llLCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 19/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.may19.16.htm
News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006
Bible Quotations For Today
Let anyone who
is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the
scripture has said, "Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living
water
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 07/37-39:"On the last day of
the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let
anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As
the scripture has said, "Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living
water." ’Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to
receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
All who believed were
together and had all things in common, they would sell their possessions and
goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need
Acts of the Apostles 02/40-47:"He testified with many other arguments and
exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’So those
who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand
persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone,
because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed
were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions
and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as
they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate
their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill
of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were
being saved."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 18- 19/16
God Never
Abandons Those Who Call For His Help/Elias Bejjani/May 18/16
Sanctions bite Hezbollah;
Hezbollah bites back/Alex Rowell/Now Lebanon/May 18/16
EU-Turkey
Migrant Deal Unravels/Plan B turns Greece into massive refugee camp/Soeren Kern/Gatestone
Institute/May 18/16
Turkey: Erdogan's Promised "Reforms"/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/May 18/16
Syria: Hope despite obstacles/Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/May 18/16
General Golan’s truth hurts – avoiding it will hurt even more!/Yossi Mekelberg/Al
Arabiya/May 18/16
Fundamentalism and the digital era/Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/May 18/16
A promising start for Saudi Vision 2030/Samar Fatany/Al Arabiya/May 18/16
Titles Latest Lebanese Related News published on May
18- 19/16
God Never
Abandons Those Who Call For His Help.
106 sentenced to death over clashes with Lebanon army
Berri Proposes at National Dialogue Reducing Parliament Term, Holding Elections
Shehayyeb Announces 'Permanent' Closure of Naameh Dump at Midnight
Report: Hizbullah Says Salameh's Statement 'Positive'
Jumblat Discusses Latest Lebanese Developments with Kuwait Emir
Mayoral Elections Postponed in Minieh-Dinnieh Town
Ain Dara Residents Protest Threats 'Launched by Fattoush'
Report: Franjieh Not Part of Future Presidential Elections Phase
Chehayeb: Naameh landfill closed for good
Hassan Yaacoub guard transferred to hospital
Kataeb gives partisans freedom of choice in Jezzine elections
FPM calls fans not to vote for Tripoli's consensual political list
Amal Abu Zaid confirms standing at equal distance from all
Farid Haykal Khazen: we won politically in Jounieh
Sanctions bite Hezbollah; Hezbollah bites back
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 18-19/16
Iran regime steps up executions; 21 hanged in 48 hours
Iran: Thirteen executions in a single day
Iran human rights activist Narges Mohammadi receives 16-year prison sentence
Iran: Protests by students, workers and merchants in Tehran, Gilan, Karaj,
Piranshahr and Yasuj
Syria Regime Strike Kills at Least 13 Civilians
Red Cross delivers aid to besieged Damascus suburb after 4 years
Millions of refugees face homelessness without more shelter funding
Israel Successfully Tests Missile Defense System at Sea
Kerry, Sisi discuss stalled Arab-Israeli peace efforts
Iraq blasts show ISIS ‘reverting to its terrorist roots’
McCain: Yemen situation tragic without Saudi role
Turkish presidential spokesman rules out change in counter-terror law
Enroll Saudi women in military service, say Shoura members
Rights group documents ISIS atrocities in Libyan city of Sirte
Houthis accused of ‘arrest’ and ‘torture’ of rivals
Yemeni PM rejects Houthis’ proposal for unity govt
Maldives sides with Saudis to cut ties with Iran
Links From Jihad Watch Site for May 18- 19/16
UK: Muslima who plotted Islamic State jihad mass
murder on 10th anniversary of 7/7 has sentence reduced
Dubai law firm offers job to Obama so he can learn more about tolerance of Islam
Congressman: photo of Islamic State caliph al-Baghdadi “eating a ham sandwich”
would “undermine ISIS”
Robert Spencer in PJ Media: Petraeus: Self-Censor to Avoid Offending Muslims
UK: Muslim McDonalds worker planned jihad mass murder attack at Heathrow Airport
Video: Robert Spencer on Hamas-linked CAIR’s opposition to counter-terror
efforts
Iranian missile force commander: “The Americans are telling [us]: if you conduct
a test or maneuver, don’t mention it”
Robert Spencer in FrontPage: Surprise! After Secret Talks, Small Vermont City
Gets Muslim Migrants
Michael Cutler Moment: Obama’s Pathway to the
“Borderless World”
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.may19.16.htm
Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 18- 19/16
God Never Abandons Those Who Call
For His Help.
Elias Bejjani/May 18/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/05/18/elias-bejjani-god-never-abandons-those-who-call-for-his-help/
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life". John 6.68
Only God knows what is in store for us, especially when our future seems bleak,
or when we become prey for misery, despair, depression, hopelessness,
helplessness, anger, conflicts, hostilities, grudges, hatred and fall into the
Satan's temptation.
At all times in sadness or happiness, bad or good, we definitely should trust
that God's word is true and that He is with us in every part of our lives. God
never ever abandons those righteous who trust in Him and call for His help.
Do you need help with the heavy burdens that you are carrying?
Do you need conciliation, support and rest?
Be fully aware of the promises made by Jesus when we surrender our lives to him
and take on His new life—we will find a refreshing rest for our souls. The Lord
offers us a trade. As we take on his yoke, which is easy and light, Jesus lifts
our burden by carrying upon himself the burdens of our sins. "Come to Me, all
who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you,
and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28–30
We have to be sure that God is working out a plan for each and every one of us
because we are His beloved children and He is our caring and loving Father. His
plan includes a bright hope for our future in all domains and on all levels and
at the time. Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the
LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope".
God wishes us all that is good and wants us to be good so we can be qualified to
return back to Him where He has prepared a dimension (dwelling) for every one of
us. But He expects us to assume our ethical-moral-spiritual roles in being
actually righteous and to apply His virtues and acts of mercy, forgiveness,
love, humbleness, honesty, faith and hope in all that we say, do and think.
All what we have to do when in trouble or in need for any thing is to ask Him
and He always is responsive, generous, forgiving and attentive: "Ask, and it
will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for
you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it
will be opened".
Is your heart broken today?
Is your spirit crushed?
Are you sad and in deep sorrow?
Have you lost a beloved person?
Do you feel that you are abandoned?
Are you lonely and persecuted?
Are you in pain?
Be sure that you are not alone, no not at all. Have faith and hope, open your
heart, mind and spirit. Have trust in Almighty God and ask Jesus to shower on
you his graces, perseverance and the strength to face courageously and with no
fear or hesitation all kinds of hardships. "The LORD is near to the
brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit". Psalm 34:18
The Lord is very near to you when facing overwhelming troubles. In fact, the
Lord is right there, present with you in the sorrow, in the heartache. He is
walking right through it with you. And you can lean on him for comfort, because
he too knows what it feels like to be crushed and broken.
God expects us to utilize and invest wisely the talents that were granted to
each one of us. He wants us to deal with each other as a one family and help
those are in need physically, emotionally, spiritually and materialistically.
We are expected to not only do what is righteous, but also to stand strongly
against anything that is not righteous and to take clear and cut stances in evil
and Godly matters. We can be neutral, we can be lukewarm, but either hot or
cold. "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either
cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about
to spit you out of my mouth." Rev. 3:15-16
Our hope is to be welcomed in heaven on the Judgment Day and not to be thrown
out like the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We must work hard in investing our Godly talents so on Judgment Day we hear the
Lord saying us: "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful
over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your
lord." Matthew 25:23
And most importantly God cautions us not under any given circumstances to assume
His role in judging others no matter what their wrongdoings might be: "Do not
judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will
be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you
look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the
plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck
out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You
hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7:1-5
In conclusion our soul and life are a grant from God and He is the one who
decides when to take them back, therefore we are ought to be ready all the time
for that moment like the wise virgins who took oil in their vessels with their
lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. "Watch therefore, for you don’t know
the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" Matthew 25:13
Let Almighty God know what you need and He will never let you down or abandon
you.
106 sentenced to death over clashes
with Lebanon army
AFP, Beirut Wednesday, 18 May 2016/A Lebanon military judge Wednesday sentenced
106 men to death over clashes between the army and militants two years ago in
the east of the country, a judicial source said. Judge Najat Abou Chakra
convicted 73 Syrians, 32 Lebanese and one Palestinian of belonging to “terrorist
organizations,” attacking the town of Arsal near the Syrian border, and
kidnapping and attempting to kill Lebanese soldiers and policemen, the source
said. Seventy-seven of those convicted are in custody but the other 29 remain at
large. They include Abu Malek al-Talli, the leader in the cross-border area of
Qalamun of Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate, Al-Nusra Front. In August 2014, the
Lebanese army clashed with ISIS militant group and Al-Nusra in Arsal.IS and Al-Nusra kidnapped 30 soldiers and policemen as they withdrew.After lengthy negotiations, 16 of the captured men were released in early
December in exchange for Islamist prisoners jailed in Lebanon. Since the start
of the five-year conflict in Syria, Lebanon has become home to more than one
million Syrian refugees. It has also been the scene of deadly bombings,
including attacks targeting the Shiite group Hezbollah, a key ally of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Berri Proposes at National Dialogue Reducing Parliament Term, Holding Elections
Naharnet/May 18/16/Speaker Nabih Berri proposed before the national dialogue participants on
Wednesday a package deal aimed at ending the political deadlock in Lebanon,
media reports said.The deal calls for shortening the term of the current parliament and staging the
parliamentary polls and later the presidential ones.
The parliamentary elections would be held based on the proportionality electoral
law.
Should the political powers fail to agree on this law, then the 1960 one would
be used. This law was adopted in the 2009 elections.
The package deal also calls for electing a new parliament speaker and bureau and
forming a national unity government.
Media reports said that the Mustaqbal bloc has repeatedly rejected the idea of
holding the parliamentary polls before the presidential ones, explaining that
once a new parliament is elected cabinet would automatically resign.
Given the absence of a president, a new government will not be able to be formed
and therefore Lebanon will be plunged in further vacuum, reasoned the bloc.
Deputy Speaker Farid Makari, Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun,
Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat, Lebanese Democratic Party
leader MP Talal Arslan were all absent from Wednesday's dialogue talks.
Following the meeting, former Minister Ghazi Aridi, who was representing Jumblat
at the talks, said: “We thank Berri for his efforts to end the political
impasse.”He deemed the suggestion as “very realistic,” noting the ongoing failure of the
political forces to elect a president and agree on an electoral law.
“In the coming months, we may be faced with more failure to resolve these
issues. What will happen once the term of parliament ends? Will we extend the
term for a third time?” he asked.
“We oppose the extension of the term and therefore back Berri's proposal to
shorten the term of parliament and stage the polls, even if it means the
adoption of the 1960 law,” he declared.
Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon echoed this stance, remarking: “The election of
a president is a priority, but given our failures in the past, we should be open
to new proposals, such as the one made by Berri.”
The next round of the national dialogue has been scheduled for June 21.
LBCI television said that three days of talks will be held among the dialogue
participants in order to address Berri's plan and possibly reach an agreement on
it.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in
May 2014. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps have thwarted
the polls.
Parliament has extended its term twice, once in 2013 and another in 2014, due to
officials' failure to agree on a new electoral law.
Its term ends in June 2017.
Shehayyeb Announces 'Permanent' Closure of Naameh Dump at Midnight
Naharnet/May 18/16/Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb announced on Wednesday that the Naameh
landfill will be “permanently shut at midnight.”He said during a press conference that the dump will then be transformed into a
green space.
The closure will put an end to months of disputes over the dump that was
reopened to resolve a waste management crisis that erupted in Lebanon in July
2015.
The crisis erupted when the dump was originally closed, but it was temporarily
reopened for two months as part of a plan to tackle garbage disposal in the
country.
Shehayyeb hoped that the closure of the dump, located south of Beirut, will pave
the way to a successful transition period in the country that will lead to
“permanent solutions to garbage disposal.”
With the closure, the dump would have received some 900,000 tons of trash that
had accumulated throughout Lebanon during the eight-month trash crisis.
Naameh received the waste of Beirut and the Mount Lebanon region.
Preparations are underway to set up landfills at Bourj Hammoud and the Costa
Brava site in Khalde to resolve the long-running waste management crisis.
There are fears that the plan may not be complete in time and that garbage might
accumulate on the streets once again.In March, the cabinet decided to establish the Costa Brava and Bourj Hammoud
landfills and to reactivate the Naameh landfill for two months as part of a
four-year plan to resolve the country’s waste problem.
Shehayyeb told al-Akhbar daily Wednesday that bids for tenders to establish the
Costa Brava and Bourj Hammoud landfills will be announced soon.
The delay in finalizing the deals and the completion of the landfills trigger
concern in light of the repercussions of the accumulating garbage in the
locations allocated close to the two landfills, al-Akhbar said.The waste crisis, which sparked unprecedented protests against the entire
political class, saw streets, forests and riverbanks overflow with waste and the
air filled with the smell of rotting and burning garbage.
Report: Hizbullah Says Salameh's Statement 'Positive'
Naharnet/May 18/16/Hizbullah hailed the stance of Central Bank Governor Riad Salemeh, which urged
Lebanese banks to consult with the Central Bank before suspending accounts
suspected of violating anti-Hizbullah U.S. sanctions law, al-Joumhouria daily
reported on Wednesday.
“The stance of the Central Bank Governor is considered positive,” Hizbullah
sources told the daily.“It might help find an answer to address the problem, but it is not a solution,”
they added.
The sources reiterated that the party “adheres to its stance and rejects the
U.S. law altogether because it sets ground for a local abolition war where the
Central Bank contributes in its exacerbation together with other banks.
“Adding to the fact that committing to that law is a confiscation of Lebanon's
monetary sovereignty,” the sources pointed out.
Salameh addressed Lebanese banks on Tuesday where he said in a statement that
“except for accounts belonging to individuals or firms blacklisted by the Office
of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, banks
seeking to suspend the accounts of certain firms or individuals suspected to be
violating the U.S. law must first offer justifications before resorting to
suspension.”
A Hizbullah minister had warned during a cabinet session that a “red line” had
been crossed after two Lebanese banks reportedly suspended three
Hizbullah-linked accounts in conformity with the U.S. sanctions law.
Earlier on Thursday, Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc said that U.S. sanctions on
banks that knowingly do business with the group could threaten Lebanon's
financial sector, hinting that supporters may withdraw their money from local
banks.
The U.S. regulations say Washington will target those "knowingly facilitating a
significant transaction or transactions for" Hizbullah or any individual,
business or institution linked to the group.
Those under sanctions include Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and slain
top commander Mustafa Badreddine, as well as some businessmen. The list also
includes the group's al-Manar TV and al-Nour Radio.
As Safir daily reported that a meeting will be held Wednesday between MP Ali
Fayyad, and Hizbullah former MP Amin Cherri and the Association of Banks in
Lebanon in a bid to agree on a common approach for the fiscal challenge imposed
by the U.S. measures.
Jumblat Discusses Latest Lebanese Developments with Kuwait Emir
PNaharnet/May 18/16/rogressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat held talks on Wednesday with
Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah in Kuwait.Discussions revolved on he latest Lebanese and regional developments, said a PSP
statement. The MP also met with Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Hamad
al-Sabah. Jumblat is accompanied on his trip by Health Minister Wael Abou Faour.
Mayoral Elections Postponed in Minieh-Dinnieh Town
Naharnet/May 18/16/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq issued on Wednesday a decree to postpone
the mayoral elections in a town in the northern region of al-Minieh-Dinnieh,
reported the National News Agency.
The decree explained that the polls in the town of Kohouf al-Mloul have been
delayed to July 31 because the majority of its residents reside abroad.
The rescheduling of the polls will allow the expatriates, who visit the town
over the summer, to take part in the elections and therefore result in the
largest possible voter turnout, said the decree.
The municipal and mayoral elections in Lebanon kicked off in Beirut and the
eastern Bekaa region on May 8.
The second round was held in the Mount Lebanon region on May 15. The third round
will take place in the South and Nabatieh on May 22 and the final round is set
for the North and Akkar on May 29.
Ain Dara Residents Protest Threats 'Launched by Fattoush'
Naharnet/May 18/16/Families of the Aley district town of Ain Dara held a sit-in on Wednesday
protesting an attack waged by armed gunmen against the municipality's building,
the state-run National News Agency reported.
Armed men stormed the offices of the municipality and tried to forcibly obtain a
signature on a license for a cement plant, NNA said.
Pierre Fattoush, the brother of MP Nicolas Fattoush, threatened to kill the
female employee at the municipality, Therese Bader, after she refused to sign
one of the submitted documents to establish a cement plant in outskirts of the
town.
It is not a first for Fattoush. In 2014, gunmen loyal to the MP and his brother
assaulted a TV crew during the filming of a report on the construction of a
controversial cement factory.
Report: Franjieh Not Part of Future Presidential Elections Phase
Naharnet/May 18/16/Lebanon's presidential elections is approaching a new phase amid reports
claiming that the chances of MP Suleiman Franjieh to reach the top state post
are dimming, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.
The daily quoted unnamed sources as saying that Hizbullah did not take in the
initiative of Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri to elect Franjieh, because
Tehran has rejected the offer and considers it a Saudi Arabian maneuver against
it in Lebanon.”
According to the sources, the latest “coalition” between the Lebanese Forces and
the Free Patriotic Movement during Sunday's municipal elections in Zahle against
a list backed by Myriam Skaff, was actually meant to show that the alliance
between the two Christian parties is “unbreakable,” making it impossible to
elect a president against their will. Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, of the March 14 camp, endorsed founder of
the FPM MP Michel Aoun, of March 8, for the presidency.
The sources also said that the March 14 alliance has closed the file on the
option to elect a president from its rival March 8 camp following Hizbullah's
refusal and has therefore settled for agreeing on a compromise president.
Franjieh emerged as Aoun's main rival in the electoral race after the
Hariri-Franjieh agreement.
“Most importantly, is that the next stage will be a challenging one and also a
stage of major financial and economic opportunities,” they emphasized.
“It includes on one hand the problem of unprecedented financial sanctions on
Hizbullah, and on the other hand Lebanon faces a chance to prove its ability to
take a role within the largest process of international reconstruction taking
place in the world,” the sources pointed out.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of president Michel Suleiman
ended in May 2014.
Franjieh and Aoun, both of the March 8 camp, are candidates for the post.
MP Henri Helou is the nominee of Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid
Jumblat.
Chehayeb: Naameh landfill closed
for good
Wed 18 May 2016/NNA - Minister of Agriculture, Akram Chehayeb, held a press
conference on Wednesday during which he declared the infinite closure of Naameh
landfill. "In implementation of the Cabinet's decision, and after the expiry of
the two-month grace period to reopen Naameh landfill, it will perpetually close
by midnight to mark 18 years of service. Tomorrow morning we will start with the
covering and rehabilitation process to ready the landfill for electricity
production to ensure 6 megawatts that will be distributed freely to Naameh and
surrounding villages over the period of 15 years," the Minister explained. He
went on to say that Amrousieh and Quarantina landfills were currently receiving
Beirut city's and a part of Mount Lebanon's trash, after sorting and recycling.
"Naameh landfill will soon be turned into green space," Chehayeb said at the end
of his mission handling this dossier. He explained that the Minister of Interior
and Municipalities, Nouhad Mashnouk, has formed a committee to help monitor the
management of said dossier in coordination with concerned ministries.
Hassan Yaacoub guard
transferred to hospital
Wed 18 May 2016/NNA - Bodyguard of Hassan Yaacoub, Salim Hammoud, also detained
alongside the former MP, had been admitted to al-Hayat Hospital, due to his
critical health condition, National News Agency correspondent reported on
Wednesday.
Kataeb gives partisans
freedom of choice in Jezzine elections
Wed 18 May 2016/NNA - Kataeb Party issued a statement on Wednesday in which it
gave its partisans the freedom of choice during Sunday's municipal elections in
Jezzine. "Considering the fact that a Municipal election is a local
developmental matter, Kataeb Party gives all its supporters and partisans in
Jezzine caza the freedom of choosing whoever benefits their region best," a
statement by Kataeb Party read.
FPM calls fans not to vote for Tripoli's consensual political list
Wed 18 May 2016/NNA - The Free Patriotic Movement asked his supporters in the
north to abstain from voting for the consensual political list, candidate to the
municipal polls in Tripoli and Minaa. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the
FPM explained that their decision came after what they deemed as attempts to
downplay their presence on the aforementioned lineup. "Those who tried to
disregard the presence of FPM candidates bear the responsibility of endangering
correct representation of all categories of Tripoli's community," the statement
read.
Amal Abu Zaid confirms
standing at equal distance from all
Wed 18 May 2016/NNA - Jezzine caza Maronite candidate, Amal Abu Zaid, pledged on
Wednesday to stand at an equal distance from all in Municipal and Mukhtar
elections all across Jezzine caza, starting from his hometown of Mleikh. He
denied all rumours accusing him of supporting municipal and mukhtar lists in
Jezzine region, saying that at the time being, he was only focused on
Parliamentary by-elections. Abu Zaid also affirmed that all the rumours being
spread were an abysmal attempt to alter positions supporting his candidacy for
Parliamentary elections.
Farid Haykal Khazen: we won
politically in Jounieh
Wed 18 May 2016/NNA - Farid Haykal Khazen indicated, in a press conference at
his residence on Wednesday, that the municipal polls that took place in Jounieh
were "a huge victory for freedoms and democracy." However, the former minister,
whose municipal list has lost the elections, stressed that the polls have proven
his [camp's] importance and weigh. "Now it is both of us, face to face, in the
capital of the Maronites," Khazen said in reference to the Kesserwan region,
addressing the political parties who allied against his candidates in the polls.
"We congratulate the winners in Jounieh, but also ourselves, on the political
victory that we have made; because the alliance of the Free Patriotic Movement,
Kataeb, National Liberal Party, Waed, and Tashnag, had to wait for the last
ballot box, so that they could just a dozen of swing votes. Are these votes
deciding of the victory or loss of the largest Christian leadership? this is
sheer political loss, and an important message that the Lebanese and Christian
political parties must understand; Jounieh has said its word," he said. As to
the town of Ghosta, Khazen told that the race was supposed to be municipal, and
that the FPM and the Lebanese Forces had been unexpectedly preparing for
political polls, in, according to him, an attempt to express their potential to
brush him off politics. "An agent at the [Maronite Institution of] Waqf in
Ghosta told us that a meeting was held at the parish to launch the electoral in
Kesserwan, upon the request of MP Ibrahim Kanaan and Melhem Riachi," he claimed,
drawing a response by Kanaan. The FPM lawmaker denied, in a statement, Khazen's
tally, describing it as "pure fiction." "Such visit never happened and this is
the first time we hear of it," Kanaan said.
Sanctions bite Hezbollah;
Hezbollah bites back
Alex Rowell/Now Lebanon/May 18/16
The closing of several Hezbollah officials’ bank accounts in line with new US
sanctions has infuriated the party – but what now?
Despite Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s assurances in December
that the Party of God had nothing to fear from new American sanctions targeting
the organization because it had “no money in Lebanese banks,” the implementation
of the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015 has
conspicuously roused the party’s ire since it came into effect on May 3. Recent
days have witnessed a rare standoff between Hezbollah and Central Bank Governor
Riad Salameh, whose longstanding ability to juggle safeguarding Lebanon’s
international economic legitimacy with maintaining a working relationship with a
US-designated “Foreign Terrorist Organization” has been put to the test.
The American law, signed by President Barack Obama on December 18, 2015,
mandates the strictest sanctions yet against the Party of God as well any
individual or organization affiliated with it and any financial institution
anywhere in the world that “knowingly facilitates a transaction” for it. In the
two weeks since the Lebanese Central Bank issued its now-notorious Circular No.
137 on May 3, calling on Lebanese banks to abide by the US legislation, action
has already been taken by banks against numerous Hezbollah officials.
During a heated cabinet address on Thursday, the Hezbollah-affiliated Minister
of Industry, Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, made abundantly clear the party’s vehement
opposition to the act, which he said “transgressed all red lines” and
represented part of a “war of elimination.” Citing examples of what he called
the “excess” of the banks in implementing the Circular, Hajj Hassan told the
cabinet that accounts belonging to Hezbollah MPs Nawwar al-Sahili, Ali Fayyad,
Ali Ammar and Ali Moqdad had been closed, as had the accounts of ex-MP Amin
Sharri and institutions including a hospital and the ‘Association of Charitable
Benefactions’ run by Sayyed Ali Fadlallah, son of the late Grand Ayatollah
Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah. According to the pro-Hezbollah paper Al-Akhbar,
these are merely some of “tens” of Hezbollah-linked accounts to have been closed
over the past fortnight.
In his concluding remarks to the cabinet, Hajj Hassan called on the government
to “take the appropriate measures to avoid the dangerous repercussions that will
arise” from the law’s implementation. Specifically, Al-Akhbar reported on
Wednesday that Hezbollah is demanding the annulment of Circular No. 137, and its
replacement by an agreement it had allegedly reached previously with Governor
Salameh, under which accounts held in Lebanese liras, as opposed to US dollars,
would be exempt from closure, and banks would be required to get approval from
the Central Bank prior to taking any action (contrary to the text of Circular
No. 137, which clearly states they should first “execute their operations in
compliance with the provisions of the US Act” and later “notify” the Central
Bank “justifying the reasons behind any such procedures and measures”).
On Tuesday, Salameh acceded to the second clause of that alleged agreement,
announcing in a statement from Paris that “except for accounts belonging to
individuals or firms blacklisted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
of the US Department of the Treasury, banks seeking to suspend the accounts of
certain firms or individuals suspected to be violating the US law must first
offer justifications before resorting to suspension.” Banks are to wait up to
thirty days for approval from the Central Bank, after which they may act as they
please if no response is received, he added.
However, Salameh made no mention of any distinction between dollar- and
lira-denominated accounts, leading Al-Akhbar to denounce his proposal in its
lead story Wednesday as “an insufficient solution.” Salameh also reiterated
that, irrespective of the particulars of the enforcement mechanism, he continued
to view compliance with the US Act as an unequivocal “Lebanese legal obligation”
necessary for the protection of the Lebanese economy. Failure to comply would
risk “isolating our banking sector from the world,” he said, adding that the
remittances from the worldwide Lebanese diaspora that equate to more than 10% of
the country’s GDP would be in jeopardy.
With Hezbollah still dissatisfied, but Salameh seemingly standing his ground,
where does that leave the issue? Salameh is reportedly due to meet with Prime
Minister Tammam Salam and Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil to tackle it upon
his return to Beirut from Paris. Until then, the prime minister has asked that
the matter be kept “away from the media,” and indeed knowledgeable officials
have proven unusually tight-lipped. NOW contacted two former ministers of
finance, neither of whom were willing to talk. George Abi Saleh, a press
spokesperson for the Association of Banks in Lebanon, told NOW that “in the
interests of the country […] I prefer not to speak on the subject.”
A source in one of Lebanon’s leading retail and corporate banks, who spoke to
NOW on condition of anonymity, said they were in no doubt the US legislation
“will be applied” one way or another. The current controversy “will calm down”
in due time, they added, consistent with what an alleged “source close to
Hezbollah” told another local paper; namely, that the Party of God would
ultimately take no action beyond issuing statements of displeasure.
“I don’t think the Party will escalate against the banks,” said Dr. Hareth
Sleiman, an academic and senior member of the Democratic Renewal (Tajaddod)
Movement, often critical of Hezbollah, to NOW.
“They know there are red lines that cannot be overcome […] they know the limits
of the game.”
**Amin Nasr contributed reporting.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on May 18-19/16
Iran regime steps up executions; 21
hanged in 48 hours
Wednesday, 18 May 2016/ NCRI - Iran’s fundamentalist regime has sharply
increased its rate of executions, carrying out at least 21 hangings in a 48-hour
period this week. Two men were hanged earlier on Wednesday in the Central Prison
of Urmia (Orumieh), north-west Iran. They were identified as Dariyoush
Farajzadeh and Ghafour Qaderzadeh. Another two men were hanged on Wednesday in a
prison in Yasuj, central Iran, according to Mehrdad Karami, the regime's
prosecutor in the city. The men, whose names were not given, were 26 and 34
years old, he said. A man, only identified by his initials S. R., 31, was hanged
on Wednesday in a prison in Sari, northern Iran, according to the regime’s
judiciary in Mazandaran Province. The state broadcaster IRIB, quoting the
regime's judiciary in Yazd Province, central Iran, announced on its website that
eight prisoners were hanged in the province on Tuesday. The regime’s Prosecutor
in Yazd Province had earlier told the state-run Rokna news agency that six
people had been hanged in the province on Tuesday. A separate report from
Isfahan, central Iran, said that a prisoner was hanged in the city's notorious
Dastgerd Prison on Monday, May 16. He has been identified as Malek Salehi, 35.
Six men were hanged collectively in the Central Prison of Urmia on Tuesday, May
17. They had been serving a prison sentence in Ward 15 of the jail on
drugs-related charges. They were identified as Naji Keywan, Nader Mohammadi, Ali
Shamugardian, Aziz Nouri-Azar, Fereydoon Rashidi and Heidar Amini.
Also on Tuesday, a man was hanged in public in the north-eastern city of
Mashhad. (PHOTOS published here) The victim, who was not named, was hanged at 7
am in the city's Mofatteh Square. His sentence had been upheld by the regime's
Supreme Court. Ms. Farideh Karimi, a member of the National Council of
Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and a human rights activist, on Tuesday criticized the
lack of response by the international community and human rights groups to the
appalling state of human rights in Iran. The latest hangings bring to at least
97 the number of people executed in Iran since April 10. Three of those executed
were women and one is believed to have been a juvenile offender. Iran's
fundamentalist regime last week amputated the fingers of a man in his thirties
in Mashhad, the latest in a line of draconian punishments handed down and
carried out in recent weeks. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
said in a statement on April 13 that the increasing trend of executions “aimed
at intensifying the climate of terror to rein in expanding protests by various
strata of the society, especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European
officials, demonstrates that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion
for this medieval regime.”
Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the
2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to
at least 743 the year before." "Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions
recorded" in the Middle East and North Africa, the human rights group said.
There have been more than 2,300 executions during Hassan Rouhani’s tenure as
President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation
in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was
greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the
executions as examples of “God’s commandments” and “laws of the parliament that
belong to the people.”
Iran: Thirteen executions in
a single day
Wednesday, 18 May 2016/Javad Larijani, the regime’s head of human rights,
acknowledges a “torrent of executions” and justifies torture and brutal
punishments under the pretense of Qisas describing them as “holy verdicts”The
mullahs’ antihuman regime hanged 13 prisoners on May 17 in the cities of Yazd,
Urmia and Mashhad. In Yazd and Urmia 12 prisoners were collectively hanged. One
prisoner had been condemned to death just for thievery. Also in Mashhad, a young
prisoner was publicly hanged. A placard posted at the hanging site described the
death penalty as an “element for the survival and establishment of security in
the society.”A day prior to these collective executions, Javad Larijani, the
brother of the head of the judiciary and the regime’s theorist of torture and
execution who is the head of the so-called “human rights” institution, confirmed
the “torrent of executions related to narcotics.” He expressed concern that the
cruel punishments of the mullahs’ Sharia Law are being questioned, stating:
“Regretfully, today, the Qisas verdict which is a holy verdict… is being
questioned… the universality of the United Nations documents does not mean that
the Western lifestyle is the best model… this is exactly where we should
strongly stand up.” He then resorted to justifying torture, noting: Some
“believe that any corporal punishment is torture, whereas torture is to use
force to extract something.” (State-run Aftab website, May 16) On this same day,
Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Tehran’s criminal prosecutor, brazenly said: “Officials
in Western countries always bring up allegations relating to human rights…
against Iran that lack any basis in reality.” When the medieval regime
acknowledges a “torrent of executions” and describes atrocious and medieval
punishments such as chopping of hands and gouging out of eyes as “holy verdicts”
and justifies torture, this shows that it cannot sustain its rule for a single
day without resorting to execution and suppression. This is where all factions
of the mullahs’ regime are one and the same, and any propaganda about a moderate
faction is a despicable deception that serves to justify trade with this regime.
However, without paying any heed to these absurd propaganda, the Iranian people
demand nothing less than the overthrow of this regime and the establishment of
democracy in Iran.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/May 18, 2016
Iran human rights activist
Narges Mohammadi receives 16-year prison sentence
Wednesday, 18 May 2016/NCRI - Imprisoned Iranian human rights activist Narges
Mohammadi has received a 16-year prison sentence by the mullahs' regime, it was
announced on Wednesday. The regime's ruthless hangman-judge Abolqasem Salavati
handed down the sentence over Ms. Mohammadi's human rights campaigning. A sham
trial was held at the mullahs' so-called Revolutionary Court in Tehran on April
20, 2016, in which she received three separate sentences of 10, five and one
years of imprisonment.Shahin Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) on Wednesday “strongly condemned”
the unjust sentence. He said: “This is in tandem with the drastically
deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, marked with a steep rise in the
number of executions and inhumane punishments in recent months.”Ms. Mohammadi, a
mother of two, was transferred to prison on May 5, 2015 after she was illegally
arrested by intelligence agents at her home without a judicial warrant and
subsequently transferred to Evin Prison. In order to put pressure on this
political prisoner, all her medicine was taken away from her upon her transfer
to the ward and she has since been denied her medication. Ms. Mohammadi was
first arrested in June 2010 on the bogus charge of “assembly and collaboration
against national security” and “propaganda against the system” and was condemned
to six years in prison. However, due to torture and the dire condition of the
regime’s prisons, she developed a nervous ailment and muscle paralysis during
her interrogations. Subsequently she was released with a heavy bail because of
her deteriorating condition in a decree that stated she “could not bear her
sentence.”
Ms. Mohammadi has been active in praising families of political prisoners,
participating and speaking in the ceremony to honor Mr. Sattar Beheshti, the
laborer and blogger martyred under torture, protesting against splashing of acid
on women’s faces, working to halt executions, and defending religious and ethnic
minority prisoners. Her activities have enraged the religious fascism ruling
Iran.Last year it was said that following Ms. Mohammadi’s opposition to the
execution of a number of Sunni prisoners and her call for a fair judicial
process for them, the ludicrous charge of “cooperation with ISIS” was added to
her charges. There is a letter from the intelligence ministry in her file that
requests “the highest punishment for Narges Mohammadi because she is not
remorseful.”Ms. Sarvnaz Chitsaz, Chair of Women’s Committee of the National
Council of Resistance of Iran, on August 12, 2015 urged international human
rights organizations and Mr. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Iran, as well as women’s rights bodies, to condemn
arbitrary arrests by the Iranian regime and to take effective measures to secure
the release of Ms. Narges Mohammadi and other female political prisoners.
Iran: Protests by students, workers and merchants in Tehran, Gilan, Karaj,
Piranshahr and Yasuj
Wednesday, 18 May 2016/NCRI – Reports from Iran of some of the latest
anti-regime protests:
University students protest in Yasuj
Yasuj (central Iran), May 17 - A group of students of Yasuj University held a
sit-in after discovering cockroaches in the food of female students. The
protesters chanted: "Incompetent manager! Resign! Resign!"
Employees of the aircraft maintenance engineering sector of Iran Air rally in
Tehran
Tehran, May 15 - Employees of the aircraft maintenance engineering sector of
Iran Air rallied in front of the organization’s office in Mehrabad Airport and
protested against administrative inefficiency. At the end of the rally, the
protesters' spokesman read out a joint statement and pointed out that they will
protest again unless their demands are fully met.
Merchants protest in Piranshahr
Piranshahr (north-west Iran), May 16 - Merchants of the Piranshahr Bazaar held a
protest against recent repressive measures by the mullahs' regime aimed at
blocking the sale of imported clothes in border areas. These preventive measures
have cut the sole subsistence of the merchants, creating a difficult situation
for them.
Housing applicants protest in Karaj
Karaj (north-west of Tehran), May 17 - Applicants of the Mehr Housing Project in
Pardis lodged a protest, demanding housing assignments. The rally was the
largest recent gathering by housing applicants in this region.
University students protest in Tehran
Tehran, May 17 - A group of university students staged a protest against the
demolition of university workshop buildings to plant green spaces in the
faculty.
Workers of Chooka Manufacturing Company protest in Gilan
Gilan Province (northern Iran), May 17 - Workers of the Chooka Manufacturing
Company protest in Gilan. The workers installed large banners to protest against
the shut-down of their factory.
Syria Regime Strike Kills at Least
13 Civilians
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May
18/16/A regime air strike killed at least 13 members of the same family,
including eight children, in central Syria on Wednesday, a monitor said. The
raid hit a residential neighborhood in Rastan, one of the last rebel strongholds
in the central province of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The toll is likely to increase as several people are missing and others are
gravely injured, the Britain-based monitor said. Rebel groups seized Rastan in
2012 and the town has been under full siege by regime forces, who control most
of the Homs province, since the beginning of this year. The Observatory relies
on a wide network of sources inside Syria to gather its information on the
five-year-old conflict, which has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced
millions. It says it determines whether strikes were carried out by Syrian,
Russian or U.S.-led coalition aircraft based on the location of the raids,
flight patterns and the types of planes and munitions involved.
Red Cross delivers aid to besieged
Damascus suburb after 4 years
Agencies Wednesday, 18 May 2016/Aid from the Red Cross and Syrian Red Crescent
entered the besieged Damascus suburb of Harasta for the first time in four years
on Wednesday, a spokesman said. A convoy of trucks jointly organised with the
United Nations carried food, hygiene equipment and medicine destined for
Harasta’s entire population of around 10,000 people, Pawel Krzysiek said in a
statement. Harasta is in the Eastern Ghouta region, east of Damascus, which is
under rebel control. It is one of several areas around the Syrian capital which
are sealed off by government forces.
At least 13 killed in Homs
In related story, a regime air strike killed at least 13 members of the same
family, including eight children, in central Syria on Wednesday, a monitor said.
The raid hit a residential neighborhood in Rastan, one of the last rebel
strongholds in the central province of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights said. The toll is likely to increase as several people are missing and
others are gravely injured, the Britain-based monitor said. Rebel groups seized
Rastan in 2012 and the town has been under full siege by regime forces, who
control most of the Homs province, since the beginning of this year. The
Observatory relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria to gather its
information on the five-year-old conflict, which has killed more than 270,000
people and displaced millions. It says it determines whether strikes were
carried out by Syrian, Russian or US-led coalition aircraft based on the
location of the raids, flight patterns and the types of planes and munitions
involved.(With Reuters, AFP)
Millions of refugees face homelessness
without more shelter funding
AFP Wednesday, 18 May 2016/Millions of refugees worldwide risk living on the
street due to a lack of funds for shelters, the United Nations warned Wednesday,
urging the private sector to help amid surging displacement.
Launching a global campaign called “Nobody Left Outside”, the UN refugee agency
said it still needed half a billion dollars (441 million euros) to provide
adequate shelter. “Without a major increase in funding and global support,
millions of people fleeing war and persecution face homelessness or inadequate
housing in countries such as Lebanon, Mexico and Tanzania,” UNHCR said in a
statement. “Without a safe place to eat, sleep, study, store belongings and have
privacy, the consequences to their health and welfare can be profound,” it
warned. Conflicts, including the five-year war in Syria, have fueled a global
crisis with some 60 million people displaced from their homes worldwide.Nearly
20 million of them have been forced to flee across international borders as
refugees.
The UNHCR campaign aims to raise funds from the private sector to build or
improve shelters for around two million refugees by 2018. The agency each year
purchases 70,000 tents and more than two million tarpaulins, and outside of
camps helps refugees find housing and pay rent.These operations are expected to
cost $728 million this year alone, but UNHCR said so far only $158 million was
available for use. “Shelter is the foundation stone for refugees to survive and
recover, and should be considered a non-negotiable human right,” UN refugee
Chief Filippo Grandi said in the statement. “As we tackle worldwide displacement
on a level not seen since World War II, no refugee should be left outside,” he
insisted. And at a time when anti-refugee sentiments have flared in many
overburdened host communities, Grandi said ensuring that refugees are properly
housed is a good way to ease tensions. “Proper shelter for everyone is central
to social cohesion,” he said, stressing that “good homes make good
neighbors.”Animated ‘Unfairy Tales’ tells Syrian refugee children’s stories
Israel Successfully Tests
Missile Defense System at Sea
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 18/16/Israel has successfully tested a
maritime missile interception system dubbed the Iron Dome of the Sea, the
military announced on Wednesday. The system, which the military said can shoot
down short-range rockets similar to those fired from Gaza, successfully
destroyed "several" missiles, Ariel Shir, head of operational systems in the
navy, said. He said the test, which took place two weeks ago, "proved the
Israeli navy's ability to protect Israel's strategic assets at sea against
short-range ballistic rockets". During the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas and
other Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip, Israel deployed its Iron
Dome system on land to shoot down rockets fired across the border. A similar
system has been in development for several years and was revealed to the public
on Wednesday. A video provided by the army showed a rocket launcher installed on
a ship firing at targets in the sky and later intercepting a missile. Israel has
a number of assets at sea, including a major offshore gas rig around 16 nautical
miles from Gaza. Hamas has previously targeted the installation unsuccessfully.
Any damage to the rig could be potentially hugely damaging to the Israeli
economy, since it provides large amounts of the country's energy needs.
Israeli govt threatens to shut down
human rights group
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 18 May 2016/Israel’s government is
filing legal action against a local human rights group after it refused to
reveal the identities of Israeli soldiers who alleged wrongdoing among the ranks
during the 2014 Gaza War. The government will demand next week in court that the
group, Breaking the Silence, identifies the military personnel who gave
anonymous testimonies of alleged crimes committed during the conflict, UK daily
The Guardian reported on Wednesday. The conflict, waged between Israeli forces
and Hamas fighters, led to the deaths of over 2,000 people, many of them
civilians. The case comes after months of fierce debate on the human rights
group by leading politicians and a public accusation of “treason” by the
country’s defense minister. The rights group’s legal team said that the move
poses a threat to freedom of speech and human rights activism in Israel. The
group, which was founded 11 years ago, is made of partly of former Israeli army
members, and has collected and published testimonies from soldiers that expose
alleged human rights abuses.
Kerry, Sisi discuss stalled Arab-Israeli peace efforts
AP, Cairo Wednesday, 18 May 2016/The United States and Egypt looked for ways
Wednesday to inject life into Israel’s moribund peace process with the
Palestinians, after the Arab country’s leader said an agreement would make
warmer ties with the Jewish state possible. On a brief visit to Cairo, US
Secretary of State John Kerry also discussed with President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi
the major threats on both sides of Egypt’s borders, including Syria, ISIS’s
stronghold, and Libya, potentially its next major battleground. But the
Israeli-Palestinian crisis appeared a focus, given Egypt’s leadership in
promoting past negotiations and recent diplomatic activity. Kerry “expressed his
appreciation for the president’s recent statement of strong support for
advancing Arab-Israeli peace,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. The
American diplomat credited Egypt for its “role as a regional partner,” but
Toner’s statement didn’t elaborate on any specific Mideast peace effort afoot.
Kerry’s stop came a day after he spoke by telephone to Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, and Sisi offered support for a French initiative to revive
the peace process. Sisi said Tuesday that Egypt’s relations with Israel, rooted
in their landmark 1979 peace treaty, can only be “warmer” if the Israelis
reached a peace deal with the Palestinians. He pledged that Egypt would “make
every effort” toward a solution. France’s proposal, which includes holding a
Mideast peace conference, is struggling to gain traction. Israel already has
rejected the idea.
But Sisi, the Arab leader who speaks most often to Netanyahu, is backing the
offer as well as U.S. efforts, a 2002 Arab peace plan and the international
Mideast peace quartet as possible avenues to such a settlement. He said there
was a “real opportunity” for peacemaking even if some Israelis don't think peace
is necessary now given the region’s turmoil. A deal, he said, would “give safety
and stability to both sides. If this is achieved, we will enter a new phase that
perhaps no one can imagine now.”In a statement, Netanyahu welcomed Sisi’s
“willingness to invest every effort to advance a future of peace and security
between us and the Palestinians” and said Israel was ready to join Egypt and
other Arab states in “advancing the peace process and stability in the
region.”But Netanyahu has rejected the French initiative, saying direct
negotiations are the only way to resolve the conflict. He has previously said
the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative has some positive aspects, but can't be the basis
for negotiations. The Arab peace plan offers Israel full recognition by Arab
states for Israel’s withdrawal from territory captured in the 1967 Middle East
war. Kerry and Sisi also discussed US help for Egypt’s own counterterrorism
fight, economic plans and how to strengthen democratic institutions. Despite
Washington’s closer ties with Sisi, it has regularly chided his government for
crackd
Iraq blasts show ISIS ‘reverting to
its terrorist roots’
AP, Ramstein Air Base Wednesday, 18 May 2016/A series of deadly attacks by ISIS
operatives in and around Baghdad may be a sign that the militants are “reverting
to their roots” as a terrorist organization, the top US commander for the Middle
East said Wednesday. Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of US Central Command,
said this does not mean ISIS has given up its ambition to create a so-called
caliphate. But he said it marks a new turn in tactics aimed at diverting
attention from the group’s recent battlefield losses.Speaking to reporters while
traveling to the Middle East, Votel said the attacks that have rocked Baghdad
over the past week, killing upward of 200 civilians, are an illustration of the
dynamic nature of the war. “We have to respect our enemies and respect their
ability to adapt and adjust on the battlefield,” he said. “In this regard, some
of the attacks we’re seeing in Baghdad - I think we are seeing a manifestation
of that. We are seeing them see opportunities and take advantage of those
opportunities,” he added. “I think they believe it will cause the Iraqi
government to divert forces, divert effort, divert intellectual horsepower to
solving those problems” as opposed to priorities like recapturing the ISIS
stronghold of Mosul in northern Iraq.
Now that IS has lost 40 percent or more of the terrain it once controlled in
Iraq, “they may be reverting in some regards back to their terrorist roots,” he
said.
Votel, who served in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, became head of Central
Command two months ago after serving as commander of Special Operations Command.
In his new post he oversees not only US military operations in Iraq and Syria
but across the greater Middle East, including in Afghanistan. His visit this
week to the Middle East comes amid concern about political unrest in Baghdad and
the slow pace of Iraqi military operations to recapture Mosul. Votel said he
sees reason for “a little concern” about political paralysis that has gripped
the Iraq government in recent weeks.
McCain: Yemen situation tragic
without Saudi role
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 18 May 2016/Had it not been for
Saudi Arabia, Yemen would have reached a catastrophic situation, US Senator John
McCain has said, according to pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. McCain also
added that Saudi Arabia is a “key player in the region in the war against
terrorism” and expressed regret that “the international community has widely
ignored the crimes against humanity committed by Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad and focusing mainly on ISIS instead.”His comments published by Asharq
al-Awsat comes after a meeting between the US politician and Deputy Chairman of
the Saudi Shura Council Dr. Mohammed al-Jafri, who is currently visiting the
United States. McCain, who is the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, expressed the importance of Saudi Arabia defending the legitimacy of
Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after armed Iran-backed Houthi militias
took over the capital and parts of the country. The comments also comes
following news that four billion dollars have disappeared from Yemen’s Central
Bank in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa and the country is on the verge of
declaring bankruptcy, its foreign minister told reporters. Foreign Mininster
Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi did not accuse any side and gave no further details.
Turkish presidential spokesman rules
out change in counter-terror law
Reuters | Ankara Wednesday, 18 May 2016/Turkey’s presidential spokesman on
Wednesday ruled out making changes to its counter-terror law demanded by the
European Union, saying such a move would be encouraging terrorist organizations.
But Turkey was still doing everything it can to fulfill a deal reached between
Turkey and EU and that there was no change in policy or attitude on the issue,
Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman to President Tayyip Erdogan told a news conference.
Brussels wants Ankara to narrow its legal definition of terrorism and change
some other laws to meet EU standards - as part of the wide-ranging deal to
secure Turkish help in reducing the flow of migrants into Europe in return for
visa-free travel to Turks to EU countries. From our archive: Turkey blames ISIS
for the worst attack in its history
Enroll Saudi women in military
service, say Shoura members
Fatima Al-Dibais, Saudi Gazette Wednesday, 18 May 2016/A number of Shoura
Council members and security specialists have called for enrolling Saudi women
in military service, the Saudi Gazette reported. They said women should get
military training to teach them the use of light weapons. Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Tamimi,
deputy chairman of the council’s security committee, said Islam has not
prevented women from participating in military affairs, recalling that women
used to contribute to Jihad (fight for Allah) to serve Islam. “The Kingdom,
which is a member of the G 20 and which annually receives millions of Haj and
Umrah pilgrims, fully understands the importance of using women in military
service,” Ali Al-Tamimi said. Tamimi said women can participate in a number of
military activities such as security operations, inspections, interrogations,
accounting and financial management. Sultan Al-Sultan, another Council member,
said women can be trained on uncovering the activities of women terrorists.
Ahmed Al-Mokli, a researcher on extremist groups, said the training of women
should also include the educational, cultural, vocational and technical fields.
He highlighted the successes achieved by women in various sectors such as
passports and general security. This article first appeared in the Saudi Gazette
on May 18, 2016. Saudi women finally can get copy of their marriage contracts
Rights group documents ISIS atrocities in Libyan city of Sirte
The Associated Press, Cairo Wednesday, 18 May 2016/A leading international
rights group on Wednesday released a report documenting atrocities committed by
Libya’s ISIS affiliate in the country’s coastal city of Sirte, a stronghold of
the militants.In the report, Human Rights Watch recounts “scenes of horror”
described by witnesses - atrocities that date back to Feb. 2015 and include
beheadings of dozens of residents accused by ISIS militants of being spies. The
ISIS has gained a foothold in Libya amid the chaos that engulfed the country
over the past few years, torn between rival governments and a myriad of militias
backing either side. The report by the New York-based watchdog also recounts
instances of “crucifixions” and floggings of men for acts such as smoking or
listening to music. The report is based on HRW interviews of 45 residents of
Sirte conducted in March last year. The residents were among the two thirds of
the city’s 80,000-strong population that fled after ISIS overran Sirte. “While
the world’s attention is focused on atrocities in Syria and Iraq, ISIS is also
getting away with murder in Libya,” said Letta Tayler, a senior terrorism and
counterterrorism researcher at HRW. US military experts estimated in April that
the ISIS group has up to 6,000 fighters in Libya. However, Libyan military
intelligence officials have told HRW that the affiliate’s numbers do not exceed
2,000 - 70 percent of whom are foreigners. Estimates by other Libyan security
analysts put the number of ISIS fighters in the country at 3,000. In running
Sirte, HRW said ISIS gave homes and all the goods seized from residents who fled
to its fighters. Those who were accused of being spies or sorcerers were
brutally killed, the right group said. The report comes just days after the
United States and other Western countries threw their support behind Libya’s
newly formed and UN-brokered government, saying they would supply the government
with weapons to counter the ISIS group. This has sparked concerns of more arms
being poured into this North African country already awash in weapons. ISIS in
Libya: A terrifying victory
Houthis accused of ‘arrest’ and
‘torture’ of rivals
Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 18 May 2016/Houthi militias have carried out a
wave of arrests of their opponents in Yemen, seizing them at gunpoint and
torturing some, rights group Amnesty International said on Wednesday. An
examination of 60 cases in the report showed a pattern of “arbitrary arrests”
and “enforced disappearances” by the Iranian-backed Houthis - who are also
backed by forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The rights group
says the Houthi clampdown is part of the militias’ campaign to defeat opposition
in areas of Yemen under its control. Incidents that took place in the cities of
Sanaa, Taiz, Ibb and Hodeidah between December 2014 and March 2016, show that
those detained include political opposition figures, human rights activists,
journalists and academics. Many of those detained were “imprisoned for prolonged
periods, suffered torture and other ill-treatment and denied access to a lawyer
or their family,” the report said. Essam al-Batraa, a Yemeni activist, told Al
Arabiya English that his lawmaker father, Abdulhamid al-Batraa has been detained
for over three months as the Houthi siege of Taiz, southwest of the capital
Sanaa, rages on. “I haven’t been able to visit him,” Batraa said.
The activist said that his father’s health has deteriorated during his
imprisonment. He is in severe need of heart surgery. “It is hurtful to see the
people closest to you unjustly arrested and go through these difficult
circumstances, as well as having a serious illness,” he said. Adam Baron, an
expert on Yemen at the European Council on Foreign Relations says within Yemen,
these detentions are already widely known, but added that “the report could help
to focus international attention on the cases of those detained by the Houthis
and their allies.”The report came in the same day when Yemen’s Prime Minister
Ahmed bin Dagher rejected a unity government proposed by the Houthis whom he
accused of bringing the country’s economy to the brink of collapse. Senior
advisor at Gulf State Analytics think-tank, Dr. Theodore Karasik, says the NGO's
timing on the report helps support the Saudi-backed Yemeni government's position
in the diplomatic talks. “It establishes one of the first instances of Houthis
committing atrocities,” Karasik said. On Tuesday, the internationally-recognized
Yemeni government, led by President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi, suspended its
participation in the UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait. The Hadi delegation
said it would only return if the Houthis committed to withdraw from cities they
have seized since 2014 and hand over their weapons. Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah
al-Ahmad al-Sabah, on Wednesday also called on the two sides to continue
negotiating to “reach positive results,” the official KUNA news agency reported.
A wide gap still separates the Houthis and the Western-backed government of Hadi
after nearly a month of peace talks in Kuwait intended to end a year of war that
has killed more than 6,200 people, half of them civilians. The talks center on
government demands for the Houthis to hand over their weapons and leave cities
captured since 2014, and the formation of a new unity government that would
include the Houthis. The Saudi-backed Hadi government is currently based in the
southern Yemeni port city of Aden, while the Houthis retain control of the
capital Sanaa.(With Reuters)
Yemeni PM rejects Houthis’ proposal
for unity govt
AFP, Riyadh Wednesday, 18 May 2016/Yemen’s
Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher on Wednesday rejected a unity government
proposed by Iran-backed militias whom he accused of bringing the country’s
economy to the brink of collapse. At the start of a cabinet meeting in the Saudi
capital, Bin Dagher emphasized that the Houthis should surrender their weapons
and withdraw from seized territory in accordance with a United Nations Security
Council resolution adopted in April last year. The Houthis and their allies
overran the capital Sanaa in September 2014 and went on to seize control of
several regions, forcing President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi
Arabia. Saudi Arabia formed a regional coalition that began air strikes against
the rebels in March last year and later sent in ground forces to support Hadi’s
government. “The retreat (of the rebels) from state institutions is
non-negotiable,” the premier said. The meeting was held inside a Saudi
government hall where Dagher read from a statement with cabinet ministers seated
at a long table in front of him. At UN-brokered peace talks which began on April
21 in Kuwait, the rebels made a transitional government of consensus a
precondition for applying Security Council Resolution 2216. But the prime
minister attacked “those who want a national unity government before handing
over the weapons.” He added that the country is “in a terrible state of economic
and monetary collapse” after the rebels spent $3 billion, almost the entire
monetary reserves of Yemen, “in their war efforts.”He said the rebels also
arranged to print more money, leading to a collapse in the value of the rial and
a spike in prices. Residents say fruit and vegetables have risen in price by at
least 20 percent in recent days, while essentials like flour are up by more than
30 percent. On Tuesday, Yemen’s government threatened to quit the peace talks.
Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, on Wednesday called on the two
sides to continue negotiating to “reach positive results,” the official KUNA
news agency reported. Fighting has killed more than 6,400 people, displaced
about 2.8 million and left 82 percent of Yemen’s population in need of aid, the
UN says.Kuwait emir urges Yemen foes to press on with peace talks
Maldives sides with Saudis to cut
ties with Iran
AFP | Colombo Wednesday, 18 May 2016/The Maldives has joined its key financial
backer Saudi Arabia in cutting diplomatic ties with Iran, accusing it of
undermining peace and security in the Gulf region. The Maldives foreign ministry
said policies that Iran were pursing in the Middle East were “detrimental to
peace and security in the region”, without giving details. In a statement issued
late Tuesday, the ministry said it was severing ties because stability in the
Gulf was “also linked to stability, peace and security of the Maldives”.The politically troubled Indian Ocean archipelago officially established
diplomatic ties with Iran in 1975, although neither has an embassy or consulate
in the other’s country. However last month Maldives President Abdulla Yameen
received Iran’s new ambassador to the Indian Ocean region, Mohammed Zaeri
Amirani, who is based in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. After that meeting,
Yameen said he hoped the two countries could strengthen ties and that the
Maldives, made up of 340,000 Sunni Muslims, could start importing oil from Iran
-- the Middle East’s foremost Shiite power. Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Muslim power,
has recently stepped up financial support for the Maldives by pledging $50
million in funding for a military housing project on the island nation, the
Maldivesindependent.com website reported. Male was also seeking $100 million
from Riyadh for an expansion of its main airport, the local news website said.
The Maldives has tarnished its reputation as an upmarket honeymoon destination
in recent years because of prolonged political unrest and a crackdown on
opponents. In January Saudi Arabia and Iran severed diplomatic relations. Riyadh
cut ties with Tehran after Iranian demonstrators burned its embassy and a
consulate following the Saudi execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. From our
archive: GCC toughens sentences terrorists to confront Iran interference
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 18-19/16
EU-Turkey
Migrant Deal Unravels/Plan B turns Greece into massive refugee camp
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/May 18/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8072/eu-turkey-migrant-deal
"It can be
expected that, as soon as Turkish citizens will obtain visa-free entry to the
EU, foreign nationals will start trying to obtain Turkish passports ... or use
the identities of Turkish citizens, or to obtain by fraud the Turkish
citizenship. This possibility may attract not only irregular migrants, but also
criminals or terrorists." — Leaked European Commission report, quoted in the
Telegraph, May 17, 2016.
According to the Telegraph, the EU report adds that as a result of the deal, the
Turkish mafia, which traffics vast volumes of drugs, sex slaves, illegal
firearms and refugees into Europe, may undergo "direct territorial expansion
towards the EU."
"If they make the wrong decision, we will send the refugees." — Burhan Kuzu,
senior adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan is now demanding that the EU immediately hand over three billion euros
($3.4 billion) so that Turkish authorities can spend it as they see fit. The EU
insists that the funds be transferred through international aid agencies in
accordance with strict rules on how the aid can be spent. This prompted Erdogan
to accuse the EU of "mocking the dignity" of the Turkish nation.
The EU-Turkey migrant deal, designed to halt the flow of migrants from Turkey to
Greece, is falling apart just two months after it was reached. European
officials are now looking for a back-up plan.
The March 18 deal was negotiated in great haste by European leaders desperate to
gain control over a migration crisis in which more than one million migrants
from Africa, Asia and the Middle East poured into Europe in 2015.
European officials, who appear to have promised Turkey more than they can
deliver, are increasingly divided over a crucial part of their end of the
bargain: granting visa-free travel to Europe for Turkey's 78 million citizens by
the end of June.
At the same time, Turkey is digging in its heels, refusing to implement a key
part of its end of the deal: bringing its anti-terrorism laws into line with EU
standards so that they cannot be used to detain journalists and academics
critical of the government.
A central turning point in the EU-Turkey deal was the May 5 resignation of
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who lost a long-running power struggle
with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Davutoglu was a key architect of
the EU-Turkey deal and was also considered its guarantor.
On May 6, just one day after Davutoglu's resignation, Erdogan warned European
leaders that Turkey would not be narrowing its definition of terrorism: "When
Turkey is under attack from terrorist organizations and the powers that support
them directly, or indirectly, the EU is telling us to change the law on
terrorism," Erdogan said in Istanbul. "They say 'I am going to abolish visas and
this is the condition.' I am sorry, we are going our way and you go yours."
Erdogan insists that Turkey's anti-terrorism laws are needed to fight Kurdish
militants at home and Islamic State jihadists in neighboring Syria and Iraq.
Human rights groups counter that Erdogan is becoming increasingly authoritarian
and is using the legislation indiscriminately to silence dissent of him and his
government.
European officials say that, according to the original deal, visa liberalization
for Turkish citizens is conditioned on Turkey amending its anti-terror laws.
Erdogan warns that if there is no visa-free travel by the end of June, he will
reopen the migration floodgates on July 1. Such a move would allow potentially
millions more migrants to pour into Greece.
European officials are now discussing a Plan B. On May 8, the German newspaper
Bild reported on a confidential plan to house all migrants arriving from Turkey
on Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. Public transportation to and from those
islands to the Greek mainland would be cut off in order to prevent migrants from
moving into other parts of the European Union.
Migrants would remain on the islands permanently while their asylum applications
are being processed. Those whose asylum requests are denied would be deported
back to their countries of origin or third countries deemed as "safe."
The plan, which Bild reports is being discussed at the highest echelons of
European power, would effectively turn parts of Greece into massive refugee
camps for many years to come. It remains unclear whether Greek leaders will have
any say in the matter. It is also unclear how Plan B would reduce the number of
migrants flowing into Europe.
Thousands of newly arrived migrants, the vast majority of whom are men, crowd
the platforms at Vienna West Railway Station on August 15, 2015 -- a common
scene in the summer and fall of 2015. (Image source: Bwag/Wikimedia Commons)
Speaking to the BBC News program, "World on the Move," on May 16, Sir Richard
Dearlove, the former head of the British intelligence service MI6, warned that
the number of migrants coming to Europe during the next five years could run
into millions. This, he said, would reshape the continent's geopolitical
landscape: "If Europe cannot act together to persuade a significant majority of
its citizens that it can gain control of its migratory crisis then the EU will
find itself at the mercy of a populist uprising, which is already stirring."
Dearlove also warned against allowing millions of Turks visa-free access to the
EU, describing the EU plan as "perverse, like storing gasoline next to the fire
we're trying to extinguish."
On May 17, the Telegraph published the details of a leaked report from the
European Commission, the powerful administrative arm of the European Union. The
report warns that opening Europe's borders to 78 million Turks would increase
the risk of terrorist attacks in the European Union. The report states:
"It can be expected that, as soon as Turkish citizens will obtain visa-free
entry to the EU, foreign nationals will start trying to obtain Turkish passports
in order to pretend to be Turkish citizens and enter the EU visa free, or use
the identities of Turkish citizens, or to obtain by fraud the Turkish
citizenship. This possibility may attract not only irregular migrants, but also
criminals or terrorists."
According to the Telegraph, the report adds that as a result of the deal, the
Turkish mafia, which traffics vast volumes of drugs, sex slaves, illegal
firearms and refugees into Europe, may undergo "direct territorial expansion
towards the EU." The report warns: "Suspect individuals being allowed to travel
to the Schengen territory without the need to go through a visa request
procedure would have a greater ability to enter the EU without being noticed."
While the EU privately admits that the visa waiver would increase the risk to
European security, in public the EU has recommended that the deal be approved.
On May 4, the European Commission announced that Turkey has met most of the 72
"benchmarks of the roadmap" needed to qualify for the visa waiver. The remaining
five conditions concern the fight against corruption, judicial cooperation with
EU member states, deeper ties with the European law-enforcement agency Europol,
data protection and anti-terrorism legislation.
European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said:
"Turkey has made impressive progress, particularly in recent weeks, on meeting
the benchmarks of its visa liberalization roadmap.... This is why we are putting
a proposal on the table which opens the way for the European Parliament and the
Member States to decide to lift visa requirements, once the benchmarks have been
met."
In order for the visa waiver to take effect, it must be approved by the national
parliaments of the EU member states, as well as the European Parliament.
Ahead of a May 18 debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg over Turkey's
progress in fulfilling requirements for visa liberalization, Burhan Kuzu, a
senior adviser to Erdogan, warned the European Parliament that it had an
"important choice" to make.
In a Twitter message, Kuzu wrote: "If they make the wrong decision, we will send
the refugees." In a subsequent telephone interview with Bloomberg, he added: "If
Turkey's doors are opened, Europe would be miserable."
Meanwhile, Erdogan has placed yet another obstacle in the way of EU-Turkey deal.
He is now demanding that the EU immediately hand over three billion euros ($3.4
billion) promised under the deal so that Turkish authorities can spend it as
they see fit.
The EU insists that the funds be transferred through the United Nations and
other international aid agencies in accordance with strict rules on how the aid
can be spent. That stance has prompted Erdogan to accuse the EU of "mocking the
dignity" of the Turkish nation.
On May 10, Erdogan expressed anger at the glacial pace of the EU bureaucracy:
"This country [Turkey] is looking after three million refugees. What did they
[the EU] say? We'll give you €3 billion. Well, have they given us any of that
money until now? No. They're still stroking the ball around midfield. If you're
going to give it, just give it.
"These [EU] administrators come here, tour our [refugee] camps, then ask at the
same time for more projects. Are you kidding us? What projects? We have 25 camps
running. You've seen them. There is no such thing as a project. We've
implemented them."
In an interview with the Financial Times, Fuat Oktay, head of Turkey's Disaster
and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the agency responsible for
coordinating the country's refugee response, accused European officials of being
fixated on "bureaucracies, rules and procedures" and urged the European
Commission to find a way around them.
The European Commission insists that it was made clear from the outset that most
of the money must go to aid organizations: "Funding under the Facility for
Refugees in Turkey supports refugees in the country. It is funding for refugees
and not funding for Turkey."
The migration crisis appears to be having political repercussions for German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, a leading proponent of the EU-Turkey deal. According
to a new poll published by the German newsmagazine Cicero on May 10, two-thirds
(64%) of Germans oppose a fourth term for Merkel, whose term ends in the fall of
2017.
In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, Horst Seehofer, the leader of the
Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister-party to Merkel's Christian
Democrats (CDU), blamed Merkel for enabling Erdogan's blackmail: "I am not
against talks with Turkey. But I think it is dangerous to be dependent upon
Ankara."
Sahra Wagenknecht of the Left Party accused Merkel of negotiating the EU-Turkey
deal without involving her European partners: "The chancellor is responsible for
Europe having become vulnerable to blackmail by the authoritarian Turkish
regime."
Cem Özdemir, leader of the Greens Party and the son of Turkish immigrants said:
"The EU-Turkey deal has made Europe subject to Turkish blackmail. The chancellor
bears significant responsibility for this state of affairs."
**Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He
is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de
Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on
Twitter. His first book, Global Fire, will be out in 2016.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone
website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without
the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Turkey: Erdogan's Promised "Reforms"
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/May 18/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8071/turkey-erdogan-reforms
In third world
democracies such as Turkey, there is a vast gap between what laws say and how
they are enforced.
"As many as 2,000 individuals -- reporters, celebrities, academics and students
-- are reportedly being officially investigated on charges of insulting
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or spreading 'terrorist propaganda.'" —
"Reporters Without Borders" Report.
The EU must understand that it has too little, if any, leverage on a country
that is going full speed toward darker days of Islamist authoritarianism.
With or without legal amendments to its anti-terror laws or a deal with the EU,
Erdogan's Turkey will de facto follow the path of Islamist autocracies, where
any kind of dissent amounts to terrorism and treason.
Turkey and the European Union (EU) have been negotiating a deal that ostensibly
would stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of migrants into Europe; Turkey, on
its part, would bring dozens of laws and regulations, including its draconian
anti-terror laws, in line with Europe's; and nearly 80 million Turks would then
be given visa-free travel to the EU's borderless Schengen zone. But now, as
Turkey refuses to amend its anti-terror laws, the deal seems to be facing a
stalemate.
That is hardly the heart of the matter. In reality, both Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and the EU are pursuing a deal that will not work.
In theory, Turkey would complete some tough homework, containing a list of 72
items. All went well until recently, when apparently the most controversial item
on the list, which obliged Turkey to change its anti-terror laws, stalled the
deal.
On May 14, according to Hansjörg Haber, the EU's top envoy in Ankara, the
European Commission was still working to find an acceptable solution to the
impasse with Turkey over the definition of "terror." Haber commented that
"Turkey has long been mature for visa liberalization. I personally feel we had
to do it much long ago. I still remain optimistic that we will eventually manage
it."
Days before that, Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear that he
had no intention of changing the disputed legislation. In response, European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that the visa requirement would
not be lifted for Turks before all criteria were met. That, in Erdogan's words,
would mean "you go your way and we go ours."
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (right) said that the visa
requirement would not be lifted for Turks before all criteria in the EU-Turkey
deal were met. That, in the words of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
(left), would mean "you go your way and we go ours." (Image source: Turkish
President's Office)
Erdogan, for his part, wants to win the visa waiver in order to save millions of
Turks from the torment of queuing up in front of European countries' embassies
for visas -- undoubtedly a big vote-winner for him if he puts to a referendum
the executive presidential system he so desperately craves.
The EU's leaders aim at a skillful balancing act: Return tens of thousands of
future migrants to Turkey -- as stipulated in the accord -- and at the same time
find a face-saving formula against criticism that to stop the flow of migrants,
the European club is granting a totally undemocratic country what it wants. So,
a little bit of pressure for a better-looking Turkish anti-terror law could help
Brussels save face: We are not betraying our democratic culture merely to stop
the migrant inflow; see how we forced Turkey to liberalize a key law!
That will be a commodity too hard to sell. According to Reporters Without
Borders (RSF), Turkey witnessed a drop in press freedom during the past year, as
a result of a media crackdown that one prominent editor called a "witch-hunt."
In its latest report, RSF ranked Turkey 151 out of 180 countries in its World
Press Freedom Index, down two points since 2015. It said:
"As many as 2,000 individuals – reporters, celebrities, academics and students –
are reportedly being officially investigated on charges of insulting President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan or spreading 'terrorist propaganda.'"
Erdogan's deep problem with free speech is not only limited to Turkey. It
recently moved, ironically, into the heart of Europe. Erdogan sought and won --
from Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel -- a green light for the prosecution of
comedian Jan Böhmermann, who recited a crude poem about the Turkish president,
on German television.
In a letter published in the German daily Welt am Sonntag, Mathias Döpfner,
chief executive of the German publisher Axel Springer, expressed solidarity with
Böhmermann by saying he had laughed out loud at the poem and 'wholeheartedly'
supported what Böhmermann said. Erdogan's lawyers sued Döpfner too. A German
court rejected Erdogan's injunction against Döpfner, but Erdogan's lawyers said
they would appeal that decision. This is the man the EU is, presumably, trying
to convince that his country's anti-terror laws should be given a more
democratic touch if he wants visa liberalization for the Turks.
The EU must understand -- or maybe it already has, but too late -- that it has
too little, if any, leverage on a country that is going full speed toward darker
days of Islamist authoritarianism. If they are not trying to fool a European
population of more than 500 million with a too-cheap pragmatism, they should
understand that in third world democracies such as Turkey, there is a vast gap
between what laws say and how they are enforced.
Here is a nice assortment of what the Turkish constitution says about civil
rights and abuse of religion in politics, in contrast with how real life in
Erdogan's Turkey is about:
Article 5, for example, promises "to ensure the welfare, peace and happiness of
the individual and society (and) to strive for the removal of (obstacles) which
restrict the fundamental rights and freedoms." Not funny enough?
Take Article 10, then: "All individuals are equal before the law without any
discrimination irrespective of language, race, color, sex, political opinion,
philosophical belief, religion and sect or any such consideration."
Article 20 states that "everyone has the right to demand respect for his private
and family life.
Article 22 guarantees that "secrecy of communications is fundamental."
When read in 2016, Article 24 is probably one of the funniest in the whole
charter: "Everyone has the right to freedom of conscience, religious belief and
conviction ... No one shall be allowed to exploit or abuse religion or religious
feelings ... for the purpose of personal or political influence, or for even
partially basing the fundamental, social, economic, political and legal order of
the State on religious tenets."
It is not an awfully bad joke: Article 28 even claims "the press is free, and
shall not be censored."
With or without legal amendments to its anti-terror laws or a deal with the EU,
Erdogan's Turkey will de facto follow the path of Islamist autocracies, where
any kind of dissent amounts to terrorism and treason.
**Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily
and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone
website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without
the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Syria: Hope despite obstacles
Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/May 18/16
The Syrian conflict is witnessing a lull, both on the ground and in the media.
Efforts undertaken by international players, notably Russia and the United
States, have revived the weak truce in Syria, renewing hope for peace talks.
Ending the conflict depends on whether international players succeed in
cooperating.
Peace talks in Geneva broke down in April as the opposition refused to continue
to participate as violence in Syria worsened despite the ceasefire agreement.
The U.N. special envoy to Syria expressed hope that talks would resume by the
end of May. To achieve this, the sides need to work hard on a stable climate and
confidence-building. There is no hope for building trust until a credible,
lasting ceasefire is achieved. The International Syria Support Group (ISSG) met
on Tuesday in Vienna. The parties, most of them involved in the conflict,
discussed vital humanitarian issues and ways to enforce the truce. The ISSG
warned that parties violating it would be excluded from the talks, and that
violence would no longer be tolerated. Areas in need that are inaccessible by
ground will continue getting aid via air drops if the problem of ground access
is not solved by June.
Problems
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
will not abide by international agreements or efforts to establish a truce,
alternative solutions should be found. The problem remains Assad’s fate -
demands that he step down continue to be rejected. There is much to be
pessimistic about, but the intensity of international diplomatic efforts
provides hope. Involved parties’ contradictory interests are also impeding peace
talks. Very reasonably, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said ending the
conflict meant that “a variety of competing interests are going to have to be
reconciled.” The priority of the parties involved in the conflict should be
peace-building, not realizing national interests within a geopolitical
framework. The Kurdish matter is another problem for regional players, because
accepting a Kurdish presence in talks would de-facto mean recognizing
aspirations for their own state. A Kurdish state may aggravate the regional
climate and fuel violence. The devil is in the details, so questions over
transitional justice, the political system, and whether Syria should be secular
or religious raise even more questions and problems to be solved. The situation
is aggravated by the presence of terrorist organizations that are dispersed
within the ranks of opposition groups. Terrorist and Islamist groups should be
excluded from the ceasefire, and should not be seen as allies by any of the
warring sides. Russia is key to a sustainable ceasefire, as it has the strongest
influence on Damascus. It is vital to make Assad respect the ceasefire
unquestionably. There is much to be pessimistic about, but the intensity of
international diplomatic efforts provides hope.
General Golan’s truth hurts –
avoiding it will hurt even more!
Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/May 18/16
It is hard to tell whether General Yair Golan, Deputy Chief of the Israeli
Defence Forces, could have anticipated that his speech a fortnight ago, in a
ceremony on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, would cause a gale force
political storm. In a very personal and reflective speech, he warned against
alarming trends in Israeli society of intolerance, violence and moral
deterioration, which undermine the very foundations of the country as a
democracy. In response, a chorus of politicians from the right, including Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, embarked on unsavory attacks on the number two
soldier in the Israeli hierarchy. Ostensibly, they were irked that on this
poignant day of remembering the murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazis, Golan
chose to state in public that “If there is something that frightens me in the
memory of the Holocaust, it is identifying horrifying processes that occurred in
Europe… 70, 80 and 90 years ago and finding evidence of their existence here in
our midst, today, in 2016.” Golan may or may not have anticipated the tirade of
criticism against him. However, accusing him of wronging the Israeli society and
cheapening the Holocaust, as the Israeli Prime Minister did, reflects on
Netanyahu’s reluctance to address the moral abyss into which he is leading the
country. Vocal criticism cannot conceal the need to tackle the substance of
Golan’s observations, especially as the country soon will mark the tragic 50th
anniversary of occupying Palestinian territories. To be sure Golan received the
full backing of the Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, but this was a lone voice of
support among the wolves from the ruling nationalist-religious coalition, who
were howling for his resignation. Not surprisingly the General’s remarks were
embraced by the more liberal progressive-minded in Israeli society, but they are
sadly a dwindling commodity.Golan struck a number of the Israeli society’s raw
nerves in his speech, and regrettably it led to overreaction instead of
reflection. Zionism and the state of Israel, as its embodiment, have monopolized
the memory of the Holocaust and its lessons. Evidently, one has to tread very
carefully with any historical analogies, especially one as horrific as Europe
and particularly Germany of the 1930s and ‘40s. Yet, at no point was it
suggested that the Israeli army behaves like the Nazi one or that the Israeli
society is heading towards where Germany was at its darkest time. This would be
utter nonsense and counterproductive, as it is simple to refute. Nevertheless,
it is legitimate, let alone necessary, to challenge the narrative of the Jewish
state as the home of the eternal victims, who could do no wrong.
'Daily brutality'
There is genuine concern in certain quarters of the Israeli society, and among
the military establishment, that democratic values of respecting pluralism,
tolerance, accountability and transparency are all on a dangerous downward
spiral. In addition to these trends the society is increasingly more violent,
one such example thereof is the spread of organized crime around the country. In
a country whose military relies on conscription and prides itself that its armed
forces are the ‘people’s army’, if the society is beastialized, the army cannot
escape a similar fate. The occupation and its daily brutality alone are a
prolonged abuse of human rights. When it carried out, however, by soldiers who
have no empathy for the occupied, it ends in even worse human rights violations
of the occupied. It is hence the duty of the security establishment to alert the
Israeli society that the lesson for the Jewish people of ‘never again’ is a
universal one. In its very narrow Jewish-centered meaning, it is not only wrong,
but worse, it is harmful and immoral. An over simplistic narrative has taken
hold of Israeli society, as part of its security paradigm, that the genocide of
the Jewish people by the Nazis, licenses the state Israel an almost divine right
to behave as it sees fit—regardless of international and moral norms. Too many
in Israel and the Zionist movement are reluctant to espouse a moral stance, that
those who suffered most have a responsibility to be the torchbearers of
upholding human rights constantly and unceasingly. Hundreds of years of
anti-Semitism culminating in the genocide of six million should have resulted in
more sensitivity for the suffering of other people, not the hardening of Israeli
society beyond being able to be empathetic with others. The occupation and its
daily brutality alone are a prolonged abuse of human rights. When it carried
out, however, by soldiers who have no empathy for the occupied, it ends in even
worse human rights violations of the occupied. Senior generals could not and
should not stay silent when there is an incident such as the one in Hebron
recently, where a Palestinian militant, who stabbed soldiers, was shot in the
head whilst he was already lying on the ground injured and seemed to pose no
threat. It allegedly appears to be a brutal assassination and not self-defense.
It is not an isolated case, there are other ‘unexplained’ cases of killing of
Palestinians including children, who were not even involved in militancy. This
kind of behavior could lead the army, if not nipped in the bud, to a complete
moral bankruptcy. Furthermore, as General Golan eluded to in his remarks, as
much as the country needs a moral army, the army needs a moral society, which is
worth the sacrifice involved in serving in the military. Some of the vile
attacks on Golan, highlight the importance and necessity of his intervention.
Very few generals show civil courage similar to the valor they show in the
battlefield, but they are those who deserve to be revered by the public. Judging
by the venomous attacks on Golan, not only will the messenger be most probably
overlooked for the position of Chief of Staff, but also the message itself will
be buried under piles of patriotic demagogy.
Fundamentalism and the
digital era
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/May 18/16
The Dubai Media Forum 2016’s panels addressed, among other subjects, terrorism
and how it is affecting the media and dialogue between civilizations.
Fundamentalist groups have depended on the media since the 1970s. They first
resorted to cassette recordings, then began documenting their operations on
video. Their works were amateurish but influential among some social categories.
Then came satellite TV in the 1990s. Recorded Al-Qaeda operations were leaked to
a few channels, while late leader Osama bin Laden’s speeches gained notoriety by
being broadcast on a specific satellite channel, as was the case following the
Sept. 11 attacks.
Social media
The third transformation was the emergence of social media. Satellite channels
are no longer crucial to terrorist groups. They use YouTube to publish videos
and SoundCloud to broadcast lectures, religious edicts and debates. They also
use Facebook, but Twitter has the largest capacity for their aims, as this is
where recruitment and accusations of apostasy happen. The threat lies in the
easily accessible online tools available to thousands of murderers worldwide. A
few days ago, a study by the German criminal police and internal intelligence
was published on Germans who join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
“More than 800 people have left Germany for Syria or Iraq for ideological
motives,” said Daniel Heinke, a German expert in criminal affairs. “By June 30,
2015, we managed to bring together information on 677 individuals. We’ve
evaluated this data and we believe we have a clear picture of these
individuals.” He said the internet was the decisive factor in recruitment
because it is the basis of direct contact with other people. The situation seems
worse than we thought. As ISIS terrorism spreads in the Arab Levant, its
presence on the internet - which Western media call the “Cyber Caliphate” -
resembles a genie that is out of the bottle. The threat lies in the easily
accessible online tools available to thousands of murderers worldwide. We hope
Western governments wake up to this reality. Terrorism resides in the new media,
so how will it be confronted?
A promising start for Saudi Vision 2030
Samar Fatany/Al Arabiya/May 18/16
Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet reshuffle and the restructuring of ministries is the
beginning of the implementation of the promising transformation plan. Some of
the obvious challenges that the new ministries will address include enhancing
the performance of the government to ensure efficiency and productivity,
injecting new blood into government departments to stimulate change and
introducing new cultural and social programs to build citizenship and influence
a more moderate and progressive society. The whole nation is waiting in
anticipation for the implementation of these changes. Addressing them will
certainly eliminate many of the obstacles that have delayed the progress of this
country. However, the way that these changes are implemented will determine
whether they will be effective or will be another failed attempt at reform. In
order to enhance the performance of government departments, the old centralized
system should be replaced with a management that delegates work to qualified and
efficient personnel. There should be real checks and mechanisms in place to
ensure that there is no favoritism or nepotism and that only the qualified will
be employed. All ministries are expected to develop a system that can provide
opportunities for all members of society regardless of any cultural or social
backgrounds, incorporating all factions of society in nation building. The
decision to inject new blood into the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and
Guidance and the Ministry of Education is quite significant.
Quality of education
The Ministry of Education is responsible for upgrading the curriculum and
enhancing the quality of education. It must have progressive decision makers and
sincere academics to introduce effective programs and meaningful changes. Our
youth need better qualifications to find employment and to serve the nation. The
new officials must not let them down. The Vision 2030 will never succeed without
constructive reforms in the Ministry of Education. In order to transform into a
modern state, it is crucial that we build effective citizenship. Decision makers
must honor the rights of all citizens.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance is responsible for addressing
the dominant mistakes in religious discourse. Recognizing the four schools of
thought and engaging the services of moderate scholars and imams can certainly
produce effective change. It is time they focus on the true Islamic values to
combat corruption and build a culture of consciousness and work ethics. The
decision in April, 2016 to curb the authority of the Commission for the
Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) is a step in the right
direction. The new law stipulates that police officers will have the authority
to enforce the previous social restrictions which include the segregation of the
sexes, a ban on women driving and the implementation of the guardianship law. It
is no good replacing one authority with another. Let us hope that the new
Commission for Recreation and Culture can bring more joy to Saudi families and
allow women and children to feel safe and comfortable during family outings and
entertainment activities. In order to transform into a modern state, it is
crucial that we build effective citizenship. Decision makers must honor the
rights of all citizens. The new Ministry of Labor and Social Development is
expected to address the pressing issues of unemployment and low wages. The
average citizen who is struggling to provide a decent life for his family needs
immediate attention. These are just a few reminders for our new ministers and
government officials to consider while they outline the mechanisms for the
transformation plan.