LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
January 22/17
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletins17/english.january22.17.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
For God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish but may have eternal life
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 03/01-16/:"Now there
was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.He
came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher
who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the
presence of God.’Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I
tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after
having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be
born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one
can enter the kingdom
of God without being born
of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of
the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must
be born from above." The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the
sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is
with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’Nicodemus
said to him, ‘How can these things be?’Jesus answered
him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel,
and yet you do not understand these things? ‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak
of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our
testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how
can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into
heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted
up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. ‘For God so loved the
world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not
perish but may have eternal life."
There is no longer Jew or
Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female;
for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
Letter to the Galatians 03/23-29/:"Before faith came, we were imprisoned
and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was
our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith.
But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for
in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as
were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no
longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male
and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to
Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 21-22/17
Woe To Those Who Strife To be Obstacles/ Elias Bejjani
/January 21/17
Aoun urges Arab solidarity to face challenges/Nasrallah met with Sleiman Frangieh/Hussein Dakroub/The
Daily Star/January 21/17
What of the future of cinemas and concerts in Saudi/Mohammed Al Shaikh/Al Arabiya/January 21/17
Saudi-Russia relations in the emerging new world order/Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/January
21/17
Syria’s regime eyeing Idlib, yet difficulty persists/Raed Omari/Al Arabiya/January
21/17
A call for working with the opposition in Iran/Dr. Majid
Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/Friday,
21 January 2017
Jeb Bush and Dennis Ross: Donald Trump Should Isolate Iran Immediately/By: Jeb
Bush and Dennis Ross/January 21/17
Attacking Bahrain Season/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/January
21/17
John Kerry: What We Got Right/John Kerry/The New York Times/January 21/17
Theresa May’s Brexit was Always Going to be Hard/Mark
Gilbert/Bloomberg/January 21/17
The "Fake News" Censorship Industry/Robbie Travers/Gatestone Institute/January 21/17
Iran Has Changed, But For The Worse/Heshmat Alavi/Forbes/January 21/17
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News
published on January 21-22/17
Woe To Those Who Strife To be Obstacles
Aoun urges Arab solidarity to face challenges/Nasrallah met with Sleiman Frangieh
Kidnappers Release Elderly Man, Risha
Hariri calls Richa, confirms investigation to
continue
Sami Gemayel calls for an extraordinary security plan
for Bekaa
President Aoun Meets Iraqi Foreign Minister
Report: Three Basic 'No-Nos' Rule Discussions for
Electoral Law
Berri, Jaafari meet in Ain Teeneh
Bonne visits Hariri: We are alongside Lebanon
Report: Aoun Might Obstruct Polls 'Constitutionally'
If New Law is Not Agreed
Mogherini, Iranian and Kuwaiti Envoys Expected in
Beirut Next Week
Report: Democratic Gathering Bloc Meets Berri
RPG' bomb shell found in Qobayat
Sarraf: Richa's release is
quality security achievement
Culture Minister tours in Jbeil
Hasbani: Opportunity to pass election law still
exists
Titles
For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
January 21-22/17
Syria Regime, Rebels Set for First Face-to-Face at Astana
US Strike Killed over 100 al-Qaida Fighters in Syria
UN: Astana talks must not diminish Geneva efforts
IS Wreaks New Destruction in Syria's Ancient Palmyra
Bomb Kills Four at Syria-Jordan Border Camp
Egypt Working for Libya Political Solution, Says FM
James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis sworn in as Trump’s defense secretary
Trump’s Son-in-Law Kushner Can Take White House Job, DOJ Says
Women Descend on DC a Day after Anarchists Create Chaos
Iran Regime's Fear of Popular Protest Against Broadcast Signal Noise in Shiraz
Removal of 10th Feminist-Themed Movies From Iran Fajr
Film Festival
Like the City of Tehran, Iran Regime Is Vulnerable Against Crisis
Two dead in suspected criminal shooting in Tel Aviv
Two extremists blow themselves up in Jeddah
Pakistan market bomb kills 20, wounds 40
Turkish bill boosts President Erdogan’s powers
Links From Jihad
Watch Site for on January 21-22/17
Fighting
for willful ignorance: Obama allies working to
undermine Trump’s national security team
Germany
rejecting “almost all” applications for asylum from Christian refugees
Congratulations,
President Trump! Now what? Reversing the ostrich complex
Yemen:
Niqab-wearing women chant “Death to America! Death to Israel! A curse upon the Jews! Victory
to Islam!”
Austria:
Muslim migrant arrested, had planned jihad massacre in Vienna
John
Kerry secretly lobbied to get Hamas-linked CAIR removed from UAE’s terrorist organization list
Hamas-linked
CAIR’s Ahmed Rehab and Hussam
Ayloush enraged that imam to pray at ceremony for
Trump inauguration
Australia:
Friend of Melbourne car attacker says he “converted to Muslim and changed very
quickly”
UK:
Manchester United soccer team appoints counter-terrorism chief
Obama
rushed to release Guantanamo jihadists in final days in office
Michael
Cutler Moment: Immigration Failures vs. Americans
Trump
vows to “eradicate completely” “radical Islamic terrorism”
Hamas-linked
CAIR tells mosque leaders to ignore pledge to support safety of ex-Muslims
Migrants
attempted to race through US Southern border before Trump took over
UK
jogger viciously attacked by Muslims escaped by speaking Arabic
Istanbul
nightclub attacker tells how he was directed by the Islamic State
Latest Lebanese Related News
published on January 21-22/17
Woe To Those Who Strife To be
Obstaclesالويل
لمن هو حجر عثرة
Elias Bejjani /January 21/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/20/elias-bejjani-woe-to-those-who-strife-to-be-obstacles/
Almighty God sees and knows everything and He is the One, who shall Judge
those who are righteous as well as those who set traps for others and inflict
pain on them.
He will put on trial those who mislead, deceive, create divisions, enjoy being obstacles for any thing and every thing that is
peace, tranquility and harmony.
He will make accountable all those who worship earthly treasures, hold
onto grudges, harbour intentions of revenge, and know no love or forgiveness.
Because “Faith without Acts is a dead faith, like the
body without a soul”, we all must keep an eye on all those hypocrites and
chameleons who viciously sneak into our lives and do all their best to lead us
into temptations. We have to be very cautious when dealing with these
trouble makers and corruptors because they pretend to be religious and
Samarians, while in reality they are possessed and obsessed with hatred,
revenge and grudges. They love nobody and care about nobody but themselves.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean
the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and
self-indulgence”. (Matthew 23:25)
The Godly and courageous people can not even engage into a fruitful
debate with these impulsive narcissists who are boastful and full of arrogance.
They hear only their own voices, see only themselves, and have no human insight
or understanding for the consequences of their venomous conduct.
They think and act with wicked motives and are driven by deeply rooted
revenge, hatred and grudges. They are obnoxious, cowards, ashamed to witness
for the truth and alienate themselves from every thing that is moral , righteous, gratitude and ethical obligations. They
possess no love for their own countries, families and people, and do not fear
God. They continuously cause pitfalls for the meek and faithful.
Because evil always contains the seeds of its own destruction, these
people always reap what they sow and are cursed, damned and condemned. Almighty
God warms them of harsh judgment. “If anyone should cause one of these little
ones to lose his faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a
large millstone tied around his neck and be drowned in the deep sea. How
terrible for the world that there are things that make people lose their faith!
Such things will always happen—but how terrible for the one who causes them”
(Matthew 18/06-07)
When people become slaves to their instincts, abandon God and renegade
against His commandments they become evil and do every thing that is evil.
Saint Peter has depicted vividly the conduct of such people in his second
letter to Timothy (3/01-08): “Remember that there will be difficult times in
the last days. People will be selfish, greedy, boastful, and conceited; they
will be insulting, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, and irreligious;
they will be unkind, merciless, slanderers, violent, and fierce; they will hate
the good; they will be treacherous, reckless, and swollen with pride; they will
love pleasure rather than God; they will hold to the outward form of our
religion, but reject its real power. Keep away from such people. Some of them
go into people’s houses and gain control over weak women who are burdened by
the guilt of their sins and driven by all kinds of desires, women who are
always trying to learn but who can never come to know the truth. As Jannes and Jambres were opposed
to Moses, so too these people are opposed to the truth—people whose minds do
not function and who are failures in the faith. But they will not get very far,
because everyone will see how stupid they are. That is just what happened to Jannes and Jambres”
As the Holy Bible teaches us, these wicked hypocrites will be judged on
the Day of Judgment and thrown into Gehenna. There,
the fire is unquenchable, torture has no end, the worm dieth
not, and there will be endless lamentation, weeping and grinding of teeth.
Among these evil doers are numerous high ranking clergy, politicians and
officials. These liars and savages abandon their people, their countries, their
families, the martyrs and all that is righteous and Godly. They do not worship
God, but money and perishable earthly treasures like power, fame, property etc.
They fall into the devil’s hands and traps and end worshiping money and not
God.
Matthew 06/24: “You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one
and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot
serve both God and money.”
In their hearts is venomous lust, deceit,
malice, licentiousness, envy, arrogance, folly, greed and evil thoughts.
Because of the lowliness of their hearts and minds they have sided with Satan.
They have no conscious, no values, and no code of ethics. Accordingly,
they act with the mentality of ruthless merchants of death who are willing to
sell absolutely everything for the price of silver. Nothing is off limits in
what they will sell for an earthly profit, including their self-respect,
dignity, honour and their own countries and people.
They happily accept their status as merchants of death and have no
problem selling their souls to whomever offers the
highest price. They change loyalties as they change their clothes because they
do not fear God. Their hearts are petrified and the humanity in them that was
created on God’s image has died. Their punishment is God’s work: “Do not take
revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is
mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12/19)
In conclusion, Hell and its demons will be eagerly waiting to swallow
those of us who do not know what is love, do not fear God, do not do His work,
hurt others and enjoy seeing every body else but themselves entrapped and
suffering. Meanwhile these same ones who mercilessly and vigorously fight for
earthly riches, become mere slaves for their instincts, and commit all kinds of
deadly sins will have no choice but to leave all that is earthly
on the earth once God takes back the gift of life from them. Although they
might delude themselves that they are strong, winners and rich, but in fact
they are big time losers and will not be able to carry with them to the
Judgment Day, but their deeds according to which they will be accountable.
“Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of
course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life. If you are
ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son
of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the
holy angels”. Let us sincerely pray for the salvation of all those who
are entrapped in evil temptations and have failed to understand that God is
love and that love knows no hatred, no grudges, no revenge and no selfishness.
Aoun urges Arab solidarity to face challenges/Nasrallah met with Sleiman Frangieh
Hussein Dakroub/The
Daily Star/January 21/17
BEIRUT:
President Michel Aoun Friday called on Arab countries
to close ranks, stressing that their solidarity was essential to confronting
challenges threatening to divide the Arab world. Aoun
spoke during a meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who arrived in Beirut earlier in the
day. He is in the country on a short visit for talks ahead of the Arab summit,
slated to be held in Jordan
on March 29. It will focus on inter-Arab relations and how the new U.S.
administration under President Donald Trump will deal with the Arab world.
“Lebanon
supports anything that helps achieve solidarity among Arab states because this
is the basis of the strength of these states,” Aoun
said. “The Arab League should remain a point of reference, despite weaknesses
... as a result of wars and divisions.”
The president expressed hope that the Arab summit would be able to resolve
conflicts, in a clear reference to the nearly 6-year-old war in Syria, the
nearly 2-year-old war in Yemen, Iraq’s ongoing battle against Daesh (ISIS) and the turmoil in Libya.
“Lebanon
is ready to contribute to any Arab effort in this respect,” Aoun
said, according to a statement from his media office.
Aboul Gheit, paying his
first trip to Lebanon since his appointment last year, said the visit was to
“assert the Arab League’s support for Lebanon and its appreciation of the big
role it plays inside and outside the Arab League.”
“We discussed the situation in the region and how Lebanon
can contribute to achieving stability [regionally],” Aboul
Gheit told reporters after meeting Aoun at Baabda Palace.
He said he invited Aoun to visit the Arab League
headquarters in Cairo and give a speech as part
of his future trip to Egypt.
Asked why the Arab League was not more proactive on Syria, Aboul
Gheit said: “The Arab League has been neutralized on
the Syrian issue for years. Since the crisis erupted [in 2011], the Arab League
has been sidelined following its failed efforts and has been replaced by the
United Nations. We know that the conflict over Syria is regional as much as it is
international.”
Aboul Gheit, who later held
talks with Speaker Nabih Berri
and Prime Minister Saad Hariri, said the Arab League
was very concerned over Trump’s stated intention to move the U.S. Embassy in
Israel from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem.
“We hope that [Trump] will be careful and wary of steps over East
Jerusalem because the situation might entail very dire
consequences if an uncalculated step is taken,” he said.
Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem would
reverse decades of U.S.
policy that sees the final status of Jerusalem –
that’s Arab majority eastern side has been occupied by Israel since
1967 – should be determined in peace negotiations. Aboul
Gheit said he discussed the issue with Hariri. “We
both voiced opposition [the embassy move] on the one hand and the gravity of
this measure if it was carried out on the other,” he said.
“We discussed how to tackle problems that exert pressure on the entire region
and on inter-Arab relations. We also discussed the issue of the new U.S.
presidency, how it will deal with the Arab world and what the Arabs should do
to face any development in this respect,” he added.
Aboul Gheit described his
meeting with Hariri as “extremely important.” “It is noticeable for everyone
that stability has returned to Lebanon,”
he said. At his Downtown Beirut residence, Hariri hosted a lunch for the Arab
diplomat.
Aboul Gheit said his talks
with Berri focused on the refugee crisis in Lebanon
and means to preserve the country given the strain of hosting more than 1
million Syrian refugees.
“The Arab League supports and stands by Lebanon. We are talking with the
international community, donor states and international organizations on how to
help Lebanon
overcome the problems of refugees and increase the grants and aid to them,” he
added.
There are 1.03 million refugees registered with UNHCR – the U.N. refugee agency
– but the government puts the figure at closer to 1.5 million.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk spoke of difficulties to reach agreement on a new
vote law to replace the disputed 1960 majoritarian
system.
“It is certain that there are difficulties, but there is nothing impossible
because political parties concerned with drafting a new electoral law must
exert all efforts to finish this issue before May 21, the date for holding the
elections under the current [1960] law,” Machnouk
told reporters after meeting Berri at Ain al-Tineh. Noting that the 1960 law was rejected by most
politicians, he said: “At the same time, this is the choice available to us
until a new electoral law is drafted.”
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan
Nasrallah met with Marada
Movement leader MP Sleiman Frangieh,
reaffirming their alliance in the first face-to-face encounter since Aoun was elected president on Oct. 31.
The pair discussed the current political situation in the country and a number
of other issues, including the Cabinet situation and an electoral law, a
statement issued by Hezbollah’s press office said.
They also affirmed the “deep relationship” between the two sides and the
“strength of their alliance [as they] agreed to continue coordination and cooperation
in various fields,” the statement said.
The meeting, held at Nasrallah’s office in the
southern suburb of Haret Hreik,
was also attended by Frangieh’s Marada
Movement Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos, top Nasrallah aide
Hussein Khalil and Hezbollah senior security official
Wafiq Safa.
Although Hezbollah stood firm in its support for Aoun
for president during the 29-month presidential vacuum, Nasrallah
has stressed in his speeches that Frangieh, Aoun’s rival for the post, was Hezbollah’s ally.
Kidnappers Release Elderly Man, Risha
Naharnet/January 21/17/Lebanese national Saad Risha, 74, was released by
his kidnappers on Saturday after a three-day abduction that mobilized the
Lebanese army and officials in the country including President Michel Aoun who assured that the presidency was following up on
the case. Risha arrived early Saturday at his house
in the Bekaa town of Qab Elias,
accompanied by Speaker Nabih Berri's
envoy Bassam Tleis. He was
greeted by a crowd of family and friends, the National News Agency reported on
Saturday. Risha extended his gratitude to all those
who worked hard for his release and also thanked the abductors saying “they
treated me well,” NNA said. Risha was abducted
Wednesday in Qab Elias as he was closing his wholesale
foodstuffs shop. His kidnapping pushed angry relatives and friends to block
several roads in central Bekaa protesting his
kidnapping. Members of Brital's municipality and a
number of dignitaries had also staged a sit-in on their town's public road in solidarity
with the family of the abductee and protested the
recurrent abductions in the region. The captors were identified as five
residents of Brital. No news so far if they have been
arrested.
Hariri calls Richa, confirms
investigation to continue
Sat 21 Jan 2017/NNA - Prime Minister, Saad Hariri,
telephoned on Saturday the family of Saad Richa congratulating them on the safe return of the
family's patriarch. Richa was abducted at gunpoint by
three gunmen earlier this week and was released last night.
The Premier asserted that investigations into the abduction would continue to
the very end.
"The kidnappers will be pursued and presented to specialized
judiciary."''
Sami Gemayel
calls for an extraordinary security plan for Bekaa
Sat 21 Jan 2017/NNA - Kataeb Party leader, Deputy
Sami Gemayel, called on Saturday for an extraordinary
security plan in the Bekaa to protect citizens from
perpetrators in order to boost the security in the country. Deputy Gemayel, who's words came during a
phone call to the family of Saad Richa,
praised the work of the security apparatuses that helped in the release of Saad Richa. It is to note that Saad Richa was kidnapped three
days ago by three gunmen while he was closing his store near Qob Elias.
President Aoun
Meets Iraqi Foreign Minister
Naharnet/January 21/17/President Michel Aoun received on Saturday at the Presidential Palace Iraqi
Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the National
News Agency reported. Al-Jaafari arrived in Beirut on Saturday at
dawn accompanied by a delegation from the foreign ministry, NNA said. “I
extended a formal invitation to His Excellency the President on behalf of
(Iraqi) President Fouad Maasum
to visit Iraq,
and he promised to meet that request,” stated Jaafari
after the meeting. For his part, Aoun assured during
his meeting with the Iraqi official that Lebanon
was able to overcome many obstacles, he said: “Lebanon was able to overcome a
difficult stage and has started today a stage of progression that includes all
sectors.” Jaafari is expected to hold talks later
with other senior Lebanese officials. Since the election of a president, Lebanon has
been witnessing a flurry of Arab diplomatic activity. Most recent was the visit
of Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit
who held talks Friday with President Michel Aoun,
Speaker Nabih Berri and
Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Abul
Gheit left Lebanon on Saturday. Before his
departure at the Rafik
Hariri International
Airport he expressed delight with “the
new atmospheres in Lebanon,
which bodes for a new phase filled with optimism," he said.
Report: Three Basic 'No-Nos' Rule Discussions for Electoral Law
Naharnet/January 21/17/Efforts between the various
Lebanese political parties are ceaseless in order to agree on a new electoral
law, amid assurances that the 1960 law won't be adopted and the parliament's
term will not extended another time nor will the Lebanese face a fait accompli
situation, al-Jouhmouria daily reported on Saturday.
Lebanese Forces sources told the daily: “Meetings are proceeding in a rapid
pace on a daily basis between the various political parties to agree on a new
law. “They are continuous between the Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic
Movement, between the LF, al-Mustaqbal and FPM,
between Mustaqbal, FPM and Hizbullah,
and between al-Mustabql and AMAL Movement (..)” said the source. It stressed that discussions are
“serious and have finally reached three possibilities or choices,” in a clear
indication of the earnestness of the efforts. However, the source said the
stakes are in favor of the hybrid electoral law
system, and deliberations continue to find a single formula that meets the
approval of all stressing that the outcome is likely to come out before the
month's end. “The fact that these moves have not appeared to the public does
not mean that things are left to be," said the source. "To the
contrary, the efforts behind the scenes ate unprecedented amid three no nos. No
for the 1960 electoral law, no for extending the parliament's term and no for
placing the Lebanese in front of two choices, to either approve extension of
parliament's term or accept the elections to be held based on the 1960 law.”
Berri, Jaafari meet in Ain Teeneh
Sat 21 Jan 2017/NNA - House Speaker Nabih Berri met Saturday at his residence in Ain Teeneh with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari accompanied with Iraqi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Amri. After the meeting Minister Jaafari
said that discussions with Speaker Berri mainly
focused on ways to boost the Iraqi-Lebanese bilateral relations and the
possibility of opening a Lebanese Embassy in Iraq.The
meeting also focused on the regional and Arab League affairs as well as the
Syrian situation. Asked about the joint security cooperation between Iraq and Lebanon, the Minister underscored
that the security cooperation, at this stage, has been the most important in
facing terrorism. Earlier, Berri also met with
members of the Democratic Gathering party with discussions reportedly boarded
on the electoral law matter.
Bonne visits Hariri: We are alongside
Lebanon
Sat 21 Jan 2017/NNA - Prime Minister Saad Hariri
received this evening at the "House of Center" French Ambassador to
Lebanon Emmanuel Bonne, who said at the end of the meeting: "I came to see
the President of the Council of Ministers to express our support and to say that
we wish President Aoun and the government all
success, and we are happy to see the Lebanese institutions function
again." "We hope that this government can set clear priorities in the
interest of all Lebanese so that we, Lebanon's
friends, can support Lebanon.
So we wish President Aoun and the government of Saad Hariri success, and we are here alongside Lebanon,"
Bonne added. Hariri then met, in the presence of Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury, Kuwait's
Ambassador to Lebanon Abdel-Aal al-Kinai, accompanied by Kuwaiti businessman Hamad Mohamed Al-Wazen, who came
to congratulate him on the formation of the government.
Report: Aoun
Might Obstruct Polls 'Constitutionally' If New Law is Not Agreed
Naharnet/January 21/17/In light of bickering among
political parties to agree on a new electoral law that will govern the upcoming
elections, reports said on Saturday that President Michel Aoun
might use his constitutional jurisdictions to hamper the polls shall the
parties fail in their endeavors. Sources close to Aoun said potentials arise that the President could
obstruct the parliamentary elections by using his constitutional powers if the
parties fail to agree on a new law for the May, 2017 polls.
Reports said the elections take place in accordance with an ordinary decree not
necessarily issued by the cabinet. The decree must be signed by the president.
The constitutional powers bestowed to the President allow him to prevent the
parliament from extending its own term, said the reports. An-Nahar daily quoted a source close to Aoun
who spoke on condition of anonymity: “The President sees all options acceptable
as long as the polls are held on time and the parliament does not extend its
own term. “The President will not stand in the face of parliamentarians, shall
they agree on a hybrid or proportional representation system,” it added,
assuring that Aoun will not stand in the way of any
agreement between Lebanon's
different political components. Political parties are bickering over amending
the current 1960 majoritarian election law which
divides seats among the different religious sects. Hizbullah
has repeatedly called for an electoral law based on proportional representation
but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal
Movement, 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 is influential. Mustaqbal, the
Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party have meanwhile proposed a
hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional representation and the
winner-takes-all systems. But the PSP has recently changed lanes and shifted to
supporting a majoritarian system. Speaker Nabih 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.
Mogherini, Iranian and Kuwaiti Envoys Expected in Beirut Next
Week
Naharnet/January 21/17/European Union foreign policy
chief Federica Mogherini is expected to arrive in
Beirut on Wednesday for talks with senior Lebanese officials, the state-run
National News Agency reported on Saturday. She will meet with President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad
Hariri, added NNA. Mogherini's visit comes in the
framework of similar trips made by foreign delegations and diplomats to Lebanon, mainly
after the election of Aoun that ended a two-year
vacuum at the top state post. Two more diplomats are expected in Beirut early next week,
said NNA. Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdul Lahyan will arrive Monday morning, while Kuwaiti envoy
Mohammed Abdullah Moubarak al-Sabah will arrive same
day in the evening.
Report: Democratic Gathering Bloc Meets Berri
Naharnet/January 21/17/A Democratic Gathering bloc
delegation, of MP Walid Jumblat,
visited Speaker Nabih Berri
on Saturday where talks focused on the controversial election law that will
govern the upcoming parliamentary polls, al-Joumhouria
daily reported.
The bloc's visit is part of several it plans to pay to officials,
the most recent was a meeting with President Michel Aoun
who had earlier expressed support for a proportional representation system. “We
are part of any national solution. We demand that everyone is included in the
standards studied for proper representation,” said the delegation during their
meeting with the Speaker, adding that Berri showed an
understanding about their position. The delegation has fears of endorsing
proportional representation system or a hybrid law system, which Jumblat has recently renounced. Jumblat's
Progressive Socialist Party believes that a law fully based on proportional
representation would marginalize the minority Druze community, whose presence
is concentrated in the Chouf and Aley
districts. The PSP's concerns has pushed the party to
renounce a law that mixes proportional representation with the winner-takes-all
system that it had drafted together with al-Mustaqbal
Movement and the Lebanese Forces. 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.
RPG' bomb shell found in Qobayat
Sat 21 Jan 2017/NNA - An intact "RPG" bomb shell was detected near a
refinery in the outskirts of the town of Qobayat on
Saturday, whereby an Army unit arrived immediately at the scene, summoning a
military expert to detonate it in place, NNA correspondent in Akkar reported.
Sarraf: Richa's release is quality
security achievement
Sat 21 Jan 2017/NNA - National Defense Minister Yacoub Sarraf praised on
Saturday, in a statement, "The quality security achievement accomplished
by the release of the citizen Saad Richa in Bekaa region." The
Minister also praised the efforts of all the security forces" and thanked
the "civilians, partisans and all those who contributed to the success of
this mission."
Culture Minister tours
in Jbeil
Sat 21 Jan 2017/NNA - Minister of Culture, Ghattas Khoury toured a while ago the archeological
sites in Jbeil city, National News Agency
correspondent said on Saturday.
Hasbani: Opportunity to pass election law still exists
Sat 21 Jan 2017/NNA - Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Public Health, Ghassan Hasbani, pointed out that
the electoral law issue is a thorny one; however, "the opportunity to
approve a new election law still exists," adding that everyone should have
the right to express his opinion within the law and security controls. The
Minister's words came during an interview to "Orient" Radio Station
on Saturday. Hasbani pointed to the incident of the
abduction of Lebanese citizen, Saad Richa, earlier this week (who was released today at dawn),
stressing that such kidnapping incidents must end, especially that the
"gangs have become well-known by names." He underscored that such
practices must not be repeated during the new era but "there should be a
quick practical translation to a security plan, arrest of the perpetrators and
elimination of any phenomena which disrupt security." He stressed that the
"cabinet's work is transparent regarding the decrees passed in the oil
file," adding that the government's mission aims at restoring confidence.
Hasbani paid tribute to his predecessor, Minister Wael Bou Faour,
who managed to work in the ministry despite the difficult circumstances,
stressing that government work is a process of "continuity while promoting
transparency, governance and rationalizing spending."
Hasbani considered that "the Lebanese system was
established based on the various sects in the country," adding that
"the electoral law is a three-dimensional issue, as we must take into
account the fairness of sectarian, regional, and political
representation."
He pointed out that "all parties must find common grounds through a law
that takes into account the right of representation of each sect (...) and
secures balance."
Responding to a question about Interior Minister Nouhad
el-Machnouk's call to the electoral bodies to meet, Hasbani said "the official position must stick to the
Constitutional deadlines. Accordingly, the Interior Minister is bound to call
on said bodies within the time limits, and in line with the applicable law."The Minister stressed that they would continue to
work on reaching an agreement over a new electoral law, adding that "such
a law would see the light through everyone's concessions and sacrifices, as
happened during the formation of the government and the preparation of the
ministerial statement."The Minister also
highlighted the important role of the Lebanese youth, represented in their
massive participation in the elections, calling upon them "to help develop
the electoral system, not only through the social networking sites but also
through participating on the ground."Referring
to President Aoun's visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Hasbani said that it aimed to stop the deterioration
in Lebanon's
relations with the Arab countries.
Responding to a question about fighting corruption, Hasbani
said that he would work through the Ministry of Health to "fight
corruption," adding that he relies on "the judicial authorities to
perform their duty in this regard." Touching on the situation within the
Ministry of Health, Hasbani said, "We have good
scientific capacities in the Ministry. We depend on competency not on sectarian
affiliation and political loyalty."The Minister
reminded citizens of the Public Health Ministry's hotline number 1214, which
they can use at any time "not only for complaints but also for guidance, counseling and getting answers to any question."
Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 21-22/17
Syria Regime, Rebels Set for
First Face-to-Face at Astana
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
21/17/Syria's government and rebel fighters will on Monday sit down at the
negotiating table for the first time in nearly six years of war, the latest
diplomatic push to end hostilities. Hosted in the Kazakh capital Astana, the
talks will see an opposition delegation composed exclusively of rebel groups
negotiating with the regime of Bashar al-Assad in an
initiative sponsored by rebel backer Turkey
and regime allies Russia and
Iran.
Though the talks have been welcomed by all parties in the conflict, delegates
from both sides are heading to Kazakhstan
with apparently opposing ideas about the goals, with Assad insisting Thursday
that rebels lay down their arms in exchange for an amnesty deal. Although Assad
said the talks would prioritise reaching a ceasefire, Damascus has insisted it will seek a
"comprehensive" political solution to the conflict that has killed
more than 300,000 and displaced over half of the country's population. The
rebels meanwhile say they will focus solely on reinforcing a frail nationwide
truce brokered by Moscow and Ankara last month.
- Who is attending? -Moscow said this week that
the objective was to "consolidate" the ceasefire and to involve rebel
field commanders in the "political process" to end the bloodshed,
creating a basis for a new round of UN-hosted negotiations in Geneva next month. Syria's
UN ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari,
an experienced negotiator involved in past failed talks in Geneva, will head the regime delegation in
Astana. The United Nations' peace envoy for Syria,
Staffan de Mistura, will
also attend, alongside representatives of Russia,
Turkey and Iran. Mohammad Alloush of the Jaish al-Islam
(Army of Islam) rebel group -- whose rebel commander cousin Zahran
Alloush was killed in an air strike claimed by the
regime in December 2015 -- will lead a "military delegation" of
around eight people.
They will be backed by nine legal and political advisors from the opposition
High Negotiations Committee (HNC) umbrella group. But key rebel group Ahrar al-Sham said it would snub the Astana talks over
ceasefire violations and ongoing Russian air strikes on the country. Ahrar al-Sham nonetheless said it would support decisions
taken by other rebel groups represented at the talks if they were "in the
interest of the nation". The talks, which could last days, come a month
after the Syrian regime, bolstered by its allies, took full control of second
city Aleppo from rebels in its biggest victory in more than four years of
fighting. With stakes high and outcomes unclear, the Syrian opposition is wary
that the regime could use the rebel groups' inexperience in political talks to
its advantage in Astana, a European diplomatic source told AFP. "There is
genuine worry in the opposition that the representatives of rebel groups, which
are not at all used to these types of international negotiations, will be
dragged into a political solution that will play into the hand of the
regime," the source said.
- US invited -A negotiator in previous ceasefire agreements, Washington
was last month sidelined from sponsoring the nationwide truce brokered by Russia and Turkey after months of
disengagement from the conflict. US President Donald Trump's team has been
invited to Astana but has not yet officially responded. Washington's
absence has seen Moscow and Ankara join efforts on the Syrian crisis
despite lingering disagreements over Assad's future and other aspects of the
conflict. After overcoming a rift in relations following Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane in Syria in November 2015, the two countries this
week conducted their first joint strikes against Islamic State group targets in
an operation Moscow
hailed as "highly effective". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview aired Saturday on Russian state
television that deals that could help end the conflict in Syria were "unlikely" to
be struck in Astana because "too many parties are involved in the process."Iran,
the talks' third sponsor, will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister
Hossein Jaber Ansari, the country's Isna news
agency reported. Analysts say Iran,
a longtime ally of Assad, views the Astana talks as
an opportunity to increase its influence in the region after playing a crucial
role in the symbolic recapture of Aleppo.
- A stepping stone? -France
and Britain
will be represented at the ambassador level, the European diplomatic source
said. A representative of EU foreign affairs chief
Federica Mogherini said Friday that "we will be
there" without giving details about the delegation. Divergent agendas and
the absence of some key players and high-level officials cast uncertainty on
how the Astana talks could serve as a building block for next month's Geneva negotiations.
"The success or failure of Astana is not predetermined," Russian
Middle East expert Boris Dolgov told AFP. "If
something can be achieved in Astana, I think that a portion of the armed
opposition will participate in the Geneva
talks."
US Strike Killed over 100 al-Qaida
Fighters in Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
21/17/A US strike has killed more than 100 al-Qaida fighters at a training camp
in northwestern Syria, the Pentagon said Friday. The
air strike occurred Thursday at a camp in Idlib
province that had been operational since 2013, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain
Jeff Davis said. "The removal of this training camp disrupts training
operations and discourages hardline Islamist and
Syrian opposition groups from joining or cooperating with al-Qaida on the
battlefield," Davis
said. US plane and drone strikes have killed more than 150 Qaida fighters since
January 1, Davis said, including Mohammad Habib Boussadoun al-Tunisi, an "external operations leader" in Syria.
"These strikes, conducted in quick succession, degrade al-Qaida's capabilities,
weaken their resolve and cause confusion in their ranks," Davis said. A US-led coalition is striking
Islamic State group targets in Syria.
But it has also hit Qaida leaders and operatives from other groups including
the Qaida-linked Nusra Front, which has renamed
itself Fatah al-Sham.
UN: Astana talks must not diminish Geneva efforts
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Saturday, 21 January
2017/The UN Security Council has voiced its support for the Syrian Astana peace
talks, sponsored by Russia, Turkey, and Iran,
that are due to take place in Kazakhstan
next week, but emphasized that the meeting should not disregard the upcoming Geneva talks. Security
Council president and Sweden’s
UN Ambassador Olof Skoog, said the statement
supported by all 15 members addressed concerns that Astana might become a new
path to deal with the Syria
crisis by making clear that Monday’s talks “represent an important stepping
stone coming back to UN-led talks in Geneva”.
Western powers have voiced concern that the Astana negations might take a
different route than trying to end the six-year war in Syria.
IS Wreaks New Destruction in Syria's Ancient Palmyra
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
21/17/The Islamic State group has demolished more treasured monuments in Syria's ancient Palmyra, a month after recapturing it from
government forces, the country's antiquities chief said Friday.
The news is a fresh blow for the UNESCO World Heritage site, which had already
been ravaged by the jihadist group during the nine months of control before
being expelled in March last year. "Local sources told us that 10 days ago
Daesh destroyed the tetrapylon,"
a 16-columned structure that marked one end of the ancient city's colonnade, Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP using
an Arabic acronym for IS. Before being forced out of Palmyra in a Russian-backed offensive in
March, IS razed world-famous temples and tower tombs
at the site. The UN's cultural agency reacted with
outrage Friday, calling the fresh destruction a "war crime" and
"cultural cleansing". The tetrapylon, built
during the rule of the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 3rd Century AD,
consisted of four sets of four pillars each supporting massive stone cornices.
The monument had suffered considerable damage over the centuries and only one
of the 16 pillars was still standing in its original Egyptian pink granite. The
rest were cement replicas erected by the antiquities department in 1963. The
Roman amphitheatre dates to the 1st Century AD and was used by IS for public
executions during its occupation of the city between May 2015 and March last
year. "From the first day, I was bracing myself for a terrible
outcome," Abdulkarim said. "We had already
witnessed the terror of the first occupation and frankly I had never thought
that the city would be occupied for a second time." - Strikes kill
jihadists -IS recaptured Palmyra late last year
as Syria's government waged
a fierce battle to take back all of the northern city
of Aleppo from
rebel forces. The surprise fall of Palmyra, in the central province of Homs,
gave IS a propaganda boost as it faced twin assaults on two of its key
strongholds -- Raqa in Syria and Iraq's second city
Mosul.
Syrian forces have battled to prevent further IS advances around Palmyra, and
on Thursday fierce clashes between pro-government fighters and jihadists near a
military airport in the region left 30 dead, a monitor said. The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said 12 regime forces and 18 IS militants had been
killed in the fighting by the Tayfur military airport
in Homs
province. Irina Bokova, UNESCO director general, said
in a statement that IS's destruction of Palmyra "shows that
cultural cleansing led by violent extremists is seeking to destroy both human
lives and historical monuments in order to deprive the Syrian people of its
past and its future". The jihadist group is just one of the many forces
involved in Syria's
complex conflict, which began with anti-government demonstrations in March 2011
and has killed more than 310,000 people since then. The war has drawn in
foreign powers including government ally Russia and a US-led coalition
battling IS and other jihadists with links to Al-Qaeda. A US air strike
on Thursday killed more than 100 Al-Qaeda fighters at a training camp in northwestern Idlib province, the
Pentagon said. "The removal of this training camp disrupts training
operations and discourages hardline Islamist and
Syrian opposition groups from joining or cooperating with Al-Qaeda on the
battlefield," Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said. Late
Thursday, a separate round of air strikes killed more than 40 jihadists from
the former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front in
the west of Aleppo
province, the Observatory said. The monitor could not immediately specify who
carried out the strikes against the jihadist group, which is excluded from a
fragile nationwide ceasefire in place in Syria since December 30. - Peace
talks Monday -The truce, brokered by regime ally Russia and rebel backer
Turkey, is intended to pave the way for fresh peace talks in the Kazakh capital
Astana beginning January 23. The nature of the talks remains murky following
several failed rounds of negotiations. But in a possible sign of shifting
priorities, Turkey
-- which has long called for Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad's ouster -- appeared to row back from its position Friday. Ankara's
Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek
said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that rebel
backers "have to be pragmatic" over Assad's fate. "Turkey can no
longer insist on a settlement without Assad. It is not realistic," he
said. Assad himself, in an interview released Friday, appeared to dismiss the
possibility of a transitional government or his resignation. "In our
constitution there's nothing called transitional government," Assad said. "I'm
not the reason of the problem."
Bomb Kills Four at Syria-Jordan Border Camp
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
21/17/A car bomb blast killed at least four civilians at a camp for displaced
Syrians by the border with Jordan on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights monitor said. "A car bomb exploded on the outskirts of the Rukban camp on the Jordanian border, killing four displaced
people and injuring others," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based monitor. Jordan's official Petra news agency, citing a military source,
also reported the blast at the isolated makeshift camp, which houses around
85,000 Syrians according to the United Nations. Jordan closed its nearby border in
June 2016, halting aid deliveries to the camp, after a bombing claimed by the
Islamic State jihadist group killed seven Jordanian soldiers. Jordanian
officials said at the time that the bomber had come from the camp and declared
the borders a closed military zone. The decision prompted shortages at the camp,
with rights group Amnesty International in October decrying "hellish"
conditions for those seeking refuge there. Aid has been delivered to the camp
only twice since the border was closed, most recently in November, when the UN
supplied food, hygiene kits and winter clothing. The United Nations says there
are more than 600,000 refugees from Syria
in Jordan, a figure Amman puts at 1.4
million.
In August, King Abdullah II said his country was "doing its utmost to help
refugees" from Syria.
"However, we have reached our limits... This is an international crisis
and an international responsibility, and the world has to do its part," he
said. More than four million Syrians have fled their country since the
beginning of the conflict in March 2011. Over 310,000 people have been killed
in the violence.
Egypt Working for Libya Political
Solution, Says FM
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
21/17/Egypt is working for a political solution to fighting in neighbouring Libya, its
foreign minister said Saturday ahead of regional talks on the conflict. "A
political solution is the only way to resolve the crisis in Libya,"
said Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. He was speaking ahead of talks with foreign
ministers from Libya's
neighbours -- Algeria, Tunisia, Libya
and Niger
-- as well as UN envoy Martin Kobler. Libya
has been torn apart by fighting between militias, tribes and two rival
governments since the fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. Jihadist
groups have exploited the chaos to gain a foothold in the North African
country. A UN-backed unity government based in the
capital is struggling to impose its authority.
It faces competition from a rival authority supported by parliament in the
country's east, which has refused to recognise the Tripoli-based Government of
National Accord. Militarily, the eastern administration is backed by the
self-proclaimed Libyan National Army commanded by Marshal Khalifa
Haftar. Haftar enjoys the
support of several Arab countries including Egypt
and the United Arab Emirates,
as well an emerging alliance with Russia. GNA-aligned militias from
the port city of Misrata,
who led the fight to oust the Islamic State group from Sirte
last year, control much of the west. In the east, Haftar's
forces have been fighting other jihadist groups for more than two years,
particularly in Benghazi.
Egypt
recently hosted Haftar, parliament speaker Aguila Saleh and unity government
chief Fayez al-Sarraj in search of "common
ground" that could help solve the crisis, Shoukry
said Saturday. "Despite recent victories in the fight against terrorism,
in Benghazi and in Sirte,
terrorism will never be fully eradicated in Libya until there is a political
solution," he added.
James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis
sworn in as Trump’s defense secretary
Reuters Saturday, 21 January 2017/The US Senate confirmed the first two members
of President Donald Trump’s cabinet on Friday, voting overwhelmingly to approve
two retired four-star Marine generals as his secretaries of defense
and homeland security hours after Trump was sworn in as commander-in-chief. The
Senate voted 98-1 to confirm James Mattis to lead the
Pentagon, and 88-11 to confirm John Kelly for homeland security, a sprawling
department responsible for everything from domestic antiterrorism to border
security and disaster prevention. The Senate also voted 89-8 to clear the way
for a vote on Monday on another member of Trump’s national security team,
Republican US
Representative Mike Pompeo, his nominee to be
director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Trump’s fellow Republicans, who
hold a 52-seat majority in the 100-member Senate, have been sparring with
Democrats over confirmations of nominees for cabinet posts and other senior
positions. Republicans had hoped to confirm at least seven on Friday, but
Democrats objected, complaining that Republicans were trying to force votes too
quickly on nominees who were too slow to provide financial and ethics
information. Republicans accused Democrats of playing politics and risking
public safety by delaying national security team nominations that they knew
would eventually go through. The CIA post is one of the most highly charged in
Washington, amid controversy surrounding Russian attempts to influence the 2016
US presidential election in Trump’s favor. The last
CIA director, John Brennan, who had criticized Trump, resigned Friday.
Trump’s Son-in-Law Kushner Can Take
White House Job, DOJ Says
Laura Litvan/Bloomberg.com/January 21/17
The Justice Department said President Donald Trump isn’t prohibited by a
federal anti-nepotism statute from appointing his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to
a job as a senior White House adviser. Daniel L. Koffsky,
a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel, wrote in a
memorandum that the White House is exempted from a 1967 law that prevents
public officials from appointing relatives to federal agencies they can
control, and therefore the law “would not prohibit the contemplated appointment.”The 14-page opinion appears to clear the way
for Trump’s contentious decision to elevate Kushner to a role that will have
him working with White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Stephen Bannon.
In a statement this month Trump called Kushner, 35, a “tremendous asset and
trusted adviser.”Kushner will take the role without
pay and, according to his lawyer, Jamie Gorelick, has
agreed to divest from Thrive Capital, an investment firm. He’ll also divest his
ownership interest in the New York Observer, one of only a handful of major
newspapers to endorse Trump’s candidacy, and will resign as chief executive
officer of Kushner Cos., his family’s real estate company, to comply with
government ethics standards. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka
Trump, recently bought a home in Northwest Washington and are moving there from
New York City.
Kushner played a key role in Trump’s presidential campaign.
Leaning on Family
Other presidents have relied on family members for
informal counsel, even on key issues. President John Kennedy picked his brother
Robert as attorney general, while President Bill Clinton put Hillary Clinton
largely in charge of a doomed drive to overhaul the health care system. In his
opinion, Koffsky, said the White House is not a
federal “agency” and that the president’s authority “permits him to make
appointments to the White House Office that the anti-nepotism status might
otherwise forbid.” “In choosing his personal staff, the President enjoys an
unusual degree of freedom, which Congress found suitable to the demands of his
office,” Koffsky wrote. Koffsky
is a career employee of the Justice Department, not a political appointee. In
2013, under Attorney General Eric Holder, he won an award that recognizes
“exceptional contributions” to the government. He also, in 2015, was presented
with an award for excellence in government service from the DC Bar.
Women Descend on DC a Day after
Anarchists Create Chaos
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 21/17/A day after
self-described anarchists created chaos, thousands of women are descending upon
Washington for what is expected to be a more orderly show of force on the first
full day of Donald Trump's presidency.
Organizers of Saturday's Women's March on Washington expect more than 200,000 people
to attend their gathering, a number that could rival Trump's swearing-in
ceremony. Attendees are "hurting and scared" as the new president
takes office and want a greater voice for women in political life, according to
the organizers' mission statement. "In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and
justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in
numbers too great to ignore," the statement says. Women and other groups
were demonstrating across the nation and as far abroad as Myanmar and Australia. In Sydney,
thousands of Australians marched in solidarity in the city's central Hyde Park. One organizer said hatred, bigotry and racism
are not only America's
problems. The Washington
gathering, which features a morning rally and afternoon march, comes a day
after protesters set fires and hurled bricks in a series of clashes that led to
more than 200 arrests. Police used pepper spray and stun grenades to prevent
the chaos from spilling into Trump's formal procession and evening balls.
About a mile from the National Mall, police gave chase to a group of about 100
protesters who smashed the windows of downtown businesses including a
Starbucks, a Bank of America and a McDonald's as they denounced capitalism and
Trump. "They began to destroy property, throw objects at people, through
windows. A large percentage of this small group was armed with crowbars and
hammers," said the city's interim police chief, Peter Newsham.
Six officers suffered minor injuries, he said.
The confrontation began an hour before Trump took the oath of office and
escalated several hours later as the crowd of protesters swelled to more than
1,000, some wearing gas masks and with arms chained together inside PVC pipe.
One said the demonstrators were "bringing in the cavalry."When
some crossed police lines, taunting, "Put the pigs in the ground,"
police charged with batons and pepper spray, as well as stun grenades, which
are used to shock and disperse crowds. Booms echoed through the streets about
six blocks from where Trump would soon hold his inaugural parade. Some protesters
picked up bricks and concrete from the sidewalk and hurled them at police
lines. Some rolled large, metal trash cans at police. Later, they set fire to a
limousine on the perimeter of the secured zone, sending black smoke billowing
into the sky during Trump's procession. As night fell, protesters set a bonfire
blocks from the White House and frightened well-dressed Trump supporters as
they ventured to the new president's inaugural balls. Police briefly ordered
ball goers to remain inside their hotel as they worked to contain advancing
protesters.
Police said they charged 217 people with rioting, said Newsham,
noting that the group caused "significant damage" along a number of
blocks. Before Inauguration Day, the DisruptJ20 coalition, named after the date
of the inauguration, had promised that people participating in its actions in Washington would attempt
to shut down the celebrations, risking arrest when necessary.
It was unclear whether the groups will be active on Saturday. The Women's March
on Washington
features a morning rally with a speaking lineup that
includes a series of celebrities, Scarlett Johansson, America Ferrara, Amy
Schumer, Frances McDormand and Zendaya,
among them. Christopher Geldart, the District of Columbia's
homeland security director, said he expects the march to draw more than
200,000. He said 1,800 buses have registered to park in the city on Jan. 21,
which would mean nearly 100,000 people coming in just by bus. Friday's protests
spread across the nation. In San Francisco,
thousands formed a human chain on the Golden Gate Bridge
and chanted "Love Trumps hate." In the city's financial district, a
few hundred protesters blocked traffic outside an office building partly owned
by Trump. In Atlanta,
protests converged at City Hall and a few hundred people chanted and waved
signs protesting Trump, denouncing racism and police brutality and expressing
support for immigrants, Muslims and the Black Lives Matter movement.
In Nashville,
half a dozen protesters chained themselves to the doors of the Tennessee
Capitol. Hundreds also sat in a 10-minute silent protest at a park while Trump
took the oath of office. Organizers led a prayer, sang patriotic songs and read
the Declaration of Independence aloud. In the Pacific Northwest, demonstrators
in Portland, Oregon,
burned U.S. flags and
students at Portland
State University
walked out of classes. About 200 protesters gathered on the Capitol steps in Olympia, Washington,
carrying signs that included the messages "Resist Trump" and
"Not My Problem."
Iran Regime's Fear of Popular Protest
Against Broadcast Signal Noise in Shiraz
NCRI/Saturday, 21 January 2017/State-run media and members of Iranian regime
parliament in Fars province are frightened and confused of the escalating
popular protest against jamming signals by the regime’s revolutionary guards
(IRGC). A member of the regime’s parliament from Shiraz
warned: “People of shiraz
have staged several protest gathering for almost a month. The issue has
endangered people’s life and they are facing problems and this is not rumor and an answer must be given to this problem.
A state-run media wrote: “Citizens of Shiraz believe severe headache and
disruption in communication have created disorder and problems in their daily
life and they consider jamming as the root cause. Citizens also staged
gathering in front of Shiraz governorate and
asked the officials to provide answer in this regard but the governor of Fars province called rumor the
existence of jamming. On Tuesday, January 17, a group of people of Shiraz gathered in front
of the regime’s governorate and protested spread of jamming signals and clashed
with the police who tried to disperse them. It should be noted that also on
Monday, January 9, a group of people of Shiraz
had gathered in front of the regime’s governorate to protest jamming. The
protestor chanted slogans and demanded the jamming signals be stopped in Shiraz. Some of the
regime’s media, based on the studies of the faculty of Physics of the University of Tehran,
believe the amount of jamming in Shiraz is four
times higher than in Tehran.
Removal of 10th Feminist-Themed Movies
From Iran Fajr Film Festival
NCRI/Saturday, 21 January 2017/According to Tasnim
news agency, Iran regime’s minister of culture and guidance on January 19 in a
meeting with Makarem Shirazi,
a state mullah, referring to the purging of the so-called Fajr
film festival, announced elimination of 10 feminist-themed movies. In the
interview, Seyd Reza Salehi
Amiri, also announced blocking of 160 thousand
Telegram channels and stated: “Government select committee in the field of
cyberspace has approved that channels with more than 5000 members should get
license and blocking of anonymous SIM cards is among other measures that has
been taken into account.”In addition, regime’s
prosecutor in Tehran
asked Rouhani government officials to block Telegram
messenger during the 2017 presidential elections. Government officials have not
responded to this request yet.
Like the City of Tehran, Iran Regime Is Vulnerable Against Crisis
NCRI/Saturday, 21 January 2017/According to state-run ILNA news agency,
Mohammad Ali Najafi, former member of Tehran city
council in a speech considered the collapse of Plasco
building “a warning for the authorities” and Iranian regime leaders and said:
“authorities should know that Tehran is a defenseless
city.”Najafi then extended this defenselessness
to the entire regime and said the Islamic regime “is facing challenges that, if
not addressed, will become crisis.”Former member of Tehran city council,
addressing the regime’s leaders and officials, said: “Environmental issues and
problems, drought, social damages and economic problems must not be allowed to
be converted to political crises and security issues.”He
emphasized, “Economic corruption of the country is tied with the political
issues and this could “endanger the whole system (regime),” and added, “We must
think about solving these problems before the situation turns upside down.”
However, Najafi admitted that unfortunately there is
no determination or will inside the regime to reach a solution for the current
problems. In another part of his speech, Najafi
described the country’s situation as “very critical” and likened it to the
situation of Tehran
city council and added that in the meetings of that council very few raised
issues were really addressed.
Two dead in suspected criminal shooting
in Tel Aviv
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Saturday, 21 January
2017/Reports suggest a criminal, not terror, shooting took place in one of Tel
Aviv’s streets that left two person dead injured, local media has reported. Two
people were killed in a shooting at an underground garage in Tel aviv's Totzeret Haaretz Street
on Saturday, according to police sources reported by Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz.Paramedics said the two victims, in their 20s,
succumbed to their wounds after the incident took place.
Two extremists blow themselves up in
Jeddah
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Saturday, 21 January
2017/Saudi authorities have announced the details surrounding the security operations
in Jeddah on Saturday that saw two suicide bombers blow themselves up. Security
officials say that there were able to charge two separate hideouts
simultaneously. The first operation centered on a rest house in the Harazat area of Jeddah.The second
operation focused on a hideout location that was turned into a bomb-making factory.A Saudi security spokesman confirmed that neighboring areas at both locations were cleared before the
operations began but turned violent quickly after the extremists refused to
multiple requests to surrender peacefully. “After several attempts to evade
security officials by firing their weapons, the two extremists blew themselves
up,” the spokesman said.No one was hurt during the
operations to capture the extremists. Meanwhile, another armed suspect who has
been named as Hussam al-Jahni
was arrested in connection to the attacks earlier in the day at his hideout
apartment in al-Nassim neighborhood.
Jahni, who was captured along with his Pakistani wife
Fatima Ramadan Murad, was arrested by security forces
before he could resist capture. Weapons were found in the apartment including a
bag containing a cell phones.
Residents of the neighborhood expressed their
gratitude towards the special emergency forces after succeeding in killing a
number of the terrorists.
Pakistan market bomb kills 20, wounds 40
AFP, Peshawar, Pakistan Saturday, 21 January 2017/A bomb exploded at a market
on Saturday in a mainly Shiite area of Pakistan’s northwestern
tribal belt, killing at least 20 people and wounding 40 others, officials said.The bomb detonated in a crowded vegetable market in Parachinar city, the capital of Kurram
tribal district on the Afghan border. “20 people have been martyred [killed],”
the Pakistan military said
in a short statement, adding that the injured had been taken to military and
civil hospitals in the region’s main city of Peshawar. “Troops from army and
(paramilitary) Frontier Corps are under taking relief and rescue operations,”
it said. Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, governor for Pakistan’s
northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province confirmed the death toll in a televised interview with Pakistan’s
private news channel TV Geo.Jhagra said at least 40
people were wounded in the blast, 12 critically. Ikramullah
Khan, a senior government official in Parachinar,
told AFP that the blast was caused by an IED (improvised explosive device)
hidden in a vegetable box. In a telephone call to AFP, the Hakimullah
Mehsud faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack. “It was to avenge the killing of
our associates by security forces and to teach a lesson to Shiites for their
support for Bashar al-Assad,” said the group’s
spokesman Qari Saifullah,
referring to the Syrian president. Saifullah warned
that his Sunni Muslim group will continue attacking Shiites if they back Assad,
whose regime is entrenched in a civil war that began in 2011 and has claimed
more than 310,000 lives. In December 2015 an IED blast at the same market
killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 30. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed grief over the latest loss of life,
his office said in a statement. Kurram is one of Pakistan’s
seven semi-autonomous tribal districts which are governed according to local
laws and customs. The district is known for sectarian clashes between Sunnis
and Shiites, who make up roughly 20 percent of Pakistan’s population of 200
million. Pakistan’s battle
against an Islamist insurgency began in 2004 after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan
forced Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants to flee across the border. Pakistan’s army
launched an operation in June 2014 to wipe out militant bases in northwestern tribal areas and bring an end to a bloody
insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives since 2004. It has conducted
a series of military offensives as well as concerted efforts to block
militants’ sources of funding. Last year, the country recorded its lowest
number of killings since 2007 when the Pakistani Taliban was formed. But the
remnants of militant groups are still able to carry out periodic bloody
attacks.
Turkish bill boosts President Erdogan’s powers
AFP, Ankara
Saturday, 21 January 2017/Turkey's parliament early Saturday backed a
controversial bill that would dramatically expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The parliament in a late-night session approved the seven final sections of the
18-article constitution and in a final vote the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP) received 339 "yes" votes for the bill as a whole. The
party needed at least 330 or more votes -- a three-fifths majority -- for the
adoption of the constitutional change and to send it to a referendum for final
approval. There were 142 votes against the bill during its second reading.The proposed changes, which would create an
executive presidency for the first time in modern Turkey, are controversial and
far-reaching. The president would have the power to appoint and fire ministers,
while the post of prime minister will be abolished for the first time in Turkey's history
and replaced by one or more vice presidents. If approved, parliamentary
elections and presidential ballots would be held simultaneously, with the draft
giving November 3, 2019 as the poll date. Immediately after the vote, Prime
Minister Binali Yildirim
told the 550-seat assembly that the "last word" and "last
decision" would be given by the people. "No one should have any doubt
of this, on the issue of constitutional change, the
most correct decision will certainly be given by the people."The
public vote is likely to take place in April. The bill had already been
approved in its first reading during a marathon week of debating that began on
January 9 and included sessions that often lasted late into the night. During
both readings, lawmakers clashed in the assembly which saw some of the worst
fighting in years with deputies bloodied and one lawmaker even claiming to have
been bitten on the leg.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 21-22/17
What of the future of cinemas and concerts in Saudi?
Mohammed Al Shaikh/Al Arabiya/January
21/17
The Saudi General Authority for Entertainment chief's statements about the
potential of opening cinemas and allowing concerts has stirred up debate with
from both sides. We, the Saudis, have gotten used to such fuss and debates. The
Saudis get used to them as they would later become people’s rights. Educating
girls, permitting television, allowing women to work, along with other similar
areas have all led to similar controversies, but have eventually become
ordinary aspects of our lives. Outdated and extremist voices retreated and
submitted to the fait accompli. I think this current debate about the cinema
resembles yesterday’s debate about television. It’s perfectly normal for
isolated and closed societies to worry and fear new things and thus reject them
at the beginning and accept them at the end.
I am certain without a shadow of doubt that those who reject cinema today will
compete over them later. Islamic cinemas will soon surface as they try and
exploit the industry for Islamic dawa and its
purposes just like they did with television channels which they prohibited few
years ago. Islamic television channels now compete with other entertainment
television channels. I am certain without a shadow of doubt that those who
reject cinema today will compete over them later. Islamic cinemas will soon
surface as they try and exploit the industry for Islamic dawa
and its purposes just like they did with television channels which they
prohibited few years ago. They will also compete with concerts and hold similar
events, but they will give them a different name such as Islamic nasheed concerts. I can almost assert that this is what
those who oppose concerts will end up doing.I strongly
support this plurality regarding the entertainment options and I believe it’s a
healthy phenomenon and proof of society’s freedom of choice. Those who want to
go to ordinary cinemas that screen Arabic and foreign movies can do so and
those who think that they and their families better go to Islamic cinemas can
also do so, on the condition that they do not exploit them to recruit young
people to fuel terrorism and get involved in a culture of violence and hatred.
The 'true motives'
The diversity of and lack of restrictions of the
entertainment, is a general demand for a cross over to being a civil state with
its cultures and laws which include freedom and choice. They are the true
motives behind creativity and people’s excellence over others. They also encourage
one to give regulated freedom, which allows everyone to practice their
convictions without restriction and without the guardianship of one ideology
over another, is what civilized people call for.
I am certain that such openness and diversity of entertainment options will
yield great economic and social results. The entertainment sector can achieve
two things. First of all, it will create new investment opportunities and
address the issue of unemployment, which is increasing in a worrying manner among
young people, men and women alike.If unemployment is
not addressed, it will inevitably turn into a time bomb that will worsen and
cause ruptures in society, shaking its security and stability. Secondly, it
will attract the very same Saudi people who, in their millions, travel for
entertainment. The huge sums of money spent outside the kingdom will thus be
spent locally. All I want to say is that cinemas will open and Islamic cinemas
will open too. Concerts will be held and nasheed
concerts will be held too. The Saudi people and the residents will thus have
the right to choose where to go to entertain themselves.
Saudi-Russia relations in the emerging new
world order
Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/January
21/17
Following the launch of the ambitious Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has started a
new chapter in its history, turning itself from a US dependent indecisive
closed shadow-country, to the mighty power of the Middle East, with enormous
potential, strength, opening its doors to the whole world step by step. Saudi Arabia is
intensifying its diplomatic efforts to change its perception to start a new
era. The kingdom uses current challenging circumstances as
opportunities for taking a new path and succeed in it. It successfully
diversifies its investment flows, thus putting money in different baskets. It
attracts foreign technologies that assist with boosting innovation in the
kingdom, and it lays the basis of its independence from natural resources. It
invests significant money in youths, their studies in Western countries,
because upon their return they will bring the most precious treasure -
knowledge - that will contribute to the successful development of the country.
Through all these moves the kingdom also cuts its dependency from the US - an ally
that is becoming less reliable and less predictable. So diversification of
political ties is also an important move of the country to become stronger and
less dependent on vicissitudes of fate.Russia is one
of the partners of the kingdom in its far reaching ambitious plans is, however
not such an evident one. Bilateral ties between Russia
and Saudi Arabia
are permanently developing the last couple of years opening new opportunities
for both countries and their business circles, but not moving as fast as they
really could. Potential of bilateral relations development is extraordinary.
But this potential is not opened and not properly used. Russian purposes in Syria are not
clear for the Kingdom at all. Why does Russia
declare that its military contingency in Syria
is to fight terrorism, but ISIS stays, mostly unhindered by Russian fighter
planes, Palmyra is lost again, but Russia announces ending its military contingency
in Syria after the fall of Aleppo? Bilateral ties,
despite the more or less warm relations between the two governments, are
dominated at least in the level of the two societies in general, by suspicions,
mistrust and ignorance.
Facing barriers
Saudi business circles are very poorly informed about doing business in Russia. They
face significant language barriers each time they try to find counterparts in Russia, due to
the low level of English proficiency among Russians. Western media is their key
source information about Russia,
as long as there is no Russian media source in Arabic or English they consider
reliable and of a high quality. The public opinion of Saudis is dominated by
numerous traditional stereotypes - vodka, bears on the streets, Matryoshka - no one really tries to tackle from the Russian
side. Russian laziness and passiveness of business also does not add any positiveness in the situation. Another problem business
risk facing each time coming to Russia is at the least being stuck with
security officers for several hours in the airport, or at worst being deported
right from the border in the Russian airport - even with the relevant visa. It
is hard to explain that this can happen to all people coming from the Middle East because of security measures, as such a
situation happens to innocent people coming to develop business ties, and it is
humiliating and demotivating to do anything on this
track. Also business circles are paralyzed by the restrictively short visas
given, limiting their business opportunities.
Getting Russian visas is in general the talk of the town. I still remember how
I was inviting my colleague from France
to take part in a conference in Moscow,
and she decided to go with her husband, thus applying for a business visa
herself, following the official invitation, and her husband applied for a
tourism visa. He was refused for strange reasons, as his wife was going for
business reasons, he could not go for tourism. She was given a three-day visa.
Common interests
Nevertheless there are many common interests that can
finally break down boundaries. Investment projects have all chances to be a
true ram. However some political issues remain as sensitive points between the
two countries. Two of them are Iran
and Syria,
and mostly they are connected. For Riyadh, Russia’s close partnership with Iran is a
reason for strong worries as it is considered as a threat for national
interests. Mostly it is perceived as Moscow’s
refusal to build on strong cooperation and friendship with the kingdom. This
approach to the analysis is not right, however its
roots are quite understandable. In this context Russian cooperation with Iran in Syria raises many questions. The
main being if Russia
considers the possibility that Iranian geopolitical strengthening in the region
through Shia communities has been used for its own
interests, to bring destabilization of the region and sectarian wars?
Russian purposes in Syria
are not clear for the Kingdom at all. Why does Russia
declare that its military contingency in Syria
is to fight terrorism, but ISIS stays, mostly unhindered by Russian fighter
planes, Palmyra is lost again, but Russia announces ending its military contingency
in Syria after the fall of Aleppo? These questions
rarely receive properly articulated answers. And the problem is not even that
there is nothing to say, but that Russia still does not pay much attention to
the straight articulation of its positions and principles, that sometimes can
have a feeling that it does not really know what it is doing and what the
target is. This vagueness creates a mistrust and an
unwanted freedom to interpret as they choose. It also forms the climate where
members at all levels are inclined to see the spread of obstacles, instead of
forests of opportunities. Meanwhile positions of the two countries on many
issues are common and can lay the perfect basis for an intense bilateral boost.
The core is a proper communication and articulation of positions. Russia and Saudi Arabia both stand strong
against terrorism, in the face of which both stay vulnerable. In Syria both
countries agree upon the need for a period under the control of the
international community, the impossibility of Syrian federalization and
fragmentation. Both countries consider the installation of a secular government
in Syria
important. In case of Iran Russia could play a role of a mediator between Riyadh and Tehran,
assisting in easing of tensions and helping to build a constructive dialogue. As long as Donald Trump occupies the White House, Iran will
supposedly become far more flexible and compliant. No matter the difficulties
experienced, the two countries have a mutual interest of developing bilateral
ties and strengthening cooperation. But the main precondition of successful
development of ties is firstly effective mutual prejudices fighting, the
improvement of the climate of trust and fair cooperation.
Syria’s regime eyeing Idlib, yet difficulty persists
Raed Omari/Al Arabiya/January 21/17
Following the Syrian regime’s recapture of Aleppo in December last year, Idlib was expected to be the next battleground city. The
north-western province, which has been in the hands of rebels since May 2016,
is now the strongest rebel enclave in Syria with the arrival of thousands of
fighters from Aleppo and other parts of the war-torn country under the Russian-
and Turkish-sponsored deals with the Assad's government. So for being now Syria’s largest
pool of rebel fighters belonging to almost all opposition forces, Idlib is expected to be the Syrian regime’s next target
with the hope of ensuring a ‘comfortable’ grip of the country's major cities by
dislodging rebels from their strongholds and keeping them scattered in minor
opposition pockets here and there across the country.
After the recapture of eastern Aleppo, the
Syrian army, backed by Russia,
Iran,
Hezbollah and Iraqi Shiite forces, has succeeded in expanding its territorial
control over major cities. Except for ISIS-controlled Raqa
and rebel-held Idlib, all other major Syrian cities
are now under the control of the government forces. Southern
Daraa, the birthplace of the 2011
uprising, is somehow divided between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the
government. But the Syrian government’s control is still over the major cities
as almost entirely all the countryside towns and villages, even in Damascus and Aleppo,
are still controlled by the FSA and other opposition forces and that’s what
makes the presence of rebel fighters in Idlib a
worrying matter for the regime.
From a political perspective, the Syrian regime cannot begin a military
operation in Idlib neither now, nor in the near
future with preparations underway for a Russian-sponsored Syrian peace process
in Astana
Risky consequences
Militarily speaking, it is extremely difficult for the Assad regime to
launch a large-scale attack against rebel-held Idlib.
In the recent military campaign against Aleppo,
the government was reported as having deployed approximately 40,000 soldiers
who will be stationed there to ensure a sustainable grip over the densely
populated northern city. In order to retake the massive rebel territory in Idlib - at least the city - the regime needs to pull troops
out of Aleppo
to fight a guerrilla war through the city and its countryside where they will
be faced by the highly efficient groups Jabhat Fatah
Al Sham, the former al-Qaeda affiliate, and the hardline
Ahrar Al Sham. To avoid the risky consequences of
deploying ground troops in Idlib, the Syrian regime
would need to resort to intensified aerial bombardment which would mean further
widespread destruction of residential areas and the resources are not
available. Plus the world cannot afford to see another large-scale destruction
and suffering in Idlib like that in Aleppo.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the Syrian regime has pushed hard to
retake the border cities, first in Daraa, on the
border with Jordan, then Homs, on the border with Lebanon,
and lately Aleppo, on the border with Turkey. Idlib is also of strategic importance given its closeness
to Turkey and the coastal province of Latakia but the recent agreements between
the Assad’s ally Russia and Turkey have had
an immense impact on alleviating the strategic importance of Idlib to the regime.
Russia’s recent announcement that it had begun reducing its military
presence in Syria, which has had its undeniable contributions to turning the
tide in favor of Assad, was also an announcement to
the world that it would no longer support large-scale military operations in
Syria as it did in Aleppo and this would complicate any regime’s mission in Idlib.
From a political perspective, the Syrian regime cannot begin a military
operation in Idlib neither now, nor in the near
future with preparations underway for a Russian-sponsored Syrian peace process
in Astana. Unlike the previous three Geneva peace conferences on Syria, when
the regime’s military operations were on while the warring parties were
meeting, the Russians seem to be tough on preserving the ceasefire in Syria
definitely with the aim of proving their success in Kazakhstan as opposed to
the Western-backed peace efforts in Switzerland. Idlib
has turned into a densely populated city after the arrival of hundreds of
thousands of displaced Syrians and the nearly 30,000 evacuated rebel fighters
and their families from Aleppo.
According to the UN, Idlib now has around 200,000
inhabitants and this number is expected to increase if the north-western
province becomes out of reach or risky to reach by the regime. Idlib for the Syrian regime will be then like Gaza for Israel:
a nightmare, attacks from time to time, blockades, destruction and large-scale
suffering.
A call for working with the opposition
in Iran
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/Friday, 21
January 2017
In an unprecedented move, a 23 member bi-partisan
group of senior former US
officials signed a critical letter and delivered it to President-elect Donald
Trump. The letter suggested new policy options regarding the Islamic Republic
of Iran and the need for the United
States to open up a meaningful channel of
communication with the Iranian opposition, namely the coalition, National
Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which is led by Maryam
Rajavi. Maryam Rajavi is the president-elect of the NCRI and Congressman, Brad Sherman previously commended Rajavi, for her “advocacy of democracy, human and women’s
rights in Iran.”
In the letter dated Jan. 9, the former officials call for the US government “to establish a dialogue with Iran’s exiled
resistance, the National Council of Resistance of Iran.” A copy of the letter
dated January 9 can be found here.
This is something that has never been done under any other administration. The
letter is signed by senior former US officials including Rudy Giuliani, Joseph
Lieberman, General James Jones, Michael Mukasey,
Patrick Kennedy, General Hugh Shelton (Hugh Shelton, a former chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Bill Clinton), Tom Ridge, Louis Freeh,
and Ed Rendell to name a few.
NCRI and preserving US national interests
The letter explains that well-informed and revised
policies toward Iran
are needed due to the fact that the Islamic Republic has used every opportunity
since its establishment to scuttle US foreign policy objectives and damage US
national, geopolitical, economic and strategic interests with the assistance of
its proxies. “Iran’s rulers
have directly targeted US strategic interests, policies and principles, and
those of our allies and friends in the Middle East,” the letter reads, and it
adds “To restore American influence and credibility in the world, the United States
needs a revised policy.”The letter addressed the need
for President Trump to address the deficiencies of the nuclear agreement as
well as to focus on Iran’s
human rights violations. These objectives can be more easily achieved if the US cooperates with Iran’s largest opposition group in
exile.
Soona Samsami,
Representative in Washington for the National
Council of Resistance of Iran, said: “The letter by 23 former senior US officials is
an appropriate and timely initiative. Its recommendations fill a void that has
disabled US policy on Iran for over
three decades. Experience has shown that no amount of political or economic
concessions to the medieval and totalitarian regime ruling Iran will bring
about any change in its behavior. Standing firm
against the epicenter of terrorism and instability in
the region and siding with the Iranian people, the organized opposition and
their aspirations for a free and democratic Iran are key to regional and global
peace and security
Attempts to capitalize on moderation within this regime, under whatever pretext
or circumstance, are investments in a mirage. The initiative correctly
highlights the critical shortcoming in US Iran policy, which has been the
reluctance to reach out to the Iranian people and Resistance, who reject the
regime in its entirety and call for the establishment of democracy, pluralism,
separation of religion and state and a non-nuclear republic in Iran. More than
ever before, the Iranian people are ready for democratic change. The time has
come for a new approach by the incoming US administration; to take a new, fresh
look at the situation in Iran and consider the realities, long obscured by the
Iranian regime’s counterintelligence apparatus and the policy of appeasement
pursued by past US administrations.Standing firm
against the epicenter of terrorism and instability in
the region and siding with the Iranian people, the organized opposition and
their aspirations for a free and democratic Iran are key to regional and global
peace and security. Anything less will be a repeat of the failed policies of
the past.”
Largest opposition group in exile
The NCRI calls for a democratic system of governance in Iran, freedom
of religion, social justice, rule of law and respecting human rights. The NCRI
characterizes the political establishment of the current ruling cleric as
authoritarianism and a “religious dictatorship”.
It is believed that the NCRI is currently the largest Iranian oppositional
group in exile, and has connections with Iranians on the ground in Iran. Many
believe that these give the NCRI the crucial resources to play a very
significant role in counterbalancing the power of the ruling ayatollahs,
pushing for a democratic system of governance in Iran,
and preserving the United States’s national and economic interests. The NCRI has previously
revealed Iran’s
clandestine uranium enrichment sites.
Every year, the NCRI holds largest gathering of those who advocate for freedom
and democracy in Iran.
The NCRI’s headquarter is in Paris,
but it also has offices in Washington
DC and several other major
European countries.
For Iranian leaders, the NCRI is a serious threat to their hold on power. They
fear foreign governments’ cooperation with the NCRI because it would put
significant pressure on the ruling clerics and tip the balance of power against
them. Iranian leaders fear that Iranian opposition might inspire the disaffected
youth in Iran
to protest against the government. Khamenei has
repeatedly shown that his main concern is such infiltrations.
Finally, the officials urge Trump to cooperate with Iran’s opposition, as other
countries are doing the same – “History aside, no one disputes that the
resistance effort since 2001 has been entirely political in nature, including
discovering and revealing Iran’s secret nuclear weapons program in 2002 – an
act for which President George W. Bush publicly credited the resistance.It is time to end the fundamentalist regime’s
undue influence over US policy and establish a channel of dialogue with the
NCRI, as many other governments have done, consistent with the longstanding US
diplomatic practice of dialogue with political opposition groups worldwide.”Iranian leaders fear the soft power of
oppositional groups more than the military and hard power of foreign
governments.
Jeb Bush and Dennis
Ross: Donald Trump Should Isolate Iran Immediately
By: Jeb Bush and Dennis Ross/January 21/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/21/jeb-bush-and-dennis-rossjeb-bush-and-dennis-ross-donald-trump-should-isolate-iran-immediately%D8%AC%D8%A8-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B4-%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%86%D8%B3-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3-%D9%85%D8%B7%D9%84%D9%88/
http://time.com/4639396/donald-trump-iran/?xid=tcoshare
Bush, a former Florida governor, ran for President in 2016. Ross is a former
aide to Barack Obama.
In the year since the nuclear deal, Iran's
destabilizing presence has grown
Just days before Christmas, as U.S.
policymakers were settling into the holidays, Iran staged massive war drills, with one of its
top military leaders even boasting that the Persian Gulf
was within “range” of its fighting forces. At nearly the same time, Qassem Soleimani, the Commander
of the Qods Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC), surveyed the battered remains of Aleppo. Soleimani
now appears prominently wherever the Iranians deploy Shia
militias to weaken existing states and regimes in the broader Middle
East. Whether threatening to heat up the Persian Gulf or using Shia militias as an instrument of their power, we are
witnessing a pattern of Iranian aggression that has accelerated in the year
since the nuclear deal with Iran
was implemented.
While Tehran is saber-rattling and threatening
our allies in the region, the response from Washington, unfortunately, has remained
muted. Time and again, the Obama administration has ignored the comprehensive
nature of the Iranian threat and soft-pedaled non-nuclear sanctions seemingly
out of fear that Iran
would walk away from the nuclear deal.
As a result, and much to the worry of America’s
traditional allies, Iran’s
leaders have become more emboldened and its footprint continues to grow across
the region.
In the past, we have spoken publicly about the flaws of the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA), which in the end has not halted but only delayed Iran’s
path to a bomb—and at the considerable price of abandoning Western leverage
against Iran. To respond effectively, the Donald Trump administration should
not rip up the deal on day one—that would make U.S. actions and not destabilizing
and threatening Iranian behaviors the issue. We need
to isolate Iran,
not ourselves. But we must raise the costs of continued Iranian intransigence,
and to that end, the incoming Trump administration should adopt a more
expansive strategy towards Tehran: namely by
addressing those vital issues beyond the scope of the agreement, specifically Iran’s chronic
regional meddling.
While the JCPOA was being negotiated and implemented, Iranian-advisors with Shia militias from as far away as Afghanistan flooded Syria,
giving Tehran a military arc of influence
stretching to the Mediterranean. Eleven Arab
states also recently accused Iran
of sponsoring terrorism and meddling in their internal affairs all while the
nuclear agreement has been in effect. The U.S. State Department reached a
similar conclusion in June, when it renewed its designation of Iran as the
world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism, citing a “wide range of Iranian
activities to destabilize the region.”
A new pressure campaign on Iran
can help turn the tide. The United States
has no shortage of tools for affecting Iran’s behavior.
A good one to start with: aggressively enforce the existing sanctions
architecture.
Beginning on day one, the Trump administration can move quickly by pushing for
enforcement of the U.N. travel ban imposed on key figures in the Iranian
leadership, like Qassem Soleimani,
who has been pictured in Aleppo, Falluja and near Mosul, and
has met with counterparts recently in Russia. That’s not to mention
cracking down on Iran’s
multiple ballistic missile launches and its continued shipments of arms to Yemen,
violating the U.N. arms embargo. Such behavior is in
direct defiance of U.N. Resolution 2231, which enshrines the nuclear deal, and
is an example of Iran’s
lack of accountability. If Iran
continues to violate the letter and the spirit of the deal, the United States
must be prepared to walk away from the agreement.
The new Administration should also move quickly to cut off Iran’s
financial pipeline. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets
Control should not provide licenses to Boeing and Airbus until Iran stops using Iran Air and other carriers to
ferry weapons and personnel for the Assad regime and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The United States should also use its leverage with
the Iraqi government to restrict airspace used by Iran for these activities.
The new Administration must also establish unmistakable red lines for continued
Iranian harassment of U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, arms shipments to Yemen and other
nefarious activity. According to the U.S.
military, Iran has stepped
up its harassment of U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf.
Earlier this month, the U.S.S. Mahan was forced to fire warning shots after
IRGC vessels came within 900 yards of the Navy destroyer and did not respond to
requests to slow down. According to the Pentagon, a total of 35 interactions
with Iranian naval forces were deemed “unsafe and unprofessional” in 2016—in
the first half of 2016, the number of clashes were roughly double the number
that occurred during the same period in 2015. Providing new and more robust
authority to the U.S. Navy to respond to Iranian provocations would be a
significant first step.
Finally, the United States
must also become more aggressive in targeting Iran’s
aggressions in the Middle East. New bipartisan
efforts in Congress to turn back Iran’s destabilizing playbook
should be widely supported. The Preventing Destabilization of Iraq and Syria
Act of 2016, sponsored by U.S.
Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Casey, provides a strong
foundation. It would mandate the imposition of sanctions against terrorist
organizations and foreign countries, like Iran,
“that threaten the peace or stability of Iraq
or Syria.”
Such measures should also be extended to cover other crucial U.S. allies in the region, namely Israel, Bahrain,
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
It will be imperative for the incoming Administration to maintain the
bipartisan consensus in Congress that the status quo in Damascus
and Baghdad—and Iran’s role there—is unacceptable.
The Trump administration must broaden the agenda to account for Iran’s aggressive behavior
and inappropriate involvement across the Middle East.
Only through a new campaign of pressure can the U.S.
demonstrate to Iran
that it runs very great risks if its policies don’t change and if it is ever
tempted to pursue nuclear weapons again. Tougher policies now are likely to
reduce the risk of escalated conflict later on.
**Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida
from 1999 to 2007 and a 2016 Republican candidate for president, is an advisory
board member of United Against Nuclear Iran. Dennis
Ross, counselor at the Washington Institute for Near
East Policy and cofounder of United Against Nuclear
Iran, was a special assistant to President Obama from 2009 to 2011
Attacking Bahrain Season
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al
Awsat/January 21/17
The story goes like this – three citizens were found
guilty by a court of killing two Bahraini police officers and an Emirati
officer. They were given the death sentence by the court of cassation after
exhaustive trial proceedings in the presence of the defendants’ lawyers, and after their statements were heard in accordance
with court rulings that are in line with internationally accepted procedures.
After that, the customary party attended by international organisations and human
rights groups began.
These parties have become dull, repetitive and routine and they do not bring
anything new, even if they are supported by states and governments, in light of
the west’s coarse human rights awakening whose influence has started to erode
and is no longer what it was. This is not because people do not believe in the
role of organisations in consolidating human rights that are violated, but
because these same people are sick of the blatant politicisation of these
organisations, the lack of effective standards that determine their reactions
and their disparity when it comes to dealing with issues.
Since the events of February 2011, Bahrain has been the target of a
fierce Western campaign that organisations, bodies, governments and, unfortunately,
regional states have been involved in. However, it has managed to overcome the
effects of the crisis gradually and successfully. The tolerance that it has
displayed exceeds that of well-established states that experienced similar
crises and confronted them with violence and repression. Instead of helping Bahrain achieve success with its project of
reformation which ironically began ten years before the Arab Spring, the attack
against Bahrain
was fierce and everyone except its real friends abandoned it. However, this did
not prevent the kingdom from overcoming the toughest crisis in its history and
proving its unique ability to become stronger than it was.
Earlier this month, an attack on a prison in Bahrain led to the escape of ten
convicted prisoners who were convicted of serious crimes. The well planned
operation in which sophisticated weapons were used and a guard was killed is
considered new evidence that what Bahrain is facing is bigger than
can be imagined. There are many signs that innocent people are being exploited
in cells supported by Iran
that do not just pose a great danger to Bahrain’s stability, but also to
the stability of the entire region. Attempting to isolate events such as these
from the full picture of what is happening in Bahrain is a violation of human
rights unless the victims are not human beings!
Unfortunately, the political exploitation of human rights issues often defeats
their fundamental aim and turns these issues into an arena for political
attraction instead of being an arena purely for human rights in Bahrain. In Bahrain, for example, instead of these
international organisations carrying out their roles to deepen the necessary
concepts, stopping any potential violations, assisting in the review of
policies, practices and legislation and bringing them closer to international
standards, we find that the whole issue turns into abusing Bahrain
politically. We also find that this abuse is based on false information and
suspicious sources; in the recent incident, coverage focussed on the execution
of the three defendants and ignored the rights of the three victims and their
families. 25 Bahraini police men have been killed and 3,800 individuals have
been injured in clashes with demonstrators since 2011. Don’t they have rights?
Shouldn’t their killers be held accountable?
**Salman Aldosary is the
former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
John Kerry: What We Got Right
John Kerry/The New York Times/January 21/17
http://english.aawsat.com/2017/01/article55365971/johnkerry-got-right
With a new administration taking office this week, it
is natural to assess the inheritance it will receive from the old.
There are some who see nightmares wherever they look and insist that the entire
global system is unraveling and that America’s
position as world leader is in precipitous decline. As the departing secretary
of state, I cannot claim objectivity. But I will leave office convinced that
most global trends remain in our favor and that America’s
leadership and engagement are as essential and effective today as ever. A major
reason is that President Obama has restored assertive diplomacy as our foreign
policy tool of first resort and deployed it time and again to advance our
security and prosperity. This is evident, first of all, in our campaign to
defeat ISIS. Two and a half years ago, these
murderers were on the march across Iraq
and Syria.
Instead of rushing into a unilateral war, we responded by quietly helping Iraq
form a new and more inclusive government, and then assembling a 68-member
coalition to support a rehabilitated Iraqi military, the Kurdish Peshmerga and other local partners to liberate territory
once occupied by Daesh.
We are engaged in a climactic effort to free the largest remaining strongholds
in Iraq (Mosul)
and Syria
(Raqqa). These military steps depended on the
diplomatic cooperation we brokered to cut off Daesh’s
finances, slow its recruiting and rebut its poisonous
propaganda on social media and within the region.
President Obama took office with Iran’s nuclear program racing ahead
and our nation under mounting pressure to take military action. While making
clear we would do whatever it took to prevent Iran
from obtaining a nuclear weapon, we started with diplomacy, building the
strongest international sanctions regime the world has ever seen, and testing
whether Iran
would negotiate a deal that could ensure its nuclear program was exclusively
peaceful. As a result, without firing a shot or putting troops in harm’s way,
the United States and our
partners reached the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which blocked Iran’s pathways
to a nuclear weapon and made our nation, our allies and the world safer.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, the United
States could have responded as we had six years earlier,
when Russian intervention in Georgia
was largely met with rhetoric alone. But having repaired diplomatic ties badly
damaged by the Iraq war, the
Obama administration was able to defy skeptics by
working with our European Union partners to impose sanctions that have isolated
Russia
and badly damaged its economy. We also bolstered NATO with a major expansion of
our security assistance to allies in the Baltics and Central Europe.
Throughout, we continued to work with Russia when it was in our interest
to do so. But because we have stood firm, Russia is now — despite the boasts
of its leaders — plagued by dwindling financial reserves, a historically weak ruble and poor international relations.
President Obama has made clear to our allies and potential adversaries in Asia
that the United States
will remain a major force for stability and prosperity in their region. We have
rallied the world behind unprecedented sanctions against a menacing North Korea, increased our naval presence in the
Pacific, worked with regional actors to support the rule of law in the South
China Sea and forged a strategic partnership with India. We also united key partners
behind a landmark, high-standard trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, that we still believe should be ratified by Congress — all while
maintaining an often mutually beneficial relationship with Beijing.
When President Obama took office, efforts to protect our planet from the
catastrophic impacts of climate change were going nowhere, stymied by decades
of division between developed and developing countries. But our outreach to China led to a
series of breakthroughs that made last year the most consequential in the
history of climate diplomacy. Building on, rather than backing away from, that
progress would allow a historic shift toward clean energy and a chance of
saving the planet from the worst ravages of climate change.
The fruits of this administration’s diplomacy can also been seen in our own
hemisphere, where we strengthened our position by normalizing relations with
Cuba and helped end Colombia’s decades-long civil war. In Africa,
we gained friends by training young leaders and led a successful global effort
to contain Ebola.
Obviously, we haven’t solved every problem, particularly in the chronically
combustible Middle East. But the United States
was absolutely justified in stressing the need for a two-state solution between
Israelis and Palestinians.
I also remain convinced that the formula we pursued to end the agonizing
conflict in Syria was, and remains, the only one with a realistic chance to end
the war — using diplomacy to align key countries behind establishing a
nationwide cease-fire, providing humanitarian access, marginalizing terrorists
and promoting Syrian-led talks on creating a constitution and democratic
government.
The response of the international community to the tragedy in Syria will long
be debated. For years, United
States officials had those same debates in
the Situation Room. Some options, such as an enormous deployment of ground
troops, were rightly dismissed. Others, including deploying additional special forces in limited operations, were closer calls.
Month after month, we weighed the deteriorating conditions and uncertain
benefits of intervention against the very real risks, including deeper
involvement in a widening war. While I did not win every argument — no policy
maker does — I can testify that all viable ideas received a fair hearing.
I am not a pacifist. But I learned as a young man who fought in Vietnam that
before resorting to war, those in positions of responsibility should do
everything in their power to achieve their objectives by other means.
I just returned from Vietnam,
where smart and sustained diplomacy has accomplished what a decade of war never
could: developing a dynamic capitalist society, opening an American-style
university with the promise of academic freedom and, perhaps most improbably,
strengthening ties not just between our people, but also between militaries
that once saw each other as enemies. Looking ahead, my hope is that the
turbulence still evident in the world does not obscure the extraordinary gains
that diplomacy has made on President Obama’s watch or lead to the abandonment
of approaches that have served our nation well. Diplomacy requires creativity,
patience and commitment to a steady grind, often away from the spotlight.
Results are rarely immediate or reducible to 140-character bites. But it has
helped build a world our ancestors would envy — a world in which children in
most places are more likely than ever before to be born healthy, to receive an
education and to live free from extreme poverty.
The new administration will face many challenges, like every administration
before it. But it will take office this week armed with enormous advantages in
addressing them. America’s
economy and military are the strongest in the world, and diplomacy has helped
put the wind at our back, our adversaries on notice about our resolve and our friends
by our side.
Theresa May’s Brexit was Always Going to be Hard
Mark Gilbert/Bloomberg/January 21/17
In February 2015, economists at HSBC Holdings in London coined the terms “hard”
and “soft” Brexit. The latter would maintain “much of
the status quo” if the U.K.
voted to quit the European Union; the former entailed “huge risk and would be
operationally complicated.” Even just after the Brexit
vote, you could be forgiven for seeing the hard option as unlikely. But not today. The pound slumped below $1.20 to a
three-month low after the Sunday Times newspaper reported this weekend that
Prime Minister Theresa May will prioritize controlling immigration over trade
deals in the Brexit negotiations. I find that
reaction surprising; government ministers have been remarkably united ever
since the June referendum on the need to prioritize immigration controls,
whatever the price. A recent Economist magazine front cover castigated her as
“Theresa Maybe, Britain’s
Indecisive Premier.” That struck me as overly harsh; nothing to date from No.
10 is evidence of dithering. May has kept her word not to provide a “running
commentary” on the departure plans. That has meant precious little detail to
reassure business leaders, bankers or the 48 percent of Britons who wanted to
stay in the EU.
But they need not look hard to see the direction of travel: Ever since her
uncompromising October speech to the annual Conservative Party conference, May
has been unequivocal about her priorities. Nothing in the government’s stance
has hinted at anything other than a hard exit. Of course, innuendo isn’t the
same thing as having an outright statement of intent. A recent appearance
before a panel of fellow politicians was a masterclass
in obfuscation. “Brexit means Brexit”
and “we want a red, white and blue Brexit” are great soundbites, but aren’t exactly road maps to what May
envisages post-EU Britain
will look like.
So in the speech she’s scheduled to give tomorrow, the prime minister needs to
find a middle ground between not handing valuable ammunition to her negotiating
opponents, and telling the British public what her key priorities will be in
those discussions.
Is she really planning to abandon access to the single EU market and instead
seek trade deals with the likes of New Zealand? Will the U.K. abandon
the customs union? Does her apparent disdain for the banking industry mean
she’s not trying to maintain the passporting system
that allows 5,500 financial firms based in the U.K. to sell services across the
bloc? On the latter point especially, the longer it takes to deliver clarity,
the more likely companies are to move preemptively
and shift jobs and investment away from Britain.
Specificity comes with risks. It’s worth remembering that May is an unelected
leader, of both the country and her own party (while Tory MPs selected her, the
broader membership never voted). She is currently popular, far more so than the
opposition and any other potential leader. But popularity in politics can be
quickly eroded and May’s party has a long history of infighting over Europe — recall John Major describing his anti-EU faction
as “bastards” in 1993 when he was PM. It may yet again become divided.
In tomorrow’s speech, May needs to categorically disprove the “muddled
thinking” accusation delivered by the outgoing ambassador to the EU, Sir Ivan
Rogers, earlier this month. Her electorate, and the rest of the EU, deserve
something better than the vague, broad-brush pronouncements available until now
— even if that means detailing a hardline stance that
worries those of us who fear the economic consequences of a hostile divorce.
The "Fake News" Censorship
Industry
Robbie Travers/Gatestone Institute/January 21/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9802/fake-news-censorship
Name a single person or organisation you trust to control your speech. Whom
would you trust to control what you can read, or make decisions on what is true
and what is false for you? Whom do you trust to police what you think?
The German government thinks it knows exactly who should be the arbiter of
truth and what articles you should be allowed to post. Itself!
This would lead to a monopolisation of the media industry. One or two large
platforms would dominate the public debate; fringe voices would be ignored or
cast aside.
Who is to police the police? Facebook, caught out,
already had to dismiss those compiling their trending stories, when it was
revealed that they had a runaway political bias and were routinely suppressing
(conservative) material with which they did not agree.
The whole censorship industry is open to abuse; presumably, that is what
censorship is for in the first place.
Name a single person or organisation you trust to control your speech. Whom would
you trust to control what you can read, or make decisions on what is true and
what is false for you? Whom do you trust to police what you think?
The German government thinks it knows exactly who should be the arbiter of
truth and what articles you should be allowed to post. Itself!
After a bill was proposed by German lawmakers, which threatened fines of up to
500,000 euros ($522,000) for publishing "fake
news," Facebook decided to use an organisation
called Correctiv, described as a German fact-checking
non-profit organisation, to decide whether reported stories are
"real" or "fake."
This system would then encourage individual Facebook
users to report other users' posts to Correctiv. Facebook would then have Correctiv
label any of the articles "fake news," as they see fit.
Even then, this proposed response by Facebook was not
harsh enough for some German lawmakers, who want articles deemed to be fake by the government to be removed within 24 hours, or
else fine Facebook 500,000 euros.
That move would undoubtedly lead to individuals abandoning Facebook
for other social networks, or more probably, Facebook
abandoning them. German attempts to police the Facebook
could end up useless; to many, the plan looks suspiciously like a money-making
stratagem.
A centralized "speech police" would also create a monopolisation of
the media industry. One or two large platforms would dominate the public
debate; fringe voices would be ignored and cast aside.
If there is an organisation created to adjudicate "truth," how does
one criticise the organisation? Surely an organisation with no mechanism to be
criticized or left with the "honour system" to criticise itself
should raise alarm bells.
News sources dismissed by governments may often speak the truth. What if they
are right? Valuable news may come from outside the mainstream media.
At a time when the established media are not particularly trusted to begin
with, how could censorship not harm faith in the news even more? In the event
of any dispute, smaller companies would not be able to afford expensive lawyers
to fight the German government. How long until the war chests of social media
users empty, compared to the virtually inexhaustible resources of the German
state?
Furthermore, how do all these policing networks ensure the neutrality of their
staff, who are supposedly determining the accuracy of
articles? Who is to police the police? Facebook,
caught out, already had to dismiss those compiling their trending stories, when
it was revealed that they had a runaway political bias and were routinely
suppressing (conservative) material with which they did not agree.
Facebook's "Trending News Team" banned
people exposing jihadists, but allowed pages glorifying anti-police violence
and pages promoting anti-Israeli terrorism. That is quite a track record.
Individuals, without even inciting violence, have been wrongly censored by Facebook. A former Gatestone
writer, Ingrid Carlqvist, saw her account suspended; Gatestone writer Douglas Murray's articles were censored
from Facebook; and this author had his Facebook blocked for questioning Black Lives Matter. All
the banned authors challenged politically correct revisions of events.
The whole censorship industry is open to abuse; presumably, that is what
censorship is for in the first place. What is to stop individuals from
stigmatizing an article multiple times? Algorithms and sophisticated computer
programs could silence articles, as well. New information comes along, which
changes statistics or facts that were believed to be accurate at the time. All
it takes is a single complaint of "fake news" to tarnish a true
article with that label -- putting a stain on a journalist either out of
political motivation, malice, or simply by mistake. Even algorithms make
mistakes. People would start to wonder what they could report that would not be
considered "fake news". Is that the kind of press the free world
wants?
The German government could start fining, as "fake news," political
opinions it finds "inconvenient" -- a perfect way to close down discussion.
o government should be deciding what is worthy and
what is unworthy of being published. News organisations often publish stories
that governments might think is not in the national interest. It is much too
easy to declare a story "fake" because it might not suit a political
interest. That is the method used by dictatorships; it is correctly called
authoritarian abuse.
The best way to counter fake news is to let people speak freely, check the
facts, then present a counter-argument. The marketplace of ideas will decide
its fate.
*Robbie Travers, a political commentator and consultant, is Executive Director
of Agora, former media manager at the Human Security Centre, and a law student
at the University
of Edinburgh.
© 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.
Iran Has Changed, But For The Worse
Heshmat Alavi/Forbes/January
21/17
Mr. Alavi is an Iranian activist focusing on human
rights, social crackdown, the regime's support for terrorism, and its nuclear
program.
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/21/heshmat-alaviforbes-iran-has-changed-but-for-the-worse/
The pro-Iran engagement policy camp long advocated how
a nuclear agreement with Iran
would lead to a slate of numerous changes sought in the regime, rendering
benefits to go around for everyone. More than one year down this road, the
world has witnessed many changes in Iran. However, they are nothing to
boast about.
The nuclear accord, while it should have never been supported or discussed by
the international community in the first place, has been successively violated
by the Iranian regime. Tehran
continues its atrocious executions, human rights violations and ongoing
oppression of ordinary citizens inside the country. And the mullahs in Tehran
have continued their mantra of exporting “Islamic Revolution” by engulfing the
entire Middle East, and beyond, into mayhem, as we are unfortunately witnessing
so vividly today in Syria.
The main “change” we have witnessed in Iran has been the numerous
instances where the regime has either stretched or actually violated the
flaw-riddled Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the heavy water-level
limit aggression being the latest such case.
The reinstatement of the Iran Sanctions Act with 99 votes in favor was a very important first step. This move has set an
example of what is needed to guarantee Iran understands there will be
consequences for agreement violations. And yet we need to go beyond and build
upon this momentum.
This is the time to counter Iran’s
terrorism in the region and the world. Iran is and has been, of course,
the world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism. Iran is busy destabilizing
Syria with an incredible human catastrophe, as in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon,
boasting about enjoying control over four Arab capitals of the region.
The “change” we have seen in this regard is that Tehran is willing to dispatch
tens of thousands of proxy militias to Syria and repeat a Srebrenica-style
massacre, caring not an iota about how the international community might
respond. Let us hope Aleppo has opened our eyes
to the horrific potential in Iran’s
support for extremism and its export of Islamic fundamentalism.
The “change” the world has witnessed in Iran’s pursuit of a vast
weapons-of-mass-destruction program is its bold new approach in proliferating
efforts related to mastering ballistic missiles. Iran’s missile tests have continued
to violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, yet there has been
hardly any serious global response.
Iran’s
ballistic missile tests “are not consistent with the constructive spirit” of
the JCPOA, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
said in a report.
As we speak, reports indicate the Iran-fostered and -nurtured Lebanese
Hezbollah vaunts of stocking over 120,000 missiles in its arsenal. If gone
unanswered, there is no limit to what extent Iran will exploit the lack of will diseasing the international community.
This is the time to confront Iran
over its violation of human rights on its own home turf. In 2009, the Iranian
people revolted for their God-given rights, shaking the very pillars of the
regime’s foundations. And yet former U.S. President Barack Obama, then recently
elected to the White House by the American people with high hopes of “change,”
failed to respond to their cries for support. The oppression and repression of
the mullahs’ regime that followed is something the world should never forget.
As Obama continued his devastating appeasement policy with Iran, the
mullahs have not changed their course. They have not changed their designs.
They have not changed their hegemonic focus.
This is a time for the United
States to respond. Senator Robert Menendez
(D-NJ) has in cooperation with Senator Robert Corker (R-TN), chairman of the
Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Countering Iran Threat Act. This,
too, is an initiative that the next Congress can and is recommended to build
upon.
If so, this can be the building blocks of the West,
spearheaded by America,
deterring Iranian aggression. This can lead us, as a world, in moving to
a better day and a higher hope where the Iranian people can ultimately achieve
the freedoms and blessings the democratic world enjoys today.
The world now finds itself before an opportunity to counter Iran’s
continuing threats. We are entering a new era in American foreign and national
security policy.
In a letter hand-delivered to U.S. President Donald Trump, nearly two dozen
former senior U.S. government officials–representing a rare bipartisan
spectrum–urged Washington to work with the Iranian opposition National Council
of Resistance of Iran.
As Iran
continues its domestic oppression and military buildup,
this should be one focus of the Trump administration’s foreign policy and the
agenda of the new Congress.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gradsoflife/2017/01/16/all-labor-has-dignity-reflections-on-dr-kings-struggle-for-justice/#111aa3fc4598