LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 10/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.april10.16.htm
News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006
Bible Quotations For Today
Jesus Appears to two of the
Disciples While They Were on Their Way To
Emmaus
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Luke 24/13-35:"Now on that same day two of them were going to
a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each
other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and
discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept
from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each
other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them,
whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem
who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ He
asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how
our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and
crucified him.
But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all
this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some
women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and
when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had
indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who
were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they
did not see him.’Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of
heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that
the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’Then
beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things
about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they
were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly,
saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly
over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he
took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were
opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to
each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on
the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up
and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions
gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has
appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had
been made known to them in the breaking of the bread."
If we have died with
him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if
we deny him, he will also deny us
Second Letter to Timothy
02/08-13:"Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David
that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being
chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also
obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is
sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we
will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are
faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself."
Question: "What is
Trinitarianism? Is Trinitarianism biblical?"
GotQuestions.org/Answer: Trinitarianism is the teaching that God is triune, that
He has revealed Himself in three co-equal and co-eternal Persons. For a detailed
biblical presentation of the Trinity, please see our article on what the Bible
teaches about the Trinity. The purpose of this article is to discuss the
importance of Trinitarianism in regard to salvation and the Christian life. We
are often asked the question, “Do I have to believe in the Trinity to be saved?”
The answer is yes and no. Does a person have to fully understand and agree with
every aspect of Trinitarianism to be saved? No. Are there some aspects of
Trinitarianism that play key roles in salvation? Yes. For example, the deity of
Christ is crucially important to the doctrine of salvation. If Jesus is not God,
His death could not have paid the infinite penalty of sin. Only God is
infinite—He had no beginning, and He has no end. All other creatures, including
angels, are finite; they were created at some point. Only the death of an
infinite Being could atone for the sin of mankind throughout eternity. If Jesus
is not God, He could not be the Savior, the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world (John 1:29). An unbiblical view of Jesus' divine
nature results in an errant view of salvation. Every “Christian” cult that
denies the true deity of Christ also teaches that we must add our own works to
Christ's death in order to be saved. The true and full deity of Christ, an
aspect of Trinitarianism, refutes this concept. At the same time, we recognize
that there are some genuine believers in Christ who do not hold to full
Trinitarianism. While we reject modalism, we do not deny that a person can be
saved while holding that God is not three Persons, but rather simply revealed
Himself in three “modes.” The Trinity is a mystery, which no finite human being
can fully, or perfectly, understand. For salvation to be received, God requires
us to trust in Jesus Christ, God incarnate, as the Savior. For salvation to be
received, God does not require complete adherence to every precept of sound
biblical theology. No, full understanding and agreement with all aspects of
Trinitarianism is not required for salvation. We strongly hold that
Trinitarianism is a biblically-based doctrine. We dogmatically proclaim that
understanding and believing in biblical Trinitarianism is crucially important to
understanding God, salvation, and the ongoing work of God in the lives of
believers. At the same time, there have been godly men, genuine followers of
Christ, who have had some disagreements with aspects of Trinitarianism. It is
important to remember that we are not saved by having perfect doctrine. We are
saved by trusting in our perfect Savior (John 3:16). Do we have to believe in
some aspects of Trinitarianism to be saved? Yes. Do we have to fully agree with
all areas of Trinitarianism to be saved? No.
Pope Francis's Tweets For Today
Our teaching on marriage and the family cannot fail to be
inspired by the message of love and tenderness.
No one can think that the weakening of the family will prove beneficial to
society as a whole.
People with disabilities are a gift for the family and an opportunity to grow in
love, mutual aid and unity.
The family is a good which society cannot do without, and it ought to be
protected
Every family, despite its weaknesses, can
become a light in the darkness of the world.
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on April 10/16
History Making Saudi-Egyptian Collaboration/Salman Aldosary/Asharq Al Awsat/April
09/16
When someone whispered to me from his grave/Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/April 09/16
Making broadband central to rural development programs/Ehtesham Shahid/Al
Arabiya/April 09/16
Why Amnesty has slammed the EU-Turkey refugee deal/Brooklyn Middleton/Al Arabiya/April
09/16
Is the freedom of the press broader now/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/April
09/16
Sweden: A Beggar on Every Corner/Ingrid Carlqvist/Gatestone Institute/April
09/16
Hamas's New Way of Poisoning the Minds of Palestinian Children/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone
Institute/April 09/16
Can the Islamic State be defeated without Kurds/Fehim Taştekin/Al-Monitor/April
09/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on April 10/16
Samaha verdict shows Lebanon follows
rule of law: Siniora
Lebanon to Determine ‘Soon’ on Fate of Australian Film Crew
Report: Hollande to Meet Top Officials on Beirut Trip without Having Solution to
Presidential Impasse
Police Clamp Down on Another Prostitution Ring
Report: Army almost Catches Qalamoun Emir amid Warnings of Extremist Expansion
from Syria
22 Charged with Setting up Illegal Internet Stations
Report: Rifi May Go back on Resignation in Wake of Samaha Sentence
Asiri Holds 'Excellent' Meeting with Bassil
Report: Ongoing State Security Agency Dispute Casts Doubt on Fate of Tuesday's
Cabinet Session
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 10/16
Security Forces Uncover School Used
to Give 'Lessons on Jihad' for Would-be Extremists
Belgium police officers secure the access during a police operation in
Etterbeeck,
Kerry makes surprise visit to Afghanistan
ISIS ‘to release’ 300 Syrian cement workers
Rebels seize Syria town from fighters loyal to ISIS
US Embassy warns citizens about 'credible threats' in Turkey
Russia defends selling arms to both Azerbaijan and Armenia
Abrini admits he was Brussels attack 3rd man
Candidates for next UN chief to face nations for first time
Somalia car bomb blast kills at least three
Nigerian troops foil Boko Haram suicide bomb attack
Al Qaeda militants execute 17 Yemeni govt soldiers
Archbishop of Canterbury reveals he was ‘born illegitimate’
U.S. Embassy: 'Credible Threats' to Istanbul, Antalya Tourist Areas
Links From
Jihad Watch Site for
April 10/16
Minneapolis: Muslim airport worker who preached non-violence
tries to join Islamic State.
Islamic State expanding in Africa as Somali Muslims pledge allegiance to caliph.
Reza Aslan: Trump is popular because of “Islamophobia”.
CBS: “Islamophobia” triggers jihad terror attacks.
U.S. general: Number of Islamic State fighters in Libya doubles.
“Staggering number” of Muslims from Europe embraced jihad, many returning home.
UK: Hijabbed Muslima worries that “people will start to look at me in a funny
way”.
Robert Spencer, FP: DHS: Airport Workers Suspected of Terror Ties Have All Been
Vetted.
Samaha verdict shows Lebanon follows rule of law: Siniora
The Daily Star/April 09/16/BEIRUT: Future parliamentary bloc head MP Fouad
Siniora Saturday said the 13-year jail sentence handed down to former Minister
Michel Samaha a day earlier proved that Lebanon abides by the rule of law. “From
the beginning, we (the Future Movement) have bet on the state and its
institutions, and Samaha’s sentencing proved that our bets were in the right
place,” he said, adding the final result in Samaha’s case saved Lebanon’s
judiciary. Siniora said the verdict brought justice to those who struggled and
sacrificed their lives for independence and freedom in Lebanon, and dealt a blow
to “attempts to repress the Lebanese people and control them through
terror.”“Samaha was sent back to where he belongs, and that is prison.
Congratulations to the judiciary and congratulations to the people who were
waiting for this,” he added. Lebanon's Military Tribunal sentenced Samaha to 13
years in prison with hard labor Friday, in the final verdict of his terror
retrial, satisfying officials who had previously called for the court's
dissolution. Samaha, originally sentenced last year to four and a half years in
prison for plotting bomb attacks in the country, has already served about
one-third of his new sentence. He has also been stripped of his civil rights,
meaning he can longer vote or hold public office, as is normally the case with
terror convicts
Lebanon to
Determine ‘Soon’ on Fate of Australian Film Crew
Asharq Al-Awsat/April 09/16/Lebanon-The Lebanese authorities shall be deciding
anytime soon on the fate of the Australian film crew “suspected” to have planned
a kidnap operation. The final decision is expected to be issued on whether the
four-members of the crew will face charges in connection with the plot to kidnap
the two children in a child-custody dispute, said Australia’s foreign minister
on Saturday. Only few days ago, the four Australians were detained by the
Lebanese police and were accused of involvement in the kidnapping of the two
children from their Lebanese father on behalf of their Australian mother.
Foreign minister Julie Bishop stated that at the current stage it is
understandable that the members are still being held in detention and the
question of charges is an issue that will be determined shortly. Bishop added;
“I cannot understate the seriousness with which the Lebanese authorities are
viewing the case but we’re doing all we can to maintain contact with all of the
parties involved.” Noting that the crew members were making a film about the
mother’s efforts to recover her children for the Australian current affairs show
“60 Minutes”. Moreover, the Australian mother was also in detention in Lebanon,
media has reported. Lebanese Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk was quoted on
Thursday as saying the crew were “involved in abducting the two children and
detained in respect of their participation in the kidnapping operation”. “Given
the sensitivities of this case and the fact children are involved, we are
handling this very carefully,” Bishop said. The grandmother of the children
stated infront of media that she had been hit on the head with a pistol during
the abduction. While CCTV footage broadcast on Lebanese TV had appeared to show
the two children, who the father said were aged five and three, being bundled
into a car by several attackers on a busy street in southern Beirut. Lebanese
media reported on Friday that Brisbane woman Sally Faulkner had been detained
and her children returned to their father.
Report: Hollande to Meet Top
Officials on Beirut Trip without Having Solution to Presidential Impasse
Naharnet/April 09/16/French President Francois Hollande is scheduled to pay a
visit to Lebanon at the end of next week where he will hold talks with various
senior officials, reported al-Liwaa newspaper on Saturday. He is set to meet
with Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Maronite Patriarch
Beshara al-Rahi, and the representatives of various political blocs. Sources
said that he will likely hold talks with head of the French contingent in the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Arabic sources in Paris doubted that
the French president will propose a solution to the presidential deadlock.
The visit will however present a suitable occasion to push Lebanese officials to
speed up the election of a head of state in order to breathe life into
constitutional institutions, said al-Liwaa. U.N. Special Coordinator of Lebanon
Sigrid Kaag had meanwhile kicked off on Friday a trip to Paris, which she will
crown on Wednesday with talks with Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, three
days before Hollande's arrival in Beirut, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on
Saturday. The Elysee presidential palace announced that Hollande will embark on
a tour to Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan from April 16 to 19. Lebanon has been
without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended
without the election of a successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8
and 14 camps have thwarted the polls. Hizbullah announced earlier this year that
it will boycott electoral sessions until it receives guarantees that its
candidate, Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun, is elected.
Police Clamp Down on Another
Prostitution Ring
Naharnet/April 09/16/Police announced on Saturday the arrest of a prostitution
ring in the town of Khaldeh south of Beirut as security forces continued to
clamp down on sex trafficking networks. An Internal Security Forces communique
said vice police arrested a Syrian man and nine women from different
nationalities during a raid on an apartment in Khaldeh on Wednesday. The
28-year-old man, identified by his initials as Aa. Aa, was apprehended for
transporting the prostitutes - Syrians, Egyptians and Lebanese - from their
residences to the location of customers, it said. Police seized his car and
issued a search and investigation warrant for the ringleader, whom the
communique identified as Kh.Aa., a 40-year-old Lebanese man. The head of the
gang has a criminal record, the ISF added. Police have been clamping down on
prostitution networks since last week after a sex slave ring was busted during
raids on brothels in Jounieh, north of Beirut. The Interior Ministry is
investigating the alleged involvement of top officers in covering up for the sex
trafficking network.
Police freed 75 slaves, most of them Syrians, who said they had been subjected
to heinous forms of torture and abuse.
Report: Army almost Catches
Qalamoun Emir amid Warnings of Extremist Expansion from Syria
Naharnet/April 09/16/The latest developments in Syria and the regime forces'
capture of the city of Palmyra from extremists have prompted the Lebanese army
and security forces to go on alert in anticipation of a jihadist backlash,
reported As Safir newspaper on Saturday. A security source revealed to the daily
that terrorists have been preparing “an expansion” towards Lebanon to escape the
regime's advances. The army has consequently taken precautionary measures along
the border with Syria, as well as preemptive operations that led to the arrest
of dozens of terrorists. The military almost detained the so-called emir of the
al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front in al-Qalamoun, Abou Malek al-Talleh, during one
of these operations. As Safir said that the army caught news that Talleh was
taking part in a al-Nusra meeting in the area and therefore dispatched a
military plane to monitor his movements. The plane continued on following his
movements after he emerged from the meeting and fired a rocket at it when it had
a clear shot. The car transporting Talleh however almost got into a traffic
accident and veered off the road the moment the rocket was fired and he
therefore survived the strike. Talleh and his three companions in the car
immediately escaped the vehicle and made it to safety. The whole operation was
caught on camera, said As Safir. The region along the Lebanese-Syrian border has
become a haven for extremist groups linked to the fighting in the neighboring
country. The army frequently engages in clashes with these groups, most notably
in the northeastern border areas of Arsal and Ras Baalbek.
22 Charged with Setting up
Illegal Internet Stations
Naharnet/April 09/16/The financial general prosecutor charged on Saturday 22
individuals with setting up illegal internet stations. Judge Ali Ibrahim also
charged the suspects with embezzling public funds.Two of the suspects are in
custody. Last month, the government kicked off efforts to dismantle internet
stations that were illegally set up in several areas around Lebanon.
Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb had said that they posed a serious
danger to Lebanon's national security since they were linked to Israel. The
owners of these stations were buying international internet bandwidth with
nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which they were selling back to Lebanese
subscribers at reduced prices. It has been reported that wireless internet
towers and technical equipment were placed illegally in some mountainous
terrains including Tannourine, al-Dinnieh, Sannine and al-Zaarour. Smuggled
internet services initiate risks namely the possibility of security breaches as
they lack the basic control standards exposing Lebanon's security to third
parties including Israel.
Report: Rifi May Go back on
Resignation in Wake of Samaha Sentence
Naharnet/April 09/16/Ashraf Rifi who resigned as justice minister may retract
his resignation in light of the prison sentence against former Minister Michel
Samaha, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Saturday. Ministerial sources
predicted that Rifi may go back on his decision to resign. He is still signing
mail addressed to the Justice Ministry and he will inevitably return to the
government because he linked his departure to the initial ruling against Samaha.
Samaha was sentenced on Friday to 13 years in jail, four-and-a-half of which he
had already served as part of a Military Tribunal ruling. The original sentence
saw the former information minister walk free from jail in January, sparking an
outcry in the country after he was caught red-handed transporting explosives
from Syria for the purpose of carrying out attacks and assassinations in
Lebanon. His release prompted Rifi to step down from his post. Samaha, an
ex-adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad, admitted during his trial that he
had transported the explosives from Syria for use in attacks in Lebanon. He,
however, argued that he should be acquitted because he was a victim of
entrapment by a Lebanese security services informer identified as Milad Kfouri.
The judge in his sentencing on Friday rejected the entrapment claim, saying that
Samaha had the intent to carry out his plot and that it was only thwarted
because Kfouri had informed the authorities. The former minister was sentenced
to 13 years in jail with hard labor and his civil rights were stripped.
Asiri Holds 'Excellent'
Meeting with Bassil
Naharnet/April 09/16/Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil held talks on Friday with
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri, the first between the two since the
eruption of the diplomatic crisis between Beirut and Riyadh earlier this year,
reported al-Liwaa newspaper on Saturday. Asiri did not make a statement after
the talks, but only described them as “excellent.” No details of the meeting
were revealed, but media outlets noted that the ambassador seemed “relaxed”
after the discussions. The Saudi official also met on Friday with Prime Minister
Tammam Salam. An unprecedented diplomatic crisis broke out between Lebanon and
Saudi Arabia when the kingdom decided to halt an aid grant to the Lebanese army
in wake of Hizbullah's virulent stances against Riyadh. Bassil's decision to
abstain from Arab resolutions condemning attacks against the Saudi embassy in
Iran also brought about the kingdom's ire against the Beirut.
Saudi Arabia has since advised its citizens against travel to Lebanon, as step
that was followed by the countries of the Arab Gulf. They were also accompanied
by measures against Hizbullah and its supporters in the Gulf. The Arab League
has also labeled the party as a terrorist group in wake of its involvement in
regional conflicts, most notably those in Yemen and Syria. The party has
meanwhile blamed these conflicts on Saudi Arabia.
Report: Ongoing State
Security Agency Dispute Casts Doubt on Fate of Tuesday's Cabinet Session
/Naharnet/April 09/16Questions surround the possibility of holding a cabinet
session next week given the ongoing dispute over the appointments of the members
of the general-directorate of state security, reported various media outlets on
Saturday. Prime Minister Tammam Salam is expected to make his decision on
Saturday on whether to call the government to meet on Tuesday. The cabinet had
convened on Thursday, but it was marred by the ongoing dispute over the state
security agency. A government session was scheduled for Tuesday, but it is a
awaiting Salam's invitation. Efforts have been made to resolve the
general-directorate of state security dispute with Tourism Minister Michel
Pharaon holding talks with Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil on Friday. The
dispute centers on the budget of the agency and differences between its director
Major General George Qaraa and his deputy Brigadier General Mohammed al-Tufaili.
The disagreements between the two officials has started to take on a sectarian
turn, reported al-Liwaa newspaper.Pharaon meanwhile supports Qaraa, who
represents Christians, and Khalil supports Tufaili, who enjoys the backing of
several ministers, including Nouhad al-Mashnouq, Akram Shehayyeb, and Wael Abou
Faour. Given these differences, al-Liwaa doubted that a cabinet session will be
held, saying that its fate depends on a breakthrough in this file. In March, the
Kataeb Party’s three representatives in the cabinet in addition to Pharaon
warned that they would take action if the government fails to resolve the
“marginalization” of the general-directorate of state security. "The siege laid
on this agency is unjustified," said Pharaon. Economy Minister Alain Hakim, of
the Kataeb Party, had said at the time that all Christians reject the neglect of
the department. The general-directorate of state security had sent a bill to the
cabinet on March 20, 2014 asking for the creation of a six-member leadership
authority under which Qaraa, a Catholic, would have the casting vote. But the
former secretary general of the cabinet, Suhail Bouji, paralyzed the plan by
saying that the approval of the bill requires a draft-law to be adopted by the
parliament unlike a decision made by the Shura Council, the report said. Media
reports quoted a ministerial source as saying that Bouji’s move likely came as a
result of his friendship with Tufaili.
Security Forces Uncover
School Used to Give 'Lessons on Jihad' for Would-be Extremists
Naharnet/April 09/A dangerous terrorist cell was uncovered recently in the North
by the General Security, reported As Safir newspaper on Saturday. Widely
informed security sources told the daily that the extremists were using a
religious school as a front for jihadist dealings. The school was being run by a
terrorist called Omar al-Satem, who is currently in Syria's al-Raqa, a
stronghold of the Islamic State group. The school was used to educate teenagers
on jihadist ways before sending them to al-Raqa. Five members of the cell have
been arrested, said As Safir. The army and security forces have in recent months
arrested numerous terrorists and would-be terrorists linked to extremist groups
involved in the fighting in Syria.
Belgium police officers
secure the access during a police operation in Etterbeeck,
AFP, Brussels
Saturday, 9 April 2016/A sixth person was arrested during raids Friday over the
Brussels airport and metro bombings which netted top Paris attacks suspect
Mohamed Abrini, the Belgian prosecutor’s office said.
The prosecutor had said Friday that five people had been arrested but a
spokesman confirmed Saturday that a sixth was being held. He declined to give
any details about the sixth arrest. A statement is expected later Saturday.
Abrini’s arrest Friday in the gritty Brussels neighborhood of Anderlecht marked
an important step forward in the investigation into the November 13 Paris
attacks in which 130 died and the March 22 attacks which left 32 dead in
Brussels. Both attacks were claimed by the ISIS militant group based in Iraq and
Syria. Abrini, a Belgian of Moroccan origin, was seen at a petrol station north
of Paris two days before the attacks with Salah Abdeslam, who drove one of the
vehicles used in the November 13 attacks. Abdeslam, whose brother Brahim blew
himself up in Paris, fled back to Brussels immediately afterwards and was
finally captured March 18 in the capital, just round the corner from his
family’s home in the Molenbeek district. He is now awaiting extradition to
France. Belgian investigators are also trying to establish if Abrini is the
third man seen at Brussels airport with the two suicide bombers.
Kerry makes surprise visit to
Afghanistan
The Associated Press, Kabul Saturday, 9 April 2016/U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry arrived in Afghanistan Saturday hoping to promote cooperation from a
would-be "unity" government he helped create less than two years ago, but which
has proved largely incapable of governing. Following his trip to Iraq, it is the
top American diplomat's second unannounced trip in as many days to a country the
United States just can't seem to stabilize. Kerry will gather together with
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah,
before meeting the two leaders separately. He'll also take part in a set of
security, governance and economic development talks with Afghanistan's foreign
minister that should underscore the range of difficulties besetting a nation
that remains largely ungoverned, rife with corruption and beset by the Taliban's
stubborn insurgency. The objective for the trip is far from ambitious. "The
secretary wants to signal continuing U.S. support for the national unity
government. It's at the 18-month mark in a five-year term, and we remain
committed," said Richard Olson, President Barack Obama's special representative
for the country, previewing the trip for reporters. The challenges in some ways
mirror those Kerry confronted Friday in Iraq. The U.S. invaded both countries
under President George W. Bush, hoping to install stable democracies. After
spending some $2 trillion and losing several thousand Americans in military
operations, neither has panned out. Both governments lack control over
significant parts of their territory, with Afghanistan's war against the Taliban
entering its 15th year and Iraq still trying to muster up the strength for an
assault on Mosul, its second largest city, and other places held by ISIS.
Sectarian and personal rivalries threaten both governments. Security vacuums in
each threaten the U.S. And despite President Barack Obama's pledges to end both
wars, American troops can't get out of either. There are still 9,800 U.S. forces
in Afghanistan, dropping in principle to 5,500 next year. There are 3,780 in
Iraq currently. Obama has less than 10 months to leave both places in better
shape, but the strategies differ. Whereas the U.S. seeks the ultimate
destruction of ISIS in Iraq, it hopes to draw the Taliban into peace talks.
Kerry will "express support for the government of Afghanistan's efforts to end
the conflict in Afghanistan through a peace and reconciliation process with the
Taliban," State Department spokesman John Kirby said. First the government might
need to reconcile its own internal divisions. Following bitterly fought and
inconclusive presidential elections in 2014, Ghani and Abdullah are sharing
power under a deal Kerry brokered. But the partnership has never really been
defined and the government is in disarray, with some predicting it could even
collapse due to widespread corruption and administrative incompetence. After
almost two years, Ghani and Abdullah have been unable to set aside their
rivalries. The bitterness stems from a belief in Abdullah's camp that the
election was stolen and gifted to Ghani - an anthropologist who lived in the
U.S. for three decades - as someone Washington could more easily do business
with. The two are also seen as pandering to different constituencies: in Ghani's
case, the majority ethnic Pashtoons, and in Abdullah's, the Tajiks. The pair
recently cleared their diaries for a full-day meeting to iron out differences.
They gave up after only two hours, Afghan and foreign officials said. The
country's defense minister and intelligence chief are all acting in their posts
because they haven't been confirmed by parliament, and several other ministers
have resigned. A cabinet reshuffle is expected shortly, and ministers could lose
their jobs over accusations of "incompetence."Kerry's visit will try to focus on
some of the positives, however. "One of the things we want to do is look at
Afghanistan in a broader context," Olson said. "We want to take account of the
advances that have been made in development, particularly health and education,
electricity, telecommunications. It really is a very changed society," he
stressed. "No doubt there have been challenges ... both in terms of politics,
but also in terms of the resilience of the Taliban. But we are committed to
supporting the national unity government."Those challenges are great.
Afghanistan's economy is contracting and unemployment stands at 25 percent.
Afghanistan needs to secure more international aid. The Taliban is nowhere near
a defeated fighting force, while an affiliate of ISIS may be making inroads in
the country. And the much-hyped peace process has been all but dead for almost a
year.
ISIS ‘to release’ 300 Syrian
cement workers
AFP, Beirut Saturday, 9 April 2016/Syrian mediators reached an agreement Friday
for the release of some 300 cement workers kidnapped by the ISIS, a monitor
said, but it was unclear exactly how many were freed. ISIS abducted the
employees on Monday from Al-Badia cement factory outside the town of Dmeir,
around 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Damascus. Local figures from Dmeir
mediated a deal with ISIS on Friday to let the workers go free, according to the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Britain-based monitor said that in
effect, some 170 workers would be freed as others had already managed to escape.
The Observatory later said that most of those kidnapped had finally reached
their homes late Friday. A military source told AFP that he saw dozens of cement
workers pass through a nearby regime-held military airport. “I am all right.
Daesh (ISIS) let me go today and I went to the Dmeir military airport for a
debrief and questioning, and then I went home,” one man who had been kidnapped
told AFP. ISIS reportedly abducted the employees during a major offensive on
Monday around Dmeir. The ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency said in an online
statement that it released about 300 of the workers, but that it would not free
20 men accused of belonging to a pro-government militia. The statement said four
of the cement workers were executed for being Druze, an offshoot of Islam
considered heretical by ISIS. “I heard that Daesh executed some Druze. My
relative (there) is Druze and I’m scared that he’s one of them. My mother is
beside herself with worry and we’re very afraid of receiving bad news,” a
Damascus resident told AFP. Dmeir is divided between ISIS control in the east
and rebel control in the west, but several key positions around it, including
the military air base and a power plant, remain in government hands. On Friday,
warplanes carried out fresh strikes around the Dmeir military airport, the
Observatory said.ISIS has carried out mass kidnappings in previous offensives.
In January, it abducted more than 400 civilians, including women and children,
as it overran parts of Deir Ezzor province in the east. In northeast Syria last
year, ISIS kidnapped at least 220 Assyrian Christians, many of whom have since
been released through local negotiations.
Rebels seize Syria town from
fighters loyal to ISIS
By Reuters Beirut Saturday, 9 April 2016/Rebels seized a town in southern Syria
from groups loyal to ISIS just a day after fighters captured another town from
the hardline militants in a separate insurgent assault in the north, a rebel
source and a monitoring group said. The rebels had by late on Friday taken
control of Tasil in Deraa province that is near the Jordanian border and the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the source and the British-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said. They drove out fighters from the Yarmouk
Martyrs’ Brigade and the Muthanna Movement, which they said were groups loyal to
ISIS. “Our battle continues against them, until we have cleansed the area of
them,” said Abu Ghiath al-Shami, a spokesman for the Alwiyat Seif al-Sham group
that is part of a rebel alliance in the south. He described the latest attacks
against the hardline militants as a “widened campaign against Daesh”, using an
Arabic acronym for ISIS. It was the second blow dealt by insurgents fighting
against ISIS or ISIS-linked fighters in as many days. In a separate assault in
the north of the country near the Turkish border on Thursday, rebel forces took
over a town that had been the main stronghold of ISIS in the northern Aleppo
countryside. A cessation of hostilities agreement in Syria that began on Feb. 27
has slowed fighting in some areas in western Syria but has not halted the
violence. ISIS and the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front are not included in the
truce. The Syrian army and its allies, backed by Russian air power, are
separately fighting against ISIS. Clashes between the government and
non-militant rebels have continued in some areas during the ceasefire.
US Embassy warns citizens
about 'credible threats' in Turkey
Reuters, Istanbul Saturday, 9 April 2016/The United States warned its citizens
on Saturday about "credible threats" to tourist areas in Turkey, particularly in
Istanbul and the southwest coastal resort of Antalya. Turkey has been hit by
four suicide bombings already this year, the most recent one last month in
Istanbul. Two of those have been blamed on ISIS, while Kurdish militants have
claimed responsibility for the other two. In what it called an "emergency
message", the US Embassy in Turkey warned American citizens to exercise extreme
caution. "The US Mission in Turkey would like to inform US citizens that there
are credible threats to tourist areas, in particular to public squares and docks
in Istanbul and Antalya," it said the statement emailed to US citizens in
Turkey. Last month's attack in Istanbul's main shopping district killed three
Israelis, two of whom held dual citizenship with the United States, and one
Iranian. A separate attack in the city's historic heart in January killed 12
German tourists. Turkey is facing multiple security threats. As part of a US-led
coalition, it is fighting ISIS in neighboring Syria and Iraq. It is also
battling Kurdish militants in its southeast, where a 2-1/2-year ceasefire
collapsed last July, triggering the worst violence since the 1990s.
Russia defends selling arms
to both Azerbaijan and Armenia
The Associated Press, Moscow Saturday, 9 April 2016/Russia’s prime minister has
defended Moscow’s policy of selling arms to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, whose
military forces have faced off in a sharp escalation of fighting around
Nagorno-Karabakh. Speaking in an interview broadcast Saturday, Dmitry Medvedev
said if Russia stopped selling arms, other suppliers would soon step in and this
could destroy the balance of forces in the Caucasus region. Both Azerbaijani and
Armenian forces this month have used artillery, tanks and other weapons on a
scale not seen since a separatist war ended in 1994. The war left Karabakh,
officially part of Azerbaijan, under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces
and the Armenian military. The Russian arms sales to Azerbaijan have angered
many in Armenia, which has close security and economic ties to Russia.
Abrini admits he was Brussels
attack 3rd man
By Staff writer Al Arabiya English Saturday, 9 April 2016/Belgian prosecutors
say a suspect arrested on Friday in connection with terror offences has admitted
to being the “man with the hat” who was pictured at Brussels Airport on the day
of the deadly attacks. The Federal Prosecution Office in Brussels Saturday
confirmed that arrested terror suspect Mohamed Abrini was the third man present
at Brussels Airport during the March 22 suicide bombings. Authorities have been
frantically seeking who was referred to as the “man in the hat” ever since he
was filmed alongside the two bombers just before the airport attack that killed
16 people. Belgian authorities recently released more footage of the man leaving
the airport in the wake of the bombings, walking down sidewalks and past a
hotel. Albrini was arrested Friday in Brussels in a police raid. The
prosecutor's office said Saturday that Abrini “confessed his presence at the
crime scene” after being confronted by investigators. Meanwhile Belgium’s public
prosecutor on Saturday charged four people with being part of a terrorist
organization. Initially it was not clear whether Mohamed Abrini was involved in
last month’s Brussels Airport bombings. Apart from Abrini, prosecutors said they
also charged Osama K, saying he was present at the time of the attack on the
Brussels metro station on March 22. Rwandan national Herve B.M. and Bilal E.M.
were also charged with taking part in a terrorist organization and terrorist
murders. Two other people detained on Friday together with Abrini were released
after being questioned, prosecutors added. (With AP and Reuters)
Candidates for next UN chief
to face nations for first time
The Associated Press, United Nations Saturday, 9 April 2016/For the first time
in the 70-year history of the United Nations, all the member states will get a
chance to question the candidates for Secretary-General, in a move to make the
usually secret selection process for the world’s top diplomatic post more
transparent. Last year, the UN General Assembly responded to the strong demand
from many countries that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s successor be chosen in
a more open process, unanimously adopting a resolution allowing public hearings
on how candidates would respond to global crises and run the UN’s far-flung
bureaucracy. The secretary-general is chosen by the 193-member General Assembly
on the recommendation of the 15-member Security Council. But General Assembly
President Mogens Lykketoft says the two-hour public discussions with each of the
eight candidates, starting Tuesday, are “potentially game-changing.”
Somalia car bomb blast kills at least three
AFP, Mogadishu Saturday, 9 April 2016/At least three people including a child
were killed Saturday in a car bomb blast outside a restaurant in the capital
Mogadishu, officials and witnesses said.“There was an explosion against a
restaurant in the Beyhani district. Three civilians were killed and five others
injured,” said Abdifatah Halane, a spokesman for the Banadir province which
includes the capital. Witnesses told AFP that the car, packed with explosives,
was parked just outside the restaurant, and produced a massive blast. “The
explosion was enormous... I saw several corpses, including one of a child,” said
one witness, Farhan Mohamed. Several sources told AFP that the restaurant, which
is in the northern part of the city, was regularly used by Somali security
forces, although it was unclear if any were there at the time. There was no
immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab
militant group regularly mounts car bomb attacks and assassinations on
government targets. They have also stepped up deadly attacks in recent months on
restaurants and some of Mogadishu’s most high-profile hotels. Shebab leaders
have vowed to bring down the Somali government, which is supported by the
international community and defended by the African Union’s 22,000-strong AMISOM
mission. Confronted with AMISOM’s superior fire power, deployed from 2007,
Shebab militants were chased out of Mogadishu in August 2011. The group
subsequently lost its main strongholds, although it still controls vast rural
areas from which it mounts guerilla operations and suicide attacks, often
targeting the capital.
Nigerian troops foil Boko
Haram suicide bomb attack
AFP Saturday, 9 April 2016/Nigerian troops on Friday thwarted an attempt by four
suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers to attack the restive northeastern city of
Maiduguri, hotbed of the Islamist group, an army spokesman said. At about 4.00
am (0300 GMT) troops "received a tip off about an impending attack in Maiduguri
city by four suspected Boko Haram terrorists suicide bombers," army spokesman
from Sambisa forest through cashew plantation," Colonel Sani Usman said in a
statement. "The ever vigilant troops responded decisively by intercepting and
neutralizing the suspected terrorists," he added. Three soldiers sustained
injuries during the incident, while two unexploded explosives devices were
safely detonated. Usman said troops also arrested three suspected Boko Haram
insurgents at Nwagafete village, near Maiduguri. Boko Haram has increasingly
used suicide bombers in its almost seven-year rebellion, seeking to carve out an
Islamic state in northeast Nigeria. An estimated 20,000 people have been killed
and more than 2.6 million people have fled their homes since the start of the
violence.
Al Qaeda militants execute 17
Yemeni govt soldiers
By AFP Marib, Yemen Saturday, 9 April 2016/Suspected Al Qaeda militants in
southern Yemen seized and executed 17 soldiers loyal to President Abd-Rabbu
Mansour Hadi on Saturday, local officials and residents said. The soldiers were
detained while travelling from the southern port of Aden to al-Mahra province in
eastern Yemen via Ahwar, a city in Abyan province under Al Qaeda control. The
militants took them to a remote area and killed them by firing squad, the
officials and residents said. They said 17 other captive soldiers were wounded
in the incident and some managed to escape and get help from local tribal
leaders. Ansar al Sharia, an Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, later issued a
statement denying responsibility for the attack and blamed a local armed fighter
named Ali Aqeel. “We entered Ahwar around two months ago to chase this corrupt
individual and his gang,” the statement said. The soldiers had been visiting
family in Aden and were returning to their base in al-Mahra to draw their
salaries, security sources said. They were not dressed in military uniform and
were not riding in military vehicles. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
has exploited the Yemeni war to expand areas under its control, seizing Mukalla,
the capital of Hadramout province, last year and recruiting more followers.
Archbishop of Canterbury reveals he was ‘born illegitimate’
AFP, London Saturday, 9 April 2016/The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has
confirmed that he is the illegitimate son of a one-time private secretary to
Winston Churchill, after a newspaper reported the discovery late Friday. Welby,
the most senior figure in the Anglican Communion consisting of some 85 million
Christians globally, said the news, reported in Saturday’s edition of the Daily
Telegraph, had come as a “complete surprise”. But he insisted he was not
disturbed by it. “In the last month I have discovered that my biological father
is not Gavin Welby but, in fact, the late Sir Anthony Montague Browne. This
comes as a complete surprise,” Welby said in a highly unusual statement issued
through the Church of England. “I know that I find who I am in Jesus Christ, not
in genetics, and my identity in him never changes.” Welby had assumed that his
father was Gavin Welby, a whisky salesman who died in 1977. But the Telegraph
said it had found evidence suggesting that Montague Browne was actually his
father, a finding it then discussed with Welby who decided to take a DNA test. A
comparison between a swab from his mouth and hair samples from Montague Browne,
who worked for Churchill between 1952 and 1965, showed a 99.9779 percent
probability that they were father and son. Welby said both his mother Jane and
Gavin Welby had been alcoholics, although he stressed that his mother had not
drank alcohol for nearly 50 years. “To find that one’s father is other than
imagined is not unusual. To be the child of families with great difficulties in
relationships, with substance abuse or other matters, is far too normal,” he
said in his statement. “Although there are elements of sadness and even tragedy
in my father’s (Gavin Welby’s) case, this is a story of redemption and hope from
a place of tumultuous difficulty and near despair in several lives.” Welby’s
mother Jane also issued a statement saying the news had come as an “almost
unbelievable shock”.She confirmed she had slept with Montague Browne shortly
before marrying Welby, “fueled by a large amount of alcohol on both sides”.
Montague Browne died in 2013.
U.S. Embassy:
'Credible Threats' to Istanbul, Antalya Tourist Areas
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 09/16/The United States embassy in Turkey on
Saturday warned American citizens of "credible threats" to tourist areas in
Istanbul and the resort city of Antalya, a day after Israel spoke of "imminent
risks" of attacks. The heightened alerts come three weeks after a suicide bomber
struck a popular shopping street in the heart of Istanbul -- killing four people
and injuring dozens -- in an attack which authorities blamed on the Islamic
State group. "The U.S. Mission in Turkey would like to inform U.S. citizens that
there are credible threats to tourist areas, in particular to public squares and
docks in Istanbul and Antalya," read an emergency travel warning published on
the U.S. embassy's official website. "Please exercise extreme caution if you are
in the vicinity of such areas."A series of attacks in the capital Ankara and
Istanbul -- blamed on Kurdish militants or jihadists -- have put the country on
high alert and seen foreign embassies put its residents on guard. On Friday
night Israel reissued a warning to its citizens to avoid Turkey or "leave as
soon as possible". The March 19 Istanbul attack left three Israelis and an
Iranian dead. "Following a situational assessment, we are reiterating and
sharpening the high level of threat in Turkey," Israel's counter terrorism
bureau said. "There are immediate risks of attacks being carried out in the
country, and we stress the threat applies to all tourism sites in Turkey."
Istanbul -- Turkey's biggest city and historic centre which straddles Europe and
Asia -- and Antalya with its turquoise Mediterranean waters, are both firm
tourist favourites. However the series of suicide attacks as well as a spat with
Russia have hit the tourism sector hard. Russia ordered its travel agencies to
stop selling trips to the country, a major destination for Russians, after
Turkey shot down one of its jets on the border with Syria. The tourism ministry
has reported visitor numbers plunged 10 percent in February, and that was before
the latest Istanbul attack and a car bomb which killed 35 people in Ankara.
Local media reported this week that Turkey was planning to increase flights to
Iran in a bid to woo visitors elsewhere. The state-run Anatolia news agency
reported Turkish tour operators will focus their attention on Ukraine instead of
Russia, with Turkey hoping to attract one million visitors from its Black Sea
neighbor to compensate for losses elsewhere. Tourism is a mainstay of the
Turkish economy and the blow to the sector is especially hard ahead of the
crucial summer season. According to official statistics, foreign tourism brought
in almost $31.5 billion in revenues in 2015.
History Making Saudi-Egyptian
Collaboration
Salman Aldosary/Asharq Al Awsat/April 09/16
It only took 149 days for the Saudi-Egyptian Cooperation Council to take
bilateral relationships between the two countries into a whole new level. The
significance of strategic Saudi-Egyptian shared relationships and strengths
since its establishment, has been revealed in Cairo yesterday, during the Saudi
Sovereign King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s visit, which highlights the visit to be a
historical one with singular harvest that will not be repeated anytime soon.
Even though the visit witnessed the remarkable signing of 17 agreements and a
high-profile memorandum, the announcement on establishing the King Salman
Bridge, which is anticipated to connect both Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and
defining the naval Saudi-Egyptian borders stand to be the greatest cooperative
work shared by the two countries over the last thirty years. The bridge is the
first territorial connective route shared between African Arabs and Asian Arabs
since Israel’s declaration of establishment. The surprise on defining naval
borders- which was a decades-long ticking time-bomb all countries avoided due to
the shared significant relationships – is destined to defuse any future crisis
which could be sparked on spur of moment just like any other border issue left
unattended. Borders were drawn, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King
Salman, then announced the construction of a bridge, which will not only join to
countries but also join two entire continents, Asia and Africa. This titanic
project would have been impossible and suspended; should the case of borders
kept unsettled. The significance of the King Salman Bridge matches the value of
the Suez Canal, however, in a humbler view. The bridge will open the doors wide;
the African continent will be accessible to Asian exports.
Moreover the bridge will represent a magical solution to the Silk Route network
which China plans on establishing. The Silk Route would connect each of Asia,
Africa and Europe by a 47-billion-dollar project, which will pass through 556
countries and most importantly connecting all Arab lands which are separated by
the Red Sea. In short, the King Salman Bridge will be a momentous geopolitical
change that has the whole region benefiting and not only specific countries.
The project on reinforcing Saudi-Egyptian cooperation through linking it to
economic interests, military collaboration and interest based investments aiming
at economic integration was not by chance. The corroboration was founded by the
Cooperation Council partaken by both countries and led by Deputy Crown Prince
Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail.
Frankly; Saudi Arabia is not handing out a free grant to Egypt, on the contrary,
it presents the latter with a better option which is rendered beneficial on the
short and long term. The option is billions of dollars invested rightfully in
what Riyadh has considered to be an appropriate fertile land for investment and
is capable of accomplishing feasible returns. Saudi Arabia has killed two birds
with one stone, first it has further endorsed its political and military
alliance with a country as significant as Egypt and second, it is supporting
Egyptian economy based on mutual benefit. Saudi Arabia is pumping in large flows
of investment in the land of Kinanah (an old name for Egypt); exactly what Egypt
really needs, at a time in which most world countries refrain from, due to
political concerns or shying away from risk taking.
Truth is, Riyadh is backing its ally –Egypt- through a balanced equation founded
on mutual benefit investment and not endowments. If the late Saudi King
Abdulaziz (may his soul rest in peace) has visited Egypt in 1949, which is what
King Salman mentioned, yesterday, to be the only official visit the late King
has made during his rule, then King Salman has chosen Egypt to be his second
target following his U.S. visit after he assumed rule. Furthermore, King Salman
has elected to break protocol on such visits, which usually is a two-days’ stay
tops, and extended his Highness’s stay to five days.
King Salman’s visit will not be cut short to political deliberations and the
signing of common agreements, the King will also be attending purpose oriented
occasions held on historical sites; like Al-Azhar Mosque, Cairo University and
Abdeen Palace. King Salman’s visit will aim at painting a different outlook on
Saudi-Egyptian affairs, in which they strengthen Egypt, yet, not anchor down the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
When someone whispered to me
from his grave
Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/April 09/16
Often I sing for my friends when death's cold hand I see
But when I am called who will sing one song for me
I wonder who will sing for me
When I'm called to across that silent sea who will sing for me?
Carter Stanley
Someone whispered to me from his grave. Quietly but steadily he chronicled his
short happy life and quick violent lonely death. At times I had to press my
cheek to the damp ground, smelling the earth trying to listen to the slow, faint
stream of words coming from the beyond. I was lying over his grave in the dark,
facing the headstone listing only his name under the word Martyr, holding a
flash light in one hand and trying with the other to wipe a tear. Listening to
his soliloquy how I wished I could hold his cold hand to comfort him in his
eternal solitude. His name is Ahmad Bawwabi. He was born in Aleppo, and 22 years
later he was killed in one of its neighborhoods; Bustan al-Qasr (the garden of
the palace) and was hurriedly buried in a “stranger’s home garden among dead
flowers and neglected plants” as he told me. Across Syria, many private gardens
conceal graveyards of young activists and protesters who were felled by bullets
fired at them by regime snipers in cold blood. Sometimes the victim is a family
member, but in many cases he or she is a total stranger who is destined to
become the hidden silent member of his/her adopted family. When the uprising
began in Syria, public funeral became new occasions for fresh calls to continue
the struggle against tyranny, for freedom, and for dignity. But when that brief
moment of boundless enthusiasm was cut ruthlessly by the Assad regime,
identifying the victims and holding public funerals exposed families and friends
to regime wrath. There is a code of silence binding the welcoming family and its
dead guest. That silence is rarely broken from one side, when the families let
“gardens speak’ their secrets to friends, to keep the hope alive, and to others
who will tell and retell the stories, of the young men and women who fought the
good fight, died while standing, never compromised, and never despaired. These
men and women knew that they were living dangerously, exposed to the
indiscriminate shelling of regime forces, and the brutal violence of the
“Islamic State” (ISIS), while they were trying to create a better society and a
promising future, but as Ahmad empathically said from his grave “it was still
the happiest time of our lives”.
The life and death of Ahmad Bawwabi
Ahmad spent his childhood in Aleppo unaware of the agony of his and other Syrian
cities such as Hama during the long, bleak and violent decade of the 1980’s.
What he heard, were the occasional whispers about the unspeakable violence.
People, who live under despotic regimes, whisper even to their loved ones, even
in the shrinking sanctity of their own homes. At age fifteen, his father moved
the family to Qatar, where Ahmed finished his high school, before he returned
quickly to his beloved Aleppo. During his second year in college the uprising
began, and Ahmad quickly joined the movement. He spoke of the early peaceful
protests that were met by the regime’s thugs who would beat the students and
detain them. Then the regime moved for the kill, using artillery to shell Bustan
al-Qasr. By now, peaceful protests were replaced by armed activities by the Free
Syrian Army which liberated his neighborhood. That brief liberation gave Ahmad
and his colleagues a free space to think and plan for a different Syria. Across
Syria, many private gardens conceal graveyards of young activists and protesters
who were felled by bullets fired at them by regime snipers in cold blood
When Ahmad’s neighborhood was cut off from the rest of Aleppo, he began with his
fellow students organizing special workshops to teach young students in
different neighborhoods who were unable to go to classes because of the
fighting. Ahmad and his friend Abu Kifah were forced to cross check points and
areas controlled by regime snipers. They would argue about who should go first
when going through regime areas, until they agreed that they would rotate. One
day it was Ahmad’s turn, and the first crossing was successful. When they
reached the second, for some reason Abu Kifah did not want Ahmad to go first,
but Ahmad darted in front of him and made it half way across to the other side,
when two sniper bullets hit him in the neck. He was bleeding profusely, when Abu
Kifah finally managed to carry him and “started to run in all directions”.
Bloods and tears were flowing, with Abu Kifah holding Ahmad and standing in the
middle of a street, devastated and not knowing where to go or where to bury the
still warm body of Ahmad. An old man in the neighborhood, a stranger took pity
on them and brought them to his house telling Abu Kifah “this is my home garden.
You can bury your friend here”.
‘No one sang for me’
Ahmad’s narration of his quick burial made me feel as if I am burying a family
member. I felt the cold of the graveyard, as I listened to his voice somehow
picking up speed. “Everything happened so quickly. They wrapped me up, prayed on
me, dug a grave in the man’s garden, and buried me in a hurry. Just like that, I
was left alone, away from my home in a garden that I never visited before”. I
wanted so much to console him and felt that I was standing with them in that
garden witnessing the burial of a man I just knew of his brief life and death. A
shiver went down my spine when Ahmad said in utter resignation “no one sang for
me”. I felt that I betrayed him because I could not sing for him. I don’t know
what Muslims sing at funerals, and mostly forgot the Christian hymns I once
knew. I could only remember the Stanley brother’s classic bluegrass/hymn who
will sing for me, but who could sing it? Ahmad had only few words left. “Very
few people knew that a twenty-two-year-old man called Ahmad was killed …My death
was quiet, just like me. Nobody witnessed it other than the sniper and my good
friend Abu Kifah”.
‘Gardens Speak’
I met Ahmad Bawwabi at the “gardens speak” brilliantly conceived by the young
Lebanese artist/activist Tania El-Khoury as an “interactive sound installation
“based on the actual oral histories of ten ordinary Syrian men and women who
were buried in private gardens across Syria during the first two years of the
uprising. This is not an exhibit you watch; you are expected to experience an
intimate encounter with one of these ten people. You enter barefooted an
enclosed dark garden space in which there are ten headstones planted in shallow
dirt. Under the headstone a speaker is buried.
When you remove the soil with one hand while holding a flash light in the other
you read more info on the deceased, then the speaker is activated and you hear
the whispering voice of the dead victim. To hear the voice clearly, you have to
lie on the soil, literally over the dead person. Now you are an integral part of
the ritual, and very acquainted with the departed, and you are expected to
partake in the act of mourning. You experience the horror of the violent death
of a person you have come to know and maybe identify with, a situation that
could inspire you to also identify with the cause or the good fight that the
victim believed in and died fore.
The other face of Syria
Syria has always had a rich and dynamic cultural and artistic life. Its
intellectuals and artists produced seminal works in literature, arts, music,
history and political science. When they could not publish or exhibit in Syria,
they would move to nearby Beirut to continue their creative work and subversive
art and satire against their repressive regime at home. After the 1967 defeat in
the war with Israel, Syrian intellectuals and artists, mostly exiled in Lebanon,
were the leading force that asked the right critical questions about the
underlying social, cultural and political reasons for the defeat. Even during
the repressive era of the Assad dynasty, long before the uprising, Syrians
developed oblique but biting criticism of the rotten Syrian reality. Watching
the horrendous, almost unfathomable human and material losses in Syria in the
last five years, and how more than 5 million Syrians were turned into refugees,
and almost half the population internally displaced, with human losses exceeding
400,000 dead, one is forgiven if one approached despair.
It is true that the despotism of military rule in Syria, particularly under the
Assad dynasty had hollowed out political life in the country in the last half
century, and it is true that civil society has been undermined, it is also true,
that civil society along with a tremendously courageous and creative community
of mostly young artists/activists are keeping the faith and the hope that a
unitary civil state can still be rebuilt around the concept of citizenship
rights. Throughout Syria, particularly in areas not under the control of the
regime and ISIS, local councils are organizing themselves and providing local
services.
In recent weeks following the lull in fighting, Syrians went by the thousands to
the streets and squares of more than a hundred cities and towns not under the
regime or ISIS. In fact, the civilian population of Idlib, particularly in
Maarat al-Nu’man took on openly the extremist al-Qaeda branch in Syria al-Nusra
Front. The protests were reminiscent of the hopeful early days of the uprising.
This is the other face of Syria.
Culture in defiance
From the beginning of the uprising Syrians one could see the evolution of a
culture in defiance that keeps manifesting itself in art, music, theater,
cartoon, and graffiti. In fact the uprising was sparked by the arrest and
torture of fifteen schoolchildren in Daraa for painting anti-government graffiti
on the walls of their school. The regime’s swift and violent reaction to
artistic defiance, particularly satire was a clear indication from the beginning
that it realizes the potential power of subversive art and culture. The regime
waged war on those body organs Syrians used to express themselves artistically.
The renowned cartoonist Ali Farzat was beaten severely and nearly killed in 2011
because of his satirical cartoons against Assad and his regime. The regime’s
goons smashed his hands to prevent him from drawing. He is still drawing.
Ibrahim Qashoush, however, did not survive the regime’s vengeance. Qashoush
wrote scathing and catchy anti-Assad songs that were widely sung during the
early demonstrations. The aspiring poet was killed and his mutilated body was
found dumped in a river. His throat cut out and his vocal cords were removed, in
a clear message to would-be poets and singers. What followed in the last few
years, even after the violence dominated the uprising, was an explosion of
artistic creativity by Syrians in the country and in exile that kept
re-enforcing the humanity of Syrians and the deep faith of many of them in their
ability not only to survive but also to potentially build a better Syria. The
creative use of social media (Youtube, Facebook and Fliker) helped introduce
Syrian artists/activists and their works to Syrians at home and abroad. A group
of Syrian artists elevated the art of conceiving and disseminating posters on
line to new heights. The called themselves: The Syrian people know its way. The
slogan is used on every poster they produce. When a poster is approved, it will
be immediately uploaded to their Facebook and Fliker pages. The small previously
unknown village of Kafranbel in North-Western Syria is arguably the smartest,
wittiest hamlet in the country. Its eloquent and sardonic banners, commenting on
current affairs, have earned the village and its sharp artists international
acclaim. Kafrranbel has become the symbol of hopeful defiance. The struggle will
continue in the spirit of Antonio Gramsci’s dictum of “Pessimism of the
Intellect, Optimism of the Will”. Syrian artists, intellectuals and activists
understand through their collective intellect their grim reality, however they
have shown us through their work that they have the will to overcome it.
My last words to Ahmad upon leaving his garden were: Ya Ahmad we are doomed to
hope.
Making broadband central to
rural development programs
Ehtesham Shahid/Al Arabiya/April 09/16
Kentucky-based Center for Rural Strategies is a non-profit organization that
seeks to improve economic and social conditions for communities in the
countryside around the world. The NGO, established in 2001, makes innovative use
of the media and communications to present compelling portraits of rural lives
and cultures. The Center’s objective is to deepen public debate and create a
national environment in which positive change can occur for rural communities.
It also runs the National Rural Assembly, a coalition of over 400 organizations
working at various levels. The Center recently won a major battle when the
United States Federal Communications Commission voted for making broadband
Internet access available for many low-income and rural Americans. It has been a
part of a broad coalition of organizations and individuals calling for this
change. The organization maintains that affordable access and widespread
training will help rural communities thrive and contribute to the nation’s
health and well-being. This move will not only improve access to education, work
opportunities, quality health care and social services but also ensure greater
participation of these communities in the electoral process. It fought the
battle on the premise that broadband is not a luxury but a necessity and that
making it affordable is essential building block for healthy communities. Center
for Rural Strategies may be just another pressure group, representing the
interests of a large proportion of electorates, yet it cannot be put in the same
category as business lobbies and even minority groups. “Less than half of rural
adults have access to broadband at home, while two-thirds of metropolitan adults
do. As the Internet becomes crucial in economics, education, and civic life,
communities that are left behind pay a higher price for their lack of access,”
said the organization’s campaign material. The Center believes – and rightly so
– that rural America’s fate is interrelated to those of metropolitan and urban
America and that building stronger rural communities helps the nation as a
whole. The Center for Rural Strategies is fairly collaborative in its approach.
Besides pursuing its objectives, it also helps communities and NGOs incorporate
media and communications into their work in support of strategic goals. It
designs and implements information campaigns to educate the public about the
problems and opportunities that exist in contemporary rural communities.
Pressure groups
At one level, Center for Rural Strategies may be just another pressure group,
representing the interests of a large proportion of electorates, yet it cannot
be put in the same category as business lobbies and even minority groups. The
organization’s objectives are driven by local needs, they are transparent, and
they focus on the larger and long-term interest of the rural community across
the entire nation. It is imperative that rural communities are not ignored while
policies are being drafted and funds allocated. This should be as relevant in
any part of the world. The European Union regards its rural areas as a vital
part of its physical make-up and identity. EU’s Rural Development Policy
(2007-2013) states that more than 91 percent of the EU territory is “rural”, and
home to more than 56 percent of the EU’s population. Any nation can ignore such
large tracts of land, and its inhabitants, at its own peril. NGOs working in
rural areas all over the world should learn from an organization such as the
Center for Rural Strategies. It presents a successful model of advocacy to
fulfill the dream of a more equitable world. More specifically, it has used its
offices to make something as critical as broadband part of the rural development
agenda.
Why Amnesty has slammed the
EU-Turkey refugee deal
Brooklyn Middleton/Al Arabiya/April 09/16
Amnesty International has issued a damning report claiming that Turkish security
forces have forcefully returned refugees back to Syria multiple times over the
last several months, throwing cold water on the already deeply flawed deal
between the European Union (EU) and Ankara. On April 1, Amnesty reported that
Turkey had expelled hundreds of Syrians since mid-January, referring to it as an
“open secret in the region.” The deal, which was reached last month but only
actively implemented from this week, will see refugees – not just Syrians but
all others, including Afghans and Iraqis – who have arrived in Greece sent to
Turkey. The EU has said it will resettle one Syrian in a member state for every
Syrian sent back to Turkey. This is the first agreement that ostensibly seeks to
comprehensively and proactively deal with the worst refugee crisis since World
War II, including halting the grotesque – and often deadly – activity that is
human smuggling. If the EU fails to investigate Amnesty’s claims, it risks
employing a third party to forcefully and illegally deport Syrians back to their
war-torn country. Forcing even one Syrian to return back to their country at
this stage would be one of the gravest betrayals of international law
Amnesty’s report says Ankara expelled back to Syria at least several young
children without their parents, and at least one pregnant woman. This should
give EU leaders serious concerns about sending potentially thousands of
vulnerable families to Turkey. The deal will reportedly bolster Ankara
financially and diplomatically. The Washington Post reported that it will
receive at least $6.6 billion in EU funds, while the parties look set to agree
on visa-free travel to Europe for Turkish citizens in the coming months.
Insecurity
Nonetheless, the country’s domestic security continues to deteriorate, with the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Kurdish factions carrying out
mass-casualty attacks in urban centers with increased frequency. Sending large
numbers of refugees, especially Syrians, to an increasingly volatile state
endangers their lives and risks subjecting them to the type of horror they have
fled. Moreover, ISIS may try to exploit the deal and target Syrian refugees in
Turkey. The deal should not be assessed as merely an imperfect approach to an
extremely complicated crisis. It could jeopardize the lives of the very people
the international community should be actively seeking to protect. Forcing even
one Syrian to return back to their country at this stage would be one of the
gravest betrayals of international law. If EU leaders willfully ignore reports
about such practices – and going ahead with these collective deportations would
be indicative of that – they may find themselves complicit in such crimes.
Is the freedom of the press
broader now?
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/April 09/16
After my interview on the subject of the media, which was organized by the Saudi
Chamber of Commerce in the eastern region, some people objected to my conclusion
that we now live in a freer environment. The interview was conducted in the
presence of skilled journalists, media persons, colleagues and friends. The
incomplete sentence usually distorts the truth. What I meant was comprehensive
freedom compared to years of the past when I was still an editor, reporter or
even editor-in-chief who had to deal directly with publications and laws. The
changes experienced in the field of journalism include transformation of
technology that has allowed greater space to those interested in expressing
their opinion on the monopoly of institutions. As a result of the rise of
digital, interactive and communicative media – all of which are still work in
progress – there are still legal restrictions and social customs affecting what
is published on all platforms. However, the freedom of the press has become wide
now, even within the traditional press circles such as newspapers, magazines,
books or television stations. In the media, and with its multiple platforms,
there are thousands who are arguing, refusing, demanding and suggesting, and
that did not exist in the recent past. The rise of satellite television and
websites have opened floodgates of multi-media communication that have coincided
with the spread of mobile phones. Today we can read extensive discussions
rejecting what is being suggested by the established institutions and
governments. Ministers have been sacked from their posts due to collective
expression. Today, the clergy is no longer beyond criticism, except the mufti
perhaps due to his highly-respected position. The same applies to the judiciary
and judges. Today, subjects that were not so widely discussed earlier, such as
women’s rights, elections and holding the authorities accountable, are discussed
freely. People can now monitor the markets and companies; they compare the price
and prey on the pitfalls of bureaucrats.
The reason
Technology is certainly one of the main factors behind this freedom. The rise of
satellite television and websites have opened floodgates of multi-media
communication that have coincided with the spread of mobile phones. In Saudi
Arabia alone, there are more than 50 million mobile phones, an average of two
phones per person. At the same time, people’s interests and their interaction
has evolved, and integrated quickly. Hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic
amateurs are now turning to taking pictures, writing, painting and singing.
Audiences are a very important factor as they have raised the status of
technology by virtue of their ability to invade the media and communication
fields. I explained to the attendees how everything has changed in our world
without us noticing it, even our artistic taste. In the past, there was a
committee within the radio and television who used to decide who becomes a
singer, and this was the case in all Arab countries. Those small committees,
which included sometimes three people used to decide the artistic taste for all
of us. However, after the emergence of electronic applications and the openness
of the market, we moved from the stage of great singers to a world of thousands
of performers.
The audience will decide who to listen to or ignore, the role of the committees
on songs, books, and arts in general is over. Media and knowledge outlets have
expanded to the extent that we can no longer measure their borders and effects:
we now have knowledge portals such as Google, GPS and maps, etc… we can easily
collect their data and conclusions. Our world today is getting more and more
extensive which makes a wide space available. The challenge though is to take
advantage of the technology and associated science and maintain equilibrium in
an almost zero-gravity environment.
There is no doubt that this is a historic opportunity for developing communities
to jump to the new age of technology, which will shorten the long road taken
earlier by the developed world. We will be able to catch up and maybe flyover
it. We are facing a rare case of catching up with what we’ve missed or failed to
do in the past. The development requires an awareness of what is happening, and
the ability to deal with it in a positive way.
Sweden: A Beggar on Every
Corner
Ingrid Carlqvist/Gatestone Institute/April 09/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7782/sweden-roma-beggars
For the last few years, Sweden has been overwhelmed with Roma beggars from
Romania and Bulgaria. Recently, the government estimated that there are now
around 4,000 in Sweden (population 9.5 million).
"We do not fool anyone. We just benefit from the opportunity." — Bulgarian
beggar in Sweden who said he "owned" five street corners.
"If the begging is profitable, they stay miserable.... [Giving money] improves
the acute situation. At the same time, it contributes to making the bigger issue
permanent -- the misery.... It will not help the Roma, but it gives you a chance
to feel like a good person. ... The basic concept of racism is precisely that we
as westerners and Swedes are far superior (smarter) and that the Roma are
inferior (dumber). If this... is not racist then I do not know what is. ... One
could add that the image is inverted among Roma. They consider themselves
superior and smart, while the gadjo (non-gypsies) are stupid, naïve and
gullible." — Karl-Olov Arnstberg, Swedish ethnologist
"It is our very strong recommendation not to give money to beggars. It turns the
panhandling into an occupation... To give [money] encourages a life with no
future; moving from country to country does not solve their problems." — Florin
Ivanovici, director of the Life and Light Foundation, Bucharest, Romania.
Nobody knows exactly how many of them there are, but for the last few years
Sweden has been overwhelmed with Roma beggars from Romania and Bulgaria. In
2014, the newspaper Sydsvenskan reported that an estimated 600 Roma beggars
lived in the country; a few months ago, the government-appointed "National
Coordinator for Vulnerable EU Citizens," Martin Valfridsson, found that there
are now around 4,000.
You see beggars sitting outside virtually every store, not just in the big
cities, but also in small rural villages. In the far north of Sweden, at gas
stations in the middle of nowhere, patrons are greeted by beggars saying "Hello,
hello!" while holding out their paper cups.
Not long ago, begging was considered eradicated in Sweden. In 1964, the law of
1847 against begging for money was abolished -- the welfare state was considered
so all-encompassing that there were no longer any poor people; therefore the law
was obsolete. No one would ever have to beg anymore. The people who, for some
reason, could not work and support themselves were taken care of via various
social welfare programs. Swedes who grew up in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s had
never seen a street-beggar in Sweden.
Then, suddenly, everything changed. Today, Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg are
among the cities with the most beggars per-capita in Europe. More and more
people feel uneasy about the beggars, who sometimes are even aggressive.
Things started to change in 1995, when a reform of the psychiatric care system
led to the closing of psychiatric hospitals and the discharge of patients.
People who had been institutionalized for many years were suddenly expected to
fend for themselves, with a little help from the government on an outpatient
basis. The idea was that it was undignified to keep people locked up in
hospitals year after year, but in many instances the alternative turned out to
be even worse. Many former psychiatric patients could not manage to cope with
daily life outside the hospitals, and ended up as drug-users, homeless and
begging on the street. Ten years later, the real surge of beggars came – Roma
people from Romania and Bulgaria flooded into Sweden. Romania and Bulgaria had
been granted membership in the European Union, and their citizens could now stay
in another EU country for three months. According to the rules, if after three
months they have not been able to procure work or begun studying, they are
supposed to return home. However, as there are no border controls between Sweden
and its immediate neighbors, there is no way of knowing who stays longer than
three months.
One of the strongest proponents for granting the Eastern European countries
membership in the EU was Sweden's then Prime Minister Göran Persson. When Sweden
held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first time
(January-June 2001), Mr. Persson lobbied hard for an expansion of the EU. Sweden
had three goals: Enlargement, Employment, Environment. These three E's guided
the Swedish Presidency. In 2004, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary joined the EU. Three
years later, so did Bulgaria and Romania.
However, in 2003, it seemed Persson had gotten cold feet, when he realized free
movement could also lead to what is referred to as "benefit tourism" -- the
movement of people from new, poorer, EU member states to existing member states,
to benefit from their welfare systems rather than to work. Persson therefore
suggested transitional rules, before less affluent countries such as Bulgaria
and Romania were allowed to partake of the free movement scheme. In a 2003
interview with Dagens Eko public radio, Persson said: "We want free movement of
labor, but not benefit tourism. We must not be naïve there."
Mr. Persson was heavily criticized for this statement, and more or less labeled
a racist. In a debate in the Swedish Parliament in early 2004, Agne Hansson of
the Center Party (Centerpartiet) said: "Is it not time ... to apologize for the
rhetoric on benefit tourism and the portrayal of the peoples of the new member
states as freeloaders?" Lars Ohly, then party leader of the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet),
said: "We are not going to talk about benefit tourism. We are not going to talk
about people in a way that discriminates against them compared to the citizens
of the current EU states. That is actually a way of fanning the flames of
xenophobia and racism."
A little over a
decade later, Göran Persson's prediction has come true. Romanian and Bulgarian
beggars are now demanding that their children should be allowed to go to school
in Sweden. They also take advantage of Sweden's free healthcare, and some
dentists even offer them free dental care. In 2014, an Administrative Court
ruled that beggars from Romania are entitled to welfare payments in Sweden.
Still, it is not just the lack of anti-panhandling laws and the abundance of
welfare benefits that have made Sweden so popular among Roma beggars -- or
"vulnerable EU citizens" as they are called in politically-correct Swedish. The
Roma soon realized that Swedes feel uneasy when they see poor people, and
therefore are very willing to put money in the beggars' cups. A typical Swedish
attitude is: "Of course no one would ever degrade themselves willingly by
begging from other people, everyone wants to work and support themselves. It is
unfair that we have it so good, when they suffer so much."
The problem is that this is simply not true. Begging has for centuries been a
completely accepted way of "earning a living" among Roma people, and as the
Swedes are so generous, beggars can make much more money in Sweden than working
in their home countries. Swedish ethnologist Karl-Olov Arnstberg has done
extensive research into the Roma culture. In a blog post in August 2014, he
wrote about how Swedes tend to view the Roma as victims: "The above 'filter of
understanding' is widespread in Sweden, particularly within the power and
cultural elites. As an ethnologist and scientist who have studied the Roma, I
object. If you ask me, this is a highly ethnocentric view of things, based not
just on ignorance, but also on hostility towards knowledge. If I were to use the
power and cultural elites' moralizing language -- it is also deeply racist. The
reason is, that it paints a picture of the Roma as victims. And if there are
victims, then there must be perpetrators and the perpetrators are, of course,
us. "Maybe not precisely you and I, and not we Swedes, but we are part of a
Western civilization that oppresses and discriminates against Roma. Thus, we are
served up an image where we (the winners) are far above the Roma down below (the
losers). We are better and they are inferior. The basic concept of racism is
precisely that we as westerners and Swedes are far superior (smarter) and that
the Roma are inferior (dumber). If this train of thought, involving perpetrators
and victims, is not racist then I do not know what is. One could add that the
image is inverted among Roma. They consider themselves superior and smart, while
the gadjo (non-gypsies) are stupid, naïve and gullible."
Arnstberg's analysis is pretty much what the Romanians say, as well. In April
2015, the public television broadcaster Sveriges Television interviewed Florin
Ivanovici, director of the relief organization Life and Light Foundation, in the
Romanian capital of Bucharest. He said:
"It is our very strong recommendation not to give money to beggars. It turns the
panhandling into an occupation; the children at home in Romania are abandoned
and often miss school when the parents are away. To give [money] encourages a
life with no future; moving from country to country does not solve their
problems." The year before, Ivanovici had visited Stockholm and interviewed his
Roma countrymen: "We interviewed beggars, and almost all of them told us they
would rather stay in Romania if they could. Yet many of them claimed that they
made about €1,000 (about $1,100) per person a month [from begging in Sweden]. As
the average salary in Romania is $450-570 a month, begging in Sweden is more
profitable than making a living in Romania." Many claim that the begging is
organized, that gangs recruit beggars in Romania, send them to Sweden, assign
them a street corner and then take most of their money. But Ivanovici does not
believe this is common: "The Roma live very close together; if someone succeeds
in getting €1,000 a month in Stockholm by begging, the news travels fast to
their home village. And that prompts more people to go."
Sweden's biggest problem with the begging Roma is where they settle. The Roma
park their trailers and put up tents in parks, wooded areas and vacant lots,
where they live in utter misery -- at least by Swedish standards. The largest
and most talked-about settlement was located in Malmö. In 2013, a group of Roma
simply started squatting on a 99,000-square-foot vacant lot in a former
industrial area in the center of the city. This was the beginning of a process
that would drag on for almost two years, wherein the City of Malmö tried all
kinds of measures in order to close down the so-called Sorgenfri Camp.
The lot is owned by a private citizen, who had plans for residential buildings
on the property. When the Roma broke into the lot, parked their cars and
trailers and built sheds there, the property owner filed a complaint with the
police regarding trespassing. In many countries, that would have been the end of
the story -- the police would simply have removed the squatters, and that would
have been that. Not in Sweden. No matter how illegal a settlement is, in order
for people to be evicted, the Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden) needs to know
the identity of every person living on the property. As none of the Roma had, or
wanted to show, any identification, nothing could be done. To the dismay of many
residents of Malmö, the camp grew into a large settlement where more than 200
people lived. There was no running water or sewage system on the property;
mountains of garbage and human excrement grew day by day. Finally, these health
hazards sealed the camp's fate. Malmö's Environmental Board, in the decision
that finally led to the demolition of the camp, wrote in November 2015:
"The Environment Department has already prohibited living on the private lot.
The sanitary situation at the location entails serious health hazards for the
people living there, and affects the surrounding environment by littering and
smoke from open fires, among other things." At 4 a.m. on November 3, 2015,
police entered the camp and, using excavators and boom trucks, tore it down.By
then, many of the Roma had already left, but those who remained marched towards
Malmö City Hall to protest the decision. They sat outside for days, camping in
front of the building to show their discontent. The Roma protesters were loudly
supported by leftist activists, who demanded that the City of Malmö arrange free
housing for them. Sanitizing the camp began the day after it was torn down -- by
municipal staff wearing protective clothing and surgical masks. "The sanitary
conditions have been very poor. It is hard to believe that people actually lived
here," Jeanette Silow, the head of Malmö's Department of Environmental Health
and Safety, told the daily, Kvällsposten.
Martin Valfridsson, Sweden's "National Coordinator for Vulnerable EU Citizens,"
presented a report on the Sorgenfri Camp saga, on February 1, 2016. Among
Valfridsson's conclusions: Sweden should not assign special locations where the
Roma can settle: "If one makes municipal or private property available, in the
end, new problems arise. Society contributes to reinstating the slums we have so
diligently worked to root out. If someone chooses to come to Sweden, they must
live here in a way that is legal." Valfridsson also said he did not want to
offer schooling for the children of Roma beggars, and urged Swedes not to put
money in their cups: "I do not believe that is what helps individuals get out of
poverty in the long run. I really do believe that the money is put to better use
if you give it to relief organizations in the home countries." It may sound
heartless not to give people seemingly living in downright misery any money, but
according to ethnologist Karl-Olov Arnstberg:
"When you leave a contribution in the Roma's paper cups, what you are actually
doing is sustaining a situation that we do not find fit for human beings. It
bears a strong resemblance to urinating your pants because you are cold. It
warms you up a little, but only solves the problem for a moment. Furthermore, if
you urinate in your pants often enough, this becomes a 'normal' way of fighting
the cold. Yes, I know I am crossing the line with this metaphor, but this is
pretty much how it works with the Roma. They will change their economic income
pattern only if it becomes absolutely necessary. Plainly put: If the begging is
profitable, they stay miserable. Giving them some coins solves the smaller issue
-- it improves the acute situation. At the same time, it contributes to making
the bigger issue permanent -- the misery. If you want to perpetuate the Roma's
living in misery, you give them nickels and dimes. It will not help the Roma,
but it gives you a chance to feel like a good person."
What Valfridsson, the "National Coordinator," actually wants to do about the
situation is not quite clear. He mentioned assigning the Stockholm county
government the responsibility for gathering regional data on the situation
across the country, and setting up an advisory board. Sweden and Romania
actually signed a cooperation agreement back in June 2015, stipulating that
Sweden will help Romania financially, so the Roma can have a better life there,
and thus refrain from traveling to Sweden to beg. A similar agreement was struck
with Bulgaria on February 5, 2016. A few years ago, the Swedish media conveyed
the message that the Roma are grossly discriminated against in their home
countries, and therefore are forced to come to Sweden and beg. Is it really true
that Romania and Bulgaria discriminate against their Roma minorities? The truth
is that in Romanian, the Roma have the same right to welfare benefits as all
other citizens, but the authorities in this post-communist country hold firmly
to the principle that welfare benefits should be a temporary aid, not a lifelong
livelihood, and therefore make demands on welfare recipients.
Many also claim that the European Union has made the Roma problem worse. As long
as the Iron Curtain divided Europe, neither the Roma nor any other citizens
could move to the West. During the communist era, in fact, the Roma made some
progress. Their children were forced to go to school by governments, they were
provided with modern housing, and required to work. When Eastern Europe rid
itself of communism, many countries kept some programs to fight crime and
vagrancy among Roma. Families were ordered to send their children to school.
Police patrolled Roman areas and clamped down on child marriage, a common
occurrence in the Roma culture. Then came the EU with its mighty
representatives, who said: Shame on you; you cannot treat people differently --
that is called racism. So Romania had to abandon its programs for the Roma, and
since then, child marriage has skyrocketed -- from only three married children
in 2006 (an all-time low), to over 600 married Roma children in recent years.
The EU also forced Romania to implement a kind of "affirmative action," which
gives Roma precedence for jobs, schools, housing and so on. But despite
aggressive marketing, the program has not been effective, presumably because of
the Roma's reluctance to join in gadjo (non-Roma) activities.
Last year, a Bulgarian news team visited Sweden to film a documentary about the
beggars. The footage showed that there are people who actually organize the
panhandling; one of them talked openly on camera about being prosecuted for
blackmailing a beggar who did not earn him enough money. The man also talked
about how he "owned" five street corners in central Gothenburg, and said that
the best location was outside Systembolaget (the government-owned liquor store)
-- where he posted his wife. Last year, a Bulgarian news team visited Sweden to
film a documentary about Roma beggars from Bulgaria and Romania. The man denied
that the beggars themselves worked for him -- he claimed they were all part of a
Bulgarian team, and split the income between them. His role was just to
"protect" them from the Romanian beggars, who, he said, would otherwise "beat up
and chase the Bulgarians away." He said that the beggars make about 400-500
kronor ($50-60) a day, and use the money to buy food, beer and cigarettes. "Is
it not fraud," the reporter asked, "to pretend that you are destitute, all the
while using the money for beer and cigarettes?" "No," the man said, "we do not
fool anyone. We just benefit from this opportunity." The charges against him
were dropped.
Ingrid Carlqvist is a journalist and author based in Sweden, and a Distinguished
Senior Fellow of Gatestone Institute.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. 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.
Hamas's New Way of Poisoning
the Minds of Palestinian Children
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/April 09/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7804/palestinian-children-torture
The preachers, who belong to the Hamas-controlled Wakf (Islamic trust) Ministry
in the Gaza Strip, enter schools and ensure, through the exorcism rite, that the
children are repentant and faithful to Islam.
These are the children who are later recruited as "warriors" in the jihad
against Israel and the "infidels."
The Gaza City school video captures on camera the Palestinian leaders'
brainwashing and abuse of their own children.
Now the peace process in the Middle East awaits an exorcism of its own.
Hamas has spent years poisoning the hearts and minds of Palestinian children.
The Islamist movement is now trying a new brainwashing tactic: exorcism.
The practice, which aims to cast out "demons" that might have wormed their way
into the children's souls, has shocked many Palestinians.
This newest Hamas-perpetrated child abuse was exposed in a video that was leaked
to Palestinian social media. The cruelty of the behavior has caused an uproar
among Palestinians.
The video shows hysterical children in the company of exorcising preachers
belonging to the Hamas-controlled Wakf (Islamic trust) Ministry in the Gaza
Strip. This humiliating and invasive rite is being practiced at the Al-Nil
School in Gaza City.
Three boys cry as they undergo an exorcism ritual at the Al-Nil School in Gaza
City, performed by preachers belonging to the Hamas-controlled Wakf (Islamic
trust) Ministry.
The preachers belong to a group called The Ship of Missionary Salvation. They
enter schools in the Gaza Strip and ensure, through the exorcism rite, that the
children are repentant and faithful to Islam.
The group is managed by the Wakf Ministry's General Administration for Preaching
and Guidance.
Thriller movies come to mind as the video unfolds, shedding light on the nature
of religious indoctrination performed by Hamas on schoolchildren in the Gaza
Strip.
One of the Hamas preachers is heard in the video declaring that, "We did not
come to enact a theater scene, but to expel the devil from the hearts and minds
and enter the satisfaction of Allah into hearts."
The video features terrified teenagers kneeling in the school yard, while others
are crying out loudly. At the same time, the Hamas preachers hold microphones
and shout the Islamic battle cry, "Allahu Akbar!" ["Allah is Great!"]."
The Hamas abuse of schoolchildren is far from new, and far from a surprise to
those who have long been following the Islamist movement in Gaza. These are the
children who are later recruited as "warriors" in the jihad (holy war) against
Israel and the "infidels."
Since its violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Hamas has been using
children as human shields and "soldiers" in the fight against Israel. Children
dressed in military uniforms and brandishing automatic rifles and knives have
become an integral part of Hamas's military parades and rallies.
Caught on camera, Palestinian children are taught to hate those who are
perceived as enemies of Islam. This is how new generations of Palestinians are
raised on the glorification of suicide bombers and jihadists.
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi expressed revulsion over the video,
noting that the preachers' sermons were full of intimidation and horror. This
behavior, Ashrawi, stated, demonstrates the "reactionary nature" of the Hamas
regime in the Gaza Strip, which would have a negative impact on the development
of society and the values of Palestinians. Ashrawi also denounced the practice
as a blatant violation of conventions protecting children rights.
Even the Marxist terrorist group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP), has come out against the video. The group voiced outrage at
the "inhumane practices" against the children and called for an immediate
inquiry into this form of mental torture and degradation. The group also warned
against brainwashing the children and indoctrinating them through religious
bigotry. The Gaza City school video captures on camera the Palestinian leaders'
brainwashing and abuse of their own children.
It also captures the march of Palestinian society towards endorsing the tactics
and ideology of radical Islam and groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Now the
peace process in the Middle East awaits an exorcism of its own.
**Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.
Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on Twitter
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. 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.
Can the Islamic State be
defeated without Kurds?
Fehim Taştekin/Al-Monitor/April 09/16
The United States is trying to devise a plan that will appease Turkey while
still allowing Kurds to help expel the Islamic State (IS) from the
Menbic-Jarablus front in Syria. Turkey's resistance to the Kurds' participation
is creating discord with the United States and further exposing Ankara's
hostility toward the people of Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava).
Ankara insists on an operational plan that excludes Rojava's People's Protection
Units (YPG). The United States might come up with a plan that will take Turkey’s
sensitivities into account by making the YPG less visible, but the group will
still play a key role in the fight.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised this issue last week in his
Washington talks with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and
Secretary of State John Kerry.
According to information supplied to Tolga Tanis, Washington correspondent for
Turkey's Hurriyet daily newspaper, Turkey has two conditions for a Menbic
operation:
1.Arab tribes that will take part in the operation should be separate from the
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is affiliated with the YPG.
2.The United States must step up its air support to the Turkey-backed opposition
groups in Marea.
According to Hurriyet writer Verda Ozer, who accompanied Erdogan on his US trip,
Ankara made a proposal to Washington. "Give up the PYD. Instead, we will fight
[IS] on the ground with Arab and Turkmen groups we support,” Ozer wrote. The PYD
is the Kurdish nationalist Democratic Union Party; the YPG is its armed branch.
Ozer added that Turkey asked for US air support for Turkish soldiers in ground
operations, but Washington's administration said it won’t give up on the PYD and
also warned of Russia's possible reaction if Turkish soldiers take part in a
ground operation.
Menbic, Al Bab and Jarablus on the western side of the Euphrates River are under
IS control, while the Azaz-Marea line parallel to the river is controlled by
Ankara-backed groups. Turkey says these groups in the Azaz-Marea pocket will
prevent the Kurds from crossing west of the Euphrates River and serve as an
alternative force to expel IS from the region.
There are, however, problems with both of Turkey's proposals. The YPG breaking
off from the SDF is incompatible with the realities of the region, and groups
supported by Turkey cannot control the region on their own. The numbers and
capacities of these groups, said to have 3,000 fighters, are exaggerated.
Moreover, their relations with al-Qaeda and Salafi jihadist groups are being
overlooked.
The US administration insists on working with the SDF, whose backbone is the YPG,
but which also has Arab, Turkmen and Syrian elements.
These contradictory plans are delaying the closure of a 98-kilometer (61-mile)
border gap that is IS' only window to the outside world and accommodates the
flow of militants. Since the Syrian army recaptured Palmyra from IS, the United
States also feels the need for a victory — hence, the increasing pressure on
Ankara. A US delegation was dispatched to Ankara on the heels of Erdogan’s
Washington visit to work on operational plans.
The current plan being considered is to delay action on the Jarablus front and
focus on Menbic. The Kurds are being flexible to ease American planning but
without exiting from the stage. An interesting development in this critical
process has been the setting up of the Menbic Military Council. This may well be
part of a formula to lower the YPG's visibility. The council, established at the
Tishrin Dam (south of Jarablus), is discreetly led by the Kurds and includes
groups such as Shams al-Shamal Brigades, Suwwar al-Menbic, Jund al-Haramain,
Martyrs of Euphrates and Turkmen al-Menbic.
Al-Monitor asked a Kurdish source familiar with US-Kurdish interactions whether
the United States, which used to attach priority to liberating Raqqa, has
changed its approach. What does the American plan entail now? Has it shared this
plan with the Kurds? What role will the Kurds have? Is the United States in
touch with Russia about this issue?
Our Kurdish source replied, “The US had shifted priority from Jarablus and Raqqa
because of Turkey’s reactions. We wanted to liberate west of Euphrates first.
But when the Syrian army succeeded at Palmyra, the US agreed that the Menbic
operation was feasible. After all, they also need a victory. The US doesn’t want
the regime forces to control this region.
"[Bashar al-]Assad’s forces are preparing for operations at Aleppo. If the SDF
won’t do it, regime forces will dominate the region. The plan is to first
liberate Menbic and set up a civil administration there, as was done at Tell
Abyad. Meanwhile, Jarablus will be encircled, but not under the YPG banner. Of
course the SDF will be the main force, but to appease Turkey, credit will be
given to the role of the local population. I think the US has shared this plan
with the Russians.”
What do Kurds say to Turkey’s idea of deploying other forces including the
Turkmens? Al-Monitor's Kurdish source said that, just as there are Turkish
sensitivities, there are also Kurdish concerns. “YPG will not allow Turkmen
units like the Sultan Murat Brigade to enter the area. We cannot allow [IS]
mentality to prevail in the region under different connotations," he said. "What
will change if [IS] goes but is replaced by al-Nusra Front?”
Al-Monitor asked the same questions of PYD co-chair Salih Muslim.
“The Menbic Military Council was [just] established. … I don’t have the full
details, but Kurds will either be a part of that body or will coordinate with
it. Fifty percent of Menbic villages are Kurds. There can’t be an operation like
this without the Kurds. Our priority is to cleanse these villages from [IS].
Second is Jarablus, which is the transit route for [IS]. Unless you cut that
off, you cannot liberate Raqqa,” Muslim told Al-Monitor.
“I don’t know how they will persuade the AKP [Justice and Development Party]
rule in Turkey, but something has to be done. You cannot ignore that Kurds make
up more than 50% of Menbic, Azaz and Al Bab. Kurds have armed units inside the
SDF that used to fight against the regime, and now they fight [IS]. Turkey
cannot reject the Kurds. If it is going to live alongside the Kurds, then it has
to accept their existence.”
Kurds refer to Tell Abyad when they discuss the local administration to be set
up after the liberation of Menbic. Kurdish sources persistently say the YPG’s
goal is not to dominate the area after expelling IS. As in Tell Abyad, control
will be handed over to local elements, they say.
Naturally, despite this apparent flexibility, Kurds have not given up on their
goal of opening a corridor between Afrin and Kobani cantons. They dismiss
Ankara’s allegations that this corridor is an integral part of the Kurdish dream
of setting up a Kurdish state between the Tigris River and the Mediterranean
Sea.
It's important to establish which force will be liberating Menbic and Jarablus,
but just as vital is determining who will be in charge afterward. Kurds have
been making discreet contact with some local notables and tribal leaders in the
area controlled by Turkish-supported groups. Kurds who are careful to keep a low
profile in such contacts have been able to set up a friendly network in the
Shehba area despite Turkey's warning. There are also Arabs and Turkmens in that
network. Kurds are preparing the joint administration of Shehba after liberating
it from IS by setting up a council of elders and an executive committee.
Parallel to civilian activities, military operations were launched from the
Tishrin Dam to the north and from Afrin to the east. This is how Menagh air base
was recovered. Kurdish operations were halted near Azaz and Tel Rifat because of
artillery fire from Turkey and the US decision to appease Ankara.
In summary, IS infiltration of Turkey through the 60-mile border gap, the role
of those infiltrators in terror operations in Europe and the relocation of some
of them to Libya have made Ankara’s game-spoiler attitude unbearable.
Washington, which has promised Ankara there won’t be a Kurdish corridor, feels
it has to do something. Americans don’t think Ankara’s demands that Arab tribes
should be separated from the YPG are workable. Washington isn't in favor of US
air support to Turkish-supported forces on the ground, which would then be
allowed to control the Menbic-Jarablus line. We will now wait and see how the
United States — squeezed between its NATO ally Turkey and the Kurds, who are
achieving results with their organizational and operational capacity — will make
do with interim formulas.
Fehim Taştekin is a Turkish journalist and a columnist for Turkey Pulse who
previously wrote for Turkish newspaper Radikal. He is the host of a weekly
program called "SINIRSIZ" on IMC TV. He is an analyst specializing in Turkish
foreign policy, and Caucasus, Middle East and EU affairs. He contributes to
Al-Monitor's Turkey Pulse as a columnist. He is the author of “Suriye: Yıkıl Git,
**Diren Kal” and was the founding editor of Agency Caucasus. On Twitter: