LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 11/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.august11.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
When
you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And
you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at
the resurrection of the righteous
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 14/12-15/:"He said also to
the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not
invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in
case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a
banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be
blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous.’One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said
to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’".
If you know that he is
righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him.
First Letter of John 02/21-29/:"I write to you, not because you do not know the
truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie comes from the truth.
Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the
antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son
has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you
heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning
abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is
what he has promised us, eternal life. I write these things to you concerning
those who would deceive you. As for you, the anointing that you received from
him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his
anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just
as it has taught you, abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him, so
that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before
him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that
everyone who does right has been born of him." me. From this we know that it is the
last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had
belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by going out they made it
plain that none of them belongs to us. But you have been anointed by the Holy
One, and all of you have knowledge."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on August 10-11/16
Bassil’s ultimatum: Aoun or
vacuum/Author Majd Bou Mjahed/Al-Monitor/August 10/16
France Working to De-Radicalize Its Mosques/Johanna Markind//Gatestone
Institute/August 10/16
Islam's "Quiet Conquest" of Europe/Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/August
10/16
Turkish-Russian Ties after the Erdogan-Putin Breakthrough/Soner Cagaptay/The
Washington Institute/August 10/16
Peace, liberty and Islam/Rafael Castro/Ynetnews /August 10/16
Has Obama’s non-involvement come to an end/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/August
10/16
The opposing narratives of Aleppo’s siege/Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/August
10/16
Islam in Europe: Extremism and integration/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/August
10/16
Defeating ISIS is beside the point; Iraq does not exist anymore/Dr. John C.
Hulsman/Al Arabiya/August 10/16
Saudi Arabia and the war on drifting/Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/August 10/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
on August 10-11/16
Al-Rahi from Baalbek: We Must All
Cooperate to Cut Off Hand of Terrorism
Qahwaji: Army Racing Terrorism, Extending My Term Up to Authorities
Salam follows up on apple planting, meets Lebanese Omani businessmen council
Berri: Electing president doesn't solve alone pending issues
Syrian refugees' dossier at center of Gemayel's discussions with Richard
Kahwagi receives Russian military attache
Rifi Urges Arabs to 'Confront Hizbullah and Iran Hegemony over Lebanon'
Shabb visits Geagea: Presidential dossier will remain pending
Video: Hezbollah drone strikes rebels south of Aleppo
Protesting EDL Contract Workers Block Highway
Army Arrests 40 Syrian Suspects in Hermel Refugees Camps
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq Reiterates Lebanon to Have President before
2017
Bou Saab from Ain Tineh: Harmony between Berri and Bassil
Abou Faour: No financial crisis in government hospitals
A man suspect of murdering his wife arrested in Tripoli
Bassil’s ultimatum: Aoun or vacuum
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
on August 10-11/16
Christians say defeating ISIS won't make Iraq safe for them
US decries IS 'genocide' of Christians, Shiites, Yazidis
Senators: Iran war budget increased by 'exactly the same amount' as ransom
payment
Shocking audio surfaces: Khomeini’s ex-heir acknowledges massacre of PMOI by
Iran regime
Second man arrested over French priest’s murder
Police raid suspected militants in west German towns
Turkey: Russia relations no substitute to NATO
‘Israel is failing to plan for its future,' former national security chief warns
IBTimes: Protest in London in solidarity with Iran's political prisoners
Russia says foiled Crimea 'terrorist attacks' by Kiev
8 Iranian Soldiers Killed in Aleppo
U.N., Iran Raise Concerns over Renewed Yemen Violence
Saudi-Led Jets Strike Yemen after Missiles Intercepted
No Need for Foreign Troops on Libyan Soil,' Sarraj Says
West Worried by Tensions around Libyan Oil Terminal
Impeachment Trial Looms for Brazil's Beleaguered Rousseff
Israel to Open Five East Jerusalem Police Stations
Links From Jihad Watch Site for
on August 10-11/16
Idaho: Muslim charged with sexual assault was touted by media as
“moderate” two months ago
UK: Muslim who murdered Ahmadi screams “Praise for the prophet Muhammad” as he
is sentenced
Another Muslim migrant sexual assault in Twin Falls, Idaho
Italy: Muslim group demands legalization of polygamy as counterpart to
legalization of gay marriage
Belgium: Police hunt for imam’s son who walked down street loudly praying to
Allah for “annihilation of all Christians”
Black Lives Matter defends platform accusing Israel of ‘genocide’
Raymond Ibrahim: Forget Explanations, Focus on Reason Why West
is Losing against Islam
UK: Man sentenced to slave labor for “grossly offensive” “anti-Muslim” remarks
Video: Robert Spencer on CAIR’s inaccurate and deceitful
“Islamophobia” report
on August 10-11/16
Al-Rahi from Baalbek: We Must All
Cooperate to Cut Off Hand of Terrorism
Naharnet/August 10/16/Maronite
Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said Wednesday that all Lebanese must cooperate to
“cut off the hand of terrorism” during a visit to Baalbek and several Bekaa
towns.“We consider this visit as a completion of our condolences visit to al-Qaa,
in light of what we heard from our people regarding their fear for their future
and their need for reassurances and for the presence of the army that is
defending this front,” said al-Rahi at the Baalbek Maronite archbishopric. “We
came here today to say that the region's Christian and Muslim residents are
united in their efforts to preserve the country and its security and coexist
together in dignity,” he added. “This region is the shield of the country...
Terror sought to turn it into a gateway into the country... and this requires us
all to cooperate in order to be a firm bulwark, to cut off the hand of
terrorism, and to confront all the attempts seeking to import terrorism into
Lebanon,” the patriarch urged. He noted that Lebanon “is the only country in
this Middle East that is still steadfast (in the face of terrorism) due to the
resolve of its people, who want to preserve their existence despite everything,
especially as Christians who have inhabited this land for 2,000 years now.”
“What makes Lebanon a special country in this Levant is our culture and we are
keen on the persistence of this culture which was jointly built by Christians
and Muslims in Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan and the Levant, and we cannot
leave our land to Daesh (Islamic State group), al-Qaida, the terrorist
organizations or the mercenaries who are coming from all over the world,” al-Rahi
added. He also said that he explored with the region's municipal chiefs and
dignitaries means to “show solidarity with the all the security and military
agencies” in order to “safeguard security in the region.”Al-Rahi's visit also
involved meetings at the Deir al-Ahmar Maronite archbishopric and the Baalbek
Greek Catholic archbishopric. Al-Qaa is a predominantly Christian town nestled
in a hilly border area that has been shaken by violence since Syria's conflict
erupted in 2011. Four suicide bombers hit the town before dawn on June 27 and
another four suicide bombers carried out an evening attack, killing five people
and wounding 28 others. Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said the bombers
came from the Islamic State group's bastion in the Syrian province of Raqa while
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has said that they came from the IS
posts in the outskirts of the nearby border town of Arsal. Lebanon's army has
fought off jihadist factions along the frontier and has sought to clamp down on
local cells operating in the area. In August 2014, the army fought deadly
battles in and around the town of Arsal with militants from the IS and al-Nusra
Front, which has recently changed its name to Fateh al-Sham Front after
announcing a break of ties with al-Qaida.
Qahwaji: Army Racing Terrorism, Extending My Term Up to Authorities
Naharnet/August 10/16/Army
Commander General Jean Qahwaji emphasized that the army exerts relentless
efforts to fight back terrorism as he emphasized that he does not interfere in
the decisions of the authorities as for his term extension, As Safir daily
reported on Wednesday. “The army is locked in a close race with terrorism which
seeks to target its arena,” Qahwaji told the daily in an interview. He pointed
out that he does not hesitate to carry out pre-emptive strikes against terror
cells and groups whenever he gets the opportunity. Lebanon's army has fought off
jihadist groups near the border with Syria and has sought to clamp down on local
terror cells operating in various regions. On the potentials that officials
might agree to extend his term before it ends in September, Qahwaji said: “I do
not get involved in all the talk around me on whether my term will be extended
or not. I am only bound by the decisions of the political authorities whether
they decide to extend my term or appoint a new army commander. “Do not involve
me in the game of conflicts which the military institution must be kept away
from and let me do my work,” remarked Qahwaji. Defense Minister Samir Moqbel
said laetly that extending the tenure of Qahwaji for another year is possible,
while extending the mandate of Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Walid Salman is not.
Moqbel had in August last year postponed the retirement of Qahwaji, Salman and
Higher Defense Council chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kheir, extending their terms by
one year, after the political forces failed to reach an agreement on security
and military appointments. Qahwaji's tenure expires in September while that of
Salman will end on August 7. The army chief's term has been extended twice since
2013 despite political objections, especially from the Free Patriotic Movement,
which says it rejects term extensions for any military or security official.
Salam follows up on apple planting, meets Lebanese Omani
businessmen council
Wed 10 Aug 2016/NNA - Prime Minister Tammam Salam welcomed on Wednesday before
noon at the Grand Serail the members of parliament Farid Elias Al-Khazen and
Youssef Khalil, accompanied with the Chairman of the Importers and Exporters of
Vegetables and Fruits in Lebanon Syndicate, Naim Khalil. Khazen explained in the
wake of the meeting that discussions tackled the apple planting issue in Lebanon
during which they tried to find methods to provide support to the farmers in
anyway possible and to find markets to export the produce, adding that Premier
Salam promised them to seek to find solutions to their problems and to treat
their long suffering crisis. In turn, Khalil said,"Agriculture in Lebanon
suffers from negligence and is not backed," pointing out that the attendees
discussed during the meeting the possibility of finding a fixed mechanism to
support it. Separately, Salam met with a delegation from the Lebanese Omani
businessmen presided by Shadi Massaad who said after the meeting that they
briefed Salam on the ongoing discussions with the officials in Oman to develop
economic relations between the two countries, adding that they also discussed
with him the possibility of founding an Omani Cultural Center in Lebanon.
Berri: Electing president doesn't
solve alone pending issues
Wed 10 Aug 2016/NNA - House Speaker, Nabih Berri, said that accomplishing the
presidential election didn't mean solving all pending political issues and
matters. Speaker Berri's words came in the context of Wednesday's parliamentary
gathering. Berri explained to the MPs who met him the outcome of the three-day
dialogue. Separately, Berri received Education and Higher Learning Minister,
Elias Bou Saab, and discussed with him educational affairs, with Minister Bou
Saab saying that harmony prevailed yesterday over the meeting between Foreign
Affairs Minister, Gibran Bassil, and Berri.
Syrian refugees' dossier at center
of Gemayel's discussions with Richard
Wed 10 Aug 2016/NNA - Former President Amine Gemayel met on Wednesday with US
Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard, with talks touching on the dossier of
Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Discussions also focused on the political situation,
including the extended presidential vacuum. Gemayel criticized, after the
meeting, the pressure from Arab countries on Lebanon to host huge numbers of
refugees. He later denounced the paralysis of constitutional institutions, which
results from the prevailing presidential vacuum.
Kahwagi receives Russian military
attache
Wed 10 Aug 2016/NNA - Lebanese Army Chief, General Jean Kahwagi, on Wednesday
received in Yarze Russian military attache Ratmir Monirovic Gabasov and
discussed with him bilateral military ties.
Rifi Urges Arabs to 'Confront
Hizbullah and Iran Hegemony over Lebanon'
Naharnet/August 10/16/Resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi on Wednesday urged
the Arab states to confront what he called the “hegemony” of Hizbullah and Iran
over Lebanon.
“What's happening in Beirut requires a coordinated Arab effort and an Arab
confrontation of Iran's attempt to seize control of Arab capitals,” Rifi said in
an interview on Sky News Arabia television. “Hizbullah's involvement in the
Syrian quagmire is a historic crime for which it will pay the price along with
Iran,” the minister warned. “Hizbullah's resistance weapons have been turned
against our people in Syria... and Hizbullah is currently paying a hefty price
in Aleppo's battle,” Rifi added. Turning to the Lebanese situations, the
minister accused Hizbullah of being “a tool in Iran's hand” and of “obstructing
the presidential vote in Lebanon.” “We are partners in Lebanon and we won't
bestow legitimacy on illegitimate arms,” he said. He noted, however, that “the
majority of the Lebanese people are against Hizbullah and Iran's
scheme.”“Leniency with Hizbullah is not acceptable anymore and our victory in
the municipal polls reflected rejection of its scheme,” Rifi said. He also
described the national dialogue sessions as a “ploy.” “We will not be false
witnesses on Hizbullah's hegemony at the dialogue table,” Rifi added.
Shabb visits Geagea: Presidential
dossier will remain pending
Wed 10 Aug 2016/NNA - Head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, received on
Wednesday in Meerab member of the Future bloc, MP Bassem Shabb who put the
meeting in the framework of "communication and consultation in light of the
difficult situations experienced by the Lebanese." Asked whether he carried a
specific message from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to Geagea regarding the
presidential file, Shabb replied "The visit aims to assess matters after a
dialogue session with no valuable results and after another failed presidential
election session." "Unfortunately, the presidential dossier is still pending and
it will remain so for a period of time," the Deputy said, underlining his bloc's
principle position which is to give priority to electing a President of the
Lebanese Republic. "Let's start solving things step by step instead of thinking
of a full-package deal," he said.
Video: Hezbollah drone strikes
rebels south of Aleppo
Now Lebanon/August 10/16/https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/567264-video-hezbollah-drone-strikes-rebels-south-of-aleppo
Footage released Tuesday shows what appear to be Chinese-made MZD-2 munitions
dropped from pilotless aircraft onto rebel positions
A first-of-its-kind video released online Tuesday by a media source affiliated
with Hezbollah appears to show the group bombing Syrian rebels in the village of
Khalsa, southwest of Aleppo, from the air using a pilotless drone. The footage
shows three separate bombings; one of “a [rebel] leader’s base,” the second of a
pick-up truck purportedly belonging to “gunmen,” the third of a tent-like
structure ostensibly housing “a gathering of gunmen.” In the third clip, two
canisters filled with ball bearings are seen falling beneath the camera,
prompting a figure on the arid ground below to start running before two small
clouds of dust erupt upon the canisters’ impact. The bombs appear to be
Chinese-made MZD-2 submunitions, also known as Type-90s. According to Human
Rights Watch, Hezbollah previously used these same submunitions against Israel
during the July 2006 war, when they were placed in large quantities inside
Chinese-made Type-81 122mm rockets to form cluster munitions. They consist of an
armor-piercing shaped charge explosive encased in a cylinder filled with 3.5mm
steel ball bearings.
Burgeoning drone program
The first recorded use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by Hezbollah came in
October 2012 after a drone entered Israel from the Mediterranean Sea, flew 55 km
inside Israeli airspace and was later shot down over the Negev Desert. Israeli
politicians accused the Party of God of responsibility for the rogue UAV, which
was later confirmed in a speech by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.
Nasrallah publicly acknowledged that the drone, which he claimed was
Iranian-made but assembled in Lebanon, was a part of a Hezbollah reconnaissance
mission. “The Resistance in Lebanon sent a sophisticated reconnaissance drone
from Lebanon over the [Mediterranean] Sea, which it traversed for hundreds of
kilometers, after which it entered [Israeli airspace] and hovered over many
important locations before it was discovered by the Israeli air force,” the
party chief said. Israeli media also accused the Party of God of violating its
airspace with a second drone in February 2015.
Hezbollah UAVs in Syria
The use of drones by Hezbollah became more prevalent after the group’s public
entry into the conflict in Syria in 2013.Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV regularly aired
footage taken from UAVs during offensives in Syria’s Qalamoun region and the
campaign in Lebanon’s mountainous northeastern border region in 2015. In one
such instance, Al-Manar aired drone footage of party fighters ambushing several
Al-Nusra Front militants on the outskirts of the Lebanese border town of Arsal.
However, Tuesday’s UAV footage from Aleppo was the first from that region of
Syria as well as the first to demonstrate the party’s offensive drone
capabilities.
Hezbollah in Aleppo
Hezbollah has reportedly lost at least a dozen from its ranks during a week of
fierce fighting in Syria’s second city. In an audio clip claimed by opposition
sources to have been leaked from the party, an alleged Hezbollah fighter
complains of being abandoned on the battlefield by Syrian, Iranian, and Afghan
allies. “They all left us […] the army disintegrated,” a man with a south
Lebanese accent is heard saying. The group is reported to have since called in
reinforcements, as has the Syrian army, aiming to stave off further rebel gains
in the highly strategic city. The rebels’ Jaysh al-Fateh (‘Army of Conquest’)
coalition, for its part, has vowed to press on until it “liberate[s] all of
Aleppo.”
Protesting EDL Contract Workers
Block Highway
Naharnet/August 10/16/Electrictie du Liban contract workers staged protests on
Wednesday and blocked the vital highway of Charles Helou protesting the
officials failure to meet their longstanding demand for their full-time
employment. The protest kicked off at 10:00 am amid intense security measures.
The campaigners blocked the highway near the EDL headquarters and vowed not to
reopen it until their demands are considered. In Nabatieh, EDL workers closed
the company's headquarters and prevented the entry of employees. “We are here to
stay. We will not open the road until our demands are met,” said one of the
campaigners. “Four years have passed. Some of the workers have been
fully-employed while the majority are still waiting,” he added. The protesters
reopened the road at around 12:00 noon. A delegation of the workers headed to
the headquarters of the Civil Service Board and met with the president of the
council Fatima Owaidat Sayegh. After the meeting, the workers said: “The Board
was sympathetic with our cause and decided to postpone entrance exams that were
set for Saturday until things calm down.” The workers have been asking EDL for
full-time employment with benefits. In 2012 they agreed with the government to
sit for entrance exams which would bring them to their request on condition they
pass. However, around 140 workers have passed and more than 1,500 others are
still waiting for their employment, according to reports. The contracts of the
workers with the private service providers are set to expire on August 28.
Army Arrests 40 Syrian Suspects in
Hermel Refugees Camps
Naharnet/August 10/16/The Lebanese army arrested forty Syrian suspects on
Wednesday in raids it staged on refugee encampments in the Bekaa town of Hermel,
the National News Agency reported. Army troops and intelligence units carried
out a wide-scale raid that began at 6:00 am and that included the displaced
encampments in the region of Hermel in al-Tall, Hosh al-Sayyed Ali and al-Shawagir,
NNA added. Forty Syrian nationals were arrested for different reasons some of
whom have infiltrated Lebanon's territory and others lacked the legal
identification papers. They were all referred to the relevant authorities. The
army confiscated a large number of motorcycles in addition to a hunting rifle,
NNA added.
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq Reiterates Lebanon to Have President before
2017
Naharnet/August 10/16/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq on Tuesday reiterated
his belief that a president will be elected before the end of the year. “I'm
still convinced that a president will be elected before the end of this year,”
Mashnouq said in an interview with NBN television.
The minister also denied reports of an internal vote among the members of the
al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on the presidential nomination of Free Patriotic
Movement founder MP Michel Aoun, describing what happened as “consultations over
the political choices that must be endorsed.”“We are not a movement of political
waiting but rather a movement that takes decisions and it is our duty to discuss
any choice that should be taken in the coming period,” Mashnouq explained. Asked
about Speaker Nabih Berri's warning that failure to strike a political
settlement would lead to a constituent assembly or even a civil war, Mashnouq
described Berri as “a political and national security valve no matter what he
says.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman
ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their
allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them
of the needed quorum. Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, who is
close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada
Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met
with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.
The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than
Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his
bigger influence in the Christian community.
Bou Saab from Ain Tineh: Harmony
between Berri and Bassil
Wed 10 Aug 2016/NNA - Education and Higher Learning Minister, Elias Bou Saab,
said that harmony prevailed over yesterday's meting between Foreign Affairs
Minister Gibran Bassil and House Speaker Nabih Berri, warning that "if pending
matters, especially political ones, are not resolved, we will reach a bigger
crisis." Minister Bou Saab on Wednesday visited House Speaker, Nabih Berri, in
Ain Al Tineh and discussed with him educational affairs.
Abou Faour: No financial crisis in
government hospitals
Wed 10 Aug 2016/NNA - Minister of Public Health, Wael Abou Faour announced that
government hospitals in Lebanon do not suffer financial crises. He said, with
figures to confirm his words, at a press conference after his meeting with the
administrative councils of government hospitals that the delay in wages in these
institutions formed part of the "administrative routine" and was not due to a
financial crisis. "[Salaries] are paid in coordination between the Ministries of
Health and of Finance," he said. Minited Abou Faour also highlighted the success
rate in government hospitals.
A man suspect of murdering his wife arrested in Tripoli
Wed 10 Aug 2016/NNA - The Internal Security Forces Directorate announced in a
statement on Wednesday that a man was arrested in Tripoli on suspicion of
murdering his wife. The body of the victim was found yesterday and the traces of
violence were clear.
Bassil’s ultimatum: Aoun or vacuum
Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/August 10/16
BEIRUT: Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil warned Tuesday of a further prolongation
of the presidential vacuum, now in its third year, if MP Michel Aoun is not
elected president.
Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, said his party would only accept
the election of a president who enjoys the largest representation within the
Christian community, in a clear allusion to Aoun, his father-in-law.
However, Bassil said the FPM was ready to drop its support for Aoun, who is
backed for the presidency by Hezbollah and some of its March 8 allies and the
Lebanese Forces, if the Lebanese people chose another candidate.
Meanwhile, the Future parliamentary bloc lamented Parliament’s failure this week
for the 43rd time in more than two years to elect a president over a lack of
quorum. “The obstruction continues and the presidential vacuum continues,” the
bloc said in a statement after its weekly meeting chaired by former Prime
Minister Fouad Siniora. It blamed Hezbollah and the FPM for the continued
presidential void.
The bloc underlined the importance of all lawmakers hurrying to elect a
president according to the rules stipulated by the Constitution.
“The election of a president is the master key to reviving constitutional
institutions and subsequently, enabling the Lebanese to refocus attention on
dealing with a large amount of accumulated problems and crises facing them,
which have worsened due to the continuation of the presidential vacuum and led
to a further erosion of state authority and prestige,” the statement said.
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, a prominent Future figure, said he is still
convinced that a president will be elected before the end of the year. In an
interview with the NBN channel, Machnouk said there was no vote on Aoun’s
presidential candidacy during the Future bloc’s meeting last week. “There was
consultation on the political choices that need to be adopted,” he said.
Bassil, speaking at a televised news conference following the weekly meeting of
the Change and Reform bloc chaired by Aoun at his residence in Rabieh, north of
Beirut, said: “If the sweeping Christian majority was not able to elect a
president, this means the end of the world. We are not servants in this country.
Either there is an equal treatment for everyone, or the crisis will drag on.”
“We want a national president [who has the broadest Christian representation]
because this is the only solution,” Bassil said. “Any other president is
unacceptable for us. ... We will only accept a president who has the largest
representation.” The FPM and its ally, Hezbollah, have argued that Aoun, who
heads the largest Christian bloc in Parliament, is the most qualified candidate
to be elected president in view of his wide representation within the Christian
community.
Aoun’s Christian power base was further boosted following the FPM’s
understanding with its former rival, the LF, that was culminated with a historic
reconciliation between Aoun and LF chief Samir Geagea at the latter’s residence
in Maarab in January. It was at that meeting that Geagea, formerly the March 14
candidate for the presidency, announced his support for Aoun, more than two
months after former Prime Minister Saad Hariri backed MP Sleiman Frangieh’s
nomination for the country’s top Christian post as part of an
internationally-backed initiative to end the power vacuum.
Bassil said if the Lebanese chose another candidate, the FPM would drop its
support for Aoun. “We are not holding onto Gen. Michel Aoun as a person but as a
principle that protects the country. When the people choose another person, we
will support him,” he said.
“There are some who are preventing a consensus [on the presidency] and taking
the country to ruins,” he added. It was not immediately clear whether Bassil was
referring to the Future bloc, which has rejected Aoun’s presidential bid, while
reaffirming its support for Frangieh’s candidacy.
Aoun, was reported to be counting on last-minute support from the Future bloc to
boost his chances for being elected president. Frangieh, who is supported by
Speaker Nabih Berri, Hariri, MP Walid Jumblatt and some independent lawmakers,
is standing against Aoun in the presidential race.
Bassil, who inherited the FPM’s leadership from Aoun, also rejected a new
extension of Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi’s term.
“Our position is firm in rejecting the extension and demanding the appointment
of a new Army commander,” Bassil said. He stressed that the Change and Reform
bloc would take a firm stance if Kahwagi’s term was extended. He did not say
what this stance might be.
Parliamentary sources in the FPM did not rule out the possible withdrawal from
the Cabinet as one of the options if Kahwagi’s term was extended.
“The FPM is aware that the decision to extend Kahwagi’s term has been made, but
based on the principle of rejecting the extension, it will consult on the
pullout from the Cabinet with its allies, particularly Hezbollah’s ministers and
Geagea, both of which do not object to the extension,” an FPM parliamentary
source told The Daily Star.
The source said it is impossible for Aoun to accept “Plan B” – dropping out of
the presidential race. He added that the FPM is waiting for Hariri to return to
Beirut to see if he is carrying anything new concerning the Future Movement’s
stand on the presidency.
Defense Minister Samir Moqbel recently said that he may sign off on another
extension for Khawagi’s term which expires in September.
The extension of Kahwagi’s term by one year last August infuriated the FPM,
which prompted the party’s two ministers to boycott Cabinet for months. They
finally agreed to rejoin Cabinet after the Defense Ministry appointed new
members of the Military Council.
Bassil also reiterated the FPM’s rejection of a new extension of Parliament’s
mandate. He also said the FPM will not accept holding parliamentary elections,
set for June next year, on the basis of the 1960 electoral law.
“We want a new electoral law, but only after the election of a president who has
the largest representation,” he said.
Lebanon’s tourism sector suffers with lack of Gulf tourists
Author Majd Bou Mjahed/Translator/Kamal
Fayad/Al-Monitor/August 10/16
The road was empty. Dried leaves danced on vacant sidewalks, their rustling
clearly audible as they rolled on the ground. Gazing upon the scene from inside
my car was melancholic, as silence enveloped the beautiful street; a silence not
ruined, and a stupor not broken, except by the roar or headlights of cars coming
from the opposite end. Store signs were dark, or were they missing? Their fronts
shuttered by rollers caked with heavy dust.
Lebanon's tourism sector has been suffering lately because of the unstable
political situation that has left Gulf citizens reluctant to visit the country.
Such was the vision that welcomed visitors to the main street in the renowned
town of Bhamdoun el-Mhatta, 23 kilometers from Beirut, that is if one were to
park his car and exit to stroll about. But, what harkens? A different sound
could now be heard, an unusual commotion that defied description — a bustling
noise! I hastily drew closer to its source and discovered an open ice cream and
confectionary parlor, brightly lit up and bursting with customers. What was its
secret for success on such a lonely street? “Its ice cream is tasty, and its
name well-known. Beirutis flock to it to escape the stifling heat; it is one of
the few stores that opened its shutters this year. No wonder that it is so
crowded!”
We continued on toward another confectionary that beckoned customers to come in,
in the hope of a fruitful season, only to find disappointment. Except for
ashtrays, its tables lay empty. Six years ago, the same street was closed to
vehicular traffic, and the few cars that ventured in swam all night in a sea of
people. If a safe parking spot proved available, lucky drivers parked their cars
hundreds of meters away, and advanced on foot, squinting at the blinding light
emanating from restaurants, cafes and storefronts, amid the throngs of Gulf
country tourists, who, for decades, held a special affection for the main street
of Bhamdoun el-Mhatta. What is it that changed then?
1,200 mostly vacant apartments, and 5,000 wasted employment opportunities
“Perhaps the fate of the Gulf tourists’ most popular destination was to pay the
price of the Syrian war,” Bhamdoun el-Mhatta Mayor Esta Abou Rjeily told An-Nahar.
He said that in the past when the Damascus Road was open for traffic between the
Gulf countries and Syria and no travel warnings urged Gulf citizens to stay
clear of Lebanon, be it by land or air, the situation in Bhamdoun el-Mhatta was
much different.
Abou Rjeily added, “Overland travel between Lebanon and the Gulf countries is
completely halted, which negatively affected tourism in mountain summer resorts.
Despite the fact that security in Lebanon is good, political stability is the
key missing ingredient, which, if it were present, would give impetus to the
arrival of Gulf tourists to Lebanon.” Abou Rjeily lamented that in the past,
planes coming from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to Lebanon were estimated to number
30 a day, with Bhamdoun el-Mhatta taking on the role of meeting place or
rallying point for Gulf tourists, who flocked there in the thousands per day
from 40 or so adjoining villages in Mount Lebanon’s Chouf, Aley and el-Metn
regions, for the purpose of shopping and meeting up with friends. In Bhamdoun
el-Mhatta, the number of furnished apartments set aside for Gulf tourists is
estimated to total 1,200, though only 30% are currently rented. Also, the town’s
stores and shops seasonally rented to merchants are, by and large, vacant and
empty, due to the lack of prospects for a promising season that may urge them to
invest in the region. Abou Rjeily added: “The market crisis faced by Bhamdoun
el-Mhatta is part of the larger crisis that afflicted and weakened the Lebanese
marketplace. Why would merchants invest in Bhamdoun when they are suffering from
miserable conditions in Beirut, due to the absence of Gulf tourists and Lebanese
expatriates alike?” The larger issue engendered by the dearth of Gulf tourists
in mountain summer destinations is the loss of approximately 5,000 direct and
indirect jobs, which, in turn, will negatively affect the future of young people
in the region and add to their difficult economic conditions, especially
considering that they had grown dependent upon the summer season to secure their
livelihoods when winter came.”
35% August occupancy rate
Most five-star hotels in Bhamdoun el-Mhatta maintain a glimmer of hope that
urges them to endure until the return of the town’s glory days. According to
Abou Rjeily, their occupancy rate depended on future developments. In August,
the rate ranged between 35% and 40%, much lower than the 100% occupancy rate
recorded in 2010, with the majority of current reservations made by Saudis,
Qataris and Kuwaitis. “Gulf country citizens are hungry for the return of
political stability to Lebanon, as they feel forcibly deprived of the
opportunity to come back to Lebanon’s summer destinations, for which they have
no alternatives.” He added that he expected a rise in reservations this month
due to the deteriorating political and security situation in Turkey, which led
many Arab citizens to change their travel plans from Turkey to Lebanon.
From 890,000 to 200,000 Gulf tourists
Shedding light on the state of the tourism sector in Lebanon affected by the
paucity of Gulf visitors, economist Jassem Ajaqa told An-Nahar that the number
of Gulf tourists entering Lebanon reached 890,000 in 2010, while this number did
not exceed 200,000 in 2015. Still, it is expected to increase by 50,000 to
60,000 this year due to the Turkish crisis. The number of tourists who came to
Lebanon totaled 2,167,989 in 2010, with the number decreasing to 1,517,927 in
2015 when Gulf citizens remained away. Ajaqa further said that, in his opinion,
the importance of Gulf tourists lay in their level of spending, which is the
highest in Lebanon. The expatriate Lebanese population visiting the country is
extremely large, but its spending is low compared with Gulf tourists. From this
standpoint, Ajaqa compared Lebanon’s loss of Gulf tourists to the unfortunate
loss of a beloved Rolls Royce, for said forfeiture deprived Lebanon of
liquidity, while the repercussions on the tourism sector were negative,
concurrently due to the low profit margin and reduced number of tourists.
Ajaqa confined the spending of Lebanese expatriates to four main sectors during
their seasonal visits to Lebanon: rental cars, restaurants, mountain chalet
leases and seaside resorts. But the absence of Gulf tourists led to a drop in
the profitability of the sector; for, a car costing $50 per day to rent in 2010
now only costs $35, despite it being a 2016 model. He summarized the state of
Lebanon’s tourism sector in 2016 with one sentence: “The whole of the sector is
enduring, despite the drop in profitability compared with the period when Gulf
tourists flocked to the country.”
To what extent will the Turkish crisis bring Gulf tourists back to Lebanon this
summer?
“Some of those canceling their stays in Turkey will go to European Balkan
countries endowed with the same natural beauty as Turkey. With regard to Arab
citizens, some of them will come to Lebanon following the positive remarks made
by Saudi ambassador Ali Awad Asiri," Ajaqa said. "But I do not think that their
percentage will be great because the political situation will remain unchanged,
particularly after the media escalation underway between Hezbollah and Saudi
Arabia. Moreover, the issue of food safety may impede the arrival of tourists"
despite its not being much of a real issue. This season, visitors to Bhamdoun
el-Mhatta have but that sole open ice cream parlor, in addition to a few shops
that for years have adorned its main avenue and remained operational during the
town’s harsh winter season. The rest are but dark and forgotten shells looking
for a glimmer of hope to brighten their future seasons.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on August 10-11/16
Christians say defeating ISIS won't
make Iraq safe for them
Ynetnews/Associated Press/August 10/16/As operations to retake the militant-held
city of Mosul ramp up, Iraqi Christians displaced from the area by ISIS say that
even if the militants are defeated militarily, the country will not be safe for
minorities. Irbil- Qaraqosh, the biggest Christian town on the Nineveh plains in
Iraq's north, fell to ISIS more than two years ago and remains under militant
control. Most of its displaced inhabitants are living in camps in Iraq's Kurdish
region. Hundreds of others fled to neighboring countries, Europe, the United
States and further afield. On the edge of Irbil's historically Christian
neighborhood of Ankawa, 1,200 identical white trailers arranged in neat rows
shelter some 5,000 people. A handful of families here say they will return home
the day their town is liberated. But many say they would rather leave for
abroad. Despite the string of military defeats suffered by ISIS, they say the
militants' incursion into Iraq has thrown the future of the country's minority
groups into further uncertainty. "If organized migration were possible, then I
can say that 90 percent of the inhabitants of this camp would leave," said camp
manager Father Emanuel Adel Kelo. Raad Bahnam Samaan, his wife and five children
fled their home in Qaraqosh in early August 2014, joining the 150,000 Iraqi
Christians who left towns and villages around Mosul for areas under Kurdish
control. In the face of the ISIS advance, Kurdish forces - known as the
Peshmerga - largely withdrew from the outskirts of Mosul, and the towns and
villages fell rapidly into the militants' hands. After months of living in
cramped quarters in a dusty camp for displaced civilians, Samaan and his family
tried to leave the country through a United Nations resettlement program but
without success. Samaan says the more than two years of being stuck in limbo has
dulled his sense of optimism. "There is always hope," he said of returning home,
"but when? Nobody knows. It might be a year, two years, a day, a couple of days.
Three or four years from now if we go home there won't be anything left of our
house."Christians once constituted a sizeable minority in Iraq but their numbers
have dwindled since the 2003 US-led invasion as many have emigrated to the West
to escape violence."I see no future for us (here)," Samaan said. His son, Iva,
25, is engaged to be married but the camp is at capacity and he can't secure a
private trailer to share with his wife to be. "The boys are growing up," Samaan
said, "how can I secure their future?" When Samaan reflects on what life may be
like in a liberated Mosul, he says he worries the upheaval caused by ISIS will
have strained sectarian tensions in Iraq beyond repair, making enemies of people
who were once his neighbors. "We'll still be afraid. I will go to Mosul and I
will be afraid because they will say, here comes the Christian," he said.
US decries IS 'genocide' of Christians, Shiites, Yazidis
Wed 10 Aug 2016/NNA - The United States on Wednesday denounced the "genocide"
carried out by the Islamic State group against Christians, Shiites and Yazidis,
as the State Department unveiled its somber annual report on religious freedom
around the world. In its comprehensive look at the situation in more than 200
countries in 2015, the State Department said non-state actors like the IS group
and Boko Haram "continued to rank amongst the most egregious abusers of
religious freedom in the world." The IS group "continued to pursue a brutal
strategy of what Secretary (John) Kerry judged to constitute genocide against
Yazidis, Christians, Shiites, and other vulnerable groups in the territory it
controlled," the State Department said. Kerry and United Nations experts had
previously used the term "genocide" to refer to crimes carried out by IS
jihadists in Iraq and Syria. In the two war-torn countries, where the Islamic
State group controls swathes of territory, jihadists were "responsible for
barbarous acts, including killings, torture, enslavement and trafficking, rape
and other sexual abuse against religious and ethnic minorities and Sunnis," the
report said. -- AFP
Senators: Iran war budget increased by 'exactly the same amount' as ransom
payment
JOEL GEHRKE/Washington Examinar/August 10/16/Iranian officials increased their
defense budget but "exactly the same amount" as the recently-negotiated U.S.
settlement payment, according to a trio of GOP senators who want President
Obama's team to explain a shipment of cash to the country that was widely viewed
as a ransom for several American hostages. President Obama agreed to send $1.7
billion to Iran, thereby ending a decades-old dispute over repaying the regime
for money spent purchasing weapons that were never delivered because of the 1979
revolution. The deal was announced in January, just as Iran released five
American hostages. That coincidence raised suspicions on Capitol Hill
immediately that the $1.7 billion functioned as a ransom payment, a concern
exacerbated by new reports that the Obama administration had $400 million in
cash flown into the country before the hostages were released.
"Iran has increased its defense budget by $1.7 billion — exactly the same amount
as the U.S. settlement payment," Georgia Republican Sens. David Perdue and
Johnny Isakson, along with Illinois Republican Mark Kirk, wrote in an Aug. 8
letter to Secretary of State John Kerry. "Can you confirm that this is true?
Does this not indicate to you that Iran is expanding its military and nefarious
operations at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer?" Iran's use of that money was
first reported by Saeed Ghasseminejad, at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies, who noted that it was part of an overall $19 billion increase in
Iranian military spending. "The budget allows $19 billion to go to the military
establishment – the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), regular military,
and Defense Ministry — a 90 percent increase in military spending compared to
the previous year," Ghasseminejad wrote in June. The senators asked Kerry to
explain if he has "any monitoring systems in place" to ensure that the cash
payment isn't used to fund terrorism and they faulted the Obama administration
for agreeing to make "any settlement payments" to the regime. "Iran owes
American victims of terrorism $46 billion," they noted. "Why would the
administration pay Iran $1.7 billon when Iran owes American victims so much
more? What efforts is the administration making to ensure that these American
victims and their families receive damages that Iran owes them?"
Shocking audio surfaces: Khomeini’s
ex-heir acknowledges massacre of PMOI by Iran regime
NCRI/Wednesday, 10 August 2016
- A shocking audio recording has been published for the first time of Khomeini’s
former heir-apparent, Hossein-Ali Montazeri, acknowledging the brutal nationwide
massacre in Iran in 1988 of activists of the main Iranian opposition group, the
People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK).
Montazeri, who was subsequently dismissed as the heir by then-Supreme Leader
Ruhollah Khomeini, is heard addressing a meeting with the “death committee,”
comprised of Hossein-Ali Nayeri, the regime’s sharia judge; Morteza Eshraqi, the
regime’s prosecutor; Ebrahim Raeesi, deputy prosecutor; and Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi,
representative of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). He tells the
death committee members: “The greatest crime committed during the reign of the
Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us, has been committed by you.
Your (names) will in the future be etched in the annals of history as
criminals.” He also added, “Executing these people while there have been no new
activities (by the prisoners) means that … the entire judicial system has been
at fault.”In the summer of 1988, the Iranian regime summarily and
extra-judicially executed 30,000 political prisoners held in jails across Iran.
This massacre was carried out on the basis of a fatwa by Khomeini. The Iranian
regime has never acknowledged these executions or provided any information as to
how many prisoners were killed. Giving an example of the extra-judicial nature
of the executions of PMOI (MEK) activists that took place at the time, Montazeri
says: “There was a case where a person’s brother was a prisoner. At the end they
said his sister is also a suspect. They went and brought his sister. They
executed him. His sister had been brought in only two days earlier and was 15
years old. They asked his sister, what do you have to say? She said, I
sympathized with these people. They said since her brother had been executed,
execute her as well. And they executed her too.” The regime had been planning
for the massacre for a long time, Montazeri reveals in the audio tape. He says,
“(The ministry of) Intelligence wanted to do it (the massacre) and had made
investments. And, Ahmad (Khomeini’s son) had been personally saying for three or
four years (prior to the massacre) that the MEK (Mujahedin-e Khalq) must all be
executed, even if they read their newspapers, publications and statements.”
Montazeri adds, “The MEK are not simply individuals. They represent an ideology
and a school of thought. They represent a line of logic. One must respond to the
wrong logic by presenting the right logic. One cannot resolve this through
killing; killing will only propagate and spread it.”Montazeri is heard in the
recording rebuking then-judiciary minister Moussavi Ardebili’s defense of the
massacre. At the time, both Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, then-Speaker of the
Majlis (Parliament), and Ali Khamenei, then-President, also repeatedly defended
the massacre committed by the regime.
Such was the brutal scale of the massacre that “the people are now revolted by
the Velayat-e Faqih” system, or the absolute rule of the supreme religious
leader, Montazeri says in the tape. Reacting to the publication of Hossein-Ali
Montazeri’s shocking audio recording of his meeting with the Death Committee
after 28 years, Shahin Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National
Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said:
It is imperative to put the clerical regime’s leaders on trial for committing
crimes against humanity
The publication of an audio tape of the former heir to the Iranian regime’s
supreme leader of his meeting with members of the “death committee” 28 years ago
(August 15, 1988) reveals new information about the scope and breadth of the
massacre of more than 30,000 political prisoners in 1988. It also shows that the
Iranian regime’s leaders who held positions of power since the beginning of the
regime’s establishment must face justice for committing one of the worst
instances of crimes against humanity.
In the audio tape, Hossein-Ali Montazeri, who was subsequently dismissed as the
heir by then-supreme leader Khomeini, is heard addressing a meeting with the
“death committee,” comprised of Hossein-Ali Nayeri, the regime’s sharia judge;
Morteza Eshraqi, the regime’s prosecutor; Ebrahim Raeesi, deputy prosecutor; and
Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, representative of the Ministry of Intelligence and
Security (MOIS). He tells the death committee members: “The greatest crime
committed during the reign of the Islamic Republic, for which history will
condemn us, has been committed by you. Your (names) will in the future be etched
in the annals of history as criminals.” He also added, “Executing these people
while there have been no new activities (by the prisoners) means that … the
entire judicial system has been at fault.”
Montazeri is heard in the recording rebuking then-judiciary minister Moussavi
Ardebili’s defense of the massacre. At the time, both Ali Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani, then-Speaker of the Majlis (Parliament), and Ali Khamenei,
then-President, also repeatedly defended the massacre committed by the regime.
The regime had been planning for the massacre for a long time, Montazeri reveals
in the audio tape. He says, “(The ministry of) Intelligence wanted to do it (the
massacre) and had made investments. And, Ahmad (Khomeini’s son) had been
personally saying for three or four years (prior to the massacre) that the MEK
(Mujahedin-e Khalq) must all be executed, even if they read their newspapers,
publications and statements.” Montazeri adds, “The MEK are not simply
individuals. They represent an ideology and a school of thought. They represent
a line of logic. One must respond to the wrong logic by presenting the right
logic. One cannot resolve this through killing; killing will only propagate and
spread it.”
Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi is currently the Justice Minister in Hassan Rouhani’s
cabinet, and Hossein-Ali Nayeri is the current head of the Supreme Disciplinary
Court for Judges. Ebrahim Raeesi was the clerical regime’s prosecutor up until
several months ago and has recently been appointed by Khamenei as the head of
the Astan Qods-e Razavi Foundation, which is one of the most important political
and economic powerhouses in the clerical regime. It appropriates public funds in
order to financially support some of the regime’s acts of suppression and export
of terrorism, including funds spent for the war in Syria.
Montazeri’s remarks provide indisputable evidence for putting those responsible
for the massacre of 1988, the clerical regime’s leaders, on trial for committing
crimes against humanity. The Iranian Resistance calls the international
community’s attention, specifically that of the UN Security Council and Human
Rights Council, to the imperative of referring this case to a responsible
international tribunal. The Iranian Resistance stresses that remaining
indifferent in the face of the greatest massacre of political prisoners since
World War Two, and in view of clear evidence and documents, would be tantamount
to a blatant violation of recognized values of human rights, peace and
democracy, upon which the United Nations has been built.
Background:
The majority of those executed were either serving prison sentences for their
political activities or had already finished their sentences but were still kept
in prison. Some of them had previously been imprisoned and released, but were
again arrested and executed during the massacre. The wave of massacre of
political prisoners began in late July and continued unabated for several
months. By the time it ended in the autumn of 1988, some 30,000 political
prisoners, the overwhelming majority activists of the PMOI (MEK), were
slaughtered. The victims of the massacre were buried in mass graves across Iran
including in Khavaran Cemetery in south-east Tehran.
Second man arrested over
French priest’s murder
AFP, Paris Wednesday, 10 August 2016/Police in southwest France arrested a
21-year-old man in connection with the militant killing of a priest in a
Normandy church last month, judicial sources said Wednesday. The man arrested
Monday in the Toulouse area is the second to be held in connection with the
murder of 85-year-old Jacques Hamel, whose throat was slit in front of
worshippers while he was celebrating mass in the town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray
on July 26. A police source said he had been in contact with the cleric’s
killers, Abdel Malik Petitjean and Adel Kermiche, who had pledged allegiance to
ISIS. The pair, both aged 19, were shot dead by police after a hostage drama in
which a worshipper was seriously wounded. The grisly attack - the first
committed in the name of ISIS against a church in the West - came less than two
weeks after a Tunisian ploughed a 19-tonne truck into a crowd celebrating
Bastille Day in the Riviera city of Nice, killing 85 people and wounding more
than 300. A cousin of Petitjean named as Farid K. was remanded in custody on
July 31 on charges of “criminal association in connection with terrorism”. The
public prosecutor said the 30-year-old “was fully aware of his cousin’s imminent
violent action, even if he did not know the precise place or day.” Hamel’s
killing, which follows a string of attacks in France over the past 18 months,
has raised questions about security failures. Kermiche, who lived near the
church, wore an electronic tag and was allowed to leave home on weekday mornings
under his house arrest terms. He met Petitjean through the encrypted messaging
app Telegram. Investigators have questioned several people over the killers’
links with groups recruiting for jihad in Syria.
A 20-year-old man has been charged with trying to travel to Syria with Petitjean
in June.
Police raid suspected
militants in west German towns
Reuters, Dusseldorf Wednesday, 10 August 2016/ Police carried out raids against
suspected militants in several towns in the West German state of North
Rhine-Westphalia on Wednesday, the state’s criminal police said. Raids took
place in the towns of Duisburg and Dortmund among others, the Westdeutsche
Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) newspaper reported, and targeted preachers who are
suspected of trying to recruit young men to fight in Syria and Iraq. A
spokeswoman for the state criminal police referred all further enquiries to the
Federal Prosecutor’s Office, which was not immediately available for comment.
Germany is on high alert after a spate of attacks since July that have left 15
people dead, including four attackers, and dozens injured. Two of the attackers,
a Syrian asylum seeker and a refugee from either Pakistan or Afghanistan, had
links to militancy, officials say. The interior minister will propose a raft of
new security measures on Thursday, including speedier deportations and waiving
doctor-patient confidentiality in some cases, German media reported.
Turkey: Russia relations no
substitute to NATO
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 10 August 2016/Turkey remains a
“strong” member of NATO, the presidency said on Wednesday, after a hugely
symbolic visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Russia raised questions
about its future in the alliance. Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said
Ankara’s NATO membership -- which dates back to 1952 -- was not “mutually
exclusive” with relationships with other countries like China and Russia. “There
is no argument that Turkey should not remain a member. It is something
important. We are a strong member,” he told reporters during a briefing at the
presidential palace in Ankara. Kalin said: “We do not see this as a zero sum
game. We do not see (relations with other countries) as mutually exclusive, we
see it as mutually empowering.”However, Kalin also said that it is normal for
Turkey to “seek other options” on defense cooperation as it has not received the
expected support from its western friends and NATO allies after the Atlantic
alliance stressed in the same day that Ankara is a “valuable” ally. Kalin told
reporters at roundtable meetings in Ankara that Turkey still expected positive
steps from the European Union on visa-free travel but a change in its approach
on terrorism was out of the question. Ankara has been incensed by what it says
is an unfair response by the West to the July 15 abortive putsch. Turkish
officials say NATO allies have shown more concern about the following crackdown
than expressing solidarity with the government that a military faction attempted
to topple. His comments came shortly after NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said
Turkey’s NATO membership was “not in question,” in a statement issued in
response to “speculative press reports.”There have been reports in Turkish media
of possible NATO and U.S. intelligence involvement in the failed June 15 coup. A
columnist for the Haber Turk newspaper suggested the attempted putsch was
planned by a secret NATO network. Instead, NATO stressed its “very clear
position” of continued support for Ankara. “Turkey is a valued ally, making
substantial contributions to NATO’s joint efforts,” NATO spokeswoman Oana
Lungescu said Wednesday. Lungescu said NATO’s secretary-general, Jens
Stoltenberg, strongly condemned the attempted coup, and reiterated “full support
for Turkey’s democratic institutions.” “He expressed support for the elected
government of Turkey and respect for the courage of the Turkish people,” she
noted. “He also conveyed his condolences for those who had lost their lives
during the coup attempt.”She also added that “NATO counts on the continued
contributions of Turkey, and Turkey can count on the solidarity and support of
NATO.”
Statement after visit to Russia
NATO’s statement also comes the day after Erdogan made a highly-symbolic visit
to Russia to mend fences, sparking speculation that Ankara’s close ties with the
West could be at risk. Turkey is the second largest military power in US-led
NATO and is a crucial ally as the West faces unprecedented conflict and upheaval
across the Middle East. Erdogan has sharply criticized the United States and the
European Union for not doing more to show support in the aftermath of the bloody
coup. He has also bristled at their warnings that he should not undermine human
rights and democratic norms in the subsequent crackdown which has netted
thousands of people. In the statement, Lungescu recalled that Stoltenberg had
telephoned Erdogan in the immediate aftermath of the abortive putsch .
EU making ‘mistakes’ over failed coup .
In a related story, Turkey said on Wednesday the European Union was making grave
mistakes in its response to the failed coup and was losing support for EU
membership from Turks as a result. Ankara has argued that the United States and
Europe have shown undue concern over a crackdown following the abortive July 15
coup but indifference to the putsch itself. More than 240 people, many of them
civilians, were killed when a faction of the army commandeered tanks and
warplanes in an attempt to topple the government. More than 60,000 people in the
military, judiciary, civil service and education have been detained, suspended
or placed under investigation since. “Unfortunately the EU is making some
serious mistakes. They have failed the test following the coup attempt,” foreign
minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency.
“Support for EU membership used to be around 50 percent of the population, I
assume it is around 20 percent now.”Turkish accession talks have progressed only
slowly since beginning in 2005, with several key EU countries expressing doubts
the country could be ready for membership in the foreseeable future. Similarly,
support in Turkey itself for the ambition has fluctuated.(With AP, AFP, Reuters)
‘Israel is failing to plan for its
future,' former national security chief warns
Jerusalem Post/August 10/16/Israel’s efforts at long-term planning are much
weaker than those of other developed countries, former National Security Council
chairman Prof. Uzi Arad told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Subcommittee on National Planning this week. “We in Israel are frighteningly
provincial. We don’t know the methods [for national planning] and we aren’t
learning them,” Arad said. “Our universities lag behind in imparting these
skills."“Compared to other advanced countries, Israel is completely weak in this
area,” he stated. According to Arad, there are many existing bodies to predict
or forecast, but “national planning is nonexistent.”“Long-term actions come from
the state budget, instead of planning establishing the budget,” he lamented. In
the US and UK, Arad added, the National Security Council does long-term
planning, but it is not one of its responsibilities by law in Israel.
Arad recommended that a long-term national planning unit be formed in the Prime
Minister’s Office, so that it sees the overall system and not a specific
ministry, and so it can be close to decision-makers.“Only when the prime
minister puts his whole weight behind an issue do things move in Israel,” he
argued.
A National Education, Science and Technology Council should be formed, Arad
suggested, in parallel to the existing National Security Council and National
Economic Council. The planning unit would exist under the umbrella of the three
councils and be made up of their representatives, who will work for several
months each year on planning. Arad explained that planning is not the same as
predicting or intelligence work; planning is an attempt to affect the future
towards a defined goal. Planning is creative, whereas working with intelligence
is analysis must be done neutralizing emotion to present an accurate description
of a situation. “Planning is a synthesis, in which we take the elements and turn
them into something else, what we want and not what we have. Intelligence and
planning, because of the basic differences in logic, must be close to one
another, but separate,” he added. Arad also asked the subcommittee to write a
report with findings and recommendations for the government. Subcommittee for
National Planning chairman Nachman Shai (Zionist Union) said the MKs would do
so, calling it a critical issue. “Israel understands the need for national
planning, but does not have the necessary tools to do so, so it doesn’t succeed
in the task,” Shai stated. “The political system is behind security, which
manages to look to the future.”Shai said MKs left the discussion sad, but with
the information necessary to make recommendations that will improve the
situation.
IBTimes: Protest in London in
solidarity with Iran's political prisoners
Wednesday, 10 August 2016/NCRI - The International Business Times has reported
on the efforts of the Anglo-Iranian communities to highlight the plight of
Iran's political prisoners.
The following is the text of a report on Tuesday by the IBTimes UK:
International Business Times
Protesters undertake hunger strike outside Parliament in solidarity with Iran's
political prisoners
The demonstration came less than a week after 20 people were executed in the
Islamic Republic.
By Harriet Sinclair/August 9, 2016
Protesters in the UK went on hunger strike for three days in solidarity with
Iranian political prisoners on the anniversary of the 1988 massacre in the
Islamic Republic.
The hunger strikers were joined by scores of other demonstrators as they stood
outside Parliament demanding the UK government speak out against the treatment
of current political detainees. They also called for the government to recognise
the victims and perpetrators of the 1988 massacre in Iran, in which
state-sanctioned killings of political prisoners were carried out over several
months leaving thousands of people dead. In a statement, the Association of
Iranian Political Prisoners, UK, said: "The participants urge the UK government
to categorically condemn incessant cruel hangings and act with its western
allies for an immediate halt to the executions and torture in Iran. "They also
call on the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to form an
international court to prosecute the officials of the regime responsible for
these crimes." Many taking part in the three-day demonstration that concluded on
8 August and included an exhibition of the regime's human rights abuses and a
mock execution were related to people who had been imprisoned or killed in Iran.
One of the hunger strikers, 18-year-old Omid Ebrahimi, said: "My dad was very
active in Iran and spent 10 years in prison there. "He was there at the time of
the 1988 massacre and he whenever he talks about the memories he had and the
friends he had that were taken from him and executed during this massacre I am
astounded. "Four of my mum's relatives were executed by the regime – two during
the massacre – and all of this motivates me to follow in the footsteps of my
parents, because they are trying to raise awareness of the fact the regime is
still there – many high ranking members who took a leading role in the massacre
still hold key positions in the hierarchy of the regime."
Another demonstrator, Naghmeh Rajabi, 29, who spoke to IBTimes UK during the
third day of her hunger strike, said: "It is personal because I was victim of
Iranian regime. My aunts were executed by the Iranian regime and I never got to
meet them and it's a person thing for me.
"Living in a free society as an Iranian woman in exile, it is my responsibility
to speak for the women who don't have a voice and don't have the basic minimum
human rights."The demonstrators not only called for those who took part in the
1988 massacre to be held accountable, they also wanted to raise awareness of the
plight of people currently being held in prisons in Iran. Their protest came
less than a week after the execution of 20 Kurdish Sunni political prisoners in
the country's Gohardasht (Rajai-Shahr) Prison, which saw the families of the
victims told to come and say goodbye to their relatives before 3pm on 2 August –
only to find their loved ones had been executed by the time they arrived. UK
spokesperson for the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Hossein
Abedini said: "The situation inside the prison where the recent executions took
place is very worrying and many people, many prisoners are on hunger strike
there and there is very tight security. "There is a very worrying situation if
the silence continues and robust measures are not introduced
immediately."Despite going without food for three days to raise awareness of the
situation in Iran, Ebrahimi said the demonstrators were in good shape compared
with prisoners in Iran. "We are on hunger strike with political prisoners who
are also on hungers strike, but they are in worse conditions, they are tortured
they are awaiting executions and we are doing it in a country where we are out
of harm's way and we are not under threat," he added.
Russia says foiled Crimea 'terrorist attacks' by Kiev
Wed 10 Aug 2016/NNA - Russia's security service on Wednesday said it had
thwarted "terrorist attacks" in Crimea by Ukrainian military intelligence and
beaten back an armed assault by Kiev's forces. The FSB said in a statement that
one of its officers was killed in armed clashes while arresting "terrorists" on
the night of August 6-7 while a Russian soldier was killed in clashes with
"sabotage-terrorist" groups sent by the Ukrainian defence ministry on August 8.
An advisor to the head of Ukraine's security agency Yuriy Tandit denied the
allegations, telling Interfax-Ukraine news agency that Kiev had no intention of
taking back the territory "by force". The Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring the frontier between mainland Ukraine
and Crimea -- which Russia annexed in 2014 -- did not report the incident. But
it said car traffic was halted this week and border guards appeared to be on
"heightened alert". In its statement the FSB -- which controls Russia's borders
-- said it had "foiled terrorist attacks on the territory of Crimea prepared by
the intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian defence ministry". "The aim of the
sabotage and terrorist attacks was to destabilise the social and political
situation" ahead of elections in September in Russia and Crimea, it said. The
security agency said several people were detained including a Ukrainian military
intelligence officer and a cache of explosives was discovered in raids on August
6-7. "On the night of August 8 2016 special operations forces from the Ukrainian
defence ministry carried out two more attempts to make a breakthrough by
sabotage-terrorist groups," it said. The assault included "massive firing from
the side of the neighbouring state and armoured vehicles" but was beaten back by
the Russian authorities, the statement said. Russia seized the Black Sea region
from Ukraine in March 2014 following the ouster of Kremlin-backed president
Viktor Yanukovych by pro-EU protests in Kiev. The move shattered ties between
the two ex-Soviet neighbours and sents relations between Moscow and the West
plummeting to their lowest point since the Cold War. The FSB said it had stepped
up security measures around the peninsula following the alleged incidents. --
AFP
8 Iranian Soldiers Killed in Aleppo
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 10/16/Beirut – The number of Iranian soldiers killed in
Aleppo has raised to eight after revealing the death of two senior Iranian
Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) officers, Qolam Hussein Mousavii and Ali Nazari.
Iranian news websites, including Defapress, announced that eight Iranian
military personnel were killed in recent clashes in Aleppo, Syria. Meanwhile,
the body of IRGC fighter Farid Kawbani arrived to Ardibil from Syria. The
arrival was preceded by the announcement of the death of two IRGC members in
Syria, Mohammed Hasan Qasmi and Sadiq Mohammed Zadeh. Anadolu Agency reported
Defapress that the burial of three Afghan members of the Fatimids militia Reda
Sultani, Merzajan Hosseini and Nasser Jalili will be held in Kerman city and
Meshhad. The number of dead IRGC, Afghani and Pakistani militia of Fatimids army
and Zainab brigade had increased drastically. On the other hand, arguments had
increased between Syrian regime forces and its affiliated forces amid news that
the so-called Hezbollah fighters are the only ones fighting at the front lines
of al-Hamdaneyyah axis, al-Mahrokat hill, and the cement factory. Military
source told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that disputes between regime forces and
the so-called Hezbollah increased in the past two days after the fighters from
Jaysh al-Fatah had launched a series of attacks in southwest Aleppo. The source
added that they hear over radio-waves arguments and accusations being thrown
between the two parties. He went on to say that the regime accuses the
foreigners that they are not backing them well, knowing that Hezbollah fighters
are the only one fighting after the withdrawal of Iraqi Nujaba and Iranian
fighters. According to the source, Hezbollah fighters are on the frontiers of
Aleppo and on the hills of the southern countryside. With that, they are first
line of defense in west Aleppo. The source also reported that the Syrian regime
is trying to regroup its soldiers in Aleppo and is reshuffling military posts
after many have escaped from their stations. The military source said the regime
has assigned a new leader for Aleppo operation, but he believes that this will
not achieve any progress given that the main fighters in that area are Hezbollah
fighters and members of Nujaba. Meanwhile, questions on why Colonel Suhail al-Hasan
is not leading battles in Aleppo rose in regime supporters’ circles. Colonel
Hasan, also known as ‘al-Nimr’ led in 2013 the battles in Aleppo and Sahel al-Ghab.
In recent developments, the source confirmed that the new attacks will be led by
al-Aqsa fighters and Turkistan Islamic Party after they were relocated from Hama
and Latakia fronts. The military source said that the number of fighters is
estimated to be at 4,000. He stressed that their military creed is based on
engaging and suicide operations. They fight where they are needed and then move
on to the next area.
U.N., Iran Raise Concerns over
Renewed Yemen Violence
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/16/The United Nations and Iran have
voiced concerns over an increase in fighting in Yemen after air raids on the
capital killed 14 people following the breakdown of U.N.-backed peace talks.
"The secretary general is deeply concerned about reports of increased fighting
between various parties in Hajjah, Saada and Sanaa provinces including over the
past few days," U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.
"The reported escalation in fighting exacerbates the already dire humanitarian
and human rights situation and the suffering of the Yemeni people." Saudi-led
coalition air strikes hit a factory in the capital on Tuesday, killing 14 people
according to medics, and led to the closure of Sanaa's international airport.
The raids come less than 72 hours after more than three months of U.N.-brokered
peace talks in Kuwait were suspended following the appointment by the rebels and
their allies of a council to run Yemen. The talks made no headway, but U.N.
envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed refused to call the negotiations a failure and
said he would continue to consult with both sides to arrange further meetings.
Iran, which backs the Huthi rebels, called on Saudi Arabia to end coalition air
raids. Foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi accused world powers on
Wednesday of failing to act upon Riyadh's "continued destruction of the
infrastructure of this country, killings of civilians and brazen, inhumane siege
of an oppressed nation." A Huthi spokesman said Tuesday that Saudi-led strikes
also hit the rebel stronghold provinces of Saada, Hajja and Ibb, in north and
central Yemen. The U.N. says that more than 6,400 people, mostly civilians, have
been killed in Yemen since the coalition air campaign began last March.
Saudi-Led Jets Strike Yemen
after Missiles Intercepted
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/16/Saudi-led coalition warplanes
launched fresh air strikes on Shiite rebels across Yemen on Wednesday after the
alliance said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles fired at southern Saudi
Arabia. The increased violence comes after UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait
between representatives of the government and Huthi insurgents ended without a
breakthrough. A statement from the coalition said it had carried out strikes
against Huthi positions in Amran province, north of the capital Sanaa. Tribal
sources said air strikes hit rebel positions Wednesday around their northern
stronghold province of Saada. The coalition, which has fought on the side of
Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi since March 2015, said in a statement it
had intercepted two missiles fired from rebel-held territory aimed at two
southern Saudi towns. The rebel-controlled Saba news agency said one missile was
launched towards a military base across the frontier, without providing further
details. Coalition air raids on the capital -- the first for three months -- on
Tuesday hit a factory, killing 14 people, according to medics. Air strikes also
temporarily closed Sanaa's international airport. The United Nations and Iran
both condemned the increase in violence across the country. Clashes also flared
between coalition forces and the insurgents close to the Saudi border, military
sources told Agence France Presse. The UN says that more than 6,400 people,
mostly civilians, have been killed in Yemen since the coalition air campaign
began in March 2015.
No Need for Foreign Troops on Libyan Soil,' Sarraj Says
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/16/The head of Libya's Government of
National Accord (GNA) said Wednesday the country did not need foreign troops on
the ground in the fight against the Islamic State group. "We do not need foreign
troops on Libyan soil," Fayez al-Sarraj said in an interview with Italy's
Corriere della Sera daily. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that American
special operations troops have for the first time started directly supporting
Libyan forces battling the Islamic State (IS) group in their key stronghold of
Sirte. "Our men can manage alone once they have cover from the air. I only asked
for US air strikes which must be very precise and limited in time and
geographical scope, always carried out in coordination with us," he said. Pro-GNA
forces have been engaged in a military operation since May 12 to retake the
coastal city located 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Tripoli. Sirte has been
a stronghold of the jihadist group since June last year. The United States has
since last Monday been carrying out air raids on IS positions in the city at the
GNA's request. According to the Post, the US forces are operating alongside
British troops, and are helping to coordinate American air strikes and providing
intelligence to partner forces. Sarraj warned IS "will use any means possible to
send its militants to Italy and Europe" and said he "would not be at all
surprised to discover that its men hide out on boats" of migrants headed for the
Italian coast. Rome has authorized the US to use its bases and air space for
strikes in Libya against IS. The head of the GNA said he "may go to Russia
soon", adding that his government had "good relations" with Moscow, but without
providing further details on the possible trip.
West Worried by Tensions
around Libyan Oil Terminal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/16/Six Western countries including
Britain, the United States and France expressed concerns Wednesday about
mounting tensions around the key Libyan oil terminal of Zueitina. In a call also
backed by Germany, Italy and Spain, the countries urged that control of all oil
facilities in Libya "be transferred unconditionally and without preconditions or
delay back to the legitimate national authorities," the U.N.-backed Government
of National Accord (GNA). The statement called for "all parties to refrain from
hostilities and avoid any action that could damage or disrupt Libya's energy
infrastructure."The six countries expressed particular concern about "reports of
increasing tension" near Zueitina, one of Libya's largest oil facilities on the
Mediterranean coast about 900 kilometers (550 miles) east of Tripoli. Libya's
oil sector, the country's main source of income, is managed by the National Oil
Company which is split into two rival branches. The main branch is based in the
capital Tripoli and allied to the GNA, but its rival in the east has so far
refused to cede power to the internationally recognized Tripoli government.
Forces loyal to the eastern government are threatening to seize Zueitina, which
is currently mainly under the control of a rival faction, the Petroleum
Facilities Guard (PFG). The PFG is loyal to the UN-backed government. The
National Oil Company said this month it was preparing to resume exports of crude
which have been halted for months because of political differences and attacks
by jihadists. But the eastern authorities have threatened to bomb oil tankers
that approach the Libyan coast without their permission. There are reports that
the eastern forces have sent dozens of armored cars towards Zueitina, raising
fears of imminent clashes. The six Western governments urged all sides of the
conflict to recognize that the oil sector was crucial to the country's future.
"Restoring oil exports is vital to generating revenues that can provide for the
essential needs of the Libyan people, including electricity, healthcare, and
infrastructure," they said in the statement. "It is in the interests of all
Libyans that they fully support the efforts led by the GNA to provide these key
services to the Libyan people." Libya's oil reserves are estimated at 48 billion
barrels, the largest in Africa.
Impeachment Trial Looms for
Brazil's Beleaguered Rousseff
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/16/Brazil's Senate voted early Wednesday
to hold an impeachment trial for the nation's suspended president Dilma Rousseff,
a process that could see her permanently removed from power. The vote in favor
of trying Rousseff, who was suspended from the presidency in May, was 59 in
favor, 21 against. The Senate suspended Rousseff, the South American nation's
first female president, on May 12 over accusations of illegal accounting
practices and fiddling the budget to mask a slumping economy. Rousseff, 68, has
likened the impeachment drive to a putsch by her political enemies. The
impeachment trial is set to open around August 25 -- four days after the
Olympics closing ceremony -- and is expected to last five days, concluding with
a judgment vote. - Awkward timing -The timing of the nation's ongoing political
crisis could hardly be more awkward for Brazil, which was meant to be showcasing
its burgeoning economic clout and political stability with South America's first
Olympics. At the start of the marathon Senate session, which got under way on
Tuesday, Supreme Court President Ricardo Lewandowski reminded senators that they
were about to "exercise one of the most serious tasks under the constitution."
Rousseff's opponents had no trouble attaining a simple majority of the 81 Senate
votes to begin steps to end her scandal-plagued presidency. "What we are talking
about today is defending the constitution and democracy itself. Those who commit
crimes must be held responsible for them," said Senator Aecio Neves, one of
Rousseff's most fervent opponents rivals. "The conditions are firmly in place
for removing Dilma Rousseff," he said. About 250 of Rousseff's supporters
demonstrated in central Sao Paulo, while in the Senate chamber in Brasilia her
allies defended her.
"Today is not a good day for our democracy," said one, Senator Paulo Rocha.
Against her, he said, "there is a political alliance that smells of a coup."-
End to 13 years of leftist rule? -Impeachment would not only seal Rousseff's
political fate, but would bring an end to 13 years of leftist rule in Brazil:
Her political mentor, president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva preceded her in
office. But in recent months, Lula, as he is called, has encountered political
problems of his own. Officials recently announced that the 70-year old leftist
leader will be put on trial for allegedly trying to obstruct a corruption probe
at Petrobras, the national oil concern.Since Rousseff's suspension, her deeply
unpopular vice president Michel Temer has served as Brazil's interim leader, as
the nation struggles to emerge from its worst recession in decades.
Rousseff's allies in the Workers' Party point out that many of the lawmakers
accusing her are implicated in corruption cases arguably far more serious than
accounting tricks. But Rousseff's enemies say the die is already cast, and
predict her removal once and for all at the impeachment trial that gets under
way later this month. "The president is ever more isolated, a very pronounced
isolation that has only gotten worse in recent weeks and now even includes her
own party," said Senator Aloysio Nunes of the opposition party PSDB. "I have no
doubt that the vote will be in favor of impeachment, as it will be at the final
trial," he told Agence France Presse ahead of the Senate session. Rousseff, 68,
was jailed and tortured by the country's military regime in the 1970s when she
belonged to an urban guerrilla group. Rousseff rode Lula's coattails to power
when term limits forced him to step down in 2011. Brazil's booming economy later
sank into its worst recession in 80 years and a huge corruption scandal erupted
at state oil giant Petrobras. Rousseff is not facing corruption charges in the
wide-ranging scandal. But she has been tainted by its stain on the Workers'
Party, which is accused of lining its coffers with some of the missing billions.
If she is removed from office, Temer, her center-right running
mate-turned-opponent, will become the full-fledged president until the next
elections in 2018. He has urged the Senate to move quickly, saying "people need
to know who the president is."Temer, 75, presided over the Olympics opening
ceremony Friday, drawing boos from the crowd -- just as Rousseff did at the
opener of the 2014 World Cup -- reflecting widening public disgust with Brazil's
entire political class.
Israel to Open Five East Jerusalem
Police Stations
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/16/Israel will open five new police
stations in occupied east Jerusalem, a minister and the police announced
Wednesday. "Over the years, a large gap has opened between the western and
eastern parts of the city in terms of policing, and that's the gap we want to
fill with these new positions," Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan told
army radio. "Our national sovereignty begins by exercising our sovereignty over
Jerusalem." The status of east Jerusalem is one of the core issues in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel occupied the territory in 1967 and later
annexed it and considers all the city under its authority. Palestinians, the
United Nations and the international community reject the Israeli control, with
Palestinians seeing east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
Jerusalem has been the heart of a wave of violence since last October in which
219 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have
died, according to an Agence France Presse count. Most of the Palestinians
killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli
authorities. There are currently no Israeli police stations in Palestinian
neighbourhoods in east Jerusalem apart from in the historic Old City, a
statement from police spokeswoman Luba Samri said. The stations will be
installed in the neighbourhoods of Ras al-Amud, Jabal Mukaber, Silwan, Issawiya
and Sur Baher. The neighborhoods are often the scene of clashes between
Palestinians and Israeli forces during tense periods. The minister said that the
creation of these posts is part of a four-year plan that provides for the
recruitment of 1,200 new police officers in Jerusalem. Police official Yuval Ben
Ami told army radio that 200 officers had been recruited so far. "We have a
problem hiring police officers because some do not want to be deployed in
(Palestinian) neighborhoods," he said, adding they were seeking to increase
salaries as a draw.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on
on August 10-11/16
France Working to De-Radicalize Its Mosques
Johanna Markind//Gatestone Institute/August 10/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8647/france-radical-mosques
The problem is not that foreign charities directly subsidize jihadi activities,
but that they promote a highly aggressive ideology with a political agenda,
whose followers are more likely to take the next step into violent action.
Fighting terrorism is not just the responsibility of the government, the prime
minister said, but rather all of society needs to get involved.
France is taking steps to de-radicalize its mosques in the hopes of preventing
the radicalization of its Muslim community
Since December, the French government, acting under expanded emergency powers,
has shut down twenty mosques for preaching Salafism, a strict and highly
politicized Sunni interpretation of Islam. Groups such as ISIS adhere to
Salafism. About 120 of France's 2,500 mosques and prayer halls are considered
Salafist. A little background: the United States' 9/11 Commission found that
Saudi Arabia uses charity and "government funds to spread Wahhabi [a Saudi form
of Salafism] beliefs throughout the world, including in mosques and schools."
The technique of spreading Wahhabi-Salafi beliefs by funding mosques and,
crucially, those who preach in them, has occurred in places as far-flung as
Pakistan, Senegal, and Germany.
In Belgium, the Saudis remade an Oriental pavilion into the Great Mosque of
Brussels. They continue to fund many Belgian clerics whose "radical Salafist
teachings came from a very different tradition" from the Islam of the Muslim
communities who immigrated to Belgium from Morocco and Turkey. Gulf charity
funds likewise radicalized the previously tolerant Muslim community in Kosovo.
Both countries are among the largest sources of ISIS fighters in Europe. Belgium
has provided more fighters per capita than any other country in Western Europe;
Kosovo is the overall second-largest European country of origin, again, per
capita.
The problem is not that foreign charities directly subsidize jihadi activities,
but that they promote a highly aggressive ideology with a political agenda,
whose followers are more likely to take the next step into violent action. In
trying to contain radical Islam, Kosovar authorities have arrested 14 imams and
shut down 19 Muslim organizations for acting against the constitution, inciting
hatred and recruiting for terrorism. Belgium has arrested militant preacher
Fouad Belkacem and threatened to close radical mosques in the Molenbeek district
of Brussels.
The Saudis have also funded mosques in France, including one in Nice that opened
in July (two weeks before the Bastille Day attack) after a 14-year struggle. The
city's former mayor, Christian Estrosi, had accused building owner Sheikh Saleh
bin Abdulaziz, who is Saudi Arabia's Islamic Affairs Minister, of "advocating
sharia."
A Saudi-funded mosque opened in Nice in July (two weeks before the Bastille Day
attack) after a 14-year struggle.(Image source: Institut Niçois En-nour)
France has had a long-running debate about foreign influence over its Islamic
institutions. A Senate report published on July 5, 2016, recommended monitoring
foreign funds by having them channeled through a dedicated foundation. It also
called for setting up a training program sufficient to train the country's
Muslim religious leaders that is "adapted to the French context." Currently,
France has two small institutions qualified to train imams, which are inadequate
to meet the community's needs. Therefore, about 300 imams were hired from
abroad. The foreign imams are not well-adapted to France, and many of them speak
French poorly, if at all. Finally, the report cautioned that there is an
inherent tension between the government's desire for more control over French
Islam and the country's legal separation of "church" and state.
Apparently in response to the report's recommendations, on July 29, Prime
Minister Manuel Valls announced he favors imposing a temporary ban on foreign
funding of mosques. Valls also urged that imams be locally- rather than
foreign-trained.
On August 1, the French Muslim Council announced the creation of a new
foundation to help finance French mosques and keep out radical benefactors.
Council head Anouar Kbibech made the announcement after meeting with Interior
Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. Cazeneuve, who announced the planned closure of 20
mosques after the same meeting, said he wants the foundation to launch in
October, and added that the government is working to assure "total transparency"
in mosque financing.
The announcement was welcomed by France's political opposition, although
politicians have expressed concern that the de-radicalization efforts will
undermine France's strict policy of separating church and state, called laïcité.
Democratic Movement party president, François Bayrou, and Socialist party
member, Julien Dray, appeared to endorse the proposal, stating, "Funding is an
urgent issue for French society. The financing of mosques is a problem since it
is financed by foreign powers."
Roger Karoutchi, spokesman of the French Republican party, also expressed
support, but cautioned "there should be no renunciation of the 1905 Act
[separating church and state]."
Cazeneuve likewise stated that the government seeks a way forward that will
"strictly respect the secular principles of the Republic."
The main practical problem to implementing the new foundation appears to be
funding. State money may not be used to fund religious institutions directly.
Bayrou, Dray, and others have advocated raising money by taxing halal food, but
that idea is controversial. Among other things, it may embroil France's Muslim
community in a dispute to create a commonly recognized standard about what
constitutes halal food.
Thus, France has opened a new front in its battle against Islamist terrorism.
Fighting terrorism is not just the responsibility of the government, the prime
minister said, but rather all of society needs to get involved. Salafism "has no
place in France," Valls stated, adding that France needs to "invent a new
relationship with Islam." In essence, the French government is trying to promote
the development of a "kinder, gentler" form of Islam in France by limiting the
influence of foreign Salafists.
**Johanna Markind is an attorney who writes about public policy and criminal
justice.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Islam's "Quiet Conquest" of Europe
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/August 10/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8637/islam-europe-conquest
"Islam is a
French religion and the French language is a language of Islam." — Tariq
Ramadan.
In 1989, Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, justified the
persecution of Salman Rushdie by Ayatollah Khomeini. Last year, Boubakeur called
for the conversion of churches into mosques.
In Britain, mainstream Muslim organizations are dispensing "Islamic justice"
through more than 85 sharia courts attached to mosques.
Civil war in France is what the Islamic State is looking for: unleashing a blind
repression so that the Muslim population will show solidarity with the
revolutionary minority. Yet, there is still worse possible outcome: that nothing
happens and we continue as is.
Real "moderate Muslims" are silenced or murdered.
Last month, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with France's
director of domestic intelligence, Patrick Calvar. "The confrontation is
inevitable," Mr. Calvar said. There are an estimated 15,000 Salafists among
France's seven million Muslims, "whose radical-fundamentalist creed dominates
many of the predominantly Muslim housing projects at the edges of cities such as
Paris, Nice or Lyon. Their preachers call for a civil war, with all Muslims
tasked to wipe out the miscreants down the street."
These Salafists openly challenge France's way of life and do not make a secret
of their willingness to overthrow the existing order in Europe through violent
means, terror attacks and physical intimidation. But paradoxically, if the
Islamists' threat to Europe were confined to the Salafists, it would be easier
to defeat it. There is in fact another threat, even more dangerous because it is
more difficult to decipher. It has just been dubbed by the magazine Valeurs
Actuelles, "the quiet conquest". It is "moderate" Islam's sinuous project of
producing submission. "Its ambition is clear: changing French society. Slowly
but surely".
That threat is personified in the main character of Michel Houellebecq's novel,
Submission: Mohammed Ben Abbes, the "moderate" Muslim who becomes France's
president and converts the state to Islam. And from where does President Ben
Abbes start his Islamization? The Sorbonne University. It is already happening:
Qatar recently made a significant donation to this famous university, to sponsor
the education of migrants.
In France, the quiet conquest has the face of the Union of the Islamic
Organizations of France (UOIF), which a Simon Wiesenthal Center report charged
with "anti-Semitism, advocacy and financing of terrorism and call to Jihad... "
Not only does UOIF not encourage the integration of Moslems in France," the
report states, "it actually provides a nursery for the most radical Islamist
positions."
In Italy we have just witnessed the strategy of this "moderate Islam." The
largest and most influential Islamic organization, l'Unione delle comunità ed
organizzazione islamiche in Italia (Ucoii), sponsored Milan's first Muslim
councilwoman, Sumaya Abdel Qader, a veiled candidate of the center-left
coalition. Qader's husband, Abdallah Kabakebbji, openly called for the
destruction of the State of Israel: "It is a historical mistake, a scam", he
wrote on Facebook. His solution? "Ctrl + Alt + Delete".
Qader won the race over a real moderate Muslim, the unveiled Somali activist,
Maryan Ismail. I met Mrs. Ismail at a pro-Israel forum in Milan. After losing
the election, she broke with Italy's Democratic Party in an open letter: "The
Democratic Party has chosen to dialogue with obscurantist Islam. Once again, the
souls of modern, plural and inclusive Islam were not heard".
Take two "stars" of this French "moderate Islam." The first one is Tariq
Ramadan, the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood,
the motto of which is: "Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the
Quran is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest
hope."
Ramadan does not hide in Raqqa or shoot at French citizens. By applying for
French citizenship, he would like to become one of them. His office is in the
Parisian suburb of Saint Denis; he has written 30 books and he has two million
Facebook followers. Ramadan has academic chairs all over the world, he is the
director of the Research Center for Islamic Law in Doha (Qatar) and the
president of the European Muslim Network. He publicly campaigns for Islam along
with Italy's former prime minister, Massimo D'Alema. Ramadan recently explained
his vision for Europe and France: "Islam is a French religion and the French
language is a language of Islam".
Ramadan's project is not the hoped-for Europeanization of Islam, but the
not-hoped-for frightful Islamization of Europe. He opposes the assimilation of
Muslims into French culture and society. A few days before the election in
Milan, Ramadan was in Italy to endorse the candidacy of Sumaya Abdel Qader.
The second French "star" is Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of the Grand Mosque of
Paris. In 1989, Boubakeur justified the persecution of Salman Rushdie by
Ayatollah Khomeini. In 2002, he testified for the prosecution against the writer
Michel Houellebecq. In 2006, he sued Charlie Hebdo in court, after the
publication of the Danish Mohammed cartoons. Last year, Boubakeur called for the
conversion of churches into mosques and asked to "double" the number of mosques
in France.
Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, last year called for the
conversion of churches into mosques and asked to "double" the number of mosques
in France. (Image source: TV5 Monde)
In the United Kingdom, mainstream Muslim organizations are dispensing "Islamic
justice" through more than 85 sharia courts attached to mosques. Divorce,
polygamy, adultery and wife-beating are only some of these courts' matters of
jurisprudence. In Germany, vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel criticized Saudi
Arabia for financing Islamic extremism in Europe. It is the same kingdom which
last year offered to build 200 new mosques in Germany.
Qatar, with its Al Jazeera television megaphone, is also very active in
sponsoring Muslim Brotherhood Islamic radicalism all over Europe. The Qatari
royal family, for example, in 2015 donated £11 million to Oxford's St. Anthony's
College, where Tariq Ramadan teaches. Qatar also announced that it was willing
to spend $65 million in the French suburbs, home to the vast majority of the six
million Muslims in France.
Today in Europe, several scenarios are possible, including the worst. Among
them, there is a civil war, which many are beginning to talk about, including
Patrick Calvar, the director of domestic intelligence. This is what the Islamic
State is looking for: unleashing a blind repression so that the Muslim
population will show solidarity with the revolutionary minority. Yet, there is
still worse possible outcome: that nothing happens and we continue as is.
The end is more important than the means. The Islamic State has the same goal as
most of the members of so-called "moderate Islam": domination under the sharia.
Many supposedly "moderate Muslims", even if they do not commit violent acts
themselves, support them quietly. They support them by not speaking out against
them. If they do speak out against them, they usually do so in coded terms, such
as that they are "against terrorism," or that what concerns them about violent
acts by Muslims is the possibility of a "backlash" against them.
Violent jihadis, however, are not the only means of transforming Europe, and
perhaps are even counterproductive: they could awaken the nations they attack.
Soft and more discreet means, such as social pressure and propaganda, are even
more dangerous, and possibly even more effective: they are harder to see, such
as the West's acceptance of dual judiciary and legal systems; sharia finance (if
there had been a "Nazi finance" system, in which all financial transactions went
to strengthening the Third Reich, what effect might that have had on World War
II?), and the proliferation in the West of mosques and extremist Islamic
websites. Although there are indeed many real "moderate Muslims", there are also
still many who are not.
To conservative Muslims, however, any Muslim who does not accept every word of
Allah -- the entire Koran -- is not a true Muslim, and is open to charges of
"apostasy", the punishment for which is death. According to a leading Sunni
theologian, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, based in Qatar, "If they [Muslims] had gotten rid
of the punishment for apostasy, Islam would not exist today."
That is why the late writer Oriana Fallaci once said to The New Yorker: "I do
not accept the mendacity of the so-called Moderate Islam". That is why real
"moderate Muslims" are silenced or murdered.
This might summarize the current Islamic mainstream mentality: "Dear Europeans,
continue to think about a shorter working week, early retirement, abortion on
demand and adultery in the afternoon. With your laws, we will conquer you. With
our laws, we will convert you".
**Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and
author.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Turkish-Russian Ties after the
Erdogan-Putin Breakthrough
Soner Cagaptay/The Washington Institute/August 10/16
The Russian president will likely follow up today's meeting by offering to lift
sanctions, along with other incentives, but the longer-term bilateral impact on
political ties, especially in Syria, will remain unknown for some time.
At their meeting in Moscow today, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his
Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, decided to take steps to normalize ties
between their countries, a dramatic turnabout following several months of
tensions in the wake of Turkey's shoot-down of a Russian plane violating Turkish
airspace. After the incident, Russia slapped Turkey with economic sanctions
along with applying pressure in the cyber, military, and intelligence realms.
And in Syria, where the two sides oppose each other in a proxy war, conflict had
escalated, with Russia providing weapons to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a
Kurdish group tied to the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which
Turkey is currently fighting. In return, Turkey increased its support to
anti-Assad rebels battling the regime around Aleppo.
Recent events -- including Ankara's growing perception of being left alone by
its Western allies after the failed July 15 coup, as well as ongoing
Washington-Moscow talks to coordinate efforts in the Syrian civil war -- have
eliminated the rationale for animus between the two countries. Indeed,
Turkish-Russian ties will improve further at this stage unless Washington steps
in to prevent Erdogan from being courted by Putin.
ROOTS OF ERDOGAN'S VULNERABILITY
As for U.S.-Turkish relations, the failed coup will, on the whole, complicate
them. Many in Ankara share a view that because the Turkish Muslim cleric
Fethullah Gulen lives in the United States, Washington is behind the coup
attempt. Many analysts agree that Gulen-aligned officers formed the backbone of
the coup plot, although Turkey has not yet presented evidence to Washington that
Gulen himself ordered the overthrow. Meanwhile, prominent columnists in
newspapers supportive of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have
aired allegations about a U.S. role, and at least one cabinet member, Labor
Minister Suleyman Soylu, publicly charged the United States with responsibility.
The coup plot is probably the most traumatic political event in Turkey since the
fall of the Ottoman Empire. Erdogan himself was targeted and survived only
because he fled the hotel where he was staying fifteen minutes before the
assassination squad arrived. The bombing of the Turkish capital, Ankara,
including the targeting of parliament, has deeply shaken residents of the city
and, in fact, of the entire country. Ankara had not experienced a military
attack in more than six hundred years, when the armies of Tamerlane occupied it
in 1402.
Istanbul, too, was profoundly destabilized by an action in which F-16 planes
operated by coup plotters flew at low altitudes and high speeds over the city,
creating supersonic booms that produced the illusion that the 15-million-person
metropolis was being bombed.
Another fundamental blow from the factional plot involved its flouting of
long-established notions of Turkey's hierarchical military and history of
bloodless coups. It was previously an article of faith that the military would
not fire at its own people, but this time the plotters did fire, killing more
than two hundred citizens; many putschists died along with them. Accordingly,
the country's mood is nervous, angry, and dark.
Separately, the growing perception of U.S. responsibility for the plot explains
why, for the first time in recent memory, some in Ankara are questioning
Turkey's NATO membership and discussing whether the country should instead move
toward becoming a "friend" of Russia. Erdogan, who already has some Eurasianist
foreign policy impulses, could easily accomplish this pivot, especially since
the Turkish military, the strongest link between NATO and Ankara, is disfigured
following the coup plot.
If U.S. courts reject his request for Gulen's extradition, Erdogan will
certainly blame the White House, enhancing Turkey's recent pivot toward Russia.
Even before the failed coup, Ankara and Moscow had taken steps to patch up their
relationship. Following a June 27 letter expressing regret by Erdogan to Putin,
the two leaders had agreed to meet during the first week of August to discuss
"normalization." Russia is Turkey's historic nemesis, so its return as an
adversary late last year worried not only Erdogan but also Ankara's broader
foreign-policy-making community. This concern, together with a perception in
Ankara of a likely U.S.-Russian deal on Syria, leaving Turkey in the cold, had
prompted the June 27 letter of regret.
SYRIAN AND KURDISH DIMENSIONS OF RAPPROCHEMENT
If Ankara wants to intervene against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, block
Kurdish advances, and defeat the PKK at home, it may do whatever is necessary to
placate Moscow, perhaps even cutting off support for certain anti-Assad rebel
groups.
To defeat the PKK, Erdogan knows he must delink Russia and the Kurds, helping
explain his push for normalization with Putin. Delinking Russia and the Kurds
would not only allow Erdogan to defeat the PKK at home but also undermine
Kurdish gains in Syria, where the PYD and its militia, the People's Defense
Units (YPG), have worked with both Washington and Moscow to gain territory. Over
the past two years, the PYD has united its Kobane and Jazira cantons in
northeastern Syria into a self-declared territory called Rojava. The group's
goal is to achieve autonomy for the Kurds in Rojava.
Intervening against the IS pocket near Manbij, in northern Syria, would further
serve the Turkish interest of interrupting PKK and PYD plans. While Ankara
clearly regards IS as a threat, it still sees the PKK in a similar or even more
glaring light. PYD officials have often said that closing the Manbij pocket
would help them unite the Kobane-Jazira and Afrin cantons. Yet by seizing
control of the western part of Azaz-Jarabulus corridor bordering the Manbij
pocket, Turkey could preempt any such Kurdish plans.
The Kremlin had already acknowledged a thaw with Ankara when, on June 29, the
Russian airline Aeroflot lifted its ban on flights to Turkey, a signal of
Moscow's willingness to lift sanctions. And today, Putin offered to lift the
remaining sanctions. Following today's meeting, Putin will likely offer Erdogan
financial incentives linked to boosting tourism, trade, and construction and
pipeline deals, which help the Turkish president consolidate his economic power
base at home. Erdogan has already reciprocated, perhaps in anticipation of
Putin's next move, voicing during the meeting support for Turkish Stream, a
joint Turkish-Russian pipeline put on hold after the plane incident.
Revitalization of this project, which would allow Russia to export gas bypassing
Ukraine, would be central to rejuvenating Turkish-Russian ties.
PUTIN'S REASONS FOR RAPPROCHEMENT
As for the Kremlin's angle, since the end of the Cold War, Russian policy toward
Ankara has had one guiding principle: never completely alienate Turkey.
Especially beginning with Putin's rise, the Russian strategy has been to keep
Turkey close to Moscow and away from NATO. Putin knows that at this stage,
further alienating Turkey will push the country closer to NATO.
Putin also knows that sustained sanctions against Ankara punish Russia more than
they do Turkey. The Turks have many customers for their cheap but high-quality
wares. The Russians, already suffering under European and U.S. sanctions and
from collapsing oil prices, ultimately need access to the deals available in
Turkish markets.
PROSPECTS FOR WASHINGTON
For the United States, it will remain unclear for some time to what extent
Turkish-Russian ties will change as a result of recent developments, including
today's meeting. For instance, Russia may decide it needs YPG assistance to help
keep western Aleppo in the Assad regime's hands, and move more slowly than
Turkey expects in abandoning the YPD/PYD. Likewise, Erdogan may come under
domestic pressure for jettisoning the anti-Assad rebels fighting to keep eastern
Aleppo. Whatever the longer-term outcome, Putin will, in the coming days, lure
Turkey with gestures such as the lifting of sanctions. Moreover, he could lend
his political muscle in the Central Asian republics, where Gulen has his oldest
and strongest networks outside of Turkey, toward cracking down on Gulen-affiliated
institutions, a key desire by Erdogan from all his counterparts. Such gestures,
paired with the possibility that Washington will fail to persuade Ankara that
its extradition request for Gulen requires a thorough review, could nudge
Erdogan more fully toward Russia.
**Soner Cagaptay is the Beyer Family Fellow and director of the Turkish Research
Program at The Washington Institute. Follow him on Twitter @ SonerCagaptay.
Peace, liberty and Islam
Rafael Castro/Ynetnews /August 10/16
There have been numerous studies on the relationship between Islam and peace in
addition to Islam and liberty. Beyond the smoke and mirrors that mainstream
media and politicians feed public opinion, there is strong evidence to suggest
that a triangle of incompatibility constrains these three forces. In other
words, there can be domestic peace and civil liberties without Islam; civil
liberties and Islam without domestic peace; or domestic peace and Islam without
civil liberties.
This triangle of incompatibility is evident on a global scale. Of the 49
predominantly Muslim countries in the world, only Tunisia and Senegal are
classified as free societies by the Freedom House Institute which monitors
political and civil liberties throughout the world. This means a whopping 96% of
predominantly Muslim states are partially authoritarian or entirely
totalitarian.
Among predominantly non-Muslim countries the percentage of free societies is
proportionately 14 times greater.
These indicators show that the Islamic world lags behind the non-Muslim world in
its political evolution - thus suggesting that democratization ought to be a
desirable next step. However the chaos and bloodshed following the ouster of
autocrats during the Arab Spring suggests that this democratization was
ill-advised. Indeed, domestic peace crumbled when political liberalization
encountered Islamic politics.
The sole Middle Eastern countries that have not succumbed to strife nor been
riveted by terror attacks following the Arab Spring have been those like Jordan,
Algeria, Morocco or the Gulf States where elections are not free and civil
liberties are curtailed.
This triangle of incompatibility could be just another paradigm to understand
Middle Eastern politics. Unfortunately, this paradigm also highlights the
difficult choices that will need to be made by Europe and the United States
during the coming decade. For example, Israel secured a modicum of domestic
peace and civil liberties after Independence by pushing the bulk of its Islamic
population beyond its borders through the so-called Palestinian Nakba.
From 1967 until the Oslo Agreements, which led to the establishment of the
Palestinian Authority, Jews in the West Bank enjoyed relative peace, because the
political freedoms of the local Islamic population were curtailed. As soon as
political rights were granted to this population, a recrudescence of violence
cost thousands of Jewish and Arab lives throughout Israel, the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip.
China and Putin’s Russia have enjoyed relatively high degrees of domestic peace
while hosting huge Islamic populations. This has been achieved by restricting
civil liberties via draconian limitations on religious rights and freedoms of
expression. The pressing question is: How can the West maintain civil peace now
that it hosts burgeoning Islamic communities coaxed by radical preachers and the
heavenly rewards Islam promises to its martyrs?
The triangle of incompatibility suggests that Europe and the United States can
either espouse the anti-Islam policies promoted by Trump and far right-wing
parties in Europe in order to secure long-term domestic peace and civil
liberties; adhere to civil liberties and sacrifice domestic peace in order to
accommodate Islam; or curtail civil liberties to quash the threat to peace posed
by Islamists on one end and nativist reactionaries on the other end.
Right now, the Obama administration and the moderate politicians running
European governments have chosen to jeopardize domestic peace by pretending that
traditional Western rights and liberties can be reconciled with the presence of
growing Islamic communities. The recurrent coordinated and lone-wolf terror
attacks in the USA and Europe suggest this course is not sustainable.
Given the vastness and complexity of the problem, it is unlikely that the path
the West selects will be clear-cut: Domestic peace, civil liberties and Islam
will each be constrained to differing degrees in different countries. Some
countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, will prefer to constrain Islam to
secure greater spaces for domestic peace and civil liberties; more progressive
societies such as those in Western Europe will opt to sacrifice spaces of
domestic peace and civil liberty in order to co-exist with Islam.
Indeed, authorities in particularly progressive Sweden and Germany have already
resorted to censorship of media articles and social networks to hush voices that
link Islamic sub-cultures to rape attacks, crime and terrorism.
Under these circumstances, the best outcome we can hope for is for the
non-Muslim world to juggle domestic peace, civil liberties and the religious
rights of Muslim minorities more wisely than the Muslim world. This could
convince a critical mass of Muslims that respect for domestic peace and civil
liberties – not fealty to Islam – are the keys to a brighter future.
Has Obama’s non-involvement come to
an end?
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/August 10/16
The U.S. presidential elections are unusual, not only because one candidate is a
controversial figure who has nothing to do with politics, or because the other
could become the country’s first female president. It is mainly because the
world has changed a lot in light of the absence of U.S. leadership under current
President Barack Obama. The Middle East is drowning in war and chaos. Terrorism
has spread and become an unparalleled global threat. Europe is experiencing
serious crises due to the rise of nationalism and immigration, which threaten
social and political systems. The old Western front against Russian influence
may not survive without strong U.S. support. Conflicts in the South China Sea
have reached unprecedented levels. Obama’s dream has become a nightmare. All
these issues will be inherited by his successor. The question is whether he or
she will continue Obama’s isolationist approach. Events during the difficult
years of his presidency have shown that this approach has not saved the United
States from looming dangers. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is more
dangerous today than Al-Qaeda of yesterday. ISIS has expanded due to U.S.
withdrawal from the region.
Checks and balances
Electing a new president might not resolve these issues. The solution lies in
the will to cooperate with other countries. There is exceptional global anxiety
regarding the outcome of the elections that take place less in less than three
months, especially given Donald Trump’s extremist opinions. However, the United
States is a country of institutions that is not ruled by individual figures. The
president can only work within institutional frameworks. The United States is a
country of institutions that is not ruled by individual figures. The president
can only work within institutional frameworks. The United States has more than
600 military bases in some 40 countries. Its military arsenal could destroy the
world several times, but it is governed by laws and regulations that limit the
president’s freedom. He or she is supreme commander of the armed forces, but
must get approval from legislative institutions before getting involved in any
war. The president also has to navigate many centers of influence with the
support of a large segment of the population. Therefore, people such as Trump do
not pose a risk, no matter how they talk about managing international relations.
This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Aug. 9, 2016.
The opposing narratives of Aleppo’s siege
Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/August 10/16
The huge billows of smoke quickly vanished from Aleppo’s sky. The smoke was
caused by tires that residents burnt to obstruct Syrian regime and Russian jets
from shelling besieged areas. A small victory was achieved in terms of attempts
to end the siege of 300,000 people, but polarization over the ongoing battle in
Aleppo has quickly dominated. There should be no greater priority than saving
thousands of civilians whose lives are jeopardized daily by merciless Syrian,
Russian and Iranian gunfire. However, what is happening in Aleppo does not take
into consideration residents’ ordeal, as much as it has turned the city into a
huge arena where residents’ fates are exploited to fuel regional and
international conflicts. The best way to increase anger is to circulate footage
and media reports that ignite tensions. Facebook pages and Twitter users handle
the rest by igniting online arenas with hatred, to the extent that battles on
these pages become more violent than real fighting. The Syrian regime, backed by
Iran and Russia, paved the way for the Aleppo campaign via scenes of regime
supporters celebrating the siege and calling for destruction of areas and the
killing of people. Their media outlets described what was happening as a
“security cordon,” not a siege, and ignored bloodshed. Their reports on
humanitarian passages are lies. Residents have kept away from them because they
know they are media propaganda and a trap. The regime, its allies and supporters
celebrate Aleppo’s siege amid calls to be more violent. Meanwhile, rebel groups
continue to adopt an extremist, sectarian approach
Sectarianism
The media propaganda of the regime and its allies is confronted by an opposing
scene by rebel groups. Some of the violent videos they have circulated have
stirred uproar. What has stirred the most uproar is the Sham Legion, one of the
groups in the Army of Conquest, naming the most violent battle in Aleppo
“Ibrahim al-Youssef.” He was a Syrian army officer who in the 1980s murdered
officers at a military school for sectarian reasons. The regime, its allies and
supporters celebrate Aleppo’s siege amid calls to be more violent. Meanwhile,
rebel groups continue to adopt an extremist, sectarian approach that does not
end at calls to get rid of the regime. Amid all this, it is the besieged people
of Aleppo who suffer. Hezbollah, which is fighting alongside the regime and
Russian forces, has used sectarian names for its battles ever since it began
fighting in Syria. It has used these names as a means of sectarian and media
mobilization that has contributed to fueling tensions. The current battle to
lift the siege of Aleppo was named after a sectarian war criminal - this
increases sectarian stupidity and provides a huge, free service to the regime.
The regime has succeeded in dragging everyone into sectarian tension, and using
this as a slogan for any confrontation or battle. The worst are those who view
these sectarian slogans, headlines and practices as normal, and believe we must
all submit to them. Such people are promising the Syrian people salvation from
one huge injustice, only to suffer another.
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on August 8, 2016.
Islam in Europe: Extremism
and integration
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/August 10/16
Right-wing sentiment is spreading in Europe. The attacks in the French city of
Nice and the German city of Munich have affected religious intellect and Islamic
rhetoric. Measures have been taken against mosques. On Aug. 1, French Interior
Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced the shutting down of 20 mosques and prayer
halls for propagating extremist ideas. He said more mosques would be shut down,
and extremist preachers would be deported: “There’s no place in France for those
who call for and incite hatred in prayer halls or in mosques, and who don’t
respect certain republican principles, notably equality between men and
women.”Islam’s presence in France dates back to the end of the 19th century. By
the start of World War I, their number was estimated at 30,000-40,000, mostly
Algerian and Moroccan workers. It is said that France has 2,500 mosques and
prayer halls, of which about 120 spread extremist ideology. Extremist
organizations want clashes to occur between Muslims and European governments,
and to nurture resistance against integration
Exploitation
Europe’s right-wing exploits any incident involving an immigrant or Muslim in
order to pressure governments. Data indicates right-wing progress in upcoming
elections, particularly after Syrian refugees’ arrival in Europe, mainly in
Germany. This right-wing rise is empowered by violent attacks against civilians
and security forces, and by incidents targeting airports, markets and places of
entertainment. The European problem must be resolved by Europeans, but Muslims
have the right to wonder about the crimes committed against them due to
extremist rhetoric and discrimination based on skin color, race or religion.
Fundamentalist rhetoric nurtures hatred and develops a sense of separation from
society.Egyptian thinker Nasr Hamed abu Zayd, who has actively criticized
religious rhetoric since the 1980s, said: “Religious rhetoric is dark in the
darkness and luminous in the light.” This applies to preachers who call for
enlightenment when they are on public platforms or in front of cameras, but
preach violence and hatred when delivering speeches behind closed doors and
unmonitored places. This can only be resolved on the security front. Europe must
be purified from extremists who have infiltrated Muslim ranks. Extremist
preachers first deliver embellished speeches during conferences and seminars,
but soon reveal a dark intellect behind closed doors. It is impossible to change
their ideas. They came to Europe as conquerors, not as learners. Muslims in
Europe are unaware of the treachery of fundamentalists, who attract youths under
the guise of protecting their identity and resolving the problems of alienation
by establishing a community that is isolated from wider society. Terrorism and
extremism rise when integration decreases. Countless Arabs and Muslims have
integrated in European and American societies. Examples include London Mayor
Sadiq Khan (the son of a Pakistani bus driver), the late Edward Said (the
Palestinian thinker who became one of the most important academics in the United
States), and Lebanese-born French author Amin Maalouf. Europe will remain the
continent of light. Extremist organizations want clashes to occur between
Muslims and European governments, and to nurture resistance against integration.
However, as France and Germany have warned, there is no option now but to
integrate or return to the country of origin. Europe is guarding its past and
present. The ball is in the court of the Muslim community there.
This article was first published in al-Bayan on Aug. 10, 2016.
Defeating ISIS is beside the
point; Iraq does not exist anymore
Dr. John C. Hulsman/Al Arabiya/August 10/16
“War is a mere continuation of politics by other means.”--(Carl von Clausewitz,
On War)
Foreign policy analysts have a terrible in-built tendency to ignore historical
failures. Philosophically, they skew toward Hegel rather than Burke, believing
that every intractable problem always contains the seeds of regeneration and
reform. No situation can ever be written off as a beyond redemption.
Yet history is full of such cases. The Roman Empire never managed to wholly
secure its borders with the Barbarians, the Spanish Empire never was able to
control increasingly rampant inflation, and the United States has never manged
to fully shed its missionary impulse in international relations, wrongheaded
though it often is, as in Vietnam and Iraq. Adopting the more historical
approach favoured by Burke allows for the analytical insight that history is as
littered with failures as it is adorned with successes. Judging by a wealth of
facts on the ground, it is time for Burkeans to burst the Hegelian bubble about
the viability of Iraq and face stubborn facts. Iraq as a state has ceased to
exist except in theory and shows no real signs of being revived. Despite real
battlefield successes against ISIS, the collapse of both Iraq and Syria as
coherent political entities capable of controlling their respective boundaries,
leaves a gaping hole of instability in the centre of the region. Until the
politics – rather than the military aspects of the problem – are dealt with in
an entirely new way, the region is likely to remain mired in instability for the
foreseeable future. Sometimes the historical answer is no, and it is up to both
analysts and decision-makers alike to realise this bleak but valuable political
lesson. The interests of the patchwork quilt of Iraqi political factions are
simply too entrenched to give away the government patronage that is the enduring
source of their power
Regime botches reform again
Two basic problems bedevil the Iraqi state, both of which have proven
intractable. First, the well-meaning but weak government of Prime Minister
Haider al-Abadi has proven itself utterly incapable of advancing its much-needed
reform agenda. Despite having the declared support of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani
– the most popular figure in the country – and the swelling impetus of the
Sadrist movement behind his tentative steps toward reform, the Abadi government
has stumbled at every turn. On July 15, thousands of supporters of firebrand
Muqtada al-Sadr returned to the streets of Baghdad, protesting the chronic
delays in reforming the Iraqi government, purging it of its endemic corruption.
For a year, Abadi has called for an end to ethno-religious quotas for government
positions, instead wishing to appoint officials based on merit. Further, Abadi
has declared his preference for forming a government of technocrats, experts who
can begin to dig the country out of its fiscal hole, caused in equal measures by
endemic corruption, the collapse of global oil prices, and the need to prosecute
the costly war against Islamic State. It has gotten so bad that the government
cannot guarantee the continued flow of electricity, even as summer temperatures
in the south of the country have exceeded a scorching 50 degrees centigrade. Yet
despite these internal and external forces making the logic of reform
overwhelming in policy terms, precious little has happened. The interests of the
patchwork quilt of Iraqi political factions are simply too entrenched to give
away the government patronage that is the enduring source of their power.
Further, at the end of June, an Iraqi federal court disallowed even the
government’s tepid recent efforts at renewal, nullifying Abadi’s attempt to
streamline the cabinet and remove the parliamentary speaker. This domestic
political failure is reflected at the strategic level. For all practical
purposes, the Kurdish portion of the country has been autonomous now for a
generation, with Baghdad’s political remit stopping short in the north of the
country. In addition, the Sunni centre and west of the country either remains
under the control of ISIS or is just emerging from the war zone that has been
central Iraq for the past several years. Given the Abadi government’s obvious
inability to govern the more peaceful portions of the country long under its
control, it is highly unlikely that Sunni Iraq will be integrated back into the
Iraqi state in a successful manner. If this proves to be the case, the defeat of
ISIS will be entirely beside the point, a mere respite while the world waits in
dread for the next incarnation of radicalism to arise from the fertile ashes of
continuing Sunni disenfranchisement. A different way forward. Given all these
realities, inconvenient facts that must not be swept under the analytical rug,
it is probably too late for Iraq to survive as a state in anything other than
name. The only way this might change – long-shot though it is – would be for a
two-fold successful reform drive to eradicate the corruption that is the cancer
of Iraqi domestic politics, coupled with a concerted effort to confederalise the
country, devolving as much power as possible to the restive Kurdish, Sunni and
Shia sub-national groupings that are the organic, politically legitimate
building blocks of power there.
Barring these dramatic developments, it is time to see Iraq for what it is: A
failed state.
Saudi Arabia and the war on
drifting
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/August 10/16
All citizens and residents in Saudi Arabia complain about a lack of traffic
discipline, which is the most charitable way to describe mad and reckless
behavior when driving cars and harassing others to be in control of the road.
The worst of these practices is drifting, when drivers turn the streets into a
circus and perform a criminal show while jeopardizing people’s lives and
ignoring the law. Government measures to stiffen penalties and confront this
“traffic terrorism” are welcome, needed, and must be immediately implemented. In
addition to financial, physical and psychological harm, many innocent people
have been killed.
Legal amendment
The Saudi cabinet recently issued a decision to address all these violations and
amend Article 69 on traffic law. The amendment considers drifting a traffic
violation. For the first offense, the drifter’s vehicle will be impounded for 15
days, he will be fined 20,000 riyals ($5,332), and the case will be transferred
to the relevant court to look into imposing a prison sentence. Government
measures to stiffen penalties and confront this “traffic terrorism” are welcome,
needed, and must be immediately implemented. For second-time offenders, the
vehicle will be impounded for a month, and the driver will be fined 40,000
riyals ($10,665) and be referred to the relevant court to look into imposing a
prison sentence. Third-time offenders will be fined 60,000 riyals ($15,997) and
referred to the relevant court to look into permanently confiscating the
vehicle, or fining the driver the same price as the rented or stolen vehicle and
jailing him. This is good news, but a lot more is required. The Saudi traffic
authority has installed speed cameras, which has improved things, but problems
persist. Some say this traffic madness is because young men have plenty of free
time and no other entertainment, and call for building a special arena for
drifters. I oppose this justification. A crime is a crime. A thief who steals
from people, even if he is poor, is still a criminal, and the fact that he is
poor does not exempt him from punishment. Driving is about technique, discipline
and ethics, so it is about protecting general ethics, not about a mere technical
violation.
*This article was first published by Asharq al-Awsat on August 10, 2016.