Malaysian Shariah court has no jurisdiction over apostasy cases outside country, it's authority is limited to Muslims in Malaysia, says Chief Judge
New
Age Islam News Bureau
25 February 2021
Mohd Na’im said the Islamic court here could take action against Muslims of any nationality but only if their religious offences are committed locally. ― Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
---------------
• Pakistan,
India can resolve Kashmir issue through dialogue: Imran Khan
• Chief
judge: Malaysian Shariah court has no jurisdiction over apostasy cases outside
country
• Satellite
images show secretive Israel nuclear facility undergoing major construction
• US
plans to release report incriminating bin Salman for Khashoggi murder
• EU
allocates $47M in humanitarian aid for Rohingya
• Biden
to hold phone call with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman soon: White House
• 10
Killed in Suspected Boko Haram Attack in Nigeria
• France
denounces abuses by China against Uighurs
India
• India
slams Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for raising Kashmir issue at UNHRC
• India,
Pakistan agree to follow all ceasefire pacts
• Tamil
Nadu: DMK Muslim MLA donates for Ram temple
• Congress
pitch for Muslim quota could hurt Shiv Sena
• Imam
gets 10-yr RI for sodomy bid
• Kerala:
8 activists of Islamist party in custody over killing of RSS man
• Two
terrorists slain in Anantnag encounter
• India
on lips, Pakistan PM Imran Khan plays peace card in Sri Lanka
--------
Pakistan
• Pakistan,
India can resolve Kashmir issue through dialogue: Imran Khan
• Imran
Khan posing as standard-bearer of Islam would create problems for Pakistan:
Report
• Pakistan
lawmaker apologises for tweet hurting Hindu community's sentiments
• FATF
to decide whether Pakistan has done enough to exit grey list
• Pakistan
offers $50m credit line to Sri Lanka for defence ties
• Govt
urged to take up Sikh pilgrims’ issue with New Delhi
• Pakistan
military personnel punished over escape of Taliban figure: Spokesperson
• Pakistan
to continue to support Afghan peace process: DG ISPR
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Chief
judge: Malaysian Shariah court has no jurisdiction over apostasy cases outside
country
• Peace
deal between Thailand, separatists still distant
• Federal
Court unanimously declares Selangor Shariah law criminalising ‘unnatural sex’
void, unconstitutional
• The
duo who stole Malaysia’s democracy
• China's
Crackdown on Muslims Spreads to Tropical Hainan
--------
Mideast
• Satellite
images show secretive Israel nuclear facility undergoing major construction
• Turkish
police nab Iraqi ISIS suspect in Ankara, rescue 7-year-old Yazidi girl
• Yemeni
Minister: US Seeking to Block Ma’arib Freedom
• President:
US Needs to Stop Economic Terrorism BeforeRejoining N. Deal
• Turkey
to examine lifting opposition MPs’ immunity amid mounting pressure
• Iran
says it is up to US to move first on saving nuclear deal
• Iran’s
limits on UN nuclear inspections a ‘threat’: Israel FM Ashkenazi
• Yemen
appreciates Iran’s support amid Western-backed war
• Israel’s
killing of young Palestinian in June 2020 ‘extrajudicial execution’: Advocacy
group
• Iran
uses Houthis as pressure card for 2015 nuclear pact: Yemeni information minister
--------
North
America
• US
plans to release report incriminating bin Salman for Khashoggi murder
• Top
US general warns Iran, says Taliban not breaking with al-Qaeda
• US
working to integrate Saudi Arabia’s missile defense system with neighbors:
CENTCOM
• Biden
pursuing Trump’s hostile policies toward Iran: American author
• US,
Israel to launch ‘quiet’ talks on Iran amid Israeli warmongering
--------
South
Asia
• EU
allocates $47M in humanitarian aid for Rohingya
• EU-Afghanistan
discussed human rights, violence reduction
• Afghan
Taliban Ask Fighters Not to Harbor ‘Foreign’ Militants as US Reviews Peace Deal
• Engine
explosion, fire kill ten Afghan civilians: Officials
--------
Arab
World
• Biden
to hold phone call with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman soon: White House
• Top
Lebanese lawmaker calls for World Bank official to be kicked out after threats
• Iraqi
Christians, decimated by extremist violence, prepare for pope’s visit
• Khashoggi's
assassins flew on planes under control of MBS: CNN
• Irish
foreign minister voices concern over rights violations in Bahrain
• Arab
states' massive arms deals tribute to US, Western firms: Anti-war activist
• Egypt
Postpones Trial of 5 ISIS Terrorists till March
--------
Africa
• 10
Killed in Suspected Boko Haram Attack in Nigeria
• Turkey
condemns terrorist attacks in Nigeria
--------
Europe
• France
denounces abuses by China against Uighurs
• British
law professor under fire over ‘Islamophobic’ statements
• German
'IS leader' faces verdict
• Turkey
slams EU for expression of support for pro-Kurdish party
• Report:
Far-right incidents surge in German military
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
--------
India
slams Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for raising Kashmir issue at UNHRC
Feb 24, 2021
India
Slams OIC for Presenting ''factully and unwarranted'' references at UNHRC
---------------
NEW
DELHI: India on Wednesday slammed the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
for raising the Kashmir issue at United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
and presenting "factually incorrect and unwarranted references."
India
said it regrets that OIC countries continue to allow Pakistan to misuse its
platforms to indulge in anti-India propaganda.
On
Turkey's mention of Kashmir, India said in its right of reply that it is
ironical for a country which has trampled upon its own civil society to pass
unjustified comments on other’s internal matters.
S
Pujani, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of India to the UN reiterated that
Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India.
We
reiterate that J-K &Ladakh are integral & inalienable part of India.
Steps by Govt to ensure good governance &… https://t.co/8newZ5XSIE
—
ANI (@ANI) 1614171938000
Pujani
also drew attention towards OIC member Pakistan's dismal record in safeguarding
rights of minorities.
“Violence,
institutionalised discrimination and persecution faced by Pakistan's
minorities, including Christians, Sikhs and Hindus continued unabated. There've
been frequent attacks on places of worship of minority communities-grave
violation of right to freedom of religion and beliefs,” she said.
The
condition of women of minority communities, notably Hindus, Sikhs and
Christians remains deplorable and an estimated 1,000 women from these
communities are subjected to abduction, forced conversion and marriage in
Pakistan every year as per Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's recent report.
Pujani
also mentioned the Pakistani establishment's collusion with terrorist
organisations, and the controversial trial of Omar Saeed Sheikh, accused of
killing American journalist Daniel Pearl.
"Recent
acquittal of Omar Saeed Sheikh, the Al-Qaeda terrorist and murderer of American
journalist Daniel Pearl by the Pakistani Supreme Court is a clear example of
the Pakistani establishment's nexus with such entities," Pujani added.
Pakistan
is currently placed on the 'grey list' of the global terror financing watchdog
Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Despite
intense lobbying by Islamabad, it has been unable to escape the list for the
last few years, and faces possibility of slipping into the 'black list' if its
efforts to curb terrorist activities on its soil are found unsatisfactory.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-slams-organisation-of-islamic-cooperation-for-raising-kashmir-issue-at-unhrc/articleshow/81193326.cms
--------
Pakistan,
India can resolve Kashmir issue through dialogue: Imran Khan
Feb
24, 2021
Pakistan
Prime Minister Imran Khan(File Photo)
--------
COLOMBO:
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday that Kashmir is the only
dispute with India and it can only be resolved through dialogue.
Addressing
the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Trade and Investment Conference which he co-chaired with
his counterpart MahindaRajapaksa in Colombo, Khan said that he offered India an
opportunity to hold peace talks on being elected as prime minister in 2018 but
nothing came to pass.
"Our
only dispute is Kashmir and it can only be resolved through dialogue," he
said.
Earlier
this month, India said it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in
an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.
"Immediately
when I came into power, I approached our neighbour India and explained to Prime
Minister NarendraModi that the way forward for the subcontinent is to resolve
our differences through dialogue," Khan said.
"I
didn't succeed but I am optimistic that eventually sense will prevail. The only
way the subcontinent can tackle poverty is by improving trade relations,"
he added.
India
has said that the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror
and hostility.
"Our
position is well-known. India desires normal neighbourly relations with
Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence,"
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said. "The onus
is on Pakistan for creating such an environment."
Ties
between India and Pakistan nosedived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air
Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in the neighbouring country.
Subsequent attacks, including one on Indian Army camp in Uri, further
deteriorated the relationship.
The
relationship dipped further after India's war planes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammad
terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019 in response
to the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.
The
relations deteriorated after India in August 2019 announced withdrawing special
powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union
territories.
Khan,
who is the first head of state to visit Sri Lanka since the Covid-19 pandemic,
said political stability in the region - by maintaining good relations with
neighbouring countries - ensured a business-friendly environment that resulted
in the people's overall development.
The
Sri Lankan Muslim leaders were allowed to meet Khan after the opportunity was
denied to them initially.
Rauff
Hakeem, the leader of the main Muslim party - Sri Lanka Muslim Congress - said
that they had a pleasant and fruitful discussion with Khan. He said the
Pakistani prime minister had expressed confidence in the ability of the Muslim
leaders to achieve communal harmony in the island nation.
Khan
was under pressure from local Muslim leaders to raise the issue of forced
cremations of Muslim Covid-19 victims.
Sri
Lanka had adopted a policy of allowing only cremations citing health issues
despite opposition from the Muslim community and international rights groups
who were insisting on respecting the Islamic religious rite of burials.
Khan
congratulated Sri Lanka earlier this month when Prime Minister MahindaRajapaksa
said in Parliament that burials would be allowed for Muslim victims of
Covid-19. However, the decision is yet to be implemented.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-india-can-resolve-kashmir-issue-through-dialogue-imran-khan/articleshow/81193555.cms
--------
Chief
judge: Malaysian Shariah court has no jurisdiction over apostasy cases outside
country
25
Feb 2021
Mohd
Na’im said the Islamic court here could take action against Muslims of any
nationality but only if their religious offences are committed locally. ―
Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
-----------
BY
JERRY CHOONG
KUALA
LUMPUR, Feb 25 — The country’s Islamic judicial system only has authority over
Muslims in Malaysia and cannot act on cases of apostasy outside the nation, a
senior Shariah court official said.
BeritaHarian
reported Shariah Judiciary Department director-general Datuk Seri
MohdNa’imMokhtar as saying the Islamic court here could take action against
Muslims of any nationality but only if their religious offences are committed
locally.
“As
it is known, the Shariah court is limited to only Muslims. But its jurisdiction
does not take into consideration the Muslim individual’s nationality when
looking at charges.
“As
long as the charge is said to have occurred within the country, then anyone
including Muslim foreign citizens can face action per the Shariah Criminal
Offences Enactments,” he said after a preliminary court proceedings in Perak’s
Chief Shariah Court.
MohdNa’im,
the chief judge of the Shariah court, earlier participated in the case of an
Indonesian woman who is accused of having apostatised and abetted by a local
man, a video of which was circulated online.
The
man in question is being investigated by the police under Section 4(1) of the
Sedition Act 1948, Section 298 and Section 505(C) of the Penal Code, and
Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
MohdNa’im
said that as the man is a non-Muslim, he will be investigated under the civil
law system.
In
the video, the man is reported to have told the Indonesian woman that for a
non-Muslim man to marry a Muslim woman, she must first change her religion in
another country.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/02/25/chief-judge-malaysian-shariah-court-has-no-jurisdiction-over-apostasy-cases/1952694
--------
Satellite
images show secretive Israel nuclear facility undergoing major construction
25 February,
2021
A
Feb 22, 2021 satellite photo from Planet Labs Inc. shows construction at the
Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center near the city of Dimon Israel. (AP)
------------
A
secretive Israeli nuclear facility at the center of the nation’s undeclared
atomic weapons program is undergoing what appears to be its biggest
construction project in decades, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated
Press show.
A
dig about the size of a soccer field and likely several stories deep now sits
just meters from the aging reactor at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research
Center near the city of Dimona. The facility is already home to decades-old
underground laboratories that reprocess the reactor’s spent rods to obtain weapons-grade
plutonium for Israel’s nuclear bomb program.
What
the construction is for, however, remains unclear. The Israeli government did
not respond to detailed questions from the AP about the work. Under its policy
of nuclear ambiguity, Israel neither confirms nor denies having atomic weapons.
It is among just four countries that have never joined the Non-Proliferation
Treaty, a landmark international accord meant to stop the spread of nuclear
arms.
The
construction comes as Israel — under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu —
maintains its scathing criticism of Iran’s nuclear program, which remains under
the watch of United Nations inspectors unlike its own. That has renewed calls
among experts for Israel to publicly declare details of its program.
What
“the Israeli government is doing at this secret nuclear weapons plant is
something for the Israeli government to come clean about,” said Daryl G.
Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association.
With
French assistance, Israel began secretly building the nuclear site in the late
1950s in empty desert near Dimona, a city some 90 kilometers (55 miles) south
of Jerusalem. It hid the military purpose of the site for years from America,
now Israel’s chief ally, even referring to it as a textile factory.
With
plutonium from Dimona, Israel is widely believed to have become one of only
nine nuclear-armed countries in the world. Given the secrecy surrounding its
program, it remains unclear how many weapons it possesses. Analysts estimate
Israel has material for at least 80 bombs. Those weapons likely could be
delivered by land-based ballistic missiles, fighter jets or submarines.
For
decades, the Dimona facility’s layout has remained the same. However, last
week, the International Panel on Fissile Materials at Princeton University
noted it had seen “significant new construction” at the site via commercially
available satellite photos, though few details could be made out.
Satellite
images captured Monday by Planet Labs Inc. after a request from the AP provide
the clearest view yet of the activity. Just southwest of the reactor, workers
have dug a hole some 150 meters long and 60 meters wide. Tailings from the dig
can be seen next to the site. A trench some 330 meters runs near the dig.
Some
2 kilometers west of the reactor, boxes are stacked in two rectangular holes
that appear to have concrete bases. Tailings from the dig can be seen nearby.
Similar concrete pads are often used to entomb nuclear waste.
Other
images from Planet Labs suggest the dig near the reactor began in early 2019
and has progressed slowly since then.
“I
believe that the Israeli government is concerned to preserve and maintain the
nation’s current nuclear capabilities,” said Avner Cohen, a professor of
nonproliferation studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies
at Monterey, who has written extensively on Dimona.
“If
indeed the Dimona reactor is getting closer to decommissioned, as I believe it
is, one would expect Israel to make sure that certain functions of the reactor,
which are still indispensable, will be fully replaced.”
Kimball,
of the Arms Control Association, suggested Israel may want to produce more
tritium, a relatively faster-decaying radioactive byproduct used to boost the
explosive yield of some nuclear warheads. It also could want fresh plutonium
“to replace or extend the life of warheads already in the Israeli nuclear
arsenal,” he added.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/25/Nuclear-Satellite-photos-show-secretive-Israel-nuclear-facility-undergoing-major-construction
--------
US
plans to release report incriminating bin Salman for Khashoggi murder
24
February 2021
The
administration of US President Joe Biden plans to release an unclassified
intelligence report that will likely incriminate Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman in the brutal killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
The
Guardian reported on Wednesday that Biden was expected to call King Salman on
Wednesday.
Biden’s
phone call plan, the paper said, was reported on Tuesday night by Axios, which
described the report as “explosive.”
Washington’s
decision comes amid rising calls by human rights activists and Saudi dissidents
to “strike a blow” against Saudi human rights abuses, the paper said.
Khashoggi,
a former advocate of the Saudi royal court who later became a critic, was
killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, after he entered
the premises to collect documents for his planned wedding to his Turkish
fiancée HaticeCengiz.
According
to Turkish officials, Khashoggi was killed and his body was cut into pieces by
a 15-man Saudi squad inside the consulate.
The
Washington Post, where Khashoggi was a columnist, reported in November the same
year that the CIA had concluded bin Salman had personally ordered the murder.
“The
release of the report is a long-awaited step that must be accompanied by
accountability to ensure that this barbaric crime doesn’t happen again,” said
Khalid Aljabri, the son of SaadAljabri, a former Saudi intelligence official
who is hiding in Canada fearing for his life.
“Toothless
sanctions by the Trump administration didn’t deter MBS [as the crown prince is
often known] from going after others. The Biden administration must take more
effective steps by sanctioning senior officials and political figures,
institutions and entities that contributed to the murder,” Khalid said,
referring to the former US president, Donald Trump.
Last
week, Jake Sullivan, the White House’s national security adviser, said in an
interview on CNN that the administration was preparing to accompany the release
of the report in the murder with a “further answer to how we will ensure that
there is accountability for that murder.”
"Congress
has passed a law actually mandating that the administration release an
unclassified version of the report of accountability and responsibility for the
brutal and grisly murder of Jamal Khashoggi," Sullivan said. "We
intend to comply with that, we intend to do soon."
During
his election campaign, Biden pledged to treat Riyadh as a “pariah” for the
killing of Khashoggi.
Kirsten
Fontenrose, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the
Atlantic Council, ruled out the imposition of US sanctions on MBS personally,
but said “you could see steps against state-owned enterprises and perhaps
limits on the PIF [Saudi sovereign wealth fund] investments in the US. They
could also issue a statement that we will not deal with MBS as head of state,
which has already been said.”
Abdullah
Alaoudh, the DC-based professor and son of a prominent Saudi cleric and
political prisoner who is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, and Michael
Eisner, a former state department lawyer, have urged the Biden administration
to implement “targeted sanctions” that would force the Saudi government to lift
travel bans on dissidents and their families.
“Such
a measure would signal to the Saudis and the world that the US … has turned the
page on the Trump administration’s policy of embracing despots,” they said in a
recent opinion piece on CNN.
Sarah
Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World (Dawn), said,
“The Biden administration should move to apply the exact same Magnitsky Act
sanctions – including a travel ban and freeze of his assets – that the US
applied to his 17 accomplices for the murder of Khashoggi.”
Agnes
Callamard, the outgoing special rapporteur on extrajudicial killing for the
United Nations, who investigated the Khashoggi murder, said targeted sanctions
against the personal assets and bank account of MBS ought to be ordered as a
“minimum” if intelligence showed the crown prince ordered or incited the
killing.
She
also called on Biden to exert pressure on the Saudis to identify the location
of the remains of the slain journalist, allow for Khashoggi’s children to leave
Saudi Arabia if they wish, and, if evidence showed the crown prince ordered the
assassination, freeze the prince’s diplomatic engagements with Washington.
“Banishing
the persons responsible for ordering the killing of Jamal Khashoggi from the
international stage is an important step towards delivering justice to Jamal
Khashoggi,” Callamard said.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/24/645999/US-report-MBS-Khashoggi
--------
EU
allocates $47M in humanitarian aid for Rohingya
Agnes
Szucs
23.02.2021
The
European Union on Tuesday announced €39 million ($47.4 million) in humanitarian
aid to address the needs of Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The
bloc will allocate €24.5 million ($30 million) and €11.5 million ($14 million)
to humanitarian organizations working in Bangladesh and Myanmar respectively,
said a European Civil Protection And Humanitarian Aid Operations statement.
The
aid is meant to help Rohingya refugees with food, shelter, and sanitation, as
well as supporting the education and other services in the conflict-affected
communities.
“The
recent military overthrow of the legitimate government in Myanmar risks
worsening the already dire humanitarian crisis faced by displaced and
conflict-affected populations”, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management JanezLenercic
said.
“In
Bangladesh, the COVID-19 crisis is aggravating the already difficult conditions
experienced by almost one million Rohingya refugees in camps and for host
communities,” he added.
The
bloc will provide further €3 million ($3.4 million) for Rohingya refugees in
other neighboring states.
Myanmar
has seen large protests since the military declared a state of emergency on
Feb. 1. Security forces in the country have reacted with violence to the
protests.
According
to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and
children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces
launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.
Since
Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s
state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development
Agency (OIDA).
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/eu-allocates-47m-in-humanitarian-aid-for-rohingya/2154410
--------
Biden
to hold phone call with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman soon: White House
Joseph
Haboush
24
February ,2021
US
President Joe Biden will have a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin
Abdulaziz “soon,” a White House official said Wednesday.
“We
expect that to happen soon. We’re still in the process of scheduling when that
will happen,” Jen Psaki told reporters during the daily White House briefing.
Asked
about what was expected to be discussed, Psaki refused to preview. “They’ll
cover a range of topics,” she said.
Despite
the Biden administration taking a less amicable approach toward Riyadh than
previous US administrations, Psaki cited Washington’s “long relationship” with
Saudi Arabia.
“There
are areas we will work with the Kingdom Saudi Arabia on, including ensuring
that they have the protections they need to face the threats facing them,” she
added.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/02/24/US-foreign-policy-Biden-to-hold-phone-call-with-Saudi-Arabia-s-King-Salman-soon-White-House
--------
10
Killed in Suspected Boko Haram Attack in Nigeria
By
Timothy Obiezu
February
24, 2021
ABUJA
- Officials in Nigeria's Borno state say 10 people have died from explosions
around the northeast city of Maiduguri. Residents in affected areas have fled
their homes. Local officials suspect Islamist militant group Boko Haram was
behind the blasts.
There
was relative calm on Wednesday and residents who fled their homes last night
returned to the affected areas of Adam Kolo, Gwange, and Kaleri.
The
Borno state governor, BabaganaZulum, visited two hospitals in the morning and
confirmed in a statement that 10 people were killed in the attack, including
children who were playing in a field. He said 47 others were injured.
No
one has claimed responsibility, but Maiduguri resident Sani Adam blamed the
blasts on the group Boko Haram.
"The
deaths was as a result of projectiles fired by Boko Haram which landed in three
different locations," said Adam.
Maiduguri
is the capital of Borno state, the epicenter of the Boko Haram insurgency. For
years, the group has carried out bloody raids and suicide bombings here. The
last one until Wednesday occurred one year ago.
Governor
Zulum said authorities are taking measures after the explosions. He said the
military has repelled the insurgents.
But
Maiduguri resident Andy Rufi said he heard multiple explosions and was
terrified.
"When
I came back from work, I started hearing the explosions which was close to my
area. Later there was gunshots and multiple bomb blasts, more than ten,” he
said.
The
Borno state health ministry says it is taking care of all the injured people.
An
estimated 36,000 people have been killed since the Boko Haram insurgency
started in 2009. Boko Haram has been fighting to create an Islamic state based
in Nigeria.
https://www.voanews.com/africa/10-killed-suspected-boko-haram-attack-nigeria
--------
France
denounces abuses by China against Uighurs
Shweta
Desai
24.02.2021
PARIS
France
on Wednesday denounced China's large-scale “institutionalized repression"
of the Uighur Muslims in the UN Human Rights Council.
“From
the Chinese region of Xinjiang we have received testimonies and corroborating
documents, which describe unjustifiable practices against the Uighurs and a
system of surveillance and institutionalized repression on a large scale,” said
French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian at the ongoing UN session in Geneva
which he attended via video link.
As
a voting member at the council, France also raised the regression of human
rights in Russia, particularly highlighting the assassination attempt on
opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who is currently in prison; violence in
Belarus; the civil war in Syria; the armed conflict and famine in Yemen; and
the military coup in Myanmar.
China
has denied rights abuse of the Uighur Muslims, despite mounting evidence
gathered by international rights groups against Beijing.
Embassy
responds
The
Chinese Embassy in Paris in a series of tweets termed the acts of “genocide”,
“forced labor”, “forced sterilization”, “systematic rape and torture” as “lies”
and “more than absurd.”
“These
lies are the tools of the Western anti-Chinese forces to demonize China. It is
insulting the 1.4 billion Chinese, including the 25 million multiethnic
inhabitants of Xinjiang!” one of the tweets read.
On
the testimony of GulbaharHaitiwaji, a French resident of Uighur origin, who was
imprisoned and sent to a re-education camp, the embassy posted another set of
tweets stating: “Instead of being grateful to Chinese justice for its leniency,
Haitiwaji no longer hid her separatist and terrorist character and concocted
so-called 'suffering' in China.”
In
her book, Survivor of the Chinese Gulag, Haitiwaji recalls the nightmare
endured during her three-year imprisonment and narrates the first-hand account
of torture as well as witnessing the physical and psychological ordeal and
surveillance by the authorities in the camps. She also writes about the forced
inoculation of women in the camps after which they stopped menstruating. “I,
who already stopped having my period, tried to reassure them. But deep inside,
a terrible thought already began to take shape: Are they sterilising us?"
an extract from the book reads.
The
Chinese Embassy in its tweet said: "[Haitiwaji] visited relatives and friends
and traveled to Urumqi, Karamay, Ili, Altay and other places, where does
detention and torture come from? What is even more grotesque is that she claims
to have been ‘sterilized’. At 55?.”
Reportedly,
she was pronounced innocent and allowed to leave Xinjiang, an autonomous region
of China where the Uighurs live, following diplomatic intervention by France.
She returned to Paris last year.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/france-denounces-abuses-by-china-against-uighurs/2155995
--------
India
India,
Pakistan agree to follow all ceasefire pacts
Feb
25, 2021
NEW
DELHI: India and Pakistan have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on
ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, according to a
joint statement on Thursday.
The
decision on ceasefire, effective since Wednesday midnight, was taken at a
meeting between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India
and Pakistan.
The
DGMOs held discussions over the established mechanism of hotline contact and
reviewed the situation along the Line of Control and all other sectors in a
"free, frank and cordial atmosphere".
"In
the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the
borders, the two DGMOs agreed to address each other's core issues and concerns
which have propensity to disturb peace and lead to violence.
"Both
sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease
firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from
midnight of February 24/25," the joint statement said.
Both
sides reiterated that existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag
meetings will be utilised to resolve any unforeseen situation or
misunderstanding, it added.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-pakistan-agree-to-follow-all-ceasefire-pacts/articleshow/81206360.cms
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Tamil
Nadu: DMK Muslim MLA donates for Ram temple
Feb
25, 2021
CHENNAI:
DMK legislator from Gingee K S Masthan, who also heads the party’s minority
wing, has donated Rs 11,000 towards the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya,
Uttar Pradesh.
“I
obliged when a long-time friend (Kalivaradhan) approached me, asking for the
contribution,” Masthan told TOI.
This
was not the first time that he had donated money for temples. Recalling that he
had donated money to construct various temples and also taken part in temple
‘kumbhabishekam’, since 1986, when he was elected president of Gingee town
panchayat in 1986. “It is surprising when people ask me why I donated money for
the construction of Ram temple. Neither the Hindu God (Ram) nor the God of
Muslims had problems. It arises when people create issues using the name of the
Gods,” he said.
He
also justified his action quoting the DMK party founder C N Annadurai
‘OndreKulamOruvane Devan (there is one religion and one God)’. “The religion
that I practice also preaches the same,” he said.
Former
DMK chief M Karunanidhi was strongly opposed to the demolition of Babri Masjid
and the Hindu concept of Ram Setu or RamarPalam (Adam’s bridge), which became a
stumbling block for his pet project — Sethusamudram shipping canal. The
five-time DMK chief minister had posed the question “Who is Ram?” and went on
to say “he is a lie” when Subramanian Swamy and Hindu Munnani leaders
approached the Supreme Court to stall the Sethusamudram project.
Masthan
defended his move saying, “Our leader Kalaignar (M Karunanidhi) in his script
of ‘Parasakthi’ had made it clear that the party is not against any religion or
temple.” He recounted one of the dialogues of SivajiGanesan from the film: “I
created problems in the temple, not because I don’t want a temple. But it
should not become an abode of evil-doers.”
However,
the Gingee MLA’s act did not go down well with some leaders of the DMK. They
said the RSS and the BJP had done injustice to a Muslims, and are now building
a temple to further their cause. Donating funds is like aiding them, knowingly
or unknowingly, they said. “It is unacceptable from a senior functionary, who
should differentiate between good and bad, right and wrong. Going against the
Constitution, the government initiated collection of funds to build the
temple,” said a senior leader on condition of anonymity.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/dmk-muslim-mla-donates-for-ram-temple/articleshow/81197544.cms
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Congress
pitch for Muslim quota could hurt Shiv Sena
25th
February 2021
MUMBAI:
The Maharashtra Congress resolution on Tuesday demanding reservations for the
Muslims in education and government jobs is likely to put its ruling ally, the
Shiv Sena, in a spot of bother.
Sources
in the Shiv Sena asserted that being a staunch Hindutva party, any capitulation
to the Congress demand could hurt its electoral prospect in the future.
“Muslim
reservations can turn into a bone of contention for the MahaVikasAghadi
partners. However, we are confident that Uddhav Thackeray will handle the
situations skillfully as he is doing in other cases,” a Sena insider said.
On
his part, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole maintained that the party
is committed to development and welfare of all communities.
“During
the Congress rule, we gave Maratha and Muslim quota, but later DevendraFadnavis
cancelled the Muslim reservation. Since Congress is the partner in
MahaVikasAghadi, we want to fulfil our promise to the community,” said Patole.
What
could make the situation delicate for Uddhav is that the NCP — the third ally
in the ruling MVA alliance — is also not openly against the Muslim quota.
Earlier, NCP minister Nawab Malik had also sought quota under the common minimum
agenda.
“While
preparing the agenda, we had discussed the Muslim reservations where no MVA
party had raised objections,” he had said.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/feb/25/congress-pitch-for-muslim-quota-could-hurt-shiv-sena-2268703.html
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Imam
gets 10-yr RI for sodomy bid
Feb
25, 2021
Hyderabad:
A local court has sentenced a 26-year-old imam from Santosh Nagar to undergo 10
years rigorous imprisonment for attempting to sodomize a nine-year-old boy.
On
June 1, 2018, a housewife from Santosh Nagar lodged a complaint with police
saying that her 9-year-old son went to a worship place near their house on May
28, 2018 and returned home crying. When she asked him why he was crying, he
told her that the accused had attempted to sodomize him. Based on the
complaint, Santosh Nagar police registered arrested the accused. tnn
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/imam-gets-10-yr-ri-for-sodomy-bid/articleshow/81197749.cms
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Kerala:
8 activists of Islamist party in custody over killing of RSS man
February
25, 2021
Eight
workers of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) have been taken into
custody in connection with the killing of a RSS worker in Alappuzha district,
police said on Thursday.
Nandu
Krishna (22) was allegedly hacked to death by the workers of the SDPI, a
political offshoot of Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), following a
clash between two groups in Nagamkulangara near Cherthala, on Wednesday night.
Onmanorama reported Nandu was the RSS branch leader of Vayalar.
According
to the police, at least six people belonging to the SDPI and the RSS were
injured in the clash between their workers.
They
have been admitted to various hospitals in Alappuzha and Ernakulam, police
said.
One
of the injured workers of the RSS is said to be in a serious condition, they
said.
The
BJP is observing a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the district to protest against the
violence against their workers.
According
to reports, tension had been brewing in the area following a march organised by
the SDPI recently in protest against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath's Kerala visit to inaugurate BJP's Vijay Yatra from Kasargod to
Thiruvananthapuram.
The
area had witnessed back-to-back protest marches by two groups following the
SDPI programme.
https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2021/02/25/kerala-8-activists-of-islamist-party-in-custody-over-killing-of-rss-man.html
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Two
terrorists slain in Anantnag encounter
Feb
25, 2021
SRINAGAR:
Two unidentified terrorists were killed in an anti-terror operation in Shalgul
forest area in Anantnag district’s Srigufwara on Wednesday. The firefight,
which began in the morning, continued till the time of going to press, J&K
Police confirmed on Twitter.
Two
to three terrorists were suspected to be still hiding in the area, sources
said, adding that the slain terrorists were allegedly from Jaish-e-Mohammad.
Based
on intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in Shalgul, a joint
team of Army’s 3RR, CRPF and J&K Police launched a cordon-and-search
operation in the forest area. Seeing the security forces approach, holed in
ultras opened fire at the search party, triggering a gunfight in which the
terrorist duo was killed.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/two-terrorists-slain-in-anantnag-encounter/articleshow/81197568.cms
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India
on lips, Pakistan PM Imran Khan plays peace card in Sri Lanka
Feb
25, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan PM Imran Khan frequently referred to India during his two-day visit to
Sri Lanka, projecting himself as someone who had always advocated dialogue as
the way forward for the two neighbours even as New Delhi took two steps back.
Addressing
the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Conference in Colombo on Wednesday,
Khan said one of his first tasks after assuming office was to
"explain" to PM NarendraModi the need to resolve all differences
through dialogue for the sake of peace and prosperity in the subcontinent.
"I
didn’t succeed, but I am optimistic that eventually common sense will prevail.
The only way the subcontinent can tackle poverty is by improving trade
relations. Let us live like civilised neighbours, just as the Europeans
live," he said.
"Germany
and France have fought multiple times, but today it is unthinkable for them to
have a conflict because they are so interlinked due to trade. Similarly, my
dream for the subcontinent is that we resolve our differences," he said,
adding that the Kashmir issue was the only reason for conflict in the region.
Apprehensions
about Khan raking up the Kashmir issue had reportedly led Colombo to cancel his
planned address to the Sri Lankan parliament. Some within the Sri Lankan
government fear that allowing Khan to speak to parliamentarians against Delhi's
policies of Delhi could harm the island country’s ties with India.
"All
we want is for the Kashmir dispute to be resolved according to the United
Nations Security Council's resolutions, and this can only be achieved through
dialogue," Khan said at the trade and investment conference.
He
also expressed hope that Pakistan could play its part in reducing rising
tensions between the US and China. "We would much rather be a country that
brings other nations and humanity together," he said.
At
the end of his address, Khan urged the Sri Lankan business community to participate
in the over $60b-China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. "It gives you
the opportunity of connecting from Gwadar right up to Uzbekistan and the
central Asian states," he said. "This is the connectivity that
Pakistan offers."
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-on-lips-pak-pm-plays-peace-card-in-lanka/articleshow/81197391.cms
--------
Pakistan
Imran
Khan posing as standard-bearer of Islam would create problems for Pakistan:
Report
25-02-2021
Pakistan
Prime Minister Imran Khan posing himself as the standard-bearer of Islam
against the wave of 'Islamophobia' could create problems for the country, said
an opinion piece in a Pakistani media outlet. The opinion piece by Pakistan
Today's editorial department earlier this week said that "domestic
pressure" from a section of the powerful religious lobby requires Khan to
increasingly cater to "religiosity" to prove his commitment to Islam.
"His
claim to turn Pakistan into RiasteMadina, the decision to make Arabic language
a compulsory subject in schools of Islamabad, banning 100 books in Punjab for
profane and anti-Pakistan content, the announcement of Punjab
Tahaffuz-e-Bunyad-e-Islam Bill 2020 are aimed at negating the damaging charges
leveled against the PM by some of the religious parties," the piece said.
"The measures introduced by PM Khan are contributing to spread of
religiosity and extremism. Imran Khan's mixing of politics and religion to gain
support from religious quarters has taken a dangerous direction. Posing himself
as the standard-bearer of Islam against the wave of Islamophobia, the PM is
taking positions that could create problems for the country," it added.
Pakistan
President ArifAlvi had on Sunday asked the political leadership of France
"not to entrench the discriminatory attitudes against Muslims into
laws", warning that such steps would lead to serious repercussions in the
shape of hatred and conflict. The president's remarks came in reference to an
anti-radicalism bill passed by the French parliament's lower house last week
with an overwhelming majority that would strengthen oversight of mosques, Radio
Pakistan tweeted.
France
on Tuesday summoned Pakistan charge d'affaires to protest comments by President
Alvi on the new anti-radicalism bill introduced in the French Parliament and
asked Islamabad to adopt a "constructive attitude" to bilateral
relations. (ANI)
https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/1472373-imran-khan-posing-as-standard-bearer-of-islam-would-create-problems-for-pakistan-report
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Pakistan
lawmaker apologises for tweet hurting Hindu community's sentiments
February
25, 2021
APakistani
lawmaker from Prime Minister Imran Khan's ruling party was forced to apologise
and delete a tweet deemed disrespectful to the minority Hindu community after
it led to widespread condemnation and calls for action against him.
Amir
LiaquatHussain, a member of the National Assembly from the Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, started the controversy when he tweeted an image
of a Hindu deity to mock Opposition leader Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former
prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Hussain,
who is also a popular TV host and became famous as an evangelist and religious
scholar, faced flak from the Hindu community, civil society and other
politicians for the tweet.
Ramesh
Kumar Vankwani, the PTI's representative from Tharparkar in Sindh province,
criticised Hussain's tweet as a "shameful act".
"Strongly
condemned this shameful act by someone who claims to be a religious scholar
also but doesn't know the respect for other religions," Vankwani, who is
also the chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, tweeted.
"Delete
this tweet immediately otherwise we reserve the right to demand strict action
under the Blasphemy Act and protest across the country," he wrote.
LalMalhi,
another party leader from the Hindu community in Umerkot in Sindh, also
criticised Hussain and asked Prime Minister Khan to take notice of his
illogical act.
"Strongly
condemn the blasphemous act of @AamirLiaquat and appeal @ImranKhanPTI to take
notice of this immoral act. No religion including Islam permits him to do such
illogical acts,” he said.
Hussain
later deleted his tweet and tweeted an apology to the Hindu community.
“I
know the sentiments of the Hindu community were hurt," Hussain said.
"I
respect all faiths, this is what my religion has taught me," he added.
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/pakistan-lawmaker-apologises-for-tweet-hurting-hindu-community-s-sentiments-1772905-2021-02-25
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FATF
to decide whether Pakistan has done enough to exit grey list
February
25, 2021
The
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is expected to announce later today whether
Pakistan has done enough to exit the grey-list as it wraps up its four-day
plenary meeting.
The
FATF president will give a press briefing on the outcomes of the FATF plenary
at 9:30pm (16:30 GMT).
Background
discussions with key officials and foreign diplomats suggest that the jury is
divided — with the authorities claiming sufficient progress to be confident of
a positive outcome but some diplomats suggesting that even in the best case
scenario Pakistan would remain in the increased monitoring list (grey list)
until June.
Ahead
of the plenary which began on Monday, the FATF had updated the overall
performance of all countries.
Based
on this update, Pakistan has been shown improving compliance on two out of 40
recommendations of the FATF on effectiveness of anti-money laundering and
combating financing terror (AML/CFT) systems.
It
finds Pakistan’s progress non-compliant on four counts, partially compliant on
25 counts and largely compliant on nine recommendations. Pakistan’s evaluation
at the plenary will be based on the 27-point action plan and not on these 40
recommendations.
Diplomats
said they had not seen this time the kind of aggressive diplomatic effort
Islamabad had been making in the past, particularly before the October 2020
plenary review. They said the plenary could discuss all options, including
blacklisting Pakistan, keeping it in the grey list or removing it from the grey
list.
There
are, however, no chances that Pakistan could be put in the blacklist because it
has at least three members of the FATF — China, Turkey and Malaysia — who can
sustain all pressures against any downgrade.
This
is not only based on friendly bilateral relations but performance as well.
“From our perspective, we have completed all action points and complied with
what the country was required to do, but sometimes some influential members can
raise objections on a point that one can think is not justified,” said an
official.
Pakistan
fully complied with 21 out of 27-point action plan last year, leading the FATF
to soften its stance from previously aggressive threats and yet it kept it in
the grey list in October last year. Following robust progress on anti-money
laundering and terror financing laws, rules, regulations and updating
inter-agency and inter-provincial cooperation, the FATF narrative shifted
towards Islamabad to “demonstrate” seriousness on ground through results and
prosecutions.
In
October last year, the FATF had announced that Pakistan had made progress
across all action plan items and “largely addressed 21 of the 27 action items”.
As all action plan deadlines stood expired, the FATF had said it strongly urged
Pakistan to swiftly complete its full action plan by February 2021 appreciating
that it took “note of the significant progress made on a number of action plan
items”.
It
had asked Pakistan to continue to work on implementing its action plan to
address its strategic deficiencies by “demonstrating” that law enforcement
agencies are identifying and investigating the widest range of terror financing
(TF) activity and that TF investigations and prosecutions target designated
persons and entities, and those acting on behalf or at the direction of the
designated persons or entities.
Secondly,
it was required to “demonstrate” that TF prosecutions result in effective,
proportionate and dissuasive sanctions and thirdly to “demonstrate” effective
implementation of targeted financial sanctions against all 1,267 and 1,373 designated
terrorists and those acting for or on their behalf, preventing the raising and
moving of funds, including in relation to non-profit organisations (NPOs),
identifying and freezing movable and immovable assets and prohibiting access to
funds and financial services.
Fourth
and finally, it had asked Islamabad to “demonstrate” enforcement against terror
financing sanctions (TFS) violations, including in relation to NPOs, of
administrative and criminal penalties and provincial and federal authorities cooperating
on enforcement cases.
The
Foreign Office spokesman had said last week that Pakistan had made substantive
progress on the remaining six items of the FATF action plan and was duly
acknowledged by the wider FATF membership.
Pakistan
has been on the FATF’s grey list for deficiencies in its counter-terror
financing and anti-money laundering regimes since June 2018.
Until
the last assessment, Pakistan was found deficient in acting against the
organisations allegedly linked to the terror groups listed by the UN Security
Council, prosecuting and convicting banned individuals and tackling smuggling
of narcotics and precious stones.
Recently,
the authorities had taken further steps including the prosecution of
Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed and his associates in terror financing cases.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1609329/fatf-to-decide-whether-pakistan-has-done-enough-to-exit-grey-list
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Pakistan
offers $50m credit line to Sri Lanka for defence ties
February
25, 2021
COLOMBO:
Pakistan has offered a $50 million new credit line to Sri Lanka for cooperation
in the field of defence and security.
The
announcement was made by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who concluded his two-day
official visit to the island nation, said a joint communique issued by the
foreign ministries of the two countries from Colombo and Islamabad on
Wednesday.
The
two sides called for stronger partnership in matters related to security,
terrorism, organised crime and drug and narcotics trafficking as well as
intelligence-sharing, according to the joint communique. They also noted that
the elevation of staff-level talks to defence dialogue had provided an
opportunity to expand security sector relations.
To
strengthen sports diplomacy, Pakistan would provide Rs52 million for promotion
of sports in Sri Lanka, according to the communique. Prime Minister Khan at an
interactive session with the sports community of Sri Lanka announced the
commissioning of the Imran Khan High Performance Sports Centre in Colombo.
Pakistan
also announced plans to establish Asian Civilisation and Culture Centre at the
University of Peradeniya at the Sri Lankan resort of Kandy.
The
visit afforded a timely opportunity to both sides to build upon their regular
consultations in the areas identified during the recently held foreign
secretary-level bilateral political consultations, joint economic commission
session, and the commerce secretary-level talks, the joint communique said.
Pakistan
also announced 100 scholarships in the field of medicines (MBBS and BDS) as
part of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Higher Education Cooperation programme.
During
the visit, the prime minister held delegation-level meetings with President
GotabayaRajapaksa and his counterpart MahindaRajapaksa. PM Khan reiterated
Pakistan’s support for the socio-economic development of Sri Lanka in line with
the vision of a peaceful neighbourhood. The two sides reviewed the extensive
engagement in promoting cultural linkages, human resource development and
capacity building in diverse areas besides educational and technological
cooperation.
The
memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed during the visit include i) MoU on
cooperation in tourism, ii) MoU between the Boards of Investment, iii) MoU
between Sri Lanka’s Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) and Karachi University’s
International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, iv) Intent of
cooperation between ITI and Comsats University Islamabad and v) MoU between
University of Colombo and Lahore School of Economics.
$1bn
trade target
At
the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Conference held in Colombo, the two
countries highlighted the importance of realising the goal of achieving $1
billion bilateral trade target and also agreed to work towards broadening and
deepening of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Also,
Prime Minister Imran Khan and Prime Minister MahindaRajapaksa jointly
acknowledged the reconstitution of the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Parliamentary
Friendship Association.
Both
sides stressed the need to convene the charter-based bodies and agreed to take
forward the Saarc process for strengthening regional cooperation. The two sides
reaffirmed their joint commitment to regional peace, security and stability as
Prime Minister Khan underscored the need for peaceful resolution of all outstanding
disputes, particularly Kashmir issue, through constructive dialogue in
accordance with international legitimacy.
Reiterating
the commitment of the new government to boost bilateral relations, Prime
Minister MahindaRajapaksa thanked the government and people of Pakistan for the
constant support extended to safeguard the independence, sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.
Earlier,
Prime Minister Khan and Sri Lankan President GotabayaRajapaksa in a one-on-one
meeting affirmed cooperation at multilateral fora.
During
the talks held at Presidential Secretariat, Mr Khan emphasised the importance
of building robust economic partnership characterised by enhanced bilateral
trade, investments, and deeper cooperation in the fields of agriculture, tourism,
science and technology, sports, education and culture.
The
two leaders also shared experiences in poverty alleviation and use of
technology to control food inflation.
Referring
to the rich Buddhist heritage of Pakistan, Mr Khan highlighted that the country
had huge potential of being a choice destination for religious tourism for the
people of Sri Lanka. Mr Khan also extended invitation to the Sri Lankan
president to visit Pakistan at the earliest convenience.
Connectivity
While
inviting the Sri Lankan businessmen to invest in Pakistan by exploring the
opportunities being offered in the form of ease-of-doing business, Prime
Minister Khan told Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Conference that
trade connectivity among the countries was vital for poverty alleviation.
He
proposed establishing trade links, as existed among the European Union members,
which he said could prove beneficial for the prosperity of the sub-continent.
He said Pakistan and Sri Lanka could explore the idea of generating wealth through
joint business activities and diverting the wealth to alleviate poverty.
The
two prime ministers led their business delegations at the conference held in a
bid to explore avenues of collaboration in different sectors.
Mr
Khan expressed intent for Pakistan to learn from Sri Lanka’s advanced tourism
industry. Pakistan had several undiscovered sites of religious tourism
including the Gandhara civilization and trails of Buddhism, he said, adding
that a recently discovered 40-foot-long Sleeping Buddha could be of special
interest for Sri Lankan tourists. He said joining the Belt and Road Initiative
could open up new avenues for Sri Lanka with an opportunity to connect from
Gwadar up to Central Asian states.
Mr
Khan said he had offered Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi for a dialogue to
resolve all outstanding issues, particularly the Kashmir dispute, but Pakistan
did not get a positive response.
For
a sustainable prosperity, he said, the South Asian region with 1.3 billion
people needed to resolve its mutual conflicts through dialogue.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1609232/pakistan-offers-50m-credit-line-to-sri-lanka-for-defence-ties
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Govt
urged to take up Sikh pilgrims’ issue with New Delhi
Kalbe
Ali
February
25, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
The GurdwaraKartarpur Governing Council on Wednesday called on the federal
government to ask India to ease travel of Sikh pilgrims to Pakistan.
The
fourth meeting of the council was held here under the chairmanship of Religious
Affairs Secretary SardarIjaz Khan Jaffar. Officials of the ministries of
foreign affairs, finance, interior, Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), Nadra
and relevant security agencies were also present.
It
was decided that the issue of preventing Indian Sikh pilgrims from coming to
Pakistan would be raised at a high level.
During
the briefing, the meeting was informed by the relevant authorities that India
had sent two groups of Hindu pilgrims to Pakistan while the Sikhs were being
prevented from visiting under various pretexts.
The
council was further told by the foreign ministry officials that the Indian home
ministry – which was equivalent to Pakistan’s interior ministry – had denied
permission to a Sikh Jatha of around 600 pilgrims to visit Pakistan for the
100th anniversary of the SakaNankana Sahib.
The
group was also expected to visit five gurdwaras from Feb 18 to 21.
Expressing
concern over the attitude of the Indian authorities, the religious affairs
secretary said: “The state should not have double standard for different
religions.”
“This
biased attitude of the Indian authorities and prejudice towards religious
minorities was unfair,” he added.
SardarJaffar
said the issue of Sikh pilgrims’ visit to Pakistan would be raised at a high
level.
The
Kartarpur Corridor project was an example of philanthropy and interfaith
harmony, but the meeting deplored the unannounced restrictions on pilgrims by
the Indian authorities.
Secretary
Jaffar also reviewed the arrangements of the Kartarpur Corridor project.
Pace
of ongoing development works related to facilities required by the pilgrims,
such as connecting roads towards GurdwaraKartarpur Sahib, were reviewed.
The
meeting decided to provide opportunities to domestic and foreign investors to
invest in the project in the near future to harness the potentials of religious
tourism.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1609276/govt-urged-to-take-up-sikh-pilgrims-issue-with-new-delhi
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Pakistan
military personnel punished over escape of Taliban figure: Spokesperson
FEB
24, 2021
A
number of Pakistani military personnel have been penalised for negligence over
the escape of a high-profile former Pakistani Taliban figure from custody, an
armed services spokesman said on Wednesday.
Liaqat
Ali, the former public face of the militant Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and
better known by his pseudonym EhsanullahEhsan, escaped last year three years
after he handed himself in to the military.
"All
those responsible for it were tried and penalised," Major General Babar
Iftikhar, spokesman for Pakistan's Armed Forces, told reporters in the city of
Rawalpindi where the army is headquartered.
He
said those penalised were military personnel but did not give details including
the number or identity of whose who were prosecuted. The military's media wing
denied that any of those penalised had any involvement or collusion with Ehsan
during the escape, saying it was a case of negligence.
Ehsan
was TTP's spokesman for nearly a decade, issuing statements and holding press
conferences in the group's stronghold near the Afghan border. He proclaimed
TTP's responsibility for deadly bombings and attacks, including the 2012
shooting of education activist MalalaYousafzai.
On
Twitter earlier this month, Yousafzai responded to a threatening tweet directed
at her by an account allegedly belonging to Ehsan, asking the military and
government how he had been able to escape.
A
government statement last year confirming the escape said had said Ehsan evaded
custody during a counter-terror operation in which he was accompanying soldiers
to find Taliban leaders, as he had agreed to do after his surrender.
Ehsan
has issued statements through various Twitter accounts since his escape and has
said on social media that he is abroad.
Iftikhar,
the military spokesman, said that his tweet this month was via a fake account
and that Ehsan's location was not confirmed, but efforts were underway to
recapture him.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan-military-personnel-punished-over-escape-of-taliban-figure-spokesperson-101614182551035.html
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Pakistan
to continue to support Afghan peace process: DG ISPR
Muhammad
Anis
February
25, 2021
RAWALPINDI:
Director General (DG) of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major
General Babar Iftikhar Wednesday said that Pakistan has done what it could do
to influence the Taliban. “Even Afghan leaders are admitting that Pakistan has
done utmost for peace in Afghanistan,” he said while talking to foreign media
at his office.
He
said that it is for the citizens and the government of Afghanistan to determine
the future of their country, how the dialogue process would further, and who
they back to take it on. “We only aim for a long-lasting peace in Afghanistan.”
He
emphasised that there should not be any void in Afghanistan. On a question on
Nato forces’ likely drawdown and the return of the Taliban after it, he said:
“Afghanistan now is not what it was in ’90s and the state infrastructure cannot
be trounced easily, and Pakistan also has changed.
“It’s
impossible for the Taliban to recapture Kabul and that Pakistan would support
them. It isn’t going to happen.” The DG ISPR maintained that the policy of the
Pakistan government to extend a hand of peace to the neighbours was very clear.
In this connection, he referred to recent statement of Chief of Army Staff
(COAS) General QamarJavedBajwa in which he talked about extending a hand of
peace; however, this does not mean that they are not aware of the danger on the
eastern border.
“We
have a vigilant eye on all Indian military's movements,” he said. To a question
he said the whereabouts of former TTP spokesman EhsanullahEhsan were not known,
and they was making efforts for re-arrest of Taliban leader.
He
said that the TTP leader's Twitter account, which was recently used to issue
threats to Nobel laureate MalalaYousafzai, was found to be fake. Talking about
issue of missing persons, he said that the committee formed to investigate the
matter has shown a good progress.
"Out
of more than 6,000 cases received by the commission, 4,000 cases have been
resolved, while the remaining cases will also be addressed soon," the DG
ISPR said. Answering a question about the murder of 11 Hazara miners in Mach,
Balochistan, last month, Babar Iftikhar said that some important arrests have
been made in connection with the tragic incident.
“We
have made arrests and these arrests are very important," he said. The DG
ISPR went on to say that the recent attack on the car of an NGO in North
Waziristan which led to the death of four female social workers was retaliation
of Pakistan Army's operation in the area. He said that at present, there are no
organised terrorist groups in Waziristan, adding that some "small groups
from the region are resorting to terrorist activities there.
"These
petty extremists will be eliminated from Waziristan soon," the DG ISPR
said. Babar Iftikhar said that terrorists in Pakistan operate with the
assistance of groups in Afghanistan, and said that India was involved in
supplying arms, money and new technology to the terrorists to create unrest in
Pakistan and disturb regional stability. “It goes without saying that the
Afghan intelligence is well aware of such developments," he said.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/795348-pakistan-won-t-support-taliban-dg-ispr
--------
Southeast
Asia
Peace
deal between Thailand, separatists still distant
PizaroGozaliIdrus
25.02.2021
JAKARTA,
Indonesia
One
year later, peace talks facilitated by Malaysia between the Thai government and
Muslim rebels in southern Thailand are still facing obstacles due to political
instability in both countries, according to experts and activists.
On
Jan. 20 last year, Bangkok engaged in formal dialogue with National
Revolutionary Front (BRN), the main rebel group. The second round of talks was
held in Kuala Lumpur in March. Since then no talks have been held due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking
to Anadolu Agency, Thai political analyst Abdulsuko Dina said the government is
facing a wave of pro-democracy demonstrations demanding a more democratic
policy.
The
same situation, said Dina, is also occurring in Malaysia, where the government
of Prime Minister MuhyiddinYassin continues to face criticism from opposition
groups over the validity of his status as a prime minister.
“The
political situations in Thailand and Malaysia are unstable. This is a problem.
If Malaysian politics is unstable, the negotiations will be hard to be
realized,” he said.
Since
July last year, Thailand has been gripped by pro-democracy protests.
"The
peace talks were effective, but not much has changed. Violence has indeed
decreased, but it was due to COVID-19,” said Dina.
The
expert said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should be able
to be involved in the peace negotiations led by Indonesia, as the world’s
largest Muslim country.
"ASEAN
can put more pressure on Thailand," he said.
Dina
also encouraged the unity of several Patani resistance groups, including the
Patani United Liberation Organization, the Islamic Liberation Front of Patani
(BIPP), BRN and others to ensure peace in the region.
"There
needs to be an inclusive perspective among them so that everyone understands
the perspective of the other group in solving a problem," he added.
The
insurgency in southern Thailand originated in 1948 as an ethnic and religious
conflict in the historical Malay Patani region.
Southern
Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla provinces have a large Malay-Muslim
community -- Patani -- with 1.4 million residents, according to government
data.
The
Thai government imposed martial law in three Muslim-majority provinces in
southern Thailand -- Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala -- following deadly violence
in 2004.
According
to the monitoring group Deep South Watch, more than 7,000 people were killed
and 13,000 injured in the armed conflict from 2004-2020.
Muhammad
AladiDengni, chairman of the Civil Society Assembly For Peace, made up of 27
non-governmental organizations, said the government decided to negotiate with
BRN because the group is currently the most powerful in southern Thailand.
"The
government has said it wants to negotiate with each organization, but they want
to prioritize BRN because it is the largest organization," Dengni told
Anadolu Agency.
He
said, however, that the people of Patani do not really know about the peace
negotiation process between the group and the government as the two parties never
explained the process to the public.
Learn
from failure
Dengni
said it was not the first time that the government held peace talks with
several factions in southern Thailand.
He
noted that peace talks between factions and the government were held several
times from 1991 to 2013 in Switzerland, Egypt, Damascus, Malaysia and
Indonesia, but they failed to bring real peace to southern Thailand.
He
said this was partly because the peace negotiations were always organized by
the military-led government, not by a civilian government.
"Negotiations
led by a civilian government were only held in 2013," he said, adding the
country its first-ever peace talks deal with BRN aimed at ending the
decades-long conflict in the south under the then Prime Minister YingluckShinawatra.
However,
negotiations between the two sides stopped in 2014 as the country was hit by a
military coup led by Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, the commander of the Royal Thai
Army.
Another
factor, according to Dengni, was the sincerity of the Thai government and the
resistance groups.
He
said the government often carried out an intelligence operation only to know
more about the groups and their leaders
"Their
way of thinking is military; how to control and how to win. So negotiations are
just a show," he added.
-
Peace through prosperity
AwaniIrewati,
a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, encouraged the Thai
government to optimize economic development in southern Thailand as a way to
build peace.
Irewati
said the economic situation in the southern regions is in stark contrast to the
other provinces in northern Thailand.
"Inclusive
development must be implemented in the southern region immediately. The
economic gap is also the root of the problem,” she said.
Peace
negotiations between the BRN and the Thai government were first launched on
Jan. 20, 2020, followed by the second round in Kuala Lumpur on March 2-3 last
year.
On
April 3, the BRN declared that it would cease all activities on humanitarian
grounds due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Both
sides agreed to restart negotiations online on Feb. 3, 2021.
The
Patani Malay National Revolutionary Front, also known as the
BarisanRevolusiNasional (BRN), is an independence movement in northern Malaysia
and southern Thailand's Patani region.
The
BRN was founded on March 13, 1963 by Haji Abdul Karim Hassan, a religious
teacher, as a territorial organization that prioritized Pattani secessionism.
*Writing
by RhanyChairunissaRufinaldo from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian language services
in Jakarta
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/peace-deal-between-thailand-separatists-still-distant/2156612
--------
Federal
Court unanimously declares Selangor Shariah law criminalising ‘unnatural sex’
void, unconstitutional
25
Feb 2021
BY
IDA LIM
KUALA
LUMPUR, Feb 25 — The Federal Court's nine-judge panel today unanimously
declared that a Selangor state law's provision which made unnatural sex a
Shariah offence is invalid and having gone against the Federal Constitution, as
such offences fall under Parliament's powers to make laws and not under state
legislatures' law-making powers.
Reading
out a summary of the unanimous judgment, Chief Justice TunTengkuMaimun Tuan Mat
said the Federal Court granted the order sought by a Malaysian Muslim man who
was challenging the constitutionality and validity of Section 28 of the Shariah
Criminal Offences (Selangor) Enactment 1995.
Section
28 makes it a Shariah offence for “any person” performing “sexual intercourse
against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal”, with the punishment
being a maximum fine of RM5,000 or a maximum three-year jail term or a maximum
whipping of six strokes or any combination.
The
order sought by the man and granted by the Federal Court today is for a
declaration that Section 28 is invalid on the ground that it makes provision
with respect to a matter which the Selangor state legislature has no power to
make laws and is therefore null and void.
Other
judges on the nine-member panel who agreed with the chief justice’s grounds of
judgment include President of the Court of Appeal Tan Sri Rohana Yusuf, Chief
Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Azahar Mohamed, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak
DatukAbangIskandarAbangHashim, Federal Court judges Datuk Seri ZawawiSalleh,
DatukNalliniPathmanathan, Datuk Vernon Ong, DatukZabariahMohdYusof, and Datuk
Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim.
Justice
Azahar read out a summary of his separate grounds of judgment to explain the
important constitutional issues in this case and why he felt the order should
be granted to the Malaysian Muslim man, with the chief justice and all the
other judges on the panel also agreeing with his judgment.
The
facts in this case
In
August 2019, the Malaysian Muslim man was charged in the Selangor Shariah High
Court under Section 28 of the 1995 Selangor state law read together with
Section 52 for attempted offences, where he was alleged to have in November
2018 in a house in Bandar BaruBangi attempted to commit sexual intercourse
against the order of nature with other men.
The
man filed for leave directly at the Federal Court on November 28, 2019 to start
court proceedings against the Selangor government to seek a declaration that
Section 28 is invalid as the Selangor state legislature has no powers to make
such law, with the Federal Court on May 14, 2020 then granting leave for the
man to proceed to have his constitutional challenge heard at the Federal Court.
On
October 6, 2020, the Federal Court allowed the Selangor Islamic Religious
Council (Mais) to be an intervener and join the court case as the second
respondent, while the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (Maiwp) was
not allowed to be an intervener but was allowed to be an amicus curiae.
On
December 14, the nine-judge panel at the Federal Court heard the constitutional
challenge on Section 28 in the Selangor state law, with all parties including
the man’s lawyers, the Selangor government, Mais and also Maiwp as the amicus
curiae allowed to present arguments to the court.
In
the Federal Court’s judgments today, two lists in the Federal Constitution’s Ninth
Schedule were examined, with these two lists stating the different matters that
the federal government and state governments have powers to make laws on.
In
the Federal Constitution’s Ninth Schedule, List I which is also known as the
Federal List states what the federal government via Parliament can make laws
on, while List II which is also the State List states the matters which state
governments through their respective state legislative assemblies can make laws
on.
Essentially,
the court case was about whether the Selangor state government should not have
made a state law — via Section 28 — which makes unnatural sex a Shariah
criminal offence, if unnatural sex is a matter which comes under Parliament’s
power to make laws on instead, based on the Federal Constitution.
What
the chief justice said
Under
Item 1 of the Federal Constitution’s State List, state legislatures can make
laws on Islamic law, including the “creation and punishment of offences by
persons professing the religion of Islam against precepts of that religion,
except in regard to matters included in the Federal List”.
The
phrase “except in regard to matters included in the Federal List” was described
in this court case as a “preclusion clause”, or a provision that excludes the
state legislatures from making laws on matters falling under the federal
jurisdiction.
Justice
TengkuMaimun noted that the Muslim man’s lawyer Datuk Malik ImtiazSarwar had
said the Selangor state legislature could not make Section 28 into law, as
Section 377 and Section 377A of the Penal Code which is a federal law already
governs the same subject matter in Section 28, and due to the preclusion
clause.
The
judge noted that the Selangor state government and Mais had both argued that
the Selangor state legislature has jurisdiction or power to enact Section 28 as
it comprises an offence “against the precepts of Islam”, and that they had
argued that Section 28 is worded differently from the Penal Code provisions and
that this meant Selangor could make such a state law to co-exist with federal
laws and that Section 28 would be constitutionally valid.
In
presenting the Federal Court’s decision, Justice TengkuMaimun however said the
Selangor government and Mais had failed to answer satisfactorily on how Section
28 can still be valid despite the preclusion clause.
Examining
the phrase “precepts of Islam” and its constitutional limitations, the judge
said it was undisputed that “liwat” or sodomy which Section 28 covers is
against the precepts of Islam, but said it is not enough to argue that Section
28 is valid simply because it is an offence against the precepts of Islam.
The
judge noted that the bigger question that was put forward for the Federal Court
to consider was whether the Selangor state legislature is competent or had the
powers to enact Section 28 in light of the Federal Constitution’s preclusion
clause.
Looking
at the preclusion clause in Item 1 of the state list which placed a limit on
what the state legislatures can enact or make laws on, the judge noted that the
preclusion clause states “except in regard to matters included in the Federal
List” and not “except in regard to matters included in the Federal Law”.
The
judge explained that this does not mean that state legislatures have power to
make law on matters that Parliament has not already made law on, and that state
legislatures are instead unable to make law on matters that fall within
Parliament’s jurisdiction, even if there is no such federal law yet.
In
other words, it would be a case-by-case basis, where the question is not
necessarily whether there is already a federal law on a matter, but whether the
matter comes under the federal jurisdiction.
“It
remains to be tested in every given case where the validity of a state law is
questioned, for the courts to first ascertain whether a law in question is
within the jurisdiction of Parliament to enact and not necessarily whether
there is already a federal law in existence such that the state-promulgated law
is displaced,” the judge said.
With
no challenge by any of the parties in the case over Parliament’s powers to make
the Penal Code provisions that cover the same matter as Section 28, the judge
said the Federal Court must accept that Parliament had competently enacted the
Penal Code provisions in line with the Federal Constitution.
After
going through judgments by the Federal Court in three other relevant court
cases, Justice TengkuMaimun said that the nine-member panel is of the view that
these judgments show that the issue is not about the “co-existence” of federal
and state laws, but instead more about the independent application of the two
streams of laws — civil and Shariah laws — within their respective
jurisdictions.
Looking
through other provisions in the Federal Constitution including Article 3,
Article 74(3), the chief justice also looked at the Reid Commission Report 1957
which she cited as showing that the main powers to make law in Malaysia is with
the federal government via Parliament, while states are to only have limited
powers to make laws on specific matters.
“Unlike
countries such as the United States where the primary power of legislation
lies
with the individual states with residual powers in the Federation, the terms of
our Federal Constitution and the history of its founding make it abundantly clear
that the primary legislative powers of the Federation shall lie ultimately with
Parliament save and except for specific matters over which the states shall
have legislative powers,” she explained.
She
also cited the Federal Constitution’s Article 75 and Article 77 as showing that
Parliament has the primary legislative power or power to make laws, while state
legislatures have residual powers to make laws.
The
judge listed out the Federal List’s Items 3 and 4 which gave the power to
Parliament to make criminal law and to create offences on matters listed within
the Federal List, while noting that the State List does allow the creation of
offences against the “precepts of Islam” but that these powers were limited by
the “preclusion clause” and only on matters listed in the State List. She also
noted that the entire State List does not carry any of the same matters listed
in the Federal List’s Items 3 and 4.
The
judge also said the argument by the Selangor government and Mais on Section 28
allegedly being worded more broadly than the Penal Code provisions was “wholly
immaterial” or irrelevant, pointing out that what matters in this case is that
Section 28 covers a matter which falls under the Federal List.
The
judge then concluded that it could be put forward that when Parliament and the
state legislature make laws on the same subject matter of criminal law, the two
laws cannot co-exist even if the offence is said to be against the precepts of
Islam, due to the “preclusion clause” in Item 1 of the State List.
“Given
the above, the natural consequence is that the subject-matter upon which
section 28 of the 1995 Enactment was made falls within the preclusion clause of
Item 1 of the State List.
“As
such, it is our view that the said section was enacted in contravention of item
1 of the State List which stipulates that the state legislatures have no power
to make law ‘in regard to matters included in the Federal List’. To that
extent, section 28 of the 1995 Enactment is inconsistent with the Federal
Constitution and is therefore void,” the judge said when noting that Section 28
in the Selangor state law had went against the Federal Constitution.
To
avoid any doubt, the chief justice noted that the range of offences against the
precepts of Islam that can be enacted by state legislatures in Malaysia is
“wide” as the Federal Court had in another case previously decided that the
“precepts of Islam” is wide and not limited to the five pillars of Islam.
But
she pointed out the wide range of such offences against precepts of Islam that
state legislatures can make law on is subjected to limits under Malaysia’s
Federal Constitution: “Thus, the range of offences that may be enacted are
wide. Having said that, the power to enact such range of offences is subject to
a constitutional limit.”
What
the chief judge of Malaya said
Justice
Azahar cited two previous Federal Court judgments which he said showed the
phrase “precepts of Islam” as being wide to include “every single rule,
conduct, principle, commandment and teaching of Islam prescribed in the
Shariah, including Islamic criminal law”.
He
considered the wide meaning of “precepts of Islam” and cited two expert
opinions by Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Mohd Kamal Hassan and Professor Emeritus
DatukPadukaMahmoodZuhdiAbd Majid.
The
judge said Section 28 which relates to unnatural sex including “liwat” or
sodomy is undeniably an offence against the precepts of Islam.
But
he also said whether Section 28 was validly enacted by the Selangor state
legislature within the limits of its powers under the Federal Constitution was
a question that must be dealt with separately.
He
noted that this is the first time that the Federal Court has had to directly
address the point of whether Section 28 cannot be valid due to the “preclusion
clause” in the Federal Constitution and as it had intruded into an area that
belongs to Parliament.
He
concluded that the “preclusion clause” was worded in a “compellingly clear and
unequivocal” manner, adding that he had no doubt that it meant that the state
legislature’s powers to make laws on offences against the precepts of Islam is
regulated by the phrase “except in regard to matters included in the Federal
List”.
“The
preclusion clause functions as a limitation imposed by the Federal Constitution
on the state legislatures to make laws on Islamic criminal law,” he said.
Justice
Azahar also pointed out that it is important to note that the Federal
Constitution’s State List itself expressly recognises that certain areas of
Islamic criminal law are part of Parliament’s jurisdiction, and that as a
result, any matter falling under Parliament’s jurisdiction would not be
something that the state legislature can make laws on.
“Although
the range of the state legislature to enact “offences against the precepts of
Islam” appears to be so extensive as to comprise almost ‘every single rule,
conduct, principle, commandment, and teaching of Islam prescribed in the
Shariah’, in reality there is constitutional limitation upon the subject matter
of the legislation enforced by the preclusion clause.
“So
construed, there could be no doubt, to my mind, that the state legislature
cannot create offence already dealt with in the Federal List,” the judge said.
Based
on this reason, Justice Azahar concluded that the state legislature does not have
the sole or exclusive right to make laws on Islamic criminal offences, stating
that the preclusion clause clearly implies that the state legislature only has
residual powers to make such laws and that it is subject to the federal
jurisdiction on criminal laws.
He
noted that “criminal law” comes under Parliament’s law-making powers under Item
4 of the Federal List and said the offence of unnatural sex offence in Section
28 obviously falls within that category.
“By
that I mean, in practical terms, that even if Parliament has yet to make
legislation with respect to an offence of sexual intercourse against the order
of nature, still the State Legislature is precluded from legislating on this
subject matter,” he said.
The
judge however highlighted that the Penal Code — which applies to both Muslims
and non-Muslims and is administered in civil courts — was enacted much earlier
than Selangor’s Section 28.
The
Penal Code is a written law by Parliament that covers most of the criminal
offences and punishments in Malaysia.
In
explaining his conclusion, the judge said: “Put another way, only Parliament
has power to make such laws with respect to the offence of sexual intercourse
against the order of nature.”
Justice
Azahar disagreed with Mais’ claim that the state legislature would not be able
to make any laws on offences if every offence is a criminal law and that the
state legislature’s law-making powers would be redundant.
Instead,
the judge said the Federal Constitution guarantees that states have the power
to make laws on offences against the precepts of Islam unless already covered
in the Federal List, explaining his view that this meant states could still
validly make laws on offences that are “purely religious” in nature.
Justice
Azahar noted that there are three categories of Shariah criminal offences in
Malaysia that would remain valid as state laws, despite the “preclusion
clause”, namely offences relating to “aqidah” or the Muslim faith (including
wrongful worship, deviating from Islamic belief, teaching false doctrines),
offences relating to the sanctity of Islam and its institution (including
insulting the Quran, failure to perform Friday prayers, disrespecting Ramadan
and not paying zakat), offences against morality (including consuming
intoxicating drinks, khalwat or close proximity and zina or sexual intercourse
outside marriage).
“As
can be seen, these are offences in relation to Islamic religion practiced in
this country that must conform to the doctrine, tenets and practice of the
religion of Islam. In short, I refer to these offences as religious offences,”
he said, adding that this is a non-exhaustive list of examples of religious
offences that can be validly enacted by state legislatures, based on the facts
of each case.
“In
my opinion, all these offences are purely religious in nature that is directly
concerned with religious matters or religious affairs,” he said, citing Article
74(2) when saying that these religious offences which regulate Muslims’ beliefs
and practices can only be created through laws passed by state legislatures and
that such religious offences would not fall under the category of “criminal
law” in the Federal List.
He
noted that such religious offences come under the Shariah courts’ jurisdiction
and only apply to Muslims.
The
judge said that such laws should be made by the state legislature — instead of
Parliament — due to the State List, and as it is only the states that have the
powers to make laws on such matters.
“It
is the states alone that can say what should be the religious offences, which
are reserved expressly for legislation by the state legislatures,” he said.
Stressing
that “criminal law” is a federal matter for Parliament to make laws on and that
Islamic criminal law that is not caught by the preclusion clause is for state
legislature to make laws on, the judge noted that the reason for this
complicated division of federal and state law-making jurisdictions would
require a close look at Malaysia’s legal history which stretches back to the
beginning of the Malay states and the colonial rule period.
In
his summary, Justice Azahar did not agree with the Selangor government’s and
Mais’ arguments that Section 28 is constitutionally valid as the federal and
state laws on unnatural sex could allegedly co-exist, noting that this was
because of the Federal Constitution’s Article 8 which provides for equal
protection of the law and non-discrimination against Malaysians.
In
this case involving the Malaysian Muslim man for example, Justice Azahar noted
that the other male persons in the man’s Shariah case included three
non-Muslims.
Justice
Azahar pointed out that Section 28 of the Selangor state law which only applies
to Muslims is punishable by a maximum sentence of jail up to three years, fine
up to RM5,000, or whipping up to six strokes or any combination, while Section
28 would not apply to non-Muslims and the non-Muslims could instead be charged
in the civil courts under the Penal Code’s Section 377 which is punishable with
a maximum jail term of up to 20 years and also fine or whipping.
With
Article 8 of the Federal Constitution providing for all persons to be equal
before the law and no discrimination against citizens only on grounds such as
religion, the judge had said it would be hard to deny that a non-Muslim would
be discriminated in such a situation as a Muslim would have the benefit of a
lesser sentence for a substantially similar offence.
Justice
Azahar said this was among the reasons why he concluded that Section 28 is
invalid as it was ultra vires or went beyond the Federal Constitution, noting
that the state legislature had made Section 28 when it had no power to make law
on the unnatural sex offence and that “only Parliament could enact such a law”.
The
Shariah trial for the Malaysian Muslim man has yet to start, as it has been put
on hold while waiting for the Federal Court’s decision today, his lawyer
confirmed. The man’s name is being withheld on the lawyers’ request, due to
concern over the potential harm or risks he may face if namely publicly.
In
the online proceedings via Zoom where the Federal Court had delivered its
decision, the legal teams for all the related parties had attended, with
DatukSalimSoib@Hamid leading the team for the Selangor state government,
Halimatunsa’diah Abu Ahmad leading for Mais, Abdul Rahim Sinwan leading for
Maiwp, while Imtiaz, SurendraAnanth, Honey Tan Lay Ean, Tay Kit Hoo attended
for the Malaysian Muslim man. Lawyer Andrew Khoo held a watching brief for the
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/02/25/federal-court-unanimously-declares-selangor-shariah-law-criminalising-unnat/1952701
--------
The
duo who stole Malaysia’s democracy
By
NILE BOWIE
FEBRUARY
24, 2021
SINGAPORE
– Malaysia is in the grip of arguably its worst political crisis since
independence, with critics and politicians accusing embattled Prime Minister
MuhyiddinYassin of abusing his power to stifle any challenge to his unelected
rule.
Parliament
has been suspended under a state of emergency on public health grounds, the
economy is in deep decline and the nation’s democracy is unmistakably under
heavy strain. It all marks a dramatic turn from May 2018, when the nation
basked in its first democratic transition of power since achieving
independence.
One
year since former prime minister Mahathir Mohammad’s shock resignation after
that historic electoral upset, many have come to blame the two-time premier for
the political coup orchestrated by his then-allies to topple his popularly
elected government.
That
coup brought Muhyiddin to power after a weeklong political impasse now known as
the “Sheraton Move”, a backroom political maneuver that brought Mahathir’s
PakatanHarapan (PH) coalition’s 22-month reformist rule to an early and highly
unexpected end.
Debate
still swirls around the seismic shifts and upheaval that ensued last February,
particularly over the extent of Mahathir’s knowledge of and role in the
knives-out conspiracy, believed to be engineered in large part by Muhyiddin,
Mahathir’s then deputy, and Mohamed Azmin Ali, then deputy to his would-be
successor Anwar Ibrahim.
Camps
aligned to Mahathir and Anwar, whose hot-and-cold relationship has shaped
Malaysian politics for decades, were at the time in a dispute over the timeline
for the promised handover from the former to the latter, a rift that ultimately
gave rise to an opportunity for coup-makers from opposition parties and within
PH to strike.
National
media went into a frenzy when defecting lawmakers from Mahathir’s
PartiPribumiBersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Anwar’s PartiKeadilan Rakyat (PKR)
publicly gathered at the Sheraton Hotel on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur with
opposition politicians for a celebratory dinner on the evening of February
23.
It
marked the start of an audacious gambit that would end with a power grab by the
hastily cobbled-together PerikatanNasional (PN) coalition, leaving the
country’s two most prominent political personalities outfoxed by their number
twos in a maneuver that invited comparisons with the popular television show
Game of Thrones.
Rumors
of a new political alignment had been rife for weeks, with talk of a Malay
Muslim unity coalition emerging, bringing Bersatu together with the United
Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO), the former long-ruling party, and Parti
Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). But their declaration of a new governing coalition
initially hit an unexpected hurdle.
Mahathir
was not present at the February 23 gathering and issued no public statements.
But it became apparent as the night drew on that the formation of a new
“backdoor” governing coalition meant that PH lost its parliamentary majority
through defections and had collapsed, which Anwar then described as a “betrayal
[of] promises made.”
Without
naming Mahathir, his remarks were a clear reference to repeated vows by the
then-premier to eventually step aside and hand power to Anwar. Amid the
uncertainty and confusion, sources from PH told Asia Times they were convinced
that Mahathir had engineered the plot to block Anwar’s ascent to the
premiership.
By
the following afternoon, however, Mahathir resigned from office, a move that
was completely unanticipated given that only days earlier at a press conference
following a February 21 meeting of the PH presidential council, he announced –
with Anwar seated by his side – that PH had agreed to allow him to decide his
own transition timeline.
After
discussions with Mahathir on February 24, Anwar publicly stated that the
nonagenarian politician had not approved the bid to form a new governing
coalition and was opposed to cooperation with corruption-tainted leaders from
UMNO. The PKR president claimed at the time that Mahathir’s name had been
“used” by those plotting PH’s downfall.
A
campaign to support Mahathir serving a full five-year term was championed by
Anwar’s publicly-estranged then-deputy Azmin and involved efforts to collect
“statutory declarations” signed by lawmakers as proof of their support for his
premiership, which were ultimately intended to legitimize designs for the new
political realignment.
A
source close to Mahathir gave Asia Times an inside account of how Bersatu
leaders pressured the former premier into accepting their bid for a Malay unity
government, which he refused to go along with due to his unflinching
disapproval of partnering with UMNO, despite being ruffled and upset by rising
demands to step aside from Anwar’s camp.
Mahathir’s
resignation had then thrown a spanner in the works that opened an unprecedented
power vacuum in the Southeast Asian nation, which all sides rushed to fill.
Malaysia’s king, the Yang di-PertuanAgong, named Mahathir interim prime
minister following his resignation, a position through which he attempted his
own powerplay.
The
nonagenarian sought to rally support to lead a non-partisan unity government
comprised of leaders from both sides of the nation’s political divide, a
proposal seen as a bid for “personal rule” that was unanimously rejected, with
UMNO and PAS withdrawing support for Mahathir three days after publicly
endorsing his continued premiership.
PH
followed suit, naming Anwar as their prime ministerial candidate in a separate
effort to capture lawmaker support for a governing majority. In an
unprecedented move, Malaysia’s king opted to interview all 222 elected members
of Parliament to determine which potential candidate for the premiership
commanded a majority required to form a government.
On
March 1, a week after the fateful gathering at the Sheraton Hotel, the same
venue where PH leaders announced their surprise general election victory less
than two years earlier, Muhyiddin was appointed by the king and sworn-in as
Malaysia’s eighth premier. Mahathir publicly contested his nomination, saying
it had violated the rule of law.
Acting
as Bersatu’s chairman after Mahathir similarly resigned from the role,
Muhyiddin withdrew the party he co-founded from PH and formed PN with support
from UMNO, which he was previously sacked from during former premier
NajibRazak’s tenure, putting him in an awkward alliance with PH’s archrivals
who had lost the historic 2018 general election.
Ousted
from power, Mahathir and Anwar decried the bitter betrayal of their deputies
but were soon publicly sparring and at loggerheads with each other. Muhyiddin’s
tenure, meanwhile, has since been characterized by severe intra-coalition
infighting that analysts say has undermined his government’s Covid-19 response
and overall performance.
“One
of the unintended positive consequences of the Sheraton Move is that it ends
the myth of Malay unity,” said Wong Chin Huat, a political scientist at the
Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development. “UMNO, Bersatu and PAS are
like three brothers after the same love interest. They are anything but
united.”
Nor
has Muhyiddin’s unelected PN-coalition shaken off popular accusations of it
being a “backdoor” government, despite the controversial power transition
having occurred through entirely legal and constitutional means. Voters have,
meanwhile, attempted to hold one of the political coup’s key architects to
account.
Ten
voters from Gombak constituency are claiming damages and compensation in a
civil suit against Azmin launched last November for his role in toppling the PH
government he was elected to serve, which the plaintiffs argue amounts to a
breach of his fiduciary duty as an elected representative.
With
no other legal avenues to challenge the act of constitutionally-protected
party-hopping, the civil suit has been watched closely despite it likely having
little chance of being heard. Through his lawyer, Azmin has said he intends to
file an application to strike down the suit on grounds it is an abuse of the
court process.
Azmin,
who was PKR’s former deputy president, is now a Bersatu supreme council member
who oversees international trade and industry as one of four senior ministers.
Many observers and politicians view him as a de facto deputy prime minister, a
role that Muhyiddin has formally left vacant.
Mahathir
has publicly offered to be a witness in the civil suit if his testimony is
requested in court. Prior to PH’s collapse, speculation was rife that Azmin was
the former premier’s preferred successor.
In
an exclusive interview with Asia Times last June, Mahathir called Azmin a
“disappointment” but admitted he had previously been “very close” with him.
In
August, Azmin penned a cryptic poem he shared in a Facebook post shortly after
formally joining Bersatu that suggested he and Muhyiddin “shook hands” and
decided to work together to “save” Malaysia, writing that there was no Langkah
Sheraton (Sheraton Move), only what he termed as a langkahkanan (the right
move).
Though
elected state governments had in the past fallen due to lawmaker defections,
the Sheraton Move marked the first time it happened at the federal level. The
episode has prompted calls for the government to consider enacting anti-party
hopping legislation to safeguard political stability, a proposal that has
garnered bipartisan support.
A
parliamentary caucus on electoral reform was formed last year to discuss ways
to address the issue. Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, an UMNO lawmaker appointed to
lead the caucus with support from PH, has advocated a party-list system that
ties a constituency to the political party that won the seat, rather than the
elected representative.
Both
the Mahathir and Muhyiddin administrations have taken the view that any laws
regulating lawmaker defections would contravene constitutionally-enshrined
rights to association. Mahathir’s government notably leaned on the political
utility of defections during PH rule and was widely panned for welcoming droves
of party-hoppers into Bersatu from UMNO.
As
the opposition, PH has likewise attempted to use defections in a bid to restore
its mandate. In September, Anwar claimed to have “a solid and convincing
majority” to form a new federal government in a maneuver dubbed the “Meridien
Move” after the Le Meridien Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, where he launched the
divisive and ultimately unsuccessful gambit.
One
year since PH’s downfall, the opposition remains fractured between pro-Anwar
and pro-Mahathir camps. Some within PH’s component parties have in recent months
expressed frustration with Anwar’s leadership and advocated for renewed
cooperation with Mahathir and his newly formed and unregistered party,
PartiPejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang).
On
top of the storied history between Mahathir and Anwar, the breakdown of trust
that occurred following the Sheraton Move continues to be a stumbling block to
reviving the unified opposition formula that garnered previous success at the
ballot box, shattering the UMNO-led BarisanNasional’s (BN) 60-year grip on
federal power.
Citing
repeated “conspiracies and betrayals” by Mahathir, Anwar insisted he would take
his own path in an interview last November. PKR has more recently blamed
Mahathir for the country’s ongoing political instability after he resigned
without consultation from PH. They have also accused him of trying to scupper
the opposition coalition’s return to power.
Mahathir,
for his part, has renewed attacks on Anwar, claiming last November that he is
incapable of leading the country through an economic crisis and not fit to be
prime minister. The 95-year-old had previously proposed serving as prime
minister for six months if they can retake the government by joining forces,
before handing power to Anwar.
“Whether
Mahathir and Anwar can come together again will depend on a wide range of
factors, including whether they can reconcile as individuals, whether they can
agree on how to share or divide power, and whether they can manage the various
parties and powerbrokers” said Amrita Malhi, a research fellow at Australian National
University (ANU).
“They
will have to articulate a compelling vision of how the nation can remake itself
in the context of the enormous challenges it currently faces. If they can’t do
that, they will have to live with unstable coalitions with no particular
ideological orientation – that form, dissolve and re-form in ways that nobody
can control.”
Many
believe Mahathir was far from oblivious to the conspiracy brewing prior to the
Sheraton Move and had never intended to hand power to Anwar. Leaked recordings
reported by local media suggest that while Mahathir intended to eventually
resign, he did not plan to muster the necessary support for Anwar from his
then-party Bersatu.
Bersatu
supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan wrote in a lengthy essay published
last year by the ISEAS–YusofIshak Institute in Singapore that behind closed
doors Mahathir was “was both adamant and consistent that he did not want to see
Anwar succeed him as prime minister despite his public statements (to the
contrary).”
The
former premier’s botched bid to form a non-partisan unity government after his
resignation was, moreover, widely seen as directly breaking his vow to hand the
premiership to Anwar. Mahathir has maintained that the Sheraton Move was
initiated against his wishes and despite his advice and that he had no choice
but to resign given that PH had lost its majority.
To
be sure, Mahathir could have become Malaysia’s eighth prime minister
premiership if he desired merely by accepting the new alignment advocated by
his party, which toward the second half of PH’s truncated tenure began to see
the multiracial coalition as a liability that would cost it crucial support
among the country’s majority ethnic Malay Muslim population.
Malhi
said that just as Malaysians were divided over the election of the relatively
liberal PH coalition, whose rise chipped away at the hegemonic idea of a nation
of races managed by a Malay Muslim government and energized a potent
conservative backlash, voters are divided by how they now remember the Sheraton
Move.
“How
Malaysians understand the Sheraton Move is currently an open question, and the
answer will depend on their underlying beliefs about what sort of nation they
want to live in, and whether those beliefs can be sustained under the pressure
of the pandemic, its social and economic impacts, and the emergency rule they
are living under now,” Malhi said.
https://asiatimes.com/2021/02/the-duo-who-stole-malaysias-democracy/
--------
China's
Crackdown on Muslims Spreads to Tropical Hainan
By
Hai Yan
February
24, 2021
Hainan
province is China's southernmost territory, a tropical island of white-sand
beaches, stately palm trees and, now, a small population of persecuted Muslims.
The
Utsuls, who number about 10,000, are the latest Muslim ethnic group targeted by
the nationwide campaign conducted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to
achieve "the Sinicization of
Islam."
The
campaign is best known for its internationally condemned treatment of ethnic
Uighur Muslims, which the United States refers to as genocide.
But
now the Utsuls, who are Sunni Muslims, are also coming under the campaign's
strict controls. Like Beijing's efforts to curtail Christians and Buddhists,
the campaign against the Muslim Utsuls is designed to curtail religions so the
CCP can remain the dominant ideology.
Gu
Yi, a political commentator who is Muslim, told VOA Mandarin that the
CCP's Sinicization of Islam campaign is meant to eliminate Islamic culture.
"They
do this because Islam has its own belief system and social structure, which is
a serious threat to a totalitarian regime such as the Communist Party of China.
They cannot tolerate groups that think differently," he said.
"Therefore, they must carry out such a cultural extinction of the Islamic
society."
The
goal of the Sinicization of
Islam campaign is to cut off ties that Muslims have with Islam, so that Muslim
ethnic groups throughout China lose any sense of unity their religion may
provide, according to Gu.
After Beijing accelerated
the nationwide campaign in 2018,
local governments issued specific measures including closing Islamic schools,
mandating hanging the national flag at mosques, removing Islamic buildings, and
replacing halal signs. They also banned minors under 18 from studying at the mosques
and required Muslims to register their address and identification with the
government. Authorities banned the use of loudspeakers, which can be used in
the Muslim calls to prayer, and microradio transmission, which is used for
listening to non-CCP approved programming.
"It's
to make this minority a calm and docile Chinese group," Gu said.
"Islam is not only a religious belief for most Muslims, but also a
cultural and national tradition. Many of the customs and psychological identity
of believers can't be divided from Islam."
Most
of the Utsuls live in the port city of Sanya, in the villages of Huixin and
Huihui, and speak a Chamic language related to those spoken in Vietnam and
Cambodia, from where they emigrated centuries ago.
Also
known as the Hainan Hui, the Utsuls are one of the few unrecognized ethnic
groups in China, which means the CCP groups them with a larger, similar
population.
The
Utsul community in Sanya has played a significant role in China's relations
with the Islamic world, serving as a resort destination for other Chinese
Muslims and as a bridge to Muslim communities in Southeast Asia and the Middle
East, according to the New York Times.
The
crackdown on Utsuls began when local government and CCP officials issued the
"Work Plan for Strengthening the Comprehensive Governance of Huixin
Community and Huihui [Utsul] Community" dated 2019, according to an image
from Chinese microblogging site Weibo. It "stipulates the six aspects of
the comprehensive crackdown, including the rectification of discipline, community,
symbols and signs, schools and hospitals, a mandatory financial audit, and the
demolition and relocation of illegal buildings," according to Bitter
Winter, a publication focused on religion in China.
The
aspects mean women are forbidden from wearing headscarves at work and any
committees established to manage mosques must now include CCP members. Arabic
scriptures, directives for prayer toward Mecca and religious phrases are to be
covered with official CCP slogans.
A
worker at a local halal restaurant, which serves food permissible according to
Islamic law, told VOA that the local government had ordered the removal of the
word "halal" from signs and menus. After asking to remain unnamed due
to fear of CCP reprisal, he added that authorities ordered the obliteration of
signs in homes and shops saying "Allahuakbar," which means "God
is greatest."
The
local government also closed two Islamic schools and
tried to bar female students from wearing head scarves. According to the
restaurant worker, public outcry forced authorities to relent on the ban.
https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/voa-news-china/chinas-crackdown-muslims-spreads-tropical-hainan
--------
Mideast
Turkish
police nab Iraqi ISIS suspect in Ankara, rescue 7-year-old Yazidi girl
24
February ,2021
Turkish
police have detained a suspected Iraqi ISIS group militant and rescued a
7-year-old girl from Iraq’s Yazidi religious minority he had allegedly been
holding captive, the state-run news agency reported on Wednesday.
The
man, identified by his initials S.O., was detained in an early morning raid in
the capital Ankara, the Anadolu Agency reported. Another person, identified as
N.H.R., was also detained during the raid.
The
suspect had once served as an officer in the Iraqi army, the agency said,
adding that police and the country’s intelligence agency had been monitoring
his moves. They timed the raid so that the child wasn’t placed at risk, the
agency reported.
The
girl was later placed in the care of Turkey’s social services.
The
ISIS group attacked the heartland of the Yazidi community, at the foot of
Iraq’s Sinjarmountain, in 2014. Hundreds of Yazidis were killed and thousands
of women and children were abducted, many forced into slavery.
A
day earlier, police detained a French ISIS suspect near the French Embassy in
Ankara, Anadolu reported. The woman, who was identified as Sarah Talib, was
taken into custody as she approached the embassy to allegedly seek repatriation
to France.
The
pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper said Talib joined the ISIS group in Syria
and is believed to have illegally crossed the border into Turkey.
Anadolu
Agency said the woman would be deported to France following her questioning by
counterterrorism police.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/24/Terrorism-Turkish-police-nab-Iraqi-ISIS-suspect-in-Ankara-rescue-7-year-old-Yazidi-girl
--------
Yemeni
Minister: US Seeking to Block Ma’arib Freedom
2021-February-24
“The
US seeks to hinder liberation of Ma’arib and purging the province from the
occupiers and their puppets, and now it has been forced to expose its games and
interventions because it no longer trusts its tools,” al-Shami told FNA on
Wednesday.
“Involvement
of al-Qaeda and ISIL in the battle of Ma'arib is nothing new because they are a
crucial part of the forces used by the US. They are the two tools of Washington
in the world, and the US moves them anywhere whenever it wants,” he added.
Al-Shami
said that the Yemeni Army is committed to the battle against al-Qaeda and ISIL
and is resolved cut off the US hands from the region.
Earlier
this week, High-ranking Yemeni officials stated members of the Takfiri Al-Qaeda
and ISIL terrorist groups are using the Center of strategic Ma’arib Province to
launch attacks on other regions in the war-ravaged country, and that the
militants are receiving training from Saudi military officers.
“Al-Qaeda
and Daesh [terrorist] groups have turned Ma’arib into a launching pad for
attacks on entire Yemeni regions. They are under the auspices of a Saudi
officer, and sending car bombs and death squads across the country,” Director
of Yemen’s Presidency Office Ahmed Hamed said at a ceremony in Sana’a on
Tuesday.
He
added, “Those who are crying foul at the ongoing battle in Ma’arib had kept mum
when Sana’a was under threat by [the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Salafist] Islah Party,
Al-Qaeda and ISIL [terrorists].”
“Why
is it that no one is worried about the closure of Sana’a International Airport,
which has resulted in the deaths of thousands of patients? Why is it that no
one is concerned about the seizure of Yemen-bound oil tankers, which has
brought vital, health and service sectors in Yemen to a standstill. This is
while Al-Qaeda and ISIL operatives have occupied the city of Ma’rib and
displaced its local residents. It is very heartbreaking,” Hamed stated.
Chairman
of the Comprehensive National Reconciliation and Political Solution Team Yousef
Abdullah al-Fishi also noted Yemeni and foreign militants from Islah Party as
well as Al-Qaeda and ISIL terror groups have come together in Ma’arib,
displaced locals and usurped their residences.
“Why
don’t we hear the United Nations, the Security Council, the international
community and, above all, the United States voicing concern about the brutal
siege of 30 million people [in Yemen]?,” he questioned.
Over
the past few weeks, Ma’arib has been the scene of large-scale operations by the
Yemeni troops and allied Popular Committees fighters, who are pushing against
Saudi-backed militants loyal to former Yemeni President AbdRabbuh Mansur Hadi.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991206000842/Yemeni-Miniser-US-Seeking-Blck-Ma%E2%80%99arib-Freedm
--------
President:
US Needs to Stop Economic Terrorism BeforeRejoining N. Deal
2021-February-24
Rouhani
said that Iran’s preservation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
necessitates the new US administration to immediately stop the economic
terrorism against the Iranian nation.
He
stressed that there will be no talks about the JCPOA, as it is a done deal and
will not be renegotiable.
"We
have reduced our obligations, but we are still committed to the JCPOA,
"Rouhani stated, stressing that the US and European parties to the deal
should fulfill their obligations.
In
relevant remarks on Wednesday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad BaqerQalibaf
lauded the end of the voluntary implementation of the additional protocol to
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by Tehran, saying that the nuclear
industry has returned to its proud days.
“With
the nullification of [additional] protocol-based inspections, the final stage
of the law of ‘Strategic Action for Lifting Sanctions’ was put into effect,”
Qalibaf tweeted early on Wednesday.
“Many
could not believe that the nuclear industry would return to its honorable days
in such a time span and turn into an opportunity for bargaining on lifting of
sanctions,” he added.
Qalibaf
went on to say that the lock of the sanctions will also be broken through the
unity of the Iranian nation.
Tehran
stopped the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to the NPT early
Tuesday based on a law approved earlier by the parliament after the Biden
administration refrained from removing the sanctions against Iran in compliance
with the terms of UN Resolution 2231 and the nuclear deal.
Yet,
Tehran has stressed that IAEA inspections would continue under the NPT similar
to the era before the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,
as Iran is still a signatory to the treaty.
Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that his government will stop the
voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to the NPT as of February
21 in compliance with parliament law.
“The
law that the parliament has passed on the nuclear issue will be implemented by
the government,” Rouhani said, adding, “One of the paragraphs [of the law]
reiterates that we should exit from the Additional Protocol as of February 23;
and we will cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the basis
of the Safeguards.”
He
stressed that there is no place for weapons of mass destruction, including
nuclear weapons, in Iran's defense doctrine as the firm view of the
establishment.
"We
will not look for nuclear weapons, but for the peaceful nuclear technology that
is our right," Rouhani went on to say.
Also,
on Tuesday, Iranian Government Spokesman Ali Rabiyee announced on Tuesday that
the country will stop the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol
to the NPT due to the US and other parties’ disloyalty to the nuclear deal.
“Based
on the sixth paragraph of the parliament’s bill and given the fact that
sanctions have not been removed so far, the government and the Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran (AEOI) are required to suspend the voluntary
implementation of the Additional Protocol which will decrease the supervisions
and inspections beyond the IAEA’s safeguards agreements,” Rabiyee told
reporters in a press conference.
He
noted that the measure does not take time and can be carried out rapidly, but
meantime, said Iran is still a member of the safeguards agreements, which means
that a major part of the inspections which are not within the framework of the
Additional Protocol will continue.
“Therefore,
stopping the voluntary implementation of the protocol does not mean terminating
cooperation with the Agency. This cooperation will continue and the Islamic
Republic of Iran will definitely inform the Agency of all its moves in advance
in a letter, as has been the case so far,” Rabiyee said.
“It
is clear that this new measure is against Iran’s will and was adopted due to
the US lagging in lifting sanctions and fulfilling its obligations under the UN
Security Council Resolution 2231. We continue to consider the nuclear deal a
creditable agreement and the best possible agreement, and we are ready to
immediately reverse all steps taken under paragraph 36 of the nuclear deal to
their original status as stated in the nuclear deal provided that the US and
other parties to the agreement revive their undertakings,” he added.
Rabiyee
expressed the hope that the US and three European members of the nuclear deal
(France, Britain and Germany) would take the closing window of opportunity to
keep diplomacy alive.
Last
month, Iranian Envoy and Permanent Representative to the UN Majid TakhtRavanchi
underlined that if Biden decides to return to the nuclear deal, Washington
should comply with all its undertakings in exact accordance with the
internationally-endorsed agreement.
“We
make decision and take reciprocal action considering Biden's moves vis a vis
the nuclear deal. We have repeatedly demanded the US to return to the nuclear
deal and this return should be complete and without preconditions, that is to
say, no issue related or unrelated to the nuclear deal should be put forward
for discussion,” TakhtRavanchi said.
“It
should only be clear that the US international undertakings cannot be
half-fulfilled. If they claim to return to the nuclear deal, this return should
be accompanied by the full implementation of their undertakings with no
hesitation or controversy,” he added.
TakhtRavanchi
stressed Iran’s clear position towards the nuclear deal, and said, “We live up
to our undertakings.”
He
referred to the parliament’s bill to take strategic measures to counter the US
sanctions against Iran, and said, “There is a timetable in the parliament’s
bill and we are moving in the same direction, so we (at the foreign ministry)
are not entitled to specify the period for how long we will wait. In the first
place, we make decisions based on national interests, and secondly, we should
act on the basis of and within the framework of the parliamentary bill.”
His
remarks came after Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali
Akbar Salehi announced that the country is at present producing nearly half a
kilo of uranium enriched to the 20% purity level, meantime, saying that
Tehran’s steps to reduce nuclear deal undertakings after the West’s
disloyalties can all be backtracked.
“Based
on the latest news I have, they (the Iranian scientists at nuclear
installations) are producing 20 grams (of 20% enriched uranium) every hour;
meaning that practically, we are producing half a kilo every day,” Salehi said
in an interview with the Persian-language Khamenei.ir website released last
month.
“We
produce and store this 20% (enriched uranium) and if they return to the nuclear
deal, we will return to our undertakings too,” he added.
Asked
about the recent bill approved by the parliament to adopt strategic measures to
remove sanctions against Iran, Salehi said that the AEOI is required to
implement it.
“It
is a reality and both the government and the AEOI have declared that they do
not have any technical problems with implementation of the parliament’s bill
and we launched 20% enrichment within 24 hours,” he said.
Salehi
also underlined the need for Washington to remove all sanctions against Iran,
specially those which prevent the country’s oil sales and banking transactions.
Iranian
legislators had in January praised the AEOI for restarting enrichment of
uranium at 20-percent purity level, and called for the full implementation of
the recent parliamentarian law to counter the illegal US sanctions against the
country.
In
a statement, 190 legislators expressed their support for the AEOI’s resumption
of 20% uranium enrichment and urged the body to fully and precisely implement the
law ratified as a counteractive move to the sanctions illegally imposed on the
country, especially those by the United States.
The
lawmakers said the parliament approved the ‘Strategic Counteractive Plan for
Lifting Sanctions and Safeguarding Rights of Iranian People’ to highlight
Iran’s legitimate right to use peaceful nuclear technology and the importance
of lifting all cruel sanctions against the country.
The
Iranian parliamentarians in a meeting on December 1, 2020 ratified the
generalities of a bill to adopt strategic measures to remove sanctions against
the country and defend the nation’s interests.
The
lawmakers, in November, had given the green light to the single-urgency of the
strategic motion, but the plan turned into a double-urgency on Sunday after the
assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
Iranian
nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh's car was targeted by an explosion and
machinegun fire in Damavand's Absard 40 kilometers to the East of Tehran on
Friday November 27, 2020.
Under
the bill, the AEOI is required to start in two months after the approval of the
present bill to produce at least 120 kg of 20%-enriched uranium annually at
Fordow nuclear site and store it inside the country, increase the enrichment
capacity and production of enriched uranium to at least 500 kg per month, start
the installation of centrifuges, gas injection, enrichment, and storage of
materials up to proper purity levels within 3 months, via at least 1000 IR-2m
centrifuges in the underground part of ShahidAhmadiRoshan facility in Natanz,
transfer any enrichment, research, and development operations of IR-6
centrifuges to the nuclear site of Shahid Ali Mohammadi in Fordow, and start
enrichment operation via at least 164 centrifuges and expand it to 1000 by the
end of 20 March 2021 (end of the Iranian calendar year) and return the 40
megawatts Arak heavy water reactor to its pre-JCPOA condition by reviving the
heart (calandria) of the reactor within 4 months from the date of the adoption
of this law.
Also,
the government is required to suspend the nuclear deal-based regulatory access
under the Additional Protocol and beyond within 2 months after the adoption of
the law based on the articles 36 and 37 of the nuclear deal.
Iran
signed the JCPOA with six world states — namely the US, Germany, France,
Britain, Russia, and China — in 2015.
Trump,
a stern critic of the historic deal, unilaterally pulled Washington out of the
JCPOA in May 2018, and unleashed the “toughest ever” sanctions against the Islamic
Republic in defiance of global criticism in an attempt to strangle the Iranian
oil trade, but to no avail since its "so-called maximum pressure
policy" has failed to push Tehran to the negotiating table.
In
response to the US’ unilateral move, Tehran has so far rowed back on its
nuclear commitments four times in compliance with Articles 26 and 36 of the
JCPOA, but stressed that its retaliatory measures will be reversible as soon as
Europe finds practical ways to shield the mutual trade from the US sanctions.
Tehran
has particularly been disappointed with failure of the three European
signatories to the JCPOA -- Britain, France and Germany -- to protect its
business interests under the deal after the US' withdrawal.
On
January 5, 2020, Iran took a final step in reducing its commitments, and said
it would no longer observe any operational limitations on its nuclear industry,
whether concerning the capacity and level of uranium enrichment, the volume of
stockpiled uranium or research and development.
Meantime,
Biden has recently said in a CNN article that he wants a renegotiation of the
contents of the deal before he agrees to rejoin the agreement.
“I
will offer Tehran a credible path back to diplomacy. If Iran returns to strict
compliance with the nuclear deal, the United States would rejoin the agreement
as a starting point for follow-on negotiations. With our allies, we will work
to strengthen and extend the nuclear deal's provisions, while also addressing
other issues of concern,” he wrote, mentioning that he wants changes to the
contents of the nuclear deal and guarantees from Tehran that it would be open
for compromise to strike multiple deals over its missile and regional powers as
well as a number of other issues that have been the bones of contention between
the two sides in the last four decades.
In
response, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad JavadZarif had stressed that the US
has violated the nuclear deal and is in no position to ask for any conditions
for its return to the JCPOA, adding that it's Tehran that has its own terms to
allow the US back into the internationally endorsed agreement.
The
foreign minister has reiterated time and again that Tehran would not change
even a single word of the agreement, and cautioned the US that it needs to pay
reparations for the damage it has inflicted on Iran through its retreat from
the nuclear agreement and give enough insurances that it would not go for
initiating the trigger mechanism again before it could get back to the deal.
In
relevant remarks earlier this month, Spokesman of the Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran (AEOI) BehrouzKamalvandi said his country enjoys the
capability to produce 120 kg of uranium with 20% purity in 8 months, that's 4
months faster than the one-year period required by a recent parliament
approval.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991206000550/Presiden-US-Needs-Sp-Ecnmic-Terrrism-Befre-Rejining-N-Deal
--------
Turkey
to examine lifting opposition MPs’ immunity amid mounting pressure
24
February ,2021
The
Turkish parliament will examine lifting some opposition lawmakers’ immunity,
its speaker said on Wednesday, as the pro-Kurdish party comes under renewed
pressure from the government.
The
pro-Kurdish leftist Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is Turkey’s second-biggest
opposition party but in the past few years has been the subject of multiple
prosecutions.
Its
two former leaders have languished in jail since they were arrested and
prosecuted in 2016 after being stripped of their immunity while members of
parliament. This occurred when President ReceptTayyipErdogan unleashed a
sweeping political crackdown after surviving a coup attempt.
Turkish
prosecutors sent 33 legal proceedings to the parliament on Tuesday in a bid to
remove the immunity of at least nine HDP MPs, speaker Mustafa Sentop was quoted
as saying by the Anadolu state news agency.
He
added some of the notices concerned HDP’s co-leader PervinBuldan, who is
accused of involvement in 2014 pro-Kurdish protests that left 37 dead.
The
unrest erupted after Turkish troops took no action while ISIS militants fought
to capture the mainly Kurdish northern Syrian border town of Kobane.
Buldan
was among nine MPs named by the Ankara chief public prosecutor on Friday in a
case of 108 suspects linked to the 2014 unrest.
The
government has already jailed dozens of mayors and other HDP officials, and
replaced the majority of HDP municipalities won in 2019 with trustees.
The
HDP stands accused of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) but
the party strongly denies formal ties.
The
PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and is
blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies.
But
the HDP has come under further scrutiny in the past few weeks, especially after
the leader of the ruling party’s ultranationalist partner, DevletBahceli,
repeatedly called for the HDP to be shut down.
The
political pressure redoubled after Erdogan accused the PKK of executing 12
Turks and an Iraqi who were being held hostage in northern Iraq on February 14.
The
PKK says the 13 were killed by Turkish bombs.
“PKK
and HDP are one and the same,” Erdogan’s communications director FahrettinAltun
tweeted that same day.
The
court of cassation last week also upheld a two-year prison sentence for HDP MP
Omer FarukGergerlioglu for “making terrorist propaganda” in a social media
post.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/24/Turkey-to-examine-lifting-opposition-MPs-immunity-amid-mounting-pressure
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Iran
says it is up to US to move first on saving nuclear deal
24
February ,2021
It
is up to the United States to make the first move in saving the Iran nuclear
deal, Iran’s ambassador in Geneva told the UN-sponsored Conference on
Disarmament on Wednesday.
“The
onus is on the offending party to return, restart and compensate for the
damages as well as to reassure that they would not renege again,” Ambassador
EsmaeilBaghaeiHamaneh said.
“There
is a path forward with a logical sequence as (Iranian Foreign) Minister
(Mohammad Javad) Zarif recently outlined.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/24/Iran-nuclear-deal-Iran-says-it-is-up-to-US-to-move-first-on-saving-nuclear-deal
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Iran’s
limits on UN nuclear inspections a ‘threat’: Israel FM Ashkenazi
24
February ,2021
Israel
on Wednesday described Iran’s move to restrict some site inspections by the UN
nuclear watchdog as a “threat” that required a response.
Iran
this week began limiting the International Atomic Energy Agency’s access to
sites and other information in response to the US refusal so far to lift
sanctions imposed by former president Donald Trump.
“Israel
sees this step as a threat and it must not go by without response,” Foreign
Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said in a statement.
“We
will never allow Iran to control the capability to acquire a nuclear weapon,”
he added.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Israel’s
government, led by right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was vehemently
opposed to the 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated between Tehran and world
powers.
Netanyahu
applauded when Trump scrapped the deal almost three years ago.
The
Israeli leader has repeatedly urged US President Joe Biden not to restore the
deal.
But
Biden, European powers and Iran are still trying to keep the nuclear accord
alive.
Tehran
demands Washington take the first step by scrapping painful sanctions Trump had
imposed since 2018, while Washington insists Iran first return to all its
nuclear commitments, some of which it has backed away from.
Iran’s
parliament had set Sunday as the deadline to limit to some IAEA inspections, a
move that took effect on Tuesday.
The
IAEA and Iran agreed a temporary technical deal allowing the watchdog to
“retain the necessary degree of monitoring and verification work”, according to
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi.
With
inspections now restricted, Ashkenazi said that “Iran is destroying what
remains of the IAEA’s oversight.”
Iran
says its nuclear program is civilian in nature.
Netanyahu
alleges the Islamic republic is pursuing a nuclear weapon and insists this
marks one of the gravest threats to the Jewish people since the Nazi Holocaust.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/24/Iran-nuclear-deal-Iran-s-limits-on-UN-nuclear-inspections-a-threat-Israel-FM-Ashkenazi
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Yemen
appreciates Iran’s support amid Western-backed war
25
February 2021
Yemen's
Foreign Minister HishamSharaf Abdullah has expressed gratitude to the Iranian
people and government for standing by the impoverished nation, which has long
been suffering from a Western-sponsored war, dismissing accusations that Tehran
is prolonging the conflict.
“Iran
is a brotherly country which has helped us in several stages. We appreciate the
Iranian nation and leaders,” he said in an interview with Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen
television network on Wednesday.
“Yemen’s
decision-making is up to the country itself… We completely reject any
allegation against Iran about prolonging the war,” he added.
Abdullah
also said the administration of US President Joe Biden is affiliated to the
Democratic Party, the same party that first sponsored the Saudi regime and its
allies to launch the military campaign against Yemen and appears now to be
seeking to make up for it mistake.
Yemen’s
National Salvation Government is after peace, but it requires trust-building
and a halt in the Saudi-led offensive, he emphasized, adding that the
airstrikes and the economic blockade on Yemen must stop before any political
talks.
Saudi
Arabia launched a devastating military aggression against Yemen in March 2015
in collaboration with a number of its allied states, and with arms and
logistics support from the US and several Western countries.
The
aim was to return to power the former Riyadh-backed regime and crush the
popular HouthiAnsarullah movement which has been running state affairs in the
absence of an effective government in the country.
The
war has failed to achieve its goals, but killed tens of thousands of innocent
Yemenis and destroyed the impoverished country’s infrastructure. The UN refers
to the situation in Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Currently,
the Yemeni forces are advancing against Saudi-led coalition mercenaries and
allied terrorists in the central province of Ma’rib.
The
US State Department claimed that the Houthi’s push in Ma’rib is “the action of
a group not committed to peace or to ending the war afflicting the people of
Yemen.”
UN
Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths also said the battle is extremely
concerning at a time of renewed diplomatic momentum.
Elsewhere
in his interview, the top Yemeni diplomat said Griffiths behaves as if he is
representing Saudi Arabia rather than the UN.
He
further noted that terrorists are stealing Mar’rib’s oil, adding that the
Yemenis would not let Daesh and al-Qaeda elements enter the strategic region.
“We
want the cessation of the war and the preservation of our oil,” Abdullah said.
“Sana’a is ready to exchange prisoners ... but the aggressor countries do not
want to resolve the issue.”
Houthi
spokesman doubts US claims on ending Yemen war
Additionally
on Wednesday, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam said there has been no real
progress in the US government’s position on ending the Yemen war.
“The
US stance has so far been in words and we have not seen any practical action.
We will not be deceived by the words that are not real,” he told al-Masirah TV.
In
early February, Biden declared a halt to US support for the Saudi-led military
campaign in Yemen.
“This
war has to end,” he said during a visit to the US State Department. “And to
underscore our commitment, we’re ending all American support for offensive
operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.”
Abdul-Salam
stressed that the invasion of Yemen was carried out by a foreign coalition,
starting with the bombing and siege and reaching the stage of occupation.
The
enemy has used Ma’rib as a base for military operations, he underlined.
"The battle of Ma'rib is a reaction to the escalation of attacks, and we
are accustomed to the silence of the international community when the Yemenis
are being crushed.”
The
Yemeni official also said the UN does not dare condemn the siege of Yemen,
adding that the National Salvation government cannot be silent in the face of
the aggressors.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/25/646033/Yemen-war-Hisham-Sharaf-Iran-
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Israel’s
killing of young Palestinian in June 2020 ‘extrajudicial execution’: Advocacy
group
24
February 2021
The
killing of a young Palestinian man in 2020 by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint
between Jerusalem al-Quds and Bethlehem was an "extrajudicial
execution."
That
is according to a report published on Tuesday by Forensic Architecture, a
London-based group specializing in the investigation of violations of human
rights.
Ahmed
Erekat, it said, was shot at the Container checkpoint in Bethlehem in June and
left to bleed to death for more than an hour after Israeli troops prevented a
Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance from treating him.
The
27-year-old posed no threat to the Israeli soldiers, the report said.
“Our
analysis raises major questions about Ahmed’s killing that raise doubts in the
Israeli army’s claims and call for further investigation.”
On
June 24, Israel said its soldiers had shot and killed a suspect who they
claimed had attempted to run over a female officer in the Palestinian village
of Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem al-Quds.
Palestinian
officials rejected the account.
The
27-year-old was later identified as the nephew of SaebErekat, the secretary
general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Ahmad
was “executed” by the Israeli police, Saeb said at the time.
The
PLO chief also held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for
the crime. He dismissed Israeli police allegation of an attempted car ramming.
The
elder Erekat died of COVID-19 in November 2020.
Human
Rights Watch in September criticized Israeli officials for refusing to hand
over the body of the nephew more than 10 weeks after he was shot dead.
Since
2015, the bodies of 67 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces have been held,
according to the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC).
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/24/645978/Israel-Erekat
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Iran
uses Houthis as pressure card for 2015 nuclear pact: Yemeni information
minister
February
25, 2021
DUBAI:
The Iranian regime is using the Houthi militia as a pressure card against the
international community and the US administration to extract concessions on the
2015 nuclear agreement, Yemeni Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani said
on Thursday.
Al-Eryani
claimed that Iran is pressuring the Houthis for a military escalation in Yemen
through suicide bombing in Marib province, as well as attacks against civilians
in Saudi Arabia, state news agency SPA reported.
He
said the militia is experiencing a major deadlock after failing to carry out
the tasks assigned to it with a depletion of its fighters and armaments in
Marib.
Al-Eryani
also claimed that Iran is preventing the Houthis from halting its attacks or
yielding to calls for a ceasefire so that Tehran’s negotiating position is not
affected.
He
again called on the international community, the United Nations and the
permanent members of the Security Council to take firm stances regarding Iran’s
role in Yemen.
Dozens
of Iranian-backed Houthis and government troops were killed on in fierce
clashes in Marib earlier this month, which prompted warnings from local
officials and NGOs the heavy fighting further impact the humanitarian crisis in
Yemen.
Government
forces and allied tribesmen, backed by Arab coalition warplanes, have
consistently fended relentless Houthi attacks in Marib.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1815521/middle-east
--------
North
America
Top
US general warns Iran, says Taliban not breaking with al-Qaeda
24
February ,2021
The
United States always reserves the right to respond to attacks “at a time and
place of our choosing,” a senior US general said Wednesday, adding that “the
memory and reach of the US are very long.”
The
head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said this was shown
in 2020 when a US drone strike killed both the head of Iran’s Quds Force and
the deputy leader of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia.
Speaking
to the Beirut Institute during a webinar, McKenzie also touched on other areas
in the Middle East where US troops are present.
Afghanistan
There
are “legitimate doubts” about whether the Taliban is following through on its
commitments made during last year’s peace talks with the United States,
McKenzie
said that the Taliban had refrained from attacking US-Coalition troops, but
there were still worrying signs.
“Right
now, as we speak today, there are some legitimate doubts about the Taliban’s
commitments,” he told the Beirut Institute during a webinar.
These
include no signs of the Taliban breaking with al-Qaeda. “The violence, while
too high on both sides, in my judgment, rests on the Taliban,” McKenzie said.
Asked
about US troops in Afghanistan, he said there were 2,500 remaining. But there
are close to 5,000 NATO forces as well, according to the US general.
Iraq
The
US has achieved state-on-state deterrence with Iran, but it continues to have a
level of “contested deterrence,” McKenzie said.
“We
still see Iranian proxies seek to attack our allies and partners in Iraq … and
Saudi Arabia is under constant attack. What Iran believes is that these can be
non-attributed to Iran,” he said.
But
the Iraqi government wants the US to remain in the country and this is
frustrating Iran, according to McKenzie. “Iraq faces significant economic and
other problems; they want an international presence to remain. That has very
much frustrated Iran.”
Syria
Inside
Syria, there is a US presence of around 900 troops. “We are there to work with
the [Syrian Democratic Forces] to finish ISIS off, up and down the Euphrates
River valley,” McKenzie said.
As
for Russia’s presence inside Syria, McKenzie said it was looking for inroads in
the region. “They’ll use that to sell military equipment to whoever will buy
it. They’re actively looking to undermine US interests in the region,” he said.
“Our
posture is clear about why we’re there, to fight ISIS. I’m not sure how they
see their long-term goals.”
Lebanon
In
Lebanon, McKenzie said the US would continue its support for the Lebanese Army.
But he would not elaborate or answer if the weapons and type of military aid
would be upgraded.
“Lebanon’s
in the queue with everyone else,” he said, referring to the Biden
administration’s current process of reviewing aid to foreign countries.
The
country, which is experiencing one of its worst economic, financial and social
crises in recent history, continues to move forward without a fully functioning
government.
A
massive explosion ripped through Lebanon's capital last August, and the
coronavirus pandemic has further deteriorated the situation.
But
the Beirut blast gives Lebanon an opportunity to move forward, according to
McKenzie. “I’ve been to Lebanon once, and it is one of the most beautiful
places I’ve ever seen.”
The
US general revealed that he was planning to visit Beirut in the spring, without
elaborating on specific dates.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/24/US-foreign-policy-Top-US-general-warns-Iran-says-Taliban-not-breaking-with-al-Qaeda
--------
US
working to integrate Saudi Arabia’s missile defense system with neighbors:
CENTCOM
Joseph
Haboush
24
February ,2021
The
United States has around 3,000 troops in Saudi Arabia and it will continue to
help Riyadh boost its defense capabilities as attacks from Iran-backed groups
ramp up, the top US military commander for the region said Wednesday.
Central
Command chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said that the US “prizes” its relationship
and bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia. Since 2019, the US has deployed several
air defense systems in the Gulf power.
These
include a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, two Patriot
missile batteries and others, McKenzie said during a webinar with the Beirut
Institute.
Washington
has also worked with Saudi Arabia’s air defense systems to improve their
capabilities as well as to integrate air and missile defense systems.
“We
are working to integrate [Saudi Arabia’s systems] with those of [its] neighbors
in the region and with ours,” McKenzie said.
Fighter
squadrons are constantly in Saudi Arabia on a “rotating basis,” he added.
Asked
about Yemen and increased attacks by the Houthis, McKenzie said the US was
aware of the “ramp-up in Houthi attacks in the last 30 days” against Saudi
Arabia.
“This
is significant, and these things are not helpful to coming to a peaceful
solution in Yemen.
“It
is my belief that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does seek a negotiated political
solution in Yemen, and these attacks don’t help,” the US general said.
He
also noted that the weapons launched from Yemen “hand Iranian fingerprints all
over them.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/02/24/US-working-to-integrate-Saudi-Arabia-s-missile-defense-system-with-neighbors-CENTCOM
--------
Biden
pursuing Trump’s hostile policies toward Iran: American author
25
February 2021
An
American author argues that the Biden administration is continuing the US
pattern of dishonesty and double-standards with regard to Iran, instead of
making a clear break with the Trump administration’s confrontational policy
toward Tehran.
“Rather
than making a clear break with Trump’s policy of unilaterally shredding the
JCPOA and pushing hostilities almost to the point of all-out war, Biden is
trying to use Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions as leverage,” Kevin Barrett
said in an interview with Press TV on Wednesday, referring by abbreviation to
the multilateral 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was unilaterally dumped by
former US President Donald Trump in 2018.
He
said such approach reveals Biden’s complete lack of integrity, otherwise he
would first admit that Trump’s team left the JCPOA while Iran was in full
compliance with it.
“Then
Biden would apologize and move the US back into compliance with JCPOA by ending
sanctions on Iran,” he said, adding that the Biden administration is under
pressure from pro-Israel infiltrators and is instead trying to force Iran to
make concessions before the US returns to the deal.
In
May 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the JCPOA and imposed the
“harshest ever” sanctions on Iran, so that he could make a “better deal” with
Tehran compared to the historic accord signed under his predecessor Barack
Obama.
Almost
three years forward, the Biden administration claims it is ready to re-engage
with Iran and rejoin the JCPOA, which was signed when Biden was vice president.
But the US administration has conditioned its return to the agreement on Iran’s
full compliance with the accord.
Barrett
said such position is “absurd” and even “insane”.
In
any agreement, he argued, if one party renounces and violates the deal, and
then later decides it wants to return to the very agreement it violated and
renounced, obviously it has to make amends for its bad behavior.
“But
rather than making amends, Biden is trying to force Iran to make amends for the
US’s bad behavior,” he remarked. “The shamelessness of US arrogance is
sometimes so extreme that it’s almost comical, and this is one of those times.”
He
also pointed to a fatwa issued by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, which prohibits the development and deployment of weapons of mass
destruction (WMD), including nuclear weapons.
“What
makes the situation even more absurd is that Iran is, as far as I know, the
only nation that has renounced nuclear weapons on religious grounds,” said
Barrett, who has a Ph.D. in Islamic and Arabic Studies.
According
to Barrett, Iran respected its anti-WMD fatwa during the imposed war with Iraq
at great cost to itself.
He
pointed out that the countries leading the effort to whip up hysteria about the
nonexistent Iranian nuclear threat are the two biggest nuclear rogues on earth,
Israel and the United States.
Barrett
added that Israel committed innumerable crimes in its development of nuclear
weapons, including the murder of US President John F. Kennedy, who had vowed to
prevent Israel from ever obtaining nuclear weapons.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/25/646014/Biden-following-Trump-hostile-policies-toward-Iran-American-author
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US,
Israel to launch ‘quiet’ talks on Iran amid Israeli warmongering
25
February 2021
While
the new US administration of Joe Biden voices willingness to rejoin the Iran
nuclear deal, it is reportedly planning to coordinate its Iran policy with
Israel – the regime that has repeatedly attacked the nuclear agreement and
threatened Iran with military "action" in case the UN-backed deal
survives.
Former
US President Donald Trump, a close ally of Israel’s hawkish Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, repeatedly attacked and later withdrew his country from the
multilateral nuclear pact, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA).
Biden
promised to re-enter the JCPOA and pursue "diplomacy" with Iran,
contrasting – at least in words – Netanyahu’s hatred of resolving the issue
through diplomacy. However, his administration is reportedly planning a “quiet
dialogue” with Israel over Iran, which could curtail efforts to remove
obstacles and salvage the deal.
The
Axios news website reported the US-Israeli plan to reconvene a "strategic
working group" to discuss Iran, saying the group is intended to avoid a
public spat between the two allies over Washington’s Iran policy under the
Biden administration.
The
working group was initially set up during the Obama administration, under which
the US and five other countries -- Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany
-- reached the JCPOA with Iran; but it reconvened during the Trump
administration to coordinate his country's withdrawal from the JCPOA and its
“maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, the Wednesday report said.
The
US and Israel are planning to reconvene the forum, again, which will be led by
US national security advisor Jake Sullivan and his Israeli counterpart Meir
Ben-Shabbat, the Axios report added.
The
report comes amid repeated bellicose rhetoric by the Israeli regime against
Iran, with Israel’s minister for military affairs Benny Gantz saying the regime
is preparing itself for “any scenario... including operative action"
against Iran. Iranian officials have dismissed such threats as “nothing but
psychological warfare.”
In
his Wednesday remarks, Gantz also said Israel will prevent Iran from “obtaining
nuclear weapons.”
This
is while the Islamic Republic has repeatedly emphasized that its nuclear
activities are peaceful and that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons –
a declaration based on Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali
Khamenei’s fatwa (religious decree) that bans stockpiling and using nuclear
weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
Unlike
Israel, which is believed to be the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in the
region, Iran is a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), its
nuclear facilities have been open to IAEA inspections, and has signed a nuclear
agreement to reassure the world of the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.
“Iran
is a global and regional problem before anything else... That’s why we need to
work together with our allies; with the US, with Europe, and with our new
partners in the Middle East,” Gantz said.
Earlier,
Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi also claimed that Iran intends to
continue developing “hidden nuclear capabilities.”
The
web of lies spun by Israeli officials is never-ending. Netanyahu, like his
close friend Trump, has proven to be unable to keep his lies and racism to
himself. In remarks on Tuesday, Netanyahu lied repeatedly and even distorted
history to make his typical anti-Iran claims.
“On
the eve of Purim, I would like to say to those who seek our lives, Iran and its
proxies in the Middle East: 2,500 years ago, another Persian villain tried to
destroy the Jewish people and just as he failed then, so too will you fail
today,” he claimed.
One
could only imagine the outrage the words “another Jewish villain” would cause
if someone uttered those words. However, his remarks, in addition to being
racist, were also untrue, especially since the Hebrew Bible has repeatedly
praised Persian King Cyrus the Great as the patron and deliverer of the Jews
who put an end to their Babylonian captivity some 2,500 years ago.
Iran’s
condemnation of Israel for its crimes, as repeatedly clarified by Iranian
officials, does not amount to hatred toward Jewish people. In fact, Iran
currently hosts the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside the
occupied Palestinian territories. Iran is also home to dozens of synagogues and
kosher stores, and recognizes the Jewish people as a minority with a
representative in parliament.
Reacting
to the Israeli PM, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh slammed
Netanyahu's remarks as “bigoted lies” which he said were aimed at inciting
“racist Iranophobia.”
“From
saving Jews to opposing occupation, Iran has always fought oppressors. History
doesn’t lie,” Khatibzadeh twitted on Wednesday.
Back
in 2015, when the JCPOA was inked, Israel was among the only three regimes that
strongly opposed the UN-endorsed deal. The other two were Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates.
In
recent months, relations between Israel and the two Arab countries became more
overt, with a normalization deal brokered by Trump and signed between Israel
and the UAE, as well as a reported visit by Netanyahu to Saudi Arabia.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/25/646013/Will-Biden-follow-Netanyahu-plan-Iran
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South
Asia
EU-Afghanistan
discussed human rights, violence reduction
25
Feb 2021
EU-Afghanistan
third meeting on human rights, good governance, and migration was held on
Wednesday and both of the parties agreed to work together for the protection of
human rights and good governance.
“The
EU and Afghanistan reaffirmed their commitment undertaken with the signature of
their bilateral Cooperation Agreement for Partnership and Development (CAPD) to
respect democratic principles and human rights, as well as the principle of the
rule of law as essential elements of the CAPD and underpinning the internal and
international policies of both parties,” Afghanistan and EU said in a press
release.
Both
parties had reportedly spoken on human rights and fundamental freedom in the
context of the ongoing Afghan peace process and also expressed concerns over
escalated violence by condemning it.
European
Union called on Afghanistan to provide security for media workers and civil
society activists who are victims of the targeted killings and conduct thorough
investigations to bringing the culprits to justice and keep afghans informed of
the measures taken.
EU
called for the imperative of respecting human rights and promoting it to
protect civilians in any war by all means.
The
protection of civilians, medical and education facilities as well as
humanitarian workers, cannot wait for peace. The parties stressed that only an
immediate cessation of violence would restore confidence in the sincerity of
the Taliban for a political settlement to end the war.
Civilians,
medical, education facilities, humanitarian workers and their protection
depends on peace, parties stressed that only cessation of violence would
restore confidence insincerity of the Taliban for a political settlement to end
the war.
“The EU and Afghanistan agreed on the
importance of an enhanced promotion of inclusivity in the peace talks, notably
the involvement of women, youth, minorities, internally displaced persons,
refugees and victims of war, to ensure an ownership of the process by all
Afghans”, the EU press statement added.
The
European Union also emphasized the importance of free, fair and transparent and
inclusive electoral processes
According
to the statement, “The parties discussed the measures taken by the Afghan
Government and commended their joint coordination in the area of
anti-corruption policy and institutional reforms and committed to keep the
matter high on their bilateral agenda”.
EU
renewed supports to Afghanistan peace and maintenance of decades of gains as
violence escalated in the country since US-Taliban agreement in Doha, Qatar.
“Anti-money
laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) issues were also
addressed, in view of the EU’s ongoing assessment of Afghanistan’s AML/CFT
regime,” the statement read.
This
comes as President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday said the way had been paved for
more serious peace talks with the Taliban
In
a meeting with members of Afghanistan’s parliament on Wednesday, Ghani said
that the move by the NATO alliance to hold off on a decision about the troop
pullout will help the Afghan peace process.
In
a meeting with parliament of Afghanistan, President Ghani said that NATO’s move
to hold off troops withdrawal will further support the afghan peace process,
The
decision by NATO sends a big message,” President Ghani said.
https://www.khaama.com/eu-afghanistan-discussed-human-rights-violence-reduction-2331144/
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Afghan
Taliban Ask Fighters Not to Harbor ‘Foreign’ Militants as US Reviews Peace Deal
By
AyazGul
February
24, 2021
ISLAMABAD
- Afghanistan’s Taliban have ordered their members not to harbor “foreign”
fighters in their ranks in an attempt to dispel allegations the Islamist
insurgency continues to maintain close ties with al-Qaida and other terror
groups in breach of a February 2020 peace deal with the United States.
The
U.S.-Taliban pact, sealed in Qatar a year ago, requires all American and allied
troops to leave Afghanistan by May 1, provided the Taliban are also honoring
their commitments, including cutting ties with terrorist groups that threaten
the United States and its allies.
U.S.
President Joe Biden’s new administration is reviewing the deal to decide
whether to withdraw the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan by
the May deadline to close what has been the longest war in U.S. history.
NATO-led U.S. partners have fewer than 10,000 troops in the country.
“All
commanders and mujahideen (fighters) are directed that they are barred from
bringing foreign nationals into their ranks or giving them shelter,” the
Taliban’s so-called military commissions said in an order reportedly delivered
to insurgent fighters.
The
Taliban statement, circulating on social media, warned that violators will face
punitive action, including disbandment of their groups.
Taliban
spokesperson ZabihullahMujahid, when contacted by VOA to confirm the
authenticity of the one-page Pashto language directive, said he would respond
after gathering information from his superiors.
The
U.S. review of the Feb. 29 deal was prompted by allegations the Taliban have
not cut their relationship with al-Qaida in Afghanistan. The insurgents are
also accused of dragging their feet in ongoing peace negotiations with the
Afghan government, a crucial outcome of the U.S.-Taliban accord to bring an end
to decades of hostilities in the turmoil-hit South Asian nation.
Afghan
leaders allege the Taliban have intensified attacks across the country against
national security forces and civilians despite opening the intra-Afghan talks
in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
On
Tuesday, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the review of the deal with the
Taliban was still underway.
“We're
mindful of looming deadlines here -- and everybody shares the sense of alacrity
when it comes to working our way through this review,” Kirby told reporters. He
defended the review process, saying the agreement was reached before the Biden
administration.
“So
perfectly understandable, given the stakes in Afghanistan, for us to want to
come in and take a look at that and to look at the issues of compliance, and to
try to make informed decisions about what the best way ahead is... We’re taking
it very seriously,” stressed Kirby.
A
United Nations panel monitoring the Taliban said in its latest report published
earlier this month that the insurgency had maintained a close association with
al-Qaida despite having promised to end cooperation with terrorist groups.
“Member
states report little evidence of significant changes in relations between
al-Qaida and the Taliban,” said the U.N. Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring
Team, which completed its reports based in part on information shared by
foreign governments' intelligence services.
The
report noted that the overall number of members of al-Qaida and its affiliates
in Afghanistan “is currently estimated at between 200 and 500 spread across” at
least eleven provinces of the war-shattered country.
The
Taliban have rejected the U.N. findings and denies the presence of al-Qaida
militants in insurgent-held Afghan areas.
Skeptics
say the latest Taliban directive to bar fighters from allowing foreign
militants to join their ranks could be a last-minute attempt to assure the
Biden administration can enact a U.S. troop withdrawal by May.
“Taliban
smartly taking some new steps ahead of a Washington deliberation & review process,”
tweeted Omar Samad, a former Afghan diplomat. “All sides need to be earnestly
& factually held responsible for their actions, decisions &
worldview…Too much is at stake,” Samad tweeted.
https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/afghan-taliban-ask-fighters-not-harbor-foreign-militants-us-reviews-peace-deal
--------
Engine
explosion, fire kill ten Afghan civilians: Officials
24
February ,2021
A
minivan carrying civilians caught fire Wednesday after its engine exploded in
southern Afghanistan killing ten family members, including three children, an
official said.
Southern
Urozgan provincial police spokesman Ahmad Shah Sahel said the family was
returning from a wedding when their minivan became partially submerged in the
Helmand River. Sahel said the family wasn’t able to exit the vehicle as it was
half in the water.
High
pressure and water finding its way into the engine caused an explosion and fire
inside the car, killing all the family members, Sahel said.
The
bride and groom were riding in a separate car and were not among the
casualties. A police spokesman said the incident happened in an area where
militants and Afghan forces are active and police were not able to provide
assistance immediately.
Meanwhile,
a media advocacy organization called Nai said in a statement that unknown
gunmen shot and killed Dr. Khalil Narmgo, former head of a Baghlan journalists
association in northern Afghanistan.
A
Baghlan police official who wanted to remain anonymous as he was not authorized
to speak to the media said Narmgo was returning to the capital of Baghlan
province late Tuesday when unknown gunmen stopped his car, took him out, and
opened fire at him.
No
group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Afghanistan
has seen a nationwide spike in bombings, targeted killings, and violence as
peace negotiations in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government
resumed this week after over a month’s delay.
The
local affiliate of ISIS has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks, but
many go unclaimed, with the government putting the blame on the Taliban. The
Taliban have denied responsibility for most of the attacks.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/24/Engine-explosion-fire-kill-ten-Afghan-civilians-Officials
--------
Arab
World
Top
Lebanese lawmaker calls for World Bank official to be kicked out after threats
Joseph
Haboush
24
February ,2021
Lebanon’s
deputy parliament speaker Wednesday called for the World Bank representative in
the country to be expelled after the official threatened to cut World Bank
funding for the coronavirus campaign due to violations by lawmakers.
More
than 20 Lebanese MPs received a dose of the Pfizer vaccine, which was supplied
using World Bank funds allocated for Lebanon.
But
according to the national plan formed by the Lebanese government and agreed to
by the World Bank, those above 75 years old and registered on the national
platform were supposed to get the vaccine. Any individual who did not meet the
criteria was supposed to wait their turn.
Nevertheless,
and in a country where corruption permeates nearly every state institution, 26
lawmakers received their first jab at the Parliament building in Downtown
Beirut. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens and the elderly waited their turn at
designated vaccine centers across the country.
Upon
news of this, the World Bank’s Regional Director of the Mashreq Department
Saroj Kumar Jha voiced his frustration and disappointment. In a tweet on
Tuesday, Jha said this would be recorded “as a breach of terms and conditions
agreed with us for fair and equitable vaccination.”
He
used the hashtag #nowasta, which is an Arabic word used to describe nepotism.
Jha
went further and threatened to suspend financing for vaccines and the COVID-19
response to Lebanon.
On
Wednesday, two MPs apologized for receiving the vaccine and not waiting their
turn.
Deputy
Parliament Speaker ElieFerzli launched a diatribe against media outlets across
Lebanon and accused the World Bank official of being a liar.
After
Ferzli degraded Jha and purposefully mispronounced his name, using the Arabic
word for baby chicken, the Lebanese official said Jha needed to be kicked out
of Lebanon.
“You
are a liar, and you shouldn’t be allowed to remain in Lebanon. Let FaridBelhaj
in Washington send a replacement for you,” Ferzli said in a televised interview
where he also accused the TV host of being a “tool” for alternative purposes.
Belhaj
is currently the World Bank Group Vice President for the Middle East and North
Africa. He was previously based in Beirut for several years.
Pushed
further, Ferzli was asked how he would expel Jha. “Don’t worry about that. I
will deal with the World Bank. It’s none of your business,” Ferzli told the
reporter.
The
World Bank has not responded to a request for comment.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/25/Lebanon-crisis-Top-Lebanese-lawmaker-calls-for-World-Bank-official-to-be-kicked-out-after-threats
--------
Iraqi
Christians, decimated by extremist violence, prepare for pope’s visit
24
February ,2021
Iraqi
Christians are busy scrubbing churches, practising hymns and preparing for mass
ahead of the first ever papal visit to the country, a four-day trip next month
that is going ahead despite the coronavirus pandemic and security risks.
The
minority community of several hundred thousand was decimated first by al
Qaeda’s rise in the early 2000s and later by Islamic State, the extremist group
that brutally persecuted them and other minority faiths and sects from
2014-2017.
For
many of those who remained, or have returned to Iraq where free worship is
again possible, Pope Francis’ visit from March 5-8 is welcome recognition of
how they have suffered for their beliefs.
“We
hope that after the pope’s visit, the situation of Christians will improve,”
said AmerAbdelahad, a Christian in Erbil, as he registered to attend a mass for
10,000 people in the northern city on Sunday, March 7.
“Christians
in Iraq suffered a lot over the past years, they are emigrating. The pope will
come and see this reality on the ground,” he added, accompanied by his wife and
daughter who will also be at the gathering.
The
trip by the 84-year-old leader of the world’s Catholics was announced in
December, and will take in the capital Baghdad, as well as Ur, a city linked to
the Old Testament figure of Abraham, and Erbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh in the plain
of Nineveh.
A
twin suicide attack in Baghdad killed at least 32 people in January, a reminder
of Iraq’s ongoing security risks despite the defeat of Islamic State and a
general reduction in militant violence. The pope condemned the bombing.
Although
some of Iraq’s Christians, who include Catholics and Orthodox, have moved back
to homes they fled during the upheaval of the last two decades, others foresee
further problems and are looking to leave.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/24/Iraqi-Christians-decimated-by-Islamist-violence-prepare-for-pope-s-visit
--------
Khashoggi's
assassins flew on planes under control of MBS: CNN
25
February 2021
Leaked
Saudi documents show that the assassination squad that killed Saudi dissident
journalist Jamal Khashoggi flew to the Turkish city of Istanbul on private jets
owned by a company under the full control of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman (MBS), a report says.
Citing
official documents labeled "Top Secret" and signed by a Saudi
minister, the CNN reported late on Wednesday that the ownership of the company
Sky Prime Aviation had in 2017 been transferred to Saudi Arabia's Public
Investment Fund, which is the country's $400-billion sovereign wealth fund, and
the company's planes were later used in the October 2018 killing of Khashoggi.
The
sovereign wealth fund is controlled by the Saudi royal family and is chaired by
the 35-year-old crown prince.
The
fact that the planes were owned by a company under the control of the Saudi
crown prince "provides another link between Khashoggi's death and
MBS," CNN said, using Mohammed's initials to refer to him.
In
October 2018, and after Khashoggi's murder, The Wall Street Journal, citing
people familiar with the matter, had reported that the private jets used by the
assassins belonged to a company controlled by Mohammed.
"He
would have been tracking [the company] and would've been aware of how it was
used," Dan Hoffman, the former director of the CIA's Middle East Division,
said of the Saudi crown prince.
"It's
just more potential evidence that he was in the know on this. Which has always
been the contention. This is just more evidence of that," Hoffman said,
referring to the widespread belief that Mohammed personally ordered the
assassination in Turkey.
Faisal
Gill, a lawyer for Khashoggi's former fiancée and a nonprofit organization,
which have filed a federal lawsuit against MBS and two dozen co-defendants,
told CNN that his client was "pleasantly surprised" that evidence of
bin Salman's control over Sky Prime Aviation has come to light.
"Any
evidence that basically ties MBS and others, especially in a direct line way —
which we believe this does — is extremely important," said Gill.
"[MBS]
wanted to use a company that he controls, in a fund that he absolutely controls
in hopes that it would not get out," Gill added. "That to me is not
only a direct line to him killing Jamal but also a direct line of him trying to
cover it up using an aviation company that he absolutely has full control
of."
The
Wednesday revelation comes as the US intelligence community is set to release a
long-awaited report with new public details about those behind the murder of
Khashoggi.
Khashoggi,
a former advocate of the Saudi royal court who later became a critic of bin
Salman, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, after
he entered the perimeter to collect documents for his planned wedding. He had
been falsely promised the documents.
The
dissident journalist was strangled and his body was cut to pieces by a 15-man
Saudi hit squad inside the consulate, according to Turkish officials.
Saudi
Arabia has not produced his remains as of yet.
Saudi
officials initially denied the killing of Khashoggi altogether, but they later
said a “rogue” group had assassinated him.
The
Washington Post, for which Khashoggi was a columnist, reported in November 2018
that the CIA had concluded that bin Salman personally ordered the murder.
Khashoggi's
killing damaged the ties between Ankara and Riyadh, and tarnished Mohammed's
image.
Agnes
Callamard, the outgoing special rapporteur on extrajudicial killing for the
United Nations, who investigated the Khashoggi murder, has said targeted
sanctions against the personal assets and bank account of MBS ought to be
ordered as a "minimum" if intelligence showed the crown prince had
ordered or incited the killing.
She
has also called on the administration of US President Joe Biden to exert
pressure on Saudi Arabia to identify the location of the remains of the slain
journalist, allow Khashoggi's children to leave Saudi Arabia, and, if evidence
shows the crown prince ordered the assassination, freeze the prince's
diplomatic engagements with Washington.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/25/646029/Khashoggi-s-assassins-flew-on-planes-under-control-of-MBS--CNN
--------
Irish
foreign minister voices concern over rights violations in Bahrain
24
February 2021
The
Irish foreign minister has raised serious concern over human rights violations
in Bahrain, demanding that the Al Khalifah regime release a senior opposition
leader and other political prisoners.
“The
human rights situation in Bahrain remains a matter of serious concern. We are
concerned by ongoing instances of violations of fundamental freedoms there,”
Simon Coveney told a recent parliament session.
He
also called on Manama to release the jailed secretary-general of opposition Haq
Movement, Hassan Mushaima, whose health has been deteriorating dramatically
because of the neglect of his physical health.
"I
note with concern reports regarding the health and well-being of the person in
question [Mushaima]. Ireland urges all States to safeguard the human rights of
prisoners and detainees as set out in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules
for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Mandela rules.”
A
number of Irish lawmakers have grilled the foreign minister for voicing concern
against rights abuses in Bahrain.
Ali
Mushaima, son of the distinguished activist, recently dismissed allegations by
the Bahraini Ministry of Interior that his father had received all the rights
stipulated for prisoners, including full health care.
The
Irish foreign minister said he would raise the issue at international
organizations.
Separately,
the European Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Brussels recently held a
conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the pro-democracy movement in
Bahrain.
Similar
events were also held in Italy and some other European countries to denounce
the Bahraini regime’s crackdown on dissent and its systematic abuse of the
majority Shia population and discrimination against Sunni activists.
Several
Western countries are accused of being complicit in the crackdown.
The
United States and Britain have military bases in Bahrain, and human rights
advocates say both are complicit in rights abuses in the country by refusing to
exert the influence they apparently have over the monarchy.
Bahrainis
in recent days have taken to the streets across the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom
to mark the tenth anniversary of a popular uprising against the ruling
monarchy.
The
popular uprising in Bahrain began in mid-February 2011.
Manama
has responded to the protests with an iron fist. Authorities have detained
rights campaigners, broken up major opposition political parties, revoked the
nationality of several pro-democracy activists and deported them.
Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also helped Manama in its crackdown.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/24/645995/Irish-FM-Bahrain
--------
Arab
states' massive arms deals tribute to US, Western firms: Anti-war activist
24
February 2021
An
American political commentator says Saudi Arabia and its regional allies enter
into massive weapons deals with the United States and European countries in order
to pay their tribute to American and other Western financial institutions and
corporations.
In
an interview with Press TV on Tuesday, Bill Dores, a writer for Struggle/La
Lucha and longtime anti-war activist, said the US has long been trying to “keep
that tribute flowing” through endless wars, covert operations as well as
sanctions, since the 1953 coup d’état in Iran that overthrew the government of
then prime minister Mohammad Mossadeq until the current humanitarian
catastrophes in Yemen and Syria.
He
said, “US policy in the so-called Middle East is basically a giant protection
racket, the biggest, most lucrative and most violent one in history. It has
been going since 1945, when President Roosevelt met Saud King Abdulaziz aboard
the USS Quincy [heavy cruiser].
“FDR
(Franklin Delano Roosevelt) made the King an offer he couldn’t refuse: 'We keep
you on your throne, you pay us tribute.' The US in that case was the
Rockefeller-controlled Standard Oil monopoly, which then owned the Kingdom’s
oil,” he added.
Dores
went on to say that the approach expanded to include all oil-rich kingdoms of
the Arabian Peninsula, and included Iran as well following the 1953 CIA coup
that restored the monarchical rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
“The
racist regime of Israel, created in 1948 on the stolen land of Palestine, is
crucial to the functioning of the racket. That’s why it gets an endless stream
of arm and dollars from the United States,” the American political analyst
pointed out.
Dores
added that Western corporations owned and exploited energy resources in the
Middle East region from the end of World War II until the 1970s, and that half
of all the overseas profits of US corporations came from Arab and Iranian oil
in 1960.
Even
though the deposed Shah of Iran was the US arms industry’s biggest paying
customer after the Pentagon, he said, Iranian officials canceled arms deals
worth billions of dollars following the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution
and Washington has placed Tehran on its sanctions list ever since.
“Countries
which didn’t pay tribute – Iraq, Libya, Syria, Egypt under [Gamal Abdel] Nasser
and Iran after the 1979 Revolution – became targets of the Pentagon, the CIA
and Israel. Since the administration of Venezuela’s [late President Hugo]
Chavez began using its oil wealth for the people, the US has targeted that
country as well,” Dores said.
The
pundit then noted that the US has been selling arms to Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates for the past six years in order to “murder and starve the
people of Yemen,” casting doubt on the purported intention of the
administration of US President Joe Biden to end the war on Yemen.
“It’s
unclear what that actually means, since US contractors are pretty crucial to
Saudi military operations,” he said.
Dores
then lashed out at the US protection racket over its humanitarian cost, asking,
“How many more people must die to keep this racket going, to keep the wealth of
[Saudi] Arabia flowing to Wall Street?
“Politicians
tell people in the US that the weapons industry creates jobs. But what if all
those factories were making medical equipment or trains or other things that
people need. What if the trillions spent on war went to healthcare or housing
or schools. No one would be homeless or jobless. The world could defeat COVID-19
and many more diseases. The world could defeat climate change,” Dores said.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/24/645961/Massive-arms-deals-by-Arab-deals-done-in-tribute-to-US,-Western-corporations-Analyst
--------
Egypt
Postpones Trial of 5 ISIS Terrorists till March
23
February, 2021
Egypt
postponed the trial of five persons accused of “joining a terrorist group” to
March 28 in the case known as the "October ISIS Cell."
The
investigations of the Egyptian Prosecution indicated that between 2013 and
2015, the first convict founded a terrorist group affiliated with ISIS in the
6th October suburb of Giza governorate.
The
purpose of this group was to disrupt public order, endanger the safety of
society, attack the general freedom of citizens, assault members of the armed
forces and the police, harm national unity and social cohesion, and target
churches.
The
Public Prosecution charged the second, third, fourth, and fifth defendants with
“joining a terrorist group.”
It
also charged the first to fourth offenders of traveling outside the country,
joining ISIS in Syria where they received training on weapons and manufacturing
and detonating explosive devices.
Meanwhile,
the Cairo Criminal Court postponed the retrial of Mahmoud Ezzat, the acting
leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, in the case during the events of January 25
in 2011, when terrorists stormed Wadi al-Natrun prison and attacked security
institutions.
The
prosecution accused the defendants of collaborating with leaders of the
international Brotherhood organization and the Lebanese Hezbollah to overthrow
the Egyptian state and its institutions and train armed elements by the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards Corps to commit hostile and military acts inside the
country.
In
2015, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced 20 convicts to life imprisonment,
while Ezzat and 99 other defendants were sentenced to death by hanging after
they were convicted in the case that included storming Egyptian prisons and
assaulting security and police facilities.
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2823121/egypt-postpones-trial-5-isis-terrorists-till-march?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2034589_
--------
Africa
Turkey
condemns terrorist attacks in Nigeria
SedaSevencan
24.02.2021
Turkey
on Wednesday condemned deadly terrorist attacks in northeastern Nigeria.
"We
are deeply saddened by the news that 10 people lost their lives and many
wounded in the terrorist attacks perpetrated by the terrorist organization Boko
Haram in Borno State of Nigeria, on 23 February 2021," the Turkish Foreign
Ministry said in a statement.
"We
condemn these heinous terrorist attacks," the ministry added.
Turkey
extended its sincere condolences to the families of those who lost their lives,
friendly and brotherly people and government of Nigeria and wish a speedy
recovery to the injured.
At
least 10 people were killed and 50 more injured in a string of mortar attacks
by the Boko Haram terrorist group in northeastern Nigeria.
Fear
gripped Maiduguri city and scores of residents scampered for safety as mortar
rounds hit four populated areas – Kaleri, Bulabulin, Gwange, and Adam Kolo – on
Tuesday evening.
BabaganaZulum,
the governor of the northeasternBorno State, said that Boko Haram, which has
repeatedly targeted Maiduguri, was responsible for the attacks.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/turkey-condemns-terrorist-attacks-in-nigeria/2156032
--------
Europe
British
law professor under fire over ‘Islamophobic’ statements
By
Arwa Ibrahim
25
Feb 2021
London,
United Kingdom – A British university professor has come under mounting
criticism over what students described as his “Islamophobic” remarks and taught
content.
In
a statement last week, the University of Bristol’s Islamic Society (BRISOC)
said it was “alarmed by multiple complaints against Professor Steven Greer of
the Law School for his reported use of discriminatory remarks and Islamophobic
rhetoric”.
Law
students have claimed Greer “frequently expressed views in class that can be
deemed Islamophobic, bigoted and divisive”, said the statement, which was
signed by several other student societies.
Although
Greer’s accusers have gone public, he has been barred by the university from
making any comment on the allegations because they are subject to an ongoing
investigation and he is bound by a duty of confidentiality.
He
did however tell Al Jazeera he rejects the allegations.
BRISOC’s
president, Aamir Mohamed, told Al Jazeera the first complaints came last
September and the society lodged a formal complaint with the university in
November.
A law
student at the university told Al Jazeera he filed an independent complaint
about Greer last year.
BRISOC
is demanding an official apology from Greer and the removal of content it
considers to be problematic, in a human rights module.
The
society also seeks an apology from the university for “funding, supporting and
promoting” Greer’s work and for its “delayed updates” since the complaint was
made, said the statement.
The
university told Al Jazeera it has launched a process to address the issue.
‘Islamophobic’
content
The
principle complaint against Greer relates to a human rights module he teaches,
titled Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society.
BRISOC
highlighted several lines in lecture slides they provided to Al Jazeera from
the module.
One
of Greer’s students described them as painting an overall “misinformed and
bigoted view of Islam”.
In
a section discussing “Islam and human rights”, Greer listed freedom of
expression as a “key challenge”, and highlighted “insult to Islam was
punishable by death”.
The
slide gave the deadly Charlie Hebdo attack as an example.
Gunmen
killed at least 12 people when they attacked the French satirical magazine in
2015 over cartoons of Prophet Muhammad they deemed offensive.
A
student who attended Greer’s class said he was shocked by some of the content,
which gave the impression that Islam was “essentially bad” and “incompatible
with freedom”.
“The
Charlie Hebdo killing was a terrorist attack. Muslim leaders not only condemned
the killings, but the fact that the professor actually used it as proof of
Islam’s stance on freedom of expression was absolutely appalling,” the law
student, who wished to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera.
“The
professor cherry-picked his examples to put Muslims in such a negative light
when there are examples of the contrary – he just chose to not talk about
them,” he said.
On
the same slide, Greer listed several other human rights challenges related to
Islam, including freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the position
of non-Muslims in Muslim countries.
Another
section related to the position of women in Islam, said students, referring to
lines that said Muslim women experienced “physical chastisement by husbands”
and “women who wear hijab [were] less likely to work outside home or be involved
in higher education”.
A
law student who attended the same module during the previous academic year said
she felt “extremely uncomfortable, othered and hurt” on several occasions
during Greer’s classes.
“Initially,
I was interested to share an academic discussion on Islam, but I was left
shocked and antagonised,” said the student, who also wished to remain
anonymous.
“He
singled out Islam as a sort of threat. It was another Islamophobic, misinformed
and bigoted understanding of Islam. Not something I expected in a university
and especially, a human rights module,” she added.
According
to FOSIS, an umbrella body of Islamic societies in UK universities, the Bristol
case is not unique.
“Numerous
cases are brought to our attention regularly where universities have failed to
recognise and adequately address the concerns of Muslim students and their
experiences with Islamophobia,” Muna Ali, acting vice president of student
affairs at FOSIS, told Al Jazeera.
According
to the National Union of Students, there are more than 300,000 Muslim
university students in the UK.
An
NUS study in 2018 revealed that one in three Muslim students in the UK had
experienced abuse or crime at their place of study, while one in four said they
would not report an Islamophobic incident.
“Islamophobia
remains largely unacknowledged and by extension, accepted and normalised in
higher education,” Sofia Akel, from the Centre for Equity and Inclusion at
London Metropolitan University, told Al Jazeera. “Wilful negligence is
complicity.”
University
response
Disappointed
with the university’s response, BRISOC went public with its concerns last week.
The university’s Student Union issued a statement of solidarity.
The
campaign comes amid complaints about another Bristol University professor accused
of anti-Semitism.
A
University of Bristol spokesperson told Al Jazeera they were “in regular
contact with the society and the member of staff”, and that a process of
responding to BRISOC’s concerns was “still ongoing and under review” and as
such, they were unable to comment further.
In
a statement, the university said it upholds the 2018 All Parliamentary Party
Group (APPG) definition on Islamophobia – which describes it as a distinct form
of racism – and that it was keen to create an “inclusive place for all
students”.
It
added that the university was also committed “to freedom of speech and to the
rights of all our students and staff to discuss difficult and sensitive topics
… universities are places of research and learning, where debate and dissent
are not only permitted but expected, and where controversial and even offensive
ideas may be put forward, listened to and challenged”.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/25/british-law-professor-under-fire-over-islamophobic-content
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German
'IS leader' faces verdict
24/02/2021
A
German court will hand down Wednesday its ruling in a case against Abu Walaa, a
notorious Iraqi preacher believed to be the Islamic State jihadist group's de
facto leader in Germany.
Ahmad
Abdulaziz Abdullah Abdullah, better known as Abu Walaa, is accused of being
"IS' representative in Germany" and directing a jihadist network
which radicalised young people in Europe and helped them travel to Iraq and
Syria.
The
Iraqi preacher, 37, is in the dock with three other men in a costly and
high-security trial that began in 2017 in the northern German town of Celle.
Abu
Walaa is charged for his membership of IS, while the other three defendants are
accused of backing the jihadist organisation.
Prosecutors
have sought a prison sentence of eleven and a half years for Abu Walaa.
The
defence however demanded an acquittal, with Abu Walaa himself declining to make
a closing statement last week.
-
'Preacher without a face' -
Abu
Walaa arrived in Germany as an asylum seeker in 2001, and was arrested in
November 2016 after a long investigation by Germany's security services.
Based
in a mosque in Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, he is alleged to have recruited at
least eight jihadists -- most of them "very young" -- to IS,
including a pair of German twin brothers who committed a bloody suicide attack
in Iraq in 2015.
Dubbed
the "preacher without a face" for his online videos in which he
always appeared with his back to the camera, he is also alleged to have
preached jihad at the since-closed Hildesheim mosque.
Among
those who Abu Walaa allegedly helped radicalise was at least one of the three
teenagers who were convicted of a 2016 bomb attack on a Sikh temple in Essen,
western Germany.
Another
notorious terrorist with possible links to Abu Walaa was AnisAmri, the Tunisian
who killed 12 people when he drove a truck into a Berlin Christmas market in
2016.
Amri
was allegedly in contact with Abu Walaa's co-defendant BobanSimeonovic, who is
believed to have put the Tunisian asylum seeker up in his flat in Dortmund.
Amri,
who was killed by police in Italy while fleeing, also attended a Berlin mosque
known for its links to jihadism at which Abu Walaa occasionally preached.
A
direct link between Amri and Abu Walaa remains unproven.
-
'Notorious liar' -
The
charge against the Iraqi preacher is largely based on the testimony of a
security service informant who spent months collecting evidence.
The
informant was exempted from testifying in person before the court over fears
that it would put his life in danger.
Another
key informer was a disillusioned jihadist who agreed to cooperate after
returning to Germany from IS-controlled territory, and told investigators how
he had been part of Abu Walaa's network before travelling to Syria.
Yet
Abu Walaa's lawyer Peter Krieger insisted that these testimonies were
untrustworthy, telling the court that the key witness was a "notorious
liar".
While
German authorities now see far-right terrorism as the primary danger to
domestic security, the threat of Islamist extremism remains.
Two
weeks ago, three Syrian brothers were arrested in Denmark and Germany on
suspicion of planning bomb attacks.
According
to the interior ministry, German security forces have prevented 17 such attacks
since 2009, the majority since a spate of successful attacks in 2016.
Authorities
believe there are 615 potentially dangerous Islamists currently living in
Germany, five times as many as in 2013.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210224-german-is-leader-faces-verdict?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2034589_
--------
Turkey
slams EU for expression of support for pro-Kurdish party
24
February 2021
Turkey
has slammed the European Union (EU)'s support for the country's pro-Kurdish
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), saying the bloc should rather be concerned
about the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)'s crimes in northern Iraq.
"For
once, you could perhaps be concerned about the PKK, a terrorist organization on
the EU list, which brutally executed 13 people in Gara, Iraq. Or would that get
you into trouble with the PKK lobby?" Turkish presidential spokesman
Ibrahim Kalin said in a post on his Twitter account on Wednesday.
The
remarks came after the spokesperson for EU foreign affairs and security policy,
Peter Stano, issued a statement on Turkey's recent actions against some members
of the HDP.
"The
European Union is gravely concerned about the continuing pressure against the
HDP and several of its members, which has materialized lately through arrests,
replacing elected mayors, what seem to be politically-motivated judicial
proceedings and the attempt of lifting parliamentary immunities of Members of
the Grand National Assembly," the statement said.
On
February 14, Turkish officials said PKK militants had executed over a dozen
kidnapped Turks, including military and police personnel, in a cave in northern
Iraq.
Turkish
police detained 718 people in 40 cities over alleged links to the Kurdish
militants it blamed for the executions.
The
Turkish Interior Ministry said heads of the HDP in cities and districts were
among those detained.
The
PKK said the 13 men had died when Turkish forces bombed the cave where the
captives were being held.
Stano
further stressed that any alleged wrongdoing or crime needed to be subject to
due process and that the presumption of innocence must be safeguarded.
The
HDP is Turkey's second-largest opposition party after the Republican People's
Party (CHP).
The
Turkish government has long accused the HDP of having links to the PKK, which
is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US, and the EU.
In
recent years, Ankara has jailed dozens of mayors and other officials from the
HDP. The party denies having any links with the separatist militants.
The
PKK has for decades used Iraq's mountainous areas as a springboard for attacks
on Turkish troops.
PKK
militants also regularly clash with Turkish forces in the Kurdish-dominated
southeast of Turkey attached to northern Iraq.
The
militant group has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region since 1984.
More
than 40,000 people have been killed in the decades-long conflict between Turkey
and the Kurdish militant group.
A
shaky ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish government collapsed in July
2015. Attacks on Turkish security forces have increased since then.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/24/645962/Turkey-slams-EU-for-not-having-enough-concern-about-PKK
--------
Report:
Far-right incidents surge in German military
23
February 2021
BERLIN
-- The number of suspected far-right incidents in the German military surged to
477 last year from 363 in 2019, parliament's commissioner for the military said
Tuesday.
Eva
Hoegl stressed as she presented her annual report that “soldiers are not under
general suspicion and the absolute majority does a responsible job every
day."
But
she said the number of incidents involving far-right extremism are a source of
concern and show that “there's a lot to do.”
“There's
no place for far-right extremism in the army,” Hoegl wrote in the report. “We need
investigations, sanctions and prevention — in a consistent, complete and fast
way.”
Hoegl
demanded that more staff be hired to speed up investigations.
The
report comes at a time of broader concerns that Germany has not done enough to
tackle right-wing extremism within its Bundeswehr military in general. The
country's special forces, the KSK, have faced particular scrutiny after
numerous allegations of far-right extremism in recent years.
As
a consequence of far-right scandals involving the special forces, the defense
minister disbanded one of the KSK's units in July and vowed to to further
investigate extremism and implement reforms.
The
rise in far-right extremism in the army mirrors a growing overall number of
anti-Semitic, anti-migrant or homophobic attacks in Germany.
In
2020, 183,777 soldiers served in the German military, 23,066 of them women.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/report-incidents-surge-german-military-76061150?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2034589_
--------
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