LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 26/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.april26.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
The harvest is plentiful, but the
labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers
into his harvest.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Luke 10/01-07:"After this the Lord appointed seventy others
and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself
intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers
are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his
harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of
wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.
Whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace to this house!"And if anyone is
there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it
will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they
provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to
house."
Let your speech always be
gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer
everyone.
Letter to the Colossians 04/05-10:"Conduct yourselves wisely towards outsiders,
making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with
salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. Tychicus will tell
you all the news about me; he is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a
fellow-servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so
that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts; he is coming
with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will
tell you about everything here. Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner greets you, as
does Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions
if he comes to you, welcome him."
Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
*All are called to love and cherish family
life, for families are not a problem; they are first and foremost an
opportunity.
*Chacun est appelé à prendre soin de la vie des familles : elles ne sont pas un
problème, mais une opportunité.
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 26/16
The case for Beirut Madinati/Hussain
Abdul-Hussain/Now Lebanon/April 25/16
Two Chairmen of the 9/11 Commission Rebut Allegations Linking Saudi to the
Attacks/Elie Fawaz/Asharq Al Awsat/April 25/16
New constants in traditional US-Gulf partnership/Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/April
25/16
Hurt Saudi Arabia: Iran’s oil war and policy politicization/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al
Arabiya/April 25/16
How Saudi Arabia is planning a new economic era/Nathan Hodson/Al Arabiya/April
25/16
Obama, Iran and cold peace/Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/April 25/16
On transformations in Saudi Arabia/Mshari Al Thaydi//Al Arabiya/April 25/16
How Islam Erased Christianity from History/Raymond Ibrahim/PJ Media/April 24/16
Palestinians: Peace Starts with Facing the Harsh Reality of Hate/Fred Maroun/Gatestone
Institute/April 25/16
"Brexit" - What Else Is Wrong with the European Union/Josephine Bacon/Gatestone
Institute/April 25/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on April 26/16
Berri: Parliament is Entitled to
Legislate Regardless of Conditions
Iranian and Hezbollah Militias Fight against the Kurds of Iraq
Human Trafficking in Lebanon … A Multi-Faceted Crime
Berri: Parliament is Entitled to Legislate Regardless of Conditions
Report: Hizbullah Has No Nominees for Beirut Municipal Polls as of Yet
Geagea Holds onto LF Stance on Electoral Law
Customs Thwart Drugs Smuggling Attempt at Airport
Hariri Denies Links to Money Laundering Lawyer
Franjieh Says Either Way Future President is a March 8
Salam, Shahidi take up current developments
Hand fight between Kataeb, SSNP supporters in front of AUB
Nadim Gemayel office: AUB administration called ISF intervention
Hariri hopes candidates to municipal polls to be announced tomorrow
Hariri praises "Saudi vision 2030"
Kataeb: Any action taken by parliament amidst presidential vacuum considered
heresy
Aoun, Black take up geopolitical situation in region
Australian Ambassador Agréé, Glenn Miles, on ANZAC Day: Shared sense of loss
built enduring ties between former foes
Arab Economic News interviews Nouhad Mashnouk: Lebanon en route to equitable
municipal elections
The case for Beirut Madinati
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 26/16
Obama to Send More Forces to Syria,
Opposition Welcomes Move
Israeli president Reuven Rivlin joins in Druse Nebi Shuaib celebration
Report: Rouhani requests removal of 'Death to Israel' from Iranian missiles
Facebook, Twitter shutting down Hamas accounts
Two hanged in Iran prisons
Iran: Call to save 10 prisoners about to be executed
Iranian Kurdish and Arab youths arrested in Bukan, Ahwaz and Shush
Israel charges 7 over 'price tag' attacks on Palestinians
Syrian alliance welcomed US support as fighting continues
Turkey kills almost 900 ISIS members in Syria raids
ISIS claims responsibility for a car bomb blast in Damascus
Suicide bomber kills seven in Baghdad market: officials
Saudi king receives Turkish foreign minister
Saudi Arabia announces ‘Vision 2030’
Police deployed across Egypt’s capital ahead of protests
UN says ‘significant’ differences persist among Yemen foes
Sisi urges citizens to defend Egypt from ‘evil forces’
Links From
Jihad Watch Site for
April 26/16
Sanders: We need to get to the ‘root cause’ of September 11
attacks.
France: “Arabic-speaking man” slashes soldier in the face with a box cutter.
Philippines: Islamic State jihadis threaten to behead Western hostages.
Bangladesh: Muslims hack to death editor of nation’s first LGBT magazine.
Video: Robert Spencer on the “Islamophobia” scam — in Portuguese.
Islamic State hacks Michigan church website: “We will break your crosses and
enslave your women by permission of Allah”.
Video: Robert Spencer on wasn’t Muhammad peaceful?.
Video: Ex-Muslim: “The level of violence in the Qur’an was simply unacceptable
to me”.
Bangladesh: Islamic State claims responsibility for murder of professor.
“Savage occupation” in Paris: Muslim migrant gang demanding “respect” smashes
into Paris school, refuses to leave.
Muslim accused of plotting jihad attack in Sweden wants to be a martyr,
“greatest thing one can achieve in Islam”.
Robert Spencer in FrontPage: 90% of 13-Year-Olds at Italian School Would Convert
to Islam if ISIS Came to Their Home.
UK city council says city “too multicultural” to celebrate St. George’s Day.
UK: Muslim Uber driver refuses to accept blind woman because she had guide dog.
Pennsylvania imam who said Hirsi Ali should be killed leads interfaith service.
Latest Lebanese Related News published on April 26/16
Berri: Parliament is Entitled to
Legislate Regardless of Conditions
Naharnet/April 25/16/Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Monday the need to resolve
the dispute over the parliamentary electoral law, while underlining that
legislative sessions can be held irrespective of the developments in the
country. He said during a press conference: “Parliament is entitled to hold a
legislative session regardless of the conditions in the country.”He stated that
he will “soon” call the joint committees to meet to address the various
electoral draft-laws, saying there are some 17 laws that should be addressed.
“Once they are narrowed down to two or three, we can meet at parliament and
ratify a law that can be adopted in the elections,” explained Berri before
reporters. “I am making these proposals out of my keenness for the country,” he
stressed. “I will remain true to my convictions that parliament should be able
to legislate regardless of the conditions.” Parliament convenes twice a year in
two ordinary sessions -- the first starts mid-march until the end of May and the
second from the middle of October through the end of December. But the absence
of a president since the end of President Michel Suleiman’s term in May 2014 has
paralyzed the parliament and led to wrangling among cabinet ministers. The
differences between the different parties also worsened in the past month when
they started exchanging accusations of corruption following several scandals
that rocked the country. Political powers are at odds over holding the
legislative session. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that the session's
first article should be the electoral draft-law. This stance was echoed by the
Free Patriotic Movement. The Kataeb party meanwhile stresses that parliament
should only meet to elect a head of state.
Iranian and Hezbollah Militias Fight against the Kurds of Iraq
Dalshad Abdullah and Manaf
al Obeidi and Hamza Mustapha/Asharq Al Awsat/April 25/16/
Kirkuk- Yesterday evening fierce clashes fired up once again across Tuz Khormato,
the central city located in the Saladin Province, Iraq. The multi-ethnic city,
comprising both Kurds and Turkmen, is overwhelmed with militias. The rounds of
fire exchanged last evening were between the Shi’ite Turkmen Popular
Mobilization Forces and armed Kurdish Peshmerga Forces. Kurdish sources told
Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Iranian soldiers and militants belonging to the
Lebanon-based Hezbollah had been a part of the recent battles, fighting
alongside the Mobilization Forces. During the first hours of battle, over 25
combatants belonging to the Turkmens’ side were reported dead. On its behalf,
the Turkmen party accused groups of militants coming from beyond borders of
instigating dispute among the people of Tuz Khormato. In an announcement,
Turkmens called out the voice of reason found in everyone to rule, so that
civilians would not have to pay the price of an armed conflict. At the same day,
an agreement was hurled among conflicting factions to halt all clashes, which
were sparked after a bomb set off at a Kurdish official’s home killing and
wounding over 13 belonging to both sides in addition to a Peshmerga brigadier.
As for the political state-of-affairs, the Sadrist movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr
put off the million-people protest he had called for formerly. Despite all the
threats of how spine-shuddering the demonstration would be this Monday and
Tuesday, the Sadrist Leader still called it off. As for the Iraqi Parliament,
the governmental institute is still comprehensively crippled as lawmakers stick
to their strike and refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Parliamentary
Spokesman Salim al-Jabouri. However, al-Jabouri has been persistently convening
with political players, in hopes of holding a complete –including all side-
parliamentary session on Tuesday. The humanitarian crisis was relatively
relieved, as Saudi aid trucks arrived to the Anbar governorate en route from the
Iraqi Kurdistan. Citizens of Ramadi, the governorate’s capital, and its vicinity
residents expressed considerable relief compared to what they have been
experiencing. Council Spokesman of Anbar, Eid Ammash, in a statement to Asharq
Al-Awsat newspaper revealed that there are Gulf groups and companies which had
expressed their desire to contribute to the reconstruction of the near-leveled
governorate after it has finally been freed from ISIS. The companies had given
practical proposals to the process which is in ratio to the percentage of damage
impact on each area. Ammash added that public services, such as water and power
circulation are almost none existing, and that the suffering of people returning
home has worsened, which could only send a cry out for a hurried launch of
reconstruction.
Human Trafficking in Lebanon … A Multi-Faceted Crime
Caroline Akoum/Asharq Al Awsat/April 25/16/Beirut- Human trafficking is one of
the notoriously spread forms of corruption in Lebanon. It has afflicted Lebanese
societies over the course of time in different ways; however, with the recent
intensifying Syrian refugee crisis, the illegal exploitation of underprivileged
humans has taken on a new level. A million and a half refugees, especially of
which who are women and children, have not only become the weakest link in the
society, but have also become the human traffickers’ bread and butter. Year in
and year out, coerced labor into the sex trade and begging on the streets have
morphed into a phenomenon featuring both children and families undergoing
difficult times. It is also worth mentioning that coinciding with the rumored
selling of children under the name of “adoption”, are morbid street whispers of
information on occasional selling of organs. If it were not for the coincidence
of exposing Lebanon’s largest network of prostitution, and freeing tens of girls
– who were held against their will and violently abused by the sex industry- the
link to the wider network of human trafficking would not have been unlocked.
Recently apprehended members of the prostitution network were taken down and
exposed by a Lebanese officer who received training at the U.S. International
Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Sources frequently emphasize that the range
of illegal adoption, otherwise known as selling of children, is on the way of
widening its span in ratio with the increasing Syrian refugee influx. Not to
mention that documented data raised a red flag on the illegal trading of
children since the Lebanese civil war, in which thousands of cases on Lebanese
children being inhumanly auctioned were raised. The 2015 Trafficking in Persons
(TIP) annual Report, the U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage
foreign governments on human trafficking, confirmed that Lebanon is not
committed to the least preventive and counter-human-trafficking measures. Next
to all that, the Lebanese government has not provided the minimal public
services and protection to victims of what is internationally considered an
insult to human dignity. Instead, the Lebanese government passes most of the
human trafficking work to NGOs.
Berri: Parliament is Entitled to
Legislate Regardless of Conditions
Naharnet/April
25/16/Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Monday the need to resolve the dispute
over the parliamentary electoral law, while underlining that legislative
sessions can be held irrespective of the developments in the country. He said
during a press conference: “Parliament is entitled to hold a legislative session
regardless of the conditions in the country.”He stated that he will “soon” call
the joint committees to meet to address the various electoral draft-laws, saying
there are some 17 laws that should be addressed. “Once they are narrowed down to
two or three, we can meet at parliament and ratify a law that can be adopted in
the elections,” explained Berri before reporters. “I am making these proposals
out of my keenness for the country,” he stressed. “I will remain true to my
convictions that parliament should be able to legislate regardless of the
conditions.”Parliament convenes twice a year in two ordinary sessions -- the
first starts mid-march until the end of May and the second from the middle of
October through the end of December. But the absence of a president since the
end of President Michel Suleiman’s term in May 2014 has paralyzed the parliament
and led to wrangling among cabinet ministers. The differences between the
different parties also worsened in the past month when they started exchanging
accusations of corruption following several scandals that rocked the country.
Political powers are at odds over holding the legislative session. Lebanese
Forces leader Samir Geagea said that the session's first article should be the
electoral draft-law. This stance was echoed by the Free Patriotic Movement. The
Kataeb party meanwhile stresses that parliament should only meet to elect a head
of state.
Report: Hizbullah Has No
Nominees for Beirut Municipal Polls as of Yet
Naharnet/April
25/16/Parties are gearing up for the municipal elections that are set to kick
off on May 8 in the Bekaa Valley and Beirut, in light of reports alleging that
Hizbullah has no nominees so far for the Shiite seats allocated in the capital's
municipal council, al-Akhbar daily reported on Monday. Reports said that leader
of al-Mustaqbal Movement ex-PM Saad Hariri has voiced hopes on Hizbullah to keep
unchanged the current Shiite municipal council members Khalil Choucair and Fadi
Shahrour. According to March 8 sources, Hizbullah has not nominated anyone for
the municipal polls in Beirut nor has it declared its final stance on the issue.
Candidates have started setting lists to contend that of al-Mustaqbal Movement
in the capital which has announced last week the official nomination of engineer
Jamal Itani for the municipality's leadership without agreeing on the final
council listing. Hariri has put a list of names which he is planning to nominate
for the Sunni seats in the municipal council, al-Akhbar daily reported. However,
the list has not been officially announced in light of some difficulties
agreeing on the Christian names that should be nominated. Beirut's 24-seat
municipal council is split equally between Muslims and Christians. The
four-stage municipal elections will start in Beirut and Bekaa-al-Hermal
districts on May 8, while the elections in Mount Lebanon will be held on May 15.
Elections in south Lebanon and Nabatieh are set for May 22 and north Lebanon and
Akkar for May 29. Two lists have emerged lately in Beirut to contend that of
Hariri's. A new secular group named Members of Citizens of which former Labor
Minister Charbel Nahas is a member and the Beirut Madinati coalition.
Geagea Holds onto LF Stance
on Electoral Law
Naharnet/April 25/16/Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea has said that a
parliamentary recommendation on not adopting an electoral law before the
election of a president has not been officially approved. Geagea told As Safir
daily published on Monday that the recommendation is considered
“nonexistent.”“Our stance is clear. Noting is more important than the adoption
of an electoral law,” the LF chief said. Speaker Nabih Berri told his visitors
in Ain el-Tineh on Sunday that if held, he will put forward in a legislative
session a decision made by parliament, which calls for not approving any
electoral law before the election of a president. The speaker also said that he
was still waiting for responses from parliamentary blocs to his proposal to
include the electoral draft-law on the agenda of the session. The law should be
the first item on the agenda of the session, Geagea said. The Free Patriotic
Movement has a similar stance. As for the Kataeb Party, it says the parliament
should only convene to elect a new president. Baabda Palace has been vacant
since the term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014. Since then, the
parliament and other state institutions have been paralyzed.
Customs Thwart Drugs Smuggling Attempt at Airport
Naharnet/April 25/16/Customs agents at Rafik Hariri International Airport
uncovered on Monday an attempt to smuggle cocaine at the facility. A traveler
arriving from Brazil via Ethiopian Airlines was arrested after the discovery of
4.5 kilograms of cocaine in his luggage. He has since been referred to the
concerned judiciary.
Hariri Denies Links to Money
Laundering Lawyer
Naharnet/April 25/16/Al-Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri said that he has
no relation to Beshara Tarabay, a lawyer who was accused in French media reports
of allegedly laundering money in favor of Hizbullah, his media office said in a
statement on Monday. Hariri' media office replied to a report published in the
daily As Safir claiming that Tarabay has received sums of money from a network
involved in money laundering for the purpose of smuggling narcotics and that
Tarabay is Hariri's lawyer. “As Safir newspaper published on Monday what some
French newspapers reported yesterday, quoting members of Colombian gangs accused
of laundering drug money for Hizbullah,” the statement said. “The members
claimed that they handed money to lawyer Beshara Tarabay, alleging that he is
the lawyer of Hariri, and that Tarabay told them that the money will be
delivered to ex-PM Hariri,” it added. “Hariri's press office denounces what was
also reported in the French press yesterday. Beshara Tarabay is not Hariri's
lawyer nor has he any personal or professional relationship with him. The
allegations of the accused members of the network are totally unfounded,” the
statement concluded.
Franjieh Says Either Way
Future President is a March 8
Naharnet/April 25/16/Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh stated on Sunday
that the most important accomplishment is that the future president will be
elected from the March 8 camp whether it was founder of the Free Patriotic
Movement MP Michel Aoun or himself. “The most important accomplishment has been
achieved. The president will be elected from our (March 8) group and we must not
lose that whether it was Aoun elected or Suleiman Franjieh,” said the MP via
Skype addressing his Marada supporters in Australia. “My political positions
have not changed, but there are some pressing external circumstances that we
must handle,” he added. Highlighting his endorsement for the post of presidency
by al-Mustaqbal movement chief MP Saad Hariri the MP said: “New friendships may
lead to political understandings. Sooner or later, the Lebanese will have no
alternative but dialogue. “We as the Marada movement have always taken the
decision to maintain openness, dialogue and build mutual convictions despite all
the differences. Our talks with Saad Hariri have shown us that there are common
grounds,” he concluded saying. Franjieh's comments came after reports alleged
that a “serious” suggestion has emerged to elect Aoun as president for a period
of two years. The reports also said that two unnamed major political officials
have approved the proposal and are set to market the idea to Aoun's ally
Hizbullah. Lebanon has been without a head of state since May 2014 when the term
of President Michel Suleiman ended. The race for the top state has been confined
to Change and Reform bloc chief Aoun and Franjieh. There is also centrist
candidate MP Henri Helou. However, not a single candidate is able to garner the
needed votes to be elected president. Sessions aimed at electing a head of state
are being adjourned over lack of the required two-thirds quorum of the
128-member parliament.
Salam, Shahidi take up
current developments
Mon 25 Apr 2016/NNA - Prime Minister Tammam Salam met on Monday at the Grand
Serail with Iranian President's Assistant, Head of Martyr and Veterans Affairs'
Foundation, Mohammad Ali Shahidi, on top of a delegtion of said Foundation.
Talks reportedly dwelt on bilateral relations and most recent developments in
Lebanon and the broad region. Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammed Fateh Ali,
was also present during the meeting. On emerging, Shahidi said that the pace of
the ongoing political developments in the region requires at this time to
intensify political and diplomatic contacts between the two countries and the
exchange of visits to discuss viewpoints on all standing predicaments and
dossiers, in a way that ultimately leads to achieving Lebanese and Iranian
national interest. Shahidi also indicated that both sides saw eye to eye that
the Zionist entity constitutes the primary enemy of the Islamic nation. On the
longstanding presidential vacuum in Lebanon, Shahidi said that the Lebanese
people and the Lebanese political elites can manage through communication and
dialogue to find o solution to the deepening political crisis through free and
independent Lebanese national will away from any outside interference.
Earlier, Premier Salam met with MP Ghazi Aridi.
Hand fight between Kataeb,
SSNP supporters in front of AUB
Mon 25 Apr 2016/NNA - A hand fight erupted on Monday between Kataeb party
students and supporters of Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) in front of
AUB in Beirut, against the backdrop of insults to martyr Bachir Gemayel.
Immediately, a patrol of ISF came to the scene to contain the incident.
Nadim Gemayel office: AUB
administration called ISF intervention
Mon 25 Apr 2016/NNA - MP Nadim Gemayel indicated in a statement on Monday that
the administration of the American University of Beirut (AUB) had called the ISF
to intervene to end a clash that erupted between students belonging to Kataeb
and Syrian Social Nationalist parties.
Hariri hopes candidates to
municipal polls to be announced tomorrow
Mon 25 Apr 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, hoped on Monday that
contacts to finalize the list of candidates to municipal polls in Beirut would
end tomorrow to announce the names backed by Future Movement. Hariri also
indicated that his party's list would be shared by Muslims and Christians
equally. As to the presidential election, he maintained that chosing a president
for two years needed an amendment of the Constitution. Hariri made these remarks
during his meeting with delegations of Beirut's families at Bayt-al-Wassat.
Hariri praises "Saudi vision
2030"
Mon 25 Apr 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that "the eyes of
the Arabs were all focused today on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to learn about
the vision for 2030 that was announced by the deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman".He added that "Saudi vison 2030" is an economic, social, developmental,
cultural and historical leap that will have positive repercussions on all Arab
societies". Hariri said on Twitter that "the leadership shown by Prince Mohammed
bin Salman in his approach to the difficult files is an added value to the
credibility of the vision and its importance, to succeed in the face of
challenges". He added: "On this occasion we congratulate the Custodian of the
Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, the Saudi leadership and the prince
of Arab youth, Prince Mohammed bin Salman." Hariri concluded: "May God protect
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia so that it remains the beacon of Arabs and
Muslims."Separately, Hariri said that "the proposed solutions to elect a
president for two years or any other reduced period need a constitutional
amendment, and we will not approve such proposals, because we consider that the
constitutional and normal solution to end the presidential vacancy is for the
MPs to head to parliament and elect a president for six years." Hariri, who
received this evening at the "Center House" delegations of Beiruti families in
the presence of the candidate for the presidency of the municipal council in
Beirut, Jamal Itani, hoped that the ongoing contacts with all the political
parties and representatives of the capital components will be completed in the
next few hours, so that the list supported by the "Future Movement" would be
announced on Tuesday. He said it would respect parity between Christians and
Moslems "because we believe in parity despite the attempts by some to request
sectarian lists. We will not be dragged into such demands, because we firmly
believe that Lebanon only rises through parity, coexistence and unity among his
citizens". Hariri said that the municipal elections are important in these
circumstances, as they reflect the popular will to cling to the democratic
practice of the state despite all attempts to paralyze the political life in the
country.He said: "They tried from the beginning to accuse "Future Movement" of
wanting to postpone the elections but I assure you that these elections will
take place on time because they are necessary for the advancement of Beirut and
all towns and villages in this country."
Kataeb: Any action taken by
parliament amidst presidential vacuum considered heresy
Mon 25 Apr 2016/NNA - Kataeb party said that the parliament was a voting body,
and any action taken under the presidential vacuum was a constitutional heresy.
The party's fresh stance came on Monday in the wake of Kataeb party's politburo
periodic meeting under the chairmanship of its head Sami Gemayel, to discuss an
array of hour issues. It reiterated its call to respect the constitution,
refusing any amendment in the absence of a President. Conferees indicated that
the continual deliberate disruption of presidential elections was a clear
affirmation of the absence of intentions by Hezbollah and its allies to hold
these elections.
Aoun, Black take up
geopolitical situation in region
Mon 25 Apr 2016/NNA - "Change and Reform" bloc head MP Michel met on Monday at
his residence in Rabieh with US Senator, Dick Black, who said on emerging that
they discussed an array of matters, including the overall geopolitical situation
in the broad region. On emerging, Senator Dick deemed General Aoun as a
"cultured man and a precious treasure for Lebanon and the Lebanese people."In a
reply to a question, Black hoped that the US policy in Syria would change. On
the other hand, Aoun met with the European Union Ambassador to Lebanon,
Christina Lassen, and then a delegation from the Lebanese community in Crepes
Islands.
Australian Ambassador Agréé,
Glenn Miles, on ANZAC Day: Shared sense of loss built enduring ties between
former foes
Mon 25 Apr 2016/NNA - Over 120 senior government officials, officers from the
Lebanese armed forces and security services, ambassadors, UN personnel and
civilians gathered before dawn today at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in
Qasqas, to mark the 101st anniversary of ANZAC Day. In a press release by the
Australian Embassy in Beirut, it said: "ANZAC Day commemorates the landing of
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) troops on the shores of Gallipoli,
Turkey, in 1915. In all, over 8,000 Australians and almost 3,000 New Zealand
soldiers lost their lives in the campaign, and a further 25,000 were wounded."
Delivering the commemorative address, the Australian Ambassador Agréé, Glenn
Miles, focused on themes of loss and reconciliation. To personalise the terrible
destruction of the campaign, Ambassador Miles focussed on the story of one young
soldier whose grave the Ambassador walked past a decade ago near Gallipoli: the
grave was that of Private James Martin, an Australian soldier with a New Zealand
father. Martin died of typhoid aboard a medical vessel, after surviving torpedo
attack on the transport ship carrying him, and going on to fight in the trenches
of Gallipoli.
"The fact is, Jim Martin was only 14 years of age. He was our youngest ANZAC -
the same age as some of the children attending this service today." Like many,
Martin had lied about his age in order to join up. Ambassador Miles said that
such human tragedies were suffered on all sides of the conflict, and this shared
sense of loss has built enduring ties between former foes. "I share the story of
Mr Martin with our Turkish friends, whose sons lie also in the shallow graves
that mark the hills of Gallipoli, because unique amongst conflicts, ANZAC Day
allows us to share with Turkey a deep and long-lasting mutual respect - a
friendship borne out of the shared horror of the trenches." Echoing that
sentiment, Turkish Ambassador, Cagatay Erciyes, quoted President Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk's tribute to the ANZACs killed at Gallipoli: Those heroes that shed
their blood and lost their lives ...You are now lying in the soil of a friendly
country. Therefore rest in peace. Ambassador Miles also said it was timely to
remember the Lebanese Armed Forces and security services personnel currently
working to safeguard Lebanon's borders: "We remember those who have lost their
lives in the border region, and we pray for the safe return of those who remain
hostage."
Arab Economic News interviews
Nouhad Mashnouk: Lebanon en route to equitable municipal elections
Mon 25 Apr 2016/NNA - Interior and Municipalities Minister, Nouhad Mashnouk,
said on Monday that Lebanon was on its way to equitable municipal elections,
especially at the absence of foreign funding and a tough economic situation that
will limit electoral spending. "This will sure affect the way electoral
campaigns will be held, and hence ensure a fair competition," he said in an
interview accorded to Arab Economic News magazine. Mashnouk hoped that the
municipal elections timing before the parliamentary deadline will reflect the
way political parties will be dealing with legislative elections. "The Ministry
of Interior has been granted a $31 billion advance to cover the expenses of
logistical and administrative preparations," he added. Mashnouk went on to
disclose an advertisement campaign by the Ministry of Interior that will promote
three messages: first, encouraging citizens to participate in elections by
raising their awareness about the importance of this process; second,
encouraging all the segments of society to vote; third, awareness on the means
by which citizens should cast their votes in light of the existence of more than
one balloting box for municipal and mayoral elections. The Minister went on to
explain that the municipal elections law didn't set a ceiling for electoral
expenditures the way the parliamentary electoral law did. "Illegal expenditures
will be traced through an operations room that will be established at the
Ministry of Interior with a hot line, along with civil society committees that
will also be observing the electoral process," the Minister explained, making
clear that his ministry has requested halting foreign aid in the benefit of
municipalities during the electoral campaign in an attempt to avoid "electoral
spending."Mashnouk also voiced support to an expanded decentralized
administration which is capable of supporting development in different regions.
He explained that the Syrian refugee crisis and the trash crisis that have been
sweeping the nation have opened the citizens' eyes to the important and dynamic
role that a municipality could play in resolving many issues.The Minister
finally unveiled plans by the Ministry of Interior to develop municipal work,
expressing reservations on the minimal role that women play in municipal work.
The case for Beirut Madinati
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Now Lebanon/April 25/16
The movement deserves the support of all those frustrated with Lebanon’s
corrupt, nepotistic and dangerously polarized political system
Beirut Madinati is a ticket running for Lebanon’s municipal elections scheduled
for May 8. Due to the nature of Lebanon’s tribo-sectarian politics, the ticket’s
chances of a breakthrough are slim. Yet, despite the grim forecast, Beirut
Madinati deserves unequivocal support. Beirut Madinati is the civilized face of
last summer’s YouStink Movement. While taking to the streets was understandable
— given frustration over Lebanon’s chronic failure in governance — pelting
officials with garbage, occupying the Ministry of Environment and engaging
police in rounds of violence were hardly encouraging signs of change.
Beirut Madinati is how change should be: In the ballot box, from the bottom-up,
slow and incremental. Beirut Madinati is fielding 24 candidates, 12 women and 12
men. The candidates are non-partisan (which the Lebanese erroneously call
non-political), ambitious and well-rounded citizens. The campaign, with its new
political style, will hopefully generate some headlines in Lebanon’s otherwise
static political life. Municipal elections in Lebanon usually revolve around
personal relations. Back in the 1990s, a family told me that they elected the
butcher in their neighborhood because, for the six weeks that preceded
elections, he sent them free tenderloin cuts. Municipal councils have little
executive power, and often act as legislative bodies that assist
cabinet-appointed governors. By law, Lebanese citizens are registered in
districts of their ancestors, not those of their residence. Switching districts,
except for women through marriage, is legal but near impossible since the
oligarchs seek to maintain the demographic sectarian distribution. This means
that the ones who can run and vote in Beirut’s municipal elections are not the
city’s residents at large, but only those historically registered Beirutis,
whether they live in Beirut or elsewhere.
From its name, Beirut Madinati (Arabic for Beirut My City), suggests that it is
a movement of residents who are trying to break the current fixed-registry
arrangement by allowing residents to vote in the districts they live in, and
hence take ownership of their neighborhoods, their cities and hopefully politics
in general. Beirut Madinati is a new breed in Lebanese politics in terms of
content and style. While it is unlikely that the ticket will cause an upset on
May 8, Beirut Madinati might be able to force its rivals to adopt more
attractive campaigning styles, and hence push them away from tribalism and
closer to how modern politic should be. If Beirut Madinati wins traction on a
national level, it might amend the rules of Lebanon’s political game, which is
heavily influenced by medieval tribal politics. Beirut Madinati has introduced
modern election practices, such as transparency and the full disclosure of
campaign funding. Unlike the current municipality, Beirut Madinati maintains an
attractive website, on which it posts a platform and encourages blogging. The
campaign invites public discussion and debates new ideas.
While emphasizing its non-partisan nature is understandable, Beirut Madinati
should not shy away from politics, or politically sensitive issues.
For instance, Beirut suffers from a flood of Syrian refugees, who are straining
an already crumbling infrastructure. Offering some ideas on how to host these
refugees and how to offer them decent and temporary education, healthcare and
employment are certainly issues of concern for Beirut’s residents.
Beirut Madinati should not shy away either from identifying itself on the
political spectrum. Given its environment-friendly position, its support of the
outdated concept of affordable housing and its perception of the Municipal
Council as an active player in fighting poverty and improving healthcare, the
ticket clearly leans Left. For its platform in both languages, Beirut Madinati
could have used copyeditors. Perhaps if the campaign picks up steam, its
resources will improve and so will its literature. Yet despite its linguistic
weakness, the campaign remains far ahead of all other election movements in the
country, past and present. Knowing Lebanon, Beirut Madinati might face
opposition that nears slander, not from its tribal rivals who probably still
don’t feel the heat from this progressive campaign, but from like-minded
non-partisan competitors. And knowing Lebanon, Beirut Madinati runs the risk of
turning into just another corrupt civil society group, just like a few past
campaigns. But until it suffers the internal schisms and eventual
self-destruction characteristic of most Lebanese and Arab movements, Beirut
Madinati should receive the support of all those frustrated with Lebanon’s
corrupt, nepotistic and dangerously polarized political system. Beirut Madinati
is thus an effort that is taking on, not only the rusty and old local Beirut
establishment, but Lebanon’s tribal politics at large. For its commendable
effort, Beirut Madinati deserves all the support, from the Lebanese in Beirut as
well as those elsewhere, both inside Lebanon and abroad.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is the Washington Bureau Chief of Kuwaiti newspaper
Alrai. He tweets @hahussain
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 26/16
Obama to Send More Forces to
Syria, Opposition Welcomes Move
Asharq Al-Awsat/April 25/16/President Barack Obama announced on Monday that his
administration would deploy an extra 250 special forces soldiers to build on
successes against ISIS, a step that represents the biggest expansion of U.S.
ground troops in Syria since the civil war there began. The new deployment will
increase U.S. forces in Syria to about 300. The decision, announced by Obama in
Germany at the end of a six-day foreign tour, appears indicates increasing
confidence in the ability of U.S.-backed forces to claw back territory from the
hardline terrorist group. “Given the success, I’ve approved the deployment of up
to 250 additional U.S. personnel in Syria, including special forces to keep up
this momentum,” Obama said in a speech at a trade fair in the northern city of
Hanover, the last stop on a trip that has taken him to Saudi Arabia and Britain.
“They’re not going to be leading the fight on the ground, but they will be
essential in providing the training and assisting local forces as they continue
to drive ISIL back,” he added. With German Chancellor Angela Merkel sitting in
the audience, Obama also called on Europe and NATO allies to do more in the
fight against ISIS, which is also known as ISIL. The group controls the cities
of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria and a swathe of territory in between, and
has proven a potent threat abroad, claiming responsibility for major attacks in
Paris in November and Brussels in March.
“Even as European countries make important contributions against ISIL, Europe,
including NATO, can still do more,” Obama said ahead of talks later in the day
with Merkel and the leaders of Britain, France and Italy. “In Syria and Iraq we
need more nations contributing to their campaign. We need more nations
contributing trainers to help build up local forces in Iraq. We need more
nations to contribute economic assistance to Iraq so it can stabilize liberated
areas and break the cycle of violent extremism so that ISIL cannot come back,”
he said. The main Syrian opposition welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama’s
decision to deploy forces. Salem al-Meslet, spokesman of the High Negotiations
Committee, one of only a few HNC representatives still in Geneva for informal
talks with the U.N. Special Envoy on Syria, said in a statement referring to
ISIS or Daesh:
“President Obama’s decision to deploy 250 more troops to fight the Daesh in
Syria is a good step. We must rid our country of this scourge. But Syria will
not be free of terrorism until we see the end of the Assad regime’s reign of
terror. We need help in freeing our country from Assad as well as from the Daesh.”
Israeli president Reuven Rivlin joins in Druse Nebi Shuaib celebration
Jerusalem Post/April 25/16
Despite a long history of hostilities, Jews and Arabs occasionally acknowledge
that they are cousins in that both are descended from Abraham the Patriarch.
Jews and Druse are also related in that Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses is
the key prophet of the Druse faith. Nebi Shuaib, a tomb overlooking the Sea of
Galilee is believed by the Druse to be the burial site of Jethro and is
therefore one of the most revered of Druse holy sites. The Druse congregate
there in multitudes each year to discuss communal affairs, and make a point of
inviting the President of the State to join them. The relationship between the
Druse and the Jews goes beyond that of Jethro and Moses. Jethro is believed to
have descended from the progeny of Ketura who became Abraham’s concubine
following the death of Sarah, and who bore him six sons. So in essence, Jews,
Muslims, Druse and even Christians, considering that the original followers of
Jesus were Israelites, are all in essence descended from Abraham. Rivlin
referred to the blood ties between the Jews and the Druse in a somewhat
different manner. “We always talk of the covenant of blood,” he said, declaring
that he prefers to regard it as the covenant of life that has been carefully
built up over decades with limitless dedication during which time the Druse
played a crucial role in contributing to and defending Israel’s security. Rivlin
insisted that the covenant between the two peoples could not be based purely on
the sword, on war and on death. The true covenant he said, was based on life and
equality and would become a reality with the understanding that the two peoples
are mutually connected and concerned with each other when they think of each
other daily, and not only in times of war. Rivlin highlighted the latter by
paying tribute to two prominent members of the Druse community who had passed
away during the past year. One was General Munir Amar, the head of the IDF Civil
Administration for Judea and Samaria, who was recently killed in a plane crash,
and the other was journalist, novelist and playwright Salman Natour. Each had
integrated into mainstream Israel while retaining his Druse identity and values.
Fully aware that like all minorities in Israel, the Druse community, despite its
proven loyalty have standards of living far below those of the Jewish community.
In this context Rivlin reminded his audience of the five year NIS2 billion
development plan for Druse villages that was accepted in June last year,
underscoring that the decision by the government was without precedent. He
pledged that he as president would do everything in his power to ensure the
plan’s implementation. Rivlin said that he understood the anxiety of the local
Druse population with regard to the fate of their Druse brethren in Syria, and
acknowledged that this was also a matter of concern for Israel, but declined to
elaborate further. Rivlin expressed sadness in regards to the completion of his
military aide Brig. Gen. Hasson Hasson's tour of duty in a few weeks time.
Hasson is the first Druse to serve in this capacity and began his service with
Rivlin’s predecessor Shimon Peres in July, 2008. Rivlin complemented Hasson and
called him one of the finest of officers. Hasson is the son-in-law of Kamal
Mansour, who for forty years served as the advisor on minorities to all the
presidents of Israel from Zalman Shazar to Shimon Peres.
Rivlin said that although the time has not yet come to bid farewell to Hasson,
it was important for him to express his appreciation for all that Hasson has
done in the presence of so large and dignified a Druse gathering. Rivlin was
received by Druse spiritual leader Sheikh Mawfik Tariff, who earlier in the
month had together with religious leaders of other faiths joined Rivlin in
condemning violence, incitement and terrorism.
Report: Rouhani requests removal of 'Death to Israel' from
Iranian missiles
Jerusalem Post/April 25/16/ Iranian media reported Monday that
President Hassan Rouhani requested to remove the words "Death to Israel" from
the ballistic missiles belonging to his country. According to the report,
Rouhani sent a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei requesting to remove the
print from the rockets. Rouhani's demand came after Khamenei himself used the
line "Death to Israel," a slogan that was written on the missiles used in the
last drills run by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Rouhani condemned
the slogan at the time and has now requested from the Supreme Leader that the
slogan be removed from all remaining missiles. Experts on Iranian affairs
explained that Rouhani fully understands the influence of the Israel lobby on
decisions related to Israel in the European Union and the United States and is
concerned that the slogan "Death to Israel" that is written on the missiles will
work against the agenda he is trying to promote in his speeches, one of peace
and stability in the Middle East. In March, the Revolutionary Guard fired two
Qadr missiles from northern Iran which hit targets in the southeast of the
country 1,400 kms (870 miles) away, Iranian agencies said. The nearest point in
Iran is around 1,000 km from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. "The reason we designed our
missiles with a range of 2000 km is to be able to hit our enemy the Zionist
regime from a safe distance," Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as
saying by the ISNA agency at the time. Reuters contributed to this report.
Report: Iran looks to deploy Hamas in the battle to liberate Mosul from ISIS
Jerusalem Post/April 25/16/ The Iranian Revolutionary Guards plan
to deploy Hamas forces in the battle for Iraq's second biggest city, Mosul,
which has been controlled by ISIS since June 2014, the London-based Arab daily
a-Sharq al-Awsat reported Sunday. According to the report, Hamas forces would
fight for Mosul's liberation alongside Hezbollah fighters and the Shi'ite Houthi
militias which are currently struggling in Yemen against the Sunni coalition of
Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia. Located in northern Iraq, Mosul is a cultural
heritage asset for Iran, due to the slew of holy Shi'ite sites located in the
city, such as al-Qubba al-Husseniya mosque, which was demolished by ISIS in June
2014. According to the report, Iran also intends to use Hamas in order to
liberate the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which has been under Kurdish control since
June, and destabilize the Kurdistan region. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards are
planning to deploy forces affiliated with Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in
Kirkuk, from which they would gradually advance toward Kurdistan. Iran strives
to destabilize Iraqi Kurdistan because it views the Kurdistan Regional
Government, headed by President Masood Barzani, as a grave threat to its clout
in its neighbor, Iraq. A Peshmerga commander told a-Sharq al-Awsat that in the
past few days, Hezbollah forces joined the local Shi'ite Popular Mobilization
Units in south Kirkuk carrying heavy weapons and missiles. He explained that
Iran aims at capturing Mosul and Kirkuk in order to open a route to smuggle
weapons and soldiers to Syria and Lebanon. Iran's reported plans regarding Hamas
are ambitious and would have to overcome the Palestinian organization’s position
of neutrality in regard to the regional conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Facebook, Twitter shutting down Hamas accounts
Elior Levy/Ynetnews/Published: 04.24.16/ Israel News/Social media
platforms delete accounts spreading incitement; Hamas claims the websites are
choosing sides in the conflict and failing to act impartially. Facebook and
Twitter have been shutting down Hamas-affiliated accounts in light of Israeli
accusations that the terror organization uses the social media platforms to
spread its message of hate and incitement. Although the social media giants have
been removing Hamas-affiliated accounts for over a year, the trend has only
started becoming noticeable over the last few months.Facebook closed down
Hamas's official page and later closed the "Shihab" page, which was affiliated
with the Gaza terror group and had over a million followers. A new page was
opened soon after and quickly garnered 5.5 million followers. Facebook hasn't
shut the page down thus far, despite the fact it features inciting content that
calls for an escalation of the intifada and glorifies terrorists.
Two hanged in Iran prisons
Monday, 25 April 2016/National Council of
Resistance of Iran/NCRI - Iran's fundamentalist regime has hanged two people in
prisons in the northern city of Sari and the south-eastern city of Zahedan. On
Sunday a 27-year-old prisoner, identified only by the initials H. H., was hanged
in prison in Sari, according to the regime's judiciary in Mazandaran Province.
Another prisoner, identified as Javad Sanji, 25, was hanged in Zahedan Central
Prison on Saturday. The hangings bring to at least 37 the number of people
executed in Iran since April 10. Three of those executed were women. The
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on April 13
that the increasing trend of executions “aimed at intensifying the climate of
terror to rein in expanding protests by various strata of the society,
especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European officials, demonstrates
that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion for this medieval
regime.” Ms. Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was in Tehran on April 16 along with
seven EU commissioners for discussions with the regime’s officials on trade and
other areas of cooperation. Her trip was strongly criticized by Mohammad
Mohaddessin, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the NCRI who said:
“This trip which takes place in the midst of mass executions, brutal human
rights violations and the regime's unbridled warmongering in the region tramples
on the values upon which the EU has been founded and which Ms. Mogherini should
be defending and propagating.” Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death
Penalty report covering the 2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to
death in 2015, compared to at least 743 the year before." "Iran alone accounted
for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East and North Africa, the
human rights group said. There have been more than 2,300 executions during
Hassan Rouhani’s tenure as President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on
the human rights situation in Iran in March announced that the number of
executions in Iran in 2015 was greater than any year in the last 25 years.
Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the executions as examples of “God’s
commandments” and “laws of the parliament that belong to the people.” The NCRI
in a separate statement on Sunday warned that 10 death-row prisoners,
transferred to solitary confinement in Ghezel-Hessar Prison in Karaj and Zahedan
Prison, are at imminent risk of execution. It called on international human
rights organizations to take urgent action to save their lives.
Iran: Call to save 10 prisoners about to be
executed
Monday, 25 April 2016/National Council of
Resistance of Iran/NCRI/The Iranian Resistance calls on international human
rights organizations to take urgent action to save the lives of 10 prisoners
transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their antihuman execution
in prisons in Karaj (Ghezel-Hessar) and Zahedan. On April 24, the regime’s
henchmen transferred seven prisoners on death row to solitary confinement in
Ghezel-Hessar prison in preparation for their execution. Three other prisoners
on death row in Zahedan’s central prison were transferred to solitary
confinement one more time. Transfer of prisoners to the quarantined ward,
special to the prisoners about to be executed, or taking them to the hanging
poles to see the execution of other prisoners, are ordinary methods employed to
pressure and psychologically torture prisoners in the prisons of the velayat-e
faqih regime. On April 18, Mullah Sadeq Larijani, head of the regime’s
judiciary, defended the death sentence by saying: “By the laws of the Islamic
Republic, we don’t have execution for the sake of killing people; rather, this
is Qisas which is a sort of right.” Mullah Rouhani, the so-called moderate
President of this regime, has similarly described death sentences as “divine
command” and “laws of a parliament that belong to the people.”The wave of
executions, especially of young people, demonstrates the regime’s fear of
popular discontent and increasing protests by the disgruntled Iranian people and
in particular millions of youths who are tired of poverty, corruption,
addiction, unemployment and other social problems, which are the product of the
mullahs’ rule, and demand the overthrow of the religious fascism ruling Iran.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/April 24, 2016
Iranian Kurdish and Arab youths arrested in Bukan,
Ahwaz and Shush
NCRI - According to reports received from Iran, the clerical regime has resorted
to widespread arrests in Ahwaz and Shush, in south-west Iran, and Bukan, in
north-west Iran, in the month of April to create an atmosphere of fear and
prevent anti-regime protests. On Wednesday April 13, intelligence officers in
Bukan, in West Azerbaijan Province, arrested three young men after inspecting
their homes and their private belongings. They were transferred to an unknown
location. No explanation has been given for their arrest and their current
whereabouts remains unknown. Reports say that in Bukan, the mullahs’ regime is
targeting ethnic Iranian Kurds. Also in the last few days, a number of young
Iranian Arab men in Ahwaz and other cities in Khuzestan Province were arrested
by agents of the regime’s notorious Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
Some of these detainees were arrested for being active on social networks such
as Facebook and WhatsApp. The fate of those arrested remains unknown. Other
reports say that on April 13, the MOIS branch in the city of Shush arrested
several young people because of their political activities and activity on
social media networks. Five of those arrested in Shush have been identified as:
Ali Dabat, 18
Ali Kaabi, 27
Milad Dabat, 22 (he is married and has one child)
Faisal Dabat, 17
Mostafa Daat, 17
Israel charges 7 over 'price tag'
attacks on Palestinians
AFP | Jerusalem Monday, 25 April 2016/Israeli prosecutors on Monday charged
seven young Jews in connection with a wave of so-called “price tag” attacks
targeting Palestinians and Arab Israelis and their property, the justice
ministry said. The seven, including a soldier and two minors, allegedly carried
out a series of attacks between 2009 and 2013 and in the second half of 2015.
They included torching an inhabited Palestinian home and beating a Palestinian
man with sticks, a ministry statement said. Four of the suspects live in the
ultra-Orthodox settlement of Nahliel northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West
Bank, another is from the Maaleh Efraim settlement and the other two are from
Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh. “The actions targeted innocent people and their
property, solely because of their religious or national identity,” the ministry
statement read. “The perpetrators strove to sow fear and panic among the
Palestinian residents of (the West Bank), while at the same time to convey
messages to the Israeli public and security forces.” The seven were being
charged with membership of an illegal association, being in possession of and
carrying arms and ammunition, damaging and attempting to damage property,
racially motivated vandalism, arson and other felonies. Police announced their
arrest last week, describing the cell as “extremist and violent”. The two minors
allegedly threw petrol bombs at a Palestinian home in Mazraa al-Qibliya village
last November as family members slept, and in December threw a tear gas grenade
at another Palestinian home overnight in the village of Beitillou. In both cases
anti-Arab slogans were scrawled on the walls of the houses. Members of the group
also threw stones at Palestinian cars, torched and vandalised them, according to
the charges. Their actions were allegedly in revenge for attacks against Jews
and were described as “price tag” attacks by the justice ministry, a euphemism
for Jewish nationalist-motivated hate crimes that generally target Palestinian
or Arab Israeli property.
Syrian alliance welcomed US
support as fighting continues
Reuters Monday, 25 April 2016/An alliance of Syrian armed groups fighting ISIS
said on Monday it welcomed US plans to send as many as 250 additional American
personnel to Syria but urged greater support including the provision of guided
anti-armor missiles. The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which includes
the powerful Kurdish YPG militia, is the main Syrian partner of the United
States and its allies in the battle with ISIS. “Any support they offer is
positive but we hope there will be greater support,” SDF spokesman Talal Silo
said. US President Barack Obama confirmed on Monday that he had approved the
deployment of up to 250 additional US personnel to Syria, including special
forces, to train and assist local forces fighting ISIS militants. Silo said the
SDF had yet to be informed of the US decision to send more personnel to
supplement 50 people already deployed. He described the partnership between the
US and SDF as “strategic”, adding that any extra support was welcome. “So far we
have been supplied only with ammunition, and we were hoping to be supplied with
military hardware, and this is something we were promised,” he said.The SDF
alliance was formed last October.
As the violence continues to escalate, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
reported that at least 60 people have been killed in three days of fighting in
Syria’s northern city of Aleppo. At least 19 civilians were killed and 120
wounded in rebel bombardment of Syrian government-held districts of Aleppo on
Monday, the monitoring group said. “Shells fired... by rebel groups at districts
under regime control left 19 dead, including three children, and 120 wounded,”
said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights head, Rami Abdel Rahman. Fighting
has intensified in Syria in recent weeks, all but destroying a partial ceasefire
that took effect at the end of February. Last week, the main opposition walked
out of formal talks in Geneva. Beginning early on Friday, government warplanes
bombed a number of rebel-held parts of Aleppo, control of which is split between
the warring sides. The government air raids killed 45 people, the monitoring
group said. Insurgent bombardments, including the use of home-made rockets and
gas canisters fired as shells, meanwhile killed 15 people on the government-held
western side. The city was calmer on Monday but shells were still being fired
onto government-held areas, said the British-based Observatory, which tracks the
war using sources on the ground.Syria’s foreign ministry said it sent a letter
to the UN Security Council to protest what it called terrorist attacks on
populated areas in Aleppo and Damascus on Saturday, the state news agency SANA
reported. It said the shelling violated the cessation of hostilities agreement
brokered by the United States and Russia, which took effect in western parts of
the country in February. The United Nations is anxious to salvage the Geneva
negotiations, which are the most serious attempt to end the five-year-old civil
war.The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has vowed to continue
the fragile peace talks despite the walkout by the opposition and signs that
both sides are gearing up to escalate the war, which has killed more than
250,000 people.
Bombing in Damascus
In other clashes in Syria, a car bomb on the outskirts of the Sayeda Zeinab
district south of Damascus killed at least six people on Monday, a monitoring
group said, the third bombing attack in the area this year. Lebanese group
Hezbollah’s Al Manar television reported the blast had occurred at a Syrian army
checkpoint. It put the death toll at eight. The Syrian government’s chief
negotiator at Geneva talks said the blast struck a hospital. The death toll was
expected to rise because of the number of people with serious injuries, the
British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Multiple explosions in
February killed scores of people in the Sayeda Zeinab area, home to Syria’s
holiest Shiite Muslim shrine, in one of the bloodiest attacks there in Syria’s
five-year conflict. A suicide attack there less than a month earlier claimed by
ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim group ISIS killed 70 people. Syrian government
negotiator Bashar Jaafari said Monday’s blast “that four terrorists carried out”
hit a hospital, killing some patients evacuated last week from two
rebel-besieged towns in the northwestern province of Idlib. He said 10 people
were killed.
Turkey kills almost 900 ISIS
members in Syria raids
AFP, Ankara Monday, 25 April 2016/Turkey has killed almost 900 alleged ISIS
members since January through artillery fire and air raids, the state-run
Anatolia news agency said Monday, citing military sources. The country, a member
of a US-led coalition fighting ISIS, has killed 492 "terrorists" since January 9
in air raids, while another 370 were killed in artillery strikes which also
destroyed arms depots, the agency said. These figures could not be independently
verified. Turkey, which has been hit by attacks blamed on jihadists, including
two deadly suicide bombings in Istanbul that targeted foreign tourists, began to
carry out air strikes against the group in Syria last summer. Ankara also allows
US jets to use its air base in southern Turkey for air bombardments on the
extremist group in Syria. Watch also: Turkey blames ISIS for the worst attack in
its history. Turkey began its air strikes following a suicide bombing in July
last year blamed on ISIS extremists, which killed 34 people in the border town
of Suruc. In recent weeks, the Turkish border town of Kilis has come under
frequent attack from rockets fired across the border from Syria, prompting the
army to respond to each strike with howitzer fire.
ISIS claims responsibility
for a car bomb blast in Damascus
Reuters, Damascus Monday, 25 April 2016/ISIS militants claimed responsibility
for detonating a car laden with explosives near a Syrian army checkpoint in the
capital on Monday, a news agency close to the militants said. State media
earlier reported at least five were killed and 20 injured when a car bomb
exploded near a Syrian army checkpoint in the Sayeda Zeinab area, south of
Damascus. Amaq news agency affiliated to the militants did not give details
beyond saying the group was responsible for the bombing, the third such bombing
attack this year. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at
eight. It had no immediate word on whether there were civilians among the dead.
The shrine contains the grave of Zeinab, a venerated granddaughter of the
Prophet Mohammad, and is known for its glistening golden onion-shaped dome. An
AFP correspondent said he heard ambulance sirens wailing through the streets of
Damascus on their way to Sayyida Zeinab. The area around the shrine, which is
heavily secured with regime checkpoints hundreds of meters away to prevent
vehicles from approaching, has been hit by ISIS several times this year. A
string of ISIS bombings near the shrine in February left 134 people dead, most
of them civilians, according to the Observatory. And in January, another attack
claimed by ISIS killed 70 people. Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah cited
the threat to Sayyida Zeinab as a principal reason for its intervention in the
civil war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad. More than 270,000 people
have been killed and millions more been forced to flee their homes since the
conflict erupted in 2011.
Suicide bomber kills seven in
Baghdad market: officials
AFP, Baghdad Monday, 25 April 2016/A suicide bomber detonated explosives in a
Baghdad market on Monday, killing at least seven people, Iraqi security and
medical officials said. The blast in the Baghdad Jadida area of the capital’s
east also wounded at least 30 people, they said. Brigadier General Saad Maan
said the suicide attack hit a perfume shop in the area, while other officials
only said that it targeted a market. There was no immediate claim of
responsibility for the attack, but ISIS frequently carries out suicide bombings
in Iraq. ISIS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, although
Iraqi forces have since regained significant ground from the militants. The
militants still control a large part of western Iraq, and they are able to carry
out frequent bombings in government-held areas.
Saudi king receives Turkish
foreign minister
Staff writer, Al Arabiya
English Monday, 25 April 2016/Saudi King Salman received at Al-Yamama Palace in
Riyadh on Sunday the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu. They
reviewed bilateral relations and discussed a number of topics of common
interest. The meeting comes after King Salman’s visit to Turkey, where regional
and international issues were discussed in meetings between Turkish and Saudi
officials. The two countries have developed close relations in recent years on
issues regarding the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
Saudi Arabia announces
‘Vision 2030’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 25 April 2016/Saudi Arabia will
announce its “Vision 2030” on Monday, a comprehensive plan roadmap expected to
include various economic and social aspects. The vision is set to prepare the
kingdom for an era in which it does not rely heavily on oil, as well as
including a highly-anticipated National Transformation Plan (NTP). Deputy Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is spearheading the roadmap, has previously said
that NTP will include asset sales, tax increases, spending cuts, changes to the
way the state manages its financial reserves, an efficiency drive, and a much
bigger role for the private sector. The deputy crown prince had previously
announced the kingdom's plans to dedicate a $2 trillion Public Investment Fund
for a post-oil economy. The fund plans to increase the proportion of foreign
investments to 50 percent of the fund by 2020 from 5 percent now, according to
Bloomberg. As part of the new strategy, the prince had said Saudi Arabia will
put 5 percent of oil firm Aramco's shares in an initial public offering that
could happen as early as next year. Aramco, Saudi's state-owned oil giant, is
the world's largest company in terms of market capitalization. Al Arabiya News
Channel has obtained and exclusive and first-ever television interview with
Prince Mohammed bin Salman – who is also Saudi Arabia’s defense minister and
head of the council of Economic and Developmental Affairs (CEDA). The interview
will tackle several aspects of the deputy crown prince’s plans, among them are
the full details of Saudi’s 2030 vision. The interview was conducted by Al
Arabiya’s general manager and veteran TV journalist Turki al-Dakhil. It will be
aired to coincide with the announcement of the vision and a translated version
will be published by Al Arabiya English shortly after the interview.
Police deployed across
Egypt’s capital ahead of protests
AP, Cairo Monday, 25 April 2016/Thousands of police and soldiers were deployed
Monday across the Egyptian capital ahead of planned demonstrations against the
government’s transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, a thorny issue
which has already sparked the largest protests since President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi
assumed power nearly two years ago. Riot police backed by armored vehicles took
up positions in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the epicenter of Egypt’s 2011 uprising,
as well as on the ring road, downtown and at a suburban square where at least
600 Muslim Brotherhood supporters were killed when security forces broke up
their sit-in in August 2013. Many of the venues declared by organizers as
gathering points were sealed off by police, including the doctors’ and
journalists’ unions in central Cairo, according to witnesses, who spoke on
condition of anonymity out of security concerns.
The military said in a video released late Sunday that troops were deployed to
protect “vital and important installations” and deal with anyone who tries to
“harm the people’s interests or attempt to ruin their happiness” on Sinai
Liberation Day, a national holiday marking the completion of Israel’s withdrawal
from the peninsula in 1982. Egyptian warplanes roared over Cairo to mark
Monday’s anniversary, but the military kept a low profile on the ground except
for in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis, home to military headquarters and the
presidential palace. The Interior Ministry said police were out in force to
protect “peaceful” citizens who wish to celebrate. Sisi on Sunday urged citizens
to defend the state and its institutions from the “forces of evil,” an apparent
reference to the planned protests. Monday’s planned demonstrations would be the
second wave of protests this month against the decision to give up control of
the islands at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba. On April 15, about 2,000
demonstrators protested in downtown Cairo over the islands. That protest was the
largest against Sisi since he assumed office in 2014, nearly a year after
leading the military ouster of the Islamist Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely
elected leader. Chants of “leave,” and “the people want to bring down the
regime” rang out in the downtown area on that day, harkening back to the 2011
uprising that forced autocrat Hosni Mubarak to step down after nearly 30 years
in power. Authorities have detained dozens of activists in recent days, with the
arrests continuing until just hours before the planned demonstrations. Freedom
for the Brave, an activist group, says nearly 100 people have been arrested
since the latest round of detentions began last week. Egypt says the islands of
Tiran and Sanafir, off the southern coast of the Sinai Peninsula, belong to
Saudi Arabia, which placed them under Cairo’s protection in 1950 because it
feared Israel might attack them. The government says officials and experts have
for years negotiated with their Saudi counterparts and agreed that the islands
are inside Saudi Arabia’s territorial waters. The announcement came during a
visit to Egypt this month by the Saudi monarch, King Salman, as the kingdom
announced a multi-billion-dollar package of aid and investment to Egypt, fueling
charges that the islands were sold off. “Egypt needs the truth revealed to its
people: Through dialogue, not suppression, with documents, evidence and maps,
not security raids and random detentions,” prominent columnist Abdullah el-Sinnawy
wrote in Monday’s edition of the Al-Shorouk daily. “It’s difficult to resolve a
crisis like this one through the fist of security, no matter how tough it is.”
Sisi insists that Egypt has not surrendered an “inch” of its territory and has
demanded that people stop talking about the issue. But the Egyptian leader has
faced mounting criticism about other issues as well, including the ailing
economy and the abduction, torture and killing of an Italian graduate student in
Cairo earlier this year. That incident has poisoned relations with Italy, one of
Sisi’s staunchest EU supporters and Egypt's biggest European trade partner.
Egyptian authorities have denied any involvement in the student’s killing.
UN says ‘significant’
differences persist among Yemen foes
AFP, Kuwait Monday, 25 April 2016/Yemen’s warring parties held a fifth day of
peace talks in Kuwait on Monday after the UN envoy said “significant
differences” still separate them. A UN spokesperson said the talks between the
government and the Shiite Huthi rebels had resumed after extensive discussions
of security, political and humanitarian issues on Sunday. “Significant
differences in the delegations’ points of view remain but nonetheless there is
consensus on the need to make peace and to work intensively towards an
agreement,” UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement late on
Sunday.
Negotiations on a political settlement have made no headway as the two sides are
still discussing ways to consolidate a fragile ceasefire that went into effect
on April 11. The delegations have agreed to appoint two officials, one from each
side, to make recommendations on how to sustain the ceasefire, the envoy said.
The government delegation has insisted that the ceasefire should include
confidence-building measures, such as opening safe passages to all besieged
areas and releasing prisoners. The Iran-backed Huthis are demanding an immediate
halt to air strikes that a Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out since March
last year in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. Foreign Minister
Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi, who heads the government delegation, described the
negotiations as “impotent” and accused the rebels of avoiding discussion of key
issues. Mikhlafi said on his Facebook page that the rebel delegation had backed
down several times on proposals they had made. The rebels have insisted that no
ceasefire can be established without an end to coalition air strikes. The
coalition has said it reserves the right to respond to rebel violations of the
ceasefire, with air strikes if necessary. The two sides also differ on the way
to tackle other key issues. The government wants the discussions to start with
the issue of a Huthi withdrawal from areas they have overrun, including the
capital Sanaa, and their surrender of all heavy weaponry. The rebels want the
political process and the establishment of a national unity government to come
first, sources close to the talks told AFP. The negotiations in Kuwait opened
late on Thursday after the delayed arrival of representatives of the Huthi
rebels and allied forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Sisi urges citizens to defend
Egypt from ‘evil forces’
The Associated Press, Cairo Monday, 25 April 2016
Egypt’s president urged citizens to defend the state and its institutions from
the “forces of evil” on Sunday, a day before planned demonstrations against his
policies, including the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. In a
widely televised speech, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi insisted on the need for stability
in the Arab world’s most populous country, saying that attempts to degrade it
“won’t be successful” if Egypt stands united. “We must protect these
institutions because these mean the state,” he said. “I am reiterating to the
Egyptian people this is the responsibility of all of us, for us to protect this
security and stability.”
Earlier this month, thousands marched against Sisi’s policies in the largest
demonstrations since he assumed office in 2014. The protesters, including
politicians and activists, called for more demonstrations on Monday, a national
holiday that commemorates the withdrawal of the last Israeli troops from the
Sinai Peninsula in 1982 under the Camp David peace agreement. The armed forces
will deploy at vital sites Monday to prevent saboteurs from taking advantage of
these protests, Egypt’s military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir said
Sunday. Sisi’s comments raise the possibility of large-scale
counter-demonstrations that could turn violent, in addition to a potentially
harsh police crackdown — especially if the demonstrators attempt to reach the
heavily policed Tahrir Square. Protests are essentially banned in Egypt under
laws passed after el-Sissi led the military overthrow of his elected but
divisive Islamist predecessor, Mohammed Mursi, in 2013. A petition titled “Egypt
is not for sale,” which calls for a reversal of the decision on the islands and
supports the protests, was signed by more than 300 Egyptian novelists, lawyers
and activists, and several calls have been made on social media for Monday’s
demonstrations to converge on Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the 2011 revolt
against Mubarak. The Muslim Brotherhood said in a Sunday statement it supports
the protests and is calling on people to join them. Since Friday, security
troops have been out in force, with armored personnel carriers stationed at key
traffic areas, while security agents have rounded up dozens of activists,
journalists, and lawyers from their homes and cafes in downtown Cairo. Two
Interior Ministry spokesmen did not respond to repeated telephone calls seeking
comment. Also Sunday, Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar met with officials
to review preparations to confront any attempts to “break the law,” the ministry
said in a statement. It quoted Abdel-Ghaffar as saying that the security
apparatus would be ready to address any action that could disturb public
security with “the utmost firmness and decisiveness,” urging citizens to ignore
calls to create chaos and drive a wedge between the people and police. The
protests earlier this month were pegged to anger over Sisi’s decision to
transfer sovereignty of the two islands to Saudi Arabia in a deal concluded in
secret and announced during a visit by Saudi King Salman. Many infuriated
Egyptians accused the government of trading land for aid and investment from the
kingdom. The government insists the two islands, Tiran and Sanafir, always
belonged to Saudi Arabia but were placed under Egyptian protection in 1950
because Riyadh feared they would be attacked by Israel.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 26/16
Two Chairmen of the 9/11 Commission Rebut Allegations Linking Saudi to the
Attacks
Elie Fawaz/Asharq Al Awsat/April 25/16
Former officials: Anti- Riyadh view is pushing Congress to pass JASTA
Two chairmen of the official commission which was in charge of the investigation
into the September 11 attacks have refuted accusations that the commission did
not investigate Saudi Arabia’s alleged involvement in the attacks thoroughly
enough. After more than 10 years since the National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States released its public report, there is a movement
in Washington which is putting pressure on the administration to reveal what is
known as the “28 pages” which were withheld from the 838-page report on the
orders of President George W. Bush for security reasons. The two commissioners
on the 9/11 Commission Report, Thomas Keen and Lee Hamilton, issued a statement
on Friday and said in it that investigators have finished working on the main
leads in those pages and were unable to find evidence for the alleged
involvement of Saudi Arabia in the attacks. Colonel Derek Harvey, a former
intelligence officer in the American army, told Asharq Al-Awsat that “There is a
hostile view towards Saudi Arabia in the United States which is pushing Congress
to pass the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) due to the
perception that Saudi Arabia has not done enough … in addition to some
misinformation that some people have exploited to portray the idea that Saudi
Arabia is not taking action to annihilate the militants.”On his part, a former
official in the Bush junior administration told Asharq Alawsat that the 9/11
Commission Report that was prepared around 11 years ago does not condemn Saudi
Arabia and added that he had personally looked at the report and could confirm
that no evidence to suggest the involvement of Saudi Arabia or any of its
officials in the events of September 11 was found. In addition to this, there
was no evidence of supervising the financing of individuals or Al-Qaeda
founders.
New constants in traditional US-Gulf
partnership
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/April 25/16
The main theme of the US-Gulf summit in Riyadh was pronounced by US Secretary of
Defense Ashton Carter, after meeting with his Gulf counterparts, when he said
that the nuclear deal with Iran does not impose any restrictions on the US. The
US military “remains committed and capable of responding to Iranian malign and
destabilizing activities and deterring aggression against our regional friends
and allies," especially in the Gulf, he said. “The United States shares with GCC
partners the view that, even as the nuclear accord verifiably prevents Iran from
obtaining a nuclear weapon, there are many more issues to be concerned with
regarding Iran’s behavior in the region,” he said, including support for
terrorist groups. This is exactly what the GCC countries wanted to hear from the
senior US delegation that headed to Riyadh for the second summit of its kind
since the Camp David summit hosted by President Obama.
Secretary General of the GCC Abdullatif Al-Zayani listed several points that
were agreed upon between the two sides, including cooperation in missile defense
and deploying joint patrols to intercept Iranian vessels smuggling weapons. The
long-term strategic partnership reinforced by the Riyadh Summit is not a
secondary issue, given the tension that has marred the relationship as Obama
gave absolute priority instead to the nuclear agreement with Iran and the
détente with Tehran after three decades of estrangement. That priority required
the US president to isolate in his assessment nuclear talks from Iran’s regional
ambitions from Iraq to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. The policy of turning a
blind eye to such practices was seen by most Gulf states as a US blessing of
Iranian expansionism and hegemony in the region. The Gulf states thus lost trust
in Obama, who in turn did not conceal his annoyance with these countries’
objections to his policies. The crux of the question will be whether US
strategic policy will remain committed to the traditional alliance with the Gulf
or whether it will fluctuate in light of the US-Iranian relations and the winds
coming from Tehran
The decision to hold a second US-Gulf summit to repair and develop relations has
reinforced the US security and strategic partnership with its traditional allies
in parallel with the emerging US-Iranian relationship, which in turn is
experiencing a crisis as a result of the Iranian leadership’s sticking to its
guns, especially with regard to its ballistic missile program. A new development
here has to do with the fight against terror, affecting two main aspects: Saudi
Arabia's steps to establish a pan-Islamic military alliance against ISIS and
other terrorist groups; and the unprecedented moves by the GCC and the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation to designate as terror groups led by
Hezbollah. Ashton Carter described Hezbollah as one of the malignant activities
carried out by Iran in the region, and welcomed the Islamic military alliance
against ISIS, sending out an important message to the GCC states.
President Barack Obama, in turn, stressed his opposition to the justice against
sponsors of terrorism act proposed by both Democrats and Republicans in the
Congress. The bill would allow, if passed, the families of the victims of 9/11
to sue the Saudi parties on charges – denied by Riyadh – of having a role in the
attacks. Obama said he opposed the bill before heading to Riyadh, stressing that
it would be a dangerous precedent, thereby defusing any possible escalation that
would have damaged the summit or even US-Saudi relations. The US and Gulf
parties discussed ways to strengthen security cooperation, according to Zayani’s
announcement in the wake of the Gulf defense ministers meeting with their US
counterpart, including areas like missile defense, marine security, armament and
training, and cybersecurity, in order to allow the GCC countries to build up
their readiness to protect the region’s security and stability. Zayani said the
steps agreed included combatting Iranian activities that violate international
law through joint operations to intercept arms shipments bound for Yemen or
other conflict zones. The second summit between Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz
and US President Barack Obama – who was making his fourth visit to Riyadh since
taking office – was not particularly warm. However, it adhered to the parameters
of strategic relations and joint interests. While the US president was waiting
for the joint summit with the six GCC nations, the leaders of these countries
were meeting in another summit. This had important significance and was a
message to the US and its president.
The other summit
Indeed, by contrast, a warm and historic summit convened between GCC leaders and
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, and stressed the principles of non-interference in
others’ affairs, mutual defense, and developing partnership towards integration
and possibly including Morocco the GCC framework. During his press conference
with his Moroccan counterpart, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that
the main principle of the Arab summits in Riyadh was the refusal to tamper with
stability and separatism, while his counterpart stressed the importance for
these countries to be in a “united bloc.”
Morocco is a partner in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, and is also a key part
of the pan-Islamic anti-terror alliance. These two issues are not the subject of
contention between the US and the GCC except in terms of mutual expectations.
Yemen remains a Saudi and Gulf priority, while the US wants to accelerate an end
to that war and also wants Iran to end its intervention in Yemen. Regarding the
issue of the Islamic alliance, Washington welcomes it if its focus will be on
defeating terrorism, but there are differences over priorities in Iraq and
Syria.
Washington has focused on Iraq and the need for the Gulf countries to step up
their support, economic and political, for the Iraqi government, especially as
concerns Sunni regions of Iraq. However, the Gulf countries have stressed the
need for the government in Baghdad to fulfil its obligations towards Sunnis, and
the need to rein in Shiite militias and Iranian dictates.
Disagreements continue in Syria as well because of the divergent visions and
policies. Neither the Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, is willing to
abandon Syria; nor is the US administration ready to pursue a new policy on
Syria after gradually backing away from its red lines, led by the demand for
Bashar al-Assad to step down. The crux of the question will be whether US
strategic policy will remain committed to the traditional alliance with the Gulf
or whether it will fluctuate in light of the US-Iranian relations and the winds
coming from Tehran. A segment of the Gulf states has publicly expressed their
distrust in the so-called constants of the US strategic policy, after Obama
undermined it. Some fear for these constants more and more in light of the
uncertain identity of the next occupant of the White House, especially if his
name were Donald Trump. Clearly, the US-Saudi relationship changed under Obama
in a way that cannot be reversed. Prince Turki al-Faisal told CNN bluntly that
there would be no choice but to re-evaluate the Saudi relationship with the US
in terms of independence from the US and reliance on constant policies by US
administrations. He added that no one should expect any new president to set the
clock back on the relationship. Obama’s fourth visit to Riyadh sought
rapprochement without backing away from the new constants he introduced to the
equation of the US relation with the Gulf region, namely the détente with Iran
at the expense of the traditional and hitherto sole alliances with the Gulf. In
the US establishment, some believe the time has come for a “reset” in the US
relations with the GCC, that is restoring them to their status prior to the deal
with Iran. Clearly, both the US and the Gulf at the Riyadh summit wanted to move
away from mutual tensions and distrust. But clearly, something happened to the
traditional relationship; the constants have expanded away from their
traditional state. Nor will the surprises end in the US electoral season.
Everyone in the Gulf is thus keen on lowering expectations, but also keen on
preserving what is left of the strategic and security constants.
Hurt Saudi Arabia:
Iran’s oil war and policy politicization
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/April 25/16
The defiant Islamic Republic of Iran has ignored proposals, from members of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as well as other major
oil-producing countries, to discuss freezing of oil production in order to boost
prices and tackle global oil surplus.
Many argued that Iran would become more cooperative after it re-joined the
global financial system. Nevertheless, it remains a delusion to make the
argument that Iran will join other heavy-oil suppliers to address low oil prices
anytime soon, even though the plunging oil revenues have wreaked havoc on
several nations. The uncooperative behavior of the Iranian leaders highlights
several crucial issues economically and geopolitically.
Mixing economy, oil policy and politics
Iran’s oil policies are not solely driven by economic factors, like other
rational state actors, but by geopolitical parameters as well as Tehran’s
regional hegemonic and ideological ambitions. When it comes to shaping and
controlling oil policy, two major institutions play crucial roles and have the
final say in Iran; the office of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and senior
officials of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. They hold the monopoly and enjoy
significant control over Iran’s oil and gas reserves and resources. First of
all, when it comes to Tehran’s oil policy, these main decision-makers do not
allow room for maneuvering or cooperation. Other governmental figures, such as
the President or foreign ministers, are either not influential or they follow
Khamenei’s policies. Secondly, Khamenei and the IRGC do not analyze supply,
demand, and inventories in the market in order to adjust their oil output and
oil prices. From their perspectives, Iran’s military expenditures, its
geopolitical and ideological influence in the region, as well as the regional
balance of power guide its oil policies. Iran’s oil policies are not solely
driven by economic factors, like other rational state actors, but by
geopolitical parameters as well as Tehran’s regional hegemonic and ideological
ambitions. As a result, for Khamenei and the IRGC leaders, they consider only if
their country’s defiant attitude of increasing oil production will inflict harm
on the economic prowess and national interests of Tehran’s regional rivals.
Finally, Iran is not harmed by the current oil prices. Khamenei used to be
satisfied with oil at less than $20 a barrel. As long as the oil prices are even
at the current low prices, Khamenei and IRGC leaders will be satisfied with the
revenues that they are receiving. They are also increasing their output to four
millions barrels a day. That would increase Iran’s revenue to over 500 percent,
in comparison to the time when Iran was under economic sanctions.
Oil and military
Iran’s foreign policy is increasingly being defined by the vicious cycle of
interaction between soft power and hard power. The soft power in this case is
the Islamic Republic’s employment of economic and financial prowess to exert its
influence the region. The hard power is deploying its military and Qud Forces
(branch of IRGC), using proxies for wars, as well as setting up military bases
outside Iran for offensive purposes and support of its allies. As the IRGC
military influence and stranglehold is escalating in several countries –
including in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen – its need for financial means is
increasing. The Islamic Republic is spending billions of dollars every year in
order to maintain Bashar al-Assad’s power, preserve its military, security and
intelligence influence in the Iraqi government, in Lebanon through Hezbollah, in
Yemen via the Houthis, and in Bahrain through some Shiite groups.
Thanks to the nuclear deal, the United Nations Security Council’s sanctions
relief has finally provided the senior official of the IRGC and the supreme
leader, Ali Khamenei, with the required financial means to buttress its military
stranglehold across the region. More importantly, with Iran’s revenue increasing
due to its ramping up of oil exports, the country will invest more in its hard
power across the region to tip the balance of power of its favor. For Iran to
become cooperative with other OPEC member and major oil producing nations, the
oil prices have to significantly drop even below the current rate. Or, if the
regional countries put pressure on Iran through soft power – such as cutting
diplomatic ties with Iran – and if they isolate the Iranian leaders, that could
also force the Iranian leaders to recalculate their oil policies since
geopolitical issues and oil policies are mixed together for them. Iran views
itself as the leader of the Islamic world (not only the Shiites but also the
Sunnis). As a result, being isolated by Muslim nations is as powerful as
economic sanctions – when it comes to trying to change Iran’s uncooperative
behavior and the shift in its aggressive and interventionist policies.
How Saudi Arabia is planning
a new economic era
Nathan Hodson/Al Arabiya/April 25/16
On April 25, Saudi Arabia is expected to announce a comprehensive economic plan
aimed at pivoting the kingdom away from its heavy reliance on oil. The
much-touted creation of a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund will be one pillar
of this plan. Another will be the National Transformation Program, which
includes a wide variety of reforms, from tax increases to spending cuts. This
strategic reform initiative will build on the multimillion-dollar advice of
several prominent consulting firms, a preview of which was given in a December
2015 McKinsey report. The many challenges facing Saudi Arabia are well known.
But if McKinsey’s assumptions and calculations prove correct, then the magnitude
of required reform is truly astounding. According to their report, “Even if the
government were to freeze the level of public expenditure in nominal terms to
contain the deficit and intervene in the labor market to stem rising
unemployment by limiting the influx of foreign workers, these reactive changes
would be insufficient to maintain current Saudi living standards or sound public
finances.” There can be little doubt that the government is serious about
economic transformation. But how far and how quickly they can push reforms are
two important questions
In other words, things are challenging. McKinsey’s baseline scenario requires
two enormous policy shifts and still won’t save Saudi Arabia from severe
economic hardship. Instead, it calls on the kingdom’s leadership to be even more
ambitious, focusing their efforts on increasing labor productivity, building a
stronger business environment, and managing finances sustainably. What McKinsey
has proposed is nothing short of revolutionary. For example, under its
full-potential scenario, the consulting firm presumes non-oil government revenue
will increase more than ten-fold between 2013 and 2030.
Steps toward change
Saudi Arabia has already taken a number of steps toward reform. The Saudi
Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has simplified licensing procedures
for foreign investors. The government has raised the price of fuel and
electricity. And the kingdom has also already begun raising money both
domestically and internationally, in the midst of credit downgrades from major
rating agencies. Meanwhile, Saudi leadership has also recognized that much more
needs to be done, including fiscal consolidation and working to eliminate the
budget deficit in the next five years. However, there is reason to be skeptical
about the government’s ability to deliver. As the Economist pointed out, “Saudi
Arabia has promised reform before, only for its efforts to fizzle into
insignificance. Its capital markets are thin and the capacity of its bureaucracy
thinner.” It is much easier to pen a strategic plan than to execute it. Previous
plans have often fallen far short of their goals. Productivity growth in Saudi
Arabia has been low in recent decades. Even if the government can somehow take
immediate concrete steps to make the business environment better functioning and
more transparent and can also lop off unproductive government spending,
overhauling the education system and reforming the civil service are monumental
tasks. Every piece of the elaborate reform puzzle comes with its own challenges.
In order to have a real impact on housing and development, the tax on unused
land must be accompanied by the execution of reforms in the mortgage market and
on regulations. Meeting proposed deadlines to adopt international accounting
standards seems nearly impossible given a shortage of qualified accountants in
the kingdom and difficulties ensuring sharia compliance. This is to say nothing
of domestic political concerns. The government should simultaneously placate the
princes, garner the support of the business community, and be careful not to
upset or overburden the masses with new taxes, reduced subsidies, and fewer
government jobs. There has already been some pushback from consumer groups about
water prices. And while targeted cash transfers to low- and middle-income Saudis
will help relieve some of the burden, the fact remains that Saudi citizens will
still be asked to work harder in jobs that pay less than they are accustomed to.
There can be little doubt that the government is serious about economic
transformation. But how far and how quickly they can push reforms are two
important questions. It is one thing to call for improvement in government
delivery, a breakdown of barriers in the private sector, and improved
accountability. It is another thing to deliver on these promises. However, even
if Saudi Arabia can pull off only a fraction of the proposed reforms and falls
short of its lofty goals, it will be a meaningful start to real economic
transformation.
Obama, Iran and cold peace
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/April 25/16
The US-Gulf summit ended coldly as usual. President Barack Obama is reaching out
to Iran and is passionate about supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The former has sent
two letters to secretly meet with the latter. The Wall Street Journal reported
that the Obama administration agreed to purchase from Iran 32 tons of heavy
water, a key component in developing nuclear weapons. This is a blatant American
submission, with US House Speaker Paul Ryan saying the deal “is yet another
unprecedented concession to the world’s leading state-sponsor of
terrorism.”Obama speaks of “cold peace” between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and an
understanding on the basis that there is “neither winners nor losers.” The Obama
administration’s problem is that it thinks Gulf countries are a consumer of
American power.
The Obama administration’s problem is that it thinks Gulf countries are a
consumer of American power
Saudi resolve
However, Saudi Arabia helped the United States topple the Soviet Union via a
solid alliance and participating in organized confrontation against Communist
expansion. Riyadh also helped manage the battle against the Soviets via oil. The
talks in Kuwait with Houthi rebels show that Saudi Arabia wants to achieve goals
on the ground and commit to legitimate decisions such as disarming militias in
order to pave the way for a secure and safe Yemen. This is not about ideological
dominance, which Iran exploits and which Obama supports it in. It is about
establishing a civil region where the logic of the state and institutions
prevail, not militia and gang destruction and bloodshed.
On transformations in Saudi
Arabia
Mshari Al Thaydi//Al Arabiya/April 25/16
On September 23, 1932, the third Saudi state, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was
established. This was about two years after the most important battle which
founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz, fought against the most dangerous
domestic rebel movement led by some extremists belonging to Brotherhood. King
Abdulaziz had strengthened the state’s legitimacy at the famous Riyadh
conference in which he invited dignitaries from all over the country. All
segments of the society witnessed the Brotherhood’s wrongdoings and thus deemed
it legitimate to fight against them. This was March 30, 1929. It was then that
Saudi Arabia was born all over again. On March 4, 1938, black gold, i.e. oil,
was discovered at Dammam oil well No. 7, thus paving the way for a long oil era,
which lasted for decades. Saudi Arabia has witnessed several transformations
since then. For example, there was King Saud’s great decision to open schools
for girls in cities across the country in 1959. This decision was satisfactory
to a majority of the people and upset few. As expected, it was the vocal
category of people who objected to that decision. However, thanks to the state’s
decisiveness, the decision was made and implemented as Saudi researcher Abdullah
al-Washmi thoroughly explains in one of his books. Transformations continued in
Saudi Arabia. Among these was the opening of the Saudi television station in
Riyadh in 1965, following a decision by King Faisal. Despite criticism, the
state was determined to implement this decision, which was deemed vital for the
state and society.
Land of transformations
Transformations have taken place in Saudi Arabia despite difficulties,
challenges and doubts in administrative and political fields, and more
importantly, on the social front. During later eras, kings Khalid, Fahd and
Abdullah worked and built in the same manner as their predecessors and they all
contributed to social, economic and administrative reforms. One of the
significant achievements of King Fahd was the founding of SABIC, the
petrochemical giant. Among King Abdullah’s achievements was making Saudi women
part of the Shura Council, in the Allegiance Council and the scholarship
program.
Transformations have always taken place in Saudi Arabia; we have witnessed them
before the discovery of oil, and during the oil era. We’re now talking about the
post-oil era and discussing how to build the Saudi economy on the basis of
strategic investments where the Saudi investment fund becomes a non-depleting
“natural resource.”This huge transformation, which falls under the umbrella of a
vision for Saudi Arabia, is a significant phase in the country’s history - a
phase, which like the ones of the kingdom’s founder and his successors, will
also have its own challenges to overcome.
Politics is politics, and it’s only the image of the challenge which differs. We
are now before the biggest Saudi challenge.
How Islam Erased Christianity from History
Raymond Ibrahim/PJ Media/April 24/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/04/24/raymond-ibrahimpj-media-how-islam-erased-christianity-from-history/
While Christianity continues to be physically erased from the Middle East,
lesser known is that its historical role and presence is also being expunged
from memory.
Last month a video emerged showing Islamic State members tossing hundreds of
Christian textbooks, many of them emblazoned with crosses, into a large bonfire.
As one report put it, ISIS was “burning Christian textbooks in an attempt to
erase all traces of” Christianity from the ancient region of Mosul, where
Christianity once thrived for centuries before the rise of Islam.
As usual, ISIS is ultimately an extreme example of Islam’s normative approach.
This was confirmed during a recent conference in Amman, Jordan hosted by the
Jerusalem Center for Political Studies. While presenting, Dr. Hena al-Kaldani, a
Christian, said that “there is a complete cancelation of Arab Christian history
in the pre-Islamic era,” “many historical mistakes,” and “unjustifiable historic
leaps in our Jordanian curriculum.” “Tenth grade textbooks omit any mention of
any Christian or church history in the region.” Wherever Christianity is
mentioned, omissions and mischaracterizations proliferate, including the
portrayal of Christianity as a Western (that is, “foreign”) source of
colonization, said al-Kaldani.
Of course, Christian minorities throughout the Middle East—not just in
Jordan—have long maintained that the history taught in public classrooms
habitually suppresses the region’s Christian heritage while magnifying
(including by lying about) Islam.
“It sounds absurd, but Muslims more or less know nothing about Christians, even
though they make up a large part of the population and are in fact the original
Egyptians,” said Kamal Mougheeth, a retired teacher in Egypt: “Egypt was
Christian for six or seven centuries [before the Muslim invasion around 640].
The sad thing is that for many years the history books skipped from Cleopatra to
the Muslim conquest of Egypt. The Christian era was gone. Disappeared. An
enormous black whole.”[i]
This agrees perfectly with what I recall my parents, Christians from Egypt,
telling me of their classroom experiences from more than half a century ago:
there was virtually no mention of Hellenism, Christianity, or the Coptic
Church—one thousand years of Egypt’s pre-Islamic history. History began with the
pharaohs before jumping to the seventh century when Arabian Muslims “opened”
Egypt to Islam. (Wherever Muslims conquer non-Muslim territories, Islamic
hagiography euphemistically refers to it as an “opening,” fath, never a
“conquest.”)
Sharara Yousif Zara, an influential politician involved in the Iraqi Ministry of
Education agrees: “It’s the same situation in Iraq. There’s almost nothing about
us [Christians] in our history books, and what there is, is totally wrong.
There’s nothing about us being here before Islam. The only Christians mentioned
are from the West. Many Iraqis believe we moved here. From the West. That we are
guests in this country.”[ii]
Zara might be surprised to learn that similar ignorance and historical
revisionism predominates in the West. Although Christians are in fact the most
indigenous inhabitants of most of the Arab world, I am often asked, by educated
people, why Christians “choose” to go and live in the Middle East among Muslims,
if the latter treat them badly.
At any rate, the Mideast’s pseudo historical approach to Christianity has for
generations successfully indoctrinated Muslim students to suspect and hate
Christianity, which is regularly seen as a non-organic parasitic remnant left by
Western colonialists (though as mentioned, Christianity precedes Islam in the
region by some six centuries).
This also explains one of Islam’s bitterest ironies: a great many of today’s
Middle East Christians are being persecuted by Muslims — including of the ISIS
variety — whose own ancestors were persecuted Christians who converted to Islam
to end their suffering. In other words, Muslim descendants of persecuted
Christians are today slaughtering their Christian cousins. Christians are seen
as “foreign traitors” in part because many Muslims do not know of their own
Christian ancestry.
Due to such entrenched revisionism, Muslim “scholars” are able to disseminate
highly dubious and ahistorical theses, as seen in Dr. Fadel Soliman’s 2011 book,
Copts: Muslims Before Muhammad. It claims that, at the time of the Muslim
conquest of Egypt, the vast majority of Egyptians were not, as Muslim and
Western history has long taught, Christians, but rather prototypical Muslims, or
muwahidin, who were being oppressed by European Christians: hence, the Islamic
invasion of Egypt was really about “liberating” fellow Muslims.
Needless to say, no historian has ever suggested that Muslims invaded Egypt to
liberate “proto-Muslims.” Rather, the Muslim chroniclers who wrote our primary
sources on Islam, candidly and refreshingly present the “openings” as they
were—conquests, replete with massacres, enslavement, and displacement of
Christians and the destruction of thousands of churches.
In the end, of course, the Muslim world’s historical approach to Christianity
should be familiar. After all, doesn’t the West engage in the same chicanery? In
both instances, Christianity is demonized and its history distorted by its
usurping enemies: in the West, by a host of “isms”—including leftism, moral
relativism, and multiculturalism—and in the Middle East, by Islam.
Palestinians:
Peace Starts with Facing the Harsh Reality of Hate
Fred Maroun/Gatestone Institute/April 25/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7920/palestinians-peace
The Arab states, many Europeans and the so-called "pro-Palestinian" movement
have been using the same tactic since 1948 -- keep the Palestinians in poverty,
victimhood, and dependence so that Israel can be blamed, with the hope that
Israel would lose legitimacy and its Jewish residents would be thrown into the
sea or they would pack up and leave.
Values that bring peace (acceptance of differences, religious tolerance, and
non-violent conflict resolution) are taught all over the liberal democratic
world, including Israel, but somehow, when it comes to Arabs, all expectations
of socialized behavior are thrown out the window.
Somehow, people expect to resolve a conflict without neutralizing the root cause
of that conflict: programming people to hate.
Teach Peace: This is the solution that Western politicians urgently need to talk
about when they meet Palestinian officials. It should be at the start, at the
middle, and at the end of every meeting and every speech, and all funding should
be made contingent on it and strictly linked to it.
As an Arab, the situation of the Palestinians breaks my heart, as does the
situation of Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, and even those living in relative peace
under dictatorships. But the Palestinian situation bothers me most because no
realistic solution is ever seriously considered.
While Palestinian refugees are scattered over several countries and given few
rights by their Arab hosts, and while they live in various states of dependence
in Gaza and the West Bank, resolution of their status is delayed decade after
decade, with occasional lip service paid to a negotiated two-state solution --
the magic solution that would supposedly cure everything!
Who should be blamed for this? Most of the world is quick to blame Israel. I do
not blame Israel for one second. The Jews accepted the UN partition plan of 1947
which would have given the Palestinians a state more viable than what was given
to the Jews, but the Arab states convinced the Palestinians that it was a bad
deal, and the Palestinians have been rejecting all opportunities for a state
ever since.
The Arab states, many Europeans and the so-called "pro-Palestinian" movement
have been using the same tactic since 1948 – keep the Palestinians in poverty,
victimhood, and dependence so that Israel can be blamed, with the hope that
Israel would lose legitimacy and its Jewish residents would be thrown into the
sea or they would pack up and leave. Obviously it has not worked and it never
will, but it has created what seems a carefully-planned hate culture for the
Palestinians. This hate culture started from traditional Arab anti-Semitism, was
combined with European anti-Semitism and has evolved into the most notorious and
possibly the worst culture of hate on earth today. Less than a week ago, in the
official Friday sermon on official Palestinian Authority (PA) television -- not
Hamas -- the PA preacher was praying for genocide:
"Allah, punish Your enemies, the enemies of religion, count their numbers and
kill them to the last one, and bring them a black day. Allah, punish the wicked
Jews, and those among the atheists who help them. Allah, we ask that You bestow
upon us respect and honor by enabling us to repel them, and we ask You to save
us from their evil."
All attempts by the U.S. to facilitate a final-status agreement between Israel
and the Palestinians have failed. Has any reasonable person really expected
those attempts to succeed?
A society whose leaders campaign for a convicted terrorist to be given the Nobel
Peace Prize, a society that teaches its children hatred and violence as part of
its standard curriculum, a society that unabashedly teaches anti-Semitism
through all means available, a society that puts suicide belts on children
during political celebrations, a society that honors, glorifies and funds
terrorists, a society that uses a hateful version of religion to poison the
minds of its children, a society that engages in widespread jubilation when Jews
are victims of terrorist attacks, is not a healthy society that can develop
peace of any kind.
A Palestinian girl recites a poem about Jews on official Palestinian Authority
TV, May 29, 2015: "Oh Sons of Zion, oh most evil among creations. Oh barbaric
monkeys..."
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas claims that he wants a Palestinian
state in Gaza and the West Bank, yet he refused it when it was offered to him
because he knows that he cannot sell any reasonable solution to his people. He
knows that Palestinians have been taught for generations to believe that the
only solution is the end of the Jewish state, and he and his predecessor Yasser
Arafat hold a huge part of responsibility in that brainwashing.
Peace cannot be achieved as if by magic. Teach the Palestinians the values that
bring peace (acceptance of differences, religious tolerance, and non-violent
conflict resolution) rather than the lies that bring hate. Stop the anti-Israel
incitement and maybe in a generation or two, the Palestinians will be ready for
peace. These are the values taught all over the liberal democratic world,
including Israel, but somehow, when it comes to Arabs, all expectations of
socialized behavior are thrown out the window.
of the Palestinian culture of hate is obvious; yet this point is rarely made
except by Israel and its supporters. Somehow, people expect to resolve a
conflict without neutralizing the root cause of that conflict: teaching hate.
Apparently, no one wants to face the reality that fighting hate is far harder
than fighting warplanes, armored vehicles, missiles, or armies. But far more
important.
When well-meaning but naïve (or disingenuous) people talk about how "both sides"
in the conflict are at fault, I get nauseated. While it is technically true that
both sides have faults, the imbalance is so great that the analogy is not only
meaningless, but, more importantly, dangerous. It papers over the most
fundamental issue in this conflict -- the need to resolve the huge moral failure
on the Arab side, its anti-Semitic hatred.
Resolving the hatred would finally allow Palestinians to look after their own
interests rather than be obsessed and distracted with damaging the interests of
Israel. They would find that their interests are quite consistent with those of
Israel, and that peace would bring them huge dividends. They would be able to
see these facts because they would no longer be blinded by hate.
Teach Peace: This is the solution that Western politicians urgently need to talk
about when they meet Palestinian officials. It should be at the start, at the
middle, and at the end of every meeting and every speech, and all funding should
be made contingent on it and strictly linked to it. Until this approach is
adopted, there is really no point in talking about a negotiated two-state
solution.
Fred Maroun, a left-leaning Arab based in Canada, has authored op-eds for New
Canadian Media, among other outlets. From 1961-1984, he lived in Lebanon.
© 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.
"Brexit" - What Else Is Wrong
with the European Union?
Josephine Bacon/Gatestone Institute/April 25/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7774/uk-eu-brexit
Ever since the inception of the European Economic Community, British politicians
across the entire political spectrum have been perceptive enough to realize that
Britain will lose its sovereignty and turn into a vassal of the France-Germany
axis.
This month, in March, an official audit reported that EU auditors refuse to sign
off more than £100 billion ($144 billion) of EU spending. The Brussels accounts
have not been given the all-clear for 19 years in a row.
There is a joke going around the internet it how the European Union works (or
doesn't):
Pythagoras's theorem - 24 words.
Lord's Prayer - 66 words.
Archimedes's Principle - 67 words.
10 Commandments - 179 words.
Gettysburg address - 286 words.
U.S. Declaration of Independence - 1,300 words.
U.S. Constitution with all 27 Amendments - 7,818 words.
EU regulations on the sale of cabbage - 26,911 words.
Why are EU Regulations so long? Maybe because they have to be translated into
the 18 official languages? Interpreters also have to be found who can work into
and from those languages at the European Parliament. The translation budget is
massive. One of the official languages currently is Irish. It can confidently be
said that there is no one in the Republic of Ireland who does not speak English;
many Irish do not even speak or understand Irish, and certainly none of
Ireland's politicians will be fluent only in Irish. But all of the "acquis," the
body of regulations that are already part of the EU body of laws, also have to
be translated into the languages of candidates for EU membership, such as
Turkey, thus adding more languages to the tally each time a new regulation is
passed. If Catalonia breaks away from Spain and remains a member of the EU,
Catalan will need to be added, even though Catalan politicians all speak perfect
Spanish.
Corruption and Waste
This month, in March, an official audit reported that EU auditors refuse to sign
off more than £100 billion ($144 billion) of EU spending. The Brussels accounts
have not been given the all-clear for 19 years in a row. Moreover, the EU is
apparently less than incompetent at managing the funds it has.
This is happening at a time when the EU is demanding that the UK pay it £1.7
billion ($2.45 billion). It was reported on September 17, 2015 in the Daily Mail
newspaper that Britain had reluctantly paid this sum, which prime minister David
Cameron himself, a fan of staying in Europe, has described as "appalling."
Also reported on September 17 in the Daily Telegraph, was that, according to the
annual report of the European Court of Auditors, £5.5 billion ($7.9 billion) of
the EU budget last year was misspent because of controls on spending that were
deemed by experts to be only "partially effective."[1]
The audit, published on March 17, 2016, found that £109 billion ($157 billion)
out of a total of £117 billion spent by the EU in 2013 alone was "affected by
material error" -- that is, disappeared into various people's pockets.
Thanks to the European Union, the Value Added Tax (VAT), the tax which in the UK
replaced purchase tax in 1973, is now applied to services as well as goods. Such
a tax discriminates against service-based economies, such as those of the
developed countries, because such economies are taxed so they cannot compete
with services provided outside the EU. Each member country's tax regime is
micro-managed by the European Union. The former purchase tax was specifically
designed for taxing luxury goods, but the VAT is now imposed even on essentials
needed by the poorest members of society. Furthermore, the VAT discriminates
against women because the EU requires the member states to tax products used by
only one gender, such as tampons.
The "Traveling Circus"
Few people outside European parliamentary circles are aware that there is an EU
"traveling circus." Once a month, the European Parliament moves from Brussels in
Belgium to Strasbourg in France. Even though Members of European Parliament (MEPs)
voted to scrap this move, the French government, which initiated this madness in
the first place, has the power to block any such decision and is apparently
determined to do so. That is another fact which goes unmentioned by those
determined to keep the UK in the EU. When this author challenged an MEP, Mary
Honeyball, on the subject, she claimed that it was "being dealt with," but the
French government is fiercely opposed to keeping the parliament exclusively in
Brussels and it has the power to block any such reform. The cost of the
"travelling circus" alone is conservatively estimated at £130 million ($187
million) a year.
Free Movement of Labour
The free movement of labour between EU member states was always going to be a
non-starter. Has anyone noticed the hordes of British plumbers and electricians
emigrating to Bulgaria and Romania? The movement of skilled and unskilled labour
from the poorest countries of the EU to the wealthier ones -- those that offer
generous benefits to the unemployed and even subsidise low wages -- has always
been a fact of life, one seriously underestimated by successive British
governments. The British suffer most because, of all the countries of the EU,
the UK offers the most generous benefits. The so-called "freedom of movement,"
which has proved to be just a one-way street, is only one of the reasons why
Britain needs to regain control of its own destiny and stop being subservient to
laws being made by unelected, overpaid, un-unelectable bureaucrats in Brussels.
But Will There Be a Brexit?
Unfortunately, most voters in the British referendum glean their information
from the sound bites of politicians on television. This circumstance leaves the
public open to manipulation, uninformed, and ignorant of the facts. One fact,
however, that cannot be ignored is that ever since Britain joined the European
Economic Community in 1973, British politicians across the entire political
spectrum from left (Tony Benn) to right (Enoch Powell) were perceptive enough to
realize that Britain would lose the power to make its own laws and turn into a
vassal of the France-Germany axis.
Leaving the European Union will give the UK back its sovereignty and leave it
free to make alliances not only with its former European partners, but with
other Commonwealth countries, to say nothing of the United States, and Central
and South America.
**Josephine Bacon is a journalist, author, and translator based in London. She
is an active member of the British Labour Party and the Cooperative Party.
[1] The Court of Auditors also found that the fact that Value Added Tax is not
payable on goods and services exported within the EU from one country to another
has led to VAT evasion and fraud, and that this was not being adequately
tackled.