llLCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

May 25/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.may25.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 15/09-14:"As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you."

‘Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard
Acts of the Apostles 04/13-22:"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. So they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another. They said, ‘What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.’After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old."

Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
God can fill our hearts with his love and help us continue our journey together towards the land of freedom and life.
Seul Dieu peut remplir nos cœurs de son amour, et nous permettre de continuer à marcher ensemble vers la Terre de la liberté et de la vie.
بإمكان الله أن يملأ بمحبته قلوبنا ويسمح لنا بأن نسير معًا نحو أرض الحريّة والحياة

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 24- 25/16

Iran’s Soleimani leads US-backed attack on Fallujah/DEBKAfile Exclusive Report May 24/16
Palestinian Authority PM: Netanyahu buying time to avoid peace deal/Jerusalem Post/May 24/16
Ghannouchi and Separating Religion From Politics/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Al Arabia/May 24/16
Turkish Sultan's New Grand Vizier: What Is His Main Goal/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/May 24/16
Austrian Freedom Party: Victory in Defeat/Austrian Presidential Elections Reveal Deeply Divided Country/Soeren Kern//Gatestone Institute/May 24/16
Canada/My First Hizb-ut-Tahrir Conference/by Z/ Gatestone Institute/ May 24/16
The demise of the ‘caliphate’s capital’/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Aabiya/May 24/16
Netanyahu, Lieberman deal meant to derail French plan/Daoud Kuttab/Al Aabiya/May 24/16
How to prevent the collapse of Egyptian tourism/Faisal J. Abbas/Al Aabiya/May 24/16
EgyptAir crash exposes a reckless and impulsive Donald Trump/Joyce Karam/Al Aabiya/May 24/16
44th martyrdom anniversary of People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) founders in IranNCRI/24 May/16

Titles Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 24- 25/16

Change and Reform Demands Adoption of Orthodox Electoral Law for Parliamentary Polls
Report: Ibrahim Not Certain Security Situation Will Stay Stable
Tensions Soar in Bekaa after Slain Soldier's Father Kills 'Abou Taqiyeh' Nephew
Jones Meets Hariri, Deems Berri Proposal as 'Interesting'
U.S. Embassy Sponsors Lebanon-U.S. Terrorist Designations Workshop with the Central Bank
Lebanese Army Arrests IS Suspect in Arsal
Qahwaji Vows Efforts to Release Kidnapped Soldiers
North Prepares for Lebanon's Last Round of Municipal Elections
U.N. Chief Lauds Municipal Vote, Urges Lebanese Leaders to Elect President
Army Defuses Grenade Put under Car of Palestinian Official's Son
Mustaqbal on Hujeiri Killing: Ugly Vengeance Won't Return Martyr Soldiers
Change and Reform Demands Adoption of Orthodox Electoral Law for Parliamentary Polls
The deadly reality of ‘celebratory’ gunfire
MP Sami Gemayel: to fight mafias, corruption in Lebanon
Jreij follows up with Nilesat Board Chairman Jouret el Ballout transmission issue
Bassil touts Orthodox election law as providing parity
Berri, Hariri discuss latest developments
Jones from Center House: Lebanese must find solution to presidential crisis

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 24- 25/16

Kurdish-Arab Forces Announce Anti-IS Offensive North of Syria's Raqa
Civilians Trapped as Iraq Forces Close in on Fallujah
Report: Syrian Base Used by Russia Damaged in IS
U.S. and Russia Scramble to Save Syria Truce
Hardliner Elected Head of Key Iran Oversight Body
Iran Sends New Delegation to Saudi for Hajj Talks
Israel PM's Travel Expenses under Scrutiny
Saudi Executed for Murder
Turkey’s Erdogan approves new government led by ally
UAE residents call for execution of Sharjah child murderer
Emirati teen gets prison sentence for joining ISIS in Syria
Be vigilant, Saudi tourists visiting foreign countries warned
Forensics chief denies EgyptAir blast claims
Saudi border guard killed, three wounded in mine blast
Syrian Kurds open unofficial representative mission in Paris
Kerry urges Lavrov to press for end of Syrian bombing of opposition
Saudi Crown Prince meets Libyan prime minister
GCC, Canada to cooperate in anti-ISIS fight
Greece starts evacuating migrant border camp
Hillary Clinton declines final debate with Bernie Sanders
Dutch MPs vote to strip terrorists of dual nationality
European leaders call for ‘immediate’ peace in Ukraine
Iranian Resistance’s call to save political prisoners on hunger strike
Iran political prisoner’s health deteriorates on Day 26 of hunger strike
IRAN: Wages of 1000 workers of Persian Gulf Star Refinery remain unpaid
60 percent recession in Iran’s industrial sector

Links From Jihad Watch Site for May 24- 25/16
UK: Muslim chef with bottle covered in fecal matter in kitchen “didn’t use toilet paper for cultural reasons”
UK: Muslim NHS doctor leaves family to join the Islamic State
Leftist “philosopher”: “There are among refugees also terrorists, rapists, criminals…but so what?”
Bronx: Muslim with large knife collection and beheading videos charged with aiding the Islamic State
After high-speed chase, Somali Muslim tries to run over border agents in southern Arizona
Kansas: Convert to Islam pleads guilty to helping foiled Islamic State bomb plot at U.S. military base
Video: Robert Spencer on Hamas-linked CAIR’s promotion of hate crime hoaxes
Video: Portland State University students pledge money to fund Hamas bombings of Israeli schools, hospitals, synagogues
Robert Spencer in FrontPage: Pope Embraces Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar
Raymond Ibrahim on Rebel Media: “Christians Are the MOST Persecuted People on Earth”
Iran: “We will raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes”

Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 24- 25/16

Change and Reform Demands Adoption of Orthodox Electoral Law for Parliamentary Polls
Naharnet/May 24/16/The Change and Reform bloc demanded on Tuesday that an electoral law that offers fair representation be adopted during the parliamentary elections. Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil said after the bloc's weekly meeting: “We stress our constant support for the Orthodox Gathering electoral law, which has not been given a chance by officials.”This law offers just representation, but it seems that some sides don't want this, he added without elaborating. Bassil also congratulated Amal Abou Zeid on his success in Sunday's parliamentary by-elections that were held in Jezzine. The official is backed by Bassil's Free Patriotic Movement. The minister hoped that the by-elections and the municipal polls will pave the way to staging the parliamentary ones in the future. Speaker Nabih Berri had last week made a proposal aimed at ending the political impasse in Lebanon. It calls for shortening the term of the current parliament and staging the parliamentary polls and later the presidential ones. The parliamentary elections would be held based on the proportionality electoral law. Should the political powers fail to agree on this law, then the 1960 one would be used. This law was adopted in the 2009 elections.The package deal also calls for electing a new parliament speaker and bureau and forming a national unity government.

Report: Ibrahim Not Certain Security Situation Will Stay Stable
Naharnet/May 24/16/General Security chief Major Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said on Tuesday that he "cannot be certain" that Lebanon will maintain a stable security situation, taking into consideration the inflamed developments in the region, al-Joumhouria daily reported. “If there hadn’t been constant threats, I wouldn’t have visited Washington where I held several meetings with security officials,” said Ibrahim in an interview with the daily. He pointed out that he met in Washington with President Barack Obama, CIA Director John Brennan, and senior adviser for the Counter-Islamic State Campaign in Iraq and Syria, Rob Malley. Ibrahim added that the coordination between the Lebanese and American security apparatuses have become "very advanced, which falls in the interest of Lebanon."He concluded that the meetings in the U.S. will continue in order to follow up on the results that have been reached so far. Last week, Ibrahim paid an official visit to the United States where he met senior American security officials. Details of the visit were not disclosed.

Tensions Soar in Bekaa after Slain Soldier's Father Kills 'Abou Taqiyeh' Nephew
Naharnet/May 24/16/The body of Mohammed al-Hujeiri, who was kidnapped Tuesday, was found in a cemetery in the eastern city of Baalbek, the National News Agency reported. Unknown assailants kidnapped al-Hujeiri Tuesday morning from the city of Baalbek and took him to an unknown destination, NNA said. The father of slain soldier Mohammed Hamieh later told al-Jadeed television that he was behind the murder in an act of revenge for his son. “I will not rest until I have 'Abou Taqiyeh's' head,” he vowed. “I am abiding by the law and my son's blood will not go to waste,” he declared. Hujeiri's corpse was found on Hamieh's gravestone in the Tarayya cemetery north of Baalbek. Mohammed is the nephew of fugitive Islamist cleric Mustafa al-Hujeiri, also known as "Abou Taqiyeh". Tension spiked in the region soon after the news of the kidnapping and murder broke out and armed men were seen deployed in Arsal. The army took precautionary measures and deployed in the area to control the situation. It carried out raids and searched houses in Baalbek and arrested Hussein Tleis on suspicion of involvement in the murder. Arsal municipal chief Bassel al-Hujeiri condemned the incident, saying it is a crime “in every meaning of the word.” He urged for restraint and calm and for allowing the security forces to perform their duties. He denied the emergence of armed gunmen in the town, saying that residents condemned the murder. Civil Defense teams transported the Mohammed al-Hujeiri's body from Tarayya to his family in Arsal. In October 2014, an indictment and arrest warrant were issued against "Abou Taqiyeh" on charges of belonging to the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front with the aim of carrying out terrorist acts. Hamieh was executed by al-Nusra Front in 2014. He was among troops who were abducted during deadly clashes in early August 2014 between the army and Nusra and Islamic State gunmen in and around Arsal. Nineteen troops were killed in the fighting as 35 soldiers and policemen were taken hostage. The Front later released seven security personnel, who were in its custody, while the IS executed two troops.Late in 2015, 19 soldiers were released, while nine are still captivated.

Jones Meets Hariri, Deems Berri Proposal as 'Interesting'
Naharnet/May 24/16/U.S. Charge d'Affaires Richard Jones urged on Tuesday the Lebanese people to exert all possible efforts to end the vacuum in the presidency. He deemed after holding talks with Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri Speaker Nabih Berri's proposal to end the deadlock as “interesting.” He urged all concerned sides to take it into consideration, noting that it could be a way to end the impasse in the country. The ambassador warned of the impact the vacuum is having on state institutions, saying that the Lebanese people should find a solution to electing a head of state. Berri's proposal, made last week, calls for shortening the term of the current parliament and staging the parliamentary polls and later the presidential ones. The parliamentary elections would be held based on the proportionality electoral law. Should the political powers fail to agree on this law, then the 1960 one would be used. This law was adopted in the 2009 elections. The package deal also calls for electing a new parliament speaker and bureau and forming a national unity government.

U.S. Embassy Sponsors Lebanon-U.S. Terrorist Designations Workshop with the Central Bank
Naharnet/May 24/16/U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Richard Jones and Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh delivered on Monday opening remarks at the Lebanon-U.S. Terrorist Designations Workshop, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in collaboration with the Central Bank. The two-day event brings together representatives from Lebanon’s legal and security institutions and the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, and Justice to discuss the shared U.S.-Lebanese commitment to combating international terrorist finance. The workshop facilitates an exchange of ideas and best practices on the role of terrorist designations in upholding rigorous international standards to prevent the funding of terrorist organizations. Sessions include an overview of designations authorities and protocols, as well as hands-on exercises creating mock designation packages. Participants will learn how to work in partnership with the international community to list terrorists domestically and at the United Nations. Jones said at the event: “We are confident that this important dialogue between our two countries will improve our understanding of each other’s designations processes and will enhance our coordination on designations and U.N. listings in the future. “The United States and Lebanon have stood with one another to confront terrorism here and abroad. In my continuing discussions with Lebanon’s leaders, we have discussed the importance of our counter-terrorism relationship and agreed on the need to strengthen that partnership.
“Well known is our assistance to the Lebanese army, including vital equipment, munitions, and training. This help has supported Lebanon’s fight against the Islamic State group in Arsal and along Lebanon’s border over the past several years. “We know Lebanon faces tremendous challenges, and we remain committed to supporting its safety and security. Our strong partnership, our resolve, and our resilience are our greatest strengths in this battle. “Over the past few years, the threat from terrorism has been heightened by the rise of the IS and the changing nature of the global terrorist threat. It has forced the international community to look differently at the way terrorist organizations operate – including how they secure funding to finance their operations and the use of social media in recruitment.”“This is why the United Nations and governments around the world created and uphold legal frameworks to protect the international financial system from abuse by these groups,” stressed Jones. “Our efforts to counter the financing of terrorism are predicated on the use of international standards, institutions and best practices from the U.N., the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), regional FATF style bodies, the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), and similar entities. When the Lebanese Parliament passed a package of anti-money laundering and terrorist finance legislation last November, it was a major step to safeguard the integrity of the banking sector in accordance with these standards. “Terrorist designations play a vital role in our overall approach to counter the financing of terrorism. They protect our economic systems from terrorist attack and abuse. They uphold the integrity of the worldwide financial system and ensure that it is used for legitimate economic activities, rather than aiding international terrorism. Additionally, designations help to prevent the travel of known terrorists, thereby safeguarding the region’s aviation, maritime, and other transportation systems that are critical to travel and trade. “Designations, both domestic and international, can help stem the flow of economic support to terrorists operating throughout the region and the world by identifying and focusing attention on which organizations and individuals to take financial counter-measures against. This process is not haphazard but follows a precise legal framework. It involves a multitude of domestic and international political and law enforcement institutions that uphold rigorous standards. “Over the course of this dialogue, our U.S. experts will share how the U.S. designations process works, how we meet our international obligations at the U.N., and how designations fit into international efforts to combat terrorist finance. “We are eager to learn from you how similar actions are taken in Lebanon. We look forward to sharing techniques, best practices, policies and experiences, both positive and negative that help build skills and increase our ability to work bilaterally, regionally and internationally. Working together, we will be able to gain a better understanding of each other’s information needs, which will ultimately lead to greater collaboration on future designations and U.N. listings,” said the ambassador.

Lebanese Army Arrests IS Suspect in Arsal
Naharnet/May 24/16/The army arrested on Tuesday a prominent Islamic State group terrorist in the northeastern border town of Arsal, announced the National News Agency. It said that Sameh al-Breidy was detained in a military operation in the town. The army is carrying out security measures in the area. In August 2014, Arsal was overrun by militants from the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front and the IS group. Tensions in the border area are frequently high due to its proximity to the conflict in Syria and it has served as a conduit for fighters and arms smugglers linked to the neighboring country.

Qahwaji Vows Efforts to Release Kidnapped Soldiers
Naharnet/May 24/16/Army Commander Maj Gen. Jean Qahwaji renewed on Tuesday the army’s pledge to carry on its efforts and unearth the fate of the soldiers that are held captive by the Islamic State group, the state-run National News Agency reported. “On the 16th anniversary of Resistance and Liberation Day, I hereby renew the army’s commitment to uncover the fate of their fellow soldiers kidnapped by the terrorist groups,” said Qahwaji in his Order of the Day. He extended deepest sympathies to their families. Several servicemen were abducted during battles with the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front and the IS in Arsal in 2014. Nineteen soldiers were released late in 2015, while nine are still held captive by the IS.

North Prepares for Lebanon's Last Round of Municipal Elections
Naharnet/May 24/16/Preparations for Lebanon’s final round of municipal elections, set to take place Sunday, have started to take shape, as various influential political parties started forming joint lists, mainly in Tripoli, Batroun, Akkar and al-Koura, An Nahar daily reported on Tuesday. In Tripoli, a major alliance between al-Mustaqbal Movement, ex-PM Najib Miqati, and the major local powers in the city face several electoral lists, namely those backed by resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi. The fiercest battles are expected to take place in the towns of Tannourine in the district of Batroun and in al-Qoubaiyat in Akkar, said An Nahar. The confrontation there is taking an unprecedented intensity. Minister Butros Harb and Lebanese Forces, who formed an alliance in the previous parliamentary elections, will on Sunday wage the municipal elections facing an alliance between the Free Patriotic Movement and his former ally, the LF. In al-Qoubaiyat, the daily said that a new “rare” alliance between Mustaqbal MP Hadi Hbesih, ex-MP Michel al-Daher, Kataeb party, the LF and the FPM has been formed. In the district of Bcharre, the LF has declared its electoral lists, out of which three have won uncontested.
On Monday, LF MP Sethrida Geagea announced the uncontested win of a list in Hadath al-Jebbeh, bringing the total of the LF lists that won by acclamation to six out of twelve in the North.
 

U.N. Chief Lauds Municipal Vote, Urges Lebanese Leaders to Elect President
Naharnet/May 24/16/U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon welcomed Tuesday the municipal and mayoral elections that started in Lebanon on May 8 while urging the country's leaders to elect a president as soon as possible. “The Secretary-General welcomes the conduct of the municipal elections in Lebanon which are expected to conclude on 29 May. They are a testament to Lebanon’s enduring democratic tradition and further proof that the people of Lebanon deserve to be represented at all levels,” Ban's spokesman said in a statement. “The Secretary-General remains concerned about the continuing failure of Lebanese political parties to elect a President of the Republic, a post which has now remained vacant for two years,” he added. “As the Secretary-General said during his recent visit to Lebanon, national unity and Lebanon’s standing will remain fragile and incomplete as long as the vacancy in the presidency persists,” he warned. The U.N. chief also reiterated his call on all Lebanese leaders to “act responsibly to elect a President without any further delay, in accordance with the country's Constitution.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended on May 25, 2014. The municipal and mayoral polls that kicked off on May 8 are the first elections of any kind in Lebanon since the last municipal vote in 2010.

Army Defuses Grenade Put under Car of Palestinian Official's Son
Naharnet/May 24/16/A hand grenade was discovered Tuesday under the car of a son of a top Palestinian official in Wadi al-Zayneh near the southern city of Sidon. Al-Jadeed television said the grenade was placed under the car of Hussein al-Maqdah, a son of Maj. Gen. Munir al-Maqdah, the head of the Palestinian Joint Security Force, which is responsible for security inside Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps. “The army cordoned off the area immediately and called in a military expert who defused the grenade,” al-Jadeed said. The finding comes in the wake of several similar incident in Sidon in recent days. On Saturday, a bomb was dismantled in the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon. Two fake bombs were found in the city of Sidon itself on Sunday and Monday. The incidents coincided with municipal and mayoral polls in the southern city. And on April 12, senior Palestinian official Fathi Zaidan, a member of the mainstream Fatah Movement, was killed by an explosive device placed in his car near Ain el-Hilweh. Zaidan was in charge of security in the Mieh Mieh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon.

Mustaqbal on Hujeiri Killing: Ugly Vengeance Won't Return Martyr Soldiers
Naharnet/May 24/16/Al-Mustaqbal movement condemned Tuesday the killing of a member of the al-Hujeiri family in the Bekaa earlier in the day, urging the government and the political and religious leaders to “intervene to foil strife.”Hussein Mohammed al-Hujeiri, a nephew of fugitive Islamist cleric Mustafa al-Hujeiri, was shot dead earlier in the day at the hands of Maarouf Hamieh, who went into hiding after the incident. Hamieh is the father of slain Lebanese soldier Mohammed Hamieh, who was executed by the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front in 2014 in the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal. The Hamieh family had accused Mustafa al-Hujeiri, aka Abou Taqiyeh, of ties to al-Nusra and involvement in the soldier’s killing. Maarouf Hamieh appeared in a video aired by al-Jadeed TV after the incident, in which he announced that he killed Mohammed al-Hujieri to “avenge” his son's death. “This condemned crime that resulted in the death of this innocent young man only for being the nephew of a person accused of involvement in the kidnap of the soldiers is an ugly vengeance that will not return the martyr soldiers to their families,” Mustaqbal said in its statement. “It jeopardizes civil peace in a manner that serves the goals of the terrorist groups, which are to blame for the crime of kidnapping our soldiers and murdering some of them,” the movement warned. Cautioning against descent to “the law of the jungle,” Mustaqbal urged the government and the political and religious leaders to “intervene quickly to contain the dangerous repercussions of this murder and foil strife.” It also called on the residents of Arsal, al-Labweh and the other northern Bekaa towns to seek pacification, “shun the approach of vendettas and adhere to the State and its institutions.”Hamieh and three other soldiers and policemen were executed by al-Nusra and Islamic State jihadists after the two groups overran Arsal and engaged in deadly battles with the army in 2014. Nine soldiers are still in the captivity of the IS group.

Change and Reform Demands Adoption of Orthodox Electoral Law for Parliamentary Polls
Naharnet/May 24/16/The Change and Reform bloc demanded on Tuesday that an electoral law that offers fair representation be adopted during the parliamentary elections. Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil said after the bloc's weekly meeting: “We stress our constant support for the Orthodox Gathering electoral law, which has not been given a chance by officials.”This law offers just representation, but it seems that some sides don't want this, he added without elaborating. Bassil also congratulated Amal Abou Zeid on his success in Sunday's parliamentary by-elections that were held in Jezzine. The official is backed by Bassil's Free Patriotic Movement. The minister hoped that the by-elections and the municipal polls will pave the way to staging the parliamentary ones in the future. Speaker Nabih Berri had last week made a proposal aimed at ending the political impasse in Lebanon. It calls for shortening the term of the current parliament and staging the parliamentary polls and later the presidential ones. The parliamentary elections would be held based on the proportionality electoral law. Should the political powers fail to agree on this law, then the 1960 one would be used. This law was adopted in the 2009 elections. The package deal also calls for electing a new parliament speaker and bureau and forming a national unity government.

The deadly reality of ‘celebratory’ gunfire
Alex Rowell/Now Lebanon/May 24/16/Another death this weekend adds to the long toll of the illegal, but widely-tolerated, shooting of guns at social occasions. An X-ray shows a bullet inside the head of 5-year-old Munir Hazeena, killed in June 2015 by attendees at a funeral for a Hezbollah fighter
Lebanon’s civil war may have ended 26 years ago, but its citizens still fire lethal weapons at one another on a regular basis. From politicians’ speeches to funerals to weddings to high school graduations, almost any occasion is liable to be accompanied by the discharge of military-grade firearms into the sky – and, thus, onto the roofs, balconies and streets of surrounding neighborhoods. Unsurprisingly, the practice routinely leads to the killing and maiming of luckless innocents, a large proportion of them children. The latest victim is Wissam Baleeq, shot fatally in his car Saturday evening by what most reports hold was a stray bullet. His death capped an especially bloody May – between the municipal elections and three TV appearances by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, the month has seen an average of more than one casualty per week. In total, 2016 has so far witnessed at least seven such shootings, four of them fatal. Lebanese law expressly forbids the firing of guns in the air. “Anyone who opens fire in populated areas or amid crowds of people, whether with licensed or unlicensed weapons, is to be punished by a jail sentence of between six months and three years,” reads Article 75 of the 1959 Weapons and Ammunition Law (Legislative Decree No. 137). The custom has also been occasionally discouraged by party leaders, including Hezbollah’s Nasrallah, though without any apparent enforcement at ground level. Unless and until the authorities apply the law, the gruesome harvest of innocent lives seems, tragically, sure to continue.

MP Sami Gemayel: to fight mafias, corruption in Lebanon
Tue 24 May 2016 at 18:42/NNA- Head of Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel, said in a press conference on Tuesday, that the civil society would take action to confront mafias and corruption in Lebanon and that his party was facing a similar challenge in the government. He pointed out that Adonis valley contains the largest natural zone and historic archaeological areas, but there are people destroying it with continuous deforestation. "Why should we continue the implementation of Janna dam project if the Environment Ministry confirmed it caused damage?” questioned Gemayel. As for the garbage file, Gemayel attributed the responsibility of the crisis to the Council for Development and Reconstruction.

Jreij follows up with Nilesat Board Chairman Jouret el Ballout transmission issue
Tue 24 May 2016/NNA - Information Minister, Ramzi Jreij, met on Tuesday with "Nilesat" Board Chairman, Major General Ahmed Anis, at the Company's headquarters in Cairo, whereby they discussed the issue related to Lebanese TV Stations' restoring transmission via Jouret el Ballout, as well as "Tele Liban" satellite transmission. Minister Jreij is currently on a visit to Cairo to partake in the meeting of Arab Information Ministers. The meeting took place in the presence of Information Ministry's Director General Hassan Flaha and Minister Jreij's Bureau Secretary Claude Aad. Attending the meeting on the Egyptian side has been Nilesat Board Vice Chairman Hamdi Munir and Nilesat Director General for Trade Relations Ashraf Iskandarani. Nilesat Officials expressed positive response towards enhancing cooperation and coordination between the two sides, in the service of both parties' interests.
Agreement was reached to send a delegation from "Nilesat" Company to Lebanon, headed by Major General Hamdi Munir, to discuss the vocational and technical affairs, as a prelude to reach a solution which is satisfactory to both parties. Anis underlined willingness to "strengthen future relations at the various levels, which are Egypt's longstanding constants towards Lebanon and its people."

Bassil touts Orthodox election law as providing parity
Tue 24 May 2016/NNA - Head of Change and Reform bloc, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, explained on Tuesday that the Orthodox election guaranteed the much-sought parity among Muslims and Christians. "I maintain the bloc's position as to the Orthodox election law which guarantees real parity," Bassil told a press conference following the bloc's weekly meeting at Rabieh. He said that the meeting also touched on the unauthorized internet networks, reminding that the bloc had already urged the Cabinet to include this item on its agenda "before they told us it had been postponed till after the municipal elections." Bassil mainly underlined that the bloc would not accept in any way "ecological pretenses to tamper with the dossier of Jannah water dam." The meeting was also attended by freshly elected MP Amal Abu Zeid. In his word, Abu Zeid thanked Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, "for his support and consecration of the reconciliation," as well as Hezbollah "and its electoral machine."

Berri, Hariri discuss latest developments
Tue 24 May 2016/NNA - House Speaker, Nabih Berri, met at Ain-el-Tineh on Tuesday with former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, with Nader Hariri and Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil attending. Talks reportedly touched on the current situation and latest developments in the country, in addition to an array of political due dates and Berri's fresh initiative.

Jones from Center House: Lebanese must find solution to presidential crisis
Tue 24 May 2016/NNA - U.S. Chargé d'Affaires ad interim Ambassador, Richard H. Jones, stressed on Tuesday following his visit to Former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, at the "Center House" the need to find a solution to the presidential vacuum.
The pair tackled most recent developments in the region, notably the outstanding political problems as well as the initiative of House Speaker Nabih Berri regarding the presidential elections. "I urge Lebanese people to exert all efforts to end the presidential vacuum. The deterioration of institutions constitutes a big danger for Lebanon. Berri's initiative will pave the way for elections," he said.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 24- 25/16

Kurdish-Arab Forces Announce Anti-IS Offensive North of Syria's Raqa
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 24/16/A Kurdish-Arab alliance on Tuesday announced the launch of a major assault against the Islamic State group north of the jihadists' Syrian bastion of Raqa. "With the participation of all SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) units, we start this operation to liberate northern Raqa" province, the SDF wrote on Twitter, quoting Kurdish commander Rojda Felat. The push will be supported by air strikes from the U.S.-led coalition bombing IS in Iraq and Syria, the SDF said. The SDF was formed in October as an alliance between the powerful Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and rebel groups including Arab and Assyrian militias. It said on Twitter that it would clear IS from territory north of Raqa and also secure cities already seized from the jihadists. But it made no mention of Raqa city itself. The fresh offensive comes just three days after the highest-ranking U.S. regional commander made a surprise visit to northern Syria. General Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command (Centcom), met SDF leaders and U.S. military advisors working with Syrian Arab fighters. He was "in Syria preparing the push to Raqa," anti-IS coalition chief Brett McGurk tweeted. The U.S. has roughly 200 advisers on the ground in Syria, but no combat units. Votel's visit came as the first of 250 more U.S. special operations forces were beginning to arrive. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, coalition warplanes on Tuesday carried out dozens of strikes north of Raqa city. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday said Moscow was ready to coordinate with both the U.S. and the SDF in the offensive for Raqa. The SDF has a total of about 25,000 Kurdish fighters and about 5,000 Arab fighters. With coalition air support, it has expelled IS from key locations across northern Syria, in the provinces of Aleppo, Raqa, and Hasakeh.

Civilians Trapped as Iraq Forces Close in on Fallujah
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 24/16/Iraqi forces cleared areas around Fallujah Tuesday after launching an assault to retake the city, tightening their siege on Islamic State group fighters but also raising fears for civilians trapped inside. With the jihadists surrounded and outnumbered, the recapture of their iconic bastion looked ultimately inevitable, especially after IS suffered a string of losses in recent months. But illustrating that even a diminished IS is still dangerous, the group has struck back with a wave of bomb attacks, including a series of blasts that left more than 160 dead in Syrian regime coastal strongholds on Monday. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the start of the operation to retake Fallujah on Monday and less than a day into the battle, Iraqi forces had secured the nearby town of Garma. That cut off IS fighters in Fallujah from one of their last support areas and paved the way for more advances towards the city, which lies only 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Baghdad. "Federal forces advanced towards the east of Fallujah early today from three directions," police Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat told AFP. The Hashed al-Shaabi umbrella paramilitary organization, dominated by Tehran-backed Shiite militias that are heavily involved in the operation, said ground was also gained south of Fallujah. With forces converging on the city, concerns mounted that the tens of thousands of civilians believed to still be inside had nowhere to go.
50,000 civilians trapped
The Norwegian Refugee Council estimated the number at 50,000 and urged efforts to get them out. "Families who have been suffering food and medical shortages over the last months now risk being caught in the crossfire and it is absolutely vital that they are granted safe routes out of there so that we can assist them," NRC country director Nasr Muflahi said in a statement. He told AFP that only 80 families appeared to have been able to flee the city in the hours before the fighting began, and none since. "We were expecting more to come out overnight, this hasn't happened," Muflahi said, adding that plans by local authorities to open humanitarian corridors had not yet materialized. Officials from Anbar, the vast western province in which Fallujah is located, reported that small numbers of civilians had managed to sneak out. A Fallujah resident reached by telephone told AFP there was heavy shelling on the northern edge of the city on Tuesday. "Daesh (IS) is still imposing a curfew, preventing people from coming out on the street. Some of them are allowed to stand at their gates," said the man, who gave his name as Abu Mohammed al-Dulaimi. "The number of Daesh members is decreasing and we have started seeing them walk in the street in groups of two or three. We don't know where the others are," he said. It was unclear what kind of defense IS was prepared to put up in Fallujah, a city that looms large in modern jihadist mythology since 2004 battles that saw U.S. forces suffer some of their worst losses since the Vietnam War.
'Extensive air power'
As the assault began on one of the only two major Iraqi cities IS still holds -- the other being Mosul -- the jihadist group claimed an unprecedented string of bombings in coastal Syrian towns home to President Bashar Assad's Alawite minority. The wave of bombings in Jableh and Tartus on Monday left at least 161 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group. Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition aircraft have been pounding Fallujah and its surroundings in recent days to support the operation. The coalition of Western and Arab nations launched air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq in mid-2014, after the group seized control of large parts of both countries and declared an Islamic "caliphate". "This operation will again be led by the Iraqi counter-terrorism service (CTS), which made extensive use of air power in the battle of Ramadi, and leveled a great deal of the city," said David Witty, a retired U.S. army special forces colonel. Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, was lost to IS a year ago and brought back under government control earlier this year. "This model should not be used in upcoming battles -- they don't want to say they had to destroy the city to save it, or made a wasteland and called it peace," said Witty, a former adviser to the CTS.

Report: Syrian Base Used by Russia Damaged in IS Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 24/16/Satellite imagery appears to show extensive damage to an air base in Syria used by Russian forces following an attack by fighters from the Islamic State group, U.S. intelligence company Stratfor said Tuesday. The images suggest four helicopters and 20 lorries were destroyed by fire inside the T-4 base, which is also known as Tiyas and is strategically located in central Syria between war-ravaged Palmyra and Homs. "The T4 air base was severely damaged by an Islamic State artillery attack. In particular, four Russian Mi-24 attack helicopters appear to have been destroyed," Stratfor said on their website. Russia has not officially commented on the incident and the cause of the apparent damage could not be determined from the images obtained by Stratfor. But the BBC quoted Stratfor analyst Sim Tack as saying that "this was not an accidental explosion". It "would really be a marginal, almost non-existent chance for this to be accidental," he added. Tack said there was evidence of "several different sources of explosions across the airport, and it shows that the Russians took a quite a bad hit". The Stratfor report said that "ordnance impact points are visible" in the images and that a Syrian MiG-25 fighter jet also appeared to have been damaged. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had reported shelling of the T-4 base on May 11 after IS jihadists briefly took control of part of a route between Palmyra and Homs. "Though the Islamic State failed to cut off the road for any extended amount of time, it did move artillery within range of the base, which it subsequently shelled," Stratfor said in its analysis. The British-based observatory also said two days later that continued shelling had caused an explosion at a fuel depot and a fire that destroyed three helicopters. On May 15, the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency said that four Russian combat helicopters and 20 trucks carrying rockets had been destroyed at the T-4 base by a fire but did not provide further details. IS seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq in mid-2014, and the group has claimed deadly attacks in the West and throughout the Middle East. Russia's intervention has significantly strengthened the Syrian government in a five-year-old civil war that has killed more than 270,000 people and driven millions from their homes.

U.S. and Russia Scramble to Save Syria Truce
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 24/16/Washington and Moscow scrambled to salvage Syria's shaky ceasefire on Tuesday as the country reeled from jihadist bombings that killed more than 160 people in President Bashar Assad's coastal heartland. A regime offensive outside the capital has severely strained an already fragile nationwide ceasefire between the regime and non-jihadist rebels intended to pave the way for peace talks to end the five-year conflict.The latest attempts to salvage the truce come after at least 161 people were killed in car bombings and suicide attacks on Monday in the northwestern cities of Jableh and Tartus that were claimed by the Islamic State group. The U.S. envoy for Syria late Monday urged rebels to respect the February 27 ceasefire after they gave its brokers -- Washington and Moscow -- until Tuesday afternoon to stop the advance on rebel bastions outside Damascus. "We recognize that the CoH (Cessation of Hostilities) is under severe stress, but believe that to abandon it now would be strategic error," Michael Ratney said in a statement on Twitter. "If the armed factions abandoned the CoH, Assad and his supporters would claim this gives them license to attack all the opposition forces without international objection."Twenty-nine rebel groups had called on Washington and Moscow to force Assad's regime "to completely and immediately halt their brutal offensive against Daraya and Eastern Ghouta" near Damascus.
New 'regime of silence'
Syria's army, backed by Lebanon's Shiite militia Hezbollah, on Thursday recaptured the town of Deir al-Assafir and nine nearby villages in the south of Eastern Ghouta. The town of Daraya was one of the first to erupt in demonstrations against the government in 2011. It has been under a strict regime siege since late 2012. Staunch regime ally Russia late Monday called for a temporary local truce in Eastern Ghouta and Daraya -- within the wider nationwide ceasefire -- from Tuesday. "The Russian reconciliation center is calling for a 72-hour regime of silence in Eastern Ghouta and Daraya," Russia's defense ministry quoted the head of the Russian coordination center in Syria, Sergei Kuralenko, as saying. The February ceasefire does not include the Islamic State group and its jihadist rival, Syria's Al-Qaida affiliate, Al-Nusra Front. Kuralenko reiterated Moscow's call for moderate rebels to withdraw from areas controlled by the Al-Nusra Front and break ranks with the jihadists, saying Russia would keep targeting the militants. World powers had hoped the ceasefire would lead to a peace deal to end a conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions. But the latest round of U.N.-backed peace talks ended in deadlock last month after the opposition walked out of negotiations in Geneva in frustration over the lack of humanitarian access.
IS bombings
A surge in violence in the northern battleground city of Aleppo in the following weeks killed more than 300 civilians, leaving the February ceasefire hanging by a thread. World and regional powers met last week in Vienna, but made no notable progress. Monday's bombings on the Assad strongholds of Jableh and Tartus were unprecedented since the start of the conflict in 2011. The Syrian foreign ministry blamed "the regimes of hate and extremism" in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the leading supporters of anti-regime rebels, for the blasts. Jableh is in Latakia province, while Tartus is the capital of the adjacent governorate of the same name. Both areas -- where Russia has maintained a military airport and naval facility -- have remained relatively secure, even as the war has raged in Latakia province's rural northeast and other parts of the country. Monday's early morning attacks began at a bus station in Tartus when a car bomb exploded. As people began to flock to the site, two suicide bombers detonated explosive belts. Around 15 minutes later, four explosions rocked Jableh further north, with a car bomb and three suicide attackers targeting a bus station, a hospital and a power station. A police officer said a car bomb also targeted another hospital in the city. IS is not known to have a presence in Syria's coastal provinces, where Al-Nusra is much more prominent. IS seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq in mid-2014, and the group has claimed deadly attacks in the West and throughout the Middle East.

Hardliner Elected Head of Key Iran Oversight Body
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 24/16/Iran's Assembly of Experts chose another hardline cleric as its chief on Tuesday, keeping the powerful religious body in ultraconservative hands despite gains by reformists and moderates in February elections. The assembly oversees the work of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and would choose the 76-year-old's successor if he dies during its eight-year term. Its 88 members elected Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, 89, as chairman, defeating two conservatives. The cleric is one of the few hardliners who secured re-election in the February vote that saw a landslide for reformist and moderates in the capital and big gains elsewhere. The hardliner also chairs the Guardian Council, the body which vets all candidates for public office in Iran and has a veto over all legislation. The council sparked controversy in February's election by disqualifying thousands of hopefuls, most of them reformists. The 88-member assembly has proven well beyond the reach of reformists, although moderate President Hassan Rouhani and heavyweight former president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani topped the election to it in Tehran. Rafsanjani, a senior figure in the moderate and reformist camp, did not have enough confidence to run for the chairmanship of the conservative-dominated body. Media said he could not even muster a quarter of the votes. The reformists had hoped to unseat Jannati in February's election but he scraped through to take the last of the 16 seats reserved for Tehran. Other prominent hardliners were less lucky, including outgoing assembly chairman Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi and Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, a close adviser to ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In the vote for the assembly chairmanship, the reformist camp reportedly threw its support behind Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini, a moderate conservative who is a prayer leader in the Shiite clerical center of Qom. But he won just 21 votes to Jannati's 51. The new assembly could have a major say in Iran's future political direction because of Khamenei's advancing age. Under Iran's political system, the supreme leader has the final say on all matters of state, and has far more power than the president. Khamenei has held the post since 1989 when he succeeded revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on his death and has dominated Iranian politics ever since. In a message to the incoming assembly, Khamenei called on its members to remain loyal to the principles of the Islamic revolution of 1979. "The responsibility is all-around and precise protection of the Islamic and revolutionary identity of the ruling system," he said.
Speakership contest
The assembly vote on February 26 coincided with a parliamentary election in which Rouhani allies in the moderate and reformist camp made substantial gains. Their List of Hope swept all 30 seats in the capital, denying conservative leader Gholam-Ali Hadad Adel re-election. Many of the leading parliamentary opponents of Rouhani's policies, including his signature nuclear deal with the United States and other major powers, lost their seats. Reformists took 133 of the 290 seats in parliament. That fell short of a majority but it was more than the conservatives' 125 seats. The remaining seats are held by independents and representatives of religious minorities who are expected to give Rouhani a working majority to pass key reform legislation that eluded him in the outgoing conservative-dominated parliament. Tuesday was its last session and lawmakers were seen taking selfies on their mobile phones before speaker Ali Larijani called them to order. Larijani is a moderate conservative and placed no hurdles in the way of the passage of last year's nuclear deal. He is expected to stand for re-election when the new parliament convenes next week. The head of the reformist List of Hope, Mohammad Reza Aref, is expected to stand against him but he does not enjoy the undivided support of his own camp. Party lines are notoriously opaque in Iran and some lawmakers from the moderate-reformist camp are likely to vote for Larijani. "Larijani can better direct parliament than Aref," the leader of the reformist Construction Party faction, Gholam Hossein Karbaschi, told the Shargh newspaper.

Iran Sends New Delegation to Saudi for Hajj Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 24/16/An Iranian delegation was traveling to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks on the annual hajj pilgrimage despite a diplomatic crisis between the Gulf rivals, the official IRNA news agency reported. "A delegation of six people will leave this afternoon for Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the Saudi Minister of Hajj for negotiations," it reported Said Ohadi, head of Iran's Hajj Organization, as saying. "The talks will be held on Wednesday in Jeddah."On May 12, Culture Minister Ali Jannati, who oversees the Hajj Organization, said "arrangements have not been put together" for Iranians to make this year's pilgrimage to Mecca at the end of the summer. He accused Riyadh of "sabotage", but Saudi Arabia has denied blocking Iranian pilgrims. The two countries held an unsuccessful first round of talks last month in Saudi Arabia on organizing this year's pilgrimage for Iranians. It was the first dialogue between the region's foremost Shiite and Sunni Muslim powers since diplomatic relations were severed in January. Riyadh cut ties with Tehran after demonstrators burned its embassy and a consulate there following the Saudi execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Tehran says Riyadh insists that visas for Iranians be issued in a third country and does not allow pilgrims to be flown in aboard Iranian aircraft, which Iran has rejected. Iran and Saudi Arabia are at odds over a raft of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they support opposing sides. Another contentious issue has been security, after a stampede at last year's hajj killed about 2,300 foreign pilgrims including 464 Iranians. On Friday, a senior Saudi religious leader warned against those who would "wreak havoc" under the guise of pilgrimage, an apparent swipe at the Islamic republic. The annual hajj and the lesser pilgrimage known as umra draw millions of faithful to Saudi Arabia from around the world each year.

Israel PM's Travel Expenses under Scrutiny
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 24/16/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's travel expenses came under fresh scrutiny on Tuesday with the release of an official report into alleged overcharging and conflict of interest. The state comptroller's report covers 2003-05, when Netanyahu was finance minister, and concerns five foreign trips, some with his wife and children, Israeli media reported. "The comptroller found that most of Netanyahu's trips were funded by external bodies, including private persons, without examining the possibility that the funding could place Netanyahu in a conflict of interest or where it constitutes a prohibited gift," Israeli public radio reported. "At the same time, the comptroller noted that during that period other ministers behaved in the same way," the radio wrote on its website. State Comptroller Yosef Shapira, tasked with overseeing the use of public funds, investigated allegations of double billing of flights, initially reported by the Haaretz and Yediot Aharonot daily newspapers -- both hostile to Netanyahu. The radio said that due to an ongoing inquiry by the attorney general's office, the report could not refer to an allegation that bonus points from Israeli carrier El Al earned through official travel were allegedly used by Netanyahu's relatives for private trips. The reports also alleged Shapira is concerned former attorney general Yehuda Weinstein stalled on investigating, before the case was eventually closed. Privately owned Channel 2 television reported the police have renewed an inquiry into the allegations to determine whether to open a formal investigation. Netanyahu's lawyer dismissed the allegations, saying they had previously been looked into and nothing improper had been found. "There is nothing in the report of the state comptroller," Yossi Cohen, the lawyer for the Netanyahu family, told public radio. Former prime minister Ehud Olmert also faced allegations of double billing in a travel case, though it was later dropped. In February, however, he began a 19-month sentence for bribery and obstruction of justice.

Saudi Executed for Murder
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 24/16/Saudi Arabia put to death a citizen convicted of murder on Tuesday, bringing to 94 the number of executions in the kingdom this year. Imad al-Assimi was found guilty of shooting dead a compatriot in a dispute, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA. Most people put to death in Saudi Arabia are beheaded with a sword. Murder and drug trafficking cases account for the majority of Saudi executions, although 47 people were put to death for "terrorism" on a single day in January. According to human rights group Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia had the third-highest number of executions last year -- at least 158. That was far behind Pakistan which executed 326, and Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran, which executed at least 977, said Amnesty, whose figures exclude secretive China. Rights activists have raised concerns about the fairness of trials in Saudi Arabia and have been particularly critical of the use of the death penalty for non-violent offenses like drug trafficking. The interior ministry has said it is "determined to fight drugs of all kinds due to the serious damage they do to individuals and society". Saudi Arabia has a strict Islamic legal code under which murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death.

Turkey’s Erdogan approves new government led by ally
The Associated Press, Ankara Tuesday, 24 May 2016/Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday approved a new government formed by one of his most trusted allies, who immediately asserted his intention to institute constitutional reforms that would expand the powers of the presidency. Binali Yildirim, 60, formerly minister of transport and communications, replaces Ahmet Davutoglu, who stepped down on Sunday amid a range of differences with the president, including Davutoglu’s apparently less-than-enthusiastic stance toward an overhaul of the constitution to give the largely ceremonial presidency executive powers. “We will immediately start work to achieve a new constitution, including a presidential system,” Yildirim told lawmakers of his Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in his first speech after taking office. “Our priority is to make the constitution in harmony with the de-facto situation regarding our president’s ties to the people,” Yildirim said. Many fear the presidential system that Erdogan seeks will concentrate too many powers in the hands of the Turkish strongman, who has adopted an increasing authoritarian style of governing, has cracked down on media and government critics and is accused of meddling in the running of the government in breach of the constitution. The new government — which Yildirim is widely believed to have formed in consultation with Erdogan — includes nine new names, although most ministers from Davutoglu’s previous Cabinet retained key portfolios. They include Mevlut Cavusoglu, who remains foreign minister, and Mehmet Simsek, the deputy minister who heads economic affairs. Volkan Bozkir, the minister in charge of relations with the European Union, was replaced by Omer Celik, a founding member of the AKP who is known to be close to the president. Erdogan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, kept his position as energy minister. In a clear sign that Erdogan would continue to influence government, he was scheduled to chair the new Cabinet’s first meeting at his palace on Wednesday. Domestically, the political reshuffling takes place as Turkey faces serious security threats including increased attacks by Kurdish and Islamic State militants. It is also comes as parliament is in disarray after a government-backed constitutional amendment has left 138 lawmakers vulnerable to prosecution. Internationally, Turkey is also facing a delicate moment in its relations with the European Union. The implementation of a Turkey-EU deal to help stem the influx of migrants to Europe — which Davutoglu had helped negotiate — has repeatedly come into question.

UAE residents call for execution of Sharjah child murderer
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 24 May 2016/UAE residents have taken to social media to demand their anger and shock of the recent killing of a seven-year-old in Sharjah, with some calling for the public execution of his murderer. The body of Obaida Ibrahim al-Aqrabawi was discovered in the Al Warqa area of Dubai on Sunday after missing for two days. He was last seen playing outside his home in the Industrial Area of Sharjah. Jordanian Nedal Issa Abdullah, 48, has been arrested on suspicion of raping and killing Obaida. Police said he has admitted the crime but as yet, has not stood trial.
Dubai Police Chief Major General Khamis Al Muzeina said the child was kidnapped from in front of a garage in Sharjah’s industrial area, where the boy’s father worked. “The forensics doctor said that the boy had been dead for less than 24 hours and had been strangled," said Maj Gen Al Muzeina. “There were signs of struggle on the boy’s chest and hands as well as signs that he had been sexually assaulted. The maximum penalty for murder is execution by firing squad. On Monday, a hashtag titled ‘execute Obaida’s killer in public’ was trending on Twitter and had been seen by almost one million users, according to tweetreach.com, reported UAE daily newspaper 7days.

Emirati teen gets prison sentence for joining ISIS in Syria
The Associated Press, Dubai Tuesday, 24 May 2016/An Emirati teenager who joined ISIS in Syria and fought there has been sentenced to five years in prison, UAE state media reported on Tuesday. The WAM news agency said a defendant accused of joining ISIS received a five-year sentence Monday, without elaborating. The Al Etihad daily reported that the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi heard testimony that the teen traveled to Turkey and later Syria at the age of 15. The newspaper said the boy's father reported his son's activities to authorities, who later arrested the teen at Dubai International Airport.The United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven city-states that hosts US military personnel fighting ISIS, hasn't faced the militant attacks plaguing other Gulf countries.

Be vigilant, Saudi tourists visiting foreign countries warned
Saudi Gazette, Dammam Tuesday, 24 May 2016/With summer vacation around the corner, Saudi missions abroad have issued travel alerts to Saudi tourists who visit foreign countries. Saudi missions in various tourist spots announced that they will be working full time during Ramadan and Eid holidays. They said they usually hire additional hands to serve Saudi citizens and look after their affairs whenever needed. The Saudi Embassy in Turkey said its Eid leave is only for five days. The Saudi Embassy in Cairo warned Saudi tourists against going to dangerous or suspicious places especially late at night.
According to Al-Hayat newspaper, the embassy asked Saudi citizens to always keep their passports with them, and register their passports at the consulate and keep photocopies to be used in case of loss or theft. It asked Saudi tourists to immediately report the loss of passport to the nearest police station, keep the number and date of the police case file and then visit the embassy to get an emergency travel document. It warned Saudi tourists to be very cautious when dealing with drivers, salesmen or persons who claim to be important personalities or famous businessmen. The embassy warned Saudi tourists, especially students and other travelers, not to deal with visa brokers who may claim to legalize their stay in Egypt. It urged Saudi tourists to keep their important documents at the hotel safes and never carry large amounts of cash or their passports in their briefcases. The embassy asked Saudi tourists to use white cabs for transport and to write down the plate number to recognize the vehicle if necessary. “Never use the private cars no matter how low their fare may be,” the embassy said, asking Saudi citizens to rent cars or apartments from known companies. It asked tourists to carefully read rent contracts preferably in the presence of a lawyer and urged them not to accept the services offered by unknown persons. “You should also avoid going to remote areas with a few number of people especially at late night,” the embassy warned tourists. It asked Saudi students who may opt to stay beyond six months, which is the validity of their visit visa, to obtain a permanent residence permit from the department of passports and immigration after showing the university or school registration.It said Saudi students with permanent residence permits will be treated similar to Egyptian citizens.

Forensics chief denies EgyptAir blast claims
Agencies Tuesday, 24 May 2016/Egypt's head of forensics denied reports that an initial examination of human remains belonging to victims aboard the EgyptAir jet that crashed in the Mediterranean pointed towards an explosion, state news agency MENA said on Tuesday. "Everything published about this matter is completely false, and mere assumptions that did not come from the Forensics Authority," MENA quoted Hesham Abdelhamid as saying in a statement. Hesham Abdel Hameed, head of the justice ministry's forensics department, also denied that the reports were accurate, according to the website of state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper. It reported Abdel Hameed as saying such comments are hypothetical and could not have been issued by the department or any of its forensics doctors. "No trace of any explosives has been found so far on debris or body parts," one source told AFP. "When a plane crashes, an explosion takes place at some stage or another, reducing the plane to pieces," another source said. This is "either as a result of mechanical failure or a criminal act, or when the plane hits the sea after falling 11 kilometres, as in this case". "This does not advance the investigation, unless we find traces of an explosive, which is not the case at this stage," the source added. Hours earlier, the Associated Press quoted a senior Egyptian forensics official who claimed that human remains retrieved from the crash site suggest there was an explosion on board that may have brought down the aircraft. AP said the official is part of the Egyptian investigative team and has personally examined the remains at a Cairo morgue. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he isn’t authorized to release the information. He said all 80 pieces brought to Cairo so far are small and that “there isn’t even a whole body part, like an arm or a head.” The official adds that “the logical explanation is that it was an explosion.” All 66 people on board were killed when the Airbus 320 crashed in the Mediterranean early Thursday while en route from Paris to Cairo. Investigators are still searching for Airbus A320's two black boxes on the seabed as they seek answers as to why the aircraft came down early on Thursday.
Forensics collect DNA
Egyptian forensics officials collected DNA Tuesday from relatives of EgyptAir MS804 victims to help identify body parts retrieved from the Mediterranean, where the crash killed 66 people, the airline said. "Body parts arrived at the morgue yesterday and other body parts arrived the day before yesterday," EgyptAir Holding Company chairman Safwat Musallam told AFP on Tuesday. "DNA samples have been collected from the victims' families to help identify body parts," EgyptAir said in an emailed statement. (Reuters, AFP and the Associated Press)

Saudi border guard killed, three wounded in mine blast
Reuters Tuesday, 24 May 2016/A Saudi border guard was killed and three others were wounded by a landmine that exploded while on patrol alongside the border with Yemen on Monday, state news agency SPA reported quoting an interior ministry spokesman.The frontier has been largely calm since March after the Saudi government reached an understanding with Yemen's Houthi militias to stop firing across the border in a move that had paved the way for peace talks now underway in Kuwait. SPA said the mine exploded in the morning in the Jizan region in southern Saudi Arabia when two border patrols passed on a designated road near the border with Yemen. One soldier died in the blast while three others were wounded and were taken to a hospital, the agency said. It was not immediately clear if the mine had been planted recently or had been there prior to the calm in place since March. Saudi to compensate citizens living near Yemen border

Syrian Kurds open unofficial representative mission in Paris
AFP, Paris Tuesday, 24 May 2016/Syrian Kurds, who in March unilaterally proclaimed the creation of a federal region in northern Syria, on Monday opened a representative office in central Paris with several celebrities attending the launch. The office is not officially recognized by the French foreign ministry which views the opposition Syrian National Council as the "legitimate" representative of the Syrian people. The launch of the Rojava office -- the name of the self-proclaimed federal region -- was attended by former French foreign minister and Doctors Without Borders co-founder Bernard Kouchner, philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy and other leading Parisian figures. The move follows the opening of similar representative offices in Moscow, Berlin and Stockholm. "Our priority is to defeat terrorism and create stability in Syria," said Sinam Mohamed, a Rojava representative. The Damascus government and the Syrian opposition do not recognize the region. Washington has said it will not recognize any autonomous regions the Syrian Kurds set up under their planned federation but it has also said that it will continue to work closely with the Kurds. Syria's conflict has evolved from a popular uprising to a multi-faceted war that has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions. Kurds comprise about 15 percent of Syria's population and Kurdish fighters have been backed by Washington in the battle against ISIS. Moscow has also steadily built up its alliance with the Kurds after a fallout with Turkey over the downing of a Russian warplane last November, pushing for the inclusion of the Syrian Kurds in UN peace talks.

Kerry urges Lavrov to press for end of Syrian bombing of opposition
AFP, Washington Tuesday, 24 May 2016/The United States urged Russia on Monday to press Syria to stop bombing opposition forces and civilians in Aleppo and the Damascus suburbs. The appeal came in a phone call from Secretary of State John Kerry to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. “Russia has a special responsibility in this regard to press the regime to end its offensive attacks and strikes that kill civilians, immediately allow relief supplies, as determined solely by the UN, to reach all in need, and to comply completely with the cessation of hostilities,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. The United States and Russia are co-partners in the so-called Vienna diplomatic process of the International Support Group for Syria, which met last week in the Austrian capital but made no notable progress. The 20 world and regional powers taking part in the process have so far failed to turn a fragile cessation of hostilities in Syria, in effect since February 27, into a durable truce between the government and opposition groups. Toner said the regime of President Bashar al-Assad was using air strikes and attacks on civilians to gain tactical advantage. He said the United States is looking to Russia to provide the pressure needed to get the regime “to reconsider the fact that if this keeps up, we may be looking at a complete breakdown of the cessation.” He said a cessation of hostilities was needed to create an environment for negotiations to begin. Indirect negotiations between the government and the opposition have been held three times in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations, but have made no progress. No date has been set for their resumption. “Such a (diplomatic) solution will allow all parties to focus on the shared threat posed by Daesh and other terrorists,” Toner said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS, the anti-regime militant group that the United States is also fighting.

Saudi Crown Prince meets Libyan prime minister
Saudi Gazette, Jeddah Tuesday, 24 May 2016/Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, held talks with Fayez Al-Sarraj, prime minister of Libya, in Jeddah on Tuesday. The Saudi crown prince also met with Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion, during which both counterparts discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen them in various fields. The Saudi crown prince also met with Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion. (SPA)

GCC, Canada to cooperate in anti-ISIS fight
AFP Tuesday, 24 May 2016/Gulf Arab foreign ministers agreed with their Canadian counterpart Monday to strengthen “cooperation” in the fight against ISIS and other extremist organizations, they said in a statement. Ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council agreed with Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion on the need to “dry up” sources of finance for extremists. “The campaign against Daesh (an Arabic acronym for ISIS) and other terrorist organizations is not religious or linked to a religion or sect but rather a war on terror,” they added in a statement. They agreed to “strengthen joint cooperation... to eradicate terrorism”, including by “doubling efforts to stop the flow of foreign terrorist fighters” to Syria and Iraq, where the group has seized territory. The joint Arabic-language statement was released following a “strategic dialogue” between Dion and GCC ministers in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah.
The statement, which came after deadly ISIS attacks on Monday in Syria and Yemen, condemned the “barbarian crimes committed by ISIS and other terrorist groups”. It also comes after Dion on Saturday announced the start of a Canadian security pact with Tunisia, initially for three years, to support the North African country in its fight against “terrorism”. The ministers also voiced support for the Iraqi government’s “efforts to preserve security and stability”, urging the creation of a “comprehensive” government there to “strengthen the capabilities of Iraqi security forces in their war on ISIS”. Iraq has been hit by a months-long political crisis that has paralyzed the legislature, as the country’s forces battle to regain more ground from ISIS while also facing a major financial crisis.
Iran’s interferences
The ministers also reaffirmed their “rejection of Iran’s support for terrorism and its actions that undermine stability in the region, including acts by Hezbollah”, the Lebanese militia whose supporters are fighting alongside the Tehran-backed regime in Syria and which is listed as a “terrorist group” by GCC countries. The ministers vowed to work together “to confront (Iran’s) interferences in the region”. In addition to Iran’s arch-rival Saudi Arabia, the GCC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Riyadh severed diplomatic relations with Tehran in January after Iranian demonstrators burned Saudi Arabia’s embassy and a consulate following the Saudi execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Several other GCC members followed suit in cutting ties.

Greece starts evacuating migrant border camp
AFP, Idomeni Tuesday, 24 May 2016/At least 200 police started clearing Greece's squalid Idomeni camp Tuesday on the border with Macedonia, where over 8,400 migrants are living, according to Agence France-Presse. A helicopter hovered over the camp, where some 20 police vans and dozens of plainclothes police officers were on site as the operation got under way after a harsh winter prompted many to try to force their way across the border. No force was used as officers, who started to arrive at the camp Monday, urged migrants to leave their tents and board buses to take them to shelters.
Officials have said 6,000 spots are available at reception centers, and that most of the migrants are to be moved to camps at former industrial facilities near Greece's second city Thessaloniki over 10 days. The migrants have spent a brutal winter in the freezing rain and mud, with aid groups struggling to keep them fed and healthy.Many of the camp's residents are women and children keen to be reunited with male relatives who have pushed ahead on their own -- with the aid of smugglers -- hoping to find a place of refuge in EU states more financially viable than debt-hit Greece. The leftist government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has for months been trying to persuade many of the migrants to move away from makeshift tent cities at Idomeni and the port of Piraeus for their own comfort and safety. Through persuasion, the number of migrants at Piraeus was brought down from around 5,000 people in March to 1,500. But many are wary of relocating to organized camps away from the border or the city of Athens, because it could be harder to find people-smuggling contacts.

Hillary Clinton declines final debate with Bernie Sanders
Reuters Tuesday, 24 May 2016/Hillary Clinton, the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, turned down on Monday an invitation by Fox News to debate rival Bernie Sanders in California, despite having agreed previously to a debate in May. "We believe that Hillary Clinton's time is best spent campaigning and meeting directly with voters across California and preparing for a general election campaign that will ensure the White House remains in Democratic hands," her campaign said in a statement. Sanders had already agreed to participate in the event to be hosted by Fox News, following a series of heated exchanges during their fifth debate in April in New York. "I am disappointed but not surprised by Secretary Clinton’s unwillingness to debate before the largest and most important primary in the presidential nominating process," Sanders said in a statement. The US senator from Vermont has remained steadfast in his long-shot battle with Clinton for the Democratic nomination for the Nov. 8 presidential election, although he lags her in the delegate count with only a few state contests remaining. “Naturally, Fox News is disappointed that Secretary Clinton has declined our debate invitation," Bill Sammon, Fox News vice president and Washington managing editor, said in a statement, "especially given that the race is still contested and she had previously agreed to a final debate before the California primary.”
California holds its primary on June 7.

Dutch MPs vote to strip terrorists of dual nationality
By Staff writer Al Arabiya English News Tuesday, 24 May 2016/Dutch MPs voted on Monday to strip dual nationals of their Dutch citizenship if they join terror groups such as the so-called Islamic State group to fight as jihadists, officials said. "These jihadists can pose a threat to national security when they return to the Netherlands," the justice ministry said in a statement. Some western governments want the right to strip terror suspects of their nationality if they are dual nationals, including those born in Europe. With the exception of the far right movements, which firmly support the bill, the issue has divided political parties and raised a great deal of objection. Australia's parliament has passed in December, a law to strip dual nationals of their citizenship for terrorism-related offenses. An estimated 110 Australians are believed to be fighting with the ISIS.In France, President François Hollande has dropped, weeks ago, a controversial plans to change the constitution; plans which included a clause allowing convicted terrorists to be stripped of their French nationality, if they are dual nationals. Solo French nationals were not included in the proposed bill.with agencies

European leaders call for ‘immediate’ peace in Ukraine
AFP, Paris Tuesday, 24 May 2016/The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine called on Monday for a peace deal aimed at ending the separatist war in eastern Ukraine to be implemented “as quickly as possible,” as fresh clashes erupted. The office of France’s President Francois Hollande said in a statement the leaders spoke over the phone and “recalled their commitment to the Minsk peace accords and their determination to do everything to ensure they are implemented in full as quickly as possible.” The Minsk accords, signed in February 2015 with French and German mediation and in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, calls for a ceasefire along with a range of political, economic and social measures to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The call comes as a Ukrainian soldier was killed and three others injured in a mortar attack by pro-Russian insurgents in the country’s east, where violence has persisted since the peace treaty. Ukrainian leader Petro Porochenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel along with France’s Hollande and Russia’s Putin also called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. “They stressed the importance of implementing all necessary measures to consolidate the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, starting with the withdrawal of weapons and planning the disengagement of armed forces,” the statement said. Kiev and the West have accused Russia of buttressing the rebels and sending in regular troops across the border, claims Moscow has repeatedly denied.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak said last month that it could take years to end the conflict, which has claimed more than 9,300 lives since it erupted in April 2014.
Earlier this month, France and Germany held a round of talks with Kiev and Moscow as part of efforts to try to seek a lasting peace deal but no consensus was reached over elections in the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine.

Iranian Resistance’s call to save political prisoners on hunger strike
Tuesday, 24 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/The Iranian Resistance calls on all defenders of human rights, particularly the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 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 the political prisoners on hunger strike.
Mr. Jafar Azimzadeh, after 25 days of hunger strike, is in dire condition. He has gone on hunger strike to protest the “violation of fundamental rights of teachers and workers”, “their imprisonment and trial on bogus charges”, and to revoke the charge of “acting against security” against labor and teacher activists. On May 21, he was transferred to a hospital outside the prison due to severe feebleness and drop in blood pressure, as well as mal-functioning of the kidney. The Iranian regime’s intelligence agents pressured him in the hospital to end his hunger strike, but he stressed that he would not end his hunger strike until his demands are met. Similarly, on May 23, he was again transferred to the hospital because of the deterioration of his condition, but around midnight they pulled him off his hospital bed and returned him from the hospital to prison.
Mr. Mohammad Sediq Kaboudvand, a Kurdish journalist and a political prisoner in Ward 350 of Evin Prison, has gone on hunger strike in protest to fabrication of charges, ramping up of pressure and harassment in the prison. He has been on hunger strike for 17 days. Despite his dire condition, the regime has increased pressure on him and has summoned him to be tried on fresh charges. Mr. Kaboudvand has been in detention since July 1, 2007 and was condemned by a bogus court to 10 years in prison for “acting against security”. He suffers of several ailments, including cardiac and renal diseases, and the persistence of the present conditions is very dangerous for him.
Political prisoner Mr. Abbas Lessani is exiled in Adelabad Prison of Shiraz and has staged a hunger strike in protest to his continued detention despite the end of his prison term. The mullahs’ judiciary is planning to raise fresh charges against him to prolong his imprisonment. Political prisoner Mr. Sohail Babadi in Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison has been on a hunger strike since May 16. Despite suffering from renal infection and stone, he is deprived of the necessary medical treatment. He was arrested in June 2012 for posting sarcastic pieces on his Facebook page and was condemned to five years in prison for insulting ‘sanctities.’ Regime’s judiciary henchmen then added another seven years to his prison term on charges of assembling and colluding against the national security and insulting the supreme leader. Mr. Shir-Mohammad Shirani, a Baluchi political prisoner who has been exiled to a prison in Ardabil, went on hunger strike on May 2 to protest being deprived of medical care. After he announced his hunger strike, the torturers badly beat him up and transferred him to solitary confinement with a broken head and while bleeding. He was arrested in 2008 and underwent torture in solitary confinement for two years. He was then condemned to 22 years in prison and transferred from a prison in Zahedan to Ardabil. He suffers of renal and other diseases, but intelligence ministry agents prevent him from receiving medical treatment.Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/May 24, 2016

Iran political prisoner’s health deteriorates on Day 26 of hunger strike
Tuesday, 24 May 2016/NCRI - Iranian workers’ rights activist and political prisoner Jafar Azimzadeh is on Day 26 of an indefinite hunger strike in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison against the regime's clampdown on union activities in Iran. Mr. Azimzadeh's health is reported to have deteriorated significantly and he is under pressure by the mullahs' regime to end his protest.On Saturday Mr. Azimzadeh was temporarily taken to hospital after complaining of kidney problems. He refused to be administratored liquid serum and was transferred back to prison in his current state after midnight. His wife has said that Mr. Azimzadeh has lost considerable weight, his blood pressure has dropped, and he is suffering from loss of vision and serious kidney pain. The Tehran bus drivers’ union, the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed), in a statement this week warned about the deterioration of Mr. Azimzadeh’s health and called for his release from prison. The Tehran prosecutor's office on May 17 demanded that he end his hunger strike. On May 17 he had to be transferred by car to the visitor's hall to see his wife as he was unable to walk after becoming frail due to his hunger strike. According to reports, officials from the Tehran prosecutor's office have suggested to Mr. Azimzadeh that he would be given an opportunity to take long-term leave from prison if he breaks his hunger strike. Reports say that Mr. Azimzadeh replied to the representative of the Tehran prosecutor's office: "I did not go on hunger strike in order to be permitted to have prison leave. In the letter that I had written prior to beginning my hunger strike, I set out my demands clearly, and I expect them to be fulfilled. The first step to fulfilling these demands is to halt the implementation of the [current] verdicts and reevaluate our file rejecting the accusation of acting against national security. I will therefore continue with my indefinite hunger strike." Mr. Azimzadeh, who was arrested last November, is currently serving a six-year prison sentence for engaging in peaceful and legitimate trade union activities. Mr. Azimzadeh last week protested his detention in Evin Prison while the mullahs' kangaroo court in Saveh, south-west of Tehran, considers his case. He has demanded that he be allowed to properly defend himself in the court. 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).
The following is the text of the statement by Jafar Azimzadeh:
My dear friend and resistant cellmate Ismail Abdi was released on three 3 billion Rials bail (U.S. $100,000). He had spent 11 months in prison without a judicial verdict and solely based on the will of the security apparatus. Abdi’s release, while exciting and gratifying, does not mean that even a small step was being taken to realize our demands and the demands of millions of teachers and workers. In our joint statement that was strongly and passionately supported by the country’s teachers and workers unions as well as labor and teachers’ organizations across the world, we demanded an end to treating social and civil protests as security issues and removing the charge of “associating and colluding with intent to act against national security" from the open files of protesting workers and teachers and imprisoned union activists, including ourselves. We protested wages below the poverty line, the ban on holding independent and free celebrations to mark International Workers’ Day and Teachers’ Day, the ban on forming independent trade unions, and lack of transparency and effective action by the International Labor Organization (ILO) against flagrant violation of the essential rights of Iranian workers and teachers, and we did go on hunger strike. Accordingly, as far as it concerns Ismail Abdi’s release through a heavy bail and an open case with heavy security charges, such an act from the legal authority dealing with his case even within the framework of existing law-breaking actions, was routine and, in Ismail’s case, predictable.
For that reason, his release can’t be used as a claim of addressing our demands and that of millions of workers and teachers, and it appears that it was intended to overshadow and limit the scope of the ever increasing (labor and teachers) movement that has centered around ending the treatment of protests by teachers and workers as security issues and protesting heavy security charges against trade activists around the country and around the globe.Therefore, with great appreciation for the support of Iran’s teachers and workers and labor and workers’ unions and organizations around the world for our demands in the joint statement with Ismail Abdi, and emphasizing on realization of all of them, I will continue my indefinite hunger strike that I began on April 30.
Copy to: International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
Jafar Azimzadeh - Ward 8 of Evin Prison/May 2016

IRAN: Wages of 1000 workers of Persian Gulf Star Refinery remain unpaid
Tuesday, 24 May 2016/NCRI - The wages of more than 1000 workers employed in the Persian Gulf Star Refinery in Iran have not been paid since February. These laborers are working in small and large contracting companies under contract with the refinery, but none of them have received their wages for the past four months, according to several of the workers. Lack of liquidity, unpaid invoices of the contracting companies and the financial crisis facing the mullahs' regime are the main causes of delay in deferred payments of these workers’ wages. The Iranian regime’s former Minister of Education announced on April 21 that the country’s economy is on the verge of collapse and that not all problems related to the dire economic situation were the byproduct of international sanctions. Hamidreza Haji-Babai, who in addition to being a minister was a legislator of the regime for 20 years, made the following assessment of the regime’s economy: “We should note that not all the problems are related to the sanctions. Just 30 percent of our problems are due to sanctions and the remaining 70 percent have to do with [mis]management.”The regime’s First Vice President said in January that the regime is faced with a variety of economic crises which could lead to “threats” against the regime by Iran’s young restive population. “The country is entangled in a special economic and political situation that demands serious action,” said Eshaq Jahangiri, who is top deputy to the regime’s President Hassan Rouhani. “We are facing three important challenges with unemployment being prominent among them.” Jahangiri expressed concern about the situation and said, “Iran has a large young population. If we are unable to solve their problems, this opportunity will morph into a threat.”

60 percent recession in Iran’s industrial sector
Monday, 23 May 2016/NCRI - A member of the Iranian regime's Majlis, or Parliament, has admitted that Iran's industrial sector is facing 60 percent recession. The Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the regime's Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, interviewed Mohammad Kazemi on May 18.
He acknowledged: "Banks' high interests rates and the increasing amount of deferments block any revival of productions." "The situation of production and industrial units in Hamedan Province (western Iran) is not promising. Of course this is related to the country's overall economic outlook."
Kazemi admitted that foreign investment has not been successful enough to overcome the recession. "Various delegations came to Iran and an investment license to an amount of nearly $3.5 billion was issued. However, as long as no mutual trust exists, foreign investment cannot be trusted either."

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 24- 25/16

Iran’s Soleimani leads US-backed attack on Fallujah
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report May 24/16
Exclusive photo of war conference.
For months, US President Barack Obama and the Pentagon opposed the participation by pro-Iranian militias in the war against ISIS in Iraq.
The main objection were to the Popular Mobilization Army commanded by Iranian Gen. Abu Mahdi al Muhandis who has been named as a “specially designated global terrorist” by Washington.
The US was also against the Badr Organization (formerly the Badr Brigade) commanded by Hadi Al-Amiri from Iran’s Al Qods Brigades. These militias slaughtered the Sunni residents of cities that they recaptured from ISIS during the last year. As a result, many Sunni Iraqis preferred to be ruled by ISIS, and did not trust the coalition of US, Baghdad and Tehran.
But on May 22, with the start of the Iraqi attack on Fallujah, the capital of Anbar province in western Iraq, it became clear that the participation of pro-Iranian forces is no longer taboo for the US.
Even though Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that 35,000 Iraqi troops launched an attack to liberate Fallujah from ISIS, debkafile’s military and intelligence sources report that most of these forces are not participating in the assault.
It is spearheaded by the Popular Mobilization Army and the Badr Organization, and they are under the direct command of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of Iranian forces in Iraq and Syria, who is operating from a field command center.
The US air force is helping Soleimani’s attempt to capture Fallujah.
In a new exclusive photo showing the Iranian war room on the front, Soleimani is seen smoking a thick cigar with al-Muhandis on his left, leaning on a US map of the area of the battle.
Our military sources report that by assisting the offensive, which the Obama administration opposed for a long time, the Americans have actually given up on attacking Mosul, the ISIS capital in Iraq, any time soon.
Instead of liberating Mosul, Washington now prefers to place it under siege and gradually cause the collapse of ISIS rule.
The American decision to support Soleimani’s operation shows the central role played by Iran for the past few weeks in the wars carried out by the US and Russia in the Middle East.
debkafile’s military sources report that the Iranian general came to Fallujah from northern Syria, near the city of Aleppo, where he commanded the Iranian, Syrian and Hizballah armies. At this stage, it can be concluded that he has failed against the Syrian rebels on the Aleppo front.
Following that failure of that campaign, which was backed by Russian air power, Soleimani has relocated to the Fallujah front where his troops are operating under the protective umbrella of the US air force.

Palestinian Authority PM: Netanyahu buying time to avoid peace deal
Jerusalem Post/May 24/16
Israel’s call for direct talks is simply an excuse to avoid an internationalized peace process that would force it to withdraw from the West Bank, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said in Ramallah on Tuesday as he met with his French counterpart Manuel Valls.
"When [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is talking about direct talks, negotiations and meeting the (Palestinian Authority) President he wants to buy more time," Hamdallah said. Hamdallah dismissed a call by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for the immediate resumption of direct talks in Paris via a French led process. Instead, Hamdallah, welcomed the French initiative that calls for high level representatives of over 20 countries to come to a June 3 Paris meeting to set parameters for the eventual renewal of talks. “After 22 years of negotiations we did not achieve anything from the Israelis and we do not want this time to let Netanyahu escape from the (hands of) the International community,” Hamdallah said.
While Israel has spoken frequently against Palestinian incitement, Hamdallah told the French that he was concerned by Israeli hatred. “This Israeli government has drifted further towards extremism and racism,” the Palestinian leader said. “Its leaders incite and spew hatred against our people while expropriating our land and natural resources, and expanding illegal settlements,” he said as he described for Valls the harm caused to his people by Israel’s continued presence in the West Bank, including continued settlement construction. Hamdallah’s spokesman said that during the meeting with Valls, the French premier spoke against continued Israelis settlement activity which he said “weakens the prospect of the creation of a viable Palestinian state."“Palestine can count on the support of France,” Valls said. “Today, we have strengthened our cooperation, which was already strong, and we sincerely hope that this cooperation continues to develop.”Valls wrapped up a three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. He visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and pledged support for a wastewater management project in Hebron. He also lay a wreath at the grave of former PA Chairman Yasser Arafat. Netanyahu has opposed the two-part French initiative, which he believes will simply dictate the outcome of the process and give the Palestinians an excuse to avoid direct talks on a two-state solution.
During his Monday meeting with Valls, Netanyahu urged his French counterpart to amend the initiative so that it instead becomes a platform for him and PA President Mahmoud Abbas to hold talks in Paris without preconditions.
“I'm ready to clear my schedule and fly to Paris tomorrow,” Netanyahu said, adding, “I will clear my calendar, and I hope that this is taken up by you and by the Palestinians.”
Valls said he would present Netanyahu’s proposal to French President Francois Hollande. The Palestinians would like to see talks occur within internationally agreed upon parameters that set a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines and a halt to settlement activity, including Jewish building in east Jerusalem. They are hoping that the two-phase French initiative would support those principles. Israelis and Palestinians are not invited to the June 3 parley. But they will be asked to attend a larger peace conference in the fall, which France hopes will jumps start Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which have been frozen since April 2014. While in Ramallah, Valls spoke in support of his country's initiative.
"We know that peace will be made by the two sides and that nothing can be imposed on them. But at the same time, today, there are no negotiations and the situation on the ground is catastrophic. What's needed is to get out of this status quo and this impasse. “This approach, which is ours, is underpinned by significant international support because everyone sees the difficulties," Valls said. The United States on Monday said it preferred to see the Israelis and Palestinians sit down together and talk, but that it did not believe such negotiations were possible at this time. “If they are willing [to talk], then certainly we are not going to stand in their way,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said. But, he cautioned, “We believe that there’s got to be more groundwork laid before that process can go forward. “We don’t want to see negotiations for the sake of negotiations. We want a clear path forward, and we need the – set the right climate or right environment for those negotiations to proceed,” he said. US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to attend the June 3 ministerial meeting. “He wants to work with the French. He wants to work with other partners in the coming days to ensure that this is as productive and constructive a process as possible,” Toner said. Reuters contributed to this report.
 

Ghannouchi and Separating Religion From Politics
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Al Arabia/May 24/16
Sheikh Rachid Ghannouchi is a leading figure in the field of political Islam. He is one of a few leaders, like the late Sudanese leader Hassan Al-Turabi, that has a presence and influence that can be used to change the course of Islamic movements and governments, and save them from themselves in addition to saving the region from projects to dominate the government.But there are two different Rachid Ghannouchis, there is one who addresses the west and then there is another who is the head of the Tunisian Ennahda party. Coinciding with the tenth conference of the Tunisian Ennahda Movement held recently, Ghannouchi told the French newspaper Le Monde “Ennahda is a political, democratic, and civil party based on Muslim and modern civilizational values. We are moving towards a party that specialises solely in political activities…We are leaving political Islam and entering democratic Islam. We are Muslim democrats who no longer claim political Islam” We want religious activity to be completely separate from political activity. This is very good for politicians because, in this way, they can no longer be accused of manipulating religion for political ends. And this is very good also for religion so that it is not a hostage to politics and manipulated by politicians”. These are great words at a time when such a proposal is needed.
However, we saw the other Ghannouchi when he delivered a speech to the party on the same day in which he said “We are surprised by the insistence of some to remove religion from national life, although the leaders of the national movement have historically adhered to our Muslim religion.” This is all very confusing because he contradicted himself on the same day. The majority of workers in other parties are also patriotic Tunisians and Muslims, but Ennahda wants to be presented as a representative of Islam. Here lies the controversy; Islam is a consistent creed as opposed to politics which is variable civil work and has been persistently used by figures of authority who work in the religious field. The President of Tunisia Beji Caid Essebsi, who delivered a speech in front of the Ennahda party, said he was reluctant to attend the party’s conference due to the large number of licensed parties in Tunisia (about 204). However, he singled out Ennahda because the party plays an important role, and he urged it to transform into a civilian oriented party.
Despite the contradiction, Ghannouchi’s remarks to the French newspaper Le Monde, was greeted enthusiastically by the media and intellectual and political figures via social media. They considered it a shift that was intellectually and historically important, and that with this concept the sheikh would not only lead Tunisia, but also the Islamic world towards modernising the concept and role of political Islam. If he means what he says, his statements reflect a progressive ideology that puts him ahead of other political religious figures. However, I do not really know who to believe; the Ghannouchi of Le Monde or the Ghannouchi of the Tunisian religious renaissance. He is not the only one whose speech is contradictory. What makes so called “moderate” leaders deliver contradictory speeches? Is this a policy of caution? Or are they marketing their personalities and their parties to the West? Or do they live contradictory lives?
I have had discussions with many of them including Sheikh Rashid, and despite our differences which went to the British courts, he is a prominent intellectual figure. He has a renewed proposal and has lived through the era of many different movements, has learnt from them and impacted them. However, I think the sheikh is a fox, like all other foxes of politics.
This does not diminish the value of his idea, and I imagine that he means what he says about his desire to develop the party’s Islamic thought by aligning it with the western and European experience so that those who hold Islamic ideas engage in political activities and influence it with their religious point of view whilst also respecting their competitors within the broad democratic concept. However, a leader’s desire to stay in power may obstruct this tolerant thought because a leader must adopt the view of his party members. This is why we see Ghannouchi wearing two hats; one hat belongs to the liberal western Islamic thinker and the other belongs to the Islamist party member who wants to stay in power. As the head of Ennahda, Ghannouchi is eager to please the party’s supporters and the wider Islamic audience which is mostly against the idea of coexistence with others and adopts the principle of monopolising governance. This is what Dr Turabi did in Sudan and what the Muslim Brotherhood Party did in Egypt, after it rode the wave of democracy and obtained power. It then tried to dominate and disregarded the rules of democracy, and this allowed others to use its practices as a pretext for attaining power.

Turkish Sultan's New Grand Vizier: What Is His Main Goal?
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/May 24/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8105/binali-yildirim
Ahmet Davutoglu was a typically Islamist prime minister, except that even his secular rivals admitted that he was an honest man -- not corrupt at all. In contrast, Binali Yildirim, who is designated to be the next prime minister, has a different story to tell.
There are suspicions about how the Yildirim family has run its business arm.
Yildirim will leave foreign policy to Erdogan and his inner cabinet exclusively. He will devote most of his time to his number one task: putting together a parliamentary majority, either by horse-trading or by snap polls, in order to introduce the executive presidential system his boss so passionately craves.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, the choice of Turkish President and would-be Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan for loyal servant in 2014, stepped down with words that were bitter but not resentful: he will always remain loyal to the sultan, party and "dawa" – the Islamist political cause.
After having been chosen by the Sultan as his first Grand Vizier, not knowing he would have to quit barely 20 months later, Davutoglu read out his government's program in parliament on Sept. 1, 2014:
"One of the most important prerequisites to sustainable stability in the Middle East is to find a just, comprehensive and viable solution to the Palestinian dispute.... Turkey's efforts for an end to the human tragedy in Palestine, achievement of sustainable peace in the region and support for the unity government in Palestine will continue on.... Any progress in the process of normalization of ties with Israel, which began after Israel apologized in 2013 for the Mavi Marmara attack, will not be possible unless Israel stopped its military strikes on Gaza and removed restrictions [on Gaza]."
As is almost always the case in Turkish political Islam's inner roads of intrigue and power struggles, Davutoglu's fierce pro-Palestinian, anti-Semitic, pro-ummah, neo-Ottomanist dreams failed to keep him afloat in a sea of sharks: his own comrades. On May 5 he announced his decision to take the party leadership to an extraordinary general convention where "he would not run for party chairman and prime minister."
On May 19, the party leadership announced the sole candidate to run for party chairman and prime minister: Binali Yildirim, Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication, and Erdogan's closest political ally.
Why did Davutoglu have to go? One former party bigwig has an explanation: "The president [Erdogan] demands 100% allegiance. 99% allegiance will not suffice," said Ahmet Sever, chief advisor to Abdullah Gul, the former President of Turkey. Gul another of Erdogan's most-trusted allies who now enjoys the days of early retirement as he, too, turned out to be "disposable."
So, it once was Erdogan, Gul & Co. It was reflagged as Erdogan, Davutoglu & Co. Now it is Erdogan, Yildirim & Co. What, if anything, will change?
Davutoglu was a dreamer of a future that would blend neo-Ottomanism with pan-Islamism. Despite outstanding failures in a span of seven years (when he joined Erdogan's cabinet as foreign minister), he still -- perhaps childishly -- believed that the overthrown dictatorships in the formerly Ottoman Muslim lands would one day be replaced by Sunni Islamist regimes, thus creating a regional "Muslim Brotherhood belt" under Turkey's leadership. He believed that he and his Islamist comrades would one day pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque in the "Palestinian capital al-Quds [Jerusalem]." He believed that Turkey's regional clout was strong enough to oust Syria's non-Sunni president, Bashar al-Assad, and replace him with a pro-Sunni, Islamist leader.
Although he comes from the similar, pattern-like ideological background, the new Turkish prime minister does not feature any of these banner-like Islamist ideals. That, however, does not make him different from any other Turkish Islamist. Yildirim once confessed, shocking millions of secular Turks:
"I first enrolled there [an Istanbul university]. Then I saw that girl and boy students were mixing up ... sitting at the campus benches together. I feared I could go off the [devout] way and I decided to enroll at another university."
Yildirim did enroll at another university, studied shipbuilding there, did his postgraduate studies in Malmö, Sweden, and became the head of Istanbul's ship company when Erdogan was the city's mayor. After Erdogan became the prime minister, he appointed Yildirim as his transport minister. When Erdogan was elected president in 2014 and Yildirim finished his term as transport minister, Erdogan took him, as his chief advisor, to his 1,100-room palace: Yildirim was now running an unofficial cabinet parallel to that of Davutoglu, and masterminding Turkey's "mega projects," a term referring to multi-billion dollar infrastructure programs in Yildirim's portfolio. The pro-Erdogan media refers to Yildirim as the "projects man."
Davutoglu was a typically Islamist prime minister, except that even his secular rivals admitted that he was an honest man -- not corrupt at all. In contrast, Yildirim has a different story to tell. His son, Erkan Yildirim, was recently photographed playing roulette at a super-posh Singapore casino. That does not indicate any illegal dealing although, in theory, it should have irked the typical devout Muslim Turkish voters who go for Erdogan's [and now Yildirim's] Justice and Development Party (AKP). It did not. But there are suspicions about how the Yildirim family has run its business arm.
Ahmet Davutoglu (left) was a typically Islamist prime minister, except that even his secular rivals admitted that he was an honest man -- not corrupt at all. In contrast, Binali Yildirim (right), who is designated to be the next prime minister, has a different story to tell.
Erkan Yildirim launched his shipping company, Derin Gemicilik, in 2002, the year when Erdogan's AKP first came to power. He purchased his first ship only months after, in 2003. Today the Yildirim family allegedly owns 17 companies, 28 ships and two super-yachts. In response to a parliamentary motion years ago, Yildirim admitted that his children "owned ships" but refused to reveal "how many ships they owned."
If Davutoglu was just 99% loyal to Erdogan, Yildirim will try to be more than 100% loyal. The new prime minister will not pursue his own foreign policy goals as his predecessor did. He will leave foreign policy to Erdogan and his inner cabinet exclusively. He will devote most of his time to infrastructure projects and to political intriguing, so that he achieves his number one task: putting together a parliamentary majority, either by horse-trading or by snap polls, in order to introduce the executive presidential system his boss so passionately craves. Davutoglu, too, defended the presidential system, but apparently not "passionately enough."
In practice, the office of the Turkish prime minister, the most important seat in the Turkish state system, will soon turn into a de facto party commissar's office -- 100%, not 99%, controlled by Erdogan.
*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.

Austrian Freedom Party: Victory in Defeat/Austrian Presidential Elections Reveal Deeply Divided Country
Soeren Kern//Gatestone Institute/May 24/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8111/austria-elections
European political and media elites have been quick to hail the election of Van der Bellen, who campaigned on a pro-immigration, pro-EU platform. They seem to believe his razor-thin win validates their uninterrupted pursuit of European multiculturalism.
Meanwhile, European elites have expressed relief at Norbert Hofer's defeat. Their reactions would indicate that they unaware that they are largely responsible for the rise of anti-establishment parties in Austria and other parts of Europe.
"Europe has been polarized for years by misguided policies pursued by the old major parties, not only in Germany but in many European countries. The fact is that it must be our task to preserve freedom, democracy and the rule of law across the continent. And the policy of open borders does exactly the opposite." — Frauke Petry, Alternative for Germany party.
Norbert Hofer of the anti-immigration Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) has been narrowly defeated in his bid to become Austria's next president.
Alexander Van der Bellen, former leader of Austrian Greens party, won 50.3% of the vote, compared to 49.7% for Hofer. The margin of victory was 31,026 out of nearly 4.5 million votes cast.
European political and media elites have been quick to hail the election of Van der Bellen, who campaigned on a pro-immigration, pro-EU platform. They seem to believe his razor-thin win validates their uninterrupted pursuit of European multiculturalism.
But Hofer can claim victory even in defeat. By winning half the ballots cast, Hofer has exposed Austria's gaping political divide on immigration and relations with the European Union. Hofer's rise, which has effectively upended Austria's political system, has also inspired anti-establishment parties in other parts of Europe.
Hofer had been in the lead after polls closed on May 22, with 51.9% of the vote to Van der Bellen's 48.1%. In the end, however, the race was decided by 700,000 mail-in votes, accounting for 14% of eligible voters. Van der Bellen won 2,254,484 votes to Hofer's 2,223,458, according to the Interior Ministry.
In this month's Austrian presidential election, Alexander Van der Bellen (left), who campaigned on a pro-immigration, pro-EU platform, defeated Norbert Hofer (right) of the anti-immigration Austrian Freedom Party. (Image source: ORF TV video screenshot)
In what amounted to a political earthquake, Hofer won 36% of the vote in the first round of voting on April 24. Hofer — who campaigned on a platform calling for strict limits on immigration and tough rules for asylum seekers — defeated all of the other candidates, including those from the two governing parties, the Social Democrats and the Austrian People's Party, which have dominated Austrian politics since the end of World War II.
Although the role of president in Austria has traditionally been largely ceremonial, Hofer had suggested that he would try to remove the current government led by newly appointed Chancellor Christian Kern and force new parliamentary elections. Opinion polls suggest that if parliamentary elections were held today, the Freedom Party would win. The next polls are scheduled for some time in 2018.
Van der Bellen, a 72-year-old economist, was gracious in victory, pledging to be "non-partisan president for all of those living in Austria." He added: "All Austrians are equal. Austria consists of two halves. The one half is just as important as the other half."
An analysis in the German newspaper Die Welt warned that Van der Bellen will not have it easy:
"It will be up to Van der Bellen to find the right tone and to show that he not only embodies the Austria of the city dwellers, but the whole country. He will have to bear in mind that according to the polls, 40% of those who voted for him did so only because they wanted to prevent a president from the Freedom Party."
Conceding the election, Hofer wrote on Facebook: "Of course, it is a sad day. But please do not be discouraged. The effort in this election campaign is not wasted. It is an investment for the future."
Hofer's meteoric rise has focused the minds of the establishment parties. On April 27, just three days after Hofer's initial electoral victory, the Austrian Parliament adopted what may be one of the toughest asylum laws in Europe.
Under the new law, Austria will declare a "state of emergency" on the migration crisis. This will allow Austrian authorities to assess asylum claims directly at the border. Only asylum seekers with immediate family members already in Austria, or those who can prove they are in danger in neighboring transit countries, will be allowed to enter the country. Other migrants will be turned away. The new law also limits any successful asylum claim to three years.
Austria received 90,000 asylum requests in 2015, the second-highest number in the European Union on a per capita basis, but this pales in comparison to what may lie ahead. In a radio interview on April 28, Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka warned that up to one million migrants are poised to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Europe.
Mass migration to Austria has been accompanied by a spike in migrant-related rapes, sexual assaults and other crimes across the country, and has contributed to the rise of the Freedom Party.
Reflecting on the outcome of the presidential election, Hofer's campaign manager, Herbert Kickl, said: "This is a huge achievement. Hofer managed to convince half of the population in defiance of the system."
In France, where polls show that the leader of the National Front, Marine Le Pen, is leading polls for presidential elections in 2017, party secretary general Nicolas Bay wrote on Twitter: "Despite the disappointment, a historic score for our ally from the Freedom Party. The future belongs to patriots!"
Meanwhile, European elites have expressed relief at Hofer's defeat. Their reactions would indicate that they unaware that they are largely responsible for the rise of anti-establishment parties in Austria and other parts of Europe.
The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said anti-EU parties should be completely shunned: "Neither a debate nor a dialogue is possible with right-wing populists."
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "The election result removes a heavy burden for all of Europe." Ralf Stegner, the deputy director of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) commented on Twitter: "This must serve as a warning that we can never again allow it [the rise of anti-establishment parties] go this far and that we have to combat this threat to our democracy with full force!"
But the leader of the Alternative for Germany party, Frauke Petry, said the vote was "an important day, not only for Austria, but for all of Europe." She added:
"Europe has been polarized for years by misguided policies pursued by the old major parties, not only in Germany but in many European countries. The fact is that it must be our task to preserve freedom, democracy and the rule of law across the continent. And the policy of open borders does exactly the opposite."
The outcome of the Austrian presidential election will not be official until June 1, the deadline for legal challenges to the vote count. Some Freedom Party members have expressed anger at the opaque manner in which mail-in ballots are counted.
**Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter. His first book, Global Fire, will be out in 2016.
© 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.
 

Canada/My First Hizb-ut-Tahrir Conference
by Z/ Gatestone Institute/ May 24/16

http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/05/24/z-gatestone-institute-my-first-hizb-ut-tahrir-conference/

“Why,” I said to the woman next to me, “is this flag there? Is that not the ISIS flag?”
Time: Saturday May 21, 2016,
Venue: Swagat Banquet Hall, 6991 Millcreek Dr., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
The half-full banquet hall, divided into the men’s side and the women’s side, admitted about 100 attendees. A black flag with white script was on display, on both the screen and on the podium. “Why,” I said to the woman next to me, “is this flag there? Is that not the ISIS flag?” The woman, later identified as Naeema, said it was not, and called her son, one of the organizers, to address the question. It seemed difficult for him, too; he went off to look for someone else more knowledgeable to the help with the problem. Naeema explained that the writing was different. “I can read Arabic,” I said. No one could be found to answer the question.
As the event started late, Naeema began a conversation. We talked about our origins and how long we had been in Canada. She said she had been here 40 years, so I asked about the disconnect between enjoying 40 years of democracy, yet trying to end it. I mentioned a book published by Hizb-ut-Tahrir:
“Democracy is Infidelity: its use, application and promotion are prohibited.”
“الديمقراطية نظام كفر، يحرم أخذها أو تطبيقها أو الدعوة إليها”
Naeema said she was not qualified to debate the topic, but that democracy had done nothing good for people, so she and other believers would follow the rule of Allah. Reflecting on the Muslim Brotherhood’s year in power in Egypt, I asked if she were prepared to have a dictator claim to be Allah’s spokesman even if he abused the power. She said she had never thought about it like that, but, again, that she was not qualified to debate the topic. As the conference began, the conversation stopped.
The first speaker was Brother Mostafa, of Arabic roots. Mostafa started by calling nationalism and sectarian conflict the main reasons for division in the Ummah (Islamic nation). He reminded Muslims that they are obligated to implement Allah’s demands that fulfill the Islamic State. It is “not permissible for us to choose, ” he said. He cited the verse:
“وما كان لمؤمن ولا مؤمنة إذا قضى الله ورسوله أمرا ان يكون لهم الخيرة من أمرهم و من يعص الله ورسوله فقد ضَل ضلالا مبين.” سورة الأحزاب، آية ٣٦.
“It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.” — Surat-Al-Ahzab (33), verse 36.
Mostafa then focused on two pillars for advancing the Islamic State:
Winning the public’s hearts and minds; and
Partnering with people of power
To illustrate the point, he referred to the prophet’s sira (life) and cited two examples:
The first was a comparison between the Pledges of Aqabah 1 and 2. In the first, the prophet focused on seeking moral support from the tribes which he called to Islam. In the second, he sought their pledge for militant defense. This second pledge, Mostafa said, represented the foundation of the Islamic State.
His next example was an illustration of the right choice of allies. He cited the prophet’s negotiations with a tribe, the Banou-Shayban. When asked how strong they were, the Banou-Shayban had replied: “We are 1000 men who take weapons of war as our toys, and we care for our horses more than we care for our children.” This reply, it seems, enabled them to win the contract.
As Mostafa spoke, his teenage daughter proudly but quietly cheered him; her younger sisters played with glitter and coloring books.
The next speaker was brother Bilal, of Asian origin. Bilal’s message focused on how to make the Ummah powerful and independent. He summarized the requirements: a capable military, economic engines, natural resources, and trained and dedicated people. A short video was presented to demonstrate these points. They included the collective oil and natural gas production capacities of the Muslim world, the human capital needed to mine and process these resources, the military power required to protect both natural and human resources, and the types of weapons needed to make this military effective.
Everyone waved the black flags with the white script.
***Z. lives in Canada/© 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.
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8110/hizb-ut-tahrir-canada

The demise of the ‘caliphate’s capital’
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Aabiya/May 24/16
Syria’s Raqqa is not new to war. The Mongols occupied and destroyed it, and settled there until they were expelled. It is finally about to be liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has carried out unimaginable atrocities against its people, as documented and publicized by its own fighters. They have committed mass murder, thrown people off rooftops, bragged about raping girls in schools, circulated news about killing foreigners, and taken people for forced labor. Raqqa has become the world capital of horror. ISIS chose it as its capital because of its oil wells and facilities, which can fund its state. It has sold oil to anyone, and struck a deal that reconciled it with the Syrian regime, which is a major customer. In exchange for buying oil, ISIS has operated as an army for President Bashar al-Assad, fighting the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and other opposition factions.
The battle of Raqqa is the US-led coalition’s most important military and political work. The administration of US President Barack Obama needs a huge propaganda victory after criticism escalated against its Syria policy. If Raqqa is liberated, it will be its only major military achievement since the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Liberating Raqqa is important because it will destroy the caliphate, not just its capital. If the coalition kills and expels thousands of ISIS fighters from their stronghold, this will send a strong message to other extremist groups, including Al-Nusra Front, and hinder jihadist recruitment propaganda.
What next?
Victory will be thrilling when reported on TV, but its results will be limited on the ground. We have previously seen how terrorist groups run like mice, build new hiding places then resume battle. ISIS decreased its presence in Iraq’s Anbar province, then seized the city of Mosul. It is expected to do the same in Raqqa, then target other Syrian cities. Liberating Raqqa is important because it will destroy the caliphate, not just its capital. Apart from the propaganda gains of liberating Raqqa, the US-led coalition will not succeed in reducing the ISIS threat because the organization lives off chaos in Syria and benefits from the criminality of the Assad regime. Around half a million Syrians have been killed, and millions have been displaced or lost loved ones, due to the crimes of the Assad regime, Iran, Hezbollah and Russia, which are not less hideous than ISIS’s acts. All this to keep Assad in power. ISIS will not find it difficult to recruit thousands of Syrians and others if it decides to revert to its old slogans of targeting the Assad regime, which it abandoned after declaring the caliphate. ISIS will lose its capital, and will suffer a propaganda defeat worldwide. It may later the city of Fallujah in Iraq. However, these victories will not eliminate terrorism in Iraq and Syria, as they are merely pursuits from one city to another.

Netanyahu, Lieberman deal meant to derail French plan
Daoud Kuttab/Al Aabiya/May 24/16
If the French diplomatic machine had a hard time scheduling a conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry, it will soon find out that its effort to arrange an international conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be that much harder. In a three-day spat, a behind-the-scenes effort by Kerry and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to move the Israeli government toward peace backfired. The plan included Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog joining the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give it more muscle against right-wing settler ideologues. To make it more acceptable, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, one of the more popular Arab figures in Israel today, gave a pro-peace speech and said he was willing to help. Netanyahu and Herzog were supposed to head to Cairo to meet with Sisi. However, instead of adding 25 members to his one-seat parliamentary majority, the prime minister offered the Defense Ministry to settler Avigdor Lieberman, whose right-wing Jewish Home party only won six seats in last year’s elections. This turn of events produced many reactions in Israel, including in the army, but the biggest potential loser in this cabinet reshuffle will be the French plan to hold an international conference. Israel is skeptical about the multilateral event, preferring to keep control of peace talks bilaterally. Palestinians, who have tired of 20 years of direct talks that produce nothing but photo opportunities, have for some time vowed to shun a process that gives Israel a PR badge without producing any results. The sudden Israeli cabinet shift further to the right has not lessened French enthusiasm. A revisit to Kerry’s schedule produced a window on June 3, and the preparatory meeting is back on, irrespective of the changes in Israel’s government. Israel and the Palestinians are not invited to the meeting, which aims to consolidate the will of the international community.
Political will
The problem is that while there is general agreement on what needs to happen and the framework of a solution to the conflict, there is an absence of political will and muscle needed to force Israel to take the peace process seriously. What made the Iran nuclear deal possible was tough sanctions by the international community. Nothing of the sort is on the table regarding Israel. In fact, the international community - including France - is fighting tooth and nail against attempts by their own citizens to divest from companies that deal with Israel and help perpetuate its occupation and settlements regime.
If the French are serious about their peace effort, they must not allow yet another conference without teeth . Boycotts, divestments and sanctions (BDS) are what caused South Africa to end its apartheid system, but the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe are violating freedom of expression by trying to criminalize BDS efforts against Israel. The absurdity of this position was best exposed in a Twitter exchange between Palestinian-American Ali Abu Nimeh and an EU official opposed to BDS. The exchange ended with a logical question to the official: What form of resistance to the occupation will be accepted by the international community? If the French are serious about their peace effort, they must not allow yet another conference without teeth. Former French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabious had said if Israel balked at peace, France would recognize Palestine. However, that statement was retracted by his successor Jean-Marc Ayrault. It will take much more than a shy, hesitant threat of recognizing Palestine to make the forthcoming peace conference work. Paris needs to understand that if occupation and settlements are illegal under international law, their perpetuation must have consequences. Until and unless Israel has to pay a price for its actions, there is no chance for any process to bring about true peace in the Middle East.

How to prevent the collapse of Egyptian tourism
Faisal J. Abbas/Al Aabiya/May 24/16
Firstly, it is important to voice my solidarity with the families of the victims of last week's horrific EgyptAir crash. It is also important to voice my solidarity with the people of Egypt and its government during this tough time, which is indeed expected to aggravate the economic crisis that has hit the country since the 2011 revolution. However, I don't think the Egyptians expect their loyal friends to only share sympathy. After all, the media must also play its role of constructive criticism, and when needed a spade must be called a spade. Following three aviation incidents in less than one year – the Russian plane bombing in Sinai, the EgyptAir hijacking in Cyprus, and last week's crash in the Mediterranean - we cannot but say that the overall situation has become disturbing.It is sad, but true, that EgyptAir may now face the same unfortunate fate of Malaysia Airlines.
The risk to tourism
Of course, the bigger issue is that Egypt’s tourism is now in a dire state. Despite the country being rich in antiques and ancient sites, as well as the charming atmosphere of popular venues such Sharm al-Sheikh and Hurghada, tourists can't be expected to risk their lives to go there. This is a reality that can't be changed by anything except by the facts on the ground, as such, it simply doesn't matter how much the tourism authorities encourages them to return by providing special offers and discounts. All it takes is for one incident caused by a single security breach to paralyze tourism for months, or even years
Indeed, some might argue that these incidents are fated and could happen anywhere in the world. Others may believe in a conspiracy against Egypt to destroy it and impoverish its people (including recent reports of an alien attack!) Of course, I won’t comment on speculation or conspiracy theories, but at the same time I must urge Egyptians to take immediate action to save this crucial industry.
‘Connections’ and negligence
To explain what I mean, here’s something I experienced two days after the Russian plane crashed in Sinai in October 2015, at a time when security procedures were supposedly tighter. I was invited to Cairo to attend an event and I chose EgyptAir to travel there. Before boarding the plane, a young woman was screaming at an airline employee on the first class counter because he refused to allow her to ship a huge package to Egypt. She then picked up her phone, called someone, then gave her phone to the employee who was frightened out of his wits once he realized who he was talking to. It all ended in the woman's favor without further inspection and without her paying for the extra luggage, as far as I could see. This is an example of how someone’s "connections" can pose serious threats to security. Another problem is the practice of employees who can be unprofessional and not fulfill their duties, such as not searching a passenger either out of kindness, at best, or negligence and laziness, at worst. These practices may not seem disastrous to an employee whose logic is "so, what could possibly happen?" But the consequences are almost always bigger than one can imagine. All it takes is for one incident caused by a single security breach to paralyze tourism for months, or even years. What is now required is an immediate review of all security and safety procedures in airports and planes. There must also be a mechanism to control and assess the performance of security and customs employees and put an end to negligence.

EgyptAir crash exposes a reckless and impulsive Donald Trump
Joyce Karam/Al Aabiya/May 24/16
It is one thing when Donald Trump's loose talk and theatrics are targeted at his former rivals "little Marco" and "lying Ted", and completely another when the case at hand is an international crisis involving a human tragedy, begging for leadership, intelligence sharing and defense cooperation. To echo Mark Twain on "why let facts get in a way of a good story", Trump wanted to be the first to politicize the EgyptAir 804 tragedy, jumping the gun few hours after the crash and calling out the "great hate and sickness" that led to the "terrorist attack". Trump tweeted on Thursday at 6:27 am without having any evidence that it was an act of terrorism: “Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris. When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness!” To be clear, the EgyptAir tragedy might very well be an act of terror but so far we have not seen any conclusive evidence to validate those claims, while data of smoke alerts and distress calls has raised other possibilities. Trump’s speculation and knee-jerk reaction reveals a dangerous and impulsive approach in international politics, and one that could bring dire consequences if practiced from the Oval Office.
Trump’s crystal ball?
For someone like Trump who proposed a Muslim ban after the San Bernardino attack then retracted it as "just a suggestion" recently, exploiting tragedies for political purposes is a casual occurrence. In the case of EgyptAir’s MS804, there has been no data or evidence yet that suggests it was a terrorist attack, unless of course Trump has a crystal ball or direct access to the Airbus windows and lavatory in question. Otherwise, and since the crash, no terrorist group has claimed responsibility, and nothing about the 66 passengers and crew points to an extremist connection. But for Trump, possibly the mere fact that the plane is Egyptian and had Muslim passengers on it, was enough to label it as terrorism. He told MSNBC on Friday that he could "practically guarantee" who "blew up" the plane. For Trump, tragedies like EgyptAir MS804 are seen as opportunities to slam Muslims and throw punches at political opponents
Waiting for the investigation teams and submarines diving thousands of feet into the Mediterranean to find the black boxes would not be as politically beneficial for the Republican presumptive nominee. Trump is seeking to boost his national security credentials after series of wild statements on meeting the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and criticizing the British Prime Minister David Cameron. A Washington-ABC Poll shows that potential Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton leads “The Donald” by 8 points on the issue counterterrorism. Trump’s hawkish and fear-mongering rhetoric resonates well with the GOP’s ideological base. The website "The right scoop" went a step further than Trump in smearing the pilot Mohamed Said Shakeer because of conversations he had with his friends about death and an old photo with a cleric on one of his 6275 hours of flying. This is the same pilot who made the call to traffic control to report the smoke on the flight and attempted emergency landing.
Dangerous prejudice
Trump's foolhardy talk and shooting from the hip on issues related to foreign policy and national security is reckless and plays into the hands of extremist organizations in the region. His labels of "Islamic terrorism", "Muslim ban" and "great hate" are not to be seen as manifestation of strength and are by no means equivalent to a strategy to defeat ISIS. He has none. Big statements during the George W. Bush era such as "war on terror" or "Islamofascism" did not defeat Osama Bin Laden nor did they democratize Iraq. Instead they fueled anti-Americanism in the region, and re-enforced the "them vs. us" narrative.
Diplomatically, rushing to Twitter to draw premature conclusions about a tragedy that involves two allies, France and Egypt, provides a good example on how not to be Presidential. In an increasingly vulnerable Middle East, embassies and U.S. interests could end up paying the price of wild campaign talk in Washington. For Trump, tragedies like EgyptAir MS804 are seen as opportunities to slam Muslims and throw punches at political opponents. That might be a smart approach to rally the base and generate traffic on social media, but it’s an irresponsible and reckless precedent when you’re two steps away from the Presidency of the United States.

44th martyrdom anniversary of People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) founders in Iran
Tuesday, 24 May 2016
NCRI – Tuesday marks the 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of the founders of Iran’s main opposition group, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), by the regime of the Shah. A look back at the PMOI’s founding sheds light on the organization’s ideological viewpoints.
The PMOI, or Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), was founded on September 6, 1965, by Mohammad Hanifnejad, Said Mohsen, and Ali-Asghar Badizadgan. All engineers, they had earlier been members of the Liberation Movement (also known as the Freedom Movement), created by Medhi Bazargan in May 1961.
The Liberation Movement advocated the “democratic principles enshrined in the fundamental laws of the 1905-09 [Iranian] Constitution.” For two years, the group held meetings and was allowed to publish a newsletter, supporting "political freedom and the separations of power.”
After large anti-Shah demonstrations erupted in Iran on June 5, 1963, the Shah’s police responded with “massive fire power,” killing “thousands of people,” in what has become known as the June Uprising. The Liberation Movement supported the demonstrations and, as a result, it was outlawed, alongside other pro-democratic organizations, and Bazargan was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Two years later, the three young engineers came together to develop a new pathway to bring democracy and freedom to Iran. Replicating the actions of the Liberation Movement would lead only to the same disastrous end. Thus, a new strategy was necessary.
The three engineers formed a discussion group with twenty trusted friends and on September 20, 1965, they convened their first meeting. Members were mostly professionals living in Tehran. Twice a week they came together to discuss religion, history, philosophy, and revolutionary theory.
Although Muslim, the PMOI’s founders saw the society divided between tyranny and liberation forces, rather than believers and non-believers. Like most Iranians, its founders sought a secular republic and the establishment of a democracy in Iran. The PMOI has never endeavored towards an ideological government, be it Islamic or otherwise.
The PMOI's quest culminated in a true interpretation of Islam, which they demonstrated is inherently tolerant and democratic, and fully compatible with the values of modern-day civilization. It took six years for the organization to formulate its progressive view of Islam and develop a strategy to replace Iran's dictatorial monarchy with a democratic government.
The Shah's secret police, SAVAK, arrested all PMOI leaders and most of its member's in a series of swoops in 1971. Finally, at the dawn of May 25, 1972 (4 Khordad 1351), the PMOI’s three founders, along with two members of the PMOI’s leadership, Mahmoud Askarizadeh and Rasoul Meshkinfam, were executed by death squads after long months of imprisonment and torture in the dungeons of the SAVAK. They were the vanguards who stood against the dictatorial regime of the Shah.
The death sentence for Massoud Rajavi, who thereafter took over leadership of the PMOI, was commuted to life imprisonment after a campaign from Geneva by his brother, Dr. Kazem Rajavi, and the personal intervention of the French President Georges Pompidou and Francois Mitterrand. Dr. Kazem Rajavi was assassinated in April 1990 in Geneva by the mullahs' terrorists.
From 1975 to 1979, while incarcerated in different prisons, Massoud Rajavi led the Mojahedin's struggle for which reason he was taken to the Tehran Komiteh's torture center and tortured to the brink of death. He stressed the need to continue the struggle against the Shah's dictatorship. At the same time, he characterized religious fanaticism as the primary internal threat to the popular opposition and warned against the emergence and growth of religious backwardness and despotism symbolized by Khomeini. These positions remained the PMOI's manifesto until the overthrow of the Shah's regime.
On 16 January 1979, the Shah fled Iran, never to return. All democratic opposition leaders had by then either been executed or imprisoned and could exert little direct influence on the trend of events. Khomeini and his network of mullahs across the country, who had by and large been spared the wrath of the SAVAK, were the only force that remained intact and could take advantage of the political vacuum. In France, Khomeini received maximum exposure to the world media and assistance from the French government. With the aid of his clerical followers, he hijacked a revolution that began with calls for democracy and freedom and diverted it towards his fundamentalist goals. Through an exceptional combination of historical events, Shiite clerics assumed power in Iran.
In internal discourses, Mr. Rajavi argued that Khomeini represented the reactionary sector of society and preached religious fascism. Later, in the early days after the 1979 revolution, the mullahs, specifically Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who later became President, pointed to these statements in inciting the Hezbollahi club-wielders to attack the PMOI’s supporters.
The fundamentalist mullahs in Iran believe interpreting Islam is their exclusive domain. The PMOI (MEK) reject this view and the cleric’s reactionary vision of Islam. The PMOI's comprehensive interpretation of Islam proved to be more persuasive, appealing, and successful than any attempt in the past.
Modern Islam
While the PMOI is a political organization, its orientation, operation, and support derives from its interpretation of Islam, conceived in its formative years. The PMOI believes Islam is an inherently tolerant and democratic religion, and is fully compatible with the values of modern-day civilization.
For the Mojahedin, freedom, gender, ethnic and religious equality, human rights, and peace are not merely political commitments, but ideological principles based on its view of the Quran and the traditions and teachings of Prophet Muhammad, Shiite Imams, and other leaders.
The PMOI’s political platform and interpretation of Islam are one and the same. The combination makes the PMOI politically unique and is a major reason the organization continues today to garner broad public support.
The Shah feared the PMOI because of its popularity and support for democracy and human rights. The same is true for Iran's mullahs. The Mojahedin’s interpretation of Islam directly discredits the clerics’ ideology, which is intolerant, extremist, genocidal, non-democratic, and misogynist.
In 1982, Mr. Rajavi discussed the PMOI and Islam in a speech as following:
“The Islam we want is nationalistic, democratic, progressive, and not opposed to science or civilization. We believe there is no contradiction between modern science and true Islam, and we believe that in Islam there must be no compulsion or dictatorship.” ("Mujahidin's Masud Rajavi: 'We are the only real threat to Khomeini," MERIP Reports, March-April 1982.")
Below are additional details of the PMOI’s interpretation of Islam.
Islam is Dynamic
Mr. Rajavi described the mullah’s interpretation of the Quran as mechanical and deterministic. In contrast, the PMOI believes that genuine Islam is so dynamic that it never impedes social progress. It does not oppose science, technology and civilization, but cherishes and promotes them.
During Prophet Muhammad’s twenty-three year mission, Quranic verses were sometimes declared mansouke (outdated). Some verses on social and economic matters changed in the early years of the Prophet’s rule, consistent with changes in society and advancements in culture and social relationships. In the latter years of Prophet Muhammad’s life, new verses that were more advanced in dealing with such issues were revealed to him.
This explains why only 600 verses in the Quran, less than 10 percent, deal with edicts. The limited number of edicts shows the purpose of the Quran was not to legislate for society and mankind instead of human beings themselves. The Quran removed obstacles to social evolution. As the Quran states, it came to remove the chains and shackles from human beings already subjugated by oppressive rulers and regimes. (Quran, Sura 7, Verse 157.) In doing so, humans could formulate their way of life consistent with their specific historical juncture, and in complete freedom and consciousness.
Edicts & Rules of Conduct
Islam is an ideology with a comprehensive view on existence, society, and history, rather than a collection of edicts and rules of conduct on social, political, and economic matters.
Fundamentalists interpret the edicts, precepts, and temporal rules as unchangeable dogma. The PMOI believes neither the Quran nor Islam support the claim that they are unalterable and must be implemented at all times. Rather the Quran emphasizes that social and economic edicts must be formulated in each particular era to prevent decadent, anti-counter-revolutionary forces from halting the advancement of human society.
In the view of the PMOI, the rigid and reactionary interpretation of Islam, exemplified by Khomeini and fundamentalist clerics, is un-Islamic and contrary to the spirit of Islam.
Democracy
The PMOI views democracy as indispensable to Islam. “Islam blossoms only in the spirit of freedom and truthfulness," the PMOI maintains, "and therefore cannot trample upon the legitimate rights of the people.” - "Enemies of the Ayatollahs," by Mohammad Mohaddessin, Zed Books, London, 2004.
The Quran says that the most important attribute that distinguishes humans from animals is their free will and individual responsibility. It is on this basis that humans are held accountable for their actions. (Quran, Sura 2, Verse 256.) Having a free will and right to choose is manifested in democracy and a government by the people.
God’s will, as far as societies are concerned, is historically realized through democratic governance. The Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad and leaders such as Ali ibn Ali Taleb, the first Shiite Imam, underscore the necessity to hand over power to the people. Their teachings emphasize the need for progress, social and economic justice, and respect for human rights. References to these values are abundant in Islamic teachings, dating back fourteen centuries.
Fundamentalist mullahs, in contrast, reject the concepts of free will and individual choice, and thus democracy. In their view, it is incompatible with Islam. But spreading the word of God and Islam would be meaningless without freedom and respect for an individual’s free will and right to choose.
Ballot Box
The PMOI believes the sole criterion for political legitimacy is the ballot-box. It is the electorate, expressing itself in a free and fair election that gives a party, group, coalition, or individual the mandate to govern.
Fundamentalist mullahs believe in the concept of velayat-e faqih, which invests law, power, and legitimacy to a Supreme Leader. Such a clerical system is by definition totalitarian because it cannot recognize freedom and the right of political activity for anyone other than those who support an Islamic state.
Women’s Rights
Iranian women are the major victims of the religious dictatorship and dogma of the mullahs. The clerical regime relegates women to second-class citizens. It denies them the right to leadership, the presidency, and judgeships.
Fundamentalist mullahs believe husbands should be able to divorce their wives anytime they so choose and, after divorce, the father should take custody of the child. They believe the father has the right to wed his daughter to anyone he chooses and, once she becomes an adult, she has no right to protest.
The PMOI supports gender equality in all aspects, from choosing a spouse and marriage to inheritance, testimony, custody, employment, and election to the highest positions in government. It is because of Ms. Rajavi's advocacy that the issue of gender equality has become a main platform for the PMOI.
Freedom
Mr. Rajavi discussed in 1980 the importance of freedom:
“Freedom is a divine blessing…Anyone trying to restrict human freedom has neither understood Islam nor mankind and the [anti-monarchist] revolution. Freedom is indispensable to the survival of mankind as human beings. Otherwise, human beings would be no different from animals and could not be held responsible for anything.” - Mohahed (PMOI Daily Newspaper), June 15, 1980. See "Enemies of the Ayatollahs," by Mohammad Mohaddessin, Zed Books, London, 2004.