English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 08/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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15 آذار/2023
Bible Quotations For today
God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak
in the world to shame the strong
First Letter to the Corinthians
01/26-31/:”Consider your own call, not many of you were wise by human standards,
not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is
foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to
shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that
are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the
presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for
us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,in order
that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 07-08/2023
May 07, 2008 Barbaric Invasion
of Beirut & Mount Lebanon/Elias Bejjani/May 07/2023
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros al-Rahi calls on UNHCR to provide
governmental committee with data on the displaced, questions international
position: Is there an intention to...
Bukhari from Clemenceau: Solutions come from within Lebanon
Jumblatt from Ain El Tineh confirms importance of constant deliberation with
Speaker Berri, says Saudi Kingdom at same distance from all & does not...
3.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Lebanon: Bhaness Center
The ugly truth: How will larger depositors be repaid and what is the deposit
recovery fund?
Melhem Khalaf highlights presidential initiative's criteria for Lebanon's
presidential candidate
Lebanon crisis mutes national music conservatory
Berri: Return of Syria to Arabs & vice versa is a glimmer of hope for a new
resurrection of joint Arab action
Rally outside Judge Abboud's residence in Ballouneh
Social Affairs Minister meets his Jordanian counterpart, exchanges experiences
Bou Habib: Syria should resume its main role in the Arab League
Al-Makary contacts Nimr Jabr: Attacking him is a crime that will not pass
38th Spring Rally takes place under Sports Minister's patronage: Title goes to
Roger Feghali, Carl Rizk (21 years old) first runner-up, Rabih Ayoub...
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on May 07-08/2023
Arab League re-admits Syria
after 11-year absence
US diplomacy shifts focus to Saudi Arabia: What's on the agenda?
Fighting in Khartoum as mediators seek end to Sudan conflict
Why chaos and power vacuum in Sudan is a global security concern
Sudan envoys begin talks amid pressure to end conflict
Top UN humanitarian official in Saudi Arabia for Sudan talks
Iraq court sentences to death killer of academic Hisham Al-Hashemi
Israel releases Jordanian MP accused of smuggling weapons
Israel demolishes school in occupied West Bank
Few options for the West as simmering Iran nuclear crisis risks reigniting
Israel hopes for breakthrough on normalisation as US security adviser visits
Saudi Arabia
Jordan and US discuss improving trade and export markets
Kurds cautiously back Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Turkish election
Ukraine general: Russia hopes to capture Bakhmut by Tuesday, steps up fighting
Russia blames US for attack on pro-Kremlin writer
At least 8 people killed by gunman at Texas mall; shooter killed by police
Titles For
The Latest
English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 07-08/2023
Blame Putin for Stoking Violence in Sudan/Con Coughlin/Gatestone
Institute./May 07, 2023
Uncertainty prevails as critical Turkish election nears/Yasar Yakis/Arab
News/May 07/2023
Ukraine war may be critical for the future of Biden’s presidency/Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab
News/May 07/2023
Lessons of the Second World War remain relevant today/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Yasar
Yakis/Arab News/May 07/2023
Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 07-08/2023
May 07, 2008 Barbaric Invasion of Beirut & Mount Lebanon
Elias Bejjani/May 07/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/118016/118016/
May 07, 2008 was a criminal day for murderers,
invaders, mercenaries and barbarians serving the Iranian mullahs’ agenda.
Criminals and mercenaries with evil hearts violated the sanctity of the city of
Beirut, desecrated its sanctity, and assaulted its peaceful people, humiliating,
displacing, torturing, killing and destroying.
The 7th of May is a black day carried out by Hezbollah’s, Amal Movement, The
Syrian National Party armed militias, along with all the mercenaries affiliated
with the Syrian-Iranian axis of evil.
A criminal and barbaric invasion that was hailed by Michel Aoun, the Iscariot,
and opportunist who only cares about his authoritarian delusions and his bank
accounts. An invasion that made him president in 2016. Aoun during his
presidency destroyed the state, and handed over its institutions and its
decision making process to the terrorist Hezbollah .
May 07, is a day of crime that the people of Lebanon will not forget, because
the blood of the innocent and defenceless was spilled at the hands of terrorist
and mafia militias in service of the expansionist, colonial and terrorist agenda
of the Iranian mullahs.
The 7th of May was the day of an ignorant and barbaric invasion that has not yet
ended, while all its evil consequences are continuing with all criminality,
barbarism, insolence, immorality and arrogance. Definitely it will not end until
all the Lebanese, Iranian, Syrian and Palestinian militias are disarmed, Iranian
mini-states of Hezbollah, Palestinian camps and Syrian camps are eliminated and
put under the control of the Lebanese authorities.
May 07, in conclusion, was day of criminality, terrorism and devil worshipers.
Meanwhile the time has come for all criminals who invaded Beirut and Mount
Lebanon to be brought to justice.
And because every oppressor has an end and retribution, no matter how long it
takes, we say to the criminals and murderers, aloud with the Prophet Isaiah
(01/33) : “Our enemies are doomed! They have robbed and betrayed, although no
one has robbed them or betrayed them. But their time to rob and betray will end,
and they themselves will become victims of robbery and treachery”.
In conclusion, and in order for the invasion of Beirut and the Mount Lebanon not
to be repeated, The weapons of Hezbollah and the rest of the Lebanese and
Palestinian militia weapons MUST be handed over to the Lebanese army. At the
same time controlling all the mini illegitimate-states and end Hezbollah’s
occupation of Lebanon.
Liberation requires that all free Lebanese at home and in Diaspora alike
immediately and urgently call on the UN Security Council to declare Lebanon a
failed and rogue state, and implement all UN resolutions related to Lebanon, the
armistice agreement with Israel, 1559, 1701, and 1680, then placing Lebanon
under Chapter VII. And assigning the UNIFIL forces present in the south, full
responsibility of securing all the necessary security and administrative
measures to restore the state and rehabilitate the Lebanese to govern
themselves.
May Almighty God safeguard Lebanon & its people
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros al-Rahi calls on UNHCR to provide
governmental committee with data on the displaced, questions international
position: Is there an intention to...
NNA /May 07/2023
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros al-Rahi, presided this morning over
Sunday Mass in the Basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, in celebration of
the feast of Our Lady of Lebanon. In his homily, al-Rahi paid tribute to Our
Lady, saying: "We are pleased to celebrate together this divine liturgy,
inaugurating with it the celebrations of the feast of our Mother, Our Lady of
Lebanon, and the religious marches and public visits throughout this blessed
month....Each one of us bears in the folds of his heart a filial affection for
our Heavenly Mother, as well as those who look at her from afar....If you follow
the Virgin Mary, you do not get lost, and if you pray to her, you do not
despair, and if you contemplate her, you do not go astray, and if she supports
you, you do not stumble, and if she carries you, you have no fear, and if she
guides you, you do not tire, and if you gain favor with her, you reach the port
of salvation...”He added, "Despite all manifestations of the political,
financial, social and daily living collapse, our confidence in our Mother, the
Virgin Mary, remains great. Our Lady of Lebanon preserves this country and
protects its people, its message and its role in its eastern environment."
He continued to state that Our Lady, through the remaining faithful, directs the
way to the path of goodness and to get out of the prevailing crises, most
notably the presidential vacuum and the issue of the displaced Syrians on
Lebanese soil. Al-Rahi voiced serious concern over the increasing number of
displaced Syrians in Lebanon, a number that has become a heavy burden on
Lebanon, economically, socially, demographically and security-wise. He said
hopes are pinned on the governmental committee that was formed and started
working on resolving this crisis. He said: "We ask the UNHCR to cooperate with
this committee by giving it the necessary data. We have begun to doubt the
intentions, and we wonder whether the aim behind the international position is
to settle them in Lebanon? Do they not favor their return to Syria for fear of
emigrating to their countries? How can Lebanon, which is suffering under its
burdens, carry the addition of two million and eighty thousand displaced Syrians
and three hundred thousand Palestinian refugees? We say to the international
community, provide your assistance to the displaced Syrians on the land of
Syria, their homeland, so that they can continue their history, promote their
culture, and protect their civilization."The Patriarch urged the international
community to seperate between the political facet and the humanitarian-patriotic
facet by ensuring the return of the displaced to their country.
Bukhari from Clemenceau: Solutions come from within
Lebanon
Naharnet/May 07/2023
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari has continued his visits to Lebanon’s
political leaders by meeting with Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid
Jumblat in Clemenceau. “We have always stressed that sustainable solutions come
from within Lebanon and not from abroad,” Bukhari said after the talks. MP Wael
Abu Faour, who attended the meeting, for his part said that Bukhari “reiterated
the constants of the Saudi stance.”“The kingdom calls for finalizing the
presidential vote as soon as possible and with the consensus of the Lebanese, in
order to avoid further collapse,” Abu Faour added. “The kingdom does not have a
presidential candidate nor a veto on any candidate. It rather hopes for the
agreement of the Lebanese and considers the presidential juncture to be a
sovereign Lebanese juncture whose decision belongs to the Lebanese themselves,”
the MP went on to say.
Jumblatt from Ain El Tineh confirms importance of
constant deliberation with Speaker Berri, says Saudi Kingdom at same distance
from all & does not...
NNA/May 07/2023
Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, received at Ain al-Tineh Palace this evening,
Progressive Socialist Party Chief Walid Jumblatt, with whom he discussed the
general situation in the country and the latest political developments,
especially the presidential dossier, the issue of the displaced Syrians, and the
municipal and mayoral elections. On emerging, Jumblatt spoke to attending
newsmen, saying: "At this delicate stage, constant deliberation with Speaker
Berri is essential in an attempt to open the horizons before the presidential
elections..Additionally, there are side issues which are also very important,
including the municipal elections. In the event that the Constitutional Council
issues its decision later on, the municipal elections are very important to
allow for new blood to partake in these elections."Jumblatt continued to point
to the "sensitive issue" currently under discussion, namely the Syrian refugee
and Syrian resident, where he considered that there must be a central reference
in this matter. "I understood from the Speaker that the reference will be the
government and the apparatus assigned by it is the General Security, and it is
necessary that there be a single reference that deals with this issue so that we
do not enter into conflict," Jumblatt added. "This dossier must be dealt with
calmly and without fanaticism and outbidding...There are forcibly displaced
people, and there are those who have not been displaced, and there are residents
who have been for decades moving back and forth to Syria, but they are residents
and the Lebanese economy, even in this suffocating crisis, depends on them," he
emphasized. Regarding the final position of the Progressive Socialist Party on
the presidential file, Jumblatt replied: "I may have a media appearance next
week, and I will talk about the matter..."In response to another question about
the stance following the Saudi ambassador's tour among the Lebanese leaders,
Jumblatt said: "The same words were confirmed by the Saudi ambassador, that the
Kingdom is at an equal distance from everyone, and it does not deal with
Lebanese internal affairs, and there is no veto on any candidate's name."
Jumblatt concluded: "I cannot take any position without consulting with the head
of the Democratic Gathering, Taymour Jumblatt...On this sensitive issue, the
future belongs to him and not to me, and there is no disagreement whatsoever
between us."
3.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Lebanon: Bhaness
Center
LBCI/May 07/2023
The National Center for Geophysics in Bhannes said on Saturday that a 3.4
magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale hit Lebanon, with Keserwan as its
epicenter.
The ugly truth: How will larger depositors be repaid
and what is the deposit recovery fund?
LBCI/May 07/2023
How will the government repay large depositors?
If your bank balance is above $100,000, your situation is not that simple...
First, if you have benefited from high-interest rates after 2015, those interest
gains will be deducted from your deposit. Moreover, if you have more than $1
million, you will be required to provide evidence to the bank about the source
of these funds, according to the latest version of the government's plan.
What will happen to your remaining deposit?
- A portion of it will be converted into bank shares, worth $12 billion.
- Another portion will be converted from dollars to LBP at a rate lower than the
market rate, worth $4 billion.
- Everything else will be transferred to the Deposit Recovery Fund.
This fund will be managed by a committee comprising private sector
representatives and large depositors, and it will be financed by:
- The remaining funds in banks after paying deposits under $100,000.
- The recovered stolen, smuggled, and suspicious funds.
- A percentage of banks' profits.
- The plan also mentions the possibility of the state contributing to the fund
through its properties and institutions, after improving them by granting
contracts for their management to the private sector.
However, to date, there are no figures or estimates for the funds that this
recovery fund can secure. There is opposition to the state's participation in
the fund, arguing that any funds derived from state assets must serve all the
people and future generations, not just large depositors. In any case, the
government's plan is still just ink on paper. The problem in Lebanon is not the
lack of plans – there are plenty of them. The problem lies in their
implementation. Three and a half years have passed since the crisis began, and
as usual, nothing has been implemented.
Melhem Khalaf highlights presidential initiative's criteria for Lebanon's
presidential candidate
LBCI/May 07/2023
In a statement to "Al-Anbaa" online newspaper, member of Change MPs bloc Melhem
Khalaf criticized the idea of holding a presidential election session while
sacrificing democracy for the sake of an external settlement. "We must respect
the time limit of the elections and provisions of the constitution in order to
elect a new president for the country." he indicated. This article was initially
published in, translated from the Lebanese newspaper Al-Anbaa.He also wondered
whether MPs are reduced to the leaders of their blocs and whether they are
dependent on external forces. If the parliament is the master of its fate, where
are sovereignty, national dignity, and the trust of the people's
representatives? Khalaf, who has been on a sit-in at the parliament with fellow
MP Najat Saliba since January 19th, refused to talk about the absence of the
Change MPs from the presidential election and the bloc's stance on the matter.
However, he mentioned the presidential initiative that his bloc launched in
September, which included specifications and criteria for the presidential
candidate, and warned against falling into a presidential vacuum. He also
stressed the importance of having a president made in Lebanon, but this did not
happen as we have already slipped into a presidential vacuum. Moreover, Khalaf
added that the Change MPs did not question their absence from the presidential
election, as they had already put forward clear stances and names in the
presidential initiative presented to different political parties who confirmed
the rightness of this initiative. Nevertheless, he criticized other political
parties for changing their stances and returning to their selfish interests
instead of prioritizing the country's interests and finding a solution to save
Lebanon. Regarding the attempt to convince opposition forces of another
candidate to confront the candidate Sleiman Frangieh, Khalaf confirmed that
Change MPs had three names in the presidential initiative: Nassif Hitti, Ziad
Baroud, and Salah Honein. He highlighted the criteria indicated in the
initiative of Change MPs and the importance of having a presidential candidate
who is acceptable to all parties and not perceived as a challenge and who can be
a unifying figure for the country.
Lebanon crisis mutes national music conservatory
Agence France Presse/May 07/2023
At Lebanon's national music conservatory, pianos collect dust and classrooms sit
empty, making the institution another casualty of an economic collapse that has
crippled the public sector and hampered education. Toufic Kerbage, 65, watched
the value of his pay packet and pension evaporate after the Lebanese economy
began melting down in 2019, taking the local currency and people's savings with
it. Without family support "I would have starved," said the music teacher, who
began working at the conservatory in the late 1980s. "It's difficult at my age
to ask for money," he said from the silence of the conservatory's branch in Sin
el-Fil, a suburb of the capital Beirut. Once on a comfortable income, Kerbage
now earns around $70 a month, in a country the World Bank says suffers the
highest food price inflation globally. He has been teaching his classes online,
battling Lebanon's "disastrous" internet and spending more than he earns on a
generator subscription to get through hours-long daily power cuts. The state-run
conservatory, with several thousand mostly school-aged students and 17 branches
around the country, counts prestigious musicians like the composer and oud
player Marcel Khalife among its alumni. But as the economic crisis grinds on,
some teachers have quit. Many others have turned to online classes to save on
travel costs or teach private lessons on the side to make ends meet. Kerbage
said he was "worried" about colleagues without a support network.
'Musical revolution'
Taking matters into their own hands, a group of teachers and students have been
holding independent concerts to highlight their plight and give musicians a
chance to support each other and perform. "I am here today to stand with my
colleagues who are not happy with the way we are treated," said concert
organizer Ghada Ghanem, who is also a teacher and soprano. Some teachers have
moved house or "sold their cars" to survive, added Ghanem, herself a
conservatory student during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. The shows' proceeds
will be invested into creating further performance opportunities or distributed
among those involved, she said, calling the initiative a "musical
revolution.""Let's fix our problems with our own talent," Ghanem said recently
from a darkened Beirut theater before a recent show -- the second in a planned
series. "Depression will attack us if we sit and do nothing." Matthew Ata, 10,
said he was "a bit nervous" about his debut concert performance. Despite
starting with the conservatory two years ago, he only met his guitar teacher for
the first time at the show. "We really hope that things will get better" and
in-person classes will resume, said Matthew's mother, Rita Jabbour. Some
students said the protracted online teaching and disruptions had left them
feeling discouraged. Software engineer Aline Chalvarjian, 33, who studies oud
and lyric singing, said she had "lost motivation." The conservatory used to be
"like a second home," she said. Now, "we feel that we are left behind."
'First' pay boost
Like other public sector workers throughout the crisis, conservatory staff have
taken strike action to demand their rights are respected, with the head of the
conservatory teachers' league sacked in January after organizing protests.
In recent months, teacher strikes at Lebanon's public schools have paralyzed the
education sector. Soprano Hiba al-Kawas, who last year became the first woman to
head the conservatory, said she had worked day and night to improve the
situation, but political deadlock has stymied progress. Lebanon's entrenched
political elite, widely blamed for the country's crisis, has failed to take
action to stem the three-year economic collapse. As sectarian barons bicker over
who should be the country's next leader, the presidency has remained vacant
since October 31, while a caretaker government with limited powers has been at
the helm of the bankrupt state for almost a year. Despite the obstacles, Kawas
said she had managed to secure pay increases that should allow a return to
in-person teaching. A teacher who was paid 30,000 Lebanese pounds per hour --
$0.50 based on an exchange rate used for public sector salaries -- would earn
300,000 once the wage hike takes effect, she said. It is "just a first step,"
Kawas added. Teacher Kerbage expressed optimism at the new regime, which he said
should push his monthly earnings into the hundreds of dollars. "Anything" would
be welcome, he said. "I would be able to pay for my fuel, for my electricity,
and for some food -- that's a lot."
Berri: Return of Syria to Arabs & vice versa is a glimmer of hope for a new
resurrection of joint Arab action
NNA/May 07/2023
House Speaker Nabih Berri commented on the Arab League's decision to restore
Syria's membership to it, saying: "Although this decision was delayed for years,
it is a step in the right direction and in returning to Arab correctness, which
can only be straightened by unity of class and word."He added, "With the return
of Syria to the Arabs and the return of the Arabs to it, there is a glimmer of
hope for a new resurrection of joint Arab action."
Rally outside Judge Abboud's residence in Ballouneh
NNA/May 07/2023
Supporters of the "Free Patriotic Movement" are currently gathered outside the
residence of Supreme Judicial Council Head, Judge Suhail Abboud, in the town of
Ballouneh - Keserwan, with the participation of "Strong Lebanon" parliamentary
bloc member, MP Salim Aoun. The gathering is in support of Judge Ghada Aoun and
in protest against what demonstrators described as an "arbitrary and unfair"
decision adopted by the Disciplinary Council.
Social Affairs Minister meets his Jordanian counterpart, exchanges experiences
NNA/May 07/2023
Heading his ministry's delegation on the first day of visiting Amman, Caretaker
Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar met Sunday with Jordanian Minister of
Social Development, Wafa Bani Mustafa, in presence of her ministry's work team.
Hajjar thanked his counterpart for hosting and coordinating the two-day workshop
devoted to exchanging experiences on the national strategy for social
development, the national social registry, and Jordan's experience with regards
to social safety networks. In this context, discussions centered on the
Jordanian experience, strengths and weaknesses, and the future outlook for
social work. Hajjar reiterated his promise to the Lebanese to finish work on the
amendments related to the national strategy for social protection on June 15,
and to present them to the Parliament Council. It is to note that the visit of
the Lebanese delegation to Jordan is part of a series of visits to a number of
Arab countries, with the support of the World Bank, aiming to learn from the
expertise and experiences of these countries to develop the national strategy
for social protection and establishing an integrated social record that
contributes to the implementation of programs that fall under the category of
protecting the most vulnerable groups in Lebanon in an effective and orderly
manner.
Bou Habib: Syria should resume its main role in the Arab League
NNA/May 07/2023
Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib indicated that Lebanon was among
the first countries to call for Syria's return to the Arab League. "Syria must
resume its primary role within the Arab League," he said. In an interview with
the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa, the minister added that according to a World
Bank report in 2013, displaced Syrians cost Lebanon $3 billion every year. He
explained that this cost has since increased to $6 billion, noting that this
figure is higher than the figure paid by all countries of the international
community. In response to a question about the position of Syrian officials on
the return, he said that the Syrian authorities cannot force the displaced to
return to Syria, especially since they are receiving UNHCR aid on Lebanese soil.
"If they want to return to Syria, the United Nations can guarantee that they
will be welcomed and treated as citizens, away from sanctions or reprisals," he
said, quoting Syrian officials.
Al-Makary contacts Nimr Jabr: Attacking him is a
crime that will not pass
NNA/May 07/2023
Caretaker Minister of Information, Ziad al-Makary, contacted his colleague Nimr
Jabr, who was attacked by members of the "Sagesse Sports Club Fans Association"
in Ghazir, while he was carrying out his professional duty. After Al-Makary was
briefed by Jabr on the details of the incident, he confirmed that what happened
“has nothing to do with sports ethics, and it is unfortunate and condemned by
all standards and has no justification, especially since our colleague Nimr Jabr
was carrying out his duty that he never failed to do for many years, and he is a
member In the Editors Syndicate and in the General Assembly of the Sagesse
Club." Makary indicated that he would follow up on the matter "until every
aggressor receives the punishment he deserves, because attacking journalists is
a crime that we do not accept and will not pass."
38th Spring Rally takes place under Sports
Minister's patronage: Title goes to Roger Feghali, Carl Rizk (21 years old)
first runner-up, Rabih Ayoub...
NNA/May 07/2023
Race Driver Roger Feghali and his co-pilot Judy Feghali, on a Mitsubishi Lancer
Evo 10, retained the title of the 38th Spring Rally organized by the Automobile
and Touring Club of Lebanon (ATCL) over two days, under the auspices of
Caretaker Youth and Sports Minister, George Kallas. Carl Rizk (21 years old) and
his co-pilot Karim Abu Elias, on a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, came in second place
after a great performance by Rizk, which proved to be the surprise of the rally.
Rabih Ayoub and Georges Nader came in third place on a Skoda Fabia. Winning the
rally, Roger Feghali added a new title to his his long career full of
achievements. The five stages of the race on Sunday witnessed great excitement,
with heavy rain and slippery ground, which added to a cautious competition
between drivers on a mixture of dry and slippery ground from time to time, so
that the name “Winter Rally” could apply to the “Spring Rally” in the 2023
edition. The race was completed by 16 cars after 8 cars left for various reasons
in a rally that will remain long in mind in terms of "temperature" for the first
time in a spring rally in many years. In a brief word on the occasion, Minister
Kallas said: "Lebanon is happily regaining the glory of sport. I am
participating in the opening of the thirty-eighth Spring Rally organized by the
ATCL Club in Kaslik, which was launched with a wide participation of drivers and
navigators. Lebanon is a country of life, sports and civilization. It is our
responsibility to be supportive of high-end mechanical sports and work together
until Lebanon regains its leading position on the tourism and sports map."He
added: “All gratitude to the ATCL Club for this prestigious organization, and to
the participants who proved that the love of life is sufficient to help Lebanon
rise again. I call for giving the sports sector all the attention and care it
deserves, because it is the right gateway to restoring the youth’s confidence in
the country and to building bridges between generations and peoples."
Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports
And News published
on May 07-08/2023
Arab League re-admits Syria
after 11-year absence
Arab News/May 07, 2023
CAIRO: The Arab League on Sunday has re-admitted Syria’s regime, ending a more
than decade-long suspension and securing President Bashar Al-Assad’s return to
the Arab fold after years of isolation. Government delegations from Syria “will
resume their participation in Arab League meetings” from Sunday, said a
statement after a unanimous decision by the group’s foreign ministers. Saudi
Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan participated in the ministerial
meeting held at the league’s headquarters in Cairo. The ministers “consulted and
exchanged views on the efforts made to reach a political solution to the Syrian
crisis that ends its repercussions and preserves Syria’s unity, security,
stability, and Arab identity; returns it to its Arab surroundings, to achieve
the good of its brotherly people,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a televised statement
that the decision would allow Assad to take part in the group’s upcoming May 19
summit. It said it was part of a gradual process of resolving the conflict.
“This doesn’t mean that the Syria crisis has been resolved, on the contrary,” he
said. “But it allows the Arab (states) for the first time in years to
communicate with the Syrian government to discuss all the problems.”Aboul Gheit
also said restoring Syria’s membership did not mean all Arab countries had
individual normalized relations with Damascus. Syria’s return to the body was
“the beginning ... not the end of the issue,” he added, noting that it was for
individual countries to decide whether to resume ties with Damascus. The council
of the League of Arab States welcomed the Arab statements issued by the Jeddah
meeting on Syria on April 14 and the Amman meeting on Syria on May 1, 2023. The
council also decided to form a ministerial committee consisting of Jordan, Saudi
Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, and the league secretary-general to follow up on
the implementation of the Amman Declaration, which seeks a “step-by-step”
resolution to the Syrian crisis and to continue direct dialogue with the regime.
Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous said on Sunday that Syria had been the
victim of “misinformation and distortion campaigns launched by our enemies” for
12 years. He said Sunday’s consultations reflected the “prestigious
position” Syria holds regionally and internationally. Syria’s Foreign Ministry
called for “Arab cooperation,” and “an effective and constructive Arab
approach... based on dialogue, mutual respect and common Arab interests.” Assad
last attended an Arab League summit in 2010. Opposition leaders attended the
group’s summit in Doha in 2013, sparking a furious reaction from Damascus.
“Syria’s regional isolation is officially broken,” analyst Fabrice Balanche
said, calling Sunday’s decision a “diplomatic victory” for Assad. In April,
Prince Faisal made the first visit to Damascus by an official from Saudi Arabia
since the start of the war, days after Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad
visited the Kingdom, also on the first such trip.
US diplomacy shifts focus to Saudi Arabia:
What's on the agenda?
LBCI/May 07, 2023
US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, has arrived in Saudi Arabia,
focusing on security and economic files ahead of the US Secretary of State's
visit to Riyadh in early June. With Saudi Arabia becoming the dominant player in
the Middle East, the US has once again turned its diplomacy engines towards the
country. According to Axios, Washington is eyeing the economy on the one hand
and China on the other. The US has brought an economic project to the Saudi
capital to strengthen India's position in the Middle East to counter China's
influence. The project involves establishing infrastructure to link Gulf
countries and other Arab countries via a network of railways with India. Axios
also revealed another file that Washington is discussing in Riyadh. During
meetings, Sullivan presents his country's efforts to diplomatically resolve
Iran's nuclear program, including the US desire for full normalization between
Saudi Arabia and Israel. Moreover, Sullivan has emphasized that this is a
declared national security interest for the US. In contrast, Riyadh's position
remains unchanged, with no normalization with Tel Aviv before a two-state
solution is reached. According to an analysis by The Times of Israel, without a
noticeable change in Netanyahu's relationship with Biden and his control over
his far-right coalition, the circle of normalization with Arab countries is
unlikely to expand. With tensions between the US and China on the one hand and
Saudi Arabia's friendly relations with both, the US-Iranian tension on the other
hand and Saudi Arabia's newfound friendliness with both, and the US desire for a
Saudi-Israeli friendship, the question remains whether Sullivan can
'successfully disarm all of the mines.'
Fighting in Khartoum as mediators seek end to Sudan conflict
Reuters/May 07, 2023
KHARTOUM: Fighting could be heard in south Khartoum on Sunday as envoys from
Sudan’s warring parties were in Saudi Arabia for talks that international
mediators hope will bring an end to a three-week old conflict that has killed
hundreds and triggered an exodus. The US-Saudi initiative is the first serious
attempt to end fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support
Forces (RSF) that has turned parts of the Sudanese capital Khartoum into war
zones and derailed an internationally backed plan to usher in civilian rule
following years of unrest and uprisings. Battles since mid-April have killed
hundreds of people and wounded thousands of others, disrupted aid supplies and
sent 100,000 refugees fleeing abroad. Manahil Salah, a 28-year-old laboratory
doctor on an evacuation flight from Port Sudan to the United Arab Emirates, said
her family hid for three days in their home close to army headquarters in the
capital before eventually traveling to the Red Sea Coast. “Yes I am happy to
survive,” she said. “But I feel deep sadness because I left my mother and father
behind in Sudan, and sad because all this pain is happening in my homeland.”
Thousands of people are pushing to leave from Port Sudan on boats to Saudi
Arabia, paying for expensive commercial flights through the country’s only
functioning airport, or using evacuation flights. “We were lucky to travel to
Abu Dhabi, but what’s happening in Khartoum, where I spent my whole life, is
painful,” said 75-year-old Abdulkader, who also caught an evacuation flight to
the UAE. “Leaving your life and your memories is something indescribable.” While
mediators are seeking a path to peace, both sides have made it clear they would
only discuss a humanitarian truce, not negotiate an end to the war. Confirming
his group’s attendance, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as
Hemedti, said he hoped the talks would achieve their intended aim of securing
safe passage for civilians. Hemedti has vowed to either capture or kill army
leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and there was also evidence on the ground that
both sides remain unwilling to make compromises to end the bloodshed. The
conflict started on April 15 following the collapse of an internationally backed
plan for a transition to democracy. Burhan, a career army officer, heads a
ruling council installed after the 2019 ouster of long-time autocrat Omar Al-Bashir
and a 2021 military coup, while Hemedti, a former militia leader who made his
name in the Darfur conflict, is his deputy. Prior to the fighting, Hemedti had
been taking steps like moving closer to a civilian coalition that indicated he
had political plans. Burhan has blamed the war on his “ambitions.”Western powers
have backed the transition to a civilian government in a country that sits at a
strategic crossroads between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Africa’s volatile
Sahel region. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan was traveling
to Saudi Arabia at the weekend for talks with Saudi leaders.
Why chaos and power vacuum in Sudan is a
global security concern
Nadia Al Faour/Arab News/May 07/2023
DUBAI: The power struggle between Sudan’s de-facto ruler and commander of the
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and Gen. Mohamed
Dagalo and his Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has now been raging for three brutal
weeks.
What began as tensions over the planned integration of Dagalo’s paramilitary
group into the Sudanese military reached a flashpoint on April 15, when the two
former allies, who had worked together to oust dictator Omar Al-Bashir less than
four years ago, fell out, plunging the country into chaos.
Among the many questions on the minds of Africa analysts and geopolitical
experts is whether a protracted, bitter feud between the two generals will do to
Sudan what similar internecine conflicts in recent decades have done to two
large, now largely ungoverned countries in North Africa — Libya and Somalia.
For the past 25 years, US administrations have regarded as Sudan as
geostrategically important to their interests in both Africa and the Middle
East. In the early 1990s, under the influence of the National Islamic Front (NIF),
Sudan had a government hospitable to militant groups of all stripes, notably
Al-Qaeda.
In 1993, the US placed Sudan on its list of state sponsors of terrorism, but by
1996, the country was viewed as a refuge, nexus and training hub for a number of
international terrorist organizations, primarily of Middle Eastern origin. That
year, following the passage of three critical UN Security Council resolutions,
Sudan ordered the expulsion of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden from its soil in
May. Two years later, in retaliation for the deadly Aug. 7 bombings of two US
embassies in East Africa, the Bill Clinton administration ordered cruise missile
strikes on a pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum, claiming that the site was used
by Al-Qaeda to produce ingredients for chemical weapons. Over the past decade,
however, Sudan has adhered to its commitments in peace deals in both Darfur and
what became South Sudan, and has maintained counterterrorism cooperation with
its international partners. But these achievements are in peril as the
impoverished country of 45 million people sinks into a morass of lawlessness,
organized criminality and economic collapse. In recent weeks, parts of Khartoum
have become war zones and civilians have poured into neighboring countries,
whose own conditions are fragile owing to the risks and vulnerabilities they
face. The UN refugee agency recently estimated that 800,000 people are expected
to flee the conflict — many of them refugees from other countries.
The clashes have killed about 700 people so far, most of them in Khartoum and
the western Darfur region, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event
Data Project (ACLED). While the numbers of casualties and the displaced continue
to rise and horrify the world, some analysts warn that the conflict may be a
harbinger of a grim consequence — Sudan’s transformation into a hotbed of
terrorism. They say that if the fighting continues and troop losses mount, it is
bound to create not only ungoverned spaces for terrorists to exploit, but also
tempt the two feuding factions to cut deals with regional militant groups and
set the stage for a spiral of warfare and lawlessness. Hafed Al-Ghwell, a senior
fellow at Johns Hopkins Schools of Advanced International Studies, says at the
combination of a fragile security situation, economic crisis, social unrest and
unstable neighborhood creates the perfect conditions for the growth of extremist
groups. Given Sudan’s history of harboring extremist groups as well as growing
instability, terrorist organizations such as Daesh and Al-Qaeda may set their
eyes on the country as a potential new base. “Both the militant Islamic groups
have operated in Sudan in the past. The potential for Daesh’s emergence in the
country is compounded by its geographic location,” Al-Ghwell told Arab News.
“Sharing a border with Libya, Chad and Somalia, where violent extremist groups
continue to operate, the porous borders and weak security infrastructure in the
region create perfect conditions for terrorists to relocate and move weapons,
contraband and other illicit supplies.”
All this, according to Al-Ghwell, is a cause for concern not only in the Middle
East, but also in Europe and the world at large. Sudan’s strategic location,
bordering the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa and the Sahel region, has seen it
affected by regional disputes. For example, the country’s relationship with
neighboring Ethiopia has been strained over tensions related to disputed
farmlands along the border. The African continent is also home to terrorist
groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al-Shabaab in Somalia, and Al-Qaeda in the
Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which operates in northwest Africa and the Sahel region.
Moreover, Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab also have ties to Al-Qaeda. Al-Ghwell says
that a comeback by the Muslim Brotherhood, which was previously one of the
Sudanese regime’s strongest backers, is a potential cause for concern.
“It is crucial that the international community remains vigilant in monitoring
the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates. Past escalations in
Sudan, even including a failed military coup attempt in September 2021, have
been blamed on the Muslim Brotherhood,” he said.
“While it is difficult to predict with some certainty the exact likelihood of
the Muslim Brotherhood’s return, there are several factors that suggest that the
group could make a comeback in Sudan.”
The Muslim Brotherhood has a history in the country dating back to the 1950s,
when the group established its first Sudanese branch. Over the next several
decades, it continued to strengthen its presence in Sudan, reaching its zenith
in 1989 when the Muslim Brotherhood-backed NIF seized power.
Led by military officer and eventual Sudanese head of state Omar Al-Bashir, the
NIF, which in the late 1990s changed its name to the National Congress Party (NCP),
dominated Sudanese politics until the 2019 Sudanese coup d’etat. Al-Bashir’s
government was accused of a litany of human rights violations, including
supporting the infamous Janjaweed militias during the war in Darfur in 2004.
After 2019, the NCP was officially banned and forced underground. However, amid
mounting chaos in Sudan, the country’s volatile political climate may provide
favorable conditions for a return of the Muslim Brotherhood.
“If the Muslim Brotherhood were to successfully re-emerge in Sudan and
consolidate its gains, it could pose a significant threat to the country itself
and its neighbors. The group’s ideology could lead to a state-sanctioned
crackdown on civil liberties and human rights in Sudan, stoking further unrest
and potentially leading to more violence,” Al-Ghwell said.
“Furthermore, the Muslim Brotherhood has a history of supporting militant groups
and extremist ideologies. If the group were to gain power in Sudan, it could
provide a haven for terrorist organizations and pose a threat to regional
stability.” With the war in Yemen seemingly moving at a slower pace, Al-Qaeda in
the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) could emerge as another major threat if it seeks to
move its operations to Sudan. According to Al-Ghwell, the absence of a proper
security infrastructure will make it relatively easy for AQAP to move fighters
and weapons into Sudan to support cells there, or use the country as a transit
point to sustain the operations of AQIM. “A recent article in the Long War
Journal says that an Al-Qaeda ideologue has called for holy war in Sudan and
provided guidelines for supporters looking to join the fight. The book, which
was compiled by the ideologue Abu Hudhayfah Al-Sudani and released by an
extremist publishing house believed to be linked to AQAP, provides ideological
justification and guidelines for waging holy war against the Sudanese state, as
well as rules for prospective extremists to follow when forming a new entity,”
he said. Although multiple ceasefire agreements between the SAF and RSF have
been reached since fighting first erupted in Sudan, they have quickly broken
down, with both sides trading blame for the collapse. Al-Ghwell says that
humanitarian aid such as water, shelter, food and medical assistance must be
provided to fleeing civilians as well as the internally displaced, while
financial support is vital to help stabilize the economy and nip a resurgence of
extremism in the bud. Looking to the future, he says, the international
community should take pre-emptive action by sharing intelligence with, and
training, Sudanese security forces to prevent the spread of extremist groups
that could take advantage of the power vacuum. When the fighting between Al-Burhan
and Dagalo will end remains unclear. Both factions have claimed territorial
control over key areas in Khartoum and other parts of the country. Fayez, a
Sudanese civilian who wanted to be identified only by his first name, recently
shared with Arab News his thoughts on having to flee his homeland and his fears
for the future. He was exhausted after completing a perilous journey from Sudan
through the northern border into Egypt along with his new bride. “We managed, we
survived. I don’t know what Sudan will turn into; I dread to think about it.
Rather than waking up to the sound of prayer, my loved ones who are still stuck
there are waking up to the sound of explosions,” Fayez said. “I pray for their
safety, I pray for my country, I pray we don’t turn into the worst version of
ourselves and the worst, and wrong version of Islam, and kill each other under
false ideologies.”
Sudan envoys begin talks amid pressure to end
conflict
Associated Press/May 07, 2023
Sudan's warring sides began talks Saturday that aim to firm up a shaky
cease-fire after three weeks of fierce fighting that has killed hundreds and
pushed the African country to the brink of collapse, the United States and Saudi
Arabia said. The negotiations, the first between the Sudanese military and the
paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, since the fighting broke out on April
15, were underway in Saudi Arabia's coastal city of Jeddah, on the Red Sea,
according to a joint Saudi-American statement. The talks are part of a
diplomatic initiative proposed by the kingdom and the U.S. that aims to stop the
fighting, which has turned Sudan's capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into
battlefields and pushed hundreds of thousands from their homes. In their joint
statement, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. urged both parties to "actively engage in
the talks towards a cease-fire and end to the conflict, which will spare the
Sudanese people's suffering." The statement did not offer a timeframe for the
talks, though it was expected the initial session could last two-three days. The
talks come after concerted efforts by Riyadh and other international powers to
pressure the warring sides in Sudan to the negotiating table. Saudi Foreign
Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan welcomed the rival sides to Jeddah, saying on
Twitter that he hopes the talks would restore "security and stability" in Sudan.
Since a 2021 coup that upended Sudan's transition to democracy, the kingdom has
been mediating between the ruling generals and a pro-democracy movement. After
Sudan's top two generals — commanders of the military and the paramilitary —
turned on each other after months of tensions and the latest fighting broke out
in April, Jeddah became a hub for those evacuated by sea from Sudan's main sea
port of Port Sudan. Officials from the military and the RSF said the talks would
address the opening of humanitarian corridors in Khartoum and the adjacent city
of Omdurman, which have been the centers of the battles.
They would also discuss providing protection to civilian infrastructure,
including health facilities that have been overwhelmed and suffer from dire
shortages of both staff and medical supplies, one military official said. An RSF
official they would also discuss a mechanism to monitor the cease-fire, which is
one of a series of truces that failed to stop the fighting. The officials spoke
on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks in Jeddah. Meanwhile, Sudan's
pro-democracy movement said the talks would be "a first step" to stop the
country's collapse and called on leaders of the military and the RSF to make a
"bold decision" to end the conflict. The movement, which is a coalition of
political parties and civil society groups, had negotiated with the military for
months to restore the country's democratic transition after a 2021 military coup
led by army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who also chairs the ruling sovereign
council, and his deputy in the council Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.
On Saturday, Dagalo tweeted his first comment on the talks, welcoming the
initiative to establish a firm cease-fire and open humanitarian corridors. "We
remain hopeful that the discussions will achieve their intended goals," he said.
At least 550 people have been killed, including civilians, and more than 4,900
have been wounded as of Monday, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry. The
Sudanese Doctors' Syndicate, which tracks only civilian casualties, said Friday
that 473 civilians have been killed in the violence and more than 2,450 have
been wounded. The fighting capped months of tensions between Burhan and Dagalo.
It plunged the country into further chaos and forced foreign governments to
evacuate their diplomats and thousands of foreign nationals out of Sudan.
Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese were displaced inside Sudan or crossed into
neighboring countries as the fighting dragged on in urban areas.
The U.N. refugee agency estimated that the number of Sudanese fleeing to
neighboring countries would reach 860,000, and that aid agencies would need $445
million to assist them. On Saturday, unknown assailants fired on a convoy in
Khartoum that included Turkish Ambassador Ismail Cobanoglu, reported Turkey's
state-run Anadolu news agency, citing diplomatic sources. There were no
casualties in the shooting, the report said. The Sudanese military and the RSF
traded accusations of attacking the convoy. Also, a bus carrying Sudanese
fleeing the fighting, overturned in Egypt's southern province of Beni Suef,
leaving at least 36 Sudanese, including women and children, and two Egyptians
injured, local authorities said. Tens of thousands of Sudanese have crossed into
Egypt since the fighting broke out.
Top UN humanitarian official in Saudi Arabia for Sudan
talks
AFP/May 07, 2023
RIYADH: The UN’s top humanitarian official arrived in the Saudi coastal city of
Jeddah on Sunday for talks aiming for a cease-fire between Sudan’s warring
generals, a spokesperson said. “Martin Griffiths is in Jeddah at the moment and
the purpose of his visit is to engage in humanitarian issues related to Sudan,”
spokesperson Eri Kaneko said. Fighting that broke out in Sudan on April 15
between army and paramilitary forces has killed at least 700 people, most of
them civilians, wounded thousands and driven a mass exodus of Sudanese and
foreign nationals. A UN official said Griffiths would meet representatives of
the two generals at the heart of the conflict, army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan
and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). There was no
indication that Griffiths would play a direct role in discussions about a
possible cease-fire. A joint US-Saudi statement on Saturday described the
meetings in Jeddah as “pre-negotiation talks.” Saudi Arabia has assumed a
high-profile role in evacuations from Sudan, dispatching naval and commercial
vessels to bring thousands of civilians across the Red Sea from the Sudanese
coastal city of Port Sudan.
Iraq court sentences to death killer of
academic Hisham Al-Hashemi
AFP/May 07, 2023
BAGHDAD: An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced to death a former policeman
convicted of killing prominent academic Hisham Al-Hashemi, whose murder in 2020
sparked condemnation in Iraq and abroad. The sentence against Ahmed Hamdawi
Oueid for killing Hashemi, an expert on Sunni extremism and a government
security adviser, was handed down by a Baghdad criminal court and can be
appealed, the judiciary said. A well-respected academic and expert on jihadist
groups, Hashemi was shot dead outside his Baghdad home in July 2020 by gunmen on
motorcycles. A year later, state television aired the alleged confession of the
mastermind of the assault who was then identified by his full name Ahmed Hamdawi
Oueid Al-Kenani. Then a police lieutenant aged 36, he said he shot Hashemi with
a pistol. At the time a security source said that the suspect was linked to the
powerful pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah, which Hashemi had criticized in his writings
and media commentary. On Sunday, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said in a
statement that “a death sentence has been issued against the criminal Ahmed
Hamdawi Oueid for the murder of security expert Hisham Al-Hashemi.” Hashemi’s
murder sparked outrage across Iraq and was denounced by several Western
countries as well as the United Nations. Hashemi had thrown his support behind
popular protests that had broken out in Iraq a year before his death against the
government, which was seen by many as inept, corrupt and too close to Iran. More
than 600 people were killed and thousands wounded in the protests that had
erupted in October 2019 and a crackdown on the demonstrations. In the aftermath
of the protests, a spate of killings, attempted murders and abductions targeted
dozens of activists in Iraq.
Israel releases Jordanian MP accused of smuggling weapons
Arab News/May 07/2023
AMMAN: Israel released Jordanian lawmaker Imad Odwan on Sunday after he
allegedly tried to smuggle weapons and gold into the occupied West Bank.
Jordanian MPs voted to lift Odwan’s legal immunity on Sunday, paving the way for
his trial at the State Security Court. The Speaker of Parliament, Ahmed Al-Safadi,
said the decision was made after a request from the State Security Court
Prosecution and a vote by MPs. The vote to lift his immunity was conducted
during a closed-door session that even the government was asked not to attend.
In press statements following the session, Lower House Speaker Ahmed Al-Safadi
said the decision to lift Odwan’s immunity was taken upon a request from the SSC,
which looks into cases related to terrorism, security and smuggling. An official
Jordanian source said all necessary measures have been taken to refer Odwan to
the SSC after he had his legal immunity lifted. The source, who requested
anonymity, said the decision to refer Odwan and the other suspects in the case
to the court was based on the results of investigations conducted by Jordanian
authorities, which had sufficient evidence, including confessions of those
involved in the case of repeated “arms smuggling and trade in collaboration with
the MP.”Odwan was arrested on April 22 for allegedly trying to smuggle weapons
and gold into the occupied West Bank. Israel said at the time that border
authorities had foiled an attempt to smuggle the items at the King Hussein
Bridge border crossing, claiming that the items were found in Odwan’s car.
Israel’s internal security service Shin Bet said its investigation revealed that
Odwan carried out 12 separate smuggling attempts since early 2022, using his
diplomatic passport. Shin Bet said since the start of the year, he made several
successful attempts to smuggle arms in exchange for money, adding that he was
released for “further investigation and pursuit of justice” by Jordanian
authorities. Odwan, 34, from Balqa governorate, is a lawyer, holds a master’s
degree in international law, and is a member of the Palestine Committee in the
Jordanian Parliament. He has many political stances opposing the government.
Prominent Israeli political analyst, Yoni Ben Menachem, told Arab News that the
return of Al-Adwan would have a positive effect on Israeli-Jordanian relations,
which have been tense since Israel’s right-wing government came to power in late
December. He said that Israeli authorities were still investigating the intended
recipients of the weapons. “The good thing is that the Israeli intelligence
managed to close the loophole that smuggled (weapons) from Jordan to Palestinian
armed groups in the West Bank,” he said.
Israel demolishes school in occupied West Bank
Reuters/May 07, 2023
COGAT, a branch of the Israeli military, said in a statement that the building,
located about 2 km from Bethlehem, had been constructed illegally and “was found
to be dangerous to the safety of anyone studying or otherwise visiting there,”
and thus an Israeli court “had ordered it demolished.”The EU Delegation to the
Palestinians, on its official Twitter account, said it was “appalled” by the
school’s demolition, which it said would affect 60 Palestinian children.
The demolition was “illegal under international law” and would “only increase
the suffering of the Palestinian population and further escalate an already
tense environment,” the EU delegation said. COGAT said the building’s owner had
refused several attempts by Israeli authorities to engage in dialogue over the
status of the structure before the enforcement of the demolition. Students and
witnesses said the building had been brought to rubble with no trace of the
school that once stood there. “We got ready to come to school and when we
arrived we didn’t find the school,” student Mohammed Ibrahim said. “We want a
school today! We want to study, if they (Israeli forces) will keep demolishing,
we will keep building.” Witnesses also said the contents of the building had
been confiscated. “They demolished the school and they took everything with
them,” a nearby resident and witness whose grandson was a student at the school
Ismael Salah told Reuters. “All the furniture, they put them in trucks and took
them.” Israel has often cited a lack of building permits, which Palestinians and
rights groups say are nearly impossible to obtain, in destroying Palestinian
structures in the West Bank, an area it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
The Palestinians want the more than half a million Jewish settlers there, along
with Israeli soldiers, to leave the occupied territories. Israel balks at such
sweeping pullouts, citing historical claims on the biblical lands. The Gush
Etzion Regional Council, which represents a nearby block of Jewish settlers in
the West Bank, welcomed the demolition. “This is definitely another step in the
persistent struggle for our State lands, Gush Etzion Regional Council Mayor, and
Chairman of the Yesha Council, Shlomo Neeman said in a statement. “There is
still a lot of work to be done.”The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of
Education called the demolition a “heinous crime” and said it would cause “the
school’s students to be deprived of receiving their education in a free, safe
and stable manner, similar to children in the rest of the world.” An Israeli
official source said that the dispute over the building’s safety had gone on for
six years and that a nearby school would absorb the students displaced by the
demolition.
Few options for the West as simmering Iran nuclear crisis
risks reigniting
The Arab Weekly/Sunday 07/05/2023
Leaving the NPT would free Iran to develop nuclear arms.
Even as the United States and its European allies grapple with Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine and rising tensions with China, the smoldering crisis over Iran’s
nuclear programme threatens to reignite. In a sign of European concern, Britain,
France and Germany have warned Iran they would trigger a return of UN sanctions
against Tehran if it enriched uranium to the optimal level for a nuclear weapon,
three European officials said. The threat, made last year in a previously
unreported letter sent by the countries’ foreign ministers, underscores Western
fears that Iran could produce bomb-grade uranium of 90% purity. Those concerns
intensified in February after UN inspectors revealed their discovery of uranium
particles of 83.7% purity at an Iran nuclear facility built deep underground to
protect it from air strikes. “Worrisome possibilities include that Iran tested a
way to produce near-weapon grade uranium without. . .detection,” said a report
by the Institute for Science and International Security, a think tank that
closely tracks Tehran’s programme. A renewed crisis over Iran would come at a
bad time for US President Joe Biden who is focused on maintaining allies’
support for the war in Ukraine and on rallying Western countries to push back on
China’s military and diplomatic ambitions. But while some White House aides may
prefer to keep Iran off the president’s desk, officials and analysts suggested
they may not have that luxury. “They are busy with Ukraine, Russia and they
don’t want, for the time being, to open another front,” said a Western diplomat
on condition of anonymity. “Therefore, they want to do everything in their power
to prevent this (90%) from happening.”
‘Snapback’ of UN sanctions?
Western officials fear a nuclear-armed Iran could threaten Israel, Gulf Arab oil
producers, and spark a regional arms race.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
US and European officials have been searching for ways to curb Tehran’s
programme since the breakdown of indirect US-Iranian talks on reviving the 2015
nuclear deal between Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the
United States. The accord, aimed at keeping Iran from developing a nuclear
weapon, required Tehran to accept restrictions on its nuclear program and more
extensive UN inspections, in exchange for an end to UN, US, and EU sanctions.
The deal, which had capped Iran’s uranium enrichment at 3.67%, was abandoned in
2018 by then-US President Donald Trump, who argued it was too generous to
Tehran. Trump reimposed broad US sanctions, many of which have the secondary
effect of forcing non-US firms stop dealing with Iran or risk losing access to
the US market, but UN sanctions were not reactivated. The deal had set out a
procedure for the veto-proof “snapback” of the UN sanctions on Iran –
including an oil embargo and banking restrictions “in response to Iranian
violations. Any of the states who signed onto the original deal can trigger the
snapback. US sanctions – even with their secondary effects – have failed to keep
Iran from producing ever-purer levels of uranium and China has flouted them by
buying Iranian oil, making it unclear if the UN measures would be any more
effective. But Iran might refrain from enriching to 90% to avoid the public
rebuke implicit in the return of UN sanctions. A senior Iranian nuclear official
said Tehran would not take the revival of UN sanctions lying down.
“If the other parties under any pretext trigger it, they will be responsible for
all the consequences,” he told Reuters. “Iran’s reaction could range from
leaving the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) to accelerating our nuclear
work.” The Iranian official’s threat was more explicit than comments by an
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, who on Monday said only that Iran had told
Western powers how it would react. It remains unclear if the 83.7% particles
were created deliberately. But Western officials and analysts say that Iran’s
production of 90% uranium would demand a significant response. A US State
Department spokesman said Biden “is absolutely committed” to making sure Iran
never obtains a nuclear weapon. “We believe diplomacy is the best way to achieve
that goal, but President Biden has also been clear that we have not removed any
option from the table,” the spokesperson added, hinting at the possibility of
military action.
‘Face a crisis at some point’
While Western officials want to leave the door open for diplomacy, tensions with
Russia and China make that harder. Divisions over the Ukraine war, which has
seen Iran provide military aid to Russia, and rising Sino-US tensions further
reduce the odds of resurrecting the deal because it is unclear how hard Moscow
or Beijing might push for its revival. If the deal is dead, the West has three
broad options: deterrence, military action, or a new negotiated arrangement.
Deterrence has a downside: it could give Tehran time to creep toward a nuclear
weapons capability. Dennis Ross, a veteran US diplomat now at the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy think tank, suggested Biden may have to do more
to make Iran fear the consequences of enriching to higher levels. “If you don’t
do enough to persuade the Iranians of the risks they are running, you will face
a crisis at some point because they will go to 90%” or move toward weaponisation,
he said. “What you are seeing is an effort to walk that tightrope.”
Israel hopes for breakthrough on normalisation as US security adviser visits
Saudi Arabia
The Arab Weekly/Sunday 07/05/2023
Israel is hoping for a breakthrough this weekend in efforts to normalise ties
with Saudi Arabia during White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan’s
visit there, a senior security official said on Friday. The head of Israel’s
National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, spoke on Wednesday with his
counterpart Sullivan, who is set to travel to Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Sullivan
is expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Hanegbi said.
Announcing his trip on Thursday, Sullivan said Washington was working hard to
normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a major goal set by Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who briefly joined Sullivan’s video call with
Hanegbi. “We are very, very hopeful that there will be a breakthrough during his
visit there,” Hanegbi told Reshet 13 News. Asked whether a breakthrough would be
a phone call between Saudi leaders and Netanyahu, Hangebi said: “There are those
who say that there have been more than phone calls between Saudi and Israeli
leaders. But what is important is that the United States lead a move adding
Saudi Arabia to the Abraham Accords, normalisation and peace with Israel. If
that happens it will be a historic turning point.”Former President Donald
Trump’s administration in 2020 brokered the historic peace deal known as the
Abraham Accords, which included the normalisation of diplomatic relations
between Gulf allies the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain with Israel, all of
which share security fears over Iran.
While Saudi Arabia signalled approval of the 2020 accords, it has held off on
following suit, saying Palestinian goals for statehood should be addressed
first. Any such prospects have been clouded, however, by Riyadh’s strains with
US President Joe Biden, its recent fence-mending with regional rival Iran, and
the rise of Netanyahu’s hard-right Israeli government.
Jordan and US discuss improving trade and
export markets
Arab News/May 07, 2023
AMMAN: The 9th session of the Joint Jordanian-US committee was held in
Washington DC to discuss cooperation in trade, agriculture, food security and
labor fields, Jordan News Agency reported on Sunday. Dana Zoubi, secretary
general of Jordan’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, said on Sunday that
Jordanian-US economic relations were “historic and strategic,” and are founded
on mutual interests. Zoubi also said Jordan was eager to strengthen its
commercial and economic connections with Washington, as well as attract foreign
added-value investments to the national economy, which would help Jordan’s
development and generate job opportunities for Jordanians. Jayme White, deputy
representative of US Trade, said he was keen to improve already “deep-rooted”
relations between the two countries. White stated that subcommittee sessions
assist in identifying important problems and hurdles to trade exchange flow,
emphasizing the US interest in having the committee's 10th session in Amman next
year. The committee discussed methods to improve trade exchange in goods and
services, the necessity of diversifying Jordanian goods sold to the US and
strategies to overcome challenges in exports. The Jordanian delegation invited
US investors to take advantage of the Kingdom’s new investment law. The meetings
resulted in the formation of a joint subcommittee that will revise environmental
legislation to boost mutual trade, as well as the level of the two countries'
ecological protection in implementing Article 5 of Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
According to official figures, Jordan’s exports to the US totaled $2.38 billion
in 2022, accounting for more than 25 percent of total national exports, while
imports totaled $1.49 billion. Jordan’s exports to the US totaled $166.4 million
in January, while imports totaled $212.4 million.
Kurds cautiously back Kemal Kilicdaroglu in
Turkish election
AFP/May 07, 2023
DIYARBAKIR: Exhausted by crackdowns in Turkiye’s Kurdish heartland, Ali is
backing the main rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in elections next
Sunday — though his faith in the presidential hopeful is not great. “It’s time
for a change,” the 50-year-old said in Diyarbakir, the Kurds’ unofficial capital
in southeast Turkiye. “For anyone watching TV in Turkiye, Kurds are terrorists,”
said Ali, who declined to give his full name for fear of retribution. “But I
would be lying if I said I fully trust the opposition candidate,” he added,
referring to Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the secular CHP party. Representing roughly a
fifth of Turkiye’s 85 million people, Kurds have suffered repression throughout
the course of the post-Ottoman republic, which was created by CHP founder
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923. Turkiye officially denied the existence of such
an ethnicity, depriving Kurds of cultural and education rights. Many Kurds
embraced Erdogan’s AKP when it ended decades of secular rule in 2002, seeing it
as more inclusive and committed to changes. Erdogan tried to broker a deal to
end a bloody Kurdish fight for an independent state, seeking to etch his place
in history as the one who finally settled one of Turkiye’s most painful
problems. The collapse of the talks in 2015 and a failed coup attempt the
following year prompted Erdogan to resume military operations in Kurdish
regions, pushing him closer to Turkiye’s nationalists. After holding out for
much of the campaign, the pro-Kurdish HDP party has officially backed
Kilicdaroglu, an endorsement that might just tip the close vote. The HDP’s
support “is a major boost” to Kilicdaroglu, said Hamish Kinnear, a senior
analyst at the Verisk Maplecroft risk consultancy. Mehmet Emin Yilmaz, who wears
a traditional Kurdish scarf, says he is ready to vote for whomever the HDP
points to. “I am Kurdish. The HDP defends my rights. If the police unjustly
detains me today, the HDP will take care of me,” the 60-year-old said. But while
the election is one of Turkiye’s most important in its modern era, deciding the
future of its longest-serving leader, there is little excitement on the streets
of Diyarbakir. “The people are intimidated, there are cameras everywhere. If
more than two people gather, the plainclothes police arrive,” said Erdem Unal,
the CHP chief in Diyarbakir’s historic Sur district. “Erdogan left Kurds with
two options: mosque or prison,” he said. “Diyarbakir has turned into an open-air
prison,” he said. Erdogan’s alliance with the Huda-Par (Free Cause Party) has
opened additional wounds. Huda-Par has links to the Kurdish Hezbollah movement,
which is distinct from the Lebanese group of the same name. Comprising Sunni
radicals, the Kurdish Hezbollah was implicated in the extrajudicial killings of
Kurdish and women’s rights activists in the 1990s. Some analysts viewed the
Kurdish Hezbollah as a regime tool for fighting the Kurdish insurgency led by
the leftist PKK. Eyup Burc, founder of the pro-Kurdish IMC TV channel that has
since been shut down, said Erdogan’s embrace of Huda-Par meant he was trying to
hang on to the most conservative elements of the Kurdish vote. “Surveys show
around 15 percent support for Erdogan in Diyarbakir, and it’s melting further,”
Burc said. Kilicdaroglu’s leftist CHP is almost invisible in Diyarbakir. But the
74-year-old former civil servant appears to attract local sympathies because of
his openly Alevi faith — and less emphasised Kurdish identity. Most Kurds call
Kilicdaroglu “Piro” from “pir,” a Kurdish word for grandfather that also
describes an Alevi religious leader. But many Kurds have long-standing
reservations about Kilicdaroglu and his six-party opposition alliance. It backed
Erdogan’s military incursions into Syria, which hit Kurdish areas controlled by
a sister party of the PKK. The HDP’s support for Kilicdaroglu follows the arrest
of more than 100 Kurdish activists, journalists and lawyers in what the
government billed an “anti-terror” operation. The roundups were aimed at
“sending a message to Turkiye’s (mostly Sunni) west,” said Nahit Eren, who heads
the Diyarbakir bar association. Abbas Sahin, whose Green Left Party will
represent pro-Kurdish candidates in the parliamentary portion of the ballot
because of a threatened shutdown of the HDP, vowed that Erdogan would be
consigned “to the dustbin of history.” But Gulistan Atasoy Tekdemir, the HDP
co-chair in Diyarbakir, said Kurds expected “courage” from the opposition
candidate, insisting that their support should not be taken for granted.
Ukraine general: Russia hopes to capture
Bakhmut by Tuesday, steps up fighting
(Reuters)/Sun, May 7, 2023
Russia has intensified shelling of Bakhmut hoping to take it by Tuesday,
Ukraine's top general in charge of the defence of the besieged city said late on
Sunday, vowing to do everything to prevent it. Victory Day in Russia is May 9,
one of the country's most commemorated public holidays marking the anniversary
of victory over Nazi Germany. Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Ukrainian
commander of ground forces, said that Russian forces increased the intensity of
shelling with heavy weapons of the city, began to use more advanced equipment
and are regrouping troops. Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
"Today, it is important to make decisions as quickly as possible and predict the
actions of the enemy," Syrskyi said on his Telegram channel after what he said
was a visit to the troops along the Bakhmut frontline. "The Russians still hope
to capture the city by May 9. Our task is to prevent this." The battle for the
city, once home to 70,000 people, has symbolic importance for both sides, with
Ukraine still holding on to some parts of after more than 10 months of fierce
fighting against regular Russian troops and the Wagner mercenary force. Moscow
sees Bakhmut as a stepping stone to attacking other Ukrainian cities. Kyiv has
said before that keeping the defence of Bakhmut, allows for the military to
prepare its expected counteroffensive. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared
to backtrack on Sunday with his plans to withdraw from Bakhmut and Syrskyi said
the increased fighting "shows that the enemy is not going to change their plans
and is doing everything possible to take Bakhmut under control and continue
offensive actions."
Russia blames US for attack on pro-Kremlin
writer
Agence France Presse/May 07, 2023
Russia's foreign ministry said the United States was "primarily" to blame for an
explosion that killed one person and wounded pro-Kremlin writer Zakhar Prilepin.
"The responsibility for this terrorist act, and for others, does not lie only
with Ukraine, but also with its Western minders, primarily the United States,"
the ministry said. "The lack of condemnation by Washington after another
terrorist act... is self-revealing," the statement added. "The silence of the
relevant international organisations is unacceptable." The attack against
Prilepin, a vocal supporter of the Ukraine offensive, was "another manifestation
of (Kyiv's) systemic approach of eliminating ideological opponents" said the
ministry. Such methods were "actively implanted in Ukraine since 2014 thanks to
Washington's efforts," it said.Moscow sees the 2014 pro-European Union Maidan
revolution in Ukraine as a Western-backed coup aimed at weakening Russia in what
it considers its sphere of influence.
At least 8 people killed by gunman at Texas
mall; shooter killed by police
Reuters/May 07/2023
A gunman shot and killed eight people and wounded at least seven others at a
busy mall north of Dallas on Saturday, police said. The gunman, whom authorities
said they think acted alone and whose motive was not yet known, was killed by a
police officer after he began firing outside of the Allen Premium Outlets mall
in Allen, Texas, the city's police chief Brian Harvey said at a press
conference. Allen fire department chief Jon Boyd told the same press conference
that his department took at least nine victims with gunshot wounds to area
hospitals. Two of those people died at the hospital, Boyd said at a second press
conference Saturday night. Three of the victims were in critical condition and
four others were stable. Medical City Healthcare, which runs 16 hospitals in the
area, said in a statement that its trauma centers were treating eight of the
wounded victims, who ranged in age from 5 to 61. Collin County Judge Chris Hill,
the top elected official in the county where Allen sits, praised police and
other first responders at a press conference, but expressed deep anger with
"those that would do evil in our community, in our backyard."Separately, police
in the nearby city of Frisco, Texas, said they had evacuated the Stonebriar mall
late Saturday after receiving reports of shots fired there. It was not yet clear
if a shooting had actually taken place.
SHOOTING EVERYWHERE
TV aerial images showed hundreds of people calmly walking out of the mall,
located about 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Dallas, after the violence unfolded,
many with their hands up as scores of police stood guard. One unidentified
eyewitness told local ABC affiliate WFAA TV that the gunman was "walking down
the sidewalk just ... shooting his gun outside," and that "he was just shooting
his gun everywhere for the most part."Blood could be seen on sidewalks outside
the mall and white sheets covering what appeared to be bodies. Texas Governor
Greg Abbott, calling the shooting an "unspeakable tragedy," said in a statement
that the state was prepared to offer any assistance local authorities may need.
Allen, Texas, is a community of about 100,000 people. Mass shootings have become
commonplace in the United States, with at least 198 so far in 2023, the most at
this point in the year since at least 2016, according to the Gun Violence
Archive. The nonprofit group defines a mass shooting as any in which four or
more people are wounded or killed, not including the shooter. ---
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on May 07-08/2023
Blame Putin for Stoking Violence in Sudan
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute./May 07, 2023
Recent documents published by the Dossier Center, an investigative project set
up by Russian dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky, demonstrate unequivocally that the
Wagner Group is funded and run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who in turn answers
directly to Putin.
In recent years, the Wagner Group has been particularly busy in the Middle East
and North Africa, where it has been deployed to fulfil Putin's ambition of
expanding the Kremlin's influence in the Middle East, an objective that has been
made a great deal easier by US President Joe Biden's willingness to abandon
Washington's long-established presence in the region.
Wagner mercenaries played an active role in Russia's military intervention in
Syria during the civil war to save the regime of Bashar Assad from certain
defeat, and more recently have been active in Libya and Mali as part of Putin's
drive to expand Moscow's presence in North Africa.
Wagner's involvement in Sudan dates back to 2017, when it was invited to help
shore up Bashir's dictatorship after he visited Putin in Moscow, during which he
promised to make the country Russia's "key to Africa".
Since last year's Russian invasion of Ukraine, reports have surfaced of Wagner
helping to smuggle significant quantities of gold out of the country to help
Putin to avoid international sanctions and fund his war effort. In return Moscow
provides the RSF with sophisticated weapons.
Another vital feature of Wagner's involvement with the RSF is that it might help
Moscow to fulfil its ambitious plan to build a naval base at Port Sudan, a
development that would give the Russian Navy access to one of the world's major
trade arteries.
An agreement to build a base at Port Sudan was originally agreed when Bashir was
still in power but has since fallen into abeyance because of the chaos that has
seized the country since the dictator's overthrow. The RSF is now indicating
that it will help revive the project if it succeeds in its attempts to seize
control of the Sudanese junta, a move that would greatly enhance the potential
threat Moscow poses to control of the Suez Canal and the future stability of the
Middle East and Africa. The conflict in Sudan, therefore, is not merely a
struggle between rival military factions for control of the country. It
represents a blatant attempt by Moscow to establish a Russian stronghold in the
Red Sea, an objective that would not have been possible without Biden's
willingness to abandon Washington's global leadership.
The conflict in Sudan is not merely a struggle between rival military factions
for control of the country. It represents a blatant attempt by Moscow to
establish a Russian stronghold in the Red Sea. Pictured: Sudanese Army soldiers,
loyal to military junta head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in Port Sudan on
April 16, 2023. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
The dramatic upsurge of violence between warring factions in Sudan is just the
latest example of the chaos being caused throughout the world by the Biden
administration's wilful abandonment of its global responsibilities.
It also demonstrates how, in the absence of effective American leadership in
world affairs, rogue states like Russia are willing to fill the void to pursue
their own nefarious agenda.
For while the primary cause of the latest unrest to afflict the Sudanese capital
Khartoum is the result of a long-standing feud between rival factions in the
ruling military junta, there can be no mistaking the fact that the malign
influence of Russia's ubiquitous Wagner Group is playing a considerable role in
stoking the violence.
At the heart of the unrest, which has seen foreign governments scrambling to
launch rescue missions to evacuate stranded citizens, is the bitter rivalry that
has developed between the military junta headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a self-contained paramilitary force led by
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or "Hemedti" as he is popularly known.
The RSF is an offshoot of Sudan's notorious Janjaweed militia that was
responsible for committing acts of genocide during the bloody Darfur conflict at
the turn of the century. It was as a result of these acts of barbarity that
President Omar al-Bashir, the former Sudanese dictator, gained the unwelcome
distinction of being the first serving head of state to be charged with war
crimes by the International Criminal Court.
The Janjaweed subsequently became a key element in the formation of the RSF,
which played a pivotal role in the military coup that removed Bashir from power
in 2019. The RSF was at the forefront of the brutal repression of the peaceful
pro-democracy sit-in that took place in front of the military headquarters in
Khartoum following the coup, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.
The RSF was again involved when a power-sharing deal with politicians who had
led the protests against Bashir aimed at facilitating the transition towards a
democratic government was thwarted by a further coup in October 2021, resulting
in the deaths of more than 100 protesters.
The prominent role the RSF has played in keeping the military in power in
Khartoum has created tensions, with Hemedti becoming increasingly frustrated at
his position as Burhan's official deputy. Thus, when Burhan last month decided
to bring the militia under the control of the Sudanese military, Hemedti
responded by launching his own bid to seize control of the junta, sparking the
latest round of violence to afflict the country.
The RSF's ability, moreover, to make its own bid to seize control of the country
has been greatly facilitated by the support it has received from the Wagner
Group, the Russian paramilitary militia that Vladimir Putin uses as his own
private army. Recent documents published by the Dossier Center, an investigative
project set up by Russian dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky, demonstrate
unequivocally that the Wagner Group is funded and run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who
in turn answers directly to Putin.
In recent years, the Wagner Group has been particularly busy in the Middle East
and North Africa, where it has been deployed to fulfil Putin's ambition of
expanding the Kremlin's influence in the Middle East, an objective that has been
made a great deal easier by US President Joe Biden's willingness to abandon
Washington's long-established presence in the region.
Wagner mercenaries played an active role in Russia's military intervention in
Syria during the civil war to save the regime of Bashar Assad from certain
defeat, and more recently have been active in Libya and Mali as part of Putin's
drive to expand Moscow's presence in North Africa.
The mounting evidence of the Wagner Group's involvement in Sudan, therefore,
does not come as a surprise, and its support for the RSF is entirely in keeping
with the Kremlin's commitment to establishing a network of new alliances on the
African continent.
Wagner's involvement in Sudan dates back to 2017, when it was invited to help
shore up Bashir's dictatorship after he visited Putin in Moscow, during which he
promised to make the country Russia's "key to Africa".
Since then, Wagner is reported to have supplied large quantities of weapons and
equipment to Sudan, including military trucks, amphibious vehicles and transport
helicopters. There have even been claims that Wagner has supplied the RSF with
surface-to-air missiles in its battle to take control of the state from Burhan.
Wagner's involvement with the RSF also has important economic implications for
Moscow. One of the reasons the RSF is in a position to challenge the Sudanese
regime is that it derives enormous wealth from its control over the country's
gold industry. Since last year's Russian invasion of Ukraine, reports have
surfaced of Wagner helping to smuggle significant quantities of gold out of the
country to help Putin to avoid international sanctions and fund his war effort.
In return Moscow provides the RSF with sophisticated weapons.
Another vital feature of Wagner's involvement with the RSF is that it might help
Moscow to fulfil its ambitious plan to build a naval base at Port Sudan, a
development that would give the Russian Navy access to one of the world's major
trade arteries.
An agreement to build a base at Port Sudan was originally agreed when Bashir was
still in power but has since fallen into abeyance because of the chaos that has
seized the country since the dictator's overthrow. The RSF is now indicating
that it will help revive the project if it succeeds in its attempts to seize
control of the Sudanese junta, a move that would greatly enhance the potential
threat Moscow poses to control of the Suez Canal and the future stability of the
Middle East and Africa.
The conflict in Sudan, therefore, is not merely a struggle between rival
military factions for control of the country. It represents a blatant attempt by
Moscow to establish a Russian stronghold in the Red Sea, an objective that would
not have been possible without Biden's willingness to abandon Washington's
global leadership.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a
Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2023 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Uncertainty prevails as critical Turkish election nears
Yasar Yakis/Arab News/May 07/2023
With less than a week left before the crucial May 14 elections in Turkiye, there
is a wide range of speculation about whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and
his coalition partners will be able to survive. The public opinion polling
companies give contrasting figures about the possible outcomes.
The competition will take place between the incumbent president and Kemal
Kilicdaroglu, the leader of a coalition of opposition parties. It looks as if it
will be a tight contest, though Kilicdaroglu seems to be ahead by a slight
margin. However, there are other complicating factors. There are two additional
presidential contenders, Muharrem Ince and Sinan Ogan. Neither of them are
likely to receive more than 5 or 6 percent of the votes. They have put forward
their candidacies for the presidency in order to negotiate concessions before
the second round of the election with Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu if the first round
ends up being inconclusive.
There is also a difference between Ince’s attitude and that of Ogan. Ince has
publicly announced that he is against Erdogan, but this does not mean that he
will support Kilicdaroglu.
Ogan is expected to get half of his votes from Erdogan supporters and the other
half from the opposition. As the day of the elections approaches, voters may
assess their choices more meticulously. Therefore, Ince’s support may go further
down to 3 or 4 percent and Ogan’s to 1.5 or 2 percent.
Support for Kilicdaroglu has never exceeded 53 percent. This is a critical
threshold. When the race is too tight, Erdogan may use all potentials of the
state to turn the tide to his advantage in the second round of voting. To
complicate the equation even further, we have to bear in mind that the voters
will cast their votes in two different ballot boxes — one to elect a president
of the republic and the other to elect the members of parliament. For the
presidency, 50 percent of the vote plus one would be sufficient. Meanwhile, the
parliament will be composed of members of various political parties. This makes
the situation more complicated regarding what the breakdown of parties in the
parliament will be. Coalitions may be formed by breakaway parties or by groups
of individual members of various parties, who could be persuaded to change
sides. As the day of the elections approaches, voters may assess their choices
more meticulously. Such a distribution of the new members of parliament may help
promote the culture of conciliation among the political parties. But this is
what could be expected in the longer run. In the short term, a diversification
in the ranks of the opposition parties may harm their cohesion, because Erdogan
is very much eager to split the opposition parties and persuade some of their
factions to join his ranks.
One of the peculiarities of the upcoming elections is that almost all opposition
parties were able to agree on a common ground, which consists of getting rid of
the present government coalition.
Another important observation is that Erdogan has built a consolidated unity
within his party. We do not know whether the six-party coalition that forms the
opposition — plus the support extended by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic
Party, known as the HDP — will be able to demonstrate the required solidarity if
and when they come to power. Will they end up resorting to a fight for their
share of the political prizes? Meral Aksener’s Good Party lurched for a brief
period at the beginning of March. This will leave a scar in the minds of the
public. As for the splinter parties such as former Prime Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu’s Future Party or former Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan’s Democracy
and Progress Party, their support might not go beyond 2 percent and 3.7 percent,
respectively. These two parties have concentrated their efforts on Istanbul.
There is little chance for them in the metropolitan constituencies such as
Istanbul, Ankara or Izmir. They might also focus their efforts on the small
provincial constituencies, where they can identify an outstanding candidate and
mobilize all their efforts to get them elected.
It appears that the six-party opposition coalition could not come up with a
common strategy that would guarantee to defeat the ruling AKP party. The AKP
decided late on to act together with the Free Cause Party, known as HUDAPAR,
which has connections with the Iranian Hezbollah and which committed brutal
assassinations in southeast Turkiye. The same AKP fought with HUDAPAR several
years ago. Its cooperation with that party today must have cast some shadows on
the cooperation between the AKP and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party,
which decided not to run on the same list as this Hezbollah-tainted party. This
became its most visible disagreement with the ruling AKP. The pro-Kurdish HDP
remains the kingmaker, but whether its support will be enough to save the
opposition from defeat is a question that is full of uncertainties.
*Yasar Yakis is a former foreign minister of Turkiye and founding member of the
ruling AK Party. Twitter: @yakis_yasar
Ukraine war may be critical for the future of Biden’s
presidency
Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/May 07/2023
The escalation in tensions between Ukraine and Russia following last week’s
attack on the Kremlin has brought the conflict to a new level of intensity. The
situation is highly complex and has significant implications for the region and
beyond. The US has accused Russia of faking the attack, leading to heightened
concerns about the future of the war.
CIA Director Leon Panetta told CNN that the Russians might have faked the
attack, prompting Moscow to deny this allegation and assert that Ukraine was
responsible. There is evidence from both sides regarding the alleged drone
attack. Therefore, the international community must approach the situation
critically and avoid jumping to conclusions based on partisan interests. In this
regard, the US should support an independent investigation. Such an
investigation could help shed light on the situation and provide a basis for
resolving the war.
One significant development in the conflict is Russia’s increased frequency of
thwarting US-made mobile rocket systems in Ukraine. Recent months have seen an
uptick in such incidents. This trend is concerning, as it indicates a growing
escalation of the conflict and highlights the need for international efforts to
de-escalate tensions. On the other hand, Ukraine has been stepping up its
defensive measures in response to these threats. Ukrainian Air Force Commander
Mykola Oleshchuk on Saturday reported that a Kinzhal-type ballistic missile had
been intercepted in an overnight attack on Kyiv. This was the Ukrainians’ first
known use of the US Patriot missile defense system. While such measures may help
to deter further attacks, they also raise concerns about where the conflict is
going.
While Washington has been a vocal supporter of Kyiv since the conflict began, it
is essential to recognize the situation’s complexity. The Biden administration
needs to take a balanced and constructive approach to the problem. The US should
encourage both Ukraine and Russia to engage in a meaningful dialogue to find a
peaceful solution to their brutal war.
As a major global power, the US has significant influence in the region and it
must use this influence to encourage all parties involved to engage in dialogue.
US President Joe Biden should play a decisive role in de-escalating the
dangerous tensions. He must work with his allies in Europe and the wider
international community to promote an immediate solution.
The ongoing war has had far-reaching consequences for the US and its allies. It
has highlighted the need for a firm and proactive foreign policy that puts
American interests first. America has learned some important lessons from the
ongoing war in Europe. Firstly, it has exposed the weakness of the Obama
administration’s foreign policy, which Biden helped carry out, as it was
characterized by a reluctance to engage in conflicts abroad. The decision to
draw a “red line” in Syria and not follow through with military action when the
line was crossed sent a clear message to America’s allies that it was unwilling
to take a firm stand on important issues. This lack of resolve emboldened
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who saw an opportunity to expand Russia’s
influence in Eastern Europe.
Secondly, the war has highlighted the importance of NATO and the need for the US
to maintain its commitment to the alliance. As Russia has become increasingly
aggressive in the region, NATO has been instrumental in deterring this
aggression and protecting the sovereignty of its member states. This highlights
the importance of maintaining solid military alliances to promote stability and
prevent aggression in regions of strategic importance.It is clear that the
escalation of the war could become a significant political liability for Biden
and the Democratic Party.
Thirdly, the conflict has brought the need for energy independence to the
forefront. Russia has used its control over energy supplies as a tool of
political coercion, particularly in Eastern Europe. By reducing reliance on
foreign energy sources, the US can limit the ability of hostile regimes to
manipulate global energy markets and undermine the security of its allies.
Finally, the war has underscored the need for a strong military and robust
defense spending. Russia has modernized its military and is willing to use force
to achieve its objectives. The US is also facing challenges from regimes such as
the one in North Korea. Therefore, the US must ensure its military is equipped
to meet these challenges and its troops have the necessary resources to carry
out their missions. The million-dollar question is what should the US do to end
the war?
The US must be cautious not to engage in actions that could further escalate the
situation, such as provocative military maneuvers. It also needs to recognize
that the conflict has a significant human toll and it should work to provide
humanitarian aid to those who need it.
The US should promote confidence-building measures between Ukraine and Russia.
These could include measures to reduce military tensions, such as the two sides
withdrawing troops from border regions. Washington could also promote economic
cooperation between Ukraine and Russia, which could help build trust and promote
dialogue between the two countries.
Ultimately, the key to resolving the conflict is for both Ukraine and Russia to
engage in meaningful dialogue to find a peaceful solution. The US can play a
constructive role in promoting such dialogue and encouraging both sides to
engage in the process. The White House must also recognize the situation’s
complexity and work to promote a balanced approach that considers the interests
of all parties involved. The war in Ukraine has been a major foreign policy
challenge for the Biden administration and it is likely to have significant
implications for the 2024 presidential election. While foreign policy issues
typically do not dominate US elections, they can play a decisive role in shaping
the debate and influencing voter sentiment.
The conflict in Ukraine is likely to be a vital issue, particularly if it
continues to escalate. Biden’s supporters and opponents alike will closely
scrutinize the president’s handling of the war. Biden’s decision to provide
military aid to Ukraine and his commitment to supporting Kyiv’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity has been praised by many in the international community,
including some of his political allies. However, his critics argue that he has
not done enough to deter Russian aggression in the region.
It is clear that the escalation of the war could become a significant political
liability for Biden and the Democratic Party. Republicans could use the conflict
to criticize Biden’s foreign policy record and paint him as weak on Russia. Some
Republican candidates could even use the conflict as a wedge issue to appeal to
voters who prioritize national security and foreign policy issues.
*Dalia Al-Aqidi is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy. Twitter: @DaliaAlAqidi
Lessons of the Second World War remain relevant today
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Yasar Yakis/Arab News/May 07/2023
It was on May 7, 1945 — 78 years ago on Sunday — that Nazi Germany signed an
unconditional surrender, bringing an end to the tragedy of the Second World War
in Europe. Nearly 85 million people died in all theaters of this war, either due
to the direct results of conflict or because of related factors such as
starvation or disease. Victory in Europe Day was proclaimed on May 8 and V-E Day
has been celebrated on this date every year since (although Russia and some
Eastern European countries use May 9). Keeping in mind the lessons of the Second
World War, which was the deadliest conflict in the history of humanity, is
critical.
Whenever discussing and examining the Second World War, one prominent and
important political figure ought to always be remembered and mentioned: Winston
Churchill. Without doubt, Churchill shaped the Allies’ strategy and helped lead
Britain and Europe through the devastating war. The UK prime minister gave his
famous victory speech on May 8, declaring: “My dear friends, this is your hour.
This is not victory of a party or of any class. It’s a victory of the great
British nation as a whole. We were the first, in this ancient island, to draw
the sword against tyranny. After a while we were left all alone against the most
tremendous military power that has been seen. We were all alone for a whole
year.”
One of the most important lessons to remember from this deadly war is that
tensions between countries should not be underestimated, since they can easily
spiral out of control and lead to a full-fledged war, which can have devastating
effects on all parties involved.
Between the beginning of the war in September 1939 and its end, more than “100
million (and possibly as many as 300 million) combatants entered the fray. Many
never returned … The most up-to-date estimates calculate that between 70 million
and 85 people died in the Second World War. That estimate equates to roughly 3
percent to 3.7 percent of Earth's population at the time … The following
countries have the highest estimated Second World War casualties: the Soviet
Union (20 to 27 million), China (15 to 20 million), Germany (6 to 7.4 million),
Poland (5.9 to 6 million), Dutch East Indies/Indonesia (3 to 4 million), Japan
(2.5 to 3.1 million), India (2.2 to 3 million), Yugoslavia (1 to 1.7 million),
French Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, part of Vietnam) (1 to 2.2 million), and
France (600,000),” according to the World Population Review.
It is important to point out that, in almost any war, civilians bear the brunt
of the conflict.Appeasing the aggressor often further emboldens and empowers it
to commit more violence.
Another important lesson is that diplomatic initiatives, dialogue and
negotiations are crucial in order to reach an agreement and resolve
disagreements and tensions. And if diplomacy fails and aggression from a
particular party persists, it is incumbent on the international community to
stand firmly against the aggressor. From the perspective of the leaders of a
country that acts with aggression and rejects dialogue or negotiations to
resolve tensions, appeasement policies and conciliation may be viewed as a sign
of weakness. In fact, appeasing the aggressor often further emboldens and
empowers it to commit more violence in order to achieve its ideological,
hegemonic, political or economic objectives.
As Churchill pointed out “I say that in the long years to come, not only will
the people of this island but of the world, wherever the bird of freedom chirps
in human hearts, look back to what we’ve done and they will say ‘do not despair,
do not yield to violence and tyranny, march straightforward and die if need be —
unconquered.’ Now we have emerged from one deadly struggle — a terrible foe has
been cast on the ground and awaits our judgment and our mercy.”
The third important lesson to be learned from the Second World War is that
establishing and promoting intergovernmental and international organizations for
more effective global governance is significant in preventing wars and promoting
peace. These international organizations can evolve over time.
For example, one of the most critical organizations created at the end of the
Second World War was the UN, whose primary missions were to maintain peace and
security, resolve conflicts between nations and build amicable relationships
between countries. Gradually, the work of the UN has expanded to, as it states,
touch “every corner of the globe and (focus) on a broad range of fundamental
issues, like sustainable development, protection of the environment and
refugees, disaster relief and mitigation, counterterrorism, as well as
disarmament and nonproliferation.”
Establishing and strengthening other global institutions in the economic and
financial landscapes is also key in preventing conflicts between countries. Some
crucial examples are the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the
World Trade Organization. Multilateral agreements make conflicts less likely to
occur. They are also likely to be firm and durable because they have been
accepted by many states.
The role that global financial institutions play in resolving trade disputes
should not be disregarded or underestimated. If not resolved properly, trade
disputes can lead to political conflicts or to countries increasing tariffs or
adopting protectionist policies that only harm their own economic growth. This
was witnessed during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The WTO points out that
it has “one of the most active interest dispute settlement mechanisms in the
world. Since 1995, 616 disputes have been brought to the WTO and over 350
rulings have been issued.”
In a nutshell, the Second World War has taught humanity many lessons, including
the importance of employing diplomacy to avoid full-fledged wars and the
significance of setting up international and intergovernmental organizations.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist.
Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh