LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 30/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.august30.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
King Herod Orders Beheading Of John on the Request of Herodias's Daughter
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark
06/14-29/:"King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were
saying, ‘John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason
these powers are at work in him.’But others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others
said, ‘It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’ But when Herod heard
of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’ For Herod himself had
sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of
Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had
been telling Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ And
Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not,
for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he
protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to
listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet
for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter
Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said
to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.’ And he solemnly
swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.’
She went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The
head of John the baptizer.’Immediately she rushed back to the king and
requested, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a
platter.’The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for
the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier
of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the
prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl
gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his
body, and laid it in a tomb."
Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets who
through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut
the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire
Letter to the Hebrews 11/32-40/:"And what more should I say? For
time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and
Samuel and the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered
justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire,
escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in
war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection.
Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better
resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and
imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed
by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute,
persecuted, tormented of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts
and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. Yet all these, though they
were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had
provided something better so that they would not, without us, be made perfect.?"
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on August 29-30/16
Billionaire (Chagoury) who donated
to the Clinton Foundation. Last year, he was denied entry into the U.S/Joseph
Tanfani/Los Angeles Times/August 29/16
Clinton Foundation Tied to Hezbollah/Kathryn Blackhurst/PoliZette/August 28/16
In a country where outages are the norm, a Lebanese town, Zahle now has power
24/7/Hugh Naylor/The Washington Post/August 29/16/
CRISIS: Internet to Have Global Governance October 1. Call Congress!
Better Censorship for Tyrants/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/August 29/16
Greece: The Freedom-of-Speech Canary Died/Maria Polizoidou/Gatestone
Institute/August 29/16
Biden’s diplomatic triage in Turkey/Week in Review/Al-Monitor/August 29/16
Accelerating the development of education/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/August
29/16
Russia, US Geneva talks spark deja vu/Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/August 29/16
Jubeir’s four minutes/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/August 29/16
Saudi Arabia, a victim of hate campaigns/Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al Arabiya/August
29/16
Why Saudi Arabia’s road to Asia runs through Pakistan/Ehtesham Shahid/Al Arabiya/August
29/16
Iraqi Writer: The Iraqis' Suffering Is Greater Than The Palestinians'; We Should
Put Ourselves First/MEMRI/August 29/16/August 29/16/
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
August 29-30/16
Jobran Bassil is a big Hypocrite
and Knows nothing about the Bible/Elias Bejjani/August 29/16
Muslims in Lebanon turn to Jesus Christ as they minister to Syrian refugees
STL Fines al-Amin 20,000 Euros for Court Contempt
Finance and Budget Committee Tackles Trash File, Kanaan Refuses Turning Metn
into Dumpster
Berri Adheres to 'Package Deal', Says 'Impossible' to Extend Parliament Term
Report: Trash Plan Setback in Metn and Keserwan Sees a Solution
Kataeb Says Trash Crisis Exposes 'Mafia Controlling Country', Urges Sorting
Plants
Charbel visits Mashnouq: Berri's package deal of major importance
Zayed after meeting Bassil: Lebanon priority in Egypt's foreign policy
Jreige demands formation of new Tele Liban administrative board
Fatfat says avoiding mixed law discussions shall lead to dead end
Youhanna X from Cyprus: For preserving Lebanon's stability
Ogero reoperates telephone service in Hamra
Rahi winds up two week visit to Rome
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
August 29-30/16
Jobran Bassil is a big Hypocrite and Knows nothing about the Bible
Without aid, 49,000 children will
die this year in northeast Nigeria: U.N.
Iran: Five Christian citizens arrested in Firoozkooh
Iran regime mass executes 30 prisoners in 3 days
The UN rights expert expresses outrage over the execution of 12 people in Iran.
NCRI-US: Panel Discussion on New Details of Iran's Involvement in Syria
US drone enters Iran’s airspace, leaves after warning
Iran deploys S-300 missiles to nuclear site
Pentagon Says Syria Clashes between Turkey, U.S.-Backed Kurds 'Unacceptable'
U.S. Alarm as Turkey Warns Syrian Kurd Militia of More Strikes
IS-claimed Bombing against Yemen Recruits Kills 60
Jets hit rebel-held Homs area for first time in a year
ISIS claims suicide bombing at Iraqi wedding
Turkey hits Kurdish targets in northern Iraq
Palestinians say ready for any ‘fair’ peace initiative
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan hold security talks
Saudi deputy crown prince in China for trade talks
More than 70 tents burnt down in Iraqi refugee camp: UNHCR
Iraq put out fire at four oil wells in freed town
France’s Sarkozy says would change constitution to ban burkinis
Give arrested aid worker fair trial, Amnesty tells Israel
Houthi delegation meets Iraq’s foreign minister
ISIS attack kills dozens in Yemen’s Aden
Links From Jihad Watch Site for
on August 29-30/16
Trump campaign: Shut down Clinton Foundation over Hizballah link
German army has admitted over 60 suspected Islamic State jihadis into its ranks
Germany: Muslims screaming “Allahu akbar” attack, try to kill convert from Islam
to Christianity
Kenya: Two medical interns arrested for trying to join the Islamic State
Video: Robert Spencer on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s war against the US
Australia’s SBS: Islam not responsible for honor killings and female genital
mutilation
Australia’s SBS: Jihad “doesn’t mean war against non-Muslims”
Links From Christian Today Site for
on August 29-30/16
Anglicans consider new synod to oppose gay marriage
How one youth pastor is bringing hope to persecuted Christians in Iraq
Pope Francis holds private meeting with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg
Justin Welby: 'I am constantly consumed with horror' at the way the Church has
treated gay people
Why it's too soon to write off the Church in Europe
ISIS attack kills dozens in Yemen
Full ban on burkinis would stoke tensions, admits French minister
Man charged with murder over fatal stabbing of two nuns in Mississippi
Trump vows crackdown on immigrants who overstay visas if elected
ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller stood
up for her Christian faith while in captivity
on August 29-30/16
Jobran
Bassil is a big Hypocrite and Knows nothing about the Bible
Elias Bejjani/August 29/16
Minister
Sejan Qazi published today a piece in Annahar newspaper hitting
on his colleague, Minister Jobran Bassil. The piece is very Biblical in essence
and core. It explains what does a curse mean in the Bible and how and where it
was used in the verses. It came as a response to Jobran Bassil's stupid,
childish and heretic recent speech in which he stated with arrogance that all
those who are trying to isolate him and Aoun are cursed. The Piece Biblically
shows clearly that Jobran Bassil the head of the pro Hezbollah FPM party knows
nothing about the Bible or Christianity and that he is a big hypocrite.
By the way the writer of the piece, Minister Sejan Qazi, although what he wrote
is excellent and very informative, but the reality states that he also a big
hypocrite, a professional opportunist and a liar.
Sadly the majority of our politicians in Lebanon and specially the Christians
are corrupted, evil and have no conscience or self respect. simply they are
thieves and thugs. Below is the link for the piece
Muslims in Lebanon turn to Jesus
Christ as they minister to Syrian refugees
The Christian Times/August 29/16/Many Muslims in Lebanon turned to Christ as
they discovered His presence despite the dangers that face them as they minister
to displaced Syrian refugees. The ministry leader of Christian Aid Mission (CAM)
reported that many Syrian refugees experience a resurgence in harassments and
that many Lebanese Muslims, too, started turning to Christ.One unnamed ministry
worker reportedly felt Christ's presence after he awoke at 3 a.m."His faith was
strengthened and renewed," said CAM's ministry leader. "He is faithful in
sharing Christ with his family and neighbors, and we ask for continued prayers
for him. A female ministry worker started five prayer groups for women and
overcame her illiteracy by audio media to spread God's Word. "She doesn't cease
to share the love of Christ with those that she encounters, and we know the only
explanation for how she can do all this is the Holy Spirit," said the leader. He
added that a local couple became missionaries as the husband devoted himself
full-time to ministry. There's also a new Christian convert who braved the
dangers in his hometown of south Lebanon where he decided to go back in order to
share the gospel with the community's Muslims. He's reportedly meeting eight
people every day in his house for prayer, where he leads a ministry despite the
apparent risks and lack of funding. "He is a fisherman with a heart for God and
an eagerness to minister to his people, no matter how dangerous it may be," the
CAM leader said about this new convert.
Two more ministry workers, also illiterate and who use audio media for
evangelization, decided to forge ahead to the war-torn neighbor country of Syria
as they claimed that Christ called them to go there to spread His name. They
said they can no longer wait for the refugees to go to them and are taking
action instead to minister to people who need Jesus. "The love of Christ burns
inside them," said the ministry leader. A Middle Eastern Christian woman touring
the U.S. this month told Western Christians not to pray for persecution to end
in the Middle East but rather to pray for God to endow them with the spirit to
continue as His witnesses. She claimed that many Muslims have since turned to
Christ since the sectarian attacks against Christians including the Islamic
State atrocities in the name of Allah.
STL Fines al-Amin 20,000
Euros for Court Contempt
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /August 29/16/The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on
Monday fined the editor of al-Akhbar newspaper 20,000 euros for publishing
secret information about witnesses in the case against the alleged killers of
former premier Rafik Hariri. Ibrahim al-Amin, al-Akhbar's editor-in-chief, was
found guilty in July of contempt of court by the U.N.-backed STL. The prosecutor
on Monday urged the court, based in the leafy town of Leidschendam just outside
The Hague, to impose a two-year jail term on Amin and a $75,000 fine. Amin and
the pro-Hizbullah al-Akhbar newspaper were convicted of contempt after running
two articles in January 2013 with the names and photographs of 32 witnesses in
its Arabic print and online editions. The articles were entitled "STL Leaks: The
Prosecution's Surprise Witnesses" and "The STL Witness List: Why We Published".
Hariri and 22 others, including a suspected suicide bomber, died in a massive
car bomb blast on the Beirut waterfront on February 14, 2005. "I sentence M.
Ibrahim Mohammed Ali al-Amin to a fine of 20,000 euros, to be paid in full by 30
September, 2016," said judge Nicola Lettieri. He also imposed "a fine of 6,000
thousand euros to be paid in full by 30 September, 2016" on the paper. The
prosecutor Kenneth Scott had also called for a fine of 112,700 euros to be
imposed on the paper. But defense counsel Antonios Abu Kasm argued that such a
fine would end up "penalizing the employees and their families, who will suffer
direct financial consequences, given the already delicate financial situation"
of the paper. Five suspected members of Hizbullah were originally indicted by
the court, set up in 2009, and their trial in absentia opened in January 2014.
However, the court has quashed the case against one of the accused, Hizbullah
military commander Mustafa Badreddine, who is believed to have died in fighting
in Syria in May. Earlier this year the STL acquitted on appeal a senior al-Jadeed
television journalist, Karma al-Khayyat, in a similar case involving the alleged
publication of witness names in the highly-sensitive trial. Hizbullah leader
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has dismissed the tribunal as a U.S.-Israeli plot, and
vowed none of the defendants will ever be caught.
Finance and Budget Committee Tackles Trash File, Kanaan Refuses Turning Metn
into Dumpster
Naharnet /August 29/16/The parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee kicked off
a meeting on Monday to address the trash crisis in the presence of related
ministers and representatives of the Council for Development and Reconstruction.
“The solution that the government came out with is not a perfect one. There is a
need to implement administrative decentralization in this file,” said Head of
the Committee MP Ibrahim Kanaan after the meeting. “We have decided to invite
the union of the municipalities concerned with the trash file to attend the
Committee's meeting next Wednesday,” he added. “We do not want to turn the Metn
coast into a dumpster, nor do we want to turn our streets into a dumpster. We
are open to all solutions.” “We need a transitional phase until administrative
decentralization is implemented. Our project is the total liberation of the
municipalities' jurisdictions as an independent authority,” remarked Kanaan.
Earlier, Kanaan told An Nahar daily that the meeting would provide an
opportunity to view all the ideas and objections in the presence of Minister of
Agriculture Akram Shehayyeb, MP Sami Gemayel, MP Agop Pakradonian and CDR
representatives. “Our first concern is not to leave garbage in the streets and
secondly is to prevent the transformation of the Metn coast into a dumpster.
Supposing the government’s plan is incomplete then we must complete and modify
it,” he told the daily. “We seek a broader plan based on the establishment of
power plants for the reproduction of energy from waste, decentralization of
trash treatment which requires years of preparation meaning that we are in dire
need of a phased plan and control in execution,” added the MP. For his part,
Shehayyeb is expected to reaffirm adherence to the government's trash plan, said
the daily and added that the Minister will hold those who reject it the
responsibility of the trash crisis in the areas of Ashrafieh, Metn and Keserwan.
Last week, the trash management plan witnessed a setback and the waste started
accumulating once again in the streets of Metn, Keserwan and a small section of
Beirut after protesters closed the Bourj Hammoud landfill.Kataeb party students
forced the work to a halt at the landfill and demanded the halt to what they
alleged “the project of land-filling the sea with garbage on Metn's
coast.”Lebanon's unprecedented trash management crisis erupted in July 2015
after the closure of the Naameh landfill, which was receiving the waste of
Beirut and Mount Lebanon. The crisis, which sparked unprecedented protests
against the entire political class, has seen streets, forests and riverbanks
overflowing with waste and the air filled with the smell of rotting and burning
garbage. On March 12, the cabinet decided to establish two landfills in Costa
Brava and Bourj Hammoud and to reactivate the Naameh landfill for two months as
part of a four-year plan to resolve the country’s waste problem despite the
rejection of many residents and civil society activists.
Berri Adheres to 'Package
Deal', Says 'Impossible' to Extend Parliament Term
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /August 29/16/Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on
Monday that he has no initiative other than the one he launched in June as he
urged the political forces to shoulder their responsibility and help Lebanon
overcome the political impasse it is witnessing, al-Joumhouria daily reported on
Monday. “Am I an initiative prolific to launch a new initiative each day...I
already suggested what I have and the political forces must shoulder the
responsibility,” stated Berri answering a question on whether he will launch a
new suggestion in a speech he will deliver on August 31 marking the anniversary
of the disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions. Berri had
launched an initiative aimed at ending Lebanon's political impasse. He called
for shortening the term of parliament and that the elections be held based on
the 1960 law should political forces fail to agree on a new electoral one. He
also called for staging the presidential elections after the parliamentary ones
and forming a national unity government. On the potentials for extending the
parliament's term, Berri assured that it will not be extended “under any
circumstances. It is impossible.”In November 2014, lawmakers extended their
mandate until June 2017. Only two lawmakers voted against the extension, but 31
boycotted the session altogether in protest over the controversial decision.
Parliamentary elections were originally scheduled for mid-2013, but MPs approved
a 17-month extension of their mandate on May 31, 2013. On the future awaiting
Lebanon's government as ministers of the Change and Reform bloc continue to
boycott the cabinet meetings, Berri said: “The cabinet must resume its meetings
next week as usual. I believe it has to take appropriate decisions in both the
regular and important issues. But let us wait for Prime Minister Tammam Salam to
return back from his vacation and then we will see what he has up his sleeve.”
Ministers of the Free Patriotic Movement boycotted the cabinet meeting last week
which they say is linked to the thorny issue of military and security
appointments. On the presidential vacuum the Speaker said he is certain that a
new president will be elected before the year ends if the “package deal” he
suggested garners the approval of all parties. Lebanon has been without a
president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and the MPs of
Hizbullah, FPM founder Michel 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. 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. Hariri's move prompted Lebanese
Forces leader Samir Geagea to endorse the nomination of Aoun, his long-time
Christian rival. 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.
Report: Trash Plan Setback in
Metn and Keserwan Sees a Solution
Naharnet /August 29/16/A plan to collect the trash that has been accumulating on
the streets in the northern districts of Metn and Keserewan lately will be put
into implementation either today or on Tuesday, An Nahar daily reported on
Monday. The trash management plan, which saw a setback after protesters closed a
location in the area of Bourj Hammoud used to store the waste, will resume and
the trash will be collected in relatively remote areas, added the daily. The
plan will be put into implementation pending an expected solution that will see
the garbage transferred to the landfill of Bourj Hammoud with a clear commitment
from the government to implement an integrated environmental plan for sorting,
processing and land-filling, it added. A deal to transport garbage from the
streets of Metn, Keserwan and parts of the capital Beirut went to a halt
recently due to the closure of the Bourj Hammoud storage location. Trash started
accumulating once again on the streets of Metn, Keserwan and a small section of
Beirut that are included in the trash deal to transport garbage to a temporary
site in Bourj Hammoud. Early in August, Kataeb party students forced the work to
a halt at the landfill and demanded the halt to what they alleged “the project
of land-filling the sea with garbage on Metn's coast.” Lebanon's unprecedented
trash management crisis erupted in July 2015 after the closure of the central
Naameh landfill which was receiving the waste of Beirut and Mount Lebanon. The
months-long crisis, which sparked protests against the entire political class,
saw streets, forests and riverbanks overflowing with waste and the air filled
with the smell of rotting and burning garbage. The cabinet eventually decided to
establish two landfills in Costa Brava and Bourj Hammoud and to reactivate the
Naameh landfill for two months as part of a four-year plan despite the rejection
of many residents and civil society activists. A landfill’s location in the
Chouf and Aley areas would be determined later following consultations with the
local municipalities, the cabinet said at the time.
Kataeb Says Trash Crisis
Exposes 'Mafia Controlling Country', Urges Sorting Plants
Naharnet /August 29/16/The Kataeb Party said Monday that the renewed waste
collection crisis “exposes anew the corruption mafia that is controlling the
country,” calling for the creation of waste sorting and treatment plants and the
temporary storage of the accumulating garbage in non-residential areas. “The
crime of leaving garbage in the streets exposes anew the corruption mafia that
is controlling the country, which is asking citizens to choose between fast
death and slow death,” the party's political bureau said in a statement issued
after its weekly meeting. “In light of the outcome of the Finance Parliamentary
Committee meeting, in which the conferees confirmed that only less than 10% of
waste is being sorted and around 90% is being land-filled, Kataeb has invited
the relevant municipalities and municipal unions to a meeting that will be held
on Wednesday to explore their viewpoints and proposed solutions,” it added.
“The Kataeb Party reiterates that the appropriate solution to this crisis would
to immediately embark on setting up waste sorting and management plants in every
district, a process that requires six months to be finalized,” the party
suggested. “Meanwhile, the government must find a temporary site for storing the
the garbage away from the residential areas pending the beginning of the
decentralized waste management process,” it said. A deal to transport garbage
from the streets of Metn, Keserwan and parts of the capital Beirut went to a
halt recently due to the closure of the Bourj Hammoud storage location by the
municipality. Early in August, Kataeb Party students forced the suspension of
works aimed at setting up a landfill at the site, demanding a halt to what they
called “the project of land-filling the sea with garbage on Metn's coast.” They
have been staging a sit-in outside the site for several weeks now. Lebanon's
unprecedented trash management crisis erupted in July 2015 after the closure of
the central Naameh landfill which was receiving the waste of Beirut and Mount
Lebanon. The months-long crisis, which sparked protests against the entire
political class, saw streets, forests and riverbanks overflowing with waste and
the air filled with the smell of rotting and burning garbage.The cabinet
eventually decided to establish two landfills in Costa Brava and Bourj Hammoud
and to reactivate the Naameh landfill for two months as part of a four-year plan
despite the rejection of many residents and civil society activists. A
landfill’s location in the Chouf and Aley areas would be determined later
following consultations with the local municipalities, the cabinet said at the
time. Environmentalists and civil society activists have long called for
an eco-friendly solution to the garbage crisis that involves more recycling and
composting to reduce the amount of trash going into landfills as well as a
bigger role for municipalities.
Charbel
visits Mashnouq: Berri's package deal of major importance
Mon 29 Aug 2016 /NNA - Minister of Interior and Municipalities Nuhad Mashnouq
received on Monday former Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, with talks touching
on the latest security and political developments. In the wake of the meeting
Charbel said "Speaker Berri's package-deal is of major importance for the next
president to begin his term on the basis of understanding over various issues,
among which the premiership, the government, the election law and the
administrative decentralization topics."Charbel said his host had expressed
optimism over the election of a president before the end of the year. "I, too,
confirmed that the beginning of a solution in Lebanon will be by the election of
a Head of State," he went on, praising the work done by Minister Mashnouq at the
level of security and politics. Asked whether the security situation in Lebanon
is still under control, Charbel said "the situation is excellent, but as long as
Syria is shaken, there will be question marks over Lebanon's condition.""Nobody
knows what will happen tomorrow, but we should not fear civil war such as the
ones we experienced before. We could hear of an explosion or an assassination
here or there, as such incidents remain a possibility. However, the State's
security and military institutions, notably the Lebanese Army, the General
Security, the Internal Security Forces and the State Security are taking major
proactive measures in this regard," he said. On a different note, Minister
Mashnouq met with MP Ghazi Aridi over the general situation.
Zayed after meeting Bassil:
Lebanon priority in Egypt's foreign policy
Mon 29 Aug 2016/NNA - Foreign Affairs Minister, Gibran Bassil, on Monday
received at his office Egyptian Ambassador, Mohammad Badreddine Zayed, who said
that Lebanon was a priority for Egypt's foreign policy. It is worth noting that
the new Egyptian Ambassador will reach Beirut today and will start his mission
on Wednesday.
Jreige demands formation of
new Tele Liban administrative board
Mon 29 Aug 2016/NNA - Information Minister, Ramzi Jreige, on Monday called in
the wake of the Information and Communications Parliamentary Committee's meeting
for the formation of a new administrative board for Tele Liban, noting that the
current board had been appointed on temporary basis.
Fatfat says avoiding mixed
law discussions shall lead to dead end
Mon 29 Aug 2016/NNA - Member of Parliament, Ahmad Fatfat, feared on Monday that
attempts at avoiding negotiations over the proposed mixed electoral law might
eventually lead to a dead end. Interviewed by the Voice of Lebanon radio
station, the lawmaker pushed both sides of the Lebanese political divide to
perform their part to help reach agreement on a new electoral law. Moreover,
Fatfat stressed the importance of electing a Lebanese president as soon as
possible. "Delaying the election of a president is a waste of time. We're not in
need of more outbids similar to those of the free Patriotic Movement and
Hezbollah," Fatfat said. As for the impending national dialogue session on the
5th of September, the lawmaker ruled out any positive vibes looming in the
horizon, especially in light of the rampage of political bids. "It is Speaker of
the House Nabih Berri's right to cling to the same basket that Hezbollah has
been demanding," Fatfat added, wondering why the same people that have been
displaying attachment to the aforementioned basket would also disrupt the
election of a president. "That's why dialogue will not bring about any progress
unless agreement is reached over a new president," he added.
Youhanna X from Cyprus: For
preserving Lebanon's stability
Mon 29 Aug 2016/NNA - Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East,
Youhanna Yazigi X, currently in Cyprus, met with Cypriot President, Nicos
Anastasiades, for talks on the general situation in the region and the present
conditions of Christians in the Middle East.
Patriarch Youhanna X sounded the President on his Cyprus's stance on regional
events, including the Syrian crisis. Youhanna X emphasized the necessity of
preserving Lebanon's stability and ending the longstanding presidential vacuum.
The Cypriot President underlined the need for finding a peaceful, political
solution to the Syrian crisis, affirming the deeply entrenched relations between
Cyprus and Syria. Patriarch Youhanna X, for his part, stressed "the importance
of the relationship with the Cypriot people and the unity of Cyprus",
underlining the paramount importance of coexistence amongst the various faiths
and religions in the Middle East, and the renouncement of terrorism and
extremism. Patriarch Youhanna X also spoke about the issue of the kidnapped
Aleppo archbishops Youhanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi, calling for the need of
serious work in this dossier amidst international silence. The senior Archbishop
also stressed the need to lift the unjust economic unjust siege and other
economic sanctions endured by the Syrian people in their livelihood and means of
survival.
Ogero reoperates telephone
service in Hamra
Mon 29 Aug 2016/NNA - Ogero indicated in a statement on Monday that its
technical teams managed to re-operate telephone and internet services at Hamra
call center, after an electricity blackout hit the area this afternoon.
Rahi winds up two week visit
to Rome
Mon 29 Aug 2016/NNA - Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rahi returned
on Monday afternoon to Beirut, winding up a two week visit to Rome.
Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
on August 29-30/16
Without aid,
49,000 children will die this year in northeast Nigeria: U.N.
Reuters/August 29/16/Nearly
half a million children around Lake Chad face "severe acute malnutrition" due to
drought and a seven-year insurgency by Islamist militant group Boko Haram in
northeastern Nigeria, UNICEF said on Thursday. Of the 475,000 deemed at risk,
49,000 in Nigeria's Borno state, Boko Haram's heartland, will die this year if
they do not receive treatment, according to the United Nations' child agency,
which is appealing for $308 million to cope with the crisis. However, to date,
UNICEF said it had only received $41 million, 13 percent of what it needs to
help those affected in the four countries - Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon -
that border Lake Chad. At the start of 2015, Boko Haram occupied an area the
size of Belgium but has since been pushed back over the last 18 months by
military assaults by the four countries. Most of its remaining forces are now
hiding in the wilds of the vast Sambisa forest, southeast of the Borno
provincial capital, Maiduguri. UNICEF said that as Nigerian government forces
captured and secured territory, aid officials were starting to piece together
the scale of the humanitarian disaster left behind in the group's wake. "Towns
and villages are in ruins and communities have no access to basic services,"
UNICEF said in a report. In Borno, nearly two thirds of hospitals and clinics
had been partially or completely destroyed and three-quarters of water and
sanitation facilities needed to be rehabilitated. Despite the military gains,
UNICEF said, 2.2 million people remain trapped in areas under the control of
Boko Haram - which is trying to establish a caliphate in the southern reaches of
the Sahara - or are staying in camps, fearful of going home. Boko Haram is
thought to have killed as many as 15,000 people since the launch of its
insurgency in 2009. Responding to its battlefield setbacks, Boko Haram has
turned to suicide bombings, many involving children. UNICEF said it had recorded
38 cases of child suicide bombings so far this year, against 44 in the whole of
2015 and just four the year before that.(Reporting by Ed Cropley; editing by
Mark Heinrich)
Iran: Five Christian citizens arrested in
Firoozkooh
Monday, 29 August 2016/NCRI - Friday 23 August 2016 five converted Christians
who had gone for sightseeing and fishing with their families were detained by
the agents of Intelligence Ministry. The whereabouts and condition of them is
unknown.
According to news sources from inside Iran, Ramil Bet Tamraz, Amin Naderafshar,
Hadi Askari, M Dehnavi and Amirsina Dashti with their wifes and children went to
the city of Boroujerd in the province of Tehran for fishing and picnics. Around
half past one in the afternoon, they were attacked by security forces, men and
women were separated and then Amin Nadrafshar who asked them to show the arrest
warrant was severely beaten.
A source close to the families stated: “The security forces detained and
transferred men to an undisclosed location, and families are unaware of their
condition.”
Ramil Bet Tamraz, is the son of Victor Bet Tamraz the Assyrian priest who was
arrested at his home on Christmas celebrations on 5 January 2014.
Rev. Victor was verbally accused of "illegal missionary activities, running a
Christian house church, and publishing and distributing the Bible". He was
released on bail on 10 March 2014. And is waiting a summons from the court to
defend the charges related to his Christian activities.
It is feared that the intelligence agents coerce them to false confessions as is
common in Iran prisons.
Iran: Five Christian citizens
arrested in Firoozkooh
Monday, 29 August 2016/NCRI - Friday 23 August 2016 five converted Christians
who had gone for sightseeing and fishing with their families were detained by
the agents of Intelligence Ministry. The whereabouts and condition of them is
unknown.
According to news sources from inside Iran, Ramil Bet Tamraz, Amin Naderafshar,
Hadi Askari, M Dehnavi and Amirsina Dashti with their wifes and children went to
the city of Boroujerd in the province of Tehran for fishing and picnics. Around
half past one in the afternoon, they were attacked by security forces, men and
women were separated and then Amin Nadrafshar who asked them to show the arrest
warrant was severely beaten.
A source close to the families stated: “The security forces detained and
transferred men to an undisclosed location, and families are unaware of their
condition.”
Ramil Bet Tamraz, is the son of Victor Bet Tamraz the Assyrian priest who was
arrested at his home on Christmas celebrations on 5 January 2014.
Rev. Victor was verbally accused of "illegal missionary activities, running a
Christian house church, and publishing and distributing the Bible". He was
released on bail on 10 March 2014. And is waiting a summons from the court to
defend the charges related to his Christian activities.
It is feared that the intelligence agents coerce them to false confessions as is
common in Iran prisons.
Iran regime mass executes 30
prisoners in 3 days
Monday, 29 August 2016/NCRI - The mullahs' regime has stepped up a spate of mass
executions in recent days, hanging at least 18 people last Thursday alone.
On Thursday, August 25, seven prisoners,
including a woman, were executed en masse in the Central Prison of Yazd, central
Iran.
The state-run Rokna news agency claimed that five of the victims were accused of
drugs-related charges.
Separately on Thursday, the regime mass executed 11 prisoners in the Central
Prison of Zahedan, south-east Iran. One of the victims was identified as Hamzeh
Rigi.
On Saturday, August 27, despite international calls for a halt to the
executions, 12 prisoners were hanged in the Central Prison of Karaj. These
prisoners had been transferred to solitary cells on August 24 to prepare them
for implementation of the death sentence.
Commenting on the recent spate of mass executions in Iran, on Monday Shahin
Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of
Iran (NCRI) said: "As the regime plunges further into domestic and regional
isolation, it resorts to more executions en masse and suppression, but the
reality is the regime is at a total strategic impasse, and these barbaric
measures only indicate its utter desperation."
The Iranian Resistance has called on all international human rights
organizations to take urgent action to stop the brutal death penalty in Iran
under the mullahs' rule.
The UN rights expert
expresses outrage over the execution of 12 people in Iran.
Monday, 29 August 2016/NCRI - 29 August 2016- Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Iran Ahmed Shaheed. Who had earlier this year noted
that 'the overall situation has worsened' with respect to human rights." today
condemned Iran’s ‘illegal’ execution of 12 people on drug-related charges,
following is the press release which was published today by The Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
UN rights expert condemns Iran’s ‘illegal’ execution of 12 people on
drug-related charges
GENEVA (29 August 2016) – The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, has expressed outrage at the execution on 27
August of 12 people, including Alireza Madadpour, on drug-related charges. Mr.
Shaheed had appealed publicly on 26 August to the Iranian authorities not to go
ahead with the planned executions at Karaj Central Prison.
“The execution of individuals for drug-related offences is simply illegal,” Mr.
Shaheed said, noting that international law only allows the imposition of the
death penalty for the “most serious crimes”, where there is intentional killing,
and after a fair trial that respects the most stringent due process guarantees.
None of these conditions were respected, at least in the case of Mr. Madadpour.
“Combating drug trafficking, a serious concern in Iran, does not justify the use
of the death penalty in drug-related cases,” the Special Rapporteur stressed.
“The execution of Mr. Madadpour and 11 others shows the Iranian authorities’
complete disregard of its obligations under international human rights law and
especially of international fair trial standards and due process guarantees,”
Mr. Shaheed added.
The UN expert renewed his call on the Government of Iran to end all executions
and to immediately institute a moratorium on the death penalty.
ENDS
Ahmed Shaheed (the Maldives) is a Visiting Professor at Essex University, UK; a
former member of the Maldivian presidential Commission Investigating Corruption;
and a foreign policy advisor to the President of the Maldives. Mr. Shaheed was
Foreign Minister of the Maldives from 2005 to 2007 and from 2008 to 2010. He led
the country’s efforts to sign and ratify all nine international human rights
Conventions and to implement them in law and practice. He was appointed as the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran in June 2011 by the
UN Human Rights Council
NCRI-US: Panel Discussion on
New Details of Iran's Involvement in Syria
Monday, 29 August 2016/WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2016 The US Representative Office of
the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI-US), has organized a panel
discussion on Iran's IRGC involvement in Syria and to roll out a new book, How
Iran Fuels Syria War, which provides new details on the extent of the Iranian
regime's activities in that country.
The event is scheduled for Thursday, September 1, 2016, at 10:30 am at the NCRI
Washington office, 1747 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 1125, Washington, DC 20006
Partial list of Panelists:
Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs, Congressional Research
Service
Ambassador Adam Ereli, former U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain, and former State
Department Spokesman
Lawrence J. Haas, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the American Foreign
Policy Council
Alireza Jafarzadeh, NCRIUS deputy director
How Iran Fuels the War in Syria contains satellite imagery of 18 Operational and
Logistical Headquarters in different parts ofSyria, including its command
structure and key officers. Approximately 10,000 IRGC forces, 5,000 regular army
forces, 20,000 Iraqi militias from ten different Iraqi groups, 15,000 Afghan
militia forces (Fatemiyoun), 7,000 forces from the Lebanese Hezbollah, and 5,000
militia forces from Pakistan (Zeinabiyoun), Palestine and elsewhere are
currently operating in Syria under the command of the IRGC.The Iranian regime
spends one billion dollars annually to pay the salaries of these forces in
Syria.
US drone enters Iran’s airspace, leaves after warning
Reuters Monday, 29 August 2016/Iran’s military detected a US drone entering
Iranian airspace on Monday and warned it toleave, which it subsequently did,
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported. “Iran’s army air defence detected and warned
an American drone in the eastern airspace of the country. It was coming from
Afghanistan. The drone left the area,” Tasnim quoted the Iranian military as
saying. Tasnim gave no details on how the Iranian authorities had warned the
unmanned drone to leave its airspace.
Iran deploys S-300 missiles
to nuclear site
AFP, Tehran Monday, 29 August 2016/Tehran has deployed a recently delivered
Russian-made long-range missile system to central Iran to protect its Fordo
nuclear facility, state television said Sunday. Protecting nuclear facilities is
paramount “in all circumstances” General Farzad Esmaili, the commander of Iran’s
air defenses, told the IRIB channel.“Today, Iran’s sky is one of the most secure
in the region,” he added. A video showed an S-300 carrier truck in Fordo,
raising its missile launchers toward the sky, next to other counter-strike
weaponry.The images were aired hours after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
gave a speech to air force commanders, including Esmaili, in which he stressed
that Iranian military power was for defensive purposes only. Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani (C) and Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan (L) stand next
to the new Bavar 373 missile defense system in Tehran.
“Continued opposition and hype on the S-300 or the Fordo site are examples of
the viciousness of the enemy,” Khamenei said. “The S-300 system is a defense
system not an assault one, but the Americans did their best for Iran not to get
hold of it.” The Fordo site, built into a mountain near the city of Qom has
stopped enriching uranium since the January implementation of a nuclear deal
with world powers. Under the historic accord, Iran dismantled most of its
estimated 19,000 centrifuges -- giant spinning machines that enrich uranium,
keeping only 5,000 active for research purposes. Iran and the United States,
Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia negotiated for more than two years
before signing a historic July 2015 agreement that removed some international
sanctions in return for curbs on Tehran’s controversial atomic program.
Pentagon Says Syria Clashes between
Turkey, U.S.-Backed Kurds 'Unacceptable'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet
/August 29/16/Clashes between Turkish forces and units affiliated with a
U.S.-backed Kurdish-led alliance in Syria are "unacceptable", the Pentagon said
Monday, calling on all sides to "stand down". In a statement sent to AFP,
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook condemned the fighting south of the Syrian town of
Jarabulus. "We are closely monitoring reports of clashes south of Jarabulus --
where ISIL is no longer located -- between the Turkish armed forces, some
opposition groups, and units that are affiliated with the SDF (Kurdish-led
Syrian Democratic Forces)," he said. ISIL is an acronym for the Islamic State
(IS) group. "We want to make clear that we find these clashes unacceptable and
they are a source of deep concern."The United States "was not involved in these
activities, they were not coordinated with US forces, and we do not support
them," he said. "This is an already crowded battle space. Accordingly, we are
calling on all armed actors to stand down immediately and take appropriate
measures to de-conflict." The comments come after Turkish forces began a
two-pronged operation against IS and Kurdish fighters from the People's
Protection Units (YPG) inside Syria on Wednesday. The YPG is the main component
of the US-backed SDF alliance, which has been fighting IS in northern Syria.
Turkey considers the YPG a "terrorist" group and said Monday it would continue
to target the group if it failed to retreat east of the Euphrates River.
Turkish forces backed by pro-Ankara rebels seized the town of Jarabulus from IS
on the first day of the operation, but have since then clashed with local
fighters affiliated with the SDF.
'YPG must cross back'
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made a visit to Turkey last week, during which he
said Washington was looking "to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria,"
Cook explained.
"We have made this clear to the YPG elements of the SDF. We have reiterated our
view that the YPG must cross back to the eastern side of the Euphrates and
understand that has largely occurred," the Pentagon spokesman added. Ankara says
it had seen no evidence of this.
"We maintain and will continue to engage our partners on the ground to ensure
that our collective efforts to deal ISIL a lasting defeat are well-coordinated
and synchronized."On Sunday, dozens of people were killed in Turkish
bombardments in Syria as Ankara ramped up its unprecedented offensive. Ankara
said it had killed 25 Kurdish "terrorists" and insisted the army was doing
everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. But the Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said at least 40 civilians were killed in Turkish
shelling and air strikes on two areas held by pro-Kurdish forces, the first
report of significant civilian casualties in Turkey's operation.
U.S. Alarm as Turkey Warns
Syrian Kurd Militia of More Strikes
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /August 29/16/Turkey warned Monday it would carry
out more strikes on a Syrian Kurdish militia if it failed to retreat beyond the
Euphrates River, as Washington condemned their weekend clashes as
"unacceptable". Turkish forces pressed on with a two-pronged operation inside
Syria against Islamic State (IS) jihadists and the Syrian Kurdish People's
Protection Units (YPG), shelling over a dozen targets.But strikes against the
YPG are hugely sensitive as the Kurdish group -- seen as a terror group by
Ankara -- is allied with Turkey's NATO partner, the United States, in the fight
against IS in Syria.Ankara said it had killed 25 Kurdish "terrorists" in strikes
on YPG positions on Sunday, a day after a Turkish soldier died in a rocket
attack allegedly by the militia. The Pentagon called the clashes "unacceptable"
and urged an immediate de-escalation. Turkey's operation aims to push the YPG
back across the Euphrates River to prevent it joining up the region east of the
river already under its control with a Kurdish-held area to the west.
'Ethnic cleansing'
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, visiting Ankara last week, said Washington had
told the YPG to go back across the Euphrates or risk losing American support.
But Ankara says it had seen no evidence of this. "The YPG... needs to cross east
of the Euphrates as soon as possible. So long as they don't, they will be a
target," said Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. "In the places where it has
moved, the YPG forces everyone out -- including Kurds -- who do not think like
it does and carries out ethnic cleansing," he added. Cavusoglu said the ethnic
composition of the area around the city of Manbij west of the Euphrates --
captured by the YPG from IS earlier this month -- was largely Arab. He said that
those who had lived in the area before fighting broke out should return rather
than new Kurdish migrants.
'Deep concern'
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 40 civilians
were killed in Turkish shelling and air strikes on Sunday, claims strongly
rejected by Ankara. "Allegations that... civilians were shot at or targeted do
not reflect the truth," the Turkish premier's office said, adding the army was
taking "all necessary measures to prevent any harm to the civilian
population."It said 13 villages had "been cleared of terrorist elements" and
were now controlled by anti-regime Syrian fighters that Ankara refers to as the
Free Syrian Army (FSA). Ankara-backed forces captured the IS border stronghold
of Jarabulus last week, facing seemingly little resistance from the jihadists
who fled to bases further south. But the standoff with the Kurdish militia has
been intense, with a Turkish soldier killed on Saturday in a YPG rocket attack
on his tank. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Washington was monitoring the
reports of air strikes and clashes and found such fighting -- in an area clear
of IS -- "unacceptable and a source of deep concern". "The United States was not
involved in these activities, they were not coordinated with U.S. forces, and we
do not support them," he said. He called for steps to de-escalate the situation
and said Washington had once again told the YPG to retreat east of the
Euphrates. This has "largely occurred," he added.
'Prevent Kurdish corridor'
NTV television said that Turkish artillery had shelled 15 targets in northern
Syria on Monday. It did not say which group was targeted. Deputy Prime Minister
Numan Kurtulmus confirmed one of the key aims of its unprecedented operation was
to prevent the creation of a corridor stretching from Iraq to the verge of the
Mediterranean controlled by the YPG."If that happens, it means Syria has been
divided," he added, quoted by NTV television. He added that all relevant parties
had been informed of Turkey's operation in Syria, including the regime of
President Bashar Assad who is a bitter enemy of Ankara and had been told by its
ally Russia.But Kurtulmus denied Turkey was at war. "We are not pursuing an aim
of becoming a permanent power in Syria. Turkey is not an invader. Turkey is not
entering a war."
IS-claimed Bombing against
Yemen Recruits Kills 60
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /August 29/16/A suicide car bombing claimed by the
Islamic State group killed at least 60 people Monday at an army recruitment
centre in Aden, in the latest jihadist attack to hit the Yemeni city. Aden is
the temporary base of Yemen's internationally recognised government, which has
been battling Iran-backed rebels as well as jihadists across the country for
more than a year. Security officials told AFP that the attacker drove an
explosives-laden vehicle into a gathering of army recruits at a school in
northern Aden early Monday.
Although the school was locked as recruits registered inside, the attacker drove
in when the gate was opened for a delivery vehicle, officials said. Witnesses
said some recruits were buried when a roof collapsed over them following the
blast, which also damaged buildings close to the centre.
The assault killed at least 60 people and wounded 29 others, medical sources
from the three hospitals where the victims were taken told AFP. They could not
immediately verify if all those killed were recruits. Aden has seen a wave of
bombings and shootings targeting officials and security forces. Attacks in the
port city are often claimed by jihadists from either al-Qaida or IS, who have
both taken advantage of the chaos in Yemen to make gains in southern and
southeastern regions. IS claimed Monday's bombing on its official propaganda
outlet, Amaq, saying the blast had killed around 60 people. Yemeni authorities
have trained hundreds of soldiers in Aden over the past two months as part of
operations to retake neighboring southern provinces from jihadists. Earlier this
month, Yemeni government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition entered Abyan's
provincial capital Zinjibar. Troops retook other towns across Abyan but have
been met by fierce resistance in the key al-Qaida stronghold of Al-Mahfid,
security sources said.
The militants are still present in areas surrounding the recaptured towns and
control large parts of the neighboring Shabwa province, the sources say. The
Arab coalition battling Iran-backed rebels in Yemen has also been providing
troops with air cover throughout their war against the jihadists.
The coalition intervened in Yemen in March last year and helped government
troops push the rebels out of Aden and four other southern provinces. More than
6,600 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Yemen since March 2015 and
more than 80 percent of the population has been left in need of humanitarian
aid, according to the UN.
Jets hit rebel-held Homs area for
first time in a year
Reuters Monday, 29 August 2016/Jets believed to be Syrian planes hit the
besieged Al-Waer neighborhood in the city of Homs on Sunday, a day after the
evacuation of residents and fighters from rebel-held Daraya on the outskirts of
the capital, residents and a monitor said.
They said over a dozen air strikes on the residential quarter caused at least
seven deaths and dozens of civilian injuries in the last rebel-held area in Homs
city, Syria’s third largest city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a woman and child were among the
dead. Videos posted by social media showed children suffering burns from what
activists said were incendiary bombs. Reuters could not independently verify the
images. It was the second day of air raids, the first such strikes since around
a year ago in the rebel-held area where community leaders in December reached a
UN-sponsored deal with authorities to evacuate fighters under a phased plan that
would have shored up government control of the city. But there has been no
progress since the evacuation of hundreds of fighters in implementing later
phases of the deal that stipulates that fighters still in the district must
surrender heavy weapons while being allowed to keep their light arms. Homs was a
center of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A previous
truce in Homs in 2014 allowed insurgents to withdraw from the Old City while Al-Waer
remained in the hands of insurgents. It has since been under a tight siege by
Syrian army and pro-government militias. Aside from several UN humanitarian
deliveries, the authorities have blocked supplies of most food and aid into the
quarter. Residents and local officials said the escalation came a day after
former rebel-held Daraya, a Damascus suburb, was evacuated by rebels after
relentless bombing and a tough siege. They accuse the army of stepping up
military pressure on Al-Waer to force a capitulation of the rebels who are
estimated to number several thousand in a district with at least 50,000
civilians. “The regime after succeeding in evicting the people of Daraya has
begun to escalate its pressure on us,” said Bebars Tilawi, an activist in the
quarter. Aid officials and Washington have decried what they call a
“starve-or-surrender tactic” they say is used mainly by the Syrian government
and other warring parties as a tool against besieged areas to regain government
control.
ISIS claims suicide bombing
at Iraqi wedding
Agencies Monday, 29 August 2016/The ISIS militant group has claimed a suicide
bombing that killed at least 18 people and injured 26 at a wedding party near
the holy Shiite city of Kerbala late on Sunday. Five assailants including the
suicide bomber attacked the celebration in Ain al-Tamr, west of Kerbala in
southern Iraq, firing machine guns and throwing hand grenades, the police said.
All the attackers were killed by security forces. They were carrying
Kalashnikovs, hand grenades. One of them blew himself up and the others were
killed by the security forces,” the head of the central Euphrates operations
command, Qais Khalaf, said. A member of the local council and a source at the
provincial health directorate confirmed the death toll in the attack, which took
place late on Sunday. Officials said the attackers started opening fire in a
neighborhood of Ain al-Tamer at around 1830 GMT on Sunday, although it was not
immediately what their target was. Five members of a same family were among the
dead, according to a health official from Karbala province. “The five terrorists
were carrying lots of weapons and one of them blew himself up in the midst of
our citizens,” said Farhan Jassem Mohammed, from the local council. The military
commanders said the attackers came from the Anbar desert to the west. The
bombing is the first in the Kerbala region since Iraqi forces dislodged ISIS
militants from their stronghold in Falluja, 80 km (50 miles) north of city. The
ultra-hardline Sunni group has been retreating since last year in the face of
government forces backed by a US-led coalition and Iranian-supported Shiite
militias. But it remains in control of parts of northern and western Iraq and
continues to claim bombings all over the country, targeting mainly Shi’ite
districts and cities.A statement on the Amaq news agency that supports ISIS said
the attack was carried out by four of its suicide fighters against a “gathering
of Shi’ites”. Initial reports in local media late, citing security sources,
blamed the killings on a dispute between two tribes at the wedding party. ISIS
claimed a truck bomb that killed at least 325 people in Baghdad’s Karrada
shopping street in July, the deadliest attack since the US-led invasion that
toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.(With Reuters and AFP)
Turkey hits Kurdish targets
in northern Iraq
Agencies Monday, 29 August 2016/Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish militant
targets in northern Iraq Monday, as Ankara pressed its military operation
against ISIS militants and a Syrian Kurdish militia in neighboring Syria, state
media said. Turkish air force jets launched strikes between 09:30 and 10:55 GMT
against targets of the “separatist terrorist organization” in Gara in northern
Iraq, Anadolu news agency said, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK). The targets were “destroyed,” Anadolu added. The PKK is proscribed
as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States
and its command is based in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq. The air
strikes in northern Iraq were the first since the Syria operation began on
Wednesday. Meanwhile, Turkey’s foreign minister on Monday ordered predominantly
Kurdish Syrian militia forces to withdraw east of the Euphrates River
“immediately” or face more strikes by Turkish forces that crossed the border
last week. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s comments came as Syrian
opposition groups reported that Turkish-backed Syrian militias have captured
more towns and villages in northern Syria as part of the operation named
“Euphrates Shield,” now in its sixth day. Turkish tanks rolled across the border
last week to help Syrian opposition fighters seize the town of Jarablus from
ISIS, a move that was also aimed at deterring further advances by Kurdish-led
militia forces. Both Turkey and the United States have ordered the main Kurdish
fighting force, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, to withdraw to
the east bank of the Euphrates. “The YPG has to immediately cross east of the
Euphrates River as they promised the United States and as they announced they
would,” Cavusoglu said. “If they don't they will be a target.”
(With AFP, AP)
Palestinians say ready for
any ‘fair’ peace initiative
AFP, Ramallah, Palestinian
Territories Monday, 29 August 2016/President Mahmud Abbas’s office said Monday
the Palestinians are ready to participate in any peace initiative aimed at a
“comprehensive and fair solution”, following speculation of a meeting organised
by Russia.
“We are ready to participate in any regional or international initiative with
the objective of a comprehensive and fair solution,” presidency spokesman Nabil
Abu Rudeina said in a statement. There has been talk of a possible meeting
between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be organised by
Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Kremlin spokesman said Monday there was
“nothing concrete” yet on such a meeting. In an interview published last week,
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Putin wanted to host an
Israeli-Palestinian summit to revive peace talks. France has also been working
on its own peace initiative and hopes to convene an international conference
before the end of the year. The Palestinians strongly support the French
initiative, but Israel has rejected it, calling instead for direct negotiations.
Palestinian leaders say years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended
the occupation of the West Bank, and they have started to pursue an
international strategy. They say an Abbas-Netanyahu meeting would lead nowhere
without a freeze on Israeli settlement building, the release of Palestinian
prisoners and a deadline for an end to the occupation. Peace efforts have been
at a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014. The last
substantial public meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu is thought to have been
held in 2010, though there have been unconfirmed reports of secret meetings
since then.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan hold security talks
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 29 August 2016/Saudi Deputy Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Pakistan to kick of a trip to Asia that
will see him visit China and Japan. The Saudi royal met with Pakistan’s Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday night and both leaders vowed to improve their
relations and promote bilateral cooperation in all fields. Prince Mohammed bin
Salman also met with other senior Pakistani officials and discussed regional and
international political and security issues of common interest. Sharif said that
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia "have been great friends and Pakistan will stand with
Saudi Arabia in case they face any danger." After the meeting, it was said in
the joint communique that both countries will increase the cooperation in
different departments.
Saudi deputy crown prince in
China for trade talks
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 29 August 2016/Saudi Arabia’s Deputy
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Beijing on Monday as part of a wider
Asia trip that included a visit to Pakistan a day earlier. The Saudi royal was
greeted at the airport by officials from China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, the
Chinese ambassador to Saudi Arabia and official delegations from both countries.
The prince is visiting China for talks on economic ties as well as security
issues. He will then visit Japan from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3, meeting Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.
During the day, eight Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the
Council of Saudi Chambers and China Council for the Promotion of International
Trade and(CCPIT) during China-Saudi Business Forum at Legendale Hotel in
Beijing. One of them related to boosting exchange of data information. Seven
others were signed between Saudi companies and their Chinese counterparts. Eight
Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the Council of Saudi
Chambers and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and(CCPIT)
during China-Saudi Business Forum. (SPA) Minister of Commerce and Investment
Majid Al-Qasabi said that the agreements were related to energy, technology,
services, human resources development. Saudi ministers also attended the
China-Saudi Business Forum. In April, Prince Mohammed launched radical economic
reforms designed to develop non-oil industries in Saudi Arabia and attract
billions of dollars of foreign investment. Chinese and Japanese banks and
companies are expected to play major roles. China was the most important trade
partner of Saudi Arabia in 2014 with trade exchange reaching SR247.8 billion
constituting about 13 percent of the volume of the Kingdom’s trade exchange with
the entire countries. (With the Saudi Gazette)
More than 70 tents burnt down
in Iraqi refugee camp: UNHCR
Reuters, Baghdad Monday, 29 August 2016/More than 70 tents were destroyed by
fire on Monday in the refugee camp of Yahayawa, near the northern Iraqi city of
Kirkuk, but no one was injured, the United Nations’ refugee agency UNHCR said.
The ministry of displacement and migration “has requested us to provide tents
and core relief items CRIs to affected families,” UNHCR spokeswoman in Baghdad,
Caroline Gluck, said. “We will respond with tents and CRIs without delay; the
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs is coordinating with other
clusters to provide any other assistance needed,” she said in an email. The war
with ISIS has forced about 3.4 million people to leave their homes across Iraq,
the UN says. Last week, the UNHCR said that hundreds of thousands more people
could be uprooted by the military assault to dislodge the militants from Mosul,
the biggest city still under ISIS control, in northern Iraq. The Yahayawa camp
houses about 500 internally displaced families and is managed by the provincial
council.
Iraq put out fire at four oil
wells in freed town
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 29 August 2016/Iraq has put out fires
at four oil wells in the oil-producing region of Qayyara which Iraqi forces
recaptured from ISIS last week, Reuters reported the oil ministry as saying on
Monday. “Work is underway to put out flames in the remaining wells or oil spots
that Daesh criminal gangs set ablaze before fleeing the city,” Deputy Oil
Minister Fayadh al-Nema said in the statement. ISIS is also known as Daesh. He
didn’t say how many fires were still ablaze. The Qayyara region produces heavy
sour crude and has a small refinery to process some of the oil. On Aug. 23,
Iraqi forces swiftly advanced and stormed the center of Qayyara, a district
south of the ISIS-held city of Mosul, hours after it launched its operation
against the militant group. Liberating Qayyara is important for the Iraqi
forces’ future offensive in recapturing Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul from
ISIS.Mosul fell under ISIS control since June 2014. The ISIS militant group has
also claimed a suicide bombing that killed at least 18 people and injured 26 at
a wedding party near the holy Shiite city of Kerbala late on Sunday. Five
assailants including the suicide bomber attacked the celebration in Ain al-Tamr,
west of Kerbala in southern Iraq, firing machine guns and throwing hand
grenades, the police said. All the attackers were killed by security forces. The
so called ultra-hardline Sunni group has been retreating since last year in the
face of government forces backed by a US-led coalition and Iranian-supported
Shiite militias. But it remains in control of parts of northern and western Iraq
and continues to claim bombings all over the country, targeting mainly Shi’ite
districts and cities. ISIS claimed a truck bomb that killed at least 325 people
in Baghdad’s Karrada shopping street in July, the deadliest attack since the
US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. (With Reuters)
France’s Sarkozy says would
change constitution to ban burkinis
Reuters, Paris Monday, 29 August 2016/Former French president Nicholas Sarkozy
said on Monday he would change the country’s constitution to ban full-body
burkini swimsuits if he is re-elected to his former role in a vote next April.
Positioning himself as a defender of French values and tough on immigration, the
conservative said last week that he would impose a nationwide ban on the
swimwear that has divided the Socialist-led government and dominated French
political debate through much of August.France’s highest administrative court
suspended on Friday a ban on burkinis that had spread to a dozen French coastal
cities on the grounds they violated fundamental liberties. The burkini bans have
exposed secular France’s difficulties grappling with religious tolerance after
extremist militant attacks in a Normandy church and the Riviera city of Nice in
July. Images of armed police apparently enforcing the ban on a woman on a beach
in Nice have added to the controversy. The bans had been justified on public
order grounds, and Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls appeared to defend the
town officials who imposed them. After the court set the bans aside, however,
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said a law against the garments would be
ruled unconstitutional.Asked about that risk, Sarkozy said: “Well, then we
change the constitution. We’ve changed it thirty odd times, it’s not a
problem.”Sarkozy is struggling to catch up in the polls with rival Alain Juppe,
a mild-mannered, more centrist former prime minister before their Republicains
party’s primary elections in late November. Cazeneuve, who was meeting with
French Muslim leaders on Monday to ease religious tensions, said he would name
veteran politician Jean-Pierre Chevenement to head an independent body charged
with handling relations between the state and the religion’s representatives.
Give arrested aid worker fair trial, Amnesty tells Israel
AFP, Beirut Monday, 29 August 2016/Amnesty International on Monday called on
Israel to give an aid worker charged with aiding Hamas a “fair and open trial”,
citing allegations of abuse in custody. “He was initially denied access to a
lawyer and when she was eventually allowed to meet him, he alleged he had been
seriously mistreated in custody,” the rights group said in a statement. “The
Israeli authorities must immediately investigate the allegations that Mohammed
Halabi was mistreated in custody and may have been forced into ‘confessing’
under duress,” it added. “Any evidence obtained through torture, or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment must be excluded from proceedings. Without
independent and impartial investigations into these allegations the trial risks
being fundamentally flawed.” On August 4 an Israeli court charged Halabi, the
Gaza director of the World Vision NGO, with having chanelled millions of dollars
in foreign aid to Hamas and its armed wing. Israel’s Shin Bet internal security
service said $7.2 million (6.5 million euros) given to World Vision had been
diverted to Hamas each year, with some of it funding the Gaza Strip rulers’
military campaign against the Jewish state.World Vision, a Christian
humanitarian organization, has reacted by saying it had “no reason to believe”
the allegations against Halabi were true. The charge sheet said he was recruited
by Hamas to infiltrate the aid organization more than a decade ago, rising to
become the head of World Vision’s Gaza operation. Halabi was arrested in June
and later indicted on a number of charges, including funding terror. “The
allegation of stealing money intended to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis
in Gaza is extremely serious,” Amnesty added on Monday. “This makes it all the
more pressing to ensure that Mohammed Halabi’s rights are fully respected and
that his trial be fair and transparent.”
Houthi delegation meets
Iraq’s foreign minister
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 29 August 2016/Iraq’s foreign ministry
said a delegation of Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis arrived on Monday in Baghdad
to discuss the possibility of recognition to the recently-established political
council, the ministry said on its website.
The delegation - headed by the Houthis’ spokesman, Mohammed Abdelsalam - seeks
recognition of the political council formed earlier this month by the Houthis
and the General People’s Congress party, the political party of ousted former
President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The council consists of 10 members, five affiliated with the Houthi and five
with the General People’s Congress. The visit, expected to last several days,
will hold meetings with the Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. It also
comes a day after Jaafari called on his Saudi counterpart to replace its
ambassador Thamer al- Sabhan in Baghdad in reaction to comments the latter made
about Iran’s involvement in Iraq.
New plan
The Houthi tour comes after US Secretary of State John Kerry said that there is
a “new plan” aimed at ending conflict in Yemen which will see participation of
the Iran-backed Houthi militia group in a unity government. Kerry spoke to
reporters on Thursday during a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart
in Riyadh, dubbing the plan as having a “fair and sensible approach.” The plan
includes the forming of a national unity government with Houthi participation in
exchange for ending violence, laying down of arms and transferring of heavy
weapons to a third party. Yemen's Houthi-run governing council said on Sunday it
was ready to restart peace talks with the country's exiled government backed by
a Saudi-led Arab coalition provided the coalition stopped attacking Houthi-held
territories. United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed was
expected to meet with the exiled Yemeni government’s delegation as well as the
Houthi-Saleh delegation during the next two days in order to discuss Kerry's
plan and prepare for the next round of negotiations scheduled to begin on
September 6. A Houthi delegation headed by the group's political bureau member
Mohammed al-Qabli had previously visited Iraq in May last year and met with the
then-Iraqi vice president Nouri al-Maliki. The source added that plenty of funds
- in local and foreign currencies - have been withdrawn from the bank under the
excuse of “war efforts.”In early 2015, the Houthis attempted a coup and forced
Yemeni President Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi into exile. With their allied forces
belonging to deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Houthis continue to
control the capital. The fighting during which more than 6,400 people have been
killed - half of them civilians - has created a humanitarian crisis in one of
the poorest countries in the Middle East. (With Reuters)
ISIS attack kills dozens in
Yemen’s Aden
AFP, Aden Monday, 29 August 2016/A suicide car bomb attack claimed by ISIS on an
army training camp in Yemen’s second city of Aden killed at least 60 people on
Monday, medical sources said. A security official told AFP that the attacker
drove his vehicle into a gathering of new recruits at the camp in northern Aden.
The assault killed 60 people and wounded 29 others, medical sources from the
three hospitals where the victims were taken told AFP. Security officials had
provided an earlier toll of 11 dead. The port city, the temporary base of
Yemen’s Gulf-backed government, has seen a wave of bombings and shootings
targeting officials and security forces. Little is known about the suicide
bomber, however local news channel Yemen Press release an image of a man
carrying a weapon with the ISIS flag in the backdrop who they claim was behind
the attack. The man was identified by local media as Abu Sufyan.
Attacks in Aden are often claimed by extremist from either al-Qaeda or the ISIS,
which have both taken advantage of the chaos in Yemen to make gains in southern
and southeastern regions. Yemeni authorities have trained hundreds of soldiers
in Aden over the past two months to as part of operations to retake neighboring
southern provinces from extremists. Earlier this month, Yemeni government forces
backed by a Saudi-led coalition entered Abyan’s provincial capital Zinjibar.
Troops retook other towns across Abyan but have been met by fierce resistance in
key al-Qaeda stronghold, Al-Mahfid, a town which lies further east, security
sources said. The militants are still present in areas surrounding the
recaptured towns and control large parts of the neighboring Shabwa province, the
sources say. The Arab coalition which backs the Yemeni government against
Iran-backed rebels has also been providing troops with air cover throughout
their war against the extremists. People gather at the scene following an attack
by a suicide bomber who drove a car laden with explosives into a compound run by
local militias in the port city of Aden, Yemen August 29, 2016. (Reuters) The
coalition intervened in Yemen in March last year and has helped government
troops push the rebels out of Aden and four other southern provinces. But
authorities have been struggling to secure these provinces.More than 6,600
people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Yemen since March 2015 and more
than 80 percent of the population has been left in need of humanitarian aid,
according to the UN.
August 29-30/16
Billionaire (Chagoury) who donated to the Clinton Foundation. Last year, he was denied entry into the U.S
من صحيفة لوس
انجلس تايمز/فضائح جيلبرت شاغوري في نيجيريا وأميركا ولبنان/مرتبط بحزب الله
ومول عون وتبرع بمليون دولار لمؤسسة كلنتون ومنع السنة الماضية من دخول اميركا
Joseph Tanfani/Los Angeles
Times/August 28/16
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-clinton-donor-chagoury-20160828-snap-story.html
Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury, one of Africa’s richest men, has built a reputation as a giant of global philanthropy.
His name is on a gallery at the Louvre and
a medical school in Lebanon, and he has received awards for his generosity to
the Catholic Church and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. He owns a seven-bedroom
hilltop mansion in Beverly Hills, and he has a high-level network of friends
from Washington to Lebanon to the Vatican, where he serves as an ambassador for
the tiny island nation of St. Lucia. His website shows him shaking hands and
laughing with Pope Francis.
“I never imagined what the future would hold for me,” Chagoury once said of his
boyhood in Nigeria. “But I knew there was a vision for my life that was greater
than I could imagine.… I consider it a duty to give back.”
Since the 1990s, Chagoury has also cultivated a friendship with the Clinton
family — in part by writing large checks, including a contribution of at least
$1 million to the Clinton Foundation.
By the time Hillary Clinton became secretary of State, the relationship was
strong enough for Bill Clinton’s closest aide to push for Chagoury to get access
to top diplomats, and the agency began exploring a deal, still under
consideration, to build a consulate on Chagoury family land in Lagos, Nigeria.
But even as those talks were underway, bureaucrats in other arms of the State
Department were examining accusations that Chagoury had unsavory affiliations,
stemming from his activities and friendships in Lebanon. After a review,
Chagoury was refused a visa to enter the U.S. last year.
Chagoury is a prominent example of the nexus between Hillary Clinton’s State
Department and the family’s Clinton Foundation, which has come under renewed
scrutiny during her presidential run. The organization, founded as a way for the
Clintons to tap their vast network for charitable works, has tackled some of the
steepest challenges in the developing world, including rebuilding Haiti and
fighting AIDS in Africa. It has also come under fire for its willingness to
accept money from foreign governments with interest in swaying U.S. policy
during Clinton’s time as secretary of State, and the controversial histories of
some donors.
Part of a dictator’s inner circle
Chagoury was born in 1946 in Lagos to Lebanese parents, and as a child attended
school in Lebanon. He sold shoes and cars in Nigeria, according to a biography
on his website, before marrying the daughter of a prominent Nigerian
businessman.
During the rule of Gen. Sani Abacha, who seized power in Nigeria in 1993,
Chagoury prospered, receiving development deals and oil franchises.
In the 1990s, Chagoury portrayed himself as an Abacha insider as he tried to
influence American policy to be more friendly to the regime. Soon after
President Clinton named Donald E. McHenry a special envoy to Nigeria in 1995,
Gilbert and brother Ronald Chagoury visited McHenry in his office at Georgetown
University in Washington. The U.S. was pushing for the return of democratic rule
in Nigeria; Abacha, meanwhile, was eager to have his country taken off a U.S.
list of nations that enabled drug trafficking, McHenry said.
“Their effort was to try and influence anyone who they thought could influence
the U.S. government,” McHenry said, adding that the approach was heavy-handed.
“They tried every key on the piano.”
Abacha turned out to be “one of the most notorious kleptocrats in memory,”
stealing billions in public funds, acting Assistant Atty. Gen. Mythili Raman
later said.
After Abacha’s death in 1998, the Nigerian government hired lawyers to track
down the money. The trail led to bank accounts all over the world — some under
Gilbert Chagoury's control. Chagoury, who denied knowing the funds were stolen,
paid a fine of 1 million Swiss francs, then about $600,000, and gave back $65
million to Nigeria; a Swiss conviction was expunged, a spokesman for Chagoury
said.
Ties to the Clintons
In the years afterward, Chagoury’s wealth grew. His family conglomerate now
controls a host of businesses, including construction companies, flour mills,
manufacturing plants and real estate.
He has used some of that money to build political connections. As a noncitizen,
he is barred from giving to U.S. political campaigns, but in 1996, he gave
$460,000 to a voter registration group steered by Bill Clinton’s allies and was
rewarded with an invitation to a White House dinner. Over the years, Chagoury
attended Clinton's 60th birthday fundraiser and helped arrange a visit to St.
Lucia, where the former president was paid $100,000 for a speech. Clinton’s
aide, Doug Band, even invited Chagoury to his wedding.
Chagoury also contributed $1 million to $5 million to the Clinton Foundation,
according to its list of donors. At a 2009 Clinton Global Initiative conference,
where business and charity leaders pledge to complete projects, the Chagoury
Group’s Eko Atlantic development — nine square kilometers of Lagos coastal land
reclaimed by a seawall — was singled out for praise. During a 2013 dedication
ceremony in Lagos, just after Hillary Clinton left her post as secretary of
State, Bill Clinton lauded the $1-billion Eko Atlantic as an example to the
world of how to fight climate change.
“I especially thank my friends Gilbert and Ron Chagoury for making it happen,”
he said.
Gov. Jerry Brown criticizes Donald Trump and his 'acolytes' on climate change
By last summer, U.S. diplomats had selected a 9.9-acre property at Eko Atlantic
as the preferred site for a new Lagos consulate, State Department documents
obtained by the Los Angeles Times show. Two months ago, James Entwistle, then
the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, wrote to Washington, asking permission to sign a
99-year lease.
No deal has been signed, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said.
She did not answer questions about whether the Clintons recommended Eko
Atlantic. She said at a recent briefing that she was unaware of whether Hillary
Clinton knew the site was under consideration; it was on a list of possibilities
submitted by a real estate firm in 2012, Trudeau said in response to questions
from The Times. A spokesman for Clinton’s campaign noted that the State
Department has said the process has been managed by “career real estate
professionals.”
Chagoury declined requests for an interview. A friend and spokesman, Mark
Corallo, said Chagoury was a generous and “peace-loving” man unfairly
scrutinized because of his association with the Clintons. He said Chagoury last
saw Hillary Clinton at a 2006 dinner. The Clinton Foundation and a spokesman for
Bill Clinton did not respond to requests for comment.
Chagoury also has given to Republicans: He and his brother, along with Eko
Atlantic, are listed as sponsors for a 2014 art exhibit at the George W. Bush
Presidential Center.
Suspicions emerge in the U.S.
In spite of his network of powerful friends, Chagoury has aroused the suspicions
of U.S. security officials. In 2010, he was pulled off a private jet in
Teterboro, N.J., and questioned for four hours because he was on the Department
of Homeland Security’s no-fly list. He was subsequently removed from the list
and categorized as a “selectee,” meaning he can fly but receives extra scrutiny,
Homeland Security documents show. The agency later wrote to Chagoury to
apologize “for any inconvenience or unpleasantness.”
That letter did not explain why Chagoury was on the no-fly list, but another
Homeland Security document shows agents citing unspecified suspicions of links
to terrorism, which can include financing extremist organizations; Chagoury
later told reporters that agents asked him what bank he used in Nigeria.
Chagoury believes it was unfair for government officials to disclose the episode
and to “suggest that he was a potential threat,” Corallo said. He said that
Chagoury’s lawyers resolved the issue and that he never asked anyone else for
help.
Gilbert Chagoury's response to the Los Angeles Times
Chagoury told ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity at the time that he
was miffed because his travel problems made him miss seeing the Lakers in the
playoffs. "I just love the Lakers,” he said.
His visa troubles stem at least in part from his involvement in the tangled
politics of Lebanon. Chagoury has contributed to charitable projects there,
advocated on behalf of the country’s Christians and formed political alliances,
including with Michel Aoun, a Lebanese Christian politician who served as army
commander and prime minister during the country’s civil war.
For a decade, Aoun’s party has been part of a political coalition with
Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim group backed by Iran that has seats in Lebanon’s
parliament. Hezbollah is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S.,
which holds the group responsible for the 1983 bombing of the U.S. embassy in
Beirut and a Marine barracks blast that year that killed 241 American
servicemen. Drug Enforcement Administration investigations have also found that
Hezbollah is in league with Latin American cartels to launder hundreds of
millions of dollars in drug profits.
Chagoury was “known to have funded” Aoun, a Lebanese government minister told
then-Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman in 2007, according to a cable published by
WikiLeaks that didn’t go in detail about Chagoury’s relationship with Aoun. The
minister suggested that the U.S. “deliver to Chagoury a strong message about the
possibility of financial sanctions and travel bans against those who undermine
Lebanon’s legitimate institutions.”
Hillary Clinton is exploring the outer limits of fundraising like no
presidential nominee ever has
Chagoury never got a scolding, though. Instead, Band, Bill Clinton’s aide,
pushed for new access for Chagoury after Hillary Clinton took over at the State
Department. In 2009, Band wrote his friends in the department. “We need Gilbert
Chagoury to speak to the substance guy re Lebanon. As you know he's key guy
there and to us and is loved in Lebanon. Very imp.” Huma Abedin, a longtime aide
and confidante to Clinton and now vice chairwoman of her presidential campaign,
suggested Feltman.
When Band’s email was made public this month, Donald Trump pounced, calling the
Chagoury episode “illegal” and a “pay-to-play” scheme.
But no meeting ever happened, according to both Feltman and Chagoury’s
spokesman. Chagoury wanted only to pass along insights on Lebanese politics,
Corallo said, adding that “nothing ever came of it” and that Chagoury never
talked to anyone at the State Department. Band declined to comment for this
story.
A Clinton campaign spokesman said Judicial Watch, the conservative organization
that sued to make the emails public, “has been attacking the Clintons since the
1990s.”
“No matter how this group tries to mischaracterize these documents, the fact
remains that Hillary Clinton never took action as secretary of State because of
donations to the Clinton Foundation," spokesman Josh Schwerin said.
This month, the foundation announced that it would stop accepting donations from
foreigners and corporations should Clinton win the presidency.
Denied a visa
After Clinton left the State Department, Chagoury again found himself under
suspicion by U.S. security officials. A 2013 FBI intelligence report, citing
unverified raw information from a source, claimed Chagoury had sent funds to
Aoun, who transferred money to Hezbollah. The source said Aoun was “facilitating
fundraising for Hezbollah.” The U.S. put Chagoury in its database used to screen
travelers for possible links to terrorism, interagency memos show.
The ties between Chagoury and Aoun ended years ago in a dispute over oil
franchises, said Michel de Chadarev, an official with Aoun’s party. Chagoury now
backs an Aoun rival for the presidency. De Chadarev said Aoun “categorically
denied” any arrangement where he shared money with Hezbollah or passed funds
from Chagoury: “No, no, no. Of course not. It is not in his principles to act as
transporter to anyone.”
Last summer, when Chagoury planned a trip to Los Angeles, he applied at the U.S.
embassy in Paris for a visitor’s visa and was refused, according to interviews
and government documents. Based on the FBI report and other allegations from
intelligence and law enforcement sources, the State Department denied the
application. It cited terrorism-related grounds, a broad category that can apply
to anyone believed to have assisted a terrorist group in any way, including
providing money.
Chagoury has denied ties to Hezbollah. Two years ago, he helped pay for a
conference in Washington on the persecution of Christians in the Middle East;
some attendees supported Hezbollah, but the director of the group that organized
the conference said that didn't mean Chagoury or other conference organizers
were among them. “Hezbollah is part of the political reality of the country,”
Andrew Doran told the National Review.
Corallo did not answer questions about the visa denial, but said Chagoury “has
been a friend and supporter of America all his life” and that “any allegation
that Mr. Chagoury is involved in any way with providing material support to any
terrorist organization, of any stripe, is false, outrageous and defamatory.” He
said Chagoury has no business interests in Lebanon.
The visa decision process is opaque and provides little recourse for those who
are denied entry. Typically, the person is told of the grounds for refusal, but
not the details. The secretary of State can grant a waiver, but that is often
difficult when the evidence used to block entry is terrorism-related.
For the last three decades, Corallo said, Chagoury spent at least a few months
each year in Beverly Hills, where he owns an 18,000-square-foot estate, once the
home of actor Danny Thomas, with commanding views of West Los Angeles and the
ocean.
A year ago, after his visa application was denied, Chagoury’s mansion was put on
the market, with an asking price of $135 million. It’s still for sale.
joseph.tanfani@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-clinton-donor-chagoury-20160828-snap-story.html
Clinton Foundation Tied to Hezbollah through Lebanese-Nigerian donor Gilbert Chagoury/
الشاغوري منع من دخول أميركا بسبب ارتباطه بحزب الله
هيلري كلنتون مرتبطة بحزب الله من خلال المليونير اللبناني-النيجيري جيلبرت شاغوري
Clinton
Foundation Tied to Hezbollah
Kathryn Blackhurst/PoliZette/August 28/16
http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/clinton-foundation-tied-to-hezbollah/
Hillary's 'charity' connected to Nigerian-Lebanese donor Gilbert Chagoury, who
donated $1 million
Hillary Clinton’s rendezvous with scandals during her tenure as Secretary of
State has refused to subside yet again – this time linking her and the Clinton
Foundation to a donor who allegedly has ties to Hezbollah.
When the latest batch of emails sent and received from Clinton’s private email
server were released this month, the Democratic presidential nominee faced
backlash as they were compared with the portions of her daily schedules released
from her time as Secretary of State. A report from the Associated Press found
that more than half of Clinton’s meetings or phone calls with government
outsiders were conducted with donors for the Clinton Foundation. And Clinton’s
ties with Lebanese-Nigerian donor Gilbert Chagoury deserved heightened scrutiny.
“The fact a major Clinton Foundation donor was denied entry into the U.S. over
ties to the terrorist group Hezbollah is deeply troubling, especially when this
individual had access to top aides at Hillary Clinton’s State Department.”
Several of the documents showed that the Department of State considered buying
land for a U.S. Embassy in Nigeria from Chagoury after Clinton’s tenure ended.
Clinton’s ties to Chagoury, who donated more than $1 million to the Clinton
Foundation, raised several red flags after it came to light that Chagoury had
been denied entry into the U.S. last year because of a suspected affiliation
with Hezbollah through Lebanese politics. Now Clinton faces the wrath and
scrutiny of U.S. citizens once again for her clouded relationships with her
foundation’s donors and her shady dealings with their requests for special
access to government officials through her. The fact that the remainder of her
daily schedules will not be released in full until after the November
presidential election does not help her case, either.
“The fact a major Clinton Foundation donor was denied entry into the U.S. over
ties to the terrorist group Hezbollah is deeply troubling, especially when this
individual had access to top aides at Hillary Clinton’s State Department,” Jason
Miller, a senior communications adviser to the Donald Trump campaign, said in a
statement on Sunday. “These revelations are yet another example of why the
Clinton Foundation must be shut down and Hillary Clinton must demand the State
Department immediately release her official schedules in full before the
election. Voters deserve to know just how badly compromised a Hillary Clinton
presidency would be.”
Private
server and Clinton Foundation become a perfect storm of controversy
Chagoury was "known to have funded" Aoun, a Lebanese politician whose Party was
part of a coalition with Hezbollah, according to a 2007 cable published by
WikiLeaks.
But the Clinton campaign’s response to her controversial ties with Chagoury – as
well as the "favors" given to other Clinton donors – demonstrates just how
ambiguous and disturbing the campaign’s treatment of the issue truly is.
"Well, again, this is someone who had a long-standing relationship with the
Clintons, who had wanted to provide some insight into a matter," Clinton
campaign manager Robby Mook told CNN’s Dana Bash last week.
But until the remainder of the documents comes to light, the full scope of
Clinton’s dealings with her family’s foundation and the State Department will
remain unknown.
In a country where outages
are the norm, a Lebanese town, Zahle now has power
24/7
Hugh Naylor/The Washington Post/August 29/16/
ZAHLE, Lebanon — Something remarkable is happening in this Lebanese farming
town. Roads are no longer dark at night, and water is pumped to homes without
interruption.
There’s electricity here in Zahle, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
And if you don’t think that’s a big deal, ask residents of just about any other
town in this tiny country. They endure daily outages that can last 18 hours, so
they pay exorbitant fees to opportunistic owners of private electricity
generators to get enough power.
In fact, millions of people across the Middle East are dealing with worsening
power cuts. The issue fed the frustrations behind the Arab Spring revolts of
2011 and presents a daunting challenge for the region’s growing populations,
including in war-torn countries such as Yemen and Iraq.
But in Zahle, a town of about 150,000 in Lebanon’s scenic Bekaa Valley,
residents overcame energy woes with political will and creativity, offering the
rest of the region possible lessons on how to obtain reliable and affordable
electricity.
Assaad Nakad is the chairman of a local power company in Lebanon that provides
round-the-clock electricity. He’s touring a power plant that he recently had
built for his home town of Zahle, Lebanon on Aug. 15, 2016. (Hugh Naylor/The
Washington Post)
“What’s happened in Zahle and its environs is a huge achievement, and it gives
hope that our experience with 24-hour electricity could be replicated far
beyond,” said Elie Marouni, a member of parliament from the town.
[Epic heat wave could be global warming’s hellish curtain-raiser ]
Last year, officials at Zahle’s power company braved death threats from the
town’s generator owners (referred to by residents as “the Mafia”) as they built
a power plant that services the town and surrounding municipalities.
Most residents backed construction of the area’s sole power plant, which cut the
generator operators out of the market and nearly halved monthly energy bills.
“It’s a miracle!” said Elias Akiki, a 75-year-old owner of a souvenir shop in
Zahle. “We were suffocating before all this.”
Lebanon’s power cuts started during the civil-war years, from 1975 to 1990. And
they still bedevil most of the 4 million citizens of this Mediterranean country.
Lights and televisions still abruptly shut off multiple times a day. In some
areas, the outages prevent municipalities from pumping water to homes and
businesses.
Sami Saqer tours his fields of potatoes, wheat and crops that he farms in Zahle,
Lebanon. (Hugh Naylor/The Washington Post)
Backup generators offer only limited amounts of energy. When they kick in,
people can use an appliance or two at their homes and businesses, but any more
risks overloading the circuits.
“It’s a long-standing crisis here, and it is only getting worse,” said Jihan
Seoud, a Lebanon-based energy and environment expert at the U.N. Development
Program.
The reasons for Lebanon’s outages are complex.
More than a million Syrians fled their civil war for refuge here, badly
straining electricity supplies.
The Lebanese tend to blame their dysfunctional government. Squabbling
politicians have failed to agree on a new president for more than two years,
leaving the key post vacant during that time. They have struggled with even
seemingly minor things such as trash collection in Beirut, the capital. And the
quarreling partly explains why no new power plants have been built since the
1990s, apart from Zahle’s, and why existing facilities produce just over half of
the electricity the country needs.
Corruption plays a major role, said Marwan Iskander, a Lebanese economist.
Patronage from powerful figures has allowed many subscribers to the national
electricity network to get away with not paying their bills.
“I even know one former parliamentarian who literally owes millions of dollars
in unpaid electricity bills,” Iskander said.
The outages in Zahle worsened in recent years, sometimes lasting an entire day.
The town’s old power plant was destroyed during the civil war. So the local
power company, Electricité de Zahlé (EDZ), contracted a British firm to build
and help operate a 60-megawatt plant, which went online in March 2015.
Until then, EDZ had only acted as a distributor of electricity, which it
received from the state power firm.
“I got tired — we all got tired — of promises by the government that there would
be 24/7 electricity. It just never happened, so we decided to act,” said EDZ’s
chief executive, Assaad Nakad.
Government officials pressured Nakad to stop the project, but he said he fought
them off by invoking a law from the 1920s that gives EDZ the right to generate
and distribute its own electricity.
Officials from the electricity ministry and state power firm did not respond to
questions by phone and text message about the issue.
Nakad’s family received anonymous death threats during the plant’s construction,
and unidentified assailants shot several of EDZ’s transformers. A group of men
who supplied the town’s private generators with fuel stormed into his office
with an ultimatum, Nakad said.
“They said they’d kill me if I built the plant,” he said. “These men had a lot
to lose.”
The town’s mayor, Assaad Zougheib, said the three dozen or so generator owners
would regularly dismiss requests to lower their fees. And some of them became
extravagantly wealthy, residents said.
“My uncle owned several generators,” said Charbel Boieny, who runs a candy shop
in Zahle. “He owns six villas.”
Around the time of the plant’s construction, residents said they faced
intimidation from the generator owners. One sent cronies to the home of Wassim
Teenny and told him that he couldn’t unhook from the neighborhood generator.
“They also demanded that we give them extra money, but everyone in the
neighborhood refused to do what they told us,” said Teenny, 27, who works at a
paint company.
Fast forward to the present day, and Zahle’s new power plant is supplying
constant electricity to an estimated 250,000 people in the area. And Sami Saqer,
52, a farmer, is pocketing thousands of dollars that he used to spend on
generator costs to pump groundwater for his fields of potatoes, wheat and
squash.
“I can even farm at night if I want,” he said, pointing to street lamps near his
crops.
Even generator operators like George al-Youssef, who is now out of work,
acknowledge that Zahle is better off. Youssef, 66, complained that electricity
prices in the town are still high relative to other countries.
But, he said, “The prices are lower than before.”
**Hugh Naylor is a Beirut-based correspondent for The Post. He has reported from
over a dozen countries in the Middle East for such publications as The National,
an Abu Dhabi-based newspaper, and The New York Times.
Follow @HughNaylor
CRISIS: Internet to
Have Global Governance October 1. Call Congress!
Better Censorship for Tyrants
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/August 29/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8807/internet-governance
The U.S. announced its plan to pass the oversight of the agency to a global
governance model on October 1, 2016. The Obama Administration says that the
transition will have no practical effects on the internet's functioning or its
users, and even considers the move necessary in order to maintain international
support for the internet and to prevent a fracturing of its governance. Oh
really?
The absence of the U.S. in overseeing the governance of the internet could spell
the end of the current era of free speech on the internet, as well as free
enterprise.
What guarantees are there that internet governance will not eventually end up in
the hands of those very governments, seeing as they are all very eager to gain
control of it? None. The Geneva Declaration of Principles makes clear that the
UN, run by a majority of authoritarian governments, wants a decisive role for
governments in internet governance.
Civil society groups and activists are calling on Congress to sue the Obama
Administration -- perhaps at least to postpone the date until more Americans are
aware of the plan. It is not too late.
Very soon, on October 1, 2016, much of the internet's governance will shift from
the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
authority to a nonprofit multi-stakeholder entity, the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers, also known by its acronym ICANN.
Until now, NTIA has been responsible for key internet domain name functions,
such as the coordination of the DNS (Domain Name System) root, IP addresses, and
other internet protocol resources. But in March 2014, the U.S. announced its
plan to let its contract with ICANN to operate key domain name functions expire
in September 2015, passing the oversight of the agency to a global governance
model. The expiration was subsequently delayed until October 1, 2016.
According to the NTIA's press release at the time,
"NTIA's responsibility includes the procedural role of administering changes to
the authoritative root zone file – the database containing the lists of names
and addresses of all top-level domains – as well as serving as the historic
steward of the DNS. NTIA currently contracts with ICANN to carry out the
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions and has a Cooperative
Agreement with Verisign under which it performs related root zone management
functions. Transitioning NTIA out of its role marks the final phase of the
privatization of the DNS as outlined by the U.S. Government in 1997".
According to the NTIA, from the inception of ICANN, the U.S. government and
internet stakeholders envisioned that the U.S. role in the IANA functions would
be temporary. The Commerce Department's June 10, 1998 Statement of Policy stated
that the U.S. government "is committed to a transition that will allow the
private sector to take leadership for DNS management." The official reason,
therefore, is that
"ICANN as an organization has matured and taken steps in recent years to improve
its accountability and transparency and its technical competence. At the same
time, international support continues to grow for the multi-stakeholder model of
Internet governance as evidenced by the continued success of the Internet
Governance Forum and the resilient stewardship of the various Internet
institutions".
The Obama Administration says that the transition will have no practical effects
on the internet's functioning or its users, and even considers the move
necessary in order to maintain international support for the internet and to
prevent a fracturing of its governance.
Oh really?
While the transition may appear ostensibly "technical", the absence of the
United States in overseeing the governance of the internet could spell the end
of the current era of free speech on the internet, as well as free enterprise.
This is not merely wild speculation; it is evident in the statements that
several governments, who are less than enchanted with the concept of freedom of
speech, have made in recent years regarding the governance of the internet.
Some of these statements have come to light in the preparatory work of the
United Nations World Summit on Information Society, known today as WSIS+10 -- a
process that began in 2003 with the Geneva Declaration of Principles and that
continues to this day. Purportedly, the purpose of the process is a "commitment
to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information
Society, where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information and
knowledge" (section A.1), but already in section B.1 it becomes clear that the
UN, run by a majority of authoritarian governments, wants a decisive role for
governments in internet governance:
"Governments, as well as private sector, civil society and the United Nations
and other international organizations have an important role and responsibility
in the development of the Information Society and, as appropriate, in
decision-making processes. Building a people-centred Information Society is a
joint effort which requires cooperation and partnership among all stakeholders".
The UN, in the form of International Telecommunication Union (ITU), has already
tried in vain to wrestle control of the internet from ICANN, but where the ITU
failed, WSIS+10 may succeed with the new "global governance" ICANN, unshielded
from the protection of the US.
The urge of various governments to control the internet is evidently there. If
anything, this was clear from the submissions for the December 2015 WSIS+10 UN
General Assembly High Level Meeting.
The written submission of the Group of 77 plus China -- a coalition, dating from
1964, of developing countries that now includes 134 nations -- stated that, "The
management of the Internet involves both technical and public-policy issues and
... the overall authority for Internet related public policy issues is the
sovereign right of States."
China's individual submission was even more interesting. It stated that,
"The multi-stakeholder governance model that brings together governments, the
private sector and non-governmental organizations would be respected... This
model should not be lopsided, and any tendency to place sole emphasis on the
role of businesses and non-governmental organizations while marginalizing
governments should be avoided. The roles and responsibilities of national
governments in regard to regulation and security of the network should be
upheld. It is necessary to ensure that United Nations plays a facilitating role
in setting up international public policies pertaining to the Internet. We
should work on the internationalization of Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers".
When China says that ICANN should be internationalized, it hardly has in mind an
increased role for non-governmental organizations.
Russia did not even pay lip service to the multi-stakeholder governance model
but cut straight to the point:
"We consider it necessary to consecutively increase the role of governments in
the Internet governance, with strengthening the activity of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) in this field, as well as with support of the
UNESCO activity in the development of ethical aspects of Internet use..."
"Ethical aspects of Internet use"?
Saudi Arabia, in its submission, also emphasized, that a priority for the
WSIS+10 should be, "actualization of enhanced cooperation to enable
governments... to carry out their roles and responsibilities in international
public policy issues pertaining to the internet".
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Obama Administration -- as well as
many in the high-tech community -- regards the long-planned move as necessary to
maintain international support for the internet and prevent a fracturing of its
governance -- a claim critics may find dubious. The U.S. government's role "has
long been a source of irritation to foreign governments," according to the NTIA.
One look at many foreign governments and it is easy to see why. The NTIA claims
that, "These calls for replacing the multi-stakeholder model with a
multilateral, government-run approach will only grow louder if the U.S.
government fails to complete the transition". Is that a threat?
But what guarantees are there that internet governance will not eventually end
up in the hands of those very governments, seeing as they are all very eager to
gain control of it? None.
In fact, those who claim to care about a free and uncensored internet, unbridled
by government and international state organizations, should take a close look at
the proposals for the plan for ICANN that the different stakeholders, including
governments, came to agree on in March 2016 in Marrakech. According to this
plan, the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), a decisional participant in
ICANN, will -- subject to certain limitations -- be able to participate in
decision-making on budgets, board member removals, and other matters of ICANN
corporate governance. This is new and represents a major shift, which should
concern those who care about internet freedom. Even if this plan is discarded
for some reason, it shows how eagerly governments are pushing for control in
internet matters. That observation alone should serve as a warning to those who
take at face value the U.S. administration's declarations that nothing will
change.
The decision to transfer authority to ICANN has met with resistance in the U.S.
Congress, and a coalition of more than two dozen civil society groups and
activists are even calling on Congress to sue the Obama Administration --
perhaps at least to postpone the date until more Americans are aware of the
plan. It is not too late.
**Judith Bergman is a writer, columnist, lawyer and political analyst.
© 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.
Greece: The Freedom-of-Speech Canary
Died
Maria Polizoidou/Gatestone Institute/August 29/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8772/greece-free-speech-migrants
The Minister for Immigration Affairs himself, repeatedly stated that 50% to 70%
of migratory flows to Greece were illegal migrants and the rest were refugees.
The illegal migrants come from 77 different countries.
If it is a "racist crime" for a citizen to express accurately the percentages of
refugees and illegal migrants entering the country, what will come next, the
Thought Police?
The real reason for prosecuting Bishop Markos, it seems, is that the government
expects that Turkey's migration deal with the EU will collapse, and that if it
does, the migrant flows in the coming months will increase dramatically. The
government, according to some members in the opposition, has no friendly way to
manage illegal migration and therefore prefers to impose restrictions on freedom
of speech and prosecute anyone who objects.
The government might scare the Bishop of Chios Island by pressing charges
against him and trying to stigmatize him as a racist. But the government will
still not scare the angry majority of Greeks.
In coalmines, from 1911 to 1986, canaries operated as an early warning system
for the leakage of hazardous gases. Whenever the birds showed signs of distress,
the miners knew trouble was coming.
Greece has deep problems. Greece is presently in the "coalmine" of an endless
economic and immigration crisis.
This month, for the first time, there was a request to activate an anti-racist
law, passed in September 2014, against a Greek citizen who also has
institutional status.
The coalition government of Alexis Tsipras (SYRIZA) and Panos Kammenos
(Independent Greeks) asked the district attorney to prosecute the Bishop of
Chios Island, Markos Vasilakis, because he dared to say, during a sermon, that
the thousands of people who recently arrived from Turkey on the island of Chios
are illegal migrants, and not Syrian refugees.
Chios, the fifth-largest island of Greece, is only 3.5 nautical miles from
Turkey, and therefore offers an opportunity to migrants and refugees to cross
from Turkey into the European Union.
Chios is also one of a few Greek islands that has received the largest waves of
migrants. Its population of 51,320 inhabitants now accommodates, according to
the latest official data, 3,078 migrants, with more on the way.
It seems the government coalition, through the Secretary of Human Rights, has
decided that the solution of Greece's migrant/refugee problem will come if the
Bishop of Chios Island is prosecuted for incitement to racial hatred, and if the
constitutional right of Greek citizens to freedom of speech is overturned.
Secretary of Human Rights Kostas Papaioannou asked the district attorney to
prosecute Bishop Markos for these specific charges.
Is Bishop Markos Vasilakis a Greek Orthodox fanatic or a neo-Nazi? Did the
church close its doors to refugees and migrants? Did the bishop try to turn the
population of Chios against anyone?
Not at all. Bishop Markos is highly educated, with a PhD in Byzantine Philology
from the Philosophical and Theological School of Athens University. Since the
beginning of the migrant crisis, according to the residents of Chios, Bishop
Markos opened all the island's churches to accommodate the refugees and illegal
migrants. Under his command, all the available spaces on the island were given
to caring for whoever left his homeland and home. He has fought hard to collect
clothing, shoes and food for refugees and illegal migrants. His work speaks for
itself.
If Bishop Markos were such a horrible person, why did Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras met him in his office in November 2015 to discuss the migrant crisis and
never express any dissatisfaction him?
What, then, did Bishop Markos do to infuriate the Greek government to such an
extent that they turned on him?
Bishop Markos spoke the truth. He said that the people arriving in Greece were
not refugees but illegal migrants.
Was it a lie? According to the Hellenic Coast Guard, for the period of July and
August 2016, of the 1,950 people who illegally entered Greece from Turkey, only
500 -- or 25% -- were refugees from Syria; all the others were illegal migrants.
The Minister for Immigration Affairs himself, repeatedly stated that 50% to 70%
of migratory flows to Greece were illegal migrants and the rest were refugees.
The illegal migrants come from 77 different countries.
Left: The Bishop of the Greek island of Chios, Markos Vasilakis, is being
prosecuted for incitement to racial hatred, because he correctly observed that
most of the migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey were not refugees but
illegal migrants. Right: Migrants occupying the port of Chios in April 2016.
If it is a "racist crime" for a citizen to express accurately the percentages of
refugees and illegal migrants entering the country, what will come next, the
Thought Police?
The real reason for prosecuting Bishop Markos, it seems, at least according to
members of the opposition, is that the government expects that Turkey's
migration deal with the EU will collapse, and that if it does, the migrant flows
in the coming months will increase dramatically. The government, according to
some members in the opposition, has no friendly way to manage illegal migration
and therefore prefers to impose restrictions on freedom of speech and prosecute
anyone who objects. Tsipras's government is leftist; the ideology and the
official policy of the SYRIZA party is that of open borders for illegal migrants
who wish to settle in Greece.
Church groups in Greece believe that the government is targeting the Church in
an attempt to change the country's Christian foundation and lead the society
into a non-Christian era. The SYRIZA party was always "Christianophobic." Its
members do not even enter Christian churches. When a notable priest is giving to
migrants and being so unjustly prosecuted, the Greek Orthodox Church cannot help
wondering about the government's real intentions on the issue of migrants and
refugees.
If Bishop Markos is the canary of freedom of speech, then, as many observers
believe, the prosecution of people who have a view on migrant/refugee policy
that differs from SYRIZA's will continue.
If the government believes that prosecuting whoever objects will scare them into
silence, as members of the opposition claim, the government is making a big
mistake. The government might scare the Bishop of Chios Island by pressing
charges against him and trying to stigmatize him as a racist. The government
forced him to publish a press release claiming that for him, all people are
created in the image of God and that all he had explained to his congregation
was the legal difference between refugees and illegal migrants.
But the government will still not scare the angry majority of Greeks.
In a country suffering seven years of economic downturn, and where each
municipality will have to accommodate 1,000 migrants, whether it wants to or
not; in a country that sees on the news migrants fight each other, the natives
and the police; in a country that has 61 cases of malaria and 12 municipalities
already in quarantine because of the migration problem, according to the Health
Ministry, and where gun sales increase day by day -- the last thing we need is
to abolish the constitutional rights of citizens. Violence and social unrest
will then be the next stage in a drama that will have a bad end.
In Greece -- the "coalmine" of the Eurozone -- the canary seems to have died. If
this is the beginning of a methodical abolition of constitutional rights such as
freedom of speech, Greece could turn into a Turkish style of democracy -- like
that of Erdogan, which he seems hell-bent on turning into an Islamic caliphate.
What a very sad fate that would be for Greece, the nation which gave birth to
democracy.
© 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.
Biden’s diplomatic
triage in Turkey
Week in Review/Al-Monitor/August 29/16
It is no secret that the Aug. 24 Turkish military incursion into Jarablus, which
sits less than 30 kilometers (roughly 19 miles) from the Turkish-Syrian border,
was secondarily about the Islamic State (IS) and primarily about checking the
advances of the People's Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the Kurdish
Democratic Union Party (PYD) in northern Syria, as Cengiz Candar recounts this
week.
Metin Gurcan, citing sources in Ankara, reports that IS “had been withdrawing
from Jarablus for two weeks. The YPG had been preparing to move north to capture
Jarablus, but Ankara pre-empted the move through [Operation] Euphrates Shield.
Ankara's action is further confirmation that the true target of the operation is
not IS, but to block YPG’s domination of northern Syria.”
The Obama administration has so far managed to prevent a major escalation over
the Turkish-Kurdish fault line in Syria, which is no small achievement. The YPG
is the backbone of the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), the most effective armed
group battling IS. The Syrian Kurdish group has, however, in recent weeks sought
to press its gains, including in Hasakah, where Russian mediation walked back a
confrontation between Syrian government and YPG forces, as well as in Manbij and
Jarablus, where the SDF has staked out territory west of the Euphrates, which
has alarmed Ankara.
Syria’s Kurds are picking a poor time to test the limits of their partnership
with the United States. Conspiracy theories have circulated in Turkey of alleged
US complicity in the failed military coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan last month. US-Turkey relations, already under strain, therefore
required some diplomatic triage. During an Aug. 25 visit to Ankara, US Vice
President Joe Biden fully backed the Turkish operation in Jarablus, stressed
that the US supports a “united Syria” with “no separate entity on the Turkish
border” and laid out a US red line that should have cheered his Turkish hosts
when he said, "We have made it absolutely clear to the elements that were part
of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the YPG that participated, that they must move
back across the river. They cannot, will not, and under no circumstance get
American support if they do not keep that commitment, period."
Biden could not have been more clear on the limits of US support for its Syrian
Kurdish partners. The question is whether that will be enough for Erdogan. In
his remarks alongside Biden, the Turkish president again lumped the PYD and the
YPG, as well as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), with IS and Jabhat al-Nusra —
“all of these organizations are terrorists.” The United States considers the PYD
and the YPG as partners in the battle against IS, not terrorists, and draws a
distinction between the PYD and the PKK.
The balance of forces in Jarablus may further complicate the next US steps in
northern Syria, especially given the role of US special forces in the region.
Gurcan reports that “the heavy presence of armored and engineering forces along
the border could be a sign of Ankara’s intention to set up a permanent base at
Jarablus modeled after the Bashiqa base near Mosul in Iraq.” Candar adds that
the Turkish military coordinated “Operation Euphrates Shield” with about 1,500
Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters, who have a “miserable record” of holding
territory. Many of the FSA forces are composed of Salafists, and Gurcan adds
that “their numbers are expected to reach 5,000-strong as they are joined by
perhaps a dozen armed groups such as Ahrar al-Sham.” Ahrar al-Sham is allied
with the Syrian Conquest Front, the rebranded Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s
affiliate in Syria. The SDF and the YPG, unlike the FSA, have so far avoided
alliances with the Syrian Conquest Front and other Salafi groups.
Ankara’s overriding objective of preventing an autonomous Kurdish region in
Syria has sparked some signs of a rethink in Turkey’s approach to Assad, as
Amberin Zaman reports. Erdogan is unlikely to end his support for Syrian armed
groups, which provide leverage against both Damascus and the YPG. Zaman writes,
“It is more likely that Ankara will wait for the outcome of the US presidential
elections and gauge the new administration’s Syria policy before making any
drastic changes to its own.”
Ankara is not waiting for the US elections in order to reset its relationship
with Tehran, including finding some common ground on Syria. Iranian Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Ankara on Aug. 12, a continuing sign of
“solidarity” and “goodwill” after the failed coup. One week later, Turkish
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was in Tehran. Ali Hashem reports, “The shared
interest in preventing the emergence of a Kurdish state puts Iran and Turkey on
the same page when it comes to exerting all possible efforts to keep Syria
united and under centralized rule. In other words, Iran and Turkey may be on the
path to once again being able to reach compromises. In this vein, another
Iranian official who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said that in
addition to the public high-level meetings that have taken place or are slated
to take place between Iranian and Turkish political officials, there are
military and security meetings ongoing behind the scenes.”For the United States,
the cinder in the eye, for now, in resetting ties with Turkey is the possible
extradition of Fethullah Gulen. Mustafa Akyol writes that Erdogan considers the
coup attempt as “Turkey’s 9/11.” The Turkish president is keeping score on who
is “with us or against us,” as US President George W. Bush declared after
al-Qaeda’s attack on the United States in September 2001. It is difficult to
imagine, in the present climate, Turkey accepting a “no” in its request to
extradite Gulen to Turkey, despite the detailed explanation provided by Biden of
the constitutional and legal niceties of the US extradition process. Turkish
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim cleverly foreshadowed the bumpy road ahead when
he said, standing next to Biden, that while the Erdogan government considers the
US denunciation of the coup the “final statement” on the subject, “I am sure
that the healthy and sound functioning of the processes with regard to the
extradition of the head of the terrorist organization will also, in a short
amount of time, return or rectify the people's perception back to their normal,
positive situation.”
Accelerating the development
of education
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/August 29/16
Even amid the obstacles we are confronting – such as declining oil resources,
which makes it harder to fund new and ambitious educational programs – there
must be change that improves society. Without rushing and focusing, other
development projects will not be able to achieve the desired aims. Fortunately,
all voices arguing against change have been defeated, as they tried and failed
to manage educational facilities, so there are not many people who doubt the
slogan that developing education is the solution. In countries such as Saudi
Arabia, Egypt and Morocco, which are densely populated, education is progressing
slowly and is not keeping up with youths’ social progress, skills and abilities.
Saudi Arabia
As I have long followed up on the problems of education in Saudi Arabia, I can
detect increasing differences between students, teachers and the curriculum amid
the domination of modern technology in people’s lives. There is backward
education, yet there is a generation of youths capable of modern education.
Saudi Vision 2030 includes an attempt to improve education and its government
institutions by expanding the scope of private education. This includes
introducing global educational institutions and giving them a chance to
participate. This is a good strategy to resolve the source of the problem, but
it may hint that change will be slow. In countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt
and Morocco, education is progressing slowly and is not keeping up with youths’
social progress, skills and abilities Due to the difficult reality, rushing to
develop education should be the priority, and competition between educational
institutions must be encouraged so society races against time. Perhaps this is
possible by introducing modern technology, emulating successful experiences,
focusing on positive change of curricula and educational tools, improving
teachers’ competency via intensive courses, linking education and the market,
and emphasizing the use of tools to measure success and failure in order to
address the latter and resolve it early. The renaissance plan first requires
good quality and guided education. This is a must, despite obstacles related to
decreased incomes and the pressures of new reforms. Can universities add majors
that teach specific sciences for more specialized jobs so students’ skills
improve, as King Fahd University of Petroleum did in the 1980s? Can a huge
university such as Princess Nora University shift to teaching medical services
and technology so its female graduates find jobs in a sector where the
percentage of citizens is low? The number of those who objected to reform from
within educational institutions has decreased. They used to consider educational
reform a form of Westernization. This was all part of campaigns to reject any
change, and part of a plan by some people who wanted to control society to
prevent it from changing by controlling education. These were naive and scared
perspectives that were unaware that change and development are normal in life.
However, they now see that what they have done has caused high unemployment.
Fortunately, society itself is moving forward. There are 50 million people who,
through their smart phones, get an education outside classrooms. This clearly
shows the difference between the era of the old guardians of education, and the
era of their sons and daughters today. The aim is to urge everyone to support
rushing changes in education by developing and modernizing it. There is nothing
to lose except bad education.
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Aug. 29, 2016.
Russia, US Geneva talks spark
deja vu
Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/August 29/16
The marathon talks held between John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov in Geneva took 12
hours. The talks were, however, no match for those held in July this year, which
were characterized by Kerry as “productive.”During the July talks, both sides
announced they would take “concrete steps” in Syria. They shared an
understanding of what needed to be done and agreed on how to bring Syria
negations back on track. Both sides have been promising to do all they can to
improve the delivery of food, medicine, water and other incredibly essential
humanitarian supplies. The US was pushing Russia to use its influence over
Damascus to halt the bombing of civilians and so-called moderate rebels who are
under the protection of Washington. Russia was called on to press Damascus to
“end carnage and return to negotiating table.”However, media reports suggest
nothing was done and the situation on the ground has been drastically
aggravated. Russia has made an attempt to open humanitarian corridors to let
civilians in Aleppo leave the besieged city.
A doomed plan
I believe the plan failed because it was to serve the war plans of Damascus, not
noble humanitarian purposes. If anyone was really interested in improving the
humanitarian situation and helping to stop the violence, totally different
measures and steps would be taken. Another reason it failed is because the rebel
forces have succeeded in breaking the city's blockade and pushing back the
Syrian army slightly. Russia has a clear understanding that the US is not to be
relied upon to reach any kind of stable and reliable agreement as the current
administration is counting down to the end of its term. The fighting between the
Syrian army and opposition forces continues. Violence has been escalating. The
usage of chemical raises deep concerns over the future of the conflict. The U.N.
probe into chemical weapons’ use in Syria poses new dilemmas for the
international community as the number of crimes against humanity in the conflict
are reaching tremendously dangerous levels. Russia has used a military base in
Iran to carry out strikes in Syria for some time, mostly as a demonstration of
power to the international community rather than for any serious strategic
reason. The new round of Geneva talks has not started yet. However, it was
slated for the end of August.
A complex fight
The situation in Syria is becoming more and more complex, leaving less and less
space for any peace talks or a political resolution of the conflict. The recent
talks between Lavrov and Kerry were characterized as successful. Russia's
minister has claimed that both sides have agreed on “concrete ways in which we
will work with the sides” to boost the peace process in Syria. Russia has
promised to work with the government and opposition that is in contact with
Moscow, while the US vows to work with the opposition that is in contact with
Washington. We wouldn’t be faulted for feeling a sense of deja vu. The same
declarations, the same rhetoric, the same promises were ma de in July. Russia
has a clear understanding that the US is not to be relied upon to reach any kind
of stable and reliable agreement as the current administration is counting down
to the end of its term. Obama will not take any step in Syria, he has no time
for this. The US has no trump card in its pockets regarding Syria. Russia,
meanwhile, is trying to capitalize upon the opportunities presented by this
while simultaneously limiting damage to its reputation. The recent talks did
yield a breakthrough as Washington provided the Russian side with a list of
rebel organizations who joined the cessation of hostilities after US mediation.
It is important to remember that for the Russian side, the separation of
moderate forces from extremist groups is one of the most important keys to
reducing the violence in Syria.
Despite progress, civilians will continue to die due to the actions of all
parties in the war. The murder, slaughter, bombings and shellings will continue.
Jubeir’s four minutes
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/August 29/16
We eagerly await Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir’s speeches, as they
summarize extremely complicated regional situations accurately and succinctly.
During his recent press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry, he
summed up Houthi violations in four minutes and 34 seconds. He presented clear
evidence and unquestionable statistics. He said the Houthis represent 10 percent
of Yemen’s people and want to take over the country, noting that 50,000 Houthis
want to control 27 million Yemenis. Jubeir said the Houthis have used different
types of missiles and deployed them along the Saudi border. He is an extension
of Saudi diplomacy - one of its aims is to bring neutral people worldwide to its
side, the right side.
Rhetoric
The political rhetoric represented by late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s
hour-long speeches (which were inconsiderate toward people), late Egyptian
President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s legends, late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s
parades, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial discourse, has
failed. Saudi Arabia continues to adopt civil, direct and modern diplomatic
rhetoric, which is represented by Jubeir’s speeches and appearances at different
events.Saudi Arabia continues to adopt civil, direct and modern diplomatic
rhetoric, which is represented by Jubeir’s speeches and appearances at different
events. Delivering many concepts with few words is eloquence.
*This article was first published in Okaz on Aug. 29, 2016.
Saudi Arabia, a victim of hate campaigns
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al Arabiya/August 29/16
Do not expect to hear a good word about Saudi Arabia on any Western media outlet
these days. There is growing evidence of an international campaign built on
exaggerations to blacken its reputation in almost every sphere, and to undermine
its regional leadership standing. This serves as a gift to the Iranian media,
and will embolden our enemies. US and UK politicians, as well as human rights
agencies, are falsely accusing the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen of deliberately
targeting civilians in its effort to restore the legitimate government and
protect the kingdom’s territorial integrity. These seemingly orchestrated
attacks come on the heels of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s inclusion of
Saudi Arabia on a UN child’s rights blacklist, stricken-off days later. Human
Rights Watch (HRW) has been engaged in an anti-Saudi hate fest for years. It is
now joined by Oxfam, which is supposed to be an impartial charity rather than a
politically-driven entity. One of Oxfam’s senior executives is lobbying the UK
government to cease arms sales to the kingdom, saying the government is an
“enthusiastic backer” of the Arms Trade Treaty but “one of the most significant
violators.”
The UK, which pledged to support the campaign in Yemen “short of engaging in
combat,” denies its sales contravene the treaty’s regulations. Its Africa
Minister Tobias Ellwood told the House of Commons that the UN report’s claims
were based on false witness testimony, saying its authors had not carried out
their research in-country. “We are aware that the Houthis, who are very
media-savvy in such a situation, are using their own artillery pieces
deliberately, targeting individual areas where the people are not loyal to them,
to give the impression that there have been air attacks,” he said.
Kudos to Ellwood for pinpointing the problem, but he is one of a few voices
defending truth from vicious propaganda. Colonel Bob Stewart, a Conservative MP
and member of the Defense Committee, is another. He says the coalition has made
a few mistakes, but is doing its utmost to avoid civilian deaths. A UK court has
now authorized a judicial review into whether or not weapons sales to the
kingdom flout British and EU export laws.In its determination to maintain
dominance over the Middle East, the West uses covert methods to keep regional
states from taking charge of their own destiny
Double standards
There is no war in which all civilians are guaranteed safety from bombs, as the
Americans and their allies know all too well. Hundreds of thousands were killed
in Iraq during the invasion and occupation - white phosphorus was illegally used
in built-up areas, and depleted uranium was blamed for causing birth defects
years later. The Pentagon knows exactly how many US military personnel died, but
did not bother to count the number of Iraqi victims. In 2001, untold numbers
were bombed in Afghanistan. Drone attacks by the administration of US President
Barack Obama have killed more than 2,600 in various countries, according to
official statistics. However, because every military-age man is designated a
combatant without evidence to the contrary, it is impossible to judge how many
were civilians. Likewise, Israel has over little more than a decade killed
thousands of mostly civilian Palestinians and Lebanese, including a high
percentage of children. Just days ago it was bombing Gaza, destroying homes and
lives. Social media is awash with videos of children being roughed up by Israeli
soldiers and dragged away screaming or shot. Palestinians have no rights, let
alone human rights, yet criticism of Israel is off-limits, while hurling abuse
at Saudi Arabia is seen as fair game.
Last year, the Pentagon rubber-stamped the supply of $1.9 billion worth of arms
to Israel without a peep from Congress, which invariably defends Israel’s right
to defend itself. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia’s right to prevent pro-Iranian
Houthi hordes from invading its territory is swept aside. Worse, some members of
Congress, led by Senator Rand Paul, are pushing hard for a vote to block the
sale of automatic weapons, tanks and ammunition to the kingdom, which Paul
characterizes as “an unreliable ally with a poor human rights record.”
That comes on the heels of a vindictive bill, approved by the Senate, designed
to free families of 9/11 victims to sue Riyadh, even though the 9/11 Commission
Report vindicates the Saudi government from any wrongdoing. If this scurrilous
bill, supported by both presidential candidates, is passed into law, the kingdom
warns it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. assets, according
to the New York Times. Saudi Arabia has denied making any such statements, but
doing so would make perfect sense. Why would anyone wish to keep assets in any
country acting against it with apparently hostile intent?
Repercussions
It is time for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab League to make a
firm stand. These attitudes and strategies are wholly unacceptable from supposed
allies, and if they continue they must face repercussions. For some time now, I
have suspected that in its determination to maintain dominance over the Middle
East, the West uses covert methods to keep regional states from taking charge of
their own destiny. Independence is frowned upon as late Egyptian President Gamal
Abdel Nasser, the Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, late Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein, late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi and others discovered to
their cost. The Obama administration took Egypt to task for bombing terrorists
from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), who beheaded Coptic Christians.
Cairo’s efforts to revitalize the Israel-Palestine peace process have been
belittled or ignored. The absence of tourists, due to the cancellation of
flights in reaction to the terrorist downing of a Russian plane, has forced
foreign reserves-strapped Cairo to negotiate a hefty International Monetary Fund
(IMF) loan laden with strings. Clearly, the new assertiveness of Saudi Arabia
and its Arab partners in Yemen is not appreciated in the halls of power of
certain capitals. I am beginning to believe the underlying message is: “Know
your limits or else we’ll bring you down.” It seems to me that it is beyond time
we delivered a few pertinent messages of our own.
Why Saudi Arabia’s road to Asia runs through Pakistan
Ehtesham Shahid/Al Arabiya/August 29/16
Even before Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman landed in
Islamabad on Sunday, to kick off his first official trip to Asia, over 100,000
Pakistanis had already reached Saudi Arabia to perform the yearly pilgrimage of
Hajj. Call it symbolic, symbiotic or complementary, this is one instance of a
long and unique relationship that has existed between the two countries. The
mutual interests of Riyadh and Islamabad converge in numerous areas. If
Pakistan’s need for energy is critical and longstanding, the presence of over
1.5 million Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia makes it mutually beneficial. They have
both identified terrorism as their common enemy, which calls for constant
cooperation on security and political moderation. Collaboration on this front is
likely to get a boost with a visit of this kind. The visit throws up an
interesting match-up of leaderships on either side. The world’s youngest defense
minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been steering Saudi Arabia’s renewed
focus on domestic reforms and is attempting to redefine the country’s relations
abroad. On this occasion, he is engaging with a prime minster in Pakistan who
has spent almost a decade in exile in Saudi Arabia. Notwithstanding the ebb and
flow of Saudi-Pakistan relations, and the thick and thin of his own political
career, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is bound to give Riyadh the
special status that it deserves. Sharif also holds the foreign minister’s
portfolio in this current dispensation, which makes his position even more
unique. In cosying up further to Saudi Arabia, Nawaz Sharif is unlikely to face
resistance from the country’s powerful nuclear-armed military, which is known to
hold sway in matters beyond its jurisdiction. Reports emerging from Islamabad
said that the Saudi crown prince held a meeting with Nawaz Sharif in the
presence of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif. In cosying up
further to Saudi Arabia, Nawaz Sharif is unlikely to face resistance from the
country’s powerful nuclear-armed military, which is known to hold sway in
matters beyond its jurisdiction
Repair work
Many analysts expected Saudi-Pakistan relations to take a major jolt after the
Pakistani parliament voted not to actively participate in Saudi-led coalition
operations in Yemen. However, subsequent developments suggest this hasn’t been
the case and the ongoing two-day visit is likely to bring things further back on
track. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role as the chairman of Saudi
Arabia’s Council for Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) is likely to
dominate economic cooperation between the two sides. There are areas such as
food security where the two sides have cooperated in the past and should
continue to work for mutual benefit.Saudi Arabia has provided generous
humanitarian aid to Pakistan over the years and is likely to continue this
process. Bilateral trade has also been on the rise in recent years although
there still remain areas in which more can be done. The balance of trade is in
favor of Saudi Arabia as Pakistan imports most of its oil from the kingdom.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Pakistan is also significant because
his next stop is going to be China, with which Pakistan enjoys an excellent
relationship. One reason attributed to Beijing’s prolonged engagement with
Pakistan has been its desire to open up access to the Gulf. This visit could
further cement ties on this front and open up more possibilities. Saudi Arabia
has chosen to look at its relations with Asia in the light of rapidly changing
geopolitics in the region and beyond. Under these circumstances, it makes sense
for Riyadh to start with countries closer to home, which helps build bridges
with Asian giants. Pakistan provides a stepping stone for Riyadh’s “look east”
strategy and the country seems eager to tap into this opportunity. If this visit
adds a few more layers to this already multifaceted relationship, then both
sides would indeed stand to benefit from it.
Iraqi Writer: The
Iraqis' Suffering Is Greater Than The Palestinians'; We Should Put Ourselves
First
MEMRI/August 29/16/August 29/16/ Special Dispatch No.6591
On July 3, 2016, Iraqi writer Haidar Sabi argued, in the daily Al-Zaman, that
although the Iraqis are suffering as much as or even more than the Palestinians,
the Arab world empathizes only with the Palestinians, abandoning the Iraqis to
their fate. As proof of his statements, Sabi compares Iraqi and Palestinian
death tolls, the overall situation of both, the devastation and destruction each
faces, and the support each receive; he concludes that the Iraqis are far worse
off. Some 1,500 Palestinians carried out suicide attacks in Iraq, he says,[1]
while Iraq is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause; he concludes with a
call to Iraqis to put themselves first, to rebuild their identity and their
country, and only then to reach out to help others.
It should be mentioned that Sabi's article joins several articles by Iraqi
writers in the past year criticizing the Palestinians. For example, on February
9, 2016, Haidar Jarallah wrote in the online Saudi daily Elaph that the large
number of Palestinian suicide bombers in Iraq (which he puts at 1,400) indicates
a Palestinian hatred of Iraqis, and prompts speculation over whether the Iraqis
should stop sympathizing with the Palestinian struggle and instead normalize
relations with Israel.[2] In another article, published July 31, 2015 in the
pro-Iranian Iraqi daily Al-Akhbar in response to an attack carried out by a
Palestinian in Diyala Governorate, writer Jawad Al-Matayr complained about
Palestinian ingratitude for the Iraqis' longtime support, and noted that they
had acted the same towards Kuwait, cheering Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of
the country in the first Gulf War even though Kuwait had hosted Palestinians for
years.[3]
Following are excerpts from Sabi's article:[4]
"The Palestinian problem was one of the main reasons for the destruction of Iraq
and the ruination of its people! There is not enough space here to detail how
and why, but since Iraqis are well versed in this and have the answer, and are
completely convinced of it, I will hereby examine our current state and compare
[Iraqis and Palestinians]:
"a. The destruction of Iraq or the destruction of Palestine. Are the devastation
and destruction afflicting Iraq not as great as the destruction of Palestine?
The answer is right before you.
"b. What is the difference between the suffering of these two peoples? Is the
Iraqi's suffering greater than the Palestinian's, and is the injustice done to
him greater than that done to the Palestinian?
"c. What is the difference between i) a nationality and a people with a
heritage, a history, and a culture stretching back thousands of years, which
became [a people] devoid of identity, with no one heeding its sons, who have
been abandoned, displaced, and exiled to the diaspora; and ii) a nationality
whose history was written after the notorious Sykes-Picot Accords and which has
developed a known identity, even though it is divided between [PA President] ;Abbas
and [Hamas leader] Haniya?
"Where are the Iraqis? What identity have they today, divided as they are among
the ideologies of the ruling parties? How many of my people are homeless? How
many are impoverished when they were destined to be lords of the land? [The Arab
countries] have made us into their defensive wall, to ensure their peoples'
safety, and then they call on us to protest for Jerusalem! We are mistreated,
marginalized, displaced, abandoned, starving, and oppressed. Who are we, and
where is our nationality, as doom envelops us?
"d. As for [the difference] in daily death tolls of Iraqis versus Palestinians,
I will merely cite UNAMI (United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq)
statistics, according to which Iraq suffered some 2,000 dead and injured in the
past month alone! How many Palestinians fell [in this time period]?
"e. What about the quality of life and monthly income [in Iraq versus in
Palestine] – based on the assumption that the Iraqis are floating in a lake of
oil while the Palestinians haven't one gallon of it in all their land. And yet,
we see that in Iraq more [people are under] the poverty line than in Palestine,
particularly in recent years.
"f. [What] about how many countries support the Iraqi people [versus] how many
provide all manner of aid to the Palestinian people? Furthermore, the entire
Arab ummah drinks today from the river of blood that would never have flowed if
not for [the Arabs'] regrettable positions and hostility towards the Iraqi
people, while the Palestinian is welcome in every Arab country in which he
settles, and many billions [of dollars] are showered on them. So which people
deserves the support of the masses taking to the streets and protesting
[against] its oppression?
"In truth, I believe that those [Arabs] who used money and effort, and recruited
young and old to raise their voices and highlight the oppression of Jerusalem
were just as free to raise their voices to announce the oppression of their
[Iraqi] brothers before exploiting [the Palestinian issue], on the pretext that
it is a necessary and vital position and a responsibility [owed] to their
Palestinian brothers who sacrificed their bodies and were torn to shreds to
liberate Palestine.
"How many Palestinians have blown themselves up in our midst, and how many
Iraqis have they killed? Latest statistics set this at some 1,500 [Palestinian
suicide bombers]. Iraq is ours, and Jerusalem belongs to the Jerusalemites,
until we define our separate [Iraqi] identity, as we have lost this. Since we
became divided, we are now members of this or that sect, or this nationality, or
that religion.
"[Only] when Iraq is ours [again] and is run by pure Sumerian and Assyrian
Iraqis will we worry about [events] abroad and formulate a plan to support weak
peoples. Last among them will be the Palestinian people, as many are far worse
off, enslaved in their countries and persecuted by their rulers and their
hangmen."
Endnotes:
[1] In October 2003, the Iraqi army released data according to which 1,201
Palestinians had carried out suicide operations in Iraq, making them the largest
group of foreign suicide bombers, after Saudis, who committed 300 suicide
operations. Almadapress.com, October 30, 2013.
[2] Elaph.com, February 9, 2016.
[3] Al-Akhbar (Iraq), July 31, 2015.
[4] Al-Zaman (Iraq), July 3, 2016.