llLCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

June 01/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.june01.16.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006

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Bible Quotations For Today

Spirit of truth will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 16/12-15:"‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."

The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Acts of the Apostles 06/01-12:"Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.’ What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they secretly instigated some men to say, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’
They stirred up the people as well as the elders and the scribes; then they suddenly confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council."

Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
I join spiritually all those taking part in special devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary on this last day of the month of May.
Au terme du mois de mai, je m’unis spirituellement aux nombreuses expressions de dévotion à la Sainte Vierge.
في ختام شهر أيار أتّحد روحيًّا مع أشكال التقوى العديدة لمريم الكليّة القداسة
 

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 31- June 01/16

Will Obama’s policy last after his term ends/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al ASrabiya/May 31/16
India belongs to all/Khaled Almaeena/Al ASrabiya/May 31/16
The attack on the Egyptian Coptic woman/Diana Moukalled/Al ASrabiya/May 31/16
The most agonizing wait in US history/Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al ASrabiya/May 31/16
London-Based 'Al-Sharq Al-Awsat': Lebanese Government Paying Salaries Of Hizbullah MPs, Ministers In Cash To Bypass Potential American Sanctions/MEMRI/May 31/16
In Jordan, Criticism And Protests Following Constitutional Amendments Expanding King's Powers/By: Z. Harel/MEMRI/May 31/16/
Qatar: The World's Wealthiest Family-Run Gas Station/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/May 31/16/
Iran: Ayatollah Khamenei Plans Next Supreme Leader/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/May 31/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 31- June 01/16

Change and Reform Rejects 1960 Law, Urges Respecting 'Christian Component' in Presidential Vote
Fadlallah: Internet File Referred to Authorities, No Permission yet to Question ISF Members
Report: Security Forces Thwart IS Terror Schemes in Beirut
Three Wounded in Tripoli Grenade Explosion
Report: Security Measures Upped in Southern Suburbs of Beirut
Report: Hammoud Says Judiciary not Slowing Down Process in Illegal Internet File
MP Robert Fadel Resigns in Wake of Tripoli Municipal Vote
Jamaa Islamiya Official Resigns in Wake of Tripoli Poll Results
Bassil Says Rivals Failed to Prove that FPM, LF Don't Represent '86% of Christians'21st
Hezbollah, Future Movement highlight need to finalize new election law
Future bloc salutes Tripoli for free election of municipal council
Kenaan after bloc and Change meeting: We shall confront any attempt to pass 1960 electoral law
Bassil: Batroun municipal polls are beginning of Boutros Harb's end
US Ambassador: Legislative polls in Lebanon must not be postponed again
Tripoli activists protest detention of fellow Nabil Halabi
Edition of Project Lebanon Inaugurated amid Participation of Over 450 Firms
 

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 31- June 01/16

IS Loses Ground to Kurd-led Fighters in Syria
Russia Raids on Syria City Kill 23 Civilians
Netanyahu Dusts Off Old Peace Plan after Uproar over New Govt.
Why Putin sent a lost Israeli tank home
Hamas Authorities Execute Three Men in Gaza Strip
Iran prison guards conduct raid, destroy prisoners’ belongings
For 2nd day rally held in Iran capital demanding freedom for political prisoner
UN human rights body condemns floggings in Iran
Iranian students threw a graduation dance party. It cost them 99 lashes each.
Iraq Forces Face Tough IS Resistance on Fringes of Fallujah
Taliban Kill 16 Bus Passengers in Northern Afghanistan
U.N. Envoy Urges Libyans to Unite against IS
Egypt Journalist Union Leaders to Face Trial
New Yemen Clashes Kill 38 Rebels, Loyalists
Bahrain Upholds Death Sentences for Attack on Police
Germany Risks Turkey Wrath with Armenian Genocide Vote

Links From Jihad Watch Site for May 31- June 01/16
Denmark says it will punish Islamic preachers advocating criminal acts
Not Blessed are Pax Christi’s Radical “Peacemakers”
Robert Spencer, FP: Brandeis Denies Muslim Prof. Tenure – He Blames ‘Islamophobia’
Twitter, Facebook team up with EU to stamp out “hate speech”

Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 31- June 01/16

Change and Reform Rejects 1960 Law, Urges Respecting 'Christian Component' in Presidential Vote
Naharnet/May 31/16/The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc led by MP Michel Aoun vowed Tuesday that it will confront “any attempt to go back to the 1960 electoral law,” while calling for respecting what it called the country's “Christian component” in the presidential elections. “The electoral law is about representing all Lebanese in state institutions in a fair manner, the thing that has not happened since the Taef Accord was endorsed,” MP Ibrahim Kanaan said after the bloc's weekly meeting in Rabieh. “This issue must be addressed in a serious manner and we want proper representation. We will attend the joint committees' session to follow up on the issue and we will confront any attempt to waste time with the aim of going back to the 1960 law,” he pledged. “Nothing prevents holding the parliamentary elections... Parliamentary elections are a constitutional and democratic duty,” added Kanaan.
He also called for “respecting the National Pact” and “taking the viewpoint of Christians into consideration” in the parliamentary debate over the electoral law on Wednesday and in the presidential election session that will be held on Thursday. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 due to the rival parties' failure to agree on a candidate and ex-PM Saad Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the country's top Christian post. His initiative was however met with rejection and reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah, which is clinging to the nomination of Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun. Change and Reform and Hizbullah, as well as March 14's Lebanese Forces, argue that Aoun is more eligible than Franjieh to become president given the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community. Turning to the municipal polls that were held between May 8 and May 29, Kanaan said the results of the vote “proved that the Free Patriotic Movement and its allies, especially the Lebanese Forces, are present across all Lebanese regions.” “We achieved clear results in the municipal elections in Zahle, Jounieh, Hadath, Jezzine, Metn, Jbeil, Batroun and Akkar,” he said, dismissing the electoral losses of the FPM-LF alliance in Akkar's Qoubaiyat and Batroun's Tannourine. “The elections experience was good in its results and it unveiled many things to us that we will take into consideration in any upcoming elections,” Kanaan added. “Our objective is to establish our presence in state administrations and on Lebanon's developmental map. This experience returns us to the State and returns the State to us,” he went on to say.

Fadlallah: Internet File Referred to Authorities, No Permission yet to Question ISF Members
Naharnet/May 31/16/MP Hassan Fadlallah stated after the parliamentary media committee meeting on Tuesday, that the ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous has not given the approval yet to question ISF members and officials with regard to the installment of illegal internet equipment. “The judiciary will question ISF officers and members who were present in their positions close to the locations where the network equipment was installed, but we have not obtained yet the approval of ISF chief on that,” said Fadlallah. The committee met to discuss the illegal network file that it unveiled in March when it said that a “mafia” is taking advantage of illicit internet services by installing internet stations that are not subject to state control. The owners of these stations are buying international internet bandwidth with nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which they are selling back to Lebanese subscribers at reduced prices, reports have said. As for the manner that the equipment was admitted to Lebanon, the MP said that the investigative police are still working on the matter. It has been reported that wireless internet towers and technical equipment were placed illegally in some mountainous terrains including Tannourine, al-Dinnieh, Sannine and al-Zaarour. Smuggled internet services initiate risks namely the possibility of security breach as it lacks the basic control standards exposing Lebanon's security to third parties including Israel. Furthermore, Fadlallah said that the issue of illegal international calls was highlighted, he said: “We have informed Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb that it will be referred to the judicial authorities.”The committee will convene again on June 14.

Report: Security Forces Thwart IS Terror Schemes in Beirut
Naharnet/May 31/16/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said that the security apparatuses in Lebanon were able to uncover and thwart schemes by the Islamic State group to carry out terror acts, mainly in crowded areas in Beirut, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday. Mashnouq said that the security forces are waging the “fiercest battle” against attempts to shake the security situation, and that the army intelligence was able to thwart a plan of a terror act in one of the capital's streets. The IS was planning to carry out an operation in an area crowded with cafes and nightclubs in Beirut, similar in terms of selection to the recent operation carried out in Paris, said the daily. According to information, the IS has prepared its leadership and organization in Lebanon at the structural and logistical levels, to become able to meet the obligations of its leadership in Syria's al-Reqqa and launching quality security strikes against Lebanon. It plans to have replicas of the recent terrorist operations that took place in Belgium and France.

Three Wounded in Tripoli Grenade Explosion
Naharnet/May 31/16/Three people were wounded on Tuesday when a hand grenade exploded in the northern city of Tripoli, state-run National News Agency reported. “The grenade had been left in an empty area in the al-Zahriyeh district behind the Jamal and Shaaban company,” NNA said.
The blast resulted in the injury of Lebanese citizens Jaber al-Moury and Radwan Badiaa and the Syrian national Shadi al-Agha, the agency added. LBCI television said the three were working in the area when the explosion occurred. Security forces have since arrived on the scene and launched a probe into the incident.

Report: Security Measures Upped in Southern Suburbs of Beirut
Naharnet/May 31/16/Security precautionary measures were upped lately in the southern suburbs of Beirut six months after the last terror bombing attack that rocked the Bourj al-Barajneh area in November, An Nahar daily reported on Tuesday. “The terror threats might resume any moment despite the vigilance of the security forces,” sources told the daily on condition of anonymity. According to the daily, it is normal for the security forces to up measures as the holy month of Ramadan looms closer, which raises fears of terror attacks. Despite the fact that the security forces are carrying out “daily arrests against Islamic States group and al-Nusra Front affiliates, the terror threats might return any moment,” they said. Twin suicide bombings rocked a busy shopping street last November in the Beirut southern suburb of Bourj al-Barajneh, killing 43 people and wounding 239 others.The extremist Islamic State group claimed the attack in a statement posted online.

Report: Hammoud Says Judiciary not Slowing Down Process in Illegal Internet File
Naharnet/May 31/16/State Prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud denied on Tuesday the accusations claiming that the investigations in several judicial issues particularly the illegal internet file are being deliberately delayed, al-Joumhouria daily reported. He called on those spreading rumors to look closely at the judicial mechanism and at the action of procedures provided by the law. “The judiciary is not slowing down any action that could be taken. It is subject to the laws adopted in such cases,” Hammoud told the daily. “The judiciary charged several individuals in the illegal internet file, some are detained and others are still free. They have all undergone initial investigations,” he added. He assured that all the legal steps are being taken and that the interrogations will kick off in two stages this week and the next.Reports have claimed that the judiciary is deliberately slowing the process of bringing those involved in the illegal internet file to justice. In April, reports said that illegal internet stations have been proven to exist so far in the mountainous terrains of Dinniyeh, Oyoun al-Siman, Faqra and Zaarour. Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil has said that the smuggled internet costs the state around $200 million in lost revenues every year. Early in March, the media and telecom parliamentary committee unveiled that there is a “mafia” that is taking advantage of illicit internet services by installing internet stations that are not subject to state control. The owners of these stations are buying international internet bandwidth with nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which they are selling back to Lebanese subscribers at reduced prices, reports have said.

MP Robert Fadel Resigns in Wake of Tripoli Municipal Vote
Naharnet/May 31/16/Tripoli MP Robert Fadel announced Monday his resignation from parliament, protesting the surprising results of Sunday's elections in the northern city in which no Christian candidates managed to win seats on the municipal council. “An MP cannot be happy while his people are miserable,” Fadel said in a statement. “Pluralism, coexistence and balance among the country's components are necessary conditions for Lebanon's existence,” he stressed. “I have stood by (al-Mustaqbal movement leader) ex-PM (Saad) Hariri and I will always stand by him every time his representation, position and moderation are being targeted,” Fadel went on to say. A list backed by resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi achieved a stunning victory Sunday against a list backed by Hariri, ex-PM Najib Miqati, former ministers Faisal Karami and Mohammed al-Safadi, Jamaa Islamiya, al-Ahbash and the Arab Democratic Party. The Rifi-backed list clinched 18 seats on the municipal council as the broad coalition's list won only six. Christian and Alawite candidates representing the city's two minorities failed to win any seats, which is a first in the history of Tripoli's municipal elections.

Jamaa Islamiya Official Resigns in Wake of Tripoli Poll Results
Naharnet/May 31/16/Political official of the al-Jamaa al-Islamiya in the North and Tripoli Ihab Nafeaa submitted his resignation on Tuesday in protest to the outcome of the municipal elections in the northern city, the state-run National News Agency reported on Tuesday. “Agreements and alliances were formed in the municipal elections in Tripoli which did not live up to the expectations of many in the city,” said Nafeaa in a statement announcing his resignation. “A leader can foresee from his position better than a normal person would, and he might be mistaken in his effort and has therefore to bear the responsibility of his decisions,” he added. He pointed to the outcome of the municipal elections in Tripoli, and said: “The results of the polls have shown that our choice was not a proper one. Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya did not live up to the expectations of the people of Tripoli. I therefore shoulder the responsibility in front of my family and supporters of the Jamaa and I submitted my resignation.” Nafeaa's resignation came a day after Tripoli MP Robert Fadel submitted his resignation from parliament, protesting the surprising results of Sunday's elections in the northern city in which no Christian candidates managed to win seats on the municipal council. A list backed by resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi achieved a stunning victory Sunday against a list backed by Hariri, ex-PM Najib Miqati, former ministers Faisal Karami and Mohammed al-Safadi, Jamaa Islamiya, al-Ahbash and the Arab Democratic Party.The Rifi-backed list clinched 18 seats on the municipal council as the broad coalition's list won only six. Christian and Alawite candidates representing the city's two minorities failed to win any seats, which is a first in the history of Tripoli's municipal elections.

Bassil Says Rivals Failed to Prove that FPM, LF Don't Represent '86% of Christians'
Naharnet/May 31/16/Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil noted Tuesday that the results of the municipal polls were blown out of proportion in some areas, especially in Akkar's Qoubaiyat and Batroun's Tannourine, claiming that the FPM and the Lebanese Forces faced a political battle aimed at proving they do not represent “86 percent of Christians.”“They tried to deal us a political blow under the slogan that we don't represent 86 percent of Christians but they failed,” Bassil said at a press conference, although the two parties have never officially endorsed the 86 percent claim.LF chief Samir Geagea clarified on May 15 that the LF and the FPM had “never claimed” that they “represent 86% of Christians.” “After we allied with the FPM, a survey showed that 86% of Christians supported the rapprochement,” he explained. Bassil pointed out on Tuesday that “elections in the North have proved that the FPM is present across all northern towns.” “I understand that a local leader might win the elections in his hometown, but this does not mean that he triumphed against a broad political movement,” he said. “What happened in the elections proved that the political parties have the upper hand and this does not eliminate the presence of families,” he added. He was especially referring to the results of the elections in the northern towns of Qoubaiyat and Tannourine, where the FPM-LF alliance lost to lists backed by al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Hadi Hbeish, ex-MP Mikhail al-Daher and Telecom Minister Butros Harb. “Our only setback was in the Zgharta district but we know the reason. We received the message and we promise our supporters that we will regain our strength,” Bassil added, attributing the FPM's results there to the recent strain of relations with Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh. “For the fourth time, the city of Batroun has proven that its color is orange,” Bassil said, referring to the FPM's victory in the northern city's municipal vote. “The LF and the FPM achieved a landslide victory in central Batroun except for the towns of Shabtin and Jdabra,” he noted. Bassil also admitted that the FPM “was not fully ready for the municipal polls due to its recent restructuring and the efforts that were exerted to postpone the elections.”“The idea of postponing the municipal polls was floated intentionally and it was aimed at distracting people,” he said. Turning to the results of Tripoli's vote, where no Christian or Alawite candidates managed to reach the municipal council, Bassil added: “We hold those who formed the consensual list in Tripoli responsible for the exclusion of Alawites and Christians because they deliberately eliminated some parties.” “What happened in Tripoli was caused by the mentality of arrogance and hegemony and the result was a violation of the National Pact,” he lamented. “Our results in Tripoli and el-Mina highlight our strong presence in the city,” Bassil added. A list backed by resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi achieved a stunning victory Sunday against a list backed by ex-PMs Saad Hariri and Najib Miqati, former ministers Faisal Karami and Mohammed al-Safadi, Jamaa Islamiya, al-Ahbash and the Arab Democratic Party. The Rifi-backed list clinched 16 seats on the municipal council as the broad coalition's list won only eight. Christian and Alawite candidates representing the city's two minorities failed to win any seats, which is a first in the history of Tripoli's municipal elections.

Hezbollah, Future Movement highlight need to finalize new election law
NNA - Hezbollah and Future Movement joint highlighted on Tuesday the pressing need to complete the drafting of a new election law to pave the way for holding the legislative polls.Both parties met today for the 29th time around a joint dialogue table at Ain-el-Tineh.They reportedly discussed most recent political developments and the process of the fresh municipal elections.

Future bloc salutes Tripoli for free election of municipal council
Tue 31 May 2016/NNA - Future parliamentary bloc saluted on Tuesday the northern city of Tripoli, "which chose its municipal council with free will, just like Tripolitarians wished."The bloc, which convened today at Bayt-al-Wasat under the chairmanship of MP Fouad Siniora, maintained that Future Movement was still determined to study the results and indications of the municipal polls."The success in holding the elections must be a motive for the key political forces, mainly lawmakers, to save the Lebanese [democratic] system and head on Thursday to the Parliament to elect a new president of the republic," conferees said in a statement issued following their periodic meeting.

Kenaan after bloc and Change meeting: We shall confront any attempt to pass 1960 electoral law
Tue 31 May 2016/NNA - "Change and Reform" bloc MP Ibrahim Kenaan categorically stressed that there will be no settlement over the new electoral law, saying that the bloc shall confront any attempt to pass 1960 electoral law. "The Free Patriotic Movement looks forward to a new electoral law as a serious, crucial strategic cause to secure the representation of all the Lebanese in a fair manner," MP Kenaan said in the wake of the Bloc's weekly meeting at Rabieh, stressing that such a matter has not has not happened since the Taef Accord up till the present. Kenaan also called for respecting the people's will and the Christian component in the presidential election subject, without undermining the importance of the opinion of other components. Turning to the recent municipal elections, Kenaan deemed the municipal electoral experience as "good in all its sides," despite the occurrence of some other matters that shall be addressed and taken into consideration in forthcoming deadlines. The Lawmaker also stressed the bloc's efforts to reinstate Lebanese areas into the developmental map. On the Janna Dam issue, Kenaan deemed the project as "a vital issue to the Lebanese people," disclosing that a meeting will be taking place at the Habtour Hotel on Friday at 12.00 p.m. for all those wishing to inquire about the Janna Dam.

Bassil: Batroun municipal polls are beginning of Boutros Harb's end
Tue 31 May 2016/NNA - Free Patriotic Movement head, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, explained, in a news conference on Tuesday, how the results of the fresh municipal polls in the northern district of Batroun were "the beginning of the end" of Telecom Minister Boutros Harb, in his hometown.
"Batroun confirmed that it is with us, and proved to be the entry to the north, politically speaking," he told. "In Tannourine, Minister Boutros won by just some 800 votes; I declare that these elections are the beginning of the end, and we shall remind us in the legislative polls, as well as in the next municipal elections," he said. Bassil mainly shone light on the outcome of the polls in Tripoli, the capital of the North. "What happened in Tripoli was the result of the arrogant haughty mindset," he said. "Those who formed the consensual list bear the responsibility of eliminating some sides. An upshot of their arrogance was the unconstitutional process that led to the exclusion of Christians and Alawites from Tripoli municipality," he added. Besides, Bassil considered that the most important achievement was proving that "the word of the [political] parties has overcome that of the families." Tackling the loss of Future Movement, he related that of MP Ahmad Fatfat in his hometown Sir-Doniyeh. Turning to Zghorta, Bassil admitted that FPM had made a mistake. "We got the message and we conveyed it in turn to our supporters; we will work on solving the issue."Moreover, he announced the preparation of a general municipal conference on forthcoming June 6, to launch a six-year municipal work plan nationwide. "Today we are preparing ourselves to the next municipal elections through a training mechanism to help citizens understand the municipal work and hoe to partake in it," he concluded.

US Ambassador: Legislative polls in Lebanon must not be postponed again
Wed 01 Jun 2016/NNA - US Chargé d'Affaires in Beirut, Ambassador Richard Jones, underlined on Tuesday that the legislative polls in Lebanon must not be postponed again, stressing that the Lebanese people must choose their own leaders. "One of the best qualities of a democratic government is when it renews its institutions regularly, through presenting its leaders to obtain the approval of the people," the diplomat told a ceremony upon the US Independence Day. The event was held at Le Royal Hotel in Dbayeh, with the participation of MP Ali Bazzi representing House Speaker Nabih Berri, Defense Minister Samir Moqbel representing Prime Minister Tammam Salam, and a panel of high ranking figures. Jones also felicitated the Lebanese on the municipal polls that were freshly held nationwide. "That was an important step towards the recuperation of the Lebanese democracy," he said.

Tripoli activists protest detention of fellow Nabil Halabi
Tue 31 May 2016/NNA - A group of activists staged a sit-in in Tripoli today calling for the immediate release of their fellow lawyer Nabil Halabi, National News Agency correspondent reported on Tuesday.

21st Edition of Project Lebanon Inaugurated amid Participation of Over 450 Firms
Naharnet/May 31/16/His Excellency Minister of Energy and Water Arthur Nazarian inaugurated Project Lebanon 2016, the 21st International Trade Exhibition for Construction Materials and Equipment for Lebanon and the Middle East, and Energy Lebanon 2016, the 6th International Trade Exhibition for Power, Electrical Engineering, Alternative Energy, Lighting, HVAC, Water and Environmental Technologies, in the presence of the ambassadors of the participating countries and a number of officials, diplomats, and dignitaries. The exhibition will continue from May 31 to June 3, 2016.
IFP Group (International Fairs & Promotions), the organizer of Project Lebanon, is expecting a record number of visitors and participants in the exhibition this year. In this context, the Group Chairman Mr. Albert Aoun confirmed that Project Lebanon is “following its path of continuous evolvement with the same momentum visitors are used to, welcoming more than 450 companies from 20 countries: Belgium, Belarus, China, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.”
Concurrent Conferences
Project Lebanon 2016 is held concurrently with two specialized conferences.
LEBANON’S OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF SYRIA CONFERENCE
The first, following the opening of Project Lebanon on May 31st, is a forum on Lebanon’s OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF SYRIA, aiming at exploring eventual efforts in the reconstruction and development of the Syrian infrastructure, discussing the available possibilities and options to launch construction projects, and debating Lebanon’s expected role in this context.The conference is welcoming the United Nation (U.N.) organizations involved in the Syrian situation including representatives of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which initiated the “National Agenda for the Future of Syria” program in order to examine the concrete development needs for the recovery of Syria. In addition, a select group of leading architects, contractors, businesspeople, and investors from Lebanon and Syria, as well as Arab and international diplomats and government officials are participating in the discussion.
EcOrient Waste Management Conference
The second event is the 5th International Conference for Environmental Technologies, Sustainability, and Clean Energy, EcOrient 2016, dedicated this year to exploring solutions for Lebanon’s current waste crisis. Welcoming OMSAR (Office of Minister of State for Administrative Reform) and UNIDO representatives, as well as numerous public and private stakeholders, the conference will focus on solid waste management and different types of recycling from e-waste to plastics.
An All-Inclusive Show
The organizers highlight that the simultaneity of these events aims at increasing Project Lebanon’s general specialization, allowing engineers, contractors, project managers, and all construction stakeholders to serve their business needs under one roof, and source new products, solutions, equipment, and technology.
Project Lebanon 2016 includes profiles ranging from ceramics, stone, wood and wooden products, metal products, elevators, security products, plastics and piping products, to construction-related material; while lighting, electro-mechanic products and equipment, HVAC, generators, electricity and alternative energy technology and solutions, water, environmental and green technologies profiles are displayed at Energy Lebanon 2016.
Highlights at Project Lebanon 2016
The Live Demonstration Theater will be a major highlight for Project Lebanon 2016. It is a unique opportunity for visitors to engage with exhibitors showcasing and launching their products and services, and to witness live demonstrations of the latest technologies in the industry. Another major highlight is the Innovative Pavilion: a collaboration between Project Lebanon and Engineering and Architecture faculties from across Lebanon, intended to offer young and talented Lebanese students a unique platform to present their innovative ideas and carry their projects to fruition in the presence of industry leaders and decision-makers.Project Lebanon 2016 will also include a dedicated B2B Matchmaking Platform, carefully designed to ensure both visitors and exhibitors meet the right partners, in addition to a VIP Lounge providing quick access and privacy.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 31- June 01/16

IS Loses Ground to Kurd-led Fighters in Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/US-backed Kurdish-led fighters have seized ground from the Islamic State group in Syria, a monitor said Tuesday, as the jihadists come under attack in their Fallujah bastion in neighboring Iraq.The Syrian Democratic Forces, who control a swathe of territory along the Turkish border, launched a push south towards the IS stronghold of Raqa last week, capturing a string of villages in the north of Raqa province. "The SDF has captured 12 villages... northwest of Raqa in the past 36 hours," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence France Presse. Abdel Rahman said that the villages lie 80 kilometers (50 miles) or more from Raqa itself but that the jihadists' de facto Syria capital was not the immediate goal. He said the target of the offensive was the town of Tabqa and its adjacent dam on the Euphrates River, which lie some 40 kilometers (25 miles) upstream. IS lost 18 fighters in the fighting on Monday, taking its losses since the start of offensive on May 24 to 79, he said. Among those killed were 24 child fighters from IS's "Cubs of the Caliphate" recruitment program. The Observatory had no immediate word on SDF losses or any civilian deaths. The United States has ignored angry protests from its NATO ally Turkey to back the SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters it regards as the most effective force on the ground against IS in Syria. It has deployed more than 200 special forces personnel to work alongside it. Ankara regards the alliance's most powerful component -- the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) -- as a branch of the rebel Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish army. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday that Ankara was ready to join forces with Washington for a special operation inside Syria on condition it did not involve the YPG.

Russia Raids on Syria City Kill 23 Civilians
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/Russian warplanes pounded an al-Qaida-held city in northwestern Syria before dawn on Tuesday killing 23 civilians in the heaviest strikes in months, a monitoring group said. Dozens of civilians were also wounded in the raids on Idlib, a provincial capital held by al-Qaida affiliate al-Nusra Front and its allies since March last year, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Al-Nusra is not party to a Russian- and US-brokered ceasefire that went into force on February 27 between Moscow-backed government forces and Washington-backed non-jihadist rebels. "The air strikes are the most intensive on Idlib since the beginning of the truce," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence France Presse. "Even though Idlib is not covered by the truce, it had been relatively calm with only intermittent raids," he added. The strikes hit near a hospital and a public garden. Moscow has been carrying out an air campaign in support of its Damascus ally since September last year. It has been criticised for targeting non-jihadist rebels as well as al-Qaida and its rival the Islamic State group. Russia has called for other rebel groups to withdraw from areas controlled by Al-Nusra and break ranks with the jihadists. More than 280,000 people have been killed in Syria since the civil war erupted in 2011.

Netanyahu Dusts Off Old Peace Plan after Uproar over New Govt.
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken of reviving a long-dormant Arab peace initiative with the Palestinians, amid questions over whether he is sincere or trying to fend off international critics. Netanyahu made his comments late Monday at the swearing in of his new hardline Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, forming what many analysts call the most right-wing government in Israeli history. Lieberman is detested by the Palestinians, and foreign governments have expressed concern over his appointment to the powerful post. Both Netanyahu and Lieberman have repeatedly sought to address such concerns, saying they are committed to a two-state solution. Netanyahu went a step further on Monday, saying an Arab League-endorsed peace initiative dating to 2002 "includes positive elements that can help revive constructive negotiations with the Palestinians.""We are willing to negotiate with the Arab states revisions to that initiative so that it reflects the dramatic changes in the region since 2002, but maintains the agreed goal of two states for two peoples," Netanyahu said. His comments come after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said two weeks ago that there was now a "real opportunity" for an Israeli-Palestinian deal that could lead to warmer ties between his country and Israel. Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab nations with a peace deal with Israel. Israel has also seen improved ties and security cooperation with Cairo in recent months as part of the fight against Islamic State group jihadists.U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov welcomed Netanyahu's comments, saying "this opportunity should not be missed and must be followed up with concrete and timely action."
Eye on Obama
But Netanyahu's comments come with the veteran premier under pressure over a French plan to hold an international peace conference, which Israel strongly opposes and the Palestinians support. There is also speculation that U.S. President Barack Obama could seek a U.N. resolution on the conflict -- or at least allow one to pass without vetoing it -- before he leaves office in January. "There has been a feeling in the (prime minister's) office for a while that they are worried what will happen in the U.N., that maybe the Americans will let a resolution go through that would be difficult for Israel," said Jonathan Rynhold of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. As for the French initiative, a first meeting of foreign ministers from a range of countries -- without the Palestinians and Israelis present -- is due to take place on Friday in Paris. An international conference including the Israelis and Palestinians would then be held before the end of the year. "Netanyahu is very aware, as is Lieberman, that they have formed a right-wing coalition, and therefore the international community will be very distrustful, so they have gone out of their way to say something positive about the Arab peace initiative and to publicly say that they back a two-state solution," Rynhold said. "That is a way of signaling to the international community: we are not as bad as you think we are."
Opportunity or smokescreen
If a peace effort were to move forward on the basis of the Arab proposal, Israel would no doubt seek a list of changes.The proposal essentially calls for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and resolve outstanding issues with the Palestinians, leading to the creation of a Palestinian state, in exchange for normalized relations with Arab countries. hile some accused Netanyahu of creating a smokescreen by mentioning the old initiative, others said that, whatever his motivation, progress should not be ruled out."This is an opportunity," said Shmuel Sandler, a professor of international politics at Israel's Bar Ilan University. "He has now two years where he doesn't have to worry about elections (if his coalition lasts its full term), so he might have a chance of moving ahead." Sandler said that "the question is whether the other side will come forward. Will he have a partner?"Palestinian leaders argue that years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation. They have focused on pursuing their cause through international bodies, and strongly back the French plan. "If the Israeli government is serious, it must take measures on the ground to prove its commitment to a two-state solution," said Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "The first of those measures is the end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories."

Why Putin sent a lost Israeli tank home
DEBKAfile Special Report May 30, 2016/The American M48 Patton tank upgraded by the IDF was captured by Syrian forces with its three-man crew in the Sultan Yaakov battle in the Lebanon war of 1982. The three-man crew was lost. To this day the fate of Zacharia Baumel, Yehuda Katz and Zvi Feldman has never been determined. After the battle President Hafez Assad, father of the incumbent Bashar Assad, who established in the the1960s the first Russian-Syrian alliance the, agreed to let the Russian have the tank. They were keen to study the reactive armor the IDF had installed. Special teams of the Engineering Corps flew the tank from Sultan Yaakov battle field to Moscow. Thirty four years later, the “Magach” (battering ram) tank arrived home after spending years in the Kubinka Tank Museum near Moscow, as a result of a gesture by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Israel PM Binyamin Netanyahu.
It is safe to assume that Putin consulted Assad before making this gesture and both had their own reasons for making it. It is also possible that the Syrian ruler may also decide to disclose what happened to the three missing Israeli soldiers and perhaps even return their remains.
debkafile sources in Moscow and Jerusalem probed to find out the motives of Putin and Assad, allies of Iran and Hizballah, in making this gesture. They find an answer in Putin’s broader designs for the Middle East alongside his military actions in Syria. In every recent conference between high ranking Russian and Israeli officials, the key issue of South Syria has come up in order to bridge their different objectives. Moscow holds that all of South Syria must come under the Assad regime rule, as the key to its stability. Israel, along with the US, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, anxious to keep South Syria under the control of their respective Syrian rebel militias. Israel regards their presence as vital for preventing Iranian and Hizballah forces moving into the Syrian Golan up to the Israeli border. Putin offers Jerusalem an alternative. If Israel agrees to withdraw its support from the Syrian rebels to help Assad reclaim the region Moscow is willing to vouch that the Russian army stationed in Syria will prevent Iranian and Hizballah fighters from infiltrating or getting near the Israeli border. The Russian president aims to restore the status quo prevailing in the Israeli-Syrian border region for 42 years since the 1974 Yom Kippur War. He envisages this situation producing three developments: The beginning of political exchanges between Israel and Syria, as a first step towards peace negotiations. This process would distance Damascus from Tehran and Beirut. It would also further distance Israel from the United States.
Putin appreciates that sending the tank back to Israel will not spark this entire process, but he thinks it might be a good token beginning.

Hamas Authorities Execute Three Men in Gaza Strip
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip executed three men for murder on Tuesday, the attorney general said, signalling more could follow despite appeals from the United Nations for a halt. They were shot dead behind closed doors, security sources said. "To achieve public deterrence and curb crime, the competent authorities carried out at dawn on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 execution rulings against three of those convicted of shocking murders," a statement from the attorney general said. In theory all execution orders in the Palestinian territories must be approved by president Mahmud Abbas, who is based in the occupied West Bank. But Hamas, the militant Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, no longer recognizes his legitimacy, and Gaza attorney general Ismail Jaber recently announced that the authorities there would carry out the executions without Abbas's backing. Xavier Abu Eid, a spokesman for the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, immediately condemned the executions on Twitter. Sari Bashi, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, said Hamas authorities had been under pressure to act due to perceptions of increased crime in Gaza, including a number of grisly murders of civilians."This is an attempt by the government to show they are doing something," she told Agence France Presse, "but killing criminals is not going to decrease crime."She urged Israel to ease the 10-year blockade on Gaza and called for rival Palestinian factions to come together. "These people were convicted in a judicial system where torture and coercion are common," she added. The attorney general's statement announcing the executions said the three men had all been given a fair trial.The UN envoy for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, had called on Hamas to abandon the planned executions. Jaber had initially said that he wanted executions to be carried out in public. It was unclear if that would happen in the future.
At the time of the attorney general's announcement last week, 13 men, most convicted of murder connected to robberies, were awaiting execution. The last public executions in Gaza were during the 2014 war with Israel when a firing squad from Hamas's armed wing shot dead six alleged collaborators with Israel in front of Gaza City's main mosque following prayers. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), nine death sentences were handed down in the Gaza Strip in 2015 and two in the occupied West Bank, run by the Palestinian Authority. So far this year, around 10 more people have been sentenced to death in Gaza. Palestinian law allows the death penalty for collaborators, murderers and drug traffickers. Of the more than 170 Palestinians sentenced to death since the creation of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, around 30 have been executed, mostly in Gaza, according to the PCHR.

Iran prison guards conduct raid, destroy prisoners’ belongings
Tuesday, 31 May 2016 /National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI - Wardens in Iran’s notorious Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison in Karaj, north-west of Tehran, on Monday, May 30, raided a prison ward housing ordinary prisoners, harassing prisoners and damaging their belongings, according to reports from inside the prison. Armed guards raided Ward 4 under the pretext of carrying out an inspection. The reports indicate that the prisoners’ refrigerators were severely damaged. The guards were unable to discover any unusual activities in their inspection. In the Iranian regime’s prisons, inspections are always an excuse for prison authorities to harass, intimidate and beat both political and ordinary prisoners. On May 14, black-clad prison guards raided a Kurdish political prisoners' ward in Gohardasht, beating inmates and pillaging through their personal property. Around 100 suppressive guards in full riot gear and wielding batons raided the ward which houses political prisoners of Kurdish descent. During the raid, which lasted more than two hours, prisoners' personal items were searched and many items destroyed. Pillows were torn apart with blades.

For 2nd day rally held in Iran capital demanding freedom for political prisoner
Tuesday, 31 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI - Relatives and supporters of Iranian workers’ rights activist Jafar Azimzadeh, who is on a hunger strike in prison in Iran, rallied for a second day on Tuesday outside the Iranian regime's Majlis (Parliament) in Tehran to demand his freedom.Mr. Azimzadeh is on Day 33 of an indefinite hunger strike in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison against the regime's clampdown on union activities in Iran. Protesters, including teachers and workers, held up banners which read: "Imprisoned laborer Jafar Azimzadeh has been on hunger strike for over a month" and "The life of Jafar Azimzadeh is in danger."Another banner read: "We call for urgent attention to Jafar Azimzadeh's demands."A similar protest was held by Mr. Azimzadeh's supporters on Monday, May 30, opposite the Parliament as the 105th annual International Labour Conference commenced in Geneva. The protesters in both rallies decried the indifference of the regime's judiciary to Mr. Azimzadeh's deteriorating state of health. Also on Monday about 100 of Mr. Azimzadeh's supporters held a gathering in Sanandaj, western Iran, to protest his unlawful detention. Mr. Azimzadeh, who was arrested on November 8, 2015, is currently serving a six-year prison sentence in Ward 8 of Evin Prison for engaging in peaceful and legitimate trade union activities. Mr. Azimzadeh's health is reported to have deteriorated significantly and he has twice been transferred to hospitals, but on each occasion was sent back without any medical treatment.
On May 21, Mr. Azimzadeh was temporarily taken to hospital after complaining of kidney problems. He refused to be administered liquid serum and was transferred back to prison in his current state after midnight. On May 28, he was taken by wardens to Tehran's Tajrish Hospital but was returned within 20 minutes without being allowed an ultrasound examination. On May 27, Mr. Azimzadeh sent an open letter to the International Labor Organization (ILO) from prison in which he lambasted the Iranian regime's mistreatment of workers. The Tehran bus drivers’ union, the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed), in a statement on May 24 warned about the deterioration of Mr. Azimzadeh’s health and called for his release from prison. Mr. Azimzadeh’s wife has said that he has lost considerable weight, his blood pressure has dropped, and he is suffering from loss of vision and serious kidney pain. A key demand of Mr. Azimzadeh and other workers’ union activists is for the authorities to drop the charge of “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security” and other national security charges in cases of union activities. Mr. Azimzadeh sent a statement out of Evin Prison following the release on bail of fellow political prisoner Ismail Abdi, Secretary General of Iran’s Teachers’ Trade Association (ITTA), vowing to continue his hunger strike until the "demands of millions of teachers and workers" are met. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in a May 24 statement once again called on all defenders of human rights, particularly the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel and inhumane punishments, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, to take urgent and effective action to secure the release of political prisoners on hunger strike in Iran, including Mr. Azimzadeh.

UN human rights body condemns floggings in Iran
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/Tuesday, 31 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI - The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned on Tuesday the "outrageous flogging" of dozens of young Iranians last week in Qazvin, north-west of Tehran. "We condemn the outrageous flogging of up to 35 young men and women in Iran last week, after they were caught holding a graduation party together in Qazvin, north of Tehran," said a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein."Flogging is prohibited under international human rights law, in particular the Convention against Torture. The UN Committee against Torture, the Human Rights Committee and UN Special Rapporteurs have repeatedly voiced serious concerns about States’ use of flogging, highlighting in particular its use against women, and have called for its abolition. For the authorities to have meted out this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment – which could amount to torture – is completely disproportionate and abhorrent," it said. Ismaeil Sadeqi Niaraki, a notorious mullah who is the regime's Prosecutor in Qazvin, said last Thursday that a special court session was held after all the young men and women at the party were rounded up. "After we received information that a large number of men and women were mingling in a villa in the suburbs of Qazvin ... all the participants at the party were arrested," he said. Niaraki added that the following morning every one of those detained received 99 lashes as punishment by the so-called 'Morality Police.' "Thanks God that the police questioning, investigation, court hearing, verdict and implementation of the punishment all took place in less than 24 hours," Niaraki added. The Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said: "In another case, 17 mine workers were reportedly flogged in Western Azerbaijan province in Iran this month for protesting the dismissal of 350 workers from the Agh Dara gold mine." "Last month, a woman was publicly flogged for having sexual relations outside marriage," the statement pointed out. "While we do not have a reliable estimate on the use of flogging in the country, reports suggest that it is used regularly for a wide range of perceived offences.""We urge the Iranian authorities to cease the use of this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment," the UN human rights body added.

Iranian students threw a graduation dance party. It cost them 99 lashes each.
By Brian Murphy/Washington Post/Posted on May 27/16
It happens behind closed doors in Iran all the time: Young people get together to play music, flirt and generally relax, hidden away from hard-liners who definitely would not approve. Mostly, the parties wrap up without incident: the guys cleaning up any incriminating clues, the girls putting their headscarves back on. Then they all go their separate ways.This time, however, someone tipped off authorities that a group of students was throwing a bash to celebrate graduation. More than 30 were taken into custody. Their punishment: 99 lashes each. The report by Iran’s Mizan News Agency gave no details about the students, their ages, their school, or when the arrests took place. But it noted that lashings were carried out with almost unprecedented swiftness: within less than 24 hours after officials raided the villa on the outskirts of Qazvin, a small city about 80 miles northwest of Tehran.
[Iran’s moderates cement election gains in setback for hard-liners]
Such sentences have been an issue before — in October, two Iranian poets were sentenced to lashes and prison terms for shaking hands with the opposite sex at a literary event in Sweden — yet the speed of the students’ punishment suggests that authorities are being given even more leeway to enforce hard-line codes and send messages intended to put liberals on notice.For decades, Iran has been engaged in a such seesaw political duels. At times, the voices of reformists and others seeking better terms with the West seem to be on the rise — most recently with the election of moderate President Hassan Rouhani in 2013. The real power, however, has always rested with the ruling clerics and the guardians of the status quo. They include the powerful judiciary and the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which controls citizen-militia forces known as the Basij that often double as a morality police. Hard-liners now seem to be reasserting their stamp on affairs after last year's landmark nuclear deal with world powers. It can come in big doses, as occurred Thursday when Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on the Revolutionary Guard and other pillars of the establishment to stand against the “soft war” of Western political values and culture. On Tuesday, an arch-conservative and outspoken critic of the West, Ahmad Jannati, was elected to lead an 88-seat body, the Assembly of Experts, which will select the next supreme leader in the event of Khamenei’s death.
But smaller-level crackdowns, such as the party bust, can matter more to liberal Iranians who are constantly testing the boundaries of tolerance.
 

Iraq Forces Face Tough IS Resistance on Fringes of Fallujah
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/ Iraqi forces faced tough resistance from the Islamic State group Tuesday as they attempted to enter the center of Fallujah, where there were mounting fears for thousands of trapped civilians. A day after announcing a push into the jihadist bastion, forces led by Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service had some way to go before retaking the city. After thrusting toward Fallujah from three directions on Monday, their biggest advance was from the south, where they pushed into the suburb of Naimiyah. Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, the overall commander of the Fallujah operation, said IS fighters mounted a fierce counter-attack on the area early on Tuesday. "There were around 100 fighters involved, they came at us heavily armed but did not use car bombs or suicide bombers," he told AFP. Saadi said Iraqi forces in the area, which also include police and army units, were eventually able to repel the attack, killing 75 jihadists. He did not give a figure for losses on the pro-government side.Officers said U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi air support was instrumental in repelling the attack and added that ground forces had now resumed their advance. Fallujah, which lies on the Euphrates River west of Baghdad, was lost from government control months before IS swept across large parts of Iraq in June 2014 and is an emblematic bastion for the jihadist group. Iraqi forces have been sealing off Fallujah for months and those still in city -- IS fighters and civilians alike -- have nowhere to go. Anbar capital Ramadi was almost leveled when Iraqi forces retook it a few months ago but many more civilians -- most estimates say around 50,000 -- are trapped inside Fallujah. Humanitarian organizations, the Iraqi government itself and the country's most respected Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, have all appealed for the plight of civilians to be given the utmost care.
No safe exits
A Fallujah resident contacted by AFP by telephone said many civilians were now eager to see the security forces recapture the city but that there was fear of what the jihadists might do as defeat loomed. "There is some discontent among the people because we haven't seen the Iraqi forces enter the center yet," said the resident, who gave his name as Abu Mohammed al-Dulaimi. "Their treatment of the people is getting worse and worse every day. There is a feeling of panic among them it seems. "Daesh is angry because they don't feel supported and they have been seen insulting people on the streets, shouting things like: 'Cowards, you are not with us'," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS. "Yesterday, they were rounding up young men from several parts of the city -- we think maybe around 100 of them -- and taking them to an unknown location," he said. Officers in the Iraqi forces say IS has been forcibly recruiting men and ever younger boys to man its defense of Fallujah. A 40-year-old woman reached by NRC inside Fallujah painted a dire picture of the conditions. "The stocks in the hospitals are running low. There is no medicine for ordinary people. The doctor is affiliated with IS and he refuses to help ordinary people," the aid group quoted her as saying. "Instead of providing adequate treatment, doctors often simply amputate a patient's arms or legs if they are in pain. There are no anesthetics left in the hospitals." Thousands of civilians have escaped IS-controlled areas since the start of the operation to retake the city on May 22-23 but nearly all of them were from outlying areas. The 50,000 civilians still believed trapped in the city center would have to dodge booby-traps laid by IS to defend the city and incoming shelling from pro-government forces to reach safety. "Civilians are trapped inside the city of Fallujah as fighting intensifies. With every moment that passes, their need for safe exits becomes more critical," said the Norwegian Refugee Council's Iraq director, Nasr Muflahi. IS has come under mounting pressure on the battlefield in recent weeks, with Kurdish forces also gaining ground in the north in a two-day operation that wound up on Monday east of Mosul, the jihadists' other urban bastion in Iraq. On the back foot in Iraq, IS has tried to retain the initiative in neighboring Syria with an offensive against non-jihadist rebels in the north of Aleppo province along the Turkish border. That fighting too has trapped tens of thousands of civilians. "These people are now in a very small area of four by seven kilometers (two and a half miles by four and a half)," said Pablo Marco, regional head of Doctors Without Borders (MSF). "The situation is absolutely unsustainable and unacceptable for this population."

Taliban Kill 16 Bus Passengers in Northern Afghanistan
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/The Taliban killed at least 16 people and kidnapped dozens of others on Tuesday after pulling them from buses in northern Afghanistan, officials said, in the latest assault since the insurgents named a new leader last week. The Taliban have so far not commented on the incident in Aliabad district in the volatile province of Kunduz, where the insurgents briefly overran the provincial capital in a stunning military victory last year. "The Taliban shot dead 16 passengers and they are still holding more than 30 others," said Sayed Mahmood Danish, spokesman for the governor of Kunduz.
Police commander Shir Aziz Kamawal gave a death toll of 17. Around 200 passengers were travelling in the buses when they were stopped by the Taliban. "They (Taliban) have released some passengers but are holding many others. None of the passengers were wearing military uniform, but some may have been former police," he said. Residents of insurgency-prone Aliabad told Agence France Presse that the Taliban were holding an informal court in a local mosque, scrutinizing the ID documents of the passengers and interrogating them for any government links. Highways around Afghanistan passing through insurgency prone areas have become exceedingly dangerous, with the Taliban and other armed groups frequently kidnapping and killing travelers. Civilians are increasingly caught in the cross hairs of Afghanistan's worsening conflict as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive, launched last month against the Western-backed Kabul government. The Afghan Taliban last Wednesday announced Haibatullah Akhundzada as their new leader, elevating a low-profile religious figure in a swift power transition after officially confirming the death of Mullah Mansour in a US drone strike. The drone attack, the first known American assault on a top Afghan Taliban leader on Pakistani soil, sent shock waves through the insurgent movement, which had seen a resurgence under Mansour. He was killed just nine months after being formally appointed leader following a bitter power struggle upon confirmation of founder Mullah Omar's death. US President Barack Obama, who authorized the drone strikes, said Mansour had rejected efforts "to seriously engage in peace talks", asserting that direct negotiations with the Afghan government were the only way to end the attritional conflict.
The US killing of Mansour showed that Washington has at least for now abandoned hopes of reviving the direct peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban, which broke down last summer. Observers say Akhundzada, who is seen as more of a spiritual figurehead than a military commander, will emulate Mansour in shunning peace talks with the Afghan government.

U.N. Envoy Urges Libyans to Unite against IS
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/The U.N.'s special envoy on Libya called Tuesday on all the country's armed groups to unite against the Islamic State (IS) group. "The fight against Daesh, which is the number one enemy, must be a Libyan fight and a united fight," said Martin Kobler, using an Arabic acronym for IS, after meeting French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in Paris.He said the rival administrations that have established themselves since the fall of long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 should "unite their efforts" into a single army. "A national Libyan army must be put in place," agreed Ayrault, while accepting that this was still "a long way off.".The IS group has built a stronghold in Sirte, a city 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of Tripoli. Kobler and Ayrault reaffirmed their support for the U.N.-backed unity government set up in the capital two months ago. The unity government has military assets and the backing of key economic institutions, but is vehemently opposed by a rival administration in the east, which controls several militias and parts of the national army loyal to controversial General Khalifa Haftar.

Egypt Journalist Union Leaders to Face Trial
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/Three leading figures in Egypt's journalists' union will stand trial for allegedly harboring fugitive colleagues, a lawyer and prosecution officials said, amid condemnation from rights groups. The case follows an unprecedented raid on the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate on May 1 by police who arrested two reporters from an opposition website holding a sit-in inside. The Union's chief Yahiya Kallash, its secretary general Gamal Abd el-Rahim and freedoms committee head Khaled Elbalshy have been charged with aiding wanted fugitives, Elbalshy's lawyer said Tuesday. The three, who were released late Monday after more than 24 hours in detention, are also under investigation for "publishing false news," Karim Abdelrady said. The first trial hearing is scheduled for Saturday, according to the lawyer and prosecution officials who requested anonymity.
"The message is that no one is too big to be detained, nor too big to be silenced," Abdelrady said. Rights activists accuse President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of running an ultra-authoritarian regime that has violently suppressed all opposition since toppling Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Amnesty International denounced the arrests of leading union figures as "the most brazen attack on the media the country witnessed in decades."The case "signals a dangerous escalation of the Egyptian authorities' draconian clampdown on freedom of expression," said Amnesty's Magdalena Mughrabi. The two detained reporters for opposition website Babawet Yanayer, Amr Badr and Mahmud al-Sakka, are accused of incitement to protest in violation of the law. Union chief Kallash had denounced their arrests, telling a news conference earlier this month that Sisi's government was "escalating the war against journalism and journalists."

New Yemen Clashes Kill 38 Rebels, Loyalists
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/Renewed clashes between pro-government forces and Iran-backed rebels killed at least 38 people in Yemen during the past 24 hours, loyalist military sources said on Tuesday. The latest fighting comes despite an ongoing ceasefire and U.N.-brokered peace talks in Kuwait that began in April. Battles raged in Bayhan, on the border between Shabwa province in the south and Marib in the east. There was also fighting in Sarwah, an oil-rich area west of Marib, the sources said. At least 23 rebels and 15 soldiers were killed in both areas, the same sources said. Bayhan is the only part of Shabwa province still controlled by the Iran-backed rebels, who on Tuesday retook positions seized by loyalists during the past two days, the military sources said. Fierce fighting in Bayhan on Sunday claimed the lives of 48 fighters, a senior military officer has said. Meanwhile, media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that "sniper fire" from the Huthi rebels killed Yemeni journalist Abdullah Azizan while he was covering the clashes in Bayhan on Sunday. Azizan worked for the local marebpress.net news website. Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi are backed by a Saudi-led coalition that began a military campaign against the rebels in March 2015. Loyalists, backed by coalition firepower, managed to drive rebels out of Shabwa and four other southern provinces last summer. More than 6,400 people have been killed in Yemen since the coalition began its campaign against the rebels who have controlled the capital Sanaa since September 2014.

Bahrain Upholds Death Sentences for Attack on Police
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/A Bahraini appeals court Tuesday upheld death sentences for three Shiites convicted of killing three policemen in a bombing in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom in 2014, a judicial source said. The court also upheld life sentences for six other defendants convicted over what was the deadliest attack on security forces since a Shiite-led uprising was crushed in 2011. A seventh defendant previously sentenced to life in jail did not appeal because he remains at large, the judicial source said. A policeman from the United Arab Emirates was among the three officers killed in the Shiite village of Diah in March 2014. He was the first foreign officer killed since Saudi-led troops and police were deployed to Bahrain to support its crackdown on the Arab Spring-inspired protests.
Bahrain, which lies across the Gulf from Shiite Iran and is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, has been rocked by unrest since it quelled Shiite-led protests demanding political reforms in 2011. On Monday, a Bahraini court more than doubled the jail sentence against opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman, in a ruling his bloc warned risked stoking fresh unrest. The appeals court increased the sentence of the Shiite cleric on charges of inciting violence to nine years from the original four.

Germany Risks Turkey Wrath with Armenian Genocide Vote
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 31/16/Germany's parliament votes Thursday on a resolution that brands the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces as genocide, drawing a clear warning from Turkey's president that it would harm ties. Put forward by the ruling left-right coalition and the opposition Greens, the resolution entitled "Remembrance and commemoration of the genocide of Armenians and other Christian minorities in 1915 and 1916" also carries the contested word throughout the text. The vote comes just over a year after President Joachim Gauck became Germany's highest ranking official to describe the massacre as a "genocide", sparking a fierce response from Turkey. Its timing is also awkward, as Germany and the European Union need Ankara to help stem a migrant influx even as tensions are rising between both sides over a string of issues, including human rights. In a strong call against the Bundestag move, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "If (Germany) falls into such a game, that would harm our future ties -- the diplomatic, economic, political, commercial and military ties between the two countries.""I believe all of these would be reconsidered," he told reporters in the western province of Izmir, adding that he had also telephoned Chancellor Angela Merkel over the wording of the text. Merkel's Christian Democrats were instrumental in putting the resolution forward, and she herself could, as an elected MP, cast a vote.
'Partial responsibility'
Turkey and Armenia have long been at loggerheads over the World War I-era massacre.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart and have sought to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide. "It's about rendering historical justice, it's an obligation of the entire international community towards the memory of the victims of the genocide," Armenian foreign ministry spokesman, Tigran Balayan, told AFP. He added that recognition is "important for the prevention of genocides in future."Modern Turkey, the successor state to the Ottomans, rejects the claim, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops. More than 20 nations, including France and Russia, have recognized the Armenian genocide, but Germany has not. In direct reference to the atrocities against the Armenians, the resolution says: "Their fate exemplifies the mass exterminations, the ethnic cleansing, the expulsions and indeed the genocides that marked the 20th century in such a terrible way."It also states that the "German Empire bears partial responsibility for the events," a point that Gauck had also made last year.Germany was then allied with the Ottomans, and deployed soldiers who participated in the deportations of Armenians, Gauck had said.
Wrong path'
The issue is particularly sensitive in Germany, as it has special ties with Ankara not least due to its three-million-strong ethnic Turkish population which settled following a massive "guest worker" program in the 1960s and 1970s. Ahead of the vote, around 1,000 people marched Saturday in a protest organized by Turkish groups, which also sent letters to lawmakers to campaign against the vote. Kurds in Germany launched a counter-campaign, flooding Bundestag lawmakers with emails urging them to withstand Turkish pressure.Yet the vote is also controversial within party lines. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who a year ago rejected Gauck's use of the word "genocide", said Tuesday he hoped the Bundestag vote would not derail efforts to reconcile Turkey and Armenia. The German government's top official in charge of integration, Aydan Oezoguz, warned that it is the "wrong path" to take.
"Those who think that such a move would lead automatically to a rehabilitation in Turkey are wrong. Through this vote, that aim would be pushed further away."Nevertheless, party leaders shrugged off any potential impact on relations with Turkey. The aim is "not to put Turkey in the dock," Franz Josef Jung, who is the deputy chief of the Christian Democrats group in parliament, told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily. "We are not asking the Turkish government to admit its guilt in the genocide, but for it to recognise its historical responsibility."

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 31- June 01/16

Will Obama’s policy last after his term ends?
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al ASrabiya/May 31/16
The United States has for decades adopted a Middle East policy based on certain principles: rejecting Iran’s nuclear program, committing to Israel’s security, and providing stability to energy sources, namely Gulf oil. This is why Washington demanded that Iran halt its nuclear program and end its hostile foreign activities. These principles are based on one another, as Iran’s nuclear program threatens the security of Israel and the oil-rich Gulf region, which in turn threatens US interests. However, President Barack Obama’s policies have not harmonized with these principles - a viewed shared by many politicians in the Middle East. His adoption of a different policy came as a shock to the region, including the Gulf and Israel, which viewed the nuclear deal with Iran and setting it loose in the region as a dangerous change to the rules of the game. Obama was thus blamed for increasing violence and armament.
Does his policy express his vision of the world, or does it represent a strategic transformation in Washington? Obama has talked about this transformation more than once. He said his country no longer views the Middle East as important, and will prioritize its interests in the Pacific. Will the next US president walk Obama’s path, or will he or she go back to when Washington granted itself a bigger role in the Middle East? It will not be long before we find out, as Obama’s term ends in almost six months. He will hand his successor the presidency and all its files, including that of the Middle East, where four wars are raging simultaneously - that has not happened since World War II. The Obama administration killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, but terrorism has returned and spread more than before.Obama will leave his successor with many dangerous and unresolved affairs, which will force him or her to reactivate the US role in the Middle East
Influence
Although Obama has repeatedly said his policy is about exiting the Middle East’s wars and struggles, reality shows otherwise. Washington is leading a massive military alliance against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and has not stopped fighting Al-Qaeda in Yemen using drones. Reality states that the reasons for the U.S. presence in the region - oil, Israel and terrorism - have not changed. Obama said he was elected on his promise to get his country out of the Middle East’s wars. He ended the dispute with Iran, but at the expense of other principles. Tehran expanded its hostile political and military activities against US allies, gaining influence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. It would have gained influence in Yemen if not for the Saudi-led military intervention, which ended a coup that would have brought in a pro-Iranian government.
The next US president will be Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. It is difficult to know how Trump thinks, though his statements during his electoral campaign suggest that he will not commit to Obama’s policy, and is willing to reactivate the US role via a pragmatic partnership that serves his country’s interests. Clinton’s political stances show that she is willing to cooperate with Iran but with stricter conditions. By the time a new president is elected, the Middle East will have reached a more difficult phase. It seems the Syrian peace talks aim to just keep everyone busy with useless negotiations until Obama’s term ends. Iraq’s battles, in which Washington is playing a role against ISIS in Fallujah, and in which it may play a role against the group in Mosul, will not eliminate terrorist organizations. Therefore, Obama will leave his successor with many dangerous and unresolved affairs, which will force him or her to reactivate the US role in the Middle East.
This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on May 31, 2016.

India belongs to all
Khaled Almaeena/Al ASrabiya/May 31/16
Truly there has been a change in India over the past couple of years. The language of hatred and intolerance is on the rise. The minorities feel they are no longer a part of the fabric of this great country. It seems as if Gandhiji’s legacy is being buried. Murders, lynching and attacks over petty religious or social issues are on the rise. Political activists belonging to fascist organizations are arming their fanatical followers. Recent television footage shows thugs armed with rifles and machetes roaming among crowds at political rallies. Hate-filled organizations like the RSS and its equally rabid offshoots spew violence. They talk as if India belongs to them only. Churches have been burned, people who have allegedly eaten beef have been lynched, false encounters have been reported and innocent people jailed. Even Gandhi and Nehru are being reviled. However, the Indian Constitution stands firm promising equality and freedom to all. Among the minorities Muslims, Dalits and Christians have suffered the most and in that order. However, they should not feel aggrieved and resort to foolhardy tactics that will play into the hands of the fascist leaders of the RSS and other splinter organizations the majority of whose followers are illiterates. Muslims in India should not indulge in self-pity or grovel in mortification but shed victimhood and connect with the overwhelming majority of Hindus who are secular
Heritage
Muslims are part and parcel of India, its heritage and its political and economic history. So let them not be alarmed and be defensive. It is their home and they should have faith in their Constitution and political process and invest their hearts, souls and minds in India. These words were relayed to Muslims in America, who along with others are passing through a crisis of uncertainty, by Mike Ghouse an activist who focuses on tolerance and understanding. He is the Executive Director of the American Muslim Institution in Washington, DC. Muslims in India should not indulge in self-pity or grovel in mortification but shed victimhood and connect with the overwhelming majority of Hindus who are secular and want India to be in the forefront of the community of nations. They have to act and work hard and focus on education, raising awareness and instilling a sense of well-being in their community. In a secular society, nationhood comes first no matter what faith one belongs to. Muslims should inculcate the importance of inclusion and act and feel as one with all. They should also remain cool and calm in the face of provocations and not resort to violence. They should shun ignorant mullahs and self-serving politicians from their own ranks. Education is the key to success along with physical and mental well-being. Let them focus on that and ignore the current political rhetoric which if translated into action will only bring doom. The Constitution of India is a pillar of support. Let them use it. And remember that neither Muslims nor others of different faiths are minorities but are full-fledged citizens of a nation that can be an anchor of peace and prosperity. India belongs to all!
This article was first published in the Saudi Gazette on May 22, 2016.

The attack on the Egyptian Coptic woman
Diana Moukalled/Al ASrabiya/May 31/16
Last week’s incident in Egypt, in which a Muslim mob stripped an elderly Coptic Christian woman and paraded her naked on the streets, sparked the Twitter hashtag “Egypt stripped naked.”
An angry Egyptian woman tweeted: “They did not attack a Coptic woman but an Egyptian woman.” Another Twitter user responded: “What happened to her happened because she’s a Christian and not because she’s Egyptian.”
Dozens of people assaulted the Coptic woman due to an alleged affair between her son and a Muslim woman. Such attacks on women have happened before, but this cowardly attack has touched on a very sensitive topic considering its humanitarian and sectarian dimensions.
Media and politicians attempted to explain what happened by simplifying it, saying it was a mere family or personal dispute.
If the perpetrators of previous crimes have not been punished, why do we think such attacks will not be repeated?
Approach
This repugnant approach, which included statements by sheikhs and clergymen, complemented a policy of denial that solidifies the inability to address these violations.
This incident reminds us of similar ones, such as the attack a few years ago on a female journalist who was stripped, and the attack on a female activist who was stripped and dragged in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
The incident of the Coptic woman is not isolated, yet the media does not confront society’s deep defects, which are no longer a secret. The concern should be about the rights of all citizens, and punishing whoever spreads hatred.
If the perpetrators of previous crimes have not been punished, why do we think such attacks will not be repeated?
This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on May. 30, 2016.

The most agonizing wait in US history
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al ASrabiya/May 31/16
The 20th of January 2017 will witness the birth of the most influential person on earth, an individual chosen by American voters to be their new President, Commander-in-Chief and Leader of the Free World. The air is filled with excitement but also with dread in equal measure. The gestation period has been and is almost as long as an elephant’s and understandably so when this new born will have access to the nuclear button, command over the planet’s most powerful military and control over the largest economy whose ripples are capable of making or breaking others.
With eight months to go until the results are announced on the 5th January 2017, the world is pregnant with anticipation; more so this time because we live in one of the most tumultuous and violent eras in living history, fraught with conflicts, terrorism, burgeoning racism, global warming and social deviations now accepted – and even celebrated – as the norm.
The Doomsday Clock is ticking closer to midnight and some American religious leaders believe we are edging close to the Day of Judgment. Only the Creator in His wisdom knows when that day will come but Islam gives us 50 major and minor signs. These include the death of scholars, the prevailing of ignorance and the loss of trustworthiness when authority is given to people who do not deserve it.
At this crucial moment in time, America’s leadership and guidance are essential to maintain global security and stability. The US and the world needs a strong yet steady hand; someone willing to heal divisions within, battle against poverty and work in partnership with other nations to combat threats.
The US and the world needs a strong yet steady hand; someone willing to heal divisions within, battle against poverty and work in partnership with other nations to combat threats
Washington has been bereft of such a leader since the United States’ 42nd President Bill Clinton, who cultivated good relationships, created 10 million jobs and succeeded in turning his country’s deficit into a surplus. On the other hand, his successor George W. Bush squandered that surplus on wars of choice while President Barack Obama has been a divisive figure accused of leading from behind.
In essence, America, which has rarely been this politically and socially polarized, is in dire need of a unifier with the ability to coalesce the nation behind those values upon which America was founded, values which are in danger of being eroded by xenophobia combined with a misguided sense of nationalism, actively fuelled by one of these embryonic presidential hopefuls. The fear is that relationships between nations nurtured over centuries may be irrevocably destroyed or damaged.
Birth of a president
The parents of the one to be anointed are the 240 million Americans with the right to vote. The birth of a president rests in their hands. Will their combined DNA produce a saviour who will lead us into a new age of peace and prosperity or an egotistical ignoramus demonically stoking the fires of hatred, violence and discrimination bringing our planet close to ruination?
They have had ample time to study the ultrasound scans; they have x-rayed the qualities and faults of all three in the running but, unfortunately, the most likeable of the trio is being pushed aside by an unfair pre-natal system whereby nominees are tapped by party delegates rather than by popular vote.
The endgame is likely to be a contest between two lacking personal likeability or so polls suggest. To believe a saviour will emerge is, sadly, a stretch of the imagination at this stage, but as long as the one loose cannon is taken out of the picture, there is room for optimism.
Whoever wears the Oval Office crown will bring their imperfections to the table. Nevertheless, it is hoped that once in office, he or she will rise to the occasion or failing which will be deterred by the other arms of government as well as cabinet members and advisers from taking unwise steps. That is one of the main advantages of democracy. No single person holds all the cards.
Apart from my global concerns about America’s choice, I wish the best for the American people, many of whom rank among my closest friends. I am full of admiration for all that the United States has achieved in just about all fields and am grateful for its many gifts. Americans are rightly proud of their country and their flag and it is little wonder so many clamour to be part of what has been a magnificent inspirational success story.
America remains a multi-ethnic, multi-religious beacon of light for the dispossessed and the disenfranchised. It is an open society encouraging self-expression and self-fulfilment. God forbid it will ever transform into a forbidding fortress surrounded by high walls.
Americans, please do not be tempted to stray from the well-trodden path that has always served you well! Do not be lured by false promises! Refuse to become victims of fear-based politics! Stay true to yourselves and your love for each other, no matter of colour or creed. There is one thing that binds you all – your love for your great country. For these reasons and more, I pray that next January we will discover it is a girl.

London-Based 'Al-Sharq Al-Awsat': Lebanese Government Paying Salaries Of Hizbullah MPs, Ministers In Cash To Bypass Potential American Sanctions
MEMRI/May 31, 2016 Special Dispatch No.6452
On May 29, 2016, the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported on attempts by the Lebanese government to bypass the new U.S. sanctions recently imposed on Hizbullah. Citing Lebanese sources, including Hizbullah sources within the Lebanese parliament, the daily wrote that for the past two months the Lebanese finance ministry has been paying the salaries of Hizbullah ministers and MPs in cash in contrast to the payment method it uses when paying the country's other MPs and ministers. [1] It should be noted that Lebanese banks recently closed accounts of several Hizbullah ministers and MPs in compliance with the U.S. sanctions.
In December 2015, U.S. Congress passed the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act, aimed at curtailing the organization's funding of its domestic and international activities, and also at combatting its global criminal activities – including money laundering, drug trafficking, and human trafficking – by which it funds the terror operations that it carries out worldwide.[2] The law bars any "foreign financial institution" that engages in transactions with Hizbullah or with persons or bodies affiliated with it, or which provides them with financial services or launder money for them, from maintaining a relationship with the U.S. banking system. This means that any bank in the world, including in Lebanon, that provides financial services to the organization will be denied access to U.S. financial institutions – and thus to the global financial sector. The ramifications of this are far-reaching and can lead these banks to collapse. The law also imposes sanctions and penalties (fines, imprisonment or both) on individuals or bodies that violate its provisions. It came into effect on April 15, 2016, after the U.S. Treasury issued regulations for its implementation; the Treasury also published a list of some 100 bodies and figures associated with Hizbullah with whom financial institutions may not conduct dealings.[3]
A MEMRI report from May 17, 2016 reviewed Hizbullah's furious responses to these sanctions and its attempts to fight them by reaching understandings with the governor of Lebanon's central bank: As Lebanon's Banks Begin To Implement U.S. Sanctions Against Hizbullah, Hizbullah Criticizes Banking Sector, Warns Of Chaos In Lebanon And More 'Actions Against The American Takeover Plan'
U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary Daniel Glaser: The Law Does Not Distinguish Among Hizbullah Members It Applies Equally To MPs, Ministers
A delegation on behalf of the U.S. Treasury, headed by the Treasury assistant secretary for terrorist financing, Daniel Glaser, recently visited Beirut and met with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Al-Mustaqbal faction chair and former Lebanese prime minister Sa'd Al-Hariri, Finance Minister 'Ali Hassan Khalil, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and with the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) and central bank governor Riad Salameh. Glaser also met with Lebanese General Security chief 'Abbas Ibrahim, who is known for his ties with Hizbullah. A statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Beirut at the close of the visit stated that Glaser had encouraged the Lebanese authorities and banks to keep up their efforts to combat terrorist financing and prevent attempts to evade the U.S. sanctions.[4]
In an interview with the Lebanese LBC channel during his visit, Glaser expressed his confidence that central bank governor Salameh understands both the Lebanese financial system and the U.S. law, adding that Salameh has been an excellent and responsible partner. Glaser stated that the purpose of his visit was to discuss the implementation of the U.S. law, and stressed that the law was not meant to target the Shi'ite community or any other community in Lebanon, but only Hizbullah. Asked whether the sanctions would apply to Hizbullah ministers and MPs, Glaser said that the law does not "make a distinction between Hizbullah members. The law is very clear. If you engage knowingly in a significant financial transaction with Hizbullah, then you become subject to this law."[5] It was in this context that the daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat published the notice about the cash salary payments to Hizbullah ministers and MPs as mechanism to bypass any American sanction targeting them.
Hizbullah Furious At Central Bank Governor For Ignoring Its Demands
In this context, it should be noted that Hizbullah's relations with central bank governor Riad Salameh remain strained over the issue of the Lebanese banks' and the central bank's implementation of the U.S. law. On May 27, the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hizbullah, reported that the organization was furious with Salameh for the new instructions he had issued to Lebanese banks on May 26 regarding the manner of compliance with the U.S. law. These instructions revoked the authorization Salameh had granted the banks in early May to immediately close any suspicious bank account at their own discretion. Instead, the regulations require the banks to inform the central bank of their intention to close an account, and then allow 30 days for the central bank to oppose the move if it deems it necessary. On the face of it, Hizbullah should have been pleased with these new regulations, which are in line with its demand to prevent what it calls the arbitrary application of the law. However, according to Al-Akhbar, the organization is displeased because Salameh "ignored its two basic demands." The first demand was that the banks be explicitly required to allow 30 days for the central bank to review each request, with an option of a 30-day extension. The second demand was that the law be applied retroactively to all Hizbullah accounts that have been closed since April 2016, meaning that the central bank would reexamine the decision to close them. Salameh indeed disregarded these two demands, to Hizbullah's chagrin.[6]
Shi'ite Business Owners Feeling The Weight Of The Sanctions; Hizbullah May Direct Its Public To Boycott Lebanese Banks
The pro-Hizbullah dailies Al-Akhbar and Al-Safir noted recently that one of the options available to Hizbullah is to instruct the members of its public to boycott the banks – which according to Hizbullah are being overzealous in implementing the U.S. law – by withdrawing all their funds from them. According to Al-Safir, these bank accounts represent a 30-40% share of the economy. [7]
In the meantime, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports that Shi'ite business owners, especially in the Dahiya, a Hizbullah stronghold in south Beirut, are beginning to feel the weight of the sanctions. According to the daily, these dealers are questioned about every sum of money entering their accounts from abroad, and in many cases the transfer is refused, forcing them to rely on business partners, especially Christian ones.[8]
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), May 29, 2016.
[2] On Hizbullah's involvement in global drug trafficking, see MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1227, Hizbullah's International Drug Network Preoccupies Europe, February 9, 2016.
[3] Congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2297.
[4] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), may 29, 2016.
[5] Lbcgroup.tv, May 27, 2016; Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), May 28, 2016.
[6] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), May 27, 2016.
[7] Al-Safir (Lebanon), May 19, 2016; Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), May 18, 2016.
[8] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), May 29, 2016.

In Jordan, Criticism And Protests Following Constitutional Amendments Expanding King's Powers
By: Z. Harel/MEMRI/May 31/16/Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.1252
Introduction
On April 18, 2016, the Jordanian government passed amendments to the country's constitution that included an expansion of the king's powers to make appointments to top posts.[1] The amendments were ratified in a rush vote in both houses of parliament, and on May 4, a royal edict of approval was published.[2]
The amendments allow the king to make independent appointments, via royal edict and without the signatures of the prime minister and relevant ministers, to a number of top posts: crown prince, regent to act for the king when he is out of the country, chairman and members of the upper house of parliament (House of Senate), Judiciary Council chairman,[3] president and members of the Constitutional Court, and commanders of the army, military intelligence, and gendarmerie. It should be stressed that prior to these amendments, the prime minister and the relevant ministers had to sign off on all these appointments.[4] The amendments also cancelled the ban on ministers or MPs holding dual citizenship, and also extended the term of members of the lower house of parliament, the House of Representatives, to two years instead of one year.[5]
The constitutional amendments were much criticized by politicians and political activists in the kingdom, and also by newspaper columnists; one of the criticisms was that they were contrary to positions previously expressed by the king. Many argued that the amendments would create a situation where nobody would be held accountable for incompetence or misconduct by the appointed position-holders. Previously the government, which signed off on the appointments, was held accountable in such cases, but now the king would be solely responsible for the appointments, and Jordan's constitution stipulates that he cannot be held accountable for officials' actions.
Also criticized was the haste of the approval process, without any public discussion of the proposed amendments or in-depth examination of them in the parliament. This criticism was expressed also across social media, as well as at a handful of relatively minor demonstrations held in some areas of the country, at which, inter alia, some shouted condemnations of the king. On the other hand, senior Jordanian officials as well as articles in the government daily Al-Rai defended the move, and attempted to justify it and to portray it as a vital step that will help maintain the principle of separation of powers in the country and the independence of the judiciary, since the king will have the sole authority to appoint key officials in the judiciary and legislative branches, without the government's involvement.
It should be noted that this opposition comes against the backdrop of the Arab Spring demonstrations across the country in 2011-2012, led by the Islamist movement and popular movements and demanding political reforms that would include a reduction in the powers of the king and Jordan's transformation into a constitutional monarchy in which the king would be a mere figurehead. In the wake of those demonstrations, King Abdullah carried out a series of initial measures for reform, including 42 constitutional amendments, and even spoke about establishing a constitutional monarchy. He promised to promote additional reforms, including the establishment of a parliamentary government in which the leader of the largest party would be appointed prime minister. In 2012-2014, the king also published five discussion papers presenting principles of reform and democratization for the country, with the aim of encouraging a national discussion on the matter. One of the papers dealt with developing democracy and a transition to a parliamentary government, which the king envisioned as viable after the formation of pragmatic and influential political parties.[6] Critics of the amendments to expand the king's powers argued that they constituted regression from these royal discussion papers and that instead of promoting political reform in the country, they set it back.
This report will review the protests and criticism in the Jordanian public arena, social media, and press, of the expansion of the Jordanian king's powers as part of the constitutional amendments, and will also present the arguments in favor of the amendments among the political elite and by writers in the government daily Al-Rai.
Politicians, Citizens Protest Against Expansion Of King's Powers
Even before the passage of the constitutional amendments expanding the king's powers, opposition to them was being expressed. For example, at an April 18, 2016 debate in the House of Representatives, MP Rula Al-Hroob warned that the proposed amendments contradicted the fundamental principles of the constitution and changed the regime from a constitutional monarchy to an "absolute monarchy." She said that this was a "grave turning point."
MP and former justice minister 'Abd Al-Karim Al-Doghmi called on the king to demand that the government withdraw the proposal and pointed out that the constitution was sacred, not a regular law that could be changed any day. He stressed that expanding the king's powers would give rise to a problematic situation, because if it transpired that one of his appointees had overstepped their bounds, there would be a need to place the blame for this on the king. He noted that the constitutional amendments in 2014 had allowed the king to appoint the commander of the army and the head of military intelligence, and called for no further expansion of these powers beyond these exceptions. Al-Doghmi expressed opposition also to the clause allowing those in senior positions to maintain dual citizenship, and said that he would not sign the amendments even if all five of his fingers were cut off.[7]
Yet another MP, Mustapha Al-Shanikat, told the BBC in Arabic that the amendments would limit the parliament's authority to oversee the executive branch. He said that the amendments would take away the people's ability to make appointments to senior posts by means of parliament, so that no influence would remain in their hands at all.[8]
Also criticizing the expansion of the king's powers was the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). An announcement published April 24, 2016 by the Islamic Action Front, the political of the MB in Jordan, stated: "The amendments came as a surprise, rushed through without any real examination or political and social discussion on whether they are necessary. They will lead the country to absolute [monarchic] rule and to the establishment of a security mentality, and they constitute a regression from the ideas of reform that appeared in the king's discussion papers [published in 2012-2014], particularly in all things concerning the establishment of a parliamentary government with [real] authority. The amendments to the constitution abolish a large part of the powers of the government and make prime ministers into mere executive clerks. They aim to perpetuate the principle of absolute monarchy, while the king talks about constitutional monarchy and easing the burden he carries on his shoulders... We in the Islamic Action Front party demand that the House of Representatives not agree to these amendments, for the sake of the homeland and its people, as a sign of solidarity with our problems and our uniqueness, and for the sake of establishing the principle of separation of powers."[9]
Likewise, the MB journal Al-Sabil published a communique with 439 signatures, including those of former ministers and former MPs, opposing the constitutional amendments and arguing that they were unjustified. The signatories demanded that the amendments be withdrawn, and stated that they harmed the spirit of the constitution, which sets Jordan's rule as parliamentary-monarchic and hereditary, with the people being the source of authority.[10]
The topic was also hotly debated on social media, under the hashtag #Constitutional_Amendments. Opponents claimed that the king was reneging on the political reforms he had promised, and that the amendments constituted regression in the country's democratic ways.[11] Thus, for example, one tweet on the topic stated: "How can we accept the [country's] direction as being toward a parliamentary government, when the constitutional amendments set us back 100 years and render the constitution hollow[?]"[12]
The protest over the constitutional amendments was also expressed on the streets. On May 2, 2016, a handful of activists from the Al-Tafaila neighborhood of Amman gathered outside the royal office and demanded that the amendments be rescinded and the rule be restored to the people.[13] On May 6, 2016, broader protests took place in several places, including Al-Tafaila, Irbid and Jarash.[14] In Al-Tafaila, several dozens demonstrated in front of a mosque, calling on the government to revoke the constitutional amendments. Participants at the protests held signs with slogans harshly attacking the king, among them "Allah will hold the corrupt accountable, Allah will hold the oppressor accountable"; "Jordan is ours, and the corrupt will be expelled"; "Action will continue against the traitor"; and "The constitution is my right and yours, you have changed it solely for yourself." It should be mentioned that the website that reported on the protest and the slogans featured at it stated that it had refrained from showing some of the signs being carried, due to legal restrictions set by the publications law.[15]
"We oppose the king's exclusive rule" (image: allofjo.com, May 6, 2016)
"Is it not contradictory to grant the king central authority and absolve him of responsibility?!" (image: allofjo.com, May 6, 2016)
On May 6, 2016 in Irbid, a sit-down strike was held by the coordinating office of the popular movement outside the Al-Yarmouk University mosque, to oppose the constitutional amendments, and also to show solidarity with the residents of Aleppo, Syria, who are being bombed by the Syrian regime. The website Jo24.net reported that on the eve of the event, the Irbid governor met with members of the coordinating office and warned them that their event was illegal, but that they had gone ahead with the event, which according to the organizers was nonviolent. Security forces ultimately dispersed the demonstrators by force, and arrested former Islamic Action Front MP 'Ali Al-'Atoum and another party official, Na'im Al-Khasawneh, who had previously served as secretary of the coordinating office.[16] Following these events, the coordinating office issued a statement condemning the suppression of the protests and claiming that this showed "fear among decision-makers about activists' return to the streets aimed at causing the corrupt to lose sleep." The statement added that the voice of the popular movement was the voice of liberty that would not die and that would remain steadfast, even though its activity was marginalized and its members were arrested, and that it intended to continue nonviolent protests and actualize its constitutional right to express opinions.[17]
Jordanian Press Expresses Criticism Of Constitutional Amendments And How They Were Ratified
The Jordanian press also featured many articles critical of the amendments to the constitution and of the haste in which they were ratified, with no comprehensive parliamentary examination and no regard for public opinion. The articles also argued that the amendments run counter to positions that the king expressed in the past and require clarifications by state officials.
Former Foreign Minister: The Amendments Are Unnecessary And Damage A Fundamental Constitutional Principle
In his weekly column in the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad, former Jordanian foreign minister Marwan Al-Mu'asher argued that this expansion of the king's authority damages a fundamental constitutional principle. Amending the constitution, he said, requires national discourse and a close examination by both houses of parliament: "The government announced that it has ratified several amendments to the constitution, and sent them to parliament within less than two weeks, with no national discussion about them or even an attempt to explain the reasons requiring [them]...
"Since its establishment some 100 years ago, the Jordanian regime has been based on the principle that the king rules through his ministers, because the king's status and personality should serve as the general umbrella under which all citizens live, with the king as the protector of all, regardless of origin, opinion, religion, or gender. For 100 years, all Jordanian men and women agreed to this protection, and wanted [the king] to be immune to any responsibility for any policy, moves, or decisions – so it was agreed that full responsibility for these will rest with the governments that he appoints. This principle has become the foundation of the stability of the state and the regime, in the heart of a burning, unstable region.
"Nobody thinks that proposing these amendments serves the king. The claim that they were meant to strengthen the separation of powers is likewise unpersuasive. We all know that the appointment of commanders of the military, intelligence, gendarmerie, and others was never carried out without the king's choice or approval [anyway]. However, the changing of the rules of the game and the damaging of the principle of the king's rule via his ministers constitute a precedent regarding the most important article of the constitution – which is meant to preserve the stability of the state.
"Another point that cannot be ignored is that the Jordanian constitution is not sacred... Developments in every country require that the constitution be reexamined from time to time. However, the constitution also expresses a social pact between the state and the citizen. Amending it requires dialogue on the national level, and a reasonable time frame, during which the amendments are examined with the discretion of both houses of parliament, people are consulted and the reasons for [this move] are explained... However, when three [series of] amendments to the constitution are ratified within five years, without any true national discourse or comprehensive discussion in or out of parliament, harm could come to the honor of the constitution..."[18]
Senior Journalist: The Way In Which The Amendments Were Ratified – Hastily And Without A Public Debate Or An Explanation Of Their Necessity – Was Wrong
Fahed Al-Khitan, a senior writer for Al-Ghad, criticized the fact that the amendments were ratified hastily, and in the absence of any public debate on the matter or any explanation regarding their necessity and purpose. He said that even if these amendments were vital and part of the process of reforms of which the king has spoken in recent years, they should have been explained to the public, in order to create political backing for them. He wrote: "The discourse regarding the constitutional amendments has [thus far] taken place quietly, in small circles, and no one knew exactly what kind of amendments were to be ratified and when... Ultimately, the government presented the amendments two days ago, and then rushed them to parliament...
"However, when constitutional amendments are at stake, it seems that not enough was done to explain a move of this magnitude and importance in order to create political backing for these proposed amendments – [backing that] could place them in the context of the plan of reforms that was adopted by the state and comprehensively discussed in King Abdullah II's discussion papers.
"The brief and general answers we heard from the government in parliament are insufficient. Some questions require broader, more detailed answers. For example: Are the amendments concerning the king's power to make appointments a move towards granting more constitutional authority to parliament in selecting a prime minister? Senate President Faisal Al-Fayez, who is close to decision-making circles, hinted at this yesterday when he said that the constitutional amendments pave the way for [Jordan to transition to a system of] parliamentary governments [meaning a government and prime minister selected by the parliamentary majority]...
"Some claimed yesterday that the constitutional amendments contradict the philosophy expressed in the king's discussion papers. These statements seem highly inaccurate, but there is no way around conducting a public debate in order to clarify this matter... Disregarding public opinion and expert commentary is a mistake.
"In my opinion, we can still ensure political backing for this set of constitutional amendments. [To this end,] the important thing is for officials break to their silence and issue a comprehensive statement to the public, that will place the proposed amendments in their objective context, and outline, even in draft form, the features of the coming stage."[19]
Article In Muslim Brotherhood Journal: Constitutional Amendments Are Unnecessary; The King Actualized His Powers Of Appointment Without Them Just Fine
The head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) in Jordan, the attorney Hani Al-Dahleh, wrote in the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood (MB) journal Al-Sabil that the constitutional amendments regarding the king's powers would not change the current situation, since the king was effectively in charge of appointments anyway. He wondered, for example, whether the amendments would allow an appeal of a royal appointment of a particular functionary, and argued that they constituted unnecessary obsequiousness: "The Jordanian constitution states that the country's system of governance is parliamentary-monarchic – meaning that the constitution prioritized parliamentary rule over monarchic rule, thus cementing the crucial principles of a rule of the people, by the people, and for the people...
"The language of the first Jordanian constitution in 1951 explicitly required several guarantees of the separation of powers, and it determined that the king reigned but did not rule. [The first constitution gave] the executive branch the actual power to manage governance, which included: drafting law proposals, establishing institutions, and taking all necessary steps to enable the citizens to live in good health, complete liberty, and with a reasonable income. However, all subsequent governments relinquished this status and all their powers, one by one. Thus, the situation and regime in the country changed to the point that the government is merely a display window [for the king], and its role comes down to signing resolutions that it receives fully prepared...
"Granting the king the power to appoint the heads of the military, security [apparatuses], intelligence, and civil defense [sic][20] is simply the old system with a new name, since he had [already] been doing this for decades, along with the signature of a minister or the consent of the government [as the constitution had required prior to these amendments]. [But the former] situation was better than appointments [made solely by the king] without the signature of any official. This is because if anyone wishes to appeal one of these appointments in court, who will he sue? Will he state [in his appeal] that the defendant [i.e. the king] erred or misused his authority...?
"These amendments are unnecessary, since they are a form of obsequiousness to the king that he does not require, since he has always exercised these powers..."[21]
Political Elites, Writers In Official Daily Al-Rai Fight Back Against Criticism
Jordan's political elites attempted to fight back against the criticism of the constitutional amendments and the process involved in their ratification, as well as to explain the background to them and why they were needed. Additionally, the official daily Al-Rai even published a series of articles by Jordanian officials arguing against those opposing the move, and stating that the amendments were vital and would strengthen the separation of powers in the country, and the independence of the judiciary.
Jordanian Officials: The Amendments Are Part Of Political Reforms For The Benefit Of The National Interest, And Will Strengthen Separation Of Powers
During the session of the senate's legal committee discussing the amendments, Senate President Faisal Al-Fayez addressed the public criticism of them. He called the amendments part of widespread political reforms for the benefit of the national interest and the greater good, which obligate Jordan to continue to be strong on the political, security, and constitutional levels, and also obligate the king to continue to be strong with the backing of the constitution. The amendments, he said, attest to the fact that Jordan is marching towards political reforms that will facilitate the establishment of a parliamentary-partisan government, that is, a government headed by the leader of the biggest party in parliament, in accordance with the king's discussion papers. He highlighted the successful political reforms in Morocco, which included constitutional amendments expanding the king's authority, that eventually led to the establishment of a parliamentary government.
Al-Fayez argued further in defense of the move that the amendments stemmed from the king's aspiration to keep the security and military establishment away from political bias, and that they would help establish the independence of the judiciary. Addressing claims that the amendments harmed the constitution, he noted that, conversely, some say that they not only not contradict the constitution, but actually are in line with its spirit, and frame it as a guarantee for the future of political life in Jordan and the strengthening of its separation of powers. He stressed that the sole authority granted to the king to appoint officials without ministerial approval did not absolve the ministers of responsibility, since ultimately the executive branch is the general authority, and therefore its responsibility remains the same. Finally, he said, there are opinions for and against the constitutional amendments, but ultimately the majority would decide, as that is the democratic way.[22]
At the senate session ratifying the amendments, former prime minister 'Abdallah Ensour (whose government was recently dissolved) called them a progressive reformist measure aimed at balancing the separation of powers such that the executive branch would be removed from the process of appointments in the legislative and judicial branches. Similarly, 'Atef Al-Tarawneh, speaker of the House of Representatives, said at a meeting with a delegation of parliamentary aides to U.S. Congressmen that the constitutional amendments had granted full independence to the judiciary.[23]
The government daily Al-Rai also rallied to the defense of the constitutional amendments, publishing numerous articles, including by Jordanian officials, which presented them in a positive light. Former Jordanian information minister Saleh Al-Qallab wrote in the daily: "Popular and societal necessity might sometimes require that there be more than one constitutional amendment within a year, and perhaps even within a month. It is true that we must preserve the stability of the constitution as much as possible, but its 'sanctity' cannot become a burden to public life and to the needs of the state, the people, and society – because it is they that constitute the metric for the necessity of constitutional amendments."[24]
Former interior minister Hussein Hazza' Al-Majali wrote: "The constitutional amendments could be explained as the king's ambition to establish the principle of a parliamentary government, and therefore could be viewed a true guarantee that the appointment of officials will not be subject to political, partisan, or regional struggles... From this perspective, we can see the constitutional amendments in a positive light, based on the fact that the security establishment and the judiciary will not influence politics or be influenced by it... The king represents a balanced, objective position that is devoid of the machinations of politics, which often involve partisan political bias."[25]
Deputy head of the foreign affairs committee in parliament, Hayel Wad'an Al-Da'aja, rejected criticism of the expansion of the king's authority, claiming that the Jordanian regime was not parliamentary, and that the constitution already grants the king widespread authority. He wrote: "Some believe that every country with a parliament has a parliamentary regime, regardless of the actual nature of its political structure... This does not apply to the Jordanian political regime, since the constitution has granted the king widespread authority: He is the head of state and is protected from being held responsible in accordance with Article 30 of the constitution... These authorities granted to the king prove that Jordan's political regime is far from the parliamentary system, in which the president has no practical political and constitutional authorities, since in a parliamentary regime, the person with the ultimate executive authority is the prime minister. This, while the Jordanian constitution grants the king all the authorities granted to a president in a mixed presidential-parliamentary regime [like the one] in France, as well as legislative authority and legislative veto authority granted to the head of state in a presidential regime [like the one] in the U.S. This indicates that the king's constitutional authorities prevent constitutional and political crises erupting among state institutions due to contradictory political desires."[26]
* Z. Harel is a research fellow at MEMRI
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Rai (Jordan), April 18, 2016.
[2] Al-Rai (Jordan), May 5, 2016.
[3] The Judiciary Council heads the Jordanian judiciary authority, and oversees the entire judicial system.
[4] In effect, the 2014 constitutional amendments gave the king the sole authority to appoint the commanders of the army and military intelligence, and the recent amendments expanded those powers to the appointment of other officials. Aljazeera.net, April 19, 2016.
[5] Al-Rai (Jordan), May 3, 2016.
[6] Kingabdullah.jo/index.php/en_US/pages/view/id/248.html.
[7] Alanbatnews.net, April 19, 2016.
[8] BBC.com/arabic, April 27, 2016.
[9] Albosala.com, April 24, 2016.
[10] Al-Sabil (Jordan), April 24, 2016.
[11] Aljazeera.net, April 20, 2016.
[12] Twitter.com/amjadmalawneh, April 20, 2016.
[13] Allofjo.net, May 2, 2016.
[14] Al-Sabil (Jordan), May 6, 2016.
[15] Albalqatoday.com, May 4, 2016; allofjo.net, May 6, 2016.
[16] Jo24.net, May 6, 2016.
[17] Al-Sabil (Jordan), May 6, 2016.
[18] Al-Ghad (Jordan), April 27, 2016.
[19] Al-Ghad (Jordan), April 21, 2016.
[20] Contrary to Al-Dahleh's claim, the amendments do not grant the king the authority to appoint military and security figures other than the commanders of the army, military intelligence, and gendarmerie.
[21] Al-Sabil (Jordan), April 25, 2016.
[22] Al-Ghad (Jordan), April 28, 2016.
[23] Al-Rai (Jordan), May 3, 2016.
[24] Al-Rai (Jordan), April 24, 2016.
[25] Al-Rai (Jordan), April 26, 2016.
[26] Al-Rai (Jordan), May 2, 2016.

Qatar: The World's Wealthiest Family-Run Gas Station
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/May 31/16/
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8128/qatar-laborers-refugees
Many people describe Qatar's treatment of expatriate laborers on World Cup sites as "modern day slavery." Some 1,200 workers have already died and, according to warnings, up to 4,000 could perish before World Cup begins.
"The fact that thousands must die to build 12 fine stadiums for us has nothing to do with football," said William Kvist of the Danish national team.
"We are committed to helping the destitute," said Hamad bin Nasser al-Thani of Qatar's royal family, who is chairman of the Doha-based Qatar Charity. How nice!
Why not promote "Islamic values" by taking in even just a few thousand Syrian refugees, instead of praising Turkey for taking in nearly three million Syrian Muslim refugees and praising it for promoting "Islamic values?"
The proud Gulf state of Qatar boasts human habitation dating back to 50,000 years ago. It may not be the only country across the world with such an impressive historical habitation story. But what makes it unique is its skillfully planned preservation tradition, particularly its persistent touch on medieval, not ancient, history.
Qatar is the world's wealthiest country, or more of a family-run gas station. It boasts abiding by various aspects of the sharia (Islamic religious law), which, according to its constitution, it considers the main source of its legislation. In Qatar, flogging and stoning are legal forms of punishment. Apostasy (leaving Islam) is a crime punishable by the death penalty.
The Qataris, not knowing that their grandchildren would one day be the best strategic allies of their Ottoman colonialists' grandchildren, fought the Ottomans to gain their independence in 1915, ending the 44-year-long Ottoman rule in the peninsula. Independence came at last, and lasted for about a year -- until 1916, when Qatar became a British protectorate, retaining that status until 1971.
Apparently Qatar, along with England, is the cradle of football, as evinced by the fact that it will host the 2022 World Cup at dazzling stadiums, one of which some people tend to liken to a vagina.
"Modern day slavery" is the way many people describe Qatar's treatment of expatriate laborers on World Cup sites. "The fact that thousands must die to build 12 fine stadiums for us has nothing to do with football," said William Kvist of the Danish national team. Some 1,200 workers have already died and, according to warnings, up to 4,000 could perish before World Cup begins.
The family of a Nepalese worker, who died in Qatar while working on a football stadium site, prepares to bury him in Nepal. Foreign laborers in Qatar work in dangerous conditions, and Nepalese laborers alone die at the rate of one every two days. (Image source: Guardian video screenshot)
But there is something phenomenally weird about the world's wealthiest country -- and its Turkish allies. And it is not just about the fact that this Sharia-ruled Sheikdom has been trying to bring "democracy" to Egypt and Syria, nor about the fact that Qatar's best regional allies, Islamist Turks, recently built a military base in the Gulf state, hoping to bolster a Sunni war against the "heretic" Shiite.
Recently, Hamad bin Nasser al-Thani -- apparently a lucky chap from the royal family, as his name might attest (Hamad means Praised One, Nasser means Victory) -- chairman of the Doha-based Qatar Charity, praised Turkey for taking in millions of refugees from across the region -- he must have meant the Syrians; Turkey has not taken in millions of refugees from other countries in the region. Al-Thani also praised Turkey's "promotion of Islamic values," adding that "We [Qatar] are committed to helping the destitute."
How nice!
According to a 2013 census, Qatar's total population is 1.8 million, of which 278,000, or barely 15% are "Qataris." What a colorful, heterogeneous and cosmopolitan life the world's wealthiest country should be offering to its inhabitants. Right?
According to the 2013 census, the largest number of expatriates living in Qatar are Indians (543,000), followed by the Nepalese (341,000), Filipinos (185,000), Bangladeshis (137,000), Sri Lankans (100,000) and Pakistanis (90,000).
By that account, Muslim expatriates roughly account for 15% of all expatriates allowed as residents with working permits in Qatar, or slightly more than 12% of the entire population of the world's wealthiest country.
How many Syrians among them? The statistics do not tell: there are just too few to mention. All the same, the Qataris praise Turkey's promotion of "Islamic values" -- whatever those are. Why not promote "Islamic values" by taking in even just a few thousand -- forget hundreds of thousands -- of Syrian refugees, instead of praising Turkey for taking in nearly three million Syrian Muslim refugees and praising it for promoting "Islamic values?"
**Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Iran: Ayatollah Khamenei Plans Next Supreme Leader
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/May 31/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8171/iran-next-leader
Since Khamenei took power in 1989, he has shown no deviation from Khomeini's revolutionary ideologies. Opposing the United States, "the Great Satan," and the rejection of Israel's existence are two of the most critical pillars of Iran's revolutionary ideals -- what defines the raison d'être of the Iranian regime, as well as what shapes Khamenei's ideological and foreign policy.
Other revolutionary core values that Khamenei desires the next supreme leader to hold include supporting Palestinian and Lebanese armed groups against Israel, maintaining Iran's nuclear program, and being the supreme leader of the entire Islamic world -- not only the leader of the Shiites. Khamenei's official website refers to him as "the Supreme Leader of Muslims," not the Supreme Leader of "Iran."
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the past did not seem to wish to discuss topics linked to his successor -- -- the next Supreme Leader. Nevertheless, recently the trend has altered. Khamenei has begun dictating his policies, preferences, and priorities in what kind of Supreme Leader he would rather the Iranian regime have, and who, after his death, the Assembly of Experts ought to choose.
In a recent meeting, the 76-year-old Ayatollah Khamenei met with some members of the Assembly of Experts, and pointed out that "a supreme leader has to be a revolutionary" and he advised that members not to "be bashful" in selecting the next Supreme Leader.
Iran's constitution yields the Supreme Leader the greatest authority in the country. The Supreme Leader is the single most crucial figure, the highest-ranking political and religious authority in Iran. He directly or indirectly controls the three branches of the government; the judiciary, the legislature and the executive branch.
But what does a "revolutionary" exactly mean to Khamenei? From Khamenei's perspective, a revolutionary supreme leader would be someone who forcefully pursues the ideological principles of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, and the core ideals of Iran's 1979 Revolution.
Since Khamenei took power in 1989, he has shown no deviation from Khomeini's revolutionary ideologies. Opposing the United States, "the Great Satan," and the rejection of Israel's existence are two of the most critical pillars of Iran's revolutionary ideals -- what defines the raison d'être of the Iranian regime, as well as what shapes Khamenei's ideological and foreign policy.
Who's next? Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (left) founded the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. He hand-picked Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right) as his successor for Supreme Leader. Now Khamenei seems to be setting the stage to choose his own successor.
Khamenei believes that Iran would lose its Islamic character, its legitimacy, its appeal among its supporters and the essence of its revolution, as well as endanger the survival of its theocratic political establishment. if it were to shift its stance and its policies towards the U.S. and Israel.
Khamenei is the second longest-ruling autocrat in the region. For him, his adherence to these revolutionary ideals are the real reasons behind his success in ruling for more than two decades. In addition, he sees that these are the underlying factors that made his regime immune from powerful opposition, popular uprisings and revolutions such as those in other countries in the region.
Other revolutionary core values that Khamenei desires the next supreme leader to hold include supporting Palestinian and Lebanese armed groups against Israel, maintaining Iran's nuclear program, and being the vanguard of Islam and the supreme leader of the entire Islamic world -- not only the leader of the Shiites. Khamenei's official website refers to him as "the Supreme Leader of Muslims," not the Supreme Leader of "Iran."
Iran's domestic and foreign policy is anchored in the three pillars of preserving the revolutionary ideology, national interests (regarding economic, strategic and geopolitical spheres) and Iranian nationalism. Khamenei is a firm advocate of prioritizing ideological norms over the other two backbones of the regime.
Khamenei is playing the same game that was played when he was chosen as the Supreme Leader. In this video, one can see how the former president and founder of the Iranian regime, Akbar Rafsanjani, and Ayatollah Khomeini chose Khamenei as the next Supreme Leader.
Unlike what the mainstream media depicts, the Assembly of Experts will not play a crucial role in determining who will be the successor to Khamenei. The Assembly of Experts is a ceremonial political body, with 86 members, who are said to determine the country's next supreme leader.
It is important to point out that the Assembly of Experts is mainly a rubber-stamp organization; its 86 members were already vetted by the subjective decisions of the hardline political body; the Council of Guardians. The twelve members of the Council of Guardians are appointed directly by the Supreme Leader (six members), and indirectly (nominated by the head of the judiciary and appointed by the Supreme Leader).
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a hardline branch of the military that was once the child of Iran's Islamic revolution and has since been transformed into the "Big Brother" of the Iranian regime, is another extremist organization that is acting hand-in-hand with Khamenei to choose the next Supreme Leader behind closed doors.
Khamenei's efforts to direct the decision of the Assembly of Experts does not reflect the notion that he is concerned that this political body might elect a disqualified person as the next Supreme Leader.
Instead, Khamenei's latest remarks highlight the notion that he and the senior cadre of the IRGC are setting the stage to elevate their favorite choice for the next Supreme Leader of the Iranian regime.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, an Iranian-American political scientist and Harvard University scholar, is president of the International American Council. He can be reached at Dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu or followed at @Dr_Rafizadeh
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.