LCCC ENGLISH DAILY
NEWS BULLETIN
January 14/2013
Bible Quotation for today/Don't
Be Presumptuous
Sirach 05/ Don't rely on money to make you
independent. Don't think you have to have everything you want, and then spend
your energy trying to get it. Don't think that no one can exercise
authority over you; if you do, the Lord is certain to punish you. Don't
think that you can sin and get away with it; the Lord does not mind waiting to
punish you. Don't be so certain of the Lord's forgiveness that you go on
committing one sin after another. Don't think that his mercy is so great
that he will forgive your sins no matter how many they are. He does show mercy,
but he also shows his furious anger with sinners. Come back to the Lord
quickly. Don't think that you can keep putting it off. His anger can come upon
you suddenly, and you will die under his punishment. 8Don't rely on dishonest
wealth; it will do you no good on that day of disaster.
Sincerity and Self-control
Be certain about what you believe and consistent in what you say. Don't try to
please everyone or agree with everything people say. Always be ready to listen,
but take your time in answering. Answer only if you know what to say, and
if you don't know what to say, keep quiet. Speaking can bring you either
honor or disgrace; what you say can ruin you. Don't get a reputation for
being a gossip, and don't tell tales that will hurt people. Just as robbers will
suffer disgrace, so liars will suffer severe condemnation. Do nothing
destructive, whether it seems insignificant or not,
Latest analysis, editorials, studies,
reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Al-Assad: Raising the takfirist scarecrow/By
Hussein Shabokshi/Asharq Alawsat/January 14/13
The Syrians need blankets not rockets/By Abdul
Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat/January 14/13
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous
Sources for January 14/13
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi Warns of Refugee
Timebomb, Urges Politicians to Take Decisions Freely
Arab League Decides to Send Team to Syria Neighbors
as Lebanon Asks for $180mn in Aid for Refugees
Lebanese
Christian rivals scrap Orthodox plan
Pro Axis of evil, Lebanon's
Energy Minister Gebran Bassil : Orthodox Gathering law our only proposal
Kataeb favors Orthodox law in absence of
alternatives
Pro Axis of Evil Lebanese MP,
Alain Aoun Says he Will Participate in Electoral
Subcommittee Meeting
N. Lebanon mufti Al Chaar says steps needed before
return
Lebanese
Shiite religious leaders slam Orthodox plan
Bomb scare in Sidon ahead of Assir sit-in
Lebanon appeals to Arabs to fund Syrian refugee aid
Assir protests against Hezbollah's arms in Sidon
Three explosives found in north Lebanon
Hizbullah: Elections Won't Affect
Resistance-Army-People Equation
France terror alert after Mali, Somali operations.
Al Qaeda threatens hostages
France extends airstrikes to Islamist heartlands in
Mali
Algeria bans Berber New Year march
Russia Says Assad's Removal from Power 'Impossible'
Qatar revives proposal to send an Arab force to
Syria
Syria calls peace envoy's mission 'useless'
Syria shells rebel zones near Damascus: activists
KLM to Cease Flights to Iran in April
Netanyahu denies wasting money on Iran attack plans
Protests by Pakistani Shiites spread to main port
city
Egypt court grants Mubarak appeal, orders retrial
Newly appointed Shura Council member hails King
Abdullah's "historic" decree
Palestinian protesters evicted from West Bank site
Analysis: Motives behind Kurdish activists' triple
assassination
Much better to be hated rather to be marginalized and
humiliated
Elias Bejjani/When dignity, honor and credibility are so
valuable, It is much better and greatly rewarding to be disliked and hated by
others because you are who you are, because you respect who you are, and because
you adopt and abide by sold stances in life that reflect openly and courageously
your convictions, beliefs, faith and norms. Meanwhile those who are hesitant,
colorful, demagogic and chameleon in both rhetoric and stances, people fear
their treason, avoid their friendship and humiliate them.
Three hand grenades found in north Lebanon
January 13, 2013/The Daily Star
TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Three hand grenades were found in the northern city of Tripoli
Sunday morning, security sources told The Daily Star.
The grenades were found in the district of Mina near the archaeological site of
Burj al-Sabbah, the sources said.
A military expert arrived at the scene after security forces cordoned off the
area.
Pro Axis of evil, Lebanon's Energy Minister Gebran Bassil :
Orthodox Gathering law our only proposal
January 13, 2013/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Energy Minister Gebran Bassil defended the Orthodox Gathering electoral
proposal Sunday, responding to its critics and saying his party will challenge
any law that fails to ensure Christian representation.
“The Orthodox Gathering law guarantees equality and encourages voters to
participate in the voting process … it is our only proposal,” Bassil said during
a news conference in his Rabieh residence.
He added that the Constitution guarantees partnership and Christians will not
accept anything less. Bassil also responded to opponents of the electoral
proposal, which calls on every sect to elect its own MPs, saying that his allies
in the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition have agreed to support the draft law.
“Whoever wants to disrupt the [approval of this proposal] opposes partnership,
and they are the Future Movement because their main aim is exclusion via money
and politics,” Bassil said, adding that such a law would limit the use of what
he described as his rivals’ “political money.”
Last week, rival Christian parties agreed to back the controversial proposal
calling for each sect to elect its own parliamentarian on the eve of the
subcommittee’s first meeting.
The draft law, however, has come under fire from Druze leader MP Walid Jumblatt,
the Future parliamentary bloc and some Christian lawmakers who have said such a
proposal would strengthen sectarian divides in the country and allow for the
rise of extremists.
President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati were also among the
opponents of the draft law which has Lebanon as a single district under a system
of proportional representation.
Bassil said Jumblatt, who describes himself as centrist politician, objects to
the law so as to maintain the power to form a coalition government.
He also slammed the independent Christians who have voiced their opposition to
the controversial proposal, describing them as "the Godfathers of betrayal."
Bassil noted that the reason for their opposition "is that each of them
represents their town or area and in a larger district, they no longer appear on
the map. Therefore, they’re looking for their place [in Parliament].”
During his chat with reporters, Bassil warned that his party “will challenge any
law that does not secure the right Christian representation.”
In an interview with An-Nahar published Sunday, Bassil described the proposal as
a strategic draft law that emphasizes the need to secure the support of its
opponents.
“The proposal is the minimum that we will accept and why back down when we have
achieved a majority support for it? Our goal is to have those who reject it such
as Future Movement and Progressive Socialist Party support it,” Bassil told the
local daily.
He added that the parliamentary subcommittee studying a new electoral law for
this year’s polls revealed that the proposal has the backing of most Christian
parties.
“There is something that has been recorded in the minutes of the meeting [in the
subcommittee]: the majority of Christians agreed on the Orthodox Gathering along
with Hezbollah and Amal Movement i.e. the Shiites,” the minister said.
“And now we seek the Sunni and Druze consensus because that draft law grants
them their rights wherein no Christian MP would take the seat of a Sunni or
Druze,” he noted.
Bassil also said that the draft law secures the best representation for
Christians, saying: “This is a strategic issue not only for Christians in
Lebanon but also in the East and not only for Muslims but for the whole idea of
coexistence and diversity in the East.”
Asked about Sleiman’s pledge to challenge the Orthodox Gathering law, Bassil
voiced doubt that the president would oppose an issue that has received
Christian consensus.
"I don't believe that he rejects the proposal unless I hear it directly from
him. And then he will be held responsible for missing an opportunity such as
this one or hurting a consensus rarely reached by Christians on something so
fundamental,” he said.
“No, I don't believe the president would do such a thing.” The subcommittee also
looked at two other proposals, including one by the Cabinet which is also based
on proportionality and divides Lebanon into 13 medium-sized districts, and a
draft law proposed by the March 14 coalition based on a majority system with
Lebanon divided into 50 small districts.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Maronite Beshara Rai urged politicians to rid themselves of
their personal and party interests in order to have an electoral law that best
represents Lebanon's various sects.
During his Sunday sermon in Bkirki, the head of the Maronite church said
politicians should free themselves from "their personal and party interests," to
implement an electoral law.
"These days where talks center on approving a new electoral law that surpasses
the 1960s one, all of Lebanon's components should free themselves from their
personal and party interests and seeking to dominate others along with the
decision-making process," Rai said.
He noted that the basis of any electoral law should be Article 24 of the
Constitution which stipulates partnership between Christians and Muslims as well
as proportionality in representation for sects and regions.
"What is needed is to reach a law that best represents in a fair and safe manner
all Lebanese sects where a citizen practices their electoral right and votes for
another that represent them ... and feels that they can hold them accountable
and not [an MP] that was imposed on them,” he added.
Lebanon appeals to Arabs to fund Syrian refugee aid
January 13, 2013/Dana Khraiche The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Lebanese officials
sounded the alarm over the situation of Syrian refugees in the country Sunday,
appealing to Arab states to fund the government’s plan to meet the rising need
for assistance. Describing the rapid increase in the number of refugees in
Lebanon as a “dangerous humanitarian situation,” Lebanese ministers urged the
Arab League to support the government’s comprehensive plan to address the
massive Syrian presence in the country. Speaking to Arab League officials during
an extraordinary session in Cairo, Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour
described the current situation of refugees as “worrisome,” asking Arabs to help
Lebanon cope with the Syrian crisis. “The situation has become worrisome and
stressful on a large scale especially as the government’s plan was designed
based on the presence of 200,000 refugees while the number, I think, has
surpassed 200,000,” Abu Faour told the regional organization during a session
called for by Lebanon to discuss the situation of Syrian refugees.
He added that Lebanon’s plan involves an annual $180 million budget to meet
health, social and education services, especially the current enrolment of
30,000 Syrian children in public schools at its own expense.
Abu Faour also said that the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees expects the
number of refugees in Lebanon to reach 425,000 by June of this year.
"The numbers are expected to rise, throwing a heavy burden on the Lebanese state
in terms of economic pressure ... and rising tensions between host communities
who are already poor, given that most of the refugees live with families in
their homes,” the Lebanese minister said, in contrast to Jordan and Turkey who
have set up camps for the Syrians.
The number of those fleeing violence in Syria to neighboring countries and North
Africa has jumped more than 100,000 in the past month to over 600,000 according
to the latest report on refugees, from the UNHCR.
In Lebanon, nearly 200,000 have so far registered while more than 153,000 in
Turkey, 69,300 in Egypt, 69,000 in Iraq, 13,000 in Egypt and over 5,000 in North
Africa.
The UN has said it expects the number of Syrian refugees in neighboring
countries to reach 1.1 million by next June if the war continues.
Abu Faour also said that the Cabinet’s plan, which is also designed to assist
the 10,000 Palestinians who escaped bombardment on their camp in Syria, includes
$183 million for food, shelter and aid to international organizations working
with the refugees who he said are scattered in more than 700 locations and
municipalities.
Fending off allegations that Lebanon discriminates against refugees, Abu Faour
affirmed that his country is committed to “relief, shelter, and the protection
of those who have come to Lebanon to escape the situation in Syria.”
“I stress on the word ‘protect’ to avoid all ambiguities or other issues that
have been said about Lebanon in the past [with regards to its treatment to
refugees],” said Abu Faour.
Abu Faour appealed to Arab states to help Lebanon meet the demands of the
refugees, echoing the words of Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour during the
extraordinary session.
“Lebanon has a plan and hopes the Arab brethren who have always supported
Lebanon will stand by it again in the presence of this crisis ... Lebanon will
not abandon or run away from the refugees but Lebanon needs those who can help
it overcome the Syrian crisis,” Abu Faour said.
Mansour, who said the number of refugees created a “dangerous humanitarian
situation,” spoke about Lebanon’s patchy infrastructure and the country’s
inability to cope with health demands of the refugees.
“There is an increasing difficulty in hospitals to cover for incurable illnesses
and urgent cases as well as a lack of readiness in hospitals and medical centers
in terms of infrastructure,” Mansour, who chaired the session, said.
He also said that there is also a growing need to equip and prepare refugee
centers along with hospitals.
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi Warns of Refugee
Timebomb, Urges Politicians to Take Decisions Freely
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi called for free politicians who
would take bold decisions against hegemony and urged the state to take
preventive measures before the influx of refugees from Syria becomes a “timebomb.”“We
need free officials … capable of taking bold and courageous decisions that stand
up against hegemony and injustice, and of exerting every effort for the public
good,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday sermon.
On the rise in the number of refugees from Syria, al-Rahi said it was “the duty
of the Lebanese state to take the necessary preventive measures so that the
hosting of the displaced and refugees doesn't become a security, political,
social and economic timebomb.”More than 200,000 Syrian refugees have fled the
bloody conflict in their home country for Lebanon, according to figures released
by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Saturday. Al-Rahi
reiterated his call for the adoption of a fair electoral draft-law that
guarantees the best representation for the Lebanese and that allows each citizen
to exercise his voting right freely.
The freedom to elect the MPs would give the citizen the right to hold them
accountable, he said. The patriarch urged the different factions “to liberate
themselves from their personal and sectarian interests and from the hegemony on
others and decision-making.”
Arab League Decides to Send Team to Syria Neighbors as
Lebanon Asks for $180mn in Aid for Refugees
Naharnet/Lebanon appealed on Sunday for $180 million from Arab countries to help
it meet the Syrian refugee influx that has threatened to bring the number of the
displaced to 420,000 in June, as the Arab League decided to send a team to
Syria's neighboring countries to assess the status of refugees ahead of a donor
conference in Kuwait on January 30. Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo to
discuss the Syrian refugee crisis agreed to send a team to Lebanon, Jordan and
Iraq "to assess the situation of Syrian refugees on the ground," the Arab League
said. The delegation is to work out the amount of aid required and present its
findings to a donor conference hosted by Kuwait on January 30, the League added.
During the meeting, Lebanon appealed for $180 million to help around 200,000
Syrians and around 10,000 Palestinians who have escaped the fighting between
rebels seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad and government troops.
“The Lebanese government hopes for Arab support to overcome the crisis,” Social
Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour said during an emergency meeting of Arab
foreign ministers in Cairo. The number of refugees could rise from 30,000 to
40,000 displaced Syrian and Palestinian each month and could reach 420,000 next
June, he said. The minister warned that the influx is putting additional
economic and social burdens on Lebanon. “The situation should be dealt with,” he
told the Arab foreign ministers. He reiterated that the Lebanese government is
committed to hosting and protecting the Syrian refugees and would not close the
border to any family escaping the fighting and destruction in the neighboring
country. Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, who chaired the meeting, also urged
Arab support for the Syrian refugees and called for assisting the Lebanese
government in meeting their needs. He cited their need for housing, education
and medical aid.
The number of Syrian refugees registered in neighboring countries and North
Africa has jumped by more than 100,000 in the past month to over 600,000, the
U.N.'s refugee body said Friday.
Nearly 200,000 are registered in Lebanon, more than 153,000 in Turkey, 69,300 in
Iraq, 13,000 in Egypt and over 5,000 in North Africa. UNHCR said it had
registered nearly 176,600 refugees in Jordan, but stressed that the Jordanian
government put the total number at around 280,000. The 22-month long conflict
has left over 60,000 people dead, according to the United Nations. The U.N. has
said it expects the number of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries will rise
to 1.1 million by next June if the war continues. Agence France PresseNaharnet
France terror alert after Mali, Somali operations. Al Qaeda threatens
hostages
DEBKAfile Special Report January 12, 2013/
French President Francois Hollande placed the country on high domestic terror
alert Saturday, Jan. 12. lest al Qaeda retaliate for French operations against
two of its Africa wings: a failed mission to rescue a French hostage from the
Somali Shabaab rebels and air and commando aid to the Mali government’s drive
against advancing Islamists. He made the announcement after a special war
cabinet session in Paris.
debkafile reported earlier Saturday.
French special forces failed early Saturday, Jan. 12, to rescue a hostage from
the hands of the Qaeda-linked Somali Shabaab, while a second French air and
commando force continued operations in support of the Mali government‘s drive to
arrest an Islamist advance.
In Paris, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian denied a connection between the
two French counter-terror operations taking place in the last 48 hours in East
and West Africa – both against wings of al Qaeda. He reported a French soldier
was killed in Somalia, another was missing and the fate of the hostage held for
three years by Shabaab was unknown. Seventeen Islamist fighters were reported
killed. In Mali, a French pilot was killed when his helicopter was shot down
near the key northern city of Konna.
Saturday, President Francois Hollande called his war cabinet into an unusual
emergency session after the first direct French interventions in the fight
against Islamist terrorism went awry and confronted him with his first military
crisis.
By plunging into two fronts, Mali and Somalia, France offered two terrorist
wings - the Somali Shabaab, which comes under Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
(AQAP), and the Malian Ansar Dine, which is part of Al Qaida in the Maghreb
(AQIM), to issue a joint ultimatum to Paris: Stop both missions immediately or
else eight French hostages will be executed one by one. Among them, in Mali, are
four nuclear engineers and technicians.
The Somali group kidnapped Denis Allex, an agent of France's DGSE intelligence
service, in Mogadishu four years ago. His rescue was the object of the Somali
operation Saturday. French helicopters executed several attacks on the hostage’s
suspected place of captivity in Bula Marer south of the capital. They were
forced to retreat with losses under heavy anti-aircraft fire.
Saturday afternoon, French officials said the operation had failed. They had
initially reported the hostage killed in the operation, then said his fate was
unknown, after Shabaab spokesmen said Alex was not in the area of the French
raid and was unharmed. The Islamists also claimed to have captured the missing
commando from the French attack after finding him injured.
As for the French pilot in Mali, the French defense minister said only that he
was fatally wounded in a helicopter raid Friday in support of Malian forces
which were targeting a terrorist group advancing on the town of Mopti near the
key northern city of Konna, 600 kilometers south of the capital, Bamako. He did
not say whether the helicopter was shot down by ground fire. On both fronts, the
French forces have encountered heavy anti-air fire from the ground.
A Malian defense ministry spokesman said that government forces had retaken
Konna, with the help of French military forces, although he did not say whether
they were in full control of the key city or that the Islamist fighters had been
driven out.
Hollande said France had intervened in Mali because the wider Sahel region of
West Africa was becoming an Afghanistan-like base for Islamist terrorists, and a
terrorist state rising in Bamako would threaten all of Africa and bring Europe
and France within range.
Le Drian said that France had been in contact with US Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta as well as African and fellow European governments. An administration
spokesman in Washington said the US was considering extending intelligence and
logistic aid to the French forces fighting al Qaeda in Mali.
debkafile’s military sources report that the crises in Mali and Somalia caught
President Hollande in the middle of another crisis involving terrorists - not
this time al Qaeda but the separatist Kurdish PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) with
which Turkey is at war.
Thursday, three Kurdish women were found dead of shots to the head at the
Kurdish Information Center in Paris. One of the victims was identified as Sakine
Cansiz, a founding member of the PKK organization. French Interior Minister
Manuel Vallis said they had obviously been “executed.”
The president’s comment that one of the victims was known to him infuriated the
Turkish government. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called on Hollande to explain
why he had met Kurdish militants with links to the PKK, which is viewed as a
terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and the United States.
Erdogan also said that Turkey expected the French government to find those
responsible for slaying the three Kurdish women in Paris. This incident occurred
as Turkish intelligence officials were conducting talks with the PKK's jailed
leader Abdullah Ocalan, in a bid to disarm the PKK and end a conflict which has
cost thousands of lives in nearly two decades.
Russia Says Assad's Removal from Power 'Impossible'
Naharnet/Russia on Sunday said Syrian President Bashar Assad's removal from
power was not a part of past international agreements on the crisis and
impossible to implement.
"This is a precondition that is not contained in the Geneva communique (agreed
by world powers in June) and which is impossible to implement because it does
not depend on anyone," news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as
saying. Lavrov conceded that a rare speech Assad delivered on January 6 laying
out his own vision for a peace settlement probably did not go far enough and
would not appease the armed opposition.
But he also urged Assad's enemies to come out with a counter-proposal that could
get serious peace talks started between the two sides for the first time.
"President Assad has forwarded initiatives aimed at inviting all in the
opposition to dialogue. Yes, this initiative probably does not go far enough,"
said Lavrov. "They will probably not look serious to some. But these are offers.
And if I were in the opposition's place, I would present my counter-ideas about
establishing dialogue." Russia on Saturday reiterated its support for a
transition plan that was agreed in Geneva on June 30 but never implemented
because of the fighting. The accord is now being heavily promoted by U.N.-Arab
League envoy on the 21-month crisis Lakhdar Brahimi. The Geneva deal calls for
power to be handed to an interim government but offers no clear guidance about
Assad's future role. Russia argues that only the Syrian people themselves can
oust Assad through either elections or some form of negotiated settlement.
Western powers and Arab states -- as well as the armed opposition -- counter
that the plan can only work if Assad steps down. Agence France Presse
The Syrians need blankets not rockets
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat
Those who have no mercy see no mercy. The situation in Syria is horrific. We
cannot be surprised by the strong winds, snow and rain that have struck the
region over past few days, for this is the season for such weather. Ever since
winter started we have been concerned about the Syrians, whether they are still
trapped in their houses or having been forced to flee their cities or the entire
country. Out of Syria’s 25 million citizens, no one remains unaffected by the
crimes of the regime, which is currently hampering the provision of food, fuel
and medicine.
Yet some five million are suffering more than the rest from cold and hunger.
Some of them are sleeping out in the open whilst others are living in caves
because the relief blankets have not reached them, nor have they reached the
international refugee camps. Many of them have neither bread nor heat. That is
why we call upon the Arab governments, and regional and international
organizations, not to leave the Syrian people to perish between massacres and
starvation. The least we can do is provide them with the means to help them
survive like shelter, blankets, food, and clothes.
Our expectations have never been lower; all we are asking for now is bread and
firewood. At the beginning, we called for foreign intervention to deter
al-Assad’s forces and stop the genocide, and then we reduced our demands to
Stinger missiles, in order to stop the planes that have been bombing towns and
burying people alive for the past 16 months.
However, al-Assad and his Iranian friends, together with their temporary ally
the harsh winter, would be wrong to believe that the Syrian people have been
tortured enough to wave the white flag and accept a return to the regime’s iron
grip. Most Syrians, including the millions facing death homeless and hungry, or
those trapped in their homes and starving, are not going to exchange blankets
and bread for a return to the al-Assad regime. This is an indisputable fact;
going back is no longer an option. The Syrians have paid a dear price; they have
lost their homes and children and have been waiting for too long. They will
never go back to the conditions of al-Assad’s rule and those who think they can
take advantage of the tragedy to impose their political agenda are delusional.
Little will change through meetings in Geneva or visits to Moscow, whether by
mediators or ministers. The Syrians have decided to fight until they topple the
regime with their own hands, and with whatever weapons are available to them. It
is futile to continue looking for a peaceful solution with al-Assad remaining in
power, whether actively or symbolically. It is too late for proposals about the
partial transfer of power and an honorable exit for al-Assad and his government.
This is how those banished in tents in Jordan and Turkey feel, and the same
applies to those holding on in their besieged neighborhoods in Darayya, Hama,
Homs, Daraa, and other destroyed districts across Syria. That is why members of
the Syrian National Coalition and the rest of the opposition will never agree to
a political solution that does not explicitly involve the ouster of al-Assad.
And because the Syrians are fighting on several fronts – against al-Assad, the
winter and the lack of international support – the best they can get now is the
aid to help them overcome this harsh season. Then they will be better able to
overthrow this already-collapsing regime.
Analysis: Motives behind Kurdish activists' triple
assassination
By Amir Taheri/London, Asharq Al-Awsat – In detective literature the most
exciting story is often built around murders that have taken place in a locked
room. This is what happened sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday
morning when three Kurdish woman activists were shot dead, two in the head and
one in the stomach, in a shabby office building on Rue Lafayette in the heart of
Paris.
According to the French police the murders were carried out by people known to
the victims.
The building bears no identification. So the killers must have known what it
was. The entrance door was not forced. It opens with a code known only to those
using the building regularly. So, someone must have opened it for the hit squad.
The would-be killers then moved into a room used as the office of the main
victim. Here, too, there was no sign of a door being forced or a struggle having
taken place. Thus, the victims, or at least one of them, must have known the
killers. It is not clear how long the killers waited before firing their guns,
fitted with silencers. But it is clear that the killing did not take place
immediately. Did the would-be victims believe that the would-be killers were
carrying a message from friends?
Having carried out the killing the hit-squad – consisting perhaps of only two
individuals – simply walked out of the building, locking the doors behind them.
In other words, they must have had at least the key to the front entrance. This
was a professional job, done by people with experience in assassinations.
Rue Lafayette is at the center of an area where immigrants with a Muslim
background are numerous. Apart from ethnic Kurds, there are large numbers of
Turks, Bosnian and Albanian Muslims, Kosovars and Afghans. The neighbourhood to
the northwest of Rue Lafayette has a large ethnic Armenian community and the one
to the northeast is a stronghold of Arabs from North Africa.
The killers, presumably of a Middle Eastern background, would have had no
difficulty in melting away in a part of Paris full of cafes, restaurants and
shops owned and frequented by Muslims from the Middle East and the Balkans.
Although known as “the embassy” in the neighbourhood, the nondescript building
where the Kurdish" information office" is located in the 10th arrondissement in
Paris has none of the trappings of a diplomatic mission. For years it has been
used as a place of assembly for Kurdish activists and a venue for occasional art
exhibitions and conferences on Kurdish culture. Behind the facade, the building
has been a clearing house for the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK], a mainly
Turkish group with a Marxist-Leninist ideological background.
Because the PKK is banned in France after being declared a terrorist
organization by the European Union, there is no mention of it anywhere in the
building However, journalists know it as the party's information Centre.
On Thursday, the building was transformed into a crime scene visited by French
Interior Minister Manuel Valls who had come to witness the grisly scene created
by the execution-style killing of three Kurdish women by an unidentified
hit-squad.
Among the victims was Sakine Cansiz, a well-known campaigner for Kurdish causes.
A redhead with a fading though still seductive beauty, Ms, Cansiz was one of the
founders of the PKK and, according to rumors, a former lover of the party's
imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.
The other two victims were Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez who worked as aides to
Ms. Cansiz.
So, who was behind the triple executions?
The French police say they have several “working hypothesis” without offering
details.
One theory is that the murders resulted from factional feuds within the PKK.
Throughout 2011 and in the first half of last year the PKK was torn by a debate
over what to do about the conflict in Syria. And since last autumn it has also
faced splits over a new strategy of peace with Turkey.
President Bashar al-Assad tried to prevent Syria’s Kurds from joining the
popular uprising against his regime by granting citizenship to over 300,000 of
them left in a juridical limbo since the 1960s. Kurds claim the number
represents less than a third of ethnic Kurds who had their Syrian nationality
cancelled by the ruling Ba’ath Party.
Al-Assad also ordered the release of over 600 Kurdish political prisoners, some
of them after more than 30 years in captivity.
In exchange for Al-Assad’s “magnanimous gesture”, the PKK agreed to forget
grievances against the Ba’ath and prevent anti-regime rebels from entering
Kurdish areas. (One grievance was Syria’s decision in 1999 to expel PKK’s
founder and leader Abdullah Ocalan. Worse still, in a bid to please Ankara, the
al-Assad regime had informed the Turks of Ocalan’s new hiding place in Sudan,
enabling the Turkish secret service MIT to capture and transfer him to a Turkish
prison.)
Thus, the PKK and smaller Kurdish parties allied with it, seized control of key
locations including in Darbasiyah, Amudah, Qamishli, Perik, Ayn al-Arab and
Efrin. Hundreds of PKK fighters who had fled to Iraq returned to help the party
impose its rule on sizeable chunks of Syrian territory.
By last summer, PKK and its allies were manning more than 250 checkpoints in the
mainly Kurdish areas of Syria.
Then in July, Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani convened a special conference
in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region, and convinced
Syrian Kurdish parties, including the PKK, that throwing their lot with a
moribund al-Assad regime was a bad bet.
At the Erbil conference, 22 Syrian Kurdish parties and groups decided to switch
sides.
However, we know that a number of small groups, linked to Syrian and Iranian
intelligence services, were opposed to the Erbil accord. They continued to
regard Turkey as the principal enemy of the Kurds and saw the Syrian conflict as
a diversion. Despite its own fight against the Khomeinist regime in Tehran, the
Iranian wing of the PKK, Pjak (Kurdistan’s Free Life Party) was also opposed to
the Erbil accord.
In autumn the Kurds' decision to move against al-Assad was boosted by another
event. A 68-day hunger strike organized by Kurdish political prisoners in Turkey
ended with an offer of negotiations from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The jailed Ocalan, known to his followers as “The Uncle” reinforced the mood of
reconciliation by offering to mediate a long-term settlement. The war that the
PKK had started against the Turkish Republic in 1984 looked as if it was heading
for an end.
PKK and Ankara are anxious to prevent sensitive areas in Syria from falling into
the hands of Arab Jiahdists.
Reflecting the PKK’s new strategy, the Kurdish lobby in Paris had become an
important voice in support of France’s tough position against Bashar al-Assad.
Thus, whoever killed Sakine Cansiz and her two colleagues must have been
delivering a double warning: to the 150,000-strong Kurdish community in France
and to President Hollande’s government. France was the first country to
recognize the opposition as Syria’s sole legitimate government and to unroll the
red carpet for its leaders. Behind the scenes, France has also lobbied European
Union partners to prepare for possible military intervention. According to
French terrorism experts the Paris executions could have been conducted by any
one of three groups: A Syrian hit-squad dispatched from Lebanon, a Lebanese
Hezbollah gang working for Iran, and a splinter PKK faction opposed to
reconciliation with Ankara and hoping to forge an alliance with the remnants of
the al-Assad regime.
What about involvement by Turkish security services? That seems unlikely for two
reasons.
First, Turkish security has always had an unwritten understanding with the PKK
not to go into killing each other’s officials abroad. In contrast, Turkish
security had no qualms about assassinating members of the Armenian Secret Army
known as ASALA in several European capitals, including Paris. Next, Turkish
security chiefs have been in secret talks with Ocalan for weeks and would have
no interest in such killings.
The killings, so close to the heart of Paris, should remind everyone of the
threat that a prolongation of the Syrian conflict poses to peace and security
far beyond the borders of that unhappy land.
Al-Assad: Raising the takfirist scarecrow
By Hussein Shabokshi/Asharq Alawsat
The majority of rational people who viewed Bashar al-Assad's most recent speech
are certain that this was primarily directed towards the West, rather than the
Syrian people or the Arab world. Bashar al-Assad focused repeatedly on warning
against "takfirist terrorist" groups, with this forming the crux of his speech.
He stressed that all these organizations have ties to Al Qaeda, which is a name
that will immediately draw the attention of anyone in the West. Bashar al-Assad
did not dare to explicitly mention the al-Nusra Front, whose name has been
repeatedly mentioned by media outlets and US officials and which was placed on
the US foreign terror organizations list. Despite the fact that the al-Nusra
Front’s role in the Syrian revolution and fighting is well-known, al-Assad
preferred to use the name Al Qaeda, because “promoting” the threat represented
by takfirism and terrorist is easier when the Al Qaeda brand name is used.
In his latest move, Bashar al-Assad is trying to incite the West and the US,
provoking them against the takfirist scarecrow. This time, the speech was
well-prepared, and was pre-approved and supervised by Tehran and Moscow. Indeed,
both Tehran and Moscow are using the same scarecrow of "takfirist groups" in
their own political discourse for their own reasons. Iran is always seeking to
play with this term as part of its sectarian discourse, as shown clearly by its
supporters in Iraq and Lebanon. As for Russia, it is citing its experiences with
such groups in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Dagestan and its suffering at their
hands. However, what all these parties tend to ignore is that Bashar al-Assad,
and prior to this his father Hafez al-Assad, have both carried out systematic
terrorism against the Syrian people over the past 40 years, mercilessly
victimizing tens of thousands of innocent people.
Today, the same scene is being repeated, whilst the Russians and Iranians are
insisting on backing the criminal regime until the bitter end. The humanitarian
scene is beginning to take on a particularly catastrophic dimension, while the
images of the suffering of refugees along the Turkish, Jordanian, Iraqi and
Lebanese borders are heart wrenching. The Arab world and international community
have let the Syrian people down in a thoroughly shocking and astonishment
manner.
Bashar al-Assad has gradually relinquished Syrian sovereignty into the hands of
Iran. He likes to portray himself as the King of Arabism – in the same manner as
his father – however he has taken the decision to adopt a clear and explicit
sectarian approach, choosing sectarianism over pan-Arabism, values of good
neighborliness and national interests. It is clear that he has chosen to burn
the house down with everyone inside it. The Russians found no problem in backing
the Iranian-Syrian alliance because both Bashar al-Assad and Ahmadinejad need
one another, and Moscow is well aware that these two parties are in sync and
represent the appropriate alliance for this particular situation. For the
Russians, this duo could function as a bargaining chip with the West; the
Russians can trade on their support for Syria and Iran to bargain over the
missile shield that NATO is planning to install in the eastern European states
adjacent to the Russian border. Russia considers it rude and impudent for the
West to challenge it via states that were once a major part of the Eastern bloc
under the Soviet Union.
The Syrian revolution has exposed the false stances, principles and doctrines of
certain factions, parties and states whose support of Bashar al-Assad and his
criminal regime are totally unjustifiable and indefensible. Russia, and more
recently Iran, have provided Bashar al-Assad with shipments of weapons and
ammunition for his criminal troops, whilst the rebels are lacking ammunition,
weapons and humanitarian relief. The decision to get rid of Bashar al-Assad has
yet to be made in Moscow and Tel Aviv. Israel has considerable concerns with
regards to the post-Assad era, particularly as there has been an unimaginable
level of calm and security in the Golan Heights during the al-Assad era. Indeed,
without exaggeration the calm and quiet at the Golan Heights might only be
rivaled by Hawaii’s tranquility.
The Syrian scene is deteriorating and day after day. There can be no doubt that
we will face a new turning point in the near future, particularly with the
increasing state of hopelessness and despair, violence and death. It is very
difficult to be optimistic so long as such scenes continue to prevail, however
ultimately there is no other option but to be optimistic. The tyrant has
delivered his farewell speech, and one day all that will be left of Bashar
al-Assad is jokes and painful memories.
Newly appointed Shura Council member hails King Abdullah's
"historic" decree
By Abeer Mishkhas
London, Asharq Al-Awsat – The list of new Saudi Shura Council members included
30 Saudi women with broad-ranging experience in different fields. Each of these
women has a track record of achievement that highlights the role and
accomplishments of Saudi women, not just domestically but internationally.
Dr. Thuraya Obaid is one such example. She has represented the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia on the international stage, previously serving as a United States
Undersecretary-General, as well as Executive Director of the UN Population Fund.
Her appointment to the Saudi Shura Council highlights the important role that
she has played for Saudi women as a whole.
Following the announcement of the news, Dr. Thuraya Obaid spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat
about the importance of women being appointed to the Shura Council.
She said “this is a step that we wish for all women, and indeed everybody in the
homeland wishes this. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has a viewpoint
regarding the presence of women in advanced positions in the country, and women
being members of the Shura Council certainly represents a very advanced
position. Internationally, the Kingdom can now say that it has a number of women
in decision-making advisory roles.”
The newly appointed Shura Council member said that this step is equivalent to
“every step taken by women to open new gateways for women, from women’s
education to female employment through to the steps relating to women’s civil
status. Each of these was a step forward to establish women’s position and
participation.”
As for the challenge that the 30 female Shura Council members may face, Dr.
Thuraya Obaid told Asharq Al-Awsat “the greatest challenge is for us to be able
– as a group of women – to work in a serious manner and produce results because
there will be a kind of expectation regarding the successes that we can achieve.
So this is a challenge to our responsibility and capability of producing results
and carrying out the required work. The second challenge is that some may reject
the presence of women at the Shura Council, whilst others may accept this….as
for those who do not accept this, this is a huge challenge for women to prove
that their presence is an addition to, not lessening of, Saudi society.”
Regarding the third challenge, Dr. Obaid stressed that this was the “greatest”
challenge, namely “for women to demonstrate that they are citizens with rights
and duties and that they are carrying out their role as citizens that love their
country, king and people and are working to serve them.”
As for whether she sees the appointment of female Shura Council members as an
opportunity to change some things in Saudi society, Dr. Obaid said “we hope so,
for the group of women that have been chosen for membership…have the highest
level of experience and their own professional expertise, so we hope to be able
to put forward programs and proposals that the executive institutions can take.”
The newly appointed Shura Council member confirmed the advisory role of this
body, saying “at the end of the day, this is called the Shura [Advisory]
Council, and so it can only offer advice, and it is up to the other governmental
apparatus to make and implement decisions. So when the advice is wise and
balanced and based on logic, we hope that it is implemented.”
Dr. Thuraya Obaid stressed the importance of Saudi women participating in the
Shura Council alongside men, asserting that the presence of women will not have
a divisive effect on the Council’s advice. She said “any position taken by the
Shura Council will not be by the women alone, this will be the decision of the
Shura Council as a whole, so we hope that our brothers – the men – also
contribute to the development of a vision for the country’s development in
different issues, particularly social issues.”
As for her priorities moving forward, Dr. Obaid tied this to her already
impressive career. She told Asharq Al-Awsat “I have always specialized in the
social sphere, so there must be commitment to women’s affairs and other social
issues, including youth employment. These are all social issues that require
special care. Education and health-care are also social issues and things that I
care about. These issues may seem sectoral, but in reality they are the core
issues of citizenship. A citizen has rights and responsibilities, and one of
these rights is employment, earning income and finding a suitable job and being
provided with the skills required by the market. For example, a working woman
who is supporting a family must be provided with assistance. She added “family
issues, divorce and child-care…these are all issues that may seem solely to be
social issues; however in reality they are based on citizenship.”Commenting on
how she first heard of King Abdullah’s historic decree, Dr. Obaid told Asharq
Al-Awsat that “Mr. Khalid al-Tuwaijiri of the Royal Court telephoned me and
informed me of the news, and it is a huge honor for our father – the Custodian
of the Two Holy Mosques – to think about including me in this group [of female
Shura Council members]. He has always supported me; he put my name forward for
the post of UN Undersecretary-General, and his support was instrumental in my
obtaining this position. The King has always supported Saudi women.”
Egypt: Ex-Brotherhood members to launch new organization
By Mahmud El Shafey
London, Asharq Al-Awsat - A number of former Muslim Brotherhood leaders in
Egypt, who have defected from the group, have announced the beginning of
procedures to establish a new Dawa organization to compensate for the
Brotherhood’s neglect of Islamic advocacy due to their involvement in politics.
In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat yesterday, Sheikh Dr. Kamal Helbawy, a former
spokesman for the “Muslim Brotherhood in the West” and Secretary General of the
Islamic Unity Forum, said that a number of dissident leaders have held intensive
meetings to agree on the establishment of the group, and have settled on the
name “Rehabilitation, Construction and Development”. He pointed out that among
the leaders of the new organization is Dr. Mohammed Habib, a former Deputy
General Guide, along with the dissident Brotherhood leader Mukhtar Noah and the
UN war crimes expert Mahmoud Bassiouni. Dr. Helbawy denied that Dr. Abdel Moneim
Aboul Fotouh had been listed as a member of the new organization in order to
give it weight on the Egyptian street in the face of what he called “political
conflicts with the Brotherhood”, because he is too busy heading the “Strong
Egypt Party”. Dr. Helbawy confirmed that the new organization will be financed
through membership subscriptions and contributions from those enthusiastic about
the idea, and that it would be public and accessible to all. Dr. Helbawy
confirmed that the trend of Islamist groups and movements heading in the
direction of politics, and his and other Brotherhood leaders’ concern for Dawa
work, were the reasons behind the establishment of this organization, seeking to
restore the Dawa role to prominence.
Dr. Helbawy said that the Muslim Brotherhood has been preoccupied with politics
and forgotten its commitment to Dawa, pointing out that the new organization
“will be tasked with Dawa, Islam and education, and will not interfere in
politics”. He called on President Mohammed Mursi to be the president of all
Egyptians, not just one group. He clarified that the new organization “will not
be parallel to the Brotherhood and will be concerned only with Dawa affairs and
religious issues that have been neglected at the expense of politics". He added
that the organization will not be limited to a single approach; rather it will
adopt its methods based on a variety of Islamic sources, whilst maintaining that
each member of the new organization has the right to join any party. Dr. Helbawy
concluded by saying that the “Rehabilitation, Construction and Development”
publicity drive will end soon, so that real work can begin.