LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
December 16/16
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.december16.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
Let anyone
who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the
scripture has said, "Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of
living water."
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 07/37-44/:"On the last
day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried
out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me
drink. As the scripture has said, "Out of the believer’s heart shall flow
rivers of living water." ’Now he said this about the Spirit, which
believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus
was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, some in the crowd said,
‘This is really the prophet.’Others said,
‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of
yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober
judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Letter to the Romans 12/01-08/:"I appeal to you therefore, brothers and
sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so
that you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and
perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think
of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober
judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as
in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same
function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are
members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given
to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher,
in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the
leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 15-16/16
Dr. Geagea Has Abandoned all that is LF historical stances, convictions
and sacrifices/Elias Bejjani/December 15/16
Is tacit Aoun-Berri struggle blocking Cabinet formation/Hasan Lakkis|/The Daily
Star/December 16/16
Lebanese Cabinet on ice for now as previous grudges surface/Nazih Osseiran/The
Daily Star/December 15/16
U.S. Money Transferred To Iran Used To Expand Iran's Military Budget/By: Dr.
Nimrod Raphaeli/MEMRI/December 15/16
Usud Al-Cherubim: A Pro-Assad Christian Militia/Aymenn Al-Tamimi/Syria
Comment/December 15/16
To the Muslim Brotherhood: Quit Shouting Islamophobia and Quit Attacking Muslim
Families/Saied Shoaaib/Gatestone Institute/December 15/16
Iran Breaks Nuclear Deal and UN Resolutions/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone
Institute/December 15/16
Egypt: Christians Still Denied Churches While Government Opens 10 Mosques Every
Week/ Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/December 15/16
Stop calling the Syrian conflict a ‘civil war.’ It’s not./Hanin
Ghaddar/Wahington Post/December 14
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News
published on December 15-16/16
Dr. Geagea Has Abandoned all that is LF historical stances, convictions
and sacrifices
Lebanon: Hezbollah’s Insistence on 30-Member Cabinet Further Freezes Agreement
Is tacit Aoun-Berri struggle blocking Cabinet formation?
Aoun confirms plan to visit Saudi Arabia
Major General Beary chairs tripartite meeting with LAF and IDF
Aoun: Renewed Arab and international trust in Lebanon incentive to start change
trend
Berri, Jumblat Push for 30-Member Cabinet to Include all Parties
Geagea Says No Vetoes but LF Won't Give Any of Its Govt. Seats to Other Parties
AMAL MP: Efforts Ongoing to Form Cabinet before Holidays
Cabinet Line-Up Shuffled, Formation Back to Square One
Mustaqbal Urges 'Cooperation' in Govt. Formation, Clings to Hybrid Electoral
Law
Arslan Warns against Undermining Druze Share in Cabinet
Hizbullah Bloc Says Proportional Representation 'Obligatory Path' for 'State
Rise'
Berri and EU Ambassador Launch Parliament's New Bill Tracking System and Mobile
Application
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Visits the Bekaa
Valley
Ambassador Shorter: The UK Has Not Forgotten Akkar
Jumblatt, Hariri meet
Laham meets Czech parliamentary delegation
Indian Ambassador arrives in Beirut
State Security Member Shot in Akkar
Qatari Embassy cancels National Day ceremony in Beirut
Mundis leaves Beirut to Paris
Bomb explodes in Ain El Helwe
Christmas tree lit up in Tripoli, Pharaon hopes for year of stability
Lebanese Cabinet on ice for now as previous grudges surface
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 15-16/16
Hundreds Leave Aleppo under Rebel Withdrawal Deal
50,000 People Still Trapped in Eastern Aleppo, Says U.N. Envoy
Evacuation Convoy Heads for Syria Villages under Rebel Siege
Russia not Meeting its Commitments on Aleppo
With Aleppo Advance, Syria Army Sweeps Up Conscripts
Putin's Victory? Russia's Role in Recapturing Aleppo
Russia Pledges Fighting Pause in Idlib during Aleppo Evacuations
Explosive Traces Found on EgyptAir 804 Victims
Iraqi Children Battle Trauma after Life under IS Rule
Yemen's al-Qaida Condemns 'Deviant' IS Rivals
Egypt Executes Convicted Jihadist
Iranian Regime's MP: Government Subsidies Are Monopolized by a Mafia of 250
Iran: Fear of Corruption, Reason for the Reluctance of Foreign Investors
Latest Labor Protests Across Iran
EU Policy Has Encouraged Iran Regime's Internal Repression and Crimes in Syria
Iran: Critically Sick Political Prisoner on Hunger Strike in Danger
Why Mrs. Mogherini Has Failed to Condemn the Appalling Human Rights Violations
in Iran?
First on CNN: Adviser says Russia crucial to Trump's Middle East plans
Obama Allows Iran Sanctions Renewal Without Signing Bill
Links From Jihad Watch Site for on December 15-16/16
Germany:
Muslim migrant accused of sexually assaulting boy 68 times calls it “love
affair”.
UK
to train “moderate” Syrian opposition forces to target the Islamic State.
France:
10,000 troops on streets as Islamic State threatens Christmas
jihad massacres.
DC:
Former Metro Transit cop indicted for trying to aid the Islamic State.
Robert
Spencer in PJ Media: Gay activist hits Brady Bunch star for saying Qur’an is
political.
Intel
report: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar supporting jihadis in Germany.
Islamic
State recaptures Palmyra, displays severed heads of Assad forces.
Yasmin
Seweid’s lies show mainstream media is chief purveyor of “fake news”.
Hamas
top dog calls for Israel’s destruction: “Every inch of Palestine is just ours”.
German
probe: 2,000 Muslim migrants assaulted 1,200 women in Cologne New Year’s Eve.
Hugh
Fitzgerald: The Confusions of Tony Blair, Part I.
DHS
knew OSU jihadi was terror recruitment target, let him
into U.S. anyway.
Minnesota:
Muslim state rep claims “Islamophobic” harassment, doesn’t report it to cops.
Video:
Thousands of Muslims screaming “Allahu akbar” march in London, demand caliphate.
UK
Armed Forces top dog says jihadis “hiding in plain sight” among Muslim migrants.
Germany:
Muslim migrant who murdered teen had attempted murder conviction abroad.
NYC:
Muslima made up “Islamophobic” attack by Trump supporters to avoid punishment
for missing curfew.
Islamophobia”
reporter hired at Buzzfeed.
Austria:
Muslims attack demon Krampus in traditional Christmas parade.
UK:
Nurses flown in to perform FGM, parties follow.
Latest Lebanese Related News
published on on December 15-16/16
Dr. Geagea Has Abandoned
all that is LF historical stances, convictions and sacrifices
Elias Bejjani/December 15/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/15/elias-bejjani-dr-geagea-has-abandoned-all-that-is-lf-historical-stances-convictions-and-sacrifices/
What is devastating and sad at the same time, is that Dr. Samir Geagea, the
chief of the Lebanese Forces Party (LF) is not any more the kind of that
strong, loud, sincere and patriotic leader that he used for years to portray
himself…
In summary, the man did not change politically or strategically President
Micheal Aoun or his Free Patriotic Movement Party after forging an alliance
with both of them. Practically, Geagea did no bring president Aoun or his
followers politically and stances wise to the Middle as he proudly, but falsely
alleges.
He also he did not move Aoun an inch from where he went in 2006 after his
alliance with Hezbollah.. the
Iranian armed terrorist and denominational proxy. Instead, Dr. Geagea himself
and definitely based on very wrong grandiose personal, and patriotic
calculations he and against all odds joined president Aoun and his party in
their Hezbollah alliance.
Geagea in reality and practicality has abandoned all that is Lebanese Forces
historical stances, convictions and sacrifices.. The
dilemma here lies in the unfortunate fact that his followers with very few
muted exceptions worship him and where ever he goes they
blindly follow and glorify his wisdom!! Yes, and for sure it is a sad reality,
but it is the reality that we are living and witnessing at the present time.
In conclusion, Samir Geagea is now in the same limbo and bizarre position that
he and again based on wrong calculations put himself and his party and the
Christian community after accepting the “Taef Accord” in year 1989, when
willingly he dismantled the strong and influential LF militia and handed over
its weapons to the Lebanese-Syrian armies, while Hezbollah remained fully
intact political and militarily.
Currently, Geagea is a hostage of his own deviated stances and can not go back
to where he was after burning with Saad Al Hariri their ships and destroying
the 14th of March alliance. At the same time he and Hariri are not and can not
making any difference where they are.
Both, Geagea and Hariri by destroying and dismantling the sovereign and
patriotic 14th of march
Practically they became mere tools in Hezbollah’s leadership hands.
Below is a comment that Roger Bejjani posted on his face Book on December 13/16…It describes honestly how many Lebanese patriotics envisage the current choices of Dr. Samir Geagea
(I wish I would see the LF (Lebanese Forces) and Geagea above the
fray, différentiant in the eyes of the Lebanese not compared to the rest of the
politicians cheese eaters. Unfortunately, 45 years of resistance, military,
intellectual and moral seem to have had reason to the intrepid hakim who
suddenly decided to join the club of politicians cheese eaters, despised once
both by Bachir that by him. As we bend the spine once and/or we dial once with
Hezbollah terrorists and/or we dive head the snout first in the dish of rotten
cheese, we can no longer recover. The cries of victory has the con we nagging
with the poor idiots stirring their sectarian instincts the most primitive are
effective in the short term. In May the snow will melt and what will be will be
very visible.My disappointment in the LF and in hakim makes
me sad. Never before 18 January 2016, I had lost faith
in this organization in general and in Geagea in particular. Unfortunately
Hakim seems to have lost his references.)
*Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
Web sites http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com & http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
Tweets on https://twitter.com/phoeniciaelias
Face Book https://www.facebook.com/groups/128479277182033 & https://www.facebook.com/elias.y.bejjani
Lebanon: Hezbollah’s Insistence on
30-Member Cabinet Further Freezes Agreement
Caroline Akoum/Asharq Al Awsat/December 15/16/Beirut – Despite prevailing
optimism over the imminent formation of the Lebanese Cabinet, the latest
political developments have contradicted all expectations, as sources said that
Hezbollah’s insistence on an expanded 30-member government has hampered all
efforts in this regard. Following a meeting at the presidential palace on
Wednesday, Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri told reporters that the
“matter still requires further consultations”. Sources said that Hariri
discussed with President Michel Aoun the Cabinet’s formation and latest
political stances in this regard. Meanwhile, during a meeting with various MPs
and officials, Speaker Nabih Berri said: “There is no excuse for delaying the
formation of the Cabinet and to issue decrees after the problem of portfolio
allocation have been solved.”He added that he has offered all facilitations to
speed up government’s formation. However, Berri’s optimism was soon met with
less positive expectations as Hariri left the presidential palace on Wednesday.
Lebanese Forces Media Officer Charles Jabbour told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper
that Hezbollah and Amal Movement were insisting on forming a Cabinet of 30
ministers. He noted that adding six ministers to the Cabinet would not improve
its efficiency, but would guarantee the March 8 Movement’s “vetoing third”.
For his part, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt called for a
balanced representation that would include the Marada Movement, the Lebanese
Forces and the Kataeb Party. Meanwhile, MP Alain Aoun headed an FPM delegation
on Wednesday to visit Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, in an
attempt to ease tensions between the two political parties. In remarks
following the meeting, Aoun said that both parties have agreed on the need to
draft an electoral law that would be based on the proportional system, adding
that the FPM was not seeking to marginalize any political party.
Is tacit Aoun-Berri struggle blocking
Cabinet formation?
Hasan Lakkis|/The Daily Star/December 16/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/15/hasan-lakkisthe-daily-star-is-tacit-aoun-berri-struggle-blocking-cabinet-formation/
Contrary to wide expectations following a wave of optimism that a solution to
the 6-week-old Cabinet standoff was at hand, white smoke did not rise from the
meeting between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri
heralding the birth of a new government.
Statements made in the past few days by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and MP
Sleiman Frangieh over solving the problem of the Marada Movement’s
representation in the government, as well as remarks by caretaker Foreign
Minister Gebran Bassil, had raised hopes that a Cabinet lineup would be
announced following Hariri’s meeting with Aoun at
However, no Cabinet lineup was announced and there are no serious indications
that a new government will be born soon, raising doubts that new hurdles might
have popped up, hindering its formation.
Following the Wednesday meeting with Aoun, Hariri told reporters that the
“matter still requires further consultations.”
Matters were heading in a positive direction when agreement was reached to
allocate the Public Works Ministry to Frangieh, and the Lebanese Forces, which
had insisted on taking control of this ministry, was persuaded to drop this
demand, while the Free Patriotic Movement and other political powers did not
oppose this solution, sources close to the Cabinet formation process said.
What complicated the situation and brought the Cabinet formation back to square
one was not the dispute over whether the government should include 24 or 30
members, but the way in which the announcement over the Cabinet deal was made
by Frangieh following his meeting with Berri at Ain al-Tineh, the sources said.
Frangieh declared after his meeting with Berri Monday that the speaker had
agreed to concede the Public Works Ministry to the Marada Movement. Berri also
said his move was aimed at facilitating the Cabinet formation.
Frangieh’s statement was probably interpreted by sources close to Aoun as a
sign of victory by one side against another and [Berri’s Ain al-Tineh
residence] as a mandatory path to ensure the success of the Cabinet lineup, the
sources said.
Media outlets had reported that Aoun was displeased with Frangieh’s statement,
which according to the sources, can only be construed as a means of presenting
the president with a fait accompli, even though
everyone knows very well that Aoun does not like such a method.
In the meantime, sources close to the FPM said they doubted all the positive
elements that emerged from Ain al-Tineh, adding that they still believe that
the Parliament speaker is working to drive a wedge between the FPM and the LF,
or that he plans to stir up a Christian-Shiite problem despite the denial
issued by Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and Bassil, the FPM leader, in
this respect.
The sources noticed the absence of any meeting between Bassil and Berri despite
the fact that the former heads a political movement represented in Parliament
with about 20 MPs, in addition to his being the president’s son-in-law.
Such a meeting should have taken place had there been intentions that the
outcome of the presidential election has become a thing of the past, the
sources said.
Before knowing the fate of the Cabinet lineup, the sources underlined the need
to clarify some facts, the most important of which is whether the FPM is
convinced that any divergent viewpoints between the Amal Movement and Hezbollah
will not lead to unraveling their alliance over the Cabinet deadlock.
The sources said that Berri must know that it is difficult for him to bring
Hezbollah to his side in order to settle scores with the FPM.
Until this picture is crystallized, the government’s birth will remain in the
freezer unless an agreement is reached between the president and the prime
minister-designate on issuing the Cabinet formation decrees, making it
difficult for any side to reject it, regardless of how Berri’s relations will
develop with the FPM, the sources said. The sources added that the FPM’s bid to
separate the Cabinet formation process from attempts to approve a new electoral
law might be linked to the formation path and is also meant to provide proof
that the FPM is serious about reforms and that the government will see the
daylight sooner or later, regardless of the ministerial portfolio that will be
allocated to Frangieh, and whether it will be a 24- or 30-member body.
Aoun confirms plan to visit
The Daily Star/December 16/16/
Major General Beary chairs tripartite
meeting with LAF and IDF
Thu 15 Dec 2016/NNA - The UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major
General Michael Beary today chaired a regular tripartite meeting with senior
officials from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) at the UN position at Ras Al Naqoura. Discussions focused on issues
related to the implementation of UNIFIL's mandate, including the situation
along the Blue Line and its ongoing visible marking, incidents of violations of
resolution 1701 (2006) and related UNIFIL investigations, as well as air
violations and the pending withdrawal of Israeli Forces from northern Ghajar.
Noting the general calm in UNIFIL's area of operations, Major General Beary
thanked both sides for their constructive engagement with UNIFIL and expressed
hope that this could be built upon to further reinforce the security
infrastructure along the Blue Line. "All efforts at this forum are
ultimately aimed at maintaining the cessation of hostilities," Major
General Beary said, "And in this context our centre of gravity is the Blue
Line." He urged the parties to not allow any extraneous factors or public
rhetoric to distract them from this focus. He underlined the importance of
UNIFIL's liaison and coordination mechanism that is founded on the trust UNIFIL
has been able to build with both the parties through its impartial handling of
issues relating to resolution 1701 and to the Blue Line, whether it's marking
or violations or efforts to resolve contentious issues. "This mechanism
under UNIFIL's umbrella has served us all so well and we all have a common
interest in protecting and strengthening it," he said.
Aoun: Renewed Arab and international trust
in Lebanon incentive to start change trend
Thu 15 Dec 2016/NNA - President of the Lebanese Republic, General
Michel Aoun, on Thursday confirmed that the renewed Arab and international
trust in Lebanon that started with the presidential election formed an
essential incentive to begin a new trend of change in favor of treating the
economic, social and developmental situations within a comprehensive economic
plan for reforms taken as a base.
Berri, Jumblat Push for 30-Member Cabinet
to Include all Parties
Naharnet/December 15/16/The formation of a 24-member cabinet is disapproved by
the Hizbullah, AMAL and the Progressive Socialist parties because they prefer
to have bigger shares in the new cabinet and to include all political parties,
An Nahar daily reported Thursday.
AMAL Movement leader Speaker Nabih Berri dispatched his political aid and
Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil to Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri a
day earlier, asking him to widen the cabinet into 30 members in order for the
Shiite parties to get five ministerial portfolios instead of four that include
the finance, agriculture, economy for the AMAL and the industry and youth and
sports for Hizbullah, according to the daily. Hizbullah and Berri want to
broaden their participation so it would include MP Talal Arslan, Asaad Hardan
of the Syrian Social National Party and the Kataeb party. For his part, PSP
leader MP Walid Jumblat voiced calls on Wednesday to form a cabinet of 30
ministers with a balanced share for the Marada Movement and the Lebanese
Forces.
Geagea Says No Vetoes but LF Won't Give Any of Its Govt. Seats to Other Parties
Naharnet/December 15/16/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed Thursday
that the LF “does not have a veto on anyone” while emphasizing that his party
is not willing to give up any of its declared ministerial portfolios. “We do
not have a veto on anyone at all and we do not have a problem with any cabinet
format,” Geagea said during a Maarab educational seminar. “Some are claiming
that the LF is vetoing some candidates and I openly tell everyone that we do
not have a veto on anyone but meanwhile we will not accept to give up any of
our ministerial seats in favor of a candidate from another party,” Geagea
added. “We in the LF do not have a problem if the cabinet is consisted of 24 or
30 ministers and we will not raise hell under both scenarios,” the LF leader
went on to say. Geagea however noted that a smaller cabinet would be more
“productive and effective,” pointing out that “it is not a representative body”
like parliament. After a settlement was reached under which the Marada Movement
would be given the public works portfolio and the LF would get the health
portfolio, the cabinet formation process ran into new obstacles in the wake of
the parties' decision to raise the number of seats from 24 to 30. The parties
are reportedly bickering over the six new candidates amid reservations over
some controversial figures as well as over the shares of some parties.
AMAL MP: Efforts Ongoing to Form Cabinet
before Holidays
Naharnet/December 15/16/AMAL Movement MP Qassem Hashem announced on Thursday
that contacts have intensified in order to form a new cabinet before the
holidays and denied claims that the process has lapsed “Discussions and
contacts have intensified to speed up the formation of the government before
the holidays. The deliberations did not go back to square one because it's in
no one's interest to put obstacles in front of its formation,” said Hashem in
an interview to VDL 93.3. Commenting on the 30-member cabinet, he said: “the
30-member cabinet is better than 24 as it will include all the Lebanese
factions.”
Cabinet Line-Up Shuffled, Formation Back
to Square One
Naharnet/December 15/16/Hopes faded Wednesday when the anticipated formation of
a new cabinet saw new obstacles some linked to the number of ministers and
another related to the names suggested for some ministries, media reports said
Thursday. Stakes grew the day before that a cabinet comprised of 30 ministers
will be formed which sent hopes surging that it will be completed and that all
the problems have been eased. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri visited
President Michel Aoun at the
Mustaqbal Urges 'Cooperation' in Govt.
Formation, Clings to Hybrid Electoral Law
Naharnet/December 15/16/Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Thursday urged the
political parties to show “cooperation” so that the new cabinet can be formed
as soon as possible, while reiterating its called for a so-called “hybrid”
electoral law. Lauding “the efforts that the Prime Minister-designate is
exerting,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting that
“the cabinet line-up cannot be announced in the absence of cooperation from the
majority of the parties.” “There is a need to stop the practices that some
parties might be exercising to impose crippling conditions that have so far
delayed the formation of the cabinet, which is a loss for everyone,” the bloc
added. Turning to the issue of the electoral law, Mustaqbal reminded of its
“firm stance that clings to a hybrid formula that mixes the winner-takes-all
and proportional representation systems.”“This is the temporary and possible
formula that allows a transition to the implementation of a law fully based on
proportional representation after the State extends its sole authority across
all Lebanese regions,” the bloc said. Earlier in the day, Hizbullah's Loyalty
to Resistance bloc reiterated its call for a law fully based on proportional
representation. Mustaqbal has repeatedly rejected Hizbullah's proposal, arguing
that the party's arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition in regions
where the Iran-backed party has clout. Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the
Progressive Socialist Party have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law that
mixes the proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems. Speaker
Nabih Berri has also proposed a hybrid law. The country has not voted for a
parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own
mandate.The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral
law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.
Arslan Warns against Undermining Druze
Share in Cabinet
Naharnet/December 15/16/Head of the Lebanese Democratic Party MP Talal Arslan
warned on Thursday against any attempts to undermine the Druze community's
share in the upcoming cabinet line-up. “We will not accept any disrespect with
regard to the portfolio to be allotted to the Druze,” said Arsalan on Twitter.
“I hereby ask the Prime Minister-designate to seriously look into this matter
and to respect the current position of the Druze and their historic position in
the country,” added the MP. Arslan's comments came after reports said that one
of two ministerial portfolios (justice or educations) will be given to a Druze
minister while a state portfolio will be given to Arslan. OTV said on Wednesday
that the Druze leader, MP Walid Jumblat, has accepted to take the education
ministry instead of the justice ministry, amid other reports saying otherwise.
President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri are still
struggling to put together a new cabinet amid conflicting demands from the
political forces that are seeking to join the unity government. Horsetrading is
still revolving around the so-called services-related ministerial portfolios.
Hizbullah Bloc Says Proportional
Representation 'Obligatory Path' for 'State Rise'
Naharnet/December 15/16/Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc
announced Thursday that the proportional representation electoral system is an
“obligatory path” for change and reform in Lebanon. “What Hizbullah
Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has proposed about endorsing an
electoral law fully based on proportional representation in a single electorate
or several large electorates is an obligatory path for the rise of a State that
can achieve change and reform in the country,” said the bloc in a statement
issued after its weekly meeting. “Finalizing the electoral law, in parallel
with the efforts to form a new cabinet, is something necessary,” the bloc
added, stressing that it rejects the 1960 electoral law and that it wants the
elections to be held “on time.”Separately, the bloc said the recapture of the
Syrian city of
Berri and EU Ambassador Launch
Parliament's New Bill Tracking System and Mobile Application
Naharnet/December 15/16/Speaker Nabih Berri and the Head of the Delegation of
the European Union to Lebanon, Ambassador Christina Lassen, officially launched
Thursday the Parliament's Bill Tracking System and mobile application that have
been developed with the support of the European Union. The launch took place at
Berri's Ain el-Tineh residence in the presence of Lebanese MPs, ministers,
Parliament staff, as well as representatives of embassies, public
administration and professional bodies. Through the EU-funded “Support to
Parliamentary Development in
Speaker Berri said: "Today's meeting is an opportunity to thank the
European Union for supporting the parliamentary development support program in
Since 2014, the EU has been providing assistance to the Lebanese Parliament to
help it enhance its efficiency in carrying out its functions and
responsibilities.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Visits the
Naharnet/December 15/16/U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern
Affairs Anne Patterson visited the
Ambassador Shorter: The UK Has Not
Forgotten Akkar
Naharnet/December 15/16/On his first visit to Akkar’s municipal projects under
the Lebanon Host Communities Support Program, in partnership with the Ministry
of Social Affairs and the United Nations Development Program, British
Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter inaugurated Thursday UK funded projects in
Bani Sakher and Halba, and met with 13 mayors from various municipalities in
Akkar which are receiving UK funding for infrastructure projects. He was
accompanied by Luca Renda, Country Director UNDP, and Suheir El Ghali, the
National Coordinator of LHSP Program at the Ministry of Social Affairs. In
Amayer, Shorter met with mayors of nine municipalities of Wadi Khaled area:
Amayer – Al Fared – Wadi Khaled - Khat El Petrol - Bani Sakher - El Ramah –
Moqaybleh – Hisheh and Awada. He visited two irrigation canals extending across
2200m in Bani Sakher and met with the farmers and land owners. The project has
helped farmers increase their income by enabling them to diversify their crop
production to include more water-rich crops such as eggplants, beans, and
peanuts as well as decreasing operations costs. It is also helping improve
health and sanitation in the local community by reducing risks of water
contamination with wastewater and solid waste. In the town of
“Today, I want to say: the
“Our total support to Lebanese stability, prosperity and security has
reached £436m since 2011,” the embassy said in a statement.
Jumblatt, Hariri meet
Thu 15 Dec 2016/NNA - Democratic Gathering leader, MP Walid Jumblatt,
received at his Clemenceau residence Prime Minister-designate, Saad hariri, accompanied by Nader Hariri and former MP, Ghattas
Khoury. Attending the meeting were Jumblatt's two sons and his wife, as well as
Minister of Public health Wael Abou Faour, MPs Marwan Hamadeh and Ghazi Aridi,
and former MP Ayman Choucair.
Laham meets Czech parliamentary delegation
Thu 15 Dec 2016/NNA - Patriarch of Antioch and All the
East for the Greek Melkite Catholic, Patriarch Gregory III Laham, met in
Indian Ambassador arrives in Beirut
Thu 15 Dec 2016/NNA - The newly appointed Indian Ambassador to Lebanon, Sanjiv
Arora, just arrived to Beirut, coming from Dubai. The Ambassador will present
his credentials to Lebanese top officials prior to beginning his diplomatic
mission in
State Security Member Shot in Akkar
Naharnet/December 15/16/Unidentified gunmen opened fire at the vehicle of
State Security Sergeant, Mohammed H., while driving along the Bibnine-Birqayel
highway in Akkar showering the car with bullets, the National News Agency said
on Thursday. The wounded Sergeant was wounded in his right thigh, NNA added. He
was rushed to a hospital in
Qatari Embassy cancels National Day
ceremony in Beirut
Thu 15 Dec 2016//NNA - Expressing solidarity and sympathy with Aleppo
that is still witnessing war, the Qatari Embassy in Beirut decided to cancel
the ceremony it arranged for on Qatar's National Day occasion in Lebanon. The
ceremony was scheduled to take place on Sunday, December 18, 2016, at Phoenicia
Hotel in
Mundis leaves
Thu 15 Dec 2016/NNA - STL Registrar, Daryl Mundis, left on Thursday
Bomb explodes in Ain El Helwe
Thu 15 Dec 2016/NNA - A bomb exploded on Thursday evening inside Ain El
Helwe camp, with no casualties reported, according to the NNA correspondent.
Christmas tree lit up in Tripoli, Pharaon
hopes for year of stability
Thu 15 Dec 2016/NNA - Head of the association "Akid Fina Sawa",
Mrs. Violette Safadi, announced on Thursday the launching of the end of year
celebrations at the Rachid Karamé International Fair in Tripoli during a
ceremony in which a Christmas tree was lit up, in the presence of Mufti of
Tripoli and the North, Sheikh Malek Chaar, Bishop of Tripoli and the North for
the Melkite Greek Catholics, Edward Daher, and Archbishop of Tripoli and Koura
for the Orthodox Greeks, Ephram Kiriakos. Outgoing Minister of Tourism, Michel
Pharaon, hoped that the year 2017 will be a year of stability and that the army
will preserve the sovereignty of the Lebanese territory, "so that
Lebanese Cabinet on ice for now as
previous grudges surface
Nazih Osseiran/The Daily Star/December 15/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/15/nazih-osseiranthe-daily-star-lebanese-cabinet-on-ice-for-now-as-previous-grudges-surface%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B2-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%AA/
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2016/Dec-15/385441-cabinet-on-ice-for-now-as-previous-grudges-surface.ashx
BEIRUT: The Cabinet will not be formed this week due to standing
grievances between major political powers, sources told The Daily Star
Wednesday but Free Patriotic Movement President Gebran Bassil expected it to be
resolved before Christmas. “We expect the Cabinet’s birth before the holidays,”
Bassil said in a statement. “Despite it being a transient government [the new
administration will] follow up on reform and combat corruption, which should
reflect on the ministers.”
Sources from the presidential palace are skeptical over formation.
“There will be no Cabinet anytime soon, the issue has become much larger
than its formation, as previous grudges are surfacing,” a source from Baabda
said.
During an hourlong meeting at the presidential palace Wednesday, Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri and President Michel Aoun discussed Cabinet’s
progress. As he was leaving the palace, Hariri told reporters that the “matter
still requires further consultations.”
So far, politicians have failed to agree on the lineup and the allocation
of portfolios. Even the exact number of ministers included remains contentious.
Hariri has previously called for a 24-member administration.
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt has called for an
expanded 30-member Cabinet with balanced representation for the Marada
Movement, the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party. This would fortify
Source said that the issue is now beyond the number of ministers.
“It doesn’t matter anymore if it’s 24 or 30 [members]. What matters is
[Speaker] Berri’s relationship with the FPM and not his relationship with
[Marada Movement head MP Sleiman] Frangieh,” the source explained. “This is why
the Cabinet’s formation is being hampered and Hariri is very bothered by
this.”The source pointed to previous tensions between the Speaker and Aoun and
cited them as the reason for delays.
“Berri and Aoun are portraying to the media as if they are the ones
forming Cabinet, but that won’t happen if Frangieh only gets the Culture
Ministry,” the source said.
Marada’s share in the administration is the main hurdle preventing its
formation. Frangieh insists on managing one of three key portfolios –
Telecommunications, Public Works or Energy – before he agrees to join the
Cabinet.
Berri had attempted to give up the Public Works portfolio to Frangieh.
Aoun in turn demanded that a Shiite minister be allocated as part of his team,
which Berri rejected and thus created another stalemate.
The source revealed that all parties bar one remained skeptical that the
Cabinet would be formed anytime soon, however he refused to reveal which group
was hopeful.
Berri, during a meeting with various MPs and officials, expressed optimism.
“There is no excuse for delaying the formation of the Cabinet and to issue
decrees after the hurdles of portfolio allocation have been solved,” he said,
adding that he and the FPM agree on the need to formulate a new parliamentary
law based on proportional representation to replace the current 1960 law used
in the previous elections in 2009.
FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan also met with Jumblatt to discuss the law that
would govern the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai attempted to reconcile Frangieh and Aoun
Tuesday, but also failed. As Rai and Frangieh met, he called the president so
the two could chat. However, Aoun snubbed Frangieh and refused to take his
call, further marring attempts to reach a consensus.
MP Alain Aoun headed an FPM delegation Wednesday to visit Frangieh at his
home in Bneshaai, in a move aimed at diffusing tensions between the two. The
discussion also revolved around the parliamentary electoral law.
Another source close to the Cabinet formation process said that the
“final touches are being put to the Cabinet lineup as efforts and contacts are
now geared toward solving the substitute portfolio [for the Amal Movement].”
Yet sources also revealed that Hariri would not be going to the
presidential palace Thursday, indicating that the process remains frozen.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on December 15-16/16
Hundreds Leave Aleppo under
Rebel Withdrawal Deal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 15/16/Hundreds of civilians and rebels
left Aleppo on Thursday under an evacuation deal that will allow Syria's regime
to take full control of the city after years of fighting. The rebel withdrawal
began a month to the day after President Bashar Assad's forces launched a new offensive
to recapture
The evacuation began with a convoy of ambulances and buses crossing into
a government-held district in southern
'We will return'
The evacuees spent hours gathering earlier at a
staging area in
Ambulance 'fired on'
The evacuation was going ahead despite reports earlier Thursday of
pro-regime forces firing on an ambulance transporting the injured to
al-Amiriyah, wounding three people including a member of the White Helmets
civil defense organization. On Wednesday, cold and hungry civilians had
gathered for the initial planned evacuation but were instead sent running
through the streets searching for cover as fighting resumed.
Backed by foreign militia forces including fighters from
Shrinking rebel territory
More than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict
began, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming
refugees. The
50,000 People Still Trapped in Eastern
Aleppo, Says U.N. Envoy
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 15/16/Around 50,000 people, the majority
civilians, were still trapped in eastern Aleppo even as an evacuation deal was
under way, the U.N. peace envoy for Syria and French foreign minister said on
Thursday. "There are 50,000 people, including 40,000 civilians unfortunate
enough to live in that part of the city. The rest are fighters, numbering
between 1,500 and 5,000, and their families," the U.N.'s Staffan de
Mistura told reporters in
Evacuation Convoy Heads for Syria Villages under Rebel Siege
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 15/16/Vehicles were en route Tuesday to
two government-held villages under rebel siege in
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 15/16/French President Francois Hollande
hit out on Thursday at
With
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 15/16/After Mohammed Walo's
"I was passing through an army checkpoint, and on my way back, they told
me I was wanted for the army reserves," Walo told AFP. It was the first
time the 35-year-old technician had left his Haluk neighborhood since rebel
groups overran it four years ago. "I have to come back to serve in the
army for my son who is very dear to my heart, so that he can inherit a country
that isn't in ruins," Walo said, with tears in his pale green eyes. He is
one of hundreds of men who have been swept up to perform their compulsory
service or enter the army reserves since the government began recapturing
territory in east Aleppo from rebels. After a month-long assault,
'Allegiance to homeland'
Gesturing to the new conscripts in west
Families crowd outside
Ahmad al-Qassem, 23, told AFP he was forced to join a rebel group in
"God protect him." Amin Derzi, 50, came to the station to check on
his son, who was detained when the family left the Salhin district several days
ago. Derzi's 27-year-old son was wounded two years ago in a rocket attack that
left him without fingers on one hand. "We got him treated, but it wasn't
enough... I haven't seen him since yesterday, and I want to check on him and
give him his medication," he said.
Putin's Victory?
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 15/16/When Russian President
Turning the tables
Russian warplanes played a central role in bludgeoning rebel-held parts of
Aleppo towards defeat with a brutal campaign that stirred memories of Putin's
destruction of the Chechen capital Grozny in 1999-2000. Although Assad's
opponents finally gave up after
A pyrrhic victory?
For the Kremlin, victory in
"The situation has come full circle:
Blistering international criticism did eventually see
What's next?
Just as
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 15/16/Russia has promised there will be
a pause in fighting in
Explosive Traces Found on EgyptAir 804
Victims
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 15/16/Traces of explosives have been
detected on remains of victims of an EgyptAir plane crash last May that killed
all 66 people on board, the aviation ministry announced Thursday. An official
investigative committee which made the discovery has referred the case to
Iraqi Children Battle Trauma after Life
under IS Rule
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 15/16/Years of life under jihadist rule
and war have left thousands of Iraqi children old beyond their years and in
desperate need of playtime to overcome their trauma. Malak, 11, says she has
"come back from hell". She huddles in a long black coat at the
Hasansham displacement camp where thousands of people have lived since fleeing
their homes in
Back to school
In the camp's alleyways, girls help their mothers wash
laundry while boys wrapped in sodden woollen clothes help their fathers carry
food packages distributed by aid groups. Faysal, also 11 and the oldest of five
children, says life here is tough. "We want to go home, my father can't
find work, we're cold here and we eat badly," he says as heavy rain pounds
on the U.N. tent that has become his new school. Many of the children have not
been to regular school since IS jihadists took over their region in 2014. Malak
attends classes at the UNICEF center every day. She says she wants to be a
journalist or a doctor, despite having spent two years out of school. IS fighters ran schools in her village near
Never-ending noise
Despite the cold and hardship of life under canvas, she says the family is
happier now, especially her father. "Dad and mum play with us, they make
us laugh so we will forget, because we got our lives back after leaving
hell," she says. Faysal says he can't forget "the explosions, the
planes, the bombs" that forced his family to flee their house and seek
refuge with relatives on the edge of
"I'm happy," he says. "Now I can sleep."
Yemen's al-Qaida Condemns 'Deviant' IS Rivals
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 15/16/Al-Qaida in Yemen has labeled the
rival jihadist Islamic State group "deviant" and distanced itself from
an IS-claimed suicide attack in Aden last week that killed dozens of soldiers.
"We explicitly declare that we were not involved in any way in this
operation," Ansar al-Sharia, al-Qaida's branch in
Egypt Executes Convicted Jihadist
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 15/16/Egyptian authorities on Thursday
executed a jihadist convicted of involvement in a 2013 gun attack on police in
the Sinai Peninsula, state media reported. Adel Habara was hanged in a
Iranian Regime's MP: Government
Subsidies Are Monopolized by a Mafia of 250
Thursday, 15 December 2016/NCRI - Speaking about ‘justice shares’ plan, a type
of subsidy which, according to regime, is aimed at reducing social class
differences an helping the low-income population, a member of regime’s
parliament said in an interview with regime’s TV on Sunday December 11 that
“today, an undecided wealth has been formed in Iran’s economy which neither
people are aware of nor is it being seriously monitored by the
government.”Mohammad-Reza Pour-Ebrahimi speaks in the interview of a plan
called ‘liberalization of justice shares’ which took two years to be prepared
in regime’s parliament, but was rejected due to government’s disapproval, which
practically led to the continued uncertainty of justice shares.”“Due to the
very same uncertainty, people are now having sheets in hand which are of no
use”, added the regime’s MP. Pour-Ebrahimi then pointed to the corruption in
the ‘Justice Shares Project’ and said that “there are a number of people who,
in the name of justice shares, are non-transparently managing a large part of
Iran’s economy… assets with a portfolio value of 96 thousand billion tomans are
being monopolized by an economic mafia of 250 people.”“This mafia is managing
the whole assets in an extremely deplorable way, and part of the corruption in
economic entities is due to the lack of supervision on the justice shares
plan”, added Pour-Ebrahimi. He added that “people have no part in justice
shares; they don’t participate in the assembly, they don’t receive dividends,
and are not authorized to elect the board or the CEO, either.”“Nearly 45
million people are holding justice shares, but if you ask them which assembly
they attended or which voting they took part or how much dividend they
received, they have no idea”, said Pour-Ebrahimi. It should be pointed out that
the legislation to assign justice shares was approved in 2005, following which
the shares have been assigned to 45 million Iranians so far.
Iran: Fear of Corruption, Reason for the
Reluctance of Foreign Investors
Thursday, 15 December 2016/NCRI - Unbridled corruption in Iran is one of the most
important factors in the regime’s failure to attract foreign investment, head
of Tehran’s Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday December 13 in an interview with
state-run Ebtekar newspaper stated and added: “Foreign trade delegations are
concerned about corruption in Iran's government agencies.”He also said “Out of
160 foreign trade delegations that came to Iran this year, more than 60
delegations had worry about corruption in the government institutions which led
to negative growth in foreign investment in the country since 2011 and we have
been witnessing capital outflows and unable to attract a major foreign investor
ever since,” he admitted. Massoud Khansari added: “In the past 30 years,
corruption has always had an upward trend and all these offences imply that
there is a problem in the country’s (infrastructure) system and if is not found
soon, we will not have a good future.”Head of Tehran’s Chamber of Commerce
said: “Currently, there is an atmosphere in the country to fight corruption by
arresting and executing a few people. While this is dealing with the cause, as
long as the political and social structure (infrastructure) has problem,
fighting corruption is like a superstructure work.”Meanwhile, Massoud
Daneshmand, member of
Latest Labor Protests Across
Thursday, 15 December 2016/NCRI - The protest gathering of the workers of
polyacryl factory. In the morning of Tuesday December 13th 2016, more than 400
workers of polyacryl factory of
In addition to the workers of polyacryl factory, a group of workers of DMT
Company, which is the subdivision of polyacryl factory and the producer of
textile raw material, also participated in the rally. They have also lodged a
protest against the 7-month overdue salaries.
The workers of Marun Petrochemical Complex protested for the second day in a
row. On December 14th 2016, a group of workers of Marun Petrochemical Complex
located in
At the end of his talk, he pointed out that some authorities have promised to
address the demands of the workers in the next coming year whereas already
these kind of promises have been made but no action
has followed to solve the issues.
The workers of Meymeh dam project gathered in front of the governor office of
Dehloran,Ilam
As ILNA news agency reports, a group of workers of Meymeh dam project rallied
in front of the governor office of Dehloran (located in
One of the workers said:"the protesters are workers who have lost their
job and yet they could not manage to get their overdue receivables. The workers
of Meymeh dam project have not yet received the 5-month overdue salaries.
Consequently, the workers are suffering a severe economic hardship."The
worker also claimed that the prime contractor of Meymeh dam project has not yet
paid the receivables of sub-contractors for a year due to lack of funds.
EU Policy Has Encouraged Iran Regime's
Internal Repression and Crimes in Syria
Thursday, 15 December 2016/NCRI - On the eve of the Human Rights Day, European
lawmakers held a conference at the European Parliament on Wednesday December7.
They strongly condemned the violations of human rights in
A number of MEPs from various European countries spoke at the event, the
following are opening remarks and speech by Ms. Anthea McIntyre, MEP from UK:
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome and thank you all very much for coming here
today. This meeting has been organized by the Friends of a Free Iran at the
European Parliament and we know, we enjoy the support
from about 300 MEPs from different political groups and from many countries. We
have gathered on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, and we are
absolutely delighted to have Mrs Maryam Rajavi with us, who as you all know is President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
I think you all know Madam Rajavi is regarded as the number one enemy of the
mullahs. Because she leads an anti-fundamentalist movement
which believes in a tolerant and democratic Islam, a secular government for a
free future for
The nuclear accord with
However, my friends, we should take a very close look at the record of
the last 3 years under Rouhani: More people have been hanged under the so
called “moderate” Rouhani than during the time of Ahmadinejad. Rouhani has not
said a word against these executions. Indeed, he defends the death sentences as
the rule of God. Religious and ethnic minorities are suppressed more than ever
before. And
But EU policy makers have completely ignored these realities. They’re
advocating more trade and more business deals with this regime. Let us not
forget that most of
So the EU policy has encouraged the mullahs to continue their internal
repression and to carry on crimes in
Just one example is the complete failure of the international community
to deal with the mass executions in
This frankly shames the free world. It is totally unacceptable for the EU
to remain silent and continue business as usual with such a regime.
Our High Representative Mrs. Mogherini must condemn the 1988 massacre as
a crime against humanity. The EU should put firm conditions on its future
relations with
NCRI Iran News/Thursday, 15 December 2016/Spending his 10th day of hunger
strike, the severely weakened political prisoner Behnam Mousivand was taken to
Gohardasht prison’s medical unit, and from there to a hospital outside the
prison on Tuesday December 13.
While in his wheelchair, waiting to be dispatched in a room in front of the prison
warden’s (Mohammad Mardani), Mousivand was severely beaten by a number of
prison staff for not wearing prison uniform, handcuffs and shackles. He was
then transferred to
Gohardasht political prisoners in
“Dear Behnam,
you have proved your honesty and loyalty... We learned today that your mother
has become aware of your situation and has come to meet you, but loses consciousness
and falls to the ground in the meeting hall, …seriously,
sincerely, we ask you to stop your hunger strike because of your mother’s
dangerous heart disease.
Peace be upon you.
Your friends and ward-mates in hall 12 of Gohardash
Prison.”
Why Mrs. Mogherini Has Failed to Condemn
the Appalling Human Rights Violations in
Thursday, 15 December 2016/NCRI - On the eve of the Human Rights Day, European
lawmakers held a conference at the European Parliament on Wednesday December7.
They strongly condemned the violations of human rights in
A number of MEPs from various European countries spoke at the event, the
following is the speech of Mr Richard Ashworth, MEP from
Madam Rajavi, my lords, ladies and gentlemen.
It’s good that we have so many people here today on International Human Rights
Day. And I’m extremely pleased therefore that Mrs. Rajavi is with us because
she brings with her demands for justice and accountability of the 1988
massacre. We as Europeans hold dear our values of promoting the principles of
democracy, human rights and rule of law. And so as parliamentarians, it’s our
duty to demand justice over the massacre of more than 30,000 political
prisoners. Particularly we send that message to the EU High Representative,
Federica Mogherini. We would expect of her that she represents those very
values of democracy, rule of law and human rights that we hold so dear. So
therefore, we want to know why Mrs. Mogherini in the past year has failed to
condemn the appalling human rights abuses taking place in
According to Amnesty International, 60% of all registered executions in the
world took place in
So I urge the EU High Representative, I urge the UK Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs, not to allow the mullahs regime to get away with such
atrocities as the 1988 massacre. Let us not degrade and devalue our founding
principles. We’re proud to support the millions of Iranians demanding democracy
and humanity. We should press the United Nations to establish a commission of
inquiry in order to bring the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre to justice.
Thank you.
First on CNN: Adviser says Russia
crucial to Trump's Middle East plans
CNN Digital Expansion DC Elise Labott
By Elise Labott, CNN/December 15, 2016
Washington (CNN)President-elect Donald Trump's push
for greater ties to Russia will help in key administration priorities in the
region, starting with ending the civil war in Syria, a transition advisor told
Middle East diplomats on Wednesday. Walid Phares, a foreign policy adviser to
the Trump transition, met with Arab ambassadors Wednesday to brief them about
the incoming Trump administration's policy toward the
According to four diplomats who participated in the meeting, Phares laid out a
broad outline of the President-elect's priorities.
He named
That was followed by
On the
The sources said Phares did not have a firm answer for how he planned to
strengthen ties with
However, he did suggest a better relationship with Moscow could help solve
outstanding conflicts in the Middle East, pointing to Trump's appointment of
Rex Tillerson as secretary of state as potentially facilitating better
cooperation with Moscow because of his tight relationships with Russian
President Vladimir Putin and other top officials.
The sources said that
He said that he expected Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to be intimately
involved on the issue, while mentioning that his daughter Ivanka was expected
to be involved on climate change policy.
Phares hedged when asked about pledges by Trump and members of his transition
to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to
He didn't have a firm answer when pressed about Trump's views on Islam and his
suggestion there could be a Muslim registry, the diplomats said.
All in all, diplomats said Phares was careful not to go into too much detail on
any potential policies, saying they were still being developed and that he
didn't have clear direction from the transition.
"Personally, I didn't think we learned anything we didn't already
know," one diplomat said. "He was beating around the bush a
lot."
Obama Allows Iran Sanctions Renewal
Without Signing Bill
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 15/16/President Barack Obama allowed US
sanctions against Iran to be renewed on Thursday, but in a surprise move declined
to actually sign the legislation that brings the sanctions into force.
"The extension of the Iran Sanctions Act is becoming law without the
president's signature," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a
statement. The president, who had previously been expected to sign the measure,
symbolically let slide a midnight deadline to ink his name on the legislation
-- which he has called unnecessary -- meaning the 10-year sanctions renewal
will automatically become law. Under the
Obama has said that passage of the
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on on December 15-16/16
U.S. Money Transferred To Iran Used To
Expand Iran's Military Budget
By: Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli/MEMRI/December 15/16
The government of Iranian President Hassan Rohani has submitted to the Majlis
(parliament) a draft budget for the fiscal year March 2017-March 2018 for a
total of $99.7 billion equivalent. The budget envisages a growth in expenditure
of 13.9 percent over the preceding year, but a sharp increase of 39 percent, or
$10.3 billion, in funds earmarked for defense, including a big increase in the
budget of
Notwithstanding political, economic and social conflicts between the Rohani
government and the IRGC, foreign policy is closely coordinated by the two
bodies. Upon reaching power, the Rohani government declared two key priorities:
reforming the national economy, and reaching agreement with the West on the
nuclear program. The government has shown no objection to the role of the IRGC,
a potent military force accountable to the Supreme Leader, in regional
politics, and particularly in
Growth Of Iran's Defense Budget
Overall,
Apart of its dominant share in the national defense budget, the IRGC derives
vast revenues from its control over energy, construction, banking, and
marketing (as well as smuggling of contraband.) Much of these economic
activities are carried out by a company known as Khatam Al-Anbiya ("Seal
of the Prophet") established by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the late
1980s as the economic arm of the IRGC. Upon the withdrawal of the major oil
companies such as Shell Oil (Anglo-Dutch) and Total (French) from Iran's oil
sector following the international sanctions, ownership of the oil and gas
fields vacated by these companies was transferred to Khatam Al-Anbiya.[1]
The Ultimate Destiny Of The U.S.-Transferred Cash To Iran
In seeking to strengthen the policy of rapprochement with Iran, the Obama
administration (though its Treasury Department) has surreptitiously transferred
to Rohani’s government two tranches, in cash, for a total of $1.7 billion,
allegedly as the cumulated interest on Iran’s deposits, made during the Shah
regime before the 1979 revolution, for the purchase of American weapons
It is a commonly accepted premise that money is fungible. While we cannot
establish whether the money transferred from the
*Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli is Senior Analyst (emeritus) at MEMRI.
[1] Al-Quds al-Arabi, December 10, 2016
Usud Al-Cherubim: A Pro-Assad Christian
Militia
Aymenn Al-Tamimi/Syria Comment/December 15/16
http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/usud-al-cherubim-pro-assad-christian-militia/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Syriacomment+%28Syria+Comment%29
In a post in February 2016, a pro-Assad Christian page called Junud al-Massih
(“Soldiers of Christ”) wrote: “Syria is beautiful in its Assad. At your service in soul and blood, my lord President Bashar
al-Assad. We began with 5 groups on the ground and today we have become
more than 15 armed Syrian Christian factions.” Though that post did not name
any specific groups, perhaps the most recognisable Christian militia of
pro-Assad orientation has been the Sootoro group in Qamishli in northeast
According to this fighter, Usud al-Cherubim was formed
in 2013 during “the terrorist attack on the monastery” and the group lost a
fighter called Joseph al-Kibba “in the battles of the monastery in defence of
the monastery.” For context, Joseph al-Kibba is a widely renowned Christian
‘martyr’ of the Saydnaya area who was born in 1989 and killed on 26 November
2013. His funeral was promoted in a video uploaded by the official channel of
the National Defence Forces, which were reported to have played a role at the
time alongside the Syrian army in fending off the attacks on Deir al-Cherubim.
For their part, pro-rebel media during this period accused the regime of
deliberately placing tanks near the monastery to bombard neighbouring areas,
thereby attempting to score a propaganda victory against the rebels in their
response to the bombardment.
Public references to Usud al-Cherubim appear to go back as far as January 2014.
Though the militia can be seen as initially having been set up as a local
‘monastery defence’ force, the group has subsequently participated in a number
of military engagements beyond the Saydnaya area. According to the Usud
al-Cherubim fighter, engagements have included “all the battles of East Ghouta,
Darayya,
“Operations Battalion- Usud al-Cherubim- at your service
“Operations Battalion- Usud al-Cherubim in Darayya.”
The participation in the Darayya operations was partly framed as “liberating
its churches” (in a similar way, Shi’i militia participation in the Darayya operations
was portrayed as defending/liberating the Sayyida Ruqayya shrine in the area).
The idea of holy struggle is also conveyed in the frequent self-description as
“mujahideen of the cross.”
Usud al-Cherubim graffiti in Shebaa,
In total, the fighter from Usud al-Cherubim told me that the group has 3
‘martyrs’ and 12 wounded thus far. One therefore ought to keep the scale of the
group’s military contributions in perspective. As for the militia’s
affiliation, the source stated that Usud al-Cherubim is affiliated with the air
intelligence, with which a number of pro-regime militias have
links/affiliation, including the elite Tiger Forces and the Suqaylabiyah-based
Christian militia Quwat al-Ghadab. Indeed, a key to realizing the affiliation
of Usud al-Cherubim with the air intelligence is that the group is referred to
on social media as being part of Hurras al-Fajr (“Guardians of the Dawn”),
which is a collection of primarily Christian militias affiliated with air
intelligence.
“Air Intelligence Administration: Guardians of the Dawn Groups. A homeland that
we do not protect is one we do not deserve to live in.” Like many pro-regime
militias, Guardians of the Dawn has sought to recruit through Facebook, urging
those wishing to join the ranks to correspond for inquiry and further
information.
According to the fighter from Usud al-Cherubim, the Guardians of the Dawn
conglomeration was set up around a year ago, and Usud al-Cherubim joined it. In
other words, Usud al-Cherubim may have initially been its own independent
faction having sprung up from the notion of local monastery defence, but
eventually became air intelligence affiliated. As the source put it, “We had
been working with many sides. Later we remained as air intelligence.” The
Guardians of the Dawn conglomeration, though consisting of primarily Christian
militias, promotes a nationalist image in the slogan “a homeland we do not
protect is one we do not deserve to live in,” as can
be observed above. Besides Usud al-Cherubim, the constituent groups of
Guardians of the Dawn have included:
– Ararat Group
– Usud al-Wadi (referring to Wadi al-Nasara in Homs province)
– Usud al-Hamidiya (referring to the Hamidiya neighbourhood of Homs)
– Intervention Regiment
– Usud Dwel’a (referring to the Dwel’a neighbourhood of Damascus)
Of these groups, one should note that Usud al-Hamidiya-led by Rami Marina from
Homs– appears to have left Guardians of the Dawn, and is now affiliated with
the military intelligence under the formation of Fawj Maghawir al-Ba’ath
(“Ba’ath Commandos Regiment”) led by Jihad Barakat.
According to an account by Guardians of the Dawn leader Fadi Abd al-Massih
Khouri written in September 2016, the Guardians of the Dawn conglomeration was
formally established on 11 September 2015, and Usud al-Cherubim had a key
involvement in events that led to its establishment. According to this account,
Usud al-Cherubim issued a distress call to Khouri on Thursday night on 10
September 2015, warning that the locality of Maarouneh was under assault by
Jaysh al-Islam, that the situation was difficult and that these rebels were
threatening to seize the international highway. This prompted Khouri to make
connections with the other groups (i.e. the constituents of what became the
Guardians of the Dawn conglomeration) and set up the Intervention Regiment in
particular. By 12 September 2015, Khouri claims to have set out with a
contingent of fighters to provide relief. All this, he writes, is based on the
idea that the groups should work to help each other out in times of distress as
their villages come under assault.
Although there is a nationalist line of rhetoric included in the account, with
the affirmation that “all the
Like many people involved with the militias on the ground, Khouri attempted to
push for political influence by running as a parliamentary candidate for the
April 2016 elections. However, unlike Liwa al-Baqir’s Omar al-Hassan, he was
unsuccessful.
Social media graphic: “Ararat Group: Dir’ al-Watan Groups.” Dir’ al-Watan
(“Homeland Shield”) appears to have been the initial name for Khouri’s
conglomeration of militias, though having the same air intelligence
affiliation. In relation to the Sadad operations in November 2015, Sootoro
wrote: “Dir’ al-Watan. Entering Sadad. Big thanks from
all the groups to Ustadh Fadi Khouri for his support and great work.” Thus, this Dir’ al-Watan should not be confused with the
Dir’ al-Watan of the al-Bustan Association, or the Dir’ al-Watan in Suwayda’.
As an actively used and promoted brand on social media for Khouri’s
conglomeration of militias, Guardians of the Dawn does not seem to appear
initially until March 2016.
Ararat Group, using a slight variant on the Guardians of the Dawn slogan: “A homeland
you do not protect is one you do not deserve to live in.”
In short, the case of Usud al-Cherubim provides an interesting case of
evolution from a local initiative to an affiliate of a wider militia
conglomeration attached to the air intelligence. The existence of Usud
al-Cherubim also illustrates that notions of defence of holy sites as rallying
calls are by no means limited to the Shi’a alone. Indeed, as the case of the
Syriac Military Council demonstrates, the idea of defending churches and other
holy sites from desecration and destruction has been an important talking point
among Christians in the east of the country as well.
Of course, Usud al-Cherubim goes beyond mere defence
of the Deir al-Cherubim monastery, and has been actively fighting for the
regime elsewhere in western
To the Muslim Brotherhood: Quit
Shouting Islamophobia and Quit Attacking Muslim Families
Saied Shoaaib/Gatestone Institute/December 15/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/15/saied-shoaaibgatestone-institute-to-the-muslim-brotherhood-quit-shouting-islamophobia-and-quit-attacking-muslim-families/
Islamists, including Majzoub, have a long history of dragging prominent people
and organizations into their arguments about extremism, terrorism and
radicalization. These Islamists do not use their influence to drain the
resources of Islamic terrorism in
The prevailing religious interpretation of groups such as the Muslim
Brotherhood and its adherents is that anyone who objects to their
interpretation of Islam is to be considered a disbeliever. Because of their
disbelief, they deserve to be killed in the present life and should then suffer
the punishment of Allah in the next life. If killing them in this life is not
an option, then spreading hate and anger against them is acceptable.
The other main problem the Parliamentary action against
"Islamophobia" is that it gives the false impression that groups such
as the Canadian Muslim Forum or the Muslim Brotherhood can speak for Muslims.
In fact, they do not. In the
It is not just that they have extremist literature in Canadian schools and mosques, it is that in some instances they have nothing but
extremist literature. The Ottawa Public Library, for instance, has nothing but
extremist literature in its Arabic language collection.
The first victims of this will be secular and modernist Muslims who oppose
extremism -- and their families.
Islamist front groups in
The Parliament of Canada, for example, passed an "anti-Islamophobia"
motion on October 26, 2016. Samer Majzoub, the president of the Canadian Muslim
Forum, was the person behind the Parliamentary petition against
"Islamophobia"; it generated some 70,000 signatures. The sponsor of
the motion in the House of Commons was MP Frank Baylis.
Both Majzoub and the Canadian Muslim Forum have a rather long list of dubious
connections to Islamist groups and the foreign money used to support them. This
includes the Muslim Brotherhood.
What is the real intent of Samir Majzoub, the Canadian Muslim Forum and its
exploitation of the over-hyped concept of "Islamophobia"? As noted,
Islamists, including Majzoub, have a long history of dragging prominent people
and organizations into their arguments about extremism, terrorism and
radicalization. These Islamists do not use their influence to drain the
resources of Islamic terrorism in
Samir Majzoub (left), the Islamist president of the Canadian Muslim Forum, was
the person behind the recent Canadian Parliamentary petition against
"Islamophobia." Both Majzoub and the Canadian Muslim Forum have a
long list of dubious connections to Islamist groups and the foreign money used
to support them. This includes the Muslim Brotherhood. (Image sources -
Majzoub: Canadian Muslim Forum video screenshot; Parliament: Saffron
Blaze/Wikimedia Commons)
Why should life be dangerous for Muslims, their families and others who reject
the charges of Islamophobia?
The prevailing religious interpretation of groups such as the Muslim
Brotherhood and its adherents is that anyone who objects to their interpretation
of Islam is to be considered a disbeliever. Because of their disbelief, they
deserve to be killed in the present life and should then suffer the punishment
of Allah in the next life. If killing them in this life is not an option, then
spreading hate and anger against them is acceptable.
The side effects of the supposed "Islamophobia"
activity is an increased threat to Muslim families in
The other main problem with the Parliamentary action against
"Islamophobia" is that it gives the false impression that groups such
as the Canadian Muslim Forum or the Muslim Brotherhood can speak for Muslims.
In fact, they do not. Groups such as the Canadian Muslim Forum or the Council
on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) have little evidence to show they have
anything approaching majority support. In the
With no mandate to speak on behalf of Muslims, Islamists such as Majzoub should
not be regarded as "leadership" figures. They intimidate other
Muslims and work to silence anyone who speaks against them. This is a sort of
intellectual fraud: no one elected them to speak on behalf of Muslims. From an
Islamic religious perspective, it should be noted that Allah has no agents or
representatives on Earth, so their claim to speak on behalf of Muslims is
theologically weak, at best.
At the same time, these Islamists do all they can to hide their finances; they
refuse to show how much money they receive from
In
Conclusions
The Parliamentary motion condemns all forms of
"Islamophobia," without making any attempt to define what that means.
As Judith Bergman put it:
The questions need to be asked: What exactly are they condemning? Criticism of Islam? Criticism of Muslims?
Debating Mohammed? Depicting Mohammed? Discussing whether
The Canadian Parliamentary motion on "Islamophobia" is indeed a large
stick that is designed to be swung at anyone who makes even the vaguest
criticism of extremist Islam and its front groups. Rather than draining the
extremist swamp or defunding their centers of activity, motions such as this
are intended to weaponize words so that critics can be silenced by
criminalizing anything that varies from political correctness, as in the
clearly politically-motivated conviction of Dutch MP Geert Wilders last week.
The first victims of this will be secular and modernist Muslims who oppose
extremism -- and their families.
**Saied Shoaaib is a journalist and author originally from
© 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. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9577/muslim-brotherhood-shouting-islamophobia
Iran Breaks Nuclear Deal and UN
Resolutions
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/December 15/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/15/majid-rafizadehgatestone-institute-iran-breaks-nuclear-deal-and-un-resolutions/
"We will have a new ballistic missile test in the near future that will be
a thorn in the eyes of our enemies." – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
The range of existing Iranian ballistic missiles has grown from 500 miles to
over 1,250 miles (roughly 2,000 kilometers), which can easily reach Eastern
Europe, as well as countries such as Israel.
In addition, Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan said that there
would be no limit for the range and amount of missiles that
The nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
Agreement (JCPOA) -- effective, as of October 18, 2015, according to the State
Department - clearly and distinctly stipulates that Iran should not undertake
any ballistic missile activity "until the date eight years after the JCPOA
Adoption Day or until the date on which the IAEA submits a report confirming
the Broader Conclusion, whichever is earlier."
Not only is
As cited by Iran's state-owned Fars News Agency, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh,
Iran's commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace
Force, said in Tehran on Dec 6, 2016:
"In addition to enhancing the precision-striking power and quality of
ballistic missiles, the Iranian authorities and experts have used innovative
and shortcut methods to produce inexpensive missiles, and today we are
witnessing an increase in production [of ballistic missiles]."
In addition, Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan said that there
would be no limit for the range and amount of missiles that
"90 percent of the country's defense systems have reached an acceptable
standard and enjoy competitive quality compared with the weapons of advanced
countries; production of the national individual weapons and efforts to improve
the quality and precision-striking power of ballistic missiles are among the
defense ministry's achievements in the defense field."
Fars News reported on a December 6, 2016 statement from
"His remarks came as the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) fired 2
home-made 'Qadr H' ballistic missiles from the
One missile, which was launched on March 2016, had a clear message written on
it that said in the Hebrew language: "
"Qadr is a 2000km-range, liquid-fuel and ballistic missile which can reach
territories as far as
The range of existing Iranian ballistic missiles has grown from 500 miles to
over 1,250 miles (roughly 2,000 kilometers), which can easily reach Eastern
Europe, as well as countries such as Israel.
According to a previous report obtained by the Associated Press, the launches
are "destabilizing and provocative" and the Shahab-3 medium-range
ballistic missile and Qiam-1 short-range ballistic missile fired by
In addition to violating the nuclear agreement, provoking and threatening other
nations, and destabilizing the region,
The second United Nations Security Council resolution, 1929, states:
"
These missiles have the capability of carrying multiple nuclear warheads. Iran
Tasnim news agency reported:
"Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan praised the country's
military might...saying the Islamic Republic can mass produce ballistic
missiles with any range and destructive power... In the missile sphere,
"Hezbollah has 100,000 missiles that are ready to hit Israel to liberate
the occupied Palestinian territories if the Zionist regime repeats its past
mistakes... today, the grounds for the annihilation and collapse of the Zionist
regime are (present) more than ever."
In addition, Gen. Salami warned Israeli leaders that if they make the
"wrong move,"
It is crucial to point out that both
The Obama administration, the international community, a major global power, or
a coalition of nations need robustly to confront these
provocations, threats, and violations of the nuclear deal and UN Security
Council Resolutions by
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, political scientists and
© 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. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9584/iran-breaks-nuclear-deal
Egypt: Christians Still Denied
Churches While Government Opens 10 Mosques Every Week
Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/December 15/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/15/raymond-ibrahimcoptic-solidarity-egypt-christians-still-denied-churches-while-government-opens-10-mosques-every-week/
One week before the bombing of St. Peter’s cathedral which left at least
25 Christians dead, hostility for Christian churches was being shown in the
usual, less spectacular way. Egyptian authorities and politicians held a
meeting sponsored by Al Azhar, the nation’s topmost authority on Islam, in the
The topic of discussion was the latest round of attacks on the Coptic
Christian minorities of the village—who were beat and their properties looted
and burned—because they were “illegally” praying and worshipping in a building
that they had long used as the Church of St. George, before authorities shut it
down.
As usual, the meeting highlighted the “brotherhood of all
Egyptians”—Christians and Muslims—the need for them to get along, etc. But when
it came to the question of giving their fellow Christian brothers the same
right to worship that Egypt’s Muslims enjoy—especially now, when Coptic
Christians are looking forward to celebrating Christmas mass—the majority of
Muslim leaders and family members staunchly refused to permit the local
Christians to assemble, pray and worship in the building, which must remain
shut down.
They cited the well-known law of Islam that forbids the building and even
renovation of churches wherever Islam holds sway. As usual, the governor of
Sohag and other leading authorities did nothing to support the Christians and
acquiesced.
One local Christian explained how they had been “using this building to
pray in and offer charitable services for some time,” and how they had
submitted all the necessary paperwork to register the building as a church,
“but instead they illegally shut it down.” Wondered the unnamed Christian: “We
don’t understand what is so dangerous about the Copts praying and exercising
their legal rights in this matter.”
The Copts of Naghameesh are just one of many Christians who face
countless legal restrictions and red tape bureaucracy designed to deny them the
right to build a church to pray in. And on those very rare occasions when they
do get the necessary paperwork signed off, Muslim mobs riot and attack
Christians and burn their homes, which local authorities cite as reason to
revoke the permit and keep peace in the village.
Soon after the meeting, Egyptian governmental figures boasted of how they
are opening 10 new mosques every week; that 3,200 mosques are closed and in
need of renovation and the government is currently working on 1,300 of them;
that it will take about 60 million Egyptian pounds to renovate them and the
government has allotted ten times as much, although a total of 3 billion will
eventually be needed; and that the Egyptian government is dedicated to spending
that much—for “whoever abuses public funds [which should be used for Islamic
worship], enters a war with Allah,” in the words of Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar Gom‘a,
Minister of Awqaf, or endowments.
But when the nation’s more than 10 million Christian minority seeks to
build a church to worship in—and pay for it from their own pockets—all is woe
in
It should be remembered: the animus that always causes large Muslim mobs
to form and torch buildings on the mere rumor that they are being used as
churches, is the same animus that causes more “pious” Muslims to bomb churches.
Stop calling the Syrian conflict a
‘civil war.’ It’s not.
Hanin Ghaddar/Wahington Post/December 14
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/15/hanin-ghaddarwahington-post-stop-calling-the-syrian-conflict-a-civil-war-its-not/
In the past five years,
These simplifications are inaccurate and dangerous. They absolve the
international community of responsibility, and give Bashar al-Assad a veneer of
legitimacy. They liberate
There is no doubt that civil war is one of the many layers of the Syrian
conflict. Local factions are fighting each other. In truth though, this is a
war on the people of
We see that in the violence. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights,
Assad’s forces have killed 95 percent of Syrian victims. Additionally, Assad
controls the army, including tanks, planes and barrel bombs. He has shelled
areas that witnessed peaceful protests. Assad has used chemical weapons against
his own people. He controls the intelligence, security and military apparatus
that have diligently and systematically worked since 2011 to arrest, torture
and kill all nonviolent activists.
[If we took ‘Gamergate’ harassment seriously, ‘Pizzagate’ might never have happened]
Assad also released dangerous Islamists from prison and allowed them to
organize and build armed groups. He did this not by accident, but as a part of
a strategy to create a civil war and radicalize what remained of the
revolution. His strategy has been to shift the narrative from reform to
sectarianism by emphasizing Islamic terrorism, thereby presenting himself as a
partner in the global war on terror.
It’s also hard to square the civil war claim with the vast amount of external
interference. Faced with a strong resistance from the armed opposition groups,
Assad allowed both
'Are you truly incapable of shame?': Samantha Power slams Syrian ambassador
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, spoke out strongly
Dec. 13 on the deteriorating situation in Syria. After
How can we call this conflict a civil war when the Syrian opposition is rarely
fighting Syrian loyalists and instead battling with foreign fighters in its own
country? Is it a civil war when all of
Calling it a civil war has serious implications on policy. It protects Assad.
Assad may be an obnoxious dictator, the logic goes,
but a stabilizing one. It also gives the impression that this is an internal
conflict, allowing Western powers and international organizations not to take
sides. As a result of this inaction, the world witnessed the exodus of Syrian
refugees, the castration of
Equating the killer with the victim has a moral challenge that eventually
legitimizes the regime’s crimes against humanity. It also subdues the modern
history of
This is not a civil war. Only when we stop calling it a civil war, we might be
able to understand the history and strategy of the regime, the various layers
of the Syrian people, the interests of those who are already intervening, and
the significance of accountability.
***Hanin Ghaddar is the inaugural Friedmann Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Follow @haningdr
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/12/14/stop-calling-the-syrian-conflict-a-civil-war-its-not/?postshare=9731481769464932&tid=ss_tw-bottom&utm_term=.ee11581dc625
Turkey’s Slide into Authoritarianism
Burak Bekdil/Middle East Quarterly/Winter 2017 (view PDF)
http://www.meforum.org/6398/turkey-slide-into-authoritarianism
Tanks and soldiers closed the Bosphorus bridge and surrounded the Turkish
parliament in Istanbul as Turkey was plunged into chaos for a few days in July
2016 when an attempted coup threatened to overthrow the Erdoğan
government.
On the evening of July 15, 2016, the inhabitants of
All of this happened at a time when no one was expecting a putsch, even
in a country torn by ethnic strife, perpetual terror attacks, and deep
ideological polarization.
Turkish Coups in Brief
Turks soon learned that the coup attempt had not been staged by the
military’s top brass but by dissident officers.[8] A similar attempt on May 27,
1960, had succeeded, leaving behind the bodies of the executed prime minister
and foreign minister.[9] When in 1971 the military issued an ultimatum to the
government of Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel, the prime minister resigned.[10]
The military intervened again in 1980, but Gen. Kenan Evren, elected
president after the coup, resumed parliamentary democracy in 1983. Things would
go smoothly until 1997 when the generals, deeply annoyed by the coalition
government of Turkey’s first Islamist premier, Necmettin Erbakan, forced him
out, not by sending tanks into the street but by masterminding political
intrigues that led to the collapse of his government.[11]
In 2007, Turkey’s top general issued a statement on the military’s
website, warning the Islamist government of then-prime minister Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan against any move that might undermine Turkey’s secular regime.
Erdoğan did not retreat. Instead, he launched a full-scale struggle
“against military tutelage” and had his long-time Islamist associate, Abdullah
Gül, elected president of the country.[12] In 2011,
the entire military leadership, including Chief-of-Staff Isik Kosaner, resigned
in protest over a slew of trials that put hundreds of officers in jail on
fabricated evidence of planning a coup. Since then, the top command has been
loyal to Erdoğan.[13]
The perpetrators of the July 15 coup attempt are widely believed to be a
coalition of officers: members of the “Gülen” group, who had infiltrated
military ranks and successfully hidden their ideological leanings, often by
drinking alcohol publicly and showcasing wives without Islamic headscarves;
Kemalists loyal to the republican tradition of modern Turkey’s founding father,
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and opportunists. Fetullah Gülen, a Muslim preacher,
self-exiled in Pennsylvania since 1999 and once Erdoğan’s staunchest
political ally, has emerged as the prime suspect.[14]
A Turkish Intra-Islamist Fight
After coming to power in parliamentary elections in November 2002,
Erdoğan, fearing that his government could face the typical end of
Islamist regimes in the Middle East—a military coup—quickly allied with Gülen,
whose powerful network would help to shore up Erdoğan against the
staunchly secular military establishment.
After coming to power in parliamentary elections in November 2002,
Erdoğan (left) quickly allied with Fetullah Gülen (right), a Muslim
preacher with a powerful network of followers. But the two leaders have since
fallen out, and following the attempted coup, Erdoğan accused his former
ally of masterminding the uprising.
For many years, the Erdoğan-Gülen alliance was a marriage made in
heaven. But when, at the end of 2013, Erdoğan decided to break it up, a
secretive Gülenist network in state bureaucracy (mostly in police and
judiciary) moved to accuse him, his family, four cabinet ministers,
bureaucrats, and prominent businessmen of corruption amounting to hundreds of
millions of dollars. A flurry of audio tapes revealing massive fraud was leaked
to social media—apparently by Gülenists who had vigorously collected material
for years—in an attempt to slash Erdoğan’s popularity ahead of local
elections in March 2014.[15] The plan failed as Turks
shrugged off embarrassing revelations, and Erdoğan’s Justice and
Development Party (AKP) won the elections with 43 percent of the vote.
Erdoğan then won three more elections: the presidential elections in
August 2014 and two parliamentary elections in June and November 2015.[16] As Erdoğan lamented after the July 15 failed
coup:
I am saddened for not having been able to unmask this treacherous
organization [Gülenists] a long time ago. For that [failure], I am liable to
God and to my nation. May God and our nation forgive us … We tolerated them
because they spoke of God … We failed to see that this structure which we
viewed as having a common range [goal] through different ways could be one with
different intentions and sinister goals.[17]
That common goal was to Islamize Turkey.
A Suspicious Putsch?
Post-coup analyses, including confessions from suspects, pointed to Gülen
as the mastermind. But there were reports that the suspects might have made
statements under torture, and the main question is,
who benefits? According to Howard Eissenstat of St. Lawrence University,
Erdoğan
comes out of this tremendously strengthened … This has remobilized a base
that was getting sort of tired of him. It gave him at least a moment in which
he unified all elements of society against a clear threat.[18]
Unsurprisingly, Erdoğan has used the failed coup to go after, not
just the Gülenists, but everyone he suspected to be hostile to him, including
Kurds, leftists, and secularists.
To some extent, the failed Turkish coup looked like the “Reichstag fire,”
the arson attack on the German parliament building in
The Purge
The crackdown following the coup attempt has been brutal, frequently
violating basic principles of Turkish law. Under the state of emergency, it is
dangerous to question whether July 15 was a hoax, orchestrated or tolerated by
Erdoğan for political gains. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag (above) stated
that anyone questioning the coup’s authenticity “likely had a role.”
Erdogan’s actions following the attempted coup closely resemble
historical purges by the Nazis and Soviets. In the days before July 2, 1934,
Nazi Germany undertook the “Röhm-Putsch,” a series of systematic political
executions and arrests of alleged coup plotters within the Sturmabteilung, the
Nazi paramilitary group, in order to consolidate Hitler’s absolute hold on
power. With many social democrats and communists already imprisoned, Hitler
also went after conservatives.[20] Just a few years
later, in 1937–38, Stalin carried out a massive purge in the
In some ways, the Turkish post-July 15 purge does not look much
different. There have been no executions or labor camps, but millions are
suffering on suspicion of links with the Gülen movement. During the month and a
half after July 15, the Turkish government purged more than 100,000 civil
servants and arrested tens of thousands, including nearly half of
The crackdown was brutal and often violated basic principles of law.
Under the state of emergency, it is dangerous in
More than 10,000 people have been arrested in
On October 30, the government passed a new emergency law allowing judges
to ban a suspect meeting with his defense lawyers for up to six months,
prompting an immediate denunciation of the move as unlawful by the president of
the Turkish Bar Association.[25] More than 10,000 people have been arrested,
and there are serious allegations of torture. Witnesses told Amnesty
International that captured military officers were raped by police; hundreds of
soldiers were beaten, and some detainees were denied food and water and access
to lawyers for days.[26] The Turkish authorities also arrested sixty-two young
cadets aged 14-17 from Kuleli Military school in Istanbul and charged them with
treason, reportedly throwing them in jail and denying them access to their
parents.[27] In September, prominent journalist Ahmet Altan and his brother,
academic and columnist Mehmet Altan, were detained for questioning. Their alleged crime? Passing “subliminal messages suggesting
a military coup” during a recent television debate.[28]
In yet another case, the police detained an elderly woman in a wheelchair
because they failed to find her son-in-law.[29]
Other political enemies were also swept up in the purges. On a single
day, September 8, the government suspended more than 11,000 schoolteachers for
suspected links with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).[30] Three
days later, the government appointed trustees to twenty-eight municipalities
across the country’s predominantly Kurdish southeast on the grounds that local
officials had provided support to both the PKK and the Gülen network. Elected
mayors, too, were suspended without court rulings.[31]
Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary-general of the Council of Europe, demanded that
Ankara produce clear evidence against coup participants and avoid targeting
teachers and journalists simply because they worked for firms run by the
alleged mastermind. Otherwise, he said, these actions might be challenged in
the European Court of Human Rights,[32] a threat that may further damage
Turkey’s strained relations with the EU.
The insanity also took on absurd forms. In August, the government began
to investigate motorists on terror charges if their car number plates featured
the letters “FG”—an alleged reference to Fetullah Gülen.[33]
Only two months after the coup attempt, the number of Turks traumatized
by the purge was estimated between one million and two million. Some 163 years
after Tsar Nicholas I told the British ambassador to
Damaged Ties with the West
In the early years of Erdoğan’s government, the West offered him
unconditional support, mistakenly thinking that this supposed Muslim reformist
would strengthen democracy in
The government of
With Gülen on U.S. territory, Erdoğan challenged Washington for the
exile’s quick extradition. “We want a terrorist from you … And you still resist
… What court for a terrorist? Is it too difficult to cancel a Green Card?” the
Turkish president said after a visit to New York, in remarks highlighting his limited
understanding of American democracy.[37] The
U.S.-Turkish tension over Gülen came at a time when the two NATO allies also
diverged widely on the issue of the Syrian Kurds, whom Ankara views as
terrorists and Washington as potential allies in a ground operation against the
Islamic State. Erdoğan even claimed that remarks by U.S. Gen. Joseph
Votel, who voiced concerns over the “longer-term impact” of the coup on the
Pentagon’s relations with the Turkish military, were evidence that the U.S.
military was siding with the coup plotters.[38]
Indeed, Erdoğan and his men did not shy away from publicly accusing
NATO and, in particular, the United States, of possible roles in the failed
coup. Turkish defense minister Fikri Isik stated that NATO should sit down and
think where it went wrong in response to the coup attempt.[39]
According to Justice Minister Bozdag, Washington would be sacrificing its
alliance with Ankara to “a terrorist” [Gülen] if it were to refuse to extradite
him.[40]
Following the coup attempt, Erdoğan’s government has reached out to
the Russians and moved farther from an alliance with Europe. Here Erdoğan
joins Russian president Vladimir Putin (right) for a news conference, August 9,
2016, following their meeting in
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoğlu even threatened that
Turkey’s newfound love affair with Russia not only pleases Putin but also
Tehran, his partner in the Syrian civil war, and puts Ankara on the side of the
Russian-Iranian-Assad coalition in the five-year-old conflict.
Erdoğan’s response to the failed coup further weakened
Erdoğan then threatened that
Another European country wary of
Revealingly, even the Turks’ next of kin were not happy. According to the
Associated Press, on August 3, thousands of Turkish Cypriots in their tiny
statelet on the divided island took to the streets to protest against “
A Society of “Passionate” Politics
Turkish politics is an anomaly in a century-long war of religion between
the pious and secular adherents of the same sect of the same religion. The
thousands of people, urged by Erdoğan to take to the streets in the
aftermath of the failed coup, passionately chanted “Allahu Akbar.” They were in
the streets not to defend democracy but to defend the man whom they viewed as
guardian of their religion. Ironically, the same “pro-democracy” crowds chanted
the slogan, “We want the death penalty [back].”[50]
Religion was why Erdoğan and Gülen had long been allied against the
“infidel” Kemalists, leftists, and seculars. Religion was also why
Erdoğan’s and Gülen’s Sunni Islamist followers are now at each other’s
throat. Erdoğan and Gülen did not break up because one of them abandoned
their common faith. They keep praying to the same God, reciting the same prayers,
while their followers keep attending the same mosques.
One lesson from the failed Turkish coup is that Islam the religion or
Islamism the political ideology will never forge the alliances Islamists often
seek. Political Islam is not the right glue for enduring political alliances.
Ironically, for many years, Erdoğan feared a coup by Kemalist
generals. Instead, the coup attempt came from fellow Islamists disguised within
the military as secular officers. Moreover, on July 15, Kemalist officers
helped Erdoğan by fighting their crypto-Islamist colleagues. In short,
July 15 was an Islamist coup attempt targeting Islamists.
For Erdoğan and his camp, the Gülenists were the useful dupes; for
the Gülenists, Erdoğan and his AKP bigwigs were the useful dupes; and for both,
the pro-government liberals were the useful dupes. Probably all of them were
right. The alliance of the faithful was designed to crush the secular system,
to Islamize
In the early years of Erdoğan’s government, the West offered him
unconditional support, mistakenly thinking that this supposed Muslim reformist
would build a strong democracy in
This is hardly surprising. Since the foundation of modern
What Now?
Just because a coup was averted on July 15 and the parliamentary system
is ostensibly functioning does not make
The Turkish Röhm-Putsch will run at full speed with thousands of
non-Gülenists punished on false charges. Meanwhile, crypto-Gülenists who
successfully disguise themselves will plan the movement’s recovery, thus adding
to Erdoğan’s deep paranoia. And millions of opportunists will keep
informing on their rivals and enemies as Gülenists.
Erdoğan’s popularity still runs high. His party won 49.5 percent of
the national vote in the November 2015 parliamentary elections, and some
pollsters put his ratings today as high as 67 percent.[51] The coup provided
Erdoğan the opportunity to introduce the executive, presidential system he
has long craved. His push is no longer controversial.
**Burak Bekdil is an Ankara-based columnist for Hürriyet Daily News and a
fellow of the Middle East Forum. He has written for the
[9] William Armstrong, “
[10]
[11] Ibid.
[12] The Guardian (
[13] The New York Times, July 29, 2011.
[14] The Independent (
[15] Der Spiegel (
[16] “
[17] TRT Haber TV (
[18] Associated Press, July 16, 2016.
[19] The Guardian, Jan. 12, 2008.
[20] Holocaust Encyclopedia, r.v. “Röhm Purge,”
accessed Oct. 21, 2016.
[21] Encyclopædia Britannica, s.v. “Purge trials: Soviet history,”
accessed Oct. 21, 2016.
[22] Reuters, Aug. 18, 2016.
[23] Hürriyet, July 25, July 28, 2016; “
[24] Hürriyet, July 25, 2016; The Guardian, July
27, 2016.
[25] Hürriyet, Oct. 31, 2016.
[26] CNN News, July 27, 2016.
[27] The Daily Mail (
[28] Hürriyet, Sept. 10, 2016.
[29] Ibid., Sept. 3, 2016; AA (Anadolu Ajansı,
[30] CNN News, Sept. 8, 2016.
[31] Hürriyet, Sept. 11, 2016.
[32] EurActiv Media,
[33] Hürriyet, Aug. 22, 2016.
[34] Efraim Karsh and Inari Karsh, Empires of the Sand: the Struggle for
Mastery in the
[35] Hürriyet, July 28, 2016.
[36] MemurlarNet Media, July 31, 2016; Strategic Culture Foundation
Online Journal (
[37] Bob Unruh, “Obama Lives in Make-believe World with Muslim Dictator
Erdogan,” World Net Daily (
[38] Voice of
[39] Hürriyet, Aug. 15, 2016.
[40] Associated Press, Aug. 9, 2016.
[41] Time Magazine, Aug. 11, 2016.
[42] NBC News, Nov. 28, 2015.
[43] Reuters, July 18, 2016.
[44] Associated Press, July 18, 2016.
[45] Reuters, Aug. 4, 2016.
[46] Ibid., Aug. 2, 2016.
[47] Ibid., Aug. 2, 2016; Sept. 21, 2016.
[48] Ibid., Aug. 3, 2016.
[49] The National Herald (
[50] BBC News, July 19, 2016.
[51] Bloomberg News (
[1] Hürriyet (
[2] Reuters, July 16, 2016.
[3] The Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2016.
[4] RT TV (
[5] Hürriyet, July 18, 2016.
[6] Ibid., July 29,2016.
[7] Ibid., July 17, 2016.
[8] CNN News, July 18, 2016.