LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 01/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.september01.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
What is impossible for mortals is
possible for God
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 18/24-30/:"Jesus looked at
him and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of
God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for
someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ Those who heard it said, ‘Then
who can be saved?’ He replied, ‘What is impossible for mortals is possible for
God.’Then Peter said, ‘Look, we have left our homes and followed you.’And he
said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or
brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will
not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.’"
Who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it,
commits sin
Letter of James 04/11-17/:'Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and
sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil
against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer
of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and
to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbour? Come now, you who
say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year
there, doing business and making money.’Yet you do not even know what tomorrow
will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little
while and then vanishes.Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wishes, we will
live and do this or that.’As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such
boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do
it, commits sin.
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on September 01/16
FPM hints at quitting dialogue after boycott/Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/August 31/16
Lifting the Burka off the Burkini/Tarek
Fatah/The Toronto Sun/August 31/16
Turkey's Official "Cocktail Terror"/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/August
31/16
The "Other" Palestinians/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/August 31/16
Islam and Anti-Semitism in Malaysia/Mohshin Habib/Gatestone Institute/August
31/16
The Longest and Most Vicious Confrontation": An Interview with Daniel Pipes/Niram
Ferretti/L'Informale (Italy)/August 31/16
The geo-strategic significance of Saudi Arabia’s growing relations with
China/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/August 31/16
Saudi Arabia and strategic partnerships/Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi/Al Arabiya/August
31/16
Burkini-phobia includes us too/Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/August 31/16
Banning burkinis – a tale of ignorance, bigotry and hypocrisy/Chris Doyle/Al
Arabiya/August 31/16
The world’s shadow government/Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/August 31/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
September 01/16
FPM hints at quitting dialogue after boycott
Deadly roadside bombing in east
Lebanon
Bomb blast in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley kills one, wounds two people
UN warns against Israel-Lebanon truce breakdown
Hezbollah Negotiated with Qaddafi, the Price of Sadr was $200 Million
Berri Slams 'Obstruction', Reiterates Call for 'Package Deal' and Adherence to
'Diamond Equation'
Berri marking disappearance of Moussa Sadr says presidency not enough, touts
full basket
Parliamentary Committee Says Commission to be Formed to Prepare for Waste
Management 'Decentralization'
Bou Saab Says Bloc's Threats are Serious Shall Discussions on Military
Appointments Fail
Nusra Casualties as Hizbullah Shells Posts in Arsal
Wings of Lebanon' holds Turkish Tailwind Airlines responsible for Ben Gurion
airport landing
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in Lebanon
Arslan from Moscow says Russian intervention in Syria to preserve unity
Iraq's Muqtada Sadr in Beirut
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 01/16
Iranian ex-general killed fighting
in Syria
Turkey Does 'Not Accept' Ceasefire with Syrian Kurd Militia
Russian claim it killed ISIS spokesman a ‘joke,’ US official says
Iraq hangs 7 Arabs for Qaeda membership
Saudi Arabia says Houthis will not be allowed to take over Yemen
UN envoy: Military escalation in Yemen is fueling extremists
Yemen reconstruction ‘will cost $15 bln’
Libyan forces prepare for last push against ISIS
ASHARQ AL-AWSAT: 1980’s Execution Haunts Top Iranian Officials
The Globe and Mail: Jailed Canadian prof in Iran can 'hardly walk or talk,' say
relatives
Canada concerned by conclusive findings of use of chemical weapons in Syria
In Mexico, Trump Talks Immigration with Pena Nieto as Mexicans Fume
Brazil's Rousseff Stripped of Presidency, Temer Sworn In
N. Korea Executes Vice Premier for 'Disrespect'
Links From Jihad Watch Site for
on September 01/16
Raymond Ibrahim: Christians Are ‘Target Practice’: Muslim
Persecution of Christians, May 2016
Islamic State names Pope “enemy number one” for being a “non-believer”
Palestinian Authority: Jerusalem Wine Festival “an affront to Islam”
Kerry: Jihadis “define a great religion Islam in a way that doesn’t reflect that
religion. They steal it, hijack it.”
Robert Spencer in PJ Media: Iran: ‘We Welcome War With the U.S.’
French mayor vows to continue burkini ban: “If you don’t want to live the way we
do, don’t come”
UK Christian clergy told not to wear clerical collars in public for fear of ISIS
jihad attack
France: Muslims brutally attack couple for ordering ham on their pizza
Detroit: Muslim amassed arsenal, cheered jihad massacres in Paris and Orlando
Video: Robert Spencer on how Iran is pursuing its war against the U.S.
Hugh Fitzgerald: Jean-Louis Harouel On France’s “Marche Vers
Dhimmitude”
Links From Christian Today Site for
on September 01/16
Saeed Abedini condemns US, EU and UN failure to stop executions
in Iran
Mother Teresa and her critics: Should she really be made a saint?
Christian missionaries help in the face of terrible suffering in South Sudan
Egypt: Lawmakers fear that new church law will discriminate against Christians
Four Christians on trial in Sudan for highlighting persecution of Christians
Senior Church of England clergyman arrested on suspicion of voyeurism
Christian woman sues after being told to remove her headscarf
Leading conservative Anglican says Church of England must split to stop
'contagious' gay marriage
Israel condemned for 'secret trial' of Christian charity World Vision's Gaza
director
Rowan Williams: The authentic disciple
Former satanist offers churches 'supernatural bootcamps' to bring
about deliverance
on September 01/16
Deadly roadside bombing in east
Lebanon
Now Lebanon/August
31/16/BEIRUT – A roadside blast has killed at least one person on a highway
running through the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle, the first deadly terror
attack to rock the country since suicide bombers struck Al-Qaa in June 2016.
Shortly after 1:00 p.m. an improvised explosive device (IED) tore through the
Ksara roundabout of the Zahle highway, according to Lebanon’s state National
News Agency, which reported that one Syrian woman died in the blast. The NNA
added that at least eight others were wounded in the explosion, while Lebanon’s
Civil Defense force announced that it rushed victims to the nearby Tel Chiha
Hospital. The IED was placed in a flowerpot behind the roundabout and weighed
less than 5-kilograms, according to the NNA. “The Zahle explosion is an attempt
to turn the political spasm [in the country] into a security one,” Zahle MP Elie
Marouni—a member of the Kataeb Party—told OTV, in reference to the paralysis
gripping Lebanon’s political institutions. Initial unconfirmed media reports
indicated that the IED was set up to target vehicles transporting Amal Movement
supporters to south Lebanon to attend a ceremony scheduled later in the evening
to mark the commemoration of the 1978 disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sadr, the
founder of the Shiite party. Lebanon’s army has yet to issue a statement on the
explosion, while an investigation has been launched into the incident, which
comes three months after a wave of suicide bombings killed at least five
residents in the small Christian town of Al-Qaa in northern Lebanon.
Bomb blast in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley
kills one, wounds two people
AFP, BeirutWednesday, 31 August 2016 /A bomb blast killed a Syrian woman and
wounded at least eight other people in eastern Lebanon on Wednesday, the
state-owned National News Agency reported. The explosion hit near the mainly
Christian town of Zahle, NNA said, publishing a photograph of the elderly woman
with her white shawl stained with blood.The Red Cross said one of the wounded
was in serious condition. Lebanon has been struck by several deadly bombings
since the conflict in neighbouring Syria erupted in 2011. In June, eight suicide
bombers, some of them linked to the Islamic State jihadist group, attacked Al-Qaa
village near the Syrian border, killing five civilians.
UN warns against
Israel-Lebanon truce breakdown
Reuters Wednesday, 31 August 2016/The UN Security Council warned Tuesday that
violations of the cessation of hostilities agreement between Lebanon and Israel
could lead to a new conflict “that none of the parties or the region can
afford.”The council’s warning came in a resolution adopted unanimously Tuesday
extending the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon that
monitors the cessation of hostilities until Aug. 31, 2017. It maintained the
mission’s ceiling at 15,000 troops, supported by international and local
civilian staff. The council expressed concern “at the limited progress made
towards the establishment of a permanent cease-fire.”It urged all parties “to
make every effort to ensure that the cessation of hostilities is sustained,
exercise maximum calm and restraint and refrain from any action or rhetoric that
could jeopardize the cessation of hostilities or destabilize the region.”A
Security Council resolution ordering a cessation of hostilities ended the 34-day
war between Israel and Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon in the summer of
2006. The fighting left some 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis dead, and ended in
a stalemate. The UN force, which has been in southern Lebanon since 1978, was
expanded after the 2006 war so peacekeepers could deploy along the border with
Israel to help Lebanese troops extend their authority into the south for the
first time in decades. The resolution adopted Tuesday condemned “in the
strongest terms all attempts to threaten the security and stability of Lebanon.”
It underlined “the risk that violations of the cessation of hostilities could
lead to a new conflict that none of the parties or the region can afford.”But
while praising the efforts of Lebanon and Israel, the UN chief underscored “that
calm should not be mistaken for progress” on implementing the 2006 resolution
and others, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The 2006 resolution, among
other things, call for all militias, including Hezbollah, to be disarmed — a
demand that has been ignored for 10 years. “The violent and unstable regional
context emphasizes the importance of tangible progress by the parties toward a
permanent ceasefire, as envisaged in the resolution,” as well as ensuring that
the cessation of hostilities is sustained, Dujarric said.
Hezbollah Negotiated with Qaddafi,
the Price of Sadr was $200 Million
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/16
Beirut, London- A Syrian negotiator between the so-called Hezbollah party in
Lebanon and Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the
party was preparing a deal with Libya to receive $200 million, weapons and an
apology in exchange of closing the file of Cleric Musa Sadr. The Syrian figure
said he had met with Qaddafi in 2004. During the meeting, the source said
Qaddafi had asked him to speak with “Hezbollah” in a bid to solve the Sadr case.
He said Qaddafi’s fears were mostly related to the security of his family
members and their desire to travel to Lebanon to spend their vacations. One of
Qaddafi’s sons, Hannibal, had even married Lebanese supermodel Aline Skaff in
2003. The Syrian figure was able to convey Qaddafi’s proposition to “Hezbollah”
due to his close relationship with the party’s Secretary General Hassan
Nasrallah and one of his closest aids, Hajj Hussein Khalil. “I was tasked to
engineer the deal, particularly the financial part, which did not constitute any
burden to Qaddafi, whatever the sum was,” the Syrian negotiator said.
He added Hezbollah had placed three conditions to ink the deal. At the financial
level, the party requested a sum of $200 million for establishing development
and social projects under the name of Musa Sadr and which would be run directly
by the party.
He said the party had also asked for arms and an apology from the Libyan
authorities about the disappearance of Sayyed Musa Sadr. The Syrian negotiator
said the financial part did not constitute any barrier, however, the issue of
providing “Hezbollah” with weapons was not an easy task. He added a second
barrier surged when Libya refused to apologize because such a move would be
considered as a confession from Tripoli for being responsible for the
disappearance of Musa Sadr. Therefore, the negotiator said, “Libya had to reject
the last request and end the deal.”
Berri Slams 'Obstruction',
Reiterates Call for 'Package Deal' and Adherence to 'Diamond Equation'
Naharnet/August 31/16/Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday slammed “political
absurdity and obstruction,” and reiterated his call for agreeing on a “package
deal” involving the presidency, the government and the electoral law.
“Transition to statehood requires an end to political procrastination and the
belief that any of us can monopolize the national decision or have a veto on the
national decision,” said Berri at a Tyre rally marking 38 years since the
disappearance of AMAL Movement founder Imam Moussa al-Sadr. “Let us stop
political absurdity and commit to the Constitution. In the face of the forces
that are continuing their coup against the political life, we will resort to the
power of the people if needed,” he added. “Confidence in the State will remain
shaken if there is no president but this does not mean that the country must be
deprived of legislation, security and administration,” Berri went on to say. He
also reiterated his call for a so-called “package deal,” noting that an
agreement over the presidency alone “would not be enough.”“We should agree on an
electoral law and on the formation of the next government, which would
definitely allow the election of a president,” the speaker added. “Proportional
representation is the cure for our national diseases and it is the vehicle that
can transport us to citizenship rather than isolation and bigotry,” he said,
referring to the electoral law. “The State that does not implement its
Constitution and claims that proportional representation requires 'a teacher'
would be trying to impose ignorance on its citizens,” Berri stated. He also
suggested that an “agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran” would help “resolve
the political obstacles in Lebanon and Syria.”Defending Hizbullah's arsenal of
weapons and the so-called army-people-resistance equation, Berri added: “We
stress our adherence to the army-people-resistance 'diamond equation' and
disarming the resistance before eliminating Israel's threat is a heresy.”Lebanon
has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014
and the MPs of Hizbullah, MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of
their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping
them of the needed quorum. Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, who
is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada
Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met
with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.
The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than
Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his
bigger influence in the Christian community. Aoun's two ministers in the cabinet
and their Tashnag Party ally boycotted last week's cabinet session over a
dispute related to military appointments and the government's jurisdiction in
the absence of a president.The Change and Reform bloc has also threatened to
boycott national dialogue sessions, accusing rival parties of failing to abide
by the 1943 National Pact which stipulates equal power-sharing between
Christians and Muslims.
Berri marking disappearance of
Moussa Sadr says presidency not enough, touts full basket
Wed 31 Aug 2016 /NNA - Amal Movement leader, Speaker of the House Nabih Berri,
said on Wednesday that electing a new Lebanese President was not enough to end
the flaring political disagreements in Lebanon. "The Lebanese presidency is not
enough. What's requested at this point is a full basket. Let's stop toying with
politics and commit to the Lebanese constitution by facing all the forces that
have been trying to stage a coup against all our political headlines," Berri
said in an address he gave marking the 38 annual commemoration marking the
disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr and his comrades at Al-Kassam Square in
coastal Lebanese city of Tyre. The House Speaker said that till this day,
nothing has proven that Al-Sadr and his comrades are dead. "All the claims that
have been concocted concerning this issue remain imaginary and far from the
truth. This has been an Arab and Islamic cause for the last 38 years. We will
not allow any suspicious relations or normalization attempts with Libya before
this whole matter is cleared out," Berri pledged. He went on to address the
Lebanese government, pushing for more appropriate care handling Al-Sadr's case.
He also called on judicial bodies to protect the Judges working on this issue.
Touching on the simmering political scene, Berri said that the road to sane
politics began when politicians stopped wrapping politics in cotton wool.
"Proportionality is the cure to our national ailment instead of seclusion,"
Berri stressed, calling on concerned sides to halt attempts at disrupting
national institutions."If need be, we will confront these attempts with the
power of the people," he added, expressing keenness on attaining the
presidential deadline. "This is a priority because trust in the state remains at
threat in the absence of a Lebanese president," he added. Moreover, the House
Speaker voiced attachment to national dialogue, which he said had sealed the
door before strife makers. Berri also saw that an agreement between Saudi Arabia
and Iran would help alleviate political tribulations in Lebanon and Syria. The
House Speaker went on to ratchet up calls on all sides to spring into action and
work on more investments in the service of the Lebanese Army. He also called on
Banks to offer grants to help arm and equip the Army. Addressing Israel, Berri
launched a fresh tirade against the enemy and warned it from attempting to
attack Lebanon again. "You have previously tried and got sacked, with
humiliation, from the Lebanese quicksand. We assure you that we don't only
support the resistance, but we are the pillars of the resistance," he added.
Touching on the dwindling job opportunities in Lebanon, the House Speaker urged
the government to provide Lebanese youth with more career openings.
Parliamentary Committee Says
Commission to be Formed to Prepare for Waste Management 'Decentralization'
Naharnet/August 31/16/A “coordination and supervision commission” will be tasked
with helping authorities and municipalities prepare for the decentralization of
the waste management process, the Finance and Budget Parliamentary Committee
said on Wednesday. “We have agreed to form a coordination and supervision
commission to pave the way for decentralization,” MP Ibrahim Kanaan said after
the parliamentary committee's meeting, which was held in the presence of a
number of municipal chiefs from the Metn and Keserwan areas. “We agreed that
there would be a transitional period that does not exceed one year due to the
municipalities' unreadiness to immediately start treating waste under a
decentralized plan,” Kanaan added. “If decentralization is the solution, it is
required to provide the necessary assets, and the final plan should begin today
through the formation of a coordination and supervision commission that would
work with authorities and municipalities on ways to develop the decentralization
process,” the lawmaker explained. As for the piles of garbage that have started
accumulating on the streets, Kanaan said they would be removed “once we agree on
the implementation framework.”“The dispute was over the approach towards the
seafront site and there are ideas that are being proposed to reach a decision,”
Kanaan added, noting that “there will be follow-up with the relevant parties in
the coming hours in a bid to find a solution.”“There is no possibility to use
the (Bourj Hammoud) storage site at the moment and we want to reconcile between
the concerns of the Tashnag Party and the developments that we might face on the
ground,” the MP said, noting that “it is possible to seek cooperation with
private firms to assist the Karantina plant” in the waste sorting process. As
for the walkout of Tashnag's representative from the meeting, Kanaan reassured
that “what happened with the Tashnag Party can be discussed and no one will be
excluded from the solution.”“All parties must do a step forward so that we can
overcome the current situation,” the MP added. During the meeting, the municipal
unions agreed unanimously that they still need one year before being capable of
playing a role in waste management, according to LBCI television. MP Hagop
Pakradonian of the Tashnag Party left the meeting before it ended, rejecting in
a statement the establishment of a landfill or a storage location in Bourj
Hammoud. “Let each region carry its own burden of trash. When the government
decision is implemented in details, then we would shoulder our own
responsibility,” said Pakradonian. Before the meeting, Jounieh municipal chief
Juan Hbeish said upon his arrival at the parliament: “We are capable of
tolerating the burden.”For his part, Pakradonian stated that the “Bourj Hammoud
landfill will not open unless we receive guarantees on a complete implementation
of the government plan,” as he assured that his party's stance is not
coordinated with the Kataeb Party. “Either everyone agrees to the government's
plan or no solutions will be reached – neither today nor next week,” he added.
Elias Bou Saab, the Education Minister, said: “The trash crisis will only be
solved through a decentralization plan.”
Bou Saab Says Bloc's Threats
are Serious Shall Discussions on Military Appointments Fail
Naharnet/August 31/16/Education Minister Elias Bou Saab assured to Speaker Nabih
Berri during a meeting in Ain el-Tineh that the Change and Reform bloc is
serious with regard to the decisions it threatened to take should the thorny
issue of military and security appointments fail to reach a solution, al-Joumhouria
daily reported on Wednesday. Ministers of the Change and Reform bloc and their
Tashnaq Party ally boycotted the cabinet meeting last weekو protesting the
government’s failure to include the military appointments issue on the agenda.
On Tuesday, the bloc led by MP Michel Aoun announced that it will file an appeal
against the decrees that the cabinet issued during its session on Thursday. It
also threatened to boycott a national dialogue session scheduled for September
5. Bou Saab expressed hopes that the stances of political parties taking part in
the national dialogue sessions “crystallize during the meeting,” as he pointed
out to the need to have all parties present during the government meeting for
the "cabinet to be operational." “Assuming we were absent from the cabinet
meeting, the government will not be able to function normally,” Bou Saab told
Berri. The Bloc said that the cabinet meeting in the absence of its ministers
“marginalizes a major Christian component,” and said that the “meeting does not
conform with the National Pact.”The bloc's boycott of the cabinet session was
linked to the thorny issue of security and military appointments. Defense
Minister Samir Moqbel has recently postponed the retirement of Higher Defense
Council chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kheir after no consensus was reached over three
candidates that he had proposed, angering the FPM which says that it opposes
term extensions for all senior officers. The movement fears that the extension
of Kheir's term could pave the way for a new extension of the tenure of Army
Commander General Jean Qahwaji next month. Qahwaji's retirement had been
postponed in September 2013 and his term was instead extended for two years.
Nusra Casualties as Hizbullah
Shells Posts in Arsal
Naharnet/August 31/16/Hizbullah fighters have reportedly destroyed positions of
the jihadist group al-Nusra Front in the outskirts of the northeastern border
town of Arsal, Hizbullah's al-Manar TV reported on Wednesday. “The mujahideen of
the resistance have targeted a main position of the Nusra Front in Dahr al-Howa
in the outskirts of Arsal,” al-Manar reported. “Several militants were killed
and others were wounded,” it added. Militants from the Front and its rival
jihadist group Islamic State are entrenched in rugged areas along the
undemarcated Lebanese-Syrian border and the army regularly shells their posts
while Hizbullah and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the
Syrian side of the border. The two jihadist groups briefly overran the town of
Arsal in August 2014 before being ousted by the army after days of deadly
battles.
Wings of Lebanon' holds Turkish Tailwind Airlines
responsible for Ben Gurion airport landing
Wed 31 Aug 2016/NNA - Wings of Lebanon Airlines' company indicated, in a
statement on Wednesday, that Turkish Tailwind Airlines held the full
responsibility for the landing of an aircraft with the Lebanese company's logo
in Israeli Ben Gurion airport. Condemning the incident, Wings of Lebanon
explained that Tailwind had earlier leased a plane to it, and that the aircraft,
with the Lebanese company's livery painted on its side, had been dispatched to
Antalya in Turkey for maintenance. "The aircraft was supposed to return to
Beirut after maintenance. But we were surprised tonight to see that it had
landed in the airstrip of the Israeli enemy's airport," the company added. "This
matter constitutes a trespass of the previously agreed procedures between the
two companies," it continued, after confirming that it had contacted the Turkish
airlines immediately in quest of clarifications. "Any collaboration or
communication with the Israeli enemy is a red line for Wings of Lebanon and its
personnel, as well as for the rest of the Lebanese airline companies," the
statement read.
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in
Lebanon
Wed 31 Aug 2016/NNA - US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Thomas
Shannon, arrived on Wednesday in Lebanon, coming from Amman. The visiting
official was welcomed at Beirut airport by US Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth
Richard, and US embassy staff.
Arslan from Moscow says Russian intervention in
Syria to preserve unity
Wed 31 Aug 2016/NNA - Lebanese Democratic Party leader, MP Talal Arslan, said on
Wednesday that the purpose of the Russian military intervention in Syria aimed
at preserving the unity of Syrian territories facing Western projects that wish
to disintegrate the Syrian nation.
"The Russian role in Syria will simultaneously protect Lebanon, not to mention
that stabilizing the situation in Syria shall help Lebanon regain its
stability," the lawmaker, who is currently on an an official visit to Russia,
told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Arslan went on to dismiss the presence
of Syrian refugees in Lebanon as a huge pressure that's been affecting the
national economy, calling for a swift solution to this crisis. Moreover, he said
that there wasn't any clear Arab plans to fight terror. "Arabs are split in two
halves. One that wants to fight terrorism and another that wants to support it.
We never felt seriousness confronting terrorism before the serious Russian
intervention facing the matter," he added.
Iraq's Muqtada Sadr in Beirut
Wed 31 Aug 2016/NNA - Leader of the Sadrist Movement, Iraqi cleric Sayyed
Muqtada al-Sadr, arrived on Wednesday in Beirut, coming from Najaf.
FPM hints at quitting dialogue after
boycott
Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/August 31/16
BEIRUT: The Free Patriotic Movement Tuesday ramped up its campaign against the
government, vowing to challenge all Cabinet decrees passed in the absence of its
ministers, while hinting it might quit national dialogue if the concept of equal
power sharing between Muslims and Christians was not clarified.
The FPM’s tough stance comes as senior party officials have been harping on
alleged marginalization of Christians in state posts and the need to abide by
the National Charter on equal power sharing between Muslims and Christians, and
also questioning the legitimacy of the government since last week after the
party decided to boycott a Cabinet session in protest against the extension of
senior military officials’ terms.
Responding the FPM’s escalating protests over alleged marginalization of
Christians, the Future Movement’s parliamentary bloc said that the election of a
president is the key to restoring genuine equal power sharing between Muslims
and Christians as provided for in the National Charter.
The bloc blamed Hezbollah and the FPM for the presidential vacuum, now in its
third year, saying that lawmakers from the two allied parties have boycotted so
far 42 Parliament sessions devoted to elect a president and thwarting a quorum.
“The real key to overcome this relentless crisis, which is fomented and
aggravated by Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement, is through a return to
adherence to real priorities, which is the election of a president according to
democratic rules stipulated in the Constitution,” the bloc said in a statement
issued after its weekly meeting chaired by former Prime Minister Fouad
Siniora.It added that the election of a president is sufficient to restoring
“genuine” equal power sharing as stipulated in the National Charter and
“bolstering stability and national recovery across Lebanon.”
The bloc blasted FPM leader and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil over his recent
“shameful speech in which he distributed damning remarks to the Lebanese” and
which, it said, inflamed sectarian tensions in the country. It said the speech
ran contrary to the National Charter which the FPM has been bragging about.
In a speech last week, Bassil said: “Damned is anyone who tries to uproot us
from the Cabinet by holding an unconstitutional session ... Damned by us is
anyone who tries to uproot us from Parliament with an unconstitutional electoral
law. Damned by us is anyone who tries to uproot us from the presidency by
bringing in an unconstitutional president.”
FPM’s boycott of Cabinet last week was “a warning message” to the government
against pushing forward with plans to extend the mandate of Army commander Gen.
Jean Kahwagi, which is set to expire on Sept. 30.
The Future bloc also lashed out at Hezbollah for giving the Lebanese a choice
between either electing the party’s sole candidate, MP Michel Aoun, as
president, or facing a prolonged presidential vacuum.
“The election of a president is a national issue par excellence and is not a
sectarian issue because he is the head of state, a symbol of the nation’s unity
and a guardian of the Constitution,” it said.
The bloc again rejected Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s latest
overture to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri signaling that the party is ready
to accept Hariri as Lebanon’s next prime minister if the Future bloc supports Aoun for president.
“The bloc affirmed its position that constitutional rules are the ones that
decide how to choose a prime minister. This [premiership] post is not a favor
from any one,” the bloc said. It reiterated that Hariri is the bloc’s only
candidate for the premiership.
Earlier in the day, MP Alain Aoun from the FPM told reporters after the weekly
meeting of Aoun’s parliamentary Change and Reform bloc: “Concerning last
Thursday’s Cabinet session, the bloc’s ministers decided to challenge before the
State Shura Council all decrees issued during that session which required the
signature of all ministers.”
He stressed that if any faction insisted on inking any decree, the Cabinet
cannot issue it without this signature.
In the absence of a president, the Cabinet’s decision-making process requires
consensus or unanimous support from the 24 ministers to issue decrees.
Defying a boycott by the FPM’s two ministers and their Tashnag ally over the
extension of senior military posts, the Cabinet last week approved, among other
topics, a report by a ministerial committee tasked with the Litani River
pollution issue, and reaffirmed its support for the government’s trash plan.
The next Cabinet has been set for Sept. 8. It was not immediately clear whether
the FPM ministers would attend.
Referring to a new national dialogue session scheduled on Sept. 5, Aoun said:
“The bloc sees that the new chapter in the political crisis at the government
level, requires that the issue of interpreting the concept of the National
Charter [on equal power sharing] at the Sept. 5 session of national dialogue be
given priority because it is the gateway to solving all aspects of the crisis.”
He pointed out that the presidential crisis is stuck between two conflicting
interpretations of the National Charter on power sharing, while an electoral law
is still the subject of polarization between rival factions, and the work of the
Cabinet or Parliament in the absence of one of its main components requires “a
unified interpretation of the constitutionality and legitimacy of this work.”
Aoun said the National Charter, in the FPM’s view, calls for respecting the will
of the Christians in choosing the candidate for the country’s top post belonging
to them under the Lebanese ruling system.
The FPM and its key ally, Hezbollah, have argued that Michel Aoun, the founder
of the FPM, is the most qualified candidate for the presidency because he enjoys
the widest popular representation within the Christian community, especially
after Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea has endorsed Aoun’s presidential bid.
Aoun is standing in the presidential race against MP Sleiman Frangieh, who is
backed by Speaker Nabih Berri, Hariri, MP Walid Jumblatt and some independent
lawmakers.
Noting that key military appointments are a contentious issue within the
government, Alain Aoun said: “Based on these facts, the bloc sees the need to
unify all these [National] Charter concepts and the rules of implementing them
because they are the guarantee for real and genuine partnership among Lebanese
components. They are the key to a solution to each of the crisis’ items. Or
else, we will be under the risk of dialogue losing its value and benefit and
subsequently, there will be no need for it or to attend its sessions,” he added.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on September 01/16
Iranian ex-general killed fighting in Syria
AFP, TehranWednesday, 31 August 2016/A retired Iranian general has been killed
while battling extremists as a volunteer in northern Syria, Iranian media
reported on Wednesday. Ahmad Gholami, who had served as a senior Revolutionary
Guards commander in the Iraq-Iran war of the 1980s, died on Tuesday “while
fighting the takfiri terrorists in Aleppo, Syria,” said the Fars news agency,
which is close to the Guards. Iran uses the term “takfiri” to describe the
extremists. Gholami went to Iraq and Syria “voluntarily” to fight ISIS, it
added. Iran is the principle backer of President Bashar al-Assad. It denies that
any of its professional soldiers are active in Syria - insisting its commanders
and generals act purely as “military advisers” - but it also leads large
volunteer forces, comprised of fighters from both Iran and neighboring
Afghanistan. Iran does not provide precise casualty figures for those killed in
action in Syria and Iraq, but Iranian media have previously reported “hundreds”
of military advisers and volunteers have died in recent years.
Turkey Does 'Not Accept' Ceasefire with Syrian Kurd Militia
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/16/Turkey on Wednesday said it did "not
accept" U.S. claims that it had agreed a truce with Kurdish-led forces in
northern Syria."We do not accept in any circumstances ... a 'compromise or a
ceasefire reached between Turkey and Kurdish elements,'" EU Affairs Minister
Omer Celik told state-run Anadolu news agency. "The Turkish republic is a
sovereign, legitimate state."Celik said Turkey could not be put on an equal
footing with a "terrorist organisation", referring to the U.S.-backed Syrian
Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). A U.S. defense official told AFP in
Washington on Tuesday that the Turkish and Kurdish-led forces had reached a
"loose agreement" to stop fighting each other. Last week, Turkey launched a
two-pronged offensive against Islamic State jihadists and the YPG in northern
Syria. After a weekend of Turkish clashes with YPG-allied forces, Washington
expressed alarm and urged both sides to stop fighting each other and concentrate
on combatting IS. Turkey sees the YPG as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) which has waged a bloody war against the Turkish state
since 1984.
Russian claim it killed ISIS
spokesman a ‘joke,’ US official says
AFP, WashingtonWednesday, 31 August 2016/Russia’s claim that it killed ISIS
group spokesman and top strategist Abu Mohamed al-Adnani is a “joke,” and the
strike was conducted by a US Predator drone, American officials said Wednesday.
“That’s a joke,” a US defense official told AFP when asked about Moscow’s Adnani
claim, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations. “It
would be funny if not for the character of the campaign the Russians have
undertaken in Syria.” Another US official, again speaking on condition of
anonymity, said the strike was carried out by a Predator drone that fired a
Hellfire missile at a car in which Adnani was believed to have been traveling.
Iraq hangs 7 Arabs for Qaeda
membership
By AFP, Nasiriyah, Iraq Wednesday, 31 August 2016/Iraq on Wednesday hanged seven
men of various Arab nationalities who were convicted of belonging to the
Al-Qaeda network, officials said. The seven were detained more than four years
ago and found guilty of terrorist activities with the organization that later
formed the backbone of ISIS. “Death sentences by hanging were carried out
Wednesday against seven terrorists from Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Palestine,
Syria and Jordan in Nasiriyah prison,” said Dakhel Radhi. Radhi is a member of
the provincial council of Dhiqar, the southern Iraqi province of which Nasiriyah
is the capital. An official in the Nasiriyah prison administration speaking on
condition of anonymity said the seven had all been jailed for more than four
years but could not provide further details. He said around 60 other convicts
from Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Libya and Algeria were still held in
Nasiriyah prison on similar charges. He did not say how many of them had been
sentenced to death. On August 21, Iraq hanged 36 men convicted over the 2014
massacre by Sunni militias and allied militants of up to 1,7000 military
recruits. Rights group Amnesty International said at the time that the hangings
brought to at least 81 the number of executions carried out by the Iraqi state
this year. Amnesty and other rights organizations had also criticized the
hangings as resulting from botched trials.
Saudi Arabia says Houthis
will not be allowed to take over Yemen
Reuters Wednesday, 31 August 2016/Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on
Wednesday the Iranian-allied Houthi militias will not be allowed to take over
Yemen, as he accused Iran of seeking to sow unrest around the region. The head
of a Houthi-backed ruling council pledged readiness on Monday to resume
negotiations on ending Yemen’s war but reserved the right to resist attacks by
the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government. UN-sponsored talks to
try to end 18 months of fighting collapsed in failure this month and the Houthi
militias and allied forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh resumed
shelling into neighboring Saudi Arabia. The talks foundered after the Houthis
and Saleh’s General People’s Congress (GPC) announced the formation of the
10-member governing council on Aug 6., ignoring a warning by UN Yemen envoy
Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed that such a move would violate UN Security Council
resolutions on how to solve the conflict. Speaking to Reuters in Beijing, Saudi
Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the ball was in the Houthis’ court as to
whether peace talks resumed. “What is certain, not questionable, certain, they
will not be allowed to take over Yemen. Period. So the legitimate government
will be defended,” al-Jubeir said. “The chance they have is to enter the
political process, reach an agreement ... for the benefit of all Yemenis
including the Houthis,” he said. Speaking earlier to students at a Beijing
university, al-Jubeir lambasted Iran.
“We see Iran supporting Houthis in Yemen and trying to take over the government,
supply weapons to the Houthis, smuggle explosives to Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia,” he said. “We wish we could be as good neighbours like before the 1979
revolution,” al-Jubeir said.
“It’s up to Iran to mend its behaviour.”
UN envoy: Military escalation
in Yemen is fueling extremists
By The Associated Press, UN Wednesday, 31 August 2016/The UN special envoy to
Yemen is warning that the dangerous military escalation following a breakdown in
the cease-fire between government supporters and Shiite rebels is fueling the
spread of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State extremist group. Ismael Ould Cheikh
Ahmed told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the two militant groups
“continue to wreak havoc in significant parts of Yemen.” He pointed to Monday’s
suicide bombing by ISIS in the southern city of Aden.While the Yemeni army’s
growing ability to confront extremist groups is encouraging, Cheikh Ahmed said
“the absence of the state in many parts of Yemen, in addition to the chaos
created by war, will continue to facilitate the expansion of these terrorist
groups which represents a real threat to the region.”
Yemen reconstruction ‘will
cost $15 bln’
AFP, RiyadhWednesday, 31 August 2016/Reconstruction of war-torn Yemen could cost
$15 billion, a cabinet minister said on Tuesday, citing a multilateral
institution.“The World Bank estimates... $15 billion,” Abdulraqeb Saif Fateh,
Yemen’s minister of local administration, told AFP on the sidelines of a
workshop on Yemen’s post-war recovery. He gave no details of what exactly the
figure would cover but the war has left Yemenis suffering from shortages of
food, water, sanitation and healthcare. Fateh, who is also chairman of Yemen’s
High Relief Committee, spoke near the close of a two-day workshop on
“post-conflict recovery and reconstruction” in Yemen. The workshop was attended
by international donors and organised by Yemen’s government and the Gulf
Cooperation Council. The six-member GCC in December pledged a global conference
on the reconstruction of Yemen after a political solution to the war is reached.
Yemen was already the Arab world’s poorest country before March last year when a
Saudi-led Arab coalition began air raids and later sent in ground forces to
support its internationally recognized government. The coalition intervened
after Iran-backed Houthi militias and their allies overran much of the country.
Violence has intensified since United Nations-brokered peace talks in Kuwait
were suspended in early August. Analysts expect no quick end to the war, despite
the announcement last week by US Secretary of State John Kerry of a new peace
initiative. Fateh told reporters that it is “not easy to regain the trust” of
donors after what has happened but the government pledges transparent and
accountable programs.
Libyan forces prepare for
last push against ISIS
Reuters, Sirte, LibyaWednesday, 31 August 2016/Behind the front lines in the
Libyan city of Sirte, ageing tanks crunch through the debris of battle to new
positions and resting fighters drink sweetened coffee waiting for orders to
advance. Ahead, ISIS militants besieged in a single residential neighborhood and
targeted by US air strikes deploy mines, snipers and suicide bombers to defend
their shrinking area. After three-and-a-half months, the campaign to recapture
the coastal city is in its final stages. “The fact that they’re using mines to
such an extent shows they are weak now,” said Ahmed Alramali, a field commander.
“This is their last chance.”ISIS exploited Libya’s divisions to seize Sirte and
rule it largely undisturbed for more than a year. But after a bloody campaign,
brigades from the nearby city of Misrata stand poised to win back what became
the militant group’s most important base outside the Middle East. The loss of
Sirte would compound ISIS setbacks suffered in Syria and Iraq. But the Sirte
campaign has been halting, with onslaughts followed by long pauses as forces
regroup and hospitals struggle to clear the wounded. The brigades operate under
command centres in Sirte and Misrata, aligned to a UN-backed government in
Tripoli, but on the ground, formations are fluid, fighters are ill-equipped, and
progress has been costly. Ismail Shukri, head of military intelligence in
Misrata, said brigades recovered copies of instructions for ISIS fighters to
stage tactical withdrawals before launching car bombs. “When our forces gather,
Daesh (ISIS) fighters stage a retreat in order to send a car bomb. When our
fighters advance on foot they have been an easy target,” he said. “Daesh have
relied on mines, snipers and shelling, but they never use defensive lines to
directly engage.”On Sunday, 35 brigade fighters were killed as forces moved
forward several hundred metres among emptied residential blocks in Sirte’s
neighborhood Number One, near the sea front, and towards the last ISIS holdouts
in Neighborhood Three. On one street corner, fighters jumped out to fire
automatic rifles above their heads alongside blasts from armed cars and
anti-aircraft guns as they tried to dislodge a sniping position. Just back from
the front line a few blocks away, a group of fighters gathered casually near an
abandoned car thought to be rigged with explosives. One rode up the street on a
child’s bicycle, and another sat reading on top of a tank.
Air strikes, wheelbarrows
Fighters have welcomed US air strikes that began Aug. 1, saying they helped
dislodge snipers, foil suicide attacks and prevent ISIS from moving. But some
said the strikes came too late and were not intense enough. One fighter said
ISIS resorted to using wheelbarrows to transport equipment at night because
their vehicles were being targeted from the air. Several barrows could be seen
abandoned in Neighborhood One. Ibrahim Baitulmal, the head of Misrata’s military
council, said some requests for strikes had not been granted, possibly due to
concerns over civilians. Almost all of Sirte’s estimated population of 90,000
fled the city after ISIS took over or as the battle began. Any families that
remain are those of ISIS fighters, Shukri said. However, he said it was feared
that up to 50 hostages were still in Sirte, including foreign nationals, a
reason for caution in the battle’s final stages. Officials and commanders say
they do not know how many ISIS fighters retreated into neighborhood Three, nor
how many of the group’s senior commanders - who Shukri said were predominantly
Tunisian, Egyptian and Sudanese - are among them. But Shukri and Baitulmal said
it was likely that a body found recently was that of Hassan al-Karami, a leading
Libyan militant and preacher. By most estimates, ISIS had 2,000-5,000 fighters
before May in Sirte. Some are thought to have escaped near the start of the
campaign and hundreds have been killed, though no figures are available. Not
more than 15 have been arrested, none of them major figures, Baitulmal said. On
the side of the fighters from Misrata, a port city about 230 km (145 miles) west
of Sirte which bears the scars of a drawn out battle in the revolution against
late dictator Muammar Gaddafi five years ago, casualties have steadily mounted.
From an estimated force of 6,000, hospital officials say more than 500 men have
been killed and more than 2,000 wounded. Individual fighters insist they are
fighting for Libya, not their city. They say they hope victory will help end the
conflict and political strife that ISIS, which has struggle to win support
elsewhere in Libya, exploited. “We want to fight to defend our religion and our
land,” said Abduwahab Abdelati, a 30-year-old commander who lost a cousin and a
neighbor in a mine explosion on Sunday and had accompanied five wounded fighters
to Misrata’s central hospital. “These people are foreigners who came from
outside and distorted our religion. But above all we want to free the people of
Sirte from repression.”
ASHARQ AL-AWSAT: 1980’s Execution Haunts Top Iranian Officials
Wednesday, 31 August 2016 /NCRI - Asharq Al-Awsat the world’s premier pan-Arab
daily newspaper on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016 published an article which briefly
covers the major events in past 20 days regarding the development and serious
effects of an important revelation about the 1988 massacre of 30000 political
prisoners in Iran. Following is the full text of this article. London- Heated
controversy sparked-off 20 days ago as a recording for Iran’s Deputy Supreme
Leader Hussein-Ali Montazeri surfaced. The recording sounds Montazeri’s loud
objection to many of the regime-carried death sentences in 1988.Montazeri’s
controversial audio file had unearthed Iranian cases before the public,
especially those concerning the thousands of executions against political
activists.Top officials in Iran now are driven into a tight corner, as
Montazeri’s comments had fueled public agitation against the regime in light of
the nearing of the day commemorating the served deaths. Rouhani’s
administration, self-labelled as a beacon of ‘hope and moderation’, had been
rendered tongue-tied as reports reveal officials responsible for former
collective executions being assigned to top posts in his government.
Rouhani’s supportive bloc had also played a major role in the killings, with
that being revealed, followers who self-identify as ‘moderators’ were short to
shocked. Iran’s parliament has directly been affected and received it fair cut
of argument and criticism against what is coming to be named the summer of mass
executions. Second Deputy of the Parliament of Iran Ali Motahari had addressed
the current minister of justice, who was a member from the 1988 “death
commission” which authorized the massacre of Iranian prisoners, Mostafa
Pourmohammadi asking immediate clarification on what had been accounted for in
Montazeri’s recording. The recording, declassified and made available on August
9, shows that Montazeri’s objection to the executions had ended with him being
canned from his post as Deputy Supreme Leader during the same year, and months
only before Ruhollah Khomeini –former supreme leader- had died.
In the recording, Montazeri meets with four other officials responsible for
implementing the executions, and he condemns the executions as he sees them
unconstitutional and warns that the deaths will bring about a dark mark to
Khomeini’s history.
“The greatest crime committed during the reign of the Islamic Republic was
executing by fire squads 6,000 political activists. This reign carried out, in
its first years only, more executions than during the Pahlavi regime,” Montazeri
says in the recording.
“History will remember Khomeini for a bloodthirsty leader and a murderer.”No one
has more vociferously defended their actions from that time than Justice
Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who was the Intelligence Ministry’s
representative at Evin Prison when the executions took place.
Pourmohammadi and three other individuals were in charge of the committee that
oversaw the executions. Using the religiously charged term “hypocrites” to refer
to the political activists, Pourmohammadi told reporters Aug 28, “You cannot
show mercy to the hypocrites, because if they can bloody and soil you, they
will.” He added, “We take pride in executing the orders with respect to the
hypocrites.The audio file disclosed the talks between Montazeri and a judicial
committee composed of Hossein-Ali Nayeri, the regime’s sharia judge, Morteza
Eshraqi, the regime’s prosecutor, Ebrahim Raeesi, deputy prosecutor, and Mostafa
Pour-Mohammadi, representative of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS),
currently the minister of justice. 1988’s executions chiefly affected members of
the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), opposition Kurds, and leftists.
The Globe and Mail: Jailed Canadian prof in Iran can
'hardly walk or talk,' say relatives
Wednesday, 31 August 2016/NCRI - An article published in “The Globe and Mail” on
Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016 raises concern over fate of Dr. Homa Hoodfar. Earlier in
June. Amnesty International called on Iran's regime to release a Montreal-based
university professor who was imprisoned for almost a week at the time. lex Neve,
secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, described Homa Hoodfar as a
prisoner of conscience."The arrest of respected and accomplished scholar, Dr.
Homa Hoodfar, is the latest attempt by the Iranian authorities at targeting
individuals, including academics, for the peaceful exercise of their rights to
freedom of expression and association," Neve said in a statement Thursday. "It
is deeply troubling that someone whose research focuses on addressing women's
inequality can find herself arbitrarily arrested and held, possibly in solitary
confinement, without access to a lawyer and her family."
Following is the text of article:
After three months in solitary detention, the Canadian-Iranian university
professor Homa Hoodfar’s health has declined to the point that she can barely
walk or talk, her relatives say.
In a statement released Tuesday, the family of Prof. Hoodfar said the
65-year-old Concordia University anthropologist had to be hospitalized as her
condition worsened since being held after June 6 at Tehran’s Evin Prison.
Prof. Hoodfar’s niece, Amanda Ghahremani, said the family had agreed in recent
weeks to keep a low profile at the request of the Iran judicial authorities, who
wanted “to allow the legal process to take its course.”
However, she said in the family statement, “Given the alarming news of Homa’s
hospitalization and declining health, we are left with no choice but to
publicize these travesties of justice widely, as it has become clear that the
authorities are not prioritizing her health and do not intend to respect Homa’s
due process rights under Iranian law.”
The family also raised concerns about the nebulous charges Prof. Hoodfar faces
in Iran – the Tehran public prosecutor accused her of “dabbling in feminism and
security matters” – and the way her lawyer was blocked from accessing her file
or applying for bail. Media in Iran reported said she was charged with fomenting
a feminist “soft revolution” against the Islamic Republic.
Prof. Hoodfar suffered a mild stroke last year and has myasthenia gravis (MG), a
rare neuromuscular disorder which weakens her voluntary muscles.
“Professor Hoodfar was hospitalized due to her rapidly declining health,”
Tuesday’s communiqué said. “She was very disoriented, severely weakened, and
could hardly walk or talk.” Prof. Hoodfar’s case is a priority for the
department and for Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion, said a spokesman for
Global Affairs Canada, John Babcock.However, he noted that Canada does not have
diplomatic representation in Iran. “We are working with countries of influence
and pursuing the best course of action to press the case and secure her safe
return to her family, friends and colleagues. The challenges posed by the
absence of a diplomatic presence cannot be underestimated,” Mr. Babcock said in
an e-mailed statement.
An anthropologist who taught at Concordia University in Montreal, Prof. Hoodfar
has Canadian, Irish and Iranian citizenship. Her family says she travelled to
Iran on Feb. 11 to visit relatives, but also to conduct research on the history
of women’s participation in Iran’s elections. Amnesty International said Prof.
Homo is a a prisoner of conscience and called on the Iranian government to
release her promptly.
“This news today is certainly an indication that Canadian efforts on her behalf
need to intensify,” said Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty’s Canadian
chapter. Evin Prison, where Prof. Hoodfar is held, is where Canadian-Iranian
Zahra Kazemi died in 2003 death while in custody.
Canada closed its Tehran embassy in 2012. The concerns about Prof. Hoodfar came
amid reports of the arrest of another Canadian-Iranian, a man who was linked to
Iran’s team that negotiated on lifting economic sanctions. The official IRNA
news agency reported Sunday that the man was briefly detained on suspicion he
was an “infiltrating element” but has since been released on bail. Iranian media
identified the man as dual Iranian-Canadian national Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfahani,
a member of the Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants in Canada.
Mr. Esfahani reportedly worked as a member of a parallel team working on lifting
economic sanctions under one of the main negotiators for last year’s landmark
nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. He was also an adviser to the head
of Iran’s Central Bank.
Canada concerned by conclusive
findings of use of chemical weapons in Syria
August 31, 2016 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the
following statement regarding the report of the Organisation for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM)
attributing responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria:
“The Government of Canada is deeply concerned by the findings of the JIM. This
serious, independent and neutral investigation clearly demonstrates that the
Government of Syria has repeatedly used chemical weapons against its own people
and that Daesh used sulphur mustard.
“Canada calls for those responsible for the heinous use of chemical weapons to
be held accountable for their actions and blatant violations of law. The
international community must hold the Government of Syria to its obligations
under the Chemical Weapons Convention, international humanitarian law and UN
Security Council Resolution 2118 (2013).
“Canada also demands an immediate end to the targeting of civilians and civilian
infrastructure—such as medical facilities—and the use of barrel bombs and other
indiscriminate weapons, including chemical weapons, by the Government of Syria
and by Daesh.
“Canada supports an extension of the mandate of the JIM so it may complete its
work.”
Quick Facts
The JIM was established by UNSC Resolution 2235 (2015).
Canada contributed US$2 million (C$2.8 million) to the JIM in February 2016.
Canada co-sponsored UNSC resolution 2286 (2016), which strongly condemns attacks
against medical facilities and personnel in conflict situations.
Associated links
UNSC resolution establishing the JIM
Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass
Destruction
Canada contributes US$2 million to pursue accountability for chemical weapons
use in Syria
UN Security Council Resolution 2286 (2016)
Third Report of the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism
In Mexico, Trump Talks
Immigration with Pena Nieto as Mexicans Fume
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/16/Donald Trump met with President
Enrique Pena Nieto in Mexico on Wednesday amid a firestorm of criticism from
Mexicans irate over the Republican White House hopeful's caustic tirades
belittling their country. The tough-talking billionaire's meeting with Pena
Nieto was expected to begin around 1900 GMT at Los Pinos, the presidential
residence. Local media said Trump would fly by helicopter to Los Pinos for the
meeting and would later make a statement to the press. Trump stunned the
political establishment when he announced late Tuesday that he was making the
surprise trip south of the border for a face-to-face encounter with the leader
of a neighbor and close US ally who is also one of his sharpest critics. The
closed-door meeting takes place just hours before Trump delivers a
highly-anticipated speech on immigration, and as debate about his hardline
policies -- including his call for building a border wall and having Mexico pay
for it -- reaches fever pitch.Pena Nieto has categorically rejected the idea of
his country paying for a wall, and has gone so far as to compare the Republican
candidate to Hitler and Mussolini.
Trump's visit holds potential political peril, as many in Mexico loathe him for
his toxic rhetoric."Trump not welcome in Mexico, not by me nor the 130 million
Mexicans," the country's former president Vicente Fox, who dropped an "f-bomb"
on television in February when describing Trump's border wall, said on Twitter.
He blasted the visit as a "political stunt" aimed at boosting the tanking poll
numbers of Pena Nieto, who was taking an "enormous political risk" by hosting
Trump. "If he's gone soft on Trump, it will hurt him greatly," Fox told CNN.
Trump's campaign director Kellyanne Conway said he and Pena Nieto would address
immigration, along with drug smuggling and trade. The invitation by Pena Nieto
comes with just 69 days to go before the U.S. presidential election. With Trump
trailing Democrat Hillary Clinton in most polls, the trip could allow him to
seize control of the campaign narrative at a crucial time and capitalize on
dramatic optics that put him on the stage with a global leader. Pena Nieto, who
was elected in 2012, also invited Clinton, but the former secretary of state's
campaign has announced no plans for a visit. Clinton took the more traditional
approach on the campaign trail Wednesday, addressing an American Legion meeting
in Ohio where she upbraided Trump for his Mexican "photo op" and signalled it
was no way to build leadership credibility. "It certainly takes more than trying
to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in our on
neighbors for a few hours and then flying home again. That is not how it works,"
Clinton said. Trump has routinely assailed Mexican immigrants who illegally
cross the border into the United States. Hardline immigration policies are a key
plank of his campaign.
Trump could be sensing an opportunity in the visit as he mulls whether to soften
his positions, particularly the call early in his campaign to deport some 11
million undocumented migrants living in the shadows.- 'Historic mistake' -Trump
used some of the most incendiary language of his campaign when launching his
White House bid last year, describing Mexicans as drug dealers, "rapists" and
criminals. He is scheduled to deliver what is billed as a crucial speech
Wednesday evening in Phoenix, Arizona, seen as an opportunity to clarify his
policy. But Trump has vacillated between reaching out to minorities and
returning to the anti-immigration rhetoric that is admired by his most ardent
supporters, mainly white working-class males. "Donald Trump is... not your
standard issue politician, but really a business leader that knows you first got
to sit down with people," his running mate Mike Pence told CNN, adding that the
Trump-Pena Nieto meeting would be the "beginning of a conversation.""You've got
to look them in the eye. You've got to tell them where you stand."
Trump has vowed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement that he
blames for the relocation of U.S. factories to Mexico and the loss of millions
of U.S. manufacturing jobs. Last year, Trump pledged to create a deportation
force dedicated to rounding up those illegally in the country. In recent weeks,
he has expressed willingness to soften his hardline stance to a "fair and
humane" policy ahead of November's election. Pena Nieto has insisted he is
committed to defending Mexican interests and to work with the future US
president, whoever it will be.
But Trump's arrival has infuriated observers, including Mexican historian
Enrique Krauze, who described the invitation as a "historic mistake." "This is a
dubious way to defend the interests of Mexico," the president of the Chamber of
Deputies, the lower house of Congress, Jesus Zambrano told AFP.
Brazil's Rousseff Stripped of
Presidency, Temer Sworn In
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/16/Brazil's Dilma Rousseff was stripped
of the country's presidency in an impeachment vote Wednesday and replaced by her
bitter rival Michel Temer, shifting Latin America's biggest economy sharply to
the right. Rousseff, 68, was convicted by 61 of the 81 senators of illegally
manipulating the national budget. The vote, which exceeded the needed two-thirds
majority, meant the veteran leftist leader was immediately removed from office.
Three hours later, Temer -- her center-right former vice president and one time
crucial coalition partner whom she now accuses of orchestrating a coup against
her -- was sworn in. Cheers -- and cries of disappointment -- erupted in the
blue-carpeted, circular Senate chamber as the impeachment verdict flashed up on
the electronic voting screen. Pro-impeachment senators sang the national anthem,
some waving Brazilian flags, while leftist allies of Rousseff stood stony faced.
"I will not associate my name with this infamy," read a sign held up by one
senator. "Coup plotters!" others chanted. In a surprise twist, a separate vote
to bar Rousseff from holding any public office for eight years failed to pass,
meaning she could in theory re-enter political life. Speaking at the Alvorada
presidential palace on the outskirts of the capital Brasilia, Rousseff, from the
leftist Workers' Party, condemned her forced exit. "They decided to interrupt
the mandate of a president who had committed no crime. They have convicted an
innocent person and carried out a parliamentary coup," she said, defiantly
vowing that she'd "be back."Temer, 75, was to mark his first day as president by
flying late Wednesday to China for a G20 summit. A recorded address to the
nation was expected to be released later. A stalwart of the center-right PMDB
party, Temer has vowed to steer Brazil away from 13 years of Workers' Party rule
in hopes that a more market-friendly track will resolve the country's worst
recession in decades.
Anti-Rousseff anger
Rousseff is accused of taking illegal state loans to patch budget holes in 2014,
masking the country's problems as it slid into today's economic disarray. She
told the Senate during a marathon 14-hour session on Monday that she is innocent
and that abuse of the impeachment process put Brazil's democracy, restored in
1985 after a two-decades-long military dictatorship, at risk. Recalling how she
was tortured and imprisoned in the 1970s for belonging to a leftist guerrilla
group, Rousseff urged senators to "vote against impeachment, vote for
democracy." However, huge anti-Rousseff street demonstrations over the last year
have reflected nationwide anger at her management of a country suffering
double-digit unemployment and inflation. The once mighty Workers' Party,
meanwhile, has struggled to stage more than small rallies. Temer, who was in an
uncomfortable partnership with Rousseff before finally splitting from her, will
be president until the next scheduled elections in late 2018. Better known as a
backroom wheeler-dealer than street politician, Temer took over in an interim
role after Rousseff's initial suspension in May. He immediately named a new
government that turned its back on more than a decade of leftist rule in which
Brazil saw 29 million people lifted from poverty, but became bogged down in
corruption and the ongoing economic slump. Temer has earned plaudits from
investors. It remains uncertain whether he will have voters' support to push
through the painful austerity reforms he promises.
Emotions spill over
About 50 leftist demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace to show
their support for Rousseff. "We are protesting against the coup and fighting for
democracy," said 61-year-old farmer Orlando Ribeiro. In the center of the
capital, extra security and the closing of avenues near the Senate caused
massive traffic jams. Police said they were preparing for large protests later
in the day. Venezuela and Ecuador both pulled their ambassadors from Brazil in
protest at Rousseff's removal. On the Senate floor, emotions crackled in the
run-up to the vote, then overflowed as senators made final speeches on what both
sides of the debate agreed was history in the making. Renan Calheiros, the
Senate president, rejected Rousseff's claim of a coup, saying her impeachment
might not have been perfect, but had "the DNA of democracy, the DNA of the
constitution." Senator Aecio Neves, Rousseff's narrowly defeated center-right
opponent in her 2014 reelection, pronounced triumphantly: "The constitution won.
Brazil won!"But Senator Vanessa Grazziotin was scathing in her summing up of an
"illegal process that is called impeachment but is a coup." "Temer does not have
legitimacy to govern this country," she warned. "This is a farce, a farce, a
farce," shouted Another pro-Rousseff senator, Lindberg Farias. Shaking his fists
at the majority backing impeachment, he cried: "They're going in the garbage can
of history."
N. Korea Executes Vice
Premier for 'Disrespect'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/16/North Korea has executed a vice
premier for showing disrespect during a meeting presided over by leader Kim Jong-Un,
South Korea said Wednesday, after reports that he fell asleep. The regime also
banished two other senior officials, Seoul said, the latest in a slew of
punishments Kim is believed to have ordered in what analysts say is an attempt
to tighten his grip on power. "Vice premier for education Kim Yong-Jin was
executed," Seoul's Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee said at a
regular briefing. Kim was killed by a firing squad in July as "an anti-party,
anti-revolutionary agitator," added an official at the ministry, who declined to
be named. "Kim Yong-Jin was denounced for his bad sitting posture when he was
sitting below the rostrum" during a session of North Korea's parliament, and
then underwent an interrogation that revealed other "crimes", the official told
reporters. The mass-selling JoongAng Ilbo reported on Tuesday that top regime
figures had been punished, but identified the education official by a different
name."He incurred the wrath of Kim after he dozed off during a meeting presided
over by Kim," it quoted a source as saying.
"He was arrested on site and intensively questioned by the state security
ministry". - Fall of spymaster -The unification ministry said two other
senior figures were forced to undergo re-education sessions.One of them was Kim
Yong-Chol, a top official in charge of inter-Korean affairs and espionage
activities against the South.The 71-year-old Kim is a career military
intelligence official who is believed to be the mastermind behind the North's
frequent cyberattacks on Seoul. Kim is also blamed by the South for the sinking
of a South Korean warship in 2010 near the disputed sea border with the North in
the Yellow Sea. Kim was banished to a farm in July for a month for his
"arrogance" and "abuse of power," the ministry official said.
The spymaster, who was reinstated this month, is likely to be tempted to prove
his loyalty by committing provocative acts against the South, the official said.
"Therefore, we are keeping close tabs on the North", he said. Professor Yang
Moo-Jin at the University of North Korean Studies said the vice premier's
execution could be indirectly verified when Pyongyang's state media reveals the
names of attendees at the government's anniversary ceremony on September 9. That
confirmation will be important; Seoul in February said North Korean military
chief of staff Ri Yong-Gil had been executed -- only for Ri to turn up at a
party rally in May. - Uncle -South Korea's Yonhap news agency put the number of
party officials executed during Kim Jong-Un's rule at over 100. The most
notorious case was that of Kim's uncle and onetime No. 2 Jang Song-Thaek, who
was executed for charges including treason and corruption in December 2013. In
April 2015, it was reported that Kim had his defence minister Hyon Yong-Chol
summarily executed with an anti-aircraft gun. Cheong Seong-Chang, a senior
researcher at the private Sejong Institute, said the "reign of terror" that is
characteristic of a Stalinist state showed no sign of abating under Kim. "But
the intensity of the reign of terror depends on changes to the internal and
external political environment", Cheong said. Reports of the latest execution
coincide with a series of high-profile defections from the North. North Korea's
deputy ambassador to Britain sought refuge in the South with his family, the
unification ministry said earlier this month. Thae Yong-Ho was driven by
"disgust for the North Korean regime" and concerns for his family's future, it
said. Twelve waitresses and their manager who had been working at a North
Korea-themed restaurant in China also made headlines when they arrived in the
South in April as the largest group defection for years. About 10 North Korean
diplomats made it to the South in the first half of this year alone, Yonhap
said, quoting informed sources.
September 01/16
Lifting the Burka off the
Burkini
Tarek Fatah/The Toronto Sun/August 31/16
http://www.torontosun.com/2016/08/30/lifting-the-burka-off-the-burkini
In their hysterical reaction to the "burkini ban" in France, bleeding-heart
liberals in the West demonstrated again how gullible they are and how easy it is
for the worldwide Islamist movement to manipulate them.
In carefully staged theatre, the Islamists pulled off a stunt by making Muslim
women out to be victims of white, male, armed police.
They tugged at our outrage whenever we see the state trampling on individual
liberty, especially if the victim is a female.
Thus a video of a woman being beaten by a gang of Muslim men, somewhere in
Europe or North Africa, barely raised an eyebrow, and didn't make it to the
front pages of any newspaper or TV network.
However, the sight of a middle-aged Muslim woman napping in full body attire in
35 Celsius heat, with cameramen, being asked to leave the beach, or take off one
layer of her burkini wrap, was enough to raise cries of racism, misogyny,
bigotry and every possible human rights violation in the UN Charter.
One image, circulated on the micro blogging and social networking website Tumblr,
best captured the logic of the left. It showed two women in almost identical
full-body swimsuits, with the title: "French Muslim in Burkini French Catholic
in Wetsuit." Below the picture, the caption read: "Only one will be asked to
remove her swimming gear at gunpoint." To the defenders of the burkini, the
picture illustrated Western racism and double standards.
Why is the burkini appearing now, when for 1,400 years we Muslims had no use for
it?
To me, the picture raised a question: "If both swimsuits provide head-to-toe
cover, why don't these Muslim women wear the wetsuit? Why do they insist on the
burkini?"
After all, the wetsuit would meet all the silly requirements imposed by man-made
sharia laws that have forced the Muslim world to be permanently anchored in
medieval times.
That is when I had a eureka moment in understanding why the burkini is being
pushed upon Muslim women, when for a good 1,400 years, we Muslims had no use for
it.
The burkini is supposed to be many things, but above all it is a tool to "slut
shame" western women, and Muslim women, who wear traditional beach wear, be it
bikinis or a single piece swimsuit.
Shireen Qudosi says the burkini is the product of "an abusive cultural
conditioning" of Muslim women.
The objective is to project devout Muslim women as pious and pure females who
are the guardians of the family's honour, and to contrast them to non-Muslim or
non-observant Muslim women who are of "loose character." As this twisted logic
goes, the latter are sexually bound to a culture of immorality, cursed by Allah
to, as infidels, burn in hellfire, for exposing their skin to entice men and
trigger their sexual arousal.
American Muslim reformist Shireen Qudosi made a scathing attack on the burkini
in a Fox News column. She wrote that the burkini is an extension of the burka,
which is "a totem of feminist oppression." The burkini was the result of "an
abusive cultural conditioning" of Muslim women.
As for those who believe in the notion of "choice," well, I'm sorry, but nudists
should not have the choice to roam naked on Toronto's lakefront or Vancouver's
shores; white supremacists should not have the choice to wear KKK bath wear
while sun tanning, and neo-Nazis should not have the choice to have swastikas
stitched on to their briefs or bikini tops.
*Tarek Fatah, a founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress and columnist at the
Toronto Sun, is a Robert J. and Abby B. Levine Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
Turkey's Official "Cocktail Terror"
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/August 31/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8762/turkey-official-cocktail-terror
In its latest attack in Turkey, ISIS used a child suicide bomber to attack a
wedding ceremony. More than 50 victims were killed, of whom 26 were less than 18
years old.
This is premeditated, officially-tolerated murder. Evidence? Two opposition
parties appealed to parliament five times asking for a parliamentary
investigation into ISIS and its activities in Turkey. All five requests were
rejected by the votes of the ruling AKP Party, Erdogan's powerful political
machine.
The opposition claims SADAT International Defense Consultancy, which was
established by soldiers dismissed from the military due to Islamist activities,
offers ISIS operatives training in "intelligence, psychological warfare,
sabotage, raiding, ambushing and assassination." Erdogan this month appointed
the owner of SADAT, retired Brigadier General Adnan Tanriverdi, as his chief
presidential advisor.
Failing to name Islamic terror has cost Turkey hundreds of lives and will likely
cost it hundreds more, as the country's leaders -- and many others, especially
in the West -- are still too demure to call Islamic terror by its name. Without
a realistic diagnosis, the chances of a successful treatment are always close to
nil, and Turkey's leaders stubbornly remain on the wrong side of the right
diagnosis.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's theory that "there is no Islamic terror,"
coupled with his persistent arguments that Islamist radicals hit Europe because
of Islamophobia in the Western world, are not only too remote from reality but
have now become a curse in his own country.
As early as 2014, cars began to be seen in the streets of Istanbul sporting the
black flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The same year,
Islamists opened a shop selling T-shirts featuring the same flag. ISIS-related
magazines went ahead with open hate content even though, in March 2014, ISIS
spilled its first blood in Turkey when an ISIS team ambushed a police checkpoint
and killed one police officer, one soldier and one civilian.
In its first suicide attack on June 5, 2015, ISIS targeted a pro-Kurdish rally
in Diyarbakir, killed four people and injured 279. It targeted, once again, a
pro-Kurdish gathering in July 2015 in Suruc, a small town bordering Syria,
killed more than 30 people and injured more than 100.
When, in October 2015, Islamists attacked the main train station in Ankara and
killed more than 100 civilians in the worst terror attack in Turkey's history,
Turkish officials were once again too demure to blame it on radical Islamists.
Instead, they invented an unconvincing concept, "cocktail terror," putting the
blame on a mixture of various terror groups.
In a span of just one year, starting with the Suruc suicide bomb attack in July
2015, ISIS terror attacks in Turkish soil have killed 265 people and injured
1,256.
In its latest attack in Turkey on August 21, ISIS did something it had not done
before: it used a child suicide bomber with explosives detonated by a remote
controller. The target was a wedding ceremony in the southern city of Gaziantep;
most of the victims were children, like the suicide bomber himself. More than 50
victims were killed, of whom 26 were less than 18 years old. Two of the victims
had just turned four.
On August 21, ISIS terrorists used a child suicide bomber to kill more than 50
people, mostly children, at a wedding in Gaziantep. (Image source: ABC News
video screenshot)
This is premeditated, officially-tolerated murder. Evidence? Between Aug. 14,
2014 and June 29, 2016, two opposition parties, the social democrat Republican
People's Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP),
appealed to parliament five times asking for a parliamentary investigation into
ISIS and its activities in Turkey. All five requests were rejected by the votes
of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Erdogan's powerful political
machine. Why would a ruling party vote down an investigation request into a
barbaric terror group that has killed hundreds of people in its own country? But
there is more.
In July, slightly more than a month before the ISIS's child bomber was blown up
along with more than 50 others in Gaziantep, a court in the same city reduced
the jail sentence of an ISIS militant due to "good conduct." Good conduct?! The
man did not even stand before the court, as the police were unable to apprehend
him.
At the end of June, the main opposition party, CHP, made a parliamentary inquiry
into the activities of an Istanbul-based defense company accused of having links
to ISIS. The opposition claims the SADAT International Defense Consultancy,
established in the early 2000s by soldiers dismissed from the military due to
Islamist activities, offers "irregular warfare training" in various fields
including "intelligence, psychological warfare, sabotage, raiding, ambushing and
assassination." The inquiry said: "...that special commissioned and
non-commissioned officers have begun working at this company with high salaries,
and that in camps irregular warfare training has been given to ISIS and its
derivatives."
SADAT's owner and chief official is retired Brigadier General Adnan Tanriverdi
widely known for his close relations with Erdogan and the AKP.
Since the opposition made the parliamentary inquiry, it has not heard from the
government benches about its request for an investigation into SADAT. But, after
the inquiry, the government made a move. In August Erdogan appointed Tanriverdi
as his chief presidential advisor.
Turkey's war with radical jihadists is a too demure and reluctant one -- if not
fake altogether.
**Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily
and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
The "Other"
Palestinians
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/August 31/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8821/palestinians-syria
Nearly 3,500 Palestinians have been killed in Syria since 2011. But because
these Palestinians were killed by Arabs, and not Israelis, this fact is not news
in the mainstream media or of interest to "human rights" forums.
How many Western journalists have cared to inquire about the thirsty
Palestinians of Yarmouk refugee camp, in Syria? Does anyone know that this camp
has been without water supply for more than 720 days, and without electricity
for the past three years? In June 2002, 112,000 Palestinians lived in Yarmouk.
By the end of 2014, the population was down to less than 20,000.
Nor is the alarm bell struck concerning the more than 12,000 Palestinians
languishing in Syrian prisons, including 765 children and 543 women. According
to Palestinian sources, some 503 Palestinian prisoners have died under torture
in recent years, and some female prisoners have been raped by interrogators and
guards.
When Western journalists lavish time on Palestinians delayed at Israeli
checkpoints, and ignore bombs dropped by the Syrian military on residential
areas, one might start to wonder they are really about.
It seems as though the international community has forgotten that Palestinians
can be found far beyond the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. These "other"
Palestinians live in Arab countries such as Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, and their
many serious grievances are evidently of no interest to the international
community. It is only Palestinians residing in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that
garner international attention. Why? Because it is precisely these individuals
that the international community wield as a weapon against Israel.
Nearly 3,500 Palestinians have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the
civil war in 2011. But because these Palestinians were killed by Arabs, and not
Israelis, this fact is not news in the mainstream media. This figure was
revealed last week by the London-based Action Group For Palestinians of Syria (AGPS),
founded in 2012 with the goal of documenting the suffering of the Palestinians
in that country and preparing lists of victims, prisoners and missing people in
order to submit them to the databases of human rights forums.
Yet the "human rights" forums pay scant attention to such findings. They are
indeed too busy to take much notice, wholly preoccupied as they are with Israel.
By focusing their attention only on the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip, these "human rights" forums continuously seek to find ways to hold Israel
responsible for wrongdoing, while ignoring the crimes perpetrated by Arabs
against their Palestinian brothers. This obsession with Israel, which sometimes
reaches ridiculous heights, does a great disservice to the Palestinian victims
of Arab crimes.
If you take some numbers, according to AGPS, 85 Palestinians were killed in
Syria in the first year of the civil war in 2011. The following year, the number
rose to 776. The year 2013 saw the highest number of Palestinian victims: 1,015.
In 2014, the number of Palestinians who were killed in Syria was 724. The
following year, 502 Palestinians were killed. And since the beginning of this
year (until July), some 200 Palestinians were killed in Syria.
How were these Palestinians killed? The group says that they were killed as a
result of direct shelling, armed clashes, torture in prison, bombings, and as a
result of the besieging of their refugee camps in Syria.
Yet the plight of its people in Syria does not seem to top the list for the
Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah. Pride of place on that list goes to
assigning blame to Israel for everything the PA itself has caused. For PA
President Mahmoud Abbas and his senior officials in the West Bank, the
Palestinians in Syria simply do not rate. In fact, in a step that boggles the
mind, the PA leadership is currently seeking to improve its relations with the
Assad regime in Syria -- the very regime that is killing, imprisoning and
torturing scores of Palestinians on a daily basis.
In a move that has enraged many Palestinians in Syria, the Palestinian Authority
recently celebrated the inauguration of a new Palestinian embassy in Damascus.
"They [the PA leadership] have sold the Palestinians in Syria and reconciled
with the Syrian regime," remarked a Palestinian from Syria.
Another Palestinian commented: "Now we know why several PLO delegations have
been visiting Syria recently; they sought to renew their ties with the regime
and not ensure the safety of our refugee camps or seek the release of
Palestinians held in [Syrian] prisons."
Others accused the Palestinian Authority leadership of "sacrificing the blood of
Palestinians." They pointed out that the Syrian regime, by permitting the
opening of the new embassy, was rewarding the PA for turning its back on the
plight of the Palestinians of Syria. The Palestinians complained that PA
diplomats and representatives in Damascus, to whom they appealed in the past for
help, have ignored their calls.
International media outlets regularly report on the "water crisis" in
Palestinian towns and villages, especially in the West Bank. This is a story
that repeats itself almost every summer, when some foreign journalists set out
to search for any story that reflects negatively on Israel. And there is nothing
more comfortable than holding Israel responsible for the "water crisis" in the
West Bank.
But how many Western journalists have cared to inquire about the thirsty
Palestinians of Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria? Does anyone in the international
community know that this camp has been without water supply for more than 720
days? Or that the camp has been without electricity for the past three years?
Yarmouk, which is located only eight kilometers from the center of Damascus, is
the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. That is, it was the largest camp.
In June 2002, 112,000 Palestinians lived in Yarmouk. By the end of 2014, the
camp population had been decimated to less than 20,000. Medical sources say many
of the residents of the camp are suffering from a host of diseases.
These figures are alarming, but not to the Palestinian Authority leadership or
mainstream media and "human rights" organizations in the West. Nor is the alarm
bell struck concerning the more than 12,000 Palestinians languishing in Syrian
prisons, without the right to see a lawyer or family members. These include 765
children and 543 women. According to Palestinian sources, some 503 Palestinian
prisoners have died under torture in recent years.
Sources say that some of the Palestinian female prisoners have been raped by
their interrogators and guards. Huda, a 19-year-old girl from Yarmouk, said she
became pregnant after being repeatedly gang-raped while she was held in Syrian
prison for 15 days. "Sometimes, they used to rape me more than 10 times a day,"
Huda recounted, adding that as a result she suffered severe bleeding and lost
consciousness. She also told an hour-long story of how she was held in a cell
for three weeks with the bodies of other prisoners who had been tortured to
death.
Such stories rarely make it to the pages of major newspapers in the West. Nor
are these stories discussed at conferences held by various international human
rights organizations, or even the United Nations. The only Palestinian prisoners
the world talks about are those incarcerated by Israel. The Palestinian
Authority leadership never misses an opportunity to call for the release of
Palestinians held by Israel, most of whom are suspected of or have been found
guilty of terrorism. But when it comes to the thousands who are being tortured
in Syria, the PA leaders in Ramallah are deadly silent. For the sake of
accuracy, it is worth mentioning that the Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas
have sometimes contacted the Syrian authorities regarding prisoners -- but it
turns out that the two groups were just seeking the release of some of their
members.
Reports from Syria say that three Palestinian refugee camps remain under strict
siege by the Syrian army and its puppet Palestinian groups. Yarmouk, for
instance, has been under siege for more than 970 days, while the Al-Sabinah
refugee camp has been under siege for more than 820 days. The Handarat camp has
been facing the same fate for over 1000 days. Most of the residents of these
camps have been forced to flee their homes. In Yarmouk, 186 Palestinians have
died of starvation or lack of medical attention. More than 70% of the Daraa camp
has been completely destroyed due to recurring shelling by the Syrian army and
other militias.
The Palestinians of Syria would have been more fortunate had they been living in
the West Bank or Gaza Strip. Then the international community and media would
certainly have noticed them. Yet when Western journalists lavish time on
Palestinians delayed at Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank, and ignore barrels
of explosives dropped by the Syrian military on residential areas in refugee
camps in Syria, one might start to wonder what they are really about.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Islam and Anti-Semitism in
Malaysia
Mohshin Habib/Gatestone Institute/August 31/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8739/islam-antisemitism-malaysia
Wahhabi doctrines spread by Saudi-financed imams are redefining the way Islam is
practiced in Malaysia. Politicians are now competing with each other to show off
their Islamist credentials. These practices are eroding the tolerance for which
the country was previously known.
Young Malaysians are being radicalized as a result of the Islamism and
anti-Semitism that their leaders espouse. According to Malaysian police, there
are at least 50,000 Islamic State sympathizers in the country.
Recently, an influential opposition party introduced a bill that would implement
harsher hudud laws (brutal physical punishments for transgressions like adultery
and theft) in the state of Kelantan.
Malaysia, a majority-Muslim country in Southeast Asia, is rapidly turning to
Islamic fundamentalism through the state's sharia-like legal system and the
country's growing number of Islamic militant sympathizers. Malaysia's government
is a federal parliamentary democracy under an elected constitutional monarchy.
The country of more than 30 million people is made up of 13 states and three
federal territories. It is a multi-ethnic country: Malay Sunni Muslims make up
50.1% of the population, Chinese people make up 23.6%, indigenous people 11.8%
and Indians 6.7 %. However, the Malaysian Constitution declares Islam alone to
be the official religion.
Malaysia is dominated by an iteration of Islamic culture that is highly
influenced by the Saudi Arabian version of Islam. The use of political Islam has
been a deliberate move by some Islamists in even the highest levels of Malaysian
government to create a sharia-based nation. According to the Wall Street
Journal, conservative Wahhabi doctrines spread by Saudi-financed imams are
redefining the way Islam is practiced in Malaysia, and politicians are now
competing with each other to show off their Islamist credentials. These
practices are eroding the tolerance for which the country was previously known.
Recently, one of the influential opposition parties, the Pan Malaysian Islamic
Party (PAS), introduced a bill that will be debated by Parliament in October.
The bill would implement harsher hudud laws (brutal physical punishments for
transgressions like adultery and theft) in the north-eastern state of Kelantan.
In 2015, The Kelantan Assembly passed amendments to the Sharia Criminal Code,
approving hudud in the state. As a result, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a
center-left, multi-racial political party, cut its ties with the PAS.
A Malaysian state mufti (religious representative), Dr. Abdul Rahman Osman,
responded harshly to the DAP's action, calling DAP members kafir harbi --
non-believers deserving of the death penalty for their actions against Islam.
The provisions of the PAS' most recent bill that raised concerns for the DAP and
its leaders are as follows:
Sections 8 and 9, which state that a woman who reports that she was raped will
be charged with qazaf (slanderous accusations), and flogged 80 times if she
fails to prove the crime;
Section 22, which calls for the death and confiscation of all properties of a
person guilty of apostasy;
Section 43, which denies women and non-Muslims the right to be witnesses;
Section 48(2), which provides that an unmarried woman who is pregnant will be
assumed to have committed zina (adultery) unless she proves otherwise.
While sharia law infiltrates Malaysian society, anti-Semitism among Malaysian
politicians has also been on the rise. In an interview with Al-Jazeera on June
25, Mahathir Mohamad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, was asked about
some controversial statements he had made. In 2003, he remarked that Jews ruled
the world, and in 2012 he claimed that he would be glad to be labelled as
anti-Semitic. In the interview, Mr. Mohamad said, "I believe I'm speaking the
truth."
Mahathir Mohamad served as Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. In
2003, he remarked that Jews ruled the world, and in 2012, he claimed that he
would be glad to be labelled as anti-Semitic.
After Germany's soccer victory against Brazil in 2014, Bung Mokhtar Radin, a
Member of Malaysian Parliament, tweeted, "Well Done...Bravo... Long Live
Hitler." Deputy Minister for Transport Aziz Bin Kaprawi accused the DAP of being
funded by Jews. When $700 million was transferred into Prime Minister Najib
Razak's bank account by the Saudi royal family just before an election, Kaprawi
explained:
"If we had lost [the 2013 election], DAP would be in power. DAP with its Jewish
funding would control this country. Based on that, our Muslim friends in the
Middle East could see the Jewish threat through DAP."
Young Malaysians are being radicalized as a result of the Islamism and
anti-Semitism that their leaders espouse. According to Malaysian police, there
are at least 50,000 Islamic State sympathizers in the country, and dozens of
them have already been prosecuted. If politicians continue to bring radical
Islam, sharia law, and anti-Semitism to Malaysia, this trend will only continue.
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not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
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or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
The Longest and Most Vicious Confrontation": An Interview with Daniel Pipes
Niram Ferretti/L'Informale (Italy)/August 31/16
Daniel Pipes is today one of the most alert observers of the Middle East. From
the history of Medieval Islam, he has shifted to modern and contemporary Islam
upon which he has concentrated a large part of his focus as a scholar and
historian, as well as son of another historian, Richard Pipes, the great Harvard
specialist of Soviet Russia history.
Founder and president of the Middle East Forum he has written numerous books and
countless articles on the subject of Islamism, Islamic history and jihadism.
Among them, In the Path of God: Islam and Political power (1983), The Long
Shadow: Culture and Politics in the Middle East (1999), and Militant Islam
Reaches America (2002).
L'Informale: Dr. Pipes, thank you for granting this interview. I would like to
start with a question about the connection between Islamic terrorism and Islam.
We have been told repeatedly that the roots of Islamic terrorism are not to be
found in the religion but in unemployment, frustration, nationalism, and (that
favored explanation) in reaction to Western foreign policy, specifically the
U.S. foreign policy. Please comment on this.
Daniel Pipes: The first explanation – about unemployment – is a silly,
discredited idea that reflects a Marxist influence which insists that economic
interests drive everything; as they say, "You are what you eat." I disagree.
Yes, material concerns have great importance but ideas drive humans more. In
other words, "You are what you think." To take a single example, it is
impossible to argue that Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel killed 86 holiday-goers on
the beach of Cannes, France, for economic reasons.
The second – about Western policy – is a convenient excuse. Yes, the West has a
history of intruding around the world. But why is this violent response
disproportionately among Muslims? Perhaps it has something to do with being
Muslim?
Indeed, Islam is – no surprise – the key to political violence carried out in
the name of Islam by Muslims. That's almost true by definition.
L'Informale: According to Samuel P. Huntington, Islam and the West are
inevitably in conflict due to a deep and irreducible clash of values. Do you
subscribe to this vision?
Daniel Pipes: Huntington was a brilliant scholar who in this case took an
interesting idea too far. Yes, civilizational differences exist and have great
importance. No, political conflicts and wars have less to do with these
differences than with ideology and personal ambition. Tracing civilizational
relations makes for a great seminar topic but should not be taken seriously by
voters or policymakers.
L'Informale: What are, according to you, the main causes of the increased
conflict between Islam and the West that has occurred specifically in the late
twentieth century?
Benito Mussolini of Italy (r. 1922-43) had a major role in the evolution of
Islamism.
Daniel Pipes: Muslims tried emulating the liberal West (Great Britain and France
primarily) in the era 1800-1920 to seek the sources of power and wealth without
success; then they emulated the illiberal West (Italy, Russia, and Germany)
between 1920 and 1980, and that also failed. In the past forty years, they have
turned back to their own history. This too is failing. I often wonder what comes
next; perhaps a return to liberalism, this time with better results? Or to
illiberalism?
L'Informale: Between 1980 and 1995 - in other words, well before the Iraq
invasion of 2003 - the United States had engaged in seventeen military
operations in the Middle East, all of them directed towards Muslims; however,
from President Clinton to President Obama, we have always heard that the West
does not have a problem with Islam but only with extremists. Isn't this
narrative wearing thin?
Daniel Pipes: I disagree with your premise. The U.S. government has intervened
many times on behalf of Muslims, such as the Albanians, Bosnians, Iraqis,
Kuwaitis, Saudis, Somalis, and Syrians. Further, millions of Muslims have been
welcomed to the United States, some even brought over at taxpayer expense.
I also disagree with your "wearing thin" comment. It's been U.S. policy since
1992 to oppose not Islamism in general but only violent forms of Islamism. This
policy has been largely followed in practice.
L'Informale: "For almost a thousand years, from the first Moorish landing in
Spain to the second Turkish siege of Vienna, Europe was under constant threat
from Islam", writes Bernard Lewis. Is the present Islamic resurgence in
continuity with the past or a different phenomenon resulting from different
causes?
Daniel Pipes: I see mainly continuity. The European-Muslim confrontation is
possibly the longest and most vicious in human history, comparable to lions and
hyenas. It has gone through many changes, with Muslims controlling substantial
parts of Europe at times and Europeans ruling the great majority of Muslims just
a century ago. This confrontation took a new turn with the German-Turkish labor
agreement of 1961 and the American immigration reform of 1965.
The arrival in Germany of Turkish workers in the 1960s heralded a massive
movement of Muslims to Europe.
L'Informale: According to the German political scientist, Matthias Kuntzel, "The
starting point of Islamism is the new interpretation of jihad, exposed with
uncompromising militancy by Hassan al Banna, the first to preach it as a holy
war in modern times". Do you agree that the Muslim Brotherhood has been the main
agency for the resurgence of jihadism in modern Islam?
Daniel Pipes: No, I see it as only one of several important Islamist movements.
The most important is the Wahhabi (or Salafi) doctrine espoused by the Saudi
government with all its vast resources, then the Khomeinist line of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, then the Muslim Brotherhood, then the Deobandi school in
India.
L'Informale: Ayaan Hirsi Ali in her latest book, Heretic: Why Islam Needs a
Reformation Now, places Muslims into three categories: The Mecca Muslims, the
largest majority who represent the more tolerant side of religion; the Medina
Muslims, or the jihadist wing; and the Modifying Muslims, the dissidents and
reformists who challenge religious dogma. Do you think this broad scheme is
useful?
Daniel Pipes: Yes, and it generally corresponds to the triad of responses to
modernity that I offered in my 1983 book, In the Path of God, which I called
reformists, Islamists, and secularists.
L'Informale: In a recent interview I did with Israeli historian Benny Morris, he
was very clear in emphasizing that Arab rejectionism has always been from the
start the main obstacle to a resolution to the Israeli-Arab conflict. If Morris
is right, then every notion of a possible peace is completely delusional. Is
this also your point of view?
Daniel Pipes: I agree about Arab rejectionism being the cause of the conflict,
noting that it has taken four main forms over the past century: Pan-Syrianism,
Pan-Arabism, Palestinianism, and Islamism. But I disagree that peace is
delusional; were Israel and its allies tough enough, deterrence could work and
the conflict would likely conclude.
L'Informale: Of all countries in the world, Israel is the most vilified; just
look at the UN resolutions against it from 1967 onwards compared to those
against any other state. What are the main causes for this state of affairs?
Daniel Pipes: I count four: Nazi influence; Soviet influence; antisemitism; and
the large number of Arab and Muslim UN member states.
L'Informale: With the ongoing civil war in Syria, Iran heading towards nuclear
weapons, and Russia's growing power in the Middle East, America seems
increasingly irrelevant to the region. What do you foresee?
Daniel Pipes: Don't count the United States out. I foresee the region going
through even worse crises and many parties turning to the United States to take
on a larger role, as is already happening in East Asia.
The original Italian-language version of this interview, "Il confronto più
perdurante ed aggressive," is available at www.linformale.eu/3877-2/.
The geo-strategic significance of Saudi Arabia’s growing relations with China
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/August 31/16
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the People’s Republic
of China illustrates a new heightening of Beijing’s importance to Riyadh’s
Vision 2030. Although politics, such as China’s recent outreach to Syria, may
raise eyebrows, there is an irreversible strategic plan between the two giants
that is important to flesh out at this juncture. First is the energy security
link between the Kingdom and China. Both countries exhibit a multi-tiered
foreign policy designed to acquire and secure long-term energy supplies by
diversifying their sources of oil and gas, engaging in “energy diplomacy,” and
establishing energy reserves. Plans to cooperate with China in storing crude oil
is the beginning of a new level of strategic partnership that is likely to feed
East Asia. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said Aramco is in talks with
China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec for investment opportunities in
refining, marketing and petrochemicals. Saudi Arabia reportedly wants China to
invest in Aramco’s public offering.
In addition, deeper Saudi involvement and investment in China is seen as
contributing to the Kingdom’s 2030 with open investment opportunities for
Beijing in areas including renewable energy, telecommunications, infrastructure,
rail, aerospace, and finance.Thus, the Kingdom is restructuring its foreign and
energy policies to become consistent with the National Transformation Program
and the Vision 2030. With China’s requirements as being the top consumer of
Saudi energy products, the relationship between the two countries will only
continue to grow in a positive manner. Chinese investment in Saudi Arabia’s
Vision 2030 is to come from Beijing’s banks. This development is significant
because of the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank that is to drive Asian
development. The possibilities for collaboration on a multitude of projects is
amply clear.
With these requirements in mind for Saudi Arabia to succeed in its goals, China
offers also a vision: The One Belt, One Road (OBOR). Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision
and China’s OBOR are mutually beneficial and help cement a united vision,
possibly one of more exciting components of the emerging geo-strategic
engagements between Riyadh and Beijing. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and China’s
One Belt, One Road are mutually beneficial and help cement a united vision,
possibly one of more exciting components of the emerging geo-strategic
engagements, between Riyadh and Beijing
Various dimensions
This growing geo-strategic relationship plays out in a number of different
arenas. The intersection of Asian security, where OBOR goes, is of major
importance to Saudi Arabia with King Salman’s strategic outlook to Central Asia
as a nexus between the two powers.
ISIS adherents take great interest in Central Asia that directly affects the
interests of both Saudi Arabia and China. These extremists see a strong desire
to attack the interests of both the countries in the historical nexus of great
powers in Central Asia. In the near term, there needs to be quick coordination
between Riyadh and Beijing on counter-terrorism issues.
What is important to understand is that Saudi Arabia’s requirements for a
successful transition also lie in the East. The Kingdom will keep a foot in both
the American, European, and Chinese camps, judging that its long-term interests
are well served by maintaining comparative advantages offered by many countries.
As the Kingdom’s economic ties grow firmer with China, the two countries need to
work together to keep these maritime sea lanes free of threats. This is the main
reason why Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed support for the Saudi-backed
Yemeni government in Aden.
Currently, the Saudis are using Chinese UAVs in Operation Restore Hope in Yemen
against Iranian-supported Houthi rebels. This shows that the Saudi-Chinese
relationship is above ideology, and that Chinese pragmatism extends to the
Arabian Peninsula.
Beijing sees itself as a negotiator that stands above the geo-strategic front by
promoting economic development and ignoring what it sees as religious-political
dispute. China is, as ever, taking a long-term approach in its dealings with the
Middle East.
However, Iran stands in the way of this joint opportunity. Given the historical
backdrop, Saudi Arabia is attempting to bring a balance to Beijing’s Iran policy
through economic engagement. Moreover, emerging estimates show that the global
oil glut will be reduced, initially slowly but increasingly building an upward
pressure on crude prices sooner rather than later.
That recovery will benefit not only Saudi Arabia when the time is right, but
also China’s ability to grow their investment cycles. Tehran’s recalcitrance
will be an important, yet repetitive, occurrence. Overall, Saudi Arabia is
seeking to engage in identifying and creating new avenues and areas of
cooperation with China, and by extension, Central Asia, where both are keenly
interested in the stability and future prosperity for that strategic region.
This geopolitical nexus is a great leap forward via the OBOR’s planned growth
and expansion.
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Beijing represents a sensible
piece of the future Saudi-Chinese relationship as China has a vested interest in
seeing Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 succeed.
Saudi Arabia and strategic partnerships
Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi/Al Arabiya/August 31/16
Saudi Arabia is presently making intensive international diplomatic and economic
efforts. It is seeking strategic partnerships and beneficial relations that have
a positive influence on its citizens as well as the region. The visits of Deputy
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Pakistan, China and Japan come as part of
these steps. After recent successful high-level trips to the US and France,
Saudi Arabia is now looking East to build partnerships and further improve
international relations. This comes after Saudi Arabia launched Vision 2030,
which includes a plan for economic progress, huge development projects and
tremendous opportunities. Many countries and major global corporations have paid
close attention to the Kingdom’s vision, realizing that partnership with Saudi
Arabia will produce excellent opportunities and returns. All eyes are thus on
the G20 summit which brings together the world’s top 20 countries. At the
summit, Prince Mohammed will present Saudi Vision 2030 to the most important and
the most powerful global forum. Saudi Arabia is going through a transformation,
which aims to build a modern and effective state with a comprehensive strategic
vision; this is a project that many believe will take Saudi Arabia to a new
stage with a different development plan
Saudi Arabia is going through a transformation, which aims to build a modern and
effective state with a comprehensive strategic vision; this is a project that
many believe will take Saudi Arabia to a new stage with a different development
plan. The new vision will decrease dependency on oil, diversify the economy and
raise the level of competitiveness. Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the architect of
Vision 2030, is working to implement the plan on the ground while, at the same
time, maintaining an interest in strengthening political relations and
interest-based relations with influential countries in the world.
Strategic ties
With Pakistan, there is a deep-rooted and strategic relationship between the two
countries. The deputy crown prince’s previous visit to Pakistan reinforced and
strengthened the two countries’ strategic ties. In China, a business giant,
Saudi Arabia is seeking to build an economic partnership as both countries have
a desire to open investment opportunities for companies to invest and build
relationships that link Saudi-Chinese interests. The visit to China comes in the
wake of the successful visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Riyadh last
January. During that visit, 14 agreements and memorandums of understanding were
signed. The visit to Japan is also of great importance and focuses on building a
strategic relationship with Tokyo. Saudi Arabia is considered one of Japan’s
most important economic partners. In turn, Japan considers Saudi Vision 2030 a
great opportunity to develop and promote relations. Prince Mohammed’s visit to
Tokyo is expected to lead to important agreements, and partnerships that will be
to the advantage of both countries.
**This article first appeared on Arab News on August 30, 2016.
Burkini-phobia includes us too
Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/August 31/16
It was neither Islamist extremists who advertised the call to ban the burkini in
France, nor men in a traditional and conservative society, but seculars of the
French republic. According to Western media reports, these seculars applauded
French policemen as they confronted a woman on a beach in Nice and made her
remove some of her clothing as part of a controversial ban on the burkini, which
she was wearing. Secular people screaming at a woman to go home resembles what
has happened to many Arab and Muslim women who have tried to defy prohibitions
in their society in terms of what to wear, but were reprimanded by people and
yelled at to go home. In this case, French secularism seemed to target women’s
choices. Media outlets, social media users and many Western figures rejected
French mayors’ recent burkini bans, which attack individuals’ freedom of choice,
and particularly that of women. They completely contradict the freedoms on which
the French republic was established. In any case, the state council decided to
protect individual freedoms and suspend the bans. Secular people screaming at a
woman to go home resembles what has happened to many Arab and Muslim women who
have tried to defy prohibitions in their society in terms of what to wear
Arab, Muslim reaction
However, what is shocking are divisions among Arabs and Muslims regarding the
case. Some were thrilled at the opportunity to further demonize the West, while
others displayed more secularism than the French decrees! Absurdly, many Arabs
said the woman on the beach in Nice should have gone home. Some even asked why
she went to the beach to begin with!
These seculars have forgotten that a woman going out and enjoying the beach with
people who do not resemble her is an act of interaction with the public outside
of her home.
Muslim women in these foreign societies are not all free to go to the beach, so
a woman’s presence on the beach in a burkini seemed like a step forward and
should have been encouraged, not censured. What is shameful is that condemnation
came from seculars who did not find anything wrong with telling women what to
wear. Those supporting the burkini ban said the woman’s acceptance to remove
parts of her clothing and stay on the beach proves that she chose to remove the
hijab (headscarf). This is wrong, as she was insulted twice by the policemen’s
orders. The first insult is that she was prevented from wearing the burkini. The
second is that she was forced to stay on the beach while not wearing it. As to
why she did not go home, no one can answer this but her, and we have no right to
ask her about her decision.
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Aug. 29, 2016.
Banning burkinis – a tale of ignorance, bigotry and hypocrisy
Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/August 31/16
The first victim of the Nice attack on 14 July reportedly was a veiled Muslim
grandmother, Fatima Charrihi. She was one of around 30 Muslims killed in that
atrocity, but would you know it from the French reaction? Outside Muslim
communities, few comprehend that Muslims are collectively the largest victims of
the extremists of al-Qaeda and ISIS. The burkini ban in France is yet another
case of Muslims being victims of extremists from all sides. It is an object
lesson in just how far European and American politicians have to go to
understand how to combat the extremists and above all, collaborate with the
majority of Muslims. The saga of the burkini bans at around 30 French coastal
resorts all kicked off in Cannes when the mayor banned all “improper clothes
that are not respectful of good morals and secularism.”What is improper
clothing? Or for that matter what is proper clothing? Which garments are
particularly good at respecting morals? Does this mean a nun’s habit is also
banned? Can priests wear dog’s collars? This is not ISIS-controlled Raqqa being
talked about but Nice and Cannes.
Why is the morality of clothing always ties to what women wear or do not wear?
Arab males in the Gulf also dress conservatively in dishdashes or thawbs. Are
they improper? Are there bans on letting a young child not wear long sleeve
protective clothing in bright sunshine? Am I alone in thinking that what is
inside the wearer should be of far greater issue? What is just beneath the
headscarf or the hair somehow seems to attract far less opprobrium. No, it is
burkinis alone that produce frothing at the mouth right now and Himalayan-scale
hypocrisy. And these are not just views of some local bureaucrats but the French
Prime Minister has got in on the act proclaiming that wearing the burkini was
“the affirmation of political Islam in the public space”.
Banning burkinis panders to instincts of revenge, to the hate mobs and those too
ignorant to understand that clothing issues have little relationship to a threat
from extremism
Public order?
The ban blames the wearing of burkinis for “disrupting public order.” Does this
mean that if people riot or fight on the beech because of a burkini that this is
justified? In other words, a completely innocent Muslim woman is being held
responsible for crimes committed by others.
The issue of compulsion is at the heart of this. The assumption amongst many
non-Muslims, is that any woman wearing a veil of any type from the hijab to
burka is totally submissive and was forced to do so, that they are one step away
from being chattels of ISIS. Some do genuinely choose to wear it even in
opposition to close male relatives.Strange is it not that those who want to make
women wear the burka and those who wish to ban them from wearing it have one
thing in common – they believe they have the right to tell women what to wear.
It is not just conservative Muslim societies who create pressure on women to
conform to specific dress codes. Women in many societies face a full on assault
as to what is fashionable and how their bodies should look. Body shaming is
rampant. Many Muslim women have told me that wearing a burkini helps them escape
these pressures to exhibit the perfect body to the world.
Let us not pretend this represents a new found French resolve to battle for
women’s rights. Sadly, it is not. Are there equal opportunities in France, equal
pay? Has French foreign policy ever seriously to help obtain women’s rights
across the Middle East or in Africa? Was there some well-researched assessment
of the impact of such bans on French Muslim women, that it might assist them let
alone “liberate” them? Many Muslim women in France now fear to go out. The
burkini was designed to give women more not less freedoms. I wonder if the ban –
the-burkini brigade will stop to think why there has been a 200 percent increase
in the sale of burkinis. Have they considered how they can help those who are
truly forced to wear a burkini, burka or niqab against their will rather than
penalise all? Just as it is not about religion or women’s rights, it is also not
about security. It is a distraction from a serious debate about failures in
security and how to genuinely engage with large numbers of alienated, excluded
French Muslims.
Banning burkinis panders to instincts of revenge, to the hate mobs and those too
ignorant to understand that clothing issues have little relationship to a threat
from extremism. Not one person in France is safer as a result of these bans,
arguably the opposite. Worse such bans and anti-Muslim bigotry put huge smiles
on the faces of ISIS disciples and their like. Images of armed male French
police officers forcing Muslim women to take clothes off in public foments the
extremist belief that there is a war on Islam, that Europe and the United States
will never accept Muslims and never as equals. We live in a world of differing
beliefs, depths of belief and non-belief at a time of unprecedented global
interactions, communications and travel. Let us engage in respectful vibrant
honest discussion about differing views of the world but in the meantime, let’s
leave women to wear what they want to.
The world’s shadow government
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/August 31/16
A few days ago, internet companies and app design firms were accused of not
cooperating enough when asked to verify an account or content.
These comments were made by a British MP, who said these companies are not
defending liberal slogans such as freedom and privacy, but rather protecting
their trademarks.
Fast-growing app-development companies enjoy increasing influence, not only in
information and communication technologies, but also in politics, security and
culture. Their power is built on massive corporate gains, and their CEOs are
rags-to-riches billionaires.
It is true that Microsoft founder Bill Gates was the first to make a fortune
thanks to the internet, but his ascent was genuine and different than that of
the entrepreneurs behind Facebook, Twitter, Google etc. They took the easiest
road, making creating an app the key to wealth and influence.
Fast-growing app-development companies enjoy increasing influence, not only in
information and communication technologies, but also in politics, security and
culture
Lobby
These businessmen constitute a multi-billion-dollar lobby that runs media
outlets under the banner of liberal and left-wing slogans such as freedom of
expression, information exchange and privacy protection. This lobby is doing its
utmost to stop any attempt to restore order on the security level, improve
psychological health and reunite families. This is a conspiracy where the values
of freedom, liberalism and privacy, and the world’s insatiable hunger for the
internet, are used to drive people to use apps. Paradoxically, while these
companies allegedly defend privacy and brandish it as a weapon against
governments, they are the first to violate it for their own benefit. For
example, Whatsapp will give its parent company Facebook users’ numbers, in what
many see as a complete reversal of previous commitments. In the summer of 2014,
the UK parliament passed a draft law giving police access to the records of
internet and mobile companies’ users. Back then, current Prime Minister Theresa
May said delaying the law would “be a threat to innocent lives.” In April that
year, the European Court ordered the revision of digital privacy laws. We are
facing a lobby that no one seems able to defeat.
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Aug.26, 2016.