English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For February 19/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Cana Wedding Miracle
John/02/01-11: On the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of
Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus also was invited, with his disciples, to
the marriage. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no
wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My
hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to
you, do it.” Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the Jews’
way of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece. Jesus said to them,
“Fill the water pots with water.” They filled them up to the brim. He said to
them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast.” So they took
it. When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn’t
know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the
ruler of the feast called the bridegroom, and said to him, “Everyone serves the
good wine first, and when the guests have drunk freely, then that which is
worse. You have kept the good wine until now!” This beginning of his signs Jesus
did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in
him.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 18-19/2023
Lent & The Cana Wedding Miracle/Marfaa Sunday/Elias Bejjani/February
19/2023
Hezbollah expands financial wing as Lebanon’s banking crisis
Lebanon’s 90% Devaluation Turns Into a Stealth Liquidity Squeeze
Raad admits Hezbollah has undeclared presidential candidate
Bassil rejects 'corrupt president, corrupt PM and corrupt central bank governor'
Taymour Jumblatt calls for agreeing on a president, allowing for resolution
Finance Ministry clarifies what was reported by “Reuters': Minister Al-Khalil
did not state that BDL Governor's mandate will be extended
Aoun warns against renewing Banque du Liban Governor's term
Pharmacists Syndicate: No choice but to declare an open strike, total
mobilization
Hence, BDL Governor is the architect of failed financial policies," tweets
Makhzoumi
Reformists trying to force Lebanon’s parliament to act/James J. Zogby/The Arab
Weekly/February 18/2023
What does the Bible say about thankfulness/gratitude?”/GotQuestions.org/February
18/2022
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 18-19/2023
Foreign Ministers of America, France,
Germany & Britain concerned about "growing" cooperation between Russia & Iran
Blinken exhorts Israeli, Palestinian leaders to ‘restore calm’
Israeli strikes reported in Damascus, 2 weeks after quake
Iranian Filmmakers Face Fight or Flight Amid Political Turmoil
US: Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine
China swipes at 'hysterical' U.S. at global security gathering
Europe’s Rebel Leader Woos Germany to Profit From Arms Race
Estonia to order munitions in one of its largest military purchases
U.S. handling of balloon incident 'hysterical', says China's top diplomat
Suspected IS attack in Syria death toll rises to 68
Turkish teen filmed ‘last moments’ from quake-hit apartment
Turkey quake fuels conspiracy posts on HAARP project
More than 70,000 buildings in Turkey need to be demolished: AJ correspondent
Turkey rescuers find three people alive 13 days after quake
Islamist attack on police station leaves seven dead
Titles For
The Latest
English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 18-19/2023
The tragedy of the earthquake and the
power of humanity/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/February 18/2023
How to finance our collective global survival/Mia Amor Mottley and Svenja
Schulze/Arab News/February 18/2023
Transatlantic ties transformed on Ukraine war anniversary/Andrew Hammond/Arab
News/February 18/2023
Time for a new rescue team in Libya/Ali Sarraf/The Arab Weekly/February 18/2023
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 18-19/2023
Lent & The Cana Wedding
Miracle/Marfaa Sunday
Elias Bejjani/February 19/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/83444/elias-bejjani-cana-wedding-miracle-the-forgiveness-marfaa-sunday-%d8%a3%d8%ad%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1%d9%81%d8%b9-%d9%88%d9%85%d8%b9%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d9%88%d9%85/
Lent period starts with the Cana Holy Wedding
Miracle and ends with the Holy Easter Day. Lent in the Maronite Church rite
starts this year on the ASH Monday, February 278/2023. The Sunday that comes
before the beginning of the lent period is called the raising (أحد المرفع) or
forgiveness Sunday (أحد الغفران).
Lent in principle is a Holy period that is ought to be utilized with God in
genuine contemplation, self humility, repentance, penances, forgiveness, praying
and conciliation with self and others. Lent is a privileged time of interior
pilgrimage towards Jesus Who is the fountain of all love, forgiveness and mercy.
Lent is a pilgrimage in which Jesus Himself accompanies us through the desert of
our poverty while sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter.
The lent period is a spiritual battle that we chose to fight our own selves and
all its bodily and earthly instinctual pleasures in a bid to abstain from all
acts and thoughts of sin.
Lent is ought to strengthen our hope and faith in a bid to fight Satan and to
keep away from his ways of sin and despair. Praying and contemplation teaches us
that Almighty God is there to guard us and to lead our steps during the entire
Lenten period.
When we fast and pray, we find time for God, to understand that his words will
not pass away.
Through fasting and praying we can enter into that intimate communion with Jesus
so that no one shall take from us the faith and hope that does not disappoint.
Fasting is a battle of spiritual engagement through which we seek to imitate
Jesus Christ who fought Satan’s temptations while fasting in the wilderness. He
triumphed over Satan, and we faithfully endeavour during the Lent period to tame
and defeat our earthly instincts and make our hearts, conscience and thinking
pure, immaculate and pious.
We fast and trust that the Lord is our loving Shepherd.
“Psalm 23:04: Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and staff comfort me.”
Reading the Holy Bible and praying offers us God’s Word with particular
abundance and empowers our souls and minds with His Word.
Mark 13:31: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”
By meditating and internalizing the Word Of God we learn precious and
irreplaceable forms of prayer.
By attentively listening to God, who continues to speak to our hearts, we
nourish the itinerary of faith initiated on the day of our Baptism.
Prayers and fasting allow us to gain a new concept of time and directs our steps
towards horizons of hope and joy that have no limits.
Hezbollah expands financial wing as Lebanon’s
banking crisis
Arab News/February 18, 2023
BEIRUT: The Association of Banks in Lebanon has warned against “a plan to
systematically destroy the banking sector, carried out by a group of no more
than 50 mercenaries.”The association was referring to a group of protesters who
set banks alight on Thursday. It released a statement saying: “The funds needed
to pay off your deposits are not with the banks, so entering them by force,
destroying them, or breaking their contents will not benefit you. You are only
harming yourselves and reducing the chances of regaining your rights. The time
has come for you to realize who took away your rights and who you should direct
your arrows at and pressure to recover them.” ABL said it was baffled by all the
accusations that its strike is contributing to the depreciation of the local
currency. “If banks close, they are accused of devaluating the local currency;
if they open, they are accused of playing the market.
SPEEDREAD
Lebanese economic bodies denounced the attacks on the banking sector, stressing
that everyone needs to act rationally and responsibly to overcome the prevailing
crises with the fewest possible losses, and to preserve the rights of
depositors.
“The banks deposit their customers’ deposits with the Banque du Liban, in
(accordance with) BDL’s circulars and in line with the principles of global
banking. These funds were used to support the exchange rate and to finance the
state, which then failed to return them. Some parties set out to absolve the
state of its obligations and, because of these dealings, banks lost all their
private money, which amounted to over $24 billion. Still, banks are accused of
seizing deposits and lending them to the BDL (out of) greed.”
The association accused the state of having spent more than $20 billion since
2019 in support of smuggling — by subsidizing materials being illegally taken
into Syria — and to maintain an exchange rate of LBP1,500 to the dollar.
It said: “Banks had lent over $55 billion in deposits and are working to recover
them in order to return them to the depositors, so most judicial decisions
oblige them to collect these debts on the basis of the official exchange rate
prior to the collapse — i.e. 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, or, at best,
according to a banker’s draft drawn from the BDL, equal to less than 15 percent
of the value of the loan it obtained. So how can banks return the deposits to
their customers now?”
One economic observer feared that the banks would be dragged into an open
strike, leading to complete closure, following the attacks on various branches,
thus putting them in direct confrontation with citizens. On Saturday, Lebanese
economic bodies denounced the attacks on the banking sector, stressing that
everyone needs to act rationally and responsibly to overcome the prevailing
crises with the fewest possible losses, and to preserve the rights of
depositors.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has announced the opening of a new branch of its Al-Qard
Al-Hasan Association, which is subject to US sanctions, in the predominantly
Druze and Christian Souk Al-Gharb Aley area, where the party has little to no
presence.
Al-Qard Al-Hasan is described as Hezbollah’s financial wing, so the new branch
reveals growth in Hezbollah’s financial institutions at the expense of the
state’s, which are collapsing.
An economic observer, who asked to remain anonymous, noted that Al-Qard Al-Hasan
seems to have benefitted from the banks’ decline and their inability to grant
loans, and has stepped in to fill the gap by providing loans in exchange for
mortgages of gold or property.
“This association lends money and keeps mortgages until it collects the amount,
and, in the event that the customer does not clear the loan, it sells the gold
or real estate,” they said.
The association’s files were hacked a year ago and some data was leaked,
including information about depositors and borrowers. The leaks showed that the
association possesses deposits amounting to around $500 million and had provided
loans worth $450 million.
The Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association is not licensed by the BDL, and cannot be
pursued or held accountable by the judiciary in the event that a borrower
encounters any problems. Former MP Mustafa Alloush told Arab News: “By opening
this new branch, Hezbollah is trying to give the impression that it is
non-sectarian and for all people. The fact is, the party does not make profits
from this association, as it does from cross-border smuggling, captagon trade,
and the collapse of the state.”
He continued: “The state’s hands are tied; what’s left of the state is unable to
take decisions unless the constitution is applied and the reforms that Lebanon
committed to are implemented.”
Alloush added that banks could benefit from the riots and use them as an excuse
to put pressure on the state so it would not be the only one responsible for the
loss of people’s deposits, but become a “partner in crime” with the state and
the BDL.
Lebanon’s 90% Devaluation Turns Into a Stealth Liquidity
Squeeze
NNA/ BLOOMBERG/February 18/2023
Lebanon’s first official devaluation in a quarter century has created a severe
liquidity squeeze, as lenders scour for local currency in a country already
wracked with a strike by bankers and a crackdown on exchange shops. The central
bank, also known as Banque Du Liban or BdL, is trying to prevent an even sharper
depreciation by restricting local-currency supply while also limiting the amount
of dollars it pumps through its Sayrafa foreign-exchange platform, according to
people familiar with the matter. BdL didn’t immediately reply to a request for
comment. The interest rate lenders charge one another for Lebanese pounds has
soared to as high as 55% this week as they try to close their foreign-exchange
positions at the central bank after its devaluation of 90% earlier in February,
two of the people said, declining to be identified because the information isn’t
public. Demand from customers for the local currency has taken off because they
have to repay dollar loans — taken out long before the crisis — in pounds at a
much weaker exchange rate. “In an attempt to slow down the currency devaluation,
BdL orchestrated a liquidity shortage in cash pounds,” said Mike Azar, a
financial analyst who’s been closely following the Lebanese crisis. “That
ultimately translates to depressing economic activity in order to slow down the
devaluation.”Trading volume on Sayrafa, which is mainly used by banks and
licensed foreign exchange bureaus, was only $15 million on Thursday, according
to BdL’s daily summaries, down from as much as $300 million in a single day last
month.
Lebanese Saga
It’s the latest twist in a financial crisis that’s been described as one of the
worst globally since the mid-19th century. Lebanon defaulted on $30 billion in
international debt almost two years ago and saw its economy crater, with a
combination of triple-digit inflation and a currency meltdown wiping out
people’s life savings. Although the central bank moved the official exchange
rate to 15,000 pounds per dollar, from 1,500, the US currency in the black
market hit another record high of around 80,000 pounds this week. The chaos has
forced businesses to price products exclusively in dollars to protect their
profit margins, and authorities are now allowing supermarkets to do the same.
With the exception of local produce, supermarkets will adopt the average of the
rate in the black market, according to caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam,
who said this was the optimal way to protect consumers. Adding to the turmoil,
people torched several bank branches in the capital, Beirut, lashing out against
the strike that began last week. Bankers are protesting recent judicial
decisions that force them to pay depositors in cash. In a statement, the
Association of Banks in Lebanon said their money is not available as most is
with the government and the central bank. Although lenders are on an open-ended
strike, ATMs are dispensing cash within limits set by BdL.“The more you shut
down pathways for currency transactions, all else being equal, the more the
pound would depreciate because there is less intermediation and price discovery
between buyer and seller,” Azar said. ---
Raad admits Hezbollah has undeclared presidential candidate
Naharnet/February 18/2023
The head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammed Raad, admitted Saturday
that his party has an undeclared presidential candidate, in an apparent
reference to Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh. "We have proposed to all
Lebanese to agree on the identity of the president who would befit this stage in
the country, and we have rejected the presence of a candidate who would be
provocative to anyone or any party, especially that the country does not bear
that we challenge each other," Raad said. "Some are insisting to use a
substitute candidate until they agree on their real candidate, and meanwhile we
have not revealed our candidate, but we have someone whom we want to become
president, and we want to propose him to convince others of him," Raad added.
Moreover, the Hezbollah lawmaker called for "a president who would be open to
everyone and can talk to everyone, without having a prior veto on him from
others."
Bassil rejects 'corrupt president, corrupt PM and corrupt central bank governor'
Naharnet/February 18/2023
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Saturday accused political rivals
of seeking to elect a "corrupt" president and to appoint a "corrupt PM and a
corrupt central bank governor.""Let no one threaten us with chaos or sanctions;
these threats have become old. Let no one threaten us with vacuum or in the
government and parliament," Bassil said during an FPM ceremony. "We either
choose the president with our own will or no one can impose him on us. A
president who comes on the back of chaos is like a president who comes on the
back of an Israeli tank," Bassil added.
"They want to carry out reform, but they want to meet and bring us a corrupt
president, a corrupt PM and a corrupt central bank governor who is more corrupt
than them and is being protected by them. They then get dismayed when we say no,
but we will say no and a hundred nos," the FPM chief went on to say. He also
emphasized that "someone like (Central Bank chief) Riad Salameh will be held
accountable.""If someone like him isn't held accountable, the country will not
rise," Bassil added.
Taymour Jumblatt calls for agreeing on a president,
allowing for resolution
NNA/February 18/2023
Head of the "Democratic Gathering" parliamentary bloc, MP Taymour Jumblatt,
expressed his fear towards the recent developments in the street, "that trigger
concerns for security and stability and call for immediate and necessary rescue
steps before it is too late, starting with an agreement over a president for the
republic and opening the way for much required improvement.”Amidst the
prevailing collapse at the financial and economic levels and the deepening
misery and impoverishment of the Lebanese, Jumblatt wondered isn’t it time for
launching the crucial solutions to ward off all the risks facing the country?
Jumblatt thus called, on the sidelines of his open meetings today at the
Mukhtara Palace, to take "steps to curb the daily collapse and rectify the
widening cases of chaos that have emerged in several areas in the country. He
also expressed his regret that three soldiers have recently lost their lives
during the Bekaa incident, offering deepest condolences to the Lebanese army
command and to their families, and expressing solidarity with the military
institution and other security apparatuses who are working relentlessly to
ensure citizen’s safety and protection.
Finance Ministry clarifies what was reported by “Reuters':
Minister Al-Khalil did not state that BDL Governor's mandate will be extended
NNA/February 18/2023
The Finance Ministry's media office clarified in an issued statement this
afternoon that Finance Minister Youssef Al-Khalil did not state nor suggest that
the Banque du Liban Governor's mandate will be extended. The statement continued
to explain that referring to the dire conditions Lebanon is going through,
Minister Al-Khalil considered that it may be difficult for the political forces
to agree on an alternative. As for the subject of extension, the Minister
pointed to the proposal of expending the term of first category state employees.
Aoun warns against renewing Banque du Liban Governor's term
NNA/February 18/2023
Former President Michel Aoun said on Twitter: "I warn all officials against
seeking to renew the mandate of the Central Bank's Governor, which will be the
end of Lebanon and the final blow that will cause its permanent collapse."
Pharmacists Syndicate: No choice but to declare an open
strike, total mobilization
NNA/February 18/2023
Head of the Pharmacists Syndicate, Dr. Joe Salloum, announced today that "there
is no choice but to declare an open strike and complete mobilization until the
election of a president for the country, the formation of a national rescue
government, and the initiation of reform steps."He indicated that he will be
communicating this during the scheduled meeting on Monday at the headquarters of
the General Labor Union, on behalf of the Hospitals' Syndicate Dean as well."The
germ, if not treated with the right antibiotic and in the required quantity and
period, becomes more powerful and impossible to eradicate," he added
metamorphically, in wake of the prevailing collapse and the indifference of
those concerned in the country.
Hence, BDL Governor is the architect of failed financial
policies," tweets Makhzoumi
NNA/February 18/2023
MP Fouad Makhzoumi wrote today on Twitter: "Thus, the Central Bank Governor, the
architect of failed financial policies that caused the economic and financial
collapse we are suffering from, with the blessing and coverage of the Prime
Minister and the Ministry of Finance, has led to Lebanon's increased debt in its
GDP by almost 100%...Here the goal of the ruling class becomes clear in being so
desperate to impede the forensic audit!"
Reformists trying to force Lebanon’s
parliament to act
James J. Zogby/The Arab Weekly/February 18/2023
Several weeks ago, I wrote an article outlining a radical proposal Ralph Nader
and I put forward for discussion. The proposal called on Lebanon’s civil society
to petition the United Nations to declare Lebanon a Chapter VII “failed state”
requiring international intervention. Many readers commented favourably on the
idea. Others thought the idea worth considering, but believed that it would
never pass the Security Council. The point of the proposal, however, was not to
present a fait accompli, but rather to spur exactly the type of discussion that
ensued.
What is clear is that Lebanon is broken, its people suffering, its governing
institutions not functioning and its traditional leadership incapable of meeting
the country’s challenges. Evidence of this dysfunction is the failure of
Lebanon’s parliament to elect a president for the past four months.
In the face of this paralysis, a courageous and important step has been taken by
some newly-elected members of the Lebanese parliament in their fourth week of a
protest sit-in in Beirut’s parliament building. Led by Najat Saliba and Melhem
Khalaf, two of the independent “Forces of Change” group of the newly-elected,
the protesters are calling on their colleagues to convene and fulfil their
responsibility to elect a president so at least a semblance of a functioning
government can be formed.
It is important to acknowledge that seating a president and cabinet is at best a
short-term fix that will not solve Lebanon’s multi-layered crises. At the same
time, the MPs’ decision to sit-in deserves support because it shines a light on
the dysfunctional mess created by the sectarian cliques controlling the
parliament. By focusing on petty agendas instead of the national interests,
these powerful sectarian elites have led the country to ruin.
In a letter appealing for support, MPs Saliba and Khalaf listed some of the
unaddressed hardships confronting the Lebanese people, particularly those
brought on by the country’s economic collapse. Given the steady erosion of the
Lebanese currency’s value, Lebanon’s average monthly income has plummeted from
$450 to $10. As a result, almost 75% of the population are living in poverty.
Three hundred thousand children are without schools. Patients with serious
illnesses are without medical care or essential medications. And most damningly,
they write, “Cholera is spreading, 90% of the water supply is polluted and over
one million families cannot afford fuel.” This nightmare is the reality in the
country whose capital was once heralded as the “Paris of the Middle East.”
In the face of this catastrophe and governing vacuum, the Lebanese parliament
has met 11 times since October and failed in its basic constitutional duty to
elect a president. Some members of parliament have approached their
responsibility seriously and simply disagreed on the right candidate to support.
Others have been purely obstructionist, preferring paralysis to electing a
president who will not protect their partisan group’s corrupt control over
ministries and budgets.
This inaction and obstruction has resulted in almost four months without a
president or cabinet, no government ministries to implement policies and the
parliament unable to pass laws. No authority can negotiate with international
institutions for loans or grants to fund needed revenues and services. And
members of parliament cannot enact reforms to protect basic rights, address
income inequality, ensure accountability for crimes against the Lebanese people,
nor challenge the endemic corruption at the heart of the Lebanese dilemma.
That is why, since January 19th, Saliba and Khalaf have been sitting-in, to
force parliamentary compliance with the constitutional requirement to remain in
open session until a president is chosen. They deserve support for their
courageous challenge. A new president will not solve Lebanon’s crisis, a far
deeper problem than can be remedied by a new face at the helm. Rather, the
formation of a government could help alleviate the hardships facing the
long-suffering Lebanese people. This protest action also exposes the
dysfunctional state of the political system and empowers the newly-elected
independent reformists whose numbers must grow if Lebanon is to change.In the
end, more fundamental transformations will be needed to end the corrosive impact
of sectarianism and corruption, but this direct action by a handful of
reformists is a first step on the long road forward.
What does the Bible say about thankfulness/gratitude?”
GotQuestions.org/February 18/2022
What does the Bible say about thankfulness/gratitude?
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/113449/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%a8%d8%ac%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a-%d8%aa%d8%a3%d9%85%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%a5%d9%8a%d9%85%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d9%85%d9%81%d9%87%d9%88%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84/
Answer: Thankfulness is a prominent Bible theme. First Thessalonians 5/16-18
says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for
this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Did you catch that? Give thanks in
all circumstances. Thankfulness should be a way of life for us, naturally
flowing from our hearts and mouths.
Digging into the Scriptures a little more deeply, we understand why we should be
thankful and also how to have gratitude in different circumstances.
Psalm 136:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures
forever.” Here we have two reasons to be thankful: God’s constant goodness and
His steadfast love. When we recognize the nature of our depravity and understand
that, apart from God, there is only death (John 10/10; Romans 07/05), our
natural response is to be grateful for the life He gives.
Psalm 30 gives praise to God for His deliverance. David writes, “I will exalt
you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies
gloat over me. O Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. O
Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the
pit. . . . You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and
clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my
God, I will give you thanks forever” (Psalm 30/01-12). Here David gives thanks
to God following an obviously difficult circumstance. This psalm of thanksgiving
not only praises God in the moment but remembers God’s past faithfulness. It is
a statement of God’s character, which is so wonderful that praise is the only
appropriate response.
We also have examples of being thankful in the midst of hard circumstances.
Psalm 28, for example, depicts David’s distress. It is a cry to God for mercy,
protection, and justice. After David cries out to God, he writes, “Praise be to
the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my
shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy, and I
will give thanks to him in song” (Psalm 28/06-07). In the midst of hardship,
David remembers who God is and, as a result of knowing and trusting God, gives
thanks. Job had a similar attitude of praise, even in the face of death: “The
LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job
01/21).
There are examples of believers’ thankfulness in the New Testament as well. Paul
was heavily persecuted, yet he wrote, “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in
triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance
of the knowledge of him” (02 Corinthians 02/14). The writer of Hebrews says,
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be
thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12/28).
Peter gives a reason to be thankful for “grief and all kinds of trials,” saying
that, through the hardships, our faith “may be proved genuine and may result in
praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (01 Peter 01/06-07).
The people of God are thankful people, for they realize how much they have been
given. One of the characteristics of the last days is a lack of thanksgiving,
according to (02 Timothy 03/02). Wicked people will be “ungrateful.”
We should be thankful because God is worthy of our thanksgiving. It is only
right to credit Him for “every good and perfect gift” He gives (James 10/17).
When we are thankful, our focus moves off selfish desires and off the pain of
current circumstances. Expressing thankfulness helps us remember that God is in
control. Thankfulness, then, is not only appropriate; it is actually healthy and
beneficial to us. It reminds us of the bigger picture, that we belong to God,
and that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 01/03).
Truly, we have an abundant life (John 10/10), and gratefulness is fitting.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on February 18-19/2023
Foreign Ministers of America, France, Germany & Britain concerned about
"growing" cooperation between Russia & Iran
NNA/Sat, February 18, 2023
The foreign ministers of the United States, France, Germany and Britain
expressed their concern about the growing cooperation between Iran and Russia,
during a meeting Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
They discussed their concerns about the two-way bilateral military cooperation
between Iran and Russia and its repercussions on security and stability in the
region and beyond," said a statement issued by a spokesman for US Secretary of
State Anthony Blinken, according to AFP. The meeting between Blinken and his
counterparts, the French Catherine Colonna, the German Annalina Berbock and the
British James Cleverly took place on the sidelines of the conference devoted to
international security and defense issues, which are largely overshadowed by
efforts to support Ukraine in the face of Russia. They also expressed their
"concern about the nuclear escalation" of Iran and its "non-cooperation with the
International Atomic Energy Agency," and called on it to "change its course,"
and reaffirmed their "solidarity with the Iranian people in the face of the
continued violations of human rights in Iran," according to the statement.
Blinken exhorts Israeli, Palestinian leaders
to ‘restore calm’
AFP/February 19, 2023
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Saturday with Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and separately with Palestinian President
Mahmud Abbas, reaffirming Washington's support for a “two-state solution” in the
region and asking the two to “restore calm.”Blinken spoke by telephone with both
leaders to reaffirm US commitment to “a negotiated two-state solution and
opposition to policies that endanger its viability,” State Department spokesman
Ned Price said. “The Secretary underscored the urgent need for Israelis and
Palestinians to take steps that restore calm and our strong opposition to
unilateral measures that would further escalate tensions.” That message followed
a decision by Israel’s new hard-right government to give retroactive permission
to multiple settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank — a move that drew
nearly unanimous criticism among major powers including the United States.The
White House said Thursday it was “deeply dismayed” by the Israeli decision, but
it nevertheless voiced opposition to a proposed UN Security Council resolution
to demand Israel end settlements in the occupied territories. Blinken met with
Abbas late last month in the West Bank at the end of an intense series of
diplomatic meetings planned before the latest flare-up of violence. In their
phone call, the two “discussed efforts to improve the quality of life of the
Palestinian people and enhance their security and freedom,” Price said in a
statement. Blinken and Netanyahu spoke about broader regional challenges, Price
said, “including the threats posed by Iran,” and Blinken underscored the United
States’ “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.” Last year was the deadliest
year in the West Bank since the United Nations started tracking casualties there
in 2005, and the deadly violence has continued this year.
Israeli strikes reported in Damascus, 2 weeks after quake
AP/February 19, 2023
DAMASCUS: Israeli airstrikes targeted a residential neighborhood in central
Damascus early Sunday, Syrian state news reported. Syrian state media agency
SANA, citing a source in the Damascus police command, reported that an
unspecified number of people had been killed and wounded.
Loud explosions were heard over the capital around 12:30 a.m. local time, and
SANA reported that Syrian air defenses were “confronting hostile targets in the
sky around Damascus.”There was no immediate statement from Israel on the attack.
Israeli airstrikes frequently target sites in the vicinity of Damascus. The
Saturday night strikes were the first since a devastating 7.8 magnitude
earthquake hit Turkiye and Syria on Feb. 6. The last reported attack on Damascus
was on Jan. 2, when the Syrian army reported that Israel’s military fired
missiles toward the international airport of Syria’s capital early Monday,
putting it out of service and killing two soldiers and wounding two others.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside
government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges or
discusses the operations. Israel has acknowledged, however, that it targets
bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has
sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
The Israeli strikes come amid a wider shadow war between Israel and Iran. The
attacks on airports in Damascus and Aleppo were over fears they were being used
to funnel Iranian weaponry into the country.
Iranian Filmmakers Face Fight or Flight Amid
Political Turmoil
Nick Vivarelli/Variety/Sat, February 18, 2023
The wave of protests sparked across Iran by the death of Mahsa Amini by Iranian
morality police in September came amid a banner year for Iranian cinema. But as
2023 kicks off, more than 500 people who have protested her death and called for
justice have been killed while prominent members of the Iranian film industry
were either arrested, put on trial or banned from making movies. The result
being that the country’s cinematic community has largely ground to a halt. Which
raises the question: unless something changes, how many films actually shot in
Iran will be surfacing on the international festival circuit going forward? In
2022, Iran-based directors landed slots in all major international film
festivals and won major awards. Revered auteur Jafar Panahi took the Venice
Special Jury Prize for “No Bears” and Houman Seyyedi’s tragicomedy “World War
III,” which was Iran’s candidate for the international Oscar, scooped two
statuettes on the Lido.But 2023 is kicking off with only films by Iranian
diaspora directors launching on the fest circuit. Case in point: native New
Yorker Maryam Keshavarz’s “The Persian Version,” which bowed at Sundance.
And the widening divide between Iran’s expat directors and Iranian filmmakers
living in the country is stark at the Berlinale.
Berlin’s Panorama section, which is titled “Films as Tools of Resistance,” is
opening with Paris-based Sepideh Farsi’s feature “The Siren” which provides a
timely take on the Iran-Iraq war. Incidentally, the section also features a doc
by Indian director Sreemoyee Singh titled “And, Towards Happy Alleys,” which is
about Panahi, who was recently released from Tehran’s Evin penitentiary after
spending seven months behind bars on charges of “anti-government propaganda.”But
the only film in this year’s Berlin selection that is by an Iran-based director
is Negin Ahmadi’s doc “Dream’s Gate” which depicts an all-female Kurdish militia
in Northern Syria. Berlin’s artistic director Carlo Chatrian says this year he
actually received more submissions from Iran than ever before. But the fest’s
selection committee was leery of Iranian films, many of which came from
companies affiliated with the government. Why? “Because for them it’s a
statement saying: ‘OK, this is not true what people abroad are saying about
us,’” he said. Chatrian added that “at times films [from Iran] that from the
outside look independent are not fully independent,” so they can still be seen
as a form of government propaganda.
In solidarity with the protests sparked by Amini’s death, the Berlinale has
banned Iranian government film industry entities such as the Farabi Cinema
Foundation, Iran’s national film promotion outfit which has been attending
Berlin’s European Film Market with a stand for years.
And on Feb. 18 there will be an event on the Berlinale Palast red carpet to
shine a spotlight on the fest’s position against Iran’s repressive regime.
Berlin’s executive director Mariëtte Rissenbeek pointed out that it’s bound to
be more difficult these days for filmmakers in Iran, most of whom are
anti-government, to make films. “They are for freedom of expression, which is
exactly what the Iranian state is trying to fight right now,” she said.
That, of course, is indeed the case.
“Iranian cinema is now under attack in Iran,” noted “World War III” helmer
Seyyedi, in an email interview from Tehran. “As a middle-aged man who is deeply
involved with the present problems, I have no idea if I will really be able to
start making another movie in future. We will have to wait and see what
happens.”According to Mohammad Attebbai, head of Tehran-based sales company
Iranian Independents, at the moment “Iran’s nearly 50% inflation and its severe
censorship codes dissuade anyone from investing in a movie.”Attebbai added,
“There are lots of filmmakers who, like many others in the country, believe it
is impossible to keep living in Iran and are trying to immigrate. “They simply
cannot tolerate the situation any longer, with censorship getting much worse and
film production slowing down dramatically,” he said. Most artists at present are
banned from travel outside Iran. Significantly, two-time Oscar winner Asghar
Farhadi, Iran’s best-known director, is currently working on his new film in Los
Angeles and Europe. Farhadi was at the Zurich Film Festival when protests
following the death of Amini erupted. He voiced support for the protests and has
returned to Iran since. As an Iranian diaspora director, Paris-based Farsi said
she now feels a greater responsibility “to carry on the flag of making films
that are relevant and have to do with Iran, though maybe not directly.” “I don’t
know how ‘The Siren’ will travel,” she pointed out. “But for sure I would really
love people in Iran to see it. “The end of the film has hope, and I really would
like them to feel it as glow of sun for the near future of Iran. Because I’m
really hoping that we will reach a victory soon.”
US: Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine
KARL RITTER and GEIR MOULSON/Sat, February 18, 2023
The United States has determined that Russia has committed crimes against
humanity in Ukraine, Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday, insisting that
“justice must be served” to the perpetratrors. Speaking at the Munich Security
Conference, Harris said that the international community has both a moral and a
strategic interest in pursuing those crimes, pointing to a danger of other
authoritarian governments taking advantage if international rules are
undermined. “Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack
against a civilian population — gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and
deportation,” Harris said. She also cited “execution-style killings, beatings,
and electrocution.” The Biden administration formally determined last March that
Russian troops had committed war crimes in Ukraine and said it would work with
others to prosecute offenders. A determination of crimes against humanity goes a
step further, indicating that attacks against civilians are being carried out in
a widespread and systematic manner. “Russian authorities have forcibly deported
hundreds of thousands of people, from Ukraine to Russia, including children,”
Harris said. “They have cruelly separated children from their families."
She also pointed to the attack in mid-March on a theater in the strategic port
city of Mariupol where civilians had been sheltering, which killed hundreds, and
to the images of civilians' bodies left on the streets of Bucha after the
Russian pullback from the Kyiv area last spring.
Harris said that, as a former prosecutor and former head of California's
Department of Justice, she knows “the importance of gathering facts and holding
them up against the law.”“In the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, we have
examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt,” she
said. “These are crimes against humanity.”Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who
also was attending the Munich conference, said in a statement issued as Harris
spoke that “we reserve crimes against humanity determinations for the most
egregious crimes.”The new determination underlines the “staggering extent” of
suffering inflicted on Ukrainian civilians and “also reflects the deep
commitment of the United States to holding members of Russia’s forces and other
Russian officials accountable for their atrocities,” he said. Harris told the
annual gathering of security and defense officials from around the world: "Let
us all agree — on behalf of all the victims, both known and unknown, justice
must be served.”
“Such is our moral interest,” she said. “We also have a significant strategic
interest.”“No nation is safe in a world where one country can violate the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of another, where crimes against humanity
are committed with impunity, where a country with imperialist ambitions can go
unchecked,” Harris added. If Russian President Vladimir Putin succeeds in
attacking international rules and norms, “other nations could feel emboldened to
follow his violent example,” she said. “Other authoritarian powers could seek to
bend the world to their will, through coercion, disinformation and even brute
force.”Harris' audience Saturday didn't include any Russian officials.
Conference organizers decided not to invite them this year. Asked on the
sidelines of the event about the U.S. determination, Ukrainian Foreign Minister
Dmytro Kuleba replied that “Russia waged a genocidal war against Ukrainians
because they do not recognize our identity and they do not think we deserve to
exist as a sovereign nation."“Everything that stems from that is crimes against
humanity, war crimes and various other atrocities committed by the Russian army
in the territory of Ukraine,” he said. "Let lawyers sort out specifically which
act belongs where in terms of legal qualification.” Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Western allies in a video address to the Munich
conference on Friday to quicken their military support for Ukraine, declaring
that “it’s speed that life depends on.”Kuleba voiced confidence that Ukraine
would eventually receive fighter jets from its partners, despite their current
reluctance. He noted that they initially pushed back on providing six other
types of heavy weapons that were later delivered or promised to Ukraine —
anti-tank weapons, artillery, multiple-launch rocket systems, air defense
systems, tanks and long-range missiles. “So the only outstanding type of weapon
is planes,” Kuleba said.
*Geir Moulson contributed to this report from Berlin.
China swipes at 'hysterical' U.S. at global security
gathering
Humeyra Pamuk and Ryan Woo/MUNICH/BEIJING (Reuters)/Sat, February 18, 2023
China's top diplomat on Saturday accused the United States of violating
international norms with "hysterical" behaviour, as a running spat over a
suspected Chinese spy balloon bubbled to the fore at a global security
conference in Munich. The comments by Wang Yi further clouded the prospects of a
meeting between Wang and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the sidelines
of the gathering. Asked by Reuters whether he would meet Blinken, Wang later
smiled and declined comment. Wang was speaking on the second day of the annual
Munich Security Conference, which this year had so far been dominated by the
global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the war grinds towards its
second year. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris later shot back, saying she was
troubled that China had deepened its relationship with Russia since the Feb. 24
invasion and that Chinese support to Russia would undermine the rules-based
international order. The spat over the balloon - which flew over the United
States and Canada before being shot down on President Joe Biden's orders, hit
already strained relations and at a time when the West is closely watching
Beijing's response to the Ukraine war. "To have dispatched an advanced fighter
jet to shoot down a balloon with a missile, such behaviour is unbelievable,
almost hysterical," said Wang. "There are so many balloons all over the world,
and various countries have them, so is the United States going to shoot all of
them down?," he said. "We ask the U.S. to show its sincerity and correct its
mistakes, face up and resolve this incident, which has damaged Sino-U.S.
relations." The balloon spat had prompted Blinken to postpone a planned visit to
Beijing. That Feb. 5-6 trip would have been the first by a U.S. secretary of
state to China in five years and was seen by both sides as an opportunity to
stabilise ties. On its part, Washington is hoping to put a "floor" under
relations that hit a dangerous low in August with China's reaction to a visit to
Taiwan by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
THINKING CALMLY
The West has been wary of China's response to the war in Ukraine, with some
warning that a Russian victory would colour China's actions towards Taiwan.
China has refrained from condemning the war or calling it an "invasion". "If
(Russian President Vladimir) Putin thinks he can wait us out, he is badly
mistaken," Harris said in a panel at the gathering of top politicians, military
officers and defence industry chiefs and experts at the Munich conference. "Time
is not on his side."Wang reiterated a call for dialogue and suggested European
countries "think calmly" about how to end the war. Wang also said there were
"some forces that seemingly don't want negotiations to succeed, or for the war
to end soon," without specifying to whom he was referring. Russia, which has
cast its "special military operation" in Ukraine as an existential battle with
an aggressive and arrogant West, on Friday accused the United States of inciting
Ukraine to escalate the war by condoning attacks on Crimea. The Munich
conference began on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urging
Western allies to speed up sending modern weaponry in what he cast as a "David-vs-Goliath"
war for freedom against Russia. On Saturday, European Union chief Ursula von der
Leyen outlined plans to speed up giving sorely needed munitions to Ukraine and
replenish the bloc's own stocks, while Poland signalled a willingness to send
MiG fighter jets to Kyiv. Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also met
Wang at the conference. Berlin has been reviewing its own ties to Beijing since
the invasion, wary of its economy's heavy reliance on the Chinese market. "We
discussed intensively yesterday what a just peace would look like," Baerbock
said. "Not that you reward the attacker, the aggressor, but that you stand up
for international law and for those who were attacked. China is as a permanent
member of the UN Security Council obligated to use its influence to secure world
peace."
Europe’s Rebel Leader Woos Germany to Profit From Arms Race
Bloomberg/Sat, February 18, 2023
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban refused to send weapons to Ukraine after
Russia’s invasion, saying he didn’t want his country to be dragged into a war.
Last month, he hit out at the German government for agreeing to dispatch tanks.
But that’s not stopping the European Union’s populist-in-chief from trying to
turn Hungary into a weapons hub to profit from what’s become one of the most
lucrative industries in Europe. And that means deepening ties with corporate
Germany, even as he needles politicians in Berlin. Rheinmetall AG is building
three factories in Hungary to make tanks, ammunition and explosives. While
initial output will go to fulfill Hungarian orders that predate the war to
upgrade the local military’s Soviet-era equipment, it also lays the groundwork
for a nascent Hungarian defense industry that Orban soon hopes to become a key
arms exporter. The blueprint is Hungary’s auto industry. Mercedes-Benz Group AG,
BMW AG and Volkswagen AG’s Audi factories have become a linchpin of the local
economy. Officials make no secret that new investment may also help shore up
political ties with Germany at a time when Orban’s priority is to unlock more
than $30 billion in funding that the EU suspended over corruption and rule of
law concerns. “The defense industry will add another cylinder to our economic
engine, similar to what we have already accomplished in other parts of the
economy such as the car industry,” Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky
said in an interview in Budapest. “I only hope that it improves the
German-Hungarian relationship even further.” Relations between Germany and
Hungary have been fraught in recent years over everything from the EU budget and
LGBTQ rights to the response to the war in Ukraine and Orban’s coziness with
Vladimir Putin. Away from the political optics, though, the embrace between the
Hungarian premier and German executives has been growing tighter.
Since Orban’s return to power in 2010, foreign direct investment by German
companies — for long the most important foreign source of jobs — has continued
to surge, despite rising concerns about corruption and the erosion of the rule
of law under his leadership. Last year, as the EU suspended Hungary’s funding,
Mercedes-Benz and BMW announced their involvement in $10 billion of investments
in a country that’s now ranked the most corrupt of the bloc’s 27 members by
Transparency International. Rheinmetall said it’s investing “three-digit million
euros” in Hungary as the maker of the high-tech Leopard tank expands its
footprint in Europe. While setting up factories in countries that place military
orders isn’t unique, Hungary is different because it’s part of a joint venture
with the state. Orban’s government co-financed the Rheinmetall plants for an
undisclosed sum. One of the trio of factories will produce the Lynx armored
infantry vehicle, of which Hungary has ordered 218.
The company said the importance of a market isn’t measured just by order volume.
“The willingness of both sides to jointly develop a long-term strategy and
partnership is equally relevant,” it said in a statement to Bloomberg. There’s
also the possibly down the line of Hungary being used to ship arms to Ukraine.
Rheinmetall’s plans include potentially sending the next generation tank, the
Panther, to Kyiv “in 15 to 18 months,” Chief Executive Officer Armin Papperger
told Handelsblatt business weekly this month. They could be produced in Germany
or Hungary, he said.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is trying to convince Rheinmetall to choose
Germany over Hungary as the location for its future weapons and defense
factories because of the jobs, according to a person familiar with his economic
strategy. Senior German officials plan to discuss weapons and munition
procurement with Papperger on the sidelines of this weekend’s Munich Security
Conference, a person familiar with the talks said. But what’s mission critical
is that manufacturing is ramped up quickly and the weapons are made within the
EU’s single market, even if that’s Hungary. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel for
years was seen as shielding the Hungarian nationalist from tougher EU scrutiny
for the sake of European unity while Orban openly set about dismantling liberal
democracy. By contrast, Scholz has been supportive of tough EU financial
penalties against Orban’s government. The real leverage is corporate, said Tamas
Varga Csiki, an analyst at the National Public Service University’s Defense
Institute. “At the end of the day, German politicians are happy when their
businesses are happy,” he said. “Like car manufacturing, the defense industry
will be another form of insurance to prevent political differences from
fundamentally undermining the Germany-Hungary relationship.”
For Rheinmetall, the deal with Hungary to effectively foot the bill for building
the plants in return for a share of the profits is an opportunity to push
Germany for something similar. The trouble is that appetite in Scholz’s
coalition for such a close alliance is limited, though negotiations are fluid,
said two people familiar with the matter. CEO Papperger has floated the idea of
locating a new ammunition powder factory in Hungary instead of Saxony unless his
terms are met, the people said. They declined to be identified while talks are
ongoing. For now, the Lynx factory is expected to gear up into mass production
in July. The other two plants will produce 30-millimeter caliber ammunition for
Rheinmetall’s Lynx infantry fighting vehicle from 2024. There are also plans to
produce projectiles for the Leopard 2 main battle tank and calibers for the
self-propelled howitzer 2000, the type of weapon Germany has sent to Ukraine.
Hungary’s emergence as a potentially key weapons hub also sets up a political
conundrum for Orban, namely whether he will reverse a position to supply arms to
Ukraine.The first few years of output at the three Rheinmetall plants will go to
meet the Hungarian government’s order, Defense Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky said
in the interview late last month. He declined to speculate about a change of
policy later on. While Ukraine has become the main export market for arms,
Hungary’s importance for Rheinmetall may remain even after the war next door.
Weapons produced in the country fall under looser export rules than in Germany,
where the country’s Nazi history has led to strict oversight of export licenses,
according to Csiki, the analyst. “No one is going to protest in front of
Parliament in Budapest if the weapons produced here end up in a conflict zone,”
he said.
Estonia to order munitions in one of its largest military
purchases
VILNIUS (Reuters)/Sat, February 18, 2023
Estonia is set to order a "significant quantity" of so-called loitering
munitions, to be delivered in 2024 to increase the distance of its attacks,
defence ministry said on Saturday. The NATO and European Union member said on
Feb. 8 it believed Russia still had the strength to exert "credible military
pressure" on the Baltic region, where the security risk has risen for the medium
and long-term. The loitering munitions, also called "kamikaze drones", cruise
towards their target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact. The
purchase of an unspecified number, set to be one of the largest in Estonia's
history, is expected to be concluded this quarter. It is being made "in order to
significantly increase (Estonian) indirect fire capability as a consequence of
Russian aggression", the defence ministry said. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd
Austin reiterated on Thursday the United States was ready to defend the Baltic
states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania if required, and will keep its military
presence in the region.
Leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan set for first meeting since October
Reuters/Sat, February 18, 2023
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are set to meet for the first time since
October at trilateral talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in
Munich on Saturday, the U.S. State Department said. Tensions have escalated
between the two South Caucasus nations over a two-month blockade of the Lachin
corridor, the only land route giving Armenia direct access to the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh region. The U.S. State Department said Blinken would meet
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev at
1235 GMT. The politicians are attending the three-day Munich Security
Conference. Armenia has sent Azerbaijan a draft proposal for a peace settlement,
Pashinyan said this week. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part
of Azerbaijan, but its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians
and it broke away from Baku in a first war in the early 1990s. Azeri civilians
identifying themselves as environmental activists have been facing off since
Dec. 12 with Russian peacekeepers on the Lachin corridor. Yerevan says the
protesters are government-backed agitators. Baku denies blockading the road,
saying that some convoys and aid are allowed through.
Saturday's meeting would be the two leaders' first face-to-face encounter since
late October, when Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted talks in the Black
Sea city of Sochi. A Dec. 7 meeting in Brussels was scrapped.
U.S. handling of balloon incident 'hysterical', says China's top diplomat
Reuters/Sat, February 18, 2023
China's top diplomat Wang Yi said on Saturday that the U.S. handling of the
balloon incident had been "unimaginable" and "hysterical" - an "absurd" act that
had violated international norms. "There are so many balloons all over the
world, so is the United States going to shoot all of them down?," Wang, director
of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China
(CPC) Central Committee, said at the Munich Security Conference. A suspected
Chinese surveillance balloon, which Beijing denies was a government spy vessel,
spent a week flying over the United States and Canada before being shot down off
the Atlantic Coast earlier this month on U.S. President Joe Biden's orders. The
incident, which had prompted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone
a planned visit early this month to Beijing, has further aggravated already
strained relations between Washington and Beijing. Wang was responding to
questions by the Munich conference's moderator on the incident, and was asked if
he would engage with U.S. delegates present to restore Sino-U.S. dialogue to a
more normal track. "We ask the U.S. to show its sincerity and correct its
mistakes, face up and resolve this incident, which has damaged Sino-U.S.
relations," he said. "We hope the U.S. could pursue a pragmatic and positive
policy towards China, and work with China to push Sino-U.S. relations back to
the track of healthy development."Blinken was thought to have considered meeting
with Wang on the sidelines of the conference, but as of early Saturday no such
meeting had been confirmed. Blinken is set to depart Munich on Sunday. His visit
to Beijing would have been the first by a U.S. secretary of state to China in
five years, and had been seen by both sides as a chance to stabilise bilateral
ties.
Suspected IS attack in Syria death toll rises to 68
Agence France Presse/Sat, February 18, 2023
The death toll from an attack blamed on the Islamic State group in Syria has
risen to 68, a war monitor said Saturday, the deadliest attack in over a year.
"A total of 61 civilians and seven soldiers have been killed in the attack,"
said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The
Britain-based Observatory, which has a wide network of sources inside Syria,
said the attack had been carried out on Friday by jihadists on motorcycles who
opened fire on truffle hunters. The monitor said that IS was taking advantage of
the annual harvest of the desert fungus delicacy, which generally runs from
February to April, to carry out attacks in remote locations.IS group did not
immediately claim the attack on its usual channels.Syrian state media had
reported 53 deaths Friday, after the attack in the southwest town of Al-Sokhna.
It was the deadliest attack by IS since January last year when they stormed a
prison in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Hasakeh in a bid to free
fellow jihadists. The resulting fighting inside the
city killed 105 people, mostly civilians, as well as 268 jihadists. After the
jihadists lost their last scraps of territory following a military onslaught
backed by a U.S.-led coalition in March 2019, IS remnants in Syria mostly
retreated to hideouts in the desert. They have since used such hideouts to
ambush Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops, while continuing to
mount attacks in neighboring Iraq.
Turkish teen filmed ‘last moments’ from
quake-hit apartment
AFP/February 19, 2023
ADIYAMAN: A 17-year-old high school student has captured Turkish hearts after he
filmed a farewell message to his loved ones as he was trapped under the rubble
of his home during last week’s earthquake. Taha Erdem and his family were fast
asleep when a 7.8 magnitude quake hit their hometown of Adiyaman on Feb. 6. Taha
was abruptly woken by violent tremors shaking the four-story apartment building
in a blue-collar neighborhood of the central Anatolian city. Within 10 seconds,
Taha, his mother, father and younger brother and sister were plunging downward
with the building. He found himself alone and trapped under tons of rubble, with
waves of powerful aftershocks shifting the debris, squeezing his space amid the
mangled mess of concrete and twisted steel. Taha took out his cellphone and
began recording a final goodbye, hoping it would be discovered after his death.
“I think this is the last video I will ever shoot for you,” he said from the
tight space, his phone shaking in his hand as tremors rocked the collapsed
building. Showing remarkable resilience and bravery for a teenager believing he
was speaking his last words, he lists his injuries and speaks of his regrets and
the things he hopes to do if he emerges alive. During the video, the screams of
other trapped people can be heard. “We are still shaking. Death, my friends,
comes at a time when one is least expecting it,” says Taha, before reciting a
prayer. “There are many things that I regret. May God forgive me of all my sins.
If I get out of here alive today there are many things that I want to do. We are
still shaking, yes. My hand isn’t shaking, it’s just the earthquake.”The teen
goes on to recount that he believes his family are dead, along with many others
in the city, and that he will soon join them. But Taha was destined to be among
some of the first saved from the destroyed building. He was pulled from the
rubble two hours later by neighbors and taken to an aunt’s home. Ten hours after
the quake, his parents and siblings were also saved by local residents who dug
at the wreck of the building with their bare hands and whatever tools they could
find.
When they were contacted on Thursday they were living in a government-provided
tent, along with hundreds of thousands of others who survived the disaster that
hit southern Turkiye and north Syria, killing more than 43,000.
Turkey quake fuels conspiracy posts on HAARP project
Agence France Presse/Sat, February 18, 2023
Conspiracy theories about a U.S. research station have resurged, with social
media users falsely blaming it for the Turkey-Syria earthquakes, following
debunked claims it causes weather disasters and spreads the coronavirus.
Scientists have for years been refuting claims that the High-frequency Active
Auroral Research Program (HAARP), with its Alaska facility boasting 180 radio
antennae, is a U.S. government-backed program to weaponize the atmosphere and
subjugate the population. The series of earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria
on February 6, killing tens of thousands of people, gave rise to a new variant
of the theory on social media in various languages.It has been dismissed by
experts as science fiction.
'Crazy' earthquake claims
Some users cited flashes of light before the quake as evidence they were
artificially generated by HAARP. Some claimed it was to punish Turkey for
resisting the admission of new member countries to NATO.
"This is so crazy. It's like asking if the earthquake was caused by Bugs
Bunny digging for carrots," said David Keith, professor of applied physics at
the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
"There is simply no known mechanism for anything remotely like HAARP to
have any impact on earthquakes."HAARP sends radio waves to heat electrons in the
ionosphere, the top layer of Earth's atmosphere, to study their effects on
communications systems. Its waves are not big enough
to reach Turkey. Quakes are caused by movements of the Earth's crust. Experts
told AFP lights are commonly seen during earthquakes. Theories vary about their
origin. In some cases, they come from power lines or electricity stations shaken
by the quake. HAARP was run by the United States Air Force and Navy before being
handed over in 2015 to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Michael Lockwood,
professor of space environment physics at the University of Reading, said claims
about HAARP being used as a weapon may have stemmed from the program initially
using radio waves to communicate with submarines -– a function that became
obsolete after the Cold War. This history "got blown up into the farcical idea
that HAARP is some form of a weapon," Lockwood said."Some form of social mind
control is the usual favorite but generating earthquakes is one that I hadn't
heard before."
Climate change theories
Numerous social media posts have claimed HAARP is used to engineer storms and
heatwaves. Some recent ones suggested the aim is to create climate change so
that authorities can restrict people's activities or even reduce the population.
Some cited a patent for a proposed device to heat parts of the ionosphere for
defense purposes. Filed in 1985 at the height of the Cold War, the document
claims the technology could be used for "missile or aircraft destruction" or
"weather modification." But the patent has since expired and there is no
evidence the technology in it was developed. HAARP's transmitters send radio
waves from 80 kilometers to more than 500 km (50-310 miles) above the Earth's
surface -- far too high for such signals to affect weather or climate. "The idea
that technology can somehow bring about these extreme events makes no sense,"
Ella Gilbert, a meteorologist at the British Antarctic Survey, told AFP. "It is
technically extremely difficult to influence such a large, complex and chaotic
system as the weather."
False Covid connection
Other posts claim signals from HAARP can hit Earth, disrupting communications
and power, and even harming people's health. David Hysell, a professor of earth
and atmospheric sciences at Cornell University, said HAARP was no more dangerous
than any other electrical or radio station. Researchers have identified
similarities between the HAARP claims and a wave of conspiracy theories about 5G
telecommunications that emerged during the Covid pandemic.Millions of people
viewed Facebook posts claiming to show spacecraft from HAARP "emitting 5G
radiation which contains the coronavirus."
The posts showed a photo of a flying object leaving contrails. An analysis by
AFP Fact Check indicated the photo was a montage."I don't know where the
conspiracy theories surrounding HAARP come from," said Hysell. "I think people
confuse the research purpose of HAARP, which is to study naturally occurring
hazards in space, with the operations of the facility itself."
More than 70,000 buildings in Turkey need to
be demolished: AJ correspondent
NNA/AL- JAZEERA/Sat, February 18, 2023
Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith reporting from Adana says the government believes
some 74,000 buildings that are standing, but must be demolished as soon as
possible.“We are talking about people’s homes. Not the ones that have already
collapsed in the ground,” he said from a temporary relief centre, adding that
more than 374,000 people have been evacuated.
Turkey rescuers find three people alive 13
days after quake
Agence France Presse/Sat, February 18, 2023
Turkish rescuers on Saturday pulled three people, including a child, alive from
the rubble 13 days after a massive quake claimed tens of thousands of lives, but
one later died, local media reported. The channel did
not provide any further details. A journalist for
Turkish television channel NTV later reported that one of those found had died
after being taken to hospital. NTV broadcast images of
rescuers placing the rescued people onto stretchers after they had spent 296
hours trapped in the rubble. A 7.8-magnitude tremor on
February 6 rocked southeastern Turkey and Syria, killing more than 43,000 people
and leaving millions without proper shelter. Teams have been finding survivors
all week despite them being stuck for so long under the rubble in freezing
weather, but their numbers have dropped to just a handful in the past few days.
Turkish rescuers on Friday pulled a 45-year-old man from rubble, several
hours after others discovered three people including a 14-year-old boy alive
under debris.
Islamist attack on police station leaves seven dead
NNA/ RT/Sat, February 18, 2023
The Pakistani Taliban has attacked the police headquarters in Pakistan’s
southern city of Karachi, murdering three officers and a civilian before the
militants were killed in an hours-long gun battle with security forces. The
three assailants, armed with grenades and other weapons, stormed the police
compound on Friday, targeting a heavily guarded facility that houses the city’s
most senior officers. Some reports suggest that the attackers wore police
uniforms, just as was the case in a Pakistani Taliban mosque bombing last month
that killed over 100 people, including more than 80 officers. In Friday’s
attack, witnesses reported hearing a large explosion from inside the station,
following multiple smaller blasts and hail of gunfire. The Islamists were killed
as security forces retook control of a five-story office building, going from
floor to floor and room to room to find them. The incident left 18 people
wounded. Deputy Inspector General Irfan Baloch told Reuters that there could
have been as many as 30 police at the station at the time of the attack. The
Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has stepped
up its attacks against Pakistan’s government in recent months. TTP has become
more active since the Afghan Taliban regained control of neighboring Afghanistan
in August 2021. ---
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on February 18-19/2023
The tragedy of the earthquake
and the power of humanity
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/February 18/2023
In the midst of a period in world history that is characterized by fragmentation
and discord, it takes a tragedy of the magnitude of the earthquake in Turkiye
and Syria to unite us in a common understanding of what is really important for
all of us, as human beings and as societies, but equally in our relations with
other nations and their people. In an era of 24-hour news and constant social
media feed, we watch in horror a disaster that has already claimed more than
45,000 lives and left many more injured, causing unimaginable devastation as it
unfolds before our eyes like a horror movie, but in this case it is real life
and real suffering.
We hold our breath as we watch rescue teams pull survivors out of the rubble, be
it a child, a pregnant woman or an elderly person, and for a split second our
hearts are filled with joy and gratitude toward those brave women and men for
their dedication under such dangerous conditions, and with the hope of
miraculously finding more survivors.
Suddenly people around the world are united in pain in the face of immeasurable
suffering. Old differences, even enmities, are put aside, and instead our
humanity is pouring out. Rescue teams rush in from far and wide, and millions of
people are opening their wallets and donating whatever they can in support of
international organizations that deliver humanitarian aid. Dozens of countries
dispatched rescue teams and other forms of aid immediately after the earthquake
hit, and billions of dollars have already been pledged by the international
community for the eventual rebuilding process, although due to the political
conditions in Syria that country has benefited less from the outpouring of both
material and spiritual generosity.
While the very humane response of being deeply touched by this disaster and
wanting to help is moving and should be taken as a most natural response that is
only to be expected, it also begs the question: Why is this sense of
camaraderie, deep empathy, altruism and international cooperation prompted in
the face of certain events and not others, especially if those others are
man-made, and why doesn’t that same reaction last? There is something about the
random nature and the ferocity of natural disasters, and the fact that they are
clearly no one’s fault, that unites us in grief but also in wishing to support
the victims in any way we can, be it by donating money, food, blankets, clothing
or tents, or rushing to the scene to rescue, comfort, and eventually help
rebuild these devastated communities.
This response deserves respect, even admiration, but should be extended beyond
such cruel disasters, as a norm for other issues that could save millions more
lives and improve the quality of even more, but instead countries and societies
fall into the trap of believing that in cooperating on such issues they are
compromising their national interests, and in supporting others they deprive
themselves of resources, while being unable to see the bigger picture and
acknowledge that mutual support means the sum is bigger than its parts.
There is something about the ferocity of natural disasters that unites us in
grief.
It is one of the greatest challenges of our times to completely demolish the
Hobbesian “state of nature” idea that humanity’s natural condition is a state of
war, a view that has been taking hold of our way of thinking and consequently
dictates that we see others as potential threats and enemies rather than friends
and allies. In dealing with the big challenges that pose a threat to our
survival, we instead need to translate Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “social contract”
into a global contract, in which collaboration according to an agreed set of
rules ensures our physical survival and improves our standard of living and
wellbeing.
While natural disasters, because they appear suddenly with little warning and
great destructive force, lead us to focus our attention on taking actions that
limit their consequences, inexplicably, crucial existential issues such as the
climate change crisis, wars and conflicts, or the need for political, social and
economic development, hardly manage to prompt such actions. To a certain extent
this discrepancy can be attributed to our attention span, especially with the
24-hour news cycle and the social media stream, but this would be to
oversimplify and overlook much deeper flaws in us as human beings and as part of
the state-based system.
We are driven partly by instincts, but to a much greater extent by education,
socialization and indoctrination, to be less trusting and more suspicious of one
another, and to prioritize ourselves, even when there is a room for cooperation
or generosity toward the “other.” It takes a disaster on the scale of the
Turkish and Syrian earthquake to arouse our empathy, and to show with it a
readiness to forego those distrustful traits in favor of the greater good.
Couldn’t this fleeting, even though genuine, outburst of care and support and
clear vision on how to improve things while mobilizing different segments of
society and resources for a worthy cause, be applied to other areas of our
lives? We are witnessing this to an extent in the war in Ukraine, but while most
of the world sides with Ukraine against the Russian aggressor, it remains a
divisive issue that a year later is still unnecessarily spilling the blood of
thousands of innocent people. But since it is a man-made disaster, instead of
finding common ground and stopping it, reconstructing, rehabilitating and aiding
recovery from its traumatic effects, the conflict is being fueled not only by
the aggressor, but also by those who support it.
Similarly, while there is agreement in principle on how to address global
warming, and despite a looming disaster of a magnitude that might bring
humankind to extinction, the implementation of these agreements suffers from
partisan and parochial interests. By establishing a united front in dealing with
global warming, with a sense of purpose and the allocation of adequate
resources, disasters on an even bigger scale than the earthquake in Turkiye and
Syria could be averted, but this would require putting aside vested interests,
something that is far beyond the current state of affairs.
It seems that when it comes to disasters inflicted by our own doing, although
they are preventable, we are reluctant to apply the same logic, empathy and
selflessness as we show when natural disasters hit us. For this approach to
change before it is too late, we need to rethink both the way we perceive what
it means to be part of humanity as a whole, and also how it needs to be
preserved, and accordingly build the institutions and tools to facilitate this.
• Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate
fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the
international written and electronic media.
Twitter: @YMekelberg
How to finance our collective global survival
Mia Amor Mottley and Svenja Schulze/Arab News/February 18/2023
We must face, and act on, an inconvenient truth. The impact of human activities
on Earth’s geology and ecosystems is threatening the foundations of life on our
planet and decades of progress in human development. We are acting counter to
the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — a future that
guarantees a decent life for all. Our survival and continued prosperity demand
structural change and immediate action.
Scientists warn that breaching planetary boundaries will trigger tipping points,
leading to irreversible damage and a catastrophic decline of natural systems.
Collapsing fish stocks, melting permafrost, rising antimicrobial resistance and
the loss of tropical rainforests are just a few examples of trends that are
undermining the foundation of development. While large-scale, acute disasters
tend to attract the most attention, the continuing depletion of valuable natural
assets (including aquifers, air and soil) does not generate headlines but has
become a chronic burden for the world’s poorest communities.
These global challenges are also deepening economic inequality between and
within countries and exacerbating social exclusion. This not only defies the
Sustainable Development Agenda’s principle of leaving no one behind; it also
impedes the poverty reduction that comes from inclusive economic growth,
undermines the social contract in rich and poor countries alike, and threatens
global security.
No country alone can tackle these transboundary problems. Moreover, they are
increasingly correlated with other risks, such as massive supply-chain
disruptions. All these issues are born of an economic system that has turned out
to be more fragile than many thought. Whereas properly functioning systems are
able to manage and absorb risks, our current system is doing the opposite.
The world needs a global system that engenders security, promotes sustainability
and absorbs shocks. To achieve it, the international community could begin by
making a handful of practical changes this year, starting at the Spring Meetings
of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
First, as part of the World Bank’s “evolution” (which shareholders called for in
October 2022), we need to modernize its mission by elevating sustainability and
resilience as core institutional goals, and by strengthening its analysis and
operations to address new transboundary challenges.
We know that for every $1 invested in sustainability and resilience today, there
are $4-7 in savings down the line. But to usher in a new paradigm of resilience
and sustainability, we must incorporate these principles into operational,
lending and debt-sustainability models with appropriate incentives and
accounting standards. Many reforms and investments can have positive
cross-border spillovers. But we will need new and stronger incentives — both
analytical and financial — to promote national investment in global public
goods, and to support countries in their conservation efforts.
In the face of an existential climate crisis, the only path forward is through
sustainability and resilience.
We also need to explore all our options for boosting multilateral development
banks’ financing capacity. The key, here, is to leverage existing capital while
preserving these institutions’ AAA ratings and countercyclical lending capacity.
As the G20 Capital Adequacy Review showed, multilateral development banks can
increase their risk appetite and boost financing volumes by lowering their
minimum equity ratios. Similarly, we welcome proposals calling for an issuance
of non-voting hybrid capital to boost lending at still-lower concessional rates
— to be provided either by a shareholder “coalition of the willing” or through
sales to private investors.
We also need to explore our options for re-channeling special drawing rights (SDRs,
the IMF’s reserve asset) to boost the capital stock of international financial
institutions. The IMF’s new Resilience and Sustainability Trust is based on this
premise and represents a promising first step toward maximizing the
effectiveness of SDR allocations. But, given the challenges, the size of the
trust is currently too small. We also call on multilateral development banks and
development finance institutions to propose additional options — as the African
and Inter-American Development Banks have already begun to do. Either way,
multilateral development banks must do far more to leverage their balance
sheets.
Separately, multilateral development banks must also use their balance sheets to
catalyze private investment in the transition to low-carbon energy,
transportation and agriculture throughout the developing world. Without efforts
to lower the cost of capital of these investments at sufficient scale, global
warming will hurtle past 1.5 degrees Celsius, triggering cascading effects.
Finally, we urge all lenders and borrowers — including the development banks and
private-sector creditors — to include or accept natural-disaster and pandemic
clauses in financing instruments. These provisions are present-value neutral, on
net, and they offer valuable support to countries by allowing them to ensure
sufficient liquidity when they need it most.
The scientific consensus about climate change and biodiversity loss is
overwhelming. But we urgently need to translate this understanding into a new
economic paradigm in international financial institutions. At this year’s Spring
Meetings, the World Bank and its shareholders must recognize that the provision
of global public goods is essential to broadening the fight against poverty. In
the face of an existential climate crisis, the only path forward is through
sustainability and resilience. We must modernize our institutions accordingly.
• Mia Amor Mottley is prime minister of Barbados and a World Bank governor.
• Svenja Schulze is minister for economic cooperation and development of Germany
and a World Bank governor.
©Project Syndicate
Transatlantic ties transformed on Ukraine war
anniversary
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/February 18/2023
Some 12 months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, key upside surprises include
not just the remarkable resilience of Ukraine’s fighting forces and wider
populace, but also the unity of the Western alliance in the post-Trump era, as
will be showcased with Joe Biden’s forthcoming visit to Poland.
Well documented is the fact that the EU-27 has shown unexpected solidarity since
the Ukraine conflict began, albeit with the frequent, significant exception of
Hungary’s intransigence. Building from this, however, is the restoration of the
wider transatlantic alliance in the post-Trump era, in no small way thanks to
the statecraft of the Biden administration.
To be sure, there are very significant sores that continue to exist between the
US and Europe. These include the new US Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA,
legislation, which has caused much concern across the EU-27, and indeed other
allies including the UK.
Problematic as those tensions are, however, the transatlantic alliance has
largely recovered from the nadir of the Trump era. And Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine has helped with this revitalization of the alliance in the face of a
resurgent Moscow.
The Biden team’s emphasis on rebuilding Western partnerships stands in stark
contrast to the Trump administration. Trump declared during his presidency that
“I think the EU is a foe, what they do to us (the US) in trade.” The contrast
between Trump, with his calls for a weaker Europe and more “Brexits” across the
continent, and US policy at the start of the EU integration process in the early
post-war era, could not be starker.
The latter was embodied in John Kennedy’s 1962 Atlantic Partnership speech. The
core US view for decades, through different Democratic and Republican
presidencies, was that a united Europe would make future wars on the continent
less likely; create a stronger partner for the US in meeting the challenges
posed by the-then Soviet Union; and offer a more vibrant market for building
transatlantic prosperity.
So this was, by and large, the tone of post-war US administrations till the turn
of the millennium. And its direction chimes much more with Biden’s approach
today than with Trump’s from 2017 to 2021.
Yet, political stripes aside, there is little question that overall US attitudes
have — at least in some areas — gradually become more ambivalent as European
integration deepened, particularly (but not exclusively) in recent Republican
administrations. That is why the future health of the transatlantic alliance
cannot be taken for granted.
In the economic arena, for instance, the drive toward the European single market
led to US concerns about whether this would evolve into a “fortress Europe.”
Similarly, the creation of the European Monetary Union prompted worries about
the dilution of US primacy in the financial sector and macroeconomic policy.
Moreover, in competition policy, the increasing assertiveness of the European
Commission has periodically raised US concerns about EU over-reach.
The EU has shown unexpected solidarity since the Ukraine conflict began.
Prior to the Trump era, the George W. Bush administration came closest to
questioning the value of European integration. For instance, the controversy
over the Iraq conflict saw Washington querying the benefits of EU collaboration
in the security and defense arena.
On the eve of the Iraq war almost two decades ago now, then-Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld even drew a distinction between “old” and “new Europe” with the
latter (mainly Eastern Europe) perceived as more favorable to US interests. This
was a theme that became salient during the Trump era, too, with the
then-president, on average, enjoying stronger popularity in states in the east
than longer-standing allies in the west.
Trump’s strong relationship with populist politicians in the East, including
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, exemplified the way that US policy toward
Europe was then recalibrating toward stronger ties with states with pro-Trump
leaders but weaker relationships with some traditional allies, especially former
German Chancellor Angela Merkel who had a difficult, frosty relationship with
him. Remarkably, Trump said that Orban was “a powerful and wonderful leader,”
whom he endorsed for a fourth term of office, while Biden by contrast declined
to invite the Hungarian leader last year to a democracy summit he hosted (the
only EU head of government not invited).
At the same time, Trump regularly chastised Germany, including for its
“delinquency” on multiple issues, including international trade. Trump claimed
the cost to the US was hundreds of billions of dollars over the years (referring
to the German trade surplus).
This highlights the redrawing of US policy toward Europe that has been underway
since 2021, with Biden’s coming to office, which has been consolidated by
Russia’s invasion. To be sure, his support for EU nations is not unqualified and
tensions such as IRA remain, but his arch-Atlanticism is nonetheless appreciated
across the continent with much of Europe favoring his re-election next year.
• Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.
Time for a new rescue team in Libya
Ali Sarraf/The Arab Weekly/February 18/2023
The wheel of the crisis in Libya has been endlessly spinning for some two years
over whether Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar is entitled or not to run for
president. The issue has topped a full decade of going in circles over the
legitimacy of this one figure or the other.
This fruitless pattern is interesting but also ironic for several reasons.
The first is that the field marshal has deemed victory for himself to be
guaranteed in advance, to the extent that clinging to a constitutional text that
does not exclude him has become so sacred that it amounted to sufficient reason
to keep all of Libya revolving in a vacuum till the elusive “solution” is found.
The second reason is that an earthquake like that in Turkey will not occur in
Libya. In that sense, life is supposed to be eternal for presidential hopefuls
and it is all worth the wait.
Then the third reason is that the crisis is personal. This is not the case with
Haftar alone. It pertains to all the others who cannot bring themselves to step
aside and give others the opportunity to pave the way for an end to the crisis.
The fourth reason is that the supposedly sacred cause in Libya amounts to
nothing but disputes over positions between interested parties and Haftar is
most particularly setting this example.
The fifth reason is that Libya will have to wait a long time before parliament
and the State Council end their Byzantine discussions. This exactly what has
been happening since the start of the so-called “dialogue” on the required
constitutional amendments, dealing with such matters as electoral regulations
and related details. Then the sixth reason is that countries concerned with the
crisis are apparently supposed to continue their mediation efforts forever. This
is the case with the United Nations, which will go on replacing one envoy with
another until it learns the art of procrastination from the Libyans.
The seventh and last reason is that when elections finally do take place, the
Libyans, who resent the two rival governments in the east and west, are supposed
to elect only one of the figures who are struggling for power, because we are
supposed to believe Libya cannot and could not give birth to anyone else for
today and the future except them.
The crisis which has been going on for 12 years has provided every aspirant with
the opportunity to examine his own ambitions. Should we expect this to continue
for another 12 years, and maybe another after that, without knowing what those
aspirants are trying to achieve in the duration?
Haftar is a national figure who deserves appreciation. There is no doubt about
that. He made valuable contributions in combating terrorism and extremism. He
also succeeded in maintaining stability at least in one part of the country and
prevented it from being plundered by militias. This is to his credit. However,
patriotism is not about “After me, the deluge.” It is about sacrifices, as every
soldier knows, much more than any thing else.
There is no doubt that Haftar has his own vision of the future for Libya and his
view of its economic affairs and regional and international relations. But he
and his peers are talking to a people they barely know. They are addressing a
country from the past, not the one that has been torn apart by the wheel of
strife endlessly spinning in the void.
Libya is a country in need of social, economic, institutional and cultural
re-building.
Quite simply, Libya needs new leaders, at every level. Young technocrats, with a
comprehensive national vision, clean hands, dreaming of development and social
welfare and complying with the requirements of the law, are the best option for
reconstruction.
An entire generation has been lost in the cultural and political distortions
caused by Muammar Gadhafi. None of the contending figures has had the audacity
to deny they were part of those distortions nor that their mental and
behavioural outlook was not affected by them, unless, at that time, they were
living on Mars. Haftar himself, as well as Fathi Bashagha, Khaled al-Mishri,
Abdulhamid Dbeibah and Aguila Saleh, all the way to Salah Badi, Haitham al-Tajouri
and Osama Al-Juwaili, as well as others, are part of the crisis. They have
proven all along they are not part of the solution. They are not, by any modern
standards, at least culturally, qualified to be state-builders.
The militias prevailing in Libya are an expression of the fragmentation of
tyranny, not an expression of its demise. Nor are they an expression of protest
against it, because they are a continuation of the old despotic rule in new
forms.
This is what the Libyans know with their collective awareness and indeed feel,
with or without expressing it clearly.
Haftar should, perhaps more than anyone else, stop the wheel from spinning in
the vacuum. It would be worthy of him to prove that patriotism involves
self-sacrifice. This is what brave soldiers usually do. There is no need to
expect an earthquake that will turn everything topsy-turvy. Libya has been in
the middle of an earthquake for the last 12 years. It is time for a third
generation to go on a national rescue mission.
*Ali Sarraf is an Iraqi writer.