Middle East Policy

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-judicia...

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 p...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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 op...

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. Some had 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 mos...