for the combat warships."
An Iranian delegation recently met with the Brazil's new President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva, during his inauguration ceremony. Soon after, Brazil,
disregarding the US concerns, allowed the Iranian warships to dock at its port.
U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar told Fox News:
"Iran has been aggressively strengthening its ties to the Western Hemisphere
through like-minded socialist regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. They are
also looking for opportunities elsewhere, and it's no coincidence that Iranian
ships are docking in Brazil just a month after a socialist retook power in the
country. Instead of supporting the Iran-friendly socialist and left-wing regimes
in Latin America, the Biden administration should be strengthening political
forces committed to keeping our hemisphere free of antisemitic terror."
Other senators have also raised concerns about Iran's increasing influence in
the US backyard; Senator Marco Rubio told Fox News in a statement:
"Iran's growing presence in the Western Hemisphere should come as no surprise as
the Biden Administration has a history of appeasement and engaging with
authoritarian regimes. Tehran's ability to expand its military presence in our
hemisphere should be a warning sign, especially as it seeks to support the
left-wing Marxist regimes that will undermine peace and stability throughout the
region."
The Iranian regime has also been using Latin American countries to evade
sanctions. For example, the Islamic Republic has been shipping considerable
amounts of oil to Venezuela, without either country fearing repercussions from
the Biden administration. According to Reuters on June 13:
"The [Iranian] cargo is the third of Iranian crude supplied by Iran's Naftiran
Intertrade Co (NICO) to Venezuela's state-run oil firm PDVSA following a supply
contract providing the South American nation with lighter crude. Venezuela has
been processing the Iranian oil in its refineries.... Other two Iran-flagged
tankers, the very large crude carriers (VLCCs) Dino I and Silvia I, had arrived
last month at Venezuelan ports carrying the first cargoes of Iranian crude for
Venezuela."
Iran has also been signing long-term agreements with its oil clients to
permanently insulate its economy from the US sanctions. Last June, for instance,
Iran signed a 20-year cooperation agreement with Venezuela to expand ties in the
oil and petrochemical industries, as well as in military fields. Venezuelan
leader Nicolás Maduro said, "We have important projects of cooperation between
Iran and Venezuela in the fields of energy, petrochemicals, oil, gas and
refineries."
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who is an advisory board member of United
Against Nuclear Iran, said that Panama has also been helping with Iran's oil
smuggling. Panama, he added, "has been instrumental in the [Iranian] regime's
continued survival" and that Panama is "strengthening Iran by helping it to
circumvent sanctions."
Iranian ships will be allowed to sail through the Panama Canal "as long as they
abide by international norms," Panamanian authorities said this week. However,
according to Reuters:
"Panama's vessel registry, the world's largest, has withdrawn its flag from 136
ships linked to Iran's state oil company in the last four years, the country's
maritime authority said this week, pushing back against claims by an
anti-nuclear group."
So, you can tell which country is really in charge.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated
scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and
president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has
authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at
Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2023 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.
Israel-Sudan agreement a success for Abraham
Accords, setback for Iran
Joanthan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/February 11/2023
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-731145?fbclid=IwAR1KjhcFSrHHe91pkOvpSmE7lfdCbhDtM98T-hp4_oeFNIVImEOD209cZZw
BEHIND THE LINES: Undeclared regional alignment with the UAE and Saudi Arabia is
enabling Khartoum to develop relations with Jerusalem.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced late last week that Israel will sign a full
peace agreement with Sudan in the course of 2023. The announcement followed a
visit to Khartoum by Cohen.
This development reflects the further crystallization and further advance of the
undeclared regional alignment of which Israel forms a part, and in which Egypt,
the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are all crucial components.
The announcement comes against a background of the close partnership between the
UAE, Saudi Arabia and Sudan’s current military rulers, alongside significant
Emirati investment in the country.
A setback for Iran
If an agreement is indeed signed, it will mark an important setback for Iran,
which once used Sudan as a way station on the arms trail to its allies in Gaza;
and for Turkey and Qatar, which maintained close relations with Sudan’s ousted
Islamist leaders.
Sudan is already a signatory to the Abraham Accords, to which it committed
itself in January 2021. But Khartoum at that time signed up only to the formal,
declarative part of the agreement. In return for this commitment, Sudan was
removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism and received a series of
financial inducements.
Unlike the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, however, it did not go on to then sign a
formal bilateral agreement with Israel.
The commitment to the Abraham Accords took place during a period of political
transition for Sudan. In April 2019, the regime of Islamist president Omar al-Bashir
was toppled by a military coup, following months of protests against his rule.
Al-Bashir had ruled Sudan since 1989 and had presided over a hardline Islamist
regime, aligned with Muslim Brotherhood forces, and offering a haven for a time
to Osama bin Laden and his followers.
For two decades, al-Bashir also aligned his country with Iran before seeking his
way back to closer connections with the Gulf countries for economic reasons
after 2011. Saudi Arabia and the UAE proved amenable, but al-Bashir failed to
back Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in the crisis with Qatar in 2017. The latter concluded
that he was a liability and should be replaced.
Political stability did not follow the removal of Bashir. Rather, under the
nominal rule of Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok alongside a transitional military
council, various interests jostled for power. It was the Hamdok government that
formally aligned with the Abraham Accords in 2021.
Abu Dhabi and Riyadh correctly saw the ousting of al-Bashir as a chance to bring
Sudan fully into their axis. In the wake of domestic opposition to military
rule, and US and Western disapproval of the military’s heavy-handedness and
human rights record, the Emiratis and Saudis sought to co-opt the domestic
opposition gathered under the umbrella title of the Forces of Freedom and
Change.
At the same time, their key partnership was with the Sudanese Armed Forces,
specifically with General Abdel al-Fattah Burhan and with General Mohammed
Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemedti. Hemedti is the commander of the paramilitary
Rapid Support Forces.
THE FAMILIAR tale in many Arab countries sees the military arrayed against the
forces of political Islam, with secular and civil forces often crushed between
them. The Sudanese situation did not conform to this simple binary, since the
Sudanese Armed Forces had for many years backed the Islamist regime, hence
elements of it remained close to Islamist circles.
In September 2021, elements of the military, aligned with loyalists of the
ousted al-Bashir regime, attempted a coup against the transitional government.
The coup attempt was foiled. A month later, the military leadership (without
links to old regime figures), under General Burhan removed Hamdok from power on
October 25 and assumed power itself.
From the outset, Burhan sought to orientate toward the UAE and Saudi Arabia and
made clear his willingness to increase public cooperation with Israel (tacit
cooperation in the field of intelligence sharing and counter-terrorism already
existed).
Burhan held his first official trip abroad, after the coup, to the UAE in March.
His purpose, straightforwardly, was to raise funds. The Sudanese economy was in
a nosedive. He was successful.
The UAE, however, has continued to play a sophisticated role, leveraging earlier
relationships with the Sudanese military and with the civilian leadership.
Perhaps aware that it was not facing an Egypt 2013-type situation, where the
choice was Islamist civilians or non-Islamist officers, Abu Dhabi has worked to
reconcile the military and civilian leaderships, while allowing real power to
remain in the hands of the military.
The successful forging by Burhan of a relationship with the UAE has gone hand in
hand with moves toward Israel. Pre-existing communication and cooperation in the
security field have been openly acknowledged since the military coup. In
February, Burhan said that relations in this area were “not secret,” and that
the sharing of intelligence enabled Khartoum to “arrest terrorist groups in
Sudan that could have undermined the security of Sudan and the region.”
In the course of 2022, a number of public statements were made by senior
Sudanese leaders that appeared to be preparing the way for the establishment of
full diplomatic relations. In September, at a meeting of the African Union,
Burhan expressed his willingness to travel to Israel. In November, he offered
congratulations to Benjamin Netanyahu on his election victory.
The Emiratis and Saudis have sought to offset claims that they were in the
process of paving the way for a “Sisi” type regime in Khartoum, by continuing to
support dialogue between the military authorities and the civilian political
leadership. At the same time, the authorities in the course of 2022 appear to
have successfully contained the weekly popular demonstrations against their
rule, which never seriously constituted a threat.
Burhan has made a number of public statements pledging his intention to step
aside eventually, and for the Sudanese Armed Forces to cede power to an elected
civilian leadership. No timetable has been set for this, however. In the
meantime, power remains firmly in the hands of the military and its backers.
Burhan’s clear decision to align with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has
begun to pay dividends. In December, the military government signed a $6 billion
preliminary agreement with two UAE firms to build a new port on the Red Sea
coast. According to a recent report by Associated Press, Abu Dhabi Ports Group
and Invictus Investment are to build and manage the new port at Abu Amama, 200
km. north of Port Sudan.
So the direction of events is clear. The tacit alliance of which Israel is a
part has the upper hand within Sudan. There appear to be no serious obstacles to
its continued rule. A decade ago, Sudan formed part of Iran’s pathway to Israel
and influence in Africa, and was in cooperation with Sunni Islamist and jihadi
forces.
This situation has now been reversed. The transition of Sudan’s relations with
Jerusalem – from covert cooperation to confidence-building moves, and now it
would appear imminently to full diplomatic relations – form a natural element in
this process.
Full relations with Sudan, in turn, will be of benefit to Israel in terms of
monitoring hostile activity along the Red Sea coast and in terms of potentially
opening doors to other African countries, including Djibouti and Somalia.
Sudan will also form an important component in the ongoing effort to contain
Iran along the entire southern Red Sea coast. So the latest developments
constitute a significant achievement for what Egyptian analyst Mohammed Soliman
has termed the “Abrahamic Alliance.”