LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 14/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.june13.16.htm
News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006
Bible Quotations For Today
But know this:
if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would
not have let his house be broken into.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12/35-44:"‘Be dressed for
action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master
to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as
soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds
alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit
down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of
the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. ‘But know
this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he
would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son
of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’ Peter said, ‘Lord, are you telling this
parable for us or for everyone? ’And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful
and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give
them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his
master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one
in charge of all his possessions."
I think that God has
exhibited us apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we
have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to mortals.
First Letter to the Corinthians 04/09-16:"For I think that God has exhibited us
apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we have become a
spectacle to the world, to angels and to mortals. We are fools for the sake of
Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are
held in honour, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we are hungry and
thirsty, we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we grow weary from
the work of our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world,
the dregs of all things, to this very day. I am not writing this to make you
ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you might have
ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in
Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. I appeal to you, then, be
imitators of me."
Pope Francis's Tweet For
Today
I invite all of the institutions of the world to give a voice to all of those
who suffer silently from hunger. #ZeroHunger
J’invite les institutions internationales à donner la parole à toutes les
personnes qui souffrent de la faim en silence. #ZeroHunger
أدعو المؤسسات الدوليّة لتكون صوت العديد من الأشخاص الذين يعانون من الجوع بصمت
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on June 13-14/16
Following LGBT attack, Muslims must unite and say: You are not alone,
Florida/Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/June 13/16
Saudi deputy crown prince sets new tone in US ties/Andrew Bowen/Al Arabiya/June
13/16
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump won’t walk in Obama’s footsteps/Raghida Dergham/Al
Arabiya/June 13/16
Iraq battles shouldn’t overshadow grave humanitarian needs/Fabio Forgione/Al
Arabiya/June 13/16
Christian Human Rights Activist Jailed in Turkey/Robert Jones/Gatestone
Institute/June 13/16
Orlando Shooting: Pickled in Hatred/Shoshana Bryen/Gatestone Institute/June
13/16
A Month of Islam in Britain: May 2016/Child Sex Grooming, Prison Brainwashing
and "Allah Knows Best"/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/June 13/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
June 13-14/16
FBI:
Florida gunman tied to Hezbollah
Lebanese PM, Tammam Salam : Beirut bank bombing harms national security
Grand Serail Meeting Stresses Confidence in Central Bank Measures, Urges
'Wisdom, Dialogue'
Lebanese Politicians Condemn Bank Blast in Capital
Report: Iranian Threats Preceded BLOM Bank Blast
ABL: Sunday's Attack Targets Lebanon's Banking Sector
Washington Denounces Explosion Targeting Bank HQ in Beirut
Hariri: Battle with Bombings, Direct and Indirect Messages Long but Lebanon Will
Prevail
UNIFIL Head Pays Farewell Visits to Lebanese Leaders
Elizabeth Warren vs. Michel Aoun
Rifi follows up with Hammoud ongoing investigations into BLOM Bank blast
Energy Minister Media Bureau: False information circulated on Janna Dam
Huge fire breaks out in Meshha
Civil defense, locals douse fire in Meshha
Jreij condemns Verdun blast, says banking sector 'red line'
Asseri from West Bekaa: KSA will always side with Lebanon
Jumblatt cables Obama, advocates gun control
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 13-14/16
Road of death’ to Aleppo pounded as
air strikes cut off rebel areas
Syrian activist survives ISIS assassination attempt in Turkey
Iraq makes arrests over reports of Sunnis executed in Falluja
Twelve freed Qaddafi-era officials murdered
Saudi Arabia condemns Orlando shooting
IS Claims Orlando Shooting in Radio Bulletin
ISF Circulates Photo of Man Kidnapped in Southern Town
Israel Extends Detention without Trial for Palestinian Clown
Israel Reopens Palestinian Crossings after Attack
Powerful Saudi Prince Visits U.S.
U.S. Drone Attack 'Kills Two Qaida Fighters' in Yemen
Top Human Rights Activist Rearrested in Bahrain
Qatar Convicts Dutch Woman Who Says She Was Raped
Canadian court orders Iran regime to pay damages to victims of terrorism
NCRI Statement/Iranian Resistance strongly condemns terrorist attack in Orlando
and declares solidarity with survivors
Home News Iran Resistance Position of NCRI rep in Nordic countries on trip by
Iranian regime’s FM to Norway
27 stores sealed by the Iran regime in Hamadan
Links From Jihad Watch Site for
June 13-14/16
Orlando jihad attack highlights debate about acceptance of LGBT people in Islam
Gun Control is not the solution to
Jihadist Rampages in what Experts Call the “Convergence of Terrorism and Mass
Shootings” in Orlando
Obama: Orlando jihad killer inspired by “propaganda and perversions of Islam”
Hillary stresses importance of reaching out to Islamic community
Orlando jihad massacre explodes widely-touted study claiming “right-wingers”
bigger threat than jihadis
Orlando jihad massacre witness: someone inside Pulse club was holding the doors,
keeping people in
FBI training material purge likely caused agency to drop the ball on Orlando
jihad mass murderer
Jews respect their dead while jihadists kill and parade death as a propaganda
tool
Robert Spencer in FrontPage: Ramadan in Orlando, 50 Dead, 53 Wounded
Reddit Censorship
Reading the Qur’an during Ramadan 9: Juz Qal al-Mala
Daniel Greenfield Moment: Bernie Sanders’ War Against the Jews
Stealth Jihadists are Hiding Their Identities Behind the Islamic State
FBI “never guessed” gay club would be target of jihad attack
Orlando jihad mass murderer “quite religious,” regularly attended mosque
Orlando mosque speaker says Islam mandates gays be put to death
Head of Jewish LGBTQ group fears for Muslims after Orlando jihad
massacre
June 13-14/16
FBI: Florida gunman
tied to Hezbollah
By Staff Writer Al Arabiya English Monday, 13 June 2016/The Orlando gunman who
killed at least 50 and wounded many more, claimed to be loyal to a number of
loyalist groups who are on opposing sides in the battlefield including Hezbollah
and ISIS, US newspaper the Los Angeles Times reported. Omar Mateen called 911 to
say he was attacking the LGBT nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida on Sunday,
swearing allegiance with ISIS. The FBI's Director James Comey told the newspaper
that since 2013 Mateen is known to have made a series elaborate claims linking
his relatives to the Sunni terror network Al-Qaeda, while also claiming to have
been a member of Hezbollah - the Iran-backed Shiite militia that operates in
Lebanon. Both groups are known to oppose ISIS. Comey said the contradictory
comments and claims led to confusion surrounding his inspiration for Sunday’s
devastating attack the newspaper report added. In 2014, Comey added that the FBI
again ‘briefly’ investigated Mateen amid allegations that he had watched videos
by Al Qaeda propagandist Anwar Awlaki. The killer also attended the same mosque
as an American who became a suicide bomber for Al Nusra Front in Syria which is
also opposed to ISIS.
Lebanese PM, Tammam Salam : Beirut
bank bombing harms national security
By Tom Perry Reuters, Beirut Monday, 13 June 2016/Lebanon's prime minister said
on Monday a bomb attack at a major bank had harmed national security after an
incident seen as a dangerous escalation of a crisis over a US law targeting the
finances of Shiite group Hezbollah. The bombing outside the main Blom Bank
building in Beirut on Sunday night, which caused damage but no fatalities,
followed the closure of accounts considered to be linked to the group by banks
afraid of being shut out of the international financial system. Noone has
claimed responsibility for the attack. Hezbollah, proscribed by the United
States as a terrorist organization and fighting in the civil in neighboring
Syria as a vital ally of President Bashar al-Assad, reacted angrily last month
to the US measures aimed at cutting off its funding. The US law, passed in
December, threatens to bar from the American financial market any bank that
knowingly engages with Hezbollah. The group has not commented on the bombing.
The US law has ignited an unprecedented standoff between the central bank and
Hezbollah, which views it as a breach of sovereignty. The banks say they have no
choice. Blom Bank has closed more accounts than other banks as a result of the
legislation, Lebanese officials say. At a meeting with the finance minister and
central bank governor, Prime Minister Tammam Salam said the attack "rose to the
level of damaging the national security of Lebanon". The banking sector was "the
fundamental dynamo" of the economy and "one of the main pillars of the state in
light of the paralysis suffered by the constitutional institutions", he added,
according to a government statement. Meanwhile, the Association of banks in
Lebanon said the attack targeting Blom Bank hit the entire banking sector and
aims to destabilize economy.
Central bank role
The central bank is widely seen as one of the only effective institutions in the
weak state afflicted by political crisis since the onset of the Syria war in
2011. The banking sector is vitally important to Lebanon as a conduit for
billions of dollars of annual remittances that keep its economy afloat. Monday's
government statement expressed confidence in central bank measures taken to
preserve the financial sector's immunity and credibility. The US law poses an
unprecedented financial challenge to the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah,
which dominates Lebanon and has ministers in Salam's unity government. Though
analysts say Hezbollah itself can operate without bank accounts, the situation
is seen as carrying a political cost as it affects its support base in the
Shiite community. Hospitals are among social institutions deemed linked to
Hezbollah that have had their accounts closed, sources familiar with the matter
say. There is also a risk to institutions and individuals dealing with such
hospitals, including their staff, insurance firms and suppliers of medical
equipment. Societies affiliated to Hezbollah run hospitals, schools and other
social institutions and the group says the measures are targeting the entire
Shi'ite community. "They won a military war, they won a political war, but they
cannot win a financial war," said one Lebanese banker, discussing the matter on
condition of anonymity. "They have to find ways to work in the shadows but the
problem is that whoever deals with them will be under scrutiny." "The banks have
no choice. They will not accept not to implement the sanctions because for them
their survival is more important. If the Americans say to a bank: 'you are out
of the banking system', the bank will default because it will be shut down from
transactions in dollars," the banker added. When the law first came into effect,
Lebanese banks began closing accounts, including of Hezbollah officials,
themselves. The central bank subsequently issued a directive requiring the banks
to refer accounts considered linked to Hezbollah to an investigative unit before
any measure is taken. In a statement issued last week, Hezbollah's parliamentary
bloc stepped up its attack on central bank governor Riad Salameh for "ambiguous
and suspicious" statements, and said Hezbollah's education and health
institutions could not be undermined. In an interview with CNBC last week,
Salameh said the central bank was making sure banks had really studied account
activity before any decisions are taken."The law is being implemented," he said.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shi'ite politician and Hezbollah ally, said
the attack on Blom Bank had targeted "Lebanon firstly, and Hezbollah secondly".
Nabil Boumonsef, a commentator with An-Nahar newspaper, said the bombing meant
the crisis had now become a security issue. "Its danger is that it is connected
to the most important, and I can even say the last bastion of protection for
Lebanon's social, political and economic stability - the banking sector."
Grand Serail Meeting Stresses
Confidence in Central Bank Measures, Urges 'Wisdom, Dialogue'
Naharnet/June 13/16/An emergency meeting was held Monday at the Grand Serail
between Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, in the wake of a bombing that targeted
Lebanon's second largest bank. The meeting was also attended by Joseph Tarabay,
the head of the Association of Banks in Lebanon. “At the start of the meeting,
Salam condemned the bomb attack against the headquarters of BLOM Bank in Beirut,
describing it as a terrorist crime aimed at undermining financial stability,”
said a statement issued after the talks. “This deplored act is tantamount to an
attack on Lebanon's national security, seeing as the banking sector is a key
dynamo in the national economic cycle and one of the State's main pillars amid
the paralysis that state institutions are suffering,” the statement quoted Salam
as saying. The premier told the conferees that he is “in round-the-clock contact
with the relevant ministries and security agencies that are concerned with
probing this bombing,” hoping the plotters and perpetrators “will quickly be
unveiled and brought to justice.”The statement added: “The conferees discussed
the banking situation in the country, stressing their confidence in the measures
that the Central Bank is conducting at the local and international levels to
preserve the Lebanese financial system, boost its immunity and consolidate
Lebanon's financial reputation.” They also called on all parties to “practice
the highest levels of wisdom and responsibility and resort to calm and rational
dialogue in addressing this sensitive issue – away from the media spotlight – in
a manner that preserves the interests of all Lebanese and protects Lebanon's
leading position in the global financial system.”Earlier in the day, Lebanese
banks warned that the country's financial sector was at risk after the bomb
blast outside BLOM Bank's headquarters.The explosion Sunday evening blew out the
entire glass facade of BLOM's HQ but only one person was lightly wounded. After
an emergency meeting on Monday morning, the banks association condemned the
attack, which it said "hurt the entire banking sector and aims to rattle
economic stability.""The Association is subject to the applicable Lebanese laws
and to the Central Bank's circulars," the statement said. Politicians and local
media have linked the attack to a law voted in December by the U.S. Congress to
impose sanctions on banks that deal with Hizbullah, considered a "terrorist
group" by the U.S. Last month, Lebanon's central bank instructed the country's
banks and financial institutions to comply with the new measure against the
Lebanese Iran-backed group. Hizbullah has fiercely criticized the law and
accused Governor Salameh of "yielding" to Washington's demands. BLOM Bank
director general Saad al-Azhari told reporters that no threats had been received
by the bank ahead of Sunday's blast.
Lebanese Politicians Condemn
Bank Blast in Capital
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 13/16/Lebanese politicians slammed on Monday
the latest bombing attack that targeted the HQ of a reputable Bank in the
capital Beirut a day earlier. “We denounce the Orlando and Beirut attacks. They
only make us more determined to continue our joint fight against takfiri
terrorists,” Lebanon's Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Lebanese Forces leader
Samir Geagea stated that the banking sector in Lebanon must abide by the
International banking laws despite everything. “The banking sector in Lebanon
must stay linked to the International Banking System despite everything,” said
Geagea via Twitter. “We are still waiting for the investigation results of the
bombing that targeted BLOM Bank Sunday evening. The issue is very delicate,”
added the LF chief. “I hope that the Central Bank of Lebanon and the Association
of Banks in Lebanon take the necessary measures in that regard,” he added. “The
banking sector is the mainstay of the Lebanese economy and it is unacceptable to
expose it to threats for anyone's sake,” concluded Geagea. For his part, Speaker
Nabih Berri pointed out that the bombing aims to destabilize Lebanon and
Hizbullah. “The evil hands tried to destabilize Lebanon first and Hizbullah
second,” said Berri. “I urge everyone not to jump to conclusions or be driven
behind suspicious schemes,” added the Speaker. A bomb blast rocked the western
part of the Lebanese capital late Sunday, with the interior minister saying the
target was a major bank. Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said that a bomb
containing about 3-4 kilos of explosives had been “placed behind the back wall
of BLOM Bank.”“It is clear that the bank was the target,” he said. Veteran Druze
politician Walid Jumblat linked the bombing to a law voted in December by the
U.S. Congress to impose sanctions on banks that deal with Hizbullah. In May,
Lebanon's central bank instructed the country's banks and financial institutions
to comply with the US law. Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc warned at the time
that the move could push Lebanon towards bankruptcy. Washington has labeled
Hizbullah a global terrorist group since 1995, accusing it of a long list of
attacks including the bombing of the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in Lebanon
in 1983. BLOM Bank director general Saad al-Azhari told reporters that no
threats had been received by the bank ahead of Sunday's blast. A civil defense
official said one person had been lightly wounded in the attack.
Report: Iranian Threats
Preceded BLOM Bank Blast
Naharnet/June 13/16/The explosion that rocked Beirut Sunday evening and that
targeted the HQ of BLOM Bank, was preceded by a series of “threat” messages the
most recent was a report published by the Iranian Fars News Agency, al-Mustaqbal
daily reported on Monday. The message enclosed warnings attributed to a figure
associate of Hizbullah against the banking sector in Lebanon, it said. The
Iranian News Agency's report was published only two hours prior the explosion
and it included a clear threat that Hizbullah is ready to put into
implementation a plan similar to the “May 7” incidents in 2008, that brought the
country to the brink of a new civil war. In 2008, Gunmen belonging to Hizbullah
and its allies swept through Beirut’s neighborhoods after the government of then
PM Fouad Saniora tried to dismantle the group's telecommunications network. The
fighting left scores dead and wounded. Mustaqbal added “it is clear that there
is a close link between the message intended from the bank blast and the
mounting tension between Hizbullah and the banking sector after the U.S.
sanctions against the party.” But sources of Lebanon's Central Bank told the
newspaper that “the message will not work because the banking sector has no
option but to implement the U.S. and International laws.”Saad Azhari, the head
of BLOM bank, said no one should jump to conclusion as to who was behind the
attack. “We are interested in being a serious bank that serves the interests of
all (Lebanese). We don't take measures to harm any one particular group," he
told reporters at the scene of Sunday's blast in the Verdun area. The blast
preceded several fervent statements against Lebanon's banking sector,
particularly when the Fars News Agency assured that the “confrontation has
become inevitable between Hizbullah and the banks,” it said. The report
expressed dismay at the stance of the Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh when he
said that Lebanon cannot but abide by the U.S. laws. The report voiced threats
against Salameh and said that “abiding by the US laws is gravely endangering the
banking sector.”A U.S. law was voted in December by the Congress and it imposes
sanctions on banks that deal with Hizbullah. In May, Lebanon's central bank
instructed the country's banks and financial institutions to comply with the
U.S. law. Washington has labeled Hizbullah a global terrorist group since 1995,
accusing it of a long list of attacks including the bombing of the U.S. Embassy
and Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983.
ABL: Sunday's Attack Targets Lebanon's Banking Sector
Naharnet/June 13/16/The Association of Banks in Lebanon discussed the latest
developments in an extraordinary meeting on Monday and condemned the attack that
targeted the HQ of BLOM Bank in the capital a day earlier, an ABL statement
said. “ABL and the Lebanese share condemnation of the bombing that targeted a
reputable economic institution, and we believe that this attack has affected the
whole banking sector and aims to destabilize the economy,” said the statement.
“Lebanese banks are used to work in a challenging environment, from which they
emerged more durable and safe each time,” added the statement. “Lebanese banks
are working in compliance with the highest professional standards and according
to the policies in the global markets,” concluded the statement. “It abides by
Lebanese laws to preserve the interest of the Lebanese as a whole.”“The
Association is subject to the applicable Lebanese laws and to the Central Bank's
circulars," it said. The statement came a day after a bombing attack targeted
BLOM Bank in the neighborhood of Verdun in Beirut. According to Interior
Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, the bomb contained about 3-4 kilos of explosives
and had been “placed behind the back wall of BLOM Bank.”“It is clear that the
bank was the target,” he said. Veteran Druze politician Walid Jumblat linked the
bombing to a law voted in December by the U.S. Congress to impose sanctions on
banks that deal with Hizbullah. In May, Lebanon's central bank instructed the
country's banks and financial institutions to comply with the US law.
Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc warned at the time that the move could push
Lebanon towards bankruptcy. Washington has labeled Hizbullah a global terrorist
group since 1995, accusing it of a long list of attacks including the bombing of
the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983. BLOM Bank director
general Saad al-Azhari told reporters that no threats had been received by the
bank ahead of Sunday's blast.
A civil defense official said one person had been lightly wounded in the attack.
Washington Denounces
Explosion Targeting Bank HQ in Beirut
Naharnet/June 13/16/Washington denounced on Monday the bombing that rocked the
western part of the Lebanese capital late Sunday and targeted the HQ of BLOM
Bank, LBCI reported on Monday. “Washington denounces the terrorist bombing. The
United States reiterates its strong commitment towards the Lebanese people's
stability and security,” State Department spokesman John Kirby stated. A bomb
blast went off Sunday evening outside a branch of the BLOM Bank in Beirut's
Verdun area, injuring two people. The explosion occurred few minutes after
residents sat down for iftar, the meal that breaks the daylong fast for
observing Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, when the streets in
predominantly Muslim areas like Verdun are usually empty. State-run National
News Agency said the explosive device was placed under a car. An AFP
correspondent saw almost all the entire glass facade of the headquarters of BLOM
BANK, one of the country's largest, blown out, with debris littering the ground.
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq told AFP a bomb containing about 3-4 kilos
(6.6-8.8 pounds) of explosives had been "placed behind the back wall of BLOM
BANK"."It is clear that the bank was the target," he said. Mashnouq gave no
further details, but in comments to LBCI television channel he said the blast
was "different" from other explosions that have occurred in Lebanon over the
past few years. In May, Lebanon's central bank instructed the country's banks
and financial institutions to comply with a U.S. law to impose sanctions on
banks that deal with Hizbullah.. Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc warned at the
time that the move could push Lebanon towards bankruptcy. Washington has labeled
Hizbullah a global terrorist group since 1995, accusing it of a long list of
attacks including the bombing of the US Embassy and Marine barracks in Lebanon
in 1983.
Hariri: Battle with Bombings,
Direct and Indirect Messages Long but Lebanon Will Prevail
Naharnet/June 13/16/Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri strongly
condemned Sunday a blast that targeted a major bank in Beirut as a “terrorist”
attack, while reassuring that Lebanon will emerge victorious from its “long
battle” with “terrorism and bombings.”“Our battle with terrorism, bombings,
killings, assassinations and direct and indirect messages is long. This is our
battle and we will continue to fight it. Terrorism will not intimidate the
Lebanese, we will all confront it and Lebanon will prevail in the end,” said
Hariri at a Mustaqbal iftar banquet in BIEL that coincided with the time of the
blast. The explosion outside the Verdun headquarters of BLOM Bank, one of the
country's largest, wounded two people and caused extensive material damage to
the building's glass facade and the parked cars. The explosion occurred few
minutes after residents sat down for iftar, the meal that breaks the daylong
fast for observing Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, when the streets in
predominantly Muslim areas like Verdun are usually empty. Interior Minister
Nouhad al-Mashnouq said the bomb was inside a suitcase that was placed outside
the bank, noting that the blast did not seem to be related to the previous wave
of bomb attacks in the country or to any recent intel that security agencies
have received about possible terrorist attacks. He later announced that the BLOM
Bank branch was "clearly the target" of the bombing. BLOM bank has been
criticized by some pro-Hizbullah politicians for taking a hard-line position
after Lebanese banks began abiding by a U.S. law that sanctions doing business
with the Iran-backed Lebanese group. Authorities say dozens of bank accounts
related to Hizbullah's organizations have been closed in recent weeks. Saad
Azhari, the head of BLOM bank, said no one should jump to conclusion as to who
was behind the attack. "We are interested in being a serious bank that serves
the interests of all (Lebanese). We don't take measures to harm any one
particular group," he told reporters at the scene. He also said that no threats
had been received by the bank prior to the attack.
UNIFIL Head Pays Farewell Visits to
Lebanese Leaders
Naharnet/June 13/16/UNIFIL
Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Luciano Portolano on Monday
paid farewell visits to a number of senior Lebanese officials including Speaker
Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Tammam Salam, in the capital Beirut, a UNIFIL
statement said. Portolano also held phone talks with Army Commander General Jean
Qahwaji, Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Walid Salman and the head of the army's
intelligence directorate, Brig. Gen. Camille Daher.During his meetings,
Portolano expressed satisfaction that, during his two years in Lebanon as the
UNIFIL head, he “felt being very close to the country, the people and the
authorities,” UNIFIL's statement said. “The people of Lebanon welcomed me as one
of them,” he said during the meetings. “Their support and appreciation for the
work carried out by UNIFIL has been extremely valuable. As the UNIFIL Head of
Mission, I attach great importance to the Mission’s relationship with the people
of the south as a key element to the success of the Mission,” he added. During
the talks, the outgoing head of UNIFIL also took special note of the Mission’s
“extremely effective” coordination arrangements with the Lebanese army and other
Lebanese security apparatuses in the implementation of U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1701 (2006). Portolano said: “I was proud to work hand-in-hand with
such encouraging leaders and I assured them that all our personnel – both
military and civilian – will continue working with full respect for the
religious beliefs, traditions and cultural sensitivities of the host
population.”“Thanks to the unflinching support of the Lebanese authorities and
LAF (Lebanese army), UNIFIL has always been able to find effective solutions
aimed at de-escalating tensions in its area of operations in south Lebanon,” he
added. “Preserving stability is in the interest of the parties and everybody is
enjoying the calm that has largely prevailed in the south in recent years,”
Portolano went on to say. The major general is leaving UNIFIL next month after
two years at the helm of the U.N. peacekeeping mission. Over the course of this
week, Portolano will be meeting a number of senior Lebanese figures as part of
his farewell visits. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, has
around 12,000 soldiers from 35 countries. The force was created in 1978 to help
Lebanon restore government control over southern Lebanon after the Israeli
invasion, and it was beefed up in 2006 after the devastating war between Israel
and Hizbullah.
Elizabeth Warren vs. Michel Aoun
The Daily Star/June 13/16/Elizabeth Warren electrifies. You need to just spend 30 minutes to hear her make
a full-rounded, precise and eloquent argument about “the thin-skinned,”
brainless “racist” and “bully” that is Trump, and undermine his assault on the
rule of law in America.
Warren is the positive, dominant novelty of a crass political campaign in the
U.S. Now that the field is clearly split between two presumptive nominees, each
with his and her own cupboard full of nasty skeletons, only Warren restores
faith in a system threatened by Trump’s fascism and Hillary’s nepotism. The buzz
last week is that Clinton will choose Warren as her Vice President. We can only
hope she does, so that the spirit of decency and courage comes back to America.
Like every four years since America won World War II, we are all observing the
U.S. scene with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. When Washington
sneezes, we catch a cold, witness the impact of a visit by a low-level official
of the Treasury Department on the entire Lebanese financial system. There are
many ways to observe America, unfortunately there aren’t many ways to influence
it from outside. So best is to emulate what is best in America, and the best
today is Elizabeth Warren, an accomplished scholar with moral values, and a
voice of courage, which is so wanting in the world.
Everywhere we look there are bullies à la Trump. No need to mention the
entrenched old dictators of the Assad family style, Khamenei, Bashir and the
gerontocrats of the Gulf. As for the new leaders, they also suffocate us with
their bullying, self-satisfaction, and violence. Sisi and Erdogan are Trump
replicas who have succeeded. In the Philippines, a man who is proud of death
squads he organized to kill over 1,000 people is at the helm. In Austria last
month, we averted with only a few hundred voices the rise of a Hitler replica
almost a century after the Anschluss.
So the Trump phenomenon is generalized, and the axis of bullies is
consolidating. The Trumps of the world recognize and reinforce each other. The
honest, nonviolent, educated (yes educated, and not at Trump University),
law-abiding citizens of the world are on the defensive. Putin kills in Moscow
and in Aleppo, while the line of visitors from the similar-minded Netanyahu
keeps growing.
Almost single-handedly last week, Elizabeth Warren put a stop to all of this. We
need Warrens everywhere. God forgive me, but the Trump phenomenon across the
world has emerged in large part because of the isolationist retreat of Barack
Obama. I will have to elaborate on this seemingly outlandish reading another
time. Let me just briefly note that since Obama retreated on Syria back in 2011,
and let the local Damascene bully win against an overwhelming nonviolent
revolution, while rallying around him the other bullies which our Middle Eastern
revolutions had put on the defensive, the world has been witnessing the
seemingly unstoppable rise of fascism and racism, of which Trump presents today
the clearest danger. What is pressing now is how to stand up to the Trumps of
the world, and Elizabeth Warren is giving us the cue.
The local Lebanese Trump is Michel Aoun. He is single-handedly preventing the
election of a president. Evidence is that the second he gives up on the plague
of “me or no one else,” a narcissistic Trumpism typical of bullies and
dictators, we will have a president in Lebanon. It is not the first time this
happens. In modern Lebanese history, the putschist general has done it time and
again. We have been without a president since 2014 because of Aoun not wanting
to allow the country to move forward, but he did it twice before. In 1988-89,
the country was torn asunder by his coup, followed by the large scale bombing of
mostly Shiite neighborhoods in Beirut, in a reckless bid for power, which also
led to the Syrian dictator taking over the whole of the country. And in 2005,
shortly after the Cedar Revolution allowed him to come back from exile, Aoun
prevented the dislodging of his clone Emile Lahoud because he could not take
over from him at the presidency.
Like Trump, Aoun and so many local politicians are not worth one’s pen to be
sullied by their mere mention. But since Barack Obama retreated on Syria back in
2011, and went AWOL on the whole region (in his own terms, “all I need in the
Middle East us a few small autocrats”), the world has been the prey of various
forms of Trumpisms. We need Elizabeth Warrens “to stand up,” as she concluded in
that epic speech, to make law and decency prevail again.
**Chibli Mallat is an international lawyer and law professor. His latest
publication is “Democracy infin-de-siècle America.” He ran for president of
Lebanon in 2005-6.
Rifi
follows up with Hammoud ongoing investigations into BLOM Bank blast
Mon 13 Jun 2016/NNA - Resigned Justice Minister, Ashraf Rifi, contacted on
Monday Prosecutor General of Appeal, Judge Samir Hammoud, with talks reportedly
touching on the ongoing investigations into BLOM Bank blast. Rifi also contacted
BLOM Bank Board Chairman, Saad Aszhari, deploring the attack that targeted the
banking sector in Lebanon, voicing utter support to the Central Bank and
Lebanese banks in the face of pressures and intimidation practices against this
sector.
Energy Minister Media Bureau:
False information circulated on Janna Dam
Mon 13 Jun 2016/NNA - Water and Energy Minister Arthur Nazarian's Media Bureau
on Monday categorically refuted in a statement information circulated in some
media outlets and social media about Janna Dam, considering these info as
"utterly away from objectivity and accuracy."The statement was replying to
information mentioned by some media outlets on the existence of a relation
between Engineer Jean Jibran (in his capacity as Advisor to Minister Nazrian)
with Janna Dam.The statement absolutely affirmed the absence of an association
between Engineer Jibran and the two contractual companies in charge of the
implementation of works for the first and second phase of Janna project.
Huge fire breaks out in
Meshha
Mon 13 Jun 2016/NNA - A huge fire broke out in a large woodland of of olive
trees and forest trees in the town of Meshha, NNA reporter said on Monday.
Meshha Municipality Head, Khaled al-Zoebi, implored civil defense units to
swiftly intervene and douse fire before it extends to other surrounding areas.
Civil defense, locals douse
fire in Meshha
Mon 13 Jun 2016/NNA - Civil defense units in cooperation with the locals of
Meshha town managed to extinguish the huge fire which broke out in the town's
woodland of olive and forest trees in the town of Meshha, NNA reporter said on
Monday. The affected area is currently under monitoring and control in fear of a
possible fire renewable due to wind and high temperature degrees.
Jreij condemns Verdun blast,
says banking sector 'red line'
Mon 13 Jun 2016/NNA - Minister of Information, Ramzi Jreij, condemned, in a
statement on Monday, the explosion at BLOM Bank in Verdun, considering the
incident as "a rejected message because the banking sector is a red line.""The
banking sector is the backbone of the Lebanese economy," he said. "The Lebanese
banks are committed to the international legitimacy and the Lebanese enforced
laws; no terrorist act can ever tamper with their renown," he added. He lastly
called the Lebanese to keep united in protection of home and economic stability,
urging authorities to speed up investigations to uncover culprits.
Asseri from West Bekaa: KSA
will always side with Lebanon
Mon 13 Jun 2016/NNA - Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Awadh Asseri, confirmed
that his country would always side with Lebanon, denying news on a Saudi
decision to relinquish helping the Lebanese. "This is a wish that will not come
true; when does a brother give up on his brother!" he said. "The region is
witnessing exceptional events (...) it is mandatory to protect Lebanon's home
scene through a constructive national dialogue, where the Lebanese would agree
on ending the presidential vacuum and finding solutions to all dossiers, so that
Lebanon should be kept always from dangers stalking it," he maintained. Asseri
made these remarks during an Ifrat banquet in Rashaya.
Jumblatt cables Obama,
advocates gun control
Mon 13 Jun 2016/NNA - Head of the Democratic Gathering, MP Walid Jumblatt,
cabled on Monday US President Barack Obama, extending his condolences after the
"barbaric attack" in Orlando.In his cable, Jumblatt highlighted the necessity to
reach solution to uncontrolled arms in the US, hoping such incident would not
lead to further hatred.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on June 13-14/16
Road of death’ to Aleppo pounded as
air strikes cut off rebel areas
Reuters, Gaziantep, Turkey/Amman Monday, 13 June 2016
The opposition-held sector of Syria’s divided city of Aleppo has been cut off
from the outside world in recent days by an escalation of air and artillery
strikes on the only road in, putting hundreds of thousands of people under
effective siege. A government campaign to fully capture Aleppo would most likely
bury what little hope remains of reviving a diplomatic effort to end the
five-year-old civil war, after talks and a ceasefire sponsored by the United
States and Russia fell apart earlier this year. Aleppo, Syria’s largest city
before the war when it had more than 2 million people, has been divided for
years into rebel and government sectors, and capturing all of it has been one of
President Bashar al-Assad’s biggest goals. An estimated 350,000 people are still
thought to live in the rebel sector, in harsh conditions made worse by the
latest attempt to besiege them by cutting off the last remaining route out, the
Castello Road, named for Aleppo’s old castle. “The regime was not able to cut
the road by land, so it has decided to keep the planes in the sky continuously,
hitting everything that passes, regardless of what it is,” said Zakaria
Malahifji, senior official in the Aleppo rebel group Fastaqim. “Whoever wants to
go on the Castello road is undertaking a suicide mission,” he said. “It’s been
this way for 10 or 12 days. The situation was difficult before - it was targeted
and people were crossing with difficulty - but now it is almost cut, nobody
dares to use it,” he said, speaking at his group’s office in the Turkish city of
Gaziantep near the Syrian border.
The international focus in Syria in recent weeks has partly turned toward the
conflict with ISIS fighters, as both the government and its enemies have made
gains at the expense of the ultra-hardline Islamist militants on several fronts.
But the separate hope of foreign powers - that the wider civil war could also be
resolved - has broken down, with Aleppo potentially the biggest battlefield of
all. Hundreds of people have been killed there since peace talks broke off.
Assad vowed in a speech last week to recapture “every inch” of Syria. Aleppo, he
said, would be a “graveyard” for the ambitions of his regional foe, Turkish
President Tayyip Erdogan, who has backed rebel groups. A pro-Damascus source,
who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the reference was a signal of his
intentions: “Why this threat? Because there are preparations for something big
in Aleppo.” Russia had intensified air strikes in agreement with the government
and its other allies to encircle rebels in the Aleppo area, including in the
city itself, said the source who is familiar with the strategy. So far,
pro-government ground forces, aided by Iranian and Lebanese Shi’ite militias,
have been unable to complete the encirclement of Aleppo by capturing a narrow
corridor of territory through which the Castello Road passes.
The highway had long been under sniper fire, but attacks from the air and
artillery sharply increased less than two weeks ago, with more planes flying and
new rockets and guns moved into range. “Castello is the road to death to Aleppo.
I did not know whether I would make it to Aleppo city alive,” said Mohamad Adeeb,
an opposition activist who drove the road on Friday. “I saw death with my own
eyes, with corpses lying on the way and dozens of trucks and civilian cars and
bodies that none of the civil defense teams were able to recover because of the
intensity of the shelling of the regime and Russian warplanes.”
Inside Aleppo, the new pressure on the road has driven up prices of goods,
adding to the suffering of those still there.
‘Preparations for something big’
Russia said last week its air force would provide “the most active” support to
prevent Aleppo and the surrounding area falling into the hands of what it called
terrorists, a word Moscow and Damascus use to describe an array of Assad’s
enemies. Rebels have seen Russian statements that the al Qaeda-linked Nusra
Front has mounted attacks in Aleppo as a sign Moscow is looking for new pretexts
to attack: while Nusra has been active south of Aleppo, the more moderate rebels
say it has no presence in the city itself. The Nusra Front, like ISIS, was
excluded from the ceasefire and peace talks that were sponsored by Washington
and Moscow. The nationalist rebels fighting Assad in Aleppo are confident of
their ability to repel ground attacks in which Shi’ite militias from Iran,
Afghanistan, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have played a major role supporting the
government. A number of these rebel groups receive foreign military support from
states opposed to Assad, funneled via Turkey. The rebels say they saw off three
attacks by pro-government forces in less than a month on Handarat, also near the
Castello road. “The regime is trying to advance on the ground. It takes a point
or two, then loses them,” said Abu Yassine, head of the Levant Front rebel
group, speaking to Reuters. “These circumstances are not new to the fighters.
They have thrown all types of bombs at them and they can cope. The negative
impact is on the civilians,” he said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
says more than 300 people have been killed in air strikes and government
bombardment of rebel-held Aleppo since April and around 250 people living in
government-held areas have been killed in the same period in intensified rebel
shelling. Opposition sources say the toll is much higher, with dozens of people
currently being killed each day in eastern Aleppo, one of the bloodiest spells
it has suffered in the conflict. Civil defense emergency workers operating in
rebel-held areas say more than 450 people were killed there in the last month.
“It is a difficult and dangerous period we are going through. Aleppo is almost
under siege,” Abu Yassine said.
Syrian activist survives ISIS
assassination attempt in Turkey
The Associated Press, Istanbul Monday, 13 June 2016/A Syrian independent media
activist working in southeast Turkey survived an assassination attempt Sunday
which was claimed by ISIS. Ahmed Abdelqader, founder of the Syrian media group
Eye on Homeland, was shot Sunday afternoon by two gunmen riding a motorbike in
the city of Sanliurfa. Eye on Homeland, which disseminates news about Syria on
its website and radio station, issued a statement saying three shots had been
fired in the failed assassination attempt. Fellow Syrian activist Abu Ibrahim of
the monitoring group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS) says Abdelqader
was “hospitalized, in a stable condition.” Another colleague, who requested
anonymity for fear of his safety, said the gunmen had used silencers. The gunmen
escaped. The ISIS-linked Amaq News Agency said ISIS militants had staged the
attack on Abdelqader, formerly a member of RBSS. Abdelqader’s brother, Ibrahim,
was one of two Syrian activists slain by ISIS operatives in Sanliurfa in October
2015. The second was Fares Hamadi. ISIS claimed responsibility for last year’s
killings in a video message warning that “every apostate will be slaughtered
silently.”The Syrian activist groups RBSS and Eye on Homeland regularly report
on ISIS activities in Syria drawing on their network of local contacts. ISIS
operatives were also behind the recent fatal shootings of two Syrian journalists
in the southern city of Gaziantep. Anti-ISIS TV presenter Mohammed Zahir al-Sherqat
was killed in April and anti-ISIS filmmaker Naji Jerf in December. The
assassinations have highlighted the vulnerability of Syrian activists and
journalists working in Turkey. Abdelqader, in an interview with The Associated
Press after the death of his brother and Hamadi, said he was receiving threats
from ISIS. Many Syrian activists based in Turkish border cities report receiving
such threats, yet most do not have a financially viable or legal way out of the
country.The situation has been further complicated by a controversial deal
between the European Union and Turkey, home to 2.7 million Syrian refugees,
which recently came into effect with the aim of curbing the flow of migrants to
Europe.
Iraq makes arrests over reports of
Sunnis executed in Falluja
By Maher Chmaytelli and Ahmed Rasheed/Reuters, Baghdad Monday, 13 June 2016/Iraq
is investigating allegations that Shiite militiamen helping the army retake
Falluja have executed dozens of Sunni Muslim men from the city held by the ISIS
group.The authorities "are following up on the violations and a number of
arrests have been made," government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said on Monday
after a regional governor said 49 Sunni men had been executed after surrendering
to a Shiite faction. Suhaib al-Rawi, governor of Anbar province where Falluja is
located, said on Sunday that 643 men had gone missing between June 3 and June 5,
and "all the surviving detainees were subjected to severe and collective torture
by various means." The participation of militias in the battle of Falluja, just
west of Baghdad, alongside the Iraqi army had already raised fears of sectarian
killings. Falluja is a historic bastion of the Sunni insurgency against US
forces that toppled Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, in 2003, and the Shiite-led
governments that followed. "Strict orders were issued to protect the civilians,"
government spokesman Hadithi said, adding that these instructions were also
given to the Hashid Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Forces, the coalition of
mostly Shiite militias backed by Iran which are involved in the fighting. The
United Nations said last week it knew of "extremely distressing, credible
reports" of men and boys being abused by armed groups working with security
forces after fleeing Falluja. Iraqi authorities routinely separate males aged
over 15 from their families when they manage to escape Falluja, to screen them
to ensure they do not pose a security risk and check if they may have been
involved in war crimes. UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein said that
screening was legitimate but should not be done by paramilitary groups.
Civilians from Falluja had suffered "two and a half years of living hell" under
Islamic State and faced not just enormous danger in escaping but also "double
jeopardy in the form of serious human rights violations," Zeid said.A spokesman
for the US-led coalition fighting ISIS said the Baghdad government was aware of
the abuses. "We know that the prime minister has come out and said that he
believes that these abuses have happened and that he ... has demanded
accountability of any perpetrators," Colonel Chris Garver said. "We think that
is the right course of action." The Iraqi army launched the offensive on Falluja
on May 23, with air support from the US-led coalition. The United Nations has
said up to 90,000 people are trapped in the city with little food or water.
Repeated phone calls to three spokesmen of the Popular Mobilization Forces were
not answered. Last week, one of them, Kareem Nuri, said past accusations of
human rights violations were "politically motivated and baseless".
Twelve freed Qaddafi-era officials murdered
AFP, Tripoli Monday, 13 June 2016/Gunmen have killed 12 Libyans after their
release from jail for taking part in acts of repression during the 2011 revolt
against Muammar Qaddafi, officials said on Sunday. A Tripoli court ordered the
conditional release of the former regime officials on Thursday, and on Friday
their bullet-riddled bodies were found in the capital, the prosecution said on
its Facebook page.An investigation into the murders has begun, it added. The
victims had been imprisoned on charges of committing abuses during the
NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed Qaddafi. They were freed on
condition that they report to the prosecutor every two weeks. The UN special
envoy to Libya Martin Kobler condemned the murders and called for a prompt and
“transparent” investigation.Kobler tweeted that he was “shocked and dismayed by
the reports of murder of so many detainees released by a Tripoli court.” The
Government of National Accord also denounced what it called a “despicable
crime.”A statement on its Facebook page called on security and judiciary
authorities to find the assailants and bring them to justice. Seddiq es-Sour, of
the prosecutor’s office, told Libyan television the bodies were found in various
parts of the capital and confirmed that all were former prisoners. He said they
had been arrested between 2011 and 2014. The identities of the victims were not
immediately released. Earlier this month, es-Sour had said the supreme court had
ordered the release of six Qaddafi regime officials pending an appeal, for
reasons linked to their health and age. Dozens of people are on trial in Libya
for their role in the violent suppression of the revolt, including two sons of
Qaddafi and ex-government officials. In July 2015 several people were sentenced
to death, including Seif al-Islam, Qaddafi’s son and one-time heir apparent.
Saudi Arabia condemns Orlando
shooting
By Staff writer Al Arabiya News Monday, 13 June 2016/Saudi Arabia strongly
condemned on Monday a deadly mass shooting in Orlando, Florida which claimed the
lives of 50 people a day earlier and left scores injured. Saudi Ambassador to
the United States Abdullah Al-Saud said in a statement: “The Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia condemns in the strongest terms the attack on innocent people in Orlando,
Florida, and sends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the
victims and to the people of the United States.”Prince Abdullah said the kingdom
stands with the American people and prays for the recovery of all those injured
in the attack. He also said Saudi Arabia is keen on working with the United
States and the international community to put “an end to these senseless acts of
violence and terror." Sunday's attack, the worst mass shooting in modern US
history, was carried out at Orlando's Pulse nightclub in Florida, left 50 dead.
The gunman behind the attack was 29-year-old Omar Mateen, a Muslim American of
Afghan descent. Investigations are carried to find on whether he had ties to or
was inspired by Islamist extremism, after a source linked to the ISIS group
claimed the attack.
IS Claims Orlando Shooting in Radio
Bulletin
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 13/16/The Islamic State group on Monday
claimed responsibility for the Orlando shooting that killed 50 people, saying in
a radio bulletin that it was carried out by "one of the soldiers of the
caliphate". "God allowed Omar Mateen, one of the soldiers of the caliphate in
America, to carry out an attack entering a crusader gathering in a night club...
in Orlando in Florida, killing and wounding more than 100 of them," a bulletin
from Al-Bayan radio said. The jihadist group declared its "caliphate" in Syria
and Iraq in 2014. The IS-linked news agency Amaq said on Sunday that the attack
had been "carried out by an Islamic State fighter". US media reported that the
gunman -- identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, an American citizen of Afghan
descent -- had pledged allegiance to the jihadist group IS. The FBI has admitted
that Mateen -- who was born to Afghan parents in New York -- had previously been
investigated, but cleared, for ties to a US suicide bomber. The worst mass
shooting in US history left 50 people dead, in addition to the shooter, and
wounded 53 others. US President Barack Obama said the FBI was investigating the
killings "as an act of terrorism".
ISF Circulates Photo of Man
Kidnapped in Southern Town
Naharnet/June 13/16/A Lebanese man was kidnapped Saturday from outside his shop
in the southern town of Srifa, the Internal Security Forces announced on Monday.
It said Faisal Hassan Dib Nasser, 42, was abducted by four assailants who
arrived in a Range Rover SUV. The ISF also circulated the man's picture, urging
citizens who have any information about him to head to the Jwaya police station
or to dial the phone number 07410543.
Israel Extends Detention without Trial for Palestinian Clown
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 13/16/Israel has extended the detention
without trial of Palestinian circus performer Mohammad Abu Sakha for another six
months, his circus school said Monday. Abu Sakha, 24, was arrested on December
14 in the occupied West Bank, and held since January in administrative
detention, the controversial measure under which Israel can hold suspects
without trial for periods of six months, renewable indefinitely. "Administrative
detention order extended (for) another six months. Our hearts are heavy," a
statement from the Palestinian Circus School said. The Israeli army did not
immediately confirm or deny the extension. Amnesty International has called for
Abu Sakha's release, saying Israel believes he is a member of the leftist
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is considered a terrorist
group by Israel due to its armed wing. Israel has not publicly confirmed the
reason for detaining him. The Palestinian Performing Arts Network, representing
artists and cultural institutions, earlier this year said it was "deeply
concerned" over the detention of Abu Sakha, who has been part of the Palestinian
Circus School in Bir Zeit in the occupied West Bank since 2008, first as a
student and later as a clown and teacher. Administrative detention is intended
to allow authorities to hold suspects while continuing to gather evidence, with
the aim of preventing further attacks in the meantime. The system has been
criticized by Palestinians, human rights groups and members of the international
community. More than 7,500 Palestinians are currently in Israeli jails, of whom
around 700 are held under administrative detention, according to Palestinian
rights groups.
Israel Reopens Palestinian Crossings
after Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 13/16/Israel has reopened Palestinian
crossing points from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip following a three-day
closure put in place after last week's deadly Tel Aviv shooting, the army said
Monday. Crossings were reopened overnight as planned, an army spokeswoman said,
though "security checks are ongoing" in Yatta, the West Bank village where the
two Tel Aviv attackers were from. The village had been put on lockdown in the
hours after Wednesday night's attack that killed four Israelis and wounded five
others.Crossing points were shut on Friday morning, preventing Palestinians from
entering Israel and annexed east Jerusalem. An exception was made however for
the first Friday prayers of Ramadan, with thousands of Palestinians allowed to
visit Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third-holiest site in Islam. The
closure also coincided with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which was celebrated
on Sunday. Israel regularly shuts crossing points during major Jewish holidays,
when large numbers of Israelis congregate to pray or celebrate, presenting a
potential target for Palestinian attacks. Israel announced a range of measures
following the Tel Aviv attack, which saw two Palestinian cousins open fire at a
busy cafe. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also announced the cancellation of
tens of thousands of permits for Palestinians to enter Israel and east Jerusalem
during Ramadan.
The moves drew international concern, with France strongly condemning the attack
but also warning against further exacerbating tensions. United Nations rights
chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein's office in a statement on Friday also condemned the
attack but said the Israeli measures may amount to "collective punishment". The
Tel Aviv attack was the deadliest in a wave of violence that began in October.
One of the attackers was arrested, while the other was shot and underwent
surgery. Further details have been placed under a gag order by Israeli
authorities while the investigation continues.
Powerful Saudi Prince Visits U.S.
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 13/16/Saudi Arabia's influential deputy crown
prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who leads an economic reform drive at home, left
for talks in the United States on Monday, official media said. The visit comes
with the longstanding U.S.-Saudi relationship strained by greater American
energy independence and last year's international nuclear agreement with
Riyadh's regional rival Iran. The decades-old relationship has been based on an
exchange of American security for Saudi oil. Prince Mohammed, 30, who is also
defense minister, will hold talks with U.S. officials on "strengthening
bilateral relations and discussing regional matters of mutual interest", the
Saudi Press Agency said without giving details on the program of the visit or
its duration. The prince, who is King Salman's son, was accompanied by a
ministerial delegation including Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf and Commerce
and Investment Minister Majid al-Qasabi. Prince Mohammed is the main architect
of a wide-ranging "Vision 2030" plan released in April to diversify the
kingdom's economy away from oil. On the eve of his departure, Prince Mohammed
chaired a meeting of the Council for Economic Affairs and Development, the Gulf
state's main economic coordination body. At the heart of Vision 2030 is a plan
to float less than five percent of state oil firm Saudi Aramco on the stock
market. The proceeds would become part of the world's largest state investment
fund, with $2 trillion in assets.
Profits from the fund would help economic diversification and provide an
alternative to oil revenues that have fallen by about half since 2014. This
month, San Francisco-based Uber announced that the Saudi Public Investment Fund
has pumped $3.5 billion into the ride-sharing giant. The move signals a more
aggressive global investment presence by the kingdom under its economic
restructuring program. Uber is a smartphone app that connects passengers and
drivers around the world. Prince Mohammed has risen to be among Saudi Arabia's
most influential figures since being named second-in-line to the throne last
year. His visit to Washington come after CIA chief John Brennan said on Saturday
that secret findings of a 2002 congressional investigation into the 9/11 terror
attacks should not be taken as evidence of official Saudi complicity. A decision
is expected soon on whether to release a classified 28-page section of the
report by the House and Senate intelligence committees. Riyadh insists it has
nothing to fear from release of the pages. A separate 9/11 Commission set up by
then-president George W. Bush found no evidence of official Saudi complicity in
the attacks on the United States. Fifteen of the 19 Al-Qaeda plane hijackers
were Saudi nationals. Their attacks on September 11, 2001 killed nearly 3,000
people.
U.S. Drone Attack 'Kills Two Qaida Fighters' in Yemen
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 13/16/A US drone attack in southern Yemen
killed two suspected al-Qaida members, the second deadly strike in as many days,
security sources said Monday. The drone on Sunday targeted a car driving in
Habban, killing "two al-Qaida fighters and wounding their driver," one of the
sources said. The strike comes after an American drone attack on Saturday killed
two other presumed al-Qaida members in their vehicle in Marib province, east of
the capital Sanaa. Washington, which views al-Qaida's Yemen-based branch as its
most dangerous, acknowledged on May 7 that a "very small number" of US military
personnel have also been deployed in support of the operation to retake former
al-Qaida stronghold of Mukalla. Al-Qaida exploited the civil war in Yemen
between Shiite Huthi rebels and government forces to expand its presence in the
south and southeast. The United States regularly conducts air strikes against
al-Qaida. A March strike on a training camp west of Mukalla killed more than 70
fighters.
Top Human Rights Activist Rearrested
in Bahrain
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 13/16/Leading Bahraini human rights activist
Nabeel Rajab was rearrested on Monday by security forces in the Gulf island
state, his family said on Twitter. Rajab, who was detained in us2014 for tweets
deemed insulting to the authorities before his release on health grounds, was
apprehended in a dawn raid on his home in the mainly Shiite village of Bani
Jamra near Manama, according to his family. "Rajab was arrested from his house
and his house was searched," Sumaya Rajab, his wife, posted on Twitter. The
activist, who has led anti-government marches and heads the Bahrain Center for
Human Rights, had previously served two years in jail for taking part in
unauthorized protests. He was sentenced to six months in jail for his tweets but
pardoned in July 2015 after King Hamad issued a royal pardon "for health
reasons". Bahrain, home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, has been rocked by unrest
since security forces crushed Shiite-led protests in 2011 demanding a
constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister. Washington had previously
called for Rajab's release, while international rights groups have condemned the
trials against opponents of the Sunni regime.
Qatar Convicts Dutch Woman
Who Says She Was Raped
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 13/16/A Doha court on Monday convicted a
Dutch woman of adultery and handed her a one-year suspended sentence after she
reported being raped while on holiday in Qatar. The 22-year-old woman, known
only as Laura and who was not in court, was also fined 3,000 Qatari riyals
($800/710 euros) and will be deported once she pays the fine, court officials
said. She had denied the charge against her. The male defendant, said by a court
official to be Syrian and named as Omar Abdullah al-Hasan, was sentenced to 100
lashes for the illicit sex and 40 lashes for consuming alcohol. Hasan, who was
also not in court, will undergo a medical examination to see if he is fit enough
to withstand his punishment. He will not serve any time in jail but will also be
deported once he has been punished. The Dutch ambassador to Qatar Yvette
Burghgraef-van Eechoud, who was present in a packed courtroom, told reporters
the embassy would help Laura leave Qatar. "We will do everything to get her out
of the country as soon as possible to where she wants to go," said Eechoud. The
envoy added that she expected Laura to leave Qatar, which will host the football
World Cup in 2022, within the next few days. The ambassador added that she had
spoken to Laura yesterday and said that "under the circumstances she was doing
fine". Back in the Netherlands, Laura's mother said she had not yet spoken to
her daughter but was "so happy" at the news of her release. "I do not know yet
when she gets home, but this is not most important," she told the Dutch
television NOS website. "The most important is that she gets home... I am so
happy," she said. Laura was arrested on March 14 and has since been held in
custody. Her lawyer previously said that the incident happened after she had
visited a Doha hotel. "She went dancing but when she returned to the table after
the first sip of her drink, she realised that" she had been drugged, Brian
Lokollo has said. "She really didn't feel very well," he added. The young woman
remembers nothing more until the following morning when she woke up in a totally
unfamiliar apartment "and realised to her great horror, that she had been
raped," he said. The male defendant had insisted that their night together had
been consensual and that the woman had even asked for money. Adultery, or
illicit sex, is treated as a serious crime in the conservative Gulf emirate. But
the case provoked an international outcry with many appalled by the treatment of
an alleged rape victim and an online campaign using the #freelaura hashtag to
try and draw attention to the Dutch woman's imprisonment.
Canadian court orders Iran regime to
pay damages to victims of terrorism
Monday, 13 June 2016/NCRI - A Canadian judge has ordered Iran’s non-diplomatic
land and bank accounts in Canada to be handed over to victims of attacks by
Hamas and Hezbollah, sponsored by the mullahs' regime in Iran. The judgment,
obtained by the Agence France-Presse on Friday, awards a reported $13 million to
families of Americans who died in eight bombings or hostage-takings in Buenos
Aires, Israel, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia from 1983 to 2002. Hundreds died in the
attacks. The families, led by the parents of Marla Bennett, who was killed when
a suicide bomber struck at a cafeteria at Hebrew University in Israel in 2002,
had successfully sued the Iranian regime in the United States, the AFP wrote.
The US court found that Iran's regime was responsible for training Hamas and
Hezbollah operatives, as well as backing the groups financially. But those
judgments remain largely unpaid. “Terrorism is one of the world’s greatest
threats,” Ontario Superior Court Justice Glenn Hainey said in his decision. “The
broad issue before the court is whether Iran is entitled to immunity from the
jurisdiction of Canadian courts for its support of terrorism.” The Canadian
lawsuits were brought under a relatively new law passed in 2012 that allows
victims and their families to collect damages from state sponsors of terrorism.
The law is known as the Justice for Victims of Terror Act.Canada lists the
Iranian regime as a state sponsor of terrorism.
NCRI Statement/Iranian Resistance strongly condemns terrorist attack in Orlando
and declares solidarity with survivors
Monday, 13 June 2016/The Iranian Resistance strongly condemns the criminal
terrorist attack in Orlando, Florida which left more than 100 people killed or
injured and declares its solidarity with the survivors and the families of the
victims. It hopes for a speedy recovery for the injured. This sickening act of
bling killings in Orlando is in blatant contradiction to the message of Islam
and the culture, civilization and nature of Muslims. Today there is no doubt
that the rise, expansion and strengthening of the terrorist Daesh (ISIS or ISIL)
movement is a result of the Iranian regime's criminal policies in the region, in
particular in massacring the people of Iraq and Syria via Nuri Maliki and Bashar
Assad, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and its mercenary foreign militias. This
is in addition to the support and coordination carried out between Daesh, the
Iranian regime and Bashar Assad in recent years, some of which have come to
public light. The tragedy in Orlando makes clear the need for a comprehensive
response to terrorism and fundamentalism that is being carried out in the name
of Islam. Three decades ago the Iranian Resistance declared that Islamic
fundamentalism is a new global threat whose epicenter is in Iran under the
mullahs' rule. This is an ominous phenomenon which transformed into a serious
threat with the establishment of religious rule in Iran, and the international
community's silence and inaction towards it have further transformed it into a
major global threat.
National Council of Resistance of Iran
Foreign Affairs Committee/June 13, 2016
Home News Iran Resistance Position
of NCRI rep in Nordic countries on trip by Iranian regime’s FM to Norway
NCRI Iran News | Iran Resistance
Position of NCRI rep in Nordic countries on trip by Iranian regime’s FM to
Norway
Monday, 13 June 2016 /NCRI - Commenting on the trip by the Iranian regime’s
Foreign Minister to Norway, Amb. Perviz Khazai, the representative of the
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Nordic countries, on Monday
said:
“The trip by the Iranian regime’s foreign minister Javad Zarif to Norway takes
place amid an unparalleled wave of executions in Iran. Close to 130 people have
been hanged in Iran in the past two months alone.
During the period that Zarif has been the foreign minister of the religious
fascism ruling Iran at least 2400 have been hanged. The UN Special Rapporteur on
the situation of human rights in Iran, in his latest report, expressed concern
about the high number of executions, torture, extracting confessions under
torture, depriving prisoners of lawyers, discrimination against women, execution
of juveniles, pressures on religious minorities, increasing suppression of free
speech, and prohibition on any political activity in Iran. He wrote that around
one thousand people have been executed in Iran in 2015 which is the highest
number in the past 10 years. According to this report, “At least 73 juvenile
offenders were reportedly executed between 2005 and 2015, and the number of
juvenile offenders reportedly executed in 2014-15 was actually higher than at
any time during the past five years.”
Zarif is the representative of a regime that has immersed the region in war and
crisis through warmongering, export of terrorism, and extremism. On May 13, he
described Mostafa Badreddin, a senior commander of the terrorist group
Hezbollah, as “a great and tireless man” and “full of love and emotion and epic
in defense of the just ideals of Islam” although Badreddin had been indicted by
the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon for his participation in the
assassination of Rafiq Hariri, former Prime Minister of Lebanon. In January
2014, Zarif paid his respects to Imad Mughniyah, former commander of Hezbollah,
by placing a wreath on his grave.
Zarif ought to face justice for crimes against humanity and war crimes as a
senior representative of the most brutal dictatorship after the Second World War
for three decades. Three years after Rouhani’s presidency, it is once again
proven that moderation by the clerical regime is only a mirage and the empty
propaganda about moderation of factions within this regime is solely meant to
justify trade with this regime.
The only outcome of establishing relations and conducting trade with this regime
and receiving its leaders is to embolden it to intensify its suppression and
export of terrorism. Relations with the Iranian regime should be made contingent
on a halt to executions and an end to export of terrorism and warmongering. This
is the demand of the Iranian people and an imperative for peace and to fight
terrorism in the region and the world.
27 stores sealed by the Iran regime in Hamadan
Monday, 13 June 2016/NCRI - The mullahs' regime in Iran in a further repressive
measure and under the pretext of re-organizing trade unions has shut down 27
shops in Hamadan, west of Tehran. Ahmad Rahimi, the head of the regime's
so-called public security police in Hamadan, claimed that there is a plan
underway to monitor trade unions in order to prevent "trade-related crimes" and
to promote "moral and social security" as well as a "sustainable security." The
suppressive state security forces (police) are currently implementing the plan.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on
June 13-14/16
Following LGBT
attack, Muslims must unite and say: You are not alone, Florida!
Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/June 13/16
It certainly felt like I was back in the Middle East when I woke up yesterday in
Washington DC to the dreadful news of the Florida nightclub shooting. After all,
when one arrives in America, they expect to escape awful headlines of bigotry,
discrimination and hatred. Yet, the United States bleeds sometimes… just like
the rest of us! Although it is geographically far from the complexities of the
Middle East, yesterday’s atrocity has proven – just like 9/11 did 15 years ago –
that terrorist ideologies know no boundaries. Before I carry on, I must express
my sincere condolences to all my American friends, and to members of the LGBT
community who have lost loved ones and family members in this horrendous attack.
However, while Muslims in the US and around the world as well as the Saudi
ambassador to Washington were quick to condemn this act of terrorism, all that
one can tell Americans is that they are not alone in this fight.
I must express my sincere condolences to all my American friends, and to members
of the LGBT community who lost loved ones and family members
Terror knows no boundaries!
Just yesterday, a bomb – linked to Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah –
exploded in a heavily-populated civilian area in Beirut. Upon hearing the news
and just like the late Eddie Justice, who sent his mother Mina a heart-breaking
text message right before he was killed in Florida, I feverishly reached out to
my mom (who resides near the explosion site in the heart of the Lebanese
capital) to make sure she is alright. Luckily, no causalities were reported in
Beirut but I still grieve for those who lost loved ones in Orlando, New York,
Paris, London, Madrid, Riyadh, Baghdad, Amman, Cairo, Bali… to name a few cities
that suffered at the hands of terrorists in recent years. What we should
certainly remember is that before the attack on the gay nightclub in Orlando,
ISIS-affiliated terrorists also attacked worshipers praying in mosques in Saudi
Arabia!Yesterday’s atrocity has proven – just like 9/11 did fifteen years ago –
that terrorist ideologies know no boundaries. What this means is that the good
news (in the worst sense of “good”) is that no particular group is targeted
individually; the bad news is that we are ALL targets of the evil and absurdity
of clans such as ISIS.
Indeed, all one could say on such a sad occasion is that there can be no
justification for acts of madmen. Whether he turns out to have been directed by
the likes of ISIS, Hezbollah or not, Omar Mateen, the shooter identified in
Florida attack - certainly displayed early signs of being unstable and had been
interviewed by the US authorities (Which raises questions as to how he was able
to buy a gun).
Mateen is certainly no different (perhaps except in color and religious beliefs)
than other terrorists, such the 1995 Oklahoma bombing’s Timothy McVeigh or the
1996 Olympic Park bombing’s Eric Rudolph As such, Mateen is certainly no
different (perhaps except in color and religious beliefs) than other terrorists,
such the 1995 Oklahoma bombing’s Timothy McVeigh or the 1996 Olympic Park
bombing’s Eric Rudolph who was convicted for anti-gay and anti-abortion attacks
in the US. In light of the rise of Islamophobia, presidential candidates who
exploit the politics of fear and recent official revelations by the CIA on the
strategic importance of US-Saudi coordination in the fight against terror, let
us make sure that the perpetrators of the Florida attack don’t succeed in their
aim of planting fear and hatred.
If anything we – as aspirers of stability, peace and prosperity – should now
stand together, perhaps more united than ever!
Saudi deputy crown prince
sets new tone in US ties
Andrew Bowen/Al Arabiya/June 13/16
This piece is part of our special coverage on Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman's visit to the United States this week. The challenges facing Saudi
Arabia and the US in the final seven months of President Obama’s term are
numerous and challenging. The fight against ISIS will likely outlast Obama’s
term. As the Levant is further torn asunder, President Bashar al-Assad’s reign
of terror grinds onwards with Washington more focused on ISIS than Assad.
Meanwhile, Baghdad’s attempts to retake ISIS held territory has been bedeviled
by internal domestic tensions and questionable military effectiveness. Also,
Iran has used its post-nuclear deal moment to aggressively double-down in the
region and consolidate its gains. Moscow’s push last September to save President
Assad’s regime further complicated the dynamics. And so, Saudi Deputy Crown
Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s visit this week to the United States comes at a
critical and simmering moment of domestic discontent. Donald Trump, the
presumptive Republican front-runner, has openly called for a ban of Muslims
entering the US and a complete rupture of the principles that underpinned the
US’s engagement in the Middle East. At a time when challenges in the region from
Iran to Syria require deep partnership, the hostile mood in the American
political space leaves a narrower space to strengthen this relationship. While
President Obama has cultivated and sold his own re-balancing away from the
Middle East, America’s raging populism, which is questioning everything from
free trade to Israel, is a more virulent and dangerous for America’s global
position.
A new partnership
Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit marks an opportunity to invest new
perspective and energy to this partnership. Unveiled last week, the National
Transformation Program (the first of a number of programs launched under Vision
2030) is the most significant set of economic reforms in Saudi Arabia since the
1970s. Interlinked within this ambitious re-boot of the Saudi economy is the
bilateral economic partnership between the Kingdom and the US. The visit is
setting a new tone: Saudi Arabia is more than just an energy heavyweight and
counter-terrorism bulwark in the region. Riyadh is positioning itself to become
an innovation hub and a substantial investor in the US and global economy. The
Saudi Public Investment Fund’s $3.5 billion investment in Uber is an opening
salvo in Riyadh’s new economic partnership with the US.
The security agenda
The Deputy Crown Prince’s planned visit to the White House is set to include a
meeting with high-level officials. While the kingdom’s energy policy will be
discussed, this meeting is an important opportunity to examine ways to deepen
Saudi-American cooperation on countering Iran’s regional behavior from Syria to
Yemen. Even though the Camp David summit in Riyadh focused on these areas, this
bilateral dialogue a month before Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s GCC defense
ministers meeting in Washington is an opportunity to do a progress check. The
visit is setting a new tone: Saudi Arabia is more than just an energy
heavyweight and counter-terrorism bulwark in the region. While the White House
will likely focus on cooperation in pushing back ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the
meeting is an opportunity to examine how to more effectively push forward a
political settlement in Syria.Yemen is expected to be also discussed, including
the humanitarian dimensions of the conflict. Washington will push for more
safeguards in place to prevent civilian casualties. The cumbersome Kuwait peace
process will also be a focus of the conversation.
Final months
The Deputy Crown Prince’s visit will begin to lay the groundwork for a more
diversified public and private sector relationship between the Kingdom and the
US. The more this kind of engagement (including outside of Washington) is
achieved, as Vision 2030 is unveiled, the more both countries will create a new
space for a stronger relationship. 2016 then is a transformative year for Saudi
Arabia and the United States. November will resolve who will lead the US after
President Obama. Vision 2030 will begin to take root as the Kingdom under goes
it’s largest socio-economic transformation in almost a half-century. Hopefully,
when a new American president is inaugurated this upcoming January, Riyadh and
Washington will have space to build a new and more sustainable partnership.
Hillary Clinton and Donald
Trump won’t walk in Obama’s footsteps
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/June 13/16
It is still early to draw the features of the foreign policy of any of the
presumed candidates for the US presidency. However, it is possible to define
some broad outlines, especially since both the presumed Democratic candidate
Hillary Clinton and presumed Republican candidate Donald Trump are set to
diverge from the policies of the incumbent President Barack Obama, particularly
in the Middle East and the Gulf region. The isolationism of Donald Trump, for
one thing, will be different from Barack Obama’s version, although both men
agree on leaving Russian President Vladimir Putin in the driver’s seat when it
comes to our region. Both men are not fond of the Arab Gulf states, though Obama
is quite fond of Iran while Trump’s hatred for Muslims covers both Sunnis and
Shiites, and he could well repeal the nuclear deal with Iran. For her part,
Clinton’s positions suggest she intends to restore traditional relations with
the traditional allies of the US, without necessarily undoing the nuclear deal.
However, Clinton must realize Gulf confidence in her policies is shaky. She had
shown enthusiasm for the Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt. She rushed to help
overthrow Gaddafi, dragging Libya into a spiral of chaos, violence, and
terrorism. She turned her back on Syria when she could have pressured Obama to
rectify his misguided policies. In truth, this is exactly what Hillary Clinton
did in Iraq when Obama withdrew too early, leaving the country open to sectarian
war and dominance by Iran, to which his predecessor Bush had given Iraq on a
golden platter.
The wiser choice
Despite everything, Clinton will be the wiser and more rational choice compared
to Trump, when it comes to forging responsible and realistic relations with Gulf
leaders. One of the most important challenges for President Clinton would be
turning a new page in Arab-Iranian relations, given that continuing the policies
pursued by Obama and his administration would fuel Islamic sectarian extremism,
which could expand beyond the Arab and Islamic region to the United States
itself, having now reached European capitals. The approach to fighting ISIS and
similar groups under Clinton could change from those seen under Obama, who has
deliberately played the sectarian card to fuel Sunni-Shiite hostility, helping
unleash the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria and Iraq while claiming they
are a necessary partner needed to defeat ISIS. Hillary Clinton could choose to
suppress the sectarian fires, if that will be the strategic choice of the US
establishment. In truth, this will be the key question for the next US
president, one that will radically affect the future of the Arab region and
elsewhere. National security has calculations that go beyond the person of the
president, and it is usually drafted and defined for decades rather than 4 or 8
years
Intentionally or inadvertently, the Obama administration fundamentally
encouraged Iran to create militias such as the Popular Mobilization in Iraq and
Syria, to support the government of Haider al-Abadi and before him Nouri al-Maliki
in Baghdad, under the pretext of fighting ISIS, or to defend the Bashar al-Assad
regime remaining in power in Damascus.
The Obama administration effectively allowed Iranian-backed militias to weaken
and marginalize traditional armies, thus helping undermine the institutions of
Iraq and Syria in one of the most fragile and brittle phases in the two
countries’ history. This is how ISIS’s objective of destroying the Arab
countries converged with Iran’s plans with support from Washington. This is a
very dangerous equation, because it leads to a vicious cycle of vendetta between
Sunni and Shiite extremists – both of whom are no friends to the United States
or Western values. George W. Bush and Barack Obama converged in their desire to
confine the war on terror in Arab cities away from US cities. And perhaps they
succeeded through Bush’s war in Iraq and Obama’s non-war in Syria. But this is a
temporary recipe and a sedative with destructive effects in the end, not only
for the Islamic world, but also for the European and US homelands. Donald Trump,
based on what we know about his character, will be indifferent unless the threat
materializes on US soil. He will not be drawn into sympathy with NATO allies and
will barely blink if the killing machines in the Arab region carry on,
regardless of who kills or of who is being killed. He will not care even if
Tehran mobilizes militias as an alternative to national armies, and if Qassem
Soleimani, head of the Iranian Qods Force, becomes a hero for Shia Muslims
everywhere and not just Iran.
But, once again, the strategic decision concerning what is best for the US
interest will not be in the hands of the new president. National security has
calculations that go beyond the person of the president, and it is usually
drafted and defined for decades rather than 4 or 8 years. Accordingly, even
Donald Trump will have to abide by the dictates of the ruling military and
civilian establishment. The United States is not the Russian federation, where
Vladimir Putin’s powers go further than those of the institutions. Donald Trump
will not be able to become a strongman like Putin, no matter how arrogant he may
be, or good at negotiations and deal-making as he claims. His fickle, arbitrary,
and superficial positions and his arrogance vis-à-vis the US constitution and
the Republican Party are already affecting him.
The top leaders of the Republican Party are angry and determined to teach Trump
an important lesson: Adjust course and learn humility, or you will not get our
support. In other words, Trump is being threatened by his own camp today: don’t
force us to hurt you like you’ve hurt us. Don’t force us to secretly support
Hillary for president. Enough is enough. From now until mid-July, Donald Trump
might change and deliver speeches that are carefully written, instead of his
narcissistic improvisations that have marked his conduct throughout the
primaries. He might learn to listen and be humble. He might choose a team of
qualified advisers including on foreign policy. He might tone down his racism
against Muslims, Mexicans, and people of color. He might finally come to
understand the complexity of international relations. On the other hand, he
might instead bet on his popularity with those voters who have supported him as
he is, and determine that changing his discourse could damage him. He may stick
to Vladimir Putin as a possible partner, and might declare publicly that he
agrees with him that Bashar al-Assad should remain in power. Both men are loath
to radical Islam. Vladimir Putin decided to seek a strategic relationship with
Iran to suppress Sunnis by means of Shiites, playing the sectarian card just
like the Obama administration has done. The difference, however, is that Obama
backed the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and
Libya, believing Turkey’s was the ideal model for moderate Islamism. On the
other hand, Putin saw the rise of Islamists an existential threat, and sought to
challenge Obama in Syria. Donald Trump, for his part, is loath to Sunni
radicalism because of 9/11, but does not seem prepared to adopt Iran as a
partner as Putin and Obama have done.
Traditional alliances
Clearly, either Clinton or Trump – or others in the event of surprises – will
inherit tense relations with the Gulf and Saudi Arabia from Obama, who abandoned
traditional alliances with the Gulf states while appeasing Iran. The new
president will inherit Obama’s isolationism, and an American global drone war.
The wars raging in Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Iraq will spawn more Sunni and
Shiite radicalism, and ISIS will not be the only terror group that must be dealt
with. The faraway wars will remain far from US, Russian, and European cities. If
no major terror attack occurs on US soil, then yes, Obama could say his and
Bush’s policy has succeeded. But if terror strikes again, this will abort
Obama’s legacy, and Trump will benefit from the raging emotions that will
follow. Clinton will pay the price. Otherwise, the US will most likely not elect
Donald Trump as its next president. His temperament is costly, and he has proven
time and again how vulnerable he is to his overwhelming arrogance. Trump has
also made too many promises on the campaign trail, including fantastical and
silly promises, putting himself in a difficult position. Hillary Clinton has a
popularity and trust problem. Her mistakes in Libya and her email scandal are
also damaging. If the FBI issues a warrant against her for breaking the law,
this could lead her to lose the Democratic nomination. This outcome is something
the followers of her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders are betting on. The other
challenge she faces would be if Obama decides to go on the campaign trail to
support her. This could damage her, and she is keen to avoid the image that her
presidency would be a third Obama term. Perhaps Clinton is thanking her lucky
stars for Trump, the man who came out of nowhere to destroy the Republican Party
and set himself up as her buffoonish rival, making her appear that much serious.
Perhaps Trump, who has shocked everyone, will once again bring a shock on
November, as it is unwise to fully discount him from the race. All indications
today suggest Hillary Clinton will return to the White House as the first woman
in US history to become president. She is very familiar with that White House,
where she lived once as the first lady alongside her husband Bill Clinton for 8
years. But the race has not been decided yet, and the whole world is watching.
This article was first published in Al-Hayat on Jun. 10, 2016 and translated by
Karim Traboulsi.
Iraq battles shouldn’t
overshadow grave humanitarian needs
Fabio Forgione/Al Arabiya/June 13/16
As Iraqi security forces battle to retake Fallujah, in the western province of
Anbar, from the ISIS group, humanitarian needs in this newest hotspot and
elsewhere in the country are ever increasing. More and more, the ongoing
large-scale military campaigns as well as political factors are overshadowing
the pressing humanitarian needs of millions in Iraq. In Fallujah, 50,000 people
remain trapped in the city and are reportedly suffering from serious shortages
of food, water and medical supplies. Some of them leave all their belongings
behind and undertake hazardous journeys under snipers fire or make use of
rudimentary means to help them get across the Euphrates River to flee the
violence. The perilous journeys can last for days in order to avoid active
battle grounds around the outskirts of the city. Reports of people being shot
dead while attempting to reach safer realms are frequent. Those who make it
often end up in crammed camps for internally displaced populations (IDPs) and
makeshift tents. Those scenes have sadly become absolute normalcy in Iraq in the
past two years and the consequences on the population are heartrending. In
addition to decades of successive conflicts, internal political instability and
the severe economic crisis that have eroded Iraq’s fragile infrastructure and
crumbling services, the humanitarian crisis in the country is further magnified
by the war in neighboring Syria. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is working
across Iraq in 11 governorates providing basic healthcare, mental health support
and emergency preparedness to the most vulnerable populations in areas where
security is volatile close to the frontlines. Back in June 2014, ISIS overran
Iraq’s second largest city Mosul and Tikrit, abruptly forcing more than
1,000,000 Iraqis to flee their homes. Exactly two years later, more than
3,200,000 Iraqis remain internally displaced causing an increased strain on
already destitute host communities. Overall, 8,000,000 people in Iraq are in
dire need of humanitarian assistance. The alarming numbers are expected to
steadily increase with no end in sight to the armed conflict in Iraq. Military
campaigns are under way, relentlessly, in several parts of the country causing
massive destruction. Access to services has become a real challenge for entire
communities, host and displaced populations alike. The scars of the conflict are
evidently and progressively affecting the whole Iraqi society. The human
suffering is tremendous. In addition to decades of conflict, political
instability and severe economic crisis that have eroded Iraq’s fragile
infrastructure and crumbling services, its humanitarian crisis is further
magnified by the war in neighboring Syria Deplorably, the humanitarian crisis in
Iraq is highly neglected while political goals prevail and military operations
continue in full force. The humanitarian assistance delivered so far is largely
insufficient if compared to the magnitude of the needs present on the ground. In
several parts of the country basic infrastructure and medical facilities have
been badly damaged by the war, potable water is barely available and sanitation
conditions are extremely poor. This continuously exposes to high risks of
epidemics, such as cholera which already broke out once in November 2015 due to
poor hygiene conditions and inadequate sewage and water system.
The unbalance
However the unbalance between what is financially invested to sustain the
military operations and what is allocated to fund the required humanitarian
assistance is staggering. Efforts seem to be solely focused on the battles and
the need to crush ISIS. This fails to take into account the requirement of
ensuring that the Iraqi populations are adequately assisted, their sufferings
alleviated and, consequently and ultimately, the society unified. An
increasingly fragmented Iraq is therefore in the making. The response to the
humanitarian emergency in Iraq should be prioritised. People in need do not
necessarily have unhindered access to services. Thousands of displaced families
are scattered all over the country, very close to frontlines, in isolated
informal settlements and obliged to pass through checkpoints or tight security
screenings to be able to reach much needed aid. This represents a significant
deterrent for access to care: pregnant women do not feel comfortable to go to a
primary health care centre for their antenatal care visit or to a hospital to
deliver; patients with a chronic condition would rather not go to take their
monthly medicines. Urgent humanitarian assistance firmly requires to be provided
proportionally to the scope of the military operations. It is becoming
unstainable for humanitarian actors to cover ever-growing needs generated by the
ongoing military campaigns. Present resources and means simply cannot suffice.
While nowadays humanitarian efforts are orientated towards covering the most
acute needs of the families displaced from Fallujah, it is imperative to make
sure that basic assistance continue to be sufficiently provided to other
millions of people in need, equally vulnerable, in other parts of the country.
Christian Human Rights Activist Jailed in Turkey
Robert Jones/Gatestone Institute/June 13/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8239/sawo-oshana-ide
Assyrian human rights activist Sawo Oshana Ide, accused of "being a member of an
armed organization," has been jailed in Turkey since February 18. The indictment
does not mention which "armed organization."
The second trial will be held June 16. The international community must not
abandon him.
The Assyrian human rights activist Sawo Oshana Ide, accused of "being a member
of an armed organization," has been jailed in Turkey since February 18. The
indictment does not mention which "armed organization" Sawo belongs to.
According to Ide's lawyer, Erkan Metin, "He is abstractly accused of doing
research in accordance with the objectives of an organization and forming lists
about ammunition."
According to the Turkish penal code, it is a charge that can bring imprisonment
for five to ten years.
According to Assyria TV, "the Turkish security forces stormed the apartment of
Sawo Oshana Ide in Midyat, Turkey. The police took his computer and other notes.
Thereafter, Sawo and his wife were taken into interrogation. Today in the
afternoon, the police released Sawo's wife but he was arrested on charges of
collaborating with a terrorist organization."
The accusations are based on some photos and notes in his computer, Metin said.
"Some of the photos were taken at the election campaigns of the Assyrian MP,
Erol Dora, and the photos of the members of the Kurdish YPG members as well as
the photos of the commemoration of the death of Sakine Cansiz, a Kurdish
politician murdered in Paris.
"His notes include his report on the immigrant smuggling, his writings about the
Yazidis and Assyrians in Iraq, his research on Syria, his writings about his
visit with the Chaldean metropolitan bishop to the Kocanis Church in the city of
Hakkari, an outline drawing of a ruined church in Hakkari, as well as his notes
about the weapons stockpile of the Assyrian forces he received during his visit
in Iraq."
"Sawo was born and grew up in the village of Gorumlu, in the predominantly
Kurdish city of Sirnak," said his lawyer. "After members of his family, Hamdin
and Hikmet Simsek, were murdered, and after the pressures of the state
intensified in the region, his family fled. Sawo lived in France for about 30
years.
"The extrajudicial murder is now known to have been committed by the Turkish
colonel, Cemal Temizoz. The slain Kurdish lawyer, Tahir Elci, was the lawyer of
that trial."
"Sawo loves his people," added Metin, "and researched their problems...His
detention might aim to intimidate Assyrian rights advocates in Turkey."
He said that since the clashes in the southeastern region intensified after June
7, 2015, the pressures of the state's forces on Assyrians have been on the rise.
"There are about 25,000 Assyrians in Turkey. The fears and concerns of Assyrians
have skyrocketed in the face of the jihadist terror attacks against Assyrians in
the Middle East, the rise of the anti-secular policies across the country and
the policies of the AKP government that have paved the way for that."
The future seems grim for Assyrians in Turkey. But their past was never that
bright either. Assyrians in Turkey, like other minorities, have never been
allowed to live as equal, free citizens of the Turkish republic. They have
systematically been discriminated against due to their language, ethnicity and
religion. The 1915 genocide marked the peak of the Assyrian persecution in the
region.
"In the 1915 genocide," according to Tuma Celik, a historian and chief editor of
the newspaper Sabro (The Hope), "two thirds of Assyrians were exterminated. We
think that the decision of genocide included [all] Christians.... If the aim had
been to massacre the Armenians only, they [the assailants] would not have
attacked the places where Assyrians lived. For instance, there was not a single
Armenian in the town of Midyat. But Assyrians there were also slaughtered in an
organized manner."
Even after 101 years after the genocide, discrimination and pressures against
Assyrians, an ancient people of the region, continues unremittingly.
On April 1, for instance, Erol Dora, an Assyrian MP of the pro-Kurdish Peoples'
Democratic Party (HDP), tried to deliver a speech at the Turkish parliament to
mark the Assyrian Akitu day.
But the word "Akitu' used by Dora was censored in the registry of the parliament
and recorded as "X" -- another demonstration of the Turkish regime's ongoing
policy, ever since the establishment of the Turkish state in 1923, of the denial
of non-Turkish languages and cultures in Turkey, and even the use of non-Turkish
names. [1]
Assyrian human rights activist Sawo Oshana Ide (left) has been jailed in Turkey
since February, accused of "being a member of an armed organization." Erol Dora
(right), an Assyrian MP of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), was
censored when he tried to deliver a speech at the Turkish parliament to mark the
Assyrian Akitu day.
Kurdish leaders have been trying so hard to change the situation for the better
-- but only to end up in jail.
Abdullah Demirbas, the former mayor of the Sur district of the city of
Diyarbakir, introduced what he defined as "multi-linguistic municipality" to
Turkey, a state that does not very much tolerate the use of non-Turkish
languages.
He encouraged the use of Kurdish, Armenian, Zazaki, Arabic and Assyrian
languages in the municipal works. He added Kurdish, Armenian and Assyrian
languages first to the signboards at the entrance of the town, and then at the
entrance of the municipality. Due to these activities, he was not only arrested
and brought to court, but was also removed from his mayoral post in 2007 by the
Turkish state council.
Given the systematic mistreatment of Assyrians at the hands of Turkey, the
detention of Sawo Oshana Ide appears an extension of the anti-minority policies
of the Turkish government.
If you are a minority in Turkey, then you are most probably the target of the
Turkish regime. You are easy to oppress and exterminate. This has been the case
for at least the last hundred years under the Turkish republic.
The second trial of Sawo Oshana Ide will be held on June 16. "He has been put in
three prisons in 1.5 month until his first trial took place," said his lawyer.
"And he was not even brought to his first trial even though we had demanded it.
He attended the trial through videoconferencing. We really do not know what will
happen to Sawo from now on. "
The international community must not abandon him.
*Robert Jones, an expert on Turkey, is currently based in the UK.
[1] "Soon after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey," reported Human
Rights Watch (HRW), "its government embarked upon a radical program of
nation-building. Ethnic diversity was perceived as a danger to the integrity of
the state.... Those who refused often met with severe repression."
In 2011, for instance, Favlus Ay, an Assyrian citizen of Turkey, applied to a
local court in Midyat, which used to be an important center for Assyrians before
the 1915 genocide, to change his name to "Paulus Bartuma", which is an Assyrian
name. His application was rejected by Turkey's Constitutional Court, which cited
the importance of the "national" and "constitutional unity" of Turkish citizens
through their last names.
"In various areas of public life," writes the scholar Derya Bayir, "the use of
languages other than Turkish is still effectively prohibited in Turkey. "The
restrictions on party political literature, political campaigns and speeches,
local government activities including sponsorship of events and provision of
services, and controls on languages used by associations have not become
flexible." (Source: Bayir, D. Minorities and Nationalism in Turkish Law:
Routledge, 2013.)
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Orlando Shooting: Pickled in Hatred
Shoshana Bryen/Gatestone Institute/June 13/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8251/orlando-shooting
The terrorists are pickled in hatred that simply does not allow for the humanity
of "the other" and insists that individuals exist only as representations of
religions, objects, and social or political points of view.
The American homeland -- free speech, religious institutions, open inquiry in
academia, our military and our way of life -- is under attack.
America's blessing is a political system built on tolerance of "the other." Not
all of us, not all the time -- remember, we used to buy and sell our fellow
human beings -- but the principle to which we aspire is tolerance of "the
other."
But our national blind spot is not seeing that we share this lovely space with
people who want to kill us for the peculiar people we are.
It is a lot to process. Omar Mateen, the American-born son of Afghan parents,
murdered 50 people and wounded scores of others in a gay nightclub Sunday. The
first surprise is that it was not a surprise, especially to the FBI. Mateen was
the subject of investigations in 2013 and 2014. "He was a known quantity," a
source said. "He has been on the radar before." But Assistant Special Agent
Ronald Hopper told reporters, "Those interviews turned out to be inconclusive,
so there was nothing to keep the investigation going."
Omar Mateen's father probably wasn't terribly surprised. He told NBC News "that
his son became angry after seeing two men kissing a few months ago in Miami." He
speculated that could have triggered his decision to kill. "This has nothing to
do with religion," his father added.
President Obama was not exactly surprised, given, he said, the number of guns in
America. He called again for gun control and said there was, "no definitive
judgment on the precise motivations" of the terrorist.
Oh really?
President Obama's response might have been a surprise to local police, who,
according to CNN, received a 911 call from Mateen pledging his allegiance to
ISIS just before the attack. Whether he was actually with ISIS or not, the
Islamic State wasted no time blessing him as one of their own.
Omar Mateen (left), the American-born son of Afghan parents, murdered 50 people
and wounded scores of others in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on May 12,
2016. Mateen pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State just before the attack.
So where do Americans go with this?
First, pray for the victims and their families, and thank the first responders.
Second, do not bother trying to "explain" terrorists, or figure out their
"motivation." They are pickled in hatred that simply does not allow for the
humanity of "the other" and insists that individuals exist only as
representations of religions, objects, and social or political points of view.
There is no other way to explain Shalhevet Pass, a six-month old baby shot in
her stroller by a sniper, or Malki Roth murdered while eating pizza, or the
Fogel children murdered in their beds. There is also no other way to explain
shootings at Max Brenner in Tel Aviv or stabbings in Jerusalem; Hamas rockets
fired indiscriminately into Israeli towns; gay men thrown off buildings by ISIS
in Iraq or dragged behind motorcycles in Gaza; barrel bombs and chlorine gas
dropped on civilians by Assad's Syrian forces; the kidnapping and forcible
conversion to Islam of girls by Boko Haram; the sale of Yazidi women and girls
as sex slaves by ISIS; and the skinning alive of prisoners by the Taliban. They
are all of a piece.
Third, recognize that the same hatreds exist in our country. We imported them --
already pickled -- and we pickled some of them here. What Mateen's father said
was that seeing what he found unacceptable -- men kissing -- was enough to make
his son kill. Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, what do we need to do about people
willing to kill us under those circumstances?
The Heritage Foundation maintains an extremely useful timeline of terrorist
plots in the US. It includes the "shoe bomber" (2002), the "underwear bomber"
(2010), the Times Square bomber (2010), the Boston Marathon bombers (2013), and
the San Bernardino shooters (2015). But there's more. Here is sampling from a
Jewish Policy Center analysis:
[T]here were also plots against U.S. landmarks and institutions including the NY
Subway system (2005 & 09), Sears Tower (2006), the Brooklyn Bridge (2003), the
Long Island Railroad (2009), DC Metro (2010), the Federal Reserve in Manhattan
(2012), the Capitol (2011, 12 & 15), World Bank Headquarters (2005), JFK airport
(2009), the NY Stock Exchange (2004), and the GOP convention (2004).
There were plots against American service personnel, including military hit
lists (2010 & 15); Ft. Hood (2009); Ft. Riley (2015); Ft. Dix (2007) and Ft.
Myers (2011); recruiting stations in Arkansas (2009), Maryland (2011) and
Washington (2011); the Pentagon (2011); Quantico Marine Base (2009); National
Guard facilities (2005, 08 & 09); U.S. Marshals (2013); and the NYPD (2015).
There were plots against the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia (2011) and Pakistan
(2004), and the Israeli Embassy (2011).
There were assassination plots against Presidents Bush (2003) and Obama (2011).
There were regional attacks planned for a Chicago Bar (2012), NY and
Chicago-area synagogues (2009 & 10), an Oregon Christmas tree ceremony (2010),
the Wichita Airport (2014), a Canada-NY train (2013), a Dallas skyscraper
(2009), a Wyoming refinery (2006), the Florida Keys (2015), shopping centers in
Ohio (2003) and Illinois (2007), and the University of North Carolina (2006).
The Lackawanna (PA) Six (2002), the Lodi (CA) jihad training camp (2005), and
the VA Jihad Network (2003) operated along with smaller-scale plots in support
of al Qaeda (2002, 09 & 10).
The American homeland -- free speech, religious institutions, open inquiry in
academia, our military and our way of life -- is under attack.
America's blessing is a political system built on tolerance of "the other." Not
all of us, not all the time -- remember that we used to buy and sell our fellow
human beings -- but the principle to which we aspire is tolerance of "the
other." America's glory is men and women who run into danger while everyone else
is running out -- without regard for the particulars of who they are saving. It
was true on 9-11 and it was true this weekend in Orlando. But our national blind
spot is not seeing that we share this lovely space with people who want to kill
us for the peculiar people we are.
**Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of the Jewish Policy Center.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
A Month of
Islam in Britain: May 2016/Child Sex Grooming, Prison Brainwashing and "Allah
Knows Best"
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/June 13/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8250/islamization-britain-may-2016
"A Muslim man with way too many extremist links to be entirely coincidental is
now the Mayor of London. ... In a couple more decades Britain may well have its
first Muslim Prime Minister. ... Reality cannot argue with demographics, so the
realistic future for Britain is Islamic." — Paul Weston, British politician.
One-third of Muslim adults in Britain do not feel "part of British culture,"
according to a new report on British multiculturalism. Nearly half (47%) of
Muslims consider their Islamic faith to be the most important part of their
identity.
The government was accused of burying a report on prison extremism which warns
that staff have been reluctant to tackle Islamist behavior for fear of being
labelled "racist," according to the Sunday Times. Belmarsh, a maximum-security
prison in London, has become "like a jihadi training camp," according to
testimony from a former inmate. There are more than 12,000 Muslims in prisons
across England and Wales.
Former MP Ann Cryer suffered verbal abuse and was accused of "demonizing" the
Asian community when she began a campaign more than a decade ago to get the
authorities to tackle child sex grooming in Keighley.
"At the end of the assault, when Mr. Zimmerman was lying motionless and
defenseless on the floor of the ticket hall, the defendant crouched over him and
quite deliberately began to cut Mr. Zimmerman's throat with a knife blade." —
Prosecutor in the attempted murder trial of Somalia-born Muhiddin Mire, who
attacked a random stranger in the London Underground.
May 1. Mubashir Jamil, a 21-year-old man from Luton, was arrested on suspicion
of attempting to travel to Syria and engage in "violent jihad" with the Islamic
State. He was charged with "engaging in conduct in preparation for committing
acts of terrorism."
May 2. A senior British jihadi who boasted of recruiting hundreds of Britons for
the Islamic State was killed in a drone strike in Syria, according to the
Independent. Raphael Hostey, also known as Abu Qaqa al-Britani, left Manchester
to join the Islamic State in 2013. The 23-year-old graphic designer became a key
recruiter of British fighters and jihadi brides for the terror group and was
also heavily involved in its propaganda. At least 700 people from the UK have
travelled to support or fight for jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria.
May 4. The "Department of Theology" of the Blackburn Muslim Association ruled
that it is "not permissible" for a woman to travel more than 48 miles — deemed
to be the equivalent of three days walk — without her husband or a close male
relative. The group also ruled that men must grow beards and women must cover
their faces. The rulings were accompanied by the catchphrase: "Allah knows
best."
May 7. Labour Party politician Sadiq Khan was sworn in as mayor of London. He is
the first Muslim to lead a major European capital. During the election campaign,
Khan faced a steady stream of allegations about his past dealings with Muslim
extremists and anti-Semites.
British politician Paul Weston warned that Khan's rise is a harbinger of things
to come:
"The previously unthinkable has become the present reality. A Muslim man with
way too many extremist links to be entirely coincidental is now the Mayor of
London. ... In a couple more decades Britain may well have its first Muslim
Prime Minister. ... Reality cannot argue with demographics, so the realistic
future for Britain is Islamic."
May 7. Mohammed Shaheen, a 43-year-old father of seven, was sentenced to 16
years in prison for raping underage schoolgirls. Shaheen, an immigrant from
Pakistan, told the court he was a devout Muslim who had been framed by his
victims. Judge Martin Steiger QC said: "He masqueraded as religious when all
along he was behaving in this hypocritical way."
May 8. The Times reported that Britain's biggest Muslim charity will brand
hundreds of buses around the country during Ramadan with a slogan proclaiming
glory to Allah. The initiative by Islamic Relief, a government-backed
organization, is an attempt to "break down barriers" and portray Islam in a
positive light. Islamic Relief has paid for hundreds of buses in Birmingham,
Bradford Leicester, London and Manchester to carry advertisements with the
slogan "Subhan Allah," which means "Glory be to Allah" in Arabic.
May 8. Six Algerian terror suspects with links to al-Qaeda were allowed to stay
in Britain after winning a protracted legal battle. The Special Immigration
Appeals Commission (SIAC) ruled that there was a "real risk" the men would be
tortured by the Algerian security services if they were deported. This would
have violated Article 3 of the Human Rights Act, which guards against "torture
or degrading or inhuman treatment."
May 9. A Muslim man who was found guilty of threatening to behead a candidate of
the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) had his sentence overturned on
appeal. Aftab Ahmed, 45, had been found guilty of making threats to kill David
Robinson-Young, but a Newcastle Crown Court judge said he believed that Ahmed
did not intend to act on his threat.
May 10. The Greater Manchester Police (GMP) apologized for a counter-terrorism
exercise in which a mock suicide bomber shouted "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is the
Greatest). Eight hundred volunteers took part in the overnight drill to make it
as realistic as possible. Manchester peace activist Erinma Bell criticized the
use of a "Muslim terrorist." She said "a terrorist can be anyone" and "we need
to move away from stereotypes." A local Muslim leader, Syed Azhar Shah, said it
was "shocking to portray Muslims as terrorists" and accused the GMP of
"institutional racism." A statement released by GMP said:
"The scenario for this exercise is based on an attack by an extremist Daesh-style
organization and the scenario writers have centered the circumstances around
previous similar attacks of this nature, mirroring details of past events to
make the situation as real life as possible for all of those involved. However,
on reflection we acknowledge that it was unacceptable to use this religious
phrase immediately before the mock suicide bombing, which so vocally linked this
exercise with Islam. We recognize and apologize for the offense that this has
caused."
May 10. The trial began of three Muslims who plotted to behead British citizens
after being inspired by an Islamic State order "to kill civilians everywhere in
the West." The court heard that Haseeb Hamayoon, 29, Yousaf Syed, 20, and his
cousin Nadir Syed, 22, planned to carry out a terrorist atrocity after a fatwa
was issued by Islamic State spokesman Abu-Mohammad al-Adnani. Hamayoon, who has
a Pakistani passport, had bought a "Rambo First Blood II" hunting knife online
using his wife's bank account. British born Nadir Syed had stored images of Lee
Rigby's killers, and the three men had allegedly shared images of beheadings.
May 11. Prime Minister David Cameron apologized to Suliman Gani, a Muslim
extremist, for saying he is a supporter of the Islamic State. Gani said
accusations that he backs the Islamic State are defamatory and must be
retracted. In a statement, Cameron said he was referring to reports that Gani
supports "an" Islamic state rather than "the" Islamic State. The Muslim Council
of Britain called on Cameron to repeat his apology in Parliament, and for an
"urgent review" of Islamophobia in the Conservative party.
May 15. The BBC's religious output is too Christian, an internal review
concluded. A report by Aaqil Ahmed, the BBC's head of religion and ethics,
argued that that Muslim, Hindu and Sikh faiths should get more airtime. One
Muslim leader suggested the review could lead to Friday prayers from a mosque
being broadcast in the same way that Christian church services currently feature
in the BBC's programming. Ahmed's appointment to the BBC in 2009 was
controversial because of allegations he had shown a pro-Islam bias in his
previous role at Channel 4, according to the Telegraph.
May 16. The government confirmed that Sharia-compliant student loans will be
offered for the first time in Britain as part of an effort to boost the number
of young Muslims applying to university. The new halal (permitted or lawful)
finance model complies with Sharia law, which forbids Muslims from taking out
loans on which they would be charged interest. In a white paper, the government
said:
"We will introduce an alternative finance system to support the participation of
students who, for religious reasons, might feel unable to take on
interest-bearing loans.... To ensure participation and choice are open to all,
we plan to legislate for the creation of an alternative model of student
finance."
May 17. One-third of Muslim adults in Britain do not feel "part of British
culture," according to a new report on British multiculturalism. Nearly half
(47%) of Muslims consider their Islamic faith to be the most important part of
their identity. Only half (54%) of British adults believe there are a set of
values that all nationalities and religions in Britain can agree upon in the
future.
May 17. Belmarsh, a maximum-security prison in London, has become "like a jihadi
training camp," according to testimony from a former inmate. Now a
whistleblower, the former inmate said that a group of jihadists who call
themselves "the Brothers," or "the Akhi" (Arabic for brother), have gained
control of the prison, where many convicted terrorists and terror-related
offenders mix freely with ordinary prisoners. "The problem is that Belmarsh is
also a holding prison and so young people who are brainwashed and indoctrinated
then go out into the wider prison system and create wider Akhi networks." In the
five years to December 31, 2014, the number of Muslim inmates at Belmarsh has
more than doubled to 265, or 30% of the total prisoners.
May 17. A Muslim convert who was arrested for a plot to behead a British soldier
had his sentence reduced. Brusthom Ziamani, 20, was arrested in east London; he
was carrying a 12-inch knife, a hammer and an Islamic flag. At his trial, the
court was told that he had researched the location of Army bases in London and
had shown his ex-girlfriend weapons, described Lee Rigby's killer, Michael
Adebolajo, as a "legend" and told her he would "kill soldiers." The judges
reviewing his sentence said: "Given his youth, we consider that the custodial
part of the sentence, namely 22 years, was too long." Instead they gave him 19
years.
May 18. Ofsted, the official government agency responsible for inspecting and
regulating British schools, admitted that it failed properly to inspect a school
run by the Deobandis, a conservative Muslim sect, because the inspector was
"prohibited" from talking to pupils or staff. The inspector's report into child
safety at the private Zakaria Muslim Girls' High School in Batley said that
celebrations for the Islamic festival of Eid meant he could only speak to senior
managers. After Sky News reported on the issue, Ofsted said it was taking
"appropriate action" against the inspector concerned and has re-inspected the
school, which teaches 149 girls aged 11 to 16. Deobandis, many of whom are said
to shun non-Muslims, are thought to control around half of Britain's private
Islamic schools.
May 18. The Queen's Speech, setting out the government's program for the next
session of parliament, unveiled a controversial new counter-extremism bill that
includes powers to gag individuals and ban organizations deemed as extremist.
The bill does not, however, include a definition of extremism. Until now the
main focus of British policy has been to prevent violent extremism. Simon Cole,
the police lead for the government's Prevent anti-radicalization program, said
that the proposals targeting alleged extremists are not enforceable and risk
creating "thought police" in Britain by making police officers judges of "what
people can and cannot say."
May 18. A Muslim man who was arrested after giving police a false name filed a
lawsuit against the City of London Police for discrimination. Akmal Afzal, 23,
claims he was arrested at the 2012 Olympics because he was an "Asian man with a
beard." Afzal, a Briton of Pakistani descent, was released without charge but is
suing for false imprisonment, assault and discrimination. His lawyer said: "His
position is he did nothing wrong and he says the reason he was treated in the
way he was relates to his ethnic origin and/or his religion."
May 22. The government was accused of burying a report on prison extremism which
warns that staff have been reluctant to tackle Islamist behavior for fear of
being labelled "racist," according to the Sunday Times. The independent review,
commissioned by Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove, says that Islamist
inmates have exploited the "sensitivity to racism" among prison staff by making
false complaints that they are victims of discrimination. The review recommended
the creation of "specially designated units" in high-security prisons to house
the most "dangerous, extreme and subversive" Islamists. There are more than
12,000 Muslims in prisons across England and Wales, according to the latest
figures.
May 23. British and American intelligence services identified 27-year-old El
Shafee Elsheikh as the fourth member of the Islamic State execution cell
responsible for beheading 27 hostages. The four guards, led by "Jihadi John,"
were nicknamed the "Beatles" because of their English accents. Elsheikh, who was
granted asylum in Britain when he was seven, left for Syria in 2012 after being
radicalized in just 17 days after attending mosques in London.
May 23. A British Muslim woman who wanted raise her children in the Islamic
State in Syria was jailed for two and a half years. Lorna Moore, 34, who failed
to tell authorities that her husband, Sajid Aslam, 34, had left for Syria, was
planning to take her three young children, one of them 11 months old, to the war
zone. During sentencing at the Old Bailey, Judge Charles Wide said Moore, a
Muslim convert from Walsall, West Midlands, "knew perfectly well of [her]
husband's dedication to terrorism."
May 23. A survey conducted by ComRes on behalf of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK
found that 33% of British adults believe that Islam promotes violence in the UK.
The study also found that 56% of Britons disagree with the view that Islam is
compatible with British values.
May 24. The BBC reported that a National Health Service (NHS) doctor who spent
seven years working in Britain left his wife and two children in Sheffield to
join the Islamic State. Issam Abuanza, 37, a Palestinian doctor with British
citizenship, is the first practicing NHS doctor known to have joined the Islamic
State.
May 25. Police in West Yorkshire revealed that they are currently investigating
220 alleged cases of child sex grooming in Keighley and Bradford. The cases
involve 261 suspects and 188 victims. The revelation came after Keighley's
former MP, Ann Cryer, called for the perpetrators of the crimes to be brought to
justice. Cryer suffered verbal abuse and was accused of "demonizing" the Asian
community when she began a campaign more than a decade ago to get the
authorities to tackle child sex grooming in Keighley.
May 25. A Nigerian man launched an appeal against a decision by the Home Office
to strip him of his British nationality. The man, known only as L2 for legal
reasons, is directly associated with close friends of Michael Adebolajo, who
murdered Lee Rigby in London in May 2013, and Mohammed Emwazi, or "Jihadi John."
L2 was deemed such a national security threat that Home Secretary Theresa May
personally signed an order removing his British nationality in 2013.
May 26. Home Secretary Theresa May established an independent review into the
"misuse" of Sharia law in Britain. The inquiry will examine if Sharia ideas are
being "misused or exploited" to discriminate against women. The review will not,
however, examine whether Sharia law itself is discriminatory against women. A
Home Office statement said: "It will not be a review of the totality of Sharia
law, which is a source of guidance for many Muslims in the UK." According to
May, many British people "benefit a great deal" from Sharia teaching.
Baroness Cox, who has spearheaded a parliamentary drive to rein in unofficial
Sharia courts in Britain, said:
"My reservation is that it won't get to the root of the problem. ... a lot of
Muslim women I know say that the men in their communities just laugh at this
proposed investigation, that they will go underground so the investigation will
have to be very robust.
"But the aspects which are causing such concerns — such as that a man can
divorce his wife by saying 'I divorce you' three times — that is inherent; the
right to 'chastise' women is inherent; polygamy is inherent. I don't think those
things are a distortion of Sharia law. These are aspects of Sharia law which are
unacceptable."
May 27. A British citizen who plotted to carry out a suicide bomb attack at
Heathrow Airport was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Minh Quang Pham, 33, was
sentenced in New York for travelling to Yemen to train with members of al-Qaeda
in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Pham pled guilty to three counts of
terrorist-related activity based on his support for the group, but denied he
intended to carry out his plot and no attack ever occurred. Pham, a Vietnamese
born British convert to Islam, was first arrested in Britain in June 2012 and
was extradited to the U.S. in February 2015.
May 29. Music festivals, big sports venues and nightclubs have been placed on
"high alert" for potential jihadist attacks, according to a senior
anti-terrorism officer interviewed by the Sunday Times. Neil Basu, the deputy
assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said that crowded places —
including Glastonbury, billed as the world's largest music festival, which will
draw 135,000 people to Somerset from June 22 to 26 — are a major concern for
police this summer. Basu warned: "These people are perfectly happy to target
civilians with the maximum terror impact. Crowded places were always a concern
for us, but now they are right at the top of the agenda."
May 31. The trial began of a Muslim man who tried to decapitate a random
stranger in the London Underground. Somalia-born Muhiddin Mire, 30, attacked
musician Lyle Zimmerman, 56, at Leytonstone Underground station on December 5
with a knife while yelling, "This is for my Syrian brothers; I am going to spill
your blood." The jury was told that after the attack, police found images of
Islamic State hostages having their throats cut on Mire's cellphone. The
prosecutor said:
"At the end of the assault, when Mr. Zimmerman was lying motionless and
defenseless on the floor of the ticket hall, the defendant crouched over him and
quite deliberately began to cut Mr. Zimmerman's throat with a knife blade.
Mercifully, Mr. Zimmerman survived the ordeal because, although he suffered
three jagged wounds to the front of his neck, none of them caused any damage to
any of the major blood vessels in that area."
Left: Muhiddin Mire, a Somalia-born Muslim, tried to behead musician Lyle
Zimmerman at a London Underground station with a knife while yelling "this is
for my Syrian brothers." Right: Belmarsh maximum-security prison in London has
become "like a jihadi training camp," according to testimony from a former
inmate.
**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. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.