LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 19/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.june19.16.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
Whoever gives
even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple
truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10/40-42/11,01/:"‘Whoever
welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s
reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous
person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of
cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple truly I tell
you, none of these will lose their reward.’Now when Jesus had finished
instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim
his message in their cities."
The disciples determined that
according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in
Judea
Acts of the Apostles 11/19-30/:"Now those who were scattered because of the
persecution that took place over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus,
and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews. But among them were
some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists
also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great
number became believers and turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of
the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw
the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to
the Lord with steadfast devotion; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit
and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas
went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to
Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they associated with the church and
taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first
called ‘Christians’. At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would
be a severe famine over all the world; and this took place during the reign of
Claudius. The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would
send relief to the believers living in Judea; this they did, sending it to the
elders by Barnabas and Saul."
Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
More than a scientific question, the universe is a joyful mystery that speaks of
God’s boundless love for us.
L’univers est quelque chose de plus qu’une question scientifique, c’est un
mystère glorieux, un langage de l’amour de Dieu pour nous.
الكون هو أكثر من مجرّد مسألة، إنه سرُّ فَرِح، إنه لغة محبّة الله لنا.
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on June 18-19/16
Fathers’ Day: The Holy Gift Of Fatherhood/Elias Bejjani/June 19/16
The
Third Republic: Lebanon the Resistance State/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Now
Lebanon/June 18/16
Egyptian Court sentences Morsi to 40 years; others sentenced to death/Roi Kais,
AP/Ynetnews/June 18/16
Barak and Ya'alon are not the only ones worried/Nahum Barnea/Ynetnews/June 18/16
Is the Arab Peace Initiative back on the table/Linda Gradstein/The Media
Line/Jerusalem Post/June 18/16
Russian, Iranian and Assad camps lose interest in diplomacy/Maria Dubovikova/Al
Arabiya/June 18/16/
US-Saudi tech, security and economic ties get a reboot/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al
Arabiya/June 18/16/
Road to GES: Engaging entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa/Ziad
Haider/Al Arabiya/June 18/16/
Saudi Arabia: We are all brothers and Muslims/Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/June
18/16/
Happiness is still ground for punishment in Iran, writes Mark Williams MP/NCRI
Iran News/June 18/16
A Month of Islam in Germany: May 2016/Sharia Police, Erdogan Burgers, More Mass
Rapes/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/June 18/16
Vision or Mirage? Saudi Arabia's Ambitious Economic Plans/Simon Henderson/The
Washington Institute/June 18/16
Egypt's Costly Nuclear Project/Eric Trager/The Washington Institute/June 18/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
June 18-19/16
Fathers’ Day: The Holy Gift Of
Fatherhood
France trying to end Lebanon presidential vacuum
Report: International-French Deliberations to End Presidential Vacuum
Hizbullah Negates Clashes with Syrian Army
Hariri: Banks Apply International Financial Regulations Approved by Parliament
ISF First Adjutant Killed in Akkar Shooting
General Security Arrests Two Suspects Involved in Abra Battles
Hezbollah to join upcoming east Syria offensive: report
Marouni: Kataeb Ministers' resignation is final and binding
Hariri holds 'Iftar' attended by various ambassadors
Berri meets French Ambassador, Charbel
Ambassador of Sweden visits Nabatiyeh Serail: Nothing definitive on expelling
Lebanese from Sweden
Gunmen murder Maqneh man at point blank
We Want to Hold You Accountable activists begin gathering in front of Verdun's
Central Inspection building
The Third Republic: Lebanon the Resistance State
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
June 18-19/16
Former Israel Mossad director,Tamir Pardo joins anti-Iran organization
Assad meets with Russian defense minister
ISIS mounts fierce defense of besieged Syrian bastion
Russia slammed for striking Syrian rebels
Belgium arrests 12 suspected of planning attacks
Man charged in France over plan to attack tourists
Man who fired at mosque after Paris attacks jailed
Countries must do more to help Greece with migrant crisis: UN chief
Saudi deputy crown prince meets heads of US military companies
Obama says easy access to weapons ‘unconscionable’
US investigators interview member of mosque attended by Orlando gunman
Official refuses to lower flags to half-mast in honor of Orlando massacre
US Democrats’ new line on gun control: Do it for national security
Mursi sentenced to life on espionage charges
Yemen foes swap prisoners in Taez battleground
3 International Space Station astronauts land in Kazakhstan
Seven decapitated bodies found on home turf of Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’
Death to traitors,’ MP Jo Cox murder suspect says
Putin: Cameron holding Brexit vote ‘to blackmail’ Europe
Iran: Ongoing executions, torture and floggings in holy month of Ramadan
U.S. lawmakers concerned about potential sale of Boeing planes to Iran regime
IRAN: Municipal workers protest in Ahwaz
Shopkeepers in Tehran fight back regime’s ‘morality police’
Metal factory workers go on strike north-west of Iran capital
IRAN: Residents of Sohanak and Morad-Abad rally in front of Ministry of Roads
Egyptian Court sentences Morsi to 40 years; others sentenced to death
Links From Jihad Watch Site for
June 18-19/16
Arkansas: FBI hunts for Muslim couple arrested for terror threats
— fled upon release, had weapons & ammo
Saudis funding 20% of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign
Muslims violently assault Radiohead listening party in Istanbul
Facebook bans gay magazine critical of Islam
FBI never even bothered to visit gun store after owner reported suspicious
behavior by Orlando jihadi
Muslim cleric: Women’s immodest clothing is causing rivers to run dry
President of Orlando jihadi’s mosque says he fears “retribution,” lies about
Mateen’s attendance there
Belgium: 12 Muslims arrested amid reports of jihad plot against soccer fans
Arkansas Muslim couple arrested for threatening waitress: “People like you are
the reason we kill”
Hamas-linked CAIR lawyer sits in as feds question member of Orlando jihad mass
murderer’s mosque
Why
Jihadists Kill “Gays”
Reading the Qur’an during Ramadan 14: Juz Rubama
June 18-19/16
Fathers’ Day: The Holy Gift Of
Fatherhood
Elias Bejjani/June 19/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/06/18/24347/
“Blessed indeed is the man who hears many
gentle voices call him father!” (Lydia M. Child, U.S. Author)
Canadians observe Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June. It is a day for
people to show their appreciation for fathers, grandfathers, godfathers and
fatherly figures. Father figures may include stepfathers, fathers-in-law,
guardians, foster parent, and family friends. Hopefully, all men will have the
blessed grace of being fathers. Being a father is a heavenly endowment, a great
satisfaction, and a fulfilling Godly obligation as the Holy Bible teaches us:
“Genesis 1:28 “God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill
the earth, and subdue it.”
Almighty God has blessed both parents, fathers and mothers and recommended that
they be honored, respected, cared for, and obeyed by their children. God’s fifth
commandment delineates this heavenly obligation and duty: “”Honor your father
and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which The Lord your God
gives you.” (Exodus 20:12 ).
God is our Holy Father, and we all, men and women, are His beloved children.
Fathers on Earth are God’s servants who are entrusted by Him to safeguard,
raise, embrace, support, provide and teach their children. Meanwhile fathers are
required to carry their holy duties in raising their children in the fear of
God, with the best of their knowledge, all their resource and means, full
devotion and with all required sacrifices.
Fathers are the cornerstone of their families upon which children depend, learn,
nurture, hold fast and shape their lives. Caring, devoted and righteous fathers
are always given a hand by God and blessed for their rearing and erection of
boundaries. Today we are celebrating “Fathers’ Day”, with all those who cherish
fathers, appreciate their sacrifices and honor their Godly role. Best wishes to
all fathers hoping they will be shown today all the due gratitude from their
sons and daughters. On this very special day our deceased fathers’ and mothers’
spirits are roaming around sharing with us our joy and happiness, God bless
their souls.
Attitudes of gratitude or ingratitude towards fathers on Fathers’ Day, are very
sensitive issues that affect and touch the hearts and minds of many people.
These two contradicting attitudes exhibit how much a person is either
appreciative or ungrateful. The majority of people hold on dear to their fathers
and do all that they can to always show them their great and deeply felt
gratitude, while sadly there are those odd ones out who show no gratitude,
abandon them and even at times endeavour to ruin their lives and inflict harm
and pain on them. By doing so and negating God’s commandments that stress an
utmost respect for parents, these people make themselves enemies of Christ
Himself. Definitely God will be angry about such condemned conduct. This
deviation from all human norms occur because of ignorance, selfishness, lack of
faith and hope. These people fall into temptation, become proud of what they
should be ashamed of, worship things that belong to this world and forget all
about “Judgment Day”.
Colossians 3/20: “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases
the Lord”.
Leviticus 20/09: “For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be
put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him”
Fathers no matter what must be loved, honored, dignified and respected. God
Himself is a Father and He will not bless those who deny their fathers’ heavenly
right of fatherhood and respect. In this context, Billy Graham says: “A good
father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most
valuable assets in our society.” The Holy Bible in tens of its verses warns and
puts on notice all those with callous hearts and numbed conscience who show no
gratitude to their fathers and break their hearts.
Isaiah 46:4: “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”
Even when fathers are abandoned by their children and denied their heavenly
rights, they never ever hold any grudges, feelings of hatred or hostility
against them. No matter what, fathers always wish their children health,
prosperity and success. One of our Lebanese deeply rooted sayings portray how
fathers constantly feel towards their ungrateful children: ” My heart beats for
my son no matter what, while my son’s heart is callous like a rock”. Many verses
in the Holy Bible overtly call on the children to treat their parents with love,
endurance, affection and utmost care. At the same time the Bible instructs
parents to value the Godly delegation to them to raise their children with all
means of righteous, protection and provision.
Proverbs 23/22: “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise
your mother when she is old”.
Ephesians 06/01-02: “Children, it is your Christian duty to obey your parents,
for this is the right thing to do. Respect your father and mother is the first
commandment that has a promise added: so that all may go well with you, and you
may live a long time in the land”.
Many grown-up men and women do not appreciate their parents’ sacrifices unless
they themselves have become parents. Back home in Lebanon where the family has
always been sacred, we have a saying that shows how important it is in the eyes
of the God that parents are always to be respected, honored and loved. “God will
not bless or facilitate the life of those who mistreat their parents and He will
reply to the parents’ wrath when they ask for punishment for their ungrateful
children”. Good, loving , faithful and God-fearing fathers know no hatred,
grudges or despair. They remain, always, hopeful and keep on praying to Almighty
God that their children, (grateful or ungrateful ) are constantly healthy,
prosperous, happy, and successful .
Philippians 04/04-07: “May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I
say it again: rejoice! Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is
coming soon. Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for
what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which
is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union
with Christ Jesus.”.
Happy Fathers’ Day to all Fathers.
France trying to end Lebanon
presidential vacuum
June 18, 2016/yalibnan/The Lebanese presidency will be discussed during separate
visits by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif and Deputy Crown Prince
of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman to France late in June, An Nahar daily
reported on Saturday. Paris,which began preparations for the visit of its
Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to Beirut on the tenth of July, is seeking to
further consultations with the regional and international powers to push towards
helping Lebanon out of the political impasse linked to disruption of the
election of a president for more than two years now, according to the daily. In
a somewhat related development Wiam Wahhab, a close ally of Syria and Hezbollah
told Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun that he has an
“authorization” from Hezbollah to negotiate with former Lebanese PM and Future
movement leader Saad Hariri over the latter’s possible return to the premiership
under the country’s next president. Aoun, Wahhab voiced his remarks after
visiting Aoun at his residence in Rabieh. “He is the only one who has this
authorization,” he stressed. Wahab accused Hariri of obstructing the election of
a president in Lebanon . The Lebanese parliament failed again earlier this month
and for the 40th time in a row to elect a president to replace Michel Suleiman
whose term ended on May 25 , 2014. As in the past sessions the parliament was
unable to reach a quorum because the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group and
its ally MP Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc MPs boycotted the session,
because they could not reportedly guarantee Aoun’s election as a president.
Speaker Nabih Berri a key ally of Hezbollah postponed the election to June 23.
Marada Movement leader Suleiman Frangieh, who was tipped by Hariri to run for
office, also abstained from attending the session to conform with the stance of
his March 8 allies.The presidential race is pitting Frangieh against Aoun, who
is backed by Hezbollah, some March 8 allies and Lebanese Forces leader Samir
Geagea. Berri and MP Walid Jumblatt also back Frangieh’s presidential bid, along
with some March 14 allies and independent lawmakers.One analyst ridiculed
Wahhab’s mediation effort. “Lebanon is not Iran”, he told Ya Libnan , adding
“and Nasralllah is not Lebanon’s supreme leader “
Report: International-French
Deliberations to End Presidential Vacuum
Naharnet/June 18/16/The Lebanese file will be discussed during separate visits
of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif and Deputy Crown Prince of
Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman to France late in June, An Nahar daily reported
on Saturday. The Lebanese and Syrian file will top the agenda of the diplomats
during visits that will kick off starting June 26, added the daily.Paris,which
began preparations for the visit of its Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to
Beirut on the tenth of July, is seeking to further consultations with the
regional and international powers to push towards helping Lebanon out of the
political impasse linked to disruption of the election of a president for more
than two years now, according to the daily. Lebanon has been in a state of
presidential vacuum since the term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May
2014.Conflicts between the rival March 8 and March 14 alliances have thwarted
all attempts to elect a successor, with the parliament failing to convene over
lack of the constitutional required quorum.
Hizbullah Negates Clashes with Syrian Army
Naharnet/June 18/16/Hizbullah slammed as “lies” all media reports that alleged
that clashes erupted between fighters of the party and the Syrian army in the
Syrian province of Aleppo lately, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.
“A number of local and Arab media outlets launched a series of lies in the past
few days on the field situation in Syria, alleging that clashes erupted between
Hizbullah and the Syrian army on one hand and between Hizbullah and allied
factions on the other. We strongly denounce these allegations and lies,” said a
Hizbullah statement issued on Saturday. “We deny these allegations that are
spread by a propaganda machine that is used to falsehood, twist the truth and
launch misleading campaigns. It is linked with local and Arab intelligence
apparatuses that aim to raise the wretched morale of groups associated with
America, Israel and the takfiri paraphernalia,” it added.On Friday, the Saudi
daily Asharq al-Awsat reported that verbal disputes between Hizbullah and its
ally the Syrian army escalated into unprecedented fierce clashes in the past two
days in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo. “Several fighters from both
sides were killed, amid reports that groups of Hizbullah fighters were bombed by
regime warplanes,” said the daily. A Syrian opposition source noted that “it is
not the first time that the two allies engage in clashes,” the Syrian
opposition's National Coalition official Samir Nashar told the newspaper that
“the fighting resulted from an exchange of sectarian insults and mutual
accusations of betrayal on the battlefield.” Another National Coalition source
told Asharq al-Awsat that “the disputes between the two sides are not new.”The
Hizbullah statement concluded that the “fighters that were killed in Aleppo and
other Syrian regions are martyrs as the result of direct violent clashes with
the terror and takfiri groups and not as claimed by the media.”Hizbullah's
intervention in the conflict alongside regime forces has helped Damascus achieve
several military victories and allowed the party to clear most of the
Lebanese-Syrian border region from rebels and jihadists. Since 2013, the
Lebanese, Iran-backed party has sent thousands of combatants -- between 5,000
and 6,000, according to the expert on Hizbullah Waddah Sharara -- to help the
regime fight both rebels and jihadists. They send 2,000 fighters at a time in
rotation, Sharara says. Experts say Hizbullah has lost 1,000 to 2,000 fighters
in the conflict, including senior commanders.
Hariri: Banks Apply
International Financial Regulations Approved by Parliament
Naharnet/June 18/16/Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri stated on
Friday that the Lebanese and its Shiite community are paying the price for
Hizbullah’s involvement in Syria, and assured that Lebanese banks are applying
international financial regulations that have been approved by the whole
parliament including Hizbullah MPs. “All of Lebanon, with all its regions and
communities, starting with the dear Shiite community, is paying unbearable
prices for options in which Lebanon, the Lebanese people and their state have no
say,” said Hariri at an Iftar he held in the Bekaa, in honor of families from
Zahle, Central Bekaa and Baalbek. “Lebanon suffers from the involvement of
Hizbullah, and not of Lebanon’s Shiites, in wars from which we only reap boycott
and sanctions, and which make us lose support for our legitimate institutions,”
he added. Referring to the U.S. financial sanctions against the party, he said:
“And now there is a real problem between Hizbullah, and not our Shiite brothers
like the party is trying to say, and an essential part of the international
community and the Arab community. The U.S. sanctions reflect an aspect of the
problem that has multiple faces also in the relationship with the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC).“The United States is holding accountable or punishing
Hizbullah, not our Shiite brothers, for security operations, and most European
countries included it on terrorism lists due to security operations attributed
to the party, not to our Shiite brothers.”“The same applies to Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar and other Arab countries,” he remarked. On
Hizbulah’s involvement in the Syrian war, Hariri stated: “Hizbullah does not
want to admit this fact and does not recognize that its security and military
policies are a big curse, the price of which is paid by thousands of young
people thrown on the battlefronts and hundreds of thousands of Lebanese whose
interests are threatened.”Commenting on the campaign that Hizbullah launched
against Lebanon’s banking sector and the blast that targeted the HQ of BLOM
Bank, Mustaqbal leader said: “Now the latest trend of Hizbullah is to attack the
last sector carrying the economy, which is the banking sector, and the Governor
of the Central Bank under the pretext that they are applying laws that they did
not even write but that they are obliged to abide by and that the Lebanese
Parliament committed to apply!
“Last year, when Parliament passed anti-laundering laws, it practically
committed to apply international financial regulations! These laws were approved
... unanimously even Hizbullah MPs voted for them. “If Hizbullah wants to open
an account in an Iranian bank, the demand will be rejected, because of these
same laws! Why haven’t we heard from Hizbullah an attack on the Iranian banks
and on the Central Bank of Iran? The problem resides in the laws that control
the global banking system, not in the Lebanese banks, and the problem resides in
Hizbullah and its action, not of the Shiite community, and anyone who says
otherwise would be lying!” Hariri blamed the party for hampering the election of
a President, he said: “The party has been blocking the quorum for two years in
every session to elect a president. Perhaps the current situation suits it. A
paralyzed state and doomed economy and no one able to take any decision to help
the citizens and improve their livelihood. And they come and say in the end that
the vacancy is Saad Hariri’s fault! Was I offered to choose between two
candidates: Samir Geagea and Amin Gemayel and I did not head to the parliament?
Do they want Dr Geagea? If they do, I would be the first to go to Parliament and
vote for him.”He assured that despite all of the above “We will remain patient,
we will continue to fight through politics, through words, through persuasion,
to prevent discord and extremism and prevent the vacancy from becoming a rule in
our state.”
ISF First Adjutant Killed in Akkar Shooting
Naharnet/June 18/16/An Internal Security Forces first adjutant was killed and
another person was injured Friday in a shooting in the northern Akkar district,
state-run National News Agency reported. “The body of ISF first adjutant B. H.
was transferred to the al-Kheir Hospital in the town of Minieh after he was shot
dead by a man called A. S. in the outskirts of the town of Jdeidet al-Qaytaa,”
NNA said. Another person, Abdullah A., was wounded in the hand and also
transferred to the al-Kheir Hospital, the agency added. Security forces have
since launched an investigation to unveil the circumstance of the incident, NNA
said. Earlier in the day, LBCI television said the shooter opened fire in
connection with “old personal disputes.
General Security Arrests Two
Suspects Involved in Abra Battles
Naharnet/June 18/16/The General Security arrested on Saturday two individuals, a
Lebanese and Syrian, on charges of having links to terror groups and for waging
attacks against the Lebanese army during the Abra battles in 2013, the state-run
National News Agency reported. “Based on the General Prosecution’s order to
follow up on sleeper terror cells, the General Security arrested Lebanese Kh.B.
on charges of having links to terror groups,” the General Security said in a
statement. “During the interrogations of the suspect he confessed to forming
sleeper cells in favor of terror groups and to providing them with weapons, in
collaboration with Syrian A.Kh. for the purpose of carrying out assaults on
Lebanese soil,” it added. He also confessed to fighting with militants against
the Lebanese army during the battles that took place in the Abra suburb of the
southern city of Sidon in 2013. The General Security has therefore raided and
arrested A.Kh. at his place of residence and confiscated military weapons in his
possession. The detainees were referred to the related judiciary and efforts
continue to arrest the rest of culprits. The armed supporters of Sheikh Ahmed
al-Asir, a firebrand anti-Hizbullah cleric, clashed with the Lebanese army in
Abra in June 2013 after they opened fire on a military checkpoint. The fighting
killed 18 Lebanese soldiers. Al-Asir, who had been on the run since the battles,
was arrested in August 2015 at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport while
trying to travel to Nigeria via Cairo with a fake Palestinian passport.
Hezbollah to join upcoming
east Syria offensive: report
Now Lebanon/June 18/16/Al-Akhbar reported that Iran, Russia and Syria are
preparing a “very big battle in the Deir Ezzor."
BEIRUT – Hezbollah is set to play a “central role” in an upcoming offensive in
Deir Ezzor to relieve Syrian army troops besieged in the capital of the
province, according to a Lebanese daily with an editorial line supportive of the
party. Al-Akhbar’s editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin wrote Friday that Iran,
Russia and Syria have agreed on a “large action plan” for a “very big battle in
the Deir Ezzor” province in which Hezbollah will play a “central role.”“Perhaps
the forces of [Hezbollah] will face a test largely resembling what happened in
Qalamoun, Zabadani and Qusayr,” he said, in reference to the lead role Hezbollah
took in the 2013-2015 operations to clear rebels from regions along Syria’s
border with Lebanon. Amin, an influential commentator known for his close
relations with Hezbollah, noted that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s
government has expressed its “strong desire” to support the regime troops holed
up in the city of Deir Ezzor, which have been repeatedly attacked by ISIS since
the jihadist group swept rebels out of the rest of the province in mid-2014. “A
loss [in Deir Ezzor] means a real massacre of thousands of civilians and
soldiers, and the loss of a key area in eastern Syria,” the Al-Akhbar column
cautioned.
According to Amin, the plans for a wide-scale Deir Ezzor offensive moved forward
after the June 9 meeting of Iran, Russia and Syria’s defense ministers in
Tehran. He wrote that mobilization efforts for the upcoming campaign “have just
started,” but clarified that the battle will start in the “not-too-distant
future.”Syrian army troops backed by Hezbollah, Russia and Iran seized
Palmyra—an ancient archaeological city approximately 185 kilometers west of Deir
Ezzor—from ISIS on March 27.In the days following the Palmyra victory, the
pro-regime forces set their sights eastward on Al-Sukhna, a town on the M20
highway leading to Deir Ezzor, however no major desert drive materialized.
“Linking Palmyra to Deir Ezzor will contribute to [splitting lines between]
ISIS’s main areas of in Syria and Iraq, and disperse their forces fighting in
the Raqqa and Aleppo provinces,” Amin postulated in his report. He further
claimed that the planned east Syria offensive “will not be part of a deal”
reached with the US, which is currently backing the Kurdish-led Syrian
Democratic Forces battling ISIS in northern Syria. The US has also reportedly
supported two smaller Free Syrian Army-factions, the New Syrian Army and Ahmad
al-Abdo Martyrs Brigades, conducting small-scale campaigns against ISIS in the
vast Syrian semi-desert stretching to the Iraqi and Jordanian borders.
NOW's English news desk editor Albin Szakola (@AlbinSzakola) wrote this report.
Amin Nasr translated the Arabic-language source material.
Marouni: Kataeb Ministers' resignation is final and binding
Sat 18 Jun 2016/NNA - MP Elie Marouni said in an interview to the National News
Agency's "Radio News Department" on Saturday that "the resignation of Kataeb
Ministers Sejaan Azzi and Alain Hakim is final and binding," adding that the
next steps are pending the government and Prime Minister's decision in this
respect. Responding to a question regarding differences between Azzi and Kataeb
Party Head, MP Sami Gemayel, Marouni said "We are a Party of thousands of
members and affiliates with diverse opinions; however, our decision is one, and
whenever a decision is taken, everyone commits." "This is the democracy and
disciplinary nature of the Kataebs," he added.
Hariri holds 'Iftar' attended
by various ambassadors
Sat 18 Jun 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri hosted an "Iftar" at the
"House of Center" at sunset on Saturday, which was attended by US charge
d'affaires, Ambassador Richard Jones, British Ambassador Hugo Shorter, Russian
Ambassador Alexander Zasypkin, French Ambassador Emmanuel Bonne, Turkish
Ambassador Shagatay Erciyes and Bangladesh Ambassador Abdul Motaleb Sarkzr. The
"Ifar" was also attended by families, dignitaries and children from "Dar al-Aytam"
Islamic Orphanage. Conversations tackled latest developments and general
prevailing conditions.
Berri meets French Ambassador,
Charbel
Sat 18 Jun 2016/NNA - House Speaker Nabih Berri convened on Saturday afternoon
at his Ayn Teeneh residence with Ambassador of France, with discussions focusing
on current developments in Lebanon and the region. Berri also reviewed the
general situation and electoral law with former Minister Marwan Charbel.
Ambassador of Sweden visits
Nabatiyeh Serail: Nothing definitive on expelling Lebanese from Sweden
Sat 18 Jun 2016/NNA - The Governor of Nabatiyeh Judge Mahmoud Mawla welcomed on
Saturday at his office in the Grand Serail in Nabatiyeh the Ambassador of Sweden
to Lebanon and Syria Peter Semneby, with discussions reportedly featuring high
on the situation in the region and its ability to absorb the displaced Syrians
in it. Semneby stressed that his visit aimed at strengthening relations between
Lebanon and Sweden for the good of the two countries and their people.
Responding to a question about Sweden's decision to expel 70 Lebanese out of its
territories, the Ambassador said, "The Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil
is following up on this matter; and there is nothing definitive regarding that
yet."
Gunmen murder Maqneh man at
point blank
Sat 18 Jun 2016/NNA - Unidentified gunmen have murdered a man from Maqneh
village of Baalbeck district by opening fire on him at point blank, NNA field
reporters said today. The man has been shot dead inside his car with murderers'
motive behind the killing being linked to inter - clan gangsterism, the same
reporters concluded.
We Want to Hold You
Accountable activists begin gathering in front of Verdun's Central Inspection
building
Sat 18 Jun 2016/NNA - Activists from the campaign of We Want to Hold You
Accountable started flocking on Saturday morning to the Central Inspection
building in Verdun. The gatherers raised banners refusing any deals made outside
the tenders' administration. The rally, taking place in front of the main center
for Inspection, was taking place under strict security measures.
The Third Republic: Lebanon the
Resistance State
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Now Lebanon/June 18/16
Throughout the past decade, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem
campaigned for a single issue: Transforming Lebanon into a “resistance state”
and a “resistance society.”Few people gave credence to the statements of
Hezbollah’s second-in-command. After all, what counts are statements from his
boss, Hassan Nasrallah, whose speeches are as frequent as newscasts.Lebanon’s
founding fathers — a few Christian businessmen, lawyers, journalists and poets —
saw Lebanon as a “message” and a “link between the East and the West.” Whatever
such obscure notions meant, they gave Lebanon its golden age in the 50s and 60s.
But after losing the war in 1990, the Christians conceded, and Lebanon’s First
Republic, post-independence, was changed from a country with “an Arab face” to a
full-fledged Arab country, which came to be known as the Second Republic or the
Taif Republic. Now Hezbollah wants to transform the country one more time.
Perhaps Qassem’s proposal was not a mere suggestion. According to Qassem,
“resistance” in Lebanon should be transformed from one against Israel only, into
a permanent feature that redefines the country. Lebanon should “resist
oppression” worldwide. That is, Lebanon should remain on a war footing
indefinitely, with Hezbollah fighting wars over a territory that stretches from
Basra in south east Iraq to Latakia in north-west Syria.
The Lebanese have already suffered vastly from Hezbollah and its endless wars.
First, there was the war to liberate southern Lebanon, even though Israel was
ready to withdraw in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions, which it
ultimately did. Second, there was Hezbollah’s involvement against US troops in
Iraq, and its worldwide intelligence conflict with Israel. Third came
Hezbollah’s fighting alongside Bashar al-Assad to repress the Syrian revolt.
Every now and then, some secret police in some country would arrest Hezbollah’s
operatives. In Egypt, Hezbollahis were arrested stirring trouble during the days
of former President Hosni Mubarak. In Jordan, Hezbollahis were caught trying to
smuggle arms across the border to Palestinians. In Bulgaria, Hezbollah
operatives were indicted for bombing a bus with Jewish passengers. Cyprus too
apprehended Hezbollah’s men, and so did Germany.
In its fight against Israel, Hezbollah had a point. Israel was in violation of
UN resolutions and was occupying Lebanese territory. By choosing war instead of
diplomacy, Hezbollah doubled the bill of post-civil war reconstruction. Israel
repeatedly hit Lebanese facilities as collective punishment. And the Lebanese
government had to borrow money at higher cost since the country was engaged in
an active war with Israel. But after the Israeli withdrawal in 2000, Hezbollah
lost its raison d’être. It kept Shebaa Farms as a fig leaf from where it
launched scattered attacks. But even that stopped after 2006. With Israel
transforming its war with Hezbollah from active to passive, the party had to
increasingly redefine its purpose and widen its scope of war interests.
Since 2004, the Lebanese have conceded that Hezbollah can maintain its armed
militia indefinitely. In 2008, the Lebanese government agreed that Hezbollah can
have its own phone network, that serves the party’s formidable intelligence
services. In 2011, the Lebanese gave Hezbollah the keys to the cabinet’s
headquarters as Saad Hariri was bullied out of it. In 2014, the Lebanese gave
Hezbollah the keys to the presidential palace in Baabda, which has been locked
without a president since then. Living with Hezbollah, the Lebanese have learnt
how to concede and stay away from the party. If the party wants to fight in
Syria, a few Lebanese now care. If the party wants to lock down the president’s
office, Parliament and the cabinet, the Lebanese can simply live their lives
without the state, or its services.
But now Hezbollah is exacting a bigger toll on Lebanon. After turning the
Lebanese passport into the world’s worst travel document, thanks to its control
of passport printers, Hezbollah now wants to toy with Lebanon’s banking
industry. According to the “resistance state” model, which Qassem clearly copied
from Iran, no one is spared the fire of “resisting” the world’s oppressors,
whoever these are. Thus, Hezbollah is now strong arming Lebanon’s banks to
refuse American diktats of transparency, and continue serving the party and its
leaders, many of whom are financially black listed in Washington.
Why Washington matters? Now that the economies of BRICS — including China with
the second biggest economy in the world — are tanking, the dollar is
increasingly becoming the world’s only currency. The Euro and Sterling are still
strong with wide circulation, but because the US economy is over 15 percent of
the world’s economy, and because the dollar is the most widely circulated
worldwide, Washington holds the knobs of the financial system. Should countries
like Lebanon ignore Washington’s instructions, Lebanon’s banking sector would
shut itself outside the international financial system.
Before Lebanon, Iran — the “resistance state” model — faced a similar problem.
Even after the removal of nuclear sanctions and handing Tehran $100 billion of
its frozen reserves, the Iranian economy remained in trouble. Washington has
maintained its terrorism-related sanctions on some Iranian leaders. These
sanctions have kept Iran toxic for world investors, who fear any disfavor with
America might shut them out of the international system.
Maybe Tehran’s mullahs do not understand the importance of keeping state
institutions away from “resistance” shenanigans. And maybe Beirut’s mullahs,
following in their Iranian bosses lead, also fail to understand that if America
locks Lebanon out of the international system, the bank accounts of every
Lebanese will suffer, just like every holder of a Lebanese passport suffers in
every airport around the world. A threatening bomb to Lebanon’s banks might seem
like business as usual for Hezbollah as a way of getting what it wants. What
Hezbollah does not realize is that this time it is not stealing the milk, it is
killing the cow.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 18-19/16
Former Israel Mossad director,Tamir
Pardo joins anti-Iran organization
Ynetnews/Itamar Eichner/Jun 18/16/Tamir Pardo, who left Israel's foreign
intelligence service in January, explains his decision saying the dangers of a
nuclear Iran cannot be ignored. Former Mossad director Tamir Pardo is joining
the board of directors of the American non-profit United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI),
which operates internationally in an effort to raise awareness of the dangers
posed by the Shiite state's regime. UANI's membership also includes former US
senator Joe Lieberman, former American special Middle East government
coordinator Dennis Ross, former Spanish foreign minister Ana de Palacio, former
heads of the CIA, and former Australian defense minister Robert Hill. UANI also
works to convince international corporations not to do business with Iran. UANI
was founded in 2008 by ambassador Mark D. Wallace, the late ambassador Richard
Holbrooke, former CIA director Jim Woolsey and Middle East expert Dennis Ross.
In addition to Pardo, former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and
former Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski have also joined UANI.
According to Pardo, the world's leading powers should not ignore the clear
dangers posed by the Iranian regime, which he says threaten the personal safety
and freedom of people both inside the country's borders and in the world at
large. He expressed his satisfaction at being part of the UANI board.
Assad meets with Russian
defense minister
Reuters, AP/Ynetnews/ June 18/16/State media reports the Syrian president
discussed military cooperation and efforts to fight 'terrorism' with minister
sent to Damascus by Russian President Putin.Syrian President Bashar Assad met
with Russia's defense minister during the latter's visit to Damascus to discuss
military cooperation and efforts to fight "terrorism," state television said on
Saturday. State media did not disclose any details of the previously unannounced
visit by Sergei Shoigu, who said he was sent to the Syrian capital by Russian
President Vladimir Putin. Shoigu also visited the Hemeimeem air base in the
province of Lattakia, where he talked with pilots and inspected the S-400 air
defense missile systems protecting the base. Russia's military intervention in
Syria in September helped to turn the tide of war in Assad's favor after months
of gains in western Syria by rebel fighters, who were aided by foreign military
supplies including US-made anti-tank missiles. Russia, which has been
intensively bombing opposition-held areas in Syria since the intervention, is
blamed by the opposition and rights activists for causing hundreds of civilian
deaths and targeting hospitals, schools and infrastructure in what they say are
indiscriminate attacks. Washington and some other Western countries that have
called on Assad to step down accuse Russia of focusing mostly on strikes against
the moderate so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) and less on attacking hardline
Islamic State militants. A US- and Russian- brokered cease-fire that began on
February 27 has helped reduce hostilities, but fierce fighting has continued in
many areas. The Islamic State group and the al-Qaeda branch in Syria, the Nusra
Front, have been excluded from the truce.
ISIS mounts fierce defense of
besieged Syrian bastion
By AFP Beirut Saturday, 18 June 2016/ISIS militants have launched a wave of
suicide and car bombings to defend a besieged stronghold in northern Syria
against US-backed fighters, a monitor said on Saturday. A Kurdish-Arab alliance
last week encircled the city of Manbij and severed a key supply route used by
ISIS from the Turkish border to the militants’ de facto Syrian capital, Raqa.
But since then the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by US air strikes,
have been slowed by almost daily suicide bombings by ISIS, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said. On Friday, ISIS carried out two suicide
attacks and five car bombings in the southwestern suburbs of Manbij, according
to the British-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources on the
ground. The number of casualties from the attacks was unknown, but hundreds have
been killed since the offensive to retake the city from ISIS began on May 31.
According to the Observatory, a total of 352 ISIS fighters and 37 SDF combatants
have died, as well as an estimated 78 civilians. The operation has also been
complicated by the presence of tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the
city, although more than 1,000 have managed to escape with the help of the
SDF.“On Friday, six members of the same family were killed when they were
targeted by jihadists while fleeing,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
SDF commanders have accused ISIS of using civilians as human shields. Southeast
of Manbij, regime forces backed by Russian air strikes have also faced ISIS
counterattacks after advancing towards another militant bastion, Tabqa. The town
lies around 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Raqa city, and recapturing it would
cut a key supply route. The army is now reported to be 15 kilometers away from
Tabqa’s military airport. Syria’s five-year conflict has evolved into a
multi-sided civil war involving a range of combatants including Western- and
Gulf-backed rebels, militants, Kurds and pro-regime forces supported by Russia
and Iran. The northern province of Aleppo in particular has been carved up by a
complex set of front lines and key supply routes, and has seen some of the worst
fighting. Opposition-held areas of Aleppo city were hit by fresh barrel bomb
attacks on Saturday, while rebel fire killed seven civilians in a
Kurdish-majority neighborhood, the Observatory said. South of the city, rebel
groups backed by Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front were locked in battles with
government forces and allied militia. Since Tuesday, 186 fighters have been
killed in those clashes - 100 rebels and militants along with 86 members of
pro-regime forces, including 25 from Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, the
Observatory said. “It’s the highest toll for Hezbollah fighters in a single
battle,” said Abdel Rahman. The Syrian conflict has killed more than 280,000
people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with the brutal repression
of anti-government demonstrations.
Russia slammed for striking
Syrian rebels
Reuters, Washington Saturday, 18 June 2016/Russia launched a second air strike
on US-backed Syrian fighters battling ISIS, even after the US military used
emergency channels to ask Moscow to stop after the first strike, a US official
told Reuters on Friday. The official, who spoke to on condition of anonymity,
said a small number of Syrian fighters were killed in Thursday’s air strikes in
southern Syria. The Pentagon has criticized the strike near al-Tanf, saying it
raised concerns about Russian intentions in Syria and promising to bring up the
matter with Russia. No Russia or Russian-backed Syrian ground forces were in the
area at the time. “This was an attack on forces first of all that were fighting
ISIL. And obviously that’s the first thing that’s problematic about this Russian
conduct,” US Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters, using an acronym for
the radical group ISIS. “The Russians initially said they were coming in to
fight ISIL, and that’s not what they did.”Asked about the incident, the Kremlin
said on Friday it was hard to distinguish between moderate and extremist rebels
on the ground when it came to targeting air strikes in Syria because they were
frequently fighting close to one another. Carter did not get into details about
the sequence of events but told a news conference that “the channel that we have
to communicate with them in instances like this wasn’t professionally used.”
Watch: Regional, international diplomats struggle over Aleppo
Belgium arrests 12 suspected
of planning attacks
Reuters, Brussels Saturday, 18 June 2016/Belgian police arrested 12 people
suspected of planning new attacks after about 40 houses were searched across the
country overnight, the federal prosecutor's office said on Saturday. Europe is
on high security alert, with the Euro 2016 soccer tournament is under way in
neighbouring France. Islamist suicide bombers killed 32 people in Brussels in
March following attacks in Paris in November in which 130 people died. "In
connection with a criminal investigation concerning terrorism... 40 persons were
taken for questioning. Twelve among them were arrested. The investigating judge
will decide on their possible detention later today," the office said in a
statement. Investigators have found links between the Brussels and Paris
attackers, some of whom were based in Belgium. Belgium's federal prosecutor's
office said no weapons or explosives were found during the searches, which also
involved 152 garage lockups. A French police couple were stabbed to death
outside their home on Tuesday in an attack claimed by ISIS. In a video posted on
social networks, the attacker linked it to the soccer tournament, saying: "The
Euros will be a graveyard." Flemish public broadcaster VTM said the people
arrested overnight were suspected of planning an attack in Brussels this weekend
during one of Belgium's soccer matches. Belgian police on Wednesday received an
anti-terror alert warning that a group of ISIS militants recently left Syria en
route for Europe planning attacks in Belgium and France, security officials
said. Belgian newspaper Le Soir said areas where fans watch matches were
potential targets, as well as other crowded areas like shopping centres and
stations, citing a security source. Public broadcaster RTBF said the country's
crisis centre on Friday placed several government ministers, including Prime
Minister Charles Michel, under heightened protection. Police arrested and
detained a man named as Youssef E.A, a Belgian national, on Friday on suspicion
of taking part in terrorist activities in connection with the Brussels attacks.
Man charged in France over
plan to attack tourists
AFP, Paris Saturday, 18 June 2016/A radicalized convert to Islam, suspected of
planning to attack American and Russian tourists in France, was charged this
evening and placed in detention, a judicial source said. The 22-year-old man,
arrested in the southern French city of Carcassonne on Monday after months under
surveillance, has been charged with association with a terrorist group, the
source said.He was carrying a knife and a small mallet when he was arrested, the
source said, adding that the suspect suffered mental health problems and was
believed to be planning an imminent attack against tourists.
The charges come with France on high alert for terror threats as it hosts
hundreds of thousands of foreign fans for the month-long Euro 2016 football
championships. The country is still under a state of emergency following the
jihadist attacks that killed 130 people in Paris in November. On Monday, an
extremist pledging allegiance to the so-called Islamic State group knifed a
policeman and his partner to death at their home in the Paris suburbs before he
was killed in a police raid. The suspect arrested in Carcassonne comes from the
southern French town of Lunel - notorious for the number of residents who have
left to wage jihad in Syria - but had been living in the nearby Tarn region. The
suspect told investigators after his arrest “he had spent a lot of time watching
videos of the Islamic State group and jihadist sites, and that he was
fascinated,” the source said. According to his lawyer Jocelyn Momasso, “he has
explained that his motivations were essentially linked to international
politics”. He wanted to “avenge his brothers” who had fallen victim to air
strikes by the international coalition targeting the IS group in Syria, the
lawyer said.
Man who fired at mosque after
Paris attacks jailed
The Associated Press, Hartford, Connecticut Saturday, 18 June 2016/A man who
shot at a Connecticut mosque out of anger on the night of the deadly attacks in
Paris has been sentenced to six months in prison. Ted Hakey Jr. was sentenced
Friday in federal court in Hartford. Nobody was hurt when he opened fire on the
empty Baitul Aman Mosque in Meriden in a drunken burst of anger Nov. 13.
Investigators said he struck the mosque at least four times from his property
next door to the building. Hakey pleaded guilty to destruction of religious
property, a federal hate crime. He apologized to the mosque and said he had
acted in fear. Congregation members forgave him and urged the court to spare him
from prison. Federal guidelines called for Hakey to serve eight to 14 months in
prison.
Countries must do more to
help Greece with migrant crisis: UN chief
By Reuters Athens Saturday, 18 June 2016/United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
called on Saturday for countries to do more to help cope with Europe’s migrant
crisis, saying Greece could not manage on its own.Speaking in Athens before
heading to the Greek island of Lesbos, the gateway into Europe for nearly a
million people last year, Ban said Greece had shown “remarkable solidarity and
compassion” in dealing with the hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing war,
despite its economic hardship. “Greece should not be left alone to address this
challenge on its own,” Ban told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras. “We must work together to protect people and address the causes of
displacement. I continue to call for a greatest sharing of this responsibility
across Europe and indeed across the world.”About one million people crossed the
Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greek islands last year in small and often overcrowded
inflatable boats. Hundreds drowned trying to make the crossing. The migratory
shift from Turkey to Greece has slowed to a trickle since March, when the
European Union and Turkey reached an agreement for Ankara to seal the route in
return for financial and political rewards. The accord obliges Greece to return
to Turkey those migrants who either do not apply for asylum or have their claims
rejected. Officials say about 8,400 migrants are currently on Greek islands,
nearly all of whom have expressed interest in applying for asylum, overwhelming
the system. Additionally, there are an estimated 48,000 on the Greek mainland,
stuck there after a wave of border shutdowns throughout the Balkans. Tsipras
said Greece had taken a big burden on its shoulders and asked for solidarity so
that his country could deal with the situation. In a symbolic move, Tsipras
offered Ban a life jacket, one of thousands of items Greek authorities have
recovered from the shores of Greek islands since last year. He hoped the
EU-Turkey deal was respected so that refugees and migrants would not need this
life-saving tool in the future.
Saudi deputy crown prince
meets heads of US military companies
Saudi Gazette, Washington Saturday, 18 June 2016/Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed
Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense held at his residence here
meetings on Friday with several companies specializing in military equipment,
Saudi Press Agency reported. He met separately with the presidents and staff of
Boeing, Raytheon International and Lockheed Martin International. The meetings
dealt with Saudi Vision 2030 that aims to localize military industries and
industrial and technological activities, training services and support services.
The companies welcomed the Kingdom’s ambitious programs and expressed their
readiness to participate with an effective role in these programs. In another
development, the CEO of Middle East Policies Council in the US Dr. Thomas Matir
stressed the importance of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s current
visit to the US. In a statement to SPA he said: “The visit by the Deputy Crown
Prince during which he met with US President Barack Obama and a number of
American officials and investors is in the interest of boosting the
Saudi-American partnership and upgrading it to higher levels so as to express
the strength of the alliance between the two countries.”He further said that the
importance and vitality of the visit lies in the discussions on intensifying
defense relations between the Kingdom and the US, the exchange of intelligence
information, cooperation in the field of combating terror, aside from bolstering
cooperation in resolving the current regional conflicts that threaten the joint
interests of the two countries. Apart from this, he drew attention to the fact
that it is high time for American investors to shed light on the courageous and
intelligent plans for reforming the economy in Saudi Arabia on the basis of
Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020. This will make
Saudi Arabia the most important power regionally and globally. He expressed his
belief that the American decision-makers, legislators and big businessmen now
understand very well the importance of raising the level of partnership with
Saudi Arabia after their meeting with the Deputy Crown Prince and listening to
him on the Kingdom’s economic plans and programs that are in line with the Saudi
Vision 2030. Saudi deputy crown prince discusses region’s crisis with US
leaders. This article was first published in the Saudi Gazette on June 18, 2016.
Obama says easy access to
weapons ‘unconscionable’
AFP, Washington Saturday, 18 June 2016/Renewing his call to reduce gun violence,
President Barack Obama characterized easy access to weapons as "unconscionable"
Saturday, less than a week after the worst mass shooting in US history. "Even
after we see parents grieve for their children, the fact that we as a country do
nothing to prevent the next heartbreak makes no sense," Obama said in his weekly
radio address, which fell one day ahead of Father's Day. Forty-nine people were
killed and 53 were injured when a gunman opened fire early Sunday at Orlando,
Florida's Pulse nightclub, armed with a legally bought assault rifle. The
gunman, 29-year-old Omar Mateen -- a Muslim American of Afghan descent -- ran
amok in the packed gay club, pledging allegiance to the leader of the Islamic
State group before being killed in a police raid. "Being tough on terrorism,
particularly the sorts of homegrown terrorism that we've seen now in Orlando and
San Bernardino, means making it harder for people who want to kill Americans to
get their hands on assault weapons that are capable of killing dozens of
innocents as quickly as possible," Obama said. In a similar incident, a man and
wife opened fire in San Bernardino, California, on a Christmas party in
December, killing 14 people in a separate mass shooting. "Like all dads, I worry
about my girls' safety all the time. Especially when we see preventable violence
in places our sons and daughters go every day -- their schools and houses of
worship, movie theaters, nightclubs, as they get older." "It's unconscionable
that we allow easy access to weapons of war in these places," Obama said. On
Thursday the president traveled to Orlando, where he met with the families of
the victims and demanded that the Republican-controlled Congress pass gun
control. "We need our kids to hear us speak up about the risks guns pose to our
communities, and against a status quo that doesn't make sense. They need to hear
us say these things even when those who disagree are loud and are powerful,"
Obama said Sunday.
US investigators interview
member of mosque attended by Orlando gunman
By Reuters Orlando Saturday, 18 June 2016/Families of some of the 49 people
slain at an Orlando gay nightclub in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US
history hugged and wept at funerals on Friday, as FBI agents questioned a member
of the mosque where the gunman worshipped. The gunman, Omar Mateen, a
29-year-old US citizen born in New York to Afghan immigrant parents, expressed
support for a conflicting list of Islamist militant groups, including ISIS, in a
series of phone calls and internet messages during his three-hour rampage, which
ended when police shot him dead. FBI agents on Friday questioned a member of the
Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, according to Omar Saleh, a lawyer with the
Council of American-Islamic Relations who sat in on the 30-minute questioning
session. “We were meeting with some agents,” said Saleh, who declined to
identify the person interviewed. “They were asking questions relative to the
incident that happened on Sunday.” US officials, who have also interviewed
Mateen’s wife, have said they do not believe he was assisted from abroad in the
attack, which also wounded 53 people. Meanwhile, funerals and memorials were
held around Florida and in Puerto Rico – home to many of the people killed.
Mourners hugged and wept after the burial of Kimberly Morris, 37, in Kissimmee,
Florida, and family members of Angel Candelario-Padro, 28, embraced after his
body returned to his hometown of Guanica, Puerto Rico. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer
told reporters he would go to the funerals that families asked him to attend. “I
will ask the community to do the same ... These are private ceremonies, people
are hurting,” he said. Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer who helped administer
compensation funds for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and
Washington and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, is flying in to Orlando to
advise the city’s OneOrlando Fund, which has already raised $7.5 million, Dyer
said. “There are victims in need of support now, and we ask for your patience as
we ensure we are able to assist these victims in an open, transparent and
equitable manner,” Dyer said. Separately, the National Compassion Fund, a unit
of the nonprofit National Center for Victims of Crime, was tapped on Thursday by
gay rights group Equality Florida, to distribute the roughly $5 million raised
online for the victims. President Barack Obama, who met survivors of the
shooting and families of the dead in Orlando on Thursday, urged Congress to pass
measures to make it harder to legally acquire high-powered weapons like the
semi-automatic rifle used in the attack. Mateen carried out the slaughter with
the rifle and a handgun that had been legally purchased although he had twice
been investigated in the past by the FBI for possible connections with militant
Islamist groups. Congress is under pressure to respond. The Senate is expected
to vote on Monday on four proposals for limited gun restrictions, although all
four are expected to fail. A group of Republican senators attempted on Friday to
craft compromise legislation that might stand a better chance of passing.
Official refuses to lower
flags to half-mast in honor of Orlando massacre
By Staff writer Al Arabiya News Saturday, 18 June 2016/A US official in an
Alabama County refused to lower flags to half-mast this week in a show of
solidarity with the victims of the recent Orlando mass shooting.According to US
news reports, an official in Baldwin County “has deliberately chosen” not to
lower official flags, though flags across the United States are flown at
half-mast since Thursday to honor the attack victims. The Baldwin County
Commission’s chairman, Tucker Dorsey, wrote a Facebook post saying: "my soul
aches for the families of the innocents killed," but insisted that the shooting
incident was not a "valid circumstance" for lowering the flags. “Lowering the
flags to half-staff after mass shooting or terrorist event is not a valid
circumstance or memorial as specified in the US flag code (usflag.org), Section
175, paragraph (m). I realize that the President and Governor may make the
order, but I believe and interpret their order inconsistent with the adopted
flag code.” Dorsey said lowering the flag to him felt like the state was holding
its head down. “I characterize that as US citizens holding our head up with
courage above all others. When the flag is at half-staff, our country’s head is
figuratively held low, and quite frankly, I am not willing to hang my head down
because of a terrorist attack against our people and our allies.”The move came
despite an order from US President Barack Obama and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley
for flags to be lowered. The Orlando attack, the worst mass shooting in modern
US history, left 50 people dead.
US Democrats’ new line on gun
control: Do it for national security
By Reuters Washington Saturday, 18 June 2016/Democrats pushing for gun curbs
after the latest mass shooting in the United States are co-opting a Republican
mantra to build public support and defang opposition: it’s time to get tough on
national security. Shoring up national security has long been a pillar of
Republican orthodoxy, as has staunch opposition to gun control. But the massacre
of 49 people in Orlando, Florida, last Sunday, the deadliest mass shooting in
modern US history, by a gunman who pledged loyalty to Islamist militants may be
leaving Republicans on shakier ground. With national security driving the
debate, Democrats see a more powerful argument than simply advocating the need
to curb gun violence in a country of 320 million that has more than 310 million
weapons. Although the Orlando gunman, Omar Mateen, is believed to have had no
help from extremist Islamist groups in targeting a gay nightclub, he had been
investigated by US authorities for possible links to terrorism and subsequently
cleared. That prompted Democrats to clamor for legislation to expand background
checks and prevent people on US terrorism watch lists from buying guns. Votes on
four measures were scheduled Monday in the US Senate, two sponsored by Democrats
and two by Republicans. Many Republicans, and some Democrats, oppose strict gun
curbs partly on constitutional grounds. “Every senator is now going to have to
say, whether they’re for terrorists getting guns or against terrorists getting
guns,” Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer told reporters on Thursday. “The
terrorists that we need to fear are not on the streets of Aleppo, or Mosul or
Fallujah. They’re on the streets of the United States and they will have guns
unless we pass tough laws,” added Senator Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat.
President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson all took the tack this week that gun
measures were a safeguard against terrorism. Republicans have long criticized
Obama for not being tough enough on national security and doing more in the
fight against ISIS. The Orlando massacre and the San Bernardino, California
shooting in December by a couple inspired by ISIS captured the attention of the
American public in a way previous mass shootings have not, said Tom Diaz, a
former member of the National Rifle Association gun rights lobby who now backs
gun control. “They’ve changed the dynamic of this whole issue,” said Diaz, an
author and expert on terrorism and the gun industry. That shift in sentiment has
heartened the families of the 20 elementary school children and six staff
members killed in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, who championed the last big, and
ultimately unsuccessful push, on gun control. About 71 percent of Americans,
including eight out of 10 Democrats and nearly six out of 10 Republicans, favor
at least moderate regulations and restrictions on guns, according to a Reuters/Ipsos
poll conducted from Monday to Thursday. That was up from 60 percent in late 2013
and late 2014. Diaz believes Republicans must look as if they care about keeping
guns out of the hands of so-called homegrown extremists, while balancing issues
of due process and the Constitution’s Second Amendment right to bear arms that
form the backbone of the NRA’s opposition to gun control.
Republicans say new laws won’t necessarily keep weapons out of the hands of
people intent on doing harm, and are keen to avoid twinning the two issues.
“This is not a gun control issue,” US Senator Ted Cruz said on Thursday. “This
is a terrorism issue.” Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said Democrats “must be
careful about overplaying their hand with rhetoric that could sound like
government overreach to Americans who believe in the Second Amendment.” Even if
the current efforts fail, the new push on national security may prove Democrats’
best shot at eventually luring Republican support on an issue that has
floundered for decades. “This is a chance for the Democrats to talk in tough
terms about safety and security and also to link that to the gun issue,” said
Robert Spitzer, political science professor at State University of New York at
Cortland. Some notable Republicans appeared willing this week to engage in the
debate on gun control. The party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Donald
Trump, vowed to meet with the NRA to talk about ways to bar people on certain
government watch lists from buying guns. The top Republican in the Senate,
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said he was open to suggestions from experts on
how to prevent terrorism suspects from acquiring firearms and called the Orlando
shooting a “calculated act of terror.” But it was unclear whether Trump or
McConnell would throw their weight behind any measures acceptable to Democrats.
Democratic US Representative Jim Himes said he did not hold out great hope that
the gun legislation would advance. “The reason you won't see a compromise
anytime soon is because Congress actually acting in the wake of Orlando would be
a tacit admission on the other side that guns had something to do with what
happened in Orlando as opposed to ISIS,” he said, using an acronym for ISIS.
Mursi sentenced to life on
espionage charges
By Staff writer Al Arabiya News Saturday, 18 June 2016/An Egyptian court
Saturday sentenced former Islamist President Mohammed Mursi to life in prison in
an espionage trial in which six co-defendants were handed death penalties. The
court acquitted Mursi of charges of having supplied Qatar with classified
documents but sentenced him to life for leading an unlawful organization, his
lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maksoud told AFP. The ousted president was also
convicted of having "stolen secret documents concerning state security" and
handed another 15-year jail term, the lawyer added. Mursi was ousted by the
military in July 2013 and has already been sentenced to death in another case.
The court also confirmed death sentences against six defendants, including three
journalists tried in absentia who allegedly helped relay secret documents to
Qatar. The journalists have been identified as Ibrahim Mohamed Hilal and
Jordanian citizen Alaa Omar Mohamed Sablan, both of Qatar-based Al-Jazeera
channel. The third has been named as Asmaa Mohamed al-Khatib, a female reporter
with pro-Muslim Brotherhood news outlet Rassd. Saturday's verdicts can be
appealed. (with Agencies)
Yemen foes swap prisoners in
Taez battleground
AFP, Aden Saturday, 18 June 2016/Yemen's warring parties exchanged dozens of
prisoners captured in fighting for third city Taez on Saturday following
mediation by local tribes, the chief mediator said. Government forces which
control the city released 118 prisoners, while Iran-backed Houthi militias who
control most of the surrounding province freed 76, tribal chief Abdullatif al-Muradi
said. Loyalist officials in the besieged city confirmed the exchange and said it
was a local initiative unconnected to UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait. Those
negotiations, now in their ninth week, have made no major breakthroughs, even on
the prisoners issue. Earlier this month, the militias released 187 prisoners
while Saudi Arabia freed 52 children it was holding. But that was far short of
the target set by UN mediators for 50 percent of all prisoners to be released
before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The peace talks have also
had little impact on the fighting for Taez despite a UN-brokered ceasefire that
took effect on April 11. Just hours before the prisoner exchange, the rebels
rained rocket fire on several parts of the city, residents said. There was also
heavy fighting for the town of Kirsh on the main highway to Taez from the
southern port city of Aden, where the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour
Hadi is based. Despite a 15-month-old intervention by a Saudi-led coalition, the
Houthi militias and their allies still control the capital Sanaa and most of the
central and northern highlands, as well as the Red Sea coast. More than 6,400
people have been killed since the intervention began, the majority of them
civilians, according to UN figures. The fighting has also driven 2.8 million
people from their homes and left more than 80 percent of the population in
urgent need of humanitarian aid.
3 International Space Station
astronauts land in Kazakhstan
The Associated Press, Moscow Saturday, 18 June 2016/An International Space
Station crew including an American, a Briton and a Russian landed safely
Saturday in the sun-drenched steppes of Kazakhstan. The Soyuz TMA-19M capsule
carrying NASA's Tim Kopra, Tim Peake of the European Space Agency and the
Russian agency Roscosmos' Yuri Malenchenko touched down as scheduled at 3:15
p.m. local time (0915 GMT) about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of
Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan. All descent maneuvers were performed without any
hitches and the crew reported feeling fine as their ship slid off the orbit and
headed down to Earth. Helicopters carrying recovery teams were circling the area
as the capsule was descending slowly under a massive orange-and-white parachute.
Support crew helped the trio get out of the capsule, charred by a fiery descent
through the atmosphere, and placed them in reclining chairs for a quick
check-up. Squinting at the sun, Peake said he felt "elated," adding that "the
smells of Earth are just so strong." "I'd love some cool rain right now!" he
said with a smile as he sat in scorching heat in his balky spacesuit. After a
medical check-up, the crew will change their spacesuits for regular clothing and
be flown separately to their respective bases. Maj. Peake, a 44-year-old former
army helicopter pilot, has become a hero at home, helping rekindle an interest
in space exploration. He was not the first Briton in space. Helen Sharman
visited Russia's Mir space station in 1991 on a privately backed mission and
several British-born American citizens flew with NASA's space shuttle program.
But Peake is Britain's first publicly funded British astronaut and the first
Briton to visit the International Space Station. He performed the first British
space walk and was honored by Queen Elizabeth II in her annual Birthday Honors
List. He excited many at home by joining the 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) London
Marathon - from 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth, harnessed to a
treadmill aboard the ISS with a simulation of the route through London's streets
playing on an iPad. Peake finished the race in 3 hours and 35 minutes, a record
for the fastest marathon in orbit, according to Guinness World Records. The trio
spent 186 days in space since their launch in December 2015. They have conducted
hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth
science. For Malenchenko, it was a sixth mission, and he logged up a total of
828 days in space, the second-longest accumulated time in space after Russian
Gennady Padalka. Kopra has logged up 244 days in space on two flights. NASA
astronaut Jeff Williams along with Russians Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin
of Roscosmos will operate the station for three weeks until the arrival of three
new crew members.
Seven decapitated bodies
found on home turf of Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’
Reuters Saturday, 18 June 2016/The decapitated bodies of seven men were found in
Mexico’s western Sinaloa state, near the heart of jailed drug lord Joaquin “El
Chapo” Guzman’s old home turf, a state law enforcement official said on Friday.
Martin Robles, Sinaloa’s deputy attorney general, told reporters in the state
capital of Culiacan the seven men were loggers attacked near the town of
Rosario, located about 60 miles (100 km) south of the Pacific resort of
Mazatlan. In recent years, the state has been host to a number of confrontations
between the army and drug traffickers, but it was not immediately clear if
Guzman’s notorious Sinaloa cartel was involved in the killing of the loggers.
Gruesome displays of violence have been rare in Sinaloa despite a longstanding
rivalry between the Sinaloa cartel and a separate criminal organization run by
Isidro Meza, also known as “El Chapo.”Robles said he could not confirm widely
circulated reports from earlier this week that dozens of armed gunmen attacked
the Sinaloa home of Guzman’s mother. Guzman, currently held in a prison near the
US border, is awaiting extradition to the United States to face drug
trafficking, money laundering and murder charges.
Death to traitors,’ MP Jo Cox murder suspect says
Reuters, London Saturday, 18 June 2016/Thomas Mair, the man charged with the
murder of lawmaker Jo Cox, gave his name as “death to traitors, freedom for
Britain” when he appeared in court following an attack that has shocked Britain
ahead of next week’s referendum on European Union membership. Cox, a 41-year-old
member of the opposition Labour Party who supported staying in the EU, was shot
and stabbed on Thursday in the street in her electoral district in northern
England.“My name is death to traitors, freedom for Britain,” Mair said when
asked his name by the clerk at London’s Westminster Magistrates Court. When the
question was repeated, Mair said the same words again, his only comments during
Saturday’s 15-minutue hearing. Wearing grey sports clothing and flanked by two
security guards, Mair was charged with murder, causing grievous bodily harm, and
possession of a firearm and another offensive weapon.Cox was preparing to hold a
regular session to give advice to her constituents when she was killed in the
town of Birstall, Yorkshire, where Mair lives.The killing has shocked the
nation, uniting politicians and leading to the suspension of hostilities in what
had become increasingly bitter campaigning ahead of the June 23 referendum on
Britain’s EU membership. On Friday, Prime Minister David Cameron joined Labor
leader Jeremy Corbyn in laying flowers in Birstall. “It is a vile act that has
killed her,” Corbyn said. Cameron has agreed to recall parliament on Monday to
allow lawmakers to pay tributes to the popular Member of Parliament (MP), who
was only elected in 2015. The murder has sparked debate in Britain, which has
strict gun controls, about the safety of lawmakers, the heightened tempo of
political confrontation and whether it would affect the outcome of the EU vote.
Campaigns on hold
Both sides in the referendum contest have put on hold their national campaigns
until at least Sunday. Polls have suggested the vote hangs in the balance, but
in the last week had indicated that the campaign to leave had been taking the
lead. A telephone survey by BMG for Scotland’s The Herald newspaper on Saturday
showed the “In” camp on 53 percent and “Out” on 47 percent, although a separate
online poll by BMG showed Out leading by 10 points, with 55 percent support
compared to In’s 45 percent. Both polls were carried out before the killing of
Cox. Those wanting to stay in the EU can count on the support of many of
Britain’s biggest businesses, most economists and foreign leaders such as US
President Barack Obama, who spoke to Cox’s husband on Friday to offer
condolences on behalf of the American people. The International Monetary Fund,
which has previously warned that Britain and the world economy could be hit by a
so-called Brexit, said on Saturday an exit could leave Britain’s economy more
than 5 percent smaller by 2019.However, the “Out” campaign’s message that EU
membership is responsible for a loss of political control as well as
uncontrolled immigration has appeared to have struck a chord with many Britons.
Both sides have accused each other of making up facts to support their
arguments, and the debates had become more heated and personal in the days
leading up to Cox’s death, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan telling Sky News
politics had become “poisonous”.
Lawmakers’ fears
Cox, who had two young children, had arrived in Birstall for a “surgery” in a
library with members of the public. A 77-year-old man who intervened to try to
protect Cox is in hospital after suffering a serious abdominal injury. In
Westminster, where lawmakers do much of their work in parliament, armed police
patrol the entrances, corridors and halls but there is often no security in
their home electoral districts, or constituencies. The last British lawmaker to
have been killed was Ian Gow, who died after an Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb
exploded under his car at his home in 1990. The Daily Telegraph newspaper
reported that women MPs had repeatedly raised concerns about their security with
Cameron’s office, with one writing to say if it was not improved there would be
a “tragic fatality.”Police have said they had reiterated advice and guidance to
MPs, some of whom have cancelled surgeries after Cox’s death. Leaders across
Europe and the world have expressed shock at the killing of Cox, a former
charity worker whose job took her to countries such as Afghanistan and Darfur.
Putin: Cameron holding Brexit
vote ‘to blackmail’ Europe
AFP, London Saturday, 18 June 2016/The IMF has warned Brexit could deal the
British economy a “negative and substantial” blow as Vladimir Putin suggested
David Cameron was trying to “blackmail” Europe with the EU referendum. Meanwhile
The Times newspaper came out Saturday in favour of Britain staying in the
European Union, five days ahead of the vote on whether the UK should stay in the
bloc or leave. The pound rallied as investors leaned towards a Remain outcome
from Thursday’s closely-contested referendum. Campaigning remains suspended
Saturday as a mark of respect for murdered lawmaker Jo Cox. Cox, who was backing
the Remain campaign, was slain in her northern English constituency on Thursday.
Murder suspect Thomas Mair has been charged and was to appear in a London court
on Saturday.
IMF warns of contagion
With less than a week until the referendum, the International Monetary Fund
warned that a so-called Brexit would harm the British economy while “contagion
effects” could hit markets worldwide. In the worst-case scenario, the UK economy
would sink into recession next year and overall economic output would be 5.6
percent lower than otherwise forecast by 2019, with unemployment rising back
above six percent, it said Friday. “While there is much uncertainty about the
precise economic effects of an exit from the EU, they are likely negative and
substantial,” the Washington-based global crisis lender revealed in its annual
British economic check-up. “An exit would precipitate a protracted period of
heightened uncertainty that could weigh on confidence and investment and
increase financial market volatility.” In addition, “contagion effects could
result in spillovers to regional and global markets, although the primary impact
would be felt domestically”. While in a “limited impact” scenario the IMF said
the economy would only lose 1.4 percent from the current outlook by 2019, the
report gave one of the starkest pictures yet of the impact of Brexit.
Putin wades in
Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested British Prime Minister
David Cameron had called the referendum to “blackmail” and “scare” Europe. “Why
has he set up this referendum? To blackmail Europe? Or to scare it? What is the
purpose if he himself is against” Britain leaving the EU, Putin said Friday
during a meeting with representatives of news agencies, including AFP. “Some
experts say a Brexit will be to the detriment of Europe. But others say that the
EU will be more stable,” Putin said, pointing to the example of British
fishermen. “They explain how hard it is to live with the restrictions on
fishing. But there are advantages in other sectors. “If you consider all these
things, it’s very complicated” to choose, he added.The What UK Thinks average of
the last six opinion polls puts the Remain camp on 52 percent to 48 percent for
the Leave campaign, excluding undecided voters.
Times’ ‘pragmatic’ Remain case
The Times swung behind the Remain camp on Saturday, in opposition to its
stablemate The Sun, Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper, which is backing a
Leave vote. “The best outcome of next week’s referendum would be a new alliance
of sovereign EU nations dedicated to free trade and reform, led by Britain,” it
said in a 2,000-word editorial. The Times said voting to stay was a “pragmatic
rather than enthusiastic choice”. “Brexit is unquestionably economically riskier
than a vote to remain,” the daily said. “On balance we believe Britain would be
better off leading a renewed drive for reform within the EU rather than starting
afresh outside it.” The pound rallied Friday as investors swung their bets
towards Britain voting to stay in the EU, in part due to the three-day
suspension of campaigning over Cox’s murder. “The shocking news was seen, at
least on the margin, as hurting public sentiment toward the Brexit move,” said
Omer Esiner of Commonwealth Foreign Exchange. Long-running fears of a pro-Brexit
vote had been hammering the pound, and they were heightened in recent weeks as
the “Leave” campaign pulled ahead in the polls. The pound surged about one
percent against the dollar to $1.4348. It was up 0.5 percent against the euro at
78.62 pence. Meanwhile French National Front leader Marine Le Pen, enthused by
the British referendum, addressed a 2,000-strong Vienna rally of far-right
European “patriots”.The elites of Europe “are scared that the United Kingdom is
regaining its liberty, its freedom to trade with whom it pleases,” she said.
Iran: Ongoing executions,
torture and floggings in holy month of Ramadan
NCRI/ Saturday, 18 June 2016/The inhumane mullahs’ regime is continuing its use
of mass executions, barbaric punishments, floggings and widespread arrests
during the holy month of Ramadan, which is considered amongst Muslims in Iran
and all other Islamic countries as a period of friendship, kindness and
benevolence. Iranian authorities on June 15 sent five prisoners to the gallows
in the central prisons of Bandar Abbas (southern Iran) and Yasouj (southwestern
Iran). In the early days of Ramadan (2nd week of June) a deprived worker was
horrifically flogged in public in the town of Ghir and Karzin in Fars Province
(central Iran) under the pretext of eating during fasting hours. A number of
other people in various cities including Hamedan, Isfahan and Islam Shahr have
been arrested for similar reasons. In another development, Mr. Iman Rashidi
Yeganeh lost his life on June 10 after enduring four months of detention in
appalling conditions in Parsiloun Prison of Khoram-Abad (western Iran) and being
deprived of any medical care. He was mistakenly arrested back in March due to a
name similarity. However, the criminal judge of the mullahs’ so-called court
refused to release this prisoner despite learning of his innocence and in the
light of warnings issued by physicians. The mullahs’ inability and incapacity to
temporarily put a lid on oppression, torture and executions, even in the sacred
month of Ramadan, makes it crystal clear that the criminals ruling Iran cannot
safeguard their rule for even one day without nooses and the use of torture
against the people.The Iranian Resistance calls on international human rights
organizations to condemn the crimes of this regime and focus their efforts to
entirely banish and expel the mullahs from the global community. The senior
leaders of this regime, being a disgrace for modern humanity, must be placed
before justice for their crimes against humanity. Secretariat of the National
Council of Resistance of Iran/June 17, 2016
U.S. lawmakers concerned
about potential sale of Boeing planes to Iran regime
NCRI /Saturday, 18 June 2016/Two Republicans in the United States House of
Representatives are expressing concern over Boeing’s tentative agreement to sell
about 100 commercial planes to the Iranian regime, warning that the deal could
have serious national security implications. House Financial Services Committee
Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), who holds a
seat on the Ways and Means Committee, said that U.S. businesses should not take
part in “weaponizing” Iran’s regime. “We strongly oppose the potential sale of
military-fungible products to terrorism’s central supplier,” the lawmakers wrote
in a letter sent on Thursday to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg. If approved, the
plane purchase would represent a significant deal between a U.S. company and
Tehran following the easing of trade sanctions in January, The Hill wrote on
Friday. “In light of recent reports that a deal is imminent, we seek information
to assist the U.S. Congress in determining the national security implications of
a potential sale of Boeing aircraft to Iran," they wrote. The lawmakers sent
Boeing 10 questions to answer by July 1, saying that so far the Chicago-based
plane manufacturer has failed to respond to lawmakers’ inquiries about their
negotiations to with Iran's regime. The letter raised further concerns that
Tehran's "commercial aviation sector has been deeply involved in supporting
hostile actors."Hensarling and Roskam enclosed with the letter a June 2 State
Department report that labeled the Iranian regime “the foremost state sponsor of
terrorism” around the world. The lawmakers argue that Tehran's military
frequently uses commercial airliners for everything from transporting troops,
weapons and missiles around the world to groups like Hezbollah and Hamas and the
Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria. “These terrorist groups and rogue regimes have
American blood on their hands,” they wrote. “Your potential customers do as
well.”
IRAN: Municipal workers protest in Ahwaz
Saturday, 18 June 2016/NCRI - Municipal workers lodged a protest in front of the
municipality building in District 4 of Ahwaz, south-west Iran, demanding the
release of their recently-detained colleagues. During the protest, which was
held on Wednesday, the workers claimed that no news has yet been released about
the current condition of the detained workers. One protester said: "After a
one-day temporary detention at the police station, the detained workers were
transferred to Sepidar Prison in Ahwaz on Tuesday (June 14)."Another worker
said: "As our detained colleagues are kept in custody with other prisoners who
carried out various crimes in Sepidar Prison, we are concerned about their
safety." They also said that their colleagues had been arrested simply for
protesting with a demand to be paid their salaries which are two months overdue.
Following the arrests this week, the atmosphere of the protesting municipality
workers has become more heated with chants against the regime’s officials.
Separately on Monday, June 13, the mullahs' regime arrested another group of 24
protesting workers in Ahwaz. They too had rallied against the delay in their
salary payments.
Shopkeepers in Tehran fight back regime’s ‘morality police’
Saturday, 18 June 2016/NCRI - The Iranian regime’s suppressive ‘Gashte Ershad’ –
the so-called morality police - on Thursday carried out a spot inspection of the
clothes stock market in Tehran, harassing women and shopkeepers. Protests ensued
as a result soon after 11 am, local time. In one case, some women, who came to
buy clothes, shouted at the suppressive forces, leading to a skirmish.
Shopkeepers joined the women in their protest. In another case, two youths
clashed with the suppressive forces. In April the mullahs' regime launched a new
plan to suppress women on the bogus charge of "improper veiling."It deployed
some 7,000 so-called undercover 'morality police officers' in Tehran tasked with
suppressing women on the streets and alerting official law enforcement agencies
of instances of “improper veiling” and other “violations” of the mullahs’
fundamentalist laws.
Metal factory workers go on
strike north-west of Iran capital
NCRI/Saturday, 18 June 2016/ For the second time this week, on Thursday, the
workers of Saman Felez metal structures manufacturing company in Sepehr-Nazar
industrial town on the outskirts of Karaj, north-west of Tehran, went on strike
against non-receipt of six months of their overdue salaries. Promises to pay the
salaries have not yet been fulfilled by the company, whose directors are known
to have strong ties to officials of the mullahs’ regime. Additionally, in the
wake of the financial crisis in the factory and because of debts and lack of
government financing, the workers fear that some 150 of them will be fired under
the pretext of making adjustments and balance.
IRAN: Residents of Sohanak
and Morad-Abad rally in front of Ministry of Roads
Saturday, 18 June 2016/NCRI - On Wednesday, June 15, a group of residents from
Sohanak and Morad-Abad, north-east of Tehran, rallied in front of the Iranian
regime’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, protesting against the
regime’s decision to not allow them to carry out construction.While housing
construction permits are not issued in Sohanak and Morad-Abad, some officials of
the regime are permitted to build towers and villas in nearby similar terrain,
the protesters pointed out.
Egyptian Court sentences Morsi to 40
years; others sentenced to death
Roi Kais, AP/Ynetnews/June 18/16/The former president was given a severe
sentence for the fourth time by a court in his country; six other defendants in
the case were sentenced to death; Morsi has previously been sentenced to life in
prison and death in other cases. An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced former
president Mohamed Morsi to 40 years in prison after he was convicted on charges
relating to an espionage case involving the alleged passing of classified
Egyptian documents to Qatar. Six other defendants in the case, including two
Al-Jazeera employees, were sentenced to death. Morsi, the case's top defendant,
and two of his aides were sentenced to 25 years in prison. Morsi and his
secretary, Amin el-Sirafy, each received an additional 15-year sentence for a
lesser crime. El-Sirafy's daughter, Karima, was also sentenced to 15 years in
prison. Morsi was ousted by the military in July 2013 and has already been
sentenced to death in another case. That death sentence and another two -- life
and 20 years in prison -- are under appeal. His Muslim Brotherhood group was
banned and declared a terrorist organization after his ouster. The trial in the
Quatar papers affair involved the alleged transfer of sensitive classified
documents relating to Egypt's national security to the Gulf state, which is a
known supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood. Morsi has been in confinement at the
secluded Burj Al Arab prison in Alexandria since his ouster in July of 2013. In
May and June Egyptian courts sentenced him and several others to death for their
alleged role in a prison break that took place during the uprising that led to
the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak in early 2011. Morsi was also
sentenced to life in prison (25 years) for his alleged part in another affair,
in which he was accused of conspiracy and spying for foreign bodies such as
Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Prior to that, he
was given a 20-year sentence for his part in suppressing protests by
demonstrators opposed to him in Cairo in 2012. Morsi has, more than once, spoken
out against the judges in his trials, saying that he was the country's
legitimate president, and that their rulings were irrelevant. Due to these
remarks, he's also being tried for contempt of court.It should be noted that
even if Morsi's death sentence is given final approval in the courts, which
still requires a complex legal journey, it will have to receive final approval
from current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Death sentences
The two Al-Jazeera employees - identified by the judge as news producer Alaa
Omar Mohammed and news editor Ibrahim Mohammed Hilal - were sentenced to death
in absentia along with Asmaa al-Khateib, who worked for Rasd, a media network
widely suspected of links to Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.
There was no immediate comment from Al-Jazeera on Saturday's verdicts, but a
news story on the Al-Jazeera English website identified Hilal as a former
director of news at Al-Jazeera's Arabic channel and said Alaa Omar Mohammed was
an Al-Jazeera employee until last year.The three other defendants sentenced to
death Saturday are documentary producer Ahmed Afify, EgyptAir cabin crew member
Mohammed Keilany and academic Ahmed Ismail. The defendants' lawyers announced
their intension to appeal the sentences. Judge Mohammed Shirin Fahmy recommended
the death sentence for the six last month. Under standard procedure in cases of
capital punishment, his recommendation went to the office of Egypt's Grand
Mufti, the nation's top Muslim theological authority, for endorsement. Fahmy
quoted the Mufti's office as saying the six had sought to harm the country when
they passed to a foreign nation details of the army's deployment as well as
reports prepared by intelligence agencies. "They are more dangerous than spies,
because spies are usually foreigners, but these are, regrettably, Egyptians who
betrayed the trust.""No ideology can ever justify the betrayal of one's
country," the judge added.
Egypt's relations with Qatar have been fraught with tension since the ouster of
Morsi, who enjoyed the support of the tiny but wealthy Gulf state. Cairo also
maintains that Al-Jazeera's news coverage of Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle
East is biased in favor of militant Islamic groups.Last year, President
Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi pardoned two imprisoned journalists from the Al-Jazeera
English news network. Mohamed Fahmy, an Egyptian-born Canadian, and Egyptian
Baher Mohamed were arrested in December 2013. They had been sentenced to three
years in prison for airing what a court described as "false news" and coverage
biased in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood. The prosecution of the two, along
with Australian Peter Greste -- another Al-Jazeera English reporter who was
deported in February last year -- drew strong international condemnation.
Their long-running trial was entangled from the start with the wider political
enmity between Egypt and Qatar following Morsi's ouster.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 18-19/16
Barak and Ya'alon are not the only
ones worried
Nahum Barnea/Ynetnews/June
18/16/Israel Opinion
Op-ed: Whatever Barak and Ya'alon's motives are, they're not the point. Their
scathing criticism of Netanyahu's government comes of a feeling of emergency,
and that same feeling has been popping up in many places across the country.
They're frustrated, they're contradicting their own past statements, they're
bored, and they’re desperately seeking attention or a political comeback. That
is the gist of Prime Minister Netanyahu's response to the speeches made by two
of his former defense ministers, Moshe Ya'alon and Ehud Barak, at the Herzliya
Conference on Thursday. I haven't heard a single sentence from him that would
explain to the citizens of Israel why the two are wrong.
Whatever the motives of the two may be, they are not the main point. The two
speeches came of a certain feeling of emergency, one that has been popping up in
many places across the country—from the north to the south. It is a feeling that
comes up during Friday night dinners, at social gatherings, in water-cooler
conversations in the workplace, in posts on social media. This feeling of
emergency appears to be manifesting only among some parts of Israeli society,
but this is an important part that has played—and still plays—a central role in
Israel's defense, economy, academia, and culture. This feeling gives rise to
harsh criticism not just from two former defense ministers, but also from two
former IDF chiefs—Gabi Ashkenazi and Benny Gantz—and many others. This is the
old elite, critics would say dismissively. Okay, it's the old elite. But the cry
it is making is genuine and real: A lot of what has been going on here over the
past year has brought us, as Barak said, to the brink of disaster. Barak went on
to detail everything he sees as a deviation of the current government from the
Zionist ethos: "Whiny, victim-like mentality," "tribal mentality," "scare
tactics," "incitement," "pessimism," "passivity," "cynicism," "paralysis," and
the "Hilterization of every threat."
He described Netanyahu as someone who, out of a weakness of mind or character,
out of identification with his captors or the influence of his family—has been
dragged by the radical right wing. His government is a "hijacked government." It
plots against the values of democracy and the institutions of justice; it is
leading Israel to a juncture that could turn us into an apartheid state that is
doomed to fall, or to a bi-national state that exists in a state of perpetual
civil war. Either way, this would be the end of the Zionist enterprise. Then he
used the word many Israelis have a hard time hearing: Fascism. "If it looks like
budding fascism, walks like budding fascism and quacks like budding fascism—it's
budding fascism."Barak is a gifted orator. His speech was particularly scathing,
blunt and cruel. He didn't talk about himself or boasted about his own
achievements: It was purely a speech of admonishment.
Ya'alon's speech was less sweeping in its criticism, less explicit, but no less
painful. Israel's existential problem is not Iran or Hezbollah, the problem is
the erosion of values. We have an inciting leadership that uses hatred towards
Arabs, leftists or kibbutz members to gather up more votes. His
announcement—that he plans to run for the leadership of the country in the next
elections—was welcomed by conference goers with cheers.
Barak and Ya'alon are not immune from criticism. It is important to ask them
where they were when it was still possible for them to stop the trends they're
talking about. What was Barak doing as a defense minister in Netanyahu's
government, what did he promote and what did he fail to stop; why did Barak as a
prime minister establish settlements that he now seeks to dismantle; what did
Ya'alon say and do before falling out with Netanyahu and before being ousted
from the Defense Ministry. They each have very good reasons for remorse.But all
of this doesn't negate the value of their words, and doesn't erase the writing
they see on the wall. After a year of ongoing victory celebrations, of being
drunk on power, the government is beginning to pay the price for its deviations
and incitement. It is paying it on the international stage, and domestically.
Barak and Ya'alon are just the tip of the iceberg.
Is the Arab Peace Initiative back on the table?
Linda Gradstein/The Media
Line/Jerusalem Post/June 18/16
Despite international efforts, there have been no substantive
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations for more than five years. While Israel has
always insisted that only direct bilateral talks can lead to a peace agreement,
Arab states say they are more interested in a regional peace agreement, and that
the outline of a deal was offered in 2002. Called the Arab Peace Initiative
(API) or the Saudi plan, it is a ten- point initiative that calls for an Israeli
withdrawal from all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, as well as
the Golan Heights which Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and later annexed. It
also calls for a “just” solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees. In
exchange, Israel would receive peace treaties with dozens of Arab states in the
region. The plan was overshadowed by an attack on the Park hotel in Netanya
during a Passover seder when gunmen from the Islamist Hamas movement killed 30
Israeli civilians. Now regional players in the Middle East say it might be time
to try to revive the plan.
“In our opinion the Arab Peace Initiative is the way (to proceed) when we talk
of regional peace,” Ambassador Walid Obeidat, the Jordanian Ambassador to Israel
told the 2016 Herzliya Conference. “We had international legitimacy, it is
supported by 58 countries. What could Israel ask for more than this?” Israel has
had a peace treaty with both Egypt and Jordan for decades, and while there is
extensive security cooperation Israeli hopes for a “warm peace” with mutual
visits and extensive economic ties have not been realized. Palestinians have
long supported the Arab Peace Initiative which would give regional backing to
any deal they made with Israel. “It provides Israel with a prize for recognizing
the state of Palestine,” Elias Zananir, the Deputy Chairman of the PLO Committee
for Interaction with Israeli Society told the same conference. “We tried
bilateral negotiations and 22 years have passed without a result. I think we are
living the last minutes of a chance for peace and time is of the essence.”Some
Israelis have embraced the idea of a broader regional peace as well. “The Arab
Peace Initiative is a historic landmark,” Knesset member Yaakov Peri, the former
head of the Israeli security agency the Shin Bet told The Media Line. “Israel
has wanted Arab recognition ever since it was established. It is in Israel’s
interest to separate from the Palestinians. It is time for us to stop reacting
and to start to take the initiative.”
Just two weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did not discount
the plan when he spoke at the swearing-in ceremony of Defense Minister Avigdor
Lieberman. “I want to clarify that I am committed to achieving peace with our
Palestinian neighbors and with all our neighbors,” Netanyahu said. “The Arab
Peace Initiative includes positive elements that could help revive constructive
negotiations with the Palestinians. We are prepared to conduct negotiations with
the Arab nations about updating the proposal so as to reflect the dramatic
changes in our region since 2002, but maintain the agreed-upon goal of two
states for two peoples.” However, earlier this week, Netanyahu backpedaled
telling a Likud ministers that it cannot be a basis for talks. “If the Arab
nations grasp the fact that they need to revise the Arab League proposal
according to the changes Israel demands, then we can talk,” Netanyahu said,
according to the Ha’aretz newspaper. “But if they bring the proposal from 2002
and define it as 'take it or leave it' – we’ll choose to leave it.” Israel has
long said it would not withdraw from the Golan Heights, territory it conquered
in 1967 from Syria and annexed in 1981. Even many left-wingers in Israel say
that given the past five years of the civil war in Syria, it would be a mistake
to even consider withdrawing from the Golan Heights right now. Former US
Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer told The Media Line that Israel is not being
asked to “accept” the API, which is an Arab initiative but to respond to it.
“The Arabs have been looking for some Israeli response – some sense that “we
welcome the fact that you did this, but we have some issues and let’s proceed to
negotiate,” he said. “Israel has not yet done that.”The revival of the API comes
as Israel and Saudi Arabia have been moving closer over the past few months.
Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold has held several public
meetings with Saudi officials, and, according to the Israeli press, a series of
secret meetings as well. Both Israel and Saudi Arabia see Iran as a growing
threat in the Middle East. “It is no secret that there is a strategic
convergence between Israel and many of the Sunni Arab countries,” Gold said.
“Many of the countries to our east fear the rise of Iranian power. We see
intense Iranian involvement with boots on the ground in Syria and in Iraq.”Gold
said that most Arab countries do not really care about a solution to the
Palestinian issue, although admitted that the Arab population continues to see
it as important.
Russian, Iranian and Assad camps
lose interest in diplomacy
Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/June 18/16/
Talks between the Russian, Iranian and Syrian defense ministers have raised a
lot of rumors and questions. The most common explanation of the intention behind
the meeting is that the three countries want to join forces to take Aleppo and
drown Syria in blood, having lost interest in a diplomatic solution to the
conflict. This interpretation is promoted by Syrian opposition leaders, but
there is no credibility to it. The Geneva talks are stuck, and though the truce
is holding somewhat, Aleppo is in danger of complete collapse. Everything is
jeopardized by Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat an-Nusra and rebels who are allied with
it for their survival. Neither Moscow, Tehran nor Damascus are interested in
drowning Syria in blood. Their motives are led by elementary logic and
self-preservation. Russia is weakened by Western sanctions due to the Ukrainian
crisis, while NATO is re-discovering its raison d’etre of deterring the Eastern
aggressor. Militarism in Europe is on the rise, fuelled by broad NATO drills,
dubious declarations by its secretary-general, and Moscow’s harsh responses to
them. Under such circumstances, it is much more profitable to be an effective
negotiator, and have influence on one of the sides, than to drown Syria in blood
The situation over Syria is hanging on a knife edge. Instead of cooperating, the
camps are opening the way to direct rivalry. Russia needs to curry favor with
its counterparts to ease tensions. US Secretary of State John Kerry’s warning on
Wednesday that his patience with Russia is limited immediately resulted in
Moscow’s announcement of its strong commitment to a sustainable ceasefire in
Aleppo. However, the next day Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged
Washington to be more patient over Syria, and even accused the United States of
using Jabhat an-Nusra for its own interests. The risk of deteriorating relations
between the two nuclear powers over Syria is high and strongly undesirable, as
it could lead to direct military clashes. The consequences would be
unpredictable.
Undesirable developments
Russia, Iran and Syria are synchronizing their agendas against undesirable
developments that have already started. NATO has said it is ready to join the
fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Syria. However, even
with these noble intentions, it would be easy for NATO to target other players.
There are rumors (even if they happen to be untrustworthy) that France has a
limited contingent in Syria. The increasing number of players is complicating
the situation. There are two reasons for the camps to close ranks. The first is
the battle for the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. It is clear that after the
liberation of Palmyra by Syrian government forces with support from Iran and
Russia, Raqqa is next to be liberated. The opposing coalition cannot allow this,
so there is a race to take it. Secondly, the Geneva talks have stalled and Saudi
Arabia has lost hope of an agreement, pushing coalition forces to start
implementing Plan B, a military solution to the Syrian conflict. One camp is
getting ready for this scenario. The other is getting ready to respond. The
situation over Syria is hanging on a knife edge. Instead of cooperating, the
camps are opening the way to direct rivalry. Hopefully peace talks will resume
and all sides will demonstrate the needed flexibility to reach a solution. This
will allow them to unite against ISIS, rather than fight over who gets the glory
for its defeat.
US-Saudi tech, security and
economic ties get a reboot
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/June 18/16/
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s significant visit to the United
States cannot be understated. This week, he is heading to California for the
second leg of his American tour, following a trip to Washington. His visit to
San Francisco seeks to boost links between Silicon Valley and the Kingdom with
new high-tech projects and solutions. The aim is to create one of the most
advanced technology sectors in Saudi Arabia itself. The Kingdom seeks to be the
number one importer of US high technology, in addition to making the best use of
American know-how in the high-tech sector to help meet the goals of Vision
2030's digital economy. It also stimulates other industrial sectors such as
industrial equipment, communications and information technology, which in turn
aims to create more job opportunities in the Kingdom. Prince Mohammed US tour is
a defining moment not only for American-Saudi relations, but also the deputy
heir to the throne’s introduction to Washington DC’s elites. His message is
simple: The Kingdom is open for major investments on a strong, robust, bilateral
footing. It’s not a reset; it’s a reboot to a new upgrade. Friday’s meeting
between Prince Mohammed and US President Barack Obama was no exception. During
the encounter in the White House’s Oval Office, Obama expressed his country’s
commitment to continue cooperation with Saudi Arabia and for the two nations to
work together to support the security and stability of the Middle East region,
and the challenges the region faced. The two also discussed Saudi Arabia’s
Vision 2030 economic diversification plan.
Obama had previously described Prince Mohammed as “extremely knowledgeable, very
smart” and “wise beyond his years.” This ringing endorsement from a US
President, who had been criticized as ineffective in the Middle East, sets a
positive tone for the next presidential administration and its management of
US-Saudi relationship. On Friday, following the Obama-Prince Mohammed meeting,
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said as much: “Saudi Arabia will have
strong ties with the future US president.”Jubeir also said Saudi Arabia supports
a more aggressive approach against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's
government, including imposing a no-fly zone and arming rebels with
surface-to-air missiles. Finally, the Saudi foreign minister expressed the
Kingdom’s determination to handle Iran’s aggressive behavior. At the Pentagon on
Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Carter noted that his meeting with Prince
Mohammed, who is also the kingdom’s defense minister, showed a productive and
close security relationship between the two countries. Carter noted plans to
expand bilateral coordination on special operation forces, as well as security
and intelligence cooperation on a variety of issues including Yemen, the fight
against ISIS, operations against al-Qaeda and “countering Iran’s belying
influence.” Clearly, US-Saudi financial deals and future contracts are setting a
new pathway forward between the two countries. The future King of Saudi Arabia
seeks to go beyond the concept of a “reset” to a “reboot” to a new understanding
between the two countries based on economic security
Innovation
Prince Mohammed is spending more than 10 days in America. His tour to
Washington, Silicon Valley and New York are a roadshow of the Kingdom’s hope for
the next generation, their aspirations, and a Saudi desire to interact with the
world with innovation and expansion of industries through private partnerships.
Context is important. The visit is occurring roughly one week after the Saudi
cabinet was briefed on Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Plan (NTP), a
pivotal metric program to measure progress on the “Vision 2030” reforms
announced on April 25. In addition, deals with American company’s GE and Uber
before Prince Mohammed’s Washington visit stand out as a harbinger of
transactions to come between the two countries. According to the Saudi Press
Agency, the kingdom intends to build the biggest sovereign wealth fund in the
world through nationalization of key sectors and offering IPOs (Aramco for
instance) and other instruments such as bonds. Right now, rules in Saudi Arabia
regarding green cards and 100 percent ownership in the retail sector shows the
Kingdom moving quickly to open up to the world. Dow Chemical received the first
ever foreign company business license in the Kingdom. Clearly, US-Saudi
financial deals and future contracts are setting a new pathway forward between
the two countries. The future King of Saudi Arabia seeks to go beyond the
concept of a “reset” to a “reboot” to a new understanding between the two
countries based on economic security.
Youth
Significantly, the Saudis are embracing their youth as part of Vision 2030. As
Prince Mohammed landed in Washington D.C., back in Riyadh, King Salman decreed
that 3000 male and female students who are studying in the United States to be
put immediately on scholarship. The youth factor here is important: Prince
Mohammed’s visit shows the young face of the new Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is
effectively creating a healthier environment for creativity for the country’s
youth so that Saudi graduates of American universities help to build the
Kingdom’s future generations by returning home after completion of their
academic studies. The solution to the Kingdom’s youth bulge is to be put to work
based on advances in American technology, innovation, and training plus
education. The signing of an agreement between Babson College and Saudi partners
to establish the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman College of Administration and
Entrepreneurship is a first step. Overall, the Prince Mohammed’s visit to
Washington DC is a rousing success. It appears a new understanding between
America and Saudi Arabia has arrived in time to be partners in a number of key
areas especially Vision 2030. That’s a real upgrade.
Road to GES: Engaging
entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa
Ziad Haider/Al Arabiya/June 18/16/
Seven years ago this week, President Obama delivered a landmark speech in Cairo
in which he underscored the transformative power of entrepreneurship. In his
remarks, he described the need to “...deepen ties between business leaders,
foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and…around the
world.”Catalyzed by the President’s Cairo speech, nearly 10,000 entrepreneurs,
investors, foundations, and other key stakeholders have since convened over the
past six years in Washington, Istanbul, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Marrakesh, and
Nairobi as part of a series of entrepreneurship summits. Later this month,
President Obama will lead the US delegation to join approximately 1,200 more
entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors from 170 countries in Silicon Valley for
the seventh and final Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) of the Obama
administration. As the Department of State’s Special Representative for
Commercial and Business Affairs, I have had the privilege of travelling across
the globe as part of a series of “Road to GES” events. The purpose of the events
has been to promote GES 2016 and entrepreneurship more broadly for three
reasons. Promoting entrepreneurship creates jobs and incomes. By creating such
prosperity, enhanced stability follows, diminishing extremism and associated
security threats. So does a level playing field and inclusiveness where
entrepreneurs can be self-reliant and contribute to their economies and
societies. Take the entrepreneur I met in India who was working to develop
durable solar powered roofs that don’t just provide shelter but also can charge
light bulbs. In a country where a population the size of the entire United
States has no electricity, such bottom up ingenuity to complement the
government’s top down policies is essential.
Another in Tunisia described his passion for entrepreneurship as the idea of
achieving “success without unfair advantage.” Creating a strong and
self-starting entrepreneurial ecosystem was, in his view, vital to cementing
Tunisia’s historic democratic transition away from the prior authoritarian
regime and its economic model based on cronyism.
While visiting the Cogite incubator in Tunis, I was also inspired to learn of a
group of Norwegian entrepreneurs who were developing an app to assist Syrian
refugees learn Norwegian in order for them to integrate and find jobs in Norway.
Norwegians in Tunisia are helping Syrians. That to me is the kind of world we
want to live in. Young people — without heed to borders — applying their
creativity to find solutions to a crisis of humanity.At Cogite, an incubator in
Tunis, talking with young entrepreneurs about their tech innovations. But for my
last stop on the Road to GES, I decided to come full circle to where it all
began: Cairo. On June 1, I had the privilege to serve as the keynote speaker at
a “Road to GES: Cairo” event at the American University in Cairo (AUC) that
brought together 300 entrepreneurs. The day-long event featured networking
opportunities and panels on investing in startups with venture capital firms,
transformative technologies and resulting opportunities, and the socioeconomic
impact entrepreneurs can have beyond their borders. Road to GES: Cairo event on
June 1, 2016 at the American University in Cairo. In my remarks, I underscored
the elements needed to create a successful entrepreneurial ecosystem: access to
capital, protection of intellectual property, support from academic
institutions, investment in infrastructure and technology, and a shift in a
cultural mindset that accepts risk-taking and, failure. These are elements on
which I have sought to build partnerships with foreign officials throughout my
Road to GES stops. Egypt has a rich history of entrepreneurism with enduring
role models such as Talaat Harb — Egypt’s pioneer entrepreneur who went on to
found the Bank of Egypt in 1907. Azza Faiad from Alexandria at the age of 20
years old tackled two of the world’s biggest issues at once — pollution and
energy — when she discovered a more efficient way of converting garbage into
valued biofuel. And then there is RiseUp Summit whose offices I visited at
Cairo’s vibrant GrEEK campus. RiseUp organizes the MENA region’s preeminent
summit on entrepreneurship with a total of 4,500 entrepreneurs in attendance
last year. Event by event, they are forging an invaluable intra-regional
ecosystem for entrepreneurs. Meeting with RiseUp Summit representatives at the
GrEEK campus in Cairo. All that I have witnessed in Egypt and across my Road to
GES stops is but a drop in the bucket. There is a world out there teeming with
young innovators eager to create value and solutions in response to social
needs, and who desire a platform to connect. GES is the preeminent platform for
them to do so. Those that cannot attend GES can still plug into interact online
with other entrepreneurs and investors.
Saudi Arabia: We are all
brothers and Muslims
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/June 18/16/
There is a story about the Muslim Brotherhood and Saudi Arabia that has been
told often since the founding of the country by King Abdulaziz and a number of
statesmen. The story has been mentioned in articles and books, but its original
source has never been cited. It says the king refused Brotherhood founder Hassan
al-Banna’s request to open a branch for the movement in Saudi Arabia, prudently
saying: “We’re all brothers and we’re all Muslims.”The most important reference
is the story of Prince Fahd bin Mohammad bin Abdulaziz, one of the late king’s
grandsons. He was very close to the king, and narrated a lot of his
grandfather’s news as he was often with him. Prince Fahd said he had heard of
the meeting and Banna’s request, to which the king replied: “Who will you
appoint in this office?” Banna suggested two men from the Brotherhood, to which
the king replied: “You forgot someone.” Banna asked who, and the king replied:
“Me. Aren’t we Muslims [too]? We are all Muslim brothers.” (Saudi Al-Jazirah
daily, issue #14969, Sunday Sept. 22, 2013)
‘No place here’
During one of his lessons at the Prophet’s Mosque, the late Sheikh Mohammad Aman
al-Jami said: “It has been said that while Banna [was in Saudi Arabia] for hajj,
he asked King Abdulaziz - may he rest in peace - to open [a branch] for the
Brotherhood. King Abdulaziz then said: ‘My people are all Muslims. Where will
you put your group? They have no place here; keep them there, in Egypt’.” There
is a story about the Muslim Brotherhood and Saudi Arabia that has been told
often since the founding of the country by King Abdulaziz. In an interview with
Saudi magazine Al-Yamamah - quoted by Elaph - Dr Mohammad al-Hoshan, one of the
first students to benefit from Saudi scholarships, said Banna’s aim for going to
Saudi Arabia for hajj that year “was to ask King Abdulaziz to allow him to
establish a branch for the Brotherhood in the kingdom. “The shrewd king told
him: ‘Didn’t you know that I and my entire people are from the Muslim
Brotherhood, and that the entire kingdom is a Brotherhood branch? Will you
approve of me as head of this branch?” Hoshan added: “This is how the king’s
shrewdness defeated the ambitions of the Brotherhood’s founder.”
This is an overview of the mentality during the foundation period. This article
was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on June 15, 2016.
Happiness is still ground for
punishment in Iran, writes Mark Williams MP
NCRI Iran News/June 18/16
There is never much time that goes by between vivid reminders of the human
rights record of the mullahs' regime in Iran, or the radical, theocratic
ideology that justifies those abuses, writes Mark Williams, a Member of
Parliament from the United Kingdom. Under the system of clerical leadership,
virtually anything can be criminalized if it is deemed to be out of step with
the regime’s perspective on what it means to be authentically Muslim or Iranian,
he says.
"Morality police routinely confront people in public or detain them for supposed
violations of the country’s restrictive religious laws, especially cases of
women deem not to observe the regime's legally mandated dress-code. Meanwhile,
women and men are barred from mingling in public or making physical contact of
any kind unless they are related or married. And those who so much as protest
against these and other social restrictions are thrown in jail for vague charges
like 'spreading propaganda' or 'insulting sanctities.' If the regime
particularly wishes to make an example out of an offender, he or she may be
charged with offences like 'enmity against God', which carries the death
penalty," Mr. Williams wrote for The Hill on Friday.
"A couple of years ago, Western audiences were noticeably shocked at the news
that several Iranian youths had been arrested for the 'crime' of dancing
together and posting a video of themselves celebrating life to the strains of an
American pop song called 'Happy.' It was one in a long series of vivid reminders
of repression in Iran. But unfortunately it was one of only a few that have
gained significant traction in the Western media. It left the European and
American public with the right idea about the Islamic Republic, but also with a
potentially incomplete picture of how serious and how pervasive the problem is."
"Thanks in large part to permissive Western policies before and after the last
year's nuclear agreement regarding the future of Iran’s record on human rights
and other matters. The West was right to be shocked by the 'Happy' arrests in
2014. It is objectively shocking to anyone who has even a modicum of respect for
the rights of free expression, or for that matter, the right to joy."
"But that incident took place early in the presidency of the supposed moderate
Hassan Rouhani. There was apparent hope among some foreign observers and
diplomats that this would be one of the last gasps for outrageous repression in
the Islamic Republic."
sense, Rouhani justified those arrests, even while encouraging the perception
that he was at odds with the country’s judiciary. In fact, just about a month
before the 'Happy' story broke, Rouhani was quoted by Iranian state media as
saying that the harshest punishments of judiciary were inherently justified
because they were 'God’s commandments' and 'laws of the parliament.'"
"And lest Rouhani’s verbal justification of those executions leave any doubt
about where he really stands on human rights. He then followed it up by
overseeing the worst period of executions in the last 25 years of Iranian
history. More than 2,400 people have been put to death since he took office in
2013. And this has gone a long way toward convincing Ahmed Shaheed, the UN
special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, that 'the overall situation has
worsened' since Rouhani took office."
Three years into Rouhani’s presidency, it is now abundantly clear that the
“Happy” arrests were not an aberration, much less the last gasp for repression
in Iran, Mr. Williams added.
"They were part of a pattern that has been ongoing or intensifying in the midst
of what many Western policy makers rushed to describe a trend toward moderation.
At the end of May, Western observers were shocked once again by an incident that
closely paralleled the 'Happy' arrests."
"The recent incident involved approximately 35 youths who were arrested for
attending a mixed- gender graduation party. Within the space of 24 hours, each
one of these arrestees was detained, tried, sentenced, and punished with 99
lashes. The message is clear: three years after Rouhani took office and two
years after he declared that Iranians shouldn’t be punished too severely for
expressing joy, it is still the case that acting in a spirit of freedom is
illegal in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will be met with violence."
How many more vivid reminders of this fact must we witness before we understand
that neither Rouhani nor any other member of the clerical regime will be the
bearer of meaningful moderation on human rights or any other issue, the British
lawmaker asked.
He added: "How much longer will it be before we listen to dissident groups like
the National Council of Resistance of Iran, led by Maryam Rajavi, which say that
basic freedoms will only be safeguarded for the Iranian people once that the
theocratic regime no longer holds power?"
"The world community has already clung to its optimism for too long. Or rather,
it has found optimism in the wrong place. It should look instead to the message
that will be delivered at the 'Free Iran' rally in Paris on July 9, where
activists of the Iranian resistance (according by some estimates up to 100,000)
will strive to explain that the abuses suffered by the Iranian people are on the
verge of bringing the Islamic Republic to a tipping point."
"If the West gives appropriate attention to the situation of human rights in
Iran, and offers proper support to the Iranian people, it has the power to give
that country its final push toward a brighter future," he added.
*Mark Williams is a Liberal Democrat MP in the UK House of Commons and member of
the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom (BPCIF).
A Month of Islam in Germany:
May 2016/Sharia Police, Erdogan Burgers, More Mass Rapes
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/June 18/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8279/islam-germany-may-2016
During an
investigation into the mass sexual assaults in Cologne on New Year's Eve, a
chief superintendent from the Cologne police department revealed that he was
ordered to remove the term "rape" from an internal police report about the
assaults.
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, says it will process more than
one million asylum requests in 2016.
Thousands of Christians in German refugee shelters are being persecuted by
Muslims, sometimes even by their security guards. — Open Doors, German branch.
"German security officials have indications that members and supporters of
terrorist organizations are being smuggled in with refugees in a targeted,
organized way in order to launch attacks in Germany." — German Federal Police.
Muhterem Aras was elected as the female first Muslim speaker of the state
parliament in Baden-Württemberg. Aras has been a proponent of allowing migrants
without German citizenship to vote in local elections.
A 26-year-old migrant from Afghanistan was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in
prison for raping a woman who had offered him accommodation in her home in
Cologne by means of a website, "Refugees Welcome."
May 1. The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), now the third-most
popular political party in Germany, adopted a manifesto calling for curbs to
migration and restrictions on Islam. The document calls for a ban on minarets,
Muslim calls to prayer and full-face veils.
May 2. Hans-Georg Maaßen, the head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency,
revealed that around 90 "predominately Arabic-speaking" mosques in Germany are
under surveillance. He said they involve mostly "backyard mosques" where
"self-proclaimed imams and self-proclaimed emirs" are "inciting their followers
to jihad." He called on moderate Muslims to work with the government to fight
extremism and defend the constitutional order. Maaßen was speaking ahead of a
security conference in Berlin at which he said that his agency we receiving on
average four terror alerts every day: "The Islamic State is committed to
attacking Germany and German interests."
May 2. During an investigation into the mass sexual assaults in Cologne on New
Year's Eve, a chief superintendent from the Cologne police department revealed
that he was ordered to remove the term "rape" from an internal police report
about the assaults. The superintendent, identified only as Jürgen H., said that
he received a telephone call on January 1 from an official at the interior
ministry in North-Rhine Westphalia, who told him in an angry tone: "This is not
rape. Remove this term from your report. Submit a new report." The revelation
adds to suspicions that there was a political cover-up to avoid fueling
anti-immigration sentiments.
May 3. A 20-year-old migrant from Afghanistan sexually assaulted a six-year-old
boy in the changing room of a sports hall in Munich. Police said the same
migrant had sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl at a public swimming pool in
2013.
May 3. A high court in Düsseldorf ruled that a group of eight German Islamists
who dressed up in orange vests with the words "SHARIA POLICE" and who attempted
to enforce Islamic law on the streets of Wuppertal in 2014 would face trial. The
ruling overturned a lower court decision in December 2015 that the men would not
face trial. The upper court said that the men had violated a law banning the
wearing of uniforms at public rallies. The law, which prohibits uniforms that
express common political views, was originally designed to ban neo-Nazi groups
from parading in public. If convicted, the Islamists face up to two years in
prison.
A high court in Düsseldorf, Germany ruled that a group of eight Islamists who
dressed up in orange vests with the words "SHARIA POLICE" and who attempted to
enforce Islamic law on the streets of Wuppertal in 2014 would face trial. They
are charged under a law that prohibits the wearing of uniforms at public rallies
-- a law originally designed to ban neo-Nazi groups from parading in public.
May 5. A new INSA poll found that 60% of the Germans surveyed believe that Islam
does not belong to Germany. By contrast, only 22% said they believe Islam is an
integral part of German society. Nearly half (46%) of those surveyed said they
are worried about the "Islamization" of Germany. In a similar poll conducted in
January 2015, 37% of respondents said Islam belongs to Germany, 15% more than
now. The results indicate that German attitudes toward Islam are changing after
the decision by Chancellor Angela Merkel to allow more than 1.1 million mostly
Muslim migrants to enter the country in 2015.
May 6. A YouGov poll found that 62% of the Germans surveyed do not have any
Muslims among their close personal friends. Around 60% of those surveyed also
said that in their daily life they had noticed an increased number of Muslims in
the country. German multiculturalists blamed Germans for their lack of openness
to diversity. Others said the poll proved that Muslims in Germany are isolating
themselves from the larger society.
May 7. A gourmet hamburger restaurant in Cologne closed after receiving threats
over its "Erdogan Burger." In April, Jörg Tiemann, the manager of "Urban Burgery,"
added to his menu a burger with goat cheese and named it the Erdogan Burger. He
was responding to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's effort to prosecute
the German comedian Jan Böhmermann for a poem mocking the Turkish leader. In a
Facebook post, Tiemann wrote:
"Urban Burgery is forced to close until further notice. Because of concrete
threats, we can no longer guarantee the safety of our employees. But one thing
is certain: We will not be muzzled by the enemies of democracy, rule of law and
civil liberties."
May 9. Frank-Jürgen Weise, the director of Federal Office for Migration and
Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge, BAMF), said that his agency
will process more than one million asylum requests in 2016. This number includes
430,000 applications from 2015 that are currently being processed; another
300,000 applications from migrants who arrived in Germany in 2015 but have not
yet filed claims; and 500,000 applications from migrants who will arrive in
Germany in 2016.
May 9. The German branch of Open Doors, a non-governmental organization
supporting persecuted Christians, reported that thousands of Christians in
German refugee shelters are being persecuted by Muslims, sometimes even by their
security guards. The report, which asserts that in most cases German authorities
have done nothing to protect the victims, alleges that German authorities and
police have deliberately downplayed and even covered up the "taboo issue" of
Muslim attacks on Christian refugees, apparently to avoid fueling
anti-immigration sentiments.
May 10. A German man shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("Allah is the Greatest") and
"infidels must die" stabbed one person to death and slashed three others in an
early morning attack at a train station near Munich. Police said the suspect, a
27-year-old unemployed carpenter identified only as Paul H., was mentally ill
and did not appear to have any ties to Islamist groups.
May 11. The Federal Police (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) revealed that federal and
state authorities are investigating 40 cases in which Islamic militants entered
Germany while posing as refugees. "German security officials have indications
that members and supporters of terrorist organizations are being smuggled in
with refugees in a targeted, organized way in order to launch attacks in
Germany," according to a BKA spokeswoman.
May 11. The first Muslim woman was elected as speaker of the state parliament in
Baden-Württemberg. Muhterem Aras, 50, was born in Turkey and moved to Stuttgart
at the age of 12. She is a tax accountant and financial affairs spokeswoman for
the Green party. Her election has been widely hailed as a Muslim integration
success story. "We wrote history today," Aras said, adding that
Baden-Württemberg had sent "a message of openness, tolerance, and successful
integration." Aras has been a proponent of allowing migrants without German
citizenship to vote in local elections.
May 12. In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Germany's most prominent feminist,
Alice Schwarzer, talked about her new book on the sexual assaults in Cologne on
December 31. She said that although more than 600 women have filed complaints,
she does not expect any of the perpetrators to be convicted:
"For one, because of the method they used: from a huge group of over a thousand
men, small groups split off, surrounded and mistreated the women, only to
disappear in the large mass again. It was difficult for the victims to identify
the perpetrators. Also, what is trivialized as 'sexual harassment' in German
penal law isn't punishable to this very day."
May 12. Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox leaders issued a joint statement
calling on Christians in Germany to welcome Muslim migrants with "openness, with
the spirit of charity." The letter — which does not distinguish between
legitimate asylum seekers and hundreds of thousands of economic migrants posing
as refugees — said:
"The right to asylum, which is laid down in the Basic Law, and the obligations
arising from the Geneva Convention, requires our country to grant anyone who
seeks refuge with us access to an individual, fair and impartial procedure,
regardless of how many people are currently in need of protection and
irrespective of the country of origin.
"Refugees are people with individual stories; they expose us to new experiences,
hopes and ideas. We are convinced: The more people we meet, the less space
remains for prejudice, hatred and rejection."
May 14. The newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported the contents of a leaked document
from the Finance Ministry which revealed that the migrant crisis would end up
costing German taxpayers €93.6 billion ($105 billion) between now and 2020.
About €25.7 billion would be for social spending, especially unemployment
benefits and housing support. About €5.7 billion would be destined for language
courses and €4.6 billion for integrating refugees into the workforce.
May 15. Nearly a dozen women between the ages of 16 and 48 reported being
sexually assaulted by groups of male migrants at a music festival in the
Kreuzberg district of Berlin. The attacks at the Carnival of Cultures, where
groups of men encircled the women and assaulted and robbed them, were similar to
those in Cologne on New Year's Eve.
May 16. In an interview with Die Welt, Beatrix von Storch, the deputy leader of
the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, called on Germany's
main Islamic associations to "explicitly distance" themselves from Islamic
sharia law, something they so far refused to do. She said the AfD had nothing
against individual Muslims, but it opposed political Islam, which she said
contradicts the German constitution.
May 17. A court in Hamburg ruled that the author of a poem lampooning Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was prohibited from publicly reciting passages of
his work. The court said that comedian Jan Böhmermann was allowed to recite only
six of the 24 lines of his poem, thereby handing Erdogan a legal victory in a
case that prompted a debate in Germany over freedom of speech. Chancellor Angela
Merkel personally authorized criminal proceedings against the comic. She was
accused of pandering to Erdogan's autocratic government.
May 18. The Berliner Morgenpost reported that a Turkish-born Salafist had been
given access to the secure areas of both of the Tegel and Schönefeld airports in
Berlin for nearly a year after authorities discovered his ties to fundamentalist
Islam. The 24-year-old man, identified only as Recep Ü., was fired after he
attempted to smuggle brass knuckles into the secure area of the Schönefeld
airport. Wisag Airport Service Berlin, the company that directly hired the man,
said that neither German police nor German intelligence had passed on
information that the man was an active member of Germany's Salafist scene.
May 18. The Berliner Morgenpost reported that large groups of male migrants have
been gathering at the Boulevard Berlin shopping mall in the Steglitz district of
the capital, where they have been sexually assaulting female passersby. At least
35 teenage migrants have been loitering at the mall for several weeks, in part
because there is free access to the Internet. When security guards asked them to
leave the premises, the youths called for back-up and soon dozens more teenage
migrants arrived to taunt and harass the guards, who were required to use pepper
spray to defend themselves.
May 22. A doctor in Cologne is being sued for discrimination after he declined
to treat a Muslim woman who refused to shake his hand. The woman said she could
not shake the doctor's hand on religious grounds, but the doctor noted that the
Koran does not prohibit handshakes. After the woman became confrontational, the
doctor declined to treat her on the grounds that there was no basis of trust
between doctor and patient. The woman's husband is now suing the doctor for
religious discrimination. The doctor faces a fine of €2,000 ($2,250).
May 23. A 23-year-old asylum seeker from Iraq who was wearing a T-shirt saying
"I'm Muslim Don't Panic" was assaulted by fellow refugees for offending Islam.
After ripping his T-shirt to shreds, a 27-year-old Syrian and a 33-year-old
Lebanese beat the man so badly that he was hospitalized. The two men were
arrested and charged with causing grievous bodily harm.
May 23. Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann announced a new plan to
recruit migrants to the police force regardless of whether they have acquired
German citizenship. He said he hoped the initiative would create a "more direct
line" to people with an immigrant background by hiring those who speak their
language and understand their mentality. Herrmann said the plan was motivated
not by the threat of Islamic terrorism, but by a series of xenophobic murders
committed between 2000 and 2007 by a now defunct neo-Nazi group called the
National Socialist Underground (Nationalsozialistischer Untergrund, NSU).
May 24. Police arrested a 26-year-old migrant from Pakistan suspected of
murdering a 70-year-old woman in her home near Heilbronn. The man, who was
living in an asylum shelter in Öhringen, had left documents in Arabic and
English "of an overwhelmingly religious nature" at the scene of the crime.
May 25. Germany's coalition government agreed on a new "Integration Law" aimed
at regulating the rights and responsibilities of asylum seekers in Germany. The
main focus of the law is to encourage refugees to learn enough German to be able
to find a job and help pay for their living expenses. Critics say the new law is
a largely symbolic measure directed at reassuring German voters and blunting the
rise of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party. They say the new law
is inadequate to deal with Germany's integration problems, in part because it
applies only to legitimate asylum seekers, not to the hundreds of thousands of
economic migrants who have entered Germany illegally by posing as asylum
seekers.
May 25. A 19-year-old migrant from Iraq was sentenced to two years in prison for
raping a 21-year-old woman at the train station in Bad Schwartau, a town in
northern Germany. The man —who admitted to dragging the woman into the men's
restroom and raping her — received the minimum possible sentence according to
Section 177 of Germany's criminal code.
May 26. A 26-year-old migrant from Afghanistan was sentenced to two-and-a-half
years in prison for raping a woman who had offered him accommodation in her home
in Cologne. The woman had offered the room by means of a website called
"Refugees Welcome" (Flüchtlinge Willkommen), which "supports decentralized
housing solutions for refugees." According to the website: "Through our work, we
aspire to contribute to nurturing an open society based on principles of
solidarity and equality of all. One of our core principles as an organization is
that no one is illegal."
May 26. The newsmagazine Focus reported that increasing numbers of Germans are
relocating to Hungary because of Chancellor Angela Merkel's open door migration
policy. A real estate agent in a town near Lake Balaton, a popular tourist
destination in western Hungary, said that eight out of ten Germans who want to
relocate there cite Germany's migration crisis as the reason for their desire to
leave the country.
May 27. The head of the Protestant Church in Germany, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm,
called for Islam to be taught in all German public schools as a way to distance
young Muslims from radical ideologies. In an interview with the Heilbronner
Stimme, Bedford-Strohm said that teaching Islam in schools nationwide would give
Muslim students the opportunity to take a critical approach to their own
religion: "Tolerance, freedom of religion and freedom of conscience should apply
to all religions. These principles can be best taught if religion is part of the
state's educational mission." Bedford-Strohm said German Islamic associations —
many of which have ties to foreign governments, including Turkey and Saudi
Arabia — should be responsible for developing and teaching these courses.
May 27. A Protestant church in Hamburg held a funeral service for a convert to
Islam who was killed fighting for the Islamic State in Syria. The controversial
funeral at the St. Pauli church was for a teenager named Florent, who was born
in Cameroon and raised as a Christian in Hamburg. When he was 14, Florent
converted to Islam and changed his name to Bilal. He quickly became radicalized
and joined the German Salafist movement. He left for Syria on a false passport
in May 2015 and was killed three months later. Pastor Sieghard Wilm, who
organized the "interfaith" funeral, was criticized for "idealizing" the life of
the terrorist. He responded by saying that the church should be a "place of
learning for the respect of other religions."
May 29. Green party politician Stefanie von Berg called for new mosques to be
built in every district of Hamburg so that the city's burgeoning Muslim
population has enough space to pray. She said the construction of visible new
mosques is essential for integrating the Muslim community. The Heinrich Böll
Foundation, a think tank linked to the Green party, estimates that there are
more than 150,000 Muslims in Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany, but
less than 50 mosques.
May 31. Groups of male migrants sexually assaulted at least 18 women at an
outdoor festival in Darmstadt. The attacks at the Schlossgrabenfest, in which
large numbers of men surrounded women and sexually assault them, were similar to
those that occurred in Cologne on New Year's Eve and the Carnival of Cultures in
Berlin on May 15. The phenomenon whereby women are encircled by groups of men
and sexually harassed, assaulted, groped and raped is known in Arabic as "taharrush"
(al-taharrush al-jinsi, Arabic for "sexual harassment").
May 31. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the Dalai Lama
said that Germany has accepted "too many" migrants and that they should
eventually be returned to help rebuild their home countries. "Germany cannot
become an Arab country," he said. "Germany is Germany."
*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.
Vision
or Mirage? Saudi Arabia's Ambitious Economic Plans
Simon Henderson/The Washington Institute/June 18/16
The deputy crown prince hopes his U.S. visit will help garner support for
shifting the kingdom away from oil dependency, but his proposals need more
rigorous questioning to ensure they are viable.
After a week of meetings in Washington, including an Oval Office chat with
President Obama, Saudi prince Muhammad bin Salman (aka MbS) is heading for the
west coast. There he is expected to visit Silicon Valley as well as the San
Francisco headquarters of Uber, the rapidly growing ride-hailing company in
which Saudi Arabia has just invested $3.5 billion. Afterward he will likely
visit investment banks in New York to discuss a partial sell-off of Saudi Aramco,
the kingdom's national oil company, toward his wider goal of creating a $2
trillion sovereign wealth fund and changing his country's economy.
BACKGROUND
As the world's largest oil exporter -- boasting reserves of 266 billion barrels,
or 15.7 percent of the world total -- Saudi Arabia is widely considered "a
one-trick economy," as a recent Financial Times headline put it. That economy
has been under particular strain since oil prices collapsed in late 2014, from
above $100 per barrel to around $50 today. Although the latter figure represents
a significant rise from this year's low (under $30 in January), prices will
likely be restrained for now because of the large stock overtake (i.e., oil that
has been pumped but is sitting in storage). The collapse was at least partly
self-inflicted -- Riyadh foresaw the growth of U.S. shale oil companies, but its
attempt to drive out these higher-cost producers did not fully succeed.
The energy uncertainty has been accompanied by rapid political change. King
Abdullah died in January 2015 and was replaced by King Salman, the father of MbS.
Although the prince was only twenty-nine at the time, he was named defense
minister and head of the new Council of Economic and Development Affairs, a post
he has used to make his influence felt on all aspects of the Saudi economy. In
April 2015, the king named him deputy crown prince (second in line to the
throne) and chairman of a new oil policymaking body, the Supreme Council,
sidelining other royals in the process.
Yet the kingdom persisted in its policy of pumping huge volumes of oil to retain
market share, which kept prices weak. Meanwhile, Saudi financial reserves fell,
in part because MbS was pushing intervention in Yemen as a means of blunting
perceived Iranian influence on the kingdom's southern border. Although the oil
minister was purged in last month's government reshuffle, no production cuts
appear imminent.
DEBUT OF THE NEXT KING?
Prince Muhammad's dramatic ascent has surprised Saudis and foreigners alike, and
his introduction to the world began in earnest this year. During his current
trip, he is not only meeting with the president and congressional leaders, but
also holding one-on-one sessions with the likes of former CIA and CENTCOM chief
David Petraeus and Carlyle investment group executive David Rubenstein.
In addition, he has also been conducting carefully orchestrated meetings with
the media. In a January cover story by the Economist, he acknowledged that he
wants to instill a Thatcher-esque revolution in Saudi Arabia, then declared
himself an admirer of Winston Churchill, to whom he attributed the saying
"Opportunities come during crises." Similarly, in an April profile by Bloomberg
Businessweek, he noted that Sun Tzu's The Art of War had taught him how to turn
adversity to his advantage.
Such interviews have sometimes highlighted an arrogance that belies his relative
lack of experience, as well as a certain edge regarding his attitude toward
Washington. In January, for instance, he declared, "The United States must
realize that they are the number one in the world and they have to act like it."
He also prefers Arab dress to Western clothing, and he has not been shy about
flaunting his intelligence (he was fourth in his 2007 graduating class at King
Saud University).
His rapid ascent and inexperience have spurred considerable speculation about
his closest advisors. Although MbS has access to the entire Saudi bureaucracy,
he is said to rely heavily on just four people:
Turki al-Dakhil, the young general manager of Al-Arabiya news channel.
Ahmed bin Aqeel al-Khatib, his one-time business partner. He served as health
minister for three months last year but was fired by King Salman after video of
his altercation with a citizen complaining about Saudi hospitals went viral.
Last month, however, he was politically resurrected as head of the new General
Authority for Entertainment.
Muhammad al-Sheikh, a minister of state, Harvard-trained lawyer, and former head
of the Saudi Capital Market Authority.
Adel Fakeih, the minister of economy and planning.
Even so, MbS has brought a much wider group of ministers and advisors on his
U.S. visit; along with media and support staff, his entourage fills three
aircraft. Principal members of the delegation include Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir,
Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf, Commerce and Investment Minister Majid al-Qasabi,
Culture and Information Minister Adel al-Toraifi, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih,
and intelligence chief Khaled al-Humaidan.
THE FUTURE AND HOW TO GET THERE
The rationale behind the prince's recently unveiled economic plan, called
"Vision 2030," has been attributed to the officials around him as well as to
foreign advisors. For example, the consulting firm McKinsey produced a publicly
available report on the subject in December, and other consultancies and banks
are also reportedly involved.
The main elements of Vision 2030 are:
to build up an industrial sector, taking advantage of the kingdom's cheap
energy;
to better manage water and electricity, which are highly subsidized at present;
to boost the private sector, both as a proportion of national GDP and as a place
for Saudis to find employment;
to grow the relatively small Public Investment Fund and make strategic
investments;
to develop cultural and entertainment projects, which are limited at present
because of objections by the religious establishment.
Some changes are already underway via the National Transformation Program 2020,
announced earlier this month. This program's ambitious targets include:
tripling non-oil revenue;
weaning the kingdom off its addiction to oil;
boosting educational standards and skills for young adults;
floating around 5 percent of Saudi Aramco;
balancing the budget by 2020 (last year's deficit was $98 billion);
borrowing money internationally by issuing bonds (an initial figure of $15
billion has been mentioned);
introducing an income tax for foreign workers, which would incentivize
businesses to hire Saudis;
joining with other Gulf Cooperation Council members to announce a value-added
tax beginning in 2018.
Although these measures seem logical, the timeframe allowed for their completion
will likely have to be lengthened, and their ultimate success will depend on the
people's willingness to work in the private sector. This may take a generation
-- currently, many Saudis prefer government jobs because they are less
demanding. Moreover, reducing subsidies could strain the implicit social
contract between the royal family and its subjects. Despite the kingdom's
reputation for extraordinary affluence, its per capita wealth is less than that
of several neighboring countries, and income disparity is high. Indeed, there
are many more questions still to be asked and answered, and it is far from clear
that MbS and his circle have the necessary responses prepared.
At the same time, the prince's youth gives him an advantage. He is apparently
very popular among young Saudis, who relish the prospect of being ruled by
someone who doesn't look like their grandfather. Although his obvious ambition
and favored status have irritated other royals, he is receiving largely good
publicity for now -- not only from the slavish official media, but also on
social media, where Saudis have astonishingly high usage rates.
The good news for the United States is that MbS evidently favors developing more
ties with American companies. He has also met with the head of the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce and various defense industry CEOs during his Washington stay.
Whether they can help him achieve his vision will ultimately depend on the
validity of the assumptions being made now -- and, perhaps crucially, on
circumstances in the ever-shifting Middle East, which will need to be favorable
if the kingdom's sensitive initiatives are to succeed.
**Simon Henderson is the Baker Fellow and director of the Gulf and Energy Policy
Program at The Washington Institute.
Egypt's Costly
Nuclear Project
Eric Trager/The Washington Institute/June 18/16
Cairo's expensive nuclear deal with Moscow will likely increase the country's
economic burden and susceptibility to Russian influence.
Egypt is reportedly on the cusp of finalizing a $25 billion loan from Russia to
construct a civilian nuclear power facility near Dabaa on the Mediterranean
coast. While the new plant will help Cairo satisfy the country's long-term
energy needs to some extent, its high cost suggests additional motivations, such
as bolstering the government's domestic political standing and expanding its
foreign relationships beyond Washington.
EGYPT'S SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY
Egypt has pursued nuclear capabilities periodically since the 1952 Free Officers
Revolution, a heretofore fruitless campaign that had become even more of a
fiscal red herring than New York City's century-long quest to build a new train
line under Manhattan. Cairo first declared its intention to build a plant at
Dabaa in 1983 under President Hosni Mubarak, and the Australian government
agreed to provide uranium two years later. These plans were canceled following
the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, however, and Egypt instead focused on developing
its natural gas reserves, which soon replaced oil as the primary fuel for
electricity generation.
Cairo revived the Dabaa nuclear proposal in 2006 but faced resistance from
businessmen aligned with the National Democratic Party, who wanted to develop
the area for tourism, and from local tribes, who worried about the safety
implications. Mubarak's 2011 ouster further deferred these plans.
AN EXPENSIVE SOLUTION TO A NONEXISTENT PROBLEM
During the tumultuous years that followed Mubarak's exit, Egypt suffered major
electricity shortages. Demand rose due to rapid population growth and the
government's generous energy subsidies, while supply fell due to terrorist
attacks on gas pipelines. These shortages contributed to the political upheaval
that culminated in the July 2013 ouster of Egypt's first democratically elected
president, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi, ultimately forcing a
suspension of gas exports.
President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi ameliorated these shortages by cutting gas
subsidies a month after taking office in June 2014, and then signing contracts
for new gas, solar, and wind turbines over the following year. As a result,
electricity production capacity rose from approximately 27,000 megawatts in June
2013 to 32,000 in May 2015. Today, Egypt's production exceeds demand, but the
government has continued to expand capacity in anticipation of demographic and
industrial growth.
The proposed nuclear facility at Dabaa is one such attempt to satisfy future
energy needs. The project's first phase entails the construction of four
third-generation reactors capable of producing a total of 4,800 megawatts within
the next twelve years, and the site can accommodate an additional four reactors.
Russia's state-owned firm Rosatom will build the reactors; the $25 billion loan
will finance 85 percent of the project, with Cairo paying the remainder. Egypt
will eventually repay the loan at 3 percent interest, over a twenty-two-year
period that begins in 2029.
While the loan's terms are relatively favorable, the nuclear plan is very
cost-ineffective compared to other energy deals Cairo has signed in recent
years. For example, last year's $9 billion deal with Siemens to build gas- and
wind-powered plants will add 16,400 megawatts to Egypt's grid -- more than three
times the output of the proposed nuclear plant for roughly a third of the cost.
Moreover, the Italian firm Eni discovered the supergiant Zohr gas field along
Egypt's northern coast in August 2015, while BP's local branch discovered
another massive Mediterranean field earlier this month. Extracting these
resources would be more cost effective than building the nuclear plant,
especially since nearly three-quarters of Egypt's electricity is generated by
natural gas, and the country's declining gas output will likely force it to
continue importing even after Zohr opens.
The Dabaa deal also compares unfavorably with other nuclear projects in the
region. The Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) estimates that Egypt will
ultimately pay $6.1 billion per gigawatt of generating capacity, whereas Iran's
two new plants at Bushehr will cost $5.5 billion per gigawatt, and the UAE's
reactors at Barakah $3.6 billion.
In addition, repaying the Russian loan may present a long-term fiscal challenge
given Egypt's recent foreign reserve shortages and growing budget deficit.
According to MEES, Cairo will have to pay Moscow a total of $70.3 billion in
nominal terms, or approximately $3.2 billion per year.
The project will increase Cairo's dependence on Russian technical expertise as
well. In remarks published in al-Wafd on May 31, the vice president of Egypt's
Nuclear Power Plants Authority acknowledged that the country does not have
enough experts to run the new station, so Russian personnel will have to operate
it for the first ten years.
ANOTHER PRIDE PROJECT
Despite these costs and challenges, the Sisi government is moving ahead with the
project because it views the nuclear plant as an important signal to two
audiences. First, it hopes the project will bolster its domestic support. "It's
not just about a [nuclear] reactor -- it is about Egyptians," Sisi said during a
major television interview on June 3. "Instead of one project, we can create
100. I am trying to do this quickly to be productive, to give hope -- to shorten
the gap between where we are at and where we want to go." In this sense, the
nuclear plan is following the same pattern as the Suez Canal expansion project,
which was completed within one year and opened last August.
Second, Sisi wants to broaden Cairo's foreign outreach beyond the still-frosty
bilateral relationship with Washington. The Obama administration restored full
military aid to Egypt in March 2015, after withholding big-ticket items for
seventeen months in protest of the crackdown that followed Morsi's ouster. Yet
Cairo still mistrusts the administration due to its prior embrace of the 2011
uprising and its cooperation with the short-lived Muslim Brotherhood government.
Moreover, despite improved military cooperation since last year's bilateral
Strategic Dialogue, Egyptian officials view ongoing U.S. criticism of Cairo's
deteriorating human rights record as interference in their country's domestic
affairs. Sisi alluded to this problem in his June 3 interview, stating that
Egypt's relationship with Washington is "strategically strong" but that the
"principles of its policy that prevailed for thirty years can't work now."
Accordingly, the nuclear project is partly an attempt to show that Cairo is
"open to the whole world," as one senior Egyptian official recently told the
author. In seeking a partner for the project, Cairo solicited offers broadly,
receiving proposals from China and South Korea before settling on Russia. By
accepting Moscow's loan and commissioning Rosatom to build the reactors, Cairo
is deepening its ties with Russia -- an actor that has stood in contrast to
Washington by warmly embracing Sisi following Morsi's ouster and selling
military equipment to Egypt during the temporary U.S. aid suspension.
LOW PROSPECTS FOR WEAPONIZATION
There is presently no indication that Egypt's nuclear project is intended for
military purposes. Cairo has been a forceful proponent of a nuclear-weapons-free
Middle East since the 1970s, and Egyptian officials highlight the country's
right to nuclear energy under the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear
Weapons, which it signed in 1968 and ratified in 1981. In a November 2015 speech
after the nascent Dabaa deal was first announced, Sisi emphasized that the
nuclear project was for "peaceful purposes."
To be sure, Egypt's calculus may change if Iran acquires nuclear weapon
capabilities, especially since Sisi has declared his commitment to securing Gulf
allies against external threats. For this reason, Washington should seek
reassurances that the new reactors are intended for energy purposes exclusively.
At the same time, it should vigilantly monitor Iran's commitment to the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action in order to reassure its Sunni Arab allies and
prevent proliferation.
U.S. POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Given its interest in Egypt's economic stability and foreign policy outlook,
Washington has ample reason to be concerned about the nuclear project. The large
Russian loan is a significant economic burden and will likely enhance Moscow's
leverage with Cairo in the long run. And while the Sisi government has
successfully pursued new energy resources to accommodate its expanding needs,
the nuclear plant is a very cost-ineffective approach.
Even so, U.S. officials should tread lightly, as they did with the Suez Canal
expansion project last year. To the extent that the nuclear project is intended
to bolster the government's domestic standing and "to give hope," in Sisi's
words, any public disparagement from Washington would be counterproductive,
likely bolstering the distrust that spurred Cairo to accept the Russian loan in
the first place. More to the point, the lingering distrust means that publicly
criticizing the project will not deter Cairo from pursuing it anyway.
**Eric Trager is the Esther K. Wagner Fellow at The Washington Institute.