English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 09/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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15 آذار/2023
Bible Quotations For today
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
Saint Luke 04/14-21/:”Then Jesus, filled with the
power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through
all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was
praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he
went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to
read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the
scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to
proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’And he rolled up
the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the
synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture
has been fulfilled in your hearing.””
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 08-09/2023
May 07, 2008 Barbaric Invasion of Beirut & Mount Lebanon/Elias Bejjani/May
07/2023
King Salman invites Lebanese PM to take part in Arab Summit
Saudi-Iranian thaw could 'augur well for Lebanon, spell disaster for Israel'
Bukhari meets Mikati, says KSA doesn't prefer one sect over another
Lebanese Prime Minister and UN Coordinator discuss Syrian refugee crisis
Corm warns of real threat to Lebanon's telecommunications sector
Bassil says no Lebanese, Christian, Saudi support for Franjieh
Report: Appeal against municipal term extension to be accepted
Skaff says no competition with Bou Saab in presidential tour
Jumblat: 'Titanic' Arab League carrying Syrians to certain drowning
Lebanon, most affected country in food price inflation
Interior Minister requests to stop the Bolt application
In Dubai, Lebanon scores a new win
In a new success story, a Lebanese doctor tops new rankings in spine surgery
Berri receives Iraqi Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in presence of
Caretaker Minister Bayram
Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Ukraine in Lebanon: Why is Russia trying to
monopolize its percentage of victory in World War II?
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 08-09/2023
Iran hangs 2 in rare blasphemy case as executions surge
Iran urges West not to 'procrastinate' over nuclear deal revival
Hackers Announce Major Breach of Iranian Foreign Ministry Websites
EU cancels Tel Aviv event in protest over radical minister
Russia Steps Up Strikes on Ukraine ahead of May 9 Victory Day Holiday
Fearing Russian capture, US strips sensitive tech from M1 Abrams tanks headed
for Ukraine
Zelensky says Russia will be defeated 'as Nazism was'
Syrians split over government readmission into Arab League
Syria still not complying with chemical weapons watchdogs, UN Security Council
hears
Air strike in Syria kills major drug trafficker
Jordan: Any Steps We Take to Protect National Security Will Be Announced at
Right Time
Air strikes again shook Sudan's capital Monday while the latest truce talks in
Jeddah have yet to yield progress.
Sudan Doctors: At Least 100 Killed in Armed Fighter Clashes
No breakthrough yet in Saudi-hosted Sudan talks
Biden aide discusses Yemen peace push with Saudi crown prince
Officer convicted in Iraq killing of frequent militia critic
Titles For
The Latest
English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 08-09/2023
Palestinians: More Human Rights Violations No One Talks About/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone
Institute/May 08, 2023
The Great Lengths Some Muslims Go to Deceive (in Order to Murder)
Infidels/Raymond Ibrahim/May 08, 2023
The Implementation of the Law Should Adhere to the Law/Samir Atallah/Asharq Al
Awsat/May 08/2023
Iran and the Tightrope/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/May 08/2023
Swallowing the bitter pill of Syrian rehabilitation/Baria Alamuddin/Arab
News/May 08, 2023
Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 08-09/2023
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
King Salman invites
Lebanese PM to take part in Arab Summit
Najia Houssari/Arab News/May 08, 2023
Saudi offer comes amid growing concerns about Syrian refugees in Lebanon
UNHCR says it is working on data sharing with Lebanese authorities
BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has invited Lebanon’s Caretaker Prime
Minister Najib Mikati to take part in the Arab League summit on May 19.
The Kingdom’s ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari handed the invitation to
Mikati on Monday. The pair also discussed the situation in Lebanon and
Saudi-Lebanese ties, the prime minister’s media office said. The meeting came
amid fears that Syrian refugees in Lebanon, of which there are about 1.5
million, are set to remain there indefinitely. Only half of those displaced are
registered with the UNHCR with the rest distributed in random camps. The
situation in Syria was also the focus of a meeting on Monday between Mikati and
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon Imran Riza.
The media office said Riza congratulated Lebanon “for unifying its stance
regarding the issue of Syrian refugees and thanked the Lebanese state for its
effort and understanding, and for dealing with this issue in a professional
manner.”
Mikati and Riza also talked about the conference to be held next month in
Brussels to discuss the Syrian refugee crisis. Walid Jumblatt, head of Lebanon’s
Progressive Socialist Party, said that a central authority should be set up to
deal with the refugee issue in a calm manner. His comments came after a meeting
with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Sunday evening. “It is necessary to have
a single authority that deals with this matter so that we do not face
prosecutions left and right,” he said. “There are forcibly displaced people and
there are those who have not been displaced, and there are residents who have
been coming and going for decades, but they are residents and the Lebanese
economy, even in this suffocating crisis, depends on them,” he added.
Father Tony Khadra, head of the Lebanese nongovernmental organization Labora,
said on Monday that the economic repercussions of the Syrian refugee issue
“affect the essence of Lebanon’s entity.”The failure to control the huge
increase in Syrian workers had caused a spike in the number of young Lebanese
leaving the country, he added. Talal Douaihy, head of the Lebanese Land
Movement, said: “The demographic change in Lebanon has two sides: the systematic
purchase of land by foreigners and the Syrian refugees, which today constitute a
crisis whose complexities exceed what happened with the Palestinian refugees.”He
warned that the situation could implode at any moment, in light of the
government’s neglect and the failures of the judicial, security and
administrative authorities. Economist Jassem Ajaka said Lebanon had been living
in a state of economic decline since 2011, the year the Syrian crisis began.
“The percentage of immigrants or refugees allowed economically is less than 1
percent of the population annually. However, in Lebanon, the rate is more than
50 percent over 11 years, compared to 0.83 percent, for example, of Ukrainian
refugees in Europe,” Ajaka said.
Lawyer Amin Bashir accused the UNHCR of “negligence or at least non-cooperation
with regard to the legality of asylum in Lebanon.”The refugee agency must
immediately refrain from providing any assistance to those who were not
registered with it, he added. A Lebanese ministerial committee on Tuesday gave
the UNHCR a week to provide the authorities with data regarding the refugees’
names and places of residence. But it is not clear if the agency has the right
to disclose such information as it may put the refugees at risk. The UNHCR last
month objected to Lebanon deporting about 50 Syrians on the grounds they had
entered the country illegally. “Our first and foremost goal is to protect the
most vulnerable in the host community as well as refugees, and to ensure
continued adherence to the principles of international law,” UNHCR spokesperson
Lisa Abou Khaled told Arab News. “In accordance with our protection mission, the
UNHCR continues to engage in constructive proposals to address the situation of
refugees in Lebanon and ensure their protection, including issues related to
data sharing, registration and other important aspects.”But the agency was ready
to engage in discussions on the issue of data sharing, she said. “The UNHCR and
the Lebanese General Security agreed to form a technical committee to move
forward within international standards for data sharing and protection,” Abou
Khaled said. “The agency has always cooperated with the Lebanese government to
share data on Syrian refugees in many important ways, including data on
registered Syrian refugees before the suspension of registration by the Lebanese
government, or on birth registration.”
Saudi-Iranian thaw could 'augur well for Lebanon, spell
disaster for Israel'
Naharnet/May 08/2023
Lebanon would likely benefit from an end to Saudi-Iranian rivalry, and should
the rapprochement solidify it could spell disaster for Israel, The Guardian
newspaper said. "Saudi and Iranian-backed factions have not been able to agree
on a replacement (to former president Michel Aoun) despite successive round of
voting," the British daily said, as Saudi Arabia refuses to back Hezbollah and
Amal's candidate Suleiman Franjieh. The daily added that for the Israeli prime
minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, all this potentially spells disaster. "He thought
the Abraham accords engineered by the Trump administration would normalize
relations with Saudi Arabia, but instead Riyadh is normalizing relations with
Israel’s enemies – Iran, Syria and even Hamas," The Guardian said.
Bukhari meets Mikati, says KSA doesn't prefer one sect over
another
Naharnet/May 08/2023
Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari met Monday with caretaker Prime Minister Najib
Mikati. After the meeting, Bukhari said that Saudi Arabia does not prefer
building ties with one sect in Lebanon at the expense of another. "We hope that
the political parties will prioritize the Lebanese interest in order to face the
challenges and dangers that Lebanon is experiencing," Bukhari said. Bukhari had
met with Lebanese leaders in the past few days over the presidential crisis.
Last week, Bukhari had met with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Speaker
Nabih Berri, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, and Kataeb Party leader Sami
Gemayel. On Saturday he met with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid
Jumblat, who said that the kingdom does not have a presidential candidate nor a
veto on any candidate. "Bukhari has assured all parties that the Kingdom is at
the same distance from everyone and does not have any veto on any name," Jumblat
said Sunday from Ain el-Tineh, after he met with Berri. He stressed on the need
for consultations in order to break the presidential impasse. Lebanon will take
part in the Arab League's upcoming May 19 summit in Jeddah, in which Syria will
also participate, after the group agreed to end a 12-year suspension and to
bring Syrian President Bashar Assad back into the fold.
Lebanese Prime Minister and UN Coordinator discuss Syrian
refugee crisis
LBCI/May 08/2023
In a meeting held between the caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, and the
United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza,
they discussed the Syrian file in Lebanon. Riza congratulated Lebanon on
unifying its stance regarding the Syrian refugee issue and thanked the Lebanese
government for its efforts, understanding, and professional handling of this
matter. During the meeting, they also discussed the upcoming Brussels
conference, which will be held in mid-June and will focus on the Syrian refugee
crisis.
Corm warns of real threat to Lebanon's telecommunications
sector
LBCI/May 08/2023
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met with the Telecommunications Minister,
Johnny Corm, accompanied by the Chairman Director General of Ogero, Imad
Kreidieh, and the General Director of Investment and Maintenance at the
Telecommunications Ministry, Bassel Al Ayoubi. After the meeting, Minister Corm
announced, "we discussed with the President the matters of the
Telecommunications Ministry, and we informed him that there is a real threat to
the telecommunications sector as we need resources to manage. We will consult
with the Finance Minister regarding the measures that can be taken to solve this
problem. Since the beginning of this year, except for salaries, no maintenance
credits have been transferred to the ministry."
Bassil says no Lebanese, Christian, Saudi support for
Franjieh
Naharnet/May 08/2023
Free Patritic Movement leader Jebran Bassil, who has no specific presidential
candidate, will not attend a voting session that would elect Hezbollah's
candidate Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh. "I haven't suggested a name, but I've
refused candidates and considered others," Bassil said in an interview. He added
that he has failed to agree with Hezbollah, the Lebanese Forces, the change and
the independent MPs, and the Progressive Socialist Party on a name. "There is no
domestic will to elect Franjieh and the Christian forces do not want him,"
Bassil said, adding that the Saudi neutrality is not "a positive stance".
"It is as if the Kingdom is saying do whatever you want," the lawmaker said.
Bassil considered that there are three groups in Lebanon, the Axis of Defiance
supporting Franjieh, the opposition secretly supporting the Army chief, and a
third group comprising the FPM, independent MPs and the PSP. "A president cannot
be elected, unless two of these camps agree on a president, and the third camp
agrees to secure quorum," Bassil said, refusing a "confrontational president" in
case two of these camps managed to secure quorum.
Report: Appeal against municipal term extension to be
accepted
Naharnet/May 08/2023
The Constitutional Council is inclined to accept the appeal against the
extension of the terms of municipalities and local officials, al-Jadeed TV has
reported. “There is an inclination to hold the elections,” the TV network added.
Council chief Judge Tannous Meshleb for his part said that a ruling is expected
before May 31. The Council had on Wednesday issued a ruling suspending the
implementation of the law that extended municipalities’ term. The Council will
“study the filed appeals and issue its final ruling in the coming weeks, knowing
that the term of municipalities will expire at the end of May,” MTV reported.
The Lebanese Forces bloc, the Kataeb bloc, the Tajaddod bloc and Change MPs have
filed appeals against the law. Earlier this month, parliament voted to extend
the terms of local officials, paving the way to postpone municipal elections for
up to a year for a second time. Lebanon’s municipal elections were originally
slated for May last year but were postponed for a year because they coincided
with parliamentary elections, which brought in a dozen reformist lawmakers
running on anti-establishment platforms. Opposition and reformist groups would
likely continue this momentum and win additional seats if local elections were
held, as living conditions across the country continue to deteriorate.
Skaff says no competition with Bou Saab in presidential
tour
Naharnet/May 08/2023
PSP-backed MP Ghassan Skaff has reached a list of 3 presidential names after a
tour on different parties. Skaff told al-Jadeed that he had discussed Bkerki's
eleven names during his diplomatic tour in an attempt to agree on a president.
He said he might continue his tour and that he is optimistic about electing a
president before June. Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab had also started last week
an "exploratory tour" to discuss the presidential crisis with Lebanese leaders.
He met with Hezbollah MP Mohammed Raad, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea,
Kataeb leader Sami Gmayel, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, and Tajaddod MPs
Michel Mouawad and Fouad Makhzoumi. "There is no coordination and no competition
with Bou Saab," Skaff said. Bou Saab had last year competed with Skaff on the
deputy parliament speaker post. He got elected with 65 votes, as Skaff garnered
60.
Jumblat: 'Titanic' Arab League carrying Syrians to certain
drowning
Naharnet/May 08/2023
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Monday likened the Arab
League to a “Titanic ship” that is carrying the Syrian people to “certain
drowning.”“Have they asked the Syrian people whether they want to return to the
Arab fold? Of course not,” Jumblat tweeted. “The regime has been given the
legitimacy of action and those who survived torture, prison or displacement will
be eliminated by the ‘tender fold,’” he added. “When have you ever consulted the
peoples?” the PSP leader wondered.
Lebanon, most affected country in food price inflation
Naharnet/May 08/2023
Lebanon was ranked the worst country in the food price inflation Top 10 list,
the World Bank said in a report last month. Domestic food price inflation
remains high in almost all low- and middle-income countries, the report said. It
added that the most-affected countries are in Africa, North America, Latin
America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia. In a list of ten most-affected
countries, Lebanon came first, followed by Zimbabwe. The report said that "as
the economic crisis continues to worsen and food prices increase, food
insecurity was expected to affect 1.46 million Lebanese and 800,000 Syrian
refugees (42 percent of the total population) by April 2023, according to WFP."
It added that the European Commission has announced that € 60 million will be
made available in 2023 as humanitarian aid (i.e., food assistance, cash support,
education, and health services) for the most vulnerable populations in Lebanon
(both Lebanese nationals and refugees). The package will also help prepare for
disasters and provide emergency response, the report said.
Interior Minister requests to stop the Bolt application
LBCI/May 08/2023
Lebanon’s Caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Bassam Mawlawi,
sent a letter to the Ministry of Telecommunications requesting to stop the Bolt
application from working as of Monday, May 8, 2023. This request comes to make
sure of the non-violation of the traffic law and other laws and regulations in
force after the increase in complaints by the unions of public transportation
drivers and the sit-ins that took place in various Lebanese regions last week.
Likewise, Mawlawi instructed the General Directorate of Internal Security Forces
to strictly pursue drivers of cars with forged public license plates or public
transport with private license plates.
In Dubai, Lebanon scores a new win
LBCI/May 08/2023
Lebanon won third place for residents in the International Confederation of
Plastic Surgery Societies (ICOPLAST) activities held in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates. Lebanon's participation came as part of a medical delegation from the
American University of Beirut (AUB), headed by Dr. Amir Ibrahim, Head of the
Plastic Surgery Department at the AUB, and several resident doctors.
Notably, two of the winning residents participated in #TheResearcher program on
LBCI, which Dr. Imad Bou-Hamad presents. The conference was sponsored by the
Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences in cooperation
with the Arab Association of Surgical & Medical Aesthetics (AASMA) and the
Emirates Plastic Surgery Society (EPSS). Through the conference, Dubai entered
the Guinness Book of Records with two records for having the largest number of
plastic surgeons, with 480 surgeons, and the largest number of nationalities
participating in it, with about 89 nationalities.
In a new success story, a Lebanese doctor tops new rankings
in spine surgery
LBCI/May 08/2023
The Lebanese diaspora continues to prove its “successful” presence in many
fields around the world, as the Lebanese doctor Ibrahim Obeid excelled in the
recent rankings published by the French weekly political and news magazine Le
Point. For the first time, the magazine published the list of medical experts in
France to establish a classification of 1000 experts in fourteen disciplines,
where doctor Ibrahim Obeid reached the French top 10 and 1st place in spine
surgery.
Berri receives Iraqi Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
in presence of Caretaker Minister Bayram
NNA/May 08/2023
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Monday welcomed at the Second Presidency in Ain
El-Tineh, Iraqi Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Ahmad Al-Asadi, with an
accompanying delegation, in the presence of Caretaker Minister of Labor, Mostafa
Bayram, and the Chargé d'Affaires of the Iraqi Embassy in Lebanon, Amin Abdullah
al-Nasrawi. The delegation briefed Speaker Berri on the purpose of their visit
to Lebanon, as well as on the cooperation programs between the two ministries
and the bilateral relations between the two countries. On emerging, Minister Al-Asadi
said: “We briefed Speaker Berri on our visit to Lebanon and the projects we will
undertake. We also gave him a briefing on the status of the Iraqi government and
the progress made in Iraq after the formation of the government and the
successes achieved, as well as on Iraq's support for Lebanon and the
continuation of this support.”Al-Asadi added: “We assured the Speaker that Iraq
will remain supportive of Lebanon and standing by its side. We affirmed the
depth of the historical relations between Iraq and Lebanon, which will be
reflected in all fields. We are in the process of signing a memorandum of
understanding during this visit between the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and the
Lebanese Ministry of Labor related to vocational training, health, vocational
safety, social security and everything that would develop relations between the
two countries.’’
Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Ukraine in Lebanon: Why
is Russia trying to monopolize its percentage of victory in World War II?
NNA/May 08/2023
The following is an article by Valery Hryhorash, Chargé d'Affaires of the
Embassy of Ukraine in Lebanon:
“World War II is the bloodiest war in history. It is taught in history books in
all countries, including Lebanon. The world knows that many peoples, including
the Ukrainian people, did everything they could and significantly contributed to
the victory over Nazism. To this end, celebrations are held in many countries.
However, the Russian Federation is trying to delude its people and other
societies and peoples that it was the primary victor in this war, so it
attributes the victory to itself and not to other peoples and states. The
Russian Federation is trying to justify its aggression against Ukraine by
carrying out an international propaganda campaign in which it glorifies itself
and monopolizes the victory over Nazism to cover up the massacres committed by
its army in Ukraine, following in the footsteps of Nazi Hitler. To this end, a
few days ago, billboards bearing the "Badge of St. George" glorifying the
victory of the Russian people in the war against Nazism appeared on the main
roads in Lebanon. In this regard, we would like to show the Lebanese people the
facts related to World War II, apart from the Russian propaganda campaigns.
The Second World War 1939-1945, which began as a result of the agreements
between the German National Socialist (Nazi) regime and the communist
totalitarian regime in the Soviet Union, is the bloodiest and most brutal war in
the history of humankind in the twentieth century, with a death toll from 50 to
85 million people.
One of the main battlefields in this war was the Ukrainian lands. Nazi and
communist totalitarian regimes committed many crimes against humanity, war
crimes and genocide on the territory of Ukraine, which resulted in heavy losses
for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
Ukrainians fought on the side of the anti-Hitler coalition as part of the Red
Army, the armies of the Western allies, and underground resistance movements -
and significantly contributed to the victory over Nazism. During 1939-1945, over
eight million (about 3 million soldiers and 5 million civilians) Ukrainians and
other peoples who inhabited our land were killed. Therefore, Ukrainians are well
aware of the price of war.
At the same time, Russian propagandists are trying to impose the view that
Russia defeated Nazi Germany without any help and that the entire civilized
world, especially the West, is indebted to Russia. The Kremlin tries not to
mention in any way the role of the USSR's allies in the anti-Hitler coalition in
World War II, and the term "Soviet people" traditionally refers only to
Russians. However, it is worth noting that there has never been a people named
"Soviet" people. Dozens of people fought against Hitler's Germany, and among
them were, of course, the Russian people. Indeed, Putin chose to continue the
policy of Russian dictator Stalin, who, as early as 1945, at a ceremonial
reception in the Kremlin, raised a toast "to the health of the Russian people",
calling them "the most outstanding people" and "the leading force" of the Soviet
Union in war, excluding the rest of the civilized world, giving himself the
right to regard the Russian Federation as the victorious country. The
celebration of the anniversary of the victory over Nazism in the Russian
Federation has turned into a cult, into an ugly phenomenon of "victory mania",
the purpose of which is war-mongering, glorifying Russia and transcendence over
other peoples, excluding himself as the "main victor", justifying the aggressive
ideological mobilization of citizens, as well as promoting Irresponsible and
unfounded vindictiveness. Therefore, the form and manner of large-scale
celebrations of "Victory Day" has long been a constant element of Russian
propaganda to manipulate the international community and Russian citizens.
Putin's Russia, which talks about "the Russians' decisive contribution to the
victory over Nazism", attacked Ukraine without prior announcement on February
24, 2022, and is waging a brutal, shameful and illegal aggression against us
that was condemned by the international community. Today, the Russian
Federation, whose practices have surpassed all criminal methods of Nazism and
Communism, is encroaching on our lands' integrity and territorial integrity and
destroying the peace in Europe.
With its armed aggression against Ukraine, the Russian authorities launched the
first continental war in Europe in the 21st century, effectively destroying the
system of international relations established after World War II and undermining
the collective global security system. Today, the Russian Federation resembles
Hitler's Germany in the 1930s on the eve of World War II. Therefore, based on
that bitter experience and historical lessons, the international community must
remember that weakness, fear, and hesitation encourage aggressors to commit more
and more crimes.
It is why Ukraine warns other countries of the consequences of supporting,
spreading, or indulging in Russian propaganda narratives about May 9, because
the Kremlin uses Russian participation in the victory over Nazism as a moral
justification for Russia's current actions.
Since the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine has followed the European approach to
commemorating World War II. Since 2014, the "poppy flower" has been a symbol of
remembrance of World War II in Ukraine and Europe. Ukraine's Law "On
Commemorating the Victory over Nazism in the Second World War of 1939-1945"
established May 8 as a day of "remembrance and reconciliation" to honour and
celebrate with the European community all the fighters against Nazism and war
victims.
This year, Ukraine celebrates the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation for the
second time in conditions of large-scale armed aggression on the part of Russia.
This modern war has resulted in horrific war crimes on the part of the Russian
army and the political and military leadership of the Russian Federation.
Ukrainians take up arms to defend their homeland against a criminal, aggressive,
malicious neighbour; they assert their right to freely choose their future; they
defend Europe and give the world a chance to create a new, more just global
security order and build a more lasting peace. But the condition for that is
victory over Russia, restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity and preventing
the Russians from attacking anyone on the planet in the future. After the win in
the Russian-Ukrainian war, our state and the Ukrainian people will celebrate a
new national holiday that united the entire Ukrainian society, the holiday of
victory over racism - modern Nazism. When remembering World War II on May 8, the
international community must realize that modern Russia is not the victor over
Hitler and Nazism or the liberator of Europe. However, a cruel aggressor state
that ignores international law seeks to change borders by force and is heading
towards modern totalitarianism.”
Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports
And News published on May 08-09/2023
Iran hangs 2 in rare blasphemy case
as executions surge
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)/Mon, May 8, 2023
Iran hanged two men Monday convicted of blasphemy, authorities said, carrying
out rare death sentences for the crime as executions surge across the Islamic
Republic following months of unrest. Iran remains one of the world's top
executioners, having put to death at least 203 prisoners since the start of this
year alone, according to the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights. But carrying
out executions for blasphemy remains rare, as previous cases saw the sentences
reduced by authorities. The two men executed, Yousef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli
Zare, died at Arak Prison in central Iran. They had been arrested in May 2020,
accused of being involved in a channel on the Telegram message app called
“Critique of Superstition and Religion,” according to the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom. Both men faced months of solitary confinement
and could not contact their families, the commission said. The Mizan news agency
of Iran's judiciary confirmed the executions, describing the two men as having
insulted Islam's Prophet Muhammad and promoted atheism. Mizan also accused them
of burning a Quran, Islam's holy book, though it wasn't clear whether the men
allegedly did that or such imagery was shared in the Telegram channel. Mahmood
Amiry-Moghaddam, who leads Iran Human Rights, decried the executions as exposing
the “medieval nature” of Iran's theocracy. “The international community must
show with its reaction that executions for expressing an opinion is
intolerable,” he said in a statement. “The refusal of the international
community to react decisively is a green light for the Iranian government and
all their like-minded people around the world.” It wasn't immediately clear when
Iran carried out its last execution for blasphemy. Other countries in the Middle
East, like Saudi Arabia, also allow for death sentences to be imposed for
blasphemy. The streak of executions, including members of ethnic minority groups
in Iran, comes as monthslong protests over the September death of 22-year-old
Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the country's morality police have cooled.
Already, at least four people charged over alleged crimes from the
demonstrations have been put to death. The protests, which reportedly saw over
500 people killed and 19,000 others arrested, marked one of the biggest
challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In 2022, Iran
executed at least 582 people, up from 333 people in 2021, according to Iran
Human Rights. Amnesty International's most-recent report on executions put Iran
as the world's second-largest executioner, behind only China, where thousands
are believed to be put to death a year. While some executions are publicized,
others are not in Iran. Many have been for drug-related offenses, but there also
have been executions of a British-Iranian accused of spying and another of a
Swedish-Iranian convicted of masterminding a 2018 attack on a military parade
that killed at least 25. A German-Iranian who lives in California, Jamshid
Sharmahd, also faces a looming execution as tensions remain high between Tehran
and the West over its accelerating nuclear program. The European Union's top
diplomat, Josep Borrell, said he spoke Monday with Iranian Foreign Minister
Hossein Amirabdollahian about Sharmahd and “asked Iran not to execute” him.
Human Rights Activists in Iran, another group monitoring the Islamic Republic,
warned last week about the “alarming surge” in executions. “Iranian authorities
have an absolute obligation to uphold international human rights standards and
instead, there is ongoing impunity for grave violations of the right to life —
and more,” said Skylar Thompson, the head of global advocacy and accountability
at the group.
Iran urges West not to 'procrastinate' over
nuclear deal revival
Agence France Presse/Mon, May 8, 2023
Iran on Monday said it is possible to salvage an agreement on reviving its
nuclear deal if Western parties, particularly the US, put an end to repeated
delays. It comes five years after the US withdrew from
a 2015 nuclear deal that gave Iran relief from international sanctions in return
for curbs on its nuclear program.
An agreement "is possible both in term of the technical and political aspects",
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said. He charged that "the other
sides, especially the US, have procrastinated" on reviving the deal, while
expressing hopes that they would show "political determination" for a committed
return to its implementation. Exactly five years ago, then US president Donald
Trump unilaterally pulled out of the deal and re-imposed sanctions on Iran,
prompting Tehran to walk back on its commitments that were intended to prevent
it from developing a nuclear weapon -- an aim Iran has always denied having.
Kanani on Monday said Iran's policy "is not to allow issues related to Iran's
peaceful nuclear activity to become an obstacle in the process of Iran's
cooperation" with the UN nuclear watchdog. In March, International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi visited Tehran after his agency's inspectors
in the country found uranium particles enriched to just under weapons-grade
level. Tehran denies wanting to acquire atomic weapons, and has said it had not
made any attempt to enrich uranium beyond 60 percent purity, noting that
unintended fluctuations may have occurred during the enrichment process.
"The Islamic republic of Iran is moving on the roadmap within the framework of
the visit to Iran by Mr. Grossi ... and in this regard, practical and
operational actions have been introduced and we are moving forward," Kanani
added.
Hackers Announce Major Breach of Iranian
Foreign Ministry Websites
Asharq Al Awsat/May 08/2023
A group of hackers closely linked to the Iranian opposition organization
Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) have claimed responsibility for a major breach of 75
electronic servers associated with numerous websites linked to the Iranian
Foreign Ministry. This breach marks the most recent in a series of cyberattacks
aimed at Iranian government institutions and facilities. The hacktivist group
‘Uprising till Overthrow', according to its Telegram account, released hundreds
of identification documents, minutes of meetings, the ministry’s correspondence,
phone numbers of ministry officials, and the names of 11,000 employees of the
foreign ministry, among others. Iranian authorities have not commented on the
documents and information leaked by the group. However, the website of the
Iranian Foreign Ministry experienced an outage for several hours following the
announcement of the cyberattack. Since Sunday morning, the Iranian Foreign
Ministry's website has displayed a message indicating that it is undergoing
routine maintenance and updates that are expected to be completed in a few
minutes. The hackers have revealed that they obtained
the documents by breaching 75 servers belonging to the Iranian Foreign
Ministry’s e-network.
They indicated that the ministry’s main server, which has a capacity of 50
terabytes, was also breached. The documents expose the “internal workflow” and
“infrastructure” of the ministry. Through their Twitter account, the hackers
claimed to have infiltrated 210 websites within the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s
system. Among the documents released is a list of members of the diplomatic
corps abroad, most of whom are due to end their missions before the current
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian took office. One document includes the
names of diplomats representing the Basij forces affiliated with the
Revolutionary Guard. A picture of Amir-Abdollahian’s membership card in the
Basij forces, the paramilitary arm of the Revolutionary Guard, surfaced in the
leaked documents. A Twitter account affiliated with the hackers wrote that
“Amir-Abdollahian is a former member of the Revolutionary Guard and Quds Force,
and currently an active member of the Basij forces.”In addition, the hackers
leaked a picture of the passport of Ali Shamkhani, who is the Secretary-General
of the Iranian National Security Council, along with several of his assistants
and security team. The leaked documents provide extensive information about
various departments and units within the Iranian Foreign Ministry, including
communication channels with other agencies and decision-making centers.
Additionally, the documents reveal details such as the types of vehicles used by
diplomats and their mobile phone numbers.
EU cancels Tel Aviv event in protest over radical minister
JERUSALEM (AP)/Mon, May 8, 2023
The European Union said Monday that it canceled a diplomatic reception to
prevent a radical ultranationalist Israeli minister from attending. The act of
protest by the EU's delegation to Israel against a member of Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's government, the most religious and ultranationalist in the
country's history, could cause a diplomatic spat between Israel and the EU.
Relations already have been strained over Israeli policies in the occupied West
Bank. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the leader of the Jewish Power faction, serves as the
national security minister and was assigned to represent the Israeli government
at the EU's Europe Day event on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Sunday
in a Kan radio interview that Ben-Gvir had been assigned by the government
secretary to attend “not as a representative of the Jewish Power party ... but
to represent the government of Israel." The EU said that it decided “to cancel
the diplomatic reception, as we do not want to offer a platform to someone whose
views contradict the values the European Union stands for.” The remainder of the
public event would take place as scheduled. Ben-Gvir is a former far-right
activist and hard-line West Bank settler who has been convicted of incitement
and support for a Jewish terror group. As the government’s representative at the
Europe Day event, Ben-Gvir would have addressed attendees. “It’s a shame that
the EU, which pretends to represent democratic values and multiculturalism,
behaves with undiplomatic gagging,” Ben-Gvir said. Netanyahu returned to office
in December at the head of a coalition that includes ultra-Orthodox parties and
religious ultranationalists, including Ben-Gvir's small Jewish Power faction.
The government has put expansion of West Bank settlements as a top priority. The
EU, along with most of the international community, considers Jewish settlements
in the West Bank and east Jerusalem illegal under international law and
obstacles to peace with the Palestinians. Israel captured the West Bank, east
Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all
three areas for a future independent state.
Russia Steps Up Strikes on Ukraine ahead of May 9 Victory
Day Holiday
Asharq Al Awsat/May 08/2023
Russia launched a wave of drone, missile and air strikes on Kyiv and other
Ukrainian cities, officials said on Monday, as Moscow stepping up attacks while
preparing for its cherished Victory Day holiday celebrating the defeat of Nazi
Germany in 1945. As many as 16 missile strikes had targeted the cities of
Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions, in addition to 61 airstrikes and
52 rocket salvos on Ukrainian positions and populated areas, the General Staff
of Ukraine's armed forces said in its morning update on the fighting.
Ukrainian air defenses destroyed all 35 Iranian-made Shahed drones Russia
had launched, the military said. Kyiv's mayor said at least five people were
wounded in the capital amid damage to a fuel depot, cars, buildings and
infrastructure. "Unfortunately, there are dead and
wounded civilians, high-rise buildings, private homes and other civilian
infrastructure were damaged," the military said.
A food warehouse was set ablaze in the Black Sea city of Odesa.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports.
The fresh attacks come as Moscow prepares for Tuesday's Victory Day
parade, a key event for President Vladimir Putin who has evoked the spirit of
the Soviet triumph over Nazi Germany, having accused Ukraine of being in the
grip of a new kind of fascism. Ukraine and its allies say the accusation was a
baseless pretext for Russia's unprovoked invasion in February, 2022, which
resulted in the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two, killing
thousands and forcing millions to flee the country. "We must always be prepared
for enemy treachery and defense," Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Malyar
said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Russia stepped up shelling of
Bakhmut, hoping to take it by Tuesday, Ukraine's top general leading the
besieged city's defense said, after Russia's Wagner mercenary group appeared to
ditch plans to withdraw from it. Three people were
injured in blasts in Kyiv's Solomyanskyi district and two when drone wreckage
fell in the Sviatoshyn district, both west of the capital's center, Mayor Vitali
Klitschko said on Telegram. Kyiv's military administration said drone wreckage
fell on a runway at Zhuliany airport, one of the capital's two passenger
airports, drawing emergency services there, although there was no fire.
Drone debris seemed to have hit a two-storey building in the central
district of Shevchenkivskyi, causing damage, it added. Reuters witnesses said
they heard numerous explosions in Kyiv, with local officials saying air defense
systems were repelling the attacks. Flames had completely engulfed a large
structure identified as a food warehouse in pictures posted on Telegram by
Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa military administration, after what
he said was a Russian attack. After air raid alerts blared for hours over
roughly two-thirds of Ukraine, media said explosions sounded in the southern
region of Kherson and southeastern Zaporizhzhia. Vladimir Rogov, a
Russian-installed official in Zaporizhzhia, said Russian forces hit a warehouse
and Ukrainian troops' position in the small city of Orikhiv. Reuters was unable
to independently verify the report. Separately,
Russian forces shelled eight spots in Sumy in northeastern Ukraine on Sunday,
the regional military administration said in a Facebook post.
Strikes have also intensified in the past two weeks on Russian-held
targets, especially in Crimea. Ukraine has not confirmed any role in those
attacks but it says destroying enemy infrastructure is preparation for its
long-awaited ground assault.
Fearing Russian capture, US strips sensitive tech from M1
Abrams tanks headed for Ukraine
US today/Mon, May 8, 2023
Earlier this year, the Biden administration relented after months of pleas from
Ukraine and agreed to send the country its most lethal armored vehicles: the
Abrams tanks.But with Ukraine gearing up for an expected spring counteroffensive
in its war with Russia, these powerful tanks are months away from reaching the
frontlines of the battlefield. Abrams tanks won't be part of the initial spring
assault. That is because the tanks are being modified to remove sensitive
technology that could fall into the hands of Russian forces. It is a necessary
precaution in case the Russians capture one of the vehicles and exploit them for
intelligence, U.S. officials and military experts said. "It may or may not
present opportunities for Russia to do testing on it, and to look for
vulnerabilities," said Colin Smith, an expert on the Russian military at the
RAND Corp., a non-partisan think tank.
As is the case with other weapons, the U.S. government sends stripped-down
versions of its tanks to foreign governments. The Pentagon reserves its
highest-end capabilities for U.S. troops. A complicating issue with sending
Abrams tanks to Ukraine, officials and experts say, is the probability that one
will fall into Russian hands on the battlefield. Developed during the Cold War,
battle-tested in Iraq. Abrams tanks are powerful, fast and heavily armored.
Weighing about 70 tons, the Abrams was developed during the Cold War and the
first tanks delivered to the Army in 1980. They saw combat in 1991 for the first
time during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq. For this war, the tanks are painted
green, a shift from the desert tan familiar after decades of fighting in the
Middle East. This time around, a big concern is armor protection on the more
advanced version of the tanks and how that could be breached, Smith said. Unlike
the Reaper drone that Russian pilots downed last month over the Black Sea where
it broke up and sank in deep water, a damaged tank might be recovered largely
intact. The lower-tech tanks the Ukrainians will receive won't have sensitive
components that the Russians can exploit, according to two U.S. officials who
were not authorized to speak publicly about the issue. Both tanks share the
same, powerful 120mm gun, but the more advanced M1A2 has improvements, including
targeting systems. In January, the Pentagon announced plans to ship 31 Abrams
M1A2 tanks to Ukraine after months of requests from the Ukrainians. They want
modern armor to claw back territory Russia had seized since it launched its
invasion in February 2022. A Ukrainian offensive is expected to begin within
weeks. In March, the Pentagon announced plans to speed the deployment by
supplying a less-sophisticated version of the tank, the M1A1, saying those
vehicles could be refurbished more quickly. The tanks, and armored vehicles
needed to recover damaged ones from the battlefield, should be ready for combat
in Ukraine by fall. Meantime, fighting in eastern Ukraine, where the tanks will
be sent, has been bloody and brutal. Since December, 20,000 Russian soldiers
have been killed in fighting there and another 80,000 wounded, according to the
White House. The Russians have also had thousands of tanks and armored personnel
carriers destroyed or captured. Some military officials say the needed
retrofitting is not delaying the deployment. Even if the tanks were ready today,
the Ukrainians would not be ready to take them into combat, said Army Col.
Martin O'Donnell, spokesperson for U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The troops need
about 10 weeks of training, which is set to begin later this month in Germany.
Tanks on a fast track
In actuality, the M1A1 tanks are on a fast track for Ukraine, O'Donnell said. It
can take years to refit a major weapons system like a tank. Ukrainian troops
will train on tanks similar to those being refitted for them in the United
States. "We're moving as quickly as possible," O'Donnell said. Sen. Tom Cotton
scoffed at the Pentagon's definition of speedy deployment. During an Armed
Services Committee hearing April 27. Cotton, R-Arkansas, chided the Biden
administration for dragging its feet in supplying Ukraine with weaponry,
including tanks. “I think we could supply them faster than eight or nine months,
if there was the political will," Cotton said. Still, some in the military warn
that the tanks are not the be all and end-all for Ukraine to defeat Russia.
Abrams tanks will give Ukraine an edge but not the decisive one, Army Gen. Mark
Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said last month at a meeting
of Ukraine's allies in Germany."There is no silver bullet in this case, Miley
said. "But I do think the M1 tank, when it's delivered and it reaches its
operational capability, that it will be very effective on the
battlefield."Related: Just 10 years ago, women were banned from combat. Now,
they're on the front lines, climbing the ranks.
Zelensky says Russia will be defeated 'as Nazism was'
Agence France Presse/Mon, May 8, 2023
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday vowed that Russian forces would be
defeated in Ukraine like Nazi Germany was beaten in World War II, commemorating
Victory in Europe Day. "All the old evil that modern
Russia is bringing back will be defeated just as Nazism was defeated," Zelensky
said in a video statement, adding: "Just as we destroyed evil together then, we
are destroying a similar evil together now."
Syrians split over government readmission into Arab League
BEIRUT/DAMASCUS (Reuters)/Mon, May 8, 2023
Syrian factions have given mixed reactions to an Arab League decision to lift
the suspension on Syria's membership after more than a decade of isolation,
underscoring the deep rifts cut into the country by years of bloodshed. The
decision on Sunday by foreign ministers of Arab League countries consolidates a
regional push to normalise ties with President Bashar al-Assad, whose country
was suspended from the body in 2011 following his crackdown against the
opposition. Since then, hundreds of thousands have died, millions have been
displaced both internally and abroad and infrastructure has been ravaged by
years of bombardment. Readmitting Syria into the Arab League was a "shock" for
Syrians and would "kill the political process", said Bader Jamous, the head of
the opposition's negotiating team in stalled United Nations peace talks. The
opposition was for years backed by countries now supporting normalisation,
including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Writing on Twitter, Jamous
said Assad's opponents had "not been consulted" about the Arab League
decisions.Swathes of northern Syria are still held by Turkey-backed rebel groups
and protests against normalisation with Assad have flared up there in recent
months. The Syria Campaign, which campaigns for victims of rights abuses in
Syria, said Sunday's move "sends a chilling message" and drilled "a final nail
in the coffin of the hopes for freedom and democracy of the Arab Spring." Others
were more positive. The Syrian Democratic Council, the political body that
governs the semi-autonomous regions of northeast Syria, said it "welcomed" the
decision to lift Syria's suspension in a statement on Monday. Some Syrian
political activists with ties to the government - including former deputy prime
minister Qadri Jamil - cautiously encouraged the move in an online statement.
They said it allowed for a regional Arab role, which could lead to "a positive
outcome within the Syrian file."And a Facebook page publishing news from the
campuses of various Syrian universities posted a stock photograph of Syria's
seat at the Arab League with the caption: "After 12 years, the Arab League comes
back to life."
Syria still not complying with chemical weapons watchdogs,
UN Security Council hears
Ali Younis/Arab News/May 09, 2023
NEW YORK CITY: The UN’s under-secretary-general and high representative for
disarmament affairs told the Security Council on Monday that her agency has yet
to resolve outstanding issues and declarations by the Syrian regime relating to
the elimination of its chemical weapons program and the destruction of
stockpiles. Izumi Nakamitsu said 20 outstanding issues
with Syria’s chemical weapons program need to be addressed and resolved, as
stipulated by Resolution 2118, which was adopted by the council in 2013 in
response to concerns about the use of such weapons against civilians during the
conflict in the country. The UN and human rights
organizations accuse the Syrian government of using chemical weapons against its
citizens on at least three occasions — August 2013, April 2017 and April 2018 —
in and around the capital, Damascus, killing hundreds of civilians and injured
thousands.
Nakamitsu said the UN’s Office for Disarmament Affairs is in regular contact
with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons about activities
related to the implementation of Resolution 2118. She
said her department and other UN agencies have been unsuccessful in obtaining
clarifications about the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons program and the
quantities of nerve agents it still possesses. Declarations submitted by Syrian
authorities continue to have “gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies,” she
added. Cooperation from the Syrian regime with the
OPWC on resolving all outstanding issues regarding to its chemical program is
essential, Nakamitsu said. “At this time, the OPCW
technical secretariat assesses that the declaration submitted by the Syrian Arab
Republic still cannot be considered accurate and complete in accordance with the
Chemical Weapons Convention,” she added. A Syrian
representative to the UN denied the use of chemical weapons against citizens at
any time during the ongoing civil war, which began in 2011, and denounced the
use of such weapons “anywhere in the world and under any circumstances.”He
added: “We repeat our rejection of the false accusation and lies that some
accuse my country of, and we affirm Syria’s full and transparent cooperation
with the OPCW and fulfillment of all its obligations under the Chemical Weapons
Convention.”He said his country made a strategic decision in 2013 to sign up for
the convention and had provided detailed information about its stockpile and the
weapons that have been destroyed. He denied that
Syrian authorities were uncooperative or delaying the work of the OPCW’s
technical assessment teams. The US representative to the UN said the Syrian
regime has not been “cooperating fully, nor being transparent with the
OPCW.”Iran’s representative defended Syrian authorities, who he said were
complying with the Chemical Weapons Convention. He accused Western countries of
employing “double standards” in relation to chemical weapons and called for
“credible” and impartial” investigations into the use of such weapons in Syria.
He added that the West is using a “political approach” he described as
“unconstructive” to address the issue of chemical weapons, rather than a
strictly technical and scientific approach. Other speakers expressed support for
the work of international organizations to eliminate chemical weapons, condemned
the use of such weapons, and called for Syria to comply fully with its legal
obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Air strike in Syria kills major drug trafficker
Agence France Presse/May 08/2023
An air strike killed a major drug smuggler and his family in southern Syria
Monday, a war monitor said, attributing the strike to Jordan though Amman did
not immediately confirm. Drug dealer "Marai al-Ramthan, his wife and six
children were killed in a Jordanian air force strike" in the eastern countryside
of the Sweida province, near the Syrian-Jordanian border, the UK-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said. "Al-Ramthan is considered to be the most
prominent drug trafficker in the region, and the number one smuggler of drugs,
including captagon, into Jordan" from that area, said the Observatory, which
relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria. Jordan has not yet commented
on the strike. It comes on the heels of a May 1 meeting with several Arab
foreign ministers in Amman, during which Damascus had agreed to "enhance
cooperation" with neighboring countries "affected by drug trafficking and
smuggling across the Syrian border".Damascus said it would cooperate with Jordan
and Iraq to identify sources of drug production and smuggling on its borders
with the two countries, according to a statement from Jordan's foreign ministry.
It would also seek to "take necessary steps to end smuggling operations", the
statement said. On Sunday, the Arab League welcomed Syria back into the bloc
after a more than decade-long suspension, securing President Bashar al-Assad's
return to the Arab fold after years of isolation. An AFP investigation in
November found that Syria has become a narco state, with the $10 billion
captagon industry dwarfing all other exports and funding both Assad and many of
his enemies. The main destinations are oil-rich Gulf
countries, but Jordan has also become a transit route for the captagon trade.
Jordan's army had said last year that drug trafficking from Syria into Jordan
had become "organized", with smugglers stepping up operations and using
sophisticated equipment including drones, warning of a shoot-to-kill policy. In
February 2022, Jordan's army said it had killed 30 smugglers since the start of
the year and foiled attempts to smuggle into the kingdom from Syria 16 million
Captagon pills -- surpassing the entire volume seized throughout the whole of
2021. Jordan has previously launched strikes targeting drug smugglers in Syria,
some dating back to 2014.
Jordan: Any Steps We Take to Protect National Security Will
Be Announced at Right Time
Asharq Al Awsat/May 08/2023
Airstrikes over southern Syria early Monday killed one of the country’s most
well-known drug dealers, an opposition war monitor and a pro-government radio
station reported. "Whenever we take any steps to protect our national security
and facing any threats towards it, we announce it at the appropriate time,"
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said. "When it comes to the case of
drugs, as we said before, the surge in drug smuggling is a huge threat to the
kingdom, the region, and the world." The rare attack came days after Jordan
warned it would use force inside Syria to eliminate drug trafficking to its
territories and from there to other countries. The strikes also come a day after
Arab governments reinstated Syria to the Arab League following the country's
suspension for its crackdown on protests that ultimately led to a lengthy civil
war. As Arab governments gradually rekindle ties with Damascus, one of the key
topics of discussion has been Syria's illicit drug industry, which has
flourished during the ongoing conflict — especially the illegal amphetamine
Captagon.
Western governments estimate that Captagon has generated billions of dollars in
revenue for President Bashar Assad, his Syrian associates and allies. Damascus
has denied the accusations. The first strike hit a home in the Syrian village of
Shuab in Sweida province near the Jordanian border, killing Merhi al-Ramthan,
his wife and six children, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights. The opposition war monitor and Sham FM reported another strike in
the southern province of Daraa that hit a building. The Observatory said the
building housed a drug factory. Ahmad al-Masalmeh, an opposition activist who
covers developments in southern Syria, also said that one strike killed
al-Ramthan and his family in Sweida province. He said the other hit a facility
in Daraa province used by Iran-backed groups to produce and store drugs before
smuggling them to Jordan. He said the strikes happened before dawn Monday,
igniting a fire at the drug facility in Daraa province.
The pro-government radio station did not give any further details. There
was no immediate comment from either Jordanian or Syrian authorities. Activists
and the war monitor said they believe Jordan is likely behind the airstrike,
with the Captagon producer among the most wanted by Jordanian authorities for
facilitating drug smuggling across the border with the backing of a small
militia. They also say al-Ramthan is close with militias linked to Assad and the
Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. Jordanian state media shared news of the
airstrike, but only cited Syrian media and added that al-Ramthan was wanted by
Jordanian authorities. Jordan's foreign minister at a press conference Monday
following a meeting with his Dutch counterpart said Syria had committed to
cooperating with Arab countries on drug smuggling during last week's talks in
Amman, and that he will call his counterpart in Damascus to "translate this
agreement into a clear mechanism."Last week, Safadi warned that his country will
not stand idle if drug trafficking continues from Syria. "We are not taking the
threat of drug smuggling lightly," Safadi told CNN last week. "If we do not see
effective measures to curb that threat, we will do what it takes to counter that
threat, including taking military action inside Syria to eliminate this
extremely dangerous threat. "For us, it is a must that we end this crisis
because we've suffered tremendously from its consequences," he said.
Al-Masalameh, the opposition activist, said: "The war planes were believed to be
Jordanian following the threats by the foreign minister."Jordan has frequently
reported busting drug smuggling operations on its border with Syria, with its
soldiers sometimes engaging in shootouts with drug cartels trying to break
through from southern Syria. In recent years, Jordanian authorities have
discovered millions of smuggled Captagon pills.In March, the US and UK slapped
sanctions on four Syrians and two Lebanese involved in manufacturing and
trafficking Captagon. The six included cousins of the Syrian president and
well-known Lebanese drug kingpins. Weeks later, the European Union imposed
sanctions on several Syrians, including members of Assad’s family, blaming them
for the production and trafficking of narcotics, notably Captagon.
Air strikes again shook Sudan's capital Monday while the
latest truce talks in Jeddah have yet to yield progress.
Asharq Al Awsat/May 08/2023
Sudan was thrown into deadly chaos when fighting broke out on April 15 between
the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned rival
Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The
battles have since killed hundreds, wounded thousands and left millions
barricaded inside their homes amid dire shortages of water, food and basic
supplies. The feuding generals have sent representatives to Saudi Arabia for
talks on establishing a humanitarian truce in an effort also backed by the
United States. In Khartoum, a city of five million, terrified residents reported
more combat, now in its fourth week, as they hid out in their homes amid power
outages and sweltering heat. A southern Khartoum resident told AFP the family
could hear "the sound of airstrikes which appeared to come from near a market in
central Khartoum".
'Dangerous everywhere' The fighting has sparked a mass
exodus of foreigners and of Sudanese, in both air and sea evacuations and
arduous overland journeys to Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and other neighboring
countries. "It's very dangerous everywhere," said Rawaa Hamad, who escaped from
Port Sudan on an evacuation flight to Qatar on Monday carrying 71 people. In
Sudan, she said, there is "no safety now, unfortunately", with its people
enduring "a lack of everything -- a lack of water, lack of fuel, lack of
medicine, lack of even hospitals and doctors". The battles have killed more than
750 people and injured over 5,000, according to a count by the Armed Conflict
Location and Event Data Project. The United Nations has warned of a widening
humanitarian crisis after fighting has already displaced 335,000 people and
created 117,000 refugees. More than 60,000 Sudanese have fled north into Egypt,
30,000 west to Chad, and over 27,000 to South Sudan, according to the UN. The UN
top humanitarian official, Martin Griffiths, has travelled to the Saudi coastal
city of Jeddah, the site of what Washington and Riyadh have labelled
"pre-negotiation talks".A UN official said on Monday that Griffiths had "asked
to join the negotiations" between the warring sides, but that his request had
not been approved so far. Saudi Arabia is pushing for
"a timetable for expanded negotiations to reach a permanent cessation of
hostilities", its foreign ministry said. The Jeddah talks, which are set to
continue "in the following days", aim to reach "an effective short-term halt" to
the fighting, facilitating aid delivery and restoring basic services, it added.
A major breakthrough would be to secure humanitarian corridors to allow aid
through Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast to Khartoum and to the strife-torn
Darfur region bordering Chad. Since mid-April, multiple truce deals have been
declared and quickly violated in the poverty-stricken country with a history of
instability. Mediation efforts have multiplied. The
African Union -- which holds little leverage after suspending Sudan following a
coup in 2021 -- and East African regional bloc IGAD are pushing for discussions
mediated by South Sudan.The Arab League on Sunday called for an end to
hostilities and the preservation of Sudan's "sovereignty", but without
specifying details.
Sudan Doctors: At Least 100 Killed in Armed Fighter Clashes
Asharq Al Awsat/May 08/2023
At least 100 people were killed in clashes that erupted last month between armed
fighters in a city in Sudan’s restive region of Darfur, according to the Sudan’s
Doctors Syndicate. Hospitals were still out of service in the Darfur city of
Genena and an accurate count of the wounded was still hard to make, the doctors’
union added in a statement posted on their official Facebook page late Sunday.
The fighting in Genena, which broke out a few days after Sudan’s two
rival generals took arms against each other in Khartoum, pointed to the
possibility that conflict in the capital could spiral to other parts of the East
African country, The Associated Press reported. At least 481 civilians were
killed in Khartoum clashes that erupted in mid-April between the military, led
by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Gen. Mohamed
Hamdan Dagalo, according to the same doctors’ statement. The number of the
wounded among civilians has jumped to more than 2560.
No breakthrough yet in Saudi-hosted Sudan talks
Agence France Presse/May 08/2023
Ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia between Sudan's warring generals have yielded
"no major progress" so far, a Saudi official told AFP on Monday, dampening hopes
for a quick end to the fighting. Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and
his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid
Support Forces (RSF), sent representatives to the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah
on Saturday for meetings that Washington and Riyadh have described as
"pre-negotiation talks". Goals include reaching "an effective short-term halt"
to the fighting, facilitating aid delivery, restoring basic services and setting
"a timetable for expanded negotiations to reach a permanent cessation of
hostilities", the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement Monday. The two
sides have "begun to discuss the security measures they should take in order to
facilitate the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid and the restoration of
essential services", the statement said. But a Saudi diplomat told AFP on Monday
that "no major progress is achieved so far". "A permanent ceasefire isn't on the
table. Every side believes it is capable of winning the battle," the diplomat
added. The U.N.'s top humanitarian official, Martin Griffiths, arrived in Jeddah
on Sunday intending to meet representatives of both camps, though his role in
the process is unclear. A spokesperson for Griffiths
said on Sunday that he had arrived in Jeddah "to engage in humanitarian issues
related to Sudan". A separate U.N. official said on Monday that Griffiths had
"asked to join the negotiations" but that his request had not been approved so
far. The talks "will continue in the following days", the Saudi foreign ministry
said, without specifying a clear timeline.
Humanitarian crisis
Multiple truce deals have been declared, without effect, since fighting erupted
on April 15 in the poverty-stricken country with a history of instability.
Fierce combat has killed hundreds of people, wounded thousands and sparked
multiple warnings of a "catastrophic" humanitarian crisis. More than 100,000
people have already fled the country. Saudi Arabia has assumed a major role in
evacuations from Sudan, dispatching naval and commercial vessels to bring
thousands of people from numerous countries across the Red Sea from the Sudanese
coastal city of Port Sudan. On Sunday, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman directed $100 million to be donated for assistance to Sudan, including
medical aid and help for displaced people, the official Saudi Press Agency
reported. Saudi officials will also organize a public donations campaign "to
mitigate the effects of the conditions that the Sudanese people are currently
going through", the agency said. In a Sunday meeting, US national security
advisor Jake Sullivan thanked the Saudi crown prince, the kingdom's de facto
ruler, "for the support Saudi Arabia has provided to US citizens during the
evacuation from Sudan", the White House said in a statement.
Biden aide discusses Yemen peace push with Saudi crown
prince
Agence France Presse/May 08, 2023
US national security advisor Jake Sullivan discussed efforts to end Yemen's
eight-year war during a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the
White House said in a statement. The meeting Sunday night in Saudi Arabia came
during a tense period for US-Saudi ties, marred by disputes over human rights
issues and oil production. Sullivan and Prince Mohammed, the kingdom's de facto
ruler, "reviewed significant progress in talks to further consolidate the now
15-month long truce in Yemen and welcomed ongoing UN-led efforts to bring the
war to a close", the White House statement said. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has
headed a coalition to topple the Iran-backed Huthi rebels who seized the capital
the previous year. But a truce that went into effect in April 2022 has largely
held despite officially expiring in October. Last month, Saudi envoy Mohammed
Al-Jaber led a delegation to the Yemeni capital Sanaa to negotiate with the
Huthis and "stabilize" the truce. The delegation left without a new truce deal
but with a commitment from the rebels to hold a second round of talks, according
to Huthi and Yemeni government sources. Saudi Arabia is widely believed to be
seeking a military exit from Yemen, and analysts say efforts to negotiate with
the Huthis were given a boost by a surprise Chinese-brokered rapprochement deal
between the kingdom and Iran announced in March. Saudi
Arabia has also played a major role in the international response to fighting in
Sudan that broke out last month, hosting in Jeddah since Saturday the first
direct talks between the warring sides. Riyadh has also dispatched naval and
commercial vessels to bring thousands of people from numerous countries across
the Red Sea to Jeddah from the Sudanese coastal city of Port Sudan.
Sullivan "thanked the Crown Prince for the support Saudi Arabia has
provided to US citizens during the evacuation from Sudan", the White House
statement said. Along with Saudi leaders, Sullivan met
with counterparts from the United Arab Emirates and India "to advance their
shared vision of a more secure and prosperous Middle East region interconnected
with India and the world", the White House statement said. US news outlet Axios
reported on Saturday that the meeting would examine a possible joint
infrastructure project linking "Gulf and Arab countries via a network of
railways that would also be connected to India via shipping lanes from ports in
the region". The talks were also expected to touch on "the possibility of
further normalization steps between Saudi Arabia and Israel", Axios said. The
official Saudi Press Agency said the US delegation included Brett McGurk,
National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, and
Michael Ratney, Washington's new ambassador to Riyadh.
Officer convicted in Iraq killing of frequent militia
critic
Associated Press/May 08, 2023
An Iraqi police officer has been convicted and sentenced to death in the killing
of a prominent security analyst and frequent critic of powerful militias. The
ruling came nearly three years after the analyst was gunned down outside his
Baghdad home following militia threats. The family of the victim, Hisham
al-Hashimi, said it supported the verdict, but expressed concern it could be
overturned on appeal. A relative of al-Hashimi, speaking on condition of
anonymity for fear of reprisals, alleged that those who ordered the killing
remain at large. The defendant, Ahmed Hamdawi
al-Kinani, was convicted on a terrorism charge and sentenced to death by a
criminal court, according to Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council. The case was
referred to an appeals court. A video of his purported confession was released
after his arrest two years ago. Al-Hashimi, 47, was
gunned down in July 2020 in front of his home in Baghdad by two attackers on a
motorcycle after receiving threats from Iran-backed militias. His killing was
captured on a surveillance camera. The images stoked a climate of fear among
activists who have accused the government of failing to rein in the powerful
armed groups. Al-Hashimi had become well-known as an
expert on the Islamic State group and advised the U.S.-led coalition during its
years-long battle against the extremists. Following
the territorial defeat of IS in December 2017, he became an outspoken critic of
the growing influence of Iran-backed militias that helped to defeat IS.
Al-Hashimi reportedly received multiple threats from such groups in the period
before his death. Al-Kinani identified himself as a police officer with the rank
of first lieutenant in the video aired on state media in 2021. Shortly after his
arrest, two security officials speaking on condition of anonymity told The
Associated Press that he was connected to a militia but did not specify which
one.His purported confession did not acknowledge any links to armed groups.
Successive governments have been criticized for allowing militias to
operate with impunity. Critics say many government and security officials have
ties to such militias. The killings of activists and other critical voices
became more frequent in Iraq during a crackdown on a mass protest movement that
erupted in 2019, with many blaming Iran-backed militias.
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on May 08-09/2023
Palestinians: More Human
Rights Violations No One Talks About
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/May 08, 2023
The failure [to report the deaths of two men in Hamas custody] underscores what
appears their total lack of concern for the human rights of Palestinians living
under the rule of Hamas....
The media seem more worried about the human rights of Palestinian terrorists
than the rights of victims of Palestinian terrorists.
Adnan [the leader of the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad] was neither
tortured nor mistreated in Israeli prison.
The stories of the two Palestinian men who died in Hamas custody are vastly
different from that of Adnan. Al-Sufi's family insist he died of torture while
in Hamas custody.
Foreign journalists did not visit, or even try to contact, the families of the
two men held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The UN and human rights organizations -- who expressed so much concern over the
death of the hunger striker in an Israeli prison -- have yet to comment on the
suspicious deaths of the two Palestinians in Hamas detention in the Gaza Strip,
which could constitute crimes against humanity.
No one cares about the two men who died in Hamas custody, apparently because
Israel is not associated with their deaths. Had Al-Sufi and Al-Louh died in an
Israeli prison, they would have made headlines in The New York Times, the BBC
and CNN.
The newspapers and media organizations turning a blind eye to human rights
violations committed by Hamas against Palestinians are implying, through their
failure to cover these suspicious deaths, that there is nothing newsworthy about
Palestinians reportedly being tortured to death in Palestinian prisons.
The media's indifference to these deaths appears the result of the "racism of
low expectations."
"They treat Muslims like monkeys in a zoo," stated Egyptian scholar Hamed Abdel
Samad. It is as if journalists and so-called human rights groups assume that
Muslims are such savages that it would be laughable even to expect civilized
behavior from them; so why report it at all?
Some of these "correspondents" appear so blinded by their bigotry that, under
the banner of being "pro-Palestinian," they are ready to give Hamas a free pass
to arrest, torture and kill as many of their fellow-Palestinians they wish.
There is much damning evidence of anti-Israel bias in the mainstream media and
so-called human rights organizations in the West.
Those who ignore human rights violations committed by both Hamas and the
Palestinian Authority against Palestinians do a massive disservice to the
Palestinians whom they claim to support, but who remain horribly mistreated by
their own leaders.
No one cares about the two men who died in Hamas custody in Gaza, apparently
because Israel is not associated with their deaths. Had Al-Sufi and Al-Louh died
in an Israeli prison, they would have made headlines in The New York Times, the
BBC and CNN. Pictured: Hamas security forces carry out an exercise simulating
the murder of detainees, near Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip on October 13, 2022.
(Photo by Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images)
The death on May 1 in an Israeli prison of Khader Adnan, a senior member of the
Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) organization, has received
worldwide coverage in major media outlets, including CNN, BBC, The Guardian,
Reuters, and The New York Times.
Meanwhile, two Palestinian men detained by the Islamist organization Hamas,
which controls the Gaza Strip, died after a supposed unexpected "deterioration"
in their health conditions in just the past month.
The deaths of the men in Hamas custody, however, was not given nearly the same
attention by the international media and human rights organizations as the death
of Adnan. The same newspapers and media organizations that highlighted the case
of Adnan -- who died after an 86-day hunger strike -- chose to ignore the deaths
of the two Palestinian detainees in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The United Nations, whose "experts" are now demanding "accountability" from the
Israeli government following Adnan's death, also remained silent over the death
of the two men held by Hamas.
The attitude of the mainstream media in the West, international agencies and
human rights organizations towards these deaths expose their double standards
and their ongoing obsession with Israel. The failure to report the deaths of the
two prisoners in Gaza underscores their apparent lack of concern for the human
rights of Palestinians living under the rule of Hamas, an extremist group
designated as a terror organization by the US, Canada, and the European Union,
among others.
The media seem more worried about the human rights of Palestinian terrorists
than the rights of victims of Palestinian terrorists. Note, for example, how
Omar Shakir, the "Israel and Palestine" director of Human Rights Watch, hailed
the leader of the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad, also designated by
many countries as a terror group. Has Shakir condemned the deaths of the two
Palestinian men in Hamas custody? Not yet.
Adnan was neither tortured nor mistreated in Israeli prison. He chose to go on
hunger strike after his arrest in February 2023 on charges of membership in a
terror group and incitement to violence. He even refused to undergo medical
evaluation or receive medical treatment during the hunger strike.
Adnan was fully aware that he was putting his life at risk by refusing food and
medical care. He made a conscious decision, knowing full well it could lead to
his death.
This also was not Adnan's first hunger strike in an Israeli prison. In the past,
he went on a hunger strike for several weeks, again putting his life at risk.
Then, after receiving assurances from Israeli authorities that his detention
would not be extended, he had ended his hunger strike.
The stories of the two Palestinian men who died in Hamas custody are vastly
different from that of Adnan.
The first man, Mohammed Al-Sufi, 43, was an Islamic preacher from the town of
Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. On April 20, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of
Interior announced the death of Al-Sufi.
Al-Sufi's 16-year-old son, Abdullah, told the Palestinian Center for Human
Rights that his father and he were arrested on April 19 by Hamas security
officers shortly after they returned home from a visit to Egypt. Abdullah said
that he was punched and beaten by the officers, who accused his father and him
of smuggling drugs into the Gaza Strip. He also said that he heard his father
being interrogated in a nearby room and denying the charges. After a while, he
heard the officers calling his father to wake up. Hours later, at Abu Yusef
Annajar Hospital, Al-Sufi was pronounced dead.
Al-Sufi's family insist he died from torture while in Hamas custody. They say he
was arrested because he had criticized Hamas for serving as a proxy for Iran,
which he said was responsible for killing Muslims in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and
the Gaza Strip. The family has threatened to avenge his death at the hands of
the "Hamas gangs."
Al-Sufi's family and friends published a poster on social media with his picture
alongside a caption reading:
"I'm Sheikh Mohammed Al-Sufi. I was assassinated by Hamas on orders from Iran
because I criticized the killers of Muslims in Syria and Iraq."
Hussein Foujo, a Palestinian resident of the Gaza Strip who dared to speak out
against the death of Al-Sufi in Hamas detention, said he received threats from a
relative of the Hamas security officers involved in the arrest and alleged
torture of the Islamic preacher.
The second detainee, Ahmed Al-Louh, 56, died on May 1 after being rushed from a
Hamas prison to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. According to sources in the Gaza
Strip, Al-Louh was arrested by Hamas security officers on March 8 for
"criminal-related offences." Hamas said that he, too, died after a "sudden
deterioration in his health condition."
Foreign journalists covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have so far failed
to report about the death of the two Palestinians. Foreign journalists did not
visit, or even try to contact, the families of the two men who died in Hamas
custody in the Gaza Strip. The UN and human rights organizations -- who
expressed so much concern over the death of the hunger striker in an Israeli
prison -- have yet to comment on the suspicious deaths of the two Palestinians
in Hamas detention in the Gaza Strip, which could constitute crimes against
humanity.
No one cares about the two men who died in Hamas custody, apparently because
Israel is not associated with their deaths. Had Al-Sufi and Al-Louh died in an
Israeli prison, they would have made headlines in The New York Times, the BBC
and CNN.
The newspapers and media organizations turning a blind eye to human rights
violations committed by Hamas against Palestinians are implying, through their
failure to cover these suspicious deaths, that there is nothing newsworthy about
Palestinians reportedly being tortured to death in Palestinian prisons.
The media's indifference to these deaths appears the result of the "racism of
low expectations." "They treat Muslims like monkeys in a zoo," said Egyptian
scholar Hamed Abdel Samad.
It is as if journalists and so-called human rights groups assume that Muslims
are such savages that it would be laughable even to expect civilized behavior
from them; so why report it at all?
The cases of Adnan, Al-Sufi and Al-Louh further show how consistently foreign
journalists and professed human rights groups covering the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict spend their waking hours hunting down stories that reflect negatively
on Israel. Some of these "correspondents" appear so blinded by their bigotry
that, under the banner of being "pro-Palestinian," they are ready to give Hamas
a free pass to arrest, torture and kill as many of their fellow-Palestinians
they wish.
There is much damning evidence (here, here, here, here, here and here) of
anti-Israel bias in the mainstream media and so-called human rights
organizations in the West. Those who ignore human rights violations committed by
both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority against Palestinians do a massive
disservice to the Palestinians whom they claim to support, but who remain
horribly mistreated by their own leaders (here, here, here and here).
Failure to publicize these human rights abuses simply allows Hamas to continue
its crimes against the Palestinians with callous impunity -- and without an iota
of concern about criticism from the media, the UN, the international community
or self-professed human rights groups.
*Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East.
© 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.
The Great Lengths Some Muslims Go to Deceive (in Order to
Murder) Infidels
Raymond Ibrahim/May 08, 2023
Hindus are becoming more and more familiar with the Muslim doctrine of taqiyya.
An article reports that, on two separate occasions, Muslims murdered two Hindu
men by first deceiving them in an effort to get close enough to murder them.
In one incident, Muslims entered the shop of their targeted Hindu victim and
pretended to be customers — before attacking and beheading him (on the
accusation that he had somehow “insulted” their prophet).
In the other incident, a Muslim man “befriended” his targeted victim on Facebook.
The murderer pretended to be himself a Hindu that wanted to join his intended
victim’s organization. When they eventually met, the trap was triggered and the
Hindu man slaughtered, also on the charge of “blaspheming” against Muhammad.
After giving more incidents of Muslims deceiving Hindus in order to subjugate or
kill them, the article highlights and blames the Muslim doctrine of taqiyya:
Al-Taqiyya… means to lie, mislead, manipulate and create illusions for an ‘enemy
of Islam’ when being persecuted. Except, in today’s day and age, it has been
used by Islamists and their apologists to deceive ‘kafirs’ (non-believers of
Islam) into believing they are a well-wisher only to stab them in the back
(figuratively) or behead them (literally). We’ve seen in [the] above two cases
how the Islamists have used deception as a tool (posing as customer and Hindu on
Facebook to befriend Hindutva leader) to come close to the victim and then
eventually kill them. While it’s good that this article is connecting the dots,
the fact is, entering a store and posing as a customer, or pretending to be a
Facebook friend, is child’s play compared to what other Muslims have done and
are willing to do to get close enough to slaughter their victims.
Consider the assassination plot against a Christian pastor in Turkey that was
thwarted: Police arrested 14 Muslim suspects; two of them had been members of
the pastor’s congregation for over a year; three of them were women.
“These people had infiltrated our church and collected information about me, my
family and the church and were preparing an attack against us,” said the pastor
in question, Emre Karaali: “Two of them attended our church for over a year and
they were like family.”
And their subversive tactics worked: “The 14 [suspects] had collected personal
information, copies of personal documents, created maps of the church and the
pastor’s home, and had photos of those who had come to Izmit [church] to
preach.”
Consider the great lengths these Muslims went to in their efforts to murder this
Christian pastor: wholesale deception, attending non-Islamic places of worship
and rites, to the point that “they were like family” to the Christian they
sought to betray and kill. While some may think such acts are indicative of
un-Islamic behavior, they are, in fact, doctrinally permissible and historically
demonstrative. (For an in-depth examination, read about the doctrines of taqiyya,
tawriya, and taysir.)
Thus, feigning interest in Christianity, attending church for over a year,
participating in Christian baptisms, and becoming “like family” to an infidel —
all things forbidden according to Islamic Sharia — become permissible in the
service of the jihad on Christianity.
Nor is this Turkish example an aberration. In Somalia, a nation that has nothing
in common with Turkey — neither race, language, nor culture, only Islam — this
same story of betrayal took place. When a Muslim sheikh became suspicions that a
woman in his village had converted to Christianity, he sent his wife to the
apostate, instructing her to pretend to be interested in learning about
Christianity. The trusting Christian woman eventually shared the Gospel with the
feigning Muslim woman. After it was verified that the woman was Christian, the
sheikh and other Muslims went to her house and shot her dead.
Worming one’s way into an infidel’s confidences only to betray and slaughter
them traces back to the prophet of Islam, Muhammad. Once, when a Jewish poet,
Ka‘b ibn Ashraf, offended Muhammad, the prophet exclaimed: “Who will kill this
man who has hurt Allah and his prophet?” A young Muslim named Ibn Maslama
volunteered on condition that, to get close enough to Ka‘b to assassinate him,
he be allowed to deceive the poet. The prophet agreed. Ibn Maslama went to Ka‘b
feigning friendship; the poet trusted his sincerity and took him into his
confidence. Soon thereafter, the Muslim youth returned with a friend and, while
the trusting poet’s guard was down, they beheaded him.
In another similar incident, Muhammad commanded a convert from an adversarial
tribe to conceal his new Muslim identity and go back to his tribe — which he
cajoled with a perfidious “You are my stock and my family, the dearest of men to
me” — only to betray them to Islam.
Such are the lengths some Muslims — past and present — are willing to go to in
order to win the trust of those infidels whom they mean to betray.
The Implementation of the Law Should Adhere to the Law
Samir Atallah/Asharq Al Awsat/May 08/2023
The Judge Ghada Aoun saga has been defined by rage and resentment. There has
been no tranquility. In one scene, surrounded by giants from “State Security”
armed with guns made for world wars, she kicked down the door of an office.
Judge Aoun went beyond her jurisdiction, accompanied by her group of giants,
raiding suspects’ offices, including that of the Central Bank Governor, who had
fled to another location. The highest-ranking judges and authorities in the
country tried to compel Judge Aoun to limit herself to her jurisdiction, but she
went against all of their orders. Her war was against corruption and corrupt
individuals. At those who pushed the idea that she has benefited from nepotism,
Judge Aoun hit back that she had not met President Michel Aoun before he awarded
her the Medal of Honor for Justice and Honor.
One prominent feature of this saga has been how Judge Aoun’s voice becomes sharp
and high-pitched when she is angry or outraged. She would grow increasingly
angry during the discussion, becoming so outraged that no one could understand
what she was saying. The drama peaked (both auditory and visually) when the
Supreme Judicial Council announced last Thursday that she had been dismissed
from service, turning her into a former public servant in an instant. The scene
erupted in screaming, speeches, and explosions.
Many expressed sympathy for the “disbarred judge” as she defended her 40 years
of service in the judiciary. She went from being the strongest figure in the
judiciary to a weak plaintiff after the president whom she had relied on, as
well as receiving a medal of honor from him during his time and office and a
Tweet after he was gone. Stringency in applying the
law is not Ghada Aoun’s problem. That is a demand the Lebanese people make day
and night. Her implementation was the problem. The scenes of chaos and kicking
down doors gave the public the impression that the woman was only a judge by
name. Indeed, she only summoned political rivals and defied the judiciary.
Mrs. Aoun demonstrated just how tragic it is for the Lebanese that she lost her
position by calling the Lebanese people “messy” in the Palace of Justice. Is it
tenable for a judge to lose her temper or always seem to be losing her temper?
No. Losing one’s temper goes against everything required by the job. Storming
offices and kicking doors down suggests that the accused have already been found
guilty, which is a total violation of the first principle of the law.
No one expected or hoped that Judge Aoun would meet this humiliating end.
It is unfortunate the image she presented of herself and the judiciary, which
unanimously decided to remove her, underlining the extent it was frustrated by
her dramatic displays of outrage and, even more so, her disdain for the
judiciary, which she had thought she could get away with because of her surname.
The judiciary deviated and then corrected its course. Today, the Lebanese
judiciary is in dire need of an improved image. The law should be implemented
through legal means, not by breaking and entering.
Iran and the Tightrope
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/May 08/2023
The simmering crisis over Iran's nuclear program is threatening to reignite
after Britain, France and Germany warned Tehran they would trigger a return of
UN sanctions against it if it enriched uranium to the optimal level for a
nuclear weapon. The announcement was made in a Reuters political analysis about
the challenges facing the current American administration. Interestingly, the
threat to Iran was made last year and only now revealed.
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,
according to the Reuters report. "Therefore, they want to do everything in their
power to prevent this (90%) from happening."The question is, why is the analysis
saying that the nuclear file could ignite once again? Why did Reuters cite
information that had never been revealed before and which is that the three
European foreign ministers had threatened Iran with a return of sanctions?
The US is no doubt leaning towards this approach in the nuclear file. I learned
from informed sources that Washington had explained to some of its regional
allies that it was concerned about Iran’s ability to reach the nuclear
threshold.
The sources said Washington was not interested in kicking off new negotiations
even if the usual Gulf mediator was making moves and even as a clear message was
delivered to Tehran that the military option was not off the table,
significantly amid pressure from Israel.
Days earlier, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy that his country was still seeking a diplomatic
solution to the Iranian nuclear program. "We have made
clear to Iran that it can never be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon," he
added. "The president has committed himself like other presidents before him to
ensuring that Iran does not achieve a nuclear weapon."
"We remain determined to ensure that that challenge does not cross the line to
Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. We will take the necessary action to ensure
that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon. At the end of the day, that’s the
fundamental test: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. They do not today, and they
cannot have one."Sullivan added that his country was working with allies,
including Israel, to deter Iran. Dennis Ross, a
veteran US diplomat now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think
tank, suggested the US 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 weaponization, he said,
according to Reuters. "What you are seeing is an effort to walk that tightrope."
ابتلاع الحبة المرة للتأهيل السوري/بارعة علم الدين/عرب نيوز/08 آيار 2023
Swallowing the bitter pill of Syrian rehabilitation
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/May 08, 2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/118052/118052/
The controversial readmission of Syria to the Arab League will make the
organization’s forthcoming Riyadh summit a closely watched occasion. For
millions of Syrians, not to mention many Arab leaderships, this is an
unimaginably bitter pill to swallow.
Defending the move, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi observed that
“status-quo politics only resulted in more ills and more pain and suffering for
the Syrian people and growing threats to the region.” On a more hawkish note,
Safadi signaled the prospect of Jordanian military intervention inside Syria if
narcotics smuggling is not brought under control.
Twelve years of Syrian carnage cannot be forgiven or forgotten. However, with
all other avenues exhausted, enough is enough. Waiting another 10 or 20 years to
take this inevitable step would only prolong human suffering. The agreement
provides for a ministerial contact group from several Arab states to work with
Damascus on “step-by-step” practical solutions to issues such as refugees,
narcotics and access for humanitarian aid.
The still-festering Syrian wound has regionwide detrimental effects, most
obviously in the millions of refugees who continue to subsist in Lebanon, Jordan
and Turkey, exacerbating economic and social tensions. Arab states could play an
active role in guaranteeing the safety of returning citizens and deterring
Damascus from taking punitive action.
The Assad clan have flooded the region with tons of narcotics, while becoming
notorious for smuggling weapons, people and contraband goods. States such as
Jordan and Lebanon have been doubly afflicted —awash with cheap, deadly drugs,
and also enmeshed in the transit of these products. Assad has half-heartedly
undertaken to “try” to address the narcotics file. That is not good enough. If
Damascus desires to benefit from re-established trade relations with Arab
nations, it should disabuse itself of the fantasy that its future prosperity is
based on the narco-state model.
Arab demands that Damascus disassociate itself from Iran apparently haven’t
borne fruit, with Assad pointedly refusing to abandon his most steadfast ally.
In any case, complete severance of ties with Tehran arguably wouldn’t be a
realistic request, given moves by Arab states to restore diplomatic relations
themselves. However, as with Iraq, Arab states should
insist on the recalibration of relations, toward the goal that Lebanon, Syria,
Yemen and Iraq stop resembling Iranian satellite states, through ceasing the
stockpiling of missiles and recognition that these nations can’t be hostages of
Iranian foreign policy brinkmanship. Rapprochement
should be based on clear-eyed recognition that the Damascus regime does not have
a record for honest dealing, and may later seek to disentangle itself from its
commitments.
The demobilization of Tehran-aligned militias in these states should also be a
priority. The Sudanese debacle illustrates that when overmighty paramilitary
forces are allowed to continually grow in strength, eventually there is no
escape from wholesale war. There are concerns that Iran is seeking to coordinate
the actions of militant forces such as Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas more
closely, to exert greater control over regionwide conflict and cross-border
tensions. Israel has meanwhile been staging regular airstrikes against
Iran-associated targets in Syria.
Rapprochement should be based on clear-eyed recognition that the Damascus regime
does not have a record for honest dealing, and may later seek to disentangle
itself from its commitments. Assad furthermore is in only nominal control of a
minority of Syrian territory, with other areas held by rebel groups such as
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, Turkiye, and US-backed Kurdish forces. Russia, meanwhile,
controls substantial military assets, and Daesh and other jihadist groups retain
a presence. Arab states must ensure that reengagement doesn’t become a ploy for
a reinvigorated regime to return to the military offensive.
Ebrahim Raisi last week became the first Iranian president to visit Syria since
2011. Despite one of Raisi’s top officials boasting that the visit represented
“the Islamic Republic of Iran’s strategic victory in the region,” the visit had
a whiff of desperation, given the implications of Damascus’s readmission to the
Arab fold for ending Iran’s Syrian monopoly.
Iran has poured at least $30 billion into Syria since 2011, and some estimates
are even higher. With its own finances in disarray, Tehran will be seeking to
squeeze the bankrupt Syrian regime into delivering returns on these investments.
Gulf states have meanwhile signaled deep reluctance to invest in Syrian
reconstruction in a manner that could allow these funds to accrue to Tehran.
Apparently oblivious to irony, Raisi has stressed Tehran’s potential central
role in reconstruction — despite Iran being a principal agent of Syria’s
destruction in the first place. Let’s see him put his money where his mouth is.
Western nations are opposed to any outreach to Damascus, and US Secretary of
State Antony Blinken warned Arab states that “those engaging with the Assad
regime should weigh carefully how those efforts are addressing the needs of the
Syrian people.” He is correct in the sense that the worst of all worlds would be
to let Assad off the hook without fundamentally addressing Syria’s myriad
security challenges. The burden of proof will be on Arab states to demonstrate
the determination and capacity to hold the regime to its promises.
Going forward, there must also be genuine efforts to ensure that justice is done
regarding horrific crimes against humanity by numerous parties in Syria.
Brushing this under the carpet merely sets the stage for the next round of
atrocities somewhere else; not least in Sudan, which has the potential to become
equally bloody, complex and intractable. There must be a muscular Arab role in
the current Jeddah negotiations in preventing Sudan’s warring parties from
pursuing the Syrian path.
Culturally and politically, Syria is one of the Arab world’s vital organs. The
loss and dismemberment of this organ over the past 12 years has been
catastrophic for Arab geostrategic wellbeing.
Consequently, Damascus’s rehabilitation into the Arab body is a hugely complex,
sensitive and problematic operation. Millions of Syrians will be relying on
leading Arab states to ensure that this new agreement is a first step to
allowing them to rebuild their lives.
• Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle
East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has
interviewed numerous heads of state.