LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 07/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.june07.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
Truly I tell
you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18/01-05:"At that time
the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven?’He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you,
unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven.Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.'
"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you
build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest
Acts of the Apostles 07/44-50:"‘Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the
wilderness, as God directed when he spoke to Moses, ordering him to make it
according to the pattern he had seen. Our ancestors in turn brought it in with
Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our
ancestors. And it was there until the time of David, who found favour with God
and asked that he might find a dwelling-place for the house of Jacob. But it was
Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses
made by human hands; as the prophet says, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is
my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what
is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?"
Pope Francis's Tweet For
Today
We need to discover the
gifts of each person: may communities transmit their own values and be open to
the experiences of others.
Nous avons besoin de découvrir les richesses de chacun : que les communautés
transmettent leurs valeurs et accueillent les autres.
إننا بحاجة إلى أن نكتشف غنى كل واحد، وأن تنقل الجماعات قيمها وتقبل خبرات الآخرين
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 06-07/16
Lebanon’s indicators and the Rifi tsunami/Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/June 06/16
If I am Saad Hariri../Roger Bejjani/Face Book/June 06/16
In Tiny Lebanon, Lusi and Sultan Yaacoub a Little Brazil/Associated Press/June
06/16/
Paris Becomes Massive Camp for Illegal Migrants/Soeren Kern/Gatestone
Institute/June 06/16
The Fairy Tale of "Post-Modern" Turkey/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/June
06/16
Is Russia readying for the kill in Syria/Week in Review/Al-Monitor/June 06/16
Why do Egyptians dislike political activists/Mohammed Nosseir/Al Arabiya/June
06/16
Tough response needed to counter UN report/Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al Arabiya/June
06/16
The Trump phenomenon and how Americans came to distrust their politicians/Raghida
Dergham/Al Arabiya/June 06/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
June 06-07/16
Veteran Hizbullah Commander Killed in Aleppo Province
Ibrahim: Danger Level Surging, Country at Critical Crossroads
Iran Postpones Trial of Lebanese IT Expert Nizar Zakka
Lebanon’s indicators and the Rifi tsunami
If I am Saad Hariri...
Report: Asiri Meets Mashnouq, Positions on Saudi Arabia Explained
Report: Khirbet Daoud IS Cell Confesses to Assassination and Terror Acts
Jumblat: Franjieh's Presidential Chances Collapsing and I'm Willing to Endorse
Aoun
In surprise move, Junblatt backs Aoun for Lebanon presidency
In Tiny Lebanon, Lusi and Sultan Yaacoub a Little Brazil
Zoaiter: International Civil Aviation Organization Removed Lebanon Off its
Travel Safety Red List
Syrian Children are Breadwinners in Lebanon
UNIFIL Helps in Fight to Douse Fires along the Blue Line
Jumblatt's bureau: Bahij Abu Hamza admitted his crimes
Kataeb beseeches political parties to put electoral projects on table for voting
Beirut Governor illuminates biggest Ramadan lantern at Martyrs Square
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
June 06-07/16
Germany hits back at Erdogan
comments in Armenia row
Fourteen people killed in Turkish school trip bus crash
17 killed in strikes on market in east Syria on first day of Ramadan
ISIS hits back against Syrian army after advance
UN warns Manbij battle could uproot more than 200,000 Syrians
Top Syrian Kurdish commander killed in anti-ISIS push
ISIS ‘shooting at civilians’ trying to flee Fallujah
Civilian killed as gunmen attack airport in Yemen’s Aden
Yemeni human rights group: 73 killed, wounded in recent shelling in Taiz
Nearly 60 percent of Qatar’s population live in ‘labour camps’
‘Terror attack’ kills five Jordan intelligence agents
Palestinian Shot in Clashes with Israeli Forces Dies from Wounds
New Catholic Custodian of Holy Land Sites Sworn In
Netanyahu admits contributions from Frenchman on trial for fraud
Israelis mark annexation of East Jerusalem
Kerry urges ‘all nations to find diplomatic solution’ in S. China Sea
Khamenei expresses fear that social and ethnic rifts will turn into earthquake
for Iran regime
Iran: Sunni youths arrested
Links From Jihad Watch Site for
June 06-07/16
BBC warns soccer fans not to dress as Crusaders to avoid
offending Muslims
Larry Summers: “Perception that US is at war with Islam rather than with radical
elements within Islam is invitation to terrorism”
Turks allow Qur’an recitations inside Hagia Sophia for first time in 81 years
Jordan: Jihadis murder five intelligence officers in attack on security office
Thanks to Allah, Caliphate soldiers were able to target platoon affiliated to
apostate Egyptian Armed Forces”
Video: Non-Muslim TV host signs off “inshallah” on popular debate program
Staff at Swedish asylum center attempting to make migrants more devout in their
observance of Islam
Hugh Fitzgerald: Among Schoolchildren, or Islam Outreach in Japan
“The history of Islam was completely different from what we were taught at
school”
Iran Accuses US of Backing the Islamic State and the “Zionist Regime”
Netherlands: Muslims attack non-hijabbed Muslima as “infidel whore”
Doctors Without Borders tells non-Muslim staff in refugee camps to observe
Ramadan
Austrian TV faked footage of Muslim migrants helping flood victims
82 people hired for security posts for Euro 2016 on terror watch
lists
June 06-07/16
Veteran Hizbullah Commander Killed
in Aleppo Province
Naharnet/June 06/16/Veteran Hizbullah military commander Al-Sayyed Khalil Ali
al-Sayyed Hassan has been killed in clashes in the northern Syrian province of
Aleppo, media reports said on Monday. The pro-Hizbullah South Lebanon news
portal confirmed the reports, describing al-Sayyed Hassan as a “martyr leader”
who hailed from the southern town of Aitaroun. He was killed “performing his
sacred jihadi duty in the confrontation against the mercenaries of blasphemy and
Wahhabism,” the website added, saying he will be laid to rest in his hometown on
Tuesday afternoon. Media reports said the slain commander belonged to
Hizbullah's first generation of operatives. “He had been a field commander in
Aleppo since Hizbullah began its participation in the battles in Aleppo's
countryside, where he shuttled among several fronts,” the reports said.
“Al-Sayyed Khalil took part in landmark Hizbullah operations against the Israeli
occupation of south Lebanon,” the reports added. Since Hizbullah joined Syria's
civil war in 2012 to support President Bashar Assad, it has lost several
prominent members in combat. More than 1,000 of its foot soldiers have been
killed in the Syria war, which began in 2011, compared to the 1,276 fighters
killed during its 18-year guerrilla war with Israeli forces that occupied
southern Lebanon until 2000. Last month, Hizbullah said its top military
commander Mustafa Badreddine was killed by artillery shelling carried out by
“takfiri groups” near the Syrian capital Damascus. Ali Fayyad, better known as
Abu Alaa Bosna, who led some of Hizbullah's military operations in Lebanon,
Syria, Iraq and Bosnia was killed in February during battles with the Islamic
State group near the town of Khanaser in Aleppo. And Hassan Hussein al-Haj, a
top Hizbullah commander, was killed in October while fighting al-Qaida-linked
fighters in the northwestern province of Idlib. A week later, his replacement,
Mahdi Hassan Obeid, was killed during fighting in the same province. Another
senior military officer, Fawzi Ayoub, a dual Lebanese-Canadian citizen who was
wanted by the FBI on charges of trying to use a forged U.S. passport to enter
Israel, was killed in May in Aleppo, reportedly in an ambush by Western-backed
rebels.
Ibrahim: Danger Level
Surging, Country at Critical Crossroads
Naharnet/June 06/16/General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim warned Monday
that stability in the country is in a “critical situation,” citing the regional
conflicts, the presidential void and the threats at the eastern, northern and
southern borders. “The country is standing at an international crossroads that
is putting our current stability in a critical situation at the political,
security and economic levels,” said Ibrahim in an editorial in the General
Security Magazine. “The blaze in the Middle East region raises several
possibilities, which might include the collapse of entire nations and
civilizations and consequently demographic changes,” he added. And warning that
the regional challenges are being “compounded” by the country's protracting
“presidential vacuum which has entered its third year,” Ibrahim cautioned that
“the level of danger is surging around us from all sides.” “At the border with
Syria, the army and the security institutions are exerting extraordinary efforts
to fend off terrorism, preserve national unity and protect the meaning of
Lebanon from the barbaric minds, while Israel is always preparing for what it
calls the Third Lebanon War,” Ibrahim added. The General also cited the rise of
a “racist, right-wing and nationalist coalition between (Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin) Netanyahu and (Israel's newly-appointed Defense Minister Avigdor)
Lieberman.”
Iran Postpones Trial of Lebanese IT
Expert Nizar Zakka
Naharnet/June 06/16/Iranian authorities have postponed the trial of detained
Lebanese information technology expert Nizar Zakka, which was supposed to begin
Monday, media reports said. Marwan Abdullah, a nephew of Zakka, told An Nahar
newspaper that the latter's health has deteriorated in prison, quoting the
detainee's wife who visits him once a week. “The trial session was postponed and
the family was not given any reasons,” Abdullah said. “Until the moment, Nizar
does not have a lawyer due to the fact that the family has submitted a list
containing the names of several lawyers of whom none has been accredited. They
instead accepted someone whose objectivity was questioned by us and this is why
we didn't agree to his appointment,” Zakka's nephew added. He also denied an
announcement by Lebanon's foreign ministry about a visit by the Lebanese consul
in Tehran to Zakka in his prison, lamenting what he called “major negligence”
from the Lebanese authorities. On May 23, Iranian official Hossein Jaberi Ansari
announced that Tehran "will try to speed up" the case of Zakka, who is a U.S.
permanent resident, in the first Iranian acknowledgment of the man's detention.
Zakka had disappeared in Tehran in September after attending a
government-sponsored conference. Although no charges have been announced,
Iranian media has accused him of being an American spy, allegations vigorously
rejected by his family and associates. "The Iranian government will try to speed
up the process of addressing this issue and provide any help possible, but
ultimately a legal case should be addressed by judicial authorities," Ansari
said in Tehran at a weekly news conference. "Any verdict by the judicial
authorities will be the final ruling and we do not intervene in judicial
rulings."The Associated Press reported in May that the Washington-based
nonprofit organization headed by Zakka, IJMA3, had received grants totaling
$730,000 from the U.S. government for Middle East projects. It is not clear from
records obtained by the AP if any IJMA3 work involved Iran. Zakka's family and
his supporters are pressing the U.S. government to become more active in trying
to obtain his release, arguing that his arrest was due to his ties to the United
States. Supporters have written Secretary of State John Kerry stating Zakka
traveled to Iran "with the knowledge and approval of the U.S. State Department,
and his trip was funded by grants" from it.
It's still unclear what prompted Iranian authorities to detain Zakka. His
supporters say his September trip marked the fifth time he had traveled to Iran.
Relations between Iran and the U.S. remain tense even after the recent nuclear
deal and a prisoner swap in January that freed Washington Post correspondent
Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-Americans. At least two Iranian-Americans
are imprisoned in the Islamic Republic -- Iranian-American businessman Siamak
Namazi and his 80-year-old father Baquer Namazi. Also unaccounted for is former
FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished in Iran in 2007 while on an unauthorized
CIA mission.
Lebanon’s indicators and the Rifi
tsunami
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/June
06/16
Last week’s municipal elections in Lebanon revealed changes among the public.
The young generation within political parties has begun an internal revolution,
as Progressive Socialist leader Walid Jumblatt acknowledges, citing his son
Taimour within his party. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea noted the same
thing, saying the elections were an indicator of “Lebanese anger and the youths’
will to achieve change.”The “Rifi tsunami” occurred, in reference to the victory
of the electoral list backed by former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi in Tripoli.
The list won despite the alliance against him of influential, wealthy parties
backed by former Prime Ministers Najib Miqati and Saad Hariri, and former
Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi. This tsunami has changed the political map.
The municipal elections thus exposed people’s anger against what they describe
as “political clientelism”
Anger
Interior Minister Nohad al-Machnouk voiced anger over the description of Rifi’s
victory as a tsunami, saying it was too early to talk of major changes on the
ground. However, the elections were the first indicator of Lebanese voters’
longing to perform their electoral duty. Parliamentary elections have not been
held as MPs terms have been extended. The municipal elections thus exposed
people’s anger against what they describe as “political clientelism.”The
movements that lost in the elections must review themselves. As Saudi ambassador
to Lebanon Ali Awad Assiri said, Saudi Arabia encourages the national
achievement in Lebanon, and stands equidistant to everyone as it is not fair
that the losses of a certain party be blamed on Saudi Arabia, which has served
Lebanon like no other. This article was first published in Okaz on June 6, 2016.
If I am Saad Hariri...
Roger Bejjani/Face Book/June 06/16
1. I will adopt the blind trust concept regarding my businesses and assign a
trustworthy, knowledgeable person heading an executive management team with the
objective of solving Saudi Oger treasury nightmare and/or sell the company.
2. Assign top class modern communication CEOs of Future TV, Mustaqbal newspaper
and other mediums.
3. Declare the present Future directorate including the leadership position as
null and void.
3. Assign a transition leadership represented by Ashraf Riffi, Hassan el Rifai,
Ahmad Fatfat, Fouad Siniora and Nader Hariri. The mandate of this transition
leadership will be for 6 months and will have the task of:
(a) Agree in a record time on an internal mass election process and rules
(including candidatures, debates between candidates etc..).
(b) Conduct/supervise internal (Future) elections within the next 6 months.
(c) re-establish contact with the Cedars' revolution allies: LF (Riffi), Kataeb
(el Rifai), Ahrar (Nader), Boutros Harb (Fatfat)....
4. Meanwhile and during the transition period of 6 months, Saad Hariri will make
sure that all public statements and others (twitter etc...) alliances etc... are
approved unanimously by the committee of 5; and will fire his advisers (Khoury,
Hammoud, el Sabe3).
5. A newly elected leadership will take over Future with a restored Cedar's
Revolution.
Most probably Saad will be re-elected.
He should avoid at all cost the cocky bravado and humble himself.
Report: Asiri Meets Mashnouq,
Positions on Saudi Arabia Explained
Naharnet/June 06/16/A two-hour meeting between Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali
Awadh Asiri and Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq took place over the
weekend, where Mashnouq stated that he bears the responsibility of his latest
stances that touched on Saudi Arabia, al-Akhbar daily reported on Monday.
Sunday's meeting was described as “explanatory” following Mashnouq's latest
stances that accused Saudi Arabia of being behind the visit of al-Mustaqbal
Movement chief Saad Hariri to Syria in 2009 and that it has a role in the
nomination of Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency.
Prominent Mustaqbal sources told the daily that Asiri was “friendly” with
Mashnouq, taking into consideration the “historic and firm relation between the
Minister and Saudi Arabia.”
They considered the meeting as “the beginning of the end of a storm raised by
Mashnouq's statements.”Furthermore, they denied claims that relations were
shaken between Mashnouq and Hariri, asserting that "the atmosphere of
communication between them in the past two days was not very bad."Mashnouq fired
a series of heated statements in a televised interview last week, where he said
that the decision to nominate Franjieh for the presidency was not ex-PM Saad
Hariri's idea. “Suleiman Franjieh's nomination did not come from Saad Hariri,
but rather from the British foreign ministry and later the Americans and Saudi
Arabia,” Mashnouq had said. He also stated that the visit of Hariri to Damascus
in 2009 and his meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad happened at the
request of Saudi Arabia.
Report: Khirbet Daoud IS Cell
Confesses to Assassination and Terror Acts
Naharnet/June 06/16/An Islamic State group cell that was arrested last week in
Khirbet Daoud in Akkar confessed to have carried out several sniper operations
against military vehicles, in addition to the assassination of Badr Eid in 2015,
al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday. One of the detainees, Jassem Saadeddine
confessed to the assassination of Badr Eid, the brother of late MP Ali Eid, in
2015 in an armed ambush on the al-Kwaykhat-al-Hisa road in Akkar, said the
daily. Members of the cell admitted to have targeted military vehicles with
sniper operations, in addition to shooting an Information Branch first
adjutant.The cell was able to carry out several operations over a four-year
period without being caught by police, added the daily. On Sunday, the army was
able to clamp down on another cell in the eastern town of Majdal Anjar, where it
arrested two suspects and seized a quantity of weapons including an explosive
belt. The raid targeted a farm where Syrians are residing and two houses
belonging to members of the Khanjar family, reports said.The army and security
forces have in recent days arrested numerous terror suspects, amid warnings of a
possible attack in the country.
Jumblat: Franjieh's
Presidential Chances Collapsing and I'm Willing to Endorse Aoun
Naharnet/June 06/16/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted
Sunday that the presidential chances of Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman
Franjieh have “started to collapse,” adding that he is willing to endorse Free
Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun's nomination.“Suleiman Franjieh went
too far during his trip to Paris and his chances to reach the presidency have
started to collapse,” Jumblat said in an interview with LBCI television,
referring to Franjieh's Paris meeting with al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM
Saad Hariri.
“Syria cannot accept a Lebanese president whose policies are not guaranteed,”
Jumblat added.Noting that he was opposed to Aoun's nomination prior to FPM's
“reconciliation” with the Lebanese Forces, the PSP leader revealed that he is
willing to endorse Aoun for the presidency “if that would achieve Lebanon's
interest.”“Perhaps there is a regional-international decision rejecting the
election of a new president,” Jumblat added.
Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Suleiman's term expired in May
2014 and Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Franjieh for the
presidency.
Hariri's move was met with reservations from the country's main Christian
parties as well as Hizbullah.Aoun's supporters argue that he is more eligible
than Franjieh to become president given the size of his parliamentary bloc and
his bigger influence in the Christian political arena. As for the rise of
resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi as a new Sunni leader in the wake of the
latter's stunning victory in Tripoli's municipal polls, the PSP leader pointed
out that “all parties contributed to arming the rival groups in Tripoli,
including Ashraf Rifi,” in reference to the deadly clashes that the city
witnessed between 2008 and 2014.
“Tripoli witnessed a political settling of scores and the first target was Saad
Hariri,” added Jumblat. “We will see where will Ashraf's rhetoric take Tripoli's
Sunnis,” he went on to say.
“I wonder if there is a foreign role in Rifi's movement in Tripoli,” Jumblat
told LBCI.
Addressing Hariri, the PSP leader added: “Beware of those who are the closest to
you.”
“Some reports have said that Jamaa Islamiya voted for Rifi's list in Tripoli
and, if confirmed, this means that Turkey is settling its scores,” Jumblat
suggested.
Warning Hariri “not to return to the previous tense rhetoric against Hizbullah,
even if he remains alone,” the PSP leader stressed that “sometimes we must not
follow the pulse of the popular base.”“This is what I did after the May 7,
(2008) clashes,” he added.
“The country can only be governed through settlements, not through the number of
parliamentary seats,” said Jumblat about Hizbullah's call for passing an
electoral law based on proportional representation. “We must carry on with the
internal dialogue in order to foil strife,” he said. And refusing “any attempt
to turn Lebanon once again into an arena for settling scores between Iran and
the Arabs,” Jumblat addressed Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, saying
“it is not our job in Lebanon to topple the House of Saud.”
“Even in Iran they have not called for this,” Jumblat noted.
In surprise move, Junblatt backs
Aoun for Lebanon presidency
Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer/Gulf News/June 06/16/Beirut: Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and Druze leader Waleed Junblatt noted
on Sunday that the presidential chances of the Marada Movement’s pro-Syrian
Sulaiman Franjieh have “started to collapse” and he was now willing to endorse
Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michael Aoun for the post.Franjieh’s chances probably ended after the Minister of the Interior, Nouhad
Mashnouq, revealed that the UK, the US and Saudi Arabia played key roles in his
nomination. “Franjieh went too far during his trip to Paris and his chances to
reach the presidency have started to collapse,” Junblatt said in an interview
with the LBCI television station, referring to Franjieh’s Paris meeting with
Future Movement leader Sa‘ad Hariri, though he added that the real roadblock was
in Damascus because “Syria cannot accept a Lebanese president whose policies are
not guaranteed”. Junblatt was highly critical of Ashraf Rifi, who stunned all
establishment parties with an unprecedented victory in last month’s municipal
election in Tripoli, concluding that the Hariri machine’s failure — even when
backed by former Prime Minister Najeeb Mikati and such figures as Mohammad
Safadi and Faisal Karami — was “the beginning of Sulaiman Franjieh’s fall in the
presidential race”. “Let’s see where will Rifi take Tripoli,” Junblatt said,
with his trademark irony. In a moment of confusion or, perhaps, a carefully
calculated declaration, Junblatt “wonder[ed] if there was a foreign role in
Rifi’s movement in Tripoli”, which left the impression that he was making a
reference to Saudi Arabia or possibly Turkey. “Some reports have said that
Jama‘al Al Islamiyyah voted for Rifi’s list in Tripoli and, if confirmed, this
means that Turkey is settling its scores,” Junblatt suggested. Junblatt said he
rejected attempts to the country into an arena for “settling scores between Iran
and the Arabs”.He called on Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to stop his
slanderous attacks on Saudi Arabia, insisting that “it is not our job in Lebanon
to topple the House of Saud”.Lebanon has been without a president since Michel
Sulaiman’s term expired on May 24, 2014.Hariri and the March 14 coalition
initially backed the LF’s Samir Geagea, but launched a proposal to nominate
Franjieh for the presidency in late 2015.Hezbollah opposed this move and stood,
instead, with Aoun even if Franjieh was the more pro-Syrian candidate.
In Tiny Lebanon, Lusi and
Sultan Yaacoub a Little Brazil
Associated Press/June 06/16/At the eastern edge of the rural Bekaa Valley, where the rocky hillsides are
stippled with cherry trees, a generations-old kinship with Brazil has imbued two
Lebanese villages with a Latino spirit.
Lusi and Sultan Yaacoub are home to more than one thousand Brazilian nationals,
many of whom speak Portuguese as fluently as they do Arabic.
The villages are deeply influenced by Brazilian culture, but this is not
apparent at first glance. The Islamic call to prayer reverberates through the
zigzag alleys five times a day and the pale stone houses resemble any others in
the Bekaa Valley.
But residents mix Portuguese and Arabic in nearly every conversation and the
local cuisine is unmistakably Brazilian. Though there are no official
statistics, one municipal council representative said "99 percent" of the
community are Brazilian nationals. Almost everyone said they had lived in South
America at some point.
Christina Hindi's Portuguese bakery — or pastelaria — sells savory pastries such
as pao de queijo, empada and coxinhas, as well as sweet treats like churros,
deep fried dough. Tropical drinks, such as coconut milk and guarana soda, are
popular local refreshments.
When Brazil's national soccer team plays, "everyone raises the Brazilian flag,"
the mayor of Sultan Yaacoub, Ahmad Jaroush, said. Nobody misses the match.
"You feel here as if you are living in Brazil," said Fatima Wehbe, a
Brazilian-born member of the Sultan Yaacoub municipal council, proudly.
Since the late 19th century, people have been driven out of Lebanon — and
especially its mountainous heartlands — by economic hardship, famine,
conscription or war. Some traveled to the Americas, settling in the United
States, Mexico, Argentina, Cuba — and, of course, Brazil.
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry estimates that between 7 million and 10 million
Brazilians are of Lebanese descent. Brazil's acting president, Michel Temer, is
the son of Lebanese migrants, though his family is from the northern mountains,
not the Bekaa.
Many of these emigrants have maintained strong ties with their homeland,
including through marriage.
Lusi residents said an average of 20 weddings take place each summer between a
man or woman from the village and a suitor from Brazil. Many of these couples
choose to stay, or at least to maintain a home, in the Bekaa Valley.
Hindi, the pastelaria owner, was born in the Brazilian city of Sao Paolo in
1970, and moved to Lusi with her parents in 1985. A year later, she married a
young man from the village, before returning with him to her country of birth.
They moved to Brazil because her husband is a farmer, and in Lebanon "the crop
was weak," she said. A decade or so later they returned to Lebanon with their
daughter, for many of the same reasons they had left. "The Brazilian economy is
weak, and there's no security," Hindi said.
Residents also cite their attachment to their Lebanese heritage and, sometimes,
loneliness as reasons for returning to Bekaa.
"You want to marry someone of your own religion and tradition," said Yazdeh
Hindi, Christina's younger sister. The community is predominantly Muslim, and
its emigrants have mostly adhered to a conservative reading of their faith.
Still, many in the community who moved to Brazil have stayed. Jaroush, the
mayor, estimates some 4,000 to 5,000 locals from the village and their
descendants live in Brazil.
Many families have accumulated their wealth through trade or remittances from
Brazil.
The homes in Lusi and Sultan Yaacoub are larger than average for the region;
some are gated and have manicured gardens. Jaroush said the population swells in
the Lebanese summer, especially during boom years in Brazil, when expatriates
return to invest in their homes and enjoy the company of friends and family.
"We have a hall for weddings," said the mayor. "Everyone gets to know one
another. Some stay; some return. But there are always people coming and going."
Zoaiter: International Civil
Aviation Organization Removed Lebanon Off its Travel Safety Red List
Naharnet/June 06/16/Transportation and Public Works Minister Ghazi Zoaiter
announced on Monday that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
has removed Lebanon off its travel safety red list. He said during a press
conference: “Airport security is a concern for each of us … and we sought to
remove the Rafik Hariri International Airport off the red list.”“This does not
mean that we can now stand idle, but we should follow up on our achievement and
carry out issues that are needed of us.”“The appointments at the airport were
not made out of spite, but they were a product of a tragic situation at the
facility. The appointments were aimed at improving the administrative
conditions.” In 2013, ICAO identified a significant safety concern with respect
to Lebanon's ability to properly oversee its air operators under its
jurisdiction. In January, France and Britain hinted that they would stop their
carriers from landing in Beirut's airport for failing to abide by international
standards. They expressed concern over major problems such as weak inspection of
luggage and the failure to implement a plan to equip the facility with more
lighting and security cameras.
Syrian Children are Breadwinners in
Lebanon
Associated Press/Naharnet/June 06/16/Thirteen-year-old Ali Rajab is on his feet
an average of 12 hours a day, cleaning, filling perfume bottles and helping sell
mobile phones at the shop in Beirut where he works. Still, he prefers it to his
previous, more physically demanding jobs, which included even longer hours
pushing a vegetable and fruit cart and making supermarket home deliveries. Rajab
has been working since he arrived in Lebanon two years ago after fleeing war in
his Syrian hometown of Aleppo with his parents and six siblings. More than 1.1
million Syrians have sought refuge in Lebanon since the start of the 2011 revolt
in Syria, more than half of them children. The U.N.'s children agency, UNICEF,
says there are 2.8 million children out of school in the region, and child
refugees are particularly at risk of exploitation and abuse, with large numbers
having no choice but to go to work. They sell flowers and other trinkets on the
street, they work as shoe shiners and in construction and other jobs. "I like my
new work because it is easy and does not require much physical effort, and I am
sheltered from the summer heat and winter cold," said Rajab, who earns about $8
a day — or $250 a month. Some, like 15-year-old Mohannad al-Ashram, are forced
to become breadwinners for their families. His father died two years ago in
Syria from an illness, and since arriving in Lebanon two and a half years ago,
he has worked at a small supermarket to pay the rent for the tiny apartment
where he and his mother and three sisters live."Sometimes I get very tired but I
soldier on," he said. "All I think about is my work now."
UNIFIL Helps in Fight to
Douse Fires along the Blue Line
Naharnet/June 06/16/The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has assisted the
country’s authorities in fighting a large fire in the general area of Maroun al-Ras
in southern Lebanon, a UNIFIL press statement said on Monday. “The firefighting
operations took place in a heavily mined areas in the proximity of the Blue
Line,” it added. “UNIFIL ITALAIR helicopters were dispatched immediately after
UNIFIL received a request from the Lebanese authorities to assist in the
firefighting efforts.”The statement added that the UNIFIL pilots have worked to
extinguish the blaze and that the operation was successfully completed. The
ITALAIR task force operates directly under the UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force
Commander Major-General Luciano Portolano.
Jumblatt's bureau: Bahij Abu Hamza admitted his crimes
Mon 06 Jun 2016 /NNA - The legal affairs' bureau of MP Walid Jumblatt confirmed,
in a statement on Monday, that all lawsuits lodged against Bahij Abu Hamza,
contained irrevocable proof on his crimes "which he himself has admitted.""We
call to admit the truth of stealing, mistrust, embezzlement and bankruptcy
fraud, as well as other crimes which he had admitted and had been proven before
the judges," the statement read. .
Kataeb beseeches political parties to put electoral projects on table for
voting
Mon 06 Jun 2016/NNA - Kataeb Party beseeched all political forces to place
electoral projects on the table and vote on one of them, which would guarantee
proper representation and equity, besides terminating 1960 election law
services. Kataeb Party's fresh stance came on Monday in a statement in the wake
of its politburo periodic meeting, under the chairmanship of Party chief Sami
Gemayel. The Party called on all to draw a lesson from the outcome of recent
municipal elections, notably in major cities, and urged all those abstaining
from attending parliamentary sessions to elect a president of the republic to
end their disrupting attempts. Kataeb also heaped praises on the undertaken work
by the security and military apparatuses, especially state security, in terms of
their raids that entailed members linked to the terrorist groups; the matter
that confirms the need to provide potential cover and capabilities to all
security apparatuses to enable them to cope with all eventualities. The Party
also extended well-wishes to the Muslims in Lebanon, in general, and the Arab
world, on the holy month of Ramadan, hoping that this month would bring hope to
the Lebanese and end the existing political and economic pressing situation in
the country.
Beirut Governor illuminates biggest Ramadan lantern at Martyrs Square
Mon 06 Jun 2016/NNA - Beirut Governor, Judge Ziad Shbib, and Beirut city
municipal council illuminated the biggest Ramadan lantern installed in Martyrs'
Square, to celebrate the start of the holy month of Ramadan. The ceremony took
place in the presence of MPs Atef Majdalani and Ammar Houry, as well as scores
of Beirut dignitaries and officials. It is worth mentioning that the
recently-illuminated lantern is considered the first and the largest lantern in
the Middle East displaying films about Beirut and the holy month of Ramadan,
with a length of more than ten meters and consisting of six huge LED screens.
Governor Shbib well-wished the Lebanese people in general on the advent of the
holy month of Ramadan, hoping that this month would bring in its folds all
welfare to Lebanon and people.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on June 06-07/16
Germany hits back at Erdogan
comments in Armenia row
Mon 06 Jun 2016/NNA -
Chancellor Angela Merkel's office hit back Monday at Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan in a blistering row over a German parliamentary vote declaring
the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against Armenians. Erdogan has angrily
condemned last week's vote on the World War I massacres, charging that the 11
German MPs with Turkish roots who backed it supported "terrorism" by the banned
Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), and demanding "blood tests" to see "what kind of
Turks they are". Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert on Monday said that while
Berlin also considers the PKK a terrorist group, "to associate individual
members of parliament with terrorism is utterly incomprehensible to us". "The
resolution was a political initiative that emerged from the midst of the
Bundestag, which is a democratically elected, independent organ under our
constitution," Seibert told a regular press conference."The Bundestag reached a
sovereign decision. That must be respected," Seibert said, adding that this was
the message Merkel had given to the Turkish president. Erdogan -- in a bitter
reaction to the vote to recognize the 1915-1916 killings as genocide -- singled
out German Greens party co-leader Cem Ozdemir, one of the instigators of the
resolution passed on June 2. Ozdemir has been placed under police protection
after receiving anonymous death threats. The Turkish community in Germany --
which broadly opposes the 'genocide' vote -- nonetheless criticized Erdogan
Monday for the pressure his government and its supporters had placed on German
lawmakers of Turkish origin. "We find death threats and demands for blood tests
abhorrent," its chairman Gokay Sofuoglu told national news agency DPA. "I think
the era when people were defined by their blood ended in 1945. This is
absolutely out of place."--AFP
Fourteen people killed in Turkish
school trip bus crash
AP | Ankara Monday, 6 June 2016/A bus carrying school children, teachers and
parents has plunged into an irrigation canal in southern Turkey, killing 14
people – six of them children, officials and reports said Monday. Twenty-six
other people were injured in the accident which occurred late Sunday as the bus
was returning from a school trip to a national park and museum in the southern
province of Osmaniye, Gov. Kerem Al said. Security camera video of the accident
showed the bus driving into oncoming traffic at an intersection, being slammed
by a car and rolling into the canal. By-passers and residents jumped into the
canal to try and rescue people trapped inside the bus, Hurriyet newspaper
reported. Most of the bodies were recovered by divers. At least one of the
injured passengers was in serious condition, Health Minister Recep Akdag said.
The children were from a school in the town of Iskenderun in Hatay province,
which borders Syria and lies just south of Osmaniye.
17 killed in strikes on
market in east Syria on first day of Ramadan
By AFP, Beirut Monday, 6 June 2016/Seventeen civilians including eight children
were killed on Monday, the first day of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, in air
strikes on a market in eastern Syria, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said the strikes on Al-Shaara, a town held by ISIS in Deir Ezzor
province, were suspected to have been carried out by either Russian or Syrian
government planes.
ISIS hits back against Syrian
army after advance
Reuters, Beirut Monday, 6 June 2016/ISIS attacked Syrian army positions in Hama
province on Monday, Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV and the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights reported, hitting back after Syrian government forces launched an
offensive against ISIS last week. The Observatory said ISIS had severed the road
linking the towns of Salamiya and Athriya further east, where the army last week
said the new offensive was underway. The pro-Damascus al-Manar TV said the army
had repelled the assault.The Observatory reported on Saturday that the Syrian
army, backed by Russian air strikes, had advanced across the provincial boundary
into Raqqa province, a stronghold for ISIS and the location of its capital,
Raqqa city. The Observatory and pro-Damascus Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar said
last week the government forces were targeting the ISIS-held town of Tabqa in
Raqqa province. A Syrian military source however said the army had advanced to
the edge of Raqqa province, and not into it. The source said the army had
captured a crossroads from which it could advance towards Raqqa or Deir al-Zor
or eastern Aleppo. Watch also: Many Iranians volunteered to fight with Assad
UN warns Manbij battle could
uproot more than 200,000 Syrians
Reuters, Geneva Monday, 6 June 2016/A US-backed offensive to retake ISIS-held
northern Syrian city of Manbij has displaced some 20,000 civilians and could
uproot about 216,000 more if it continues, a UN humanitarian agency said on
Monday. Syrian fighters have surrounded Manbij from three sides as they press
the onslaught against the militants near the Turkish border, a spokesman for the
fighters said on Monday. The report by the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it was possible people would “face impediments”
to moving out of ISIS-controlled areas and they had a critical need for shelter,
drinking water, food and health care. Civilians were mainly moving north towards
nearby towns and to the Jarablous border crossing with Turkey or west towards
areas held by other rebel groups, while lesser numbers had gone south to
villages along the Euphrates River. OCHA said newly uprooted people might try to
head towards Al-Bab or Azaz, two towns west of Manbij, or south to the Maskanah
plain close to Lake Assad. Offensives aimed at rolling back ISIS insurgents
around Tabqa could also trigger displacement, OCHA said. Tabqa, close to the
Euphrates Dam at the other end of Lake Assad from Manbij, is the apparent target
of a Russian-backed offensive by Syrian pro-government forces. The OCHA report
gave no figures or details of potential displacement caused by that battle. Both
the US- and Russian-backed assaults appear to threaten ISIS stronghold of Raqqa,
its capital in Syria, and both began last week shortly after the Iraqi army
attempted to storm ISIS-held Fallujah in Iraq. A spokesman for US-backed forces
said on Monday ISIS militants had been fleeing Manbij with their families as the
Syria Democratic Forces advanced to within 6 km (4 miles) in an attack that has
killed more than 150 militants.
Top Syrian Kurdish commander
killed in anti-ISIS push
The Associated Press, Beirut Monday, 6 June 2016/A top Syrian Kurdish commander
died Sunday, several days after sustaining injuries during a U.S.-backed
campaign to unseat ISIS from its de-facto Syrian capital, Raqqa. Abu Layla, who
commanded a brigade inside the predominantly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces,
was hit by ISIS sniper fire on the outskirts of Manbij, an ISIS stronghold that
controls the supply route between the Turkish border and Raqqa, the Kurdish
website Rudaw said. He was evacuated by U.S. forces to a hospital in the Iraqi
Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah, where he died. The commander fought against ISIS
militants in Kobani in early 2015, according to the Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group. Those battles, the first major
setback to the IS advance in northern Syria, were seen as instrumental to
securing U.S. support for Kurdish forces in the country’s multi-layered
conflict. The SDF are now advancing on Manbij, 155 kilometers (72 miles) to the
northwest of Raqqa, as Syrian government forces backed by Iranian, Lebanese and
Russian firepower, advance on the IS capital from the south. It is unclear
whether the twin offensives were coordinated. Pro-government forces reached
within 40 kilometers (25 miles) of the Tabqa Air Base, to the west of Raqqa,
according to the Observatory. ISIS militants captured the base from the
government in 2014, killing scores of captured soldiers. The media arm of
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, which is fighting alongside government forces, said
the Syrian army took a small village 50 kilometers (31 miles) to the southwest
of Tabqa air base. The twin offensive on ISIS-strongholds in Syria coincides
with a military operation in neighboring Iraq on Fallujah, one of the most
important cities still held by the militant group. Government and Russian
airstrikes meanwhile killed at least 23 people in opposition-held parts of
Aleppo, once Syria’s largest city and former commercial capital, activists said,
and killed or wounded dozens more in Idlib, a rebel-held city in the country’s
northwest. The Civil Defense, a first responder group that operates in
rebel-held areas, reported 50 airstrikes in Aleppo on Sunday. The Local
Coordination Committees, an activist network, said the strikes killed at least
30 people. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the toll at 23. Activists
reported that a war plane crashed south of Aleppo. It was not immediately clear
whether the plane had malfunctioned or had been shot down, according to the
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group. The activist
Local Coordination Committees network said rebels shot the plane down near
Khalasa, where a coalition of opposition fighters and al-Qaida linked insurgents
have eroded government control over the past two months. Aleppo has been divided
between government and opposition control since 2012.
ISIS ‘shooting at civilians’
trying to flee Fallujah
AFP, Baghdad Monday, 6 June 2016/ISIS is reportedly shooting and killing
civilians who are trying to flee Fallujah, a city Iraqi forces are attempting to
retake, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Sunday. “Reports from
families that NRC has been in touch with describe that civilians trying to cross
the Euphrates River in order to flee the fighting are being targeted by armed
opposition groups,” the organization said in a statement. NRC runs the camps in
the town of Amriyat al-Fallujah to which most of the civilians who have fled
areas around the besieged extremist bastion are being housed. “An unidentified
number of civilians have been shot and killed trying to cross the river,” NRC
said. One of the only ways for civilians to try to leave the center of Fallujah,
which is littered with booby traps and roadside bombs, is to sneak out by river.
Most of those who have already reached camps lived in outlying areas and as many
as 50,000 civilians are believed to remain in the center of Fallujah, being used
as human shields by ISIS. “Our biggest fears are now tragically confirmed with
civilians being directly targeted while trying to flee to safety,” NRC country
director Nasr Muflahi said. “This is the worst that we feared would happen to
innocent men, women and children who have had to leave everything behind in
order to save their lives,” he said. The aid group said that around 18,000
civilians have reached displacement camps since Iraqi forces two weeks ago began
an operation to retake Fallujah.Watch: Iraqi forces block the last supply route
for ISIS to Fallujah
Civilian killed as gunmen
attack airport in Yemen’s Aden
AFP, Aden Monday, 6 June 2016/Suspected militants attacked the airport in
Yemen's government-held second city Aden on Monday sparking a firefight in which
at least one civilian was killed, a security source said. Around 20 gunmen
stormed the main entrance road to the airport in the city's Khormaksar district,
demanding the release of a fellow militant of Western origin who was detained
late last month. Airport guards repulsed the attack after a 90-minute gun
battle, the source said, adding that the civilian was killed by a stray bullet.
The gunmen's leader told security forces he was a close relative of the detained
jihadist, a Western national of Algerian origin. The detained Westerner was
among seven suspected members of the ISIS group whose arrest was announced by
the authorities in Aden on May 28. Aden is the headquarters of the Saudi-backed
government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi as the capital Sanaa and swathes
of the north and centre of the country are held by Shiite rebels. Riyadh led a
military intervention in support of Hadi in March last year and the ensuing
conflict has been exploited by ISIS and rival militants of al-Qaeda to expand
their presence in the impoverished Arab nation. In recent months, Saudi-led
forces have taken action against the militants with US support, driving them out
of several major southern cities they had overrun.
Yemeni human rights group: 73
killed, wounded in recent shelling in Taiz
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 6 June 2016/The recent shelling of
residential neighborhoods in the southwestern city of Taiz has killed and
wounded 73 civilians, including 14 children and nine women, Yemen’s national
committee investigating claims of human rights violations reported on Sunday.
The committee, which was formed by the internationally-recognized government of
President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi last year, described these figures as initial.
It also denounced shelling of residential areas in Taiz, urging for the
immediate cessation of hostilities and to allow medical aid and support to those
injured.
On Sunday, Al Arabiya News Channel said anti-government militias in Yemen have
resumed their shelling of residential neighborhoods in Taiz, prompting people to
protest against the attacks.The protestors demanded the immediate cessation of
violations by both the Iran-backed Houthi militia and former President Ali
Abdullah Saleh’s loyalists. The Houthis and the loyalists are in an alliance
against Hadi’s government. The channel said the Houthis and Saleh’s loyalists
have been shelling parts of the city for days but did not report any death toll.
The news comes after UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh spoke in late
May of progress about the Yemeni peace talks currently taking place in Kuwait
between Hadi’s government and the Houthi militias and their allies. It has also
been reported that the Yemeni government’s delegates have limited their
discussions with Ould Cheikh after the attacks. Intermittent clashes have also
been reported on several fronts along the southern borders of Taiz province
after the militia group continues to target eastern districts in the city
including Kalaba and Thaabat neighborhoods with missile attacks.
Nearly 60 percent of Qatar’s
population live in ‘labour camps’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 6 June 2016/Almost 60 percent of
Qatar’s 2.4 million population live in what the government calls “labour camps,”
a census shows.Indians are the single largest group of migrants in the Gulf
state, making up 630,000 of the country’s population of 2.5 million. The figure
from the Qatari ministry of development planning and statistics, from data
gathered in April last year showed that 1.4 million people live in what the
department officially designates as “labour camps” – the vast majority of them
male. That works out at just over 58 per cent of the country’s population.
Qatar’s enormous natural gas reserves and grandiose construction projects have
long fueled the country’s huge demand for foreign labor. In 1986, just 373,000
people lived in the emirate.
Indian concern
On a weekend visit to Qatari capital Doha, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
raised concerns of abuses towards his expat countrymen. In turn, Qatar reassured
him that labour reforms would improve their working conditions. A joint
government statement said Modi met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani
on Sunday and discussed the plight of Indian migrants. “The Qatari side briefed
the Indian side on the reform in labour laws which would protect the interest of
skilled and unskilled labour in Qatar,” said the statement issued by the prime
minister’s office. Modi thanked the Qatari leadership for “hosting the Indian
community and for ensuring their continued welfare and safety.” Qatar, which
will host the football World Cup in 2022, has been condemned by human rights
groups, including Amnesty International, for providing “squalid and cramped
accommodation” for its large migrant workforce.
Last week, 11 people were killed and 12 injured when a fire ripped through a
camp housing labourers working on a tourism project in the southwest of the
country. Qatar has responded to the criticism by building new workers’ housing
complexes, including the $825 million “Labour City” south of the capital Doha,
which incorporates shops, cinemas and a cricket stadium. The complex can house
up to 70,000 foreign workers and is one of seven workers’ “cities” being
developed which will accommodate almost 260,000 people in total. (With AFP and
Reuters)
‘Terror attack’ kills five
Jordan intelligence agents
Staff Writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 6 June 2016/Three Jordanian
intelligence officers and two employees were killed in an armed attack on a
security office in a Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of the Jordanian
capital, Al Arabiya News Channel reported on Monday. Jordanian television quoted
a government spokesman saying the attack which took place in the large sprawling
camp at 7 am was a "terrorist attack" but gave no details.
“This attack was obviously a deliberate attack that the group, whoever is
responsible, that they are present in Jordan and are capable of carrying
attacks,” Former Jordanian Minister of Information Samih al-Maaytah told Al
Arabiya News Channel. “They clearly chose to attack the intelligence group as
the Jordanians are one of the best intelligence groups in the Arab world,” he
added. Maaytah also added that the attack should not be seen as a major attack
as the office was administrative in nature serving Palestinian refugees.“There
is a chase currently taking place against the perpetrators of the attack.
Investigations are currently taking place. It is not sure as of yet if this was
the work of organized group or a lone wolf attack,” Al Arabiya News Channel’s
correspondent Ghassan Abuloz reported. Al Arabiya sources reported that
Jordanian security forces captured two attackers a few hours after the attack.
Palestinian Shot in Clashes
with Israeli Forces Dies from Wounds
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 06/16/A Palestinian wounded during clashes
with Israeli soldiers escorting Jewish pilgrims at a holy site in the occupied
West Bank died from his injuries on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry
said. Jamal Dweikat, 20, was shot in the head on Friday near Joseph's Tomb on
the outskirts of Nablus. The tomb is the site of regular clashes. Many Jews
believe the tomb holds the remains of the biblical patriarch Joseph, one of the
12 sons of Jacob. Palestinians believe an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Yussef (Joseph)
Dweikat, was buried there two centuries ago. It is located in the northern West
Bank in an area under Palestinian security control. Once per month, the Israeli
army authorizes visits to the tomb by Jewish pilgrims, carried out at night.
Hundreds visited overnight Thursday to Friday, provoking another round of
clashes. Violence since October has killed 207 Palestinians, 28 Israelis, two
Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese. Most of the Palestinians killed were
carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli
authorities. Others were killed in clashes or by Israeli air strikes in the Gaza
Strip.
New Catholic Custodian of
Holy Land Sites Sworn In
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 06/16/The Roman Catholic church on Monday
swore in a new guardian of its sites in the Holy Land for the first time in over
a decade. Italian Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, 52, replaces Father
Pierbattista Pizzaballa in the post known as Custos of the Holy Land.
The Custos is responsible for caring and maintaining Christian presence in much
of the Middle East, as well as coordinating and organizing the thousands of
Catholic pilgrims to Jerusalem every year. He was sworn in on Monday afternoon
in a ceremony in Jerusalem’s Old City – which includes the site where Christians
believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. Patton walked with over 100
robed priests, monks and nuns, as well as a few hundred Christian well-wishers,
from the Jaffa Gate entrance of the Old City to Saint Saviour Church. Angelo
Isan, who works with the Vatican's embassy in Tel Aviv, said it was a "very
important day for each one of us." Alexandra, an elderly Christian Palestinian
who joined in the procession, said she was happy to share such a happy day in
the context of troubles for Christians across the region. She said members of
her family in the Syrian city of Aleppo had been forced into exile during the
country's war and she was concerned about the Islamic State group threatening
Christians across the region. "I am celebrating this happy day and God willing
peace will come. If God wills it, Daesh won’t come to Jerusalem," she said,
using an Arabic acronym for IS. Patton was born in Italy and speaks English,
Spanish and his native Italian. He has held a number of senior church
administrative positions, the Custody's website said. The Custody is made up of
285 members of the Franciscan order from 39 countries. Its territory covers
Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Cyprus, the Greek
island of Rhodes and the monastery of Mosky, in Cairo. Pizzaballa, who served
for 12 years, was the longest-serving Custos in modern times.
Netanyahu admits
contributions from Frenchman on trial for fraud
AFP, Jerusalem Monday, 6 June 2016/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
acknowledged on Monday that he had received contributions from a French tycoon
on trial for alleged fraud, but said they were not political and were used for
promoting Israel.
During his trial in France, Arnaud Mimran said he had given one million euros
($1.1 million) in campaign contributions to Netanyahu in 2001, when the Israeli
leader was not in public office. The allegation has received widespread
attention in Israel, with the country’s attorney general examining Mimran’s
testimony. “Mr. Mimran contributed to Mr. Netanyahu’s public activity in the
early 2000s, when Mr. Netanyahu was a private citizen and held no political
position,” a statement from the prime minister’s office said. “Those activities
for Mr. Netanyahu involved media appearances and numerous travel abroad in the
service of the state of Israel in accordance with the law.” It added that “Mr.
Mimran, who is on trial for fraud in the range of several hundreds of millions
of dollars, is trying to divert attention by means of another fraud” by accusing
Netanyahu. The statement did not provide details of the dates or amounts of
Mimran’s contributions. An Israeli justice ministry spokeswoman said Attorney
General Avichai Mandelblit had ordered an examination of Mimran’s testimony
“immediately after he became aware of it.”Israeli law limits individual campaign
contributions to 11,480 shekels (2,670 euros). If the donations were not
campaign contributions, tax authorities would have to verify whether they were
declared, said Moshe Negbi, legal expert for Israeli public radio. Netanyahu
left the prime minister’s office in 1999 after being defeated by Labor’s Ehud
Barak. In 2002, he became foreign minister in then-prime minister Ariel Sharon’s
government. Mimran is one of the main suspects in a trial over an alleged scam
amounting to 283 million euros involving the trade of carbon emissions permits
and the taxes on them.
Israelis mark annexation of
East Jerusalem
AFP, Jerusalem Monday, 6 June 2016/Israeli police deployed in large numbers in
Jerusalem on Sunday for an annual march marking the country’s 1967 seizure of
the Palestinian-dominated eastern half of the city. This year’s march came as
Muslims prepare to begin observing the fasting month of Ramadan, when many
Palestinians visit the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. The
Israeli march for “Jerusalem Day” passed through the Muslim quarter of the Old
City before arriving at the Western Wall, directly below the Al-Aqsa compound.
Tens of thousands of people joined the march, which began at around 5:15 pm
(1415 GMT). “We have more than 2,000 police just for the Jerusalem Day events,”
Israeli police spokesman Asi Aharoni said ahead of the march. Tight police
supervision helped ensure the march went ahead in a relatively orderly fashion.
Police said two participants were arrested for making racist remarks to Arabs.
Israeli rights group Ir Amim had asked the Supreme Court to bar marchers from
entering the Old City through the Damascus Gate, the main entry used by
Palestinians. The court rejected the appeal, but required the marchers to
complete their passage through the Damascus Gate by 6:15 pm and through the
Muslim quarter by 7:00 pm. The time restrictions were originally imposed in case
the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan began on Sunday night. Young Jewish
demonstrators gathered in the city center near the Old City ahead of the march,
including religious students with separate processions for males and females. At
Damascus Gate, heavy security measures included barricades and nearby cafes
catering to tourists were closed. Small groups of young Jews waving Israeli
flags and chanting nationalist slogans filed through the Muslim quarter. Some
shopkeepers closed their stores as a precaution. “Last year they put glue to
destroy my lock,” said shopkeeper Rimon Himo as he wrapped tape around his lock.
“I learned my lesson.”David Haim, 24, said it was important for him to take part
in the march since there were “still obstacles to our sovereignty.”“Every year,
this pilgrimage reminds us the city is ours, the most natural and obvious place
as Jews,” he told AFP. While Israelis see the day as celebrating the
“reunification” of Jerusalem, Palestinians view the 1967 war as resulting in the
seizure of their land. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a
speech on Sunday that “for 49 years Jerusalem is free of its shackles.We won’t
return to a reality of a divided and wounded city.”Israeli media also quoted him
as saying that “we will continue to build Jerusalem for all its residents”.
Israel occupied east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a
move never recognized by the international community. Palestinians see east
Jerusalem as the capital of their future independent state, whereas Israelis see
all of Jerusalem as their capital.The future status of Jerusalem is among the
most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Kerry urges ‘all nations to
find diplomatic solution’ in S. China Sea
AFP Monday, 6 June 2016/US Secretary of State John Kerry called on China to join
in finding a “diplomatic solution” to rising tensions in the South China Sea, as
the two countries began an annual dialog in Beijing on Monday. He also told
China it was “imperative to keep the pressure” on North Korea.China claims
virtually the entire South China Sea as its own, overlapping with territory
claimed by other Southeast Asian governments. It has also started building
airstrips on artificial islands it built on once-submerged reefs, much to the
chagrin of the United States, which worries the buildup will impede freedom of
navigation in the busy area. (With AP)
Khamenei expresses fear that
social and ethnic rifts will turn into earthquake for Iran regime
Sunday, 05 June 2016/NCRI – The Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has
expressed concern that social and ethnic rifts will turn into an “earthquake”
for his regime.“The enemy is trying to make active the ethnic,
politico-religious and factional rifts and to trigger an earthquake, therefore
lawmakers must strive to prevent this plot of the enemy from succeeding,”
Khamenei told members of the regime’s Majlis, or Parliament, on Sunday.While
alluding to growing factional feuding and schisms within the regime, Khamenei
said “Lawmakers can vote based on their political outlook and they can support
or criticize an issue but this must in no way lead to divisions, verbal
confrontations, threats or conflicts as was the case in previous periods of the
Majlis.”Khamenei pointed out that factional feuding within the Majlis risked
spilling over into society, bringing about tension and a negative atmosphere.
The mullahs’ supreme leader also expressed concern about the economic stagnation
in Iran, saying: “The country is in a special situation.”He described Iran’s
economic crisis as an “urgent and pressing issue.”In 2009, millions of Iranians
took part in a nationwide uprising against the mullahs’ regime which lasted
nearly eight months. Since then, Khamenei’s number one red line has been for
another uprising to erupt, stemming from the socio-economic crises in the
country.
Iran: Sunni youths arrested
Monday, 06 June 2016/NCRI - At least eight people have been arrested by the
Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) in Mahabad and
Bukan, in West Azerbaijan Province, north-western Iran, in the past fortnight,
according to reports received from Iran.Ali and Farooq Mavot, two Sunni
brothers, were arrested in their home by MOIS agents on May 30. They were beaten
and transferred to an unknown location. Ali Mavot was previously arrested in
2012 and spent three years in prison because of his religious activities. In
addition, at least six youths were arrested in the past two weeks in Mahabad
following raids on their homes by agents of the MOIS and transferred to unknown
locations. Mokhtar Ebrahimi, Yousef Ahmadian, Arsalan Besharat, Yousef Zoodi,
Khaled Ak and Younes Zoodi are among the arrestees and there is no information
about their current condition and whereabouts.
Arsalan Besharat is the elder brother of Khosrow Besharat who received a death
sentence along with six other Sunni prisoners incarcerated in Gohardasht (Rajai
Shahr) Prison, north-west of Tehran, on May 25 by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary
Court presided over by the notorious hangman-judge Moghiseh. The infamous
Moghiseh has so far issued death sentences for a large number of political
opponents, particularly activists of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran
(PMOI or MEK).
Davoud Abdollahi, Kamran Sheikheh, Farhad Salimi, Anvar Khezri, Khosrow Besharat,
Qassem Abasteh and Ayoub Karimi are seven Sunni prisoners who have been
incarcerated since December 7, 2009 and sentenced to death. These prisoners were
tried in March 2016 in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by
Judge Moghiseh. They were informed of the death sentence on May 25 in prison.
These prisoners have spent seven years in prison in a state of limbo under
physical and psychological torture.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on
June 06-07/16
Paris Becomes Massive Camp for
Illegal Migrants
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/June 06/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8210/paris-migrants
The National Front
party has accused Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo of putting the concerns of migrants
ahead of those of French citizens. In a statement, the party said that the
number of homeless people in Paris had increased by 84% between 2002 and 2012,
but that Hidalgo has shown little interest in alleviating the problem.
Although the EU-Turkey migrant deal has temporarily stemmed the flow of illegal
migration to Greece through Turkey, hundreds of thousands of migrants are still
making their way into Europe.
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 204,000
migrants arrived in Europe (mostly Greece and Italy) during the first five
months of 2016, more than twice as many as arrived during the same period in
2015.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced plans to build a "humanitarian camp" next
to one of the busiest train stations in the city, so that thousands of illegal
migrants bound for Britain can "live with dignity."
Hidalgo, who has often sparred with French President François Hollande for his
refusal to accept more migrants, says her plan to help illegal migrants from
Africa, Asia and the Middle East is a "duty of humanism."
Critics counter that Hidalgo's plan is a cynical ploy aimed at positioning
herself to the left of the current president, as part of a political strategy to
wrest leadership of the Socialist Party from Hollande, whose approval ratings
are at record lows. At a press conference on May 31, Hidalgo said the camp would
be built in northern Paris "near the arrival points for migrants." She was
referring to Gare du Nord — one of the busiest railway stations in Europe — from
where high-speed Eurostar trains travel to and arrive from London. Thousands of
illegal migrants, many from Afghanistan, Eritrea and Sudan, have gathered at a
nearby public park, the Jardins d'Eole, and turned the area into a massive
squatter camp where conditions are squalid. The area, which is so dangerous that
the government has classified it as a no-go zone (Zone de sécurité prioritaires,
ZSP), has become a magnet for human traffickers who charge migrants thousands of
euros for fake travel documents, for passage to London.
Hidalgo said her new camp, which will be built within six weeks, would be
modelled on Grande-Synthe, a massive migrant camp near the French port city of
Dunkirk.Grande-Synthe, which is home to more than 2,500 illegal migrants hoping
to reach Britain, was opened in February 2016 after French authorities destroyed
a makeshift camp in nearby Calais known as the "Jungle," from where thousands of
migrants tried to break into the Channel Tunnel in a bid to reach London. The
upkeep of Grande-Synthe will cost French taxpayers €4 million ($4.5 million)
this year, in addition to a stipend of €10 euros a day for every migrant at the
camp. French taxpayers presumably will also be paying for Hidalgo's camp in
Paris. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced plans to build a camp for
thousands of illegal migrants in central Paris, which is to be modelled on
Grande-Synthe (pictured above), a camp housing 2,500 illegal migrants near the
French port city of Dunkirk. (Image source: AFP video screenshot)
Hidalgo, who has threatened to file a lawsuit against the American media outlet
Fox News for reporting about Muslim no-go zones in Paris, seems to have no
qualms about turning parts of northern Paris into ghettos for illegal migrants.
"Paris will not avoid taking responsibility while the Mediterranean becomes a
graveyard for refugees," she said. "I do not want to look at myself in the
mirror in 10 or 15 years and say: 'You were mayor of Paris and you are guilty of
not helping people in danger.'"Hidalgo added that "Europe and France are not
living up to their history when they fail to treat outsiders with dignity."
Hidalgo's project has been welcomed by some, including pro-migration charity
groups, and has infuriated others, such as French Housing Minister Emmanuelle
Cosse. She said there already are enough refugee shelters in Paris and that
Hidalgo's announcement would only serve to draw more illegal migrants to the
city. In an interview with Europe 1 radio, Cosse said that "migrant camps are
not the solution" because they amount to the establishment of migrant ghettos
where integration becomes impossible. Cosse said that more than 1,000 additional
illegal migrants had arrived at the Jardins d'Eole in the week since Hidalgo's
press conference, bringing the total number of migrants there to 2,300.
A political analysis by the center-right Le Figaro postulates that Hidalgo's
plan for a migrant camp is just the latest in a series of provocations in which
she is attempting to establish her left-wing credentials as part of a strategy
to win leadership of the Socialist Party. The report says she believes President
Hollande will lose his bid for reelection in 2017, and that his defeat will pave
the way for a leadership battle between Hidalgo and French Prime Minister Manuel
Valls. According to Le Figaro, Hidalgo is determined to become the Socialist
Party candidate for President of France in 2022. A report by the French public
radio channel France Inter describes the rivalry between Hidalgo and Valls as
"war unto death."Hidalgo's quest to become the first female president of France
may be derailed by the head of the anti-immigration National Front party, Marine
Le Pen, who is now one of the most popular politicians in France. According to
an opinion poll published by Le Monde on June 1, 28% of those surveyed said they
would vote for Le Pen in 2017, compared to 21% for former president Nicolas
Sarkozy and 14% for Hollande. The poll also shows that on a scale of 1 to 10,
Hollande's approval rating is at 2.1.
The National Front party has accused Hidalgo of putting the concerns of migrants
ahead of those of French citizens. In a statement, the party said that the
number of homeless people in Paris had increased by 84% between 2002 and 2012,
but that Hidalgo has shown little interest in alleviating the problem:
"It is absolutely scandalous that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo uses taxpayer money
to house illegal migrants. Migrants should not be housed in hotels or in modular
homes within migrant camps. They should be in detention camps waiting to be
taken back to their country of origin. "Anne Hidalgo's project is characteristic
of a political class that is more concerned with migrants than citizens, a
political class that has forgotten that the main role of leaders is to care
above all for their own people first." Meanwhile, efforts by French police to
tear down makeshift migrant camps have become like a game of whack-a-mole. More
than 20 camps have been dismantled in Paris over the past 12 months, but each
time they are rebuilt within weeks.On May 2, police cleared a makeshift migrant
camp under the Stalingrad Metro station (near Gare du Nord) after thousands of
migrants brandishing metal poles and wooden planks engaged in a mass brawl on
April 14. (A four-minute YouTube video of the melee can be viewed here.) The
camp had previously been cleared on March 30. Although the EU-Turkey migrant
deal has temporarily stemmed the flow of illegal migration to Greece through
Turkey, hundreds of thousands of migrants are still making their way into
Europe. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than
204,000 migrants arrived in Europe (mostly Greece and Italy) during the first
five months of 2016, more than twice as many as arrived during the same period
in 2015.
**Soeren Kern is a
Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior
Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos
/ Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter. His first
book, Global Fire, will be out in 2016.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone
website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without
the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
The Fairy Tale of
"Post-Modern" Turkey
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/June 06/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8177/post-modern-turkey
In 2014, one Yeni
Akit columnist wrote that a "Gaza fund contribution tax" should apply to Turkish
Jews, as well as foreign Jews doing business in Turkey, Turkish nationals with
commercial ties to Israel, and any business that maintains a partnership with a
Turkish Jew. The penalty for failing to pay the tax should be the revocation of
the Jew's business license and the seizure of his property.
It was not even considered shocking when the Turkish man who shot at the
journalist Can Dundar outside a courthouse said in his testimony, "I was deeply
annoyed by his news reporting ... I knew he had been to Britain for a while... I
thought he was a British spy..."
The Western euphemism for Turkey's supposedly mild, "post-modern" Islamists, who
came to power in 2002, was problematic from the beginning. The past five years
has seen the Turkish "post-modern" Islamist's sad funeral -- sad because they,
in reality, never lived in this universe. They were the brainchild of the
optimists sipping their coffee at a Washington café, or a London pub or a Berlin
beer house. Now there is just the official funeral service with an empty coffin:
there was, in fact, no such a thing as "post-modern" Islamism.
Political Islam, when it wins popular support, tends to adopt direction of the
majority rather than the pluralistic route [see Turkey and Egypt]; and when
mixed with cultural and religious nationalism in the Orient, it often adopts not
just the direction of the majority but also a few militant turns [see Hamas].
It was not even considered shocking when the Turkish man who shot at the
journalist Can Dundar outside a courthouse said in his testimony, "I was deeply
annoyed by his [Dundar's] news reporting ... I knew he had been to Britain for a
while... I thought he was a British spy... I planned this [shooting] in order to
teach him a lesson."
Why did the man think that a Turkish journalist, declared an undesirable by the
country's president, was a British spy? Was it actually because Dundar had been
to Britain, like thousands of other Turks do every year? Hardly. It was because
the president of the country had loudly labelled him a spy, a traitor, a
terrorist -- even without a court verdict. Dundar was eventually acquitted of
the charges.
Murat Sahin (left) attempts to shoot journalist Can Dundar (crouching at right,
with his back to the camera) outside a court in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 6,
2016. Sahin later stated that "I was deeply annoyed by his news reporting ... I
knew he had been to Britain for a while... I thought he was a British spy... I
planned this [shooting] in order to teach him a lesson." (Image source: RT video
screenshot)
In his newly-published book, The Glorious Defeat: The Islamists' Test With
Power, the author Levent Gultekin, himself a figure from the Islamist ranks,
concludes:
"The war [within] has been won by the Akit line thanks to [President] Erdogan.
The Akit approach has captured not just the Islamists but Turkey as a whole ...
Erdogan has hauled the voters to this line. That [Akit's] is the [political]
lingua franca in every field."
The "Akit" in question is the daily newspaper Yeni Akit. It is a fiercely pro-Erdogan,
fiercely Islamist newspaper, whose editors often find a seat in the president's
private jet on his foreign trips -- an expression of the president's
appreciation of their less than subtle editorial line.
In 2014, one Yeni Akit columnist wrote that a "Gaza fund contribution tax"
should apply to Turkish Jews, as well as foreign Jews doing business in Turkey
and Turkish nationals with commercial ties to Israel. He suggested that the tax
should apply to any company or business that maintains a partnership with a
Turkish Jew. The penalty for failing to pay the tax should be the revocation of
the Jew's business license and the seizure of his property.
Shortly before the November 1 general elections, another Yeni Akit columnist
claimed that Erdogan would become the new "ecumenical" caliph once he has won
the executive presidential powers he so passionately desires: the 105th Caliph!
Yeni Akit also recently published a list of companies under the headline:
"Muslims who pay [buy from] these companies are bathing in Palestinian
children's blood." The subtitle read: "Muslims who consume these products are
financing Israel that occupies Palestine."
The list includes the world's most prominent brands: 17 in the tobacco industry,
six fast-food chains, 11 soft-drink producers, 12 technology giants, 15
carmakers and brands of cars, 16 clothing and fashion brands, a whisky producer,
two cargo companies, three oil companies, one battery-maker, one famous
cigarette lighter producer, dairy products companies, coffee, tea, drinking
water producers, detergent, margarine and ice-cream companies and... one credit
card company, one of the usual top three that we all use -- call it X.
This author asked a friend to call Yeni Akit's subscription office for our
little socio-political experiment. This was the conversation:
- Hello, is that subscription?
Yeni Akit: Yes, how can we help you?
- Could I subscribe to your newspaper and pay by credit card?
Yeni Akit: Of course you can. What region or city are you in?
- Ankara, (...) neighborhood. Can I pay with my X credit card?
Yeni Akit: Sure, you are more than welcome.
Ah, those Muslims who bathe in Palestinian children's blood...
**Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily
and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. 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.
Is Russia readying for the kill in
Syria?
Week in Review/Al-Monitor/June 06/16
Russia may be preparing to back a renewed assault by Syrian government forces to
retake Aleppo, and perhaps even Raqqa, from Jabhat al-Nusra and allied groups in
the coming weeks. Mohammad Ballout wrote, in Al-Monitor's partner publication
As-Safir, “The Russians will put their Sukhoi fighter jets to the test and bet
on direct ground offensives to weaken rather than defeat Syrian armed factions.
It should be noted that isolating Jabhat al-Nusra from other armed factions,
which is a difficult and complicated objective, would strike a painful blow to
those factions since Jabhat al-Nusra’s military and ideological might form the
backbone around which those factions unite.” Officials in Moscow have made no
secret of their intention to target Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda's affiliate in
Syria, as well as those groups that have sought to make tactical alliance with
it, such as Ahrar al-Sham. Russia has offered a pause in its bombing campaign
for groups such as Ahrar al-Sham to distance themselves from Jabhat al-Nusra,
but it seems so far to no avail, as Ahrar al-Sham, in particular, has continued
its collaboration with Jabhat al-Nusra. The United States has found itself
conflicted between, on the one hand, its partnership with Russia, which has led
to an unprecedented — if fragile — cessation of hostilities and renewed — if
tentative — intra-Syrian talks, and on the other hand its regional partners,
which are loath to rein in their proxies with President Bashar al-Assad still in
power, even if those proxies run with Jabhat al-Nusra.
This column supported the United States taking up the Russian offer to
coordinate its military attacks on Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State (IS),
while sorting out those groups that should be spared from the seemingly imminent
Russian and Syrian offensive. Our view is that such an agreement would be a blow
to those terrorist groups, and a way of putting Russia on notice regarding its
targeting of opposition groups backed by the United States.
But Russia's patience has appeared to wear thin, and its next move might include
Raqqa as well as Aleppo, according to Ballout. Vitaly Naumkin writes, “The
United States is also hoping to avoid a situation in which Raqqa would be freed
by the Syrian army with the help of Shiite militants from Arab countries, along
with Russian air support. Russia knows that it would be unacceptable for its
American partners in combat against IS if Damascus established its control over
the territories freed from IS. In other words, Americans prefer the Kurds (as
well as Assyrians, Arab groups, Armenians and Turkmens) over the Syrian army.
However, as an anonymous senior source from the Kurdish People's Protection
Units told Al-Monitor, that part of the Kurdish movement is not going to abandon
its objective of unifying the three Kurdish cantons for the sake of capturing
Raqqa. Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, 'Moscow is
willing to coordinate its efforts with the US-led coalition and Kurdish militia
in Syria for the purpose of freeing Raqqa.'”
As we reported last week, the United States has struggled to appease Turkey's
alarm about the disproportionate role of the People's Protection Units (YPG) in
the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), despite the YPG, and by extension the SDF,
being the most effective ground force in Syria battling IS. Turkish-backed
Syrian opposition groups have suffered a series of recent setbacks against IS.
Semih Idiz writes this week that “the ultimate dilemma for Turkey, however, is
the fact that it has ended up in what appears to be an ineffectual situation in
Syria, even though it is one of the countries bearing the biggest brunt from
this crisis.”There is an obtuse argument in some Washington circles that the
collaboration of some of these groups with al-Qaeda requires the United States
to make an even more substantial commitment to back opposition forces. According
to this rationale, those groups on the fence in aligning with Jabhat al-Nusra
would not do so if only the United States would display an even more substantial
commitment to toppling Assad. Those proposing this giant step on the slippery
slope of escalation suggest that a heightened US commitment would somehow make
everything better, rather than scuttling the fragile gains of the US-Russia
collaboration and prolonging the suffering of the Syrian people, which seems to
us a more likely outcome.
Such argumentation reflects a long-standing misunderstanding about Syria,
including an unnerving sectarian bias and agenda. We do not feel the need to
fill the page reminding our readers of the record and intentions of al-Qaeda,
and how Jabhat al-Nusra is helping the terrorist organization regain its footing
as a center of international jihad. We have warned since December 2013 that the
mainstreaming of Salafi and jihadi groups among the armed Syrian opposition
would be a disaster for Syria. Their heavy role among the armed groups is the
result of foreign interests seeking to keep a sectarian edge to a conflict that
began five years ago as a popular demand for secular and democratic reform, not
Islamic rule. The Syrian uprising of 2011 is not served by making a place for
jihadis and Salafists who can easily slide in and out of alliance with al-Qaeda.
And to sharpen the point, these groups run with al-Qaeda not because the United
States has not done enough to show its mettle in the Syrian sectarian crusade
against Assad, but because they are cut from the same cloth — a commitment to
Sharia rule, sectarian governance and hatred and persecution of minorities — as
their al-Qaeda brothers-in-jihad.
On that score, some in the mainstream media reported the resignation of chief
opposition negotiator Mohammed Alloush from the High Negotiations Committee of
the Syrian opposition with little or no mention that Alloush represents Jaish
al-Islam, which is among the most notorious and radical jihadi movements. We
refer you here to the definitive piece by Ali Mamouri on the ideology of the
late Jaish al-Islam leader Zahran Alloush, who was killed in an airstrike in
Syria on Dec. 25, 2015. This column reported in April on the UN investigation
into the alleged use of chlorine or chemical weapons by Jaish al-Islam against
Kurdish groups in Aleppo in April, in addition to our ongoing coverage of
violations of the cessation of hostilities by Ahrar al-Sham, Jaish al-Islam and
other armed groups, sometimes in coordination with Jabhat al-Nusra. In the past
week, the Russian Ministry of Defense has documented repeated cease-fire
violations by Jaish al-Islam, and that Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham have
again collaborated in attacks on Sheikh Maksoud in northern Aleppo. The
Institute for the Study of War reported that Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham and
other armed groups attacked Dirkhabiyah on May 26.
This column has focused since November 2015 on the battle of Aleppo as possibly
the beginning of the end in the Syria war. In January, we wrote, “The give and
take over which opposition parties and individuals are represented in the peace
talks may in the end be a sideshow for the real trend in Syria, which is the
progress of the Syrian army, backed by Russia and Iran, in retaking territory
from the Islamic State (IS), Jabhat al-Nusra and other armed groups. … A Syrian
government victory in Aleppo could be the beginning of the end of the sectarian
mindset that would have been alien to the city prior to 2011.”
The United States should coordinate its military operations with Russia to bring
about an endgame in Aleppo and throughout Syria; avoid sectarian biases and
entanglements that have ripped Syria apart; and discard, for good, confused
arguments and advocacy that call for accommodation with al-Qaeda fellow
travelers.
Why do Egyptians dislike political
activists?
Mohammed Nosseir/Al Arabiya/June 06/16
After suffering numerous repeated strokes, the Egyptian state’s brain has
reached a dysfunctional status that requires immediate surgical intervention.
This is the condition that Egypt is grappling with, politically and
socioeconomically. The tactic adopted by the state (to recirculate its diseased
blood) has proven to be an utterly ineffective remedy for a body and brain in
urgent need of fresh blood; acknowledging the urgent need for treatment is
useless if the will to cure the ailment is lacking. Consequently, attempts by
the nation’s activists to inject large quantities of fresh blood into the body
politic have been completely rejected by its organs. Political activism is a new
phenomenon in Egypt. A number of youngsters would like to steer the country unto
a completely new path by imposing their ideas on a society that strongly adheres
to its well-rooted traditions. The dilemma of Egypt’s political activists goes
beyond the absence of the application of democracy (which is misunderstood, in
essence, by the vast majority of Egyptians). Activists are demanding to change
the existing political dynamics, a change that would negatively affect not only
state entities that have been living within their shells for decades, but also
Egyptian society that has become used to Egypt’s outdated political model.
Egyptians form a conventional, bureaucratic society that tends to adhere to
lengthy processes, to value seniority, to respect authority, and that is
convinced that politics belongs to established politicians with solid
experience. Although these traits and beliefs haven’t produced any satisfactory
results for the country, Egyptians tend to complain without having the courage
to change.
Meanwhile, the younger generation’s attempts to impose change on a society that
has been ruled exclusively by the older generation for centuries are viewed as
an attempt to bypass the state entirely – thus obviously disliked. The younger
generation’s attempts to impose change on a society that has been ruled
exclusively by the older generation for centuries are viewed as an attempt to
bypass the state entirely. Activists believe that by consistently disobeying the
state, they will eventually succeed in bringing about the changes they desire.
They are mistaken. Unfortunately, these activists do not realize that their
approach, which is completely rejected by the state that would be undermined by
change, is also not tolerated by Egyptian society at large. Thus, the state
often works to trap activists, highlighting their deficiencies to prove the
infeasibility of their ideas to society. Regrettably, this attitude of rejection
pleases and calms down activists, who do not counter by offering valid,
acceptable alternatives.
International funding
In spite of the fact that the Egyptian government’s corruption rank is high and
that most government entities receive international funds, in some form or
other, the state often accuses activists of fraud and of accepting international
funding. The state does not want to regulate international funding or to fight
corruption, thus granting itself the advantage of accusing others of illegally
activity, while retaining its right to use international funds. Not only has
activism opened the door to thousands of youngsters to express their furious
opinions on a wide spectrum of topics (about which the vast majority of these
young people know nothing); it has also given people license to express their
opinions without being required to assume responsibility for the views they
express. ‘Political activist’ has become an honorable title that lacks the
necessary substance. Activists will better serve their country when they start
to use their brains more than their muscles! In Egypt, we are stuck in a rut in
which the nation’s brain and body are in need of a substantial scientific
transformation. The Egyptian state, which refuses to recognize its deficiencies
in the first place, is not working towards achieving any kind of modernization.
Indeed, if the state had the will or the capacity to modernize, it would have
done so long ago – without the need to experience any sort of uprisings!
Activists are genuinely trying to work towards modernizing Egypt; they are
offering to replace the aging body’s vessels with new ones – but their erroneous
approach and mistaken attitude have led to their rejection by society. Until the
Egyptian state and Egyptian activists achieve “political maturity”, our country
will continue to be physically and mentally unwell.
Tough response needed to
counter UN report
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al Arabiya/June 06/16
I have lost all respect for the United Nations. It has evolved into a largely
impotent entity dominated by a handful of veto-holding nuclear powers, which
wield undue influence over its decision-making. Not only has its lofty status
been undermined with accusations of corruption, UN peacekeepers are alleged to
have sexually exploited vulnerable women and children in Haiti and the Central
African Republic. Most significantly, it is proven not to be fit for the purpose
for which it was founded: “To maintain international peace and security” and, if
necessary by “taking preventive or enforcement action.” A glaring example of the
organization’s failure to live up to its responsibilities was the genocide that
took place in Rwanda. A report written in 1994 and released in 1999 accused
senior UN officials ignoring evidence that a slaughter of mega proportions was
underway and of failing to protect the Rwandan people. Kofi Annan issued an
apology. Its record since has been no better. It was just as useless in
Srebrenica as the mass graves of Muslim men attest and it has done practically
nothing to end the bloodshed in Syria where over 150,000 have been killed and
millions have been displaced. Conflicts blaze and all the UN does is hold high
profile meetings that more often than not achieve nothing other than give
delegates the excuse to rub shoulders at cocktail parties. It is one thing for
the UN’s New York headquarters to exist as an expensive and fairly useless white
elephant, but quite another for its secretary general to hurl unsubstantiated
accusations at Saudi Arabia and nine of its Arab coalition partners invited by
the internationally-recognized Yemeni president to help free his country from
Houthi rebels funded and armed by Iran. It is one thing for the UN’s New York
headquarters to exist as an expensive white elephant, but quite another for its
secretary general to hurl unsubstantiated accusations at Saudi Arabia and nine
of its Arab coalition partners. Saudi Arabia and its prime partner the United
Arab Emirates have sacrificed blood and treasure to this legitimate cause that
has been supported by the America and Britain. Almost 1,000 coalition officers
and soldiers have been killed and hundreds have been wounded. And now that the
conflict is winding down, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon chooses to slap
Yemen’s rescuers in the face with the announcement that the Saudi coalition is
to be equated with terrorists, militias and Houthi militants in the pay of
expansionist Tehran.
Blacklist
For the first time ever it seems, an international coalition, in this case the
Saudi-led Arab coalition, has been included in the UN’s annual report, designed
to shame factions that have engaged “in the recruitment and use of children,
sexual violence against children, the killing and maiming of children, attacks
on schools and/or hospitals and attacks or threats against protected personnel
and the abduction of children.”It seems, Ban Ki-Moon has arbitrarily attributed
60 percent of almost 2,000 child casualties of the conflict to the Kingdom’s air
campaign while accusing the coalition of striking a hospital run by Doctors
without Borders, which Saudi Arabia has vehemently denied. Here it is worth
noting that while the US has admitted bombing a hospital in Afghanistan, also
managed by Doctors without Borders, the report disingenuously blames that
tragedy on “international forces” which are not being blacklisted.
Worse, the Israeli government is persistently left off the hook when over 1,000
Palestinian children have been victims of Israel’s aggression on Gaza alone.
Rights groups have condemned Israel for using Palestinian children as human
shields and Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) maintains 440
are currently illegally held in military detention, three-quarters of whom claim
they have been physically abused. It seems the plight of the sons of Palestine
are not worthy of Mr Ban’s concern or alternatively he is too scared to open his
mouth. To be frank, I was shocked and angered to read this dreadful news. I am
still struggling against disbelief that the powers that be within the United
Nations could stoop so low as to infer that ten Arab countries would
deliberately target Yemeni children. Our Arab children, we love and wish to
protect just like the young ones we cherish at home. While admittedly airstrikes
are not always 100 percent precise but in any theatre of war there are civilian
casualties and all of us wish that were not so. Wars are sometimes necessary,
but always ugly. Just ask Iraqis who lost up to a million of their compatriots
as a result of 2003 US-led intervention to deprive Saddam Hussein of mythical
weapons of destruction or Afghans and Pakistanis who have lost hundreds of their
innocent brethren to US drone attacks.This damning UN report reeks of bias,
double standards, insult and unsubstantiated claims. What is the game here? What
is the agenda? What is the reason behind this unjust offensive classification? I
have dismissed various claims that the United Nations acts as the political tool
of certain nations. But now I am persuaded there might be something in those
assertions, especially in light of the fact that there is a bill going through
US Congress, supported by all presidential candidates, that would embroil Saudi
Arabia in court cases related to the 11 September attacks even though the 9/11
Commission report completely exonerates the Kingdom from playing any part in the
2001 terrorist attacks.
Firm response
Whatever the truth may be, I would strongly urge the coalition’s member states,
the Arab League and the GCC to issue firm statements in response to this UN
report. What is needed is for the Kingdom and its allies to make a firm stand.
We need to be strong and unyielding. Diplomacy is a two-way street and since
there is nothing diplomatic about the coalition’s shameful inclusion in this
disgusting list, we are not bound by diplomatic protocol to pull punches. It
needs to be made clear to Ban Ki-Moon that either the coalition is immediately
removed from this blacklist of rogues or we will cancel our memberships of this
body that is supposed to be a unifying force, not one that alienates and
divides. Either that or we must insist upon his resignation forthwith. He will
not be missed. His grasp of crucial issues is negligible and when he speaks he
is barely coherent. And for that matter what has he ever done to save the
children of the Middle East or anywhere else apart from throwing food parcels in
their direction and erecting tents?I never imagined I would agree with anything
from the lips of former US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, who was
instrumental in pushing for the invasion of Iraq, but his suggestion that the UN
secretariat could do just as well without its top ten floors rings true. The UN
needs to shape up and behave in a responsible fashion or the Arab nation should
ship-out.
The Trump phenomenon and how Americans came to distrust their politicians
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/June 06/16
While the forty fourth president Barack Hussein Obama weaves his historical
legacy to the tune of reconciliation with enemies, celebrating the end of
America’s wars to appease public opinion, US public resentment and even wrath is
growing against government policies and political influence, with growing
racism, vindictiveness, and arrogance in the American arena. The forty fifth
president, be it a man or a woman, will therefore not inherit the US that Barack
Obama thinks he has moulded with his policy of appeasement and non-aggression.
The new president will inherit an America divided about its options, gloomy
about its conditions, paranoid about the world, and reluctant to exercise its
superpower role and unique position in the unipolar era that followed the
collapse of the Soviet Union. The next US president, be it the Democrat Hillary
Clinton or the Republican Donald Trump, whose candidacy will come against the
will of the Republican party, or be it a “distinguished” Republican personality
that could come as a deadly surprise to Donald Trump, will not be an appeasing
president.
Most likely, it will be a confrontationist president who will seek to restore
America’s prestige and firmness, breaking away with dithering and prevarication.
Perhaps the US needed the eight years of appeasement and de-escalation that the
Barack Obama era represented, keeping America out of others’ wars though at the
cost of the erosion of principles and values the US long boasted of having. This
was the choice of a majority of Americans whose demands Obama fulfilled. But
today, political populism is angry and begrudged.
A segment identifies with Donald Trump, who has adopted anger, hatred, and
racism as a political platform reflecting part of the American mood as he saw
it. Another segment of the popular pro-Trump base supports him because he
represents their aspirations and promises to revive them, including their
aspirations for a return to the original capitalism: the capitalism that gives
citizens opportunities not the capitalism that has been hijacked by major
corporations. For their part, young Democratic voters are leading an important
revolution calling for socialism in the United States.
The Trump and Sanders phenomena have demonstrated that average Americans have
lost trust in Washington, and want to send out a clear message that they are
angry and want to rebel against the status quo
An incomplete revolution
It is an incomplete revolution, however, because America is angry against the
exploitation by the government and the corporations of capitalism, but is not
ready for socialism, even if it is indeed a panacea. For this reason, Bernie
Sanders will not be the next president or even vice president. America is not
ready despite its absolute dissatisfaction with its political and financial
leaders, as the polls show, where both Hillary Clinton and Trump seem to have
popularity and trust problems with the electorate.
Republicans have voted down the Bush dynasty, not only because of the
unpopularity of George W. Bush and anger against his aggressive policies,
pre-emptive doctrine, and his wars, but also because Jeb Bush’s personality as
seen on TV during the debates was obnoxious. The Bushes were voted down because
Americans are averse to dynasties that might come to believe they are entitled
to own the US presidency.
Democrats, meanwhile, have not been won over by the Clintons, especially as
reports emerged Bill and Hillary were grooming their daughter Chelsea for senior
political positions. Bill Clinton became president thanks to his competence,
personality, and charisma, but he would not have never become president without
his ambitious political partner and wife Hillary. Then Bill stood behind Hill –
as they are nicknamed – the day she fought the election for the New York Senate
seat and then the presidential primaries that she lost to Barack Obama.
Today, Hillary Clinton is vying for the Democratic nomination for the presidency
against an older, socialist competitor who has proven to be a tough nut to
crack. She had grown complacent thinking the nomination was guaranteed, but
accusations against her and her husband of having a cosy relationship with major
banks through the Clinton Foundation (which they deny) have left her battered.
She remains relatively unpopular, while lacking the charisma of her husband and
his talent for winning over people.
But Hillary Clinton will still reach the Democratic convention next month
carrying a number of delegates enough to secure the nomination. So far, it
appears that Clinton will be the one to face off with the Republican nominee.
Some don’t believe this, however. They believe it’s not possible for America to
topple the Bushes but keep the Clintons. They point to the investigations into
her use of unsecured e-mails during her tenure as secretary of state, and say
the outcome will hurt her. Others have cited her health issues, including an
episode during which she fainted and fell almost two years ago.
However, the majority think Clinton will be the Democratic candidate, and that
her battle, which she believed would be easy, will be very difficult against the
presumed Republican nominee, who snatched the needed delegates this week but who
remains under threat until the Republican convention is held in mid-July, days
before the Democratic convention.
Donald Trump, once known as The Donald, has taking a liking to now being called
Mr. Trump. He is a phenomenon that most Americans and most in the world
belittled, thinking it was temporary, until it snowballed and became a firm
reality.
The Donald was a figure known for his acumen, talent for negotiations, and
deal-making abilities, a successful businessman. Ordinary Americans are
impressed by him because he is a rich, successful man who marries supermodels.
Many ordinary Americans wish they were like the Donald, smiling, boastful, and
happy about his success.
When Trump entered the election battle, some were astonished, others dismissed
him. He said he would fund his own campaign, something that deeply impressed
those who were already fans of the Donald. Trump then shed his smile and laugh,
and adopted anger and condescension, either as a temporary mask for the
elections or as an official trait for his Mr. Trump character or as President
Donald Trump.
The tactic he has chosen is challenging and tackling just about anyone. He made
his ego a successful marketing ploy. He used his startling stances against
Muslims, Mexicans, women, and African Americans as a shock publicity tactic. He
injected hope among the frustrated, in a way that left no room for logic, as his
followers in their enthusiasm forgot to ask about the difference between
fantastic promises and empty rhetoric.
One Trump supporter showed off his collection of mugs, t-shirts, and similar
items all branded with the word Trump. He said he bought them all to support
Trump. To be sure, since Trump is funding his own campaign, he cannot receive
donations, but he found another way to raise money: selling Trump paraphernalia
for profit. Many supporters are convinced Trump would be a president for small
businesses and will not be the Establishment’s man, having challenged it all the
way to the White House.
Reaching out
In truth, Donald Trump has started reaching out to the poles of the ruling
establishment in the United States, which comprises top companies,
intellectuals, capitalists, defense industries, banks, oil companies, and
technology companies. Trump’s current tactic is to challenge the establishment
to appease ordinary Americans angry at their dismal economic conditions in the
country of the super-rich. But Trump, preparing for the near future, is seeking
reconciliation and partnership with the same establishment, beyond his current
tactics. Like Clinton, he understands the structure of power in America.
It is Bernie Sanders who has brought about a significant change in the American
landscape, by declaring with confidence and unequivocally that he adopts
European socialism, along the lines with socialism in a country like Sweden.
Barack Obama had paved the way for this, but he did so subtly without admitting
to any socialist tendencies. America’s youths have supported both men, and
Hillary Clinton has been struggling to catch up in both instances.
The Trump and Sanders phenomena have demonstrated that average Americans have
lost trust in Washington, and want to send out a clear message that they are
angry and want to rebel against the status quo and against the performance of
the politicians and the government in the US capital. The two phenomena also
suggest average Americans have had enough of the major corporations’ sway over
the economy and decision-making.
The difference is that Sanders might leave his mark on the Democratic party
without snatching an official post, while Trump has caused a radical shakeup of
the Republican Party, and now he seems determined to fight the election to its
bitter end.
If Republicans choose another candidate, Trump fears this could cost him greatly
in a tripartite battle. He believes he can fight and win against Hillary Clinton
today.
What will happen come January? Undoubtedly, despite all the global coverage of
the US election, it is early to predict which way the election will go, and who
will it favour, Hillary or Trump. From now until October, there may be many
surprises. Pressures will increase on the candidates, each will be tested in
various ways. But from now until mid-July, it is also a mistake to discount any
event that could hurt Clinton and Trump, because everything is possible in US
elections.
Regarding the foreign policy of both Clinton and Trump, the general reading of
their attitudes suggest the book will be closed on Barack Obama’s appeasement,
and that the US will enter a phase that Americans and their establishment want
to be more assertive and aggressive against foes and opponents.
*This article was first published in Al-Hayat on Jun. 03, 2016 and translated by
Karim Traboulsi.