LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
October 31/16
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.october31.16.htm
News Bulletin
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Bible Quotations For
Today
The kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of
great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew
13/44-46/:"‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,
which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has
and buys that field.‘Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding
one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it."
God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested
beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so
that you may be able to endure it
First Letter to the Corinthians 10/01-13/:"I do not
want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under
the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the
sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual
drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed
them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with
most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things
occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do
not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat
down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual
immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by
serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the
destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were
written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you
think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has
overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is
faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the
testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure
it."
Titles For Latest
LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on
October 30-31/16
Aoun, the controversial leader who refused to
yield/Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/October 31/16
Old enemies set to elect Aoun as Lebanon's
president/Tom Perry and Laila Bassam/Reuters/October
30/16
General Michel Aoun is bad news for Israel/Smadar Perry/Ynetnews/October
30/16
Nouri al-Maliki’s dangerous
speech/ Al Arabiya /October 30/16
Tales of fettering and collusion in Obama’s Middle East/Eyad
Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/October
30/16
Are Arabs losing ground to Iran/Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al Arabiya/October 30/16
Green cards, not sponsorship, key to Saudi economic growth/Samar Fatany/Al Arabiya/October 30/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News
published on on October 30-31/16
Aoun, the controversial leader
who refused to yield
Old enemies set to elect Aoun as Lebanon's
president/Lebanon set to get new president after 29-month vacuum
General Michel Aoun is bad news for Israel
Raising Hezbollah’s flag falls under the penalty of anti-terrorism laws
according to British laws.
Al-Rahi Urges Speedy Govt. Formation, No Obstruction
Hizbullah Tasks Berri with
Negotiating over Govt. Line-Up
Saudi to Invite Aoun to Visit Kingdom after Election
Franjieh's 'White Vote' Call May Lead to '40-Member'
Opposition Bloc
Report: Oqab Saqr to Take
Part in Monday's Presidential Vote
Mustaqbal Holds Vote to Elect General Conference
Delegates
A Guide to Presidential Elections in Lebanon
Al Sabhan winds up his visit to Beirut, leaves for
Cairo
Geagea: Delays in forming the government during the
new mandate will signal its end before it begins!
German Ambassador: Berri is 'safety valve' for
Lebanon
Jumblatt following his meeting with Salam: I advise
his successor to follow his path
Raad: Let us get to the end of Monday to start a new
phase in Lebanon's political life
Funerals of Melhem Barakat
MP Okab Sakr returns to
Beirut
Civil Defense: Work is underway to put out Qabeit fire despite adverse weather conditions
MP Khaled Daher following
his meeting with Hariri: Nomination of Aoun a huge
step, completion of national pact
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin
For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on
October 30-31/16
Iraq: Muslims murder Christian owner of liquor store/A Christian Owner of
a Liquor Store Murdered in Basrah-Iraq
New Italy Quake Sows Terror, Flattens Historic Basilica
New strong earthquake hits central Italy, buildings collapse
Dozens Dead as Rebels Fight to Break Aleppo Siege
Aleppo fighting spreads amid claims of gas attack
Commander of Iranian battalion in Syria killed: reports
Abadi: Battle to liberate Mosul continues
Asiri: Houthis
launched ballistic missiles from a mosque
Saudi stadium terror plot thwarted
Who was the Saudi policeman killed in Qatif?
Al Arabiya documentary reveals Houthi lobby network in UN
Turkey sacks 10,000 more civil servants, shuts media in latest crackdown
Erdogan warns militias in Iraq not to attack
Turkmen
Turkey consulate staff families should leave: US
Court bars pro-Kurdish party leader from leaving Turkey
Afghan Taliban reveal relations with Iran
Afghan govt loses 2% of territory in 3 months
Israeli police: Palestinian driver killed after car attack
Germany checking if fatal Hamburg stabbing was ISIS-related
Egypt marks anniversary of Sinai plane crash
At least 22 killed in Egypt floods
Car explodes in eastern Libya, killing activist, 5 others
Thousands impacted as drone halts traffic at Dubai airport
Al Shabaab seizes town from Somali government
Clinton: FBI probe statement ‘deeply troubling’
ISIS claims responsibility for attack outside US embassy in Nairobi
Protests erupt in Morocco after fishmonger crushed to death
Young Calais migrants pray in “Jungle” church before demolition
Links From Jihad Watch
Site for on October 30-31/16
Iraq: Muslims murder Christian owner of liquor store
Palestinian Authority refuses to stop honoring
jihad murderers
France admits its “deradicalization” program
for jihadis has been a failure
Charlie Hebdo jihad massacre survivor: “We
need to stop saying Islam is a religion of peace”
Petition: Remove 13 freedom fighters from the SPLC’s
list of “anti-Muslim extremists”
Germany: Islamic State claims responsibility for stabbing that killed
teenager, police search for motive
Germany: Muslim migrant mob sexually assaults two women in church
square
State Department spokesman says US will continue to cooperate with
Pakistan in war on terrorism
Pakistan: Sunni Muslims murder five Shi’ites
Pakistan jihad terrorists training Rohingya jihadis in Bangladesh
Huffington Post: Muhammad was a feminist, “explicitly taught the
radical equality of women and men”
New Jamie Glazov Video: Hillary, Bikinis and
Islamic Punishment
Indiana: Muslim admits sending bomb-making instructions in Islamic
State jihad plot
Latest
Lebanese Related News published on on October
30-31/16
Aoun, the controversial leader who refused to yield
Hussein Dakroub/The
Daily Star/October 31/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/10/30/hussein-dakroubthe-daily-star-aoun-the-controversial-leader-who-refused-to-yield/
BEIRUT: Love him or loathe
him, there is no denying that general-turned-politician Michel Aoun has been a central yet controversial figure in Lebanon’s
modern history. His own career, characterized by violence, rigidity, exile and
popular support, will be coming full circle Monday when Parliament appears set
to elect him as president, returning him to Baabda Palace,
the same palace he fled from 26 years ago to seek refuge in France.
Known for his tough and unyielding stances on crucial issues
such as the country’s national unity and sovereignty, and his fierce struggle
for Christian rights in the public administration, Aoun,
in the eyes of his supporters, symbolized the fight for freedom and
independence.
But, in the eyes of his critics, Aoun
is an egomaniac who will stop at nothing to gain power and who has always
sparked a nationwide controversy over the means he uses to achieve his
political goals, at the top of which is his long-cherished dream of being
elected president.
In addition to fiery speeches, the Free Patriotic Movement,
founded by Aoun and now headed by his son-in-law
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil,
has resorted over the past few months to the tactics of threatening the
government and the FPM’s opponents with street
protests, boycotting Cabinet and Parliament sessions and walking out of
national dialogue meetings with the aim of fulfilling the party’s demand for
equal power sharing between Muslims and Christians.
Nonetheless, the ultimate aim behind the FPM’s
recent uproar and orchestrated campaign over what the party termed “injustice”
inflicted on the Christians, was Aoun’s
long-standing dream of being elected to the country’s top Christian post.
Weeks before former Prime Minister Saad
Hariri announced on Oct. 20 his endorsement of Aoun’s
nomination in a move that seemed to have secured a sufficient parliamentary
majority for his election to the presidency, the FPM had threatened to stage
street demonstrations across the country to protest alleged marginalization of
Christians in the government and state posts. Many politicians in the March 14
coalition had accused the FPM of employing these tactics with the aim of
exerting pressure on its opponents to accept Aoun’s
presidential bid.
As head of the second biggest bloc in Parliament, Aoun has cast himself as the largest representative within
the Christian community in general, and the Maronite
sect in particular. Aoun’s 23-member parliamentary
Change and Reform bloc is the largest group of Christian MPs.
He used the argument that the president should be
representative of the majority of Christians in the country as a means to forge
ahead with his drive to be elected head of state.
Born in the southern Beirut
suburb of Haret Hreik on
Feb. 18, 1933, Aoun, a Maronite
Christian, finished his secondary education at the College Des Frères in Furn al-Shubbak and enrolled in
the Military Academy as a cadet officer in 1955.
Three years later, he graduated as an artillery officer in the Lebanese Army.
Following a series of military promotions, he was appointed an Army commander
in 1984.
In September 1983 during the Civil War, Aoun’s
predominantly Christian 8th Mechanized Infantry Battalion fought the pro-Syrian
Shiite, Druze and Palestinian forces in Souq al-Gharb, a decisive battle that prevented the mountain town
from falling into the hands of the alliance.
However, Aoun, in the eyes of his
critics, gained notoriety when he headed a military transitional government
between 1988 and 1990, during which he launched two unsuccessful but deadly
wars against the Syrian army in Lebanon
and the Lebanese Forces militia that resulted in the deaths of thousands of
Lebanese and Syrian soldiers, militiamen and civilians.
Even when he went into self-imposed exile in France between 1991 and 2005, Aoun championed calls for Syria’s
pullout from Lebanon by
working with some U.S.
congressmen on enacting an anti-Syria legislation, the 2003 Syria
Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act.
At the end of his six-year term on Sept. 23, 1988, and after
Parliament failed to meet to elect a successor, outgoing President Amine Gemayel dismissed the government of Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss and appointed a
six-member interim military government headed by Aoun.
The interim government, was
composed of three senior Muslim officers and three senior Christian officers,
but the Muslims refused to serve, leaving Aoun’s
government only with its Christian members.
This left Lebanon
to be ruled by two rival governments: One headed by Aoun
and another headed by Hoss, who refused to step down
before the election of a new president. A fierce opponent of the Syrian
military presence, Aoun, bunkered in a basement at
the Presidential Palace in Baabda, launched a
self-proclaimed “War of Liberation” against the Syrian army on March 14, 1989,
that also targeted residential areas in Muslim west Beirut.
The ill-fated war came a few months before Muslim and
Christian MPs signed an Arab-brokered political deal in the Saudi city of Taif,
known as the Taif Accord, to end the 1975-90 Civil War. Aoun staunchly opposed the Taif Accord, mainly because it curtailed the Maronite president’s powers and shifted them to the
half-Muslim, half-Christian Cabinet, and accused the MPs who signed it of
treason.
Aoun, as head of an interim
military government, dissolved Parliament and later refused to recognize the
two presidents elected after the Taif Accord: Rene Muawad, who was assassinated a few weeks after his election
in a car bomb explosion on Nov. 24, 1989, and Elias Hrawi,
on the argument that the two were elected president by a dissolved assembly. Hrawi responded by dismissing Aoun
as Army commander and appointed Gen. Emile Lahoud in
his place. Hrawi also ordered Aoun
to leave Baabda
Palace, but Aoun rejected the dismissal and refused to leave the
palace.
He escaped an assassination in September 1990 when a
Communist Party member fired at him using a pistol but missed during one of Aoun’s appearances in front of supporters in Baabda. Finally, with an American and Arab green light, the
Syrian Army on Oct. 13, 1990, bombarded the Baabda Palace with airstrikes and artillery
fire, forcing Aoun to flee to the nearby French
Embassy.
He and his family stayed at the French Embassy for several
months before he was granted an exile in France in 1991.Aoun stayed in France
for 14 years before returning to Lebanon on May 7, 2005, a few weeks after
Syria withdrew its army from Lebanon under local and international pressure, ending
nearly three decades of its domination over the country. The Syrian withdrawal
came more than two months after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a massive bombing in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005.
Aoun won a landslide victory in
Christian areas in general elections held merely weeks after his return,
winning some 70 percent of votes there and clinching 21 parliamentary seats.He won more seats in the 2009 elections, making his
Change and Reform bloc, with 27 members, the largest Christian bloc in
Parliament. Since his return to Lebanon
from France,
Aoun has formed some unusual alliances with
pro-Syrian parties. That seemed odd for a man who fought the Syrians. In 2006,
he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah,
forging a major political alliance that has endured ever since. The alliance
culminated in Hezbollah joining Aoun in blocking the
Parliament to meet to elect a new president other than Aoun
for nearly two-and-half years.
Despite a bloody history with the regime of the late Syrian
President Hafez Assad, father of the current president, Bashar
Assad, Aoun visited Syria in 2009 on a fence-mending
trip and was the guest of the Syrian leader for a few days.
When the uprising against the Syrian regime broke out in
March 2011, Aoun announced his support for the war on
terror there, implicitly voicing backing for the government’s relentless war on
rebels fighting to topple the regime. The FPM founder has said that if he is
elected president, he would support Hezbollah retaining its arms until a
permanent settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict is reached.
Aoun also reached an understanding
with his former arch-foe, Lebanese Forces chief Samir
Geagea, in January that led the latter to endorse the
FPM founder’s presidential bid.The two rival
Christian parties last year reached a Declaration of Intent that paved the way
for a historic reconciliation between Aoun and Geagea, putting an end to years of bitter rivalry and a
bloody feud between the two Maronite leaders.
The two parties fought a devastating war in Christian areas
in January 1990 when Aoun, using a section of the
Army, launched what was known as “a war of elimination” against the Lebanese
Forces militia.The inter-Christian fighting, which
lasted more than six months and deepened the split within the community, left
at least 2,000 people dead. Since his return to Lebanon, Aoun
and his FPM have launched scathing diatribes against top Sunni leaders, in
particular the late Rafik Hariri and his son, Saad, blaming their policies for the rampant corruption in
the public administration, endemic budget deficits and the deteriorating
economic situation.
In one of his speeches, Aoun
affiliated the Lebanese Sunni community with extremist groups like Daesh (ISIS) and the Nusra Front,
drawing harsh responses from Future Movement officials.
However, talks between the FPM and the Future Movement in
the past two years, including meetings between Aoun
and Hariri, have melted the ice between the two sides and eventually led Hariri
to endorsing the FPM founder’s presidential bid on Oct. 20. Coming 11 days
before a crucial Parliament session to elect a new head of state, Hariri’s
dramatic move has apparently secured the presidency for Aoun.
In a televised speech on Oct. 16 addressing an FPM rally to
commemorate his ejection from Baabda Palace
in 1990, Aoun adopted a conciliatory tone toward his
political opponents, namely the Future Movement and its March 14 allies. He
stressed that respecting the Constitution and the country’s equal power-sharing
formula between Christians and Muslims is the key to building a proper state.
Aoun and other FPM officials have
demanded strict adherence to the National Charter’s power-sharing formula. They
argued that despite the charter, Christians in the country are politically
marginalized and that, while Muslim sects have the freedom to choose their
leaders to the top posts, namely the premiership and the speakership,
Christians don’t have this right to select their representative to the presidency.
Aoun is married to Nadia Al Chami. They have three daughters: Mireille,
Claudine and Chantal. In addition to Arabic, Aoun
speaks French, English, Italian and Spanish.
Old enemies set to
elect Aoun as Lebanon's president/Lebanon set to get new president
after 29-month vacuum
By Tom Perry and Laila Bassam/Reuters/BEIRUT/October 30/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/10/30/old-enemies-set-to-elect-aoun-today-as-lebanons-presidentlebanon-set-to-get-new-president-after-29-month-vacuum/
Twenty-six years after being forced from Lebanon's presidential palace and
into exile by the Syrian army, Michel Aoun is set to
be elected head of state on Monday, backed by many of his old enemies. Barring a surprise,
many of Lebanon's
sectarian politicians will back the 81-year-old Christian leader in the
parliamentary vote. Aoun can rely for support on Iranian-backed Hezbollah, with
which he has been allied for a decade. But he will fulfill his long-held
ambition thanks to the unlikely endorsement of Sunni leader Saad
al-Hariri, who waged political war for years against the Shi'ite
Hezbollah movement and its allies with Saudi backing. Hariri is to become prime minister under
the new deal which he hatched with Aoun.
Aoun's election would end a
29-month-long vacuum in the presidency, part of a political crisis that has
paralyzed Lebanon's
government and raised concerns over its future as civil war rages in neighboring Syria. However, doubts
remain over his ability to forge the cross-community consensus needed to make
his administration succeed. "I do not know to what degree he will be able
to reconcile the great contradictions that his rule will group together,"
said Nabil Boumonsef, a
political commentator at An-Nahar newspaper. An Aoun victory would mark a remarkable turn of fortune for
the former general who fought two wars in the late 1980s at the end of Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war
– one against Syria
and the other against rival Christian forces.
His subsequent alliance with Hezbollah backed by its Syrian
and Iranian patrons helped to cement divisions in the once dominant Maronite Christian community. But it also angered the United States, which views Hezbollah - a heavily
armed group and Syria's
strongest Lebanese ally - as a terrorist organization.
His election will also be viewed as a victory for Hezbollah,
Tehran and Damascus
over Hariri's Sunni allies in Riyadh at a time
when Saudi Arabia has
appeared to retreat from Lebanon
as it prioritizes fighting Iran
in the Gulf. It will also raise questions over Western policy towards Lebanon, whose army depends on U.S. military
aid. Triggered
by financial misfortune, Hariri's concession is seen as the last resort to
secure the political survival of a man who has accused Syria of
killing his father, Rafik. Hariri's standing in Lebanon has
been hit by the financial crisis caused by troubles at his Saudi-based construction
firm.
UNLIKELY SPECTRUM
Parliament is due to convene at noon (0900 GMT) on Monday to
elect the president. If Aoun doesn't secure the
two-thirds majority required to win in the first round, he seems certain to
prevail in a second, where he needs 65 votes in the 128-seat chamber. His opponent is
Suleiman Franjieh, a fellow Maronite
Christian, who is unlikely to command much support. Under Lebanon's
sectarian system of government, the presidency is reserved for a member of this
community. Aoun, who headed one of two rival governments in 1988-90,
has long coveted the post.
His victory would mark a new phase in Lebanese politics, and the final
collapse of the Saudi-backed alliance that had struggled against Hezbollah and
its allies since the 2005 assassination of Rafik
al-Hariri. Hariri
and his allies initially accused Syria of killing Rafik. A U.N.-backed tribunal later charged five Hezbollah
members over the killing. Hezbollah denies any role. Aoun inspires
both adulation and enmity in Lebanon,
where he made his name as a combatant in the 1975-90 civil war,
like many Lebanese politicians. With Aoun heading the
biggest Christian party in parliament, it will be the first time since the war
that one of Lebanon's
main Maronite leaders becomes president. The unlikely spectrum
of support for his candidacy includes civil wartime enemies Samir
Geagea, a rival Christian, and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. But he still has
powerful adversaries opposed to his election, foremost among them the
influential Parliament Speaker and Shi'ite leader Nabih Berri.
Hezbollah's steadfast backing for Aoun
has been critical to getting him this close to the presidency. Last year Hariri
proposed Franjieh, another Hezbollah ally, for the
position. But rather than ditching Aoun, Hezbollah
declared him "the obligatory path" to the presidency. Aoun is a
controversial figure abroad as well as in Lebanon, with a reputation for
erratic decision-making.
After lobbying for years against Syria
from exile, he returned to Lebanon
in 2005 after Syrian forces withdrew from the country in the wake of the Hariri
killing. Aoun received a hero's welcome from
supporters in Beirut's
Martyrs Square. Less than a year
later, he struck his alliance with Hezbollah, positioning himself
squarely in the pro-Damascus camp that later mobilized to try to topple the
U.S.-backed government at the time.
Aoun's move to Hezbollah drew
anger from the United States
which believed he had given political cover for it to keep its weapons and
"moved a long way" from his support for a U.N. resolution that sought
the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon,
according to a U.S.
diplomatic cable published by Wikileaks.
In the 2006 cable, then U.S. ambassador Jeffrey Feltman concluded Aoun's
presidential ambitions were "overriding any other concern". Aoun told the Americans the alliance was an attempt to draw
Hezbollah into the political mainstream.
TWO WARS
In the final years of the Lebanese war, Aoun
led one of two rival governments and set up his administration at the
presidential palace at Baabda, southeast of Beirut.
In that period, he fought the "War of Liberation"
against the Syrian army and the "War of Cancellation" against the
Christian Lebanese Forces militia. The Maronites lost
much of their political power in the deal that ended the war - an agreement Aoun had initially opposed. Aoun visited Syria in 2009,
where he met President Bashar al-Assad. In a 2014
interview, Assad said he would welcome Aoun's
election as president, calling him a believer in "the resistance" - a
reference to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is fighting in Syria in support of Assad. Aoun
has defended Hezbollah's role in Syria,
saying that it was defending Lebanon
and Lebanese Christians from the threat of jihadist militancy. Hezbollah's
Lebanese opponents say its role there increases the risks to the country.
(Writing by Tom Perry; editing by David Stamp)
General Michel Aoun is bad news for Israel
Smadar Perry/Ynetnews/|October
29/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/10/30/smadar-perryynetnews-general-michel-aoun-is-bad-news-for-israel/
Analysis: If Aoun, who is known
for changing his loyalties, is elected president in Lebanon,
he will be the one to select the country’s prime minister and dictate its
foreign affairs; as far as Israel
is concerned, this means quite a headache.
No matter how we look at it, General Michel Aoun is bad news. The 128 members of Beirut’s
parliament will convene next Monday to elect Lebanon’s next president. If he is
declared the winner, the 81-year-old devious general will be the country’s 17th
president. But despite the deals which have already been loudly announced in
the media, it is unclear whether Aoun will obtain a two-third
majority, as required by the constitution.
Lebanon
has not had a president for two and a half years now. The last one, Michel
Suleiman, packed his belongings and went home without thinking twice on the day
his term came to its conclusion. Since then, the parliament has convened 37
times but has failed to reach an agreement on who will be the next president.
The two large blocs—of Hezbollah and of the Future movement led by Saad Hariri—tossed names in the air, scattered bribes and
made threats, but failed to gather a sweeping majority.
Aoun never concealed his ambition
to become president. Throughout the 1990s, he had an ongoing flirtation with
(very) senior members in Israel’s
security community, with two messengers who arrived especially to meet him. His
insistent claim, that a Lebanon
led by him would be friendly towards Israel, failed to convince. The
intelligence paperwork gave the “general” the code name
“the elastic,” pointing to his changing loyalties: once to Saddam Hussein, once
to the Syrian president, while maintaining a tight relationship with Hezbollah
throughout.
At some point, when he decided to team up with the moderate
camp in Lebanon, Aoun grabbed microphones and demanded a thorough treatment
against the Syrian Army that invaded Lebanon. But when the Syrian
regiments deployed in Beirut,
he fled to the French Embassy compound. Ten months later, he managed to arrange
himself an escape deal. For 10 years, he indulged himself in Paris,
and when the last Syrian soldier was banished from Lebanon, he returned and announced
that there was no change in his plans. One of these days, he swore, he will
enter the marble Baabda Palace.
With a million and a half refugees from Syria, Hezbollah fighters patrolling the
airport, Revolutionary Guards “guides” and “advisors” of Western and Arab
intelligence agencies, Lebanon
has lost its sovereignty. And the eyes are following the huge arsenal of
missiles and arms shipments that keep arriving from Tehran. The past year has been bad for former
Lebanese prime minister Saad
Hariri. His patrons in Saudi Arabia
canceled their economic sponsorship and forbade Riyadh’s rich residents
to vacation in the luxury hotels and nightclubs in Jounieh's
promenade. Hariri, whose billionaire father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was assassinated last decade by Syrian
messengers and Hezbollah agents, vowed that Aoun
would never set foot in the presidential residence. But in Lebanese politics,
reality is stronger. Last Thursday, Hariri surprisingly announced his
endorsement of the “general.”Sound complicated? On
Friday night, Hezbollah Chairman Hassan Nasrallah got
Hariri in further trouble when he declared that he would not oppose his
appointment as prime minister. The announcement was aimed at exposing the depth
of the deal: give me Aoun as president, and I will
give you the desired position even if you didn’t ask for it. Like in Israel, the Lebanese president’s
official authorities are strictly ceremonial. But if Aoun—a
former army commander and a well-connected political figure—is elected, he is
the one who (like Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan in Turkey) will select the prime
minister and ministers and dictate the foreign affairs. As far as Israel is
concerned, it will mean quite the headache: Iran will expand its foothold in
Lebanon, no one will bother to demand that Hezbollah disarm and hand its
weapons over to the state, and the the Saudis will be
furious, as Israel’s alert level concerning Lebanon will move one step up.
Raising Hezbollah’s flag falls under the penalty of anti-terrorism
laws according to British laws.
By Staff writer Al Arabiya English
Sunday, 30 October 2016/British police are investigating an incident where
flags affiliated with the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group were raised during
Shiite Muslim commemorations earlier this month. Demonstrators on Oct. 12 have
reportedly raised “Hezbollah” flags at a procession marking Ashura.
Raising Hezbollah’s flag falls under the penalty of
anti-terrorism laws according to British laws. “By the virtue of Section 13 of
the Terrorism Act 2000, whoever shows a flag or any other instrument in public
place, aiming at raising doubts on his/her affiliation or support for an
outlawed group, is considered to have committed a crime,” read a statement by
Scotland Yard on Friday, received by Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. Several Muslim leaders in Britain
condemned the politicization of the procession by raising slogans and chants
that were not linked to the annual religious commemoration. Protests are
usually filmed by Scotland Yard arrests could be made among the people who
hoisted Hezbollah’s flag at the procession.
Al-Rahi
Urges Speedy Govt. Formation, No Obstruction
Naharnet/October 30/16/Maronite
Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi
called Sunday on the political blocs to “speed up the formation of the new
government” after the election of a new president on Monday. “We urge the
political blocs to speed up the formation of the new government and not to
obstruct the process,” said al-Rahi during his Sunday
Mass sermon. “The current challenges are huge and numerous, topped by building
national unity and achieving national reconciliation,” he noted. The patriarch
also called on the next president and premier to “cooperate with competent,
impartial and trustworthy employees who would spare the executive authority
paralyzing conflicts and partisan and sectarian tensions.”“They
must control the work and hierarchies of state institutions, eliminate the
corruption that is rampant in most of them, and boost economic development in
all sectors,” he added. Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun was tipped to become president after al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad
Hariri formally endorsed his nomination last week. Aoun
is poised to be elected president during a parliament session that will be held
at noon Monday.
Hizbullah Tasks Berri with
Negotiating over Govt. Line-Up
Naharnet/October 30/16/Hizbullah
has tasked Speaker Nabih Berri
with negotiating over the line-up of the new government on behalf of the March
8 forces, a media report said on Sunday. “The failure of Hizbullah's
efforts to reconcile viewpoints between Berri, (Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman) Franjieh
and (Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel) Aoun
prompted Hizbullah to take the decision of
authorizing the parliament speaker to negotiate over the government line-up
after Aoun's election” as president, sources informed
on March 8's stance told the pan-Arab al-Hayat
newspaper. The sources said the other March 8 forces have also endorsed this
decision. “Hizbullah's authorization of Berri will end any bets on a dispute between the Shiite duo in the coming period,” the sources noted.Aoun
was tipped to become president after al-Mustaqbal
Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri formally endorsed
his nomination last week. He is poised to be elected on Monday. Berri has openly announced that his bloc will not vote for Aoun and that it might join the ranks of the opposition
should Aoun be elected president.Berri's
aides have accused Aoun and Hariri of striking a
“bilateral” agreement that would marginalize Shiites in power, allegations that
Aoun and Hariri have denied.
Saudi to Invite Aoun to Visit
Kingdom after Election
Naharnet/October 30/16/Saudi
Arabia will invite Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun to visit the kingdom on an official visit after his
election on Monday as a new president for Lebanon, a media report said on
Sunday. “Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer
al-Sabhan told Change and Reform bloc chief General
Michel Aoun during their meeting on Friday that the Saudi
authorities intend to invite him to visit the kingdom after his election as
president,” FPM parliamentary sources told the Saudi, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat. Aoun for his part stressed
to the Saudi envoy that he wants “the best ties with Saudi Arabia.”Aoun was tipped to become president after al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad
Hariri, who is close to Riyadh,
formally endorsed his nomination last week.
Franjieh's 'White Vote' Call May Lead to '40-Member' Opposition
Bloc
Naharnet/October 30/16/Marada
Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh's
call for the blocs that support him to cast blank votes in Monday's
presidential election session might create a 40-member opposition bloc
consisted of the MPs who resort to this choice, a media report said on Sunday.
“The idea of casting blank votes instead of voting for Franjieh
was reached after consultations between Franjieh and
(Speaker Nabih) Berri,” the
pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted multiple political
sources as saying. “The consultations also involved a number of independent MPs
who support Franjieh, such as ex-PM Najib Miqati, ex-deputy PM Michel
Murr and Minister Butros Harb,” the newspaper added. The decision was reached after
“the failure of Hizbullah's attempts to mend ties
between Berri, Franjieh and
General (Michel) Aoun.”“Hizbullah recommended that
there should not be a confrontational electoral battle between the allies,
leaving the matter to Speaker Berri who conducted
consultations with Franjieh that led to the white
vote solution,” the sources added. Sources that support Aoun
meanwhile noted that the blank vote choice would serve to prevent a scenario in
which Franjieh garners a meager
number of votes compared to those that might go to Aoun.
“Many of those who oppose Aoun were going to resort
to the blank vote choice instead of voting for Franjieh,
such as Kataeb Party's MPs and other forces, whereas
gathering the votes under the white vote banner would produce what a resembles
a 40-member parliamentary bloc led by Berri,” sources
said.This bloc would have influence during the coming
presidential tenure, the sources added. Aoun was
tipped to become president after al-Mustaqbal
Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri formally endorsed
his nomination last week.
Report: Oqab Saqr to Take Part in
Monday's Presidential Vote
Naharnet/October 30/16/MP Oqab Saqr, who is close to al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad
Hariri, will arrive in Lebanon
on Monday from his self-imposed exile to take part in the presidential election
session, LBCI television reported Sunday. Saqr has
been residing in Europe for several years now
over security fears related to his fierce opposition to the Syrian regime and
accusations that he had played a key role in arming and financing Syrian rebel
groups. Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel is poised to be elected
president in Monday's session after his nomination received key support from
Hariri last week. However, it is not clear whether or not Aoun
will be able to garner 86 votes to be elected from the first round of voting.Should he fail to get 86 votes in the first round, a
second round would be immediately held during the same session and 65 votes
would be enough for him to be declared president.
Mustaqbal Holds Vote to Elect General Conference Delegates
Naharnet/October 30/16/Al-Mustaqbal
Movement was on Sunday holding an internal vote across Lebanon to elect delegates to the
movement's general conference that will be held on November 26 and 27. Members
will case votes to elect 1,168 delegates between 9:00 am and 7:00 pm at the movement's
departments in the various regions and at the BIEL
complex in Beirut,
al-Mustaqbal newspaper said. “This is a democratic
day par excellence for al-Mustaqbal Movement and we
wish everyone success,” said Mustaqbal leader ex-PM Saad Hariri after casting his vote at BIEL. In remarks to al-Mustaqbal
newspaper, the movement's secretary-general Ahmed Hariri said: “We acknowledge
that this first stage might not encompass everyone and might be marred by
several flaws and remarks, but this is the first step on a course we have taken
so that al-Mustaqbal Movement can be a movement for
all people.”Ex-PM Hariri had pledged in June to
conduct a “critical internal reevaluation” in al-Mustaqbal in light of the results of May's municipal polls.
“I will not pin the responsibility on anyone and I will not absolve myself and
those with me of the responsibility. I'm in charge of drawing lessons from the
polls' outcome, I'm at the top of al-Mustaqbal
movement's political hierarchy, and I will digest the results no matter how
hard they may be,” Hariri said at the time. A preparatory committee was later
tasked with drafting a political manifesto and an organizational report. Hariri
has expressed hope that the conference will represent “a new, constructive
chance in addressing the aspirations of the popular base, especially youths and
women.”Apparently referring to Mustaqbal
minister-turned-electoral rival Ashraf Rifi, who was accused of using a sectarian rhetoric to win
Tripoli's municipal vote, Hariri said in June: “Politics in Lebanon has tried
to give me lessons in lying, maneuvering, incitement
and the manipulation of people's sentiments, but my upbringing taught me to be
honest, frank and loyal, even if that comes at my expense.”Addressing
al-Mustaqbal, Rifi had
called after the May polls for “rectifying the course and endorsing policies
that take the opinion of the Sunni community into consideration in order to
avoid its descent towards extremism.”
A Guide to Presidential
Elections in Lebanon
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October
30/16/Lebanon's parliament is set to end more than two years of stalemate on
Monday by electing a new president for a non-renewable six-year term. The post
is always held by a Maronite Christian under a
power-sharing agreement dating back to independence in 1943. According to the
same deal, the head of parliament is always a Shiite Muslim and the prime
minister a Sunni Muslim. The president plays the role of a referee, but his
power has been limited in a system based on a delicate balance between Lebanon's
different communities.
The vote
Speaker Nabih Berri
has summoned lawmakers on October 31 for the vote, which will go ahead if a
quorum of two-thirds is reached. The 128-member legislature counts 127
lawmakers at the moment after one member resigned over the summer. The
successful candidate wins the vote with a majority of two-thirds in the first
round, or with an absolute majority in the next rounds.
Powers curtailed
The only Christian head of state in the Arab world saw his
powers curtailed after the 1989 Taef agreement to end
the 1975-1990 civil war. Under the accord, which
sought to balance power between Lebanon's
Christian and Muslim communities, the president can no longer appoint and
dismiss the prime minister or dissolve parliament. He names the premier after
consulting parliament. The president heads the armed forces, but these also
come under the authority of the cabinet. He negotiates international treaties
along with the prime minister, but these also need approval from government. He
presides over cabinet meetings and can introduce an urgent matter to be
discussed, but does not take part in any cabinet vote. If the premier agrees,
the president can convene an extraordinary cabinet meeting. Forming a cabinet
once elected, the president names a prime minister who is tasked with
consulting Lebanon's
different political parties to form a cabinet. As the constitution does not
specify a timeline for this, it took the best part of a year before Prime
Minister Tamam Salam's cabinet was finally approved
in March 2014. But the parliament does have to hold a vote of confidence in the
new cabinet within 30 days after the line-up is announced.
Al Sabhan
winds up his visit to Beirut, leaves for Cairo
Sun 30 Oct 2016/NNA - Saudi State Minister for Arab Gulf
Affairs, Thamer Al Sabhan,
left Beirut on Sunday, heading to the Egyptian
capital, Cairo,
following a short visit during which he met with various Lebanese officials.
Saudi Charge d'Affaires, Abdallah
Al Bukhari, and senior Embassy Staff were at the Airport
to bid him a safe flight.
Geagea: Delays in forming the government during the new
mandate will signal its end before it begins!
Sun 30 Oct 2016/NNA - Lebanese Forces Party Head, Samir Geagea, warned, on Sunday,
against any delays in forming the government during the new presidential
mandate, noting that "such a delay would signal the mandate's end before
it actually begins."Speaking in an interview to
"New TV" Channel, Geagea anticipated that
the upcoming new government should be formed within four weeks, "if
agreement exists."Geagea urged the new cabinet
to be "a government before anything else" and to be "homogeneous
and compact, without any opposing member."He
also stressed on the "existing understanding with the Free Patriotic
Movement over a complete partnership, in good times and bad.""Today
and tomorrow should be days of congratulations and joy, and moving on to a
better stage," said Geagea.
German Ambassador: Berri is 'safety valve' for Lebanon
Sun 30 Oct 2016/NNA - House Speaker, Nabih
Berri, received on Sunday in Ain El Tineh German Ambassador to Lebanon,
Martin Huth, who deemed Berri
as the "safety valve" for Lebanon
to maintain democracy during these difficult times in Lebanon. The diplomat also said
that Lebanon
will be more able to face internal and external urgent challenges with the
election of a President. Separately, Speaker Berri
met with Indian Ambassador to Lebanon,
Anita Nayar, who came on a farewell visit at the end
of her term of mission. Berri also received Head of
the Lebanese Democratic Party, MP Talal Arslan, who wished a new page will be opened in Lebanon.
Speaker of the House also met with head of Baath Party in Lebanon, Assem Kanso, over the
presidential election session
Jumblatt following his meeting with Salam: I advise his
successor to follow his path
Sun 30 Oct 2016/NNA - Following his visit to Prime Minister,
Tammam Salam, at his Mseitbeh
residence on Sunday, MP Walid Jumblatt
said on emerging: "My advice to his successor is to follow his wisdom
path, as well as that of his father, the late Sa'eb
Salam, whom we also remember in the difficult times.""We
have been through three of the most difficult years in this country, but thanks
to the efforts of Premier Salam and his patience and perseverance, we have
managed to overcome this very critical stage," he added. "We wish all
goodness for Lebanon,
and solidarity...It's a new phase, of course, but it is necessary to pass
through," Jumblatt underscored.
Raad: Let us get to the end of Monday to start a new phase
in Lebanon's
political life
Sun 30 Oct 2016/NNA - Head of the "Loyalty to the
Resistance" Parliamentary Bloc, MP Mohammad Raad,
called for "finishing with Monday, in order to begin a new phase in the
political life of Lebanon,
which we hope would demonstrate a new performance and approach by all those who
stretched out their hands to each other at this stage."Raad's
words came during a memorial service held in the town of Qaqa'iyat el-Jisr on Sunday, in a tribute to Resistance Martyr Hussein
Ali Halawi. "It is not just a momentary
convergence that would eliminate the Lebanese people's problem," he added.
"Lebanon's
obstacles can only be solved through commitment to an honest, resistant,
sovereign and real national option by all sides in the country," Raad underscored.
Funerals of Melhem Barakat
Sun 30 Oct 2016/NNA - The funeral of the esteemed Lebanese
singer and composer, Melhem Barakat,
was held on Sunday in Saint Nicolas Church in Achrafieh,
where a Mass was celebrated for the repose of his soul. Culture Minister, Raymond
Araiji, represented the Speaker of the House and the
Prime Minister in the Mass, which was celebrated in the presence of political
figures, military and colleagues of the Lebanese musical icon. Metropolitan
bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church, Elias Audi, paid glowing tributes to the
late, recalling his great artistic achievements for Lebanon.
MP Okab
Sakr returns to Beirut
Sun 30 Oct 2016/NNA - MP Okab Sakr arrived at Rafic Hariri
International Airport
in Beirut on
Sunday evening, on board a private plane coming from Larnaca,
NNA correspondent reported.
Civil Defense: Work is underway to put out Qabeit
fire despite adverse weather conditions
Sun 30 Oct 2016/NNA - In an issued statement by the Civil Defense General Directorate on Sunday, it assured that
"relentless efforts continue, in collaboration with Lebanese Army units,
to extinguish the fire that has spread across the forests of Qabeit in the region of Akkar, in
spite of adverse weather conditions due to intense winds in the area."The Civil Defense
Directorate stressed in its statement on "the need to adhere to its
circulated guidelines of public safety requirements, in order to prevent the
outbreak of more fires that may affect the safety of citizens."
MP Khaled
Daher following his meeting with Hariri: Nomination
of Aoun a huge step, completion of national pact
Sun 30 Oct 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, met with MP Khaled Daher at the "House of Center" on Sunday evening,
who applauded his nomination of General Michel Aoun
for presidency, describing it as a "huge step and completion of the
national pact." "This move has left a good impact on the Christian
street, and shall reflect positively on the Lebanese people as a whole, as well
as on the Lebanese-Arab relations," added Daher,
on emerging from his meeting with Hariri. "We also await its positive
effects at the country's level, and the political performance in the next stage
of forming a new government, by upholding the Constitution and its components
and bearing of national responsibility by all political leaders, who must stand
together this day for the renaissance of Lebanon, to protect, defend and
safeguard it from all surrounding threats," stated Daher.
Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on on October 30-31/16
Iraq: Muslims murder Christian owner of liquor store/A
Christian Owner of a Liquor Store Murdered in Basrah-Iraq
Basnews, /October 27, 2016 / BASRAH — Following a ban on alcohol in Iraq, a Christian
citizen in Basrah province in southern Baghdad was
murdered late on Tuesday by two unidentified gunmen apparently for selling
alcoholic beverages. A
local source said that the two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire at the
Christian citizen Nizar Elias Musa, in front of his
restaurant in al-Watan street
in Basra,
adding that the victim had a liquor store as well. The Iraqi parliament passed a law on
October 22 which prohibits the import, production and sale of alcoholic
beverages. The law however angered many in the country’s Christian community
who rely on the business.
The law imposes a fine of up to 25 million Iraqi dinars ($19,000) for
anyone violating the law. But it’s yet unclear how strictly the law would be
enforced, and it could be struck down by the supreme court.
New Italy Quake Sows Terror, Flattens
Historic Basilica
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October
30/16/Italy's most powerful earthquake in 36 years struck a new blow to the
country's seismically vulnerable heart Sunday, terrifying residents for the
third time in nine weeks and flattening a revered 600-year-old church. The
national civil protection agency said there had been extensive damage to many
historic buildings but no fatalities had been registered some five hours after
the quake. "I can confirm that there are no victims (deaths). Around 20
people are injured. As far as people are concerned, the situation is positive
but many buildings are in a critical state in historic centers and there are
problems with electricity and water supplies," the agency's chief, Fabrizio Curcio, said in a
lunchtime update. The quake struck at 7:40 am (0640 GMT) near the small
mountain town of Norcia, unleashing a shock felt in the capital Rome, where the
metro was partially shut down, and even in Venice, 300 kilometers
(200 miles) away. It measured 6.6 on the so-called moment magnitude scale,
according to U.S.
geologists, while Italian monitors estimated it at 6.5. It was Italy's biggest
quake since a 6.9-magnitude one struck the south of the country in 1980,
leaving 3,000 people dead. "We are going through a really tough
period," Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said, reiterating a government pledge to rebuild
every damaged house and ensure that remote, quake-hit communities are not abandoned."We must not allow the profound pain,
fatigue and stress that we have now to turn into resignation."
'Like a bomb went off'
Norcia's 14th-century Basilica of Saint Benedict, built on
the reputed birthplace of the Catholic saint, was reduced to rubble. The church
is looked after by an international community of Benedictine monks based in two
local monasteries which attract some 50,000 pilgrims every year. "It was
like a bomb went off," said the town's deputy mayor, Pierluigi
Altavilla."We are starting to despair. There are
too many quakes now, we can't bear it anymore." Visibly upset, some of the
monks and other residents knelt in prayer before the ruins. The monks had
already launched an appeal to raise $7.5 million to finance repairs to their
buildings following damage suffered in the other recent quakes. Giuseppe Pezzanesi, mayor of Tolentino in
the neighboring Marche region, said the small town had
"suffered our blackest day yet.""The
damage is irreparable. There are thousands of people in the streets, terrified,
crying. Let's hope that is an end to it, the people are on their knees
psychologically."
'Everything collapsed'
The quake's epicenter was located
at a very shallow depth of one kilometer (just over
half a mile), six kilometers north of Norcia,
according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which measured the magnitude at
6.6. Italy's
institute of geology and vulcanology (IGNV) measured
the quake at 6.5 and said it had been preceded by a 6.1 magnitude shock an hour
earlier. It came four days after quakes of 5.5 and 6.1 magnitude hit the same
area and nine weeks after nearly 300 people died in an August 24 quake that
devastated the tourist town of Amatrice at the peak of the
holiday season. The 13th-century civic tower in Amatrice,
which was damaged but left standing by the August quake, collapsed on Sunday.
As with Wednesday's tremors, the impact was mitigated by the fact that any
buildings deemed vulnerable to seismic activity had been evacuated. The quake
was powerful enough to set off car alarms in Rome, 120 kilometers
(75 miles) from the epicenter. Part of the capital's
underground rail network and a road flyover were closed to allow structural
safety checks to be carried out. Much of Italy's land mass and some of its
surrounding waters are prone to seismic activity with the highest risk
concentrated along its mountainous central spine. Italy straddles the Eurasian and
African tectonic plates, making it vulnerable to seismic activity when they
move. In addition to the Amatrice disaster in August,
just over 300 people perished when a quake struck near the city of L'Aquila in 2009. In
1980, tremors near Naples left 3,000 dead and an
estimated 95,000 died in the 1908 Messina
disaster, when a quake in the waters between mainland Italy and Sicily
sent massive waves crashing into both coasts.
New strong earthquake
hits central Italy,
buildings collapse
Reuters, Rome Sunday, 30 October 2016/A strong earthquake
measuring 6.6 magnitude struck central Italy on Sunday, causing the collapse of
more buildings in small cities and towns already shaken by tremors in the past
two months, although there no immediate reports of casualties. It was a bigger
quake than one which hit central Italy on Aug. 24, killing almost
300 people. There have been thousands of aftershocks in the weeks since then,
including two particularly strong tremors last Wednesday. Italy’s emergency services said there was
serious damage in multiple locations in the central regions of Marche and Umbria
on Sunday. State broadcaster RAI said three people were rescued from rubble in
the town of Ussita,
but there were no reports of deaths. The ancient Basilica of St. Benedict in
the walled town of Norcia, almost 100 kilometers from Perugia,
was devastated by the quake, the monks said. Images on television showed one
side of the church reduced to rubble, and another church in the town center
also collapsed. Local authorities said many towns and villages already battered
by the 6.2 quake in August had seen further significant damage. “This morning’s
quake has hit the few things that were left standing. We will have to start
from scratch,” Michele Franchi, the deputy mayor of Arquata del Tronto,
told Rai television. Many of these places were
evacuated after the August disaster and were largely deserted on Sunday morning
when the quake hit at around 7.40 a.m. (0640 GMT). The earthquake was felt as
far north as Bolzano, near the border with Austria and as far south as the Puglia region at the
southern tip of the Italian peninsula. It was also felt strongly in the capital
Rome, where
transport authorities closed down the metro system for checks. Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of
the most seismically active countries in Europe.
Before this year, the last major earthquake to hit the country struck the
central city of L’Aquila
in 2009, killing more than 300 people. The deadliest since the start of the
20th century came in 1908, when an earthquake followed by a tsunami killed an
estimated 80,000 people in the southern regions of Reggio Calabria and Sicily
Dozens Dead as Rebels
Fight to Break Aleppo
Siege
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October
30/16/Syria's regime and rebels were locked in fierce fighting Sunday on
Aleppo's western edges, where 41 civilians have been killed in an opposition
offensive to break a devastating government siege. Rebels have unleashed car
bombs and salvos of rockets and shells to break through government lines and
reach the 250,000 people living in the city's east. Syria's
second city, Aleppo
has been ravaged by some of the heaviest fighting of the country's five-year
war which has killed more than 300,000 people. Intense fighting on Sunday
rocked western districts, battered by hundreds of rebel rockets and artillery
fire, according to Rami Abdel Rahman,
head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Two days of heavy rebel
bombardment have killed 41 civilians, including 16 children, and wounded 250,
according to the Britain-based Observatory. In a new toll Sunday, it said
fighting had also killed 55 regime and allied fighters, as well as 64 Syrian
rebels. Fighting lasted all night and into Sunday, with air strikes and
artillery fire along the western battlefronts heard even in the eastern
districts, an AFP correspondent there said. Plumes of smoke could be seen
rising from the city. About 1,500 rebels have massed on a 15-kilometer (10-mile)
front along the western edges of Aleppo since Friday, scoring quick gains in
the Dahiyet al-Assad district but struggling to push
east since then. "The advance will be from Dahiyet
al-Assad towards Hamdaniyeh," said Yasser al-Youssef of the Noureddin al-Zinki rebel faction. Hamdaniyeh
is a regime-held district directly adjacent to opposition-controlled eastern neighborhoods. An AFP correspondent saw about a dozen
civilians, including women and children, fleeing Dahiyet
al-Assad on Sunday. They brought belongings stuffed into plastic bags, hoisting
them on top of their heads or dragging them along the dusty road.
- 'Massive, coordinated' assault -
A pro-regime military source told AFP that the rebel assault
was "massive and coordinated" but insisted it was unable to break
into any neighborhoods beyond Dahiyet
al-Assad. "They're using Grad missiles and car bombs and are supported by
foreign fighters in their ranks," he said. Those engaged in the assault
include Aleppo
rebels and reinforcements from Idlib province to the
west, among them the jihadist Fateh al-Sham Front,
which changed its name from al-Nusra Front after
breaking ties with al-Qaida. Aleppo's
front line runs through the heart of the city, dividing rebels in the east from
government forces in the west. Much of the once-bustling economic hub has been
reduced to rubble by artillery and air bombardment, including barrel bombs --
crude unguided explosive devices that also kill indiscriminately. In late
September, government troops launched an assault to recapture all of the
eastern rebel-controlled territory, backed by air strikes from Russia, which
began an air war in 2015 to support President Bashar
Assad's forces. That onslaught spurred massive international criticism of both Moscow and Damascus.
Last week, Russia implemented a three-day "humanitarian pause"
intended to allow civilians and surrendering rebels to leave Aleppo's east, but
few did so.Moscow says it will continue a halt on its
air strikes over Aleppo, in place since October 18.
Aleppo fighting spreads amid claims of gas attack
By Reuters, Amman/Beirut Sunday, 30 October 2016/Syrian
rebels opened a new front in Aleppo as fighting spread on the third day of a
major insurgent counter-attack to break the government’s siege of the opposition-held
part of the city, and each side accused the other using poison gas. The rebels, including both Free Syrian Army
factions and militants, are seeking to end the siege by seizing government-held
areas of Aleppo, in an effort to link the city’s rebel-held east with
rebel-held rural areas to the west of the city. Syrian state media said
militants had fired shells containing chlorine gas at a residential area of the
government-held western part of the city, al-Hamdaniya.
Rebels denied that, and said government forces had fired poison gas on another
frontline. State media cited an Aleppo
hospital director saying three dozen people - civilians and soldiers - had
suffered suffocation in the alleged rebel gas attack, but did not report any
deaths. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organization that
reports on the war, said it had confirmed reports of suffocation among
government fighters in two frontline areas shelled by rebels, but it did not
know if chlorine gas was the cause. The rebels said the army had shelled
rebel-held Rashideen district with chlorine and
shared videos purportedly showing victims with respiratory problems. Aleppo,
Syria’s biggest pre-war city, has become the main stage of conflict between
President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Iran, Russia and
Shi’ite militias, and Sunni rebels including some
supported by Turkey, Gulf monarchies and the United States.
The city has been divided for years between the
government-held western sector and rebel-held east, which the army and its allies
put under siege this summer and where they launched a new offensive in
September that medics say has killed hundreds.
The Observatory said at least 38 people including 14
children had been killed in rebel shelling of government-held areas of Aleppo in the last 48
hours. Jaish al Fateh, a
rebel alliance including powerful Islamist and jihadist factions, said in a
statement they were now moving into a second stage of the offensive after
taking several areas with the goal of “ending the siege”. They called on
residents of government-held areas in western Aleppo to stay at home or in underground
shelters as they spread their offensive, saying they were coming to “liberate”
their land. They urged the fighters not to harm anyone who did not carry arms.
Rebels and pro-government sites said most of Sunday’s fighting concentrated on
the 3000 Apartments housing project in the al-Hamdaniya
area. Capturing it would bring the rebels to within several kms
of the heart of the government-controlled area. Rebels said the attack had
started with preparatory shelling earlier in the day, while Russian planes
resumed heavy bombing of their locations in west Aleppo - the latter also cited on
pro-government sites.
There were conflicting accounts of the outcome of the
fighting, however, with rebels saying they had taken some buildings in the
residential area as they seek to penetrate heavily populated areas under state
control. The Observatory said suicide bombers were deployed on the outskirts of
the neighborhood, a tactic used on Friday when
insurgents seized Dahiyet al-Assad, a cluster of
villas once occupied by top army officers about a square kilometer
on the southwest corner of the city.Since launching
the large scale assault on Friday, the rebels have deployed numerous suicide
car bombs and heavy shelling of the city’s western edge from bases in the
countryside outside Aleppo. “There are heavy street battles and the regime is
now retreating from the area. Its only a matter of
time and we will announce its liberation,” Abu al Ansari,
a fighter from Failaq al Sham, said in a Whatsapp message. Fateh al-Sham,
a militant group formerly known as the Nusra Front,
played a big part in a rebel attack in July that succeeded in breaking the
government siege on eastern Aleppo
for several weeks before it was re-imposed.
Commander of Iranian
battalion in Syria
killed: reports
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Sunday, 30 October 2016/Iranian websites said on Saturday that Brigadier
General Mohammed Ali Mohammad Husseini, the commander
of the commando battalion in the Special Force of the Iranian Revolutionary
Guards which is fighting alongside the Assad regime in Syria was killed. According to the
Iranian website Tanweer, the Revolutionary Guard
commander in the city of Kazerun
in the Fars province also issued a statement
declaring the death of Husseini. The statement
however did not mention when and where he was killed. Iranian media outlets
said that Husseini, the commander of the Sejad battalion, played a major role in the battles of Nubl and al-Zahraa in Aleppo, north of Syria. Husseini
has participated in Revolutionary Guards’ operations against opposition Kurdish
groups in northwestern Iran and he’s also participated in
the Iraqi-Iranian war. Reports on Husseini’s death
come after Major General Gholam Reza Smaiie died during an advisory mission to support Syrian
forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Wednesday. Iran has lost tens of generals, officers and
members of its elite forces during the past months while attempting to tighten
the siege on Aleppo
and to expel opposition groups from it. According to some statistics, seven
officers from the Special Forces unit known as the Green Berets which was sent
to Syria
in April have been killed so far. Meanwhile more than 450 members of the
Revolutionary Guards have been killed since battles in Aleppo and its surroundings renewed in
September of last year.
Abadi: Battle to liberate Mosul continues
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Saturday, 29 October 2016/Iraqi Prime Minister Haider
al-Abadi said on Saturday that the battle to liberate
Mosul continues shortly after the Iraqi Federal Police raised the country’s
flag in the southern besieged village of Shoura, Al Arabiya News Channel reported. "Today and yesterday we
liberated many villages and we will continue the fight until all of province is
free [of ISIS]." Abadi
said. In a brief statement released earlier on Saturday by the Iraqi police, it
was revealed that forces managed to enter Shoura from
four sides. It confirmed that ISIS is breaking
down and withdrawing from its defensive positions. The police also stated that
it has liberated Ain-Nasr village from Shoura’s side
killing five terrorists and destroying three booby-trapped cars. Major General Maan Al-Saadi, commander of the
2nd special division said that the regions that were liberated from ISIS were handed over to “other forces” to establish
security and hinder the return of extremists again. The police have also
destroyed the network of tunnels extending to the center of Mosul.
Operations halt
Prior to Saturdays advancements in Mosul, a spokesperson of the International coalition
announced on Friday that the Iraqi forces will halt its operations for two days
to reinforce the success achieved since the beginning of the liberation operation
in Mosul.
American Colonel John Dorian said in a video conference from Baghdad:
“We think that it will take approximately two days before resuming our progress
towards Mosul”,
explaining that this pause comes within the plans of the coalition. He added
that this break is broad and will take place on several axes; it is necessary
for the re-positioning, planning and cleansing operations undertaken by the
Iraqi forces in the seized regions. Dorian also pointed out that the break is
taken to reinforce Iraqi forces’ position, stressing that they seek to help the
Iraqi forces adapt to the tactics and decisions taken by the enemy until now.”
In the meantime, the coalition continues its raids targeting tunnels used by
ISIS to surprise the Iraqi forces, as well as the terrorist organization’s
command centers.The spokesman added that the
coalition has launched about 2500 “bombs, missiles and rockets” since the start
of the battle of Mosul.
Shiite militias launch operation near Mosul
State-sanctioned Shiite militias launched an assault on ISIS
west of the Iraqi city of Mosul
on Saturday but reiterated that they would not enter the Sunni majority city. Jaafar al-Husseini, a spokesman
for the Hezbollah Brigades, said they launched an offensive Saturday along with
other large militias toward the town of Tel Afar,
which had a Shiite majority before it fell to ISIS
in 2014. Iranian forces are advising the fighters and Iraqi aircraft are
providing airstrikes, he said. Iraq
launched a massive operation to retake militant-held Mosul, its second largest city, last week.
The involvement of the Shiite militias has raised concerns the battle could
aggravate sectarian divisions. The Mosul
offensive involves more than 25,000 soldiers, Federal Police, Kurdish fighters,
Sunni tribesmen and the Shiite militias, which operate under an umbrella
organization known as the Popular Mobilization Units. Many of the militias were
originally formed after the 2003 US-led invasion to battle American forces and
Sunni insurgents. They were mobilized again and endorsed by the state when
ISIS, a Sunni extremist group, swept through northern and central Iraq in 2014, capturing Mosul and other towns and cities. A US-led
coalition has been providing airstrikes and ground support to Iraqi forces in
the Mosul
offensive, but al-Husseini said it had no involvement
in the Iran-backed militias' advance on Tel Afar. He said the militias will
focus on Tel Afar and on securing the western border with Syria. ISIS still controls
territory on both sides of the border, where it shuttles fighters, weapons and
supplies between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa,
the de facto capital of its self-styled caliphate. Iraqi forces advancing
toward Mosul
from several directions have made uneven progress since the offensive began.
Iraqi forces are 4 miles (6 kilometers) from the edge
of Mosul on the
eastern front, where the elite special forces are
leading the charge. But progress has been slower in the south, with Iraqi
forces still 20 miles (35 kilometers) from the city.
There have been no major advances over the past two days, as Iraqi forces have
sought to consolidate their gains by clearing explosive booby-traps left by the
extremists and uncovering tunnels they dug to elude airstrikes. (With AP)
Asiri: Houthis launched ballistic
missiles from a mosque
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Saturday, 29 October 2016/The Iran-backed Houthi
militias and their allies launched their ballistic missile towards the Saudi
city of Makkah - which was intercepted late Thursday
- from a mosque in the Yemeni city of Saada,
spokesman for the Arab Coalition said in an interview published on Saturday. Brigadier
General Ahmed Asiri, who is also an advisor at the
Saudi Minister of Defense’s office, told the
London-based Asharq Al-Awsat,
that the Royal Saudi Forces targeted the location where the missiles were
launched towards Makkah, which harbors
Islam’s holiest site, and they found it was a mosque. “These people know no
religion and have no morals. They are using mosques, schools, and hospitals for
their criminal acts,” he said. Asiri reiterated that
the coalition will continue to support the internationally recognized Yemeni
President Abed Rabu Mansour
Hadi’s forces both politically and militarily.
Saudi stadium terror
plot thwarted
Al Arabiya.net Sunday, 30 October 2016/
Saudi authorities announced on Sunday they had prevented a
terror plot targeting a stadium in Jeddah prior to an international football
match against the UAE attended by thousands.The four
suspects, two Pakistanis, a Syrian and a Sudanese citizen, were arrested after
foiling the plot which targeted the “Luminous Jewel” Stadium on Oct. 11,
according to the Saudi Interior Ministry.
The suspects were identified as:
Hassan Abdul Karim - Syrian
Saliman Arab Din Wafarmanullah - Pakistani
Naqshaband Khan - Pakistani
Abdul Azim al Tahir
Abdullah Ibrahim - Sudanese
General Bassam Attiyah
revealed at a press conference that the bomb had been packed into a ‘medium
sized vehicle’, which was then to be left in a carpark
by the stadium where 60,000 fans were attending a World Cup qualifier match.
Attiyah said they believed the
device would have been used to either target people in the stadium car park,
fans watching the match, or as they left.
The number of casualties would have been higher - Attiyah added – if the car detonated in the parking lot
during the game, explaining: “more casualties would have ensued had the device
exploded near the stand, due to the structural collapse that would have
resulted.”
“Another equally horrifying scenario would have occurred,”
he added, “Had the device exploded whilst the spectators were exiting the
stadium.”
He revealed that a Syrian was the masterminded of the entire
scheme and designated the individual roles within the cell.
It has been estimated the vehicle had the capacity to carry
an estimated 400kg of explosives. The blast’s explosion radius would have
reached up to 1,100 meters, covering almost 800,000 square meters.
The “Luminous Jewel” stadium is one of the crowning sporting
achievements in the Kingdom - with an estimated total building cost of around
$500mln, and is made up of 20,000 parking places - meanwhile the stadium can
hold at least 60,000 spectators.
Who was the Saudi
policeman killed in Qatif?
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Sunday, 30 October 2016/A policeman was killed and
another wounded in an attack on their patrol in the southern Saudi town of Qatif,
on Sunday. An Al Arabiya News correspondent revealed
that the shooting came from an unidentified vehicle, killing Sultan Al-Mutairi and wounding his partner. Al-Mutairi
served for nine years in the army. According to his cousins, he performed the
pilgrimage this year, and was planning to get married soon. He is a resident of
the Eastern Region and used to work in traffic patrols. He was the youngest of
four brothers.
Al Arabiya
documentary reveals Houthi lobby network in UN
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News
Channel Sunday, 30 October 2016/Al Arabiya News
Channel aired on Saturday a documentary showing how the Iran-backed Houthi militia group has a lobbyist network inside the
United Nations. Some of the NGOs and individuals, who were not Yemeni or
Yemen-based, are also seen as pro-Iran. Here names of some of the preeminent
players:
- Ambassador Abdul Illah Hajar, a member of the Houthi
delegation, who participated in Yemen’s
peace talks. At the peace talks, Hajar introduced
himself as a representative of the Yemeni Foreign Ministry branch dealing with
International Organizational Affairs.
- Ahmed al-Shami, Executive
Director of Arabia Human Right Watch Association (ARWA).
- Mohammed al-Wazir, ARWA’s founder and director of its legal affairs.
- Yousra al-Harazy,
who lives in Geneva.
She is in charge of organizing ARWA’s motions, and
participates in the United Nations Human Rights Council sessions.
On April 28, ARWA submitted a complaint to the International
Criminal Court (ICC) on behalf of 34 Yemeni NGOs, accusing the Arab Coalition
of committing war crimes and genocide. ARWA claimed compensation worth billions
of dollars.
- The Houthis lobby also comprises
the SABA organization in Yemen,
headed by journalist Ahmed al-Muaid.
- NGOs from other countries
The list include NGOs in other countries such as the Iraqi
Development Organization, the Sunni Scholars Association in southern Iraq
headed by Sheikh Khaled al-Mullah, in addition to the
Lebanon-based al-Khiam Rehabilitation Center (KRC)
for Victims of Torture, which was founded in June 1999, and granted advisory
membership of the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2010.
Despite KRC’s presentation of
itself as an NGO, its Secretary General Mohamed Safa
stated back in 2008 that the center was indeed a partner in the Lebanese Shiite
movement Hezbollah’s victory in the south of the country.
In February 2016, KRC announced embracing the case of opposition
Sheikh Ali Salman, leader of al-Wefaq
National Islamic Society in Bahrain.
Houthi maneuver
The documentary shows how the Houthis
were blamed by Kate Gilmore, the Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights of the
United Nations, on Sept. 27 for the siege imposed on the city of Taiz,
blocking food, water and creating fuel shortages.
The Houthis, simultaneously, held
a conference on the sidelines, while Gilmore was presenting her findings, to
diffuse and deflect attention.
They spent their time discussing human rights conditions in
the countries participating in the Arab Coalition, accusing them of
collaborating with Al-Qaeda in Yemen.
The Houthis were also able to
garner support from similar pressure groups in Europe and the United States.
Turkey sacks 10,000
more civil servants, shuts media in latest crackdown
By Humeyra Pamuk
Reuters, Istanbul Monday, 31 October 2016/Turkey said it had dismissed a
further 10,000 civil servants and closed 15 more media outlets over suspected
links with terrorist organizations and U.S.-based cleric Fethullah
Gulen, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating a failed
coup in July. More than 100,000 people had already been sacked or suspended and
37,000 arrested since the abortive putsch in an unprecedented crackdown
President Tayyip Erdogan
says is crucial for wiping out the network of Gulen
from the state apparatus. Thousands more academics, teachers, health workers,
prison guards and forensics experts were among the latest to be removed from
their posts through two new executive decrees published on the Official Gazette
late on Saturday. Opposition parties described the move as a coup in itself.
The continued crackdown has also raised concerns over the functioning of the
state. "What the government and Erdogan are
doing right now is a direct coup against the rule of law and democracy," Sezgin Tanrikulu, an MP from the
main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said in a Periscope broadcast
posted on Twitter.A Turkish court on Sunday formally
arrested Firat Anli, the
co-mayor of the largely Kurdish southeastern city of
Diyarbakir on a charge of membership of a terrorist organization. Prosecutors
also sought the arrest of co-mayor Gultan
Kisanak, detained alongside Anli
five days ago and whose questioning continues, security sources said. Earlier
police used rubber pellets to break up several hundred protesters marching
against their arrests. Turkey's southeast has been rocked by the worst violence
in decades since the collapse last year of a ceasefire between the state and
the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated a terrorist organization by
Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The local prosecutor had said
Kisanak, a lawmaker before becoming Diyarbakir's
first female mayor in 2014, and Anli had given
speeches sympathetic to the PKK, called for greater political autonomy for Turkey's
estimated 16 million Kurds and incited violent protests in 2014.
Misuse
The extent of the crackdown has worried rights groups and
many of Turkey's
Western allies, who fear Erdogan is using the
emergency rule to eradicate dissent. The government says the actions are
justified given the threat to the state posed by the coup attempt, in which
more than 240 people died. The executive decrees have ordered the closure of 15
more newspapers, wires and magazines, which report from the largely Kurdish
southeast, bringing the total number of media outlets and publishers closed
since July to nearly 160. Universities have also been stripped of their ability
to elect their own rectors according to the decrees. Erdogan
will from now on directly appoint the rectors from the candidates nominated by
the High Educational Board (YOK).Lale Karabiyik, another CHP lawmaker, said the move was a clear
misuse of the emergency rule decrees and described it as a coup d'etat on higher education. Pro-Kurdish opposition said the
decrees were used as tools to establish a 'one-man regime'. The government
extended the state of emergency imposed after the coup attempt for three months
until mid-January. Erdogan said the authorities
needed more time to wipe out the threat posed by Gulen's
network as well as Kurdish militants who have waged a 32-year insurgency. Ankara wants the United
States to detain and extradite Gulen
so that he can be prosecuted in Turkey
on a charge that he masterminded the attempt to overthrow the government. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999,
denies any involvement. Speaking to reporters at a reception marking Republic
Day on Saturday, Erdogan said the nation wanted the reinstatement
of the death penalty, a debate which has emerged following the coup attempt,
and added that delaying it would not be right. "I believe this issue will
come to the parliament," he said, and repeated that he would approve it, a
move that would sink Turkey's
hopes of European Union membership. Erdogan shrugged
off such concerns, saying that much of the world had capital punishment.
Erdogan warns militias in Iraq not to attack Turkmen
AFP, Istanbul Sunday, 30 October 2016/Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
on Saturday warned militias in Iraq against attacking Turkmen residents of Tal
Afar, a town near ISIS’s Mosul bastion. “If the
Hashed al-Shaabi sow terror there, then our response
will be different,” Erdogan said, in comments carried
by the state-run Anadolu news agency, without
specifying what measures would be taken. The Hashed al-Shaabi,
a paramilitary umbrella organization dominated by Iran-backed militias,
launched an operation on Saturday to cut ISIS-held Mosul
off from Syria.
They began pushing toward Tal Afar from the western approach
to the city, the only side where ground forces, who
have advanced from the north, east and south, are not yet deployed. Tal Afar
was a Shiite-majority town of mostly ethnic Turkmen before ISIS
extremists overran it in 2014, and its recapture is a main goal of militia
fighters. The town is also key to ISIS for linking its
Syrian stronghold of Raqqa to Mosul, currently the target of a massive
military offensive launched by the Iraqi government. Erdogan
assured that Turkey
“would not look favorably” on an attack by militias
on Tal Afar. Since the offensive against Mosul
began, Turkey
has stated its opposition to the participation of militias. The militias have
in the past been accused of committing atrocities when entering Sunni-majority
towns. They have already said they have no plans to enter Mosul. Erdogan’s
veiled warning came two days after his foreign minister, Mevlut
Cavusoglu, said that Turkey would view an advance on Tal
Afar as a threat and was ready to take “adequate measures.” Hundreds of Turkish
soldiers are based at the Bashiqa camp in Mosul province in northern Iraq, officially to train
volunteers.
Turkey consulate staff families should leave: US
AFP, Washington Sunday, 30 October 2016/The United States
ordered the relatives of staff members in its consulate in Istanbul to leave the country Saturday,
warning that “extremist groups” are targeting American citizens for attack. The
order was announced in the second travel warning that the State Department
issued for Americans in Turkey
in less than a week, reflecting US concerns about “increased threats from
terrorist groups.” The decision to evacuate the families of staff was made
“based on security information indicating extremist groups are continuing
aggressive efforts to attack US citizens in areas of Istanbul where they reside or frequent.” On
Monday, the State Department had advised US citizens to “carefully consider the
need to travel to Turkey
at this time.” There is also a long-standing warning against travel to the
southeast of the country. “Foreign and US tourists have been explicitly
targeted by international and indigenous terrorist organizations in Turkey,”
both recent travel warnings said. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has placed
Turkey
under a state of emergency in the wake on a July 15 coup attempt by disaffected
military officers that triggered a crackdown on suspected dissidents. Even
before the failed but bloody putsch, Turkey
was already fighting a renewed insurgency by Kurdish separatists and dealing
with the fallout of the war in neighboring Syria, including attacks by ISIS.
In recent months there have been bomb attacks blamed on various groups in
Turkish cities, and tensions are running high as Erdogan
purges his government of alleged supporters of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen. Turkish media
have also been stoking anti-American sentiment, accusing Washington
of harboring Gulen in Pennsylvania while he
allegedly plots the overthrow of Erdogan’s
government. The United States
has agreed to study an extradition request for the preacher, who denies any
link to the coup, but has warned it must meet American “evidentiary standards.”
Court bars pro-Kurdish
party leader from leaving Turkey
AFP, Istanbul
Sunday, 30 October 2016/A Turkish court has barred a
leader of the main pro-Kurdish party from leaving the country, accusing her of
“belonging to an armed terrorist organization,” the state-run Anadolu news agency reported Saturday.
Figen Yuksekdag,
co-chair of the leftist People’s Democratic Party (HDP), was also accused of
“terrorist propaganda” and banned from leaving Turkey “because of activities
that indicate she might flee” abroad, according to Anadolu.
The HDP denounced the decision as “totally arbitrary” and said it would appeal.
The move could aggravate tensions with several pro-Kurdish demonstrations
planned Sunday across the country, including in Istanbul
and Diyarbakir, the largest city in
predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
accuses the HDP of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) --
listed as a terror group by Ankara, the European
Union and the United States
-- a claim the HDP denies. The PKK, which has waged a bloody insurgency against
the Turkish state since 1984, has resumed attacks on security forces since the
rupture of a fragile ceasefire last year. Hours after the ban on Yuksekdag was announced, authorities ordered the closure of
several pro-Kurdish media, including the Dicle Haber Ajansi news agency and the Ozgur Gundem newspaper, according to a decree published Saturday
evening in the official journal. The moves by Turkish authorities come with
tensions already high after the two co-mayors of Diyarbakir were taken into custody on Tuesday
as part of a “terrorism” probe. On Wednesday police used tear gas and water
cannon to prevent people protesting in the city against the mayors’ detention,
which was also followed by several PKK attacks on military targets. Three
soldiers were also killed Saturday in a PKK attack in the southeastern
province of Hakkari and two policemen were wounded by
a rocket attack in Diyarbakir,
according to Anadolu, citing officials from the
security forces. In response to the death of the soldiers, the Turkish military
said in a statement it had conducted air strikes in northern Iraq, where there are PKK bases,
killing 10 “terrorists.”
Afghan Taliban reveal
relations with Iran
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Sunday, 30 October 2016/Mullah Zabihullah, the
official spokesman of the “Afghan Taliban” and the second man in the movement
revealed the presence of relations and new networks with Iran.“The
movement is trying to benefit from all legitimate means to reach a regional
agreement as part of the war against the American invasion; therefore, the Imara holds ongoing networks with a large number of
regional and neighboring states.” He said to the
London based Asharq Al-Awsat
in an email 18 months ago, that the movement had received drone planes, which
help film suicidal operations.However, he refused to
reveal the side providing such advanced equipment, but asserted that the
“movement is expecting to soon receive more advanced weapons.” Commenting on
reports saying that Taliban had appointed a representative in Iran, Zabihullah said: “We heard these reports, but they are
untrue.”
Afghan govt loses 2% of
territory in 3 months
By Reuters, Washington Sunday, 30 October 2016/The Afghan
government lost control or influence between May and August over two percent of
the territory it controlled, the US government’s top watchdog on Afghanistan
said in a report on Sunday, a sign of the precarious security situation in the
country and challenges posed by the Taliban and other militant groups. Fifteen
years after the United States
invaded Afghanistan to topple
the Taliban rulers who had harbored al Qaeda
militants who attacked the United
States, the Taliban have made major gains
and are estimated to control more territory than at any time since 2001. The
report, published by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan
Reconstruction (SIGAR), said the area under Afghan government “control or
influence” had decreased to 63.4 percent by the end of August from 65.6 percent
near the end of May, based on data provided by US forces in Afghanistan. That
number is lower than what senior US officials have cited in the
past. “We believe the Afghans control or influence 68 to 70 percent of the
population,” General John Nicholson, the commander of US and NATO forces, told
a September press briefing. About a third of the country is either under
insurgent control or in risk of coming under it, posing a challenge for female
education, the report said. “In these areas, the Taliban seek to punish women
who work or study outside the home,” the report said. The Taliban have challenged
Afghan security forces for a number of key cities in the past few months,
including Kunduz, which was overrun by the militants
last year but eventually regained by the government. The report said that from
January to August, more than 5,500 members of the Afghan security forces have
been killed. Officials have voiced concern over the casualty rate, attributing
it to more Taliban successes on the battlefield. Despite the high casualty
rate, the report cited a NATO survey in which 91 percent of Afghan National
Army recruits surveyed said they were satisfied with their pay. The survey,
conducted from December 2015 to May 2016 found that 92 percent of recruits
expect that if they are killed, their families will be taken care of.
Israeli police:
Palestinian driver killed after car attack
By The Associated Press, Jerusalem Sunday, 30 October 2016/Israeli
police say a Palestinian driver has rammed a car into a group of officers,
injuring three before he was shot dead. Police spokeswoman Luba
Samri says the driver sped into paramilitary border
police forces near the West Bank town of Beit Ummar.
Palestinian officials and media identified the alleged assailant as Khalid Ikhlayel, a 23-year-old university student. The attack was
the latest in a year-long wave of violence. Palestinian attackers have killed
36 Israelis and two visiting Americans in stabbings, shootings and vehicular rammings. At least 222 Palestinians have been killed by
Israeli fire in that period. Israel
says most of the Palestinians killed were attackers. Palestinians and Israeli
rights groups say Israeli forces have at times used excessive force and killed
suspects who could have been arrested.
Germany checking if fatal Hamburg stabbing was ISIS-related
The Associated Press, Berlin Sunday, 30 October
2016/Germany's federal prosecutor is checking whether he should take over the
investigation into a fatal stabbing in Hamburg earlier this month, his office
said Sunday. A spokesman for the prosecutor's office told German news agency dpa that the prosecutor is looking into the case following
a statement by the ISIS-run Aamaq news agency on
Saturday saying "a soldier of the Islamic State" stabbed two people
in Hamburg on
Oct. 16. Two teenagers, a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, were sitting
on the waterside of a Hamburg
lake that day, when a man approached them from behind, stabbed the boy several
times with a knife and then pushed the girl into the water. The attacker fled
afterward. The boy was taken to a hospital where he subsequently died. The girl
who was pushed into the water wasn't injured, but was taken to a hospital for
psychiatric treatment after the attack. Different from the ISIS
claim, only one person was stabbed.
Hamburg
police are still looking for the attacker, whom they have described as a male
from 25 to 30 years old. The Aamaq news agency said,
"the attack was carried out in response to target
citizens of the coalition countries that fight the IS." It did not
identify or give a name for an attacker. Hamburg
police spokesman Timo Zill
said it was too early to speculate about the possible attacker and his motive.In July, two attacks carried out in Germany by asylum seekers were claimed by ISIS. Five people were wounded in an ax
rampage on a train near Wuerzburg and 15 in a bombing
outside a bar in Ansbach. Both of the attackers were
killed. Earlier this month, a 16-year-old German-Moroccan girl went on trial
for allegedly stabbing and wounding a police officer in Hannover at the behest
of the ISIS group.
Egypt marks anniversary of Sinai plane crash
AFP, Cairo
Monday, 31 October 2016/Egypt on Sunday commemorated the first anniversary of
the Metrojet Russian airliner crash in the Sinai that
killed all 224 people on board. The aviation minister and the Russian
ambassador were among those who attended a ceremony in the Red
Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, from
which the plane took off last October 31 before crashing 24 minutes later. The
Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State jihadist group said it downed the plane
with a bomb hidden in a drinks can. Civil Aviation Minister Sherif
Fathy reiterated the government's condolences to the
relatives of victims, expressing "our feelings of sorrow and sadness over
the lives we have lost". Russian ambassador Serge Kirpichenko
said the "sadness is ongoing and will never go away". Last November
17, Russian President Vladimir
Putin said Russian investigators had found evidence of a bomb on board, and
vowed to punish those responsible. In February, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah
al-Sisi acknowledged for the first time that
"terrorism" caused the crash, although the government has not yet
issued an official report on its cause. Sisi had
previously dismissed as "propaganda" the IS claim that it downed the
airliner. On Monday morning, a mass will be held at an Orthodox church in Sharm el-Sheikh to mourn the fallen. Russia reacted to last year's disaster by
cancelling all flights to Egypt,
and Britain
also cancelled flights to the resort town, badly affecting a tourism sector
already battered by unrest following the country's 2011 revolution. On Sunday
Ambassador Kirpichenko said he was confident that
flights from Russia
would soon resume. "We are certain the day and time are approaching, and
quickly, for the return of Russian tourism to Egypt," he said. "We are
working on this day and night."
At least 22 killed in Egypt floods
AFP, Cairo Sunday, 30 October
2016/At least 22 people were killed and 72 injured in flooding in parts of Egypt
caused by torrential rains, authorities said Sunday, updating an earlier toll
of 18 dead. Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said the death toll could rise as some families may
not have reported the loss of relatives who have already been buried since the
flooding began on Thursday. The government on Saturday announced the provision
of 50 million pounds ($5.6 million/five million euros)
for flood-hit areas, which include Sohag, South Sinai
and along the Red Sea coast. The Al-Masry Al-Youm and Al-Watan newspapers said residents in Ras
Gharib angry over the government response to the
floods on Saturday blocked a convoy transporting Prime Minister Sharif Ismail. Ras Gharib, near the mouth of the
Gulf of Suez, was the worst hit area with nine
people killed in the flooding. Also among those lost in the disaster were six
people killed when a bus overturned on a flooded road in Sohag
province. Rains in the autumn and winter cause flooding in
parts of Egypt,
especially those with poor infrastructure, almost every year.
Car explodes in eastern
Libya,
killing activist, 5 others
The Associated Press, Benghazi,
Libya Sunday, 30 October
2016/A car exploded in the eastern city of Benghazi late Saturday,
killing six people including a political activist close to a powerful genera
fighting Islamic extremists, officials said. The explosion rocked the downtown Benghazi district of al-Kesh which is lined with busy cafes. The blast killed
activist Mohammed Bougages, who was sitting in a
cafe, and five others, officials said. At least 10 others were wounded, some of
whom were in critical condition.The officials spoke
on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the
press. Bougages was a political activist and the
fiery host of a daily talk show called “Frankly,” which is aired on state TV.
He was an outspoken supporter of General Khalifa Hifter, who has led a campaign against Islamic extremists
in Benghazi
since 2014. Hifter’s campaign dubbed “Operation
Dignity” came in response to dozens of assassinations of activists, judges, and
security officers in Benghazi,
allegedly at the hands of extremists. Saturday’s explosion raised fears of a
return to that grim period of assassinations. On Friday, the bodies of 10
unidentified men were found in a dumpster in Benghazi. The bodies bore torture marks and
had gunshot wounds to the head, according to a statement by the Support and
Reinforcement security unit which found them.Hifter,
who is one of Libya’s most
divisive figures, has cleared most of Benghazi
from extremists except for pockets in the northern and western parts of the city.
Seen as a savior in the eastern region, many in
western Libya
oppose him for perceiving all Islamists as extremists.
Thousands impacted as
drone halts traffic at Dubai
airport
By Reuters Sunday, 30 October 2016/A
drone forced Dubai
international airport, one of the world's busiest, to halt air traffic for an
hour and a half Saturday evening, the third such incident in less than five
months. Air space around the airport was closed from 7.25pm to 8.49pm “due to
unauthorized drone activity resulting in flight diversions”, said operator
Dubai Airports. The General Civil Aviation Authority said the airport at Sharjah, about 15 kilometers
(nine miles) away, was closed for a similar period of time as a precaution
because of the same drone. Dubai Airports stressed in a tweet that safety was
its top priority and reminded drone operators that it is forbidden to fly them
within five kilometers (three miles) of any airport.
In September 28 the airport was shut for about half an hour because of an
unauthorized drone while on June 12 it was forced to close for more than an
hour for the same reason. UAE authorities have announced their intention to
tighten the rules on the purchase and use of drones and the penalties for
violating them. Around 100 airlines fly to more than 260 destinations from Dubai, which is also home
to major carrier Emirates. More than 78 million passengers traveled through the
airport last year.
Al Shabaab
seizes town from Somali government
Reuters Sunday, 30 October 2016/The Islamist group al Shabaab seized a town northwest of Somalia’s capital from
government forces on Sunday, the latest small center taken by the militant
group trying to topple the country’s Western-backed government. Al Shabaab, which once ruled much of Somalia, has been fighting for years to impose
its strict interpretation of Islam on Somalia. African Union and Somali
troops have driven it from major urban strongholds and ports, but they have
often struggled to defend smaller, more remote areas from attacks. “Many al Shabaab fighters attacked us this morning and after brief
fighting we left the town for tactical reasons,” Somali army Major Hussein Edin told Reuters from the nearby town of Baidoa. One Somali
soldier was killed, he said. Goofgaduud lies about
250 km (160 miles) northwest of Mogadishu,
the capital. Al Shabaab’s military operations
spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab,
confirmed the group had captured the settlement. He said seven Somali soldiers
were killed. Al Shabaab’s casualty figures and those
announced by officials often differ. In a separate incident, the website of
state radio, radiomuqdisho.net, said on Sunday that the Somali security forces
had rescued a Kenyan woman who had been kidnapped by pirates in 2015. They did
not give details about the woman.
Clinton: FBI probe statement ‘deeply troubling’
AFP, Daytona Beach,
United States
Sunday, 30 October 2016/US presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton declared
Saturday that the FBI’s decision to announce a renewed probe into her use of
email just ahead of voting was “unprecedented” and “deeply troubling.”“It’s
pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information
right before an election,” the Democratic nominee complained, addressing
cheering supporters at a rally in the must-win state of Florida. Clinton remains the favorite
to win the keys to the White House in the November 8 vote, but her momentum was
slowed Friday when FBI director James Comey made a
shock announcement. In a letter to congressional committee chairs, the agency
chief said agents were investigating a newly discovered batch of emails linked
to Clinton, to
see if they contained classified material. A previous FBI probe was declared
finished in July, after Comey’s agency found no
evidence that Clinton
had broken any laws through her controversial use of a private email server
while secretary of state. News reports citing FBI sources said the emails were
found on a laptop used by Clinton’s
aide Huma Abedin and her
husband Anthony Weiner, who is subject to an unrelated investigation for
sending explicit messages to a minor. But it is not clear whether the emails
had any connection to Clinton’s
work at the State Department, and Comey’s statement
said only that investigators were studying to see if they are “pertinent” to
the server probe. Clinton’s
opponent Donald Trump, however, has seized gleefully on the statement, and her
Democratic allies have reacted with fury, arguing that Comey
had been so vague in his letter that he was feeding unproven conspiracy
theories. “It’s not just strange, it’s unprecedented,” Clinton
told the Daytona Beach
rally. “And it is deeply troubling because voters deserve to get full and
complete facts. So we’ve called on Director Comey to
explain everything right away, put it all out on the table.”
ISIS claims
responsibility for attack outside US
embassy in Nairobi
Reuters, Cairo Sunday, 30
October 2016/A follower of ISIS was responsible for an
attack last week on a Kenyan police officer outside a US embassy in Nairobi, the group’s Amaq
news agency said on Saturday. A knife-wielding man whom police described as a
criminal was shot dead outside the US Embassy in Nairobi last Thursday after he attacked and
injured a Kenyan police officer. “The person who carried out the stabbing of a
guard outside the American embassy in Nairobi
last Thursday was a soldier of ISIS responding
to calls to target coalition countries,” Amaq said. Kenya’s police
spokesman said at the time the motive was unclear and an investigation was
launched. The spokesman could not immediately be reached on Saturday. ISIS
previously claimed an attack in Kenya
in September by three women who were shot dead after they tricked their way
into a police station in Mombasa
and tried to torch the building, according to police. The police in Kenya have also
previously said they had detained sympathizers with the group. But experts say
it is not clear how close the connection is between groups and individuals
proclaiming allegiance to ISIS in its Middle East heartland of Syria and Iraq, where it is increasingly
pressure from regional and international forces.
Protests erupt in Morocco after
fishmonger crushed to death
Reuters, Rabat Monday, 31
October 2016/Thousands of outraged Moroccans held protests in several cities on
Sunday after a fishmonger in the northern town of Al-Hoceima was
crushed to death inside a garbage truck as he tried to retrieve fish
confiscated by police. The death on Friday prompted a frenzy of angry postings
on social media against “Hogra”, a Maghreb
term referring to official abuse and injustice. Sunday’s rallies were called by
activists from the February 20 movement, which organized demonstrations during
the Arab unrest of 2011. In an effort to calm tensions, King Mohamed, currently
on a tour of Africa, ordered the interior
minister to visit the victim’s family and present royal condolences.The
interior and justice ministries also promised an investigation. Such
large-scale protests are rare in Morocco, where the king still holds
ultimate sway. Morocco
calmed Arab Spring-style protests in 2011 with reforms, spending and tougher
security while leaders in Tunisia,
Egypt and Libya were swept from power. “I
have never seen such a crowd in the last few years, since 2011 at least,” said Houssin Lmrabet, an activist from
the town of Imzouren
where thousands took part in the funeral of the victim and protests that
followed. “Everyone feels crushed by that garbage truck here.” Mouhcine Fikri had fish
confiscated by police on Friday after he bought it at the port. Local
authorities have banned swordfish sales in this season. According to local
media and authorities, Fikri jumped inside the trash
truck that police used to destroy the confiscated fish in a desperate attempt
to recover it when he was caught inside the crusher. Protests were held in Al-Hoceima and other towns in Rif region, long seen as a
hotbed of dissent, and also in Casablanca and the capital Rabat, where hundreds
gathered chanting “Mohcine was murdered, Makhzen is to blame” in a reference to the royal
establishment and its allies. Fikri’s death has
echoes of how Tunisia’s uprising began in 2011, triggering similar revolts
across the region after a young man set himself on fire in desperation because
police confiscated fruit and vegetables he was selling. Activists accused
police officers of ordering garbage men to crush Fikri,
but the Moroccan police (DGSN) denied those accusations in a statement on
Sunday. Moroccan authorities heavily police protests, nervous over popular
unrest since the 2011 protests. During those protests the king devolved some of
his authority to an elected government in a constitutional reform. Governments
in North Africa are wary of protests tapping
into pent up frustrations among unemployed youth. Tunisia has seen rioting twice this
year in its south over jobs and unions are warning over the government’s new
austerity plans.
Young Calais migrants pray in “Jungle” church
before demolition
Reuters, Paris Monday, 31 October 2016/Dozens of young
Ethiopian and Eritrean migrants gathered on Sunday at a makeshift Orthodox
church in the Calais “Jungle” camp, one of the only places still standing in
the area, to attend a last service before the demolition is completed.
Bulldozers are flattening the sprawl of ramshackle huts and tents in northern France which had been home to 6,000 refugees and
migrants from Asia, the Middle East and Africa hoping to cross the English
Channel and start new lives in Britain.
Calais resident Pascal Froehly,
who works for Caritas France
charity, said he would like to see the church survive the “Jungle” demolition. “It
has been built quite solidly ... it’s an opportunity to recognize the knowledge
and ingenuity of the refugees, among other things,” he said, adding it was “a
kind of reminder of what happened here, of the joy and suffering”. It took
migrants and volunteers about two months to build the church, which is made
mostly of wood, and was completed in July 2015. French authorities said it
would be destroyed, like the rest of the camp, but did not say when. Most
adults have now been bussed to reception centers across France pending examination of their
cases, in a dismantling of the camp which started on Monday. But the plight of
hundreds of minors, nearly 1,500 of whom are now in
temporary lodging in container-boxes in Calais,
has become a point of dispute between Britain
and France.
Latest LCCC
Bulletin analysis& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on on October 30-31/16
OPINION: Nouri al-Maliki’s dangerous
speech
Special to Al Arabiya English
Sunday, 30 October 2016/The Head of US Central Command General Joseph Votel told AFP recently that 800 to 900 ISIS fighters were
killed during the current battle carried out by Iraqi forces with US military support in Mosul. The estimated number of ISIS members
in Mosul is
around 4,000 fighters. Let us say that the number has reached 10,000, even if
it did not reach this extent. We should keep in mind that Mosul’s
population is, despite the displacement and ISIS
cruelty, estimated at 1.5 million, most of which are Sunni Arabs, including
Turkmen, Kurds, Assyrian Christians, Shabak, Yazidis and even Shiites. We are talking about the
population of the whole province
of Nineveh. There is no
doubt that any news about an ISIS fighter’s
death is good news; it is a noble and honest battle. Any Muslim and any human
being will surely support it and pray for it. However, are those who are
fighting against ISIS today in Iraq
blameless of extremism, atonement and sectarian revenge? Let us read together
these apparently brilliant ideas of the supposedly tolerant national Iraqi
leader, who is said to be above and beyond militia thoughts, Mr. Nouri al-Maliki: Days ago, Nouri al-Maliki thanked the
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for helping Islam
and Muslims in a speech delivered in Baghdad
while Khomeini’s conference – the Conference on Islamic Awakening – was
ongoing.
he most dangerous part of Maliki’s tactical, perceivably Khomeinist,
speech was when he said: ‘Nineveh,
here we come’. The most dangerous part of Maliki’s
tactical, perceivably Khomeinist, speech was when he
said: “Nineveh, here we come,” because it also
means: Raqqah, here we come; Aleppo,
here we come; Yemen,
here we come. We will go into all the regions where Muslims are fighting. Nouri seems to have declared a Shiite war, led by Iranian Khomeinism! He delivered his speech in the presence of
Supreme Leader Khamenei’s adviser and political
terrorism envoy Ali Akbar Velayati who is
internationally accused of a terrorist crime that took place in the Argentinian capital. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the head of the
Supreme Islamic Council, and Ammar al-Hakim
(considered a moderate figure among them!) all participated in the
retaliation-poisoned conference. The ragged sectarian militiaman Nouri al-Maliki had posted on his
page on Facebook a few days before, a status
commenting on the battle of Mosul, coincided with the month of Muharram, the
month representing Shiite sorrows and one which is marked with processions,
especially this year: “In these sacred times, during which we celebrate the
anniversary of the victory of blood against the sword with the martyrdom of
Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, we urge the faithful to pray for the victory
of the fighters; those who are concerned about the country started the
Liberation of Nineveh from terrorist ISIS.”Therefore,
we can only say that even if all ISIS fighters are killed in Mosul, Raqqah, and other regions, the true salvation will come
once Maliki’s ideology is eschewed, along with
al-Baghdadi’s, as both, I believe, are the same. This article was first
published in Asharq al-Awsat
on Oct. 30, 2016.
Tales of fettering and
collusion in Obama’s Middle East
Eyad Abu Shakra/Al
Arabiya/October 30/16
For President Barack Obama to enjoy around 55 percent
support among Americans according to the latest polls, a few weeks before the
election of the new president, is a very interesting phenomenon. It is
interesting especially as America’s
international credibility wanes and prestige tumbles to the extent that a
Yemeni militia subservient to Iran
managed to target one of its navy’s ships three times within the space of a few
days. The ends of US presidential terms, moreso the
penultimate and last terms, usually point to voters getting tired of the boss
in the White House. Even ultra-charismatic presidents like Ronald Reagan and
Bill Clinton failed to achieve the popularity of Obama, if we are to believe
the latest polls, near the end of their sojourns in the Oval Office. Indeed,
the 55 percent figure is much higher than the figures achieved by either of the
two current candidates, the Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald
Trump. So what is the secret behind Obama’s continuing popularity within America, while losing his glitter abroad, even
reaching unprecedented lows in regions like the Middle
East?
Most likely, there are two very important reasons. The first, is that Obama has succeeded in securing a social and
economic safety net inside America,
mainly in the fields of healthcare, employment, economic upturn and improvement
in living conditions after the pains suffered by ordinary Americans during the
financial crisis of 2008-2009 and its repercussions. In democracies, it is a
well-known fact that a voter passes judgement on his/her elected leaders based
on how they directly affect his/her direct interests, regardless of anything
else. This why Bill Clinton defeated George Bush senior in 1992 when he raised
the slogan “It’s the economy, stupid!” while Bush and his lieutenants were
congratulating each other after the “liberation of Kuwait” in 1991. Then, Obama
won the presidency in 2008 under the charming banner of “Change” which rejected
both the entanglement in Iraq and the crippling financial crisis that forced a
Republican laissez faire – driven administration to carry out the temporary
nationalization of banks, industrial companies and home-loan and mortgage
groups.
It would be naïve to expect Hillary Clinton to dump Obama’s
Middle East policies; however, one expects her to be less shackled by JCPOA
with Iran
The second reason, related to the above, is that Americans
are getting sick and tired of political involvement and military adventures
abroad and are becoming inclined instead to look inwards and concentrate on
issues close to their livelihood. Thus, what many – especially in the Middle
East – regard as Washington’s letting down of, if not betrayal of, its global
allies, this is viewed as wise and prudent policy by ordinary American voters
who cannot see why their children should die in foreign lands.
In addition to these two reasons, one might add the fact
that the Republican Party, which is supposed to provide the ideological
alternative to the Democrats, has gone too far in giving in to the extreme
Right, whether within the party establishment or the erstwhile marginal
extremist outsiders who have managed to infiltrate its organizations. These
extremists – including the Tea Party group and ultra-fundamentalist Evangelists
and White Supremacists – have penetrated the Republican Party structure, taken
over most of its networks and imposed their political agendas on it.
Failing to stay true to the path
Today it is a fact that the Republican Party may be anything
but the party of Abraham Lincoln. In fact, the mere term “Lincoln’s
Party,” which Republicans love to parrot during their rallies and major events,
is an insult to the great man who defended the Union
and broke the back of slavery in the second half of the 19th century. If proof
is ever needed, one cannot go further than how ultra-fundamentalist Evangelist
and racist votes in the Old South states have turned these states into
Republican strongholds, noting that the American Civil War (1860-1861) in which
the Republican Lincoln defeated the Southern Confederates had virtually
eliminated his party’s presence there almost until the Second World War.
Indeed, the Party did not recover its presence in the South except when it
became the vehicle of the conservative Right facing the Left-bound Democrats
toward… Liberalism.
On November 8, American voters will elect a new president
who won’t take office before January 20, 2017. It is quite likely that
regardless of who wins, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will adopt
policies different from those of Barack Obama.
Despite the obvious differences; if Clinton wins she’ll be
the first woman-president and if Trump does he will be the first outsider who
has never been elected to political office, the personalities of both
candidates and political cultures – as divergent as they are – as well as their
vision of America and its role in the world differ markedly from Obama’s
personality, culture and vision. Clinton and
Trump, for example, do not necessarily believe that America is an arrogant and
aggressive Super Power that needs to apologize to its enemies and turn against
its old allies.
Clinton and Trump are also less reliant on small cliques of
‘mafias’ of close advisers and associates, while more committed to broader
party consensuses; Clinton with Congressional blocs and Liberal lobbies, and
Trump with business, industrial and conservative religious lobbies.
Naïve expectations
Having said this, it would be naïve to expect Hillary
Clinton to dump Obama’s Middle East policies; however, one expects her to be
less shackled by JCPOA with Iran,
or to continue the ongoing collusion with Tehran
against Washington’s traditional allies in the
Arab World and West Asia. On the other hand,
‘President’ Trump, in spite of his controversial stances – including how he
views Russia – is expected to adopt different approaches to Obama’s and his
political ‘kitchen’ towards the Arab World, Middle East, Islam, terrorism, and
America’s policies with its foes and what is left of its friends.
On November 8, a painful page for the Arab world but a good
one to 55 percent of Americans will be turned in Washington, and although the
decision is American and so is the main and direct interest, we – Arabs – are
entitled to honestly tell the American voter that in foreign policy you harvest
what you plant, and the bad seeds that President Obama has planted shall bear
bad fruits in the future. It is then the judgement of history on his presidency
and political legacy that will be more truthful and objective.
**This article was first published in Asharq
al-Awsat on Oct. 26, 2106.
Are Arabs losing ground
to Iran?
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al Arabiya/October 30/16
The world’s greatest state sponsor of terrorism is pulling
out all stops to ingratiate itself with Washington elites with an image
makeover projecting their supposedly peaceful culture - and it is all thanks to
President Barack Obama, whose deal with the devil opened a window for the first
time since Iran held 66 Americans hostage for 444 days during the 1970s. Now,
billions of dollars richer and with at least three Arab states under its sway,
Iran is laying-out vast sums to increase its influence with US politicians,
influential decision makers and, of course, the media all under cover of
“promoting friendship between the Iranian and American people,” indicates
Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed in Alwasat News.
One of the main driving forces behind Iran’s dynamic
lobbing efforts is the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) that seems to
have used every contact in its black book to sell the US-Iranian nuclear deal
to Congress. NIAC’s founder is former Congressional
staffer and author Trita Parsi,
proven to be cozy with heavyweight Washington
insiders as well as Iran’s
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Javed Zarif. Swedish-US national Parsi
actually boasted to Al-Monitor that it was usual for US lawmakers to ask him,
“Hey, how can I talk to Zarif? How can I have access
to the Iranians?” Yet, he denies he is Iran’s
man in Washington.
According to The Observer, the NIAC was created as “a balance between the
competing Middle East lobbies” and “to derail America’s
alliance with Israel, so the
Shiite theocracy in Iran
could infiltrate American diplomatic circles.”An
article in The American Thinker asks: “Is Iran ratcheting
up influence-peddling in American universities,” where “a network of apologists
for the Iranian clerical regime already exists” and a new wave is anticipated. The
writer believes there are “scouts” preparing the ground towards the pro-Iranian
indoctrination of US
academia and he cites an “Iranian-controlled” charity that has funded dozens of
Persian Studies course in American colleges and universities.
Manipulating politicians
Put simply, the mullahs are set on burying their dirty
washing to don new clothes and are using friendship conferences, sympathetic
(probably paid) journalists, American-Iranian public speakers and academics towards
that effort. Do not imagine for a minute that Israel is the prime target of the
Iranian lobby! That is a scenario designed to appeal to Arab supporters of Palestine. Sorry to say
they are being moderately successful at manipulating politicians to forget
their past crimes against America and its allies using duplicitous speak to
paint Iran as a benign misunderstood entity rather than one that oppresses its
Sunnis and other minorities, stones women to death, hangs offenders from cranes
and ignites regional sectarian turmoil. Do not imagine for a minute that Israel is the
prime target of the Iranian lobby! That is a scenario designed to appeal to
Arab supporters of Palestine, whereas Iran has done
nothing for the Palestinians apart from throwing the odd fistful of dollars in
the way of Hamas and other resistance organizations. Iran’s
main dartboard is Saudi Arabia
and Gulf States,
which are thwarting its regional hegemonic ambitions. This threatening
situation must be faced head on and I would strongly urge the leaders of Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) member states to devise a counter strategy as a
matter of urgency. Iranian officials and their emissaries on US soil are slandering the Arab character and
re-writing history in Iran’s
favor, which requires an answer.
A roadmap
I would advise our heads of state to consult with prominent
citizens to come up with a roadmap to include a task force of PR experts,
writers, professors, academics and community leaders qualified to counter
negative impressions about Arabs at US (and European) universities, conferences
and conventions. I have numerous ideas and would appreciate being included in
such discussions. Hollywood
has long given Arabs a bad rap using worn-out and insulting stereotypes in its
movies. The corporate media is under numerous thumbs, which are mostly thumbs
down when it comes to being positive about the Kingdom and its friends. In
short, although there are Arab lobbies in existence, they are mostly small,
ineffective and lacking clout where it matters. It is time that Americans got
to know who we are and what we have achieved over the centuries. It can be
done. Just 30 years ago, the UAE was little more than a dot on the map that few
Americans outside of the oil and gas industry had ever heard of. We strove hard
to build a modern nation and, yes, we shouted about our triumphs so loud that
everyone took notice. This is what the nationals of Saudi
Arabia and Gulf
States must do to erase false stereotypes about
Arabs, the Arab World and Islam. I was pleasantly surprised some days ago
watching a video of the legendary director and screenwriter Francis Ford
Coppola speaking with passion about Islam’s beautiful core values, graciousness
and mercy. I was struck by his simple, heartfelt words. I felt Mr Coppola’s
genuine love for this great faith. Where are the Arab Muslims who can reach
hearts and minds to further understanding of Islam and the virtues of respect,
family values and hospitality ingrained in the Arab World’s DNA? We must select
the right people, good upstanding people, to represent us rather than dry
career diplomats.
All citizens should be encouraged to see themselves as
ambassadors for their country when traveling. I always do my best to give an
accurate picture of the Emirates to everyone I come across while abroad but, as
an individual, my contribution is a mere drop in the ocean.
During this very sensitive and dangerous era impacting our
part of the world, Arabs need to bring the superpower on side and especially at
a time when the Iranian lobby is expanding its influence and Iran is fishing
for international recognition and legitimacy. If we fail to undertake this
important task now, the moment will be gone forever. Remember my words.
Green cards, not
sponsorship, key to Saudi economic growth
Samar Fatany/Al
Arabiya/October 30/16
For more than three decades, the expatriate community has
contributed to the progress and development of Saudi Arabia. For many, Saudi Arabia
has been their second home; their children were born here, their childhood memories
were here and they became more accustomed to their life in the Kingdom than in
their original hometown. An American friend who has lived here for the past 35
years once told me that she feels like a stranger when she goes back home
simply because she has been away from her country for too long. And that is
only natural, home is where you live, where you raise your family, make
friends, have neighbors and colleagues at work . The sponsorship system is wrong and unfair. It is
about time we change it and grant the expatriates who have chosen Saudi Arabia as
a second home and have contributed to its progress and development permanent
residency and the right to invest. They should be appreciated and treated with
respect.
Every expat I have spoken to has expressed great joy and
relief over the Green Card news. The fact that they may finally have the
opportunity to invest here and live comfortably without living in fear of being
deported or terminated by a kafeel (sponsor) has made
them sigh with relief.
Lifting a burden
Muslim and Arab expatriates feel that a big burden has been
lifted and that they can now live in peace. Many of them have chosen to stay
here not only for the money they earn, but because they want to serve in the
land of the two holy cities of Islam, Makkah and Madinah.
For years, expatriates living in Saudi Arabia have had very few
investment opportunities and have been forced to remit their income overseas. I
remember a Pakistani schoolteacher whom I met on the plane telling me how she
felt very sad to leave the Kingdom after having lived here for 20 years. Her
husband who is an IT specialist was forced to leave after his sponsor
terminated his stay. She and her husband are now working in the US with their
two sons who also have American Green Cards. She said America is a
great country and she felt privileged to live there, but her heart is here in Makkah and Madinah where she
wanted to spend the rest of her life. Unfortunately, she and her family were
rejected here, but were very much welcomed in the US. The US has opened its doors to the
cream of the crop of scientific and technical talent from all over the world.
Professionals and skilled labor are given citizenship
and Green Cards. They are accepted with full rights and in return they work
hard to earn a living and to contribute to the American economy. Economists
assert that skilled immigration has positively impacted the US economy and
that educated and skilled Green Card holders are of significant fiscal benefit.
Just as expatriates have contributed to the progress and development of Saudi Arabia in
the past, they can also contribute in the process of transforming the Kingdom
into a knowledge-based economy.
According to economic experts, “the Green Card system in the
Kingdom will generate around $10 billion annually through reduced remittances
and other sources, besides bringing in billions of dollars in foreign
investment.”
Creating opportunities
For years, expatriates living in Saudi Arabia have had very few
investment opportunities and have been forced to remit their income overseas.
They have been deprived and our country has been deprived of many prosperous
opportunities. The government has announced that the plan allowing Green Card
holders to own property and an opportunity to invest in the Kingdom will be
implemented over the next five years. Hopefully there will be no delay in the
implementation of the plan. Saudi Vision 2030 also includes initiatives to
enhance government efficiency and end bureaucracy and red tape. Officials in charge
of implementation should not fail the nation and should strive to make the
vision a reality. To succeed, they need to follow the guidelines stated by
Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second
deputy premier and minister of defense, who said:
“We will expand the variety of digital services to reduce
delays and cut tedious bureaucracy. We will immediately adopt wide-ranging
transparency and accountability reforms and, through the body set up to measure
the performance of government agencies, hold them accountable for any
shortcomings. We will be transparent and open about our failures as well as our
successes and will welcome ideas on how to improve.” Today, officials are urged
by the state to show respect and consideration when they deal with the public.
Our country needs the support of everyone. We cannot force people to be loyal
and productive, we need to first earn their trust and
respect. Therefore, both citizens and expatriates need to be co-opted to
support the plan. Ignoring their rights will make them reluctant to contribute
and less keen to support government plans to ensure the success of Saudi Vision
2030. **This article was first published
in the Saudi Gazette on Oct. 29, 2016.