LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 02/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.may02.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
Why are you frightened, and why do doubts
arise in your hearts?Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to
Saint Luke 24/36-48:"While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood
among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’They were startled and
terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are
you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my
feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh
and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his
hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still
wondering, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a
piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to
them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you that
everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms
must be fulfilled.’Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and
he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise
from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is
to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are
witnesses of these things.
If you confess with your lips
that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
Letter to the Romans 10/1-13:"Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer
to God for them is that they may be saved. I can testify that they have a zeal
for God, but it is not enlightened. For, being ignorant of the righteousness
that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted
to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be
righteousness for everyone who believes. Moses writes concerning the
righteousness that comes from the law, that ‘the person who does these things
will live by them.’But the righteousness that comes from faith says, ‘Do not say
in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?" ’ (that is, to bring Christ
down)‘or "Who will descend into the abyss?" ’ (that is, to bring Christ up from
the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, on your lips and in your
heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess
with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is
justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says,
‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’For there is no distinction
between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who
call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Question: "What does it mean to
honor my father and mother?"
GotQuestions.org /Answer: Honoring your father and mother is being respectful in
word and action and having an inward attitude of esteem for their position. The
Greek word for honor means “to revere, prize, and value.” Honor is giving
respect not only for merit but also for rank. For example, some Americans may
disagree with the President’s decisions, but they should still respect his
position as leader of their country. Similarly, children of all ages should
honor their parents, regardless of whether or not their parents “deserve” honor.
God exhorts us to honor father and mother. He values honoring parents enough to
include it in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12) and again in the New
Testament: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor
your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it
may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth” (Ephesians
6:1-3). Honoring parents is the only command in Scripture that promises long
life as a reward. Those who honor their parents are blessed (Jeremiah 35:18-19).
In contrast, those with a “depraved mind” and those who exhibit ungodliness in
the last days are characterized by disobedience to parents (Romans 1:30; 2
Timothy 3:2). Solomon, the wisest man, urged children to respect their parents
(Proverbs 1:8; 13:1; 30:17). Although we may no longer be directly under their
authority, we cannot outgrow God’s command to honor our parents. Even Jesus, God
the Son, submitted Himself to both His earthly parents (Luke 2:51) and His
heavenly Father (Matthew 26:39). Following Christ’s example, we should treat our
parents the way we would reverentially approach our heavenly Father (Hebrews
12:9; Malachi 1:6).Obviously, we are commanded to honor our parents, but how?
Honor them with both actions and attitudes (Mark 7:6). Honor their unspoken as
well as spoken wishes. “A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker
does not listen to rebuke” (Proverbs 13:1). In Matthew 15:3-9, Jesus reminded
the Pharisees of the command of God to honor their father and mother. They were
obeying the letter of the law, but they had added their own traditions that
essentially overruled it. While they honored their parents in word, their
actions proved their real motive. Honor is more than lip service. The word
“honor” in this passage is a verb and, as such, demands a right action. We
should seek to honor our parents in much the same way that we strive to bring
glory to God—in our thoughts, words, and actions. For a young child, obeying
parents goes hand in hand with honoring them. That includes listening, heeding,
and submitting to their authority. After children mature, the obedience that
they learned as children will serve them well in honoring other authorities such
as government, police, and employers. While we are required to honor parents,
that doesn’t include imitating ungodly ones (Ezekiel 20:18-19). If a parent ever
instructs a child to do something that clearly contradicts God’s commands, that
child must obey God rather than his/her parents (Acts 5:29). Honor begets honor.
God will not honor those who will not obey His command to honor their parents.
If we desire to please God and be blessed, we should honor our parents. Honoring
is not easy, is not always fun, and certainly is not possible in our own
strength. But honor is a certain path to our purpose in life—glorifying God.
“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord”
(Colossians 3:20).
Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
I address a cordial greeting to the
faithful of the Eastern Churches who are celebrating Holy Pascha today. Χριστὸς
ἀνέστη!
أوجّه تهاني القلبيّة إلى مؤمني الكنائس الشرقيّة الذين يحتفلون اليوم بعيد الفصح
المجيد. Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 02/16
Anti Hezbollah Shiite Demonstration/Elias Bejjani/LCCC/May 01/16
A Must Watch Debate/John Hajjar Witnessing For the Truth on the dangers of Islamic Terrorism/John Hajjar and Daniel Wagner debate on Donald Trump's anti-terrorism policy /May 01/16
ISIS leader’s ex-wife: Baghdadi used
to be ‘a normal family man’/Jerusalem Post/May 01/16
An unlikely trio: Israel, Hamas and Egypt align against ISIS in Sinai/Jerusalem
Post/May 01/16
The world according to Donald Trump/Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/May 01/16
Has Regeni’s death been swept under the ‘business as usual’ rug/Azzurra
Meringolo/Al Arabiya/May 01/16
Analysis: Egypt caught between the hammer and the anvil/Yoram Meital/Jerusalem
Post/May 01/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 02/16
Anti Hezbollah Shiite
Demonstration
Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Audeh Urges Officials to 'Return to
their Conscience', Elect President 'to Restore Stability'
Siniora lashes out at Hezbollah, Iran
Lebanese Army Arrests Australian Suspected of Terror Links
One Injured in Armed Clashes between Jaafar Clan in Baalbek
Report: Iran Seeking Regional Package Deal to Resolve Presidential Impasse
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Rahi: Corruption utmost threat to our
community
Maronite church rejects call for two-year term
Workers celebrating May Day
Jumblatt marking PSP's founding commemoration & Labor Day: I shall maintain my
position, time for change within the Party
PSP youth, civil activists stage sitin outside ESCWA in solidarity with Aleppo,
with the participation of Jumblatt and Aridi
Solidarity stand with Aleppo in Tripoli
LAF: 23 Syrians arrested in Deir Ammar for illegal roaming in Lebanon
Younine Municipal List announced
Al Chawaghir Municipal List announced
Al Ain Municipal List announced
Interior Minister receives condolences for the death of his brother
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 02/16
World’s Orthodox Christians
celebrate Easter
U.S. Demands Assad Forces Halt Aleppo Strikes as Residents Flee
In Syria alone, ISIS executes over 4,000 people in two years
UN: More than 80% of Syrians live below poverty line
Russia holds talks to calm raging Aleppo violence
Saudi Arabia condemns raids on Aleppo by Assad forces
Around 20 Syrians readmitted to Turkey under EU migrant deal
Suicide bomber ‘kills five Kurdish police’ in Syria
Istanbul braces for police lockdown on May Day
ISIS suicide attacks kill 32 in southern Iraq
Iraq PM orders arrest of Green Zone protesters
Yemen troops killed as Aden police chief survives bombing
Yemeni govt suspends direct talks with Houthis
Iraq forces in major offensive on ISIS-held town
Deadly bomb strikes Turkey’s Gaziantep
Statement by the National Council of Resistance of Iran Labor Committee on the
occasion of International Workers’ Day
Maryam Rajavi: Workers’ struggle is a major part of the Iranian people's
resistance to topple the ruling religious dictatorship
Maryam Rajavi’s message on International Labor Day
Political prisoner urges Iran’s workers to protest against regime
Iran says it imprisoned culprits behind Saudi embassy attack
Islamic Jihad delegation visits Iran to 'discuss ways to strengthen intifada'
Khamenei's bodyguard reportedly killed in Syria
Links From
Jihad Watch Site for
May 02/16
“Just wait till I win my Golden Globe and I yell, ‘Allahu akbar!’”
France refused Israeli tech that could have foiled Paris jihad massacre
Montreal: Muslim teen arrested for jihad terror offenses — again
Muslim leader: Negative perceptions of Islam cause distress to
Muslims living in France
Archbishop of Cologne rebukes Alternative for Germany: “Whoever says ‘yes’ to
church towers must also say ‘yes’ to minarets”.
Islamic State threatens to expose UK military secrets after publishing USAF hit
list.
Muslim cleric to female reporter: “Maybe I should give you to an Afghan man to
take your nose off”.
Sex in the Islamic City — on The Glazov Gang.
Italy: Muslim migrant teen caught sending anonymous hate letters to herself.
Hugh Fitzgerald: Who is the Host, and Who the Guest?.
Canada: Imam says “there is no difference between Islamophobes and terrorists”.
New York City dog walker on Islamic State hit list.
Bangladesh: Al-Qaeda releases video of murder of gay rights activist.
Obama pursuing under-the-radar ways to bring in more Muslim migrants.
Muslim inmates boo Paris jihadi for not going through with suicide bombing.
Pakistan: Muslim guns down his wife to salvage his family’s honor.
Swedish asylum centers: Muslims threaten to slaughter Christians.
Robert Spencer speaks in Calgary, Leftists and Islamic supremacists outraged.
Bangladesh: Muslims hack to death Hindu accused of criticizing Muhammad.
Nigeria: Muslims slaughter 40 people, burn church.
Anti Hezbollah Shiite
Demonstration
Elias Bejjani/LCCC/May 01/16/ Hundred of Shiite students, supporters and members
from the Lebanese Option Party (LOP) gathered yesterday at the Martyr Beirut
square to protest loudly and courageously against the Terrorist
Iranian-Hezbollah organization criminal practises, Iranian blind affiliation,
oppression, hostilities and iron fist control on the Shiite Community. Several
LOP student representatives delivered fierce speeches in which they focused on
the horrible atrocities Hezbollah is committing against the Lebanese citizens in
general and the Lebanese Shiite community in particular. The main criticism
focused on the bloody Hezbollah military intervention in the Syrian war in which
more than 2000 thousand young Lebanese Shiite fighters were killed, and many
other thousands injured and cripples. The demonstrators remembered with anger
and sadness their comrade Hachim Al Selman who was assassinated in cold blood by
Hezbollah in front of the Iranian embassy in Beirut three years ago.
A Must Watch Debate/John
Hajjar Witnessing For the Truth on the dangers of Islamic Terrorism
John Hajjar and Daniel Wagner debate on Donald Trump's anti-terrorism policy
/May 01/16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSL0S9uPu_s&feature=youtu.be
Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Audeh Urges
Officials to 'Return to their Conscience', Elect President 'to Restore
Stability'
Naharnet/May 01/16/Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Audeh condemned on
Sunday officials for their ongoing failure to elect a new president and for the
“mounting scandals in Lebanon.”He said during his Easter Sunday sermon:
“Officials should return to their conscience and the election of a president is
the first step towards restoring stability in Lebanon.”He blamed corrupt
officials for the garbage disposal scandal, the recent discovery of the human
trafficking ring, the obstruction of the presidential polls and a number of
other affairs.“Despite all the wrongs in Lebanon, these same corrupt individuals
are posing themselves as religious and preaching to others on how to be
righteous,” Audeh lamented from Beirut's St. Georges Cathedral. Corrupt people
are rewarded in Lebanon, while the honest ones are punished, he noted. “If you
respect the law, then you are deemed ignorant and are not sly enough to outsmart
the system,” he remarked. “It is shameful that those we thought will defend
rights have now started seeking their interests at the expense of the
country.”“We need honest officials, who are only loyal to God and the
nation.”“Pawns do not build a country. I was told in my youth not to join a
political party because I would become a slave to this party. Pawns save their
masters at the expense of the country,” he stated. “If Lebanese officials do not
save Lebanon, then who will? Outsiders? Lebanon should not place its fate in the
hands of foreign powers,” he stressed. “Democracy cannot be restored before
officials place national interests before their own. We hope that the upcoming
polls will pave the way to restoring democracy.”“Don't those committing wrongs
know that they will die and soon be judged by God? They will leave this earth
empty-handed and they will be judged for their acts and consequently lose
eternal life.”Addressing the congregation, Audeh declared: “Don't allow
corruption and spite to work their way into your hearts and do not despair in
the face of hardships. Faith is tested before challenges.”
Siniora lashes out at Hezbollah, Iran
Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/May 01/16
Seoul, Korea: Stung by last week’s accusation made by Progressive Socialist
Party (PSP) leader Walid Junblatt that he was behind the illegal internet
network scandal, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora surged to the media
forefront on Sunday, when he lambasted Hezbollah and the latter’s ties with Iran
to have allegedly tarnished Lebanese relations with most Arab countries.
According to the pan-Arab daily Al Sharq Al Awsat, the leader of the Future
parliamentary bloc blamed the Shiite militia for hurting Lebanon’s interests,
and bidding Iran’s welfare instead. Siniora claimed that Hezbollah transformed
the country into a “body without a head,” and told the newspaper that the
ongoing vacuum in the presidency “has created a huge void that allowed Iranian
ties with Hezbollah to tarnish Beirut’s relations with Arab countries,
especially Saudi Arabia.” As a way to remedy this void, Siniora called on Tehran
to “distance itself from interfering in the internal affairs of Arab countries”,
although it was not clear why Iran would care to listen or, in the best of
circumstances, cease and desist what seems to be a rather successful policy.
Iran’s “systematic” intervention in Lebanon through its favourite militia
significantly weakened existing institutions, the former premier insisted, which
created a “major political setback” that naturally affected the country’s
established ties with leading Arab countries. This may well be the case, but
Siniora did not elaborate what his March 14 alliance was doing to counter
Hezbollah and its March 8 group at the local level. Of course, while Hezbollah
deputies cast blank votes during the sole electoral gathering on April 23, 2014,
to elect a successor to President Michel Suleiman, and royally boycotted all 38
successive calls to attend new session, thereby ensuring that no quorum could be
reached, March 14 deputies were in a national unity government with Hezbollah
members. In other words, while Siniora lamented Lebanon’s ties with Gulf
Cooperation Council States, he and his allies continued their businesses with
Hezbollah on a routine basis. This irony matched a similar paradox in what
passed for Lebanese politics as the militia’s declared candidate, Michel Aoun,
was guaranteed victory, especially now that the Lebanese Forces’ Samir Geagea
withdrew from the race and backed Aoun. It remained a mystery why Hezbollah
refused to participate in the presidential elections save for the widely
believed notion that it no longer wishes to continue within the existing
political set-up. Equally puzzling was the March 14 selection of another March 8
contender, Marada Party leader Suleiman Franjieh, as its presidential candidate.
For what it was worth, the latest Siniora declarations shrouded Junblatt’s
provocative assertions made just a few days ago that the former prime minister
was behind the illegal internet network scandal that highlighted mega
Shenanigans at the highest levels of government and its elite acolytes. The
issue was noticeably forgotten for fear, perhaps, of upsetting the proverbial
apple cart among the country’s political caste.
Miscellaneous
Lebanese Army Arrests Australian Suspected of Terror
Links
Naharnet/May 01/16/Army Intelligence detained on Sunday an Australian national
in the northern city of Tripoli on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist group,
reported Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3). It said that Mark Eddie Maximus was
arrested in Tripoli's Dam wal Farz area. It did not disclose further details.
The army and security forces have in recent months detained numerous terrorist
suspects linked to groups involved in the conflict in neighboring Syria.
One Injured in Armed Clashes between Jaafar Clan in Baalbek
Naharnet/May 01/16/An armed dispute broke out on Sunday between members of the
Jaafar clan in the eastern Bekaa city of Baalbek. The army has since intervened
to contain the violence. An elderly woman was injured however by a stray bullet
in the unrest.
Report: Iran Seeking Regional Package Deal to Resolve
Presidential Impasse
Naharnet/May 01/16/Iran, not Hizbullah, is behind the ongoing vacuum in the
presidency in Lebanon, reported the Saudi daily Okaz on Sunday. Western
diplomatic sources in Beirut explained that Tehran is seeking a “complete
package deal that covers the entire region, which includes the presidency.” Iran
is waiting for how developments will unravel in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq,
continued the sources. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of
Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 without the election of a successor. Ongoing
disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps have thwarted the polls.
Hizbullah earlier this year said it would boycott the presidential elections
until it receives guarantees that its candidate, Change and Reform bloc chief MP
Michel Aoun, is elected head of state.The March 14 camp and Progressive
Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat have repeatedly accused Iran of being
responsible for the delay in electing a president.
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Rahi: Corruption utmost
threat to our community
Sun 01 May 2016/NNA - Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Rahi said on Sunday,
during a mass celebrating Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, that the greatest
menace facing Lebanon is corruption in institutions, relations between people
and confessional extremism. But all was not doom and gloom, according to Rahi,
as in the face of corruption rose art, science and education. However, he
lamented the exacerbated poverty due to laxness on the side of the State. Rahi
said that his visit to Brussels earlier this week was fruitful, as he explained
to members of the EU Parliament the importance of the Christian presence in the
Middle East. The Cardinal prayed for peace in the region, particularly in the
Syrian city of Aleppo, and for the safe return of the displaced and refugees to
their own countries.
Maronite church rejects call for two-year term
Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News//May 01/16/Speaking to the Kuwaiti Al Anba
newspaper on Sunday, Bishop Boulos Matar — who fills the important Beirut
Maronite Church post and is well connected across the political spectrum —
rejected media-fuelled calls to elect a president to a two-year term of office.
Matar refuted claims that Bkirki, the Seat of the Maronite Church, had anything
to do with the alleged proposal and said there were several attempts to drag the
name of the patriarchate into the debate.On April 23, 2016, the Saudi Okaz daily
reported that two unnamed, but presumably leading political parties — believed
to be Future and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) — held serious conversations
that called for the election of the Free Patriotic Movement’s Michel Aoun to the
post “for a two-year period.” Earlier, the former Speaker of Parliament, Hussein
Husseini, pleaded with political elites to place their political differences
aside and elect a head-of-state for a one-year term, although the recommendation
by one of the fathers of the Ta’if Accords fell on deaf ears.Bishop Matar
insisted that Speaker Husseini was responsible for introducing changes in the
president’s term, not Bkirki. While Husseini was a highly respected leader and
although Matar believed that the emeritus official had good intentions when he
made his proposal, the move was not acceptable. “Bkirki seeks the election of a
head-of-state as soon as possible and for a full term, not a diminished one,” he
said. He also told Al Anba’ that “the shortening of the term of the president
violates the dignity of the Lebanese presidency.”
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended on
May 24, 2014, without the election of a successor. Ironically, the reason why
Lebanese Forces’ Samir Geagea was not elected when Parliament convened on April
23, 2014 — when a first-round victory required two-thirds of MPs casting
ballots, or 86 votes — was because of the surprise candidacy of the Progressive
Socialist Party (PSP). At the time, Geagea received 48 votes, the PSP’s Henri
Helou 16 votes and Amine Gemayel one vote, while 52 parliamentarians cast blank
ballots and seven were voided for fantasy names. Most of the 52 blank votes,
composed of March 8 deputies, wanted Aoun who could not field the necessary
votes to win either. Since then, the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance has refused
to ensure a quorum, for a record 38 sessions and counting.
In fact, ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps have thwarted
the polls, although the PSP’s Walid Junblatt dropped a political bombshell on
Saturday when he declared that he no longer opposed the election of Aoun for the
top state post if the other March 8 candidate, and former Minister Saad Hariri’s
nominee, Suleiman Franjieh, was ready to withdraw from the race. “I don’t oppose
the election of Aoun for the presidency if the national interest requires it,
and if Franjieh withdraws from the race,” Junblatt told the Arabic news website
elaph. It was unclear what motivated Junblatt at this late hour although the
wily Druze chieftain was probably aware that the current freeze prevented the
election of a head-of-state anytime soon. Franjieh has gone on record to say he
has no intention to withdraw.According to Junblatt, Franjieh’s chances were as
good as Aoun’s or Helou’s to reach the Baabda Palace, although it was
increasingly difficult to see how any one of the three could possibly win.
Workers celebrating May Day
Sun 01 May 2016/NNA - Upon a May Day invitation by the "Independent Gathering of
Syndicated Unions", a workers'march kicked off from the Union of Workers'
Syndicate HQ in Cola to Riyad Solh in downtown Beirut, NNA field correspondents
said today.
Jumblatt marking PSP's founding commemoration & Labor Day:
I shall maintain my position, time for change within the Party
Sun 01 May 2016/NNA - On the occasion of Labor Day and in commemoration of its
67th foundation anniversary, the "Progressive Socialist Party" organized on
Sunday a ceremony at Martyrs Square in the area of Mseitbeh in Beirut, in
presence of Democratic Gathering Head, MP Walid Jumblatt, and various political
officials. In his word marking both events, Jumblatt stressed on "maintaining
his position of playing an equilibrium role in preservation of national
unity.""The demands raised today are the same among all political parties in the
country," said Jumblatt, adding that "they represent the rightful needs of the
people, and it is our duty to face the future with said demands."Referring to
his Party's internal structure, Jumblatt considered that "it is time for change
within the Party's ranks and probably its presidency, far-reaching a possible
amendment in its constitution."
"We cannot remain in our current stalemate situation, which has been the result
of arising political circumstances," Jumblatt underscored.
PSP youth, civil activists stage sitin outside ESCWA in
solidarity with Aleppo, with the participation of Jumblatt and Aridi
Sun 01 May 2016/NNA - "Progressive Youth Organization" and civil society
activists staged a symbolic sit-in outside the ESCWA building in downtown
Beirut, in condemnation of what is happening in the Syrian city of Aleppo, with
the participation of "Democratic Gathering" Head, MP Walid Jumblatt, MP Ghazi
Aridi and PSP Secretary General, Zafer Nasser. In a word by the Organization's
Secretary General, Salam Abdel-Samad, he considered that "the massacres
committed against women and children in Aleppo are in violation of all
international agreements and charters," while denouncing the "shameful silence
of the international community." "The more unfortunate matter is the silence of
the world's public opinion, which has made no move to pressure governments to
move quickly to stop the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria," added Abdel-Samad.
He concluded by saying: "We renew our permanent support for rightful demands and
just causes, and towards the oppressed people."
Solidarity stand with Aleppo in Tripoli
Sun 01 May 2016/NNA - Hundreds of Tripoli's citizens held a solidarity stand
with the Syrian City of Aleppo on Sunday in front of the United Nations'
headquarters, under the slogan of "Anger for Aleppo."Participants hoisted
banners to condemn the situation in Aleppo and the international silence towards
it.
LAF: 23 Syrians arrested in Deir Ammar for illegal roaming
in Lebanon
Sun 01 May 2016/NNA - The Lebanese Armed Forces Orientation Directorate issued
on Sunday the following statement: "On 30-4-2016 and between the hours of 20.00
and 23.00 a unit from the LAF apprehended at Deir Ammar checkpoint 23 Syrian
nationals for illegal roaming inside Lebanon and driving vehicles without legal
papers. Three vans, a pickup track, a Toyota and a BMW were confiscated."
Younine Municipal List announced
Sun 01 May 2016/NNA - "Younine Decision" list of candidates running for
municipal elections was announced on Sunday in the town of Younine in the Beqaa
during a ceremony held at Younine's Public School, comprising 17 candidates,
with one vacant seat. Candidate Akram Salem Rustom said, on behalf of list
members, that they would work as "one hand" in serving fellow townsmen. "We have
a development goal to keep pace with modern times, and we are ready to listen to
any proposal that contributes to the improvement and advancement of our work,
and to achieve prosperity in our town," the candidate added.
Al Chawaghir Municipal List announced
Sun 01 May 2016/NNA - The "Loyalty & Development" List of candidates running for
municipal elections was announced on Sunday in the town of al-Chawaghir in
Hermel district, in the presence of representatives of Hezbollah, Amal Movement
and Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. The list includes 15 candidates.
Al Ain Municipal List announced
Sun 01 May 2016/NNA - The second list of candidates running for municipal
elections in the town of al-Ain in North Beqaa was announced on Sunday. The
list, still to be completed, includes 11 candidates, namely: Mohammad Habib Nasr
El Din, Mohammad Ali Nasr El Din, Khodor Adib Younis, Karim Safwan, Meaan
Dandach, Ali Dabbous, Najib Matar, Bassam Houeiji, Abdallah Ismail, Adel Baki,
and Mehdi Halloum.
Interior Minister receives condolences for the death of his brother
Sun 01 May 2016/NNA - Interior and Municipalities Minister, Nuhad el-Mashnouq,
received on Sunday afternoon condolences for the passing away of his brother,
Ziad, at Mohamad el-Amine Mosque in Central Beirut, most prominently from former
President Michel Sleiman, former PM Saad Hariri, former House Speaker Hussein
Husseini and Deputy Speaker Farid Mkary. Mashnouq also received several
condolences calls, namely from: PM Tamam Salam, former PM Najib Mikati, Saudi
Ambassador Ali Awad Assiri, and a number of senior officials and Arab figures.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on May 02/16
World’s Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter
The Associated Press, Athens Sunday, 1 May 2016/Across the world, Orthodox
Christians are celebrating Easter, commemorating the day followers believe that
Jesus was resurrected more than 2,000 years ago. Russian President Vladimir
Putin attended a special Easter midnight Mass in Moscow. Russian President
Vladimir Putin (R), Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his wife Svetlana, pray
during an Orthodox Easter service at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow,
Russia, May 1, 2016. In Greece, the faithful attended Easter Mass holding
candles lit with "Holy Fire" from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Fireworks are an essential part of the festivities, despite official disapproval
from the Greek Orthodox Church. On the eastern Greek Aegean island of Chios, two
parishes in the village of Vrontados stage a spectacular mock war with a hail of
fireworks, drawing visitors from across the country. Christian worshippers light
candles during an Orthodox Easter service at Sioni cathedral in Tbilisi,
Georgia, April 30, 2016. (Reuters) Roman Catholics and Protestants marked Easter
in March, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Eastern Orthodox churches
celebrate Easter this week, using the older Julian calendar. In Egypt, Orthodox
Copts also gathered in Cairo with many worshipers praying for peace and security
in Egypt and across the region.
U.S. Demands Assad Forces Halt Aleppo Strikes as
Residents Flee
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 01/16/The United States Saturday demanded that
Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces halt their bombardment of Aleppo and help
restore a nationwide ceasefire, with Secretary of State John Kerry due to head
to Geneva for talks on the conflict. Terrified residents fled a new wave of air
strikes on rebel-held areas of the divided city as key regime backer Russia
rejected calls to rein in its ally. With the peace process hanging by a thread,
Kerry was to fly to Geneva on Sunday for talks with U.N. envoy Staffan de
Mistura and the Saudi and Jordanian foreign ministers.
In calls to De Mistura and the lead Syrian opposition negotiator, Kerry
expressed "deep concern" about Aleppo, which has suffered some of the worst
fighting in a conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced
millions. "The secretary made clear that ending the violence in Aleppo and
returning ultimately to a durable, nationwide cessation is a top priority,"
spokesman John Kirby said. A truce was called in February between Assad's forces
and a coalition of rebels but has since begun to break down, particularly in the
besieged city of Aleppo where nearly 250 people have been killed in the last 10
days. In the calls, Kerry dismissed Russian and regime claim that the Aleppo
strikes were targeting the Al-Nusra Front, a jihadist force that is not party to
the ceasefire. "The secretary made clear that we urged Russia to take steps to
stop regime violations, especially its indiscriminate aerial attacks in Aleppo,"
Kirby said. Aleppo was left out of a new temporary U.S.-Russian brokered truce
that appeared to be holding in the regime stronghold of Latakia as well as
Damascus and the nearby rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta. A new round of
U.N.-backed peace talks is set to start on May 10 in Geneva.
In Aleppo's rebel-held east, dozens of civilians left the battered Bustan al-Qasr
district early Saturday, an AFP correspondent said. "The situation has become
unbearable," Abu Mohammed said as he prepared to flee with his wife and five
children. "Everything is paralyzed." Russia said that it would not ask Damascus
to halt air raids on Aleppo.
"No, we are not going to put pressure on (Damascus) because one must understand
that the situation in Aleppo is part of this fight against the terrorist
threat," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said. At least 246 civilians
have died in shelling, rocket fire and air strikes in both sides of the city
since April 22, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. At least 10
civilians died in rebel-controlled areas on Saturday, according to the civil
defense. The violence in Aleppo has severely tested the February 27 truce
between the regime and non-jihadist rebels intended to pave the way to an end to
the five-year conflict.
The few people out on the streets watched the sky anxiously for regime aircraft,
running for shelter when one launched a new raid. The Britain-based Observatory,
which relies on a network of sources on the ground, reported 28 air strikes on
eastern neighborhoods. But in its daily report on Syria, Russia's defense
ministry said it had recorded only "three ceasefire violations in the city of
Aleppo", blaming them all on the rebels. The SANA state news agency said
shelling of western government-held neighborhoods killed three civilians,
including a child, and blamed Al-Qaida affiliate Al-Nusra Front and its allies.
A pro-government newspaper said Thursday the army was preparing an offensive to
recapture all of Aleppo and the surrounding province. Hospitals have also been
bombed in nine days of escalating violence in Aleppo. Four medical facilities
were hit Friday on both sides of the front line, the International Committee of
the Red Cross said.
A raid on Wednesday hit a hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders and the
Red Cross as well as nearby housing, killing 30 people and sparking an
international outcry. On other fronts, fighting halted at 1:00 am Saturday (2200
GMT Friday) in a "freeze" set to last for 24 hours in Damascus and Eastern
Ghouta, and 72 hours in Latakia. Humanitarian convoys carrying food and medicine
meanwhile entered the besieged rebel-held towns of Madaya and Zabadani,
northwest of Damascus, on Saturday, the Red Cross said. At the same time, trucks
entered the besieged government-held towns of Fuaa and Kafraya, southwest of
Aleppo. Madaya became infamous in late 2015 after dozens died of starvation
there. Anas al-Abdeh, head of the Istanbul-based opposition National Coalition,
Saturday accused the regime of "war crimes and crimes against humanity" in
Aleppo. Human Rights Watch also said the air strikes on medical facilities in
the city "may amount to war crimes". Qatar called for an emergency Arab League
meeting, and Saudi Arabia condemned the regime strikes.
In Syria alone, ISIS executes over 4,000 people in two
years
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Saturday, 30 April 2016/Over the last two
years, ISIS has executed over 4,000 people in areas under its control in Syria,
a monitoring group reported on Friday. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights compiled a list of executions dating back to the declaration of the
group’s self-proclaimed ‘caliphate’ in June 2014. Figures for the group’s
executions in Iraq, where ISIS controls the country’s second largest city Mosul,
were not mentioned. In a one-month span this year, from February to March, 80
people were executed by ISIS in Syria. Of those killed, 37 of them were Syrian
citizens, including a woman and a child, and 24 were members of the militant
group. The list showed that ISIS carried out regular executions by beheading,
shooting and stoning, as well as throwing people off buildings or burning them
to death. The monitor said that the executions, which also included members of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army, reached 4,144. Those who were killed
were charged with crimes such as expressing disapproval of ISIS, smuggling
alcohol, or studying forbidden subjects, among other activities. ISIS also
considers cooperation with al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front, the Kurdish YPG
forces and the US-led coalition striking ISIS areas a capital offence.According
to the report, the executions took place in the provinces of Damascus, Rif
Dimashq, Deir Ezzor, Hasakah, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, and the group’s de-facto
capital Raqqa.
UN: More than 80% of Syrians live below poverty line
AFP, Beirut Saturday, 30 April 2016/The number of Syrians living below the
poverty line has almost tripled after five years of conflict, according to a
report published this week. Around 83.4 percent of Syrians live below the
poverty line compared with 28 percent in 2010, the report by the UN Economic and
Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the University of St Andrews
said. An estimated 13.5 million people in Syria needed humanitarian aid by late
2015, and more than 4 million of these were in Damascus and Aleppo provinces.
“According to one estimate, life expectancy dropped from 70 in 2010 to 55.4 in
2014,” the report said. Around half of Syria’s 493 hospitals in 2010 have been
seriously damaged in the war, it added. “The deliberate targeting of doctors and
pharmacists has forced many to flee the country, at a higher rate than that of
the average population. “As a result, the number of persons per doctor in the
country rose from 661 in 2010 to 1,442 in 2015.” Around 12.1 million Syrians
lack adequate access to water, sanitation and waste disposal, the report said.
Destruction of housing and infrastructure was estimated at around $90 billion.
Damaged pumps and pipelines led to the loss of almost half of potential drinking
water supply in 2015, the Syrian General Establishment for Drinking Water and
Waste Disposal was cited as saying. Drinking water per capita dropped from 72
cubic meters to 48 cubic meters between 2011 and 2015. The numbers were just as
bleak in education, with around 2.7 million children of school-age out of school
both inside and outside Syria, the report said. The economy contracted by 55
percent between 2010 and 2015, when it had been expected to grow by 32 percent.
Gross domestic product in farming fell by nearly 60 percent between 2010 and
2015, notably because of fighting and the high cost of irrigation, leading to a
sharp increase in the cost of food. The price of wheat flour and rice rose by 43
percent and 89 percent respectively between 2014 and 2015. Syria’s war has
killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted after
the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Russia holds talks to calm raging Aleppo violence
Reuters Sunday, 1 May 2016/The Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday that
talks are taking place to include Syria's Aleppo province in the temporary
"regime of calm" lull in fighting, Russian agencies reported. General Sergei
Kuralenko, in charge of Russia's ceasefire monitoring center in Syria, was also
cited as saying that the "calm" around Damascus has been extended for another 24
hours until 2100 GMT on Monday. Kuralenko also said that overall the "regime of
calm" in Syria's Latakia and around Damascus has been respected, RIA news agency
reported. Meanwhile, the United States is working on “specific initiatives” to
reduce the violence in Syria and sees stopping the bloodshed in Aleppo as a top
priority, a US State Department spokesman said on Saturday. In a statement
detailing calls Secretary of State John Kerry has made over the past two days
with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and with Riyad Hijab, a
negotiator for Syrian opposition groups, State Department spokesman John Kirby
said Kerry had made clear the United States wanted Russia to apply pressure to
the Assad government to get it to stop “indiscriminate aerial attacks” in
Aleppo. “In both calls, the secretary underscored that the initial efforts to
reaffirm the cessation of hostilities in Latakia and Eastern Ghouta are not
limited to these two areas and that efforts to renew the cessation must and do
include Aleppo,” Kirby said.
Prospects for Syria political solution ‘in danger’
The prospects of finding a political solution to the Syria conflict are in
danger unless the international community acts fast to pressure the regime, the
head of the main Syrian opposition group said Saturday, after new air strikes on
rebel-held areas of Aleppo. The assault on Syria’s divided second city by the
armed forces of President Bashar al-Assad has put in jeopardy a fragile truce
that had given new hope to UN-backed peace talks in Geneva. “The regime is not
really interested in a political solution and they are not really interested in
hearing the cessation of the hostilities initiative,” the head of the Syrian
National Coalition Anas al-Abdeh told AFP in Istanbul. “We think that unless the
international community does something about that, the whole prospect for the
political solution will be in danger,” he added after a general assembly meeting
of the main opposition umbrella grouping in the Turkish city. Terrified
residents fled a new wave of air strikes on rebel-held areas of Aleppo Saturday,
as key regime backer Russia rejected calls to rein in its ally. Watch: Aleppo
under renewed siege and violence. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady
Gatilov said Moscow would not ask Damascus to halt air raids on Aleppo.“It’s
clear that Russia is still supporting the regime, and it’s supporting the regime
policy of aggression against the Syrian people,” said Abdeh. Russia in March had
begun withdrawing its main contingent of troops from Syria but the announcement
was greeted with suspicion by some observers. “Russia isn’t doing what it’s
supposed to do, which is to put enough pressure on the regime to show the
restraint and to stop targeting civilians,” he said. Abdeh said it was up to
Washington -- which has engaged in intense diplomacy with Moscow to find a
solution in Syria -- to salvage the Geneva peace process after the latest
fighting. “I think the Americans know really well they have to do something
special in order to revive the political process in Syria and to get the
political negotiation back on track. “I hope the Americans are doing that,
otherwise all the good efforts of the past four months would go in vain.”
A new round of UN-backed peace talks is set to start on May 10 in Geneva.(With
AFP)
Saudi Arabia condemns raids on Aleppo by Assad forces
Saudi Gazette, Riyadh Sunday, 1 May 2016/Saudi Arabia condemned and denounced
the attacks by Basher Al-Assad’s forces on the city of Aleppo, causing the
destruction of a hospital run by an international organization that killed
dozens, including children and doctors. An official source at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs said that the terrorist act ignores the cessation of hostilities
agreement and is contrary to international laws and ethical principles of
humanity. The attacks seek to prevent the supply of humanitarian assistance to
the affected people and preempt international efforts to reach a political
solution to the crisis, the source said. The tyrant of Damascus, Bashar
Al-Assad, by committing this criminal act underlines the lack of seriousness in
responding to the demands of the international community. Assad also proved that
he is not serious in solving the Syrian crisis peacefully in accordance with the
principles of the Geneva 1 and UN Security Council Resolution 2254, the source
commented. Saudi Arabia called on the international community and allies of
Bashar Al-Assad, who have committed to the cessation of hostilities, to take
necessary measures to stop these attacks and all crimes committed by Assad and
his aides against the Syrian people. At least 20 air strikes hit areas of
Syria’s northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, in the ninth straight day of
violence, a monitoring group said. The British-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights did not immediately say whether Syrian government warplanes or
Russian jets, which have been supporting Damascus, carried out the strikes.
Bombing by the government side on rebel-held areas of Aleppo since April 22 have
killed 140 people including 19 children, the Observatory said. The surge in
violence has caused the collapse of a two-month ceasefire brokered by the US and
Russia. It also has raised fears of an all-out government assault on Aleppo and
warnings of a humanitarian disaster in the 5-year-old civil war. — With agencies
Around 20 Syrians readmitted to Turkey under EU migrant deal
Reuters Sunday, 1 May 2016/Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on
Saturday around 20 Syrians had been readmitted to Turkey under an EU migrant
deal designed to help stem migration to Europe across the Aegean Sea. According
to the text of an address to the nation supplied in advance to the media,
Davutoglu said that in return 110 Syrians had been sent to Europe for
resettlement. Turkey and the EU last month sealed a controversial deal intended
to halt illegal migration to Europe in return for financial and political
rewards for Ankara. Under the deal, Ankara gets more EU funding for refugees on
its soil, revival of long-stalled EU accession talks and visa liberalization for
Turks traveling to Europe. In exchange, Turkey is due to prevent migrants and
refugees from departing from its shores for Europe via irregular routes and take
back all who reach the 28-nation bloc that way. While over a million migrants
fleeing war and poverty from the Middle East and beyond reached Europe, hundreds
have died making the short but precarious crossing from Turkey to the shores of
Greek islands in inflatable dinghies. Davutoglu said the deal with the EU aimed
to stop the human tragedy. “We have made a great deal of effort in... showing
our Syrian refugee brothers the right channels if they wanted to go to Europe,”
he said. On April 27, the Greek government said that 12 Syrians returned to
Turkey on a flight chartered by EU border agency Frontex. They had not applied
for asylum and wanted to return. A Turkish official said the 12 were flown to
the southern Turkish city of Adana and were then sent to a camp in Osmaniye near
the Syrian border. The Commission is due to decide on Wednesday whether to
recommend that member states approve by the end of June the visa waiver scheme
which the bloc offered Ankara as part of the deal struck in March. Turkey’s
minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir said on Thursday he expected the Turkish
legislation to fully meet the EU criteria on visa liberalization on Monday.
Suicide bomber ‘kills five Kurdish police’ in Syria
AFP, Qamishli, Syria Sunday, 1 May 2016/A suicide bomber killed five Kurdish
policemen at a checkpoint in Syria’s divided northeastern city of Qamishli on
Saturday, police said. Four others were wounded in the attack on the city’s
demarcation line, according to Jowan Ibrahim, the commander of the Kurdish
police known as the Asayish. It was not immediately clear who carried out the
attack, but the ISIS group has claimed previous bombings in the mainly Kurdish
city. Control of Qamishli is split between Kurdish militia and pro-regime
fighters, who agreed a truce last week after several days of rare clashes. The
army and the Kurds have coordinated on security against ISIS group militants in
surrounding Hasakeh province, but tensions have built up between the
sometimes-rival authorities. The army and its militia ally, the National Defence
Forces, control Qamishli airport and parts of the city, as well as areas of the
provincial capital Hasakeh to the south. Nearly all of the rest of the province
is controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), who have declared
an autonomous region across the mainly Kurdish northern areas they control. The
YPG is regarded by the Pentagon as the most effective fighting force against
ISIS on the ground in Syria.
Istanbul braces for police lockdown on May Day
AFP, Istanbul Sunday, 1 May 2016/Istanbul braced for a major security lockdown
for May Day on Sunday, with almost 25,000 police on duty and numerous roads
closed for an occasion that regularly sees clashes between Turkish protesters
and police. The Istanbul governor’s office said in a statement Saturday that in
order “to provide for the security of citizens” on Labor Day, 24,500 members of
the Turkish security forces would be on duty in the city. The metro station on
the main Taksim Square will be completely closed and the station at the end of
the main shopping street Istiklal Caddesi will be closed to exiting passengers.
Security measures are already evident in Taksim Square - a focus for protests in
the past - with metal security barriers lining the roads and dozens of anti-riot
police present, an AFP correspondent said. Numerous roads - in particular those
leading to Taksim - will also be closed, it added. The authorities, as in
previous years, have refused to allow a sanctioned protest to take place on
Taksim Square, meaning clashes are highly probable. The May Day is taking place
at a period of particular tension in Turkey after a succession of deadly attacks
this year blamed on militant and Kurdish militants. Controversy is also growing
over the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who critics accuse of
increasingly authoritarian tendencies. Several foreign missions have warned
their citizens over the risk of violence in Istanbul on May 1, with the US
embassy warning of the “potential for violent confrontation between
demonstrators and security personnel”. On May 1 last year, Turkish police used
water cannon and tear gas to disperse May Day protesters in Istanbul, while
police and demonstrators engaged in pitched battles in some areas. Parliament
last year passed a controversial security bill giving the police greater powers
to crack down on protests. Taksim has been a flashpoint for clashes on Labor Day
since dozens of people were killed there on May 1, 1977 when modern Turkey was
going through one of its most turbulent periods.
ISIS suicide attacks kill 32 in southern Iraq
By Reuters Baghdad Sunday, 1 May /Two suicide car bombs claimed by ISIS killed
at least 32 people and wounded 75 others in the center of the southern Iraqi
city of Samawa on Sunday, police and medics said. The first blast was near a
local government building and the second one about 60 meters (65 yards) away at
a bus station, police sources said. The death toll was expected to keep
rising.Unverified online photographs showed a large plume of smoke rising above
the buildings as well as burnt out cars and bodies on the ground at the site of
one of the blasts, including several children. Police and firefighters carried
victims on stretchers and in their arms. ISIS said it had attacked a gathering
of special forces in Samawa, 230 km (140 miles) south of the capital, with one
car bomb and then blew up the second when security forces responded to the site.
ISIS holds positions mostly in Sunni areas of the country’s north and west, far
from the mainly Shiite southern provinces where Samawa is located. Such attacks
are relatively rare. The rise of the ultra-hardline Sunni insurgents has
exacerbated Iraq’s sectarian conflict, mostly between Shiites and Sunnis, which
emerged after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.The
quota-based governing system put in place by the United States at the time is
being challenged by hundreds of protesters who camped out overnight in Baghdad’s
heavily fortified Green Zone after storming the parliament building.
Iraq PM orders arrest of Green Zone protesters
The Associated Press, Baghdad Sunday, 1 May 2016/Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi
on Sunday ordered authorities to arrest and prosecute protesters who attacked
security forces, lawmakers and damaged state property after breaking into
Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone to protest delays in reform plans.
Abadi's statement came a day after hundreds of angry anti-government followers
of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr tore down walls and poured into the
parliament building, exacerbating a long-simmering political crisis. Late
Saturday, Abadi toured inside the parliament building, walking past damaged
furniture. Videos on social media showed a group of young men surrounding and
slapping two Iraqi lawmakers as they attempted to flee the crowd, while other
protesters mobbed lawmakers' motorcades. Jubilant protesters were also seen
jumping and dancing on the parliament's meeting hall tables and chairs and
waving Iraqi flags.The protesters eventually left the parliament Saturday night
and rallied at a nearby square. Al-Sadr and his supporters want to reform the
political system put in place following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, in which
entrenched political blocs representing the country's Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds
rely on patronage, resulting in widespread corruption and poor public services.
The major blocs have until now stymied Abadi's reform efforts. On Sunday,
protesters vowed to continue their sit-in inside the Green Zone until their
demands are met. "We are fed up, we are living a humiliated life," Rasool
Hassan, a 37-year old father of three told The Associated Press from inside the
Green Zone where thousands gathered in Saddam-era Grand Celebration Square.
"We'll leave here only when the corrupt government is replaced with another of
independent technocrats that serves the people not the political parties,"
Hassan added. "We need new faces not the old ones," said female protester Shatha
Jumaa, a 58-year old surgeon. Jumaa, who identified herself as a secularist,
said she wanted the current government dissolved and replaced by a small interim
administration whose job would be to amend the constitution and to prepare for
an early national election. Iraq has been mired in a political crisis for
months, hindering the government's ability to combat ISIS which still controls
much of the country's north and west - or address a financial crisis largely
prompted by the plunge in global oil prices. Iraqi security forces initially
responded by tightening security across the capital, sealing off checkpoints
leading to the Green Zone and halting traffic on main roads heading into the
city, according to the Baghdad Operations Command. Alarmed by the latest
development, the UN mission to Iraq said it was "gravely concerned." It issued a
statement condemning violence against elected officials and urging "calm,
restraint and respect for Iraq's constitutional institutions at this crucial
juncture."
Yemen troops killed as Aden police chief survives bombing
AFP, Aden Sunday, 1 May 2016/A large explosion hit central Aden on Sunday,an Al
Arabiya News Channel correspondent reported, adding that there were several
casualties.The correspondent said the blast targeted the city's governor and
security chief. Four Yemeni guards were killed in a bombing that targeted the
convoy of Aden's police chief, officials said, the second such attack on him in
the southern city this week. A bomb-laden car in Aden's Mansura district
exploded as General Shallal Shayae's convoy passed, damaging military vehicles
and prompting clashes between his guards and Al-Qaeda suspects in the area, the
officials added. Shayae himself escaped unharmed, according to his aides, but
medical sources said that four of his guards were killed and eight others were
wounded.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but
Shayae has survived attacks by jihadists more than once, the last of which was
just days ago. On Thursday, a suicide bomber blew up a vehicle packed with
explosives when he was stopped at a checkpoint on the perimeter of the compound
around Shayae's house, wounding a guard. In February, suspected Al-Qaeda
militants opened fire on a convoy carrying Shayae and Aden governor Aidarus al-Zubaidi,
but they escaped unharmed. Shayae and Zubaidi also survived a car bombing that
targeted their convoy in Aden on January 5 killing two of their guards. Other
security officials in Aden, the temporary base of Yemen's Saudi-backed
government, have been targeted by bombings and assassinations -- some of which
Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group have claimed. Unidentified gunmen on Friday
killed Aden's traffic police chief Colonel Marwan Abdulalim as he was in his car
going to weekly Muslim prayers. Militants have exploited the unrest in Yemen as
loyalist forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, fought against Iran-backed
militias since March 2015 in a war that has left more than 6,400 people dead.
Yemeni govt suspends direct talks with Houthis
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Sunday, 1 May 2016/The Yemeni government on
Sunday suspended direct talks with a Houthi militia delegation during peace
talks in Kuwait, citing violations. This is despite Yemen’s UN envoy Ould Cheikh
Ahmed saying on Saturday that the warring parties have “come a long way” and
share a “common will” to reach a On Saturday, the Houthi delegation and the
General People’s Congress - a political group led by deposed President Ali
Abdullah Saleh - presented papers that envisioned the next phase of what needs
to be done in Yemen. The UN envoy stated that despite positive signs of a
political understanding between the opposing factions, there are still several
obstacles to peace. In the press conference, the UN envoy also stated that there
had been no airstrikes on the country over the past five days. The envoy added
that humanitarian relief has reached various parts of Yemen, where more than 21
million people are in need of aid. However shortly after the press confrence, Al
Arabiya News channel reported bombing raids carried out by Houthi militias
against the Popular Resistance in Taiz killed at least two and wounded five.
Face-to-face
Yemen’s warring parties began face-to-face peace talks on Saturday on “key
issues” in a bid to end the conflict in the impoverished Arab country, the
United Nations said.
“All delegations are present. Key issues will be addressed,” Charbel Raji,
spokesman for Yemen’s UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, told AFP about the
negotiations taking place in Kuwait. Most of the meetings in talks which began
April 21 have so far been confined to encounters between rival delegations and
Ould Cheikh Ahmed. More than 6,800 people have been killed and around 2.8
million displaced in Yemen since a Saudi-led coalition began operations in March
2015 against Iran-backed Houthi militia, who seized swathes of territory
including the capital Sanaa. Key issues to navigate include the withdrawal of
armed groups, a handover of heavy weapons, the resumption of a political
transition and the release of prisoners. The new phase of meetings comes after
the government and rebel delegations each submitted a framework for a political
and security solution to end the 13-month war. The government delegation said
their proposal is based on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2216,
which states that the rebels must withdraw from seized territories and disarm
before talks can progress. Meanwhile, the insurgent-controlled sabanews.net
website quoted an unnamed source from the rebel delegation as saying that their
proposals include “forming a consensus authority that would oversee (political)
transition.” The rebel proposals also include lifting of the blockade imposed by
the Saudi-led military coalition on Yemen. Sabanews.net website reported that a
“new phase in the negotiations begins Saturday, which would truly test the
positions of the United Nations and international community” in the search for
peace. (With Reuters and AFP)
Iraq forces in major offensive on ISIS-held town
AFP | Bashir (Iraq) Sunday, 1 May 2016/Iraqi forces launched a final assault
Saturday to retake the Turkmen majority town of Bashir from ISIS militants,
Kurdish authorities said. Pressure for an operation to retake the town had grown
in March after ISIS launched a chemical attack from Bashir on the nearby town of
Taza that killed at least three children. “Bashir village is surrounded and 80
percent has been cleared,” the Kurdistan Region Security Council said on social
media. It said the push was launched at 0300 GMT to attack Bashir from the
northern, eastern and southern sides. Turkmen units from Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi
(Popular Mobilisation) militia umbrella group, which announced an operation to
retake the town earlier this month, were also taking part.
Deadly bomb strikes Turkey’s Gaziantep
Reuters, Istanbul Sunday, 1 May 2016/One police officer was killed and 13 people
were wounded on Sunday in an attack in front of a police headquarters in
Turkey's southeastern city of Gaziantep, the provincial governor was quoted by
broadcaster CNN Turk as saying. Nine of the wounded were police officers, Ali
Yerlikaya, governor of Gaziantep province, which borders ISIS-controlled
territory in Syria, said, according to CNN Turk. Separately, two rockets from
ISIS-controlled Syrian territory struck the Turkish town of Kilis on Sunday,
injuring at least two people, security sources said. The town which is just
across the border from Syria has come under repeated rocket fire in recent
weeks. On Saturday, it was hit by three rockets but there were no casualties.
Later in the day, US-led coalition drones struck an ISIS explosives depot in the
northern Syrian town of Dabiq after receiving intelligence from Ankara, Turkish
military sources said. Two ISIS militants outside the building were killed in
the attack and several others were thought to have been inside when the drones
struck, they said.
Statement by the National Council of Resistance of Iran Labor Committee on the
occasion of International Workers’ Day
Sunday, 01 May 2016 12:33
Velayat-e-faqih regime (Absolute rule of clergy) is the only cause for the
misery of millions of workers and toilers of Iran
Mr. Abbas Davari, chairman of the Labor Committee of the National Council of
Resistance of Iran, congratulated workers across the country on the occasion of
International Workers' Day and said: "This day promises victory over the
oppressors and overthrow of the mullahs' anti-workers regime, and the
establishment of popular sovereignty in our captive country. Two years and nine
months after Rouhani came to power, the economic policies of the regime are
still serving the interest of monopolized institutions and companies related to
Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards, and the conditions of workers and toilers
have continuously deteriorated during this period. According to official
statistics, domestic liquidity during Rouhani’s tenure has doubled from "500,000
billon tomans[1] to a quadrillion (1,000,000 billion) tomans[2]." Add to that
its tragic effects on the lives of working people as well as the fight that is
needed to tackle corruption.
Rising prices and falling wages
Despite the fact that "the committee of setting wages had stated this year's
four-person household living cost over three million and 75 thousand tomans[3]",
the Supreme Labor Council, without the presence of representatives of workers,
set the minimum wage for 2016 as 812,000 tomans. This amount is about 25 percent
of wage calculations as determined by the committee of setting wages. Meanwhile,
Ali Rabiee, Rouhani's Minister of Labor, a founder of the Ministry of
Intelligence and notorious torturer[4], shamelessly says: "In the last three
years the increase in wages outstripped the rate of inflation[5]", while the
newspaper five days earlier quoted the experts that "effective inflation on
other components includes transport 40%, communications 23%, health19% and
training 24% [6]". Last month state media reported: "The discussion to increase
public transport fees in Tehran by 15 to 25% is underway, and since exponential
increase of public transport fees affects other living costs, we must soon
witness the declining buying power of the workers[7]."
State budget, exploitation of the working people in favor of maintaining the
regime
On April 13, 2016, the clerical regime's parliament approved the 2016 budget of
Rouhani in the amount of 952 thousand billion tomans. A simple glance at the
budget shows that the only thing that was not considered in it is to provide
workers and toilers' wages. Budget priority in general is to maintain the regime
of velayat-e faqih and to promote suppression, export of terrorism and
fundamentalism and to fill the pockets of bloodthirsty ruling mullahs and their
families and dependents. The bulk of the budget is spent on the military,
security, foreign warmongering, and huge propaganda apparatus of the regime, all
of which serve to repress the society. In addition, a large part of the budget
with nested footnotes is spent on institutions affiliated to Khamenei and
Iranian Revolutionary Guards and suppressive bodies. Sharq state-run newspaper
writes: "Despite presence of institutions such as the Islamic Propaganda
Organization, Bassij and Qom Seminary and policy council of imams, in fixed
budget rows, still sectors belonging to these institutions are present in the
budget table[8]." The same newspaper writes: "For years a separate table has
been published as attachment to the budget bill in which budgets are allocated
to specific institutions and cultural centres[9]." For example, see two of the
figures in this table: one related to Rafsanjani band and the other to Khamenei
band.
First- In three rows name of Hassan Khomeini is given: Institute for the
Publication of Khomeini's work "16 billion and 450 million tomans", for the
preservation of monument of Khomeini "9 and a half billion tomans" and for the
protocols of Khomeini's grave "27 billion tomans", meaning that Hassan Khomeini
receives total of 52 billion and 950 million tomans from the Iranian people's
public funds.
Second - Institute of Mullah Mesbah Yazdi, in four rows under different names of
the Islamic Propaganda Organization, etc. receives a total of 194 billion and
294 million tomans.
The budget does not provide for economic and social development and helping the
poor. This is so obvious that Zohreh Tayyebzadeh, MP, recently said: In the past
two years, "no budget was allocated by the centre to the most disadvantaged and
most vulnerable sectors of women ... there are families that are poised to
addiction and unfortunately force their daughters to social and moral
evils[10]." Farhang state-run radio - April 18, 2016).
Monopolized companies and organizations, cause of endemic poverty and
unemployment.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards on the one hand controls the most important
economic companies and institutions and bottlenecks of the country's import and
export at ports and airports, and on the other hand by using these facilities
has become the largest smuggling network in the country. According to state-run
media, "Every year more than 25 billion dollars of goods are smuggled into the
country[11]". According to the regime's expert estimates, this amount could
create more than two million jobs.
These monopolies lead to destruction of non-monopolized productions and has
brought millions to the army of unemployed. So that a regime's MP said: "60
percent of the country's production units have become fully or partially shut
down[12]".
Iran Statistics Center has reported unemployment rate in 2015 as 2.12 percent in
urban areas and 1.8 percent in rural areas. But Larijani, the Speaker of the
regime's Parliament, said: "42 percent of graduates are unemployed[13]." Al
Is'haq, former Minister of Commerce and current advisor to the Ministry of
Agriculture said that unemployed population is seven to eight million the
majority of them educated[14]. The situation of women workers is extremely
painful. "Some women workers work with one-third of actual wage[15]." Of "two
million and 230 thousand women heads of the households[16]", "82 percent are
unemployed[17]." "Now we have over 10 million marginalized in the country ...
women comprise part of the marginalized population[18]."
Lack of job security
Lack of job security is the most important problem of the workers. The executive
secretary of Mazandaran province workers' house, said: "90% of Mazandaran
workers and contract workers have no job security[19]."
Rahmatullah Pourmousa, Secretary-General of Islamic Labor Councils, said: "In
Iran 94 percent of the workers work on contract basis[20]".
Gholamreza Abbasi, president of Supreme Centre of Trade Associations, said, "95
percent of workers have no employment contract document[21]."
There is no guarantee for workers with 20 years of experience that they would
not be fired. This is the biggest concern of the workers. Khamenei and
Revolutionary Guards are the main cause of it since they have the bulk of large
companies and factories in their monopoly and have a major role in destroying
job security of the workers.
Suppression of Trade Unions
No independent labor organization is recognized by the clerical regime. In
accordance with Article 138 of the labor law, "the supreme leader, if deemed
appropriate can be represented in any of Trade Unions." A representative who
only is a means of suppression of workers. Members and representatives of labor
organizations beyond the control of the regime are continually subjected to
arrest, imprisonment and torture. However, according to the International Labor
Organization Acts that the regime is among its signatories, labor organizations
are among inalienable rights of workers. Just this year, on the eve of
International Workers Day, in order to prevent workers' gatherings and marches,
a number of labor representatives have been arrested and a larger number have
been threatened by the Ministry of Intelligence.
Workers' Protests, rallies and sit-ins
Despite the brutal and systematic repression, Iranian workers have continued
protests, sit-ins and rallies and have taken every opportunity to exercise their
rights. They have risen against the lack of salary, unpaid wages, layoffs, job
insecurity and plunder and exploitation of workers under the pretext of
privatization. On the eve of May Day this year, by the call of the PMOI and the
Iranian Resistance, these protest actions have taken a wider dimension.
Workers' solidarity in the face of marauders and suppressive forces is very
impressive. This was well manifested in the human chain of 10 thousand
petrochemical workers in Mahshahr in December 2015.
What should be done with this limitless plunder and looting?
The only party that has brought misery to the Iranian workers, has made them
unemployed, and has caused them ever increasing poverty, is the ominous regime
of velayat-e-faqih that has responded to the minimum legitimate and legal
demands of the workers with repression and torture. The rights of workers, the
dispossession of Khamenei and Iranian Revolutionary Guards from Iran's economy
it is not possible without the overthrow of this regime. As the courageous
struggle of the workers against inhumane and cruel abuses is an integral part of
the struggle to overthrow the mullahs' regime. This is a national duty that the
Iranian Resistance along with Iranian workers and toilers and general population
will materialize and establish democracy, popular sovereignty and social justice
in Iran.
The Labor Committee of the NCRI urges the International Labor Organization,
trade unions and syndicates and all human rights advocates around the world to
condemn the anti-labor policies of the clerical regime by all possible means and
defend the rights of Iranian workers. In Iran under the mullahs' rule, all basic
rights of workers such as the right to work, independent trade unions and
syndicates, job security, and insurance are strongly violated and every day a
large number of workers are arrested and sent to prison due to demanding these
basic rights.
National Council of Resistance of Iran
Labor Committee
May 1, 2016
[1] Deputy Minister of Construction – Ressalat Newspaper, February 17, 2016
[2] President of the Central Bank – Javan Newspaper, February 14, 2016
[3] Javan Newspaper, March 6, 2016
[4] Official site of the Social Security Organization of the regime has made
clear that Ali Rabiee, Rouhani’s Minister of Labor, has been "parliamentary and
legal deputy of the Ministry of Intelligence" from 1987 to 1993. That is, during
the massacre of political prisoners in 1988 he was deputy minister of
intelligence. According to this site, Rabiee was also a "member of the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps and member of Command Councils of Tehran base, district
3 in the Country and Hamzeh Seyed Al-Shohada garrison".
[5] Vatan Emrooz, March 10, 2016
[6] Vatan Emrooz, March 5, 2016
[7] ILNA News Agenvy – April 8, 2016
[8] Sharq Newspaper – April 17, 2016
[9] Sharq Newspaper – April 17, 2016
[10] Farhang state-run radio – April 18, 2016
[11] Ressalat Newspaper, February 17, 2016
[12] Iranian regime TV – April 24, 2015
[13] Mardomsalary – April 24, 2016
[14] Vatan Emrooz – April 23, 2016
[15] News Agency – April 21, 2015
[16] News Agency – August 23, 2015
[17] Emtiaz Newspaper – May 24, 2015
[18] ILNA News Agency – February 6, 2016
[19] IRNA News Agency – August 19, 2015
[20] Industry World Newspaper – November 29, 2015
[21] Rssalat Newspaper – August 23, 2015
Maryam Rajavi: Workers’ struggle is a major part of the Iranian people's
resistance to topple the ruling religious dictatorship
Sunday, 01 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/The Iranian
Resistance's President-elect Maryam Rajavi congratulated all workers of Iran on
the International Labor Day. She expressed her wish that this year would a year
of restitution of the rights of millions of honorable workers, men and women,
who have been laid off and dismissed or have been doomed to live in fear,
poverty and insecurity because their wages are not paid under white or temporary
contracts. Mrs. Rajavi lauded imprisoned workers and said: The nationwide
resistance and protests of workers indicate the fact that they rightly see the
ruling religious dictatorship as the prime source of oppression and violation of
workers' rights. Therefore, the deprived workers of Iran will not achieve their
rights unless the clerical regime is overthrown. The Iranian Resistance's
President-elect elaborated on the regime's policies against the interests of
Iranian workers and pointed out: Workers lost their jobs and livelihood in the
course of the unremitting trend of factories going bankrupt and the shutdown of
60% of industrial centers. The sale and fraudulent auctions of factories, the
economic corruption and expansion of black markets, also the bankruptcy of banks
and stepped-up import of foreign goods target Iran's workers as their prime
victims. In the meantime, the treacherous policy of allocating a lion's share of
the country's revenues to the war and massacre in the region, especially in
Syria, has made Iranian workers ever poorer and destitute.
She added: For years, the minimum wage of Iranian workers has remained at one
dollar per hour. According to the regime's officials, 60% of workers do not even
receive their minimum wages. Their purchasing power has plunged 187% since 2009.
Lay-offs and dismissals have intensified under Rouhani's government, and those
workers who have not yet lost their jobs have not received their wages for
months and do not enjoy any job security under white and temporary job
contracts. The greater majority of Iran's work force work under such contracts
which were designed to subjugate workers and compel them to accept cheap pay.
Addressing Iranian workers all across the country, Mrs. Rajavi reiterated: The
clerical regime and its various factions have built their subsistence on the
plunder of your energy and livelihood. Nevertheless, their crisis-riddled regime
is vulnerable to your solidarity and unity of action, despite its crackdowns.
Your struggle to gain your rights is a major part of the nation's struggle to
overthrow the mullahs' religious tyranny, Mrs. Rajavi noted.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/April 30, 2016
Maryam Rajavi’s message on International Labor Day
Sunday, 01 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI - The following
is the text of the message of Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian
Resistance, to mark International Workers Day:
Fellow toiling workers,
Fellow compatriots who have been dismissed or are unemployed,
Millions of honorable men and women who have been forced to live in fear,
destitution and insecurity because of dismissals, white and temporary contracts
and unpaid wages,
I congratulate you all on the International Labor Day!
Although the ruling despots have made life gloomy and bitter for you, but
contrary to the mullahs, we celebrate the International Labor Day as the
universal symbol of workers' struggle, a day that heralds emancipation of
mankind from oppression and exploitation. Because there is a potent force in
your suffering and your will power to end such pain and bring about liberty and
emancipation.
Let us remember on this day the combatant worker and brave political prisoner,
Shahrokh Zamani, who was jailed for his efforts to establish labor syndicates
and lost his life last year due to inhuman pressure and treatment of Khamenei's
henchmen in prison.
Let us hail the imprisoned workers who are resisting in the regime's dungeons
and the courageous laborers who risk their own dismissal to protest violations
of the most basic rights and freedoms of workers.
Workers set a record last year, by staging numerous protests, strikes, marches,
and gatherings, and by signing protest petitions in various production units in
every province.
They also travelled frequently from various cities to the capital to stage
protest rallies in front of the mullahs' parliament, the presidential office,
the ministries, the Mostaz'afan Foundation, and other government offices. By
doing so, they stressed the fact that Iran's toiling workers see the country's
ruling religious dictatorship as the source of misfortune for the majority of
the Iranian populace. Indeed, they are the prime advocates of exploitation,
oppression and aggression on the rights of workers.
Workers lost their jobs and livelihood in the course of the unremitting trend of
factories going bankrupt which led to the shutdown of 60% of industrial centers.
They were not even able to receive their unpaid dues.
The sale and fraudulent auctions of factories, the economic corruption and
expansion of black markets, also the bankruptcy of banks and stepped-up import
of foreign goods, target Iran's workers as their prime victims.
Also, the treacherous policy of allocating a lion's share of the country's
revenues to the war and massacre in Syria, has made Iranian workers ever poorer
and destitute.
For years, the minimum wage of workers has remained at one dollar per hour.
Their purchasing power, however, has plunged 187% since 2009. According to the
regime's officials, 60% of workers are not in any position to receive even their
minimum wages while the one-dollar-an-hour wage of Iranian laborers is not even
one-fourth of workers' wage in the world's most crisis-riddled economies, such
as Greece.
The Tsunami of lay-offs and dismissals has intensified under Rowhani's
government, and group after group of workers join the millions-strong army of
unemployed every day. Official estimates put the number of unemployed workers at
over one million. Over the past two years, 166,000 industrialist workers have
lost their jobs. Those who have not lost their jobs are under pressure of having
not received their wages while they do not have any job security since they were
forced to sign white and temporary contracts to have a job.
According to the Iranian regime's Labor Ministry, 93% of the country's working
force is working under such contracts. This is one of the regime's most cruel
plans designed to subjugate workers and compel them into cheap labor.
Iranian workers are among the world's least-paid and most vulnerable work force
who face constant threat of dismissal and the lowest job security.
Despite the horrific economic stagnation in Iran, it is the ruling mullahs'
overlooking of the fate of workers that contributes most significantly to their
victimization as a result of criminal policies.
The various regime factions also share interest in the plunder of the product of
workers' lives and energy and crackdown on their legitimate protests. This is
why workers' conditions deteriorate every year as attested by official figures
and reports.
Another stain on the record of the clerical regime is the workers' living
conditions in their residential quarters and camps around the country such as in
the South Pars region, Asalouyeh, and Nakhl Taghi.
In their advertisements, the mullahs call Asalouyeh the nation's "Great Oil
Civilization" or "Energy Capital." However, they have piled up tens of thousands
of workers in small, crowded, filthy rooms filled with bugs. Workers receive
little and low-quality food and get poisoned frequently. Their transportation is
quite old and every year, a considerable number of workers get killed in road
accidents. Drinking water is virtually non-existent, health clinics are not
adequate, while narcotic drugs are easily at hand. So, workers have been doomed
to live in near-slavery conditions in this industrial town.
The mullahs have set up the pillars of their rule on such poverty and
destitution. They neither want nor are able to change this situation any bit.
This is why it is impossible to gain the minimum rights of Iranian workers and
toilers without a regime change.
Freedom of independent organizations, the right to stage strikes and protest
gatherings, abolition of temporary and white contracts, disbanding of major
contractors of labor force, prompt payment of wages and all past-due demands,
provision of health and unemployment insurance and other demands of workers
threaten the regime's existence because they bring about freedom for workers to
various degrees. So, achieving every single one of such demands is intertwined
with the struggle for regime change.
Valiant workers,
The mullahs' crisis-riddled regime is vulnerable to your unity of action and
joint struggle. Your persistence on demanding your inalienable rights is part of
the struggle of the whole nation to overthrow the ruling religious tyranny.
A glance over the history of the resistance against the clerical regime, reveals
that workers have always had a brilliant presence in the ranks of the movement,
in the publication of newsletters for workers and the struggles of the early
years after the revolution and throughout the years of resistance in the
National Liberation Army.
The day is not far when the courageous workers of Iran and the brave youths of
our country form the Liberation Army's units hand in hand with all the regime's
opponents and rise up to gain their freedoms and the nation's great right to
national sovereignty.
The day is not far when all the oppressed people of Iran will achieve their
fundamental rights, freedom, social justice, equality and the welfare they
deserve in a free Iran.
Happy International Labor Day to you all. 30 April 2016
Political prisoner urges Iran’s workers to protest against
regime
Sunday, 01 May 2016//National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI - Abolqasem
Fouladvand, an Iranian political prisoner in Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison in
Karaj, north-west of Tehran, issued a statement on the occasion of International
Workers’ Day and Teachers’ Day in Iran. He urged the people of Iran, in
particular workers and teachers, to protest against the mullahs’ regime. Mr.
Fouladvand was arrested on June 11, 2013 and was sentenced to 18 imprisonment on
February 8, 2014 for having links to the main Iranian opposition group People's
Mojahedin of Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) and for insulting the regime’s
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.The following is the text of his statement smuggled
out of prison:
We are on the eve of International Workers’ Day and Teachers’ Day while numerous
workers and teachers of our country are imprisoned or hanged under the bogus
charge of acting against national security (that’s to say mullahs’ security)
because of their demand for union rights. The fascist and fundamentalist clerics
after drinking the chalice of nuclear poison are now on the eve of drinking a
chalice of regional poison in the second Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
They do not have the courage to admit that they are faced with popular
uprisings. They do not want or wish to solve the problems of workers, teachers,
nurses, pensioners and other classes of people in the country.
The most fundemental goal of this regime is to loot and plunder the interests of
the country and to create terror and oppression, and torture and execution in
the domestic arena. It is our duty to cry out our slogans of ‘Work, Bread,
Freedom’ with the battle to overthrow and eradicate the anti-human mullahs’
regime.
It is incumbent upon me to declare my support and sympathy for the protests and
rightful demands mentioned in the statement of Jafar Azimzadeh and Esmail Abdi
who represent a large number of workers and teachers. We also remember the
recent martyred teachers, workers and laborers including Abbas Amani, Farzad
Kamangar, Mohammad Ali Haji Aqai, Sattar Beheshti, Gholamreza Khosravi and
Shahrokh Zamani. We believe that the only solution to all problems and
sufferings of workers, teachers, nurses and other people in our homeland is to
overthrow this inhumane and reactionary regime.
I ask all workers and toilers to stand in solidarity with the teachers, nurses
and students to fight for our great right to freedom, and together with 1000
Ashrafs and the liberation army to overthrow this cruel and oppressive mullahs’
regime.
Death to the principle of Velayat-e Faqih (religious rule)
Long live Rajavi
Abolqasem Fouladvand
Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison, Karaj/April 29, 2016
Iran says it imprisoned culprits behind Saudi embassy
attack
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Saturday, 30 April 2016/Iran has imprisoned the
perpetrators who stormed the Saudi embassy in the capital Tehran in early
January, according to an Iranian minister. The attack has led the kingdom to cut
ties with the Islamic republic. Iran’s minister of culture Ali Jannati said that
the “perpetrators who stormed the Saudi embassy… were arrested and are now in
prison,” according to semi-official Fars News. The report did not name the
identities or number of people detained over the attack. The minister added that
“Tehran wants to find reasonable and balanced relations based on multilateral
cooperation with the countries of the region.” The minister did not reveal the
identity or the number of the culprits behind the attack on the Saudi embassy in
Tehran, but he stressed that “this attack has been condemned by all officials
within the Iranian establishment and the Iranian regime will hold accountable
all sides involved in this incident.”The culture minister’s remarks appear to
contradict an announcement by attorney general in March, which said that all 154
people detained after the attack had been released. The attorney general said on
April 10 that “there were no detainees in the Saudi embassy incident, but the
indictment included 48 accused,” without announcing any specific judicial
proceedings. The government of moderate President Hassan Rowhani - who said that
damage to Saudi’s diplomatic post was “by no means justifiable - is seeking to
save Iran from regional isolation after the Arab world’s broad condemnation of
the attacks.
Islamic Jihad delegation visits Iran to 'discuss ways to
strengthen intifada'
Jerusalem Post/May 01/16/An official delegation of the Islamic Jihad has been
visiting Iran to discuss the ways to strengthen the intifada in the West Bank
and Jerusalem, Palestinian media reported on Sunday. According to a statement
issued by the Palestinian terror organization, the delegation, headed by the
organization's Secretary General Ramadan Abdullah will visit Iran for a few
days. The Palestinian delegation will meet Iran's President Hassan Rouhani,
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and the chief of Iran's Supreme National
Security Council Ali Shamkhani. The Islamic jihad announced that "the delegation
visiting Tehran has met with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and
the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, as well as other senior
Iranian officials. In these meetings, the parties discussed the current
circumstances prevailing in the Islamic nation and especially the issue of
Palestine and the ways to bolster the intifada in the West Bank and Jerusalem
opposing the "Zionist expansionism." Additional subjects discussed were the
attempts to “Judaize al-Aksa mosque” and the need to support the steadfastness
of Gazans in light of the 10-year blockade. In a press statement, Islamic
Jihad's secretary general underscored the importance of Iran's support for the
Palestinian people, and expressed his chagrin over what he called "the Arab
indifference toward Palestine and its oppressed people." In his Saturday meeting
with Ramadan Abdullah, the Head of the Strategic Research Center of Iran's
Expediency Council Ali Akbar Velayati said: "the West's attempts to divide the
Islamic world will fail. Iran will support the Palestinian people and continue
fighting against terror and the Zionist entity, together with all Muslim
states." The high-level visit by the Islamic Jihad delegation to Iran, as well
as Abdullah's declarations praising Iran as the standard-bearer of the
Palestinian resistance seem to aim at pushing Iran to enlarge its financial aid
to the Palestinian organization, which is in dire need of money. The financial
distress of the Palestinian terror organization emerged last year, after Tehran
significantly cut its funds and began supporting a new Shi'ite organization in
the Gaza Strip called al-Sabireen.
Khamenei's bodyguard reportedly killed in Syria
Jerusalem Post/May 01/16/According to Iranian news agency,the bodyguard was
killed due to a "technical fault" in his weapon during a training mission he
took part in. Colonel Hassan Akbari, an officer in the bodyguard unit of Iran's
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed during a training mission, the
Iranian news agency Fars reported Saturday.According to the report, Akbari, a
member of Khamenei’s safeguarding unit, a part of the Iranian Revolutionary
Guards, was killed due to a "technical fault" in his weapon during a training
mission he took part in. The Iranian news agency did not mention in its report
where he was killed, however sources affiliated with the Syrian opposition said
that Akbari was killed in Syria while visiting the Aleppo battlefield to prepare
a comprehensive report about the fighting for Khamenei.Syrian opposition
activists praised Akbari's death, claiming that he was run over by rebels in
Aleppo's outskirts. The Public Relations Office of Iran's Revolutionary Guards
sent condolences to Khamenei, which indicates that Akbari was part of the upper
echelon safeguarding the Supreme Leader. Khamenei's bodyguard unit includes
about 10,000 people, while only two senior officers among them, who have been
working in the unit for 30 years, are his private bodyguards. These two are the
members who are authorized to enter Khamenei's room and safeguard it 24 hours a
day.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on May 02/16
ISIS leader’s ex-wife: Baghdadi used to be ‘a normal
family man’
Jerusalem Post/May 01/16
Iraqi-born Saga al-Dulaimi, who escaped from marriage to the infamous leader of
ISIS, recounts to Swedish media of her life with one of the world’s most wanted
terrorists. The second wife of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has recently claimed that
her former husband was “a normal family man” before he became the infamous
leader of the extremist Islamic State group.In an interview Saturday with the
Swedish newspaper Expressen, Iraqi-born Saga al-Dulaimi recounted her life with
one of the most wanted terrorists in the world. “I married a normal person who
was a university lecturer. At the time his name was Hisham Mohammad,” al-Dulaimi
told Expressen. She added that when she married her husband in 2008 she was not
aware that he was involved in any extremist activities. “I didn’t notice that he
was actively involved in the resistance movement at all. He was a normal family
man,” al-Dulaimi said. “How he could become Emir of the most dangerous terrorist
organization in the world is a mystery.” Since 2011, the US State Department has
offered a $10 million reward for information that could lead to al-Baghdadi’s
location or arrest. Al-Dulaimi said her father had approved of the marriage with
the man who would become to be known as al-Baghdadi after her first husband, an
Iraqi in Saddam Hussein’s security convoy, died while fighting the US army. She
had twin infant boys from that marriage. Four months ago, 28-year-old al-Dulaimi
and her four children, including daughter Hagar whom she had with al-Badhdadi,
were released from a Lebanese jail as part of a prisoner exchange between the
Syrian government and the al-Qaida offshoot al-Nusra Front. While the al-Dulaimi
has remained quite until now about her relationship with the enigmatic,
self-declared “caliph” of the terrorist group known as ISIS, she told Expressen
that she left al-Baghdadi because she was not happy in the marriage nor in the
household as a second wife.
“I had been pregnant for a month without either of us knowing. I left him. Yes,
you could say that I fled from him,” Expressen quoted her as explaining. “It had
nothing to do with him as a person. I wasn’t happy. It was unfair on his first
wife. She was very upset. That’s why I left.”After leaving the ISIS leader, al-Dulaimi
moved back in with her first husband’s family in Baghdad. Years later after
being arrested and released in Syria for her family’s alleged ties to al-Nusra
Front, al-Dulaimi fled to Lebanon during a Syrian army campaign against the
group’s positions. Lebanese authorities arrested her for illegally crossing the
border, and it was there she learned what had become of her ex-husband. In June
2014 al-Baghdadi was named as the “caliph” of the group now known as ISIS. “It
was when I got to Lebanon that I received the shocking news. They showed me
pictures of my ex-husband and asked me if I recognized him,” she recounted. “It
turns out I was married to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. It was a shock to find out –
seven years later – that I’d been married to the most dangerous man in the
world. I smashed a window in anger.”
Since then, al-Dulmaimi has remarried to a Palestinian man and now seeks to
leave the Middle East.
An unlikely trio: Israel, Hamas and Egypt align against
ISIS in Sinai
Jerusalem Post/May 01/16
Last week, Hamas deployed several hundred fighters along the Gaza-Sinai border
together with Egypt to prevent ISIS fighters in the region from breaching the
coastal enclave. Israel, Hamas, and Egypt have aligned their strategies and
formed an unlikely alliance against the Islamic State in Sinai, who are planning
increasingly sophisticated and daring attacks in the region, The Washington Post
reported on Sunday. Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate, referred to as Wilayat
Sinai, is well equipped with weaponry and has been plotting more sophisticated
attacks since taking responsibility for the October bombing of a Russian charter
plane which killed all 224 passengers aboard. Additionally, the group
consistently carried out attacks against Egyptian soldiers, bombarding military
outposts and planting roadside bombs in the vicinity.
“They have genius strategists,” said Mohannad Sabry, an Egyptian journalist and
author of a book on Islamist insurgency in the Sinai. “If you study the map of
their attacks, they obviously know what they are doing exactly, and it shows
that they have a great deal of freedom of mobility.”
Last week, Hamas deployed several hundred fighters along the border between Gaza
and the northern Sinai as a precautionary measure together with Egypt to prevent
ISIS fighters in the region from breaching the coastal enclave. Hamas has also,
for the first time, set up military checkpoints and border patrols along the
frontier border with Israel, according to AFP. Growing concern of threat from
the Egyptian terror group has led to the greatest cooperation between the
militaries of Egypt and Israel since both nations signed a peace agreement in
1979.
In recent months, Israel has tightened security and built a new barrier along
the Israel-Egypt border, after reports from sources close to the militant group
have claimed to be planning attacks against Israel in the south. Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu praised the security coordination between Egypt and Israel,
saying that without increased security efforts “we would have been overflowed by
thousands of ISIS fighters from Sinai.” Egyptian intelligence agencies have
struggled to infiltrate the secretive militant group, Israeli military officials
and Egyptian activists in the Sinai have said. Israel is particularly concerned
that the militants could target multinational peacekeeping efforts that maintain
peace between Egypt and Israel along the Sinai border. “Like anywhere, they
[peacekeeping forces] could be considered a potential target,” said Lt. Col.
Yaron Malka, the deputy commander of Israel’s Saqi Brigade that defends Israel’s
border with Sinai. Israel and Egyptian officials have been wary of Hamas’
relationship to Sinai militant groups, and suspect that Hamas used smuggling
tunnels to allow fighters from Sinai to use the Gaza Strip as a safe haven.
Israel says that Hamas has smuggled arms from Sinai groups to the Gaza Strip,
with some groups allegedly tied to ISIS. Hamas has denied ties to the terror
group, saying it has no sympathies to the Islamic State. Hamas, which maintains
positive relations with Egypt and depends on the country for its economic
survival, said that they have deployed over 300 fighters along three sea borders
and two land border crossings with Egypt.
The world according to Donald Trump
Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/May 01/16
It was a strange sight to be marveled at and remembered in amazement. Donald
Trump addressing the foreign policy establishment in Washington, reading from a
prepared but meandering speech, obviously written by a committee of advisors.
The man who mocked President Obama for delivering his speeches by reading them
with the help of a teleprompter, stood behind a teleprompter, and was ill at
ease reading for 40 minutes without wildly gesticulating, or making exaggerated
poses, and refraining from hurling insults at large groups of people. The man
who personifies anti-intellectualism was talking to the scholars, journalists,
and pundits he usually revels in denigrating them. This was part of a long held
tradition in presidential campaigns; every candidate has to deliver a ‘major’
foreign policy address to establish his knowledge of world affairs and his
understanding of the complex national security challenges he is likely to face
as a president. But the presidential veneer did not hide the real Donald Trump
who gave us an incoherent collage of inconsistencies, superficial slogans,
dangerous and simplistic solutions to complex issues, misstatements, and
downright falsehoods. The speech betrayed a shocking ignorance of the
intricacies of the international system that the U.S created after WWII and the
new European dynamics that emerged after the end of the Cold War. In Trump’s
world, globalization is seen only as a negative force, and not as the engine of
growth that the US ushered in, and mega deals can be struck with Russia and
China regardless of their belligerent behavior, and alliances should be based
solely on transactional and not value-based considerations, and autocratic
regimes can be tolerated if they are good business partners, regardless of what
they do to their citizens. He naively believes that the US has already
surrendered to the ‘false song of globalism’, as if globalization could have
been conceived without America at its core.
Trump chastised America’s allies supposedly because they are not paying enough
for American protection, while he showed deference to America’s adversaries.
Trump probably did not know that the major theme of his speech ‘America First’
is a slogan with an ominous history. In the 1930’s and early 1940’s, ‘America
First’ was the name of an isolationist movement that did not want to help
England and the other European countries fighting Nazism and Fascism. Pity these
strange American times, when the presumptive nominee of a major political party
after delivering such a hollow speech, is given a cover of legitimacy by the
likes of Republican senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee who described the speech as ‘very thoughtful’ and praised the
candidate for 'challenging the foreign policy establishment.’ Jacob Heilbrunn
the editor of the National Interest Magazine which hosted Trump extolled the
candidate because he ‘was quite disciplined’ and ‘more retrained’.
A toxic brew of distrust, ignorance and isolationism
To claim a presidential posture and a more disciplined and restrained
temperament, Trump’s aides must have advised him to sound less nativist and to
drop any explicit references to his most toxic and outrageous proposals that
have become the staple of his public rants and stump speeches.
Trump did not back away from his well-known Catechism of bigotry and hatreds; he
just simply alluded implicitly to some of them. He did not back away from his
outlandish proposals to build a wall with Mexico, or to deport undocumented
immigrants, or to bar Muslims from entering the United States, including
refugees fleeing war zones, but he nonetheless made sure that we understood
where he really stand when he said ‘We must stop importing extremism through
senseless immigration policies... A pause for re-assessment will help us prevent
the next San Bernardino.’ The America that Trump wants to revive is a power that
is unto itself, unwilling to be magnanimous, or benevolent, while at the same
time serves and protects its interests as a sovereign nation. Trump wants to
work ‘very closely with our allies in the Muslim world, all of which are at risk
from radical Islamic violence’, but he does not tell us how he will reconcile
this approach with his wholesale discrimination against Muslims
Trump did not repeat his previous threat to walk out of NATO, but his core
message remained the same; if he is elected he will call for summits with NATO
and Asian allies for the ‘rebalancing of financial commitments’, a euphemism for
pony up, or the US will abandon you, to your own devices. Trump assumes that
many NATO members are free riders. He wants to restructure NATO, assuming that
members increase their military budgets, to combat ‘Islamic terrorism’. The US
has been calling on NATO members to honor their required 2 percent of GDP
expenditure on defense. Former secretary of defense Robert Gates has shamed them
publicly to do so. As to fighting terrorism, the NATO involvement in Afghanistan
was precisely to combat al Qaeda. In his speech and in previous statements and
interviews Trump was tougher on America’s strategic allies in Europe and Asia,
while conciliatory towards Russia, vowing to end ‘this terrible cycle of
hostility’ with Russia, as if the United States is in the main responsible for
it. Trump threatens to abandon America’s old allies; while in the same breadth
excoriates President Obama for allegedly picking up ‘fights with our oldest
friends’ while ‘bowing ‘to our enemies’. When Trump says that America’s foreign
policy since the end of the Cold War has been ‘incoherent’, describing it as a
‘complete and total disaster…No vision. No purpose. No direction. No strategy’,
he is in fact indicting all past American presidents, Republicans and Democrats.
The unpredictable leader
Trump correctly criticizes George Bush’s decision to invade Iraq, and Obama’s
line in the sand in Syria, and the nuclear deal with Iran, but he does not
address what he will do to stop Iraq’s and Syria’s slide towards greater
fragmentation. On Iran he repeats that he will not allow it to obtain a nuclear
device, but there is no mention of Iran’s destructive behavior in Iraq or Syria.
He criticizes the administration’s poorly thought out military intervention in
Libya, but he loses the big picture by sticking to the canard that then
secretary of state Hillary Clinton ‘misled the nation’ regarding the killing of
ambassador Christopher Stevens and his three colleagues.
Then he falsely claims that ‘ISIS is making millions and millions of dollars a
week selling Libyan oil’. But, Trump has a simple message to deliver to ISIS:
‘their days are numbered. I won’t tell them where and I won’t tell them how. We
must as a nation be more unpredictable.’ Trump is telling us he has a secret
plan to get rid of ISIS ‘very quickly’. In 1968, candidate Richard Nixon allowed
the notion that he had a secret plan to end the war in Vietnam quickly to take
hold, a notion that may have helped Nixon win the presidency. Now we call it
Nixon's secret plan that never was. Trump is pulling a Nixon.
Trump has a final not so subtle message to the peoples of the Middle East: ‘our
goals must be, and I mean must be, to defeat terrorists and promote regional
stability, not radical change.’ In other words if autocrats and tyrants maintain
stability and are willing to engage us in profitable business, we will not
strenuously object to how they practice governance. However, the only time the
US pushed hard for radical change in a given Arab country was the disastrous
invasion of Iraq. For years and decades American administrations, tolerated and
helped maintain the kind of stability in the Arab world that can best be called
the stability of cemeteries.
Trump’s America
The America that Trump wants to revive is a power that is unto itself, unwilling
to be magnanimous, or benevolent, while at the same time serves and protects its
interests as a sovereign nation. This America would not have gotten involved in
Europe’s wars, or to save it from all the destructive ideologies of the 20th
century; Communism, and Fascism, or rebuilding the destroyed continent through
the Marshal Plan, one of the 20th century’s best examples of enlightened
self-interest. Trump’s America would be parochial and not imaginative or
perceptive enough to create the international institutions that helped it become
the greatest power in modern times; the NATO alliance, the United Nations, the
World bank and the International Monetary Fund. Trump’s America would not have
created the Peace Corp, or invested enough resources to help the societies of
Eastern Europe in their struggle against communism and the Soviet Empire.
Trump’s America would not have gotten involved in saving Kuwait from the deadly
embrace of Saddam Hussein, or protecting the Kurds from his chemical weapons.
Trump surely would not have intervened to stop the mass killings of the mostly
Muslim civilians in the Balkans in the 1990’s, the first such killings of
civilians in Europe since Nazi Germany’s savage war on European Jewry,
particularly since America had no strategic or economic interests in Bosnia or
Kosovo. Trump’s selfish America would not have dispatched three thousand
American soldiers to West Africa to contain the spread of the Ebola virus.
America’s disastrous military blunders in countries like Vietnam and Iraq, and
its other costly interventions and missteps do not justify a new retrenchment in
the name of an ill-conceived concept of national self-interest. For all of its
flaws, American leadership –when it is practiced wisely and firmly- is still
indispensable in a rapidly changing world. Much has been written about the
reasons that make Trump’s themes and schemes resonate with many electorates,
such as the economic dislocation of many Americans in recent decades, the
demographic changes that are unsettling to some social strata, the flight of
American jobs overseas, the costs of the still raging two longest wars in the
nation’s history, and the dysfunctions of the two party system and the
entrenched professional political class in Washington.
But Americans should not succumb to the dangerous sirens of nativism, and the
politics of fear and the demonization of immigrants and Muslims. It is not
enough for Trump’s opponents be they Republicans or Democrats to point out his
inconsistencies and inaccuracies or debunk his dangerous proposals; it is
imperative that they try to offer viable approaches and alternatives to address
the legitimate concerns and fears of his supporters. This is a hinge struggle;
for the stakes are high, not only for America but for the world.
Has Regeni’s death been swept under the ‘business as usual’
rug?
Azzurra Meringolo/Al Arabiya/May 01/16
“Yellow … Giulio. Everyday there are more and more Italians that, as soon as
they see a yellow sign, think about Giulio.” With these words, Paola Regeni,
Giulio Regeni’s mother, publicly thanked Amnesty International and all the
Italian citizens who are supporting a yellow-banner campaign to ask Egypt, the
Italian government and the international community not to accept a truth of
convenience on her son’s death. The Amnesty campaign has mobilized thousands of
people, who are keeping their eyes and ears wide open. I believe this increasing
public attention has influenced the Italian government’s attitude towards Egypt.
Since Giulio's badly-mutilated body was discovered in a ditch in Cairo last
January, the Italian embassy in Egypt has taken a strong position. The
ambassador did not refrain from speaking out about torture and loudly urged
Egyptian authorities to cooperate in the investigations. Later, the Italian
foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni did the same. After having told the Italian
parliament that he would not accept “distorted or convenient truths” from
Egyptian investigators, Gentiloni recalled the Italian ambassador, Maurizio
Massari, from Cairo on April 8.
A hazardous bet
After weeks of near-silence and visible embarrassment, Prime Minister Matteo
Renzi started to raise his voice too. But Renzi has not been at ease, being the
first western leader, in August 2014, to fly to Cairo to shake hands with the
then newly-inaugurated President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Renzi, who daringly used
celebratory words to address Sisi, is also keeping in mind his foreign policy
pledges to stabilize Egypt – and the region. In the last two years, Renzi had
defended this policy with determination; leveraging on the economic pragmatism
that had been undermined by post-revolutionary instability.
But when this hazardous bet flipped over - inverting the Italian-Egyptian
special relationship - Italian public opinion has forced its prime minister to
reconsider his political, strategic and economic ties to Egypt. Between values
and interests, states prefer interests. And among these, they tend to defend
those that guarantee results in the short time. Even if business continues as
usual (on February 21 for example, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and
Mineral Resources approved that the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company grants
Italian gas company ENI the Zohr Basin Development lease), bilateral ties are
now spoiled. While Italian opinion makers are divided between those who support
pragmatism in order to preserve Italian security and business, and those who
oppose such realpolitik thinking, Italian diplomacy is now looking for
international support on the Regeni case.
But this is not an easy mission.
Even if during his recent trip to Cairo, French president Francois Hollande
spent some words on the Regeni case, at the end he signed economic agreements
worth €1.7 billion and some memoranda of understanding for future cooperation. A
similar approach was used by German Vice Chancellor, Sigmanr Gabriel, who on
April 17 concluded a two-hour long meeting with Sisi in Cairo calling him an
“impressive president.” Criticized by the German press, Gabriel later
highlighted the poor human rights situation in the country. These events are
just visible examples of a lax attitude towards Egypt’s human rights. Between
values and interests, states prefer interests. And among these, they tend to
defend those that guarantee results in the short time. But are we sure that this
short-term realpolitik will protect European and Italian interests more than a
strong support of human rights that can guarantee longer-term stability in
bilateral ties? Is this pragmatism really a forward-looking policy? The brutal
death of Giulio Regeni, a researcher who was aware of the importance of Europe’s
policies towards the south shores of the Mediterranean, is another stress test
for the European Union and its foggy foreign policy. Urging Egypt to unveil the
purported truth about Regeni’s death, and to respect human rights, should push
Sisi to implement democratic reforms that can guarantee a stable – and
sustainable – future to the country.
Analysis: Egypt caught between the hammer and the anvil
Yoram Meital/Jerusalem Post/May 01/16
ON THE 37th anniversary of the Israeli- Egyptian peace deal, security
cooperation between the two countries is at an all-time high. The two
governments share an inimical view of Hamas rule in Gaza and both operate in
various ways against Islamic State (ISIS) forces in Sinai. Nevertheless,
opposition in Egypt to normalizing relations with Israel remains widespread.
Five years ago the current level of security cooperation would have seemed
highly unlikely.
The overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 and the
subsequent coming to power of the Muslim Brotherhood under Mohammed Morsi was
seen in Israel as an extremely negative development.
So much so that it necessitated a significant change in Israel’s national
security estimates and alignment.
True, Morsi’s Egypt continued to honor its commitments under the peace treaty.
But Israeli decision makers were gravely concerned at the burgeoning cooperation
between Cairo and Hamas, and the increase in hostilities along the border with
Sinai. Morsi’s overthrow in July 2013 and the return to power of the generals
under Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was enthusiastically welcomed.
The drastic change this brought about in Egypt’s attitude to Hamas (which the
generals saw as a militant branch of the Muslim Brotherhood they had just
ousted) and the uncompromising campaign it initiated against militant groups in
Sinai were grist to the Israeli government’s mill. Israel quickly agreed to a
significant increase in Egyptian forces in Sinai in areas which, according to
the peace treaty, were supposed to be demilitarized.
Israeli diplomats were mobilized to help limit international criticism of Sisi’s
authoritarian regime.
The honeymoon that characterizes the security and intelligence relations between
Israel and Egypt is a direct result of the Sisi administration’s perception of
real and imagined threats on the Sinai front and in the Gaza Strip.
Nevertheless, the assumption that relations between the two countries are about
to be upgraded in other spheres is no more than wishful thinking.
In Egyptian public discourse, Israel continues to be depicted as a hostile force
and its policies are invariably presented in a negative light.
A case in point highlighting the depth of opposition to normalization with
Israel was the recent expulsion from parliament of the outspoken member Tawfik
Okasha.
Okasha had dared to invite the Israeli ambassador to his home and discuss
politics over dinner. True, Okasha is something of a sensationalist who delights
in provocation.
But the fact that his meeting with the ambassador prompted such a severe
sanction reflects the intensity of public opposition to normalization.
The fighting in northern Sinai against ISIS affiliates is high on the Sisi
government’s list of priorities. Hundreds of miles of desert separate Sinai from
Egypt’s Nile valley heartland. But the working assumption of the decision makers
in Cairo is that the ISIS presence in Sinai undermines their efforts to restore
internal security and rehabilitate the economy.
The same is true of Egypt’s attitude to Hamas in Gaza. From day one, the Sisi
administration saw Hamas as an adjunct of its arch-enemy, the Egyptian Muslim
Brotherhood, which it had declared a terrorist organization and which it blamed
for dozens of terror attacks.
In early March, Egyptian authorities accused Hamas of aiding and abetting
members of the Brotherhood in the assassination last June of Chief Prosecutor
Hisham Barakat. This grave charge was not retracted even after Hamas leaders
condemned the killing and insisted that their movement does not interfere in
Egypt’s internal affairs.
On the contrary, the Egyptian media are awash with leaks from security forces
accusing Hamas of aiding Jihadist groups in Sinai in attacks that have taken the
lives of hundreds of soldiers and border police.
The Sisi administration’s iron fist policy toward Hamas is evident on the
ground.
The Rafah crossing point to Egypt, the only exit from Gaza that does not border
on Israel, has been closed for most of the past two and half years. The Egyptian
army has destroyed dozens of smuggling tunnels on Gaza’s western border with
Sinai, evacuated thousands of Egyptian citizens from the border area, declared
it a closed military zone and imposed severe travel restrictions throughout
northern Sinai.
The far-reaching change in Egyptian policy came to the fore during Operation
Protective Edge, the violent 49-day confrontation between Israel and Hamas in
the summer of 2014. For the first time, Cairo blamed Hamas, and not solely
Israel, for an armed clash between them.
Moreover, in contacts over ending the fighting, Egypt rejected key Hamas
demands, including the lifting of the tight closure it and Israel had imposed on
the Gaza Strip. Its position on reconstruction of Gazan infrastructure and
buildings destroyed in the fighting and the supervision of renewed inflow of
construction materials and goods was closer to Israel’s than to that of Hamas.
The Sisi government did not deviate from its hardline on Hamas even when
international and Israeli organizations warned that Gaza with its 1.8 million
inhabitants was on the verge of a serious humanitarian crisis.
In this context, various Israeli politicians proposed constructing a seaport in
Gaza.
The Israeli military was apparently ready to go along with the idea despite the
obvious security challenge it would pose. But the Sisi administration was quick
to pour cold water on the proposal, effectively preventing a study of its
feasibility.
Recently, however, the Sisi government’s attitude to Hamas has been modified
somewhat in light of Egypt’s close ties with Saudi Arabia and its Gulf State
allies. Serious interests are in the balance. These major oil exporters granted
Sisi’s Egypt financial aid estimated at around $30 billion, saving it from
certain bankruptcy. While Riyadh and Cairo see eye to eye on Iran as a serious
threat and share the same criticism of the Obama administration’s hesitant
Middle East policy, they are divided on the future of the Assad regime in Syria
and on Hamas, which Saudi Arabia wants to include in the regional camp it leads.
Over the past few months there has been a significant reduction in Arab aid to
Egypt.
This might go some way toward explaining the mid-March visit to Cairo by a high
level Hamas delegation. However, from the talks it seems the inherent mistrust
of Hamas has not abated and, besides a string of very general understandings,
the delegation returned to Gaza empty-handed. For now, Egyptian policy makes it
very tough for Hamas to function as a ruling establishment and hinders its
preparations for renewal of the armed confrontation against Israel.
EGYPT’S POLICY toward Sinai and Gaza is not unrelated to the Sisi regime’s
struggle for survival inside Egypt. The backing for a military man in the
presidential palace stemmed from widespread hostility towards the Muslim
Brotherhood and the expectation that the general-cum-president would quickly
restore public order and revitalize the ailing economy. These hopes have not
been met, and support for Sisi is waning. The main reason for this is that
economic hardship has only got worse.
The flow of aid from the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia is drying up, foreign
currency reserves are dwindling rapidly, the external debt has reached worrying
proportions, unemployment is growing and the devaluation of the Egyptian pound
is having a devastating effect on spiraling prices of goods and services.
Quiet in the streets has been achieved through a draconian law – which prohibits
demonstrations and places curbs on free speech and human rights – and the
imprisonment of thousands of opponents of the regime. Anger at the regime is
mounting – even among people who initially supported Sisi.
The Sisi administration is caught between the hammer of bloody fighting in Sinai
and the anvil of its struggle for survival in the face of growing socioeconomic
hardship and mounting political criticism of Egypt’s would-be savior who failed
to deliver.
Without underestimating the significance of the fighting in the far-flung areas
of northern Sinai, the fate of the Sisi regime will be decided in the Nile
valley heartland. The entry of the field marshal into the presidential palace
was highly significant; but it is doubtful that it will prove to be the final
stop in the long march of the Egyptian revolution that began with Mubarak’s
overthrow five years ago and whose end is not yet in sight.
Prof. Yoram Meital is chairperson of the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East
Studies and Diplomacy at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba