Middle East Policy

Press Release: New Book by Nassim Yaziji

2009-03-25T16:55:00.003Z

Change and Democracy in the Middle East:
Middle Eastern Researcher Defends the New Middle East

Aleppo ― March 25, 2009 ― In one basic center of the old Middle East, Nassim Yaziji the Syrian researcher specialized in international relations and the Middle East defends and advocates, through a new book, the new Middle East with an empirical, realistic and modern perspective, originated in and from the Middle East itself. His research on the Middle East and international Middle East policies has contributed to producing a significant and unique book.

Mr. Yaziji's second book "In Defense of the New Middle East: A Neo-Internationalist Perspective" has been published, advocating the new Middle East as a domestic and international necessity through the due change and democracy, and explaining this change through the Middle East's key realities and political developments the book analyzes.

This 264-page book includes more than 100 articles classified into several themes include the Neo-Internationalism, the Middle East geopolitics, Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, the Palestinian question, Syria, international affairs and finally a tribute to freedom, applying a unique and advanced methodology.

As reflecting the author's modern perspective on the contemporary international relations, the international order and the Middle East, this book produces a transparent and realistic insight into the post-Iraq Middle East, its key realities, geo-strategic changes and geopolitics in the current international context, and significantly contributes to reaching an advanced realistic Middle East approach and strategy.

Mr. Yaziji welcomes and appreciates all reviews and comments. He can be reached via email, or via e-contact form. His book can be found at:

http://www.yaziji.org/newmiddleeast.htm

https://www.lulu.com/commerce/index.php?fBuyProduct=4581849.

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Nassim Yaziji is a Syrian researcher specialized in international relations and the Middle East. His research interests include the international order and organization in the post-9/11 era, Middle East geopolitics, Middle East policy and Middle East democratization. Mr. Yaziji adopts scientific realism. He adopts a perspective rests on the principles of Neo-Internationalism as defined by Yaziji himself. He advocates the acknowledgement of the human liberty at the international organization level, and advocates the promotion of freedom and democracy worldwide, especially in the Middle East. He fights totalitarianism and authoritarianism in all their religious and secular forms, and considers them as aggression against humanity.

For more information about the book, please click here.

For a preview, please click here.

To buy the book, please click here.

"Change" in America: Regression in the Middle East

2009-02-01T15:35:00.000Z

As we, in the Middle East, are affected by the outcome of the American elections due to the next administration's prospective Middle East policy, I looked into both candidates and their Middle East programs and stances.

I directed my attention to "change" rhetoric by the democratic candidate. At the strategic level, I did not find any significance of this promised change, rather it is just about changing republicans from the White House and keep things as they are or as they were before the republicans. In other words, going backward not forward as usually expected from democrats and their persistent inaction.

If so, this fallacious change means disaster for the Middle East. It actually means going back to the post-Cold War Middle East, which means keeping totalitarian and authoritarian regimes enjoying a stable situation of authoritarianism and non-democracy in the Middle East, while the region's peoples or most of them are suffering from repression, poverty and absent rights and freedoms.

This situation will definitely lead to a disastrous and seriously dangerous region to the whole world. It will result in a region constitutes a storehouse of violence and terror with a sustainable source of terrorists.

It is really strange and sorrowful how Democrats showed that they did not understand anything from 9/11 and the whole wave of terrorism in the world since then. This is quite obvious to me when I find nothing in their Middle East agenda but going backward with the region to the pre-9/11 era, especially with their initiatives toward totalitarian rough regimes and entities like Ahmadynajad regime and Baath regime while the democratic candidate is looking forward to sit with them. By the way, those are dying to see Democrats in the White House in the upcoming elections.

So, while we, the Middle East democrats and liberals, are seeking and championing change in our region, the U.S. Democrats are seeking and advocating regression in this region. This would be a very painful and disastrous mistake.

Finally, a so-called "change" in the United States inflicting regression in such a vital region is not a change; it is a fallacy.

Let us go for change in the Middle East not regression that no one can take anymore.

11/3/2008

Iraq's Vibrant Democracy

2009-01-27T14:53:00.000Z

First of all, I understand that Iraq is at the beginning of the democracy path, as defined by the norms and practices of western democracy. Actually, the title of this article came from what I saw of the Iraqi political, legal and civil scene in terms of the pending U.S.-Iraqi pact at the Iraqi constitutional institutions.

This scene in Iraq was really touching in terms of its vibrancy, and most importantly, its diversity. This Iraqi scene is unique in the Arab world, with an exception for Lebanon as a special case. It is really a very rare situation in the Arab world that no one can predict if a treaty or a political or sovereign decision would be adopted or not by an Arab country. In fact, in Arab countries, every thing is previously settled according to the ruling regime or dictator's will. However, this time, Iraq has made an exception or, as I hope, a precedent.

Furthermore, this Arab unique democratic state in Iraq continued even after the Iraqi government's approval of the pact with the United States after the U.S. approval of the changes of the pact proposed by the Iraqi government. Then, the uniqueness of this Iraqi situation in the Arab world is getting more significant as the government of Iraq cannot conclude this question waiting for the decisive act by the elected representatives of the Iraqi people in the Iraqi parliament.

Although Iraq has yet to develop its democratic system and experience, it has shown that it has the basic foundation of democracy, which is diversity. This Iraqi diversity was more than obvious in the Iraqi parliament. Many opinions have been shown by the Iraqi MPs divided between who is in favor of the treaty, and against, and who want some amendments to vote for it in a real democratic scene. However, some demagogic non-democratic MPs ― I mean violent Sadrists representing Iran's interests ― should not be upsetting, as they are just few, and growing democracy is capable of isolating non-democratic elements over time.

Finally, President Bush should be proud of this Iraqi scene that in spite of all challenges, difficulties and mistakes in Iraq, he fulfilled the basic promise of the Operation Iraqi Freedom; and now it is up to Iraqis to independently determine their future.

Written on 21/8/2008

Fabricating Terror and Targeting Lebanon

2009-01-27T13:53:00.000Z

Seemingly, Baath regime starts to take advantage of the new phase with the new elected democratic president in the United States.

As expected by everybody knows the last Baath located in Syria, its security apparatus was a very bad director to a fiasco play or drama. Baath security geniuses claimed that they discovered the network responsible for the latest explosion in Damascus. Recently, the Baath TV broadcasted their confessions after a long and wide publicity and advertisement of these confessions.

As exactly expected, they indirectly accused Lebanon after a previous and very early political statement claiming north Lebanon a terror base threatening Syria. But the funniest thing about the extremely bad and funny direction of this drama was choosing Fatah-al Islam as responsible for Damascus attack while the entire world and every concerned intelligence department in the world clearly knows who invented and supported this group and for what reason.

Apart from this futile and worthless Baath drama and publicity, there are some key questions about the criminal investigation and the crime scene Baath had better answer them. Fist of all, where did the exploded car disappear minutes after it had been exploded, and who took it and why? By the way, there is no court in the world would take this investigation in this case. How was the road where the explosion took place repaired and opened to the public minutes after the explosion, and who authorized that? Then, what is Baath geniuses' conception of 'crime scene'? In these circumstances, how and where was the investigation done?

The most important question is how this big network gathered, worked, planned, smuggled hundreds of kilograms of explosives to Syria, and get to Syria in the first place without notice of 17 security apparatuses have more than 238 branches (17x 14 provinces) and tens of thousand agents while, for example, every single bit passes Syria is monitored and registered via internet proxies, not to mention telephone calls.

The final key question is why Baath regime did not comment on the reports claiming that a security officer is a key suspect in Hariri killing was killed in Damascus explosion. Let them keep the answer to the international tribunal.

Baath group in Syria is stupidly continuing its scheme directed at Lebanon and its independence, sovereignty and democracy after the results of the U.S. elections as their Democrats friends have won.

Finally, I urge Baath group to send those tapes (confession tapes) to America's Funniest Home Videos program (AFV) with the annotation of winning Democrats there, and I am sure it would win the prize.

Written on 11/8/2008

Syria: A Country without Politics

2009-01-18T13:32:00.000Z

Every governing system in any country is attached to a state of politics. The politics here is an entire system-like state with integrated parts and components. The entire state of politics affects the governing system and gets affected by it. Then, there is a dialectical relation between them in addition to an essential integration.

In any given country, there should be a state of politics as there is a governing system whatever is it. This is also true with non-democratic governing systems, which produce a shape of politics compatible with it with special specifications and narrowed scope and structure in comparison with the wide and vigor politics in the democratic governing systems. Then, every governing system has its associated shape of politics whatever this system is.

There is a really unique case concerning Syria that is no politics there! There is a governing system imitated from the Soviet school run by a persistent Baathist regime inherited from more than 40 years ago. Nevertheless, there is no politics; actually, it is banned and inflicts the potential activist very bad and serious consequences. In addition, even the politics within the governing system is not found, and the politics inside the regime is also hidden and ignored.

In Syria, you find everything set, but no one knows how, why or even who set it. Everything is surprising and does not have pre-existence leads and prerequisites. Decision-making is the big mystery; no one can know anything about it. So, even moving the public transport center in a Syrian city is a surprising sudden mystery, in which no citizen can have a say.

Therefore, it is difficult in Syria to feel as a citizen. The Syrian native lost his own identification before his country. Actually, with this mysterious unique governance, citizens became just a horde. This change, apparently, ended the relation of citizenship and its structure, which took with it the politics in this country.

With the losing of citizenship and the absence of politics, only political stagnation prevails. Hence, the stagnation becomes the only reality, and the significance gets entirely lost in complete absence.

U.S. Syria Strike: Changing Strategic Rules in the Middle East

2009-01-11T15:15:00.000Z

The U.S. strike in Syria was really surprising and came in timing difficult to understand or analyze. So, 'why now,' is an open question waiting for more information and some further leaks from U.S. officials.

The questions is why the U.S. waited for more than five years to make this movement, although it had some detailed information about activities orchestrating violence in Iraq out of Syria. Many relevant details were provided to Syrian regime by the U.S. in this regard.

For now, I will focus on the significance of this strike, which is clear and has many ramifications and aspects.

First of all, this U.S. action is directed at humiliating Syrian Baath regime. This approach was adopted by the American administration since the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, which intended to by as humiliating as possible to the Baath regime, and so it was.

Moreover, this action constitutes a clear message to the French administration, which unilaterally violated the western isolation of the Syrian Baath regime. It also somehow conveys some degradation to the French role in the region. It clearly shows who has the upper hand in the region, and that the U.S. still can act in its own way in the Middle East making new realities there.

This action, also, conveys a strong message to Iran in a very difficult time for Iran as oil price going down along with Iran's financial strength. It is indicating further means and options available to the U.S. and posing new threats Iran should seriously consider.

As regards Syrian Baath regime and Iraq security, this regime now would think seriously before continuing previous activities toward Iraq security or overlooking these activities. This may contribute to improving Iraq security, which can be seen in the next few months.

The U.S. strike in Syria is not tactical, rather it is strategic, and strategically affects the region. It was leaked that the orders of this strike came from Washington not the U.S. Command in Iraq; and this serves as an evidence of the strategic nature of this action.

This strike changes some essential rules in the region's geopolitics, and opens the door to a new stage of more open game in the Middle East as it puts an end to some conventional norms effective since the change in Iraq. Finally, it makes a new reality in counter-terrorism efforts as it indicates that state sovereignty through territorial integrity is no more a barrier to tackling international terrorism activities in the Middle East.

Fallacy or Scheme: Northern Lebanon Terror

2009-01-06T13:53:00.000Z

Are there some terrorists in some places in Lebanon? The answer is yes. But do they have a Lebanese infrastructure or Lebanese origin in systematic way? The answer is no.

First of all, during the Syrian intervention, the Islamic presence, especially in political terms, in northern Lebanon, particularly in Tripoli is a state created and nourished by the Syrian security apparatus as a tactic while trying to rule all Lebanon during the civil war there, and employed for this goal.

The absolute evidence of this fact can be easily extracted from the stage of Syrian administration of Lebanon after the civil war when the Syrian authority maintained the Islamic phenomenon in Tripoli, while it was hysterically exterminating it in Syria.

This was in the first place, then there were some evidences and indicators that the policy of 'keeping' turned into engagement and takeover of some factions and groups to employ them in the future in the Lebanese equation and to have them as pretexts for future possible actions.

On the terror side, it is well established that the major terrorist group appeared in northern Lebanon is Fatah al-Islam, if any other. It is until now the only organized terrorist group there.

This group's leader and founder is Shaker al-Abbsi who was in some Syrian prison. And this is an internationally known fact as he was wanted by Jordan for trial and the Syrian regime refused to turn him in until he disappeared from his prison and appeared in a Palestinian refugee camp Naher al-Bared in northern Lebanon.

It is not magic. Actually, it is about the open borders to persons, explosives and weapons between Syria and Lebanon (refer to the United Nations Security Council documents on this question).

Then, Abbsi found his group, took over the camp from pro-Syrian Palestinian forces without any bullet, and stocked new and good weapons and huge quantities of ammunitions and food supplies while the Lebanese state had no control over the camp.

Furthermore, the recruiting activity of this group was surprising with a wide-open way to extremist Islamists from the region to be smuggled to the camp while got arrested in Syria in the return way, just for those who found this group as an intelligence instrument more than a jihadist group. Some of those are still arrested in Syria until now as reports indicate. This is really a surprising one-way terror.

Finally, it is quite obvious where northern Lebanon terrorists came from, and the side armed and supported them, and for what reason or goals. Northern Lebanon is not a source of terror. And if there are any exported terrorists there deducted from Iraq's quota, the Lebanese would destroy them shortly as they did with exported Fatah al-Islam group.

What is really urged and needed now, as an international priority, is to search for the base by which terrorists are exported to Iraq and Lebanon.

Hariri Endless Investigation and Pending Justice

2009-01-03T15:45:00.000Z

The eleventh and final report of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC), established by the United Nations to investigate Hariri assassination and other related political assassinations and terrorist attacks in Lebanon, has been introduced to the Security Council.

As usual in this three-year investigation, the report is talking about some progress has been achieved in the investigation through the latest months. However, this report unveiled that there is new information reached by the Commission can lead to identify more individuals in the terrorist network responsible for the Hariri assassination. This is actually not a breakthrough or a precedent in this investigation as there was a series of identifying new individuals connected with this crime, but this is a progress for sure.

This late or, in fact, very late progress in this international investigation poses some serious questions about the slow process of investigation and achieving information by the Commission to reach conclusions. It is like an investigation in slow motion given the huge unprecedented international resources provided to this Commission in addition to also unprecedented international legal framework provided to this Commission by the Security Council binding resolutions under the seventh chapter of the charter of the United Nations.

Another serious question is posed about this series of discovered suspects that why they are not arrested or detained yet? Why, in this regard, there was not any application of the related provisions of the Security Council binding resolution 1636?

In addition, although this report is the final one of the IIIC, it neither concludes the investigation nor setting a timeline for this conclusion. Then, this leads, in principle, to an endless investigation. Also in this regard, it was remarkable, the commissioner's indication in this final report that the indictments or the charges sheets would not be ready soon after the Special Tribunal for Lebanon starts functioning in March 2009.

Hence, there are obviously many elements in the United Nations' approach in general, and in the Commission's approach in particular, are not understandable or conclusive posing some significant questions in this regard. Therefore, we still wait for justice, which needs to be assured by some required relevant actions.

Finally, we do not care about the various parties' various considerations, especially political considerations. We only care about justice and achieving this justice in accordance with international law and Security Council resolutions, that denying this justice would have for sure serious consequences.

Censorship: Aggression against Civilization

2008-12-29T15:46:00.000Z

To understand the censorship system, we should understand the totalitarian and authoritarian systems, and the essential association between the censorship system and non-democratic systems.

In the authoritarian system, the authority represented by the ruling regime cannot be contested (including its opinions) even at the intellectual and theoretical levels, and here is the rule of censorship.

The totalitarian system, the most dangerous and brutal of all governing systems, there, definitely, is one ideology serving as the base for every single part the state's structure that is imposed on the society, including a total system of values. There should be one rhetoric and one truth are represented by the de facto ruling regime, mostly the dictator.

Therefore, the censorship here is an indispensable means for the regime, which excludes, and sometimes executes, any other views or discourse on politics, economics, society and even culture. Some main examples of the totalitarian system are North Korea, Iran and the former Soviet Union.

Although the political base of the censorship system, there are other aspects of this system of crucial importance. The political dimension here is obvious by itself as all non-democratic systems. In addition, there is no need to argue about the fact that censorship, in itself, is an aggression against human freedom. Nevertheless, the other dimensions of the censorship system are also of great importance and have disastrous consequences. These dimension I want to spotlight here.

The main application of the censorship system is the exclusiveness of discourse, fact, thought and even values as adopted by the regime that exerting censorship. Therefore, censorship eliminates diversity and all sides of intellectual and cultural communication and interaction, which are the base for human development and, consequently, the human civilization. There was no civilization without diversity and such interaction, and this is well known in the historical studies.

Then, censorship is a very dangerous question at the human level. It is not just prevents society from enabling its individuals of their political rights and public freedoms, it also kills their human development prospects and, consequently, their prospect prosperity and welfare. And excludes entire societies from interacting and integrating with the rest of the world and the universal civilization. Hence, the censorship system is an aggression against civilization.

Here, we just need to remember how are backward and underdeveloped the countries inflicted with censorship systems. The Middle East serves as a very good example, especially as it has some of the most censored countries in the world.

Hence, every civilized country, organization or any party should fight censorship. Leading international powers should pressure censorship regimes and dictators to achieve the goal of free human exchange, communication and interaction in a censorship-free world to eliminate this aggression against human civilization.

International Financial Crisis and Syria

2008-12-21T15:35:00.000Z

Many experts, organizations and even countries tried to work out the international financial crisis blowing world's financial markets, but neither succeeded.

One party in the world has the solution to this serious crisis. Yes, it is one party is the 'last Baath' located in Syria for ruling it.

So, our Baath geniuses appeared on our revolutionary TV and with a huge dose of confidence and pride announced that Syria was not affected by the international financial crisis, simply, because there is no financial market in Syria. And problem is solved, actually, there is no problem to solve because there is no financial market at first. The revolution (Baath's revolution) always has the solution, and most of times, if not always, a preemptive solution.

And here is the success story, the blessed revolution of Baath group extended its achievements to the financial market in Syria by eliminating it and relieving Syria from such huge and serious problems coming from colonial evil powers, and added another achievement to the long list of achievements.

Hence, the entire world is asked and urged to take from the genius Baath approach and its blessed genius revolution, and to apply them for elimination the world's problems. So, according to our genius Baath, the financial markets are at crisis, ok, get rid of them and the crisis would go away!

But the problem of the world, especially the free democratic world, is that it is stupid enough not to understand the Baath nature and letting it isolated in its last castle of resistance feeling lonely. (Except Israeli regime and Sarkozy of course)

Let's back to Syria and the international financial crisis, and congratulate the Syrian people for having such genius Baathist regime, which preempted the crisis and eliminated and banned Syrian financial market, bourse (stock market), real banks, credit cards and finally pre-paid cards, and recently they apparently banned jobs because no graduate can fined a job now in Syria after 16 years of study. By the way, can you believe that I don't have a credit or even pre-paid card to buy some stuff online or to pay for magazines and books?

Finally, if have such case, you should know that you are even in the Middle Ages or in a resistance castle of Baath.

Lebanon Gains Recognition from Syria Formalizing Independence

2008-12-12T16:01:00.000Z

Lebanon and Syria formally reached an agreement to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries for the first time since independence.

Finally, Lebanon could formally gain the recognition of its existence as an independent sovereign country from Syria for the first time in Lebanon's history. This, actually, constitutes a historic moment for Lebanon.

From the beginning of independence, Syria considered many parts of Lebanon as deducted parts of its territory, not to mention the Lebanese suspicion that Syria does not recognize Lebanon as independent country, and intends to 'regain' its authority over it. In this regard, Lebanon always cites the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries since independence as an indicator of this thinking.

Furthermore, the Syrian military presence in Lebanon for about 30 years during and after the Lebanese civil war, including about 15 years of Syrian regime's dominance over Lebanon after the Gulf War II and following the Lebanese Taef Accord ending the civil war, whereas the Syrian security apparatus ran the Lebanese various affairs directly or indirectly at this stage. This dominance was depending on American implicit mandate to the Syrian regime after the Gulf War II.

Now, it is a new phase in the Middle East with a new reality in the region shaping new relations and rules affecting the geopolitics of the region. It is also an essential part of the long-awaited new Middle East.

This recognition constitutes a historic change in the Syrian behavior toward Lebanon, especially, current regime's behavior. This change, in my opinion, would not have been possible without the long struggle of the Lebanese independence government, PM Sanioura's first government formed after the first free democratic elections following the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, which ended the Syrian administration of Lebanon.

This government put the goal of realizing the full independence and securing the full sovereignty of Lebanon, and challenged all the obstacles, which included every malicious and destructive means from intimidation to assassinations and use of political violence. With the international support, finally, it achieved this goal of independence and sovereignty under the sole and exclusive authority of the democratically elected government.

Now, Lebanon is harvesting the results of this government's struggle and achievements, which could enforce all concerned parties to accept the fact of Lebanon's independence, sovereignty and democracy.

Iran's Loss in Iraq

2008-12-01T15:49:00.000Z

Many argue that removing the Baath totalitarian regime in Iraq has empowered Iran, especially by opening Iraq to Iranian influence.

First of all, it is really funny to assume that the Baath weak isolated helpless regime in Iraq, after more than a decade of harsh international sanctions and isolation, would be a barrier to any serious activity coming from behind the borders. This regime survived previously in its last phase after Gulf War II only to exist there, and this was because of an American decision and under a balance of power in the Middle East supported by the United States after the Cold War.

In reality, we do not find the typical elements of the political influence used to be in such cases between countries. In particular, there are no means available to the Iranian government to influence the decisions of the Iraqi government and the Iraqi parliament, and nor there are examples about such incidents.

More precisely, referring to the facts of some crucial events and milestones in the Iraqi late history is very indicative and conclusive in this argument. Here, I want to cite three major happenings serving as evidences and examples supporting this conclusion.

First of all, when Iran publicly put its strength behind the nomination of Mr. Jaafari for the Shiat prime minister office after the latest parliamentary elections ―the first inclusive elections with the participation of all major political parties in Iraq― against the will of the US and lost this nomination after a political battle. Second event is when the Shiat Iran-supported Mehdi Army was finally conquered. And the third very important event when the Shiat stronghold Albasra was submitted to the rule of law and the Iraqi government and "liberated" from Iran-supported Shiat militias, and its inhabitants went to streets celebrating their "liberation".

Furthermore, the clearer evidence of Iran's loss in Iraq is the very recent official information talking about Iranian government's attempts to bribe the Iraqi Members of Parliament not to vote for the Iraq-US strategic treaty and security treaty. This is very conclusive about the fact of Iran's lack of means to influence the Iraqi decision and to affect significantly the Iraqi political situation. In addition, it clearly shows how Iran goes pathetic in terms of getting influence in Iraq and securing its interests there, because Iran realizes its loss in Iraq.

Unpoliticizing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

2008-11-15T14:23:00.000Z

When the resolution 1757 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council adopting the establishing of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to try those found responsible for several attacks and political assassinations of pro-independence and democracy activists in Lebanon, we celebrated the resolution as a turning point for the Middle East that it would be for the first time in the Middle East's history an international accountability for political and against-humanity crimes. A history that knows plenty of such crimes in a region has an international reputation of such violations and brutality, especially while this region is still serving as the authoritarianism's haven even after the dismantling of the Soviet Union and its brutal totalitarian system. Therefore, eventually, this would be a breach of the impunity norm and tradition for those who kill people in the Middle East in the political and ruling context.

Given the long history of the leading international powers in providing the cover for this impunity with their inaction until it seemed to be that there is an implicit system of immunity, which makes these powers like accomplices in these crimes, there is a real concern over the possible extension of this long-standing policy to, somehow, reach the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and its work in a direct or indirect way.

Since the international law, represented by the UN Security Council resolution 1757 and other relevant resolutions and presidential statements adopted by the council, is very clear and decisive in establishing that it is an international affair and task to hold those criminals responsible for Lebanon attacks and assassinations accountable for their crimes with essential collaboration with the Lebanese government, then the non-impunity is internationally established in the most clearer and practical way.

Nevertheless, the question now is about the application of this resolution and this new policy, especially in establishing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on the ground and enabling it of discharging its duties to the end it established for by the Security Council.

Our concern, in this context, is about this process to be politicized against the spirit and the goal of the law providing for this entire legal entity and process.

For ensuring the effectiveness and integrity of this entire process, some remarks should be noticed, and some actions should be taken.

First of all, this open endless secret investigation is neither rational nor acceptable considering the huge international resources the investigation has, including legal binding resolutions like resolution 1636. Either the investigation facts should be announced, without endangering the investigation's confidentiality and efficacy, of course, or a timeline should be put for the end of this investigation.

Secondly, the United Nations should adopt transparency in this entire process, its steps should be publicly stated, and a timeline of the tribunal should be announced.

Finally, the United Nations has to make an explanation about the non-understood delay in the work of the tribunal since its statute is tailored to be effective and flexible, especially with the investigation requirements. Not to mention, in this regard, the very early announcement by a concerned party in 2007 stating that the work of the tribunal will start in 2009.

After years of international investigation, it is time to launch the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in a transparent way with no politicizing. It should be kept legal, a pure legal process. Because, this time, neither history nor the Middle East victim peoples would put up with it. So, be aware.

Related materials on Special Tribunal for Lebanon:

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Recruiting

- Registrar of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Begins Duty

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Ready ― UN Report

- Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- Registrar of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Appointed, Tribunal Is Ready

- 'Management Committee' of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Set Up

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Gets Base, Judges

- The International Tribunal for Lebanon (Resolution 1757)

- UN Report on the Establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- Tenth report of Hariri International Investigation Commission

- Ninth report of Hariri International Investigation Commission

- Memo for International Tribunal for Lebanon

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Comes Into Force

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Middle East Press Freedom: Awaiting Political Change

2008-11-07T15:25:00.000Z

Reporters Without Borders has issued its annual report about press freedom in the world, Press Freedom Index 2008. The results came as usual in terms of the Middle East region.

The report supports my suggestion that the Middle East is one of the worst regions, if not the worse, in the world as regards freedom of expression, in general, and freedom of the press in particular.

As I always say, this region still lives the era of the eastern campaign of former Soviet Union under the totalitarian system or the authoritarian system at best. Although the world has significantly changed after the Cold War, this change has stopped at the Middle East's borders. This situation becomes persistent, I am afraid.

It is time now to declare the failure of various attempts to change the situation of repression as regards freedom of expression in the Middle East. Europeans tried in 1990s through Barcelona Process and completely failed. Americans tried in 2000s and achieved minor improvements while the basic system controlling this question did not change.

The failure of these attempts over a little bit less than two decades, in my opinion, is due to unpoliticizing the question. Those previous attempts kept the question at the rights level while the region's ruling regimes simply do not care about the entire public rights and freedoms question.

Therefore, it is time to take this question to the political level. I am afraid that it would be no movement and improvement on this question without tackling it politically after considering it as a political affair and deploying political means in this regard.

Hence, it is time to all concerned parties in the world to change the approach for achieving the goal of normalizing the situation in the Middle East in terms of freedom of expression, and eliminate this aggression against civilization. This is a necessity for more stable diverse and civilized world, and for better and more prosperous international relations, and even international politics.

Back to the report, following are some highlights concerning the Middle East from the report.

"The same six Middle East champions of repression that are near the bottom of the world press freedom index every year have confirmed their status this year again. Free expression continues to be no more than a dream in Iraq (158th), Syria (159th), Libya (160th), Saudi Arabia (161st), the Palestinian Territories (163rd) and Iran (166th). Journalists are subjected to relentless censorship and in some cases incredible violence in these countries. The Palestinian Territories have never before fallen so far in a year. The power struggle between the main factions has taken a disastrous toll on press freedom. The political split between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has been accompanied by a division of the media. The Israeli military’s responsibility for the death of a Palestinian cameraman employed by Reuters in April and the impunity granted to the soldier who fired the fatal shell account for Israel’s fall (149th outside its own territory) in the ranking.

In the Maghreb, Morocco (122nd) continues the fall it began two years ago. The decline in relations between government and press increased significantly with the jailing of journalist Mostapha Hurmatallah. A series of prosecutions of journalists and Internet users has shown that press freedom in Morocco stops at the doors of the royal palace.

Lebanon (66th) has risen 30 places as no journalist was on the list of victims of this year’s bombings. The Hezbollah-orchestrated offensive against certain media affiliated to the anti-Syrian opposition left no victims and trigged a wave of indignation in Lebanese society".

Unchanging hells: "In Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali’s Tunisia (143rd), Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya (160rd), Alexander Lukashenko’s Belarus (154th), Bashar el-Assad’s Syria (159e) and Teodoro Obiang Nguema’s Equatorial Guinea (156th), the leader’s ubiquitous portrait on the streets and front pages of the newspapers is enough to dispel any doubt about the lack of press freedom. Other dictatorships do without a personality cult but are just as suffocating. Nothing is possible in Laos (164th) or Saudi Arabia (161st) if it does not accord with government policy".

"The international community, including the European Union, endlessly repeats that the only solution continues to be “dialogue.” But dialogue has clearly had little success and even the most authoritarian governments are still able to ignore remonstrations without risking any repercussions other than the inconsequential displeasure of the occasional diplomat".

"Online repression also exposes these tenacious taboos. In Egypt (146th), demonstrations launched online shook the capital and alarmed the government, which now regards every Internet user as a potential danger. The use of Internet filtering is growing by the year and the most repressive governments do not hesitate to jail bloggers. While China still leads the “Internet black hole” ranking worldwide, deploying considerable technical resources to control Internet users, Syria (159th) is the Middle-East champion in cyber-repression. Internet surveillance is so thorough there that even the least criticism posted online is sooner or later followed by arrest".

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Related material:

- The Right to Online Freedom

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Nassim Yaziji's Articles

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The Right to Online Freedom

2008-10-22T13:15:00.000Z

Internet now is an essential source for information, and indispensable means for communication.

It is well known that there is increasing international wave of people who indispensably depend on Internet with their affairs.

The story goes, few days ago, when I was surfing the net and I found out that our internet censorship geniuses have developed the blocking technology. So, my unblocking technology is not working anymore, and I have to use another technology (cgi proxy) which encrypt the address of the blocked page.

With hundreds of blocked websites range from news sites to cultural, political and even academic sites in addition to blogs, you have no choice but to unblock them.

This is the case of many countries but, in particular, this is the case of the Middle East region ― most of its countries.

It is really funny and ridiculous that regimes and governments armed to their teeth in front of armless peoples are fearful of information and clearly and publicly fear the word.

Is the word stronger than the weapon? Maybe who hides behind the weapon is always a coward one.

Let's leave this point to a future piece. For now, my point is that Internet as an international means, in its essence, should be internationally guaranteed and protected. The states should not be able to serve as barriers to the free flow of information online, especially for political or traditional motives serving imposed authoritarian or totalitarian system somewhere.

The United Nations is asked to formally internationalize the World Wide Web by means of the international law. So, we can publicly mark censorship regimes and governments ― which are non-democratic by their very nature ― with illegitimacy as violators of international norms and rights.

Furthermore, international organizations defending online freedom should include a practical side in their activities as providing and promoting unblocking technology to users in censorship countries.

Finally, there should be an international concerted campaign championing online freedom organized by organizations like Reporters Without Borders, which fighting online censorship.

The right to online freedom is an important part of human rights, and it is time for international acknowledgment of this truth.

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Special Tribunal for Lebanon Recruiting and Bellemare Ready in December

2008-10-11T16:09:00.002Z

Some good news on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has been coming that it has begun recruiting announcing many vacancies on its official website.

The vacancies are:

- Chief of Information Technology Support Section
- Senior Computer Systems Technician
- Senior Desktop Services Technician
- Chief, Security and Safety Section
- Chief of Investigations
- Senior Investigator
- Strategic Analyst/Coordinator
- Senior Investigator (Head of Evidence and Information Management)
- Senior Legal Officer
- Supervisor, Staff Administration Unit
- Chief, Public Affairs and Outreach Section
- Human Source Coordinator
- Head, Beirut Office
- Chief of Prosecution
- Senior Trial Counsel
- Deputy Chief, Security and Safety Section
- Detention Officer x 3
- Senior Political Affairs Officer
- Press Officer
- Chief of Procurement
- Security Officer
- Finance Assistant
- Administrative Assistant
- Facilities Management Technician
- Facilities Management Assistant

For more information see STFL's official site.

Another report has good news from the UN investigation committee that the prosecution would be ready in early December after the committee has reportedly pinned down suspects with direct involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

I guess it would be a turning moment for the Middle East.

Here is the news article:

Bellemare Pins Down Suspects with Direct Involvement in Hariri's Killing

Naharnet
08 Oct 2008

Chief U.N. investigator Daniel Bellemare has reportedly pinned down suspects with direct involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The daily As Safir, citing a U.N. source, said Wednesday that Bellemare would not disclose the names of the suspects.

The source said Bellemare is likely to announce in early December the completion of a major part of the probe and his readiness to take over as prosecutor general for the international tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri killing.

As Safir said Bellemare is also likely to announce before the U.N. Security Council in December the names of 120 suspects.

"But those 120 suspects are not accused of involvement in Hariri's assassination," the source said, adding that the international tribunal would interrogate them under oath.

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Related materials on Special Tribunal for Lebanon:

- Registrar of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Begins Duty

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Ready ― UN Report

- Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- Registrar of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Appointed, Tribunal Is Ready

- 'Management Committee' of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Set Up

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Gets Base, Judges

- The International Tribunal for Lebanon (Resolution 1757)

- UN Report on the Establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- Ninth report of Hariri International Investigation Commission

- Memo for International Tribunal for Lebanon

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Comes Into Force

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Terror in Damascus... with no Terrorists

2008-09-28T15:05:00.001Z

Terror in Damascus, where the last Baath is located, has no face like other things in this country (the Baath's state as Baath call it). So I think that we should ask petit Sarkozy and his Israeli friends, they may have some faces for us--well-known faces.

But if Sarkozy were a little bit busy, the next accident might have some answers.

Second Car Bomb in Damascus Since Mughniyeh Killing

Naharnet
27 Sep 2008

A car bomb exploded near a Shiite shrine in southern Damascus on Saturday killing 17 people and wounding 14 others in one of the deadliest attacks to hit Syria in a dozen years, state media said.
The car packed with 200 kilograms of explosives blew up near a security checkpoint on a road to Damascus international airport.

Interior Minister General Bassam Abdel Majid told state television the attack was "a terrorist act" and that all the casualties were civilians.

"A counter-terrorist unit is trying to track down the perpetrators... We can't point the finger at any side."

The rare attack in a country known for its iron-fist security came at 8:45 am (0545 GMT) during the morning rush-hour in the teeming neighborhood of Sayeda Zeinab, the state-run SANA news agency said, quoting a Syrian official.

The district is popular among Shiite pilgrims from Iran, Lebanon and Iraq who pray at the tomb of Zeinab, daughter of the Shiite martyr Ali and granddaughter of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed.

SANA has said that more than two million people visit the shrine each year.

Witnesses told state television the bomb could have claimed more victims if it had taken place a day later.

"It felt like an earthquake. The force of the explosion threw me out of bed," said one man who lives near the scene of the blast.

"Thank God this was Saturday. The catastrophe would have been bigger if the attack had taken place on Sunday when schools were open."

A boy said: "May Allah break the hands of those who did this."

State television broadcast footage showing damage to cars, a building and a bus, but security guards banned journalists from approaching the scene, which was cordoned off.

The precise target of the bombing was not immediately known.

"Syria is targeted, either by countries whose interests contradict those of Damascus... or by other groups who have an interest in undermining Syrian security," law professor Ibrahim Darraji told AFP.

The blast was the deadliest since a spate of attacks in the 1980s blamed on Muslim Brotherhood militants.

It was the worst since February when Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, linked to attacks on Western and Israeli targets in the 1980s and 1990s, was killed in a Damascus car bombing.

The Lebanese Shiite group blamed Israel, which denied any involvement. Syria called Mughniyeh's murder a "terrorist" act.

Saturday's attack also comes after Lebanon said on Monday that Syria had boosted troop numbers along the border. Damascus said the move was to combat smuggling.

In August, Syria confirmed the assassination of top army general Mohammed Suleiman, described in Arab media as having been the government's liaison with Hizbullah.

The Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat said he was a senior officer "in charge of sensitive files and closely linked to the Syrian top brass."

On Thursday the head of the U.N. atomic agency, Mohammed ElBaradei, revealed that the watchdog's probe into alleged illicit nuclear work in Syria has been delayed because the agency's contact man in Syria had been murdered.

He did not reveal the contact's identity.

"The reason that Syria has been late in providing additional information (is) that our interlocutor has been assassinated in Syria," ElBaradei told a closed-door session of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-member board.

U.S. President George Bush on Tuesday again accused Syria and its key regional ally Iran of sponsoring terrorism, saying in a farewell speech to the U.N. General Assembly that such violence "has no place in the modern world."

News Concerning Middle East Reform

2008-07-06T13:36:00.000Z

This is the news section of June issue of Arab Reform Bulletin Published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:

Kuwait: New Cabinet Appointed After Elections
Saudi Arabia: Human Rights Activist Detained
Yemen: Zaidi Rebellion; Local Council Elections
Bahrain; Minister Cleared; Bahraini Jewish Ambassador Appointed
Iraq: Amnesty; Radio Station Closed
Lebanon: Political Deadlock Ended
Egypt: State of Emergency Extended; Bread Riots Resurface; Anti-Monopoly Law
Palestine: Talks Renewed
Syria: U.S. Sanctions Renewed
Jordan: Public Gathering Law Deferred
Morocco: Al-Jazeera Rabat Broadcast Suspended
Algeria: Magazine Issue Banned
Libya: Activist Freed
Sudan: Newspaper Shutdown; Journalist Arrested

Kuwait: New Cabinet Appointed After Elections

On May 17, some 361,700 eligible voters (55 percent of them women) went to the polls to elect deputies for the National Assembly's fifty elected seats (appointed cabinet ministers also join the assembly, raising the overall number of seats to sixty-five.) Voter turnout was reported at 70 percent. The elections took place under the new electoral system, which decreased the number of districts from twenty-five to five, each district electing ten deputies. The results were in favor of those with Islamist and tribal political affiliations; Sunni Islamists took twenty-one of the fifty seats, members of prominent tribes claimed twenty-four (including four liberals), and the remaining five went to those with Shi'i political affiliations. None of the twenty-seven women contenders was elected. Click here for more in Arabic.

Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah reappointed Sheikh Nasser al-Muhammad al-Sabah to head the new cabinet formed on May 28. The fifteen-member cabinet includes two women, two Shi'a, two liberals, and four ministers representing Kuwait's most influential tribes. The reappointment of Sheikh Nasser and the overall composition of the cabinet have already sparked tension between the government and parliament. Click here for more details.

On May 14, Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, who ruled Kuwait for a mere nine days before the parliament removed him due to health issues, died after a long battle with colon cancer. Sheikh Saad had served in various capacities including prime minister, military governor of Kuwait, and crown prince for 29 years.

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights Activist Detained

Secret police arrested reform activist Matrook al-Faleh on May 19 at King Saud University. Since his arrest, al-Faleh has been on a hunger strike. Al-Faleh's statement condemning conditions at Buraida Prison, where fellow activists are detained, is believed to be the reason behind his sudden arrest. Click here for a Human Rights Watch statement.

Yemen: Zaidi Rebellion; Local Council Elections

After days of heavy fighting, the government put down a Zaidi rebellion in a northern suburb of Sana'a on May 28. The Zaidi rebellion, backed by Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, has been ongoing in the northern town of Sa’ada since 2004 and has claimed thousands of lives. Tribal witnesses claim that dozens of rebels and security forces were killed during the stand off. Click here for more information.

On June 1, an appeals court convicted a group of thirty-eight detainees accused of belonging to a terrorist cell supporting the Zaidi rebellion. The court upheld an earlier death sentence ruling against cell leader, Muhammad Abdullah Sharaf al-Din. Twelve of those convicted, including a woman, received sentences ranging from one to three years; three were acquitted. Click here for more in Arabic.

On May 18, elections for provincial governors took place for the first time in Yemen. In the past, all twenty-one governors were appointed directly by the government. Elections were carried out in all provinces except one, where the process was hampered by mass arrests following unemployment protests. Opposition groups boycotted the elections, reportedly because they had few supporters in most governorates. Seventeen of the twenty elected governors are pro-government, while the remaining three are independents. Click here for more information.

Bahrain; Minister Cleared; Bahraini Jewish Ambassador Appointed

On May 8, the Bahraini parliament cleared Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Ahmed bin Attiyatallah al-Khalifain of accusations of tampering with national statistics and providing incorrect data. Al-Khalifain was accused of doing so in order to mask efforts to extend nationality to non-Bahraini Sunnis in order to tip the country’s confessional balance. Click here for more in Arabic.

On May 29, in an unprecedented move, Bahrain appointed a Jewish woman, Houda Nonoo, as ambassador to the United States. Previously, Nonoo headed a Bahraini human rights organization and had served in the appointed Shura Council for three years.

On May 31, Bahraini MP and human rights activist Faisal Fulad called on the parliament to abolish the death penalty. The initiative comes after a Bangladeshi worker was sentenced to death in a criminal case. Fulad argued that the death penalty undermines Bahrain's efforts to improve its human rights record, particularly after its election to the UN Human Rights Council on May 25. Click here for more information.

Iraq: Amnesty; Radio Station Closed

The Supreme Judicial Council declared on May 28 that some 74,000 Iraqi detainees should be able to benefit from a recently approved amnesty law. The reconciliation committee called on the government to initiate talks with U.S. forces in Iraq and to expedite the process of settling the issue of detainees. Click here for more in Arabic.

On May 9, security forces ordered the closure of the radio station al-‘Ahd, financed by Shi’i leader Muqtada al-Sadr, on accusations of inciting violence. The decision came as fighting between Iraqi forces and al-Sadr militias intensified. Click here for more information.

Lebanon: Political Deadlock Ended

The May 25 election of General Michel Suleiman as president ended a deadlock that began in November 2007. Suleiman reappointed Fouad Siniora to head the government on May 28, as part of the Doha agreement package that ended deadly clashes between Hizbollah and the coalition government. The agreement also granted the ruling coalition sixteen of thirty cabinet seats, the opposition eleven seats, and left the remaining three to be named by the president. The agreement also banned the use of weapons in internal conflicts and opted for the 1960 electoral law to be applied during 2009 elections. Click here for more information.

On May 13, Future Media Network resumed operations after a five-day absence from the air. During the clash between government and opposition forces, Hizbollah fighters raided and destroyed the network's headquarters, inflicting heavy losses. Click here for more information.

Egypt: State of Emergency Extended; Bread Riots Resurface; Anti-Monopoly Law

On May 26, parliament voted to extend the state of emergency in place since 1981 for an additional two years effective May 31. In 2006, President Mubarak had promised not to extend the state of emergency again and to adopt a specific anti-terrorism law instead. The parliament declared that the alternative law needed significant revisions and that the emergency law was essential to maintaining national security, particularly in light of recent riots and social unrest. Human Rights Watch issued a statement condemning the government's decision.

On June 7, thousands of villagers in a small city in the northern governorate of Kafr el-Sheikh protested the local authorities’ decision to distribute flour to bakeries rather than individuals and decrease the bread ration per person. Some eight thousand protestors blocked the main road and set tires on fire. In an attempt to restore calm, security forces arrested about fifty protesters, reportedly including women and children. Click here for more in Arabic.
On May 26, the parliament's economic committee approved an amendment to the anti-monopoly law. The amendment stipulated an increase in fines from a maximum of 50,000 LE (U.S. $9,350) to a minimum of 100,000 LE ($18,700), or 15 percent of the total value of product sales of the company in question.

On May 16, the independent daily newspaper al-Dustur launched its website. The launch coincides with increased government censorship of new media; the website of the Egyptian Movement for Change (Kefaya) was blocked for several days in early May.

On May 7, five men with HIV/AIDS were sentenced to three-year prison terms on charges of "habitual debauchery," which refers to homosexual acts in Egyptian law. On May 28, an appeals court upheld the initial ruling in the case. Human Rights Watch issued a statement condemning the ruling.

Palestine: Talks Renewed

On June 9, Hamas and Fatah delegates headed respectively by Emad Khalid Alamy and Hikmat Zeid ended a two-day meeting in Dakar to address the ongoing political rift. At the end of the two days, both factions signed a statement indicating their commitment to resolving the issues discussed. This initiative follows a series of failed efforts that have taken place in Egypt and in Yemen. Click here for more in Arabic.

Syria: U.S. Sanctions Renewed

On May 7, the U.S. government renewed sanctions on Syria, which have been in place since 2004. The sanctions were extended an additional year on the grounds that Syria supports terrorism, hampers efforts to stabilize Iraq, and meddles in Lebanese affairs.

Jordan: Public Gathering Law Deferred

On May 31, parliament's lower house deferred action on an amended public gathering law proposed by the government. The proposed law has been the subject of heated debates; political parties argue it would stifle the limited freedom of expression they currently enjoy. The law stipulates that all public demonstrations be authorized in advance by the government. Click here for more information.

Morocco: Al-Jazeera Rabat Broadcast Suspended

On May 9, without prior notification, Moroccan officials suspended al-Jazeera's ability to broadcast from Rabat. Communications Minister Khalid Naciri claimed the suspension was temporary, pending resolution of legal matters by al-Jazeera’s Rabat bureau. Observers speculate, however, that the decision was provoked by prominent Egyptian journalist Muhammad Hassanain Haikal's allegations in a May 1 episode of the weekly program “Ma'a Haikal” (With Haikal) that the late King Hassan may have collaborated with the French government in the abduction of Algerian resistance figures. Click here for more information.

Algeria: Magazine Issue Banned

Algerian authorities banned the May 4 issue of the weekly magazine Jeune Afrique, which included an article on Algeria's Kabylie region, home to a Berber population. Editor-in-Chief Marwane Ben Yahmed indicated that the authorities refused to grant the magazine a distribution permit. Algeria has a long history of banning certain issues of the magazine. Click here for more information.

Libya: Activist Freed

Activist Jum`a Boufayed was released on May 28 after a fifteen month detention. Security forces had arrested Boufayed and thirteen other protesters who participated in a peaceful demonstration denouncing police violence in Libya. Human Rights issued a statement welcoming the release.

Sudan: Newspaper Shutdown; Journalist Arrested

Government authorities halted publication of the independent daily newspaper al-Watan on May 14. Security forces seized printed copies of the newspaper and closed down offices for allegedly violating state security. Click here for more information. On the same day, al-Ghali Yahya Shegifat, a reporter and head of the Darfur Journalists Association, was arrested and has since been out of communication. He had previously been arrested by local security services and released shortly there after. Click here for more information.

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A Tribute to Lebanese Independence Government and Prime Minister Saniora

2008-05-27T16:02:00.002Z

(picture: Prime Minister of Lebanon Fouad al-Saniora)

Lebanese independence government got the job done in Lebanon. Yes, the heroic government did it led by an extraordinary statesman, a real hero is Fouad al-Saniora.

This government achieved the political independence from the Baath occupation and made Lebanon a free, sovereign and independent country under the sole and exclusive authority of the government of Lebanon after long decades of totalitarian occupation.

This government extended the state's control over all Lebanese territory and ended the Iranian canton of Hezbullah armed militia in southern Lebanon, which came back to the Lebanese Republic.

This government achieved the international tribunal for Lebanon (Special Tribunal for Lebanon) to protect Lebanon and save the freedom, democracy and independence of Lebanon in spite of all sacrifices and painful costs it had to pay.

This government saved Lebanon, maintained the civilization in Lebanon, and protected the diversity and public freedoms in Lebanon despite the huge challenges posed by the barbarian armed-militia of Hezbullah with its allies of bandits and thugs representing the Middle East Totalitarian Axis led by Iranian regime and al-Baath. And it never let this totalitarian criminal axis win in Lebanon despite this axis' tremendous criminality and violence shown and exerted in Lebanon.

This government protected the Christian presence in Lebanon and Christians' potential presence in Lebanon as the center of the Christian presence in the East despite the Iranian project of the Middle East, so-called the "Islamic Middle East." And I acknowledge that as a Christian.

This government saved and protected peacefully Lebanon's democracy, democratic institutions, the constitution and the rule of law, and defeated all violent attempts of Iranian-Baath barbarian armed militias to take over the country.

This heroic government never gave up until the last minute of its constitutional mandate even when the democratic world, especially Europe, let Lebanon down in front of the Middle East Totalitarian Axis and its barbarian armed militias.

Now, as the constitutional mandate of this government, the independence government, came to an end, I urge the entire civilized world and all free and civilized people around the world to pay tribute to this heroic and historic government, especially to its head Prime Minister Fouad al-Saniora.

Nassim Yaziji

News Concerning Middle East Reform

2008-05-26T13:44:00.000Z

This is the news section of May issue of Arab Reform Bulletin Published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:

- Egypt: Salary and Price Increases; Local Elections; Brothers Sentenced
- Kuwait: Elections; Tribal Demonstration; Anti-demonstration Law Revoked
- Bahrain: New Press Bill; Minister Questioned on Naturalization
- Yemen: Qatari Mediation; MP Killed; Newspaper License Revoked
- Saudi Arabia: Blogger Released
- Iraq: Journalists Released
- Jordan: Political Party Law; Brotherhood Selects Leaders; Prison Demonstrations
- Syria: Economic Initiatives; Activist Sentenced
- Lebanon: Political Deadlock Continues; Worker Protests
- Tunisia: Opposition Newspaper Seized; Appeals Court Upholds Journalist Sentence
- Algeria: Ban on Passport Photos with Veil and Beard Contested
- Morocco: Criminalizing Violence against Women; Demonstrators Pardoned
- Sudan: Efforts to End Censorship

Egypt: Salary and Price Increases; Local Elections; Brothers Sentenced

The Egyptian parliament rushed through a package of increases in the price of fuel, cigarettes, and vehicle licenses on May 5 in order to pay for a 30 percent increase in public sector salaries proposed by President Hosni Mubarak on April 30. Several cabinet members and National Democratic Party (NDP) parliamentarians reportedly opposed the price increases, which passed in the People’s Assembly by a vote of 297 to 76 (the NDP holds 366 of the Assembly’s 454 seats). The steep increases—roughly 40 per cent for gasoline, for example—were implemented May 6. Click here for more information.

The government’s moves followed strikes on April 6 and May 4 to protest inflation, low wages, and poor worker conditions. The April 6 strike was not widely observed, but there were protests in several cities and some industrial workers, particularly in the Nile Delta town of al-Mahalla al-Kubra, took to the streets and defaced pictures of President Mubarak. Security forces clashed with protesters in al-Mahalla, leading to one reported death. Authorities arrested several well-known opposition figures, including Kifaya activists George Ishaq and Mohammed Abdel Quddus, on suspicion of instigating the April 6 protests; they were released a few days later. Facebook organizer Isra Abdel Fattah was arrested and held until April 23. The May 4 strike, called to mark Mubarak’s eightieth birthday, drew weak participation although the Muslim Brotherhood called on its members to participate. Click here for more information.

On April 8, the National Democratic Party won over 95 percent of the 53,000 seats in local council elections. The Muslim Brotherhood announced a last-minute boycott of the elections after nearly all of its candidates—as well as most candidates from legal opposition parties—were prevented from registering. Independent civil society monitors were denied permission to observe elections, but informal reports suggest that voter turnout was extremely low.

On April 15, an Egyptian military court convicted twenty-five members of the Muslim Brotherhood (five in absentia) for membership in an illegal organization and attempting to revive its military wing. Fifteen were acquitted, but the rest received unusually harsh sentences ranging from three to ten years in prison. Those tried in absentia in particular received 10 year sentences. Deputy Supreme Guide Khayrat al-Shatir, the third highest-ranking Brotherhood leader, was sentenced to seven years in prison. Amnesty International issued a statement condemning the trial.

Kuwait: Elections; Tribal Demonstration; Anti-demonstration Law Revoked

On May 17, Kuwait will hold general elections for fifty parliamentary seats; an additional fifteen ministers sit in the assembly as ex officio members. The parliament was dissolved March 19 following resignation of the cabinet. Some 360,000 Kuwaitis over age 21 are eligible to vote. This will be the second general election in which women will participate, and the first since electoral districts were reduced from twenty-five to five. Non governmental organizations such as the Kuwaiti Association for Developing Democracy and Kuwait Transparency Association plan to monitor the elections. The main political blocks include the Islamic Constitutional Movement, the Salafi Movement, the National Islamic Alliance, and the liberal National Democratic Movement.

On May 4, thousands of Kuwaitis protested in front of a government security building demanding the release of members of the Mateer tribe arrested for carrying out unauthorized tribal primaries. Click here for more details in Arabic.

On April 14, the Kuwaiti government reversed a recent law banning public assembly and peaceful demonstrations. The law contradicted a prior ruling of Kuwait’s Constitutional Court granting Kuwaitis the right to demonstrate peacefully and was passed by decree on April 7 after the parliament had been dissolved. The government withdrew the new law after much public criticism and demonstrations. Click here for more details in Arabic.

Bahrain: New Press Bill; Minister Questioned on Naturalization

On May 6, Bahraini Information Minister Jihad Bin Hassan Bukamal proposed a new press law. The bill reportedly will abrogate jail sentences for journalists but imprisonment will still be possible in cases of insulting religion or the ruler or compromising national unity. The bill was passed to the parliament for review and approval. Click here for additional details.

On April 29, Bahraini opposition MPs prevented pro-government legislators from excluding the prime minister and his deputies from recently-passed legislation that requires financial disclosure from top government officials. The new law requires financial statements and asserts the right to investigate any suspicious accumulation of wealth by ministers and members of parliament and their spouses. Click here for additional information.

On April 24, the parliament questioned Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Ahmed bin Attiyatallah al-Khalifain about accusations of tampering with national statistics and willfully providing incorrect data. The minister was accused of doing so as part of an effort to naturalize large numbers of Sunnis in order to tip the demographic balance. Al-Khalifain refuted all allegations but Shi’i opposition deputies said they intend to call him for more questioning. Click here for more information in Arabic.

Yemen: Qatari Mediation; MP Killed; Newspaper License Revoked

Qatar has launched a mediation process between the Yemeni government and Abdel Malik al-Houthi, leader of a Zaidi rebellion in the north. The first meeting among Qatari mediators, Yemeni government officials, and representatives of al-Houthi took place on May 4. Click here for more information in Arabic.

Yemeni MP Saleh Hendi was killed on April 18 near Saada governorate, where government forces have been fighting with rebels.

On April 5, the Yemeni government revoked the license of al-Wasat newspaper on accusations of harming relations with Saudi Arabia. The newspaper published an article alleging that Saudi Arabia was responsible for smuggling and abusing Yemeni children. The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement on April 7 condemning the Yemeni government’s decision.

Saudi Arabia: Blogger Released

Saudi blogger Fouad al-Farhan, detained since December 2007, was released on April 27. Various international organizations and other Saudi bloggers have been calling for his release. Click here for more information.

Iraq: Journalists Released

Iraqi forces freed CBS news journalist Richard Butler on April 14. He had been abducted, along with his interpreter, two months earlier in Basra. The interpreter was released a few days after the abduction.

U.S. forces freed Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein on April 16, after a two-year detention. Hussein was accused of cooperating with insurgents but no evidence against him was ever disclosed. The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented several cases in which the U.S. military detained journalists without charges or evidence. Click here for additional information.

Jordan: Political Party Law; Brotherhood Selects Leaders; Prison Demonstrations

On April 16 a new Jordanian political party law went into effect. Parliament passed the law in 2007 but the government agreed to give parties a grace period to organize themselves. Newspapers have reported that only fourteen of Jordan’s thirty-six political parties have been able to comply with the new regulations, which include obtaining a certificate of government support and an increase in minimum party membership from 50 to 500. Parties unable to comply, including eight of the fourteen-party opposition coalition, were forced to dissolve and are calling the new law unconstitutional. The Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood and Jordan’s largest opposition party, was able to comply with the new law. Click here for more information in Arabic.

The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood selected a new governing body at its third national council meeting on May 1, after a postponement caused by disagreement between conservative and liberal members. After long discussions, the members reportedly agreed to appoint a predominantly liberal group to balance recently elected General Guide Humam Sa’id, who is considered a conservative. Click here for more information in Arabic.

On April 14, revolts broke out in at al-Muwaqar prison in southwestern Amman, reportedly due to the inhumane treatment of inmates. The violence initially left three prisoners dead and led to additional protests leaving thirty injured. The protest has garnered support from Jordanian opposition parties with the IAF being the most vocal.

Syria: Economic Initiatives; Activist Sentenced

As part of a package of economic reform initiatives, President Bashar al-Assad on April 15 issued a presidential decree that increased the sentence for stealing public funds from five to ten years. The Syrian Finance Minister indicated that the measure was part of an effort to overhaul the public sector and promote transparency and accountability.

On April 23, a Syrian military court sentenced political activist Kamal Labwani to a three-year prison term, in addition to the twelve year sentence he is currently serving. The government claims that Labwani insulted the president while in prison. Human rights groups called the charge unjust and politically motivated. The U.S. State Department and the European Union called for Labwani’s release.

Lebanon: Political Deadlock Continues; Worker Protests

On April 22, the Lebanese parliament postponed a session to elect a new president until May 13. This is the eighteenth postponement since President Lahud left office in November 2007.

On May 7, worker strikes turned into clashes between government and opposition supporters in Beirut, leading to the closure of many roads and the airport. The cabinet agreed on May 6 to raise monthly minimum wages from approximately $200 to $330, but Hizbollah-backed activists are demanding a raise to $600 per month. Government supporters are accusing Hizbollah of using economic grievances to destabilize the government; click here for more information.

Tunisia: Opposition Newspaper Seized; Appeal Court Upholds Journalist Sentence

Tunisia’s highest court upheld journalist Salim Boukhdir’s one year jail sentence on April 3. Boukhdir, correspondent for al-Quds al-’arabi,was convicted in December 2007 for “insulting behavior toward an official” after an incident in which he refused to produce identity papers. The April 3 ruling was Boukhdir’s final chance for appeal. Click here for more information.

Reporters Without Borders issued a statement on April 18 condemning the Tunisian government’s harassment of the weekly newspaper al-Mawaqif, published by the opposition Progressive Democratic Party. Since March 14, the government has seized issues of the weekly and has brought a libel suit against editor Rachid Khechana, who is due to appear in court on May 10.

Algeria: Ban on Passport Photos with Veil and Beard Contested

The Society of Algerian Muslim Scholars issued a fatwa on April 23 against the government ban on passport pictures of veiled women and bearded men. The fatwa claims that the ban infringes upon Islamic law and that both the veil and beard are integral to the Muslim tradition. Click here for more information.

Morocco: Criminalizing Violence against Women; Demonstrators Pardoned

King Muhammad pardoned on April 4 eight demonstrators convicted in 2007 on charges of undermining the monarchy. The eight men, all members of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, were detained after chanting slogans critical of the monarchy. Click here for additional information.

The Moroccan government continues its effort to curb violence against women. The Ministry of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity announced it is drafting a bill that would criminalize domestic violence. The law is part of a broader plan that also involves setting up treatment centers for victims of domestic violence. Click here for more details.

Sudan: Efforts to End Censorship

On April 16, the Sudanese government reportedly agreed with the Sudanese Journalists’ Union to end government censorship of journalism. Reporters will no longer submit stories and reports to government censors prior to publishing. Click here for more information.

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UN Stance on Lebanon

2008-05-21T13:13:00.000Z

Following is the most recent UN stance on Lebanon, which represents the international community's stance and international legitimacy in this regard.

Ban Urges Immediate Presidential Election, Disarming of Hizbullah

22 April 2008
Naharnet

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate presidential election in Lebanon without foreign interference, underlining concerns over the political stalemate that has kept the post empty since November.

Ban also warned Monday that Lebanon will not be a fully sovereign, democratic state until Hizbullah is disarmed. He told Syria and Iran they must support efforts to disarm the group.

The secretary-general's six-month report to the Security Council focused on the implementation of Resolution 1559 that calls for presidential elections under the constitution and the disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias.

"Parliament, which has not met in more than a year, must be allowed to convene urgently to fulfill its constitutional duties in order to elect a president ...," Ban said. "A free and fair presidential election, without foreign interference or influence, must take place immediately."

Ban urged all parties to cooperate with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa to immediately implement a three-point plan adopted by Arab foreign ministers in January calling for Army Chief Gen. Michel Suleiman's election, formation of a national unity government in which no single party has veto power and adoption of a new electoral law.

Although the majority and the opposition have accepted Suleiman as a consensus candidate to succeed Emile Lahoud as president, the election has been snarled by their disagreement over power-sharing and the shape of the future cabinet.

He said that "Hizbullah's maintenance of a paramilitary capacity poses a key challenge to the government's monopoly on the legitimate use of force."

He reiterated that disarming and disbanding militias in accordance with the 2004 resolution should be done through a political dialogue that addresses the political and economic interests of all Lebanese.

"In this context, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which maintain close ties with the party (Hizbullah), bear a significant responsibility in supporting such a process, for the sake of both Lebanon's and the wider region's security, stability and welfare," Ban said.

He also called on Beirut and Damascus to normalize their relations three years after Syria ended nearly three decades of military occupation of Lebanon.

"Time has come for a re-definition and formulation of ties between the two historically close neighbors, in mutual respect for their sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence," Ban said.

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LEBANON REMAINS BATTLEGROUND FOR THOSE SEEKING TO DESTABILIZE REGION IN EFFORT TO ESTABLISH DOMINANCE, SPECIAL ENVOY TELLS SECURITY COUNCIL

No Tangible Progress towards Implementation Of Resolution 1559 (2004), Roed-Larsen Reports in Briefing on Middle East

8 May 2008
Security Council 5888th Meeting
SC/9326

Lebanon remained a battleground for actors seeking to destabilize the region for their own benefit and aspirations of dominance, Terje Roed-Larsen, United Nations Special Envoy for implementation of Security Council resolution 1559 (2004), told the Security Council today as it met to consider the situation in the Middle East.

Introducing the Secretary-General’s seventh semi-annual report on implementation of the resolution, Mr. Roed-Larsen said the prolonged political and security crisis in the country illustrated that the provisions of resolution 1559 (2004) remained as relevant now as they were at its adoption. Regrettably, there had been no tangible progress towards its implementation over the past six months. On the contrary, the riots that had started yesterday tragically showed that Lebanon today confronted challenges of a magnitude unseen since the end of the civil war.

He said the electoral void, the stalled functions of Parliament and the defiant manoeuvres of militias were all threats to Lebanon’s ability to operate as a sovereign, democratic and independent State, cautioning that those developments could have serious regional repercussions. Given the eighteenth postponement of the presidential election, to 13 May, the Secretary-General urged Parliament to convene on that date to fulfil its constitutional duties.

With that, the Lebanese people would have a unique opportunity to open a new chapter in their difficult history, he continued. They and their political representatives must rise to the occasion and elect a President without any conditions beyond those prescribed by the Constitution. Such an election would signify a major milestone. A return to political dialogue among the Lebanese parties, through national constitutional institutions, was imperative, and the only way to resolve all outstanding issues. The Secretary-General stood firmly behind the legitimate Lebanese Government and people in their quest to recover their sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity.

The Special Envoy said Lebanon’s continuing severe political crisis centred particularly on the failure to elect a new President, pointing out that the presidency had remained vacant since 24 November 2007 despite the sustained efforts of Lebanese, regional and international players. The electoral void had fuelled political polarization and impeded the normal functioning of legitimate constitutional institutions, particularly the Government and Parliament. It had also contributed to violent and dangerous confrontations between the opposing parties, leading to casualties.

Outlining several incidents that had occurred during the reporting period, he said that, on 20 April, two followers of the Phalange party had been killed and two wounded in the city of Zahle. On 5 May, five people had been wounded by gunfire in separate overnight clashes between supporters of the majority and the opposition, in Beirut and elsewhere in the country. On 7 May, Hizbullah-led demonstrators had blocked the principal highway and other roads leading to Beirut’s international airport, sea port and commercial centre with burning tyres and large mounds of earth. Soon afterwards, scuffles had broken out between pro-Government and opposition supporters in the Beirut neighbourhood of Corniche al-Mazraa. That evening, Future party supporters had blocked the main road between the towns of Baalbeck and Chtura in the Beka’a valley and the Masna’a road leading to the border with Syria. In addition, several armed clashes had occurred in the Beka’a valley, while heavy exchanges of fire had been reported in Beirut, around the national stadium adjacent to the airport road.

A very tense calm had since returned to the capital, he said, noting, however, that several roads remained closed. Access to Beirut International Airport remained restricted by Hizbullah roadblocks. So far, three people had been killed in the clashes and 10 injured. The United Nations remained in close touch with both sides and was gravely concerned about the potential for a further escalation of the situation. Several capitals in the region and beyond had publicly called for an end to the clashes, and the Secretary-General urged all parties to cease the riots immediately and to reopen all roads. The tense political climate was a significant obstacle to implementing resolution 1559 (2004).

Mr. Roed-Larsen said the continued existence of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, and allegations of widespread rearming and paramilitary training across the political spectrum, were major challenges for the Lebanese Government and a threat to national stability. Hizbullah, the most significant Lebanese militia, had a massive paramilitary infrastructure separate from the State, and it was a matter of concern that its militants had carried weapons in populated areas during the recent clashes. The Government had informed the United Nations that Hizbullah had illegally developed an independent and secure national communications network, which the Government deemed an attack on State sovereignty. Lebanese officials also claimed that Hizbullah had established a surveillance system at Beirut airport, promoting the Government to remove Brigadier General Wafiq Shoucair from his security command at the facility.

Such developments gave rise to growing fears among the Lebanese that Hizbullah was building parallel institutional structures distinct from, and in competition with, those of the State, he continued. That contributed in turn to the erosion of the State and its monopoly on the use of force. The United Nations also continued to be deeply concerned about the activities of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) and Fatah Al-Intifadh, which maintained significant paramilitary infrastructure outside refugee camps and along the Lebanese-Syrian border. During the reporting period, there had been no discussions among Lebanese political leaders about a political process leading to the disbanding and disarming of militias, stipulated in the 1989 Taif Agreement and resolution 1559 (2004).

The Secretary-General reiterated that the disarmament of militias must take place through a political process leading to the full affirmation of the authority of the Lebanese Government throughout the country, he said. The Secretary-General also called on all parties with close ties to Hizbullah, particularly Syria and Iran, to support its transformation into a political party. In addition, the Secretary-General urged Hizbullah to abide by the decisions of the Council and the Lebanese Government, in accordance with the Taif Agreement. Full disarmament was in the best interest of regional peace and stability.

Mr. Roed-Larsen stressed that a Lebanese President must be elected without delay in a free and fair electoral process conducted strictly according to Lebanese constitutional rules, without foreign interference and in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1559 (2004). Such an election would help revive Lebanon’s constitutional process, particularly the convening of Parliament, which had been paralysed since November 2006. The Secretary-General supported fully the final communique of the March Arab League Summit, which urged the election of consensus candidate General Michel Sleiman, and the formation of a national unity Government as soon as possible.

He recalled that representatives of several Arab and European Union nations, as well as the United States and the United Nations Secretary-General, had met in Kuwait on 22 April and called on parties inside and outside Lebanon to respect the country’s independence and sovereignty. They had urged Syria and Lebanon to redefine and normalize ties in mutual respect for their sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence, as required under resolution 1680 (2006). The Secretary-General had continued efforts to encourage a process between Lebanon and Syria that would eventually lead to the establishment of full diplomatic relations, thus fulfilling the relevant provisions of that resolution.

During the reporting period, Mr. Roed-Larsen said, the Secretary-General had also promoted the timely implementation of tangible measures to delineate the Lebanese-Syrian border, as that would help significantly his efforts concerning the Shab’a Farms area and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s seven-point plan. While there had regrettably been no progress to date on those matters, the Secretary-General expected Syria’s full cooperation.

Also during the reporting period, he said, Israeli aircrafts had continued regularly to violate Lebanese territorial integrity by flying into Lebanese airspace for security reasons, according to the Israeli Government. The Secretary-General and his representatives had continued to reiterate the concern of the United Nations and to call on Israel to cease those violations. Moreover, Israel continued to occupy the northern part of Ghajar in violation of Lebanese sovereignty.

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United Nations Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen speaks to reporters

8 May 2008 – The stalled political process in Lebanon, combined with the current violence on the streets and the “defiant manoeuvres of militias,” is leaving the country struggling to function as a sovereign, democratic State, United Nations Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen told the Security Council today.

“The riots that started yesterday in Lebanon show tragically that the country today confronts challenges of a magnitude unseen since the end of the civil war,” said Mr. Roed-Larsen.

“The electoral void combined with the stalled functions of Parliament and the defiant manoeuvres of militias are all threats to Lebanon’s ability to function as a sovereign, democratic and independent State,” he added, speaking as the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559.

Adopted by the Council in 2004, resolution 1559 calls for free and fair presidential elections in Lebanon without any foreign interference or influence, and for the disbandment of all militia groups operating in the country. Mr. Roed-Larsen said that he regretted he had no progress to report on the resolution over the past six months.

Speaking later to reporters, Mr. Roed-Larsen said that the Secretary-General “calls for all parties now to show restraint, to find a solution to the current impasse and the current violence, through peaceful dialogue,” and added that the Security Council had unanimously called for “calm and restraint.”

Since last November the country has been deadlocked on the election of a new president, with the position remaining vacant. Yesterday and today pro- and anti-government militias have been battling on the streets of Beirut. Mr. Roed-Larsen commented that, “Lebanon for a long time now – several months and more – has been on a slippery slope of violence and turmoil,” adding that “it is in the deep interest not only of the Lebanese but of the whole region and beyond to now stabilize the situation in Lebanon.”

While calling for the disarming of all militias in the country, the UN Envoy said that Hizbullah, the most significant Lebanese militia, “maintains a massive para-military infrastructure separate from the State.” This had “an adverse effect” on the Government’s efforts to impose law and order and was “a threat to regional peace and security.”

The Secretary-General, said Mr. Roed-Larsen, calls on all parties with ties to Hizbullah, “in particular Syria and Iran, to support its transformation into a solely political party.”

The Special Envoy urged a return to political dialogue among the Lebanese parties, stressing that this was “the only way to resolve all outstanding issues.”

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- Lebanon's Independence and Democracy

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Beirut under Occupation: First Arab Capital under Iranian control

2008-05-11T14:07:00.002Z

Christians lose their potential presence in the East, and their allies the modernistic Sunnis are humiliated.

Yes, it is not believable, but it is true. Beirut under Iranian terrorist occupation.

Many many stupid people around the world, especially in Europe, would not believe me when I previously qualified Hezbullah as an Iranian terrorist armed gang. Now, the whole world just needs to look at occupied Beirut.

The Iranian terrorist regime with its terrorist Revolutionary Guard's branch in Beirut so-called Hezbullah has occupied Beirut using the Israel-Baath alliance and European Union's stances and policy in the Middle East, especially when they bought the last Baath that occupies Syria.

Neither the region nor the world can afford the Iranian-led Middle East totalitarian axis taking control of Lebanon. This would be an ultimate strategic disaster.

Now, I am waiting for the international action to say my word. In the meantime, my message to the US, do not wait for some things to happen, or Arabs to move. And to Europeans I say avail yourselves of Baath and its leader the Iranian regime.

In this context, and to conceive an empirical and realistic perspective on the struggle in the Middle East, which can explain current and future events in the Middle East read my previous articles:

- The Conflict over the New Middle East

- Lebanon's Independence and Democracy

Hizbullah Controls Beirut, March 14 Says 'Violence Will Not Terrorize Us'

Naharnet
Beirut, 09 May 2008

Hizbullah gunmen seized control of key parts of Beirut from Sunnis loyal to the U.S.-backed government Friday, a dramatic show-of-force certain to strengthen the Iranian-allied group's hand as it fights for dominance in Lebanon's political deadlock.

An ally of Hizbullah said the group intended to pull back, at least partially, from the areas its gunmen occupied overnight and Friday morning — signaling Hizbullah likely does not intend a full-scale, permanent takeover of Sunni Muslim parts of Beirut, similar to the Hamas takeover of Gaza a year ago.

The clashes eased by Friday evening as Lebanon's army began peacefully moving into some areas where Hizbullah gunmen had a presence.

But as Hizbullah gunmen celebrated in the capital's empty streets — including marching down Hamra Street, one of its glitziest shopping lanes — it was clear that the show-of-force would have wide implications for Lebanon and the entire Mideast.

Three days of street battles and gunfights capped by Hizbullah have killed at least 14 people and wounded 20 — the country's worst sectarian fighting since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Three more people were killed in two separate incidents on Friday after the Hizbullah takeover. Two of them were Druze allies of Hizbullah who died in a shooting in a hilly suburb southeast of the capital late Friday, security officials said.

The leaders of Qatar and Syria held talks on Lebanon in Damascus, which wields influence with Hizbullah and has close relations with Iran. Syria's official news agency said the two sides agreed the conflict in Lebanon was an internal affair and expressed hope the feuding parties would find a solution through dialogue.

About 100 Shiite Hizbullah militants wearing matching camouflage uniforms and carrying assault rifles marched down Hamra Street, a normally vibrant commercial strip in a mainly Sunni area of Beirut. They took up positions in corners and sidewalks and stopped the few cars braving the empty streets to search their trunks.

On nearby streets, dozens of fighters from another Hizbullah -allied party appeared, some wearing masks and carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

The Hizbullah takeover was peaceful in some neighborhoods as the militants fanned out across the Muslim sector of the city.

Later in the day, Lebanese troops began taking up positions in some Sunni neighborhoods abandoned by the pro-government groups, but did not intervene in the clashes, which had largely tapered off into sporadic gunfire by early afternoon. Some of the gunfire was celebratory in the air by the militants.

A senior security official said the army began deploying on some streets with the end of the clashes and would soon take over the Sunnis' last stronghold of Tarik Jadideh. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In some cases Hizbullah handed over newly won positions to Lebanese troops, presumably after having made clear to everyone its strength ahead of the next round of negotiations with opponents over the country's political future.

Hezbollah's power was demonstrated dramatically Friday morning when it forced Future TV, the station affiliated to the party of Lebanon's top Sunni lawmaker, Saad Hariri, off the air.

Gunmen also set chaos in the offices of the party's newspaper, Al-Mustaqbal, in the coastal neighborhood of Ramlet el-Bayda.

Later in the afternoon, anti-government gunmen loyal to a pro-Syrian group attacked and set on fire a two-story building where Hariri's Future TV have their archives in the western neighborhood of Raouche.

With top leaders Hariri of the Sunnis and Druze leader Walid Jumblat besieged in their residences, officials of the pro-government majority held an emergency meeting in the mountain town of Maarab, northeast of Beirut

After the meeting, the March 14 forces called on the army to take control of the streets and urged Arab and international intervention to pressure the countries that support Hizbullah — meaning Iran and Syria.

"The bloody coup d'etat aims at returning Syria to Lebanon and placing Iran on the Mediterranean," said the statement read by Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. "Violence will not terrorize us, but it will increase our resolve," he said.

He said the Hizbullah takeover violated the constitution which governs Christian-Muslim coexistence in Lebanon.

Late Friday, a group of gunmen fired about a dozen bullets at a statue of Rafik Hariri next to the seafront road where he was killed in a massive 2005 truck bombing. The statue was raised in February on the anniversary of the assassination.

Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and several ministers were holed up in Saniora's downtown office surrounded by troops and police.

An emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo to discuss the crisis will be held in two days, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki.

The unrest has virtually shut down Lebanon's international airport and barricades closed major highways. The seaport also was closed, leaving one land route to Syria as Lebanon's only link to the outside world.

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Registrar of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Begins Duty

2008-05-05T12:00:00.000Z

First official of UN-backed tribunal on Lebanese killings starts work

29 April 2008 – The first official of the United Nations-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon to take up his functions, the registrar Robin Vincent, began his duties yesterday as the court continues to make progress in its start-up phase.

In a statement issued today by his spokesperson, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Mr. Vincent will work closely with the Special Tribunal’s management committee and with the UN Secretariat to take the necessary steps to formally establish the court, in line with Security Council resolution 1757 from last year.

“He will initially concentrate his activities on preparing the premises of the Tribunal, coordinating the transition between the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) and the Tribunal, recruiting core staff, and finalizing the Tribunal’s budget,” the statement added.

The Council asked Mr. Ban last year to set up the court after Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora informed the 15-member body that all domestic options had been exhausted, due to the country’s ongoing political crisis.

The Special Tribunal is designed to try those accused of recent political murders in Lebanon, particularly the February 2005 assassination of the former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in a massive car bombing in downtown Beirut that killed 22 others.

Last month, in a report to the Council, Mr. Ban said the selection of the judges and the prosecutor has also been completed and a draft budget will be submitted soon to the management committee of the Tribunal.

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29 April 2008

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

Robin Vincent yesterday commenced his duties as Registrar of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He was appointed by the Secretary-General on 10 March 2008 and is the first official of the Special Tribunal to take up his functions.

Mr. Vincent will work in close consultation with the Special Tribunal’s Management Committee and the United Nations Secretariat to take the steps necessary for the Tribunal to be established in a timely manner, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1757 (2007). He will initially concentrate his activities on preparing the premises of the Tribunal, coordinating the transition between the International Independent Investigative Commission and the Tribunal, recruiting core staff, and finalizing the Tribunal’s budget.

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Related materials on Special Tribunal for Lebanon:

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Ready ― UN Report

- Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- Registrar of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Appointed, Tribunal Is Ready

- 'Management Committee' of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Set Up

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Gets Base, Judges

- The International Tribunal for Lebanon (Resolution 1757)

- UN Report on the Establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- Ninth report of Hariri International Investigation Commission

- Memo for International Tribunal for Lebanon

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Comes Into Force

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News Concerning Middle East Reform

2008-04-30T19:59:00.000Z

This is the news section of the April issue (latest issue) of Arab Reform Bulletin Published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:

Egypt: Bread Crisis; Editor Convicted; Ayman Nour to Remain in Prison
Arab States: Arab League Summit
Lebanon: Presidential Vote Delayed; Tenth Hariri Investigation Report
Palestine: Peace Process; Fatah-Hamas Dialogue; Journalist Arrested
Syria: Journalist Trial; Attack on Kurdish Celebration
Jordan: Journalists Sentenced to Prison; Restrictions on Internet Cafés
Iraq: Attacks on Journalists
Kuwait: Cabinet Resigns; Parliament Dissolved; Two Ex-MPs Detained
Saudi Arabia: King Calls for Dialogue; New Fatwa Condemns Writers
Bahrain: Minister Questioning Over Population Controversy
Qatar: First Church
UAE: First Female Judge; Labor Unrest
Yemen: Publications Banned
Tunisia: Constitutional Amendment; Comedian Released
Libya: Political Prisoner Released to Hospital
Algeria: Churches Shut Down; Journalist Interrogated
Morocco: Journalist Fined; “Online Prince” Pardoned
Mauritania: Journalists Arrested

Egypt: Bread Crisis; Editor Convicted; Ayman Nour to Remain in Prison

On March 16, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered the army to boost bread production and distribution to cope with a recent bread crisis that has sparked unrest leading to two reported deaths. Demand for subsidized bread has gone up steadily in recent months, fueled by increasing commodity prices that have made unsubsidized bread less affordable for the 50 percent of the population living below the poverty line. At the same time, the supply has declined as subsidized bakeries have allegedly sold some of their flour; out of the 20,000 tons of flour supplied to bakeries daily, an estimated 4,000 tons are sold on the black market. Click here for more information.

On March 12, state security forces raided the home of Abduljalil al-Sharnouby, editor in chief of the IkhwanOnline web site—the official site of the Muslim Brotherhood—over coverage of the upcoming municipal elections, and confiscated books, papers, and other belongings. Click here for more information.

A Cairo court sentenced Ibrahim Eissa, editor of al-Dustur newspaper, to six months in prison on March 26 for printing rumors about President Hosni Mubarak’s health deemed “likely to disturb public security and harm the country’s economy.” Eissa posted bail to avoid imprisonment until appeal. At least eight journalists have been sentenced to prison for press-related offenses since September 2007. The Committee to Protect Journalists designated Egypt as one of the worst backsliders on press freedom, citing an increase in the number of legal and physical attacks on the press. Click here for more information.

Thousands of Egyptian university lecturers held a nationwide strike on March 23 demanding salary increases and better pensions. Lecturers are demanding a doubling of their salaries, currently approximately 2,000 Egyptian pounds (U.S. $365) per month. The country has been hit by a wave of labor strikes and demonstrations in recent months in the face of inflation. Click here for more information.

On March 17, Cairo’s Supreme Administrative Court rejected a bid to free jailed opposition politician Ayman Nour on health grounds. Nour was sentenced to five years in prison on December 24, 2005, on charges of forging documents. Nour's lawyer issued a plea to President Mubarak to pardon the one-time presidential contender. Click here for more information.

On March 4, the Bush administration released $100 million in military aid to Egypt, waiving Congressionally-imposed restrictions on “national security grounds.” The 2008 appropriations bill passed by Congress in December 2008 withheld $100 million of a $1.3 billion military aid package to Egypt until the administration certified Egypt had done enough to protect the independence of the judiciary, curb police abuses and put a stop to arms smuggling to Gaza. Freedom House issued a statement on March 20 expressing disappointment at the administration’s decision.

Arab States: Arab League Summit

The Arab League held its twentieth annual leaders’ summit in Damascus on March 29-30. The summit’s final statement expressed concern about “rising Islamophobia around the world,” called on Lebanon to elect a consensus president, and re-endorsed an Arab initiative for peace with Israel. The Saudi-led initiative, which offers normalization of relations with Israel if it withdraws from occupied Arab territories, was first adopted in the 2002 summit in Beirut. Half the leaders of the 22-member Arab League, including those of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan, did not attend the Damascus summit, blaming Syria for Lebanon's protracted crisis. The leaders agreed on Doha as the venue for their 2009 summit. Click here for the leaders’ speeches in Arabic.

Lebanon: Presidential Vote Delayed; Tenth Hariri Investigation Report

On March 25, the Lebanese parliament postponed for the fifteenth time the session to elect a new president. It is now scheduled for April 22. The Western-backed ruling coalition and the pro-Syria opposition led by Hizbollah remain unable to agree on the makeup of a new government. Lebanon has been without a head of state since November 2007, when Syrian-backed Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term.

The UN International Independent Investigation Commission looking into the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri and other political killings in Lebanon submitted its tenth interim report to the UN Security Council on March 28. The Commission indicated it has evidence that a network of individuals acted in concert to carry out the assassination of al-Hariri and that this same network, or parts of it, is linked to other political killings in Lebanon. The report did not name any suspects. In addition to the Hariri case, the UN Commission is mandated to assist Lebanese authorities probe twenty attacks against anti-Syrian targets in Lebanon.

Palestine: Peace Process; Fatah-Hamas Dialogue; Journalist Arrested

Israelis and Palestinians agreed on March 30 to a series of steps including an Israeli pledge to remove fifty roadblocks, upgrade checkpoints to speed up the movement of Palestinians through the West Bank, and give Palestinians more security responsibility in the town of Jenin. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, visiting the region for the second time this month in the hopes of energizing the faltering talks, said the moves “constitute a very good start to improving” a Palestinian economy crippled by the Israeli restrictions. Meanwhile, Jerusalem authorities announced on March 31 plans to expand an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem, adding 600 new housing units. The Israel-based activist group Peace Now reports that expansions in 101 Israeli settlements in the West Bank are currently underway.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Gaza on March 31 for unconditional talks. Fatah and Hamas reached a Yemeni-brokered deal on March 23 to open their first direct talks since the 2006 Hamas takeover of Gaza. The “Sanaa Declaration,” signed by Fatah and Hamas representatives, calls for talks between the two parties and a “return of the Palestinian situation to what it was before the events in Gaza.” Recent media reports cite criticisms by some Fatah leaders of the declaration and Fatah-Hamas disagreements over its interpretation.

Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank arrested Amer Nawaf of the Ramattan News Agency in Ramallah on March 12, accusing him of being a member of Hamas. Nawaf was freed the next day without being charged. Since the Hamas-Fatah split in June 2007, dozens of journalists have been subject to brief detention and interrogation in Gaza and the West Bank. Click here for more information.

Syria: Journalist Trial; Attack on Kurdish Celebration

On March 15, a military tribunal adjourned the trial of journalist Mazen Darwish, head of the Syrian Center for Media Freedom and Freedom of Expression, until April 15. Darwish is accused of “slandering and defaming state bodies” for publishing a report about January 2008 riots in Damascus and criticizing the failure of the security bodies to protect the citizens killed in the riots. Arrested on January 12 while covering the riots, Darwish was released three days later. Click here for more information.

A March 24 Human Rights Watch statement called on Syrian authorities to investigate the March 20 shooting of three Syrian Kurds by security forces in the northern town of Qamishli during a celebration of the Persian new year, Nowruz. Syrian authorities have not issued an official statement on the incident, but Syrian forces have used force in the past to break up Kurdish cultural celebrations. In March 2006, security officers arrested dozens of Kurds and used teargas and batons to stop a candle-lit procession on Nowruz.

Jordan: Journalists Sentenced to Prison; Restrictions on Internet Cafés

On March 16, an Amman court sentenced five journalists to three months in prison each in two separate cases. In the first case, two of Jordan's main daily newspapers, al-Dustur and al-Arab al-Yawm, were found in contempt of the judiciary for publishing a news item about a lawsuit filed by a Jordanian disputing a court decision to deprive him of his citizenship. The court handed prison sentences to Usama Sharif and Fayez al-Lawzi of al-Dustur, and Taher al-Adwan and Sahar al-Qasem of al-Arab al-Yawm. In the second case, a court convicted satirical writer Abdul Hadi Raji Majali of slander for an article about the Higher Media Council. Click here for more information.

The Jordanian Ministry of Interior issued new instructions for monitoring internet cafés on March 9. The new instructions oblige café owners to install cameras to monitor internet users, register their personal information, and record data on the websites visited. The instructions also mandate installing a censorship program to prevent access to websites containing pornographic material, insulting religious beliefs, or promoting the use of drugs or tobacco. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information denounced the decision, calling it a violation of rights to use the Internet and exchange information. Click here for more information.

A Jordanian court sentenced a Palestinian-born Frenchman to three months in jail on March 12 for slandering Jordan’s King Abdullah. The man pleaded guilty and was initially sentenced to a year in jail by the state security court, which later reduced the penalty because he was a foreigner. Punishment for defaming the King can be up to three years in prison. Click here for more information.

Iraq: Attacks on Journalists

Iraqi media executive Qassem Abdul Hussein al-Eqabi was shot by an unknown gunman on March 13 in Baghdad’s largely Shi’i Karradah neighborhood. Al-Eqabi was the head of public relations and distribution for the local political daily newspaper al-Muwatin. According to the Iraqi Union of Journalists, this death brings the total number of Iraqi journalists killed since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 to 272. Click here for more information.

Editor Mohammed Saleh Hajji Taha of the Kurdish daily Rahsen, was freed on bail three days after his March 16 arrest for writing articles criticizing the penal code of Iraq. No date has been set for his trial.

Kuwait: Cabinet Resigns; Parliament Dissolved; Two Ex-MPs Detained

Kuwait’s Amir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah announced on March 19 his decision to dissolve the parliament, citing its "irresponsible conduct." New elections will be held on May 17. The decision followed the resignation of the cabinet on March 17, less than a year after it was sworn in, complaining of a lack of cooperation by the national assembly. The cabinet resignation left Sheikh Sabah with two options under the constitution: to order the formation of a new cabinet or to dissolve the parliament and call for new elections within two months. A continuing government-parliament standoff has paralyzed political life in Kuwait and delayed key economic development projects. This is the fifth time the parliament has been dissolved since it was set up in 1963. Sheikh Sabah’s predecessors suspended parliamentary life from 1976-81 and 1986-92.

On March 26, Kuwaiti police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of tribesmen protesting the arrest of eight men for organizing an illegal form of primary elections. The eight men from Kuwait's major Bedouin tribes were remanded in police custody after interrogation about their role in organizing tribal elections banned by law. Kuwaiti tribes often resort to primary elections in a bid to field a small number of candidates to boost their chances of winning seats in parliament.

Former Shi’i MPs Abdulmohsen Jamal and Nasser Sorkhouh were released on a 10,000 dinar bail (U.S. $37,855) on March 25, after being arrested and interrogated by Kuwait’s public prosecutor. The MPs had been detained since March 9 on suspicion of membership in an alleged “Kuwaiti Hizbollah.” Police also arrested prominent Shi’i cleric Sheikh Hussein al-Maatuq and four other activists on the same charge. All activists denied the accusation. The public prosecutor indicated that he will press formal charges after the necessary inquiries are completed. The crackdown follows a rally last month to mourn Hizbollah military commander Imad Mughniyah, who was killed in a car bombing in Damascus.

On March 8, a Kuwait City criminal court withdrew the licenses of two weekly newspapers, al-Abraj and al-Shaab, in two separate cases. The court fined al-Abraj editor Mansour al-Hayni and al-Shaab editor Hamed Abu Yabes 9,000 Kuwaiti dinars (U.S. $33,785) each. Al-Hayni was convicted of "besmirching the prime minister's reputation" while Yabes was convicted of publishing political articles in a newspaper licensed only to cover arts and culture. Click here for more information.

Saudi Arabia: King Calls for Dialogue; New Fatwa Condemns Writers

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called March 25 for a dialogue among monotheistic religions, including Judaism. The King said that Saudi Arabia’s top clerics have given him approval to pursue his idea. He declared plans to get the opinion of Muslim leaders from other countries and asked “representatives of all the monotheistic religions to meet with their brothers in faith.” The King added that he had discussed the project, which he has been mulling over for two years, with Pope Benedict XVI during his landmark visit to the Vatican late last year.

On March 14, Saudi cleric Abdul Rahman al-Barrak issued a fatwa calling for the trial of writers Yousef Aba al-Khail and Abdullah Bin Bejad for their "heretical articles" and their death if they do not repent. The fatwa came in response to recent articles in the Saudi daily al-Riyadh by the two writers challenging the view that adherents of other faiths are to be condemned as infidels. Click here for more information.

Bahrain: Minister Questioning Over Population Controversy

Parliament members from al-Wefaq, Bahrain’s largest Shi’i opposition group, presented on March 25 a request to question Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Ahmed Bin Ateyatallah al-Khalifa. Al-Wefaq accuses the minister of concealing information about the country’s population. Opposition groups have accused the Sunni-controlled government of secretly naturalizing non-Bahraini Sunnis in a bid to alter the demographic balance of the country, which has a Shi’i majority. The Bahraini government denies the accusation. Sunni Islamists and pro-government MPs, who hold twenty-two out of forty seats in parliament, have thus far blocked al-Wefaq’s attempts to question the minister.

Qatar: First Church

On March 14, Qatar inaugurated its first Christian church, with five additional churches under construction. Qatar's emir, Sheikh Khalifa al-Thani, donated the land to build the $15 million dollar church in the outskirts of the capital Doha. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates host churches that cater to hundreds of thousands of expatriates and, in some cases, small local communities. Click here for more information.

UAE: First Female Judge; Labor Unrest

The United Arab Emirates named Kholoud Ahmed al-Dhaheri as its first woman judge on March 26. The move made the UAE the second Arab country in the Gulf (after Bahrain) to appoint a female judge. The UAE cabinet includes four women. Nine women also sit on the 40-member Federal National Council, an assembly that advises the government.

Some 1,500 foreign workers in Sharjah staged a violent protest for higher wages on March 19, setting dozens of vehicles on fire and damaging property. Asian workers have demonstrated several times in the past year to demand higher wages and better living conditions despite a ban on public protests in the UAE. Many construction workers earn less than $200 per month and are facing mounting inflation. Click here for more information.

Yemen: Publications Banned

On March 14, Yemeni authorities banned the distribution of the new current affairs monthly Abwab. The first issue of Abwab, which was printed in Dubai, was seized on arrival at Sanaa airport. The magazine's editor said the cover, which showed President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was deemed to be disrespectful to the president. On March 4, the Ministry of Information ordered a ban on the newspaper al-Sabah, known to be critical of the government. Authorities continued censoring news websites and blocked access to the website of the Yemeni Socialist Party without explanation. Yemen is on Reporters Without Border’s list of “Countries Under Surveillance” due to its internet censorship policies. Click here for more information.

Tunisia: Constitutional Amendment; Comedian Released

President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali announced on March 21 that Tunisia will amend its constitution to allow more candidates to contest next year's presidential election. Leaders of any legal party, including those with no parliament seats, will be able to stand provided they were elected to the post and have held it for two consecutive years. Until now, only leaders of parties with parliamentary seats could run. Ben Ali has yet to confirm he will stand for re-election next year. Click here for more information.

Comedian Hedi Ould Baballah was released from prison on March 20, after a special pardon was issued on the occasion of Tunisia’s Independence Day. Baballah was sentenced on February 4 to one year in prison and a fine of 1,000 dinars (U.S. $800) for possession of narcotics. At the hearing, the comedian denied any knowledge of the drugs and alleged that there was a police conspiracy against him in connection with his controversial political satire. Baballah had been performing a skit in which he imitated President Ben Ali.

Libya: Political Prisoner Released to Hospital

Libyan authorities transferred political dissident Fathi al-Jahmi to a hospital March 11 due to his deteriorating health. Al-Jahmi reportedly is free to see his family but not to leave the hospital. Al-Jahmi has been detained since March 2004, when he was rearrested after making comments critical of Libyan leader Qaddafi upon release from a previous term in prison. Click here for a Human Rights Watch statement on the case.

Algeria: Churches Shut Down; Journalist Interrogated

On March 9, Algerian authorities ordered the closure of two Protestant churches in the Algerian city of Tizi Ouzou for alleged missionary work. Religious Affairs Minister Bu Abdullah Ghoulamullah told reporters that the churches were "trying to establish a minority, which might give foreign powers a pretext to intervene in Algeria's domestic affairs." Algerian law forbids attempts to convert Muslims to other religions and bans the production of media intended to “shake the faith of a Muslim.” Algeria has ordered thirteen Protestant churches to shut down since November. Click here for more information.

Morocco: Journalist Fined; “Online Prince” Pardoned

On March 25, a Rabat court convicted Rachid Nini, editor of the daily newspaper al-Massae, of libel and public insults, and ordered him to pay 6 million Moroccan dirhams (U.S. $825,400) in damages and a fine of 120,000 dirhams (U.S. $16,500) in a case brought by four deputy public prosecutors. The four deputy prosecutors sued Nini in early February, claiming they had been defamed by a November 18 report published in his newspaper. The report claimed that four unnamed officials had attended a homosexual marriage ceremony in the northern town of al-Qasr al-Kabir. Click here for more information.

On March 18, Morocco’s King Mohammed issued a royal pardon releasing Fouad Mourtada, an IT engineer who had been serving a three-year jail sentence for creating a false profile on Facebook in the name of the King’s brother, Moulay Rachid. Mourtada was convicted on February 22 of “modifying and falsifying information technology data and usurping an official’s identity.” Click here for more information.

Mauritania: Journalists Arrested

On March 25, Mauritanian authorities arrested two journalists, Muhammad Salim Ould Muhammad and Sidi Ould Abdelkader, from the pro-Islamist Assiraj newspaper. Abdelkader was released the same day, while Muhammad remains in custody without charge. The two journalists have written articles criticizing the Mauritanian economic and political situation as well as government restrictions on the media. Click here for more information.

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Nassim Yaziji's Neo-Internationalism

Nassim Yaziji's Articles

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Syria's Lost Independence: The Totalitarian Occupation

2008-04-17T17:08:00.000Z

After the Syria's independence became an occupation imposing a totalitarian tyranny on Syria and Syrian people, our civilization was destroyed; citizens became refugees in their homeland; the state became a ranch owned by an oligarchy, which is a bunch of rural thugs, thieves and hit men, all thanks to the revolution's accomplishments of al-Baath terrorist group.

Many brave Syrians, like Aref Dalila, Anwar al-Bunni, Kamal Labawani, Riad Seif and many others, are struggling for Syria's democratic independence and Syrians' rights and freedoms.This is a tribute to all those heroes on our lost independence's anniversary.

We, Syrians, totally appreciate their struggle and we are so proud of them, and we believe that we will regain our democratic independence.

Syria: Opposition Activists Tell of Beatings in Interrogation

Authorities Should Release All 12, and Investigate Allegations of Physical Abuse

Human Rights Watch

(New York, February 5, 2008) – The Syrian government has arbitrarily detained at least 12 activists who attended a meeting of opposition groups in December, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately release the detained activists, dismiss all charges against them, and promptly investigate credible allegations that State Security officials beat at least eight of the activists during interrogation.

The 12, including former member of parliament Riad Seif, have been detained as part of a government crackdown against individuals who attended a December 1 meeting of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic Change (NCDD), an umbrella group of opposition and pro-democracy groups.

On January 28, the third investigative judge in Damascus, Muhammad Subhi al-Sa`ur, referred 11 of the detainees to prosecutors on politically motivated charges of “weakening national sentiment,” “spreading false or exaggerated news which would affect the morale of the country,” “membership in an organization formed with the purpose of changing the structure of the state,” “inciting sectarian strife,” and “joining a secret association.”

“The Syrian authorities are treating these activists like criminals simply because they called for democratic and peaceful change,” said Joe Stork, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

Eight of the 11 told the investigative judge that State Security officials beat them during their interrogation and forced them to sign confessions that they planned to take money from foreign countries in order to divide the country by giving the Kurds a separate state. The detainees’ lawyers told Human Rights Watch that the activists told the investigative judge in their judicial questioning how they were punched in the face, kicked, and slapped by State Security officials.

One detainee, `Ali al-Abdullah, was transferred on January 28 to a medical examiner to check his complaint that interrogators had injured his ear. The doctor declined to issue a report, saying that he was not a specialist in ear injuries. No investigation was reportedly opened in the allegations of ill-treatment. The detainees’ lawyers told Human Rights Watch that the investigative judge did not respond to their request to receive a copy of the interrogation that he conducted with the detainees.

The authorities are currently holding 10 of the detainees, including Riad Seif, in `Adra prison with common criminals. Fida’ al-Hurani, the only woman in the group and the recently elected president of the NCDD, is in the women’s jail in Duma, near Damascus. The 12th and latest activist to be detained, Talal Abu Dan, an artist and sculptor from Aleppo, has remained in the custody of State Security since he was called in for interrogation on January 30.

Since the activists’ referral to jails in `Adra and Duma, their relatives have been able to visit the activists. Conditions of detention are harsh: prison authorities do not provide mattresses, and many of the activists are still wearing the same clothes since their arrest in December. According to relatives, they are allowed to pass money to the activists but no clothes. Lawyers that have seen the detainees told Human Rights Watch that some looked “weak and tired.” Riad Seif, who suffers from prostate cancer and has a heart condition, was forced to sleep with a single blanket in the general hall of the prison, exposed to cold weather.

“Syrian prison authorities are mistreating these activists,” said Stork. “These people should not be in prison in the first place.”

Background

The government crackdown began on December 9 when State Security, one of Syria’s multiple security agencies, began arresting some of the 163 activists that attended the National Council of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic Change (NCDD). A total of 40 NCDD members have been arrested and 12 remain in detention. The 12 who remain in detention are:

1. Walid al-Bunni, 44, physician
2. Yasser al-`Eiti, 40, physician and poet
3. Feda’ al-Hurani, 51, physician
4. Akram al-Bunni, 51, writer
5. Ahmad To`meh, 51, dentist
6. Jabr al-Shufi, 60, Arabic-literature teacher
7. `Ali al-`Abdullah, 58, writer
8. Fayez Sarah, 58, writer and journalist
9. Muhammad Hajj Darwish, 48, businessman
10. Marwan al-`Ush, 52, engineer
11. Riad Seif, 61,former member of parliament
12. Talal Abu Dan, 55, artist and sculptor

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The dangers of speaking out in Syria

Amnesty International

Being a Syrian political or human rights activist requires courage -- the government is intolerant of dissent. The 45-year-old state of emergency gives the security police wide powers of arrest and detention, which they use against those who dare to speak out for human rights or in opposition to the authorities.

Under the long-running state of emergency, a special court – the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) – was established to try those who dissent or are accused of offences against state security. Created in 1968, the SSSC’s proceedings are grossly unfair and it has sentenced hundreds of people to prison terms.

Defendants before the SSSC tend to be members of unauthorized political parties, human rights organisations, civil society groups and others who may have peacefully expressed opinions that differ from those of the authorities. Yet they are often accused and convicted of vague, widely interpreted and unsubstantiated security offences, such as membership of a terrorist organisation, "exposing Syria to the threat of hostile acts", "weakening nationalist sentiments", "opposing the objectives of the revolution" and "inciting sectarian strife."

Fateh Jamus, for example, was convicted of terrorism, although no evidence was produced in court to indicate that he had ever used or advocated violence. Of up to 1,000 individuals arrested for their suspected involvement in the banned Communist Labour Party, he and more than 20 others were detained for over a decade before they were eventually brought to trial at various times in the 1990s. He was eventually freed in 2000, three years beyond the expiry of his 15-year sentence.

Likewise, Muhammad Zammar was detained for nearly five years without charge before he was convicted in 2007, without any substantiating evidence, of membership of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

The SSSC is not independent. It is effectively under the control of the executive branch of government and operates outside the ordinary criminal justice system. Its judges are invariably members of the ruling Ba'ath Party and are appointed on the recommendation of the Minister of the Interior.

For detainees and defendants, communication with a lawyer is restricted and rarely confidential. Defendants are unable to meet with a lawyer during pre-trial detention and usually first meet their lawyer at the first trial session, often for just a few minutes. Trials are usually closed to the public. Defendants tried before the SSSC are not allowed to appeal their conviction and sentence to a higher tribunal, in breach of international standards of fair trial.

“The violations do not affect only the detainees [but also] their families and lawyers,” said Razan Zaytounah, a Syrian human rights lawyer banned since November 2005 from working in the court by the SSSC’s president, following an argument during which he is also reported to have insulted her.

The SSSC, she explains, “violates the right of defence and the right of a convicted person to appeal against or challenge their sentence, because its verdicts are final… It does not abide by the criminal procedures applicable to the ordinary legal system [and] this court violates the principle of separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary.”

Even after release, “some effects will in fact haunt you to the grave,” adds Fateh Jamus. "You are forbidden from going back to work, from receiving any compensation and you are subject to a travel ban."

The SSSC contributes to impunity in Syria – the court has systematically failed to investigate numerous allegations made by defendants that they were tortured during pre-trial detention and interrogation, and that "confessions" were extracted from them under duress.

As Fateh Jamus says, "The fact that an individual may have been tortured at interrogation centres for instance is totally ignored. [The court] does not pay attention to this matter at all. Statements taken or investigations carried out by the security agencies are paramount in handing down judgments on prisoners."

Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Syrian authorities to end unfair trials before the SSSC. In the run up to the 45th anniversary of the declaration of Syria’s state of emergency on 8 March, Amnesty International is again calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to fundamentally reform or abolish the SSSC and to ensure that Syria’s courts comply with the country’s obligations under international law

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Resurrecting the Wall of Fear: The Human Rights Situation in Syria

By Robert Grace

United States Institute of Peace
April 2008

Over the past several months, Syrian authorities have engaged in a harsh campaign of repression against leading dissidents and human rights activists. The crackdown, overshadowed by developments elsewhere in the region, has received scant media coverage in the U.S. and Europe. To shed light on recent developments in the Syrian political scene, USIP recently convened a public discussion on human rights in Syria, featuring the Institute’s Radwan Ziadeh, Mona Yacoubian, and Steven Heydemann, and Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch. This USIPeace Briefing summarizes their presentations and the subsequent discussion.

USIP Senior Fellow Radwan Ziadeh's account of the current situation in Syria underscored that the regime often uses national security concerns as a pretext to silence all forms of dissent. Placing recent repression in historical context, Ziadeh noted that government repression of political and human rights activists has come in several waves in the past decade. While political activism briefly flourished after the death of longtime Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in June 2000, the so-called Damascus Spring ended within months, after a severe government crackdown. Another wave of detentions followed the May 2006 "Beirut-Damascus Declaration," which called for improved relations between Syria and neighboring Lebanon. (Lebanon is a sensitive subject for Syria, which claims historic title to the Mediterranean nation and has long played an active role in Lebanon’s internecine political struggles. Complicating matters further is a U.N. tribunal convened to investigate Syria’s suspected involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri.)

The latest regime crackdown followed a December 1, 2007, meeting of 163 activists who gathered in Damascus to declare their support for democratization in Syria. These activists formed a new coalition—the National Council of the Damascus Declaration—that issued a unified call for freedom of association and speech, and the establishment and protection of human rights. Rallying around the Damascus Declaration for Democratic and National Change, written in October 2005, the Council comprised a wide-ranging coalition that included Islamists, secularists, and Kurds.

The government crackdown began in earnest eight days later, when Syrian authorities undertook a wave of arrests targeting meeting participants. Former parliamentarian Riad Seif was among those detained on charges of "weakening the national sentiment," illegal association activities, and "sectarian incitement." Seif suffers from prostate cancer and has been denied medical treatment by Syrian authorities. His health continues to decline in Adra Prison, where he is detained alongside the prominent writer and fellow Council member Ali Abdullah. Numerous international human rights organizations assert that Syrian political prisoners suffer harsh abuses at the hands of their prison guards and that torture is widespread 1. Indeed, according to Abdullah’s lawyers, he was beaten so severely that he sustained a hole in his trachea.

In his presentation, Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch discussed what he called "capricious cruelty on the part of the regime." Activist Kamal al-Labwani, sentenced to twelve years of hard labor for meeting with U.S. government officials and NGO representatives, is a case in point. Another is Fida’ al-Hurani, one of the first Syrian women to be imprisoned for speaking out on the issue of human rights. Recent reports indicate that her husband was forcibly exiled to Jordan—according to Stork, the regime’s first forced expulsion in many years. Hurani’s case is all the more dramatic given that her father, Akram al-Hurani, was one of the early founders of the Syrian Baath Party.

Stork reiterated Ziadeh’s assessment that national security is used as a catch-all excuse to silence critics of the Syrian regime. In another high profile case, Aref Dalila, former dean of the economics department at Damascus University, was arrested and jailed in September 2001. His detention came after a meeting of democracy activists, held at the house of Riad Seif. As with Seif, Dalila suffers serious health problems that a prolonged imprisonment, including months of solitary confinement, have exacerbated. Noting that Dalila was held on charges that include "holding gatherings aimed at causing disorder" and "forming a secret society," Stork surmised that Dalila’s imprisonment had as much to do with an impassioned opinion piece that he wrote for the daily Al-Hayat in March of that year. Dalila wrote, "We live in a republic with a progressive constitution. ...What, then, are we missing?...You’ve shelved the constitution and the laws," and replaced them with "one law, composed of one line, unwritten, invisible."2

In this chilling environment, organizations such as Stork’s Human Rights Watch have difficulty performing their work. Although the official ban on their presence in Syria does not prevent them entirely from doing investigative work, their interlocutors are under constant watch by the secret police. Stork argued that the tenuous state of diplomatic relations between Syria and Western powers hampers progress on the human rights front as well. Visits between Syrian officials and their EU and U.S. counterparts are rare. When such visits have occurred—as with Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Damascus in April 2007, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana’s visit the preceding month—opportunities to discuss the human rights situation have been missed, Stork contended. He stated further that while White House press statements have responded to particular cases, such as Labwani’s, in a forceful manner, the Bush administration has been "extremely selective" and inconsistent in highlighting human rights abuses throughout the region. To raise the profile of individuals such as Labwani, Dalila, and Hurani, Stork concluded that more attention should be paid to regional repression in general and Syrian victims in particular.

Mona Yacoubian echoed Stork’s assessment that more attention should be paid to human rights in Syria. It is difficult to gauge the intentions or mindset of the Syrian regime, but it seems that the lack of attention paid to their repressive measures emboldens them. However, if Syria has confidence that it can act with impunity, it is a shallow confidence. Syria exhibits vulnerability on several fronts. The economy is beset by soaring inflation, driven by rising petroleum prices, in combination with the influx of over 1.5 million Iraqi refugees. The U.N. investigations and tribunal could result in the indictment of high-level Syrian officials. According to Yacoubian, some in the inner circles of Syrian power believe the tribunal to be a "Trojan horse" for regime change. The continued activity of the Syrian dissident community in Lebanon, from which Syria withdrew its military in May 2005, compounds this concern. Finally, the December 1 Council meeting, drawing together such a broad coalition, signaled to the regime the growing strength, scope, and boldness of the domestic opposition.

President Bush’s meeting with three exiled Syrian activists on December 4 may have further spooked the regime. Yacoubian underscored that such high-profile meetings with Syrian oppositionists may do more harm than good, having little impact on the ground in Syria, while giving the regime a pretext to crack down further. She characterized U.S. policy toward Syria as based largely on isolation, with some "episodic engagement," limited to specific issues such as Iraq.

Meanwhile, intensified sanctions, such as those placed in February on the assets of President Bashar al-Assad’s cousin, Rami Makhlouf, have little real impact on the corrupt autocracy they are intended to weaken (Makhlouf has no known assets in the U.S.). Ultimately, the effect of U.S. sanctions has been largely symbolic, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty for U.S. business interests, but not having an appreciable impact on the ground. Currently, Yacoubian argued, the U.S. occupies a "muddled middle ground" on policy. The U.S. needs either to "supercharge" its isolation policy—strengthening it significantly by getting European allies and others (such as Russia, China, and Turkey) to agree to multilateral sanctions—or to engage the Syrian regime, laying the gamut of issues on the table for discussion, including human rights.

Moderator Steven Heydemann stated that the combination of verbal condemnation of Syrian behavior with the relative inefficacy of sanctions has led to growing Syrian disregard of external pressures. In 2003 the U.S. vocally pressed its case for a regional "freedom agenda"; by 2005, with the situation in Iraq spiraling out of control, U.S. rhetoric had become far more subdued. In this context, the Syrian regime seems to consider its anti-opposition activities to have a low opportunity cost. At the same time, said Heydemann, Syria sees little reward for steps taken to secure U.S. favor, as in the case of its increased surveillance of insurgent traffic across its border with Iraq.

In this low-risk, low-reward environment, tolerance for alternative perspectives within Syrian civil society has diminished—particularly regarding Syria’s role in Lebanon. The scope and severity of the crackdown on the National Council of the Damascus Declaration underscores the sensitivity of the Lebanon issue. In short, Heydemann concluded, Syria’s perception of the threat of internal opposition has become heightened at precisely the moment that the threat of external intervention has begun to appear empty.

With the human rights situation in Syria worsening, successfully confronting Syrian repression will require sustained attention and carefully crafted policy. Cautious engagement with Syria, the panelists agreed, seems to be the best of the admittedly problematic options that the U.S. and the international community have at their disposal. While more constructive relations with Syria must never come at the expense of Lebanon, the Syrian role in Middle Eastern affairs is too important to ignore. None of the essential issues must be left off the table—least of all the issue of human rights.

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Some related materials:

- Baath's Crackdown on Syrian Dissent

- Save Syrian People from Brutal Totalitarianism

- Syria's Baath and Online Censorship: The Internet Black Hole

- The Beirut-Damascus Declaration

- Syria's Independence: Free Anwar al-Bunni

- Totalitarian Baath and Free Anwar al-Bunni

- Free Kamal Labawani

Tenth Report of Hariri International Investigation Commission

2008-04-12T17:12:00.000Z

NETWORK OF INDIVIDUALS ACTED IN CONCERT TO CARRY OUT ASSASSINATION OF FORMER LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER RAFIQ HARIRI, SECURITY COUNCIL TOLD

New Head of Investigation Commission Says ‘Hariri Network’ Linked to Some Other Cases; Priority Now to Gather Evidence about Scope, Identity of All Participants

SC/9294
Security Council
5863rd Meeting

8 April 2008

The International Independent Investigation Commission could now confirm, on the basis of evidence, that a network of individuals had acted in concert to carry out the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on 14 February 2005, Daniel Bellamare told the Security Council this afternoon.

Briefing the Council on the Commission’s progress, that body’s newly appointed Commissioner also confirmed that that network -– the “Hariri Network” -– or parts of it, were linked to some of the other cases the Commission was looking into. The Commission had also gathered evidence that: the Hariri Network had existed before the Hariri assassination; that it conducted surveillance of Mr. Hariri before the attack; that it operated on the day of Mr. Hariri’s assassination; and that, at least part of the Network, continued to exist and operate after the assassination.

He said the Commission’s priority was now to gather more evidence about the Hariri Network, its scope, the identity of all of its participants and their role in the attacks, and their links with others outside the Network. The Commission had also continued to assist the Lebanese authorities in providing “technical assistance” in a number of cases. Investigation of possible links between those cases and the Hariri case continued.

Unfortunately, the establishment of the Commission had not had an immediate deterrent effect on terrorists, as bombings had continued, he said. Two more deadly attacks -– on Major General François al Haij and Major Wissam Eid, both members of Lebanon’s security forces -– had been added to the Commission’s mandate. The magnitude of the attacks and the fact that investigations were conducted in an environment dominated by ongoing security concerns added to the Commission’s challenges.

“But rest assured,” he said. “The Commission will not be deterred by this prevailing violence.” The Commission’s overarching principle was to ensure that justice was done. The Commission would yield to no pressure, political or otherwise. In its search for truth and justice, applying basic principles of fairness, neutrality and impartiality, the Commission must be guided by facts and evidence. Everything else was irrelevant. The Commission was an independent body, created to help put an end to impunity in Lebanon by ensuring that the perpetrators would have no safe haven and that they were eventually brought to justice.

Addressing the matter of confidentiality, he said the Commission had to constantly find a delicate balance between its reporting obligations and the need to preserve the confidentiality of the investigation. There was every intention, however, of being transparent to the extent possible without jeopardizing the security of those who wanted to cooperate, and the security of the staff. Transparency was essential to maintain the confidence of the public in the Commission.

As for the transition to the Special Tribunal in Lebanon, Mr. Bellemare, as the Prosecutor Designate of that Tribunal, said that the filing of eventual indictments would not be immediate after the establishment of the Tribunal, because evidence would have to be carefully and objectively considered in light of the applicable prosecution threshold. Ideally, however, the time between the establishment of the operations of the Tribunal and the filing of indictments should be as short as possible. That was the reason why the progress of the investigation had become such a crucial element in determining when the Tribunal would commence its operation. As a result, he requested a mandate extension for the Commission beyond 15 June.

He said that any unnecessary delay in finding the truth and bringing the perpetrators to justice must be avoided. The search for justice, however, must be allowed to follow its course. Although the frustration of the surviving victims, the families of the deceased, and the people of Lebanon who expected quick results were legitimate and understandable, that frustration must not be allowed to undermine the trust and the confidence the members of the international community and the people of Lebanon had placed in the Commission and in its process. No effort would be spared to expedite the process as much as was humanly possible.

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Tenth Report of Hariri International Investigation Commission: evidence indicating that a criminal network had conducted surveillance of Mr. Hariri and that at least part of it continued to exist and operate after the assassination

3 April 2008 – The priority of the inquiry probing the 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri is to now gather more evidence about the criminal network responsible for the massive car bombing and determine its participants, the head of the investigation says in his latest report to the Security Council.

Daniel Bellemare writes that the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) has accumulated evidence indicating that the criminal network had conducted surveillance of Mr. Hariri before he and 22 others were killed in the bombing in downtown Beirut on 14 February 2005, and that “at least part of the [so-called] Hariri network continued to exist and operate after the assassination.”

Mr. Bellemare says the IIIC is also trying to establish the links between members of the network and any others outside the group, and what role the network has played in other deadly attacks against prominent figures in Lebanon in recent years.

The commission is also continuing to pursue its investigation of the identity of the suicide bomber in the Hariri case, drawing on forensic information obtained and an analysis of the missing person files of various countries to generate possible leaders. DNA profiling is being carried out as well.

The report, published today, notes that progress has been made in several other investigations, including the attacks that targeted Major General François al-Hajj, killed in a car bombing last December, and Major Wissam Eid, murdered after a roadside explosion in late January this year.

“In the new cases, the Commission is working on a profile of the targeted victim and possible motives for the attack,” Mr. Bellemare writes.

He concludes in this report that the IIIC’s investigation “must continue to be guided solely by the facts and by the evidence. Its conclusions cannot rely on rumour or assumption; they must be supported by reliable evidence that will be admissible before a tribunal.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN are taking steps to set up the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to try those responsible for the death of Mr. Hariri and last month Security Council members welcomed a report that showed Mr. Ban is making significant progress.

A headquarters agreement has been signed with the Netherlands, a prosecutor and a registrar has been appointed, and a management committee has been established. Financial contributions and pledges have also come from several UN Member States.

Once it is formally established, it will be up to the Special Tribunal to determine whether other political killings in Lebanon since October 2004 were connected to the assassination of Mr. Hariri and could therefore be dealt with by the tribunal.

Tenth Report of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC)

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Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Ready ― UN Report

2008-03-28T17:56:00.001Z

(Picture: the building of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague)

International tribunal for Lebanon killings reaches start-up phase – UN report

18 March 2008 – The international tribunal being set up to try those responsible for political killings in Lebanon, particularly the 2005 attack that killed former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, has moved into its start-up phase, according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

All actions relating to the tribunal’s preparatory phase have been undertaken, including the signing an agreement with the Netherlands to host the proceedings and the identification of premises there, Mr. Ban says in his latest report to the Security Council, which details the steps taken since he was authorized to establish the Special Tribunal for Lebanon by a Council resolution last year.

The selection of the judges, the prosecutor and the registrar has also been completed and a draft budget will be submitted soon to the tribunal’s management committee.

In regard to financing, the Secretary-General states that adequate funds for the start-up have been deposited into a trust fund made up of contributions of UN Member States.

“I am confident that the contributions received, together with other expected contributions, will meet the budgetary requirements for the establishment and the first 12 months of operations of the Tribunal,” he says.

As of 27 February, the trust fund held nearly $30 million, with additional firm pledges totalling over $16 million, he states.

The Security Council asked the Secretary-General to set up the court after Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora asked the 15-member body to put the tribunal into effect as a matter of urgency because all domestic options had been exhausted, due to the country’s ongoing political crisis.

The tribunal will follow on the work of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC), which is charged with probing the murder of Mr. Hariri, who was killed along with 22 others in a massive car bombing in Beirut on 14 February 2005.

Once it is formally established, it will be up to the tribunal to determine whether other political killings in Lebanon since October 2004 were connected to Mr. Hariri's assassination and could therefore be dealt with by the tribunal.

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Following is the Second report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of SC resolution 1757 detailing the process of establishing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Second report of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 1757 (2007)

12 March 2008

I. Introduction

1. Under Security Council resolution 1757 (2007), I was mandated to take, in coordination, when appropriate, with the Government of Lebanon, the steps and measures necessary to establish the Special Tribunal in a timely manner, and to report to the Security Council within 90 days and thereafter periodically on the implementation of the resolution.

2. Since my first progress report, dated 4 September 2007 (S/2007/525), substantial progress has been made in a number of areas, including (a) the location of the seat of the Tribunal; (b) the appointment of the judges, the Prosecutor, the Deputy Prosecutor, the Registrar and the Head of the Defence Office; (c) the preparation of an estimate of the staffing and financial requirements; (d) the fulfilment of the Tribunal’s funding requirements; (e) the establishment of the Management Committee; (f) the transition from the International Independent Investigation Commission to the Tribunal; (g) security issues; and (h) the development of a communication and outreach programme.

3. The purpose of this report is to present the progress achieved since the last report and to provide an outline of the next steps.

II. Location of the seat

A. Headquarters agreement

4. On the basis of the statement of the Government of the Netherlands, described in my last report, that it was favourably disposed towards hosting the Tribunal, the Secretariat and the authorities of the Netherlands engaged in negotiations with a view to concluding an agreement concerning the headquarters of the Tribunal. Pursuant to article 8 of the annex to resolution 1757 (2007), a headquarters agreement was to be reached on a tripartite basis between the United Nations, Lebanon and the State hosting the Tribunal. However, paragraph 1 (b) of resolution 1757 (2007) provides that, if the Secretary-General reports that the headquarters agreement has not been concluded as envisioned under article 8 of the annex to the resolution, the location of the seat of the Tribunal shall be determined in consultation with the Government of Lebanon and be subject to the conclusion of a headquarters agreement between the United Nations and the State that hosts the Tribunal.

5. On 9 November 2007, I wrote to the Prime Minister of Lebanon seeking his views on the issue of concluding a headquarters agreement as envisioned under article 8 of the annex. On 12 November 2007, he responded, agreeing with my assessment that, under the prevailing circumstances, it would be difficult to pursue a tripartite headquarters agreement to be signed and ratified in a timely manner, as called for in paragraph 3 of resolution 1757 (2007). While expressing approval of the location of the seat of the Tribunal in the Netherlands, the Prime Minister asked that I continue to take all the necessary steps and measures to continue facilitating the process and finalizing a bilateral headquarters agreement.

6. On 14 December 2007, I informed the President of the Security Council of the agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Lebanon that the United Nations should pursue a bilateral headquarters agreement with the Government of the Netherlands, adding that negotiations between the United Nations and the authorities of the Netherlands had been successfully concluded. The agreement provides, inter alia, that the host State has no obligation to let persons convicted by the Special Tribunal serve their sentence of imprisonment in a prison facility on its territory. It also stipulates that the Registrar shall take all necessary measures to arrange the immediate relocation to third States of witnesses who for security reasons cannot return to their home countries after testifying before the Tribunal. On 21 December 2007, representatives of the United Nations and the Netherlands signed the Agreement between the United Nations and the Kingdom of the Netherlands concerning the Headquarters of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The Agreement was subsequently submitted by the Government to Parliament for approval.

B. Premises

7. In paragraph 6 of my last report, I indicated that the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Nicolas Michel, had initiated discussions with the authorities of the Netherlands regarding the modalities of the establishment of the Tribunal and had visited possible sites to house the Tribunal. To determine which site was most suitable, a number of technical assessments of the sites were undertaken, all of which concluded that a building located in the urban area of The Hague was suitable for the purpose of housing the Tribunal. On that basis and after consulting with States that had made significant contributions or pledges to the funding of the Tribunal, on 6 December 2007 the Legal Counsel informed the authorities of the Netherlands that the building identified was the preferred site for the Tribunal, subject to an agreement on its cost. On 7 December 2007, the authorities of the Netherlands made an offer concerning the cost of the building, which was approved by the above-mentioned States on 12 December. Plans for the refurbishment and adaptation of the premises are currently being evaluated.

III. Appointment of the judges, the Prosecutor, the Deputy Prosecutor, the Registrar and the Head of the Defence Office

A. The judges

8. In paragraph 9 of my previous report, I indicated that, on 10 July 2007, the Government of Lebanon had forwarded to me, in a sealed envelope, a list of 12 candidates proposed for judicial appointments by the Lebanese Supreme Council of the Judiciary, as set forth in article 2, paragraph 5 (a), of the annex to resolution 1757 (2007). I also informed you that, with a view to my appointing Lebanese and international judges at the same time, on 1 August 2007 the Legal Counsel sent a letter to all Member States, on my behalf, inviting them to consider submitting candidates for appointment as judges of the Tribunal no later than 24 September 2007. The names of 37 international candidates were submitted.

9. In mid-October 2007, after indicating my intention to the Security Council in accordance with article 2, paragraph 5 (d), of the annex, I established a selection panel. The panel was composed of Judge Mohamed Amin El Mahdi (Egypt), who served as judge of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia from 2001 to 2005, Judge Erik Møse (Norway), currently serving as judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where he was President of the Tribunal from 2003 to 2007, and the Legal Counsel.

10. In October and November 2007, the Secretariat held consultations with the Government of Lebanon in accordance with article 2, paragraph 5 (c), of the annex, which provides that the Government and the Secretary-General shall consult on the appointment of judges.

11. On 4 December 2007, having interviewed the short-listed candidates, the selection panel made its recommendations to me, which I subsequently accepted. Mindful of security considerations, I will proceed with the formal appointments of the judges and announce their names at an appropriate time in the future. The judges will assume their functions on a date to be determined by me, in consultation with the President of the Special Tribunal, as provided in article 17, paragraph (b), of the annex.

B. The Prosecutor and the Deputy Prosecutor

12. With a view to identifying candidates for consideration for the position of Prosecutor and taking into account the sensitivity of the matter, from June to September 2007, informal consultations were held with experts in the field. In October 2007, the selection panel (composed of the same members as that for the judges) interviewed candidates for this post. Early in November 2007, the Government of Lebanon was consulted on the appointment of the Prosecutor, pursuant to article 3, paragraph 1, of the annex to resolution 1757 (2007). On 8 November 2007, the selection panel recommended to me that Daniel Bellemare (Canada) be appointed as the Prosecutor. I subsequently accepted the recommendation.

13. On 14 November 2007, I appointed Mr. Bellemare as the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal pursuant to my authority under article 3 of the annex. He will, however, commence his official duties as the Prosecutor at a later date in keeping with the provisions of the annex. On the same day, after the Security Council took note of my intention, I also appointed Mr. Bellemare to succeed Serge Brammertz as Commissioner of the Investigation Commission. I am of the view that, as called for in article 17, paragraph (a), of the annex, this approach will ensure a coordinated transition from the activities of the Investigation Commission to those of the Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal.

14. With respect to the Deputy Prosecutor, as I noted in paragraph 13 of my last report, the Government of Lebanon forwarded to me, in a sealed envelope, a list of candidates for the position. In December 2007, pursuant to consultations held between the Government of Lebanon, the Prosecutor-designate of the Special Tribunal and myself, a Deputy Prosecutor was identified. The appointment of the Deputy Prosecutor falls within the authority of the Government of Lebanon, in accordance with article 3, paragraph 3, of the annex.

C. The Registrar

15. On 13 November 2007, the Legal Counsel sent a letter to Member States on my behalf inviting them to submit nominations for appointment as Registrar of the Special Tribunal by no later than 14 December 2007. Pursuant to that letter, a total of 14 nominations were submitted by States.

16. In accordance with article 4, paragraph 2, of the annex to resolution 1757 (2007), the Registrar will be a staff member of the United Nations. On the basis of the recommendation of the selection panel that I established, on 10 March 2008, I appointed Mr. Robin Vincent as Registrar of the Special Tribunal for a period of three years to commence at a later date, to be determined in the light of the progress achieved in establishing the Tribunal.

D. The Head of the Defence Office

17. I am in the process of recruiting a Head of the Defence Office. Since my last report, a vacancy announcement for this position has been prepared and is being advertised. In accordance with article 13, paragraph 1, of the statute, I will appoint the Head of the Defence Office in consultation with the President of the Special Tribunal as soon as the latter has been identified.

IV. Staffing and financial requirements

18. My previous report provided preliminary estimates of the staffing and financial requirements of the Tribunal for three years. In arriving at these global estimates, attention was paid to the experience of other international tribunals, in particular the Special Court for Sierra Leone, which shares characteristics with the Tribunal. A number of issues which may have significant budgetary consequences, such as those relating to the premises of the Tribunal, the terms and conditions of service for judges and staff, the number of accused persons, witnesses and trials, and the level of security required, have yet to be clarified.

19. The assumptions outlined in paragraph 20 of my previous report remain an important basis for the staffing and financial requirements. However, two additional considerations regarding the conditions of service for the judges and staff of the Tribunal have been raised:
(a) As stated in paragraph 20 (b) of my initial report, the terms and conditions of service for both judges and staff will be guided by those of the judges and staff of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, with appropriate modifications. Specific modifications to those conditions of service are currently under review with due consideration of host country social security requirements and of the Tribunal’s location at a family duty station;
(b) Article 17 (a) of the annex to resolution 1757 (2007) provides for appropriate arrangements to be made to ensure that there is a coordinated transition from the activities of the Investigation Commission to the Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal. As noted by the Commission in its ninth report to the Security Council (S/2007/684, para. 98), transitional activities also rely on the institutional memory and experience gained by its staff. Whereas a principal aspect of the Tribunal’s capacity to attract staff of the highest standards depends on competitive compensation practices, consideration is being given to aligning the conditions of service of staff with those prevailing in the United Nations common system in order to maintain a degree of continuity between the staff of the Commission and the Tribunal.

20. Except for the Registrar, who is a United Nations staff member, the terms and conditions of service of staff as described above apply uniformly to all staff recruited by the Tribunal.

21. It was stated in paragraph 21 of my previous report that, at that time, no assumptions could be made concerning the costs involved in providing for a courtroom, detention facility or office accommodation for staff. As the premises of the Tribunal have now been identified, estimated costs in those areas may be integrated into overall financial requirements.

22. The annual rental cost for the building will amount to approximately $5 million and will be paid for the first years by the host State, whose generosity in this regard I applaud. Operating costs for the building are estimated at $1 million per year. Refurbishment packages are currently under review. The packages provide for basic or advanced adaptations of the building in respect of security, holding cells, courtroom and offices.

V. Funding

23. Pursuant to article 5, paragraph 1, of the annex to resolution 1757 (2007), 49 per cent of the expenses of the Special Tribunal shall be borne by the Government of Lebanon, while 51 per cent shall be borne by voluntary contributions from States. According to paragraph 2 of the aforementioned article, the Secretary-General will commence the process of establishing the Tribunal when he has sufficient contributions in hand to finance the establishment of the Tribunal and 12 months of its operations plus pledges equal to the anticipated expenses of the following 24 months of the Tribunal’s operation.

24. As mentioned in paragraph 27 of my previous report, on 26 July 2007 the Secretariat created a trust fund to receive contributions for the establishment and activities of the Tribunal. On 8 October 2007, I sent a letter to all Member States inviting them to contribute to the trust fund. As at 27 February 2008, the total amount deposited in the trust fund is $29,430,872.15, with firm pledges totalling $16,408,637.34. I am confident that the contributions received, together with other expected contributions, will meet the budgetary requirements for the establishment and the first 12 months of operations of the Tribunal. On 5 December 2007, the States that had made significant contributions or pledges to the funding of the Tribunal unanimously agreed that funds should be managed directly by the Tribunal, as is the case with the Special Court for Sierra Leone, rather than through a United Nations trust fund. I will continue to seek the necessary funds from Member States and urge all to support the Tribunal and assist in this effort.

VI. Management Committee

25. As stated in paragraph 29 of my previous report, on 9 July 2007 the United Nations and the Government of Lebanon agreed to establish a Management Committee. They further agreed that the United Nations would be entrusted with the establishment of the Management Committee, including the drafting of its terms of reference, in consultation with the Government of Lebanon.

26. Accordingly, in November 2007, the Secretariat prepared, in consultation with the Government, a draft of the terms of reference of the Management Committee and discussed the draft informally with the States that had made significant contributions or pledges to the funding of the Tribunal.

27. As agreed with the Government of Lebanon on 13 February 2008, I formally established the Management Committee and invited the Legal Counsel to facilitate its first meeting.

28. Pursuant to article IV of its terms of reference, the Management Committee will, inter alia: (a) receive and consider progress reports of the Special Tribunal and provide policy direction and advice on all non-judicial aspects of its operations, including questions of efficiency; (b) review and approve the Tribunal’s annual budget, take any other necessary financial decisions, and advise the Secretary-General on these matters; (c) ensure that all organs of the Tribunal are operating in as efficient, effective and accountable a manner as possible, and that optimum use is made of resources contributed by donor States, without prejudice to the principle of judicial independence; (d) assist the Secretary-General in ensuring that adequate funds are available for the operation of the Tribunal including the development of fund-raising strategies, in close consultation with the Registrar; (e) encourage all States to cooperate with the Tribunal; and (f) report on a regular basis to meetings of representatives of the Group of Interested States for the Special Tribunal.

29. Article VIII of the terms of reference also provides that the Management Committee will organize regular meetings of representatives of the Group of Interested States and may invite, when it deems appropriate, other interested parties to submit their views regarding the work of the Tribunal.

VII. Transition from the Investigation Commission to the Special Tribunal

30. Article 17 (a) of the annex to resolution 1757 (2007) calls for appropriate arrangements to be made to ensure a coordinated transition from the activities of the Investigation Commission to the Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal. Since my last report, a series of measures have been taken and ongoing consultations held between the Secretariat and the Commission aimed at achieving this objective.

31. The possibility of ensuring a transition of personnel from the Investigation Commission to the Office of the Prosecutor has been considered with a view to preserving to the greatest extent possible institutional memory and experience gained by staff.

VIII. Security

32. The provision of appropriate security measures for personnel and property remains one of the key pillars of the successful establishment of the Tribunal. To that end, the Secretariat is working in close cooperation with the relevant authorities of the Netherlands and Lebanon.

33. In addition, the Secretariat, the Investigation Commission and experts from the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Special Court for Sierra Leone have been working together on developing a strategy for the protection of witnesses. Consultations were recently held to discuss the practical implementation of such measures.

IX. Communication and outreach

34. The Secretariat has conducted extensive consultations with experts from other international tribunals and a comprehensive communication and outreach strategy was developed. A key objective of the strategy is to ensure that the Tribunal is correctly perceived as a truly independent and impartial judicial body, which functions in accordance with the highest standards of justice. Public documents that provide comprehensive information on the Tribunal are being finalized for the purposes of wide dissemination within Lebanon, the region and the public at large. In addition, work on the establishment of an initial communications capacity for the Tribunal is under way, including the creation of a website.

X. Next steps

35. In paragraph 34 of my previous report, I had identified three phases in the establishment of the Tribunal: a preparatory phase; a start-up phase; and the commencement of functioning.
A. Preparatory phase

36. As described above, all the actions relating to the preparatory phase have been undertaken, if not completed:
(a) The Headquarters Agreement has been signed;
(b) The premises for the Special Tribunal have been identified;
(c) The judges, the Prosecutor and the Registrar have been selected;
(d) The Management Committee has been established;
(e) The recruitment process for the Head of the Defence Office has begun;
(f) A draft budget, including a staffing table, has been developed and will be submitted soon to the Management Committee for consideration;
(g) Communication and outreach policies have been prepared.

B. Start-up and commencement of the Special Tribunal’s functioning

37. The start-up phase has now commenced. Work on the preparation of the premises and on the organization of a coordinated transition between the Independent Commission and the Tribunal is being conducted. Once the Registrar starts operating in that capacity, a core unit of Registry personnel will be established in The Hague to assist the Registrar in his functions.

38. The Tribunal will commence functioning in successive phases. I anticipate that early informal consultations among the judges will facilitate the drafting of the rules of procedure and evidence and other necessary documents (such as directives on the assignment of defence counsel, on the detention of persons awaiting trial or appeal, and the code of professional conduct for defence counsel). In addition to the Registrar, the Prosecutor, followed by the pre-trial judge, will start their duties earlier than the other senior officials in order to perform their tasks in an effective and coordinated manner. The President of the Tribunal will also take up his or her duties on a full-time basis at an earlier date to ensure the efficient management and functioning of the Tribunal. The judges of the Trial and Appeals Chambers, as stated in article 17, paragraph (b), of the annex to resolution 1757 (2007), will take office on a date to be determined by me, in consultation with the President of the Tribunal. Until they are called to work on a full-time basis, they will serve on an ad hoc basis to perform their duties.

XI. Final observations

39. I wish to assure you that the Secretariat is dedicated to continuing to make progress in the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in a timely manner as mandated by the Security Council. In this regard, we rely on the generosity and support of Member States. I trust that our common efforts will assist the Government and people of Lebanon towards this important common goal of restoring justice and the rule of law in Lebanon.

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Related materials on Middle East policy:

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Ready ― UN Report

- Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- Registrar of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Appointed, Tribunal Is Ready

- 'Management Committee' of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Set Up

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Gets Base, Judges

- The International Tribunal for Lebanon (Resolution 1757)

- UN Report on the Establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- Ninth report of Hariri International Investigation Commission

- Memo for International Tribunal for Lebanon

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Comes Into Force

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News Concerning Middle East Reform

2008-03-26T17:59:00.000Z

This is the news section of the March issue (latest issue) of Arab Reform Bulletin Published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:

Lebanon: Presidential Vote Delay; Sectarian Clashes
Palestine: Gaza Escalation; Population Growth; Villages Demolished
Arab States: Arab League Summit
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Arrests; New Torture Cases; Re-conversion Decision
Iraq: Legislative Progress
Kuwait: Mughniyah Mourning; Segregation Controversy; Internet Law
UAE: Cabinet Reshuffle; Green City
Bahrain: Calls to Release Activists
Libya: Ministries Abolished
Tunisia: Comedian Jailed
Morocco: Islamist Party Banned; Moroccan Jailed for Impersonating Prince Online
Sudan: Cabinet Reshuffle
Upcoming Political Events

Lebanon: Presidential Vote Delay; Sectarian Clashes

On February 25, the Lebanese parliament postponed for the fifteenth time the session to elect a new president. It is now scheduled for March 11. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa left Lebanon on February 9 after failing to break the deadlock between the Western and Saudi-backed majority and the pro-Syria opposition. The two sides agreed on Army Commander General Michel Suleiman as president, but are now divided on the composition of a new government. Lebanon has been without a president since the expiration of pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud’s term on November 23, 2007.

On February 14, thousands of Lebanese took to the streets in two separate rallies: Hizbollah supporters lined the streets of Beirut to watch the funeral procession of Hizbollah militant Imad Mughniyah, killed February 12 in a car bombing in Damascus. During the funeral, Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned that the group is ready for “open war” with Israel. Supporters of the government meanwhile gathered in Martyrs Square to mark the third anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri. Violent street clashes later erupted in several mixed Sunni-Shi’i areas of Beirut on February 16, leaving at least fourteen people injured. On February 12, Lebanese prosecutors charged nineteen soldiers, including three officers, in the case of the fatal shooting of seven Shi’i protestors in Beirut on January 27.

Palestine: Gaza Escalation; Population Growth; Villages Demolished

Israel launched a new incursion into Gaza on March 4 following renewed rocket attacks. Israel had pulled its ground troops out of northern Gaza on March 3 after days of coordinated operations in which more than 100 Palestinians were killed. Israel says that most of those killed were armed militants, but Palestinian officials say that more than half were civilians, including several children. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas initially cut off peace talks with Israel in response to the incursions, but in a March 4 joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is concluding a visit to the region, Abbas confirmed his intention to resume talks with Israel.

Nearly 4,500 Palestinians formed a human chain in the Gaza Strip on February 24 in protest of the Israeli blockade on Gaza. Israel had put troops on alert along the frontier and threatened to open fire if protesters tried to surge across the border. The event, organized by Hamas and allied activists, ended peacefully two hours later. Click here for more details.

The Palestinian population in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem grew by about 30 percent in the last decade, according to data published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics on February 9. The census numbers for 2007 show a total of 2.345 million Palestinians in the West Bank, 1.4 million in the Gaza Strip, and 208,000 in East Jerusalem. Click here for more details and statistics.

The Israeli army continued on February 6 the demolition of two Palestinian villages in the West Bank. The Israeli army has declared most of the Jordan Valley, where the villages of Humsa and Hadidiya are situated, as a closed military area from which the local Palestinian population is barred. The evacuation of the villages began in April 2007 and has left dozens of Palestinians homeless and without access to running water or electricity. Click here for a statement by Amnesty International.

The Israeli cabinet approved on February 6 the construction of a reinforced fence along its border with Egypt to stop Palestinian militants reaching Israel from the Sinai desert. The measure was ratified in a security cabinet meeting following the temporary breach of the Gaza-Egypt border in January and a February 5 suicide bombing that killed one woman in the southern Israeli town of Dimona. Click here for more information.

Arab States: Arab League Summit

The Arab League plans to hold its twentieth annual summit in Syria on March 29-30. Syria is keen for high-level representation at the summit, but Arab divisions over Lebanon have cast a shadow over the meeting. Arab media sources report that Saudi King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak may not attend if a Lebanese president is not elected. President Mubarak said in a statement to Bahrain Television on February 25 that Syria was part of the problem in Lebanon, and called on Damascus to help resolve the crisis before the summit. Meanwhile, Arab foreign ministers started a series of meetings in Cairo on March 5 to prepare the summit agenda.

Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Arrests; New Torture Cases; Re-conversion Decision

An Egyptian military court adjourned on February 26 the trial of forty Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including second Deputy Guide Khairat al-Shatir, until March 25. The Brotherhood leaders face charges of membership in a banned organization; reports differ on whether previous charges of money laundering have been dropped. Egyptian authorities also arrested more than 120 Brotherhood members between February 14 and 28. Some 400 Brotherhood members are now in detention, most of them without charge. The Brotherhood says a continued crackdown by the authorities is aimed at preventing its members from running in local elections in April. Click here for more information.

On February 25, an Egyptian Court appointed Egypt’s first female ma’zun (justice of the peace) to perform and register marriages. Egypt appointed its first female judge in 2003. Click here for more details.

The Ministry of Information banned the distribution of four foreign newspapers on February 19, the day on which the papers reprinted controversial Danish cartoons deemed offensive to the Prophet Muhammad. The four banned newspapers were Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Die Welt, the London-based Observer, and the New York-based Wall Street Journal. Click here for more information.

On February 11, an appeals court in Cairo upheld the conviction of al-Jazeera documentary producer Howayda Taha for “harming Egypt’s reputation” due to her work on a program about torture in Egyptian prisons, but overturned her conviction on the charge of “spreading false news.” The court struck down the six-month prison sentence she received in May, but upheld a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (U.S. $3,607). Click here for more details.

A Cairo Criminal Court postponed on February 11 the trial of four police officers charged with torture until April 13. The police officers are charged with torturing a prisoner to death in July 2002. In a separate case, Egyptian prosecutors charged on February 9 two policemen with murdering a man by throwing him off a balcony in Cairo in the latest high profile case of suspected police abuse. Five policemen have been convicted and sentenced to jail on torture charges since November 2007.

The Egypt Supreme Administrative Court ruled on February 10 in favor of allowing twelve Christian converts to Islam to reconvert to Christianity. The ruling overturned an April 2007 lower court decision that upheld the government policy of refusing to allow the converts to change mandatory national identification cards to reflect their reconversion. Click here for more details.

A February 5 Human Rights Watch statement called on the Egyptian government to overturn the convictions of four men for the “habitual practice of debauchery,” and to free four others who are currently detained on similar charges. The human rights organization also called on authorities to end arbitrary arrests based on HIV status and to take steps to end prejudice and misinformation about HIV/AIDS. A recent wave of arrests of homosexuals began in October 2007, when police stopped two men having an altercation on a street in central Cairo.

Iraq: Legislative Progress

On February 27, Iraq’s Presidency Council ratified two key draft laws, the General Amnesty Law and the 2008 Budget Law, but rejected the draft Provincial Powers Law and returned it to parliament for revisions. The Provincial Powers Law defines the relationship between Baghdad and provincial authorities, and is a key step before a date can be set for provincial elections. The General Amnesty Law grants amnesty to thousands of detainees in Iraqi and U.S. custody. Parliament approved all three bills on Feb. 14 in what was seen as a major legislative breakthrough and a boost for reconciliation among Iraq's divided communities. The main Sunni political party, the Accordance Front, said the amnesty law was an important step in bringing about its return to the central government. The party quit the government in August and made repeated demands for the release of prisoners as part of the condition for its return. Click here for the laws in Arabic.

President of the Iraqi Journalists Union Shihab al-Tamimi died on February 27 from injuries he sustained from a targeted shooting in Baghdad four days earlier. The attackers were not identified. In 2007, more than twenty-five journalists and media assistants were kidnapped in Iraq. A total of 208 have been killed in connection with their work since the start of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Click here for more information.

Kuwait: Mughniyah Mourning; Segregation Controversy; Internet Law

Kuwait's Popular Action Parliamentary Bloc expelled on February 19 two of its members, Adnan Abdulsamad and Ahmed Lari, for publicly mourning Hizbollah militant Imad Mughniya as a martyr. The bloc condemned the two MPs for participation in the rally to mourn Mughniyah, “who brutally killed two Kuwaitis during the [1988] hijacking” of a Kuwaiti plane. The two MPs remain in the legislature but face prospective lawsuits by Kuwaiti citizens. Click here for more information.

Controversy over gender segregation returned to the forefront in Kuwait after liberal MPs submitted a draft bill on February 5 to allow coeducation. Kuwait’s first university segregation law, which required the public system to be segregated, was passed in 1996 and implemented in 2001. The second law, which requires private universities to be segregated, was passed in 2000 and has not yet been fully implemented due to the high cost of building separate facilities for men and women. Islamist MPs insist that gender segregation is required by Islamic law and are campaigning for a full implementation. A senior liberal MP, Ali al-Rashid, reportedly received death threats over the proposal. Click here for more information.

Reporters without Borders issued a statement on February 11 calling on the Emir of Kuwait to clarify a proposed draft law for regulating the internet. Minister of Communication and Islamic Affairs Abdulla al-Muhailbi announced on February 6 that the cabinet would soon propose a law that would allow the government to monitor and regulate websites and blogs. Click here for more information.

UAE: Cabinet Reshuffle; Green City

UAE Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Muhammad bin Rashid al-Maktum announced a new cabinet on February 17, appointing new economic, foreign trade, and labor ministers and doubling to four the number of female ministers. There was no change in the key ministries of energy, foreign affairs, or interior. The prime minister also holds the defense portfolio. Click here for the new cabinet line-up.

On February 10, Abu Dhabi announced the beginning of a $22 billion project to build what it called “the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, and car-free city.” Masdar city, which will take an estimated eight years to build, is planned to be home to 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses. The ambitious plans include powering the city by solar energy and establishing a transportation system consisting of travel pods running on magnetic tracks. Abu Dhabi also plans to become home to the world's largest hydrogen power plant. Click here for more information.

Bahrain: Calls to Release Activists

On February 25, fifty-five local, regional, and international human rights organizations issued a call to Bahraini King Hamad to release demonstrators and human rights activists and to refrain from torturing detainees. Bahrain is currently detaining some fifty activists arrested after December 2007 demonstrations in which one protestor was killed. Human Rights Watch issued a statement on February 16 calling on the Bahraini government to investigate allegations of torture and abuse of political detainees.

Libya: Ministries Abolished

On March 4, Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi announced his intention to dissolve the country's existing administrative structure and disburse oil revenue directly to the people. The plan includes abolishing all ministries, except those of defense, internal security, and foreign affairs, and departments implementing strategic projects. Qadhafi has made at least three similar announcements in the past, the most recent of which was in March 2000, when he declared the elimination of twelve government ministries. Click here for more information.

Tunisia: Comedian Jailed

A Tunisian court sentenced comedian Hedia Ould Baballah on February 4 to one year in prison and a fine of 1000 dinars (U.S. $800) for possession of narcotics. At the hearing, Baballah denied any knowledge of the drugs and alleged that there was a police conspiracy against him in connection with his controversial political satire. Baballah had been performing a skit in which he imitated President Ben Ali. Click here for more information.

Morocco: Islamist Party Banned; Moroccan Jailed for Impersonating Prince Online

The Moroccan government issued a decision on February 20 to ban the al-Badil al-Hadari (Civilized Alternative) Islamist Party over allegations of terrorism. The Party’s President, Mustafa Mutassim, was among thirty-two people arrested on February 19 and accused of planning to assassinate several top army officers, government ministers, and Moroccan Jews. Click here for more details.

A Casablanca court convicted on February 22 an IT engineer for “modifying and falsifying information technology data and usurping an official’s identity,” because he posted a fictitious profile of Moroccan Prince Moulay Rachid on Facebook. He was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 Moroccan dirhams (U.S. $1,320). Click here for more information.

Sudan: Cabinet Reshuffle

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced on February 14 a cabinet reshuffle that replaced twelve ministers, mostly from the National Congress Party, which rules the country jointly with the southern Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). Analysts considered the shuffle an attempt to appease SPLM officials who objected to certain ministers. Minister of Justice Muhammad al-Mardhi lost his post in the wake of heavy criticism for his handling of an alleged coup attempt involving former presidential assistant Mubarak al-Fadil. Controversial Minister of Interior al-Zuhair Bahir Tara was demoted to the post of Agriculture Minister. Click here for more details.

Upcoming Political Events

Egypt: Arab League foreign ministers meeting, March 5, 2008
Lebanon: Parliament will attempt again to elect a president , March 11, 2008
Syria: Arab League Summit, March 29-30, 2008
Egypt: Local elections, April 8, 2008
Qatar: Parliamentary elections, June 2008

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Nassim Yaziji's Neo-Internationalism

Nassim Yaziji's Articles

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Operation Iraqi Freedom and the New Middle East

2008-03-20T18:56:00.000Z

In honor of this occasion, when the wind of change began blowing in the Middle East and when the long aspiration for freedom and dignity started its path into reality despite all huge sacrifices and costs in Iraq, I am reposting excerpts from my previous article, "Iraq Victory: Middle East Salvation, International necessity", which tries to change the approach of perceiving the Operation Iraqi Freedom through a realistic perspective based on international and regional facts and goals.

IRAQ VICTORY: MIDDLE EAST SALVATION, INTERNATIONAL NECESSITY

By Nassim Yaziji

The U.S. will not abandon Iraq. To me, it means that the U.S. will not abandon the Middle East. Abandoning Iraq means abandoning the new Middle East, a moderate, stable, civilized, modern and prosperous Middle East, and the nascent Middle East democratization movement, for Iranian regime's Islamic Middle East dominated by the Middle East totalitarian axis consisting of Syria's Baath, Hezbullah, Hamas and led by the Iranian regime. And this would be a disastrous blow to the U.S., Europe, the Middle East itself and the post-Cold War international order.

I definitely look positively at any deliberate prospective troops reduction, but setting a timetable of withdrawal, such as U.S. giving up, would blow up the reform movement and the liberal renaissance in the Middle East after Iraq and Lebanon's liberation. Furthermore, that would also blow up the American interests and credibility in the region and would open the door to the Iranian extremist regional project.

Furthermore, we must clearly know that the success of Operation Iraqi Freedom is a requisite for ensuring international peace and security based on global democracy in the 21st century through a post-9/11 international order. The post-Cold War chaotic international order is dying because it is no more able to tackle world problems and the new dangers and serious threats endangering the entire world, especially since 9/11. Pre-empting those dangers and threats, adapting to the changing geopolitics of the world and reacting to it, and creating the foundations of a new consistent and competent international order are requisites for future international peace and stability through a new world order based on global democratic values.

What has been done after the world war ΙΙ is something alike, so what is happening now after 9/11. When Europe was geopolitically the heart of the world, the U.S. moved to Europe and fought there with ideas and forces to restore and maintain peace and stability. Europe is no longer the heart of the world; the strategic center is moving eastward to the Middle East. The Middle East now is a key region to security, energy and world geopolitics – as a strategic location to approach the rising powers and future rivals, China and India.

Iraq has become the base of transforming the Middle East and eliminating the authoritarianism and totalitarianism with the democratic shine and the western support. Furthermore, Iraq is becoming the real base of changing the geopolitics of the region and replacing the old Middle East regional system with a new one, more modern, transparent, democratic and integrated with the world, ending the Cold War era and the Soviet late legacy in the region.

The war in Iraq is the war of the Middle East. It is a war of ideas and powers. The fearful Middle East totalitarian axis is fighting the United States and the world in Iraq as a symbol of fighting and intimidating the spreading free world after the Cold War to destroy the democratic perspective and to surround freedom in their countries.

The freedom and democracy in the Middle East is worthy of all the sacrifices that have been made, and it would eventually prevail. And the consequent new Middle East is a key factor in the process of development of the new world order, which would cope with the issues of world stability, security and progress. Then, we are facing a historic challenge and task, so we should apply a relevant and responsible approach. So, let us get our freedom dream in the Middle East a reality, which is turning into international objective and necessity.

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Some related articles of mine:

- The Neo-Internationalism after 9/11 and Middle East Democratization

- The Conflict over the New Middle East

- Defining the Iraqi Question

- Totalitarianism, Violence and Terror

- The End of International Isolationism

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Nassim Yaziji's Neo-Internationalism

Nassim Yaziji's Articles

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The U.S. Human Rights List 2007

2008-03-18T18:55:00.000Z

The annual release of the report on human rights by the U.S. State Department is mandated by law. The report reviews progress and pitfalls around the world—not including the United States—and highlights major offenders.

The world’s most systematic human rights violators according to the report are ten countries including Syria for the first time.

Following are some excerpts from the introduction of this report concerning the world’s most systematic human rights violators and Middle East's countries highlighted in the introduction:

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 11, 2008

Countries in which power was concentrated in the hands of unaccountable rulers remained the world’s most systematic human rights violators.

The repressive North Korean regime continued to control almost all aspects of citizens’ lives, denying freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association, and restricting freedom of movement and workers’ rights. Reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and arbitrary detention, including of political prisoners, continued to emerge from the insular country. Some forcibly repatriated refugees were said to have undergone severe punishment and possibly torture. Reports of public executions also continued to emerge.

Burma’s abysmal human rights record continued to worsen. Throughout the year, the regime continued to commit extrajudicial killings and was responsible for disappearances, arbitrary and indefinite detentions, rape, and torture. In September, security forces killed at least 30 demonstrators and detained over 3,000 others during a brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, including monks and pro-democracy protesters. Despite promises of dialogue, the regime did not honor its commitment to begin a genuine discussion with the democratic opposition and ethnic minority groups. Defying calls from the UN Security Council and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the early release of all political prisoners, the regime continued to hold opposition leaders under incarceration, including Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remained under house arrest.

The Iranian regime violated freedom of speech and assembly, intensifying its crackdown against dissidents, journalists, women’s rights activists, labor activists, and those who disagreed with it through arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, abductions, the use of excessive force, and the widespread denial of fair public trials. The regime continued to detain and abuse religious and ethnic minorities. Authorities used stoning as a method of execution and as a sentence for alleged adultery cases despite a government moratorium in 2002 banning the practice. The regime continued to support terrorist movements and violent extremists in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon and called for the destruction of a UN member state.

Syria’s human rights record worsened this year, and the regime continued to commit serious abuses such as detaining an increasing number of activists, civil society organizers, and other regime critics. The regime sentenced to prison several high-profile members of the human rights community, including a number of leaders of the National Council for the Damascus Declaration in December. The regime continued to try some political prisoners in criminal courts. For example, in April and May, respectively, authorities convicted human rights activists Anwar al-Bunni and Michel Kilo in criminal courts on charges of “weakening the national sentiment during the time of war.” The Syrian regime continues to support international terrorist groups and violent extremists, enabling their destabilizing activities and human rights abuses in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, and elsewhere.

The year 2007 was the worst year yet for human rights defenders in Zimbabwe. Despite recent efforts by regional leaders to resolve the ongoing crisis, the assault against human rights and democracy by the government significantly increased. The Mugabe regime accelerated its campaign to limit political opposition. Official corruption and impunity remained widespread. Security forces harassed, beat, and arbitrarily arrested opposition supporters and critics within human rights NGOs, the media, and organized labor, as well as ordinary citizens. Recent reporting from independent organizations operating in Zimbabwe cite over 8,000 instances of human rights abuse in 2007, including some 1,400 attacks against students alone and at least 1,600 cases of unlawful arrest and detention.Human rights groups reported that physical and psychological torture perpetrated by security agents and government supporters increased during the year. Victims reported beatings with whips and cables, suspension, and electric shock.

Cuba remained under totalitarian control under Acting President Raul Castro and Communist Party First Secretary Fidel Castro. The regime continued to deny citizens basic rights and democratic freedoms, including the right to change their government, the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, and the right of association. Although the estimated number of political prisoners decreased to 240 from the 283 reported the previous year, prison conditions remained harsh and life-threatening, and authorities beat, harassed, and made death threats against dissidents both inside and outside prison. Of the 75 peaceful activists, journalists, union organizers, and opposition figures arrested and convicted in 2003, 59 remained in prison. Government-directed mob attacks against high-profile dissidents decreased in number and intensity compared to previous years, but the rate of short-term arrests and detentions of ordinary citizens expressing dissent from the regime appeared to rise.

In Belarus,the authoritarian Lukashenko government restricted freedom of press, speech, assembly, association, and religion. Scores of activists and pro-democracy supporters were arrested and convicted on politically motivated charges. One of Lukashenko’s opponents in the 2006 presidential election, Alexander Kozulin, remained a political prisoner. In January, Lukashenko further consolidated his rule through local elections that failed to meet international standards. The United Nations General Assembly for the second year adopted a resolution condemning the human rights situation in Belarus and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and other individuals detained for exercising or promoting human rights.

Authoritarian President Karimov and the executive branch of government dominated Uzbekistan’s political life and exercised nearly complete control over the other branches. Security forces routinely tortured, beat, and otherwise mistreated detainees under interrogation to obtain confessions or incriminating information, and there were several deaths in custody of prisoners who were allegedly members of organizations viewed by the regime as threatening. In November, the UN Committee Against Torture concluded that torture and abuse were systemic throughout the investigative process. The government sought to control completely all NGO and religious activity.

The Eritrean government’s human rights record remained poor. There were severe restrictions of the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion, particularly for religious groups not approved by the government. Authorities continued to commit numerous serious abuses, including the abridgement of citizens’ rights to change their government through a democratic process; unlawful killing by security forces; torture and beating of prisoners, some resulting in death; arrest and torture of national service evaders, some of whom reportedly died of unknown causes while in detention; harsh and life threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; arrests of family members of national service evaders; executive interference in the judiciary; and the use of a special court system to limit due process.

Sudan’s human rights record remained horrific, with continued reports of extrajudicial killings, torture, beatings, and rape by government security forces and their proxy militia in Darfur. Despite the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in 2006, violence increased in 2007, and the region sank further into chaos as the government continued aerial bombardment of villages, rebel groups splintered and stepped up attacks, and intertribal warfare intensified. Since 2003, at least 200,000 people are believed to have died from violence, hunger, and disease. The U.S. government called the conflict genocide and innocent civilians continued to suffer from its effects during the year. By year’s end, the protracted conflict had left more than two million people internally displaced and another 231,000 across the border in Chad, where they sought refuge. The government obstructed international efforts to deploy an AU-UN hybrid peacekeeping force there, and government security forces obstructed lifesaving humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian workers increasingly found themselves to be among the targets of the violence. According to the UN, 13 human rights workers were killed, 59 were assaulted, 61 were arrested and detained, and 147 were kidnapped during the year.

Excerpts on the Middle East's countries:

The April inauguration in Mauritaniaof a president elected in polls deemed by the international community to be largely free and fair marked the country’s first successful transition to democracy in its 50 years of independence. These polls, coupled with the parliamentary elections in November 2006, created a tolerant environment in which participation in the political sphere was broad and increasingly inclusive. The new government led to improved focus on addressing human rights problems, particularly the vestiges of slavery, the unequal political and social status of Black Moors and Afro-Mauritanians, and the repatriation of Mauritanian refugees living in Senegal.

As part of a broader reform process in Morocco, September parliamentary elections were transparent and accompanied by the increased influence of the Consultative Council on Human Rights. While observers noted problems in the campaign period and there were reports of vote-buying and other manipulation, the government published participation statistics and popular vote results by district within 48 hours, and all political parties accepted the final results as accurate. Some prison reforms, including access by NGOs, accompanied an overall public commitment to develop a culture of human rights. Human rights problems continued, however, such as restrictions on freedom of the press and reported abuses in the Moroccan-administered Western Sahara.

Despite President Musharraf’s stated commitment to democratic transition, Pakistan’s human rights situation deteriorated during much of 2007. After President Musharraf suspended the Chief Justice in March, lawyers and civil society responded with widespread protests in support of an independent judiciary, resulting in mass detentions. This prompted a protracted lawyers’ strike. In November, President Musharraf declared a state of emergency prior to the Supreme Court’s expected decision on whether or not he was eligible for re-election as President. During the state of emergency, President Musharraf suspended the constitution and dismissed and arrested eight members of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, and 40 provincial High Court judges. Under emergency provisions, Pakistani authorities also arrested approximately 6,000 opposition political party workers, human rights advocates, lawyers, and judges. At the end of the year, there still were 11 suspended judges and three lawyers under house arrest, and media outlets were required to sign a code of conduct that prohibited criticism of the government in order to operate. On the positive side, President Musharraf resigned as Chief of Army Staff at the end of November, re-took the presidential oath of office as a civilian, and lifted the state of emergency in December. The leaders of the two major opposition political parties returned from abroad and parliamentary elections were scheduled. The elections later were postponed in the aftermath of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

In Iraq, the constitution and law provide a framework for the free exercise of human rights, and many citizens contributed to efforts to help build institutions, both civil and security, to protect those rights. Nonetheless, sectarian, ethnic, and extremist violence, coupled with weak government performance in its ability to uphold the rule of law, resulted in widespread, severe human rights abuses and the creation of large numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). The year began with the war’s most deadly six-month period, followed by a steep reduction in civilian deaths in the second half of the year as a new strategy gained ground. Aided by new military efforts, violence declined as a ceasefire by some Shi’a militias took hold and local citizen watch groups countered extremists. During the year, government institutions were greatly stressed and faced difficulty in successfully responding to the challenges presented by widespread human rights abuses and attacks by Al Qaida in Iraq terrorists and extremist groups. Terrorist groups continued to attack civilians and security forces.

Democracy and human rights progress inLebanon continued to face opposition in the form of a campaign of violence and assassination and foreign-backed efforts to prevent the functioning of the government. Militant groups continued efforts to terrorize public and political figures, including through a series of car bombings and assassinations during the year. The May to September Nahr al-Barid conflict between the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the terrorist group Fatah al-Islam resulted in a death toll of 168 LAF soldiers and an estimated 42 civilians and the internal displacement of some 30,000 Palestinian refugees. The Lebanese opposition, backed by outside forces, continued to block the election of a president by refusing to allow parliament to convene. Nonetheless, the Lebanese Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, continued to work intensively to ensure the functioning of the government.

In Egypt, opposition political activists, journalists, and NGOs continued to advocate for reform and criticize the government, despite the government’s attempts to thwart them. The government continued to hold former presidential candidate Ayman Nour as a political prisoner, charge journalists with libel, detain Internet bloggers, and significantly restrict freedom of association. In September, seven independent newspaper editors were convicted on charges ranging from misquoting the justice minister to defaming the president and senior officials of the ruling National Democratic Party. During the year, police detained some active Internet bloggers for periods of several days. In September, the government ordered the closure of the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid, an NGO, for accepting funds from foreign donors without government approval; the organization had played a role in exposing several cases of torture by security personnel.

In Tunisia, throughout the year the government continued to intimidate, harass, arrest, jail, and physically assault journalists, labor union leaders, and those working with NGOs. The government also continued to place restrictions on foreign funding to organizations not approved by the government. Writer and lawyer Mohammed Abbou, imprisoned in 2005 for posting articles on the Internet critical of President Ben Ali, was released, but he is not allowed to travel outside the country.

The UN Democracy Fund, proposed by President Bush in his speech to the General Assembly in 2004, continued to grow by leaps and bounds. By the end of 2007, the Fund totaled $36 million and projects were being identified for a second round of grant-making. The number of proposals submitted increased from 1,300 in 2006 to 1,800 in 2007. A priority was funding projects to support the efforts of NGOs in emerging democracies, such as that of Hungary’s International Center for Democratic Transition, and to support for civilian participation in the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative.

In the Broader Middle East and North Africa, non-governmental groups continued their activities related to the Forum for the Future, culminating in the Parallel Civil Society Forum in Sanaa, Yemen, in December. The gathering brought together more than 300 civil society leaders from across the region. The participants issued a report identifying benchmarks for reform and setting forth action plans for 2008 to address critical issues of freedom of expression and women’s political empowerment.

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- Human rights posts on Middle East Policy

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Nassim Yaziji's Neo-Internationalism

Nassim Yaziji's Articles

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U.S. Gets Tough on Syrian Regime, Property Blocking and Destroyer Deployment

2008-03-15T18:06:00.000Z

Does the US have a Syria policy finally? Or the U.S. conduct, which is similar to crisis-management, continues with respect to Syria? (Read a previous opinion of mine: The U.S. Syria Democracy Program)

We are finally close to know.

Here are some very interesting materials on this question may reflect a serious change in the U.S. Syria policy:

The White House
Statement by the Press Secretary
February 13, 2008

Today the President signed an Executive Order that takes additional steps with respect to the Syrian regime's continued engagement in certain conduct that formed the basis of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13338 of May 11, 2004.

This order expands sanctions to block the property of senior Syrian Government officials and their associates who are determined to be responsible for, to have engaged in, or to have benefited from public corruption. The order also revises a provision in Executive Order 13338 to block the property of persons determined to be responsible for actions or decisions of the Syrian regime that undermine efforts to stabilize Iraq, or allow Syrian territory to be used for this purpose.

In addition to these policies targeted by this Executive Order, the Syrian regime continues to pursue other activities that deny the Syrian people the political freedoms and economic prosperity they deserve, and that undercut the peace and stability of the region. Syria continues to undermine Lebanon's sovereignty and democracy, imprison democracy activists, curtail human rights, and sponsor and harbor terrorists. The United States will continue to stand with the people of Syria and the region as they seek to exercise their rights peacefully and to build a brighter future.

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U.S. Department of the Treasury
February 21, 2008

Rami Makhluf Designated for Benefiting from Syrian Corruption

Washington, DC − The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated Rami Makhluf, a powerful Syrian businessman and regime insider whom improperly benefits from and aids the public corruption of Syrian regime officials. This action was taken today pursuant to Executive Order 13460, which targets individuals and entities determined to be responsible for or who have benefited from the public corruption of senior officials of the Syrian regime.

"Rami Makhluf has used intimidation and his close ties to the Asad regime to obtain improper business advantages at the expense of ordinary Syrians," said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. "The Asad regime's cronyism and corruption has a corrosive effect, disadvantaging innocent Syrian businessmen and entrenching a regime that pursues oppressive and destabilizing policies, including beyond Syria's borders, in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories."

Syria is well known for its corrupt business environment, which denies the Syrian people economic prosperity and other freedoms. The considerable role the Asad family, their inner circle, and the Syrian security services exert over the economy, coupled with the absence of a free judicial system and the lack of transparency, concentrates wealth in the hands of certain classes and individuals. In turn, these classes and individuals depend upon this corrupt system for their success and fortune. Syrians without these connections are unable to improve their economic standing, and suffer as a result of policies implemented by an unaccountable regime.

President George W. Bush issued E.O. 13460 on February 13, 2008 to take additional measures to address the threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States posed by certain conduct of the Government of Syria.

This new authority builds on E.O. 13338, which was issued by President Bush in May 2004, by targeting activities that entrench and enrich the Syrian regime and its cohorts thereby enabling the regime to continue to engage in threatening behavior, including actions that undermine efforts to stabilize Iraq. Corruption by the regime also reinforces efforts that deny the people of Syria political freedoms and economic prosperity, undercut peace and stability in the region, fund terrorism and violence, and undermine the sovereignty of Lebanon.

Pursuant to E.O. 13460, any assets that Makhluf holds under U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen, and U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in business or transactions with Makhluf.

Identifying Information

Rami Makhluf
AKAs: MAKHLOUF, Rami
MAKHLOUF, Rami Bin Mohammed
MAKHLOUF, Rami Mohammad
DOB: July 10, 1969
POB: Syria
Passport Number: Syrian, 98044

Rami Makhluf is a powerful Syrian businessman who amassed his commercial empire by exploiting his relationships with Syrian regime members. Makhluf has manipulated the Syrian judicial system and used Syrian intelligence officials to intimidate his business rivals. He employed these techniques when trying to acquire exclusive licenses to represent foreign companies in Syria and to obtain contract awards.

Makhluf is the maternal cousin of President Bashar al-Asad and through this relationship, Makhluf has become a focal point of Syria's telecommunications, commercial, oil, gas and banking sectors. Despite President Asad's highly publicized anti-corruption campaigns, Makhluf remains one of the primary centers of corruption in Syria.

Makhluf's influence with certain Syrian government officials has led to his being able to control the issuance of certain types of profitable commodities contracts. His close business associations with some Syrian cabinet ministers have enabled him to gain access to lucrative oil exploration and power plant projects. Makhluf's preferential access to Syrian economic sectors has led to complaints about him from members of the Syrian business community.

Makhluf is the brother of Syrian General Intelligence Directorate official Hafiz Makhluf, who was previously designated under E.O. 13441.

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Washington Ready for War with Syria to Defend Lebanon?

Naharnet
08 Mar 08

A recent electronic mail leaked by Egypt unveils U.S. readiness to launch wide-scale military offensive against Syria if the Assad regime sticks to its policy towards Lebanon, Germany's DPA news agency reported.

DPA on Friday quoted reliable sources as saying "the e-mail leaked a few days ago by Egypt to Syria reveals that the U.S. is ready to launch a wide-scale military offensive against Syria if (Damascus) holds onto its current position towards the Lebanese crisis."

"This is the main reason behind (the deployment of) the (USS Cole) destroyer off the Lebanese and Syrian coasts," the sources added.

A U.S. Navy official said earlier this week that the Cole had been relieved by the guided missile destroyer USS Ors and the guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea.

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters last week that the deployment should not be viewed as threatening or in response to events in any single country in the volatile region.

An Nahar daily, however, quoted on Saturday diplomatic sources as saying that "the American message delivered to Damascus means Syrian and Iranian domination on Lebanon is prohibited."

An Nahar also said that newspapers in the Gulf have reported that Russian and Iranian naval forces in the Mediterranean sea have been put on alert.

Registrar of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Appointed, Tribunal Is Ready

2008-03-12T18:44:00.001Z

(Picture: the building of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague)

Ban Ki-moon names top official for Lebanon tribunal

11 March 2008 – A veteran of numerous international court proceedings has been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the Registrar of the tribunal being set up to try those responsible for political killings in Lebanon, particularly the 2005 attack that killed former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

Robin Vincent of the United Kingdom will start his duties on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon at a date yet to be determined, but “the appointment of the Registrar reflects the steady progress being accomplished in establishing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,” according to a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Vincent served as Registrar of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). Since then, he has served as the temporary Deputy Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and has advised on the establishment of other international tribunals, including the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

The Security Council set up the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) in April 2005 after an earlier UN mission found that Lebanon’s own inquiry into the Hariri assassination was seriously flawed and that Syria was primarily responsible for the political tensions that preceded the attack. Mr. Hariri died in a massive car bombing in Beirut in February 2005 that also took the lives of 22 others.

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Khalilzad: Hariri Tribunal Ready to Launch Trials

11 March 2008

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad has said the international tribunal that would try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was ready to launch trials.

"The U.N. has everything it needs for the first year to activate the tribunal," Khalilzad said in remarks published Tuesday.

Khalilzad, who was speaking before a Security Council meeting in New York to discuss U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's sixth report on Resolution 1701, said the contributions to finance the tribunal have reached more than $50 million, including $21,3 in pledges.

He said a "management committee" had been established.

The committee, which will among other tasks provide advice and policy direction on all non-judicial aspects of the operations of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and oversee expenditures, is composed of France, Germany, Holland, Britain, the United States and the United Nations, he added.

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Related materials on Middle East policy:

- Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- 'Management Committee' of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Set Up

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Gets Base, Judges

- The International Tribunal for Lebanon (Resolution 1757)

- UN Report on the Establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- Ninth report of Hariri International Investigation Commission

- Memo for International Tribunal for Lebanon

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Comes Into Force

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News Concerning Middle East Reform

2008-03-05T17:44:00.001Z

This is the news section of the February issue (latest issue) of Arab Reform Bulletin Published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:

Syria: Crackdown on Political Activists
Lebanon: Presidential Vote Delayed; Official Assassinated: Journalist Threatened
Iraq: Flag Change; Justice and Accountability Law; Kurdish Press Law Updates
Palestine: Gaza Crisis; Hamas and Fatah Meetings; Crackdown on Journalists
Saudi Arabia: Live Programming Banned; Blogger Arrested; Civil Society Law
Kuwait: Minister Survives Confidence Vote; Crackdown on Cross-Dressers
Bahrain: Crackdown on Protestors; Human Trafficking Law
UAE: New Social Assistance Package; Plans for Women Judges
Yemen: Websites Blocked
Egypt: Brotherhood Arrests; EU Resolution; Torturers Convicted
Sudan: Janjaweed Leader Promoted; Southern Ministers Rejoin Government
Libya: Human Rights Criticism
Tunisia: Journalist Sentenced to Prison
Morocco: Polisario Talks; Homosexuals Sentenced
Mauritania: Return of Refugees; Attack on Israeli Embassy
Upcoming Political Events

Syria: Crackdown on Political Activists

A Damascus court charged ten members of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change opposition coalition on January 28 with “attacking the prestige of the state, publishing false information, membership in a secret organization aimed at destabilizing the state and fuelling ethnic and racial tension.” Under articles 285, 286, 306, and 307 of the criminal code, they face prison sentences of up to fifteen years. Those charged include Fidaa al-Horani, president of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration and Akram al-Bunni, its general secretary. Former MP Riad Seif was arrested on January 28, drawing condemnation from the White House. Prominent artist and political activist Talal Abu-Dan was also arrested on January 31. Twelve Damascus Declaration members in all have been detained since December 9. The Declaration held its first general conference in Syria on December 1. Click here for more details.

Lebanon: Presidential Vote Delayed; Official Assassinated: Journalist Threatened

On January 20, the Lebanese parliament postponed the election of a new president for the thirteenth time—the new session is now scheduled for February 11. The Western-backed ruling coalition and the pro-Syria opposition had agreed on Army Commander General Michel Suleiman as president, but are now divided on the composition of a new government. The Hizbollah-led opposition demands a one third plus one presence in the cabinet—the so-called blocking third. The Western-backed governing coalition has rejected the idea of giving the opposition the power to blocking power but appears ready to accept instead a three way division of cabinet appointment between government, opposition, and president. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the delay aims at giving the two sides more time to negotiate as part of a recent Arab initiative. The Arab plan, endorsed by Syria and Saudi Arabia, calls for the election of Suleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government, and the drafting of a new law for the 2009 parliamentary election.

On February 2, a Lebanese judge ordered the arrest of three army officers and eight soldiers allegedly involved in the death of seven protestors in Beirut’s southern suburbs on January 27. Hundreds of Shi’i protesters angry about electricity rationing clashed with Lebanese troops in what were described as Lebanon’s worst riots since clashes between Sunnis and Shi’a at a university in January 2007 left four people dead.

Internal Security Forces Captain Wissam Eid and five others were killed in a January 25 car bombing in Beirut. Eid had been investigating previous assassinations in Lebanon, including the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri.

Newspaper editor Aziz al-Mitni’s car was set on fire in Carnet Shehwan, near Beirut, on January 20. Al-Mitni is the editor of al-Anbaa, the official newspaper of Waleed Jamblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party, and a vocal critic of the opposition. In recent months, threats against journalists have become commonplace as the security situation in the country has deteriorated. Click here for more information.

Iraq: Flag Change; Justice and Accountability Law; Kurdish Press Law Updates

The Iraqi Council of Representatives passed a bill on January 22 to change the Saddam Hussein-era Iraqi flag in a symbolic break with the past. The new measure removed the old flag’s three green stars, which symbolized unity, freedom and socialism—the slogan of the Baath party. The words “Allahu Akbar” will remain, but the calligraphy, a copy of Saddam’s handwriting, will be changed. The measure expires in one year. Click here for the new flag.

The Iraqi Presidency Council signed a “Justice and Accountability Law” on February 3 to replace the de-Baathification law enacted by former U.S. Civil Administrator Paul Bremer. The new law will allow thousands of former Baathists to apply for reinstatement in the civil service and the military, while a smaller group of more senior members still banned from public positions will receive pensions. The Baath party will continue to be barred from political participation. The Iraqi Council of Representatives passed the law on January 12. The law remains controversial among Sunnis who fear the vetting process required for reinstatement may actually increase the number of Sunnis barred from government positions. Click here for the law in Arabic.

The Kurdistan Regional Government released Faisal Abbas Ghazala, a correspondent for the satellite station Kolsat, on December 21 after he was held for a month without charge in Mosul. The Kurdish national assembly passed on December 11 a new draft law introducing heavy fines and prison sentences for press offenses. The law is awaiting ratification by President Massoud Barzani, who told representatives of the Kurdish Union of Journalist that he would reject the law and ask for an amendment. Click here for more information.

Palestine: Gaza Crisis; Hamas and Fatah Meetings; Crackdown on Journalists

Fatah is planning to hold its sixth General Congress on March 5-6 in the West Bank. The last congress was held in 1989 in Tunisia, before the creation of the Palestinian Authority. Click here for more information.

In a January 23-25 Palestinian National Conference in Damascus, Hamas and Syria-based Palestinian groups called for unity of the Palestinian people and intensifying resistance against Israel. Fatah, along with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, boycotted the Hamas-led conference.

One Palestinian civilian was killed in clashes between Palestinian gunmen and Egyptian forces at the Gaza-Egypt border on February 4. On February 2, Egyptian and Hamas security forces resealed the Egypt-Gaza border breached by Palestinian militants on January 22 after Israel tightened its blockade on Gaza. After talks with Egypt, Hamas declared that it would “restore control over this border, in co-operation with Egypt, gradually.” Egypt has kept its border with the territory closed almost continuously since the Hamas takeover in June 2007.

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled on January 30 that the state could continue with its Gaza fuel cuts, but ordered a delay on plans to reduce electricity supplies. International human rights organizations expressed deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. Click here for a January 26 statement by Human Rights Watch and here for a January 25 statement by Amnesty International.

Hamas released Omar al-Ghul, journalist and advisor to Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on February 1, after detaining him for forty-nine days without charge. On February 4, Hamas released Munir Abu Rizq, Gaza bureau chief of the pro-Fatah newspaper al-Hayat al-Jadida, after a two-week detention, amid reports that a release of Fatah and Hamas prisoners was under negotiation. Click here for more information.

Saudi Arabia: Live Programming Banned; Blogger Arrested; Civil Society Law

Saudi Information Minister Iyad Madani announced on January 30 a ban on all live broadcasts on Saudi public television. The announcement came two days after some viewers phoned in with critical comments about senior Saudi government officials, including the King, to a live program on the state-owned al-Ikhbariya news channel. The station’s director, Muhammad al-Tunsi, was dismissed. Click here for more information.The Interior Ministry confirmed on December 31 that Saudi blogger Ahmad al-Farhan was detained for questioning. Al-Farhan, who used his blog to criticize corruption and call for political reform, was arrested on December 10 “for violating rules not related to state security,” according to the ministry spokesman. Saudi authorities also blocked access to the leading blog publishing service, Blogger.com. The Saudi government's official “internet blacklist” contains more than 400,000 websites, including political, religious, and pornographic sites. Click here for more information.

President of the National Society for Human Rights Bandar al-Hajjar announced on January 5 that Saudi Arabia is moving toward incorporating a human rights curriculum into its higher education system. During the past year, the organization has established a human rights library in Riyadh and a data center for human rights research.

The Saudi Shura Council approved on December 31 a draft civil society law that will regulate civil society organizations in Saudi Arabia. The law—the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia—calls for the establishment of a “National Authority for Civil Society Organizations” to supervise the activities of NGOs. The draft law is currently under discussion in cabinet. Click here an Arabic summary of the draft law.

Kuwait: Minister Survives Confidence Vote; Crackdown on Cross-Dressers

Kuwait’s only female cabinet minister survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on January 22. During the January 8 nine-hour parliament questioning, Islamist MPs accused Minister of Education Nuriya al-Sabeeh of mismanagement, failing to uphold religious values, and of being responsible for “serious deterioration” in education standards. Al-Sabeeh categorically denied all the allegations and won the confidence vote by twenty-seven to nineteen. Maasouma al-Mubarak, who made history by becoming Kuwait’s first female minister in 2005, resigned last year after Islamist MPs summoned her to appear before parliament. Click here for more information.

Kuwaiti authorities arrested at least fourteen transgender cross-dressers between December 18 and 21 for violating Kuwait’s new dress-code law. The law, approved by the National Assembly on December 10, 2007, criminalizes “imitating the appearance of the opposite sex” and stipulates a punishment of up to one year in prison or a fine not exceeding one thousand dinars (U.S. $3,500). A January 17 statement by Human Rights Watch called the law “a violation of freedom of expression and personal autonomy” and urged the Kuwaiti government to free the prisoners.
On January 17, a Kuwaiti court ordered al-Jazeera satellite channel to pay a fine of 20,000 Kuwaiti dinars (U.S. $73,665) for “damaging Kuwaiti national sentiment” and “distorting the history of the country.” Four Kuwaiti lawyers filed the case after al-Jazeera aired an episode of “al-Ittijah al-Mu’akis” (The Opposite Direction) in which an Egyptian commentator accused Kuwait of “stealing Iraq’s oil” and blamed it for the 1990 Iraqi invasion. The channel’s studios in Kuwait have been closed twice before, in 1999 and 2002-2005. Click here for more information.

Bahrain: Crackdown on Protestors; Human Trafficking Law

A Bahraini court charged political activist Hussain Mansoor on January 23 with the assault and attempted murder of a security officer during a protest. The trial was postponed to February 17. A February 3 trial for fifteen other protestors was also postponed to February 24 after lawyers boycotted the hearing, in protest of its late-afternoon timing. Bahrain is currently detaining at least fifty activists, arrested between December 21 and 28 following December 17demonstrations in which one protestor was killed. In a January 21 statement, Human Rights Watch expressed serious concerns over allegations of torture and mistreatment of detainees.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights revealed on January 23 that the Ministry of Islamic Affairs refused to approve the distribution of the novel Omar, A Martyr by Bahraini novelist Abdullah Khalifa, alleging that it defames a religious figure. Click here for more information.

Bahrain issued a law to combat human trafficking on January 9. The law stipulates a prison penalty and fines ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 Bahraini dinars (U.S. $5,319 to 26,731). The law also calls for the formation of a committee to combat human trafficking, members of which have not been announced.UAE: New Social Assistance Package; Plans for Women Judges
UAE Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum issued a decree on January 31 appointing his son Hamdan as crown prince of Dubai. Al-Maktoum also issued directives on January 18 to launch a 15 billion dirham (U.S. $4 billion) plan to build 40,000 houses for needy nationals and to double the budget for social assistance to 2.2 billion dirhams (U.S. $600 million). Click here for more details.

Minister of Justice Muhammad al-Dhahiri announced on January 6 that the UAE is hoping to amend its law on the judiciary to allow women to become judges and prosecutors. He added that women were being trained for the job and two women in Abu Dhabi had been appointed as prosecutors and would begin work once the amendment to the judiciary law was passed. If approved, the move would make the UAE the second Gulf Arab country, after Bahrain, to allow women to become judges.

Yemen: Websites Blocked

Yemeni authorities have blocked access to the independent news website Yemen-Portal since January 19, accusing it of “jeopardizing national unity” and “inciting secession.” Other blocked news websites in Yemen include Yemen Hurr, Hour News Today , Hdrmut, al-Teef, al-Yemen, Aden Press, and Sout al-Gnoub. Click here for more information.

Egypt: Brotherhood Arrests; EU Resolution; Torturers Convicted

Egyptian police forces arrested twenty-nine senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood on January 21, including two candidates in the upcoming municipal elections. The Brotherhood said that the arrests aimed at preventing the Islamist movement from staging demonstrations in support of Palestinians under siege in the Gaza Strip. Approximately 400 Brotherhood members are now in detention, most of them without charge or trial, since a crackdown that began a year ago. Click here for more details.

Egyptian authorities released Howayda Taha, a documentary producer for al-Jazeera satellite channel, on January 29 after a brief detention and interrogation. Taha was accused of filming without official permission. In May 2007, a state security court convicted Taha of “harming the country’s interests” and sentenced her to six months in prison for producing a documentary on torture in Egypt. She appealed the verdict and a decision on her appeal is expected to be issued February 11.

Egyptian security forces abducted opposition leader Abdel-Wahab al-Mesiri on January 21, along with his wife and other activists, and abandoned them in the desert. Al-Mesiri, head of the opposition Kifaya movement, reported being harassed following his participation in a January 17 protest against price increases and the government’s plan to cut subsidies. He also announced that Kifaya would soon release “The Black Book,” a record of the regime’s abuses in various domains. Click here for more information.

The European Parliament issued a resolution on January 16 calling on the Egyptian Government to respect human rights, end all forms of torture and ill-treatment, refrain from harassing human rights defenders and activists, and respect freedom of belief and expression. The resolution also calls for the immediate release of al-Ghad Party leader Ayman Nour and the lifting of the state of emergency. In a January 18 statement, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Aboul Ghait announced Egypt’s “complete rejection” of the resolution and of “attempts by any party to appoint himself as an inspector of human rights in the country or a guardian for the Egyptian people.”

An Egyptian court convicted three police officers of torture on January 5, sentencing one officer to five years and the two others to one year each in prison. The officers were accused of beating a prisoner in the port city of Alexandria and forcing him to wear women's clothing in public to humiliate him. The court ruling came two months after a Cairo court sentenced two policemen to three years in prison for beating and raping a prisoner. Under Egyptian law, the sentence for torturing a prisoner ranges from three to fifteen years in prison.

Five Egyptian and international human rights organizations issued a joint statement on December 29 calling on President Hosni Mubarak to authorize an independent judicial inquiry into the December 30, 2005 police assault on Sudanese protestors, which left twenty-seven persons dead. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Hisham Mubarak Law Center, and the Nadim Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence said the investigation should identify those who ordered, led, and implemented the attacks, and hold them responsible.

Sinai writer and jurist activist Mosaad Soliman Hussein, known as Mosaad Abu Fagr, was arrested on December 26 and charged with instigating riots. He remains in detention in al-Arish prison. Abu Fagr has been campaigning actively for human rights in Sinai and the release of Sinai political prisoners. Click here for more information.

Sudan: Janjaweed Leader Promoted; Southern Ministers Rejoin Government

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir appointed Musa Hilal, a leader of the Arab Janjaweed militia that is accused of grave human rights violations in Darfur, to the position of senior presidential advisor on January 20. Human Rights Watch criticized the appointment in a January 20 statement, calling it a “stunning affront to victims of Janjaweed atrocities in Darfur.” The United States has declared the actions of the Janjaweed to constitute “genocide.”

The southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) rejoined the national government coalition on December 26. The SPLM suspended its participation in the government in October 2007, accusing the north of hindering the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The SPLM’s return came after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir reshuffled the cabinet, bringing in six SPLM ministers. Click here for the new cabinet line-up.

On January 7, Sudan’s National Press Council suspended the English-language daily The Citizen for two days over accusations of insulting the Sudanese president. The newspaper had published an editorial about armed clashes on the border between southern and northern Sudan, which the Council found “disrespectful” to the president. The National Press Council regulates Sudan’s press. Click here for details.

Libya: Human Rights Criticism

In a January 30 statement, Human Rights Watch called on the Libyan government to release political prisoner Fathi al-Jahmi, who is seriously ill and in urgent need of medical care. Al-Jahmi, aged 66, has been in detention for nearly four years without trial.

The human rights organization also criticized Libya’s January 16 decision to deport summarily all undocumented foreigners. The decision can potentially affect one million people, including asylum seekers and refugees from Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudan. Under customary international law, Libya is obliged not to return persons to a place where they may face persecution, or where their lives or freedom are at risk. Click here for more information.

Tunisia: Journalist Sentenced to Prison

A Tunisian court upheld journalist Salim Boukhdeir’s prison sentence in a January 18 hearing. Boukhdeir was convicted on December 4 of “insulting behavior towards an official in the exercise of his duty,” “violating decency” and “refusing to produce identity papers,” and sentenced to one year in prison. Boukhdeir, a correspondent of the London-based newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi and al-Arabiya satellite television, was arrested on the outskirts of Sfax on November 26 after an argument with a police officer. Click here for more information.

Morocco: Polisario Talks; Homosexuals Sentenced

Morocco and Western Sahara’s Polisario independence movement concluded a third round of UN-sponsored talks in New York on January 9 without reaching agreement on Africa’s longest-running territorial dispute. The Moroccan delegation argued in favor of Western Sahara autonomy within Morocco, while the Polisario proposed a referendum among ethnic Sahrawis that includes an option of independence. UN mediator Peter van Valsum said the two sides agreed to meet again March 11-13 for further talks. Click here for more information.

A Moroccan appeals court on January 16 upheld prison sentences for six men convicted of “practicing homosexuality.” The six men were sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to ten months on December 12. The men organized a homosexual wedding in the northern city of al-Qasr al-Kabir on November 26, prompting over 600 of the town’s inhabitants to protest demanding a government crackdown on homosexuals. Article 489 of the Moroccan Penal Code stipulates that homosexuality is illegal and is punishable with six months to three years in jail and a fine of 120 to 1,200 Moroccan dirhams (U.S.$15 to 155). Amnesty International issued a statement on January 18 criticizing the ruling and calling for the immediate release of the prisoners.

On January 5, a Moroccan court convicted fifty members of the Ansar al-Mahdi group of plotting terrorist attacks and sentenced them to between two and twenty-five years in prison. The group, which includes policemen and members of the military, was arrested in August 2006.

Mauritania: Return of Refugees; Attack on Israeli Embassy

Over one hundred Mauritanian refugees, part of a group of 24,000 who fled to neighboring Senegal after ethnic violence in 1989, returned on January 29 under a UN-sponsored program. Mauritanian President Sidi Muhammad Ould Sheikh Abdullahi in June 2007 invited all remaining refugees to return, and Mauritania, Senegal, and the UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement to facilitate their repatriation. Click here for more information.
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on the Israeli embassy in Nouakchott on February 1, causing several injuries. Mauritania is one of three Arab countries, along with Jordan and Egypt, that maintain full diplomatic relations with Israel. Click here for more details.

Upcoming Political Events

Palestine: Fatah’s Sixth General Congress: March 5-6, 2008
Egypt: Local elections, April 2008
Qatar: Parliamentary elections, June 2008

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'Management Committee' of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Is Set Up

2008-02-27T18:02:00.000Z

Ban Ki-moon sets up 'management committee' of Lebanon Tribunal

UN News

14 February 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has established a Management Committee of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon being set up to try those responsible for political killings, particularly the February 2005 car bombing in Beirut that killed the former prime minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others.

“The Secretary-General believes that this step, along with other steps announced in December of last year – the selection of the judges, the appointment of the Prosecutor, the finalization of a headquarters agreement with the Government of the Netherlands enabling the Tribunal to be based in that country, and agreement on a building near The Hague to house the Tribunal – are decisive landmarks in the process of making the Special Tribunal a reality,” Mr. Ban's spokesperson said in a statement.

The Committee, which will among other tasks provide advice and policy direction on all non-judicial aspects of the operations of the Special Tribunal and review and approve its annual budget, is composed of the body's main donors, according to the statement.

The spokesperson also announced that expected contributions to the Special Tribunal will meet the budgetary requirements for its establishment and the first twelve months of operations.

“This will assist greatly in the effort by the Secretariat to establish the Special Tribunal in a timely manner as requested by the Security Council in resolution 1757 (2007),” the spokesperson said.

“This development, as well as the others previously set out, confirms the Secretary-General's belief in the irreversibility of the establishment of the Tribunal.”

In April 2005 the Security Council set up the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) after an earlier UN mission found that Lebanon's own inquiry into the Hariri assassination was seriously flawed and that Syria was primarily responsible for the political tensions that preceded the attack. Mr. Hariri died in a massive car bombing in Beirut in February 2005 that also took the lives of 22 others.

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Nicolas Michel Hints at Legal Action Against Hariri Suspects

Naharnet
06 Feb 08

U.N. legal chief Nicolas Michel warned those who believed that a new Lebanese government would prevent the creation of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, and hinted that the Canadian prosecutor was moving toward taking legal action.
"Formation of the court is definite," Michel said in an interview published Wednesday by the Pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.

"Justice should be part of everlasting peace in the country (Lebanon)," the U.N. under-secretary-general for legal affairs said.

Michel stressed that those who thought they "got rid" of the tribunal that would try suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes through the framework of political deals "are committing a mistake."

"Those who believe that a new Lebanon government would lead to killing the tribunal are also undoubtedly committing a mistake," Michel warned.

Addressing those who are carrying out political assassinations in Lebanon, Michel warned: "It's time they understand that this (act) would only bring them before justice … this court is going to try all those who committed these operations."

Turning to Lebanese political leaders, Michel urged them not to lose hope in the tribunal and the U.N.'s capability to end what he called "the era of impunity."

"The court will soon be a reality," Michel assured them. He also urged them to "have faith in the progress we have achieved over the past few months."

He assured countries which refuse to hand over suspects to the international tribunal that the court will "anyway sentence them in absentia."

Michel said that Canadian prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, who was appointed head of the international commission of inquiry for Lebanon, replacing Serge Brammertz, was "concerned about laying the groundwork for moving soon from the probe into taking legal action."

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Related materials:

- Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Gets Base, Judges

- The International Tribunal for Lebanon (Resolution 1757)

- UN Report on the Establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

- Ninth report of Hariri International Investigation Commission

- Memo for International Tribunal for Lebanon

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon Comes Into Force

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Nassim Yaziji's Articles

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Millions Champion Lebanese Independence and Democracy as Top Leader Accuses West of Abandoning Lebanon

2008-02-19T18:39:00.000Z

A moment of glory, and the struggle goes on.

Lebanon's Independence and Democracy

The Conflict over the New Middle East

ACT NOW NOT LATER.

Million People Show Up for Hariri Memorial in Beirut

Naharnet
14 Feb 08

More than one million people showed up in downtown Beirut on Thursday to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on the third anniversary of his assassination as just a few kilometers away Hizbullah prepared to bury top commander Imad Mughniyeh who was killed by a car bomb in Syria.

Amid fears of clashes between rival pro- and anti-Syrian factions, army troops and security forces were deployed in force in the capital. The factions have faced off repeatedly in recent weeks.

A sea of people gathered under pouring rain and poor visibility in Martyrs' Square in central Beirut, where Hariri is buried, waving Lebanese flags and photos of the slain leader as well as other politicians and figures killed in the past three years.

Rally organizers said about one million pro-government supporters gathered in and around Martyrs Square, while another 500,000 crowded the streets.

As the rally got underway, members of Hariri's family and the ruling coalition inaugurated St. George Square on the Beirut seafront where Hariri was killed by a massive car bomb on Feb. 14, 2005.

They also unveiled a bronze statue, a sculpture in the form of a flame and an obelisk bearing inscriptions about his accomplishments and sayings.

Politicians meanwhile gave fiery speeches demanding an end to the country's presidential deadlock and accusing Syria of meddling in Lebanese politics.

Saad Hariri saluted the crowd before delivering his speech as flag-waving partisans shouted allegiance.

"Today you have come again to say we want a president. And we say to you we will have a president," Hariri told the crowd from behind bullet-proof glass.

"The enemies of Lebanon are still trying to assassinate the Lebanese people just as the Israeli enemy tried to assassinate the Lebanese people during the 2006 July war," he added.

Hizbullah claimed victory after that 34-day war in which neither of Israel's stated aims -- to recover two captured soldiers and halt rocket attacks on northern Israel -- was achieved.

"We want a President for the republic. They tried to assassinate Beirut, the international tribunal and the presidency by installing void," Hariri said.

"Together we will continue to insist that Gen. (Michel) Suleiman is elected President in order to open a new phase of dialogue and consensus and cooperate for Lebanon's sake," he added. "This is the goal of the citizens gathered here in Martyrs Square as well as in the southern suburbs for the funeral service of resistance commander (Imad Mughniyeh)."

Druze leader Walid Jumblat, a sharp Hizbullah critic, said the government will not succumb to opposition efforts to deliver Lebanon "to the Iranian-Syrian black evil world."

He accused Syria and the "double-crossing regime" of its President Bashar al-Assad of killing Mughniyeh.

Jumblat vowed that the blood of the pro-government March 14 Forces and that of the revolutionaries "will nail down all unbelievers anywhere they were – be they in their palaces, squares or caves."

Ex-President Amin Gemayel also pledged to "liberate downtown Beirut and return the Lebanese capital to its people."

A huge crowd cheered Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea as he began his speech.

"We used to say the tribunal is coming. We now say the court came," Geagea said in reference to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to try suspects in Hariri's murder.

"No to your tents and threats. We won't allow the presidential seat to be your captive," he said. "You people tell them that we will resist until victory."

Sheikh Ali al-Amin, the Shiite Mufti of the southern city of Tyre said: "I say to those encouraging an escalation that Lebanon will not be transformed into another Iraq."

MP Atef Majdalani, in turn, said in his speech: "We will remain committed to electing Gen. Michel Suleiman president," stressing that March 14 "wants justice and equality, while they (opposition) want anarchy to achieve unrest and civil war."

Secretary General of al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah Ali Sheikh Ammar vowed to "live on despite the bloodshed."

"Hariri's murder anniversary should be an opportunity to restore a climate for constructive dialogue and national unity," he told the crowd.

MP Elias Atallah, addressing Free Patriotic Movement leaderGen. Michel Aoun, said: "We tell Rabiyeh resident 'Forget about the Document of Understanding (which was singed with Hizbullah ) on the expense of the country.'"

To Hizbullah, Atallah said: "There is no use for the rockets or intimidation."

National Liberation Party Secretary General Elias Abu Assi also addressed the opposition, telling it: "Come back to us when you regain your senses. We in March 14 will not rest until justice is achieved and independence is guaranteed."

Cabinet Minister Mohammed Safadi reminded the opposition that the March 14 coalition has made concessions.

"Do they want us to give up our backing to consensus candidate Gen. Suleiman?" asked Safadi. "We want a government whose war or peace decision is in its hands."

Nassib Lahoud, a former ambassador to the U.S. and a member of the ruling majority, said his side would not budge from its demands for the election of a president without outside interference, followed by the formation of a national unity government.

Cabinet Minister Jean Oghassabian vowed that March 14 will elect Suleiman President, adding that "we will not accept institutional void."

In an indirect address to Hizbullah, Cabinet Minister Michel Pharaon said: "We won't be terrorized. Gen. Suleiman will be elected president and Lebanon will emerge victorious."

MP Bassem al-Sabaa described the opposition tent city in downtown Beirut as an "occupation," saying it "is a crime against Lebanon."

Minister Nayla Mouawad lashed out at Syria, saying: "We were born free and we will die free. We won't allow Lebanon's destiny to be linked to the Syrian regime."

At the exact time of the explosion that killed Hariri, church bells tolled and mosque minarets blared Allah Akbar chants.

Lebanon has been without a president since last November when pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term. A subsequent power struggle between the ruling majority anti-Syrian faction and the opposition has left a continuing vacuum.

By early afternoon cars and buses were continuing to flood to Beirut where the Hariri organizers handed out flags and umbrellas to the demonstrators.

"Open our parliament, free our government, elect a president now," read one banner, referring to the ongoing power struggle.

"Enough martyrs. Enough Blood," read another banner. "Yes for Tribunal," another sign said.

The government declared Thursday a holiday to commemorate Hariri's death and schools and universities were ordered shut.

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Jumblat Accuses West of Abandoning Lebanon

Naharnet
29 Jan 08

Druze leader Walid Jumblat accused the West of abandoning Lebanon, saying "dictators" should be toppled.

"The two dictators ought to be overthrown," Jumblat said in an interview with the French daily Le Figaro.

Jumblat stressed that Syria and Iran as well as their Lebanese allies "want to create void so they can slowly and steadily impose control over (Lebanon)."

He said that "we might not be able to stop that," vowing, however, not to give up.

Jumblat also pointed the finger at Hizbullah for the series of car bombing attacks that have hit Lebanon recently.

"I accuse Hizbullah directly … when you are capable of possessing rockets with a 300-kilometer range, you own everything," Jumblat told Le Figaro.

He also accused Hizbullah of facilitating the job for the Syrian intelligence service.

"You cannot have the power to devastate and assassinate without having deep-rooted allies in the territory," Jumblat added.

He said Hizbullah "facilitates the work of the Syrian intelligence and desperately defends the Syrian regime as well Iran's expansion policy."

Jumblat said in a separate interview with the Russian news agency, Novosti, that it was "impossible for democratic Lebanon to coexist with Syria's dictatorship."

Jumblat, who is on a visit to Moscow, renewed charges to Syria with responsibility for differences between the majority and opposition over distribution of power in Lebanon's forthcoming cabinet.

Russia "being a superpower that has clear interests in the region has an interest in stability in Lebanon, with which it has deeply-rooted cordial relations," he noted.

Jumblat said electing Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman president would be a "major accomplishment."

The Progressive Socialist Party leader said he would discuss with officials "the help and support" Moscow could provide to settle the presidential election issue.

Electing a president, Jumblat said, is the "base for overcoming internal disputes and regaining national unity."

He explained that there are no calls for changing Syria's regime, but the discussion focuses on the ability by Russia and the West to "convince the Syrian leadership to halt its intervention in Lebanon's internal affairs and focus on its own problems."

He said the opposition performance "indicates that it aims at making partnership impossible. They often use partnership as a slogan to hide their aims."

"They want to change the whole democratic regime of Lebanon," the PSP leader said.

"How can we go into partnership with forces that control areas which are off limits for state security?" Jumblat asked in his weekly article published Tuesday by the PSP mouthpiece, al-Anbaa.

"How can partnership be achieved with a side that has an arsenal of missiles and a side that lacks such weapons? How can partnership be achieved with forces that adopt a culture of death and preach death?"

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Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Lebanon

14 February 2008

On the third anniversary of the terrorist attack that took the lives of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and twenty-two others, the Secretary-General stands in solidarity with the families of the victims and with the people and Government of Lebanon. He reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations to assist Lebanon in establishing the truth and in bringing to justice those who instigated, planned and executed this and other callous political assassinations and terrorist attacks in the country. He continues with determination to prepare for the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, convinced that impunity must not prevail and that the tribunal process cannot be reversed.

This solemn anniversary comes at a perilous moment for Lebanon. The Secretary-General believes there could be no greater homage paid to the memory of Rafik Hariri than for the parties in Lebanon to redouble their efforts to achieve national reconciliation and to ensure the stability, security and prosperity for which Rafik Hariri worked so hard during his lifetime.

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Major Lebanon Events since Hariri Assassination

Naharnet

Key events and attacks in Lebanon since former premier Rafik Hariri was assassinated on Valentine's Day three years ago:

2005

- Feb 14: Hariri and 22 others are killed in a car bombing on Beirut's seafront. Anti-Syrian politicians accuse Syria of involvement but Damascus denies.

- Feb 28: The pro-Syrian cabinet of Omar Karami resigns.

- March 8: More than 400,000 demonstrate in support of Syria, responding to calls Hizbullah and Amal.

- March 14: More than a million demonstrate against Syrian influence.

- April 26: The last Syrian soldiers leave Lebanon after three decades of presence.

- May 7: Return of Christian Gen. Michel Aoun after 15 years in exile. A year later he allies himself with Hizbullah.

- May 29-June 19: The anti-Syrian opposition gains an absolute majority in legislative elections.

- July 19: Hariri ally Fouad Saniora forms a government including Hizbullah.

- Aug 30: Four pro-Syrian officers, including the head of the Lebanese presidential guard, arrested as part of Hariri assassination probe.

- Oct 12: Syria says its former intelligence chief in Lebanon, Ghazi Kanaan, who has been questioned by U.N. investigators, has killed himself.

- Oct 20: An initial U.N. probe into Hariri's assassination implicates Syrian intelligence officials and former pro-Syrian Lebanese authorities.

- Dec 12: Assassination of anti-Syrian MP Gebran Tueni. The Saniora cabinet calls for an international tribunal to try Hariri's assassins.
Shiite ministers quit the government but return three months later.

- Dec 30: Former Syrian deputy premier, Abdel Halim Khaddam, accuses President Bashar al-Assad of having threatened Hariri.

2006

- Jan 23: Belgian Serge Brammertz takes over as head of the U.N. probe into Hariri's assassination.

- July 12-August 14: Israel and Hizbullah go to war after the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hizbullah. Nearly 1,400 people are killed.

- Aug 11, U.N. resolution 1701 calls for the end of fighting and provides for the deployment of a strengthened peacekeeping force, the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

- Oct 1: Israel withdraws its troops from southern Lebanon as UN force reaches 5,000 soldiers. The Lebanese army deploys at the border for the first time in decades.

- Nov 11: Failure of talks aimed at forming a government of national unity. First of six pro-Syrian ministers resign.

- Nov 21: Anti-Syrian industry minister Pierre Gemayel shot dead.

- Dec 1: Start of an open-ended demonstration by the opposition who set up tents in downtown Beirut near the prime minister's office.

2007

- Jan 23-25, 2007: Seven dead in clashes between pro-government and anti-government supporters.

- May 20: Start of clashes between the army and Islamist group Fatah al-Islam the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in north Lebanon. The army takes the camp in early September. More than 400 are killed, including 168 soldiers.

- June 10: A controversial U.N. resolution setting up an international tribunal for the Hariri killing comes into force.

- June 13: MP Walid Eido among 10 dead in an attack.

- June 24: Six killed in an attack on Spanish U.N. peacekeepers.

- Sept 19: Antoine Ghanem becomes the fourth anti-Syrian MP assassinated since the May 2005 elections.

- Nov 23: The mandate of President Emile Lahoud expires. The post remains vacant, the majority and opposition having failed to elect his successor.

- Dec 12: A car bomb kills Gen. Francois El Hajj and a bodyguard near Beirut. Hajj had been tipped to replace army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman, the frontrunner to become president.

2008

- Jan 16: U.S. President George Bush, visiting the Middle East, calls for an end to "Syrian interference" in Lebanon.

- Jan 25: Four killed, including top anti-terrorism officer Captain Wissam Eid, in a bomb blast targeting a security convoy in a Christian suburb of Beirut.

- Jan 27: Seven die in clashes between army and demonstrators in Beirut.

- Feb 9: Failure of Arab mediation effort. Failure at the 14th attempt to elect a president for Lebanon.

- Feb 13: Hizbullah announces the murder the previous day in Damascus of top commander Imad Mughnieh in a car bombing.

- Feb 14: Hundreds of thousands of government supporters rally in Beirut to mark the third anniversary of Hariri's death as Hizbullah holds a mass funeral ceremony for Mughniyeh.

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Freedom in the World 2008: Global Freedom in Retreat

2008-02-11T20:50:00.000Z

Freedom in the World 2008: Global Freedom in Retreat

Freedom House

January 16, 2008

The year 2007 was marked by a notable setback for global freedom, Freedom House reported in a worldwide survey of freedom released today.

The decline in freedom, as reported in Freedom in the World 2008, an annual survey of political rights and civil liberties worldwide, was reflected in reversals in one-fifth of the world’s countries. Most pronounced in South Asia, it also reached significant levels in the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. A substantial number of politically important countries whose declines have broad regional and global implications—including Russia, Pakistan, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, and Venezuela—were affected.

Complete survey results reflect global events during 2007. A package of charts and graphs and an explanatory essay are available online.

“This year’s results show a profoundly disturbing deterioration of freedom worldwide,” said Arch Puddington, director of research at Freedom House. “A number of countries that had previously shown progress toward democracy have regressed, while none of the most influential Not Free states showed signs of improvement. As the second consecutive year that the survey has registered a global decline in political rights and civil liberties, friends of freedom worldwide have real cause for concern.”

While the profile of world freedom as measured by the number of countries designated in Freedom in the World as Free, Partly Free, or Not Free changed little during the past year, there were many negative changes within these broad categories. In all, nearly four times as many countries showed declines during the year as registered improvement.

Many of the countries that moved backward were already designated Not Free by the survey. The past year saw the intensification of an effort by authoritarian regimes -- Egypt and Pakistan are two examples -- to consolidate power through the suppression of democratic opposition, civil society, and independent media in their own societies. Especially important in carrying out this assault on freedom of association was a group of market-oriented autocracies and energy-rich dictatorships, including Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and China.

Not one of the countries that registered the lowest possible scores in the Freedom House index -- the “worst of the worst” -- exhibited signs of improvement. This represents a break from a trend formerly observable even in past years when world freedom stagnated or declined, in which progress was registered in some of the world’s most tightly controlled dictatorships.

Just as concerning, countries that had made progress towards freedom in recent years took significant steps backwards. In Asia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines all saw declines in their ratings. In the Middle East, hopes for movement forward in Palestine and Lebanon were dampened by negative trends in the last year in both countries. The deterioration within Nigeria and Kenya, two of Africa’s most important countries, should be of great concern for those who had hoped that the incremental gains of recent years would continue. Two countries that had “color” revolutions in past years -- Kyrgyzstan and Georgia -- also saw disturbing declines.

Jennifer Windsor, executive director of Freedom House, urged supporters of freedom to redouble their efforts to support freedom’s advocates and activists in other societies. “Right now, authoritarian regimes have been able to use their influence to slow freedom’s advance and, in some cases, reverse positive progress. Democratic governments have not worked together effectively to counter these trends. Those who support freedom -- both governments as well as nongovernmental actors -- must get serious and redouble their efforts to support the frontline defenders of democracy who are under duress,” said Ms. Windsor.

Global Findings

The number of countries judged by Freedom in the World as Free in 2007 stood at 90, representing 46 percent of the global population. The number of Free countries did not change from the previous year’s survey.

The number of countries qualifying as Partly Free stood at 60, or 18 percent of the world population. The number of Partly Free countries increased by two from the previous year, as Thailand and Togo both moved from Not Free to Partly Free.

Forty-three countries were judged Not Free, representing 36 percent of the global population. The number of Not Free countries declined by two from 2006. One territory, the Palestinian Authority, declined from Partly Free to Not Free.

The number of electoral democracies dropped by two and totals 121. One country, Mauritania, qualified to join the world’s electoral democracies in 2007. Developments in three countries—Philippines, Bangladesh and Kenya—disqualified them from the electoral democracy list.

Regional Patterns

A number of Asia’s most important countries, many on the Indian subcontinent, suffered setbacks in freedom during 2007. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka all experienced downturns due to increased restrictions on civil society and, in three of the four cases, increased military activity. Declines were also noted in the Philippines, Burma, and Malaysia. A positive development in the region was the improvement of Thailand from Not Free to Partly Free due to the holding of elections by year's end.

In the formerly communist countries of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan—all countries with entrenched authoritarian leaderships and growing energy wealth—registered declines in 2007. Former democratic aspirants Georgia and Kyrgyzstan also moved backwards in 2007. In contrast, however, the countries of Eastern and Central Europe continued to move ahead with the process of democratic consolidation. Poland showed a modest gain, while Latvia and Bosnia and Herzegovina registered slight declines.

The period of modest gains that had marked the political landscape of the Middle East in the post-9/11 period came to an end in 2007. Backward movement was registered in three important countries of the Arab Middle East: Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria. Major declines were also noted in both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli-Occupied Territories. Tunisia, long one of the region’s most repressive states, also experienced a further decline in political rights in 2007.

While sub-Saharan Africa has made incremental if uneven progress in the last several years, 2007 saw an overall deterioration of freedom on the continent. Fifteen countries registered reversals, while six countries marked improvements. Togo moved from Not Free to Partly Free, and Mauritania was designated an electoral democracy this year. Two countries that were conflict zones, Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone, showed major improvements, as did Mozambique and Rwanda. However, political manipulation of ethnic tensions and intolerance by many of the region’s leaders were important factors in the declines of a number of countries, including Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria. Mali and Niger registered declines in civil liberties, while in East Africa, Somalia’s already low score declined further. Other countries that showed declines included Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Comoros, the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Madagascar, and Malawi.

Latin America today is largely governed by parties that have demonstrated a commitment to the electoral process, freedom of expression, and a broad range of civil liberties. However, Freedom in the World judged that freedom in Venezuela remained under duress, and Nicaragua also suffered a decline. On the positive side, Haiti showed signs of modest progress.

Both North America and, with a few exceptions, Western Europe received the highest ratings on the Freedom House index. However, the flawed response to an upsurge in immigration in Europe and the U.S. has revealed potentially serious imperfections in these countries’ democratic systems, especially in Western Europe. Furthermore, they continued to grapple with problems posed by the continued threat of Islamic terrorism.

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Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007

2008-02-02T17:21:00.000Z

Dashed hopes in Egypt, Morocco and Jordan - countries held up as examples

Eritrea ranked last for first time while G8 members, except Russia, recover lost ground

Reporters Without Borders

Eritrea has replaced North Korea in last place in an index measuring the level of press freedom in 169 countries throughout the world that is published today by Reporters Without Borders for the sixth year running.

“There is nothing surprising about this,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Even if we are not aware of all the press freedom violations in North Korea and Turkmenistan, which are second and third from last, Eritrea deserves to be at the bottom. The privately-owned press has been banished by the authoritarian President Issaias Afeworki and the few journalists who dare to criticise the regime are thrown in prison. We know that four of them have died in detention and we have every reason to fear that others will suffer the same fate.”

Outside Europe - in which the top 14 countries are located - no region of the world has been spared censorship or violence towards journalists.

Of the 20 countries at the bottom of the index, seven are Asian (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, China, Burma, and North Korea), five are African (Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Somalia and Eritrea), four are in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Palestinian Territories and Iran), three are former Soviet republics (Belarus, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) and one is in the Americas (Cuba).

“We are particularly disturbed by the situation in Burma (164th),” Reporters Without Borders said. “The military junta’s crackdown on demonstrations bodes ill for the future of basic freedoms in this country. Journalists continue to work under the yoke of harsh censorship from which nothing escapes, not even small ads. We also regret that China (163rd) stagnates near the bottom of the index. With less than a year to go to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the reforms and the releases of imprisoned journalists so often promised by the authorities seem to be a vain hope.”

Government repression no longer ignores bloggers

The Internet is occupying more and more space in the breakdown of press freedom violations. Several countries fell in the ranking this year because of serious, repeated violations of the free flow of online news and information.

In Malaysia (124th), Thailand (135th), Vietnam (162nd) and Egypt (146th), for example, bloggers were arrested and news websites were closed or made inaccessible. “We are concerned about the increase in cases of online censorship,” Reporters Without Borders said. “More and more governments have realised that the Internet can play a key role in the fight for democracy and they are establishing new methods of censoring it. The governments of repressive countries are now targeting bloggers and online journalists as forcefully as journalists in the traditional media.”

At least 64 persons are currently imprisoned worldwide because of what they posted on the Internet. China maintains its leadership in this form of repression, with a total of 50 cyber-dissidents in prison. Eight are being held in Vietnam. A young man known as Kareem Amer was sentenced to four years in prison in Egypt for blog posts criticising the president and Islamist control of the country’s universities.

War and peace

War is largely responsible for the low position assigned to some countries. The increase in fighting in Somalia (159th) and Sri Lanka (156th) has made it very hard for journalists to work. Several have been killed and censorship has been stepped up as clashes became frequent. The belligerents refuse to recognise journalists’ rights and accuse them of supporting the other side.

The battle raging between Hamas and Fatah is the main cause of the large number of serious press freedom violations in the Palestinian Territories (158th). Hostage-taking, arrests, physical attacks and ransacking of news organisations - the Palestinian media and the few visiting journalist are threatened from all sides.

Status quo holds in Iran, violence in Iraq

In Iran (166th), journalists are the target of very aggressive behaviour by the authorities, who tolerate no criticism or expression of political or social demands. As in the past, it is Iran that jails the largest number of journalists in the Middle East. Eight are currently held there. Many other journalists are facing serious, trumped-up charges that could result in their being imprisoned for criticising stoning or corruption, or for working for foreign news media.

In Iraq (157th), what journalists fear most are the armed groups that target them without the authorities ever finding a way to put an end to the litany of violence. More than 200 journalists and media assistants have been killed since the start of the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Disappointment in the Maghreb

The performance of the countries of North Africa has been mixed, with insignificant rises by Algeria (123rd) and Tunisia (145th) and disturbing falls by Morocco (106th) and Egypt (146th) because of the large number of prosecutions brought against the press. Coverage of police abuses, use of torture during interrogation and the lack of judicial independence stang the Egyptian authorities into tightening the vice on independent journalists. Despite all the harassment, the independent media have openly displayed their lack of enthusiasm for the possibility that Gamal Mubarak could succeed his father as president.

Although better off than their Egyptian colleagues, Morocco’s journalists have in the past 12 months been the target of repeated attacks for which they were not prepared. Confiscation of newspaper issues, temporary closures of newspapers, summonses for questioning, imprisonment and severe sentences will leave lasting scars on the journalistic community, which is now very mistrustful of the government’s promises of reform.

Respite for Gulf journalists

There has been progress by some Gulf countries - Kuwait (63rd), United Arab Emirates (65th) and Qatar (79th). The authorities have displayed a tendency to be more open-minded and, in some cases, initiatives have been taken with a view to liberalising press laws. But self-censorship continues to be widespread in the press in these countries.

For the first time, Saudi Arabia (148th) has climbed out of the bottom 20. Saudi journalists enjoyed something of a respite in the past year. But the control exercised by the information ministry’s media surveillance committee prevents the Wahhabi-led kingdom from rising higher in the ranking.

G8 members, except Russia, show slight improvement

After falling steadily in the index for the past three years, the G8 members have recovered a few places. France (31st), for example, has climbed six places in the past year. French journalists were spared the violence that affected them at the end of 2005 in a labour conflict in Corsica and during the demonstrations in the city suburbs. But many concerns remain about repeated censorship, searches of news organisations, and a lack of guarantees for the confidentiality of journalists’ sources.

There were slightly fewer press freedom violations in the United States (48th) and blogger Josh Wolf was freed after 224 days in prison. But the detention of Al-Jazeera’s Sudanese cameraman, Sami Al-Haj, since 13 June 2002 at the military base of Guantanamo and the murder of Chauncey Bailey in Oakland in August mean the United States is still unable to join the lead group.

Italy (35th) has also stopped its fall, even if journalists continue to be under threat from mafia groups that prevent them from working in complete safety. Japan (37th) has seen a letup in attacks on the press by militant nationalists, and this has allowed it to recover 14 places.

“These developments are good news,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Perhaps the repeated calls to these democracies to behave in an exemplary manner has finally borne fruit. But we must remain careful and vigilant. Nothing can be taken for granted and we hope this trend will continue or even accentuate near year. We regret all the same that only two G8 members, Canada (18th) and Germany (20th), managed to be among the top 20.”

Russia (144th) is not progressing. Anna Politkovskaya’s murder in October 2006, the failure to punish those responsible for murdering journalists, and the still glaring lack of diversity in the media, especially the broadcast media, weighed heavily in the evaluation of press freedom in Russia.

Reporters Without Borders compiled this index by sending a questionnaire to the 15 freedom of expression organisations throughout the world that are its partners, to its network of 130 correspondents, and to journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It contained 50 questions about press freedom in their countries. The index covers 169 nations. Other countries were not included because of lack of data.

Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007

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Syria's Baath and Online Censorship: the Internet Black Hole

2008-01-29T18:05:00.000Z

Syria's Baath is, as usual, practicing its Baathism and turning Syria into an "Internet black hole” according to Reporters Without Borders. I would like to congratulate al-Baath on this new exceptional achievement to be added to the long list of its revolution's achievements in Syria.

More than 100 websites blocked in growing wave of online censorship

Reporters Without Borders
7.12.2007

Reporters Without Borders is concerned that the number of websites to which access is blocked in Syria has been growing steadily for the past month. More than 100 websites, including the video-sharing site YouTube, the blog platform Blogspot and the email service Hotmail, are now inaccessible.

“We call on the authorities to explain what is going on,” the press freedom organisation said. “The number of websites rendered inaccessible doubled in two weeks. We do not believe all this suddenly happened for technical reasons as a common feature of all these sites is that they contained criticism of the government. Under the press code, a court order is required to close down a website. We therefore regard this as arbitrary and unwarranted censorship.”

In all, nearly 110 websites are known to be blocked. The latest site to be blocked was Amazon.com on 30 November. When contacted by Reporters Without Borders, the Syria Computer Society, one of the country’s main ISPs, said the Internet was not censored that these problems originated in the computers of the individual Internet users.

The authorities have been blocking access to the social networking service Facebook on Syria’s Internet servers since 19 November without giving any explanation. The Syrian human rights commission’s site is also blocked, as is another independent human rights monitoring site.

Elaph.com, a news website that is very popular in the Arab world (with around 1.5 million visits a day), is also inaccessible. It has also been censored in Saudi Arabia since May 2006 without any explanation being provided by the Saudi authorities. A Syrian journalist, Habib Saleh, spent 27 months in prison for writing articles for Elaph.com.

Syria has become an Internet “black hole” since Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father as president. Access to opposition online publications is systematically blocked, while dissidents and independent journalists are hounded mercilessly when they post articles on the Internet. The authorities used a filtering system called “Thundercache” to control online content, as well as to filter for viruses and prevent pirating of video files.

List of blocked sites :

1. http://www.all4syria.org/
2. http://www.alnazaha.org/
3. http://www.thefreesyria.org/
4. http://www.alsafahat.net/
5. http://www.akhawia.net/
6. http://www.jimsyr.com/
7. http://www.syriakurds.com/
8. http://www.ikhwansyria.com/
9. http://www.soriagate.net/
10. http://www.elaph.com/
11. http://www.youtube.com/
12. http://www.asharqalawsat.com/
13. http://www.free-syria.com/
14. http://www.opl-now.org/
15. http://www.blogspot.com/
16. http://www.mokarabat.com/
17. http://www.tharwaproject.com/
18. http://www.thisissyria.net/
19. http://www.arraee.com/
20. http://www.syriaview.net/
21. http://www.thirdalliance.net/
22. http://www.syriatruth.org/
23. http://www.shrc.org/
24. http://www.hem.bredband.net/
25. http://www.dsyria.org/
26. http://www.reformsyria.net/
27. http://www.hadatha4syria.com/
28. http://www.shrc.org.uk/
29. http://hras-syria.tripod.com/
30. http://alhiwaradimocraty.free.fr/
31. http://www.islammemo.cc/
32. http://ahyawatan.wordpress.com/
33. http://www.kurdistan-times.org/
34. http://www.islamonline.net/
35. http://www.savesyria.org/
36. http://www.aafaq.org/
37. http://www.rezgar.com/
38. http://www.asharqalarabi.org.uk/
39. http://www.damdec.org/
40. http://www.yassardimocrati.com/
41. http://www.aaramnews.com/
42. http://www.ahrarsyria.com/
43. http://www.alqanat.com/
44. http://www.atassiforum.org/
45. http://www.amude.net/
46. http://www.efrin.net/
47. http://www.kurdistanabinxete.com/
48. http://www.binxet.com/
49. http://www.yek-dem.com/
50. http://www.sotkurdistan.net/
51. http://www.qamishlo.net/
52. http://www.kurdax.net/
53. http://www.keskesor.info/
54. http://www.hpg-online.net/
55. http://www.islam-kurd.com/
56. http://www.knntv.net/
57. http://www.kurdroj.com/
58. http://www.syriahr.com/
59. http://www.odabasham.net/
60. http://www.pdksy.net/
61. http://www.yekiti-party.org/
62. http://www.middleeasttransparent.com/
63. http://www.alparty.org/
64. http://www.psp.org.lb/
65. http://www.pajk-online.com/
66. http://www.kurdmedya.com/
67. http://www.syrianforum.org/
68. http://www.opensyria.org/
69. http://www.tsdp.org/
70. http://www.kurdnas.com/
71. http://www.kdps.info/
72. http://www.sos-forum.net/
73. http://www.transparentsham.com/
74. http://www.knntv.net/
75. http://www.hotmail.com/
76. http://www.anonymization.net/
77. http://www.surfola.com/
78. http://www.arabtimes.com/
79. http://www.khilafah.net/
80. http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.org/
81. http://www.alseyassah.com/
82. http://www.democraticsyria.org/
83. http://www.khayma.com/
84. http://www.tayyar.org/
85. http://www.tirej.net/
86. http://www.almustaqbal.com/
87. http://www.bonjoursham.net/
88. http://www.alquds.co.uk/
89. http://www.facebook.com/
90. http://www.alwatan-alsouri.com/
91. http://www.proxify.com/
92. http://forsyriaorg.powweb.com/
93. http://www.syriatribune.com/
94. http://www.welateme.net/
95. http://www.shril.info/
96. http://www.hamacity.com/
97. http://www.almahatta.net/
98. http://www.islamway.com/
99. http://www.syriaalaan.com/
100. http://www.shabablek.com/
101. http://www.anonymizer.com/
102. http://www.proxyone.com/
103. http://www.proxyweb.net/
104. http://webwarper.net/
105. http://anonymouse.org/
106. http://www.guardster.com/
107. http://jap.inf.tu-dresden.de/
108. http://www.skype.com/
109. http://www.amazon.com/

Bush Revives Middle East Freedom Promotion

2008-01-27T18:21:00.000Z

Bush Promotes Freedom, Justice Across the Middle East

Those who desire liberty will defeat extremists, president says

By Merle Kellerhals

USINFO
14 January 2008

Washington -- President Bush is encouraging the advance of freedom and justice throughout the Middle East during his eight-day trip in the region, but he also is warning of the dangers posed by those who promote extremism, terrorism and insurgency that threaten regional security and undermine societies.

"For decades, the people of this region saw their desire for liberty and justice denied at home and dismissed abroad in the name of stability. Today your aspirations are threatened by violent extremists who murder the innocent in pursuit of power," Bush said during remarks January 13 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The president began his eight-day regional visit by focusing attention on an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement that would lead to creation of a Palestinian state. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators opened talks January 14 in Jerusalem, led by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie. The talks will focus on sensitive final status issues such as borders for the Palestinian state, the fate of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements in the Palestinian Territories and the future of some Palestinian refugees. Israeli and Palestinian leaders have pledged to try and reach a conclusion to the talks by the end of 2008.

Another aspect of President Bush's mission to the Middle East is to address substantive regional security issues such as the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran and Iran's support for terrorists and insurgencies in Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Afghanistan.

"One cause of instability is the extremists supported and embodied by the regime that sits in Tehran. Iran is today the world's leading state sponsor of terror," the president said.

While the struggle against the forces of extremism is one of the greatest of our time, Bush said, extremists will be defeated by those who desire freedom and justice -- something extremists cannot take away. Because of that threat, Bush told allies the United States will strengthen its long-standing security commitments in the Gulf region.

Bush arrived in Saudi Arabia January 14 for two days of talks to support peacemaking before concluding his trip in Egypt. Bush already has visited Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

A transcript of the president’s remarks in the United Arab Emirates is available here.

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Fostering Freedom, Justice in the Middle East

Desire for liberty greatest weapon against violent extremism, Bush says

(begin fact sheet)

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
January 13, 2008

Fact Sheet

Fostering Freedom And Justice In The Middle East

During Middle East Trip, President Bush Says Desire For Liberty Is The Greatest Weapon In The Fight Against Violent Extremism

Today, President Bush made remarks in Abu Dhabi about the importance of fostering freedom and justice for the fight against violent extremism in the Middle East. The President spoke about the great new era that is unfolding, founded on the equality of all people before God. This new era offers hope for the millions across the Middle East who seek a future of peace, progress, and opportunity. Unfortunately, these aspirations for liberty and justice are being threatened by extremists who murder the innocent in pursuit of power.

Extremists Are Fomenting Instability In The Middle East

One cause of instability is the extremism supported and embodied by the regime in Tehran. Iran is today the world's leading state sponsor of terror. It undermines Lebanese hopes for peace by arming and aiding the terrorist group Hezbollah. It subverts the hopes for peace in other parts of the region by funding terrorist groups like Hamas and the Palestine Islamic Jihad. It sends arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan and Shia militants in Iraq. It seeks to intimidate its neighbors with ballistic missiles and bellicose rhetoric. And finally, it defies the United Nations and destabilizes the region by refusing to be open and transparent about its nuclear programs and ambitions.

-- Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere, so the United States is strengthening our longstanding security commitments with our friends in the Gulf -– and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late.

The other major cause of instability is the extremism and violence embodied by al Qaeda and its affiliates. The United States joins countries in the Middle East that share our commitment to the freedom and security of the region, and we will not abandon these countries to terrorists and extremists seeking to impose their rule of intimidation and murder across the Middle East.

The Desire For Freedom And Justice Is The Greatest Weapon In The Fight Against Violent Extremists

The United States will be a partner in building a Middle East that is growing in peace and prosperity. The United States has no desire for territory -- we seek our shared security in liberty in the Middle East. We believe that stability can only come through a free and just Middle East, where the extremists are marginalized by millions of parents who want the same opportunities for their children that we have for ours.

Leaders across the Middle East are beginning to respond to the desires of their people and taking steps that will help enhance the stability and prosperity of their nations.

• The United Arab Emirates' first-ever indirect election for 20 Federal National Council members represents an effort, that we hope will continue, to make its government more modern and more representative.
• Kuwait held elections in which women were allowed to vote and hold office for the first time.
• Citizens have voted in a municipal election in Saudi Arabia; in competitive parliamentary elections in Jordan, Morocco, and Bahrain; and in multiparty Presidential elections in Yemen.

Free and just societies create opportunity for their citizens, and the United States is encouraged by the movement toward economic freedom we are seeing across the Middle East.

• The World Bank reports that economic growth is strong and rising in the region.
• Saudi Arabia has joined the World Trade Organization.
• Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, and Morocco have signed free trade agreements with the United States.

Unfortunately, amid some steps forward in this region, we have also seen some setbacks. For example, opposition candidates, peaceful protesters, democracy, and human rights advocates and regime critics have been harassed, abused and/or imprisoned and denied their right to exercise many universally recognized human rights. Peaceful protestors have been jailed, and citizens have not been allowed to voice legitimate criticism.

America Is Using Its Influence To Foster Peace And Reconciliation In The Holy Land

Today, Israelis and Palestinians each understand that the only way to realize their own goals is by helping one another. An independent, viable, democratic, and peaceful Palestinian state is more than the aspiration of Palestinians. It is also the best guarantee of peace for all its neighbors -- and the Israelis understand this.

America will do our part. By supporting the legitimate aspirations of both sides, we will encourage reconciliation between the Israeli and Palestinian people and between Israelis and Arabs, and build a foundation for lasting peace that will contribute to the security of every state in the region.

President Bush Used His Remarks To Speak Directly To The People Of The Middle East

The President reiterated his support for Palestinians' aspirations for a state of their own, and urged the Palestinian people to oppose the extremists and terrorists who represent the greatest threat to those aspirations. He pledged that the United States will help the Palestinian people build the institutions of democracy and prosperity.

The President reiterated that the United States will always stand with Israel in the face of terrorism and support it as it works to ensure the security of its people.

The President said America will continue to support Iraq as it builds the institutions of a free society, and together the United States, Iraq, and Coalition partners will defeat our common enemies.

The President called on the regime in Tehran to heed the will of the Iranian people and make itself accountable to them. The day will come when the people of Iran have a government that embraces liberty and justice, and Iran joins the community of free nations. When that day comes, Iran will have no better friend than the United States.

The President said the United States will stand with leaders across the Middle East as they confront terrorists and radicals. The United States urges these leaders to:

• Join in committing the resources to help the Palestinians build the institutions of a free society.
• Help the citizens of Lebanon preserve their government and their sovereignty in the face of outside pressure.
• Show the Iraqis that they support them in their effort to build a more hopeful nation.

The United States will stand with the people of the Middle East. We share their desire for a free and prosperous future.

(end fact sheet)

Middle East Weekly Wire by POMED

2008-01-19T18:50:00.000Z

These are some excerpts from the latest issues of Weekly Wire by the Project on Middle East Democracy.

January 14, 2008

Thoughts on Bush's Middle East Trip: President Bush left last Tuesday on a nine-day trip to the Middle East with stops in Israel, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Somehad low expectations for the visit, describing the desire to revive support for Middle Eastern democracy as hopeless, while others urge Bush to use this opportune time to set a new course in addressing tensions with Iran. Another analyst implores Bush to advocate a small, easy-to-build-upon initiative, rather than a grand gesture, for the Israeli and Palestinian people. One article remarks on the irony that four of the six Arab nations on the trip are monarchies and highlight Saudi Arabia as a prominent monarchy of great relevance to US foreign policy. In a different light, an editorial argues that the trip exemplifies Bush's stature as "the most consequential leader in the long history of America's encounter" with the Middle East. Meanwhile, a survey of Middle Eastern media highlighted the Arab consensus that "success will only come if the US puts pressure on Israel." Along with this, some noted with interest the "overwhelming focus on the Palestinian issue and the virtual silence on both Iran and Iraq" in Arab media coverage of the trip. In Abu Dhabi yesterday, President Bush gave what was billed as the "signature" speech of his trip, outlining his policy for the Middle East. Some claimed that Bush veered from advocating democratic reforms in order to emphasize the threat of Iran, while others praised his continuing prioritization of spreading democracy and freedom to the world: "America's 'freedom agenda' is not the cause of its current travails in the Middle East."

Unified or Divided Iraq?: In recognition of the first anniversary of Bush's announcement to escalate U.S. forces in Iraq, analysts urged the necessity of a bottom-up political surge in Iraq to provide legitimacy to local governments and sustain grassroots initiatives. One analyst evaluated the pressures against Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has been criticized for not delivering on promises of reform, while others expressed concern over Muqtada al-Sadr's intentions to become an ayatollah in Iraq, or the damage done to internal Iraqi reconciliation by "four ticking time bombs." Others discuss the U.S. interest in a unified Iraq despite Kurdish desires for independence, and suggest that "there should be no aid and no diplomatic legitimacy so long as Iraqi Kurdistan remains a PKK safe haven, sells U.S. security to the highest bidder, and leaves democratic reform stagnant."

Challenges to Democracy in the Arab World: One analystdefended the use of hereditary political power in the Middle East, admitting that while this system clashes with concepts of Western democracy, it provides stability for post-revolution states. An online forum features several prominent voices weighing in on the sustainability of democracy in the Middle East, in reaction to a Charles Issawi quote asserting that, "In the Middle East the economic and social soil is still not deep enough to enable political democracy to strike root and flourish."
Meanwhile, others asked the question: "Does the United States genuinely support democracy in the Arab world-or only when it furthers Washington's interests?"

Shifting U.S. Policy Toward Iran: Many in Washington note thecosts of containing Iran by arguing that rallying Sunni Arab states in favor of such policy is "unsound and impractical" while some declare that bilateral negotiations with Iran are pointless and tough sanctions are the only way to ameliorate the crisis that Iran's stance poses. Analysts in Washington recently discussed the presidential prospects for Tehran mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, described by many as"neither reformist nor strictly conservative," who could challenge President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2009 elections.

Potential for a Democratic Pakistan: While many in Washington argue that the U.S. plan to stabilize Pakistan is heading for disaster, many advocate a path to a stable, democratic Pakistan and urge the United States "to use its influence to persuade Pakistan's military to loosen its grip on power and negotiate with politicians with popular support." Some note the particular importance of this in light of the vast disparity between the level of democracy funding and overall contributions to Pakistan by the administration's budget request to Congress last year.

Presidential Candidates, Democracy and Foreign Policy: The 2008 Democratic Presidential candidates showed some small but important policy variations in their opinions on US foreign policy toward Pakistan. While Barack Obama argued that the U.S. should not shy from encouraging democracy in Pakistan, John Edwards seemed to offer tacit support for President Musharraf, and Hillary Clinton expressed concern over "what comes next" if Musharraf were removed from power., One analyst praises Bill Richardson's insight with regard to democracy promotion in the Muslim world after Richardson bowed out of the Democratic President race last week. In the context of an in-depth look at the Democratic Presidential candidates' foreign policy advisors, especially those of Clinton and Obama, some wonder whether a candidate's assemblage of advisors really matters in the end, while others look for conclusions to draw, but don't find many.

In the GOP debate last week in New Hampshire, John McCain, Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney aligned mostly in support of the Bush Doctrine, while Mike Huckabee was gently skeptical of the Bush administration's foreign policy, promising to chart a course "between maintaining stability and promoting democracy" in the Muslim World. A succinct roundup of the exchange can be found here. When the Republican candidates were dealt the inevitable "what should we do about Musharraf" question in last week's tussle in South Carolina, Fred Thompson and many of his counterparts recognized that democracy is in Pakistan's long-term security interest (and therefore our interest) while Ron Paul decried our financial largesse in support of a "military dictator."

Pakistanis' View of Democracy: A new poll conducted in Pakistan, with results revealed in an event here last week, demonstrated strong public support for democracy: when asked "to use the 10-point scale to measure the importance of living 'in a country that is governed by representatives elected by the people,' the mean response of Pakistanis is 8.4." In reaction, a recent analyst criticizes the U.S. government for violating the wishes of a country's people under the guise of promoting freedom. A Pakistani professor offered an in-depth look at the country's uneven electoral history and its contribution to this lack of public confidence in the Pakistani political system.

In the continuing vocal debate following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, some honor Bhutto's contributions to democracy, while others condemn the media's glorification of the Bhutto family, noting that both Benazir and her husband have been charged on counts of corruption in the past. Some drew comparisons between the political situations in Pakistan and Lebanon, relating Benazir Bhutto's assassination to the murder of Rafik Hariro, while others expressed concern over the future of Benazir Bhutto's political party and the Bhutto family's attitude that democracy should be used to avenge Benazir's assassination. While some analysts worry about the political effects of Bhutto's assassination, noting that several political parties, not just Bhutto's PPP, are using her memory to bolster their own campaigns, others expressed concern about Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's inheritance of the leadership of Pakistan's largest party from his mother as the continuation of the trend of dynastic succession in the country and the region.

An Emerging Lebanon Deal? In the Arab League's ongoing efforts to help resolve the political crisis in Lebanon, an agreement in Cairo appears to have been reached, involving the immediate passage of a constitutional amendment to allow Michel Suleiman to become President and the formation of national unity government. Some described the Arab League proposal as giving "the Maronite president more power than he has had since the Taif Agreement of 1989" while some Lebaneseurged caution on the deal, citing the external threat of Iran's influence. One commentator states that the Arab League's efforts will be closely linked to the continuing investigation into Rafik Hariri's assassination.

Political State of Turkey: Recent analysis discusses the optimistic political prospects for Turkey, stating that critics and the media have overestimated the danger of Islam to democracy. Others emphasized divisions between religious and secular factions, expressing concern over the stability of the political system. On a different note, one analyst implores that a recent lethal blast in southeastern Turkey be seen against "the backdrop of a domestic struggle over the political and cultural identity of Turkey," indicating that it could endanger the continuance of Turkish economic and political reforms and also undermine Turkey's relationships with Iran, Syria, Israel, and the United States, as well as Turkey's bid for membership in the European Union.

Arab Views on Bush's Trip: A survey of Middle Eastern media highlighted the Arab consensus that "success will only come if the US puts pressure on Israel." Along with this, some noted with interest the "overwhelming focus on the Palestinian issue and the virtual silence on both Iran and Iraq" in Arab media coverage of the trip.

A rare opinion survey conducted last month in Saudi Arabia by Terror Free Tomorrow has produced fascinating results, showing dramatic improvement of Saudi opinion of the U.S. in recent months. In the Christian Science Monitor, Terror Free Tomorrow Executive Director Kenneth Ballen concludes that the people of Saudi Arabia may in fact be the answer to the recurring question, "Where is the voice of the moderate Muslim majority who stand against Al Qaeda, bin Laden, and terrorism?"

December 31, 2007

The Bhutto Assassination and Its Aftermath in Pakistan: Pakistan was rocked this week by the assassination of Pakistani People's Party (PPP) leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto during a political rally in Rawalpindi. Bhutto was shot and also targeted by a suicide bomb blast that killed more than thirty of her supporters at the rally. Many noted the void left behind, while opinions varied as to what's next for Pakistan. Several commentators argued that the elections scheduled for January should be postponed to allow the PPP to regroup and to permit for a more democratic contest, but others claim that the "way to honor Bhutto's legacy is for Musharraf to pick up her banner of relentlessly trying to bring back democracy to Pakistan," by holding elections as scheduled. But some fear that Pakistan has already lost the opportunity for the peaceful transfer of power. One article surveys the possible fate of elections in the absence of the Pakistani political leader who recently enjoyed the most popular support.

Many observers praised Bhutto for "her unwavering devotion to democracy," while others criticize Bhutto's "recklessness," and remember her rule as marked by corruption, ruthlessness, and nepotism, seen as carrying on with her 19-year-old son's ascendance to lead the PPP. Many agree that "In her death, as in her life, Benazir Bhutto has drawn attention to the need for building a moderate Muslim democracy in Pakistan." POMED's Shadi Hamid writes that the threat of Islamist control of nuclear weapons is not the overriding danger that some see, as extremists may have the power to threaten and terrorize but they are not on the verge of a takeover. He also writes that the Middle East will remain a powder keg with frequent destabilizing events such as Bhutto's assassination until the problems of "economic, political, religious, and cultural stagnation" that produce extremism are resolved.

Shifting Political Scene in Iraq: One observer notes how military success in the form of decreased violence in Iraq highlights the need for more political success and looks at U.S. plans to encourage such progress. Another examines the little-reported, recently formed alliance between Tareq al Hashemi, head of the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, and the two major Kurdish parties, led by Jalal Talabani and Masoud Barzani, while the political and military struggle between Iraqi Shiite leaders Muqtada al Sadr and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq's Abul Aziz al Hakim continues. And another commentator draws attention to statements from Iraqi government officials indicating their distrust of paramilitary Sunni Awakening Councils.

Lebanese Stalemate Carries on into 2008: Difficulties remain as Lebanon's political forces struggle to reach agreement on how to amend the constitution to allow consensus candidate General Michel Suleiman to become president, making yet another postponement of elections likely. A year-end editorial argues that "Lebanon's heartless politicians are betraying its hapless people," and it blames politicians on both sides for the current impasse, noting that "No one - Lebanese or foreign - can rule this country alone. Those who would dispute this fact are victims of their own delusions or someone else's." One Lebanese commentator proposes that reforms toward removing sectarianism from the Lebanese political system begin with the judiciary. Meanwhile, an American analyst argues that the U.S. does not have a foreign policy strategy in Lebanon willing to acknowledge the country's new political reality.

December 24, 2007

US Pressures Lebanon to Elect President: Last week, President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Welch to return to Beirut to tell Lebanese leaders that "The United States believes that it is time now to elect a new president" and to pressure Speaker Nabih Berri "to convene a session of Parliament...to end a three-week power vacuum." President Bush was asked whether he would talk to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to work on ending Lebanon's political crisis, responding that he has "ruled out direct talks" with Assad because "he houses Hamas, he facilitates Hezbollah, suiciders go from his country into Iraq and he destabilizes Lebanon."

Consequences of U.S. Policy in Iraq and Turkey: One observer argued that despite "the much-touted progress in Iraq," "transforming thousands of anti-American Sunni insurgents into U.S.-funded Sunni militias is not without cost," thus, "the surge and American payoffs to Sunni tribal leaders may eventually backfire, producing more instability and possibly a regional war." However, some credited the surge for "bolstering, ever so slightly, the advocates of conciliation and weakening the partisans of sectarian war," and maintain it has led to a compromise in the volatile city of Kirkuk where Kurds, Turkmens, and Arabs live. Others commented on the Turkish raid launched on Kurdish PKK separatists in northern Iraq and argued that despite Turkish claims that the US gave permission for the attack, "A US official in Turkey said commanders had not approved the attacks, but had been informed before they took place." Additionally, some say that while President Bush has "promised Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Washington would aid Turkey's fight against terrorism," the "increasingly assertive State Department has embraced an ill-advised diplomatic strategy toward the PKK that will likely backfire..."

US Relations with Libya: Some claim that "Muammar Qadhafi provided the Bush administration with a unique post-9/11 foreign policy triumph that has endured-though it has not, as had been hoped, prompted other antagonists to follow in Libya's footsteps." Others commented on the Bush administration's "resumption of diplomatic ties with Libya," arguing that the relationship "is not going as smoothly as the Bush administration had hoped" and that "the US should rethink normalizing relations with Libya" because "The country continues to behave like a rogue state."

The International Community Confronts Iran: One commentator maintains that the international community is "not trying to stop Iran [from] enjoying the benefits of nuclear power...," it is only "Iran's pursuit of proliferation-sensitive activities, particularly its enrichment program..." that concerns the international community. Moreover, "The world put Iran's Islamic rulers on notice" last week when "the 192-member United Nations General Assembly voted its 'deep concern' over escalating atrocities in Iran, such as stoning, repression of female dissidents, and persecution of human rights defenders." Additionally, one observer maintains that "Both the EU and the US should be prepared to enter into direct, comprehensive, and unconditional negotiations with Iran" because "An honest offer of engagement would allow Ahmadinejad's pragmatic opponents to show that it is Iran's president and his controversial policies, not the West, that are at fault."

Despite Delay, New Amendment Allows Election of General Suleiman: Last week, "Speaker Nabih Berri postponed a parliamentary session to elect a new Lebanese president for the ninth time." And Prime Minister Siniora's government has today proposed a draft law for a constitutional amendment to elect army chief Michel Suleiman as president, and has "approved a motion calling for an extraordinary legislative session by parliament as of January 1, to tackle the amendment bill." Meanwhile, Lebanon's opposition has threatened to boycott the presidential vote "unless the ruling coalition agrees to the shape of a future government ahead of the vote." Also, one analyst describes Lebanese Christians as being in a "debilitating dilemma," concluding that "For Christians to survive as a community, they must accept that the only way to do so is through reform of the confessional arrangement...," and "Unless Christians grasp the necessity of deconfessionalizing Parliament, they may find themselves facing a new reality where the Sunni, Shiite and Christian communities are each represented by a third of parliamentary seats," meaning that the "Christians would be the ones surrendering the most power; but more significantly national solidarity would be lost."

Sectarianism and Instability in Iraq: Last week, there were reports that Muqtada al-Sadr may extend the cease fire he declared in late August. One observer noted that "Sadr's stand-down order was consistent with a pattern he had set over the last few years, in which he periodically pulled back to allow rogue elements of his militia to be picked off by coalition forces. Another observer addressed "the concrete walls which have been erected between new Sunni and Shia neighborhoods throughout Baghdad..." and argued that the walls are "making permanent the ethnic cleansing of the last few years, and ensuring that resentments will continue to stymie Iraqi political reconciliation for the foreseeable future." Also, one analyst argued that in Mosul the "calm is now gone" because "al-Qaeda in Iraq and rejectionist Sunni insurgents have opted to abandon surge-bloated Baghdad and Anbar" for Mosul and "with both insurgents and foreign terrorists set up in Mosul, Kirkuk, and their surrounding provinces...the next powder keg of the Iraq War is due to ignite." Additionally, al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new video last week in which he "identifies Iraq as the primary field for jihad..." Moreover, an Iraqi government spokesman announced that "Iraq will need foreign troops to help defend it for another 10 years," but he maintains that Iraqis "will not accept U.S. bases indefinitely."

Turkey Takes on the Kurdish PKK: Last week, "Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq overnight and carried out a small-scale operation against Kurdish separatists" as a result of "public pressure to act after PKK attacks on its security forces..." In response to the raid, the Iraqi Parliament condemned the attack. One pundit argued that "in the larger picture, this operation does not provide a solution to Turkey's Kurdish dilemma." Also, some say that "The raid represents the 'stick' side of the two-pronged Turkish policy effort mounted in recent weeks...that holds the promise of success after several years of enduring PKK attacks that have had mounting success." Others argued that Turkey's actions "whether within Turkey, Iran or the Kurdish Autonomous Region represents a sustained effort by the Turkish military that violate the sovereignty of other nations and the human rights of the Kurdish peoples." Also, "Turkish military authorities arrested Nurettin Demirtas, the leader of the Kurdish Democratic Society Party, with Demirtas' supporters claiming that his arrest was political. In addition, some are concerned about a new press bill approved by the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG's) parliament containing restrictive provisions, "including amendments that would allow the government to suspend newspapers..." and require "that editors in chief be members of the Kurdistan Journalists' Syndicate (KJS)."

State of Emergency Lifted in Pakistan: "President Pervez Musharraf lifted the six-week-old state of emergency and restored the Constitution...after passing a flurry of constitutional amendments and decrees to ensure his recent actions would not be challenged by any court." Prior to the reversal of emergency law, opposition leaders had questions for President Musharraf and President Bush. Also, opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said that she and others are still "worried that the elections are going to be rigged in favor of the ruling party..." Moreover, according to one analyst "The picture of Pakistan today is bleak" and "the political situation will likely get much worse before it gets better."

Despite Mubarak's Crackdowns, Egyptian Democracy Movement Lives: According to one analyst, "9/11 and the vaguely defined 'war on terror'" were "the perfect opportunity" for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak "to summon up his trusty narrative about fighting terror at all costs, especially in justifying his exceptional powers, not to mention his government's growing crackdowns on its own citizens." Yet, another observer noted that "Facebook and YouTube are where the young Egyptian democracy movement lives" and that "There are more than 60 Facebook groups devoted to liberal Egyptian causes" and "many of them have thousands of members." Also, one observer comments on "the movie that everyone is talking about in Cairo these days: Heyya Fauda (It's Chaos)," which "has been predictably championed by the opposition press and criticized by state hacks" and is said to open "with actual footage of the many street protests and altercations between demonstrators and riot police that shook Cairo in the last few years."

Women and Islamic Societies: One analyst highlighted the debate about the state of Muslim women and posed hard questions like: "What can be done about stoning in Muslim countries? Is honor killing a crime of passion or a crime of religion?" Others commented on the "extraordinary case" in Saudi Arabia in which "a rape victim was condemned for associating with a man not her relative," and made a "comparison of Saudi and South African apartheid", and noting differences in Western attitudes toward the two. More recently, Saudi King Abdullah pardoned the rape victim, but pundits say the pardon "was a direct response to an international outcry rather than an effort to reform the kingdom's Islamic sharia courts." Others have "mixed" reactions to the pardon and say that while they are "relieved that the sentence won't be carried out,..."this is not the end" because "there are other injustices still taking place in the Saudi courts." Moreover, others noted that "One must ask these Islamic majority societies to be more consistent with their own values and to stick to justice by refusing to abuse Islam" and that "They must protect the independence of the judicial system and protect innocent people, poor or rich, Muslims or non-Muslims, men and women equally." Lastly, one analyst addressed the notion of "Damsels in distress" and argued that "The west should stop using the liberalization of Muslim women to justify its strategy of dominance."

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Nassim Yaziji's Neo-Internationalism

Nassim Yaziji's Articles

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