LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
January 05/17
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For Today
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare
the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 03/01-06/:"In the
fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was
governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler
of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of
Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is
written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one
crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made
low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."
Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ,
Letter to the Romans 05/01-11/:"Since we are justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained
access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the
glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing
that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and
character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love
has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to
us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ
died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous
person though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his
love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his
blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much
more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more
than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have now received reconciliation."
Titles For Latest
LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on
January 04-05/17
Passage of Oil and Gas Decrees Casts Doubt on Transparency of Lebanon’s
Decision-Making Process/Sami Atallah/LCPS executive
director/January 04/2017
The 12 Worst Countries For Christian Persecution Around The World/Carey
Lodge/Christian Today/04 January/17
Christian Clergy Welcomes Islam in Church, Then Bows to It/Giulio
Meotti/Gatestone Institute/January 04/17
Europe: The Case of the Vanishing Women/Judith Bergman/Gatestone
Institute/January 04/17
The Azaria trial and the rift over orders to shoot/DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis January 04/17
Do the Astana Talks Aim For a Truce or Syria’s Surrender/Abdulrahman
Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat
English/January 04/17
Why Aleppo’s Evacuation Was No Such Thing/Alicia Kearns/Asharq
Al-Awsat English/January 04/17
Is world on the brink of an abyss in 2017/Yossi Mekelberg/Al
Arabiya/January 04/17
U.S. Must Join Europe to Resist Russia’s Meddling/Josh Rogin/The
Washington Post/January 04/17
Istanbul attack shows terror is closer than we think/Abdullah Hamidaddin/Al Arabiya/January
04/17
Titles
For Latest Lebanese Related News published on January 04-05/17
Iran denies Hezbollah’s exit from Syrian territories
Lebanon's president: Israeli Mossad might be behind
assassination of Lebanese businessman
President says Lebanese in Angola likely killed by Mossad
Mawlawi-Linked Cell Charged with Plotting NYE
Bombings, Assassinations
Opposition Says Hizbullah Prevented Russians from
Entering Wadi Barada,
Turkey Says Party behind Truce Violations
Cabinet Passes Oil and Gas Decrees, Replaces Abdul Menhem
Youssef
Hammoud Asks Turkey to Brief Lebanon on Istanbul
Attack Probe
Maronite Bishops Urge Fair Electoral Law, Timely
Polls, Bigger Support for Army
Counterfeit Money Gang Arrested in Nabatieh
Assailants Toss Grenades at Residence of Municipal Chief in Akkar
Berri Warns against 'Procrastination in Finalizing
Electoral Law'
Machnouk denies the rumors
about new telecommunications system
Bassil declares approval on decrees of oil dossier
Hariri proposes formation of ministerial committee to face any disaster
Bouchra Doueihy returns to
Beirut tonight
Passage of Oil and Gas Decrees Casts Doubt on Transparency of Lebanon’s
Decision-Making Process
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous
Reports And News published on January 04-05/17
Turkey approves extending state of emergency by three months
Turkish foreign minister calls on Iran to stop truce violations in Syria
Syrian regime responsible for 75% of 2016 civilian casualties
70 spies doing time in Tehran jails
Turkey identifies Istanbul nightclub attacker
Erdogan Says Nightclub Attack Exploited to Divide
Turks as Gunman Identified
At least 6,878 civilians killed in Iraq in 2016
Turkey Warns Syria Talks at Risk over Truce Violations
Turkey Identifies Istanbul Gunman, Makes New Arrests
U.S.-Led Coalition Boosts Mosul Military Advisors to 450
Netanyahu Wants Pardon for Israeli Soldier in Manslaughter Case
Number of Displaced in Mosul Op Passes 125,000
Officials Sanctioned after Bahrain Jailbreak
Yazidi NGO Says Iraq HQ Closed by Kurdish Forces
Iraq Helicopter Gunship Crash Kills Four
Tunisia Dismantles 'Terrorist Cell' in Growing Crackdown
Iran: Corruption Files Deepen Internal Division
Two Bombings Target Iran’s Second Major Oil Pipeline
Israeli Soldier Convicted of Manslaughter after Shooting Wounded Palestinian
Women Constitute 40% of Israeli Mossad
Houthi militias ‘recruiting children’ in Yemen
Libyan jet launches deadly strike on rival plane
Latest
Lebanese Related News published on January 04-05/17
Iran denies Hezbollah’s exit from Syrian territories
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 4 January
2017/Iran has denied that members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, fighting
alongside the Syrian regime, will exit Syrian territories. Following a meeting
with former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Ali Akbar Velayati, the
Iranian supreme leaders' advisor on international affairs, said reports about
the possibility of withdrawing all foreign militias present in Syria after the
fighting stops is false “propaganda” being spread "by the enemy."The Iranian Tasnim
news agency said on Tuesday that Velayati confirmed
that Iran will resume
coordinating with Russia
regarding Syria and that Iran will not end its interferences in Iraq, Syria,
Palestine and Lebanon. Maliki,
who met with Velayati while visiting Iran, said he was in Tehran
to meet with supreme leader Ali Khamenei to discuss
"possible threats after defeating ISIS,"
Mehr news agency reported on Tuesday.
Lebanon's president: Israeli Mossad might be behind assassination of Lebanese
businessman
Ynetnews/Roi Kais|Published:
04.01.17/Amin Bakri was ambushed and shot in the head
by three unknown assailants after leaving one of the factories he owned in
Luanda, the capital city of Angola; Lebanese President Aoun
says there's 'information the Israeli Mossad might be
behind this crime.'Lebanese President Michel Aoun dropped a bombshell during a government meeting on
Wednesday when he claimed the Israeli Mossad might be
involved in the assassination of a Lebanese businessman in Angola, Amin Bakri. "Recently
a Lebanese businessman was assassinated in Angola," Aoun
said. "The Foreign Ministry is monitoring the issue and collecting the
data in light of information the Israeli Mossad might
be behind this crime." The Facebook page of Kfar Sir, a town in southern Lebanon
where Bakri was born, posted on Monday that two
unknown assailants shot several bullets at the businessman in Luanda,
the capital city of Angola.
The post said Bakri suffered injuries to several
areas of his body, and that he succumbed to his wounds at a local hospital.
Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar reported that the
assassination occurred after he had completed a tour of a furniture factory he
owns in the Luanda
area. According to the paper, Bakri entered his car
with a friend and drove off, but a "gang of thieves" was ambushing
him nearby. Three young men, the report claimed, ambushed the businessman and
opened fire at him. He tried to drive away but one of the men hit the car's
windshield, breaking it, and shot one bullet into Bakri's
head. It was unclear what happened to the friend who was with Bakri in the car. The businessman's brother told An-Nahar that Bakri owned several
factories manufacturing furniture, oxygen tanks, and other medical equipment.
"He became a successful businessman, but it didn't hurt his modesty. Until
his last moment, he had good morals and felt pity for every poor or needy
person," the brother said. The Lebanese TV channel Al-Mustaqbal
reported that Bakri's body is due to arrive in Lebanon
on Thursday and will later be flown to Iraq and buried in Najaf, a city
considered holy by the Shiites, in accordance with his will. "He had no
political affiliation. He was a patriot," a relative of Bakri claimed.
President says Lebanese in Angola likely
killed by Mossad
The Daily Star/ January 04, 2017/BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun
Wednesday expressed belief that Israel's intelligence agency Mossad was behind the killing of a Lebanese national in Angola.The president said that the Foreign Ministry was
following up on the preliminary findings of an investigation into the incident,
speaking during a Cabinet session at Baabda Palace.
Amine Bakri, 56, was shot dead by gunmen near his
workplace Sunday in the Angolan capital Luanda.
His family has said that his body will be repatriated Thursday. The body of the
man, originally from Nabatieh in south Lebanon, will be laid to rest in the Iraqi city
of Najaf, a
Shiite holy city, the family said. The Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the
Lebanese consul in Angola,
Mohammad Nisr has been closely pursuing the
investigations into the death of Bakri. There are
thousands of Lebanese who live in Africa. Many
are economic migrants, traveling abroad to provide their families back home
with a decent life. The West African countries of Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria
and Ivory Coast host a
significant number of Lebanese expatriates, primarily from south Lebanon.
Mawlawi-Linked Cell Charged with Plotting NYE Bombings,
Assassinations
Naharnet/January 04/17/A terrorist
cell loyal to fugitive militant Shadi al-Mawlawi and the jihadist al-Nusra
Front group was charged Wednesday with plotting to stage terrorist acts on New
Year's Eve among other serious charges. State Commissioner to Military Court
Judge Saqr Saqr charged 15
people loyal to Mawlawi and Nusra
-- including 11 detainees – with “plotting to stage terrorist acts on New
Year's Eve; blow up booby-trapped cars in Beirut,
Tripoli and Dahiyeh; assassinating incumbent and retired officers; and
targeting civilian gatherings,” NNA said. “The case and the detainees were then
referred to First Military Examining Magistrate Riad
Abu Ghida,” the agency added. A fugitive suspected of
belonging and communicating with the jihadist Islamic State group was on
Tuesday arrested in Tripoli's al-Zahriyeh neighborhood while a quantity of weapons were seized in the
city's al-Qobbeh district. The 11-member cell that
was charged on Wednesday was also arrested in Tripoli in recent days. Mawlawi,
who is believed to be hiding in the Ain el-Hilweh
Palestinian refugee camp, had ordered the cell to “send bomb-laden cars to Beirut's suburbs and
assassinate civilians and incumbent and retired army officers,” the army said
in a statement on Tuesday. “Based on the confessions of the members of the aforementioned
cell, several locations were raided in the city of Tripoli and a large quantity
of explosives, a suicide belt, remote detonation devices, weapons, ammunition
and a pistol equipped with a silencer were seized,” the statement added.
Opposition Says Hizbullah
Prevented Russians from Entering Wadi Barada, Turkey Says Party behind Truce Violations
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/January
04/17/The Syrian opposition accused Hizbullah on
Wednesday of preventing Russian officials from entering the Wadi
Barada area near Damascus to assess water
infrastructure damaged by clashes. "A checkpoint belonging to the Hizbullah militia prevented the Russian officers from
entering," Ahmed Ramadan of the National Coalition opposition body said in
a message to journalists. The area is the main source of water to the capital.
The government accuses rebels in the area of deliberately targeting water
infrastructure, causing leaking fuel to poison the supply to the capital, and
then cutting the flow altogether. Rebels say the infrastructure was damaged in
government strikes and deny responsibility for the damage that has left four
million people without water since December 22. Opposition officials and Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman reported ongoing talks on a deal to end the fighting
and repair the water infrastructure. "Local officials want... Russian
teams to enter to fix the infrastructure" in exchange for a halt to the
fighting, Abdel Rahman told AFP. "But the regime
wants control of the spring and the pumps to prevent any blackmail or threats
in the future," he added. "This is their condition for halting
military operations."Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday
urged the regime and its backers to end their "violations" of the
truce, warning they were jeopardizing the planned peace talks in Kazakh capital
Astana this month. "If we do not stop the increasing violations, the
Astana process could fail. After the ceasefire, we see violations," Cavusoglu told the state-run Anadolu
news agency in an interview. "When we look at who commits these
violations, it is Hizbullah, in particular Shiite
groups and the regime," he added. He urged Russia
and Iran, which both back
Assad and are also helping prepare the Astana talks, to pressure Damascus and Hizbullah to stop the fighting. Despite the call, fighting
continued on the ground in Wadi Barada
on Wednesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor
said. It reported ongoing clashes as well as government air strikes and
artillery fire in the area, but had no immediate details on casualties. Wadi Barada has been under
government siege since 2015, but government forces upped pressure on the region
several weeks ago as they tried to secure a "reconciliation deal" with
rebels there. The regime has reached a series of such deals with opposition
forces around Damascus
in recent months, offering rebels safe passage to other parts of the country in
return for surrender.
Cabinet Passes Oil and Gas Decrees,
Replaces Abdul Menhem Youssef
Naharnet/January 04/17/The Cabinet approved Wednesday
the long-awaited oil and gas decrees and appointed two successors to Abdul Menhem Youssef -- the
controversial director general of the OGERO telecom authority who was also
serving as director general of investment and maintenance at the telecom
ministry. Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil,
who had served as energy minister in the past, described the approval of the
executive decrees for oil and gas excavation as the government's “first
achievement.” The two ministers of the Progressive Socialist Party voiced
reservations over the approval of the decrees and a committee was formed to
study the rest of the issues related to the file. Earlier in the day, some MPs
announced after the weekly meeting with Speaker Nabih
Berri in Ain el-Tineh that
“the issue of oil might need further discussions because there are some
reservations.” Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil had
also told the al-Joumhouria daily that he would raise
some remarks about the issue of oil and gas during the session. The key decrees
pave the way for oil and gas extraction off Lebanon's coast, after more than
two years of political deadlock had stymied previous efforts. The decrees
authorize regulators to divide the offshore areas into blocks for drilling and
exploration and to issue tenders. Earlier this decade, geologists discovered a
bonanza of gas reserves off the coasts of Lebanon
and Israel,
sparking a frenzy of development on the Israeli side to tap into the fields. Lebanon's successive
governments, beset by infighting and corruption, made only marginal progress
toward that goal. A portion of the reserves lies in territory disputed by the
two countries. Hizbullah has repeatedly warned Israel against tapping into Lebanon's gas
reserves. Separately, the Cabinet appointed Imad Kreidieh to replace Youssef as
OGERO chief and Bassel al-Ayyoubi
to replace Youssef as director general of investment
and maintenance at the telecom ministry. The council of ministers also agreed
to pay the fees of a specialized committee looking into the issue of
naturalizing emigrants of Lebanese origin as it postponed an agenda item
related to the department of mechanical inspection of vehicles. Prime Minister Saad Hariri will head a ministerial committee tasked with
studying the issue of mechanical inspection tenders. This was the Cabinet's
first session after winning a vote of confidence in parliament. It had 24 items
on its agenda, most of which were contentious issues that Tammam
Salam's government had failed to resolve. At the opening of the meeting, the
council of ministers observed a moment of silence in honor
of the victims of the Istanbul
terror attack that killed 39 individuals, including three Lebanese, and wounded
many. President Michel Aoun commenced the session by
denouncing the Istanbul attack and hailing the
efforts exerted by the Lebanese government to repatriate the Lebanese victims
from Turkey.
Aoun also hailed the security measures taken during
New Year's Eve to maintain peace and praised the efforts of the security forces
in that regard. Hariri suggested the formation of a ministerial committee for
emergency situations that would stay in touch with the President and Prime
Minister to follow up on the procedures that could be taken. Al-Joumhouria daily had reported that the conferees would
discuss a new electoral law, amid speculation that the term of the current
parliament might be extended for technical reasons until September, when
preparations for holding elections based on a new law would be complete, added
the daily. Aoun's visit to Saudi Arabia next week was one of
the items on the agenda.
Hammoud Asks Turkey to Brief Lebanon on Istanbul
Attack Probe
Naharnet/January 04/17/State Prosecutor Samir Hammoud on Wednesday sent a
memo via the Justice Ministry to a Turkish prosecutor regarding the Istanbul
nightclub massacre that left 39 people dead including three Lebanese, state-run
National News Agency reported. Hammoud asked the
Turkish prosecutor to “provide him with the details of the probe into the
terrorist attack on the Reina nightclub, which resulted in the martyrdom of
several people including three Lebanese and the wounding of others,” NNA said.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri had on Monday that
Lebanese authorities are “following up with the Turkish government on the issue
of the criminal who carried out the crime.”Lebanese
nationals Elias Wardini, Rita Shami
and Haykal Musallem were
killed in the attack while six other Lebanese were wounded. Turkey said
Wednesday it had identified the gunman behind the New Year Eve's At least 36
people have now been detained in the probe, but the gunman himself remains on
the run after slipping into the night following the attack. "The identity
of the person responsible for the attack has been established," Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
said during an interview with state-run Anadolu news
agency, without giving any name. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State
(IS) jihadist group, with reports suggesting the authorities suspect the gunman
may be from either Kyrgyzstan
or Uzbekistan,
both ex-Soviet states. "Efforts to capture him continue," said Cavusoglu, adding that the house the suspect lived in
"has been searched" and the attack he mounted had been
"professionally" planned. IS said the attack was a response to Turkey's military intervention against the
jihadists in war-ravaged Syria
where Turkish troops are pressing a four-month incursion to oust jihadists from
the border area.
Maronite Bishops Urge Fair Electoral Law, Timely Polls, Bigger
Support for Army
Naharnet/January 04/17/The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday called on the new government
to pass “a new and fair electoral law that ensures correct representation for
all the components of the Lebanese society.”In a
statement issued after its monthly meeting, the council also stressed that the
parliamentary elections must be held on time, urging the government to
“strengthen the economic and financial situation and exert serious efforts to
combat corruption in state institutions in society.”Turning
to the latest terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Cairo, Jordan,
Iraq and Berlin, the bishops called on officials
around the world to unite their efforts to “eradicate all forms of terrorism.”The bishops also urged Lebanese officials to
increase support for the army and security forces to enable them to continue
their national missions.
Counterfeit Money Gang Arrested in Nabatieh
Naharnet/January 04/17/Internal Security Forces in
south Lebanon arrested a two-member gang, both Lebanese, involved in counterfeiting
and circulating foreign money notes, the state-run National News Agency said on
Wednesday. After a close observation, ISF were able to arrest the gang on the Nabatieh-Zefta road, NNA added. They were arrested for
trading with bogus foreign currency in 50 and 100 dollar notes in the area of Nabatieh. The detainees were identified as A.A. Ghannoum, 44, from Borj al-Barajneh and Z.R. Shreim, 34,
from the southern town of Howla. Both were referred to the
related authorities for interrogation. The police added that efforts will carry
on to arrest all involved in similar acts.
Assailants Toss Grenades at Residence of
Municipal Chief in Akkar
Naharnet/January 04/17/Hand grenades were tossed
overnight at the residence of Bzal municipality chief
in the northern Akkar district, leaving no
causalities, the National News Agency reported Wednesday. Unknown assailants
tossed two hand grenades, shortly after midnight, at the residence of Mayor Firas Moussa inflicting damages
on vehicles that were parked in front of the house, NNA said. NNA added that
only material damage was reported.
Related security sources, kicked off investigations into the incident.
Berri Warns against 'Procrastination in Finalizing
Electoral Law'
Naharnet/January 04/17/Speaker Nabih
Berri on Wednesday warned against “procrastination”
in finalizing the new electoral law, stressing that “proportional
representation is the most appropriate and essential system for building a
modern state in Lebanon.”
Proportional representation “ensure fair national representation and meets the
aspirations and hopes of the Lebanese,” Berri said
during his weekly meeting with lawmakers. “Investment in security remains the
most important national investment,” the speaker added, noting that Lebanon's
experience “has proved the importance of this approach.” Berri
also hailed “the efforts of the army and security forces for strengthening
stability, protection national security and reassuring the Lebanese.”Interior
Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq
had recently warned that there is not much time left to pass a new electoral
law while announcing that the ministry is ready to organize the polls under the
1960 law. Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an
electoral law fully based on proportional representation but other political parties,
especially al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Progressive
Socialist Party, have rejected the proposal and argued that the party's
controversial arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition in regions
where the Iran-backed party has clout. Mustaqbal, the
Lebanese Forces and the PSP have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law that
mixes the proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems. Berri has also proposed a hybrid law. The country has not
voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending
its own mandate. The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960
electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.
Machnouk denies the rumors about new
telecommunications system
Wed 04 Jan 2017/NNA - Minister of Interior and Municipalities Nouhad Machnouk denied via
Twitter information that stormed social media networks claiming that a letter
warning against a new system of Telecommunications was published by the ministry."Public freedoms and the privacy of everyone
are my prime concern," the Minister tweeted.
Bassil declares approval on decrees of oil dossier
Wed 04 Jan 2017/NNA - NNA field reporter on Wednesday declared the approval on
decrees relevant to oil dossier, during the cabinet session held today under
the chairmanship of PM Saad Hariri.
Hariri proposes formation of ministerial
committee to face any disaster
Wed 04 Jan 2017/NNA - Prime Minister, Saad Hariri
proposed during the cabinet session on Wednesday "formation of a ministerial
committee to face any emergency and it remains in touch with the President of
the Republic and the Prime Minister to follow up on the measures that could be
taken in this regard," NNA field reporter said. The PM touched on the
measures which were taken by the state to follow up on Istanbul attack, pointing "it's a
national duty".
Bouchra Doueihy returns to Beirut tonight
Wed 04 Jan 2017/NNA - Boushra Doueihy,
who was injured in Istanbul terrorist attack,
will return to Lebanon
tonight coming back from Istanbul,
according to NNA correspondent.
The injured woman will continue her treatment in one of Beirut's hospitals.
Passage of Oil and Gas Decrees Casts
Doubt on Transparency of Lebanon’s Decision-Making Process
Sami Atallah/LCPS executive director/January 04/2017
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/04/sami-atallahlcps-executive-directorpassage-of-oil-and-gas-decrees-casts-doubt-on-transparency-of-lebanons-decision-making-process/
The Lebanese Centre For Policy Studies
http://lcps-lebanon.org/featuredArticle.php?id=100
As part of a series highlighting key challenges facing Lebanon, the Lebanese
Center for Policy Studies has sought input from leading experts on what the new
government’s priorities should be. In light of the cabinet passing two key oil
and gas decrees on 4 January 2017, this article considers some remaining
challenges facing the country’s nascent petroleum sector.
Lebanon’s
new government passed two oil and gas-related decrees today, which had been
collecting dust in the Council of Ministers (COM) for more than three years.
This move is the culmination of years of delays in establishing the country’s
petroleum sector. Although the issuing of these decrees is considered by many
to be a positive step, it should at the same time cast doubt on the
transparency of Lebanon’s
decision-making process. While the government of former Prime Minister Tamam Salam failed to sign the two decrees despite forming
an inter- ministerial oil committee in April 2014, Lebanon’s new Prime Minister
Saad Hariri managed to approve the decrees in his
first cabinet session. This raises concerns of backroom dealing, a blow to the
accountability and transparency, particularly concerning complex and long-term
issues like establishing a national petroleum sector. Additionally, it should
be taken as a warning sign that this government is more than willing to resort
to such methods—as opposed to gathering public and expert opinions—when making
decisions affecting the future of Lebanon.
In addition to decree-related matters, significant challenges remain for the
government concerning oil and gas, namely, formulating a long-term strategy for
the energy sector. We, the Lebanese public, need to know how much energy Lebanon
requires in the next decade and beyond, how the government plans to meet that
need, and what the role of the offshore oil and gas sector is within that
strategy. When speaking with government officials it becomes apparent that they
have no qualms about telling us how the government has a strategy—though it has
little substance that would even classify it as a strategy—which was produced
in 2008 when the oil and gas markets were very different from today. As it
stands today, there is little consensus about the strategy even among elites
themselves, not to mention the wider public.
Although the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA) has gone to great lengths
to organize and participate in many workshops related to the oil and gas
sector—including those that were jointly held with LCPS—there is a need to
institutionalize the participatory process. This entails establishing how
experts, CSOs, and think tanks will engage with the
LPA, while also ensuring more decision makers are directly participating in
this process. Such an arrangement would allow all concerned parties to inform
one another about their work, exchange advice and constructive criticism, and
ultimately result in building consensus about the sector.
Now that the two decrees have been passed, government agencies need to build
capacity so they can better manage upcoming challenges in the sector. One such
example is the Ministry of Environment. A recent LCPS policy paper argues that
the responsibilities of the ministry must be better defined, its institutions
strengthened, and “the procedures by which third parties are used for
inspections and investigations should be developed, new legislation should be
passed covering management and disposal of drilling and production wastes, and
the provisions under which environmental assessments are carried out and environmental
permits are issued must be finalized.”
It must also be ensured that the government take of petroleum revenues is
maximized. To facilitate this, the government must open up a few of the
offshore blocks, rather than all of them as desired by some of the political
elite, so it can intensify competition. However, the number of blocks offered
for licensing is only part of the story. Companies also need to seriously
compete for these blocks. Out of forty-six pre-qualified firms, twelve of them
are well-known large operators and thirty-four are non-operators. Looking at
some of the latter, a worrying sign emerges. Some companies were established a
few weeks before the deadline, calling into question the credibility of their
qualifications. Many of these companies appear to be little more than
middlemen, particularly those with capital not exceeding a few thousand
dollars. Additionally, several international companies that made it through the
pre-qualification round are co-owned, ranging between 10% and 100% of equity.
While beneficial ownership of companies is in itself not problematic, it is
essential that the LPA and other government agencies commit to disclosing
information about company ownership shares and lower the threshold for
disclosing this information.
In a related matter, the LPA and the government have expressed serious interest
in joining the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and are
even boasting about the fact that Lebanon might become a member
before issuing a license. However, as much as EITI can be useful in mitigating
the risks of corruption, its usefulness is confined to certain phases of the
value chain. In other words, EITI can help identity discrepancies between how much companies pay the state versus how much the government
receives from them. But EITI does not tell us whether the government received
an optimal deal. Also, it does not monitor the management of oil revenue, where
most corruption takes place. This does not mean that Lebanon should not join EITI, but
relying exclusively on it is not prudent. Lebanon needs to strengthen its own
oversight agencies and accountability mechanisms to minimize the risks.
Here, the parliament must play an active role not only in legislation but in
oversight. It is remarkable how ineffective the parliament has been in holding
the government accountable for stalling the sector. In the last three years,
the parliament has not bothered to hold one oversight session where it could
pose questions to the government on where Lebanon stands in relation to the
sector. This is not good news for Lebanon since accountability is a
cornerstone of good governance. In fact, in a recent survey with members of
parliament, only thirty-five out of sixty-five MPs knew that Lebanon’s
economic zone is divided into ten blocks and only one MP actually knew that
there are forty-six pre-qualified companies.
Lebanon’s
sector is in a precarious situation. If political elites continue to undermine
state institutions for their own end, then it is better that Lebanon's oil and
gas remain buried under the sea rather than burying us with heightened
corruption and exacerbated inequality.
Latest
LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 04-05/17
Turkey approves extending
state of emergency by three months
AFP Wednesday, 4 January 2017/Turkey's parliament on Tuesday approved a
government-backed motion to extend by another three months the state of
emergency imposed in the wake of the July 15 failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The state of emergency -- which has seen tens of thousands lose their jobs or
be arrested on suspicion of links to the putsch -- had already been prolonged
once before and was due to expire on January 19. The extension comes just days
after 39 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at La Reina restaurant
and club on New Year’s Eve.
Turkish foreign minister calls on Iran to
stop truce violations in Syria
Reuters, Ankara/Istanbul Wednesday, 4 January 2017/Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called on Iran
to exert pressure on Shiite-backed militias and the Syrian government to stop
violating a ceasefire in Syria, warning it was putting planned peace talks in
peril.
Turkey is working with Russia on the question of sanctions for those
who violate the ceasefire deal, which was brokered by Ankara
and Moscow, Cavusoglu said in a televised interview with the state-run Anadolu news agency. He warned that peace negotiations
being prepared by Moscow
in the Kazakh capital, Astana, could fail if increased ceasefire violations are
not halted. Turkey on
Wednesday warned that planned Syrian peace talks co-sponsored by Russia were at risk, calling on the Damascus regime of
President Bashar al-Assad to halt violations of a
ceasefire.
Peace talks
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
said Iran, the main backer
of Assad along with Russia,
must put pressure on allied Shiite militias to abide by the truce that is to
form the basis for a ceasefire. If the truce is properly observed, he said the
peace talks would start on January 23 in Kazakhstan’s
capital Astana under the auspices of Turkey
and Russia.“If we do not stop the increasing
violations, the Astana process could fail. After the ceasefire, we see
violations,” Cavusoglu told the state-run Anadolu news agency in an interview. “When we look at who
commits these violations, it is Hezbollah, in particular Shiite groups and the
regime,” he added.
Erdogan on al-Bab offensive
A Turkish-backed offensive by Syrian rebels to take the Syrian town of al-Bab from ISIS should be finished soon, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.In a televised speech, Erdogan
also said he was determined that other areas of Syria, including the town of Manbij, should be cleared by the Turkish-backed forces,
referring to a town 50 km east of al-Bab.
Syrian regime responsible for 75% of 2016
civilian casualties
The New Arab/4 January, 2017/The Assad regime and its allies were responsible
for 75 percent of the Syrian civil war's civilian casualties in 2016, a report
by an independent rights group has revealed. Bashar
al-Assad's regime and its allies were responsible for 75 percent of the Syrian
civil war's civilian casualties in 2016, a report by an independent rights
group has revealed. The Syrian Network for Human Rights [SNHR] said on Sunday
that the Syrian military, including loyalist militias, and Russian forces
killed 12,703 civilians last year out of a total of 16,913 deaths. The group
said that extremist groups such as the Islamic State group [IS] and former
al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Fateh
al-Sham killed nine percent of civilians and that rebel groups were responsible
for six percent. The SNHR explained that the number of victims was likely much
higher because of difficulties in collecting information on casualties.
"The Syrian government and [IS] don't publish, reveal, or record their
victims," the report said.
"We face additional difficulties as many of those victims are killed on
battlefronts and not inside cities," it said, referring to casualties
caused by opposition groups.
The report said that 3,923 children and 2,552 women were killed by the main
influential parties of the war in 2016. The SNHR said the regime and its allies
have committed "crime against humanity" with its systematic attacks
against non-combatants.
"According to hundreds of eyewitness accounts, at least 90 percent of
widespread and single attacks [by the regime] were directed against civilians
and civilian facilities," the group said.
The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has
maintained that it is fighting against "terrorists" and has denied
targeting civilians in the war.
The Syrian conflict has killed more than 310,000 people, and displaced over
half the population, including millions who have fled abroad since it began in
March 2011 with anti-government protests. The peaceful pro-reform
demonstrations were met with brutal repression, prompting an armed uprising
that later descended into a multi-sided nationwide conflict.
70 spies doing time in Tehran jails
AFP, Tehran Wednesday, 4 January 2017/The chief prosecutor of Tehran has
revealed that there are as many as 70 spies serving sentences in the Iranian
capital’s prisons, far more than what had been estimated. The 70 convicts had
“offered intelligence to enemies in various fields including atomic, military,
political, social and cultural,” Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said, quoted by
the Mizan Online news website.Dolatabadi
did not name the countries alleged to have recruited the spies. Only a handful
of cases of people charged with espionage had been made public in the Islamic
republic prior to his comments, which were published late Tuesday. Among them
are two Iranian-American dual nationals. In October, business consultant Siamak Namazi and his 80-year-old
father Baquer were given 10 years in prison for
“espionage and collaboration with the American government”. The father, a
former employee of the UN children’s fund UNICEF, was arrested when he returned
to Iran
to seek Siamak’s release, a few months after his
arrest. The United States
has demanded the release of the Namazis and has also
expressed concerns about reports of the “declining health” of Baquer Namazi. Nezar Zaka, a Lebanese national,
was found guilty of “numerous deep links to the US military intelligence community”
and handed a 10-year sentence on the same day as the Namazis,
along with three Iranians.Their names are Farhad Abd-Saleh, Kamran Ghaderi and Alireza Omidvar.
Turkey identifies Istanbul
nightclub attacker
AFP, Istanbul
Wednesday, 4 January 2017/Turkish authorities have identified the gunman
responsible for the attack on an elite nightclub that killed 39 people
celebrating New Year, the foreign minister said Wednesday. “The identity of the
person responsible for the Istanbul
attack has been established,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told Anadolu news agency
during a televised interview. He did not name the attacker or give any further
details. The assailant stormed the popular Reina nightclub on the Bosphorus and sprayed 120 bullets at terrified partygoers
celebrating the start of 2017 on Sunday. Also read: How Saudi twins bid family
farewell before they were killed in Istanbul.
Since escaping from the club, the gunman has been on the run although
authorities previously said they were seeking a suspected militant from Central
Asia, reportedly from Kyrgyzstan
or Uzbekistan.
According to Turkish media the attacker rented a flat in the central city of Konya before moving to Istanbul to carry out the attack. There were
also press reports suggesting he appeared to be well trained in the use of arms
and had fought in Syria for ISIS.
Erdogan Says Nightclub Attack Exploited to Divide
Turks as Gunman Identified
Asharq Al-Awsat/January
04/17/Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said on Wednesday that linking lifestyle
differences with the attack at an elite Istanbul
nightclub on New Year’s Day was a deliberate attempt to divide the nation. His
comment came as Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the authorities had identified the gunman
behind the mass shooting at the Reina nightclub. “There is no point trying to
blame the Ortakoy attack on differences in
lifestyles,” Erdogan said in a speech to local
administrators at the presidential palace in Ankara.“Nobody’s lifestyle is under
systematic threat in Turkey.
We will never allow this,” he said, in comments broadcast live. The shooting on
Sunday killed 39 people and was claimed by ISIS.
Of the 39 dead, 27 were foreigners including citizens from Lebanon, Saudi
Arabia, Israel,
Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia
and Morocco.
Many of those killed were laid to rest in their respective countries by
grieving relatives on Tuesday. Erdogan said that “to
say Turkey
has surrendered to terrorism is to take sides with the terrorists and terror
organizations.” “Despite the sad start in the early hours of 2017, we strongly
maintain our expectations for the new year,” he added. “The identity of the
person responsible for the attack has been established,” Cavusoglu
said during an interview with state-run Anadolu news
agency, without giving any name. “Efforts to capture him continue,” he said,
adding that the house the suspect lived in “has been searched” and that the
attack he mounted had been “professionally” planned. The attack was claimed by
ISIS, with reports suggesting the authorities suspect the gunman may be from
either Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan.
Turkish media reported the attacker rented a flat in the central city of Konya before moving to Istanbul to carry out the attack. There were
also press reports suggesting he appeared to be well trained in the use of arms
and had fought in Syria for ISIS. Despite no name made public, police released the
first clear images of the attacker earlier this week, including one taken by
security cameras on the night of the attack. Anadolu
said that police have detained five suspected ISIS militants believed to be
linked to the nightclub attack.The agency said the
operation was launched in the Aegean port city of Izmir on Wednesday.
At least 6,878 civilians killed in Iraq in 2016
The Associated Press, Baghdad Tuesday, 3 January
2017/Violence claimed the lives of at least 6,878 civilian Iraqis last year,
the United Nations said on Monday, as the Iraqi government struggles to
maintain security nationwide and to dislodge ISIS
militants from areas under their control. The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq,
known as UNAMI, said its numbers “have to be considered as the absolute
minimum” as it has not been able to verify casualties among civilians in
conflict areas, and of those who lost their lives due to “secondary effects of
violence ... due to exposure to the elements, lack of water, food, medicines
and health care.”UNAMI said in a statement that
12,388 other civilians were wounded in 2016. It added that last year figures
didn’t include casualties among civilians in Iraq’s western Anbar
province for the months of May, July, August and December.According
to UNAMI figures, at least 7,515 civilians were killed in 2015. The monthly UN
casualty report for December 2016 showed that a total of 386 civilians were
killed and another 1,066 were wounded. The worst affected area was the northern province of Ninevah,
where government forces are fighting to retake the ISIS-held city of Mosul, with 208 civilians
killed and 511 injured. The capital, Baghdad,
came next with 109 civilians killed and 523 injured. ISIS, known locally by the
Arabic acronym Daesh, has claimed responsibility for
a string of bombings in Baghdad
that have killed more than 50 people in the last week alone. The deadliest ISIS
attack was in July when a massive suicide bombing in a bustling market area in
central Baghdad
killed almost 300 people, the bloodiest single attack in the capital in 13
years of war. “This is, no doubt, an attempt by Daesh
to divert attention from their losses in Mosul and, unfortunately, it is the
innocent civilians who are paying the price,” Jan Kubis,
the special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, said in the statement.The group was also behind Monday’s suicide
bombing in a commercial area in eastern Baghdad, which killed 41 people and
wounding 64 others. Several other attacks, including one carried out by five
suicide bombers against two police stations in the city of Samarra
north of Baghdad,
killed at least 27 people and wounded 89. Backed by the US-led international
coalition, Iraqi government troops and paramilitary forces launched the
campaign in mid-October to dislodge ISIS from Mosul
— Iraq’s second-largest city
and the last major ISIS urban bastion in the
country. Unlike other reports, last month’s report didn’t include casualties
among security forces. The UN came under criticism from the Iraqi military last
month after reporting that nearly 2,000 members of the Iraqi forces had been
killed in November. The Iraqi government has not publicized the casualty
figures for government troops and paramilitary forces fighting in Mosul and elsewhere in northern Iraq.
Turkey Warns Syria
Talks at Risk over Truce Violations
Naharnet/Agence/France Presse/January
04/17/Turkey warned Wednesday that a new round of Syria
peace talks was at risk, accusing President Bashar
Assad's government of violating a fragile truce it brokered with Russia last
week. The nationwide ceasefire has brought quiet to large parts of Syria, but has been threatened by ongoing
fighting in the Wadi Barada
region near the capital Damascus.
Government forces backed by Lebanon's
Hizbullah group are fighting to recapture the area,
which is the main source of water to the capital. Supply has been cut since
December 22, with the regime and rebels trading accusations over
responsibility. Turkey's
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
on Wednesday urged the regime and its backers to end their
"violations" of the truce, warning they were jeopardizing the planned
talks in Kazakh capital Astana this month. "If we do not stop the
increasing violations, the Astana process could fail. After the ceasefire, we
see violations," Cavusoglu told the state-run Anadolu news agency in an interview. "When we look at
who commits these violations, it is Hizbullah, in
particular Shiite groups and the regime," he added. He urged Russia and Iran,
which both back Assad and are also helping prepare the Astana talks, to
pressure Damascus
and Hizbullah to stop the fighting. Despite the call,
fighting continued on the ground in Wadi Barada on Wednesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights monitor said. It reported ongoing clashes as well as
government air strikes and artillery fire in the area, but had no immediate
details on casualties.
Talks to halt fighting
Wadi Barada has been under
government siege since 2015, but government forces upped pressure on the region
several weeks ago as they tried to secure a "reconciliation deal"
with rebels there. The regime has reached a series of such deals with
opposition forces around Damascus
in recent months, offering rebels safe passage to other parts of the country in
return for surrender. The government accuses rebels in the area of deliberately
targeting water infrastructure, causing leaking fuel to poison the supply to
the capital, and then cutting the flow altogether. Rebels say the
infrastructure was damaged in government strikes and deny responsibility for
the damage that has left four million people without water since December 22.
On Tuesday, the government brought reinforcements to the area, the Observatory
said. But opposition officials and Observatory director Rami
Abdel Rahman also reported ongoing talks on a deal to
end the fighting and repair the water infrastructure. "Local officials
want... Russian teams to enter to fix the infrastructure" in exchange for
a halt to the fighting, Abdel Rahman told AFP.
"But the regime wants control of the spring and the pumps to prevent any
blackmail or threats in the future," he added. "This is their
condition for halting military operations."
Iranian official in Damascus
The opposition accused Hizbullah of preventing
Russian officials from entering Wadi Barada to assess the work needed and continue negotiations.
"A checkpoint belonging to the Hizbullah militia
prevented the Russian officers from entering," Ahmed Ramadan of the
National Coalition opposition body said in a message to journalists. The
ceasefire and Astana talks are the latest bid to resolve nearly six years of
conflict in Syria,
which has been ravaged by violence since an uprising began in March 2011. More
than 310,000 people have been killed and over half the country displaced in the
violence, which has drawn in regional and international players. Regime ally
Moscow began a military campaign in support of Assad's government in September
2015, and Turkey launched its own fight against the Islamic State group and
Kurdish fighters in northern Syria in August last year. Despite backing
opposite sides in the conflict, Ankara and Moscow have worked
closely to broker the ceasefire and plan the Astana talks, which Cavusoglu said could take place on January 23. Regime ally Iran is also involved in organizing the talks,
and top official Alaeddin Boroujerdi
was in Damascus
on Wednesday for talks with Assad. He praised the government's recapture of Aleppo city last month, and pledged that Iran would continue to back the government, Syria state
media reported.
Turkey Identifies Istanbul Gunman, Makes New Arrests
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 04/17/Turkey said
Wednesday it had identified the gunman behind the New Year's massacre on an elite
Istanbul
nightclub that killed 39, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the attack
aimed to polarize Turkish society. The assailant stormed the glamorous Reina
nightclub on the Bosphorus early on Sunday morning,
spraying 120 bullets at terrified partygoers celebrating the start of 2017. Of
the 39 dead, 27 were foreigners including citizens from Lebanon, Saudi
Arabia, Israel,
Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia and Morocco.At
least 36 people have now been detained in the probe, but the gunman himself
remains on the run after slipping into the night following the attack.
"The identity of the person responsible for the attack has been
established," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during an interview with state-run Anadolu news agency, without giving any name. The attack
was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, with reports suggesting
the authorities suspect the gunman may be from either Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan, both ex-Soviet states.
"Efforts to capture him continue," said Cavusoglu,
adding that the house the suspect lived in "has been searched" and
that the attack he mounted had been "professionally" planned.
'Polarize society'
IS took responsibility for the massacre in a statement on Monday, marking the
first time it has issued a clear and undisputed claim for a major attack inside
Turkey. Hitting a nightclub on New Year's night, the attack struck at the heart
of secular Turkey,
with analysts saying IS clearly sought to widen splits in Turkish society. In
his first spoken comments on the attack, Erdogan said
the attack's aim was "to create a fissure and polarize society." He
insisted Turkey
would resist efforts to divide the country, vowing that Turks would "stand
tall and keep our sangfroid.""No-one's
lifestyle in Turkey
is under a systematic threat. We would never let this happen. In 14 years in
power, we have never given this a chance," Erdogan
said in a speech at the presidential palace in Ankara. IS said the attack was a response to Turkey's military intervention against the
jihadists in war-ravaged Syria
where Turkish troops are pressing a four-month incursion to oust jihadists from
the border area. Since the lightning advance into northern Syria in August, removing IS elements from the
Turkish border, Ankara has faced a tougher fight
to capture the town of Al Bab from IS. But Erdogan insisted the operation would continue and Turkey would
clear areas wherever "terrorist organizations" are. "The
operation in Syria's
Al Bab will be finished in a short time, God
willing," he said.
36 people detained
In the western city of Izmir, at least 20 people including 11 women
were taken into custody as part of the investigation into the attack, Anadolu reported. The news agency said they were of Central
Asian and Syrian origin while Dogan news agency said
they were members of three families. It was alleged that some of those detained
had been living in the house with the suspected attacker in Konya. The new arrests bring the number of
those detained to at least 36, including two foreigners detained by Turkish
police at Istanbul's
main airport on Tuesday. One of them was reportedly a woman suspected of being
his wife with whom he had stayed in Konya
along with two children. Dogan news agency quoted her
as saying she was not aware of the attack until it was reported. On Wednesday,
the Haberturk daily said that during his getaway, the
gunman took a taxi to a Uighur restaurant in the city's Zeytinburnu
district where he got out and went inside to get money from someone to pay the
fare. The restaurant owner told the paper that police had since detained seven
of his workers -- all of them Turkic Uighurs from the
Xinjiang region of China -- but that he did not know the attacker himself. The
shooting occurred after a bloody year in Turkey in which hundreds of people
were killed in violence blamed on both IS jihadists and Kurdish militants. Turkey is also
still reeling from a failed July 15 coup blamed by the government on the
U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen that has been followed by a relentless purge of his alleged
supporters from state institutions.
Parliament on Tuesday extended a controversial state of emergency in place
since the coup -- and which has seen over 41,000 people arrested -- by another
three months to April 19.
U.S.-Led Coalition Boosts Mosul
Military Advisors to 450
Naharnet/Agence/France Presse/January
04/17/The U.S.-led coalition said Wednesday it has doubled to about 450 the
number of military advisors assisting Iraqi troops engaged in the fight to
retake Mosul
from Islamic State fighters. "We have increased the number of advise and
assist forces that are there with the ISF (Iraqi Security Forces) command
elements to help advise them as they move forward and to synchronize
operations," coalition spokesman Colonel John Dorrian
said in a video conference from Baghdad. Dorrian said
the reinforcements were part of a series of measures taken to "accelerate
the advance of the Iraqi security forces."While
military advisors are behind the frontlines, they have already entered the city
several times, he added. American military forces are carrying out air and
artillery strikes against IS in Iraq as part of a U.S.-led coalition against
the Islamic State group, and have provided training, advice and other
assistance to Baghdad's forces. There are about 5,000 American military
personnel in Iraq, according
to the coalition, and U.S.
special forces personnel have also fought IS on the
ground. More than 125,000 Iraqis have been displaced since the Mosul offensive began in October, according
to the United Nations. Officials say it could be months before Iraqi forces are
able to completely retake Iraq's
second city, where hundreds of thousands of civilians still live. Some were
forced to stay by the Islamic State group, others
remained for fear of losing their property, because winter conditions in
displacement camps are harsh or simply because escape routes are not safe
enough.
Netanyahu Wants Pardon for Israeli Soldier
in Manslaughter Case
Naharnet/Agence/France Presse/January
04/17/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he favors
a pardon for an Israeli soldier convicted Thursday of manslaughter for shooting
dead a Palestinian assailant as he lay wounded. Elor Azaria had been on trial in a military court since May,
with right-wing politicians defending him despite top army brass harshly
condemning his actions. "This has been a hard and painful day for us all
-- first and foremost for Elor and his family,"
Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page. "I support
giving a pardon to Elor Azaria,"
he added. Judge Colonel Maya Heller said that there had been no reason for Azaria to open fire since the Palestinian was posing no threat. "His motive for shooting was that he felt
the terrorist deserved to die," she said. The March 24 shooting in the
occupied West Bank city of Hebron
was caught on video and spread widely online. It prompted intense political
debate, with Netanyahu making waves when he called Azaria's
father to express his sympathy. Israeli President Reuven
Rivlin's office issued a statement shortly after Wednesday's
court ruling, advising that any talk of a pardon was premature. It said that an
application could only be made by Azaria himself, his
lawyer or close relatives, and then only after the judicial process had run its
course. Sentencing is expected at a later date for the 20-year-old
French-Israeli sergeant. He faces up to 20 years in prison and can appeal.
"In the event that a pardon should be requested, it will be considered by
the president in accordance with standard practices and after recommendations
from the relevant authorities," the presidential statement said.
Number of Displaced in Mosul
Op Passes 125,000
Naharnet/Agence/France Presse/January
04/17/More than 125,000 Iraqis have been displaced since the start in October
of an offensive to retake Mosul
from jihadists, the United Nations said Wednesday. "Following the
intensification of military operations in Mosul
city on 29 December, the rate of displacement from Mosul has increased markedly, with over 9,000
people having fled the city in the space of four days," said the U.N.'s
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. OCHA also said about
14,000 of the 125,568 people confirmed to have been displaced in 11 weeks have
already returned to their homes in recaptured areas. After a lull in the
offensive launched on October 17 to retake what is now the Islamic State
group's last major stronghold in the country, Iraqi forces started a fresh push
last week, engaging in heavy fighting in eastern Mosul. A senior commander from the elite Counter-Terrorism
Service that has done most of the front-line fighting inside the city told AFP
on Sunday that Iraqi forces now controlled more than 60 percent of Mosul's eastern half. AFP
reporters saw streams of civilians fleeing the fighting on foot in recent days,
carrying what belongings they could bring along in bags. More than 3.3 million
people are currently displaced in Iraq,
where a total of 10 million need humanitarian assistance,
according to the U.N. Officials say it could be months before Iraqi forces
are able to completely retake Mosul,
Iraq's second
city, where hundreds of thousands of civilians still live. Some were forced to
stay by IS, others remained for fear of losing their property, because winter
conditions in displacement camps are harsh or simply because escape routes are
not safe enough.
Officials Sanctioned after Bahrain
Jailbreak
Naharnet/Agence/France Presse/January
04/17/Bahraini authorities said Wednesday three officials have been referred to
the prosecutor in connection with the investigation into a deadly attack and
jailbreak at the kingdom's central prison. On Sunday, gunmen attacked Jaw
prison south of the capital Manama,
killing a policeman and allowing 10 inmates to escape. Shiites convicted over
anti-government protests in Sunni-ruled Bahrain are held at the facility.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid al-Khalifa said in a statement on Monday that
three officials including the prison director had been suspended from their
duties. The three have also been referred to the prosecution service "in
the light of recommendations made by the commission of inquiry" into the
attack, the minister said, quoted by the official BNA news agency. There has
been no information about the attackers, thought to number as many as five, or
about the 10 prisoners now on the run. Seven of the escapees had been serving
life sentences and three were serving lengthy jail terms for "terrorist
acts," the interior ministry said on Sunday. Tiny but strategic Bahrain
has been rocked by unrest since the authorities crushed Shiite-led protests in
2011 demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.
Hundreds of Shiites have been arrested and many have faced trials over their
role in the demonstrations. In June last year, 17 prisoners broke out of al-Hadd jail east of Manama,
but the authorities recaptured 11 the next day. Bahrain,
which is connected to Saudi
Arabia by a causeway, lies across the Gulf
from Shiite Iran and is also home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet.
Yazidi NGO Says Iraq HQ Closed by Kurdish Forces
Naharnet/Agence/France Presse/January
04/17/Kurdish security forces closed the Iraqi headquarters of an organization
that aids members of the Yazidi religious minority,
which has been brutally targeted by jihadists, the group said on Wednesday. The
move by the Iraqi Kurdish asayesh forces to close the
Yazda organization’s offices in the northern city of Dohuk
drew criticism from Human Rights Watch (HRW) as well as Nadia Murad, a Yazidi survivor of
enslavement by the Islamic State group. "A force from the asayesh raided the main Yazda
headquarters in Dohuk on Monday afternoon... and
ordered the closure of the headquarters and all Yazda
projects in camps" for displaced people, the group said in an online
statement. According to Yazda, the government of Iraq's
autonomous Kurdish region accused it of illegal action or "engaging in
political activities," and said that its work permit was expired.
"The Yazda organization is not political and is
not a political entity; rather, it is an organization defending Yazidi rights in all places," it said, rejecting the
accusations against it. Kurdish authorities could not immediately be reached
for comment. The Kurdish government's "authorities need to think hard
about the consequences of Yazda's closure and reverse
its decision in accordance with its international obligations to facilitate,
not obstruct, humanitarian assistance," Belkis Wille, Iraq researcher at HRW, said in a statement.
"One person close to the organization told me he suspected that the
decision stemmed from Yazda's plan to support at
least 3,000 families in Sinjar with livelihood
materials, as part of a larger United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
project," she said. Wille said the program runs
counter to the policy of Kurdish authorities of restricting the movement of
goods to Sinjar, a Yazidi
area that was attacked by the Islamic State group in 2014. She said that the
Kurdish government sought to explain the policy by saying it fears that goods
will end up in the hands of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Kurdish rebel
group opposed to the Turkish government. Yazidi
activist Nadia Murad also called on Iraqi Kurdistan
to reverse the decision, writing on social media that it is a "shame to
close the (organization) that supports my campaign."Murad
and another Yazidi woman who was kidnapped and
repeatedly raped by IS won the European Parliament's
prestigious Sakharov human rights prize last year. IS,
which seized swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014, carried out a brutal campaign
of massacres, kidnappings, enslavement and rape targeting members of the Yazidi community in the country's north.
Iraq Helicopter Gunship Crash Kills Four
Naharnet/Agence/France Presse/January
04/17/An Iraqi attack helicopter crashed Wednesday south of the Mosul battlefield,
killing all four crew members, security officials said. "During an army
aviation mission this morning, an aircraft crashed due to a technical
failure," the Joint Operations Command coordinating the fight against the
Islamic State jihadist group said in a statement. An official in the JOC said
the entire crew was killed in the crash. "The crew of four -- two pilots
and two technicians -- was killed," a captain in Iraq's army
aviation told AFP. "They were heading to Qayyarah
on a routine mission," he said, referring to an area that has been the
main military hub south of Mosul
since the launch on October 17 of an operation to retake the city from IS. The
helicopter was a Russian-made Mi-35 gunship, he said. He said that the
intensity of the war on IS recently meant that the necessary maintenance work
on such helicopters was not always satisfactory. "There is a lot of strain
on these aircraft, that have ust kept flying
lately," the captain said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Tunisia Dismantles 'Terrorist Cell' in
Growing Crackdown
Naharnet/Agence/France Presse/January
04/17/Tunisian security forces have dismantled a 13-member "terrorist
cell" that was funneling young recruits to
jihadist groups, authorities said Wednesday, as part of a growing crackdown on
extremists. The suspects, aged between 22 and 43, were arrested on Tuesday in Hergla, a town north of the coastal resort city of Sousse, the interior
ministry said in a statement. Members of the cell held "secret meetings in
a mosque" and admitted to recruiting and sending 12 youths to fight with
jihadist groups abroad, it said, linking it to the Okba
Ibn Nafaa Battalion, a
group connected to al-Qaida. It was the seventh announcement in less than a
week of arrests of alleged "terrorists" in Tunisia, which has detained more
than 70 people in a widening crackdown on jihadists since December 25.
Authorities stepped up their efforts after Tunisian Anis Amri
was identified as the primary suspect in last month's attack on a Berlin
Christmas market that killed 12 people. Amri was shot
dead by police in the Italian city of Milan
four days after the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group. Since
the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has
been battling a jihadist movement that has killed dozens of soldiers and police
officers as well as civilians including 59 foreign tourists. Some 3,000
Tunisians have joined the ranks of jihadist groups fighting in neighboring Libya,
as well as in Syria and Iraq, according
to officials. The United Nations puts the figure at 5,000. Tunisia's
government said last week that it had jailed or closely monitored 800 jihadists
who had returned from foreign battlefields. Concern has been growing for the
threat posed by returning jihadists, with the national union for security
forces last month urging the government to take "exceptional
measures" against them.
Iran: Corruption Files Deepen Internal
Division
Adel al-Salmi/Asharq Al-Awsat/January
04/17/London- Tensions and clashes between conservative judiciary chief
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani
and moderate President Hassan Rouhani have entered a
new phase, with Larijani saying Rouhani
has been accused of taking money from jailed tycoon Babak
Zanjani. On Dec. 2, at the specialized meeting of the
community of supervision and inspection of the government, ministries,
organizations and local governments, Rouhani brought
up the issue of Zanjani, who has been sentenced to
death for corruption. “Is it possible for a person to steal $3 billion alone?
Whom was he connected to? Who helped him? Who were his partners? What position
do they have? How was the oil given to this person? How was the money handed to
this person? The judiciary has pursued this matter, and has issued a verdict,
but people’s questions remain. Now they want to execute Zanjani.”“Suppose
that he is executed, but what happened to the missing money? What happened to
the money that was in the hands of this man, and where did it go?” the
president said.Zanjani, one of Iran’s richest men,
was arrested in December 2013 after accusations that he withheld billions in
oil revenue belonging to the Oil Ministry. Rouhani
continued at the meeting, “As the representative of the Iranian nation and the
person in charge of enforcing the constitution, I state here that in important
cases in which billions of dollars’ worth of public assets have been embezzled,
people’s questions should be answered, because if they are not answered, we
lose a more important thing than the $3 billion … and that is the public’s
trust and social capital.” The Judiciary Chief adopted a harsh stance in
response to the president’s remarks.In a meeting with
high-ranking judicial officials on Monday, Larijani
said, “We have saved face for some people, because Babak
Zanjani said a lot of things.”Of
note, Larijani and Rouhani
particularly in recent months have repeatedly traded barbs over various issues.
Larijani added in his address, “Babak
Zanjani said that he aided the president’s campaign
in the 2013 presidential election with millions of dollars in contributions. We
don’t consider his words as completely true. He says a lot of things and
discusses a lot of claims. If we wanted to pursue these things, we should have
summoned the persons who were related to these issues.” On Tuesday,
presidential adviser Akbar Torkan denied, in an
interview, the allegations about Zanjani having
financially backed Rouhani’s presidential campaign,
saying, “We are ready to announce our expenses in the presidential election
providing that other candidates announce whom they got money from and where
they spent it.”
On the same day, in a meeting with members of the parliamentary planning and
budget commission, Rouhani reacted to Larijani’s words. He said, “People’s interests can’t be
protected by beating around the bush and imprudence. Everybody must act within
his power and duties and respond to public opinion. The judiciary also bears a
very heavy responsibility in this regard and should be responsive.” For his
part, Government Spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said that the nation expects a decisive action from
the Judiciary in regards to returning the resources to the public treasury.
Two Bombings Target Iran’s Second Major
Oil Pipeline
Asharq Al-Awsat/January
04/17/London- An Arab separatist group claimed two pipeline bombings in Iran’s
oil-rich south and threatened to launch more attacks in the coming year.
Iranian state media and officials did not immediately comment on the claim by
the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, which said it bombed
the pipelines early Tuesday morning in Khuzestan province. The Movement claimed
an armed wing carried out two simultaneous dawn-time raids on the pipelines
early Tuesday, and released a video allegedly showing the attack. Fighters from
the Brigades of the Martyrs al-Nasser Mohiuddin used
explosives to destroy pipelines close to the town of Omidiyeh and in Deylam,
both in the Ahwaz-speaking region of Iran known by authorities as
Khuzestan. The Movement’s statement said the bombings came in response to Iran’s Oil
Ministry publishing a list of 29 international companies qualified to bid for
projects following the atomic accord. The group said 2017 will be “very
different to previous years since the movement has prepared detailed and
precise plans to carry out a number of high-quality important operations
against the Iranian enemy state.”A statement from the
field commander of the Mohiuddin Brigades said that
“the operations are part of an overall strategy to target economically
sensitive sites including oil and gas installations.”The
group said the first pipeline targeted belonged to the state-owned Aghajari oil company, which pumps out 440,000 of barrels of
crude oil a day from the Maroun oilfield. Mohiuddin Brigades’ second operation caused the “complete
destruction” of pipelines from the Baharkan oilfield,
where 60,000 barrels of crude are transported each day, according to the group.
Oil and gas revenues from the two fields are used to “fund the Iranian regime’s
brutal oppression of the Ahwazi people and other Arab
peoples regionally,” Mohiuddin Brigades said.Coordinated pipeline attacks could hinder Iran’s efforts
to recoup cash lost under international sanctions. Notably, Iran’s Ahwazi Arabs are seeking an independent homeland and have
complained of discrimination by authorities.
Israeli Soldier Convicted of Manslaughter
after Shooting Wounded Palestinian
Asharq Al-Awsat
English/January 04/17/An Israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded and
incapacitated Palestinian assailant in the occupied West Bank was convicted of
manslaughter on Wednesday, capping a nine-month saga that has deeply divided
the country. Hundreds of far-right protesters rallied in support of Sergeant Elor Azaria along a busy Tel Aviv
street and some clashed with police outside an army base where the lengthy
verdict was read out. The crowd held large Israeli flags and banners that said
“the nation neglected a soldier on the battlefield.”Despite
a campaign by Azaria’s family and rightist
politicians criticizing the armed forces for putting him on trial at a time of Palestinian street
attacks, members of Israel’s
military establishment have condemned the soldier’s conduct, arguing that
shooting in violation of regulations could not be countenanced. A three-judge
military court rejected the 20-year-old conscript’s arguments that he acted in
self-defense. The shooting was caught on video by a
Palestinian rights activist, and the footage, distributed to news
organizations, ensured the incident drew international attention. Reading for 2-1/2 hours from the verdict, chief judge
Colonel Maya Heller said Azaria shot the Palestinian
out of revenge in March 2016 after the assailant stabbed and wounded a fellow
soldier in the West Bank town of Hebron.
“He deserves to die,” Azaria was quoted in the verdict
as telling another soldier, just after fatally shooting the Palestinian in the
head as the man, who had been wounded minutes earlier by Israeli military
gunfire, lay motionless in the street.
“One cannot use this type of force, even if we’re talking about an enemy’s
life,” the court said in its verdict. “We unanimously convict the accused of
manslaughter and of conduct unbecoming (a soldier).”Sentencing will be handed
down at a later date. Politicians from right-wing parties have already called
on President Reuven Rivlin
to pardon the soldier, who has been dubbed “everyone’s child” by the campaign
supporting him. The defense team said it would appeal
the verdict.The manslaughter charge carries a maximum
penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.
Women Constitute 40% of Israeli Mossad
Asharq Al-Awsat
English/January 04/17/Tel Aviv- Israel’s renowned spy agency, the Mossad, has started its first recruitment campaign
specifically designed to attract women. With ads splashed across newspaper
pages and on its official website, the agency has declared it’s on the hunt for
new female intelligence-gathering officers with “exceptional” character. An
advertisement, published Tuesday in the Israeli press, shows a portrait of a
young woman with white lettering stating “wanted – powerful women.”“We
don’t care what you did; we care about who you are!” the ad reads. The agency
is looking for women to join their mostly male group of case officers, who are
in charge of recruiting, training and handling agents. Inside the agency, 40
percent of employees are women with 24 percent holding high-ranking positions.
The ad refers the potential candidates to their website. Last week, President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu awarded certificates of excellence to 12 outstanding Mossad employees, half of them were women. The most famous
former Mossad woman is Israel’s ex-foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who worked for the
agency in 1980-1984 and who has seldom discussed her work there.
Houthi militias ‘recruiting children’ in Yemen
By Kamel al-Matri – Sanaa Wednesday, 4 January 2017/Houthi militias forcefully
recruited more than 450 children from al-Mahwit
governorate west of Sanaa, in December, and sent them
to war fronts despite their parents’ reluctance, it has been revealed. Local
sources say Houthi rebels in al-Mahwit
governorate recruited children less than 13 years of age and sent them to
various fronts, mainly Nahm. Also read: Houthis commit 18,000 violations in Yemen’s Hajjah governorate. Meanwhile tribal sources told
Al-Arabiya.net that Houthi militias recently opened
camps to train hundreds of children in Mahwit, adding
that other camps were also established in Amran. They
also said these children are either told they will be given weapons or
kidnapped from their parents. According to them, dozens have been killed and
their bodies returned to their families in Nahm.
Yemeni human rights sources estimate that Houthi
militias recruited around 10,000 children during 2016 alone.
Libyan jet launches deadly strike on rival
plane
Reuters, Tripoli/Benghazi Wednesday, 4 January 2017/Forces allied to Libya’s eastern government carried out an air
strike against a military transport aircraft in the central district of Jufra on Tuesday, wounding the head of the military council
from the rival city of Misrata, officials said. The strike, and clashes that preceded it on Monday, raised fears of
an escalation in Libya’s
central desert region between the country’s two main military power bases.
Tension has been building in the area between the eastern-based Libyan National
Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar,
and forces either from or linked to the western port city of Misrata, some
aligned to the UN-backed government. The two sides were in opposing military
alliances that fought for control of Tripoli in
2014, leaving Libya
with two competing governments. On Tuesday, the LNA said one of its fighter
jets had struck a C-130 transport plane parked in Jufra
that a senior LNA source said was delivering arms and ammunition to what it
called terrorist groups based there. The LNA has carried out previous strikes
nearby against forces including fighters that it says have been mobilizing to
try to retake several LNA-held ports in the so-called “oil crescent” along the
coast. But an air force spokesman in Misrata, Mohamed
Gnounou, said the C-130 was carrying a visiting
delegation from Misrata, confirming that the head of
the city’s military council, Ibrahim Baitulmal, had
been wounded. One person was killed in the strike, and a third person wounded,
he said. Gnounou said he was speaking on behalf of
forces allied to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. “We, the
emergency operations room of air forces of the GNA consider this a criminal
act. However, in the interests of Libyans, we will respond wisely,” he told
Reuters. Political figures and military commanders from Misrata
have broadly favored the GNA, whilst Haftar and his allies have refused to support it.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 04-05/17
The 12 Worst
Countries For Christian Persecution Around The Worldأسوأ
12 بلداً في
العالم يتم
اضطهاد
المسيحيين
فيها
Carey Lodge/Christian Today/04 January/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/04/carey-lodgechristian-today-the-12-worst-countries-for-christian-persecution-around-the-world/
The staggering levels of persecution against Christians around the
world is documented in a new 'Hall of Shame' list released by watchdog International
Christian Concern (ICC).
ICC on Wednesday said that North Korea,
Iraq, Syria and Nigeria
were the worst state persecutors of Christians, while Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,
China, India and Egypt were "perennial abusers
of religious freedom".
The persecution watchdog also listed a third category, 'New and Noteworthy', in
which it placed countries where "events... indicate declining religious
freedom and are cause for alarm".
Within this list was the US,
Russia and Mexico.
In North Korea,
former prisoners described horrific torture witnessed in the country's
notorious labour camps. One told ICC that prisoners were forced to stone each
other to death, while another reported seeing the execution of entire families
in gas chambers.
CSW, a UK-based religious freedom charity, said in a report released last
September that freedom of religion or belief "is largely
non-existent" under dictator Kim Jong-Un's leadership.
"Religious beliefs are seen as a threat to the loyalty demanded by the
Supreme Leader, so anyone holding these beliefs is severely persecuted,"
the report said. "Christians suffer significantly because of the
anti-revolutionary and imperialist labels attached to them by the country's
leadership."
Among the documented incidents against Christians are "being hung on a
cross over a fire, crushed under a steamroller, herded off bridges and trampled
underfoot".
Isaac Six, advocacy director at ICC, previously told Christian Today it was
"nearly impossible to imagine the horrors that are a daily reality for so
many of faith in North Korea".
In Nigeria,
ICC said Christians face "brutal daily persecution for their faith from
the Islamic extremist groups Boko Haram
and the Fulani militias".
The government's attempt to eradicate Boko Haram - whose leader has vowed to eradicate Christianity in
Nigeria
- has been "a massive failure overall", ICC said, and "has only
refocused them [Boko Haram]
on attacking Christians".
Meanwhile in Iraq and Syria,
"Christianity... is on the verge of extinction," the report warned,
and many of the hundreds of thousands of Christians who have fled the region in
recent years are unlikely to return.
ICC condemned the "escalation of attacks on Christians" in India, and
tactics of "intimidation, arrests, destruction of church property, and
church closures" used against Chinese Christians by the Communist
government.
"The government is the primary persecutor of Christians in China as it
seeks to consolidate power over the people," the report said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in July 2016 signed into law the 'Yarovaya' package, under which house churches are illegal
and religious activity or evangelism is prohibited anywhere outside a
registered church or religious site, including private homes and online. Only
named members of religious organisations are now allowed to share their faith,
and even informal witnessing between individuals is forbidden. Critics have
branded it a draconian attempt to stifle religious freedom under the guise of
clamping down on terrorism.
ICC said the Yarovaya laws "are just the most
recent crackdown in a trend of stifling religious expression" in Russia, and
named Pastor Donald Ossewaarde as one of a number of
Christian missionaries to have been fined under the new legislation.
The inclusion of America
in the "New and Noteworthy" category was because "Christians and
all religious people are being marginalised through the law," the report
said.
There has been "a broad cultural shift towards secularism" and
"Anti-Christian entities have been able to leverage the growing
secularisation of society and culture to their advantage, utilising the courts
as a preferred venue to gradually marginalise and silence Christians."
"While there is no comparison between the life of
a Christian in the US with
persecuted believers overseas, ICC sees these worrying trends as an alarming
indication of a decline in religious liberty in the United States," the report
concluded.
Christian Clergy Welcomes Islam in
Church, Then Bows to It
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone
Institute/January 04/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/04/giulio-meottigatestone-institute-christian-clergy-welcomes-islam-in-church-then-bows-to-it/
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9716/christian-clergy-islam
Last July, for the first time during a Mass in Italy, a verse of the Koran was
recited from the altar.
A priest in the south of Italy
enraged parishioners by dressing the Virgin Mary in a Muslim burqa for his church's Christmas Nativity scene. These
interfaith initiatives are based on the gradual elimination of the
Western-Christian heritage in favor of Islam.
The Catholic clergy is probably disoriented by Pope Francis himself; he was the
first to allow the reading of Islamic prayers and Koran readings from the Vatican.
The Pope embraced religious relativism when it comes with Islam. He repeated that
Islamist violence is the work of "a small group of fundamentalists"
who, according to him, have nothing to do with Islam.
Church of England Bishop Harries suggested that Prince Charles's coronation
service should be opened with a Koran reading. In the US, more than
50 churches, including the Washington National Cathedral, hold Koran readings.
Is there any reading of the Christian liturgy in mosques?
How is it that so few Christian leaders have raised
their voices against this unprecedented attack on a Christian monument? Have
they organized so many Koran readings in their own churches so that they now
view it as normal to convert a church into a mosque?
Would it not be better for the Catholic Church to establish a real dialogue
with the Islamic communities based on principles such as reciprocity (if you
build mosques in Europe, we build churches in the Middle East), protection of
Christian minorities in the Crescent and theological repudiation of jihad
against "infidels"?
There is a disturbing and growing trend in Italy
and Europe.
For the first time in more than 700 years, Islamic songs resonated in Florence's Cathedral, the
Church Santa Maria del Fiore. Under the famous Dome of Brunelleschi, Islamic
melodies accompanied Christian ones. The "interfaith initiative" was
promoted a week after the barbaric massacre by Islamist terrorists in Paris at the magazine
Charlie Hebdo, and included "Koran is
Justice" and other such "hymns".
A priest in the south of Italy
then enraged parishioners by dressing the Virgin Mary in a Muslim burqa for his church's Christmas nativity scene. The pastor
of the parish of Saints Joachim and Anne in Potenza, Father Franco Corbo,
said that he had the special crèche constructed "in the name of dialogue
among religions". These interfaith initiatives are based on the gradual
elimination of the Western-Christian heritage in favor
of Islam.
Another priest in Italy
also eliminated the Christmas nativity scene at the local cemetery because
"it could offend Muslims". Father Sante Braggiè said there would be no crib in the cemetery in the
northern city of Cremona because it may anger people of others faiths or people
whose relatives are not buried there:
"A small corner of the cemetery is reserved for Muslim graves. A crib
positioned within sight of them could be seen as a lack of respect for
followers of other faiths, hurt the sensibilities of Muslims, as well as
Indians and even atheists".
In Rebbio, the Italian parish church of St. Martin
was preparing the end of Mass. Suddenly a veiled woman, Nour
Fayad, took the floor and read the verses of the
Koran which announce the birth of Christ. The initiative was intended by the
priest, Don Giusto della Valle, as "a gesture of dialogue".
In Rozano, near Milan,
headmaster Marco Parma, then scrapped his school's
Christmas carol concert: he decided to ban traditional festivities at Garofani school, "to cause no offence".
In July, for the first time during a Mass in Italy, a verse of the Koran was
recited from the altar. It happened in the Church
of Santa Maria in Trastevere
in Rome, during a ceremony in memory of Father
Jacques Hamel, who was slaughtered by ISIS terrorists in France. While
Catholics recited the Creed, a delegate of the mosque of al Azhar
Mosque in Cairo
softly repeated an "Islamic prayer for peace".
Imam Sali Salem recites a verse from the Koran in Rome's Church
of Santa Maria in Trastevere, on July 31, 2016. (Image source: La Stampa video screenshot)
The Catholic clergy is probably disoriented by Pope Francis himself, who was
the first to allow the reading of Islamic prayers and Koran readings from the
world's most important Catholic facility. It happened when Pope Francis met
with late Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Vatican City, a gathering
designed "to pray for Middle Eastern peace".
Since he was elected Pontiff, Francis has spent a lot of time in mosques. He
has visited many Islamic places of worship abroad, as in Turkey and in the Central
African Republic, but he was also willing to become the
first Pope to visit the Grand Mosque in Rome.
When it comes to Islam, the Pope embraces religious relativism. He repeated
that Islamist violence is the work of "a small group of
fundamentalists" who, according to him, have nothing to do with Islam.
When asked why he did not speak of Islamic violence, the Pope replied, "If
I speak of Islamic violence, I must speak of Catholic violence", even
though one would be hard-pressed at this time to find any priests, nuns or
other Catholics planting bombs anyplace in the name of Jesus Christ.
This trend goes beyond Italy.
In the UK,
Bishop Harries suggested that Prince Charles's coronation service should open
with a reading from the Koran. In the US, more than 50 churches,
including the Washington National Cathedral, hold Koran readings. The head of
the Protestant Church
in Germany,
Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, has also called for
Islam to be taught in state schools. Is there any reading of the Christian
liturgy in the mosques?
These interfaith shows also seem to be making us blind to more disturbing
readings of the Koran in Christian churches, such as the one that recently took
place in Istanbul's
Hagia Sophia: for the first time in 85 years, Turkish
Muslims read an Islamic text inside the Christianity's most beautiful Eastern church. Their goal, as attested by bills submitted to Turkey's
parliament, is clear: Islamizing the church, which had been used as a museum
since 1935.
Christian silence is less clear: how is it that so few Christian leaders raised
their voice against this unprecedented attack on a Christian monument? Have
they organized so many Koran readings in their own churches so that they now
view it as normal to convert a church into a mosque?
After a terror attack in a church in Normandy
last July, the Christian clergy opened the doors of their churches to Muslims.
This gesture was welcomed as a turning point in the relation between the two
religions. But from a population of six million Muslims in France, only a
few hundred Muslims participated. Was their attendance really representative of
Islamic public opinion?
These well-intended gestures might look like an interfaith gain, but are in
fact an ecumenical loss. Would it not be better for the heads of the Catholic
Church to establish a real dialogue with the Islamic communities, based on
principles such as reciprocity (if you build mosques in Europe, we build
churches in the Middle East), protection of Christian minorities in the
Crescent and theological repudiation of jihad against "infidels"?
To the Catholic clergy who opened the door of Florence's Cathedral to Islam, Muslims will
next suggest removing a painting in the basilica: Domenico
di Michelino's "Dante
and the Divine Comedy". For Muslim extremists, Dante is guilty of
"blasphemy": he included Mohammed in his poetic Hell. The Islamic
State does not make a secret of its willingness to strike Dante's tomb in Italy. Other
sites on ISIS's list include St. Mark's Basilica in Venice and the Basilica of San Petronio
in Bologna,
both of which portray scenes from the Divine Comedy.
A fantasy? Not at all. The
Italian human rights organization Gherush92, which advises UN bodies on human
rights, already asked to have Dante removed from school curricula because
supposedly it is "Islamophobic".
In this new interfaith "correctness", only Islam
gains. Christians have everything to lose.
**Giulio Meotti, Cultural
Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and
author.
© 2017 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.
Europe: The Case of the Vanishing Women
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/January 04/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9639/europe-women-islam
"It is best to wait outside. There are men in here... In this café, there
is no diversity." — Male customer in a café in Sevran, on France
2 television.
"In this café, there is no mixing. We are in Sevran,
not Paris. Here there is a different mentality. It is like back home." —
Another male customer in a café in Sevran,
on France
2 television.
Women seem "to have been erased", from the cafés and the streets.
"So now to avoid threats, and being put under pressure, they censor
themselves and keep quiet." — Caroline Sinz,
journalist, France
2 television.
This Islamization has been fueled
and strengthened by Qatar's
heavy investments -- particularly in mosques -- in France, which currently stand at
around $22 billion.
"There is a misplaced form of morality, often exercised by minority groups
over a majority, which leads to the fact that the public space, supposedly
belonging to both men and women, is restricted from women." — Pascale Boistard, former French
Minister for Women's Rights
French ministers feign surprise and outrage that women in these suburbs have
finally succumbed to the incessant terror against them and are disappearing
from the streets.
Women have literally disappeared from cafés and bars in certain predominantly
Muslim suburbs in France,
according to recently aired undercover footage from the France 2
television channel. The footage featured two women activists, Nadia Remadna and Aziza Sayah, from the
women's rights campaign group, La Brigade des Mères
(Brigade of Mothers), entering a café in the Paris suburb of Sevran,
where they were met with surprise and hostility from the all-male customers.
One told them: "It is best to wait outside. There are men in here... In
this café, there is no diversity."
Another customer told them: "In this café, there is no mixing. We are in Sevran, not Paris. Here there is a different mentality. It
is like back home."
Aziza Sayah (left) and Nadia Remadna
(right) are activists from the "Brigade of Mothers" women's rights
group in France, who recently went with concealed cameras into a café in a
Paris suburb, where they were met with surprise and hostility from the all-male
customers. (Image source: France
2 video screenshot)
In a suburb of Lyon, France 2 TV journalist Caroline Sinz spoke to a young woman who said that she is quite
simply afraid to go out, and wears baggy clothes and no makeup to avoid being
targeted by the Muslim men in the neighborhood.
In the words of Sinz, women seem "to have been
erased," from the cafés and the streets. Sinz
goes on to explain that women in these areas used to protest against the status
quo, but now,
"They are afraid, they have already spoken out in many cities, and were
insulted and assaulted... So now to avoid threats, and being put under
pressure, they censor themselves and keep quiet."
Axelle Lemaire, France's
Minister for Digital Affairs, and the first government official to comment on
the footage, said the footage appeared to show an "intolerable" and
"illegal" case of "discrimination against women". However,
she was quick to add that it was not a question of religion, and said that France's Muslim
communities should not be blamed.
Lemaire's comment about religion reveals, once more,
the willful ignorance that so many in Europe's political establishment display in their refusal
to deal with the issues of Islamization. Sevran is part of the district of Seine-Saint-Denis, an
area inhabited by over 600,000 Muslims, out of 1.4 million people. Already in
2011, a report by the highly respected political scientist and expert on Islam,
Gilles Kepel, "Banlieue
de la République" ("Suburb of the
Republic"), showed that Seine-Saint-Denis, as well as other suburbs, were
becoming parallel Islamic societies, increasingly cut off from the rest of
French society. That women have now disappeared from the streets of Sevran cannot be divorced from the fact of the Islamization of these societies.
This Islamization has been fueled
and strengthened by Qatar's
heavy investments -- particularly in mosques -- in France during the past five years.
These investments currently stand at around $22 billion. Investments in mosques
are how Qatar
is apparently spreading Wahhabism/Salafism -- a
particularly radical form of Islam -- around the world.
Islamic sharia law is quite clear on the role of the
woman in Islam; French politicians might be well advised to open a Quran before
they pronounce recent events as having "nothing to do with Islam."
The Quran states that a woman must obey her husband in all things [Quran 4:34][1] and that her role is in the home, where she should
preferably stay, unless she has a legitimate errand to attend to outside the
house [Quran 33:33].[2] In countries where sharia is
the law of the land, as in Saudi Arabia, a woman cannot leave the home without
permission of her husband.
Considering the subservient role of women in sharia
law, it is only a natural development that those French suburbs that have
become Islamized and where sharia is held in high regard, now resemble Saudi Arabia. The cumulative
effects of Islamization, supported with Qatari money
and influence, can come as a surprise only to those political and cultural
elites who stubbornly refuse to acknowledge and deal with the realities.
Another French politician, former Labor Minister Eric
Woerth, said that the footage "stabs at the
heart of the Republic. The heart of the Republic is the equality between men
and women". But is this passionate declaration of "liberté, égalité, fraternité" not a bit belated? Where have these
politicians been? A year ago, Pascale Boistard, then France's Minister for Women's
Rights, said in an interview:
"There are areas in our territory where women are not accepted, where they
are not respected, and where they are almost obliged to live with this fact as
an annoyance in everyday life. And everyone seems to find it more or less
normal... In many neighborhoods, women are limited to
certain areas (the foyer, the exit from school ...) and virtually absent from
others, such as sports venues, or places of entertainment. Is it normal that in
some places you cannot find any women in the cafes? There is a misplaced form
of morality, often exercised by minority groups over a majority, which leads to
the fact that the public space, supposedly belonging to both men and women, is
restricted from women".
The subordination, humiliation and terrorization of women in the suburbs has
been going on for decades, right under the noses of those politicians who claim
to care about women's rights and "the heart of the republic," yet
chose to stay ignorant. In 2002, the late author of "Dans
l'enfer des tournantes"
("To Hell and Back"), Samira Bellil,
described how her life as a teenager in the late 1980s in the suburbs was, as
the title suggests, pure hell. Speaking to Time magazine in 2002, she said:
"From the moment a girl steps outside, guys think they have the right to
pass judgment and treat us differently. In extreme cases, this leads to
violence or aggression." Bellil was gang-raped
repeatedly by Muslim youths, who knew her and targeted her, because "any neighborhood girl who smokes, uses makeup or wears
attractive clothes is a whore." At the time, Time magazine further
reported:
"[P]olice are loath to patrol the areas for fear
of violence. The result: civility and order in many banlieues
have broken down, and bands of young men feel they can attack women with
impunity..."
This was fifteen years ago.
In the same article, Time also interviewed Fadela Amara, head of the organization, Ni Putes
ni Soumise
("Neither Whores nor Submissives") which
campaigns for women to be able live normal, modern lives. Amara
said that since 1992, women in the suburbs of France have had to deal with the
spreading influence of Islamic fundamentalism:
"Over the past 10 years, the condition of women in the banlieues
has radically deteriorated... We are seeing an increase in insults of young
women who wear jeans, a rise in forced or arranged marriages, more young women
obliged to drop out of school and a greater incidence of polygamy."
Fifteen years later, French ministers feign surprise and outrage that women in
these suburbs have finally succumbed to the incessant terror against them and
are disappearing from the streets.
**Judith Bergman is a writer, columnist, lawyer and political analyst.
[1] Quran 4:34: "Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has
given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their
wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's]
absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear
arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed;
and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means
against them."
[2] Quran 33:33: "And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves
as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance. And establish prayer and
give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah
intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the
[Prophet's] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification."
© 2017 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 Azaria trial
and the rift over orders to shoot
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis January 4, 2017
All three judges of an Israeli military court Wednesday, Jan. 4, unanimously
found Sgt. Elor Azaria
guilty of manslaughter for the fatal shooting of an injured terrorist in Hebron
in March 2016, after an attack on soldiers. The conviction was announced after
a three-hour reading of the verdict by the lead judge, Col. Maya Heller. The
court threw out the entire case for the defense in favor of the testimony given by the commanders at the scene
of the incident and the prosecution. The cause of the terrorist’s death was
judged to be the bullet Sgt. Azaria fired to his
head, although the court ruled that there was no danger of the terrorist
continuing his attack. Nor was the suspicion of the accused that he concealed
explosives confirmed after the fact.
According to the verdict, Azaria was motivated purely
by revenge for the terrorist’s attempt to stab his friend. Col. Heller rejected
arguments that the court was influenced by social, political or military
controversy surrounding the case and stressed that it was guided solely by the
facts of the case. The convicted soldier’s lawyer said he would appeal the
verdict. Sentence is to be announced at a later date.
Outside the court, hundreds of protesters demonstrated against the Hebron soldier’s trial.
Seven months ago, Sgt. Elior Azaria
was put on trial before a three-judge panel of the Jaffa Military Court. He was charged with
manslaughter for shooting dead in March last year a Palestinian terrorist, who
had attacked soldiers with a knife and was already shot and injured.
Release of the videotape which showed the terrorist lying prone on the ground
but still alive when Azaria came on the scene went
viral and made the case a cause célèbre.
The trial turned on the question of whether the terrorist was immobilized or
still posed a threat. The popular controversy on this question led to Moshe Yaalon’s resignation as defense
minister, after he argued that Azaria, then 19, was
out of line and should stand trial for murder.He was
supported by the incumbent chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gady
Eisenkott.
Azaria’s family mounted a popular campaign to justify
his actions, claiming that he acted in the conviction that he was saving lives.
His conduct was backed by many uniformed men through the social media, and a
number of former generals volunteered to testify in his defense.
debkafile’s military
analysts note that the controversy reflects long efforts to introduce politics
– or a brand of political correctness - into IDF decision-making. Soldiers are
under orders to shoot terrorists in the heat of an attack – that is not in
question, but since the Azaria affair, the army under
Gen. Eisenkott, is working on refinements, such as
when it is permissible and when it is not.
Both Yaalon and Eisenkott
went overboard in their attempt to improperly influence the course of the
military trial sub judice by public statements
disparaging the accused soldier.
Last week, in pursuance of this campaign, the former defense
minister appeared before 1,000 18-year olds about to join the army for three
years of compulsory service. First, he rehashed the events leading up to Azaria’s action and his own resignation.
On March 24, he said, two terrorists came up to the Gilbert checkpoint at
Tel Romeida in Hebron
and started stabbing a soldier and officer who were manning it. But then, Yaalon burst out: “If we don’t preserve our human values,
the IDF will be no better than Daesh!” the
implication being that Azaria was no better than an Islamist State killer.
This was a move to prejudge the trial and sway the three military judges,
just in case they were persuaded that Azaria was not
trigger-happy but had shot the prone terrorist in the belief that as a soldier
it was his duty to protect the immediate environment from further menace.
The chief of staff had his say on Tuesday, Jan. 3, the day before the
court was to hand down its verdict. He declared that he had a duty to “preserve
IDF values.”
Our military analysts have searched in vain the IDF military codebook for
a definition of “IDF values” among the often contradictory orders of when to
open fire. They wonder how a young conscript serving at a checkpoint -and
knowing he is the target at any moment for a sudden knifing, shooting, bombing
or vehicular attack - can be expected to decide on the spot which “military
values” to apply.
In his basic training, he is taught that his duty as a soldier is to
fight the enemy and protect civilians. Confusion at the vital moment of an
attack could cost precious lives.
However, Yaalon and Eisenkott
have made it crystal clear that, regardless of the verdict handed down by a
court after a long trial and exhaustive questioning of a flock of witnesses –
both for the defense and the prosecution – they are
determined to perpetuate the divisive, politically-tainted controversy in the
country and its armed forces.
Do the Astana Talks Aim For a Truce or Syria’s
Surrender?
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq
Al-Awsat English/January 04/17
There has been quick and intense diplomatic activity
concerning a solution for Syria
since the fall of Aleppo.
Several agreements have been signed and the political process has been divided
into three stages. The location and dates for the negotiations have also been
decided; they will take place on the 23rd of January in the city of Astana in order to negotiate consolidating the truce in Aleppo and a ceasefire across Syria. On the 27th of February,
they will meet in Geneva
to hold negotiations for a peaceful solution.
The Iranians, Turks and Russians have agreed to act as guarantors of the
ceasefire. The Iranians have refused to include Saudi Arabia in the Astana
negotiations, according to a statement made by the Iranian Defence Minister.
Meanwhile, the Russians regarded the participation of the Saudis as essential,
but they did not clarify to which stage of the roadmap.
The conference that will take place in Astana, the Kazakhstani capital does not
have international consensus or legitimacy! International parties that are
interested in the Syrian crisis such as Germany
and France
have doubts about it, and the role of the United Nations seems to be limited.
The Iranians, Turks and Russians have decided to meet in Astana and bring
fighters from the Assad regime and the Syrian armed opposition to the table of
preliminary arrangements in this city which is considered to be associated with
the Russians.
The organisers say that they will hand over the file to the United Nations so
that a political solution can be negotiated in Geneva five weeks after the conference. Is
the function of the Astana conference to force Turkey
and the Syrian opposition forces to surrender, like Saddam did when he signed a
document admitting defeat in a tent in Safwan after
the Kuwait
war? Or does the Astana conference aim to decide on the arrangements for a
truce and a primary reconciliation that precedes negotiations? The matter is
quite suspicious.
Preventing others from participating in or even attending the Astana conference
increases these suspicions. Turkey
is in a weak position and may not be able to, on its own,
confront the Russians, Iranians and the Assad regime when the arrangements for
the truce are imposed. It will be difficult for Turkey to be the guarantor of
Syrian armed factions with different orientations.
This may explain why Russia
and Iran want Turkey to
attend Astana on its own. Turkey’s
sole condition was that the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Syrian Kurdish
militia that enjoys the west’s backing, would not be allowed to attend. This is
because Turkey believes that
this group wants to establish a Kurdish zone in Syria,
near Turkey’s
borders. The three countries also agreed on excluding ISIS and Al-Nusra Front from the conference. Other factions were not
invited but neither were there announcements about them being excluded. They
have been ignored for the meantime.
The Astana conference aims to consolidate a ceasefire across Syria. The
Syrian regime is interested in this right now because it wants to redeploy its
forces and is trying to administratively control the country which it lost
control of during the last five years of war. The ceasefire does not serve the
opposition in any way because most passages are now closed and are targeted
individually by the Syrian regime’s alliance which is supported by Iranian and
Russian forces, Hezbollah militias and other sectarian Shiite militias that are
under the command of the Iranian revolutionary guards.
It seems that the goal of the Russians and Iranians is to drag the armed Syrian
opposition to a slow negotiating project while enjoying the freedom to move and
breach the ceasefire in areas of their choice in order to put pressure on armed
groups and force them to accept their conditions.
The Assad regime’s alliance is rearranging its position on the ground, and
Russian troops have been assigned with the task of having a presence in areas
close to Turkey, including Aleppo. Iran and its militias are stationed in Daraa, near the Jordanian border, in areas on the border
with Iraq and in the
surroundings of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
There are about 20 days left till the Astana negotiations. They are important
because they will clarify further the Russian role and reveal whether it still
conforms with the Iranian one or leans towards a
moderate political one in order to achieve a solution that is acceptable to
all. The conference will also reveal Turkey’s position after it changed
its recent stances and show whether it has decided to end its relationship with
the Syrian revolution and acknowledge the Assad regime or if it is leading the
Syrian operation alongside the majority of the Syrian people.
Why Aleppo’s
Evacuation Was No Such Thing
Alicia Kearns/Asharq Al-Awsat
English/January 04/17
The ‘evacuation’ of Aleppo
temporarily cast the world’s conscience on Syria once more. Images of
civilians choosing between expulsion or annihilation
have flooded our TV screens and Twitter feeds. But despite this mass attention,
somehow it is the reality that has been silenced.
Aleppo is not
an evacuation of communities from danger to a place of refuge. It is the forced
displacement of civilians from their homes. The point-blank shooting of
civilians dragged from their homes by Regime soldiers and militias as reported
by the U.N.. This is no evacuation, this is ethnic
cleansing.
What we are observing is the dictator Assad’s
achievement of his ultimate goal: the eradication of the Syrian opposition, the
decimation of the revolution. Aleppo’s
fall to Assad is significant for the dictator. For four years the city has been
a black eye for Assad’s supposed legitimacy. As a result, it has borne the
brunt of Assad’s military forces as he has worked to exterminate them.
Since the ‘evacuation’ concluded, our TV screens are once more devoid of talk
of Syria.
But it is incumbent upon the media to show the world that the refugees,
although relocated, remain in the greatest of peril – with Assad still their
gravest danger. Where are they? What protections are in place for civilians
when they arrive in Idlib in mid-winter? Are the
doctors who were operating in the bombed-out carcasses of hospitals safe? Is
the little girl whose tweets captured our hearts still alive? Perhaps the media
decided it was unpalatable to intrude on our festive cheer with the continued
suffering of the Syrian people that we, the world, have failed to prevent? Or
perhaps even worse, that without the clickbait
convoys the everyday genocide wasn’t newsworthy?
Ask yourself why Assad would want to ship tens of thousands of civilians out of
Aleppo? Why
would he move them to Idlib? The civilians and
opposition fighters of Aleppo have been cleansed
from the city because of their politics – their desire for change in Syria and for
the end of Assad’s tyranny that started in 2011 with the peaceful revolution.
Let’s not suggest that the worldwide reporting of Aleppo’s ‘evacuation’ has not been an
international propaganda battle. At the U.N. Security Council, the Syrian
Regime’s envoy Bashar Jaafari,
in his desperation, showed a photo from June of Iraqi Popular Mobilization
Forces liberating Fallujah as evidence of the Syrian Regime’s humanity in Aleppo. But the media
reporting of this was disappointingly muted – why was this blatant attempt at
fake news so under-reported?
What will happen now? The Assad Regime, most likely with Russia’s support,
will turn its weapons on Idlib and then gradually
other areas still holding the flame of the revolution. Maybe the race to Raqqah will begin in earnest with Assad and Russia recognizing that a genuine attempt to
defeat Daesh would offer the ultimate PR win:
consolidating Assad’s narrative as a Government tackling terrorism, recasting
Russian geopolitics as liberation, undermining the U.S.-led Global Coalition,
and silencing voices for change in Syria.
Whilst Assad curates an image as scourge of violent jihadi
groups, he benefits greatly from the muddy waters they create. The fight
against Daesh in particular justifying the jet
contrails in the Syrian sky, but not the actual ‘extremists’ targeted on the
ground. Indeed, Assad has been known to wave through the release of Daesh prisoners – as their abhorrent insurgency lends
legitimacy to Regime belligerence and allows them to obfuscate their true
intent.
Moreover it is the Assad Regime’s brutalization of the Syrian people that has
long been the greatest recruiting sergeant for Jabhat
Fateh al-Sham (formerly Jabhat
al-Nusra) and other jihadi
groups, including Daesh. The ethnic cleansing of Aleppo risks radicalizing
individuals forcibly displaced from the city. Jihadi
groups are operating within Idlib, and Assad has
thrown Aleppo’s
civilians and revolutionary fighters into an area in which they are more likely
to be forced to join a terrorist group or indeed become radicalized. It will
also give carte blanche to Assad to bomb these areas. In this way the ‘evacuation’
was nothing more than a stay of execution for the vast majority. The ethnic
cleansing of Aleppo
will also undoubtedly feed the narrative of jihadist organizations around the
World who will use it to further radicalize individuals who see that their
Muslim brothers and sisters are under attack.
What should not be absent from our discussions is the role of the U.N. in Aleppo’s fall. As the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations rightly
said, “Aleppo
will join the ranks of those events in world history that define modern evil,
that stain our conscience decades later… Halabja, Rwanda,
Srebrenica, and now Aleppo”.
But what has the U.N. done to stop this? It has asked for permission from the
aggressor to deliver aid: never granted and insufficiently challenged. It has
deployed monitors to observe the ‘evacuation’: too late. It has failed to
ground the aircraft committing genocide. Even now the U.N. fails to acknowledge
the war crime taking place in Aleppo.
What Syria
needed, and what the international community should have delivered, was the
grounding of Assad’s Air Force. This could have been achieved without putting
British aircraft or members of the Armed Forces at risk through the use of
targeted cruise missiles. Also the U.S.
failed in its negotiations to agree with Russia where the terrorists were
occupying territory and where the opposition were taking a stand. Perhaps this
was an impossible task. But either way the map agreed essentially marked all
opposition areas as terrorist-held areas, and therefore open
targets. Carte blanche again for Assad.
What Aleppo lays bare is that Russia’s purported goal of eradicating Daesh from Syria
was a lie. It has helped the Assad regime focus on destroying the opposition. Russia has
acted as Assad’s protector and guarantor, and their words have repeatedly
failed to take any true meaning. Russia has the power to use its
significant influence over Assad to curtail these atrocities, and has thus far
chosen not to act. It has chosen not to force Assad to adhere to the agreements
it makes on its behalf. With the ceasefire announced today the question is
whether Russia
will finally bring Assad to heel. It will hopefully bring some relief to
civilians from the daily bombardments they suffer, but if negotiations take
place as Turkey and Russia appear
to have agreed, they must include all internationally recognized opposition
groups, not just the Russia-approved opposition groups.
The world has watched on as ethnic cleansing took place in Syria. We
should be ashamed. The people of Aleppo
continue to suffer, but does the World continue to care?.
Is world on the brink of an abyss in 2017?
Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/January 04/17
A general feeling of good riddance 2016 unites most
people around the globe, as the brand new year of 2017 is still in its infant
days. In a matter of 12 months most of last year’s predictions and forecasts
have evaporated into thin air.
The mood around the world is one of general malaise, anxiety and uncertainty,
leaving any optimism more wishful thinking than a reality grounded in evidence.
One of the first acts of this year was a terrorist attack in a crowded Istanbul nightclub,
killing dozens of revellers celebrating the New Year; starting this year with
violence, similar to the way last year ended.
The year we have just left behind is one in which discord between people and
nations have deepened. It begs the question whether the last year was just the
precursor of what awaits us this year? Or in 2017 is a world on the brink of an
abyss capable of reflecting and reforming before it is too late? A
number of events in 2016 sent severe shock waves across the globe because of
their magnitude and because they left a sense of helplessness. None did this
more than the civil war in Syria,
and especially the unfolding tragedy in Aleppo
towards the end of the year. When the battle in Aleppo was approaching its
final stages it was accompanied by an influx of horrific images of the inhuman
suffering of many thousands of innocent people which were transmitted around
world.
It exposed the international community in its most extreme cruelty, ineptness,
or even worse its indifference. It makes it more horrific considering that the
international community has been standing on the side-lines doing absolutely
nothing to save these lives. Some countries, such as Russia
and Iran,
took an active role in helping the Assad regime to commit these crimes against
humanity. All of the above rendered commitments by many countries to human
rights as no more than an empty gesture, and revealed the extent of our
desensitisation in the face of others’ extreme suffering.
Collective memory
However, the inaction in Syria,
and other places, will remain in the collective memory for many years to come.
It can only result in undermining the trust of ordinary people around the world
in their leadership and in international institutions as the guardians of their
security and wellbeing. It was also a year that a wave of terrorist attacks,
carried out in places such as Nice, Orlando,
Berlin and Istanbul, induced insecurity. This will
continue to also affect relations between communities, attitudes toward
migration in its different manifestations and may rapidly change the political
landscape. Sadly last year was one of the worst
for social diversity. The notion of people of different ethnic backgrounds and
religious beliefs at least coexisting if not living in harmony, within the
confinement of the nation-state, suffered some major blows. Social, political,
ideological and economic polarisation are widening with grave consequences.
Religious fundamentalism and far-right nationalism are two sides of the same
coin.
Even for the eternal optimist, a touch of realism leaves considerable doubt as
to whether the year that has just started will be any better, if not even
worse, than the one which we are all too happy to bid farewell
They both feed on hatred of the other. Both played a
key role in two of the major upsets of 2016 – first Brexit
and then the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential elections. These
two developments made a farce of the notion that elections and referenda are
arenas for civilised, intelligent and fact-based debate. Less than twelve
months ago the likelihood of Brexit or President
Trump’s success sounded beyond the realm of rational possibility, not to
mention a collective nightmare. Now similar developments are threatening to
sweep Europe.
We find ourselves in a new era in which insecurity enables the merchants of
fear to gain power in the most cynical and opportunistic manner. Brexit advocates and Trump employed what became known this
year as post-truth and fake news, two euphemisms for sheer lies and
half-truths, that serve both those who deliver them and those who choose to
believe in them. It provides an over simplistic, though effective platform, for
those on the campaign trail attempting to win votes, and short-term instant
gratification for voters.
Election time
Crucially in 2017 countries such as France, Germany
and Holland,
which saw rise in far-right parties and their discourse, face elections. There
is a mixture of reactions to this rise ranging from complete dismissiveness of the chances of radical right populist
parties doing well in elections, to dread of them succeeding in the ballot box.
To be sure this triggers an alarming thought that we might relive the 1930s all
over again, but in an environment of more diverse societies, hence possibly
creating a more inflammable situation.
Who is going to bet against Marine Le Pen of the French National Front, Geert Wilders of the Dutch far-right Freedom Party, or the
anti-immigration AfD party in Germany
increasing their power in this year’s elections? If they succeed it is not only
the democratic character and rights of minorities which will be under immediate
threat, but also the entire European Union project faces the danger of
collapsing with dire consequences.
Trump’s victory in the United
States and what it represents shuffled the
cards domestically and internationally. Based on the type of language and behavior we witnessed on Trump’s campaign trail and the
almost parity in the popular vote, the United States is dangerously divided,
and from the 20th of January will be led by the most discordant of presidents
in living memory.
The nature of his relations with the Russian president Putin
remain a disturbing mystery. His presidency may also place one of
Obama’s major achievements in office, the ratifying of the Paris climate change agreement, in jeopardy.
What are the chances of such an agreement surviving the presidency of someone
who believes that climate change is a Chinese hoax?
Trump has assembled one of the most hawkish administrations since the end of
the Cold War and may end in increasing friction with China,
Latin America, and is at a complete loss in the handling of relations with the Middle East.
The last year also left many despairing due to the deaths of
several significant cultural icons including David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen
and Carrie Fisher. However, much of the damage inflicted last year is
carried through to this year. The unthinkable, Trump’s inauguration, takes
place later this month, and Prime Minister May is expected to trigger article
50, starting the Brexit process for real, as of
March. Both are likely to result in a
decrease in economic growth and disparities that in turn are likely to be a
source of widening social and political discord. Even for the eternal optimist,
a touch of realism leaves considerable doubt as to whether the year that has
just started will be any better, if not even worse, than the one which we are
all too happy to bid farewell.
U.S. Must Join Europe to Resist Russia’s
Meddling
Josh Rogin/The Washington Post/January 04/17
For many Americans, President Obama’s announcement of
sanctions against Russia
last week brought home a shocking realization that Russia is using hybrid warfare in
an aggressive attempt to disrupt and undermine our democracy.
But for many Europeans, this is old news. As Obama was educating the American
people about the threat, three senior senators were getting a lesson from
leaders of three NATO countries that have been barraged with Russian meddling.
Having fought alone for years, Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania are begging the United States
to join the battle. The
critical foreign policy question facing the Trump administration and Congress
in 2017 is whether the United States will partner with these and other Western
democracies against what has emerged as a global campaign of low-intensity
aggression by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Acknowledging the true scale
and the scope of the problem is the first step. “If
there’s any silver lining on this attack on our democracy, it will be that’s it
finally clear what Russia
has been doing across the world stage,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar
(D-Minn.) told me in an interview from Tallinn, the Estonian capital, where she had traveled with
Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.)
and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.).
“What I’ve realized is this isn’t just about one political party, it isn’t
about one election, and it isn’t even about one country,” she said. “We need to
stand strong and respond and work together.”
In the Baltic states, cyberhacking
is only one of many tactics that Russia uses for malign influence. Moscow has corrupted the
media space by blasting Russian-language propaganda at the region’s millions of
Russian-speaking citizens. Years before the 2016 U.S.
presidential campaign, in 2007, a massive Russian cyberassault
on Estonia
simultaneously targeted the presidency, Parliament, most government ministries,
banks and media organizations. The tiny Baltic state reacted by becoming an
international leader in cyberdefense.
Across Europe, Russia has
supported far-right politicians and political parties, including in Germany and France, which have major elections
coming soon. Pro-Russian leaders with either explicit or indirect Russian
government support have taken over the governments of Armenia,
Georgia, Hungary and Moldova.
Obama mentioned the broader challenge that the free world faces vis-à-vis Russia in his statement announcing his response
to Russia’s
cyberhacking. “In addition to holding Russia accountable for what it has done, the United States and friends and allies around the
world must work together to oppose Russia’s efforts to undermine
established international norms of behavior, and
interfere with democratic governance,” he said. But Obama’s response, to sanction Russian
intelligence officials in Moscow and expel them
from the United States,
hardly begins to address that larger issue. Russian intelligence leaders don’t
have many U.S.
assets to freeze. Moscow’s
need to replace 35 intelligence officers will amount to a speed bump in its
collection and espionage efforts.
Congressional leaders are promising to follow up Obama’s actions with further
sanctions, including measures that go beyond punishing specific actors for the
recent hacking and political interference.
“Russia is trying to break
the backs of democracies all over the world,” Graham told reporters in Latvia,
where he promised that more sanctions would get bipartisan support. “You can
expect some economic pain. It will be true in America. But freedom is worth
suffering pain. It is now time for Russia to understand, enough is
enough.”
The Obama administration appears intent on educating Americans about the
Russian threat before it leaves office. It released a blizzard of statements by
multiple agencies on the election interference Thursday and has promised a more
detailed report on Moscow’s
hacking activities. What’s not clear is whether the American most in need of
education on the issue, President-elect Donald Trump, is ready to listen. Even
some Republicans worry that he intends to reach an understanding with Russia
that would grant Putin greater freedom of action in Europe, allow Russia’s
military invasion and annexation of Crimea to stand, and endorse Russia’s role
as major power in the Middle East. Adding to concern in Washington,
Trump and his top advisers have been meeting with representatives of the
pro-Russia far-right parties in Europe while
snubbing the governments of major European countries. Trump’s potential strategy amounts to
appeasement of an aggressive dictator and abandonment of U.S. leadership on issues such as
human rights, democracy promotion, the rule of law and
media freedom. For a self-described dealmaker, it sounds like a terrible
Istanbul attack shows terror is closer than we think
Abdullah Hamidaddin/Al Arabiya/January
04/17
For some of us the few hours before and after a new
year will always be associated with tragedy. Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen
and Somalia were all targets of terror attacks claiming the lives of many and
turning the festivities and optimism of welcoming the new year into tears and
fear from the worse to come.
The attacks were local, but the reach of the pain they caused were
global. In Istanbul
tourists from more than one country were killed, and families around the world
were mourning. The attacks on the Reina nightclub claimed the lives of people
from 14 countries. Many of the victims were Saudis. I personally do not know anyone of those
killed, but I know people who know some of them. They were not only saddened by
the deaths, or angered by its senselessness; they were also afraid for
themselves and their immediate loved ones.
As one put it: “No place is safe, no country is safe, they
can hurt us no matter how far we are.” This is what globalized terrorism
is. It is not merely having global networks with the capacity to strike in
different countries; rather it is the capacity to generate fear in everyone around
the world.
I am from Saudi Arabia,
a country that had been the target of many terrorist attacks in the past. But
we’ve felt safe in the past partly due to the remarkable efforts of the
security apparatus, but also partly due to a naivety that if we are safe from
terrorists in our countries then we have little or nothing to worry about. This
is wrong. If anyone, anywhere, is not safe, then we should worry.
We seem to forget that ideas are rarely, if ever, local. We hear of radical
ideas in another country or region in the world, and say to ourselves this is
not here
Effectiveness of striking fear
Terrorism stems from socio-political frustrations, but is guided by an idea
that legitimizes killing innocent people to further one’s cause, and as
importantly an idea that convinces the would be terrorist of the effectiveness
of striking fear into the public.
We are constantly reminded of being vigilant, and we keep hearing things like
“if you see something say something” but we are not encouraged enough to be vigilant
about ideas, and many of us do not feel an immediate responsibility to act
against ideas.
Part of the problem is that we got accustomed to certain ideas to the point
where we aren’t provoked when hearing them. We grew up attending mosque sermons
that call for the destruction of others and we listened through our lives to
preachers cursing sinners. Many of us do not agree with that, but having
listened it so often we are no longer aware of the gravity of such statements.
Sometimes we are not aware of such statements being uttered. But while we are
listening to a sermon unaware of what’s being said, someone sitting near us may
not be.
Radical ideas aren’t local
Another part of the problem is that we seem to
forget that ideas are rarely, if ever, local. We hear of radical ideas in
another country or region in the world, and say to ourselves this is not here.
But what is “here” in the world of the Internet and social media? And
what is “here” in a world of global movement of people? If an idea starts spreading
in an another country, we do not worry.
We say to ourselves its “here” and it’s not our problem. But it is our problem,
and its effect will hurt us. If not by hurting us immediately in our own
countries, then by hurting us or those we love in other countries.
Globalized terrorism aims to strike terror in everyone. We are all legitimate
targets. Governments are responsible for the security approach to fighting
terrorism. We should take responsibility for the intellectual approach.
We can do this, not just by deconstructing the ideas that legitimize or
encourage terrorism, but at least by standing out and rejecting all utterances
of hate toward anyone anywhere.