LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 10/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For Today
All who exalt themselves will be
humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 14/07-11/:"When he noticed
how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. ‘When you are
invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour,
in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and
the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, "Give this person your
place", and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when
you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host
comes, he may say to you, "Friend, move up higher"; then you will be honoured in
the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves
will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.".
They went out from us, but
they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have
remained with us
First Letter of John 02/12-20/:"I am writing to you, little children, because
your sins are forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young
people, because you have conquered the evil one. I write to you, children,
because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who
is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and
the word of God abides in you,and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love
the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who
love the world; for all that is in the world the desire of the flesh, the desire
of the eyes, the pride in riches comes not from the Father but from the world.
And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God
live for ever. Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist
is coming, so now many antichrists have come. From this we know that it is the
last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had
belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by going out they made it
plain that none of them belongs to us. But you have been anointed by the Holy
One, and all of you have knowledge."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on August 09-10/16
Israel’s let-down: Putin-Erdogan
hook-up with Iran/DEBKAfile/August 09/16
One year later, promises of Iran deal unfulfilled/Gov. Tom Ridge/The
Philadelphia Inquirer/August 09/16
The Other Root of Terrorism/Louis René Beres/Gatestone Institute/August 09/16
Needed: Peace in Kashmir/Jagdish N. Singh/Gatestone Institute/August 09/16
Germany’s Migrant Rape Crisis Spirals out of Control/Soeren Kern/Gatestone
Institute/August 09/2016
40 years after Operation Entebbe, the fight for glory still rages/Ronen Bergman/Ynetnews|/August
09/16
One Year After JCPOA: Iran-U.S. Relations According To Iranian Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei/MEMRI/August 09/16/
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
on August 09-10/16
Report: Saudi to Lower Level of
Diplomatic Representation in Lebanon
Report: Fugitives in Ain el-Hilweh Successively Surrendering
US gives Lebanon $50 million of military assistance
FPM ready to drop Aoun for a people's candidate: Bassil
Bassil Urges New Army Chief, Respect for 'National Pact' in Picking President
Telecoms Issue on Cabinet Agenda in a Month after Harb Completes File
Report: Geagea Could be Mulling New Presidential Nominee
Siniora’s Comments Drive Confusion in Lebanon, Necessitates his Apology from
Berri, Salam
Future bloc reiterates call for swift presidential election
Geagea: Full basket proposal and reform projects drifting us away from
presidential deadline
Bassil: We support appointment of new Army commander
Qahwaji inspects Tripoli military, maintains army to stay away from politics
Interior and municipalities minister Nouhad Mashnouk : New president to be
elected soon
Majdalani: Orthodox sect should have Senate presidency
Interior and Municipalities Minister, Nuhad Mashnouq launches new biometric
passport
Pharaon launches Amchit festival
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
on August 09-10/16
Putin and Erdogan Meet to Mend Ties after Jet Downing Rift
U.N.: Two Million at Risk of Siege in Syria's Aleppo
U.N.: Four Days without Running Water in Sweltering Aleppo
First Coalition Air Raids in Three Months Hit Yemen Capital
NCRI Sports Committee on Iran regime’s scandal at the Olympics
Brave mother condoles mothers of Iran political prisoners
The Independent: Activists mark anniversary of Iran’s 1988 massacre
Iran regime hangs political prisoner Mohammad Abdollahi and five other prisoners
Ambassador Bolton says MEK right: Amiri's execution about "unprecedented
defections"
Egypt's el-Sissi defends handling of nation's ailing economy
A Christian Duty in the Face of Terror
State won't discuss Clinton email link to Iran executing nuke scientist spy
Links From Jihad Watch Site for
on August 09-10/16
Hijab-wearing US Muslim Olympian claims she feels unsafe in US
“all the time”.
Theresa May allowed Muslim bomber wanted for jihad terrorism and death of
schoolgirl to remain in UK.
The FBI knew jihadis were targeting Garland free speech event. So why did they
have only one agent there?.
Parents suing Hillary Clinton for wrongful death and defamation over jihad
murders in Benghazi.
Hugh Fitzgerald: Calculating the Costs of Muslim Terrorism: La Braderie, For
Example.
Forced underage marriages on the rise in Switzerland.
Florida: Orlando jihad mass murderer’s father attends Hillary Clinton rally.
“Create bomb for miss universe”: Islamic State in Philippines calls for mass
murder at beauty pageant.
Michael Ledeen on “The Field of Fight” — on The Glazov Gang.
Video: Robert Spencer on Hannity on Khizr Khan’s statements about Sharia.
on August 09-10/16
Report: Saudi to Lower Level
of Diplomatic Representation in Lebanon
Naharnet/August 09/16/Saudi Arabia is inclined to lower the level of its
diplomatic representation in Lebanon due to security fears related to the
expected “critical” situation in the region in the next three months, a media
report said on Monday. “Informed sources have described the current situation as
critical and dangerous, revealing that we are on the verge of three pivotal
months, especially regarding the regional crises,” MTV reported. “The
sensitivity of the current situation might prompt the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to
lower the level of its diplomatic representation in Lebanon from ambassador to
charge d'affaires,” the TV network added, quoting the sources as saying that
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri, who is currently in the kingdom,
might not return anytime soon to the country. “The confrontation will be very
fierce over the next three months in Aleppo and Yemen, seeing as negotiations
over the Yemeni crisis have stopped and preparations for a decisive military
battle have started, while in Aleppo a counterattack (by rebels and jihadists)
has kicked off,” the sources said according to MTV. “Faced by this situation,
and to avoid any security pressure in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia will temporarily
limit its representation to charge d'affaires level,” the informed sources
added. Tensions between the kingdom and Lebanon's Hizbullah are at an all-time
high and Riyadh has recently labeled the group as a “terrorist organization.” It
has also led the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League and the Organization
of Islamic Cooperation in issuing similar resolutions. The kingdom and other
Gulf countries have accused Hizbullah of forming militant cells in the Gulf and
offering aid to Yemen's Huthi rebels. Saudi Arabia and Hizbullah are also at
odds regarding the Syrian conflict, seeing as Riyadh backs rebels seeking to
oust Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime while Hizbullah has dispatched
thousands of fighters to bolster the Syrian leader's forces. Syrian rebels said
Saturday they have broken a three-week government siege of second city Aleppo,
turning the tables on Russian- and Hizbullah-backed regime forces who are now on
the defensive. The key northern province of Aleppo is a microcosm of Syria's
chaotic multi-front war that has killed more than 290,000 people. Rebel and
regime forces have fought to control the provincial capital since mid-2012,
transforming the former economic powerhouse into a divided, bombed-out city.
Report: Fugitives in Ain el-Hilweh
Successively Surrendering
Naharnet/August 09/16/Some promising developments have emerged lately in the
Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh after several fugitives, who sought
refuge in the camp, turned themselves in to the army intelligence the recent was
Mohammed Taha, son of Tawfiq Taha the commander of Abdullah Azzam Brigades and
another fugitive of the Darwish family, al-Mustaqbal daily reported on Tuesday.
Palestinian sources following up closely on the issue, assured that more
fugitives will turn themselves in and that the army checkpoints that were
erected at the entrances to the camp saw nine fugitives surrender in less than
two weeks. They added that there are around 600 people of different
nationalities inside the camp classified as wanted by the Lebanese authorities.
They did not rule out the prospect that high-risk fugitives might consider
turning themselves in “since the time is more appropriate than ever.”The daily
said it obtained information that “some of these fugitives have opened channels
with Palestinian and Lebanese parties in order to test the waters.”A senior
Palestinian official pointed out that the wave of surrenders can only be seen as
positive since it vents the security pressure that has been burdening the camp
and its residents. It heralds for a new and advanced stage of
Lebanese-Palestinian cooperation in countering any attempts that aim to shake
the security situation in the camp, or use it as a conduit to harm Lebanon's
stability and safety. The official added that what is happening in Ain el-Hilweh
delivers a two-target message: towards Lebanon's neighboring countries that the
camp has been freed of guilt of being a harbor for fugitives, and a reassurance
message to fugitives, who wish to surrender, that the opportunity became
available to them today more than ever. However, some factors have contributed
in encouraging the fugitives to surrender, most notably the good treatment given
by the army to the detained in addition to the psychological and social
pressures and the dire living conditions they experience in the camp.
US gives Lebanon $50 million of
military assistance
Ynetnews-AP/August
09/16/After having a $3 billion aid package from Saudi Arabia get cut off, the
Lebanese Armed Forces received a $50 million aid package from the US on Tuesday;
Included are humvees, Howitzer cannons, ammunition; aid is to help government
fight Islamists on Syrian border. BEIRUT- The United States delivered $50
million worth of military assistance to Lebanon's army to help it battle against
Muslim extremists near the border with Syria on Tuesday. US Ambassador to
Lebanon Elizabeth H. Richard told reporters at Beirut's port that the latest
assistance is in "an entire ship full of military equipment."A US Embassy
statement said the shipment includes 50 armored Humvees, 40 Howitzers and over
1,000 tons of ammunition. The US has been speeding up delivery of ammunition to
help Lebanon's military combat jihadi groups near the border with Syria. "This
year alone, we provided over $221 million in equipment and training to the
Lebanese security forces," Richard said. "I'd also like to point out that
Lebanon is the 5th largest recipient of United States foreign military financing
in the world."In March, Washington delivered three Huey II helicopters, raising
to 10 the number of such US- made aircraft in Lebanon's fleet . Washington has
provided more than $1 billion in military assistance to Lebanon since 2006.
Saudi Arabia previously had a deal to send $3 billion in aid to the small
Levantine nation,but suspended the aid package following Beirut's failure to
condemn attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran in February.
FPM ready to drop Aoun for a
people's candidate: Bassil
The Daily Star/August
09/16/BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement chief Gebran Bassil said his party was
prepared to withdraw its support for MP Michel Aoun if the Lebanese people chose
a different presidential candidate. Speaking in a televised news conference,
Bassil, who inherited the leadership of the FPM from Aoun, his father-in-law,
also rejected a new extension to the term of the army commander. "We are not
holding onto Michel Aoun and we are ready to let go of him when the Lebanese
choose [a new candidate]," Bassil said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly
meeting in Rabieh. Aoun, who is the bloc's leader, is supported by Hezbollah,
the Lebanese Forces and some March 8 groups. Marada Movement chief Sleiman
Frangieh, the other main presidential candidate, is backed by the Future
Movement, Speaker Nabih Berri, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt,
and some independent lawmakers. Bassil accused the FPM's rivals of seeking to
"destroy" the country by holding onto their stances, blasting Christians for
failing to agree on a consensus candidate. Lawmakers from Aoun’s bloc,
Hezbollah’s bloc and some of their March 8 allies have been boycotting
presidential election sessions, thus preventing a quorum, for more than two
years. However, Bassil said the FPM would not back down on its "constitutional
right."
"We want the election of a national president who represents all the Lebanese as
we are not holding onto the person, but a principle."Aoun has been calling for a
constitutional amendment to allow the Lebanese people to vote directly for their
head of state. His proposal drew criticism from his political rivals.
Turning to the extension of Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi's term, Bassil said
his party was completely against such a move. "We are still in the same vicious
circle," Bassil said, rejecting attempts by officials to delude the people into
thinking that "it is impossible to appoint a new commander."
The FM stressed that the Change and Reform bloc will take a firm stance if the
extension goes through. Defense Minister Samir Moqbel recently said that he may
sign off on another extension for the army leader, whose term is set to expire
in September. The extension of Kahwagi's term by one year last August infuriated
the Free Patriotic Movement, which led the party's two ministers to boycott
Cabinet for months. They finally agreed to rejoin Cabinet after the Defense
Ministry appointed new members to the Military Council. Concerning the FPM's
feud with Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb over the country's illegal
internet scandal, Bassil said that whether the reports filed by the minister
were 700 pages or 19 pages long, they were empty of any substance. He accused
Harb again of covering up for Abdel-Moneim Youssef, the CEO of state-owned
telecommunications company Ogero.
Allegations have surfaced that Youssef was embroiled in the illegal internet
scandal, and he has been questioned over the case.
Bassil Urges New Army Chief, Respect
for 'National Pact' in Picking President
Naharnet/August 09/16/Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil stressed
Tuesday that the FPM insists on the appointment of a new army chief and called
for respecting sectarian balances in the presidential vote. “We support the
appointment of a new army chief and we're against extending the term of the
incumbent commander in an illegal manner. It is not impossible to agree on a new
commander,” said Bassil after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform bloc
in Rabieh. “We insist on the appointment of a new army commander and we will
have a response” should there be a term extension, the FPM chief warned. “Last
year they said that the problem was that the proposed candidate was General
Aoun's relative but what is the problem this year?” Bassil asked, referring to
Chamel Roukoz, the former commander of the Commando Regiment and FPM founder MP
Michel Aoun's son-in-law. “The army has officers that are capable of assuming
its command,” Bassil added. On July 31, a media report said the FPM intends to
turn Prime Minister Tammam Salam's cabinet into a “caretaker cabinet” should the
term of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji be extended by another year.
“Amid the circulated reports about the inclination of Defense Minister Samir
Moqbel to extend the army chief's tenure, FPM officials have informed the
premier that the movement intends to force the cabinet to act in caretaker
capacity should Qahwaji's term be prolonged,” An Nahar newspaper quoted unnamed
sources as saying. The sources revealed that the FPM leadership is accusing
Moqbel of resorting to “double standards” seeing as “a new chief of staff will
be appointed while the army chief's term will be extended.” The term of the
chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Walid Salman, ends in August while that of Qahwaji
expires in September. Qahwaji's retirement had been postponed in September 2013
and his term was instead extended for two years. Turning to the issue of the
stalled presidential vote, Bassil emphasized that the FPM will only accept a
president elected in a manner that respects the 1943 National Pact, which is an
unwritten agreement that set the foundations of modern Lebanon as a
multi-confessional state. “We are not clinging to General Aoun as a person and
we are ready to endorse another candidate when people choose someone else,” the
FPM chief added. He also noted that his movement will not accept another
extension of the parliament's term or holding the next parliamentary polls under
the 1960 electoral law. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of
Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc
and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral
sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum. Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader
ex-PM Saad Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late
2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency
but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian
parties as well as Hizbullah. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue
that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of
his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.
Telecoms Issue on Cabinet
Agenda in a Month after Harb Completes File
Naharnet/August 09/16/The thorny telecoms file will not be addressed during
Thursday's cabinet meeting because Premier Tammam Salam has asked
Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb to complete the file and return it back
to the cabinet in a month for discussions, ministerial sources told al-Liwaa
daily. The sources assured that the file has not been overlooked as alleged by
some and added that Harb, who is currently outside the country, will present on
time an integrated report as requested. Conflicts linger between Harb on one
hand and foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and Education Minister Elias Bou Saab on
the other over what reports said is linked to personal gains over the telecoms
file. The telecommunications sector file and demands to replace OGERO Telecom
chief Abdul Menhem Youssef over corruption claims consumed much of the cabinet
session that was held last week. Discussions were supposed to tackle renewing
the contracts of the two mobile service providers and the file of the illegal
internet supply network that was uncovered in March.
Report: Geagea Could be Mulling New Presidential Nominee
Naharnet/August 09/16/Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea could be mulling the
possibility of nominating a new candidate for the presidency other than founder
of the Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun, although a senior source at the
party assured otherwise, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday. The daily
related to Geagea's interview to the Saudi al-Riyadh newspaper where he pointed
out and said: “We are looking for a solution to the current crisis, not that
because we support Aoun, but because we want to push forward the Lebanese
institutions.” Geagea added that “any breakthrough at the presidential level, no
matter who the candidate is, would be better because there is nothing worse than
the vacuum and its consequences.”Political observers said that LF's comments “no
matter who the candidate is” can be interpreted as a regress in his commitment
to nominate Aoun, and a willingness to accept other candidates for the post,
according to the daily. However, a senior LF source downplayed the suppositions
and assured that the “party supports Aoun. The issue is not linked to the person
alone but to the presidency as an institution. The primary given that imposes
itself here is that Aoun garners Hizbullah's support, although the party is
still maneuvering in the presidential file, and on the other hand he enjoys the
support of the LF.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of
President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014. Hizbullah, MP Michel Aoun's Change
and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's
electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum. Geagea withdrew his own
candidacy and endorsed Aoun for the post. Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia,
launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP
Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations
from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The supporters
of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to
become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger
influence in the Christian community.
Siniora’s
Comments Drive Confusion in Lebanon, Necessitates his Apology from Berri, Salam
Paula Astih/Asharq Al Awsat/August 09/16/Beirut- The comments of head of the
Future parliamentary bloc, Fouad Siniora, created confusion in the political
arena on Monday when his words were placed out of context, driving requests he
should apologize from each of Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Tamam
Salam. Following a failed 43th parliament session to elect a president in
Lebanon, Siniora said the insistence of head of the Change and Reform
parliamentary bloc, MP Michel Aoun to be nominated for the presidential seat in
the spirit that he is the strongest Christian leader means that head of the
Future Movement Saad Hariri would become the country’s Prime Minister, and that
head of the so-called Hezbollah parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad would become
the country’s Speaker. Sources close to Siniora told Asharq al-Awsat that in his
comments, the head of the Future parliamentary bloc was sending a message to
Aoun and his political team and not to Berri and Salam, adding that it was not
an issue of who was the strongest in his own sect. The source said: “The legacy
of any new president is taken from his capacity to achieve national unity and
bring together the ideas of the different parties.”He added that Siniora and the
Future movement were attached to Berri and Salam in the current phase until
solving the crisis the country is going through.”Aoun insists he should be
elected president in the spirit that he owns the biggest Christian parliamentary
bloc.On Monday, the Future movement reiterated its support to the nomination of
Marada movement MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidential seat. In his press
conference from Parliament, Siniora said: “The issue of electing a new president
is similar to the election of a prime minister and a speaker, and therefore, it
is not restricted to Christians, but should include all parties.” Vice-president
of the Future Movement, Antoine Andraos denied the presence of a basket through
which parties agree on the country’s three top leaders: the president, the prime
minister and the speaker. Andraos told Asharq Al-Awsat: “There is a priority to
elect a new president without any conditions.”
Future bloc reiterates call for
swift presidential election
Tue 09 Aug 2016/NNA - Future bloc expressed regret over the continual disruption
attempts and vacancy in presidential seat, reiterating the dire need for MPs to
swiftly elect a new president of the republic, in compliance with constitutional
norms. The bloc's fresh words came on Tuesday in the wake of its periodic
meeting at the Central House, under the chairmanship of former Prime Minister
Fouad Siniora, to tackle latest developments on the local arena. The Bloc
considered that the election of the president constitutes the prelude to the
well-functioning of constitutional institutions and thus addressing the
longstanding predicaments and deadlock. Future noted that though the ongoing
dialogue has not yet reached a decisive and immediate outcome, yet it remains an
effort to open prospects for the continuation of communication and debate in the
coming period, especially on the basis of what has been agreed upon in the last
dialogue session in terms of emphasizing priority for presidential election. The
bloc also reiterated the paramount importance of fully respecting and abiding by
all the stipulations of the Constitution, emphasizing the paramount importance
of continual adherence to the Taef Accord, as a starting point for every
dialogue steps and working on the application of all remaining unimplemented
items notably the reform part. "The bloc still believes that dialogue is the
best means of communication among the Lebanese, under the roof of the
Constitution, especially in light of the prevailing atmosphere in our
surrounding region," bloc said in a statement read out by MP Ammar Houry.
Geagea: Full basket proposal
and reform projects drifting us away from presidential deadline
Tue 09 Aug 2016/NNA - Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, said on Tuesday that
the currently debated full basket proposal and other reform projects were only
drifting the Lebanese farther and farther away from the presidential deadline.
"Those who are serious about achieving the presidential deadline are called
forth to head to the House of Parliament and elect a president without losing
time -- whether intentionally or unintentionally -- over highly complicated
issues which have been being suggested outside their natural framework and amid
very unsuitable circumstances," Geagea said before a visiting delegation of
insurance and traffic experts in Meerab. Geagea went on to regret the fact that
Lebanon remained "a state project en route to resurrection"; however, he lauded
the security situation at the local scene, especially amid the simmering
regional situation. On another level, the LF leader said that the existence of
diverse political parties was of paramount importance. "We cannot go on
practicing 19th century politics. Politics differ when it comes to social
relations. To be an active member at the House of Parliament, one should be a
member of a weighty parliamentary bloc that's capable of passing laws and
projects," Geagea said, citing the example of supreme world powers such as
Europe, the US, Australia, and Japan, whose "political life leads a straight
course thanks to political parties."
Bassil: We support
appointment of new Army commander
Tue 09 Aug 2016/NNA - Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Gebran Bassil, said that
Free Patriotic Movement's position was permanent and consistent; "we oppose the
extension and we support the appointment of a new commander of the army."
Minister Bassil's words came Tuesday in the context of the regular weekly
meeting for the bloc of Reform and Change in Rabieh. "This time, the pretext
they used against us regarding the appointment of a relative to General Aoun has
faded away. We will take a position in the event of the extension of army
commander's mandate," added Bassil. "We are not adhering to the person of Change
and Reform bloc, but to the principle of preserving the country, and when people
choose someone else we will support the chosen," he noted. He said that some
were preventing consensus and were leading the country to chaos. He added that
the bloc would not refrain from favoring its right and supporting a consensual
president enjoying a vast popularity.
Qahwaji inspects Tripoli
military, maintains army to stay away from politics
Tue 09 Aug 2016/NNA - Lebanese Army Chief, General Jean Qahwaji, inspected on
Tuesday the military units deployed in and around Tripoli, and met with a number
of officers and servicemen, to whom he gave necessary instructions. During his
meeting with the brass, Qahwaji hailed the efforts and sacrifices made by the
army "in order to control the Lebanese-Syrian borders and preserve stability in
Tripoli and the north.""The army is today more competent in terms of munitions,
training, and strengths," he indicated. "The military institution shall remain
the backbone of the nation, away from any political or sectarian polarizations,"
he concluded.
Interior and municipalities
minister Nouhad Mashnouk : New president to be
elected soon
Tue 09 Aug 2016/NNA - Interior and municipalities minister Nouhad Mashnouk
stressed his belief that a new president will soon be elected, confirming his
optimism regarding Lebanon's future. Mashnouk stressed during his participation
in 2016 conference of the Lebanese Diaspora council of businesses the presence
of live action represented in "serious interior discussions within all political
parties which would result in a better outcome." Mashnouk called not to
undermine the importance of security stability and all parties' intention to
maintain that. Mashnouk pointed out that the law of regaining nationality has
been set on the right track and "nobody can ignore it neither today nor
tomorrow", underscoring the intent to execute that is present. The minister
stressed the presence of a comprehensive national agreement and a consensus
among all Lebanese parties of rejecting any kind of naturalization despite all
international hints, pointing out to the presence of leniency from the former
cabinet as for dealing with Syrian displacement. Mashnouk said "despite our
understanding of the current concerns a gradual process should be found that
takes into consideration the national security and leads after a while to giving
the nationality of the Lebanese mother to her children."
Majdalani: Orthodox sect should have Senate presidency
Tue 09 Aug 2016/NNA - MP Atef Majdalani wished on Tuesday all political parties
would agree on assigning the presidency of the expected Senate to be founded to
the Orthodox sect which comes fourth in population after the Sunnite, Shiite and
Maronite sects. The MP pointed out that despite the orthodox sect has been
deprived of many positions; its leaders chose to lick the wound in order to ease
issues because they considered the interest of the country above any other
consideration, adding that enjoying "this logical approach does not mean that
the orthodox sect doesn't know its rights." Majdalani said "We don't want our
demand to have the Senate presidency to look as if it is just a sectarian demand
because we aim from that to regain a kind of balance in distributing rights and
responsibilities and to secure the success of the said Senate in its national
mission."
Interior and
Municipalities Minister, Nuhad Mashnouq launches new biometric passport
Tue 09 Aug 2016/NNA - Interior and Municipalities Minister, Nuhad Mashnouq,
visited on Tuesday the General Directorate of General Security headquarters, on
the occasion of launching the new Lebanese biometric passport. Minister Mashnouq
was greeted upon arrival by General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim and senior
public security officers. In his delivered word, Major General Ibrahim said he
is glad to welcome Minister Mashnouq at the headquarters, to celebrate together
the commencement of a qualitative Lebanese step represented in the new biometric
travel passport. "This step, whose first piers were laid more than ten years
ago, came into force with the support of the Lebanese government and the direct
follow-up by Minister Mashnouq," General Ibrahim said. Ibrahim noted that this
step is part of the development programs devised by the General Directorate, in
the framework of the Directorate's sustainable work to update its offices,
departments and centers across all Lebanese territories. "The launching of the
biometric passport, which adopts international safety standards more accurately,
and in accordance with the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation
Organization, is a new achievement to be added to the achievements of the
General Directorate in all fields," the General said. Minister Mashnouq, for his
part, hailed the General Security's serious efforts in its close follow up on
the issue of the fight against terrorism, bringing to attention that the
Internal Security Forces, notably the Information Division, and the General
Security managed to execute two proactive processes within one year to foil
major terrorist acts in Lebanon. On the biometric passport, Mashnouq pointed out
that the Cedar placed on the cover sums up reflections and debate to render it a
footprint that represents all the Lebanese.
Pharaon launches Amchit festival
Tue 09 Aug 2016/NNA - Tourism Minister, Michel Pharaon, patronized the launching
of Amchit festival on Monday during a press conference in the presence of Amchit
Municipality president and said festival president, Joe Younan. The minister
paid tribute to media representatives who have covered the cultural and artistic
activities in order to promote the positive and civilized face of Lebanon. He
also praised the role that the police, the army and ISF members played to
provide stability and security during the performance of such activities in
Lebanon. He called upon Education Minister to extend the summer vacation a week
time in order to allow people attend the festivals which will take place in
September. Younan said that Amchit festival will last three days, from 2 to 4
September and will include several musical activities.
Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
on August 09-10/16
Putin and Erdogan Meet to Mend Ties
after Jet Downing Rift
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August
09/16/Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip
Erdogan on Tuesday looked to rebuild ties as they met for the first time since
Ankara downed one of Moscow's warplanes in November. Erdogan's visit to Putin's
hometown of Saint Petersburg is also his first foreign trip since the failed
coup against him last month that sparked a purge of opponents and cast a shadow
over Turkey's relations with the West. "Your visit today, despite a very
difficult situation regarding domestic politics, indicates that we all want to
restart dialogue and restore relations between Russia and Turkey," Putin said
after the two leaders shook hands. Erdogan, who has said the trip represents a
"new milestone", told Putin that ties had entered a "very different phase" and
thanked the Kremlin leader for his backing after the coup attempt. The shooting
down of a Russian fighter jet by a Turkish F-16 over the Syrian border last fall
saw a furious Putin slap economic sanctions on Turkey and launch a blistering
war of words with Erdogan that seemed to irrevocably damage burgeoning ties. But
in late June, Putin surprisingly accepted a letter expressing regret over the
incident from Erdogan as an apology and quickly rolled back a ban on the sale of
package holidays to Turkey and signaled Moscow would end measures against
Turkish food imports and construction firms. Now in the wake of the failed July
15 coup attempt, there are fears in Western capitals that NATO-member Turkey
could draw even closer to Moscow -- with Erdogan bluntly making it clear he
feels let down by the United States and the European Union. Putin was one of the
first foreign leaders to phone Erdogan offering support after the coup attempt
and shares none of the scruples of EU leaders about the ensuing crackdown.
In the latest sign of rocky relations with the West, Turkey's justice minister
on Tuesday warned that the United States will "sacrifice relations" unless it
extradites Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for the
failed coup.
Back to business?
Relations between Turkey and Russia -- two powers vying for influence in the
strategic Black Sea region and Middle East -- have historically not been
straightforward. Yet before the plane downing crisis, Moscow and Ankara managed
to prevent disputes on Syria and Ukraine harming strategic cooperation on issues
like the TurkStream gas pipeline to Europe and a Russian-built nuclear power
station in Turkey. Those projects were all put on ice with trade between the two
countries falling 43 percent to $6.1 billion in January-May this year and
Turkey's tourism industry seeing visitor numbers from Russia fall by 93 percent.
Now with Russia mired in economic crisis due to Western sanctions over Ukraine
and low oil prices along with Turkey's outlook flagging, both men want to get
business started again. Turkish media said Erdogan's entourage was made up of
over half a dozen ministers including his son-in-law energy minister Berat
Albayrak and the powerful head of the country's National Intelligence
Organization (MIT) Hakan Fidan.
Friends for real?
The earlier uptick in relations between Turkey and Russia was built on a macho
friendship between Putin and Erdogan, two combative leaders in their early 60s
credited with restoring confidence to their nations in the wake of financial
crises but also criticized for clamping down on human rights. But after such a
bitter dispute -- which saw Putin accuse Erdogan of stabbing Russia in the back
and profiting from an illegal oil trade with the Islamic State group -- it will
take a lot for the pair to reheat relations. Russia, which is conducting a
bombing campaign in support of Erdogan's foe President Bashar Assad in Syria,
transformed the balance of the Syrian civil war last September when it
intervened militarily, to Turkey's consternation. Erdogan has insisted that
Assad must still go -- a position opposed by Putin -- but told Russian media
that the conflict at the heart of the falling out with Moscow could now become
the focus for renewed cooperation between the two sides. "Russia is a main, key
and very important player in establishing peace in Syria," Erdogan said in
comments translated into Russian. "The problem needs to be solved with the help
of joint steps between Russia and Turkey."
U.N.: Two Million at Risk of Siege in Syria's Aleppo
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 09/16/More than two million people in
Syria's Aleppo are in danger of coming under total siege, the United Nations has
warned, calling for immediate access to the heavily bombed city. Ferocious
fighting has rocked divided Aleppo in recent weeks, with rebels and regime
forces seizing rival access routes and cutting off residents. In a statement on
Monday, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official in Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, and
regional coordinator Kevin Kennedy called for a "humanitarian pause" in the
hostilities. Two million people in the city are living in fear of besiegement,
including up to 275,000 people trapped in east Aleppo, the statement said. The
fighting in Aleppo is reported to have killed at least 130 civilians since the
end of July, and has damaged hospitals, clinics, and the city's power and water
networks. "The UN stands ready to assist the civilian population of Aleppo, a
city now united in its suffering," the statement read. "At a minimum, the UN
requires a full-fledged ceasefire or weekly 48-hour humanitarian pauses to reach
the millions of people in need throughout Aleppo and replenish the food and
medicine stocks, which are running dangerously low." Fighting in Aleppo, Syria's
former economic powerhouse, flared in late June when government forces closed in
on the Castello Road, the last route into rebel-held parts of the city. The road
was severed in mid-July, sparking food shortages and skyrocketing prices in the
eastern districts. In a major push last week, a coalition of rebels, Islamists,
and jihadists cut off the regime's own main access road on the southern edges of
the city. Each side has used their newly acquired territory to bring food and
other supplies into neighbourhoods of the city they control, but the roads are
still not safe for civilians to use. "When used to intentionally deprive people
of food and other items essential to their survival, siege tactics constitute a
war crime," the UN statement said. More than 290,000 people have been killed
since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011.
U.N.: Four Days without Running
Water in Sweltering Aleppo
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 09/16/Up to two million people in Syria's
Aleppo have gone without running water for the past four days, the United
Nations warned Tuesday, describing the situation as "catastrophic."The U.N.
children's agency said that the fierce fighting that has rocked Aleppo in recent
weeks had damaged the electricity networks needed to pump water supplies
throughout the divided city. "Children and families in Aleppo are facing a
catastrophic situation," Hanaa Singer, UNICEF's representative in Syria, said in
a statement. "These cuts are coming amid a heatwave, putting children at a grave
risk of waterborne diseases," she said, stressing that "getting clean water
running again cannot wait for the fighting to stop. Children's lives are in
serious danger."Temperatures in Aleppo were pushing 40 degrees Celsius (104
degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, according to BBC Weather. UNICEF pointed out
that attacks on July 31 had struck the electricity transmission station which
powered water pumping to the eastern and western parts of the city. Authorities
had urgently restored an alternative power line on August 4, only to see it
damaged less than 24 hours later, with intense fighting hampering repair
efforts. "As a result, the whole city has been without running water for four
days," the UNICEF statement said. The U.N., which has called for an urgent
"humanitarian pause" in the fighting in Aleppo to help trapped civilians,
estimates that some two million people are in danger of coming under total
siege. That number includes up to 275,000 people believed to be trapped in
rebel-controlled east Aleppo, and well over one million who are in the
government-controlled western part of the city, as well as those in the suburbs.
Experts with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights meanwhile put the embattled
city's population at no more than 1.5 million. UNICEF said it and its partners
were scaling up their emergency response to bring safe drinking water to
civilians in Damascus. But it warned that civilians would soon be forced to
resort to unsafe water sources if the pumping systems were not quickly repaired.
"We urge parties to the conflict to immediately allow safe access for
technicians to conduct critical repairs to the electricity and water systems,"
Singer said. More than 290,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict
erupted in March 2011.
First Coalition Air Raids in
Three Months Hit Yemen Capital
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 09/16/Saudi-led coalition warplanes have
resumed air strikes on Yemen's capital for the first time in three months,
killing 14 people Tuesday and shutting the airport after U.N.-brokered talks
were suspended. The coalition intervened in March last year after Shiite Huthi
rebels and allied forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh overran
Sanaa the previous September. They later tightened their grip on power and
forced President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee in February 2015. Hadi is now
based in Riyadh, as are members of his internationally recognized government who
travel between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's temporary capital Aden in the south.
Coalition spokesman General Ahmed Assiri confirmed that the air strikes against
the rebels had restarted and led to the closure of Sanaa airport, saying
warplanes hit military targets "around" the city. Medics in the capital told AFP
that 14 people were killed in coalition strikes which residents said hit a food
factory in central Sanaa. Factory director Abdullah al-Aqel gave a higher toll
of 16 dead and 10 wounded, and said all the victims were workers.
'Charred bodies'
The al-Aqel factory, which makes potato chips and is near a military equipment
maintenance center targeted in the raids, was hit during working hours, he said.
Six charred bodies were removed from the rubble in the area, residents had said
earlier. Huthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam, writing on Facebook, accused the
coalition of "committing heinous crimes" by targeting a food factory. He also
spoke of other strikes in the rebel strongholds of Saada, Hajja, and Ibb. The
raids come less than 72 hours after more than three months of U.N.-brokered
peace talks in Kuwait were suspended following the appointment by the rebels and
their allies of a council to run Yemen. The talks made no headway, but U.N.
envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed refused to call the negotiations a failure and
said he would continue to consult with both sides to arrange further meetings. A
ceasefire that started on April 11 failed to hold as the parties traded
accusations of violations. Assiri said the coalition had respected the truce for
three months but had resumed operations because of increased violations by the
rebels and the failure of the Kuwait talks. In July, the rebels rejected a U.N.
peace plan and announced the creation of the governing council whose 10 members
they named on Saturday, a move that strengthens their control of Sanaa. Despite
being backed by coalition air power, government forces have so far failed to
retake Sanaa and other parts of northern Yemen. Authorities are also struggling
to assert control on southern parts of the country they have recaptured since
last year as al-Qaida and Islamic State group militants exploited the conflict
to expand in these zones. Coalition aircraft have also been targeting al-Qaida
and IS jihadists.
Flights suspended
A security official said on Tuesday that air strikes by the coalition have
forced al-Qaida out of Azzan, a key town in the southern province of Shabwa.
Azzan lies on the highway between Shabwa's provincial capital Ataq and Mukalla,
capital of the vast desert province of Hadramawt and which was under al-Qaida
control for a year until April. In Sanaa, flights were suspended on Tuesday for
at least three days. "Operations are ongoing, and this could endanger flights,"
Assiri told AFP. Sanaa airport director Khalid al-Shayef said the facility would
be shut for 72 hours from Tuesday morning, at the order of Saudi Arabia.
Abdulsalam wrote on Facebook that Saudi authorities did not allow the rebel
delegation's flight from Kuwait, which made a stopover in Muscat, to leave for
Sanaa on Tuesday. It was postponed for more than 72 hours after coordination
with the United Nations, he said. The U.N. says that more than 6,400 people,
mostly civilians, have been killed in Yemen since the coalition air campaign
began last March. The fighting has also driven 2.8 million people from their
homes and left more than 80 percent of the population needing humanitarian aid.
NCRI Sports Committee
on Iran regime’s scandal at the Olympics
Tuesday, 09 August
2016ظStatement of the Sports Committee of the National Council of Resistance of
Iran about the clerical regime’s scandal at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
With the commencement of the Olympics, countries around the world sent their
athletes with honor and respect and with all required facilities, to bring honor
for their respective countries on the world stage. But in our plundered country
Iran, where everything including sports has been destroyed by the inhuman
mullahs, only a few athletes were able to participate in the competition in a
limited number of venues at the Olympics.
According to received reports, the looters ruling our homeland, whose corruption
and scandals in plundering the Iranian people’s assets bother everyone, have
failed to provide minimum requirements for Iranian athletes. They even failed to
provide the possibility for the dispatched volleyball team coach to the Olympics
in Rio de Janeiro to attend the opening ceremony. The captain and team members,
in an honorable measure to protest this ugly and repulsive act by the regime,
did not leave their coach alone and refused to participate in the opening
ceremony.
The Sports Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran condemns the
officials of the mullahs' regime who have destroyed all spheres including in the
field of sports and it calls on all athletes in our homeland to restore the
values of sportsmanship and the spirit of the heroic national sport and to
distance themselves from the anti-Iranian mullahs.
Moslem Eskandar Filabi
Chairman of the Sports Committee of the National Council of Resistance of
Iran/August 8, 2016
Brave mother condoles mothers
of Iran political prisoners
NCRI - The mother of an executed attempted rape victim has written an open
letter of support to the mothers who lost their children in last week’s mass
execution.
Sholeh Pakravan, whose daughter Reyhaneh Jabbari was executed in 2014, has
become a prominent advocate for human rights in Iran.
Pakravan’s letter begins: “Let us chain our hands together to prevent the harm
to our loved ones inflicted by the [regime].”She explains the horror that the
relatives of those executed by the Iranian regime face; along with the loss of
their loved ones, they may also be prevented from burying them. The regime will
then try to discredit their victims by filling their affiliated press with
rumors and lies.
She knows the pain they must be feeling, having the final meeting with their
children stolen from them. She said: “I know you still feel a great pang in your
heart. You do not understand the meaning of sleep and food, fatigue and pain… I
know all anxieties suddenly disappear and instead a sea of sorrow emerges in
your heart. You feel that the bitterness of moments cast all over your world and
all of your dreams cannot come true. You cannot hear your children's voice or
you cannot embrace or smell them. I know you go to sleep enthusiastically so
that you see your children in the dream”. She urges those who have lost loved
ones due to the regime to “sing the hymn of justice” and resist the regime.
The Independent: Activists
mark anniversary of Iran’s 1988 massacre
Tuesday, 09 August 2016/NCRI - Anglo-Iranians are campaigning in London to draw
attention to the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran, Britain's
Independent reports. The following is the text of a report published by The
Independent on Monday:
The Independent
8 August 2016
Iranian opposition activists stage mock execution outside Downing Street to mark
anniversary of 1988 massacre
The National Council of the Resistance of Iran is calling for the UK government
to acknowledge the executions and human rights abuses in the country
Caroline Mortimer
Protesters have staged a mock execution as they entered the final day of their
hunger strike outside Downing Street in a bid to pressure the UK government into
condemning the “horrific” executions being carried out in Iran.
The three-day demonstration began on Saturday to coincide with the anniversary
of the massacre of around 30,000 political prisoners across the country in 1988.
Iran’s supreme leader at the time, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a secret
fatwa against people deemed to be “at war with Allah”.
During the five-month purge the majority of people executed came from the main
political opposition party, the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, and other smaller
left-wing groups such as the Iranian Communist party.
Many were members of the minority Sunni Islamic community.
Over the weekend groups of Anglo-Iranians and British supporters marked the
anniversary in protest over the more than 2,500 people they say have been hanged
in the country since the start of Hassan Rouhani’s presidency in 2013.
The National Council of the Resistance of Iran, which organised the protest,
said: “The hunger strikers and protesters are urging the UK government to
categorically condemn the incessant cruel hangings that are taking place
unabatedly in Iran and act with its Western allies to press for an immediate
halt to the executions and torture in Iran.
“They also called on the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to
refer the human rights dossier of the mullahs’ regime to the International
Criminal Court for the prosecution of its leaders including the Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.”
The Paris-based group’s president-elect Maryam Rajavi described the 1988
massacre as an “appalling crime against humanity” and said it was time for the
UN “to end their silence and bring the record of the Iranian regime's crimes
before the International Criminal Court.”
Conservative MP Matthew Offord offered his support to the protesters saying: “I
would like to send my best wishes to all of you who are protesting against the
horrific events we have seen happening in Iran over this past few weeks.
“The mass execution of Sunni political prisoners is deeply disturbing and has
rightly been condemned.
“A few weeks ago, I spoke to over 100,000 people who attended the annual
National Council for Resistance in Iran conference in Paris.
“It was a great opportunity for myself and fellow parliamentarians to express
our concerns over these events and we will continue to stand with you all and
highlight your concerns in Parliament.”
Iran regime hangs political prisoner Mohammad Abdollahi and five other prisoners
NCRI/ Tuesday, 09 August
2016
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/08/09/%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%B7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83/
- Iran's fundamentalist regime on Tuesday executed political prisoner Mohammad
Abdollahi and five other prisoners in a jail in Orumieh (Urmia), north-west
Iran.
Mohammad Abdollahi, 35, a Kurdish political prisoner from Bukan, was arrested in
March 2011 in Mahabad by the regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)
intelligence unit and was sentenced to death on the charge of “Moharebeh”
(waging war against God). He began a hunger strike on May 29 which lasted 32
days to protest his unjust sentence.
The five ordinary prisoners who were hanged alongside Mr. Abdollahi were
identified as Jahangir Razavi-Zadeh, Kamran Pourfat, Towhid Pour-Mehdi, Amir
Azizi and Gabriel Can’ani.
Mr. Razavi-Zadeh's wife, Parisa Hatami, is at imminent risk of execution.
Reacting to the executions on Tuesday, Shahin Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said:
“The mullahs have resorted to a killing spree that has continued for the past
few weeks. This clearly indicates further despair and isolation of the regime
which has found no solution other than to resorting to further executions and
suppression in the face of increasing internal and international crises. This is
the very same regime that resorted to the massacre of 30,000 political
dissidents, mainly activists of the PMOI (MEK), in 1988. It once again proves
that the notion of moderation and reform within this regime is nothing but a
total myth.”
Background
IRAN: 11 prisoners in Orumiyeh and Karaj at imminent risk of execution
Mohammad Abdollahi, Kurdish political prisoner is among prisoners transferred
for execution
The Iranian Resistance calls on the United Nations, particularly the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights and international human rights organizations to
take urgent action to prevent the execution of Kurdish political prisoner
Mohammad Abdollahi and 10 other prisoners who are on the verge of execution in
the prisons of Orumiyeh and Karaj.
On the morning of Monday August 8, henchmen forced Mohammad Abdollahi out of the
prison yard of Ward 12 of Orumiyeh Central Prison and into solitary confinement.
At the same time the Ministry of Intelligence informed his family to come from
Mahabad to Orumiyeh Prison for their last visit.
Mohammad Abdollahi, 35, a Kurdish political prisoner from Bokan was arrested in
March 2011 in Mahabad by the Revolutionary Guards intelligence unit and was
sentenced to death on the charge of “Moharebeh” (waging war against God). He
began a hunger strike on May 29 which lasted 32 days to protest his unjust
sentence.
Meanwhile six ordinary prisoners of Orumiyeh Central Prison including the mother
of a three-year-old child have been transferred to solitary confinement for
their execution. On the same day, four prisoners in Gohardasht Prison were
transferred to solitary confinement and are on the verge of death.
In another development in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, following the criminal
execution of 25 Sunni political prisoners on August 2, mercenaries of the prison
special guards raided the wards of Sunni political prisoners, beat them, and
transferred a number of them to Ward 5 while blindfolded and handcuffed. Dozens
of Sunni political prisoners in Hall 21 of Ward 7 have gone on hunger strike
since August 2 to protest the execution of the prisoners.
Mohammad-Javad Larijani, secretary of the so-called "human rights council" of
the regime’s Judiciary, whose task is to provide justification for torture and
executions carried out by the regime, while acknowledging the "high number of
executions" pointed out that "Westerners are secular and liberal, and security
is the basis of the formation of Western governments." He added: "We do not have
to be imposed human rights based on that Western logic ..... to hell with the
fact that they are unhappy with us. Are we supposed to win their hearts?” (Fars
News Agency, affiliated to the IRGC, August 4, 2016).
In his August 7 letter to Mr. Zeid Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights, in justifying the mass execution of at least 25 Sunni political
prisoners on August 2, he wrote: "Any individual or group under any cover and on
any basis who wants to make the society insecure and create the atmosphere of
fear and terror certainly deserves to be tried and punished." (Fars News Agency,
August 7).
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the Foreign Policy and National Security Commission
of the regime’s parliament, said: "Human rights are not a Western concern ...
They are concerned about the lives of terrorists that we were right to execute."
Indecisiveness by the international community against these criminal executions
emboldens the leaders of the regime to continue their crimes. They must be
prosecuted and punished for 38 years of killings and crimes against the Iranian
people.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
August 8, 2016
---
Iran: Clashes in front of Orumiyeh prison and arrest of families of prisoners
Following the transfer of Kurdish political prisoner Mohammad Abdollahi and six
ordinary inmates of Orumiyeh prison to solitary confinement for the
implementation of their death sentence, a number of families of prisoners who
had come to Orumiyeh for a final visit to their children, staged a protest in
front of the prison. In response to the concerned families, prison henchmen
said: "Do not gather here. We will call you later to come and pick up their
bodies." MOIS agents also threatened the protesting families that in case of
interviews and sharing information on the execution of their loved ones, they
will not be able to get their bodies. This was followed by a brutal raid on the
rally by henchmen where a number of families were arrested.
The religious fascism ruling Iran has hanged at least 36 prisoners from August
2-6 in various cities.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
August 8, 2016
Ambassador Bolton says MEK right: Amiri's execution about "unprecedented
defections"
Tuesday, 09 August 2016/NCRI
- Discussing with Fox News the Iranian regime's execution of the nuclear
scientist, Shahram Amiri, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John
Bolton, said that the claim by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
that Amiri's death was a response to "unprecedented defections within its own
ranks" needed to be taken "very seriously" by the U.S. intelligence services. He
said that the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), the largest
component group of the NCRI, had "long known a lot about the inside of the
nuclear weapons program in Iran," and had "been right in every material
respect."The NCRI's statement said: "Amiri's execution is a desperate attempt by
the Supreme Leader, Khamenei, to intimidate and terrorize the regime's nuclear
scientists, and prevent them from leaving the country after the nuclear deal.
Engulfed in serious domestic and external crises and facing growing popular
discontent and opposition at home, the regime has had to deal with unprecedented
defections within its own ranks" Amiri had apparently defected to the U.S. in
2009 only to return a year later. Amiri claimed he had been kidnapped by the
U.S., but Ambassador Bolton dismissed this idea as "fanciful." The NCRI said
that he only returned to Iran because the regime threatened his family. In
hanging 40 year-old Amiri, the regime stated he had provided the enemy with
vital information on its nuclear program. Ambassador Bolton said the execution
"shows just how deadly serious the Iranian nuclear program is and just how high
the stakes are." He concluded, "So much for the nuclear deal changing the
behaviour of the mullahs - not a bit of it, not a bit of it."
The interview took place on Sunday, August 7, 2016.
http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/nuclear/20862-ambassador-bolton-says-mek-right-amiri-s-execution-about-unprecedented-defections
Egypt's el-Sissi defends handling of
nation's ailing economy
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's president on Saturday defiantly dismissed criticism of his
handling of the country's ailing economy, arguing that the skeptics were seeking
to undermine the will of Egyptians. In comments marking the first anniversary of
the inauguration of an expansion of the Suez Canal, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi
strongly hinted that the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood was behind a persistent
campaign to cast doubt on the economic worthiness of several mega projects his
government has undertaken. El-Sissi, a general-turned-politician, said a foiled
assassination attempt on Egypt's former mufti in Cairo on Friday was designed to
"spoil" the joy of Egyptians over the waterway's anniversary. "It is the
implementation of the rule of either we rule or kill you," said el-Sissi, who
led the military's 2013 ouster of the Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi, whose one
year in office proved divisive and prompted mass street protests. Sheikh Ali
Gomaa, the former mufti and a zealous supporter of Morsi's ouster, was unharmed
in the attack, for which a little-known group claimed responsibility. El-Sissi's
latest comments were his most detailed on the growing criticism of his economic
policies, particularly the feasibility of the massive and costly projects he has
opted to launch since his June 2014 election. These include the Suez Canal
expansion, reclaiming 1.5 million acres in the desert, a nationwide network of
roads, a new capital and the construction of cheap housing. Critics contend the
projects have not been sufficiently studied, stretched the country's already
shaky finances and drained resources from more pressing areas. Egypt's economic
woes, meanwhile, have been worsening despite billions of dollars in grants and
loans from oil-rich Gulf nations since 2013, with the vital tourism industry
still rooted in a slump, foreign currency in short supply, unemployment and
inflation rates in double digits and the local currency's value falling. "What
is being done to you, Egyptians, is an attempt to defeat your will," el-Sissi
said in a televised address from the Suez Canal city of Ismailia. "The objective
of all the doubting is to undermine every achievement and strike at the will of
the people. But it is an impossible task." El-Sissi said he was vexed by the
criticism, which he said also touched on the multi-billion dollar foreign arms
purchases made in the last two years. "What is the deal? This is very strange,
seriously," a visibly frustrated el-Sissi said. "We have said before that the
army must be strong because the region is going through a difficult phase." He
acknowledged, however, that the Egyptian pound's value was falling against the
U.S. dollar and that prices were soaring, but returned to his oft-repeated
assertion that what has been achieved under his stewardship would normally have
taken 10-15 years to accomplish. "There will be skepticism with every
achievement," he said, repeating another frequently stated theme by cautioning
Egyptians against plots to divide them. International Monetary Fund delegates
are in Cairo negotiating with government officials over what Cairo says is a
request for a $12 billion loan over three years to bail out the country's
flagging economy. An agreement would hinge on Egypt's willingness to introduce
far-reaching and politically sensitive reforms such as lifting or reducing state
subsidies, better tax collection and devaluing the local currency.
El-Sissi has said that "difficult" decisions will have to be made to rectify the
economy, but vowed that low-income Egyptians would be shielded from additional
hardship.
A Christian Duty in the Face of Terror
by Fr. George Rutler | Updated 26 Jul 2016
As priest is slaughtered by ISIS at the altar, the West must wake up
After another devastating ISIS attack in France, this time against a priest in
his 80s while he was saying Mass, the answer isn’t just, “Do nothing.” As racism
distorts race and sexism corrupts sex — so does pacifism affront peace. Turning
the other cheek is the counsel Christ gave in the instance of an individual when
morally insulted: Humility conquers pride. It has nothing to do with self-defense.
Christ warned the apostles, as shepherds, to beware of wolves. The Catholic
Church has always maintained that the defiance of an evil force is not only a
right but an obligation. Its Catechism (cf. #2265) cites St. Thomas Aquinas:
“Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone
responsible for another’s life, the common good of the family or of the State.”
A father is culpable if he does not protect his family. A bishop has the same
duty as a spiritual father of his sons and daughters in the church, just as the
civil state has as its first responsibility the maintenance of the “tranquility
of order” through self-defense. Christ warned the apostles, as shepherds, to
beware of wolves. This requires both the "shrewdness of serpents and the
innocence of doves." To shrink from the moral duty to protect peace by not using
force when needed is to be innocent as a serpent and shrewd as a dove.
Saint John Capistrano led an army against the Moors in 1456 to protect Belgrade.
In 1601, Saint Lawrence of Brindisi did the same in defense of Hungary. As
Franciscans, they carried no sword and charged on horseback into battle carrying
a crucifix. They inspired the shrewd generals and soldiers, whom they had
assembled through artful diplomacy, with their brave innocence. This is not
obscure trivia: Were it not for Charles Martel at Tours in 732 and Jan Sobieski
at the gates of Vienna in 1683 — and most certainly had Pope Saint Pius V not
enlisted Andrea Doria and Don Juan at Lepanto in 1571 — we would not be here
now. No Western nations as we know them — no universities, no modern science, no
human rights — would exist. In the ninth century, the long line of martyrs of
Cordoba told the Spanish Umayyad Caliph Abd Ar-Rahman II that his denial of
Christ was infernal, and that they would rather die than surrender. Saint Juan
de Ribera (d. 1611) and St. Alfonsus Liguori (d. 1787) repeated the admonition
that the concept of peace in Islam requires not co-existence but submission. The
dormancy of Islam until recent times, however, has obscured the threat that this
poses — especially to a Western civilization that has grown flaccid in virtue
and ignorant of its own moral foundations. The shortcut to handling the crisis
is to deny that it exists.
On the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, there
were over 60 speeches, and yet not one of them mentioned ISIS. Vice has
destroyed countless individual souls, but in the decline of civilizations,
weakness has done more harm than vice. "Peace for our time" is as empty now as
it was when Chamberlain went to Munich and honor was bartered in Vichy. Hilaire
Belloc, who knew Normandy and all of Europe well, said in 1929: "We shall almost
certainly have to reckon with Islam in the near future. Perhaps, if we lose our
faith, it will rise. For after this subjugation of the Islamic culture by the
nominally Christian had already been achieved, the political conquerors of that
culture began to notice two disquieting features about it. The first was that
its spiritual foundation proved immovable; the second, that its area of
occupation did not recede, but on the contrary slowly expanded."
The priest in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvrary in Normandy, France, was not the first
to die at the altar — and he will not be the last. In his old age, the priest
embodied a civilization that has been betrayed by a generation whose hymn was
John Lennon's "Imagine" — that there was neither heaven nor hell but "above us
only sky" and "all the people living for today." When reality intrudes, they can
only leave teddy bears and balloons at the site of a carnage they call
"inexplicable."
**Fr. George William Rutler is a Catholic priest and the pastor of the Church of
St. Michael in Manhattan.
State won't discuss Clinton email link to Iran executing nuke scientist spy
By Sarah Westwood /WAshington Examinar 8/8/16 /A State Department spokeswoman
dodged questions Monday about whether the discussion of Shahram Amiri, an
Iranian scientist who was executed by the Iranian government for working with
the U.S., in a pair of Hillary Clinton's private emails may have played a role
in his recent fate."We're not going to comment on what may have led to this
event," said Elizabeth Trudeau, a State Department spokeswoman."I couldn't speak
to Iranian judicial procedures related to this specific case," Trudeau said.
"We've made our concerns known writ large around Iranian due process."She noted
the State Department had been "very public about this case when [Amiri] chose to
return to Iran," pointing to a press conference Clinton gave in July 2010.
Subscribe today to get intelligence and analysis on defense and national
security issues in your Inbox each weekday morning from veteran journalists
Jamie McIntyre and Jacqueline Klimas. In those remarks, Clinton compared Amiri's
ability to leave the U.S. on "his own free will" with Iran's decision "to hold
three young Americans against their will." She did not reference the scientist's
work with the U.S. government. But emails made public in August show State
Department aides referring to Amiri as "our friend." An Iranian official was
quoted attributing Amiri's execution to his collusion with the "Great Satan,"
America.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on on August 09-10/16
Israel’s let-down: Putin-Erdogan
hook-up with Iran
DEBKAfile/August 09/16
The talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Reccep Erdogen in St. Petersburg
scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 9, are causing trepidation among Israel’s
policy-makers and military leaders. Their summit takes place on the sidelines of
the G-20 summit, concluding nine months of hostility between the two capitals
that was sparked by Turkish jets shooting down a Russian SU-24 warplane over the
Syrian border on Nov. 24, 2015.
The feud was put to rest on July 17 - two days after Erdogan suppressed the
attempted military coup against his rule. The Turkish ruler decided there and
then to exploit the episode to expand his strength and use it not only for a
massive settling of accounts with his critics, but also as a springboard for
parlaying his reconciliation with Moscow for a strategic pact with Russia.
In Israel, the worry is that while turning his back on the United States and
NATO, Eerdogan will go all the way to bond with Russia to which Iran is also
attached as a partner. Indeed, Erdogan has scheduled a trip to Tehran and a
meeting with President Hassan Rouhani a few days after his talks with Putin.
The Turkish president’s latest moves look like spawning another new Middle East
bloc that would consist of Turkey, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and indirectly the
Lebanese Hizballah terrorist group.
This prospect would upend Israel’s key policies for Turkey and Syria.
The Israeli détente with Ankara in recent months hinged on Turkey’s continuing
to maintain its close military and intelligence ties with the United States and
its integration in an anti-Iran Sunni alliance in partnership with Saudi Arabia,
Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
But the Putin-Erdogan meeting Tuesday threatens to throw American, Israeli and
moderate Arab rulers’ plans to the four winds. Turkey appears to have opted to
line up with a Russian-Shiite front led by Tehran in preference to an anti-Iran
Sunni alliance.
Therefore, the expanded military and intelligence cooperation which the
Israeli-Turkish rapprochement was to have heralded will be low key at best for
two reasons:
1. Israel will beware of sharing its military technology with Turkey lest it
find its way to Iran. During the talks with Ankara for patching up their quarrel
Israel was constantly on the lookout for indications that Turkey was prepared to
break off its ties with Iran.
2. For the sake of keeping Iran and Hizballah away from its borders, Israel
entered into arrangements with Russia, some of them never published, at the
start of Moscow’s military intervention in Syria last September. Those
arrangements included coordination of their air force operations over Syria.
Now, Israel finds itself suddenly up against a Russian-Turkish partnership aimed
at strengthening Iranian domination of Syria – the exact reverse of the
Netanyahu government’s objective in resolving its dispute with Ankara and
forging deals with Moscow.
One year later, promises of Iran deal unfulfilled
Gov. Tom Ridge/The
Philadelphia Inquirer/August 09/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/08/09/gov-tom-ridge-one-year-later-promises-of-iran-deal-unfulfilled/
Last week, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei accused the United States of failing to honor pledges in the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Citing "the futility of negotiations with
the Americans," he distanced himself from the nuclear deal he once supported.
Coming just weeks after the one-year anniversary of the agreement, his charge is
just another in an escalating war of words from Tehran that remind the world
that the "era of good feelings" promised by U.S. negotiators never came to pass.
Nor have Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Tehran's change in tune should come as no surprise. Intelligence reports have
long warned that the regime continued its attempts to obtain illicit nuclear
material right up to the brink of implementation of the deal. And while the
accord did institute constraints on Iran's uranium enrichment program and its
capacity for producing weapons-grade plutonium, the vast majority of Iran's
nuclear infrastructure remains in place.
Iran's problematic behavior was recently underscored by Robert Joseph, former
U.S. special envoy for nuclear nonproliferation, during a recent panel
discussion in Paris. He cautioned that the JCPOA had only compelled Iran to
dismantle some of its enrichment centrifuges while leaving them safely inside
the country, ready to be re-engaged at the first opportunity.
The current state of the deal stands in stark contrast to the world community's
prior successes with other nuclear threshold states. Libyans, for instance,
demonstrated a genuine and tangible commitment to abandoning the pursuit of
nuclear weapons insofar as they fully opened up their country to impartial
international inspections. Iran has come nowhere close to this.
The lack of transparent monitoring has been a major point of unease among
critics and initial supporters of the nuclear agreement alike. The deal only
establishes international surveillance of declared nuclear enrichment sites,
failing to address the likelihood that illicit nuclear development is taking
place in secured locations, undetected by foreign intelligence agencies.
This would not be the first time that Iran successfully slipped its nuclear
efforts under the international radar.
In 2002, it was not Western investigation but the Iranian resistance group
Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) that revealed the essential details of the Iranian
nuclear program. If not for this intelligence breakthrough, the regime would
likely already be armed with nuclear weapons.
Nuclear limitations aside, it's hard to imagine that the hoped-for shift in
Tehran's foreign policy will materialize. The strategic contours are set by the
supreme leader himself, whose support for Syrian dictator Bashar Assad is
unwavering. Various credible reports indicate that thousands of Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps members are now operating in Syria.
Western policymakers should have recognized that the theocracy is inherently
incapable of reform. If history is any guide, Tehran will exploit every weakness
in the nuclear agreement as part of its relentless effort to deceive its
enemies. And, it will use the current environment of Western complacency to
intensify regional adventurism and support for extremist thought.
In a similar stroke of naiveté, proponents of the deal mistakenly assumed that
Tehran would clean up its domestic behavior. But political opponents and
activists continue to be arrested, tortured, and executed in increasing numbers.
During the administration of supposedly "moderate" Hassan Rouhani, the regime
has executed at least 2,600 prisoners, including many dissidents - an
unprecedented figure by any standard.
Overall, the deal has led to no progress. In return for modest, reversible
concessions on the nuclear issue alone, the blood-drenched ayatollahs received
sanctions relief from the United States and Europe to the tune of tens of
billions of dollars, which has served, above all else, to further finance the
Iranian regime's illicit, inhumane, and destabilizing activities. If the regime
decides to abandon the deal, it will emerge stronger than ever before, laughing
in the face of the West's foolish compliance.
Let Khamenei's bellicose rhetoric stand as a warning and a call to action. Every
interested American should urge the next president to chart a different,
sensible course for American policy toward the fundamentalist regime in Iran.
This course should, at last, reflect American values by identifying itself with
the Iranian people and their cry for democracy and freedom.
**Tom Ridge was the nation's first secretary of homeland security and served two
terms as governor of Pennsylvania. @RidgeGlobal
tridge@ridgeglobal.com
The Other Root of
Terrorism
Louis René Beres/Gatestone Institute/August 09/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8605/terrorism-mental-illness
For today's terrorist, whether in Paris, Orlando or Nice, the mass murder of
noncombatants is a typically satisfying expiation, a scapegoating operation that
brings to mind certain ritualistic processes of bloodletting, religious
sacrifice and an outlet for sadistic sexual excitement. For the jihadist in
particular, terror may find a ready ideological shelter in Islam, but the
expressed theology is likely little more than a useful cover for acting on
otherwise forbidden wishes. The ready supply of adherents only indicates how
widespread these forbidden wishes are -- but have little to do with politics.
"Man differs from the animal by the fact that he is a killer; he is the only
primate that kills and tortures members of his own species without any reason...
and who feels satisfaction in doing so." — Erich Fromm, The Anatomy of Human
Destructiveness.
Throughout the world, many people suffer from some form or other of mental
illness. Of these, a substantial number are also inclined to various expressions
of aggression. When conditions arise to dignify their irrepressible violent
urges under the purifying rubric of some "higher cause" -- such as revolution,
rebellion, or jihad -- some will gratefully seize upon those "exculpatory"
opportunities.
There is a singularly important lesson for the West's growing struggle against
terrorism. It is that in many instances, the events that occur in religion and
politics do not do so for the reasons given. Rather, allegedly noble causes that
are ascribed are merely after-the-fact rationalizations of certain barbarous
human inclinations.
"Homo homini lupus," said Freud: "Man is a wolf to man." In essence, this
observation lies at the heart of all forms of terrorism, as it also does of war,
genocide, and many iterations of violent crime. It follows that if we should
ever really want to declare a sincere "war on terrorism," we would first have to
seek beyond the usual assemblage of military remedies. They can generally never
exceed a more-or-less futile tinkering at the margins of what is really most
important.
Years back, Harold Lasswell, the great American political scientist, described
political figures as those who would "displace their private motives on public
objects, and rationalize the displacement in terms of public advantage." What he
meant by this psychological explanation was that the core motives of politicians
may be deeply personal, relate primarily to apprehensions over deference or
status, and still be reassuringly justified or "sanitized" by their owners in
terms of some elevated motive. No candidate for the American presidency will
ever acknowledge that he or she is running for office to maximize compelling
private needs, but all candidates will readily affirm that they have somehow
been "called" to rescue an imperiled nation from one or another of the "usual
suspects."
Today, we see that such public kinds of rationalization and displacement are not
confined to ordinary politics. On the contrary, we can recognize that these
dynamics already animate a fair number of modern terrorists, especially ISIS and
other assorted jihadists.
To be sure, there is no scientific way in which determinations of motive can be
usefully foreseen or diagnosed.
Nowadays, the standard characterization for seemingly eccentric terrorist foes
is "lone wolf," but even if we should prefer to preserve this otherwise apt
analogy, it is also essential that we first begin to understand something more:
The emotional dynamic that may set off a terrorist may well not be any genuine
commitment to some cause or other, but rather a convenient and accessible
opportunity to dignify ordinary criminal impulses.
In the absence of such a useful justification, such criminal behavior would
simply be inexcusable. With a self-serving justification, however, it can become
a "heroic" act of revolution, liberation, or "martyrdom." For the perpetrator --
and mental illness surely does not preclude high intellectual capacity -- an
available metamorphosis of criminal violence into permissible and even
celebrated forms of presumed obligation could be most welcome.
After all, this sort of transformation offers nothing less than the conversion
of evil into good; indeed, at times, even something sacred.
For today's terrorist, whether in Paris, Orlando or Nice, the mass murder of
noncombatants is a typically satisfying expiation, a scapegoating operation that
brings to mind certain ritualistic processes of bloodletting, religious
sacrifice and an outlet for sadistic sexual excitement. For the jihadist in
particular, terror may find a ready ideological shelter in Islam, but the
expressed theology is likely little more than a useful cover for acting on
otherwise forbidden wishes. The ready supply of adherents only indicates how
widespread these forbidden wishes are -- but have little to do with politics.
"Man seeks for drama and excitement," wrote Erich Fromm, "but when he cannot get
satisfaction on a higher level, he creates for himself the drama of
destruction." As to the prescribed sacrifice of innocents, whether in Florida,
France or anywhere else, a bloodletting furnishes the prospective terrorist with
(1) a seemingly incomparable outlet for those grievously violent impulses that
would otherwise require self-restraint; and (2) an opportunity to disguise
variously grotesque forms of murder as "faith."
In the end, terrorism as an answer to psychic wishes is plausibly inseparable.
But how can one build, pragmatically, upon this complicating factor in creating
a more effective strategy for counter-terrorism? If there are literally millions
of remorseless and deeply troubled individuals across the world who might crave
just a "drama of destruction," and who could discover a justification in
religion or other "high" motives, what can be done to identify and to neutralize
them? The sheer numbers involved are overwhelming.
In the end, our operational plans concerning jihadist terrorism may need to be
more consciously structured as much upon the cumulative wisdom of Sigmund Freud,
Erich Fromm and others as upon Sun-Tzu or Clausewitz.
Our operational plans concerning jihadist terrorism may need to be more
consciously structured as much upon the cumulative wisdom of Sigmund Freud
(right), Erich Fromm and others as upon Sun-Tzu (left) or Clausewitz.
More than anything else, this means taking care to consider all killing not
solely expressions of politics or religion; and creating more suitable
"firewalls" between psychopathic behavior and "political" outlets. This last
recommendation must depend upon prior efforts to disabuse individuals of a
seductive notion: that terrorism can offer would-be killers a pleasing path to
personal sacredness and eventual redemption.
**Louis René Beres is Emeritus Professor of International Law at Purdue
University. His latest book is titled Surviving Amid Chaos: Israel's Nuclear
Strategy.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Needed: Peace in Kashmir
Jagdish N. Singh/Gatestone Institute/August 09/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8662/kashmir-peace
The terrorists set fire to more than 10,000 houses and destroyed huge amounts of
private and public property in the state. This has left the minorities in the
Kashmir Valley with no choice but to flee their homes. Today more than half a
million of them are living in miserable conditions in camps in different parts
of the country.
"Kashmiri Pandits are on the verge of losing their... homeland in Kashmir... the
ethnic cleansing of Pandits from Kashmir...[led] to [the] forced exile of the
entire minority... when Islamic insurgents committed mass massacres of Pandits
in villages and hamlets throughout Kashmir." — U.S. Representative Frank
Pallone, 2004.
"Whatever is happening in Kashmir is Pakistan-sponsored. The name is 'Pakistan,'
[Land of the Pure] but its acts are na-pak [not pure]." — Rajnath Singh, India's
Home Minister.
When Narendra Modi became India's prime minister two years ago, he had a mandate
from the citizens behind him and his party was in power. It was assumed,
therefore, that he would be able to adopt policies and programs that would
foster peace and development in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been
troubled ever since it became part of India in 1947. The scenario in the Kashmir
Valley is, however, getting no better.
In a recent discussion on the ongoing crisis in Kashmir, a prominent member of
the Indian Parliament said, "This government has miserably failed to restore
peace in the Valley. There is an environment of insecurity and fear."
Reports suggest that the right to exist, the most fundamental human right, has
increasingly been in peril in the Valley. Since the killing of the dreaded
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen "commander", Burhan Wani -- who allegedly had an encounter
with Hafiz Saeed the notorious Pakistani terrorist leader and mastermind of the
2008 Mumbai terror attacks -- there have been violent clashes there. Some
protesters have been seen showing support for the Islamic State.
In the current crisis, forty-six people have been killed and 3,140, half of them
security personnel, have been wounded.
Rioters in Kashmir throw stones at Indian security forces and wave the Pakistani
flag, July 6, 2016. (Image source: Al Jazeera video screenshot)
The government in New Delhi has done little so far to help. It is still adhering
to its predecessors' well-trodden path of first blaming Islamabad for the crisis
and then refuting Pakistan's occasional proposals for the issue.
India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh said recently, "Whatever is happening in
Kashmir is Pakistan-sponsored. The name is 'Pakistan,' [Land of the Pure] but
its acts are na-pak [not pure]."
In response to Islamabad's talk of a plebiscite to determine the legal status of
Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said in a debate in the Parliament that the proposition
was "outdated."
It makes no sense for the Singh to waste the nation's precious time criticizing
Pakistan or blasting its plebiscite proposition. It is well-established that
Pakistan has been seeking to foment trouble in the Valley and annex it by force.
Also well-established is that Islamabad has apparently never cared for the 1951
United Nations resolution regarding Jammu and Kashmir. The resolution prescribed
a referendum to be conducted in the state after Pakistan withdrew its troops
from the part of Kashmir that it captured by force in 1947. Islamabad has so far
not honoured this resolution.
Pakistan has, in fact, not seemed interested in solving the Kashmir dispute by
any peaceful, bilateral negotiations with India. In 1972, Indian Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi created, with her Pakistani counterpart, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the
Shimla Accord. This pact states that all disputes between New Delhi and
Islamabad are to be solved bilaterally and peaceably, including the Kashmir
question. But Pakistan has not cared to honour this deal and has instead planned
wars, including the war in Kargil, against India.
In 2003, India's Deputy Prime Minister at the time, L.K. Advani, blamed India's
first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, for the present crisis in Jammu and
Kashmir. "If the first Prime Minister had not taken the Kashmir issue to the
UN," he said, "India would have crushed Pakistan. Having been defeated thrice
1948, 1965 and again in 1971, Pakistan launched a proxy war and continues to
export terrorism to India."
The current government might bear in mind that the citizens do not employ or
elect a new leadership to continue the failed policies of its predecessors.
India has paid a heavy price for its past blunders. The country has remained
deprived of two-fifths (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) of its own territory in its
state of Jammu and Kashmir. The people of Jammu and Kashmir, minorities in
particular, have suffered most.
In 1989, the Kashmir Valley had a population of over half a million Pandits, the
only Hindu natives of Kashmir. Their number today stands reduced to about four
thousand. By the year 2000, terrorists had killed more than 34,252 citizens and
wounded another 17,484. They set fire to more than 10,000 houses and destroyed
huge amounts of private and public property in the state. This has left the
minorities in the Kashmir Valley with no choice but to flee their homes. Today
more than half a million of them are living in miserable conditions, in camps in
different parts of the country.
In his letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in August of 2004,
American Congressman Frank Pallone wrote:
"Kashmiri Pandits are on the verge of losing their identity, culture and
homeland in Kashmir. ... the ethnic cleansing of Pandits from Kashmir started as
a result of targeted assassinations leading to forced exile of the entire
minority community in the early stages of insurgency. ... when Islamic
insurgents committed mass massacres of Pandits in villages and hamlets
throughout Kashmir."
Ensuring the fundamental rights to life, liberty and property -- of all citizens
-- is the first and primary obligation of a democratic state. The government
must fulfill this duty and extend help to the people involved in the current
crisis. The people in Kashmir are said to be running low on essentials,
especially food and medicine. The government needs to reach out to them.
At the same time, the government must not tolerate those who celebrate the
killing of security forces in the Valley or portray any militant killed as a
martyr. The government also must not tolerate those separatist leaders who work
to subvert the values of civilization and democracy and who have been behind the
long crisis in the Valley. It is mainly because of their politics of hatred
against certain ethnic and religious groups that acts of violence and shutdowns
are organized there.
The approach of the separatists during the current crisis follows the same
pattern: they spread hatred against the authorities that are trying to control
the situation in the region. In a statement, separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani,
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik branded the current regime as "anti-people."
The separatists do not seem ever to respond positively to peace or dialogue.
They incite violence and have little to lose; most of the leading separatists
keep their families outside of Kashmir.
The old political trick of inciting hatred among the ignorant majority to win
their support has been used to ensure that the public turns a blind eye to the
atrocities against the Pandits.
It is heartening to note that Home Minister Singh has recently invoked former
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's famous call for Kashmiriyat,
Jamhooriyat and Insaniyat (Kashmiri ethos, democracy and humanity); he has said,
"If there is any place for Kashmiriyat in Jamhooriyat, it can be only on the
basis of Insaniyat and not Haivaniyat (devilish acts). Those believing in
Kashmiriyat and Insaniyat, cannot give space to Haivaniyat."
One hopes that the government will finally take action to improve peace and
development in the Valley.
Jagdish N. Singh is a journalist based in New Delhi, India.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Germany’s Migrant Rape Crisis Spirals out of Control
Suppression of data about migrant rapes is “Germany-wide phenomenon.”
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/August 09/2016
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8663/germany-migrants-rape
Germany’s migrant rape crisis has now spread to cities and towns in all 16 of
Germany’s federal states. Germany now finds itself in a vicious circle: most of
the perpetrators are never found, and the few who are frequently receive lenient
sentences. Only one in 10 rapes in Germany is reported and just 8% of rape
trials result in convictions, according to Minister of Justice Heiko Maas.
Up to 90% of the sex crimes committed in Germany in 2014 do not appear in the
official statistics, according to André Schulz, the head of the Association of
Criminal Police.
“There are strict instructions from the top not to report offenses committed by
refugees. It is extraordinary that certain offenders are deliberately NOT being
reported about and the information is being classified as confidential.” —
High-ranking police official in Frankfurt, quoted in Bild.
Sexual violence in Germany has reached epidemic proportions since Chancellor
Angela Merkel allowed into the country more than one million mostly male
migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Gatestone Institute first reported Germany’s migrant rape crisis in September
2015, when Merkel opened up the German border to tens of thousands of migrants
stranded in Hungary. A follow-up report was published in March 2016, in the
aftermath of mass attacks against German women by mobs of migrants in Cologne,
Hamburg and other German cities.
Germany’s migrant rape crisis has now spread to cities and towns in all 16 of
Germany’s federal states. Germany is effectively under siege; public spaces are
becoming increasingly perilous. Police have warned about a potential breakdown
of public order this summer, when young male migrants are likely to see women
lightly dressed.
During the month of July 2016, hundreds of German women and children were
sexually assaulted by migrants (see Appendix below). The youngest victim was
nine; the oldest, 79. Attacks occurred at beaches, bike trails, cemeteries,
discotheques, grocery stores, music festivals, parking garages, playgrounds,
schools, shopping malls, taxis, public transportation (buses, trams, intercity
express trains and subways), public parks, public squares, public swimming pools
and public restrooms. Predators are lurking everywhere; safety nowhere.
Dozens of women and children have been assaulted by migrants at summer festivals
and public swimming pools — staples of ordinary German life.
In July, at least 24 women were sexually assaulted at the Breminale music
festival in Bremen. Women were also assaulted at outdoor festivals in Aschheim,
Balve, Gerolzhofen, Grenzach-Wyhlen Heide, Loßburg, Lütjenburg, Meschede, Poing,
Reutlingen, Sinsheim, Wolfhagen and Wolfratshausen.
In July, women and children were also sexually assaulted at public swimming
pools in Babenhausen, Dachau, Delbrück, Hamm, Hilchenbach, Kirchheim, Lörrach,
Marklohe, Mönchengladbach, Mörfelden-Walldorf, Oberursel, Remagen, Rinteln,
Schwetzingen and Stuttgart-Vaihingen.
Most of the crimes were downplayed by German authorities, apparently to avoid
fueling anti-immigration sentiments. Almost invariably, the crimes are said to
be isolated incidents (Einzelfälle), not part of a nationwide problem.
Information about sexual assaults can usually be found only in local police
reports. Rapes are sometimes treated as local interest stories and covered by
local or regional newspapers. Only the most spectacular incidents of rape and
sexual assault make it into the national press.
Three rape cases did make it into Germany’s national media in July:
On July 24, a 40-year-old migrant from Eritrea raped a 79-year-old woman in a
cemetery in Ibbenbüren. The woman, who lives in a local nursing home, was
visiting the grave of her late sister at 6AM when the attack occurred. The
migrant, who has been living as a refugee in Germany since 2013, was arrested at
the scene. He is unlikely to be deported, however, because Eritrea is considered
a conflict zone.
On July 14, it emerged that one of the women raped by Muslim sex mobs in Cologne
on New Year’s Eve became pregnant. She failed to report the attack to police
because she felt ashamed.
On July 3, a 24-year-old woman raped by three migrants in Mannheim in January
admitted that she lied about the identity of the rapists. Selin Gören, a
Turkish-German woman, initially said that her attackers were German nationals,
when in fact they were Muslim migrants.
In an interview with Der Spiegel, Gören, the spokeswoman of Germany’s left-wing
youth movement, Solid, said she lied because she was afraid of fueling racism
against migrants. She also posted a letter on Facebook to a fictional refugee:
“I am really sorry that your sexist and line-crossing treatment of me could help
fuel aggressive racism. I am going to scream… I will not stand by and watch, and
it can happen that racists and concerned citizens name you as the problem. You
are not the problem. You are usually a wonderful human being who deserves as
much as any other to be safe and free.”
German police and media have faithfully mirrored Gören’s efforts to protect
migrant rapists. German police reports usually refer to migrant criminals with
politically correct euphemisms such as “southerners” (Südländer), men with “dark
skin” (dunkelhäutig, dunklere Gesichtsfarbe, dunklem Hauttyp) or a combination
of the two: “southern skin color” (südländische Hautfarbe).
Germany now finds itself in a vicious circle: most of the perpetrators are never
found, and the few who are frequently receive lenient sentences. Most will never
be deported. Only one in 10 rapes in Germany is reported and just 8% of rape
trials result in convictions, according to Minister of Justice Heiko Maas.
On July 7, the German parliament approved changes to the criminal code that
expand the definition of rape and make it easier to deport migrants who commit
sex crimes. Under the bill, also known as the “No Means No” (“Nein heißt Nein“)
law, any form of non-consensual sex will now be punishable as a crime.
Previously, only cases in which victims could show that they physically resisted
their attackers were punishable under German law.
The reforms, which are designed to make it easier for victims of sexual assault
to file criminal complaints, are unlikely to end Germany’s migrant rape
epidemic. This is because Germany’s politically correct justice system is
notoriously lenient when it comes to prosecuting, sentencing and deporting
foreign offenders.
At the same time, reliable statistics on sex crimes committed by migrants are
notoriously elusive. German authorities have repeatedly been accused of
underreporting the true scale of the crime problem in the country. For example,
up to 90% of the sex crimes committed in Germany in 2014 do not appear in the
official statistics, according to André Schulz, the head of the Association of
Criminal Police (Bund Deutscher Kriminalbeamter, BDK).
On February 25, the newspaper, Die Welt, reported that authorities in the German
state of Hesse were suppressing information about migrant-related crimes,
ostensibly due to a “lack of public interest.”
On January 24, Die Welt reported that the suppression of data about migrant
criminality is a “Germany-wide phenomenon.” According to Rainer Wendt, the head
of the German police union (Deutschen Polizeigewerkschaft, DPolG), “Every police
officer knows he has to meet a particular political expectation. It is better to
keep quiet [about migrant crime] because you cannot go wrong.”
On January 22, the newsmagazine, Focus, reported that the Federal
Anti-Discrimination Agency (Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes, ADS) put
pressure on police in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) to remove a reference to
“North African criminal groups” in a press release. According to Focus, the ADS
wrote: “There is a danger that people from these countries are placed under a
general suspicion. We encourage you to delete the reference to the North African
origin from the press release.” NRW Police later removed the offending words
because “it could not be excluded that our formulation in the press release
could be misunderstood as a discriminatory statement.” The original article by
Focus has since been removed from the magazine’s webpage.
On January 8, the newspaper, Bild, published an article titled, “Are the Police
Being Prohibited from Telling the Truth?” The paper quoted a high-ranking police
official in Frankfurt, who said:
“There are strict instructions from the top not to report offenses committed by
refugees. Only direct requests from media representatives regarding specific
crimes should be answered. … It is extraordinary that certain offenders are
deliberately NOT being reported about and the information is being classified as
confidential (nicht pressefrei).”
Meanwhile, Boris Palmer, the “progressive” mayor of Tübingen, thinks he has
found a solution to the problem of migrants who are raping German women and
children in public swimming pools. He wants migrants to become swimming pool
superintendents. In a Facebook post, Palmer wrote: “Our municipality has
embraced a great prevention and integration measure. We have a Syrian lifeguard
who can make known in Arabic and with authority what behavior is allowed and
what is not.”
Palmer’s first hire is a 24-year-old Syrian named Aiham Shalghin. In an
interview with Schwäbisches Tagblatt, Shalghin portrayed migrants as the victims
of their circumstances: “Many male refugees have never before swum with women.
In Syria, most public swimming pools are separated by gender. Men do not want to
see women in swimming attire.”
Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is
also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios
Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.
His first book, Global Fire, will be out in 2016.
Appendix
Sexual Assaults and Rapes by Migrants in Germany, July 2016.
Gatestone Institute first reported Germany’s migrant rape epidemic in September
2015, and again in March 2016. The problem has now spread to cities and towns in
all 16 of Germany’s federal states. Following are a few cases from July 2016:
July 1. A 25-year-old migrant from Pakistan sexually assaulted a 15-year-old
girl in a public square in Perleberg. A “southern guy” (südländischer Typ)
sexually assaulted a young woman in Nürnberg. A “dark-skinned” man (dunkelhäutig)
groped a 15-year-old girl in Magdeburg. A 34-year-old migrant exposed himself to
passersby in Oldenburg. A man speaking “broken German” sexually assaulted a
20-year-old woman in Ibbenbüren.
July 1. Police were searching for a “southern looking man” (südländisch
aussehende Mann) who assaulted a 73-year-old man walking his dog in
Sindelfingen. The migrant came up behind the elderly man, grabbed his crotch and
demanded to have sex with him. The elderly man tried to get away by getting into
his parked car, but the migrant jumped into the passenger seat and again
demanded sex. The migrant ran away when a passerby walking her three dogs
approached the parked car. Meanwhile, a 32-year-old migrant from Afghanistan
photographed two girls, ages 12 and 14, who were swimming in the Iller River in
Illertissen. As they got out of the water, the man offered to pay them for sex.
July 2. A 24-year-old migrant from Albania sexually assaulted several women on a
suburban train in Hamburg. A 20-year-old “Black African” man (Mann aus
Schwarzafrika) attempted to rape a 27-year-old woman in a women’s restroom in
Freiburg.
July 3. A “dark-skinned” (dunkler Teint) man sexually assaulted a 44-year-old
woman in Kressbronn. A “southerner” (Südländer) attempted to rape a 21-year-old
woman in Meppen. A man with a “southeastern European appearance” (südosteuropäischem
Aussehen) sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman in Kühlungsborn. A man with a
“southeastern European appearance” exposed himself to a 40-year-old woman at a
train station in Mannheim-Lindenhof.
July 4. A “southerner probably of Turkish origin” (Südländer, vermutlich
türkischer Abstammung) sexually assaulted a woman in Nordhorn. Police believe
the perpetrator sexually assaulted another woman in the same area in late June.
A 16-year-old migrant from Afghanistan exposed himself to a mother and her child
in a park in Chemnitz. The man was arrested and released. A “dark-skinned” (dunklen
Teint) man groped a woman in Düsseldorf. A 28-year-old Iranian sexually harassed
an 18-year-old woman in Sundern.
July 5. A 27-year-old migrant from Pakistan groped a 33-year-old woman in
Chemnitz. The woman, an off-duty police officer, reportedly gave the man a
“painful integration course” by kicking him in the groin. After questioning by
police, he was released. A “Black African” (Schwarzafrikaner) attempted to rape
a 37-year-old female jogger in Dortmund.
July 6. Two migrants from Afghanistan were formally charged with sexually
assaulting a 14-year-old boy at a public swimming pool in Delbrück. A
22-year-old asylum seeker from Afghanistan sexually assaulted two girls, ages 14
and 15, in Ravensburg. An “Arab-looking man” (arabisch aussehenden Mann)
sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman in Heilbronn. Two migrants attempted to
rape a 25-year-old woman in downtown Mainz.
July 7. Two “dark-skinned” (dunkle Hautfarbe) men attempted to rape a woman in
Friedrichshafen. A 20-year-old migrant from Pakistan was arrested for assaulting
several women in Kirchheim. After questioning, he was released.
July 8. Two teenage migrants from North Africa sexually assaulted a woman at the
central train station in Krefeld. They were arrested, questioned and released.
July 9. A 29-year-old migrant from Iraq raped a woman at a discotheque in Kiel.
A 16-year-old migrant from Afghanistan sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl at
a music festival in Reutlingen. A 28-year-old migrant from Afghanistan sexually
assaulted a woman at a festival in Lütjenburg. A migrant from Afghanistan
sexually assaulted several women at a festival in Wolfratshausen. Two migrants
from North Africa sexually assaulted two women at the central train station in
Duisburg. A “southern looking” (südländisches Aussehen) man sexually assaulted a
14-year-old girl at the central bus station in Calw. A “dark-skinned” (dunklere
Hautfarbe) man molested a 19-year-old woman at an outdoor festival in Poing. A
“southern looking” (südländisches Aussehen) man exposed himself to a 16-year-old
boy in Xanten. Three “dark-skinned” (dunklem Teint) men assaulted a 40-year-old
woman in Böblingen.
July 10. A 19-year-old asylum seeker from Pakistan sexually assaulted a
16-year-old girl at a public swimming pool in Mörfelden-Walldorf. He was
arrested and released. A 17-year-old migrant sexually assaulted an 11-year-old
girl at a public swimming pool in Hamm. A “southerner” or “African” (südländisch,
afrikanisch) man sexually assaulted a 24-year-old woman at a public swimming
pool in Babenhausen. A 27-year-old migrant from Afghanistan sexually assaulted
two 13-year-old girls at a public swimming pool in Rinteln. Two males aged 16
and 21 sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl at a public swimming pool in
Stuttgart-Vaihingen. A “dark-skinned” (dunklen Teint) man sexually assaulted a
37-year-old woman at a public swimming pool in Dachau.
July 10. Two migrants from Iran sexually assaulted three women in downtown
Munich. A 28-year-old Syrian asylum seeker exposed himself to a 48-year-old
woman in Schweinfurt. A group of migrants from North Africa harassed several
women in downtown Flensburg. When a passerby stepped in to help the women, the
migrants used an electroshock weapon to incapacitate him. Two “foreigners”
sexually assaulted to women in downtown Chemnitz. The attack led to a street
fight between non-Germans and Germans, several of whom were injured. Police
arrested a 19-year-old migrant from Libya for assaulting one of the women. After
questioning, he was set free. A Turkish taxi driver attempted to rape an
intoxicated 26-year-old female passenger in Heidelberg. A man “presumably of
foreign origin” (vermutlich ausländischer Herkunft) groped a young girl in
Hammelburg.
July 11. A “Black African” (Schwarzafrikaner) raped a 21-year-old woman who was
jogging in a public park in Chemnitz. A “southern looking” (südländischen Teint)
attempted to rape a woman in Falkensee. A “southern looking” (südländischen
Teint) man exposed himself to a 52-year-old woman on a bike trail in
Kleinmachnow. A “dark-skinned” (dunkelhäutig) man groped a 78-year-old woman in
Kempten.
July 12. A 16-year-old migrant from Afghanistan sexually assaulted two women on
a bicycle path in Kelheim. A “southern guy” (Südländischer Typ) exposed himself
to a 56-year-old woman in Stolberg. A 23-year-old migrant from Tunisia and a
30-year-old migrant from Kazakhstan assaulted several women in Olsberg. A
“southern looking” (südländisches Aussehen) man attempted to rape a woman in
Göttingen.
July 13. A 35-year-old man with a “southern phenotype” (südländischen Phänotyps)
attempted to rape a 43-year-old woman in Mücheln. The woman escaped her attacker
after she pepper-sprayed him in the face. A “southern looking” (südländisches
Aussehen) man groped a 15-year-old girl in Meschede. A “dark-skinned” man
exposed himself to a nine-year-old girl in Stuttgart. The girl was trying to
cross the street when the man drove up in a car and asked her for directions.
When she approached the car, she noticed that the man was not wearing pants and
was fondling himself. A “foreigner” (Ausländer) sexually assaulted a woman at a
bus stop in Marburg.
July 14. A 36-year-old migrant from Tunisia was charged with raping a
61-year-old woman in Freiberg. Police believe the man is responsible for at
least three other sexual assaults in the town. A 27-year-old migrant sexually
assaulted a 37-year-old woman at an outdoor festival in Wolfhagen. At the same
festival, a 25-year-old migrant from Algeria sexually assaulted a 34-year-old
woman, and a 19-year-old migrant sexually harassed several women. A
“dark-skinned” (dunkelhäutig) man assaulted two 18-year-old women in
Friedrichsdorf. A 17-year-old unaccompanied minor migrant (unbegleitete
minderjährige Flüchtlinge) assaulted several girls between the ages of 13 and 15
at a train station in Bensheim.
July 15. At least 24 women were sexually assaulted at a music festival in
Bremen. The attacks were similar to the taharrush attacks in Cologne on New
Year’s Eve. Police have found only five perpetrators, all of whom are migrants
from Afghanistan. Harald Lührs, the lead investigator for sex crimes in Bremen
said: “We have never experienced such massive attacks in Bremen. That groups of
men surround women in order to grope them, this has never happened here in this
magnitude. This is a new problem that the police have to deal with.”
July 15. A 22-year-old asylum seeker from Pakistan sexually assaulted a
19-year-old woman in Meppen. A migrant sexually harassed a 17-year-old girl on
public transport in Ludwigsburg. A 36-year-old migrant from Syria groped two
women at a supermarket in Rottenburg. A “dark-skinned” (dunkler Haut) man
sexually assaulted a 28-year-old woman in Würzburg. A migrant sexually harassed
four girls, ages 10 and 11, on a train in the Black Forest.
July 16. Five women were sexually assaulted at an outdoor festival in Sinsheim.
A “Black African” raped a 21-year-old woman at a festival in Aschheim. Two North
Africans attempted to rape two 18-year-old women at the central train station in
Trier. A 25-year-old migrant from Afghanistan sexually assaulted a 30-year-old
woman in Übersee. A 17-year-old migrant from Afghanistan sexually assaulted a
21-year-old woman in Meppen. Police say the migrant sexually assaulted four
other women in Meppen in recent weeks. A “dark-skinned” (dunkle Hautfarbe) man
exposed himself to a 37-year-old woman in Paderborn. A group of “foreigners”
sexually assaulted a 27-year-old woman in Jena. A 36-year-old migrant from
Afghanistan assaulted a young woman in Eichstätt.
July 17. Two “Arab-looking” man sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman in front
of the Basilica of Constantine in Trier. A 25-year-old migrant from Iraq
repeatedly groped a 25-year-old woman at a discotheque in Landau. When a
stranger intervened to protect the woman, the Iraqi went into a rage. The woman
ended up with a broken nose. A “dark-skinned” (dunkle Haut) man attempted to
rape a 45-year-old woman on a bicycle path in Rüsselsheim. A 38-year-old migrant
exposed himself to two women in a parking lot in Würzburg. Three migrants groped
a 15-year-old girl on a bus in Rostock. A 36-year-old migrant sexually assaulted
a 34-year-old woman at an outdoor festival in Wolfhagen.
July 18. Three migrants sexually assaulted a 25-year-old woman as she was
walking to work in downtown Saarlouis. A “dark-skinned” man (dunkelhäutigen
Mann) sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl in Grassau. Two “dark-skinned” men (dunkelhäutigen
Männern) sexually assaulted two girls, ages 14 and 15, at the central train
station in Gießen. A 25-year-old asylum seeker from Syria sexually assaulted a
16-year-old girl in Güsten. A 17-year-old migrant from Afghanistan sexually
assaulted a 13-year-old girl at a public swimming pool in Hamm. An 18-year-old
migrant from Afghanistan sexually assaulted two girls, ages 13 and 16, at a
public swimming pool in Oberursel. An 18-year-old migrant from Afghanistan
sexually assaulted two children, ages 10 and 12, at a public swimming pool in
Remagen. A “southern guy” (südländischer Typ) attempted to rape a 16-year-old
girl in Delitzsch. A “southerner” (südländisch) sexually assaulted a 48-year-old
woman who was walking her dog in Darmstadt.
July 19. Five migrants from Afghanistan and Eritrea sexually assaulted two women
at a festival in Gerolzhofen. Two 17-year-old asylum seekers sexually assaulted
two girls, ages 11 and 13, in Triptis. A “dark-skinned” (dunkler Hauttyp) man
exposed himself to a 17-year-old girl in Weinheim. Police published a composite
photograph of a “person from Syria or Lebanon” who sexually assaulted a woman in
downtown Dortmund. Three migrants assaulted three women in downtown Oldenburg.
When one of the women demanded that the migrants leave them alone, a 23-year-old
Algerian punched her in the face. The three men were arrested and then released.
July 20. A group of men with “Arab roots” (arabischstämmig) sexually assaulted
five girls, aged 10 to 14, at a public swimming pool in Kirchheim. The men, all
between the ages of 20 and 30, groped the girls and tore off the tops and
bottoms of their swimming suits. Mayor Angelika Matt-Heidecker, who said she was
“horrified” by the assaults, revealed that she had given the migrants permanent
pool passes, free of charge. Local citizens are required to pay €90 ($100) for
the same pass.
July 20. A “dark skinned” man (dunkelhäutigen Mann) raped a 49-year-old woman in
Oldenburg. A man “presumably originating from abroad” (mutmaßlich aus dem
Ausland stammende Mann) attempted to assault a 17-year-old girl on a bus in
Bietigheim-Bissingen. Police say a search for the perpetrator has been
“unsuccessful.” Three migrants from Afghanistan sexually assaulted at least
eight women at a public swimming pool in Mönchengladbach. A 52-year-old migrant
from Afghanistan sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl at a public swimming pool
in Marklohe. A group of “Black Africans” (Schwarzafrikaner) sexually assaulted
several women at a public swimming pool in Lörrach.
July 20. A 31-year-old asylum seeker from Syria was arrested for sexually
assaulting a 17-year-old girl in Regensburg. Four “southern looking” (südländischem
Aussehen) men assaulted a woman in Varel. A “Pakistani-looking” man sexually
assaulted a 23-year-old woman at a grocery store in Lüneburg. A 34-year-old
migrant from Iran sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman on the subway in
Munich. A 44-year-old migrant from Sudan sexually assaulted three children
between the ages of 13 and 17 at a youth center in Aurich.
July 21. An Arab migrant (arabischen Raum stammende Mann) sexually assaulted an
11-year-old girl at a public swimming pool in Hilchenbach. Two “foreigners with
dark skin” (Ausländer mit dunkler Hautfarbe) assaulted a 14-year-old girl in
Wolgast. A “dark-skinned” (dunkelhäutig) man exposed himself to two 18-year-old
women in Kempten. A 26-year-old migrant from Iraq exposed himself to a
64-year-old woman at the central train station in Dresden. Two “southern
looking” (südländischen Aussehen) men sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman on
a train in Bestwig. When her boyfriend intervened, the migrants attacked him.
The altercation turned into fisticuffs in which windows on the train were
shattered. After the train stopped, the migrants fled. They remain at large.
July 22. A 52-year-old migrant from Afghanistan sexually assaulted a 12-year-old
girl at a public swimming pool in Marklohe. A 40-year-old asylum seeker was
arrested for sexually assaulting a girl at a public swimming pool in
Grenzach-Wyhlen. A 23-year-old migrant from North Africa raped a 26-year-old
woman in Mannheim. The woman was seriously injured in the attack. The man was
charged with attempted murder.
July 23. An unidentified migrant raped a 15-year-old girl at the central train
station in Krefeld. While on a train from Duisburg, the girl noticed that a
group of six migrants were staring at her. After arriving at her stop, she
entered a public restroom. Upon exiting, one of the migrants grabbed her and
raped her while the others stood by and watched. A passerby intervened to rescue
the girl. The perpetrators escaped.
July 23. An 18-year-old migrant from Nigeria raped a 28-year-old woman in
Kassel. A man with a “dark complexion” (dunkler Teint) sexually assaulted a
19-year-old woman in Recklinghausen. A “dark-skinned man” (dunkelhäutigen Mann)
sexually assaulted a woman in Braunschweig. A group of “southerners” sexually
assaulted at least four women at a festival in Meschede.
July 23. A group of migrants accosted a 40-year-old woman in front of the city
hall in Kerpen. As she tried to run away, the mob followed her shouting, “We
will f**k you, Lady.” After the woman wrote about her experience on Facebook,
someone staked out the area in front of city hall and found that many female
passersby were also being accosted. As it turns out, groups of migrant youth
gather in front of the city hall because of a free wireless internet signal.
City officials said they would install free internet access at a nearby refugee
shelter in hopes that the migrants will no longer gather in front of the city
hall.
July 24. A 40-year-old migrant from Eritrea raped a 79-year-old woman in a
cemetery in Ibbenbüren. The woman, who lives in a local nursing home, was
visiting the grave of her late sister at 6AM when the attack occurred. The
migrant, who has been living as a refugee in Germany since 2013, was arrested at
the scene.
July 24. A group of between five and seven migrants from Albania sexually
assaulted two teenagers at a beach in Travemünde. The men encircled the girls,
aged 15 and 16, in order to separate them from the rest of their friends. One of
the men then dragged the 16-year-old into the water and tried to remove the
bottom of her bikini. All of the men managed to evade police.
July 24. Five “Black Africans” (Schwarzafrika stammenden Männern) sexually
assaulted an 18-year-old woman at a festival in Loßburg. A “Black African” (Schwarzafrikaner)
assaulted a woman at the train station in Maulburg. Two “dark skinned” (dunkler
Hautfarbe) sexually assaulted at least three women at a festival in Balve.
July 24. A 23-year-old migrant from Afghanistan sexually assaulted a 16-year-old
girl at a public swimming pool in Schwetzingen. The man denied assaulting the
girl and the police let him go. A 24-year-old migrant groped a woman at a bar in
Mainz. He was arrested after he began throwing bottles at cars parked outside
the premises. A “dark skinned” (dunkelhäutig) man exposed himself to a
22-year-old woman in Mönchengladbach-Wickrath. A “dark skinned man” (dunkelhäutigen
Mann) exposed himself to two women on a street in downtown Erlenbach.
July 25. Police released a composite sketch of a “southerner” who attempted to
rape a woman in Schwarzenbek. Five “southern-looking” (südländischem
Erscheinungsbild) men exposed themselves to women and children at a lake in
Potsdam.
July 26. A 13-year-old Syrian and a 15-year-old Iraqi groped a 19-year-old woman
at a water park in Wismar. Two migrants from Eritrea sexually assaulted a
45-year-old woman in downtown Gera.
July 27. Four boys between the ages of 11 and 13 sexually assaulted a
12-year-old girl in Königsbach-Stein. The boys, all of whom are children of
Syrian and Iraqi asylum seekers, pinned the girl against the wall of a building
and forced her to perform sexual acts on them. According to police, the boys are
too young to be held criminally responsible for their behavior. Therefore,
social workers have been instructed to help the boys “understand the
wrongfulness of their actions” by means of “intensive conversations” about
“values and the local understanding of gender roles.”
July 27. A man speaking “broken German” (gebrochenes Deutsch) sexually assaulted
a 36-year-old woman on an intercity express train in Karlsruhe. He repeatedly
groped the woman and demanded that she perform sexual acts on him. After the
train arrived in Karlsruhe, the woman called police, but the perpetrator escaped
before they arrived.
July 27. A 19-year-old migrant attempted to rape a 24-year-old volunteer at a
refugee shelter in Röhrmoos. A “dark-skinned” (dunklen Teint) man sexually
assaulted a 24-year-old woman in Erfurt. Police released a composite sketch of a
“southern-looking man” (südländischen Aussehens) who exposed himself to women on
public transportation in Cologne.
July 28. A group of four migrants from Morocco harassed female passersby at the
central train station in Düsseldorf. Police intervened and the migrants attacked
the officers. The migrants all have lengthy criminal records. One with an
outstanding deportation order was detained. The three migrants demanded that the
police to release their compatriot: “You come out! We will crush you! We will
slash you!”
July 29. A 29-year-old migrant from North Africa was charged with attempting to
rape and murder a 26-year-old woman in Mannheim. A 40-year-old migrant (ausländischer
Mann) assaulted two women in Cloppenburg. A 27-year-old migrant from Iraq groped
a 17-year-old girl at the Alexanderplatz in Berlin.
July 30. Six Syrian migrants spiked the drinks of two women at a music festival
in Heide. The women fell ill with symptoms of dizziness and were taken to a
local hospital. The migrants escaped before police arrived. An 18-year-old
“asylum seeker” from Morocco sexually assaulted a 22-year-old woman in Hamburg.
He was arrested and then released. Although the Moroccan’s asylum request has
been denied, he has not been deported. Instead, he has become a career criminal,
with a long rap sheet, including assault and robbery charges.
July 30. A 40-year-old asylum seeker sexually assaulted an 11-year-old boy at a
supermarket in the village of Ering. The perpetrator was arrested at the scene
of the crime and released. Three migrants from Iraq were arrested for sexually
assaulting several women at a train station in Berlin-Friedrichshain.
July 31. Four asylum seekers from Pakistan raped a 17-year-old girl in Wetzlar.
The men plied the girl with alcohol until she became drunk and then took turns
raping her. Five North Africans assaulted a 26-year-old woman in Rheine.
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40
years after Operation Entebbe, the fight for glory still rages
Ronen Bergman/Ynetnews|/August 09/16
Op-ed: Over the past 40 years, the fight for credit and glory between Sayeret
Matkal's deputy commander Muki Betzer and the family of commander Yoni Netanyahu
kept resurfacing. Now, with a new book bringing together testimonies from the
commandos who fought alongside the two, most of the points of contention could
be resolved.
"Another issue that came up in the unofficial debriefing on the plane—and in
very high volume—was the fact Muki Betzer stopped in the middle of the charge
into the terminal, which put Amnon and myself (and of course the hostages as
well) in great danger. He was asked why he stopped and answered: 'My Kalashnikov
was jammed.' His answer seemed very strange... after we landed in Israel, and
during the years that followed, his explanation changed and became 'empty
magazine'... there didn't appear to be any target that justified emptying out
his magazine... It's unclear why an officer as experienced as Muki did not think
to keep enough bullets in his magazine for the critical stage of storming (the
terminal). In short, the explanations he gave to why he stopped did not convince
us and the issue remained unresolved."
This excerpt, published here for the first time, was written by Amir Ofer, the
first of the soldiers to storm into the terminal in "Operation
Thunderbolt"—later known as “Operation Yonatan” after Sayeret Matkal commander
Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu who was killed in the operation. The excerpt appears,
along with many others, in the pages of "Operation Yonatan in the First Person,"
a new book, excerpts of which were exclusively published on Ynetnews last month.
The book, which for the first time includes testimonies from commandos of the
elite Special Forces unit Sayeret Matkal who stormed the terminal, has recently
reignited the bloody war of egos among them.
Throughout the past 40 years, every now and again, the fight for glory and
credit over the most famous rescue operation in history has resurfaced. In the
political echelons, then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and his then-Defense
Minister Shimon Peres sent representatives on their behalf to the set of Menahem
Golan’s feature film about the operation to fight for the credit. Meanwhile,
soldiers from the Golani and the Paratroopers brigades felt bitter about the
fact this operation was being portrayed as a victory solely of Sayeret Matkal.
But the most heated fight for credit and glory was between the deputy commander
of Sayeret Matkal, Muki Betzer, and the Netanyahu family—particularly Dr. Iddo
Netanyahu, who dedicated a large part of his life to investigating the operation
and writing about it. Journalists who sought to hurt brother Benjamin using
Yoni's memory delighted in the argument.
The two sides quarreled over everything, but these are the main points of
contention:
Who planned the operation? Did Yoni, upon returning from the Sinai Peninsula on
Thursday, find an operation in its final stages of planning (Betzer's version)
or did he have to plan almost the entire operation (the Netanyahu family's
version)?
Should Yoni have opened fire at the Ugandan guards the commandos encountered on
the runway en route to the terminal (the Netanyahu version) or should he have
heeded Betzer's advice, as the deputy commander claims, and not open fire so as
to not risk losing the element of surprise?
Did Yoni account for the fire that would likely come from the control tower (the
Netanyahu version) or did he err in the deployment of the forces and was
eventually shot himself from the control tower (Betzer's version)?
Why did Betzer stop in the midst of storming the terminal, causing the entire
team of commandos to stop behind him (the Netanyahu version)? Betzer’s answer is
that he merely had to change magazines and didn't cause any delay.
In the absence of a record of the raid or an official operational debriefing,
there is no way to prove—on a legal level—what actually happened. On the other
hand, the book that was recently distributed in a private ceremony—attended by
the Sayeret Matkal commandos, the pilots, Yoni Netanyahu's girlfriend, his
brothers Benjamin and Iddo and representatives of the Paratroopers and Golani
brigades (that also participated in the operation, fighting in other areas of
the Entebbe airport)—provides a definitive answer to these questions, as much as
40-year-old testimonies could be relied upon.
It turns out that the version of events presented by a great majority of Sayeret
Matkal’s soldiers and officers almost completely matches (apart from minor
differences) the Netanyahu family’s version. According to the testimonies, Yoni
(alongside Betzer and other officers) is the one who planned the operation; Yoni
was right in opening fire at the Ugandan soldiers, and it's unclear whether the
element of surprise was lost; it's also unclear where exactly the bullet that
fatally wounded Yoni was fired from; and the control tower is made of reinforced
concrete so there was no way to neutralize it anyway.
And, as previously mentioned, the bitter argument between Betzer and the other
commandos remains over the reasons why he stopped in the midst of the charge
into the terminal.
One could argue about the way Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose to portray
the operation during the ceremonies to commemorate 40 years since the raid, but
historically, factually, and to the point, it needs to be said that the Sayeret
Matkal commandos, even those who strongly oppose Benjamin Netanyahu and his
ways, praise and exalt Yoni's actions, before and during the operation, until he
was killed.
One
Year After JCPOA: Iran-U.S. Relations According To Iranian Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei
MEMRI/August 09/16/August 9, 2016 Special Dispatch No.6563
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/08/09/memri-one-year-after-jcpoa-iran-u-s-relations-according-to-iranian-supreme-leader-ali-khamenei/
To mark the first anniversary of Adoption Day of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA), the office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei released, on
July 20 and 25, two collections, in English, of excerpts from his speeches in
recent years about the U.S., its values, its attitude towards Iran, Islam, and
humanity, and how to act with it. The collections, accompanied by graphics,
included links to the full text of some of the speeches. Then, on August 1,
Khamenei gave a virulent anti-U.S. speech, underlining that dealing with the
Americans " is a deadly poison for us," that the Americans are "malicious," that
the U.S. is an enemy that "has no scruples about breaking his promises," and
that "it is not possible to negotiate with this enemy." He added, "The reason
why I have been repeating for many years that we will not negotiate with America
is this"; that "America is the Great Satan. This description is really an
excellent description"; that the Americans "have acknowledged that they have
helped create DAESH [i.e. ISIS] in order to create discord inside the Islamic
Ummah"; and that "there is a serious accusation that the coup d'état that was
launched in Turkey was masterminded by the Americans."
It will be recalled that in the past year Khamenei has reiterated several times
his ban on relations with the U.S. except for on the nuclear issue, and that
members of the Iranian negotiating team have repeatedly said that they had met
the conditions set out by Khamenei.[1]
In the July 20 and 25 excerpts from speeches, Khamenei stressed that the U.S.
says that it is acting in the name of the "American values" of democracy and
progress, that is, for peace and stability in the world, but that in fact, he
says, it is creating "civil wars, blind religious fanaticism, political
instability, the spread of barbaric terrorism, the emergence of extremist groups
and movements that cut at chests and chew the hearts of humans." It "backs [the]
most vicious, most barbaric terrorists in Syria," he said, along with the most
tyrannical and barbaric regimes, as well as oppression, wars, rule over others,
and terrorism. The slogan of "Death to America" is no longer unique to Iran but
is chanted by many peoples, he added, noting that the U.S. and Israel are behind
the worst crimes against the civilian population in Syria, including the
beheading of children.
This paper will present the two collections of excerpts from July 20 and 25,
2016, as well as excerpts focusing on the U.S. from his August 1, 2016 speech,
as released in English by Khamenei's office.
"U.S. Backs Most Vicious, Most Barbaric Terrorists In Syria: Ayatollah Khamenei,"
July 20, 2016
Five days previously, on July 20, 2016, Khamenei's office released a collection
of excerpts, headlined "U.S. Backs Most Vicious, Most Barbaric Terrorists In
Syria." The following are the excerpts, in the original English. [2]
"They are defending the most vicious and most barbaric terrorists. They are
helping them, whether in Syria or in Iraq. And this help is given to them
directly or indirectly. (Ayatollah Khamenei, November 25, 2015)."
"A glance at the situation in Southwest Asian countries, from Pakistan to
Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, to Palestine and the Persian Gulf countries, as
well as countries in North Africa including; Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan and a
few more countries, will shed light on many realities. Civil wars, blind
religious fanaticism, political instability, the spread of barbaric terrorism,
the emergence of extremist groups and movements that cut at chests and chew the
hearts of humans – the way barbarian tribes in history would do – armed
individuals who kill children and women, behead men and rape women, in some
cases they even commit all these despicable, shameful crimes in the name and
under the flag of religion; these are all the products of the satanic and
arrogant plots, committed by foreign security service and agents of their allied
governments in the region. Additionally, they happen on the domestic prone
fields of each of these countries, bringing about days of tragedy to these
nations. Undoubtedly, under such conditions, it cannot be expected that Muslim
countries compensate for their financial and spiritual shortcomings; achieving
security, welfare, scientific growth and international dignity, which are gained
as a result of awakening and self-identification. The grieving situation can
abort the Islamic awakening and halt the spiritual preparations, created in the
Muslim world; once again, pushing Muslim nations into recessions, isolation and
decline for years; hence, making them forget about their main issues, like that
of saving Palestine, and saving Muslim nations from U.S and Zionist
encroachment. (Ayatollah Khamenei, October 14, 2013)."'
"The corrupt hands of U.S., NATO and Zionism, with the help of their agents in
the region, created the Syrian crisis; they created it, in order to make the
nations forget about the main issues of their own countries, and the dangers
that await them; therefore, they divert their attention to the bloody event they
have, deliberately, created. The civil war in Syria and the murder of Muslim
youth by their peers are transgressions created by the U.S. and Zionist,
including the states that obey them and fuel the conflict. (Ayatollah Khamenei,
October 25, 2012)."
"Do 'American Values' Still Exist Out There? Ayatollah Khamenei Asks," July 25,
2016
The collection of excerpts released July 25, 2016 on Khamenei's website was
titled 'Do 'American Values' still exist out there? Ayatollah Khamenei asks' and
headed with a graphic of the Statue of Liberty, a man with a bloody knife
bearing aloft a severed head, and the heading: 'U.S. Backs Most Vicious, Most
Barbaric Terrorists In Syria – Ayatollah Khamenei.' The following is the image
and the text, in the original English:[3]
"As for America's intellectual and rational state – after all, a government or a
nation relies on the intellectual principles that it presents. Money alone does
not bring about credibility for nations: there is a need for ideas. The
Americans used to say that they had a set of 'principles,' that they had a set
of 'values,' 'American values.' They used to create uproar in the world for the
sake of these principles and values. Notice what has happened to American values
today. (Ayatollah Khamenei's Speech to Students, October 31, 2012)."
"America is condemned in the world. The American government does not enjoy
widespread credibility among the people of any country. 'Death to America' is
not just a slogan that is particular to the Iranian nation. This slogan is
chanted in many other countries as well. A government that supports oppression,
war, accumulation of weapons, domination of nations, bullying and interference
in the affairs of all countries has acquired such a bad reputation and this is
another sign. Therefore, change in the world is inescapable. There are other
signs as well, but I will not discuss them in this meeting. This is one point.
(Ayatollah Khamenei's Speech to Professors, August 12, 2012)."
"The enemy's weak points – his ideological and practical weak points – should be
identified and presented to those individuals who require such presentation. The
enemies of the Islamic Revolution are the same people who entered the region 10,
15 years ago with the slogan of providing security. Take a look today and see
where in the region security exists! Insecurity has engulfed the entire region.
West Asia and North Africa are filled with insecurity.
"When they attacked Afghanistan, their slogan was fighting against terrorism,
but today, terrorism has engulfed the entire region – and what terrorism it is!
It is a kind of savage and violent terrorism, one in which individuals burn
people – their enemies – alive and in front of everyone. And then they use
different technical means to display this directly to the people throughout the
world. It is this kind of terrorism. Today, takfiri elements are like this. They
kill a child in front of its mother and they kill parents in front of their
children. They had come to eliminate terrorism from the region with this slogan
and claim. I am not saying that this was their real goal, rather this was their
slogan- but where in the region does terrorism not exist in the present time?
"They had come – as they claimed – to establish democracy. Today, the most
reactionary, dictatorial and tyrannical regimes are standing upright and
continuing their crimes with the help of America and its allies. This is really
one of the major problems of America. Today, this problem has entangled American
politicians as well. They have really gotten stuck in it. They are supporting
such regimes. Over the course of many years, their anti-dictatorship slogans and
claims to support human rights have been repudiated because of the existence of
such regimes. In the present time, this issue has posed serious questions among
American intellectuals, political personalities and thinkers and they have no
answers for them.
"This enemy is such a creature! This is how the issue of human rights,
democracy, terrorism, security and peace has worked out for the enemy who is in
front of us. They used to say that they were fighting for peace, but which
peace? They have polluted the whole region with war. Where in the region does
war not exist? This is the enemy. He whom the Revolution is confronting and he
whom you are standing up against is this! It is this creature with all these
contradictions, all these weak points and all these ideological and practical
shortcomings. One of the characteristics of guarding the Revolution is to open
our eyes and to see these things. (Ayatollah Khamenei, September 16, 2015)."
"Our Problems With America Are Not Solved By Negotiations" – August 1, 2016
In a particularly virulent anti-U.S. speech on August 1, 2016, published, in
English, under the headline "Our Problems With America Are Not Solved By
Negotiations," Khamenei spoke at "a meeting with people from various social
backgrounds" whom he addressed as "different groups of our dear people [who]
have come from the four corners of the country and from various provinces...
from the southeast to the northwest of the country and from various tribes –
Fars, Turk, Kurd, Baluch." He said:[4]
"...Sometimes, the enemies create some obstacles. It is a wise course of action
for us to go and eliminate these obstacles with acumen. But the enemy cannot be
trusted. One example of this is the nuclear negotiations and the Bar-Jaam [JCPOA].
Today, the officials in charge of our own diplomacy and those who were present
in the nuclear negotiations from the first day to the last are saying that
America has broken its promises. With its calm appearance and with the soft and
glib tongue of its officials, America is damaging us from behind the scene. It
is preventing our country from establishing economic relations with other
countries. This is being said by the officials in charge of the Bar-Jaam. Of
course, this is something that I have been repeatedly saying since a year, a
year and a half ago. I have been saying that the Americans cannot be trusted. It
was difficult for some individuals to accept this, but today, our officials
themselves are saying this.
"Just last week, our honorable negotiators had a meeting with the other sides in
Europe. Our officials said the same things to them and they had nothing to say
in response. Our negotiators said to them that they have broken such and such
promises, that they have committed such and such wrongdoings, that they have
failed to do what they were supposed to do and that they have stabbed us in the
back in such and such ways, but they had nothing to say in response. Six months
have passed since the Bar-Jaam was signed, but no tangible and palpable effect
has been witnessed in the living conditions of the people. This is while the
goal of the Bar-Jaam was to lift the sanctions. Its goal was to lift the
oppressive sanctions. Was its goal something other than this? Well, those
sanctions have not been lifted.
"Now, they are saying that things are becoming better gradually and little by
little. Was the issue about little by little? On that day, officials said both
to us and to the people that in the negotiations, the goal is to lift the
sanctions at once when Iran fulfils its commitments. In other words, the goal
was to eliminate the obstacle that America had created on the path of the people
of Iran in an oppressive and vicious manner. Now, six months have passed from
that day, but that obstacle has not been eliminated yet. Is six months a short
time for an eighty-million country? During these six months, if it had not been
for this American viciousness, would the honorable administration have done
little work?
"The Bar-Jaam became an example and an experience for us. Last year – it was
last year or a year and a half ago: I do not remember the exact date – I said in
a public speech that that the Bar-Jaam and the nuclear negotiations will serve
as an example for us to see what the Americans do [Supreme Leader's speech
delivered on April 9, 2015, in a meeting with the panegyrists of Ahlul Bayt]. I
said that we should see what these people - who use soft and glib words, who
sometimes write a letter to show their respect and their cooperation and who
speak to officials with a glib tongue in consultative meetings and in
negotiations – do in practice.
"Now, it has become clear what they do in practice! On the face of it, they give
promises and they speak with a soft and glib tongue, but in practice, they hatch
plots, damage us and prevent the progress of our affairs. This is America and
this is an experience. In the present time, the Americans are asking us to go
and speak to them about regional matters. Well, this experience tells us that
this is a deadly poison for us.
"This experience showed us that we cannot speak to them, on any matter, like a
trustworthy party. Sometimes, you speak to your enemy, but you do it with an
enemy who is committed to his statements so much so that you can be sure that he
will not violate his promises and his commitments with any excuse. You can speak
to this enemy. However, when it is proved that the enemy is malicious, one that
has no scruples about breaking his promises, that smiles and speaks with a soft
and glib tongue, and that justifies his actions when you ask him why he has
broken his promises, then you should know that it is not possible to negotiate
with this enemy. The reason why I have been repeating for many years that we
will not negotiate with America is this. This shows that our problems with
America and the likes of America on this matter, on regional matters and on
various other matters are not solved through negotiations. We ourselves should
choose a path and then take it. You should make the enemy to run after you. You
should make him to run after you.
"The officials of our political and diplomatic affairs are explicitly saying
that the Americans want to take everything, but give nothing in return! If you
take one step backward, they take one step forward. When we constantly say that
we will not negotiate, some people say, 'What is wrong with negotiations?' Well,
this is the problem with negotiations. Such negotiations will make you deviate
from your correct path and they will take concessions away from you. When you
negotiate, this means that you should give a concession and get another in
return. This is the meaning of negotiations. Negotiation does not mean gathering
somewhere to engage in a friendly chat and to tell jokes. Negotiation means
giving something and taking something else in return. However, he takes from you
what you should give, but refuses to give what he should give to you. He acts in
a bullying manner.
"'Arrogant' means this. 'Global arrogance' means this. It means bullying,
considering oneself as superior, refusing to be committed to one's promises and
regarding oneself as free of any commitment. This is the meaning of arrogance.
Arrogant individuals go back on their promises. Well, our magnanimous Imam (r.a.)
said that America is the Great Satan. This description is really an excellent
description. Allah the Exalted quotes Satan saying to those who followed him,
'And Satan will say when the matter is decided, "It was Allah Who gave you a
promise of truth. I too promised, but I failed in my promise to you."' (The Holy
Quran, 14:22). On Judgment Day, Satan says to his followers, 'God gave you a
true and genuine promise, but you did not follow His promise and you did not
stick to it. I gave you a false promise and you followed me! I broke my promise
to you. I gave you a promise and I violated it.'
"Satan blames his followers on Judgment Day like this. Then, Allah the Exalted
quotes Satan saying to his followers, 'Then reproach not me, but reproach your
own souls' (The Holy Quran, 14:22). He says to them that they should blame
themselves, not him. In the present time, this is completely true in the case of
America. Satan says this on Judgment Day, and the Americans say it today in this
world. They give promises, but they do not act on them. They take a concession
that is in cash, but they do not give the one that is on credit. This is
America's condition. Therefore, others should not be trusted...
"As for regional matters, the region has become a turbulent region today. When
we take a look at it, we see America's footprint again. The Saudi government has
publicly established relations with the Zionist regime and it has made its
comings and goings official. This is stabbing the Islamic Ummah in the back.
There is no doubt that what the Saudis have done – overt relations with the
Zionist regime – is really a dagger that has been pushed into the body of the
Islamic Ummah from behind. They have committed high treason. They have committed
a sin. However, on this matter too, America's hand is involved. Because the
Saudi government follows America, because it is possessed by it, and because it
obeys its orders, it has made this grave mistake. America is involved on this
matter too.
"Or when you witness that it is almost a year and a half now that Yemen has been
under bombardment, is this a minor event? They are constantly bombarding a
country. And they are not bombarding its military centers, rather they are
bombarding its markets, hospitals, public squares and schools and the people's
houses and gatherings. This is not a minor event, rather it is a very grave
crime. They do not understand what the month of Ramadan and a month of haraam
are and they do not differentiate between children and adults. They have
murdered so many children! Well, this is a grave crime as well which has
unfortunately been committed by the Saudi government. However, they have done so
with the support of America, with its approval and with its weapons – the
weapons and ammunitions that are from America.
"It is they who are providing them will all the resources. Even when the United
Nations wants to say something in this regard – now, after a lifetime of
silence, it has decided to say something true and to condemn this course of
action – they shut its mouth with money, with threats and with pressure. This
poor and infamous Secretary General of the United Nations acknowledged that they
have exerted pressure on him. Well, if they pressured you and if you cannot
fulfill your duty, why do you not resign? Why do you stay there and betray
humanity? This is betraying humanity! America is involved on this matter as
well.
"On the issue of Bahrain, when a foreign army comes to Bahrain from another
country in order to pressure the people of Bahrain, here too, America has given
its green light. The Saudi government is a government that is being managed by
children: by silly children in the real sense of the word. The Saudi government
is in their hands. However, what one understands after analyzing and witnessing
all the issues is that this is really being done by the Americans and with their
support.
"The same is true of these takfiri groups. In the present time, they claim that
they have formed a coalition against takfiri groups. Of course, even right now,
they are not doing anything against them. According to the reports that we have
received, they even help them in some places. However, the creation of these
groups goes back to America. Some American officials have acknowledged this.
They have acknowledged that they have helped create DAESH [i.e. ISIS] in order
to create discord inside the Islamic Ummah and in order to promote Umayyad and
Marwani Islam. This Wahhabi and takfiri Islam is the same as Umayyad and Marwani
Islam! It is a kind of Islam that is miles away from real Islam. They have made
Islam disreputable. Of course, they themselves are suffering from the
consequences of their actions as well. It is well-known in Farsi that 'Anyone
who plants a wind will reap a storm.' Now, they are gradually reaping a storm.
But this is their fault anyway. It was they who did so.
"The same is true of other matters. The Americans claim that they want to solve
regional problems, but in reality, it is the opposite of this. They themselves
have created or intensified these problems. They are a barrier to solving the
problems. If things are in the hands of regional peoples, they will resolve the
problems on their own. Once more, we would like to invite the Islamic and Arab
governments which are around us to avoid trusting America. They should know that
America is not trustworthy. America looks at them as a tool: a tool for
preserving the Zionist regime and their own arrogant outlook and interests in
the region. In reality, America is not interested in them in any way. It uses
their money and their resources for its own interests. It uses them in order to
create a rampart for itself, to preserve the Zionist regime and uphold its own
arrogant goals in the region. This is what they are doing.
"On the issue of regional events, in my opinion, the solution is that Muslim
nations and Muslim governments become united and show resistance in the face of
the goals of arrogance, America and some European governments. Some European
governments made themselves disreputable by following America. This way, they
made themselves fall out of favor with regional nations. Well, some European
governments were even respected by our people – the people of Iran – but they
made themselves disreputable by following America. Their goals should be
identified and then our movement should be launched against their goals. Nations
can do so. And of course, our nation has stood firm.
"I should add that despite all these statements and analyses, America is
becoming weaker in the region on a daily basis. Its plans have been revealed and
it is clear what it is after: It is after interfering in the affairs of
different countries. And it is not the case that it only shows enmity towards us
and that it is friends with others. This is not the case. You witnessed what
happened in Turkey. Of course, in our opinion, it has not been proved yet that
America was involved there, but there is a serious accusation that the coup
d'état that was launched in Turkey was masterminded by the Americans. If this is
proved, this will be a big scandal for America.
"Turkey was a country that had good relations with America. It used to say that
it is America' ally in the region, but they are not even prepared to get along
with Turkey. This is because there is an Islamic orientation there. They are
opposed to Islam and to an Islamic orientation. This is why they launch a coup
d'état even in that country. Of course, it was put down. They were defeated and
they fell out of favor with the people of Turkey as well. The same is true of
other places. Thankfully, they are becoming weaker on a daily basis in Iraq, in
Syria and in different other countries as well.
"If we people of Iran are optimistic about the promise that Allah the Exalted
has given and if we prepare the ground for that promise, then problems will be
solved. God has said, 'If you help the cause of Allah, He will help you' (The
Holy Quran, 47:7). If you help God's religion and if you strengthen and aid
divine motives, Allah the Exalted will undoubtedly help you. No creature in the
world can weaken a person who is helped by Allah the Exalted. Such a person will
become stronger and more victorious on a daily basis. I hope that Allah the
Exalted will help the people of Iran to succeed in all arenas – security,
economic, military, political, cultural and scientific arenas – God willing. I
hope that He will make you dear people happier and more victorious on a daily
basis.
"Greetings be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings."
Endnotes:
[1] See statements by Khamenei on anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, June 3 and June 5, 2016; March 10, 2016, and October 16, 2015,
Facebook.com/www.Khamenei.ir/photos/a.415551031851170.95270.415541435185463/941300315942903/?type=3&theater.
See also September 9, 2015 statements warning that the U.S. is "worse than
Satan," MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6156, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei: 'In 25
Years There Will Be No Such Thing As The Zionist Regime In The Region'; America
Is Worse Than Satan, September 9, 2015.
[2] English.khamenei.ir/news/4026/U-S-backs-most-vicious-most-barbaric-terrorists-in-Syria-Ayatollah
July 20, 2016.
[3] English.khamenei.ir/print/4032/Do-American-Values-still-exist-out-there-Ayatollah-Khamenei,
July 25, 2016.
[4] English.khamenei.ir/news/4052/Our-problems-with-America-are-not-solved-by-negotiations-Ayatollah,
August 1, 2016.